Where? When? Gah!

Chapter 2 - The Spell

Tara sat on the floor of the Magic Box surrounded by Willow, Buffy,
Xander, and Spike. Willow had poured a circle of sand around the
girl, and was now setting up a candle in front of each participant.
They were each sitting at one of the four corners - North, South, East,
and West.

Willow had made sure that Giles would be out on an errand while
they did the spell. She knew that Giles didn't approve of her
manipulating the magicks for a spell this powerful, especially when
she had to modify it to her needs.

"Okay," she began as she seated herself at the North position. "Grab
hands, and don't let go." She cautioned them.

"The spell is in Latin, so you won't be able to understand it. But you
all know what we're trying to do." She stared at each one as they
nodded ascent, before continuing. "If this works, Tara will be back
with us." She gave her love a soft look.

Each candle was lit and the lights dimmed before all four scooby
members took hold of each other's hands. Xander took a deep
breath, hoping for the sake of his best friend and her girlfriend that
this would work. He glanced at his right, the South position, to see
Spike and flashed back to their earlier conversation.

***

"I'm worried pet."

"I know Spike, but we have to try."

"It's just that whenever Red messes with the mojo, you or I tend to get
zapped along the way." Spike gave Xander a concerned look.

"Don't worry." He grasped Spike's hand and squeezed. "Nothing's
going to happen."

They shared a brief kiss before heading over to the shop.

***

As Xander came back to himself he heard Willow punctuate the chant
with a final "Tabula Rasa!" And then suddenly there was wind
whip thr through the room. The candles were flickering madly and
Tara began a keening wail.

Sobs racked Tara's body as it was lifted off the ground, levitating a
few feet in the air. Her hands came up to her face and began to rake
long fingernails along her cheeks and neck.

Seeing this Spike lunged forward to stop the girl from hurting herself
further. He heard Willow's desperate cry and Xander's anguished
howl as he broke the circle and tackled the blonde witch.

" X" Xander saw everything in slow motion. His lover leapt to Tara's
defense dropping Xander's and Buffy's hands to reach her. He heard
Willow's warning and saw the flash of light as Spike breached the
circle of sand and made contact with Tara.

Then suddenly the room was deathly quiet.

Xander scrambled to his feet and rushed toward Spike. He wasn't
moving, but at least he wasn't dust. Without breath or pulse he
couldn't tell how badly hurt his love had been.

Willow was kneeling next to him her hand wrapped around Tara's
wrist, searching for a pulse. Tara's breathing was shallow, but
steady. As the minutes passed Willow could tell that they were
growing stronger, as was the beat of her heart.

"Spike please." Xander murmured as he ran a soothing hand through
Spike's curls. He'd positioned them so that Spike's head was in his
lap and he continued to pet and whisper quiet words to his vamp.

Tara's eyes blinked open and she squinted up at Willow, whose tears
were falling quietly down her face. "Tara baby?" She asked quietly,
pleading.

"W-willow?" Tara's mouth was dry. She swallowed trying to bring
more saliva out to wet it down. "What hned?ned?"

At Tara's coherent reply, Willow let out a ragged sob. She wrapped
her arms around her lover and brought her up to squeeze against her
chest.

After her heart rate slowed to a more normal level, she eased Tara
away from her. "Tara honey? Do you know who I am?" Her eyes
bored down into those of her girlfriend.

"Of course Willow. Why wouldn't I?" Tara was perplexed.

Buffy sat quietly as Willow took in the fact that Tara's mind had been
returned to her. At Tara's convulsive swallowing she stood to retrieve
a glass of water from the kitchenette. While she was there she
grabbed a blood bag for Spike and heated it in the microwave. She
assumed that he would probably need one when he woke as well.

She returned to the main shop to find Willow placing soft kisses all
over Tara's face. Spike was still unconscious and laying in Xander's
lap. She could see unshed tears pooling in Xander's eyes and she
quickly knelt beside him to place a hand of support on his shoulder.

He looked up at her, blinking rapidly. One tear, then two slid slowly
down his cheek. His head snapped back down as he felt the vampire
stir below him.

"Spike?" He whispered softly.

Spike's lids opened to reveal ice blue eyes staring up at him. A grin
split Xander's face and the few tears that hadn't yet been shed fell.
He leaned down to kiss Spike softly on the lips, reassuring himself
that his lover was awake and still non-dusty.

When he pulled back Spike's face was a mix of confusion and
embarrassment.

Quickly Xander patted his lover's body, searching for injuries. He
berated himself for not checking earlier, but when he found nothing of
significance he glanced back up at Spike's face.

"What's the matter Spike? Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" Xander
asked. The look of confusion still masking his lover's cherub features.

Xander stared at him willing him to speak. When he finally did,
Xander's heart nearly stopped.

"Who are you?"

***

They all sat around Giles' living room, the ex-watcher finishing up his
lecture on the proper use of magicks. Spike sat quietly in one corner,
confusion and fear rolling off him in waves. Xander sat miserably on
the couch, trying not to focus pleading eyes on his forgetful vamp.

"Now, I'll have to go over exactly the spell that Willow used if I'm to go
about reversing it for Spike." Giles gave Willow a stern look.

She tried to look contrite, tried to be sorry, but all she felt was relief
and joy that Tara was well again. When she turned toward the girl
next to her, her eyes swept across the room landing briefly on the
hunched form of her best friend. The happiness suffusing her body
dimmed slightly knowing that she had caused the pain that he was
now feeling.

"I'm sorry Xander." She said quietly.

"I know Wills. It's not really your fault I guess. Spike knew he
shouldn't have broken the circle. You warned us all." Xander tried to
be gracious.

"Don't worry Xander, we can reverse the spell." Giles was
reassuring. "It will just take some time to work out."

"Time we don't have." Xander looked up, eyes dark and sad. "We
have to concentrate on Glory."

Giles wandered over to the couch, sitting down next to his pseudo-
son. He placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "We'll make
the time."

"Thanks." Xander gave him a brief smile, before glancing quickly at
Spike then looking away.

Giles turned in his seat, now facing the vampire. "What do you
remember Spike?"

William didn't answer, still trying to take in his surroundings. He was
thoroughly confused and hadn't really understood a word any of the
people around him had been saying. What was a scooby? And who
was Spike?

"Spike?" Giles tried again.

"I'm sorry sir, are you speaking to me?" William asked politely.

Giles raised his eyebrow and stared at the man in front of him.
Spike's accent had changed and he no longer sounded like a street
urchin. "Yes. Can you tell me what you remember?"

"Well sir..." William thought back to his last clear memory. "I
remember leaving the party. I was in a dreadful hurry. I'm afraid I
might have been a bit rude to a few of the people that I met along my
route home." He furrowed his brow in thouul cul concern. "Although I
don't quite remember returning home. Did I hit my head along the
way?"

"The party?" Buffy asked realization dawning.

"Yes miss. It was held at Cecily Adams house. Do you know her?"
He asked at the look of recognition on Buffy's face.

"No. I'm afraid that I don't." She answered automatically while
gesturing to Xander and Giles to follow her to the kitchen. "Please
excuse us."

William nodded his head in ascent as they made their way out of the
room.

Xander was hyperventilating. Buffy was explaining what he already
knew. Over the course of their relationship Spike had been more and
more forthcoming about his life before he was turned. Xander knew
all the details of the turning as well. So he was more than aware of
how much time Spike had lost.

"He doesn't remember anything! What are we going to do?" Buffy
asked, wincing as she noticed the affect her words had on Xander.
"Sorry Xan."

"'S okay." He mumbled back, hoping that Giles would have an
answer.

"Well, I'm afraid that we'll just have to explain to him what has
happened and some of the things that he's forgotten. He needs to
know the basics so that he can take care of himself. At least until we
can reverse the spell." Giles tried to comfort Xander with the firm
belief that they WOULD reverse the spell.

They returned to the living room, once again seating themselves on
the couch to face Spike.

"Spike - " Giles began.

"Why do you persist in calling me that?" William interrupted,
frustration and agitation making him forget his manners.

"Er...um...What would you like us to call you?"

"William is my christian name." He answered.

"Okay then. William it is." Giles placated. "William, there are a few
things we need to tell you. About what happened that night, and
since that night." Giles began.

"William, have you heard of vampires?"

"You mean those stories made up to scare children?" Will answered
with a smirk that made Xander ache inside.

"They're not made up Spi - um...William. They're real. And I'm the
Vamiper Slayer." Buffy interrupted.

"Buffy please." Giles reprimanded.

Had he fallen in with a group of madmen? Vampires real? Maybe
he'd hit his head harder than he thought and he was still unconscious
in the hopsital?

Giles turned back to William. "I'm afraid she is correct William. I
know this is difficult to believe, but do you remember the people you
thought you might have been rude to on the way home that night?"

William nodded slowly.

"They were vampires. They found you later and they turned you."

"Turned me? What does that mean?" William's face was taking on a
look of concern. What had happened to him that night?

Xander leaned forward desperately wishing he could take Spike's
hand. Instead he settled for staring deeply into his eyes. "It
means...William, that you're a vampire now too."

"What? That's ridiculous!" William decreed.

"It's true. That was over a hundred years ago. You've been a
vampire ever since." Willow chimed in, trying to reason with him.

"Now I know you're all barmy! 100 years! That is clearly impossible."

"Look around you Will." Xander implored. "Have you ever seen
these things before?" Xander gestured toward the TV and the stereo.
He could see the lines on Spike's forehead crinkling in confusion.

"We aren't trying to trick you. We just want you to understand."
Xander willed Spike to believe him. "Wills accidentally hit you with a
spell and you've just forgotten a few things, but we'll fix it soon. I
promise."

William looked around him spying things he'd never even imagined
were possible. There were bright lights shining through the flat.
Lights that didn't look anything like burning torches, or candles. He
wasn't sure what the boxes the young man had pointed out were
supposed to do, but they certainly didn't appear familiar.

"Where are we? Are we still in England?" He asked quietly, not quite
believing the evidence yet.

"No. We're in Sunnydale, California. That's in the Americas. The
United States of America, that is." Xander answered softly.

"And what year is it?" William was slowly trying to process the
conversation.

"It's 2001." Xander answered.

There was silence for a few moments. William continued to look
around the room. His gaze fell on each scooby as he swept his eyes
back and forth. Even if the room itself weren't so odd, the occupants
of the room definitely did not belong. The young ladies were dressed
extremely scantily. And the gentlemen were wearing what looked like
servant's clothing, at least the young man was.

And for the first time that night William stopped to study himself. His
clothes were in disarray, and were certainly not what he remembered
himself last wearing. Of course if he had been taken to hospital they
would probably have fitted him with one of their gowns. But these did
not appear to be hospital clothing either.

He sighed, the confusion and fear returning to fill his being almost
beyond bearing. He turned his head wanting to meet the eyes of the
young man who had seemed so earnestly concerned for him earlier.
They sat staring at each other for a few minutes before he finally
spoke again.

"Where?" Will shook his head. Xander wanted to reach out and
smooth the worry lines streaking across his lover's face. "When?"
Will looked so lost, Xander's fingers itched to move, but he held
himself back.

He knew the moment the information finally sunk into Spike's brain.
He stood and began to make his way over to the vampire, knowing
that a melt down was about to occur. When it hit, he was already
sitting by Spike's side. "Gah!"