ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 74 – CALLING CLEM

William had been the last of them to take a turn sitting up front, before they stopped. About 50 miles back, he'd suddenly asked, "What's that?" he pointed off in the distance, at vague, white shapes in the distance.

"That might be Pike's Peak," Xander said.

"Really?" William asked. Willow had showed him some pictures of the Rockies, including some of the recognizable peaks.

"Yeah, I think so. Why don't you go tell the others?"

William walked back to the main area, "Come see," he said, and took Elizabeth's hand, and motioned to the others, too.

They all walked up to the front.

"Is that the mountains?" Dawn asked, excitedly.

Xander thinks it's Pike's Peak," William said.

Willow quickly typed in Pike's Peak into her laptop and came up with a picture, "I think you're right!" she said, showing the image all around.

William stood watching as Elizabeth's face took on a look of awe. He didn't care about the mountains, but she was a vision he was sure that he'd never tire of. He put his arms around her as they leaned over to see out the front window.

Seeing the Rockies for the first time with William, just made it all the sweeter, his arms securely around her. She sighed, happy for these moments, for his closeness. Her arms went over his and she squeezed him back. He gently kissed the top of her head, in response

Now that they'd spotted the peaks, they couldn't take their eyes off of them, as they appeared to grow a little larger with each mile.

“What are those,” Dawn asked, pointing to a different set of mountains in the distance to their Southwest.

“That would be where we’re heading,” Willow said.

“San Juan Mountains?”

“Yep, that be them!”

Xanded bed been driving for about 3 hours, when he finally stopped for gas and a break at Rocky Ford. They all got out to stretch their legs and take a look at the little town.

Willow had looked it up before they got there and told them it was the ‘melon capital of the U.S.’

“Where’s the melons?” Buffy asked, stretching.

“Growing in fields, I suppose,” Xander said.

“I was looking forward to streets paved with melons,” she quipped back, “cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon…”

“What about muskmelon?” Willow added.

“Muskmelon?” William said, making a face.

“Sure, a hybrid between a musk ox and a melon,” Dawn said, teasing.

He made a funny face, which made her laugh.

“Oh, also, this was a big train hub back in the late 1800’s. People were being offered cheap homesteads in order to settle the west, and this one of the main hubs. There were something like 2,500,000 acres of farmable land just waiting to be settled in the mid 1870’s. Know what it cost back then?”

“Nope,” Xander said, “but I’m sure you’re gonna tell us.”

“Yep, sure am. $2 to $9 an acre.”
William nodded. Hadn’t his brother bought land back then in Julian? Goldrush land? Wait…he couldn’t have had a brother back then! He shook his head at the pervasive, false memory his brain insisted on serving up to his consciousness.

“Oh, and the train took 28 hours to go about 500 miles, almost 3 times longer than it does us.” Willow added.

“Our resident historian,” Dawn said, motioning to Willow.

“I just like to know about the places we’re passing through.”

“No, it’s totally interesting, I’m glad you are doing it,” Dawn said.

“So, where are we going to end up tonight?” Buffy asked.

“Hopefully, a bit past Durango. It’s still about…” Xander turned to Willow.

“Um, about 330 miles, if we mi$ it to around Cortez or Mancos. Mancos is a few miles closer and that’s where they’re holding our camping reservation.”

“When did you make reservations?” Buffy asked.

“This morning, over the Internet,” Willow answered.

“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes, “should’ve known.”

“And if we don’t make it that far?”

“Secondary reservations at South Fork, way up in the mountains. But hey, still time to cancel.”

“Very efficient of you, Will,” Xander said.

She smiled.

“You going to drive?” Xander asked Dawn.

“Yep, I’m all drive wanting,” she answered.

William shook his head.

Xander patted him on the back, “Don’t worry there, William, sooner or later, you’ll understand all the Sunnydale-speak that we still use when we’re around each other.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Well, if I recall, you came with quite a few colorful expressions of your own that you added to the mix, ‘sodding, bleeding, bloody, bugger, ponce, git, Nancy-boy, bollocks, pillock,’ what’s some other guys?”

William looked at him like he’d grown three heads, “I did no such thing!” he said, turning red, from both fear that as, Spike he actually may have, but at Xander’s insensitivity to the fact that women were around.

“Oh, yes you did,” Xander said, smiling.

“I wouldn’t have!” William said, stepping away from him.

“Xander!” Buffy said, giving him a look that shut him up.

“Jesus, I’m sorry,” Xander said, realizing how seriously William had taken this little joking exchange of his.

“Don’t worry about it, William,” Buffy said, coming up to him.

He just shook his head and walked away.

Dawn held her hand up to Buffy and went after him.

William was leaning against the other side of the RV, looking down at the ground when Dawn found him.

“William.”

“Dawn,” he said, “you here to tell me it’s alright.”

“Yeah, afraid I am.”

He looked at her and laughed a little, “At least you’re honest!”

“That’s me. Spike was, too. That’s why we got along. There was a time when nobody but you tme tme the truth, or didn’t speak to me like I was some dumb kid. Sheesh, William, they’re just words, they’re just…colorful, like Xander said.

“Git,” he mumbled, under his breath.

“What’s that?”

“Nevermind. It’s just that it seems rather…shocking to me. I wasn’t raised to speak that way, especially not in mixed company,” he said, blushing again.

“That’s really sweet of you. But it is 2008; guess we women just don’t get all freaked out and faint-y when we hear swear words anymore. That’s a good thing.”

“I suppose, but it seems…disrespectful. And crude, I might add. S’ppose I should be used to it by now; been hearit ait all along. On the beach, at Wal-Mart, in the mall. Young boys and girls using words that would make a grown man…you get my point.”

“Well, you don’t have to do it anymore if you don’t care to, but even when you did, I don’t think you did it because you were disrespectful, it was just to make a point.”

“A crude, but colorful point,” he sighed, but his eyes were smiling at her.

“Exactly.”

Dawn paused, “So, are you bloody well done pouting now?”

He looked at her shocked, then burst out laughing. He nodded, “I guess I bloody well am,” he said, smiling at her.

“But, not pouting, mulling over, there’s a difference,” he said, as they walked back toward the others.

“Tomatoes, tahmatoes.”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”


“You okay?” Buffy asked, smiling with relief when she saw him and Dawn joking around.

“He’s bloody fine,” Dawn said, “right, William?”

“Yeah, what she said,” he smiled at Dawn, winking, almost smirking.

She wagged her finger at him, then went into the RV.


Dawn took over driving, while Buffy fixed them all lunch. William decided to sit up in the front with Dawn for a while. Buffy was both relieved that they were getting along so well, but she was almost jealous at the easy way Dawn could relate to him. She always was good at taking Spike just the way he was, without worrying about the bigger issues, and it seemed, she was the same way with William, which, if Buffy admitted, was something that William needed, that she couldn’t give him.

Xander had apologized to Buffy numerous times, while they had lunch. She assured him it really wasn’t such a big deal. William was shocked, but he obviously, got over it, thanks to Dawn. So he used to swear like a…well, like a pissed off vampire most the time, and now he knew the truth about that. Well, except for the vampire part. Maybe she could relax and not worry so much if she let a choice word come out of her mouth once in a while now.

Nah. Still got to watch it, unless William started swearing like Spike, but that would be unlikely. Would she even want that? That he talk more like Spike? Somehow she couldn’t imagine William talking the way Spike used to. Asking herself to consider it seemed…well, there was that word again, schizophrenic!
“I like, no, make that love William for who he is,” she said to herself, “if I want him to be more like Spike, then I’m wishing that he be who he isn’t. Right?” she shook her head, mumbling.

“Hey, Buffy, how’s it going?” Willow asked, coming up to her in the little kitchen area.

“Fine, just fine,” she answered, then sighed, “just having my usual William/Spike dichotomy debates with myself.”

“I see. Who’s winning?” Willow asked, surprised and pleased by Buffy’s use of the word dichotomy. She kept reminding herself that Buffy was now a college graduate, too.

“Neither. Both. I don’t know,” she said, shrugging.

“Kinda hard sometimes, huh?”


“Sort of always in a way, but then the alternative is a lot worse,” she said, “he’s here, that’s really something, isn’t it?”

“A big something,” Willow said, nodding.

“Yeah,” Buffy said smiling.


They stopped so that Willow could take over driving an hour later. Xander was up from his nap and joined her in the front. Dawn started watching a soap opera, but had dozed off.

William had sat down next to Elizabeth after they had changed drivers, but hadn’t said much, other than small talk, which she had attempted to make with him.

Buffy looked over at him from the corner of her eye. He looked like he was falling asleep, too. Quietly, she got up and went up to the front.

“Hey, guys,” she said to Willow and Xander.

“Hey yourself,” Xander said.

They ed fed for a few minutes about where they would camp and about visiting the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings.

“You mention it to William and Dawn?”

“Yeah, William was pretty fascinated by the whole Indian thing, and I think Dawn liked the idea, too.”

“So, are we going to stop for the day there, then?”

“I’m trying to decide that Buffy. There’s a lot to do around that area. Besides the ruins, we can go into Durango, visit some other places. Guess I’m just excited being in Colorado,” Xander said. “I always wanted to visit the see the Old West.”

“I didn’t know that?” Buffy said.

“I did,” Willow said, smiling, “it’s all he ever wanted to play as a little kid, cowboys and Indians.”

“Yeah, guess I should’ve been playing pirates, instead. Either that, or I should have been on a horse fighting the Bringers.”

Buffy took a quick look at William, who was still napping.

“Sorry,” Xander whispered. “Anyway, I have to talk to Angela about it. She probably won’t mind. I wish she were along, too. Unfortunately, when I get back to Kansas, we’re heading the opposite direction, so I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to see this or to do something fun with you guys. Think of it…us having fun.”

“Yeah, guess fun was a pretty rare commodity those past couple of years, especially the last year…”

Xander and Willow nodded.

“Sorry to change the subject, but Willow, could I borrow your laptop?”

“Sure, it’s beside the couch.”

“Thanks, Willow.”


Buffy picked up Willow’s laptop and her purse and went into the bedroom, locking the door behind her.

She booted up the computer, and took her cell phone out of her purse, then connected them.

Checking her email, she saw she had an email from Andrew, who was wondering if she’d found Spike, and from her school, telling her that she had a meeting at the end of next week. And reality collides with her life!

She went to her AOL page, and typed in Clem’s IM name. He wasn’t online.

“Crap,” she said. It would have been so much easier than typing him a letter or calling him. Sighing, she picked up her phone and called him, trying to remember if he worked Saturdays or not. It had rung about a dozen times and she was just about to give up, when he finally picked up.

“Howdy-doody!” said the familiar voice.

“Hi, Clem.”

“Buffy? That you girl? I just ran inside when I heard the phone, I was out back, weeding. Where are you? You’re not home are you? When you getting back?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m in Colorado and we’re on our way home. Probably in about 3 days or so.”

“That’s great that you guys are on your way home,” he stopped and scratched his ear.” You did say ‘we’re’ on our way home, didn’t you? Whose we’re?” he asked.

“That’s what I called to tell you, only I need you to go online and let me IM you.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be heard,” she said quietly.

“Why, are you in trouble or something?”

“No, Clem! I promise; it’s nothing like that. Do you have the time for some IM’ing right now?”

“Sure, give me a couple of minutes to get online, then we’ll talk, right?”

“Yeah, we’ll talk.”

“Good, I miss talking to you.”

“Me, too. Okay, see you online in a minute. Oh, wait, did you change your name like you were going to?”

“You’ll see, I’ll IM you!”

“Okay, see ya!”


A few minutes later she was online when her IM came up:

LSD: it’s me, Clem!

EAW: so what’s with the LSD?

LSD: well, you know Iow I used to be FED, for floppy eared demon? Thought I’d go with LSD instead.

EAW: which stands for?

LSD: loose skinned demon.

EAW: ROTFLMAO

LSD: kinda edgier, don’t you think?

EAW: oh yeah! Sound like the BIG BAD now. A BIG BAD DRUGGIE!

LSD: he-he

EAW: I have something very, very, very important to tell you. You sitting?

LSD: of course, what is it?

EAW: remember that I told you I had a surprise?

LSD: yes, is is it?

EAW: it’s a long story that I don’t have time to tell you all of it…but it’s about Spike.

LSD: what about Spike?

EAW: He’s alive, Clem! He’s with me right now and we’re coming home!

LSD: Buffy, girl, this is Clem you’re talking to. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you. It’ll be alright, I promise.

EAW: No, really Clem, he’s with me. I’m in a RV being driven right now by Willow. Xander is here and so is Dawn, and so is Spike. He really is alive!

LSD: he can’t be Buffy, he burned up. I think you you’ve been given some bad drugs or something, or someone has done a spell. I can help you.

EAW: I don’t need that kind of help! He’s alive! There was a prophecy about a vampire that would face trials, apocalypses, coming back alive. The prophecy was tied to the amulet. They dug it up in Sunnydale.

LSD: who dug it up?

EAW: an archaeology class, but the professor in charge took it to Chicago, then he got murdered. Then William came back and they thought he was crazy when they found him in the museum. Andrew found an article about a man at a museum and Willow tracked him. Well, sort of. Spike was in the mental ward and Angel was after him, because it was him that was supposed to come back human. Willow, Dawn, and I got him out of the hospital about 3 weeks ago, then we were staying in Michigan at a cabin. Now we’re on our way home.

LSD: You’re not kidding me? Spike’s really alive? Did you say HUMAN?

EAW: YES! He’s alive and HUMAN.

LSD: Oh my God, Buffy! That’s wonderful. Really? By the way, who’s William?

EAW: This is the reason I had to tell you about our coming home now…and sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, just so many things were going on… WILLIAM is the man Spike was, before he got turned by Drusilla. And that’s the thing. He came back human, but as he hadn, bn, before he got turned. So, he still thought it was around 1880 and he didn’t and still doesn’t remember anything that Spike knew at all, as in how things work in this century, or the last one, but he’s learning.

LSD: HOLY COW! He really doesn’t remember ANYTHING?

EAW: No, nothing! William believes, as his doctor (a good one, that is) in the hospital, that he JUST has a severe case of memory loss.

LSD: not even you?

EAW: not even me what? Oh…No, he didn’t remember me, either.

LSD: but you’re together? Now? Right?

EAW: yes, we’re together, and remarkably, he seems to love me, too. Like Spike did.

LSD: then I’m so happy for you. For both of you! I can hardly wait to see him!!!!

EAW: That’s the other thing I REALLY, REALLY need to tell you. Spike, I mean William doesn’t know anything about the demon world. Not one thing. He doesn’t remember being a vampire, doesn’t believe in demons, or have any idea of their existence know thahavehave to tell him someday, but for now…he was just so fragile when I found him…and I nearly lost him when Angel’s henchmen were after him…I just can’t tell him right now.

LSD: What you’re telling me is that I have to lay low? Not let myself be seen by Spike?

EAW: Not exactly. He knows about you, as Clem his friend, not as Clem the demon, though. Could you…I know this is asking so much…and I know it’s not easy on you, either…but could you, for a while, when you come over to see him, could you use your human face for a while?

LSD: sure, I can do that. I already thought about that. I just thought, maybe you didn’t want me to ever see him again or wanted me to move…

EAW: of course not, silly! You’re his friend. He’s, I mean William is eager to meet you. In fact, when I called you about emailing the pictures of the house, he asked what you had said about finding out about him (about him being ‘found’ after 5 years) and I had to tell him that I hadn’t told you yet. He was disappointed.

LSD: That makes me happy to hear. Are you going to tell him now?

EAW: Yes, I’ll tell him that I told you. About us coming home, that is.

LSD: Will you tell him that I’m glad he’s coming home?

EAW: I will.

LSD: I’m glad you didn’t tell me a couple of weeks ago, I would have been driving myself crazy until you got home.

EAW: I know. I’ll let you know the morning of the day we’re supposed to be home.

LSD: that would be good. I’ll do some grocery shopping for you that day and bring over some food. How’s that sound?

EAW: it sounds like you’re such a good friend that I could cry!

LSD: thanks, me, too. Oh, don’t worry, I won’t come by that night or anything. Let you guys settle in.

EAW: you can come by and say hello

LSD: I’ll see. But I’ll leave food.

EAW: thank you so much, Clem!

LSD: I can’t believe that Spike’s alive. He only goes by Wil?
?

EAW: yeah, William knows he used to be called Spike, but don’t think he cares much for the name, or the bits and pieces he’s finding out about Spike. Like his penchant for swearing.

LSD: William doesn’t swear?

EAW: not really, no.

LSD: yikes.

EAW: well, he’s acting like a properly raised gent of the 1880’s.

LSD: he-he-he that’s different!

EAW: you’re not kidding, and it’s not like I swore that much, but now I really find myself watching it – well, probably better that way, so I don’t slip up in front of the kids, which I always worried about. I’ve gotta go, I’ll call soon, okay?

LSD: okay, Buffy. Tell Spike, I mean William that I’m glad he’s coming home and I’ll talk to you in a couple of days. Just leave a voice mail if I’m not home. I’ll be checking every day until you guys are home.

EAW: Thanks Clem! Bye.

LSD: Bye, Buffy.

END CHAPTER 74