Fix You by Enigmaticblue

Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures where the First is involved. In order to prevent the end of the world, Buffy asks Willow to do a spell that's supposed to fix everything, and Spike goes along for the ride.

Chapter 2: Over the Rainbow

Buffy blinked in the bright, mid-afternoon light. After the dimness of the basement, it was a shock, and not at all what she'd expected. It took her another moment to realize that she wasn't just holding Spike's hand—she was twisting his arm behind his back. Spike was wearing his duster again, and he was struggling against her hold.

At least, he had been struggling. When he grew still, Buffy swallowed. "Spike?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "It's me. Can't believe Red actually managed it."

Those words convinced Buffy that it was her Spike standing there, and she released him abruptly, causing him to stumble a bit. He still wore the ring she'd been trying to strip from his finger moments before, and he straightened, looking up at the blue sky. "Never expected to have this chance again," he murmured.

Buffy laughed weakly. Even if Willow hadn't managed to send them back to the right time, at least they were together; that was the biggest thing. Buffy would think about the timing later—probably much later.

A movement to her right caught Buffy's eye, and she shouted, "Xander! No!"

Her warning came too late, and the stake Xander wielded went right into Spike's heart. The vampire just looked at the young man. "You have got to be kidding me," he stated, more than a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Spike glanced at Buffy. "You did explain the purpose of this little bauble, didn't you?" he asked, wiggling the finger with the Gem of Amara on it, then pulling out the stake. The wound closed immediately.

Buffy had to fight back a smile at Xander's dumbfounded expression. "I did, but I guess he forgot." She turned to her friend. "Xan, it's okay."

"It's Spike!" Xander protested. "And he's trying to kill you!" He seemed to realize that Spike was doing nothing of the sort. "Why isn't he trying to kill you?"

"We've got a truce," Buffy replied quietly. "It's going to take too long to explain, and I'm not going to do it more than once, so we'd better go to Giles' place."

"We?" Xander repeated. "Aren't you going to take the ring, Buffy? This is Spike!"

Buffy met Spike's eyes, and he raised an eyebrow, obviously willing to let her make the decision. She half-thought that if she asked, he would simply hand the ring over. Spike had been taking her lead these last few weeks, willing to do anything she asked of him. "I think he's earned a walk in the sun," Buffy said with a smile, not bothering to explain her statement to Xander.

Like she'd said: it would take too long.

~~~~~

Spike felt as though he was in a dream—a good one for a change. The bone-deep aches that the First's torture had created were completely gone; he was strong again. If he had been a human, Spike would have said that he was healthy for the first time in years. And he was walking in the sun, with Buffy at his side, and Harris obviously ready and willing to put a stake into him.

He had to hide a smirk; the boy might want him dust, but Buffy didn't, and she was apparently going to enforce her wishes.

Spike knew that she could have asked him for the ring, if only as a gesture of good will on his part. Although he would have hated to give it up, Spike would have for Buffy; he owed her everything, and not just because he'd tried to rape her, but because she'd believed in him, protected him.

If Drusilla had saved him from a life of quiet desperation, Buffy had saved his very soul.

Spike had to wonder how Willow's mistake would change their plans. Certainly, the goal was still to either prevent Buffy's death or her resurrection. They had more time now, but that in itself could present a problem, because they would have to deal with what this particular time period threw at them. Spike would have to convince Giles and the Scoobies that he was sincere, and the Initiative and Adam could present a problem.

Not to mention how he and Buffy were going to explain their relationship. If Buffy explained anything, of course. She could choose to keep her mouth shut, and give an innocuous reason for why Spike had been the one selected to help her. It was hard to tell with the Slayer.

"When did you two call a truce?" Xander demanded. He'd chosen to walk behind them because he hadn't wanted to leave a vampire at his back. Not a bad impulse on Xander's part, Spike had to admit, although it wouldn't have made a difference if he'd really wanted to kill the boy.

"About a year and a half ago," Buffy said with a sideways glance at Spike. "It's still holding."

Xander's strangled sound of outrage had Spike smirking. "Oh, really? He kidnapped me and Willow and nearly got us killed!"

Spike snickered, and Buffy elbowed him. "Stop it."

"What?" he asked with a hurt look.

Her hand was gentle on his arm. "Play nice."

"What's in it for me?" Spike asked in a low tone, teasing her a bit, just to see if he would get away with it.

Buffy raised an eyebrow, replying quietly, "Behave, and maybe you'll find out."

It was all in her voice; Spike didn't think she'd used that rather suggestive tone with him before, and it stunned him. For all the sex they'd had the previous year, Buffy had never allowed him to think that she actually wanted him.

The Slayer had wanted his body, and she had wanted to punish herself. Maybe she'd wanted to pleasure herself, but it had nothing to do with him. Other than the fact that he'd been convenient and willing to oblige.

This was new.

As they approached Giles' door, Buffy glanced up at him nervously. "Look, if something goes wrong, I want you to—" She broke off, swallowing convulsively. "Oh, God."

"What?" Spike asked, reaching for her arm to steady her.

"Hey!" Xander called. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Buffy said, and Spike could hear the tears in her voice. "Spike, Mom's still alive."

Spike blinked. He hadn't thought of that, but Buffy was right. Joyce hadn't even been ill, as far as he knew, and Dawn—

Buffy obviously had the thought at the same time. "Dawn."

"She'll show up," Spike murmured, trying to reassure her. "Just have to wait a bit, that's all." He smiled at her. "You'll get to enjoy bein' an only child for a while."

She smiled back, as he'd hoped, and took a deep breath. "Like I was saying, if something goes wrong, go to my house. Mom's always had a soft spot for you."

Spike didn't ask her to define what "something wrong" might look like. Although the ring made him nearly invincible, that would probably only weigh against him in the eyes of her friends and her Watcher.

He well remembered what had happened the first time he'd shown up on Giles' doorstep, looking for help, and Spike didn't fancy spending the next few weeks tied to a chair or chained in the bathtub.

"Right."

Xander pushed past them to enter Giles' apartment—it seemed that he'd grown tired of waiting for them. Spike's keen hearing could catch what the boy was saying—something about Buffy going crazy.

"I'm not crazy," Buffy said, heading inside, leaving Spike standing just outside the door. The invisible barrier was still in effect, not that he minded too much. Spike was in no danger of being incinerated by the sun, so being outside was a pleasure.

"What is going on?" Giles asked, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Spike at the doorway. "Good Lord! Spike!" He began looking around for a weapon. "Buffy!"

"It's okay, Giles," Buffy said soothingly. "It's not like that at all. Invite Spike inside."

Giles looked from her to the vampire, and Spike could see the wheels inside his head turning. "What's going on, Buffy? Spike has the Gem of Amara, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but it's okay," Buffy promised. "Please, Giles. This is going to be hard enough without Spike being stuck outside."

Spike could see the difference in this Giles. This was the Watcher who had suggested that the chip had given him the opportunity to make something more of his life, the man who had still had faith in the future, and in others.

This was the man who had absolute faith in his Slayer—faith that had begun waning after he'd left Sunnydale.

"Come in, Spike," Giles said evenly, although he kept hold of the crossbow he'd located.

"You know that won't do much good," Spike said, but he was careful to keep his hands where Giles could see them, and he sat down on the couch gingerly.

Giles smiled grimly. "You'll allow me my fiction, I hope."

"Put that down, Giles," Buffy ordered. "Spike, give me the ring. Just for now."

Spike met her eyes, seeing the unspoken promise there. It was a temporary loan, and he would get it back. This was to satisfy Giles that he was in earnest, and to smooth the way for Buffy. They needed her Watcher on board; Spike understood that.

He watched Giles put the crossbow down warily, and then he slipped the ring off of his finger and handed it to the Slayer. She closed her hand around it, catching his fingers in a brief caress. "Thank you." She turned to Giles. "See? Spike is cooperating, and he's on our side. In fact, he has a soul now."

She turned to face Xander. "And if you don't want me to hurt you, you won't even think about staking Spike. I mean it."

The expression on her face told Spike that she did, and it was apparent that Xander understood as well. "Yeah, okay, Buff," he said quickly. "No staking Spike."

"What has happened, Buffy?" Giles asked. "The last we'd heard..." He frowned, moving closer to his Slayer, caught by something in her eyes. Giles trailed off, looking from her to Spike, and the realization began to dawn. "You—" He sat down heavily. "You're not actually Buffy, are you?"

"I'm Buffy," she was quick to assure him. "Just—different. It's a long story, and I'd like the whole gang here before I explain." Buffy looked over at Xander. "Would you mind calling Willow? She should be here."

"Yeah." Xander complied, his expression indicating that he was getting a little spooked. Spike almost felt sorry for him; these were odd circumstances, to say the least.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Just to give you the short story, to tide you over, we're from three years in the future. There was a certain event that Willow sent us back to prevent, but she overshot the time a little, and here we are."

"Not that I'm complaining," Spike commented, thinking about the ring that now rested in Buffy's pocket—not to mention the absence of the chip in his head. He wondered if Buffy had remembered that yet.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I'll bet."

"Then you and Spike are—" Giles stared at them both. "What did Spike do to get cursed?"

"I wasn't cursed!" he said, exasperated, even though he knew it was a reasonable question on the Watcher's part. "I'm not the soddin' Great Poof. Bloody hell, I asked for it. Mind you, there are plenty of days when I wonder why."

Giles swallowed. "You... I think I need a drink."

"Spike got his soul for me," Buffy said quickly, keeping her voice low enough so that Xander wouldn't overhear from the other side of the room. He was explaining the situation to Willow, and Spike could hear her excited voice on the other end of the line. Most of his focus was reserved for this conversation, however, because he certainly hadn't expected her to mention that little tidbit.

Giles' eyes widened and then narrowed. "I see. I'm certain there's more to it."

"Three years worth of more," Buffy said. "But—"

"It will have to wait until Willow gets here," Giles finished for her. "Of course. Would either of you like something to drink?"

"Water would be great," Buffy replied. "I'm a little parched."

"Whatever you're havin' is fine," Spike said.

The silence hung heavily. No one knew what to say as they waited for Willow to arrive; not even small talk seemed appropriate.

Spike took the double Scotch that Giles offered him. "Thanks," he said with a smile. It had been a while since he'd had a drink, not since before they'd figured out that the First was controlling him.

Buffy stood next to the window, looking outside with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Spike kept his eyes on her, wondering what was going through her head. It would likely be a while before they were alone so he could ask, but he wanted to go to her now.

That might have been possible if it had been a year later, but Spike didn't want to give either Xander or Giles a reason to stake him—particularly now that Buffy had his ring.

Willow and Oz came through the door cautiously about twenty minutes after Xander made the call; Spike had finished his drink, and he was relaxed enough to smile when he saw the cross she held tightly.

"It's okay, Will," Buffy said, turning to look at her friend. "Spike's on our side now."

Willow made a face. "When did that happen?"

"About three years ago," Buffy replied, then shot a look at Spike. "Or in a few weeks, depending on your point of view."

Spike grimaced at the unpleasant memories. There was no way he wanted to do that again. "Can we skip that, please?"

"Skip what?" Willow asked, bewildered. "What's going on?"

Buffy sighed. "About a year and a half from now, I'm going to die to save the world. You guys resurrected me, which then allowed the First Evil a way to exploit a weakness in the Slayer line so it could end the world."

Giles blinked. "So you came back in time?"

"Willow sent us," Buffy explained. "We were supposed to show up on the night I died. Spike came along to help make sure the end of the world didn't happen."

"Obviously, we got here a little earlier than we'd anticipated," Spike added.

Giles shook his head. "And you have your soul."

"Won it fair and square," Spike replied.

"But why?" Giles asked.

"That doesn't matter," Buffy said before Spike could try to come up with a good reason without telling the whole truth. "All that matters is that we still have a chance to fix things."

Oz spoke for the first time. "What do we need to do, Buffy?"

Spike hadn't had much experience with the young man in the past, but he appreciated the level-headed question. It was clear that Buffy did, too. "Nothing right now, Oz. Although—" she hesitated. "Do me a favor and stay away from Veruca, huh? Spike and I will take care of her."

Spike had no idea who Veruca was, but if Buffy said they needed to take care of her, he'd be right there backing her up.

Oz looked confused, but he nodded. "Sure."

"What about the rest of us, Buffy?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head. "There isn't much, Will. We weren't supposed to be here for another year and a half." She looked over at Spike. "I really want to go see my mom now."

Spike knew the minute that the import of Buffy's request registered. "How long ago?" Giles asked.

"Two years," Buffy replied. "An aneurysm."

"We might be able to stop it this time," Spike said quietly.

Buffy shot him a grateful look. "I hope so."

"Wait, Buffy," Xander spoke up. "What else happened? You haven't told us anything, and you know what happens to us. You said you were going to explain."

Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't. The future has changed now, which means that it's wide open, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it stays that way. And I said I was going to explain before I remembered that my mom was still around. No offense, Xan, but I need to see her more than I need to explain anything right now."

"How bad did it get, Buffy?" Giles asked quietly.

Buffy took a deep breath, and Spike could see the incipient tears. "Let me just say that this is probably the first time in months that I haven't hurt inside and out." She winced and moved her arm. "Although I'm still hurting."

"Sorry about that," Spike said, knowing that their fight had caused her bruises, and Buffy hadn't had the equivalent of the Gem of Amara to keep her from getting hurt.

"Forget it." Buffy gave a little laugh. "It's not really your fault."

Giles cleared his throat. "Perhaps you'd better go see your mother, Buffy. Spike can fill us in on the other things that have happened."

Buffy shook her head. "I want Spike with me, Giles, but we can meet at Mom's later tonight. I think she'll be okay with that." She pulled the Gem of Amara out of her pocket and handed it back to Spike. "Want to see Mom?"

"Wouldn't mind at all," Spike replied, slipping the ring on his finger.

Xander squeaked a protest. "Shouldn't you hang onto that, Buffy?"

"Spike's not going to hurt anybody," Buffy replied. "Relax, Xander. I'll call you later, Giles."

"Buffy?" Willow said, before she could leave. Buffy turned to face her friend, and Willow wrapped her in a tight hug. "You looked like you needed one of those."

Spike could hear Buffy swallow, and he saw the way that Willow's simple gesture had touched her. "I did. Thanks, Will. I'll see you all later."

~~~~~

They had let her go without any further arguments, although Buffy knew that they would require more answers later. She had no idea what to tell them. How much could she change? How much would she be able to change? They had focused only on what to do to avoid the problems caused by her resurrection, but now—

Now it seemed that the possibilities were endless.

"So what are we gonna do?" Spike asked.

Buffy looked over at him. "See Mom, and then find you a place to stay. I'm still in the dorms, but Mom might let you stay in the basement."

"Or I could find out if the crypt is empty," Spike said. "Could work out."

Buffy thought about that. "You could decorate a little earlier this time around."

"If that makes you happy."

"It would make visiting you more comfortable," Buffy said. "Of course, you could live aboveground, with the ring."

"And rent?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

Buffy smirked at him. "You could get a real job."

"Very funny," Spike shot back. "Without a green card?"

Buffy shrugged. "We'll figure it out. Maybe Giles will help."

"You haven't explained to me why I'd want to start payin' for things after over a hundred years of stealin'."

"Because your soul will bother you if you keep stealing?" Buffy suggested sweetly.

Spike sighed. "You've got a point."

"Of course I do," Buffy retorted, stopping in front of her house.

"You want me to wait outside?" Spike asked gently.

Buffy shook her head. "Not really."

"Go on, then, Summers. I've got your back."

She took a deep breath, feeling unaccountably nervous. Buffy hadn't seen her mother in so long, and to know that she was just on the other side of the door...

Unless Joyce was at the gallery, or the store, or somewhere else. "I should have called first," Buffy muttered.

Spike snorted. "Let's go." He took her by the arm and marched her up to the front door, punching the doorbell for her. "There you are."

"I have a key," Buffy said, checking her pockets. "At least, I thought I had one. Crap. They're probably at the dorm."

"Have Red bring them over later," Spike said, just as the front door swung open.

Joyce looked surprised to see them. "Buffy? Is everything okay?" She glanced at Spike uncertainly. "Hello, Spike."

"'lo, Mrs. Summers," he replied.

Buffy was speechless; her mother was standing there, in the flesh, alive and well. It was more than a dream come true, it was a miracle. She felt Spike give her a surreptitious nudge forward. "Mom," she said, trying to keep her voice even, and unable to manage it.

Her mom seemed to sense that something was wrong, even if she didn't know what it was. "Sweetheart? Are you okay?" Joyce stepped forward, and Buffy hugged her fiercely, the relief at feeling her mother's arms around her unbelievable.

"Maybe we better go inside," Buffy heard Spike say gently.

Buffy took a deep breath and nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "That would be good."

That caused Joyce to raise her eyebrows. "I didn't think you and Spike were friends."

"There's been a lot going on recently, Mom," Buffy replied. "I'll explain everything."

"Of course," Joyce ushered the both of them inside. "Would you like something to drink?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, we just came from Giles' place."

"Are you hungry?" Joyce asked, giving Spike another uncertain look. "I don't have any blood, but—"

"It's fine," Spike assured her. "I'll be alright for a bit."

Buffy winced apologetically. "I'm sorry, Spike. I totally forgot. We can go to the butcher's later."

"There's no hurry, Buffy," Spike said. "You know, why don't you an' your mom catch up? I'll occupy myself with the telly for a bit."

Buffy nodded, appreciating his sensitivity. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "Not a problem."

"Are you hungry, Buffy?" Joyce asked again. She put her hand on Buffy's forehead. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

Buffy laughed wearily. "What? Because of Spike? Like I said, there's been a lot going on. I—I had Willow do a spell today. It was the only way to prevent the world from ending."

"Did something go wrong?" Joyce inquired innocently.

Buffy shook her head, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "No, I think something went very right."