By Hilary Richess

The Bronze was its usual buzzing scene of social activity. The ‘Aftershock Party’ was under way after the slight tremor that had rocked southern California. It only registered a 2.8 on the Richter scale but Buffy knew where there was an earthquake, there was an apocalypse. Everyone in Sunnydale had turned out for this party. Even Giles was there with Olivia.

"This seems…like such a nice place, Rupert." Olivia said quietly to Giles. He smiled at her sarcasm.

"You should see when they have their ‘Fumigation party’." Willow giggled. "Buffy, over here."

Buffy went over to the redhead flagging her arms like she was directing an incoming plane.

"Hey Willow, Giles, Olivia." Buffy smiled and gave Olivia a quick hug, "So where is your significant other Willow? And Xander and Anya?"

"Tara had a mid-term in Anthropology and Xander and Anya are late. But your best buddy Spike is over there playing pool."

"And the reason you told me that is because?" Buffy said raising an eyebrow at Willow.

Spike had seen Buffy walk into the Bronze but as she had had avoided him for the last month, ever since he'd shown her Riley's extracurricular activities. Spike finished his beer and left the bronze quickly.

* * *

"We have granted you access." the female Oracle spoke.

"Do you know that another vampire once sacrificed his humanity for this Slayer?" the male Oracle acknowledged.

"Who?"

"Angel, but he never made it through the last battles. Had he won, he would have regained his humanity. Being human at that point would not have mattered. Most things that made human beings human were gone decades before, as you know. He never made it to a free city, he died trying to save a Slayer." the male Oracle continued.

"He does not matter. What does, is that we are changing the course of history. We are going to make things as they should have been." the female Oracle replied. She gestured to the handsome figure in front of her. "A temporal fold will be made. You will go to the past and prevent the Slayer’s death. You will be a human, a mortal. You will be vulnerable. That is the only way we can send you back. We will change your appearance slightly."

She passed her hands over his face and then gave him a mirror. He looked different, yet the same. The battle scars that marked his face were gone, his high cheekbones and hollowed face were filled. His naturally wavy hair now straight, shoulder length and strawberry-blond, his blue eyes had turned green.

"I guess this will work."

"You must not interact with your past self or both of you will cease to exist." she warned.

The walls around them began to vibrate. "They are coming."

"You must go now." the female Oracle shouted above the crumbling of the walls. The Future Bringers were about to make their last conquest of the planet Earth and all of its plains. Killing the Oracles were the final steps to reaching the Powers That Be.

The Oracle held hands as a strobe of blue light surrounded him. "2001. Here I come." he shouted.

* * *

He landed directly underneath the sign of the main branch of the Sunnydale Post Office. He heard the laughter of a group of teens as they walked down busy Main Street.

"No one even noticed. Typical Sunnydale."

"Hey, hurry up," a dark haired girl yelled to her friends straggling behind her. "The Bronze is going to be packed for the ‘Aftershock party’. Let’s go."

Her friends hurried to their friend and took off around the corner.

"‘Aftershock Party’? They sent me back a month before her death. Shit." he cursed underneath his breath. The night air chilled him, he needed his duster and he needed money. As if the Oracles had heard him he looked on the ground and found a wallet. It was stuffed with cash and the id of some guy named Herman Humberd. To the Bronze. Wait. Clothes. Spike looked down at his army fatigues, there was no way he could walk around dressed like this. It was only 9:30 and finding a store open at this time in Sunnydale wasn’t as hard as one might have thought.

* * *

He paid the cover and entered the Bronze. Gyrating bodies created a mass of heat that lingered over the dance floor. He quickly made his way to the bar and ordered a beer, something that he hadn’t done in nearly a hundred and eighty years.

He took a short sip then passed his free hand through his hair.

The salesgirl said "You would look wicked sexy with Tom Cruise’s hair cut. You know, Mission Impossible 2. My brother works at the barbershop two stores over. You should check it out. They’re having an Aftershock discount."

"Why the hell not." he said.

Girls were eyeing him left, right and centre but he was hoping that Buffy would be here. A tall leggy brunette stood in front of him.

"Excuse me, I am looking for someone." he said, looking around her.

"Maybe you’ve just found her." the girl said seductively.

"Not likely." he replied, maneuvering around her.

* * *

Giles and Olivia left, leaving Buffy and Willow alone at their table. A cute guy walked over and asked Willow to dance. Buffy waved her off and Willow went to the dance floor. Buffy sat thinking of Riley as she nursed her iced espresso.

"That guy who just walked in is super-duper fine." said a girl who was sitting at the table adjacent to Buffy.

"Yeah, I love the hair. He’s really cute…and of age, he just ordered a beer." one of her friends squealed.

Buffy turned in the direction of the bar to see who they were talking about.

They’re right; he is amazing. she smiled to herself.

* * *

He felt a familiar gaze on him and looked up to see Buffy staring directly at him. She noticed the eye contact and immediately lowered her eyes and turned her back to him.

He felt like something had hit him. His stomach did flip-flops. He hadn’t felt that for decades, he headed directly toward Buffy. He could see Willow dancing with some guy and none of the other Scoobies were around.

"Hi. Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, sounding nonchalant. Remember you look different. Remember your mission not to date her but save her. Remember you’re not supposed to know anything about her. She looks even more beautiful than I remember her.

"No. Go ahead." Buffy said, trying to sound nonchalant herself, but it didn’t work.

"So, are you here with your boyfriend?"

"No. A friend." She pointed to Willow on dance floor. Since he had reached the table she had not looked up at him once.

"Do I have a something on my nose or between my teeth?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him. A smile crinkled across his handsome face as he reached up to touch his nose.

He’s perfect or as close as a person could get, looks-wise any ways. Beautiful, bright green eyes, perfect hair, nose, and oh-so-perfect lips. she smiled as the thoughts raced through her mind.

He moved his chair closer to hers and looked into her eyes. "What’s your name?"

"Buffy." she gasped.

"My name is James."

"You from around here, James?" Buffy asked noticing the slight accent.

"No, I’m from Toronto."

"That’s in Ontario, Canada. Right?"

"Yup," The song that started to play he remembered. "Would you like to dance?"

"Uh. Sure."

He held her hand as they walked to the dance floor. Buffy could feel the eyes of jealous girls everywhere. He spun her into him and held her close to his body. They swayed to the beat together like they had been meant to do so since the beginning of time.

She turned away, what was she looking at?
She was a sour girl the day that she met me

Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a happy girl the day that she left me

She turned away what was she looking at?
She was a sour girl the day that she met me

Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a happy girl when she left me

What would you do?
What would you do if I followed you?
What would you do if I follow?

"You know, people say I look like the girl in this video." Buffy told James.

"I don’t see the resemblance." he lied. He had watched the video millions of times after her death, pretending that he was the one dancing with her.

Don't turn away, what are you looking at
He was so happy on the day that he met her

Say, what are you looking at?
I was Superman but looks are deceiving

The rollercoaster ride's a lonely one
I'd pay a ransom note to stop it from steering

Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a teenage girl when she met me

What would you do?

What would you do if I followed you?
What would you do if I follow?

What would you do?
What would you do if I followed you?
What would you do if I follow?

Buffy looked up at him and he continued to look at her.

"You know, this is going to sound really corny, but I feel like I know you from somewhere."

"Maybe you do." Suddenly he felt like the room was moving instead of them; the girl that he had loved for over two hundred years, finally in his arms, and he had an entire month to spend with her.

The girl got reasons
They all got reasons

What would you do?
What would you do if I followed you?
What would you do if I follow?

What would you do?
What would you do if I followed you?
What would you do if I follow?

She rested her head on his chest as they danced, and closed her eyes. They were perfect. A perfect fit.

When the song ended, she was still nestled in his arms. ‘All the Small Things’ by Blink 182 came on and they still stayed the way they were, not even noticing the change.

I've never felt this way, not even in Angel’s arms. Buffy thought, looking up at the complete stranger.

His body jerked and she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I ha…have to go, Buffy. Meet me tomorrow at one at the Russo Cafe, we’ll have coffee and stuff, okay?"

"Uh…sure tomorrow at one." Buffy said, confused. He lifted his hand off of her hips, passed his fingertips gently along her arm and traced her collarbone, sending shivers down her spine. His index finger lightly lifted her head, and before she knew what was happening a gentle kiss brushed her lips. The whole room was silent to the two of them. What seemed like slow motion took only seconds to the real world outside of the bubble that the two had just formed. As quickly as their lips touched, they parted. He squeezed Buffy’s hand lovingly.

"Tomorrow at one." he reminded her as he let go of her hand and glided out club. Buffy stood there aghast as he left. She only came out of her state from a tapping on her shoulder.

"What?" she said breathlessly and turned around to see Spike standing behind her. The look of bliss quickly turned into one of contempt. "What do you want?"

"Who was that?" Spike asked, trying to cover up the pain of seeing her kiss a new guy, who wasn't him.

"None of your business." Buffy made a beeline straight for their table. Too bad Willow’s still dancing; at least she could have saved me from Spike.

Spike had reached his crypt and had his final practice with the mannequin before deciding to come back to the Bronze. "Buffy, I have something that I need to tell you."

"Go ahead."

Spike looked at her shocked, she wasn’t supposed to say that. "Uhh. Well…uhh."

"This year, Spike. Spit it out." Spike sat down in the chair that James had sat in.

"I wanted to say that, when I showed you Riley and the…I just wanted to let you know. You wouldn’t have believed me if I'd just told you, so I figured showing you was the only way. I didn’t do it to hurt you intentionally or anything. I don’t want you to hate me more than you usually do." he said quickly.

"Spike, you’re a demon, you do things to hurt people intentionally all the time. It’s your nature."

"But you act like…"

"So what are you trying to tell me? That you did it out of the goodness of your heart? It doesn’t even beat, remember? You just can’t sink your fangs into anything physical so you sink them into the emotional. Pretty crafty. Spike, you hate me and I hate you, we’ve at least come to that mutual understanding. Let’s just keep our distance and things should be just fine." Buffy grabbed her coat. Spike grabbed her, stopping her. Buffy looked at her held arm and then at Spike who immediately let go.

"Buffy, I really…"

"Do you know that he left? He left and might never come back."

"I know that he left. He told me that he was going to." Spike mumbled.

"When did you talk to Riley?" Buffy asked sitting back down.

"He came over to my crypt and staked me and…"

"He did what? Staked you?"

"It was a stake made of a plastic wood grain," He shook his head not wanting to get off topic. "He and I had an insightful chat and he told me about Belize. Buffy I…I just want us to get along. No animosity over this situation."

Buffy had no idea how to respond. Her mourning period over Riley had passed, but small things still bothered her when he was mentioned.

"I have to go, Spike." Buffy told him as she got up and left. If she had actually looked at him she would have seen the defeat on his face.

"What’s with her and all the hotties?" a girl asked her friend as Buffy walked passed them.

* * *

"After you left, Tara came and Xander and Anya showed up. Spike even stayed, we tried to cheer him up. Well me and Tara. Plus gags of girls were throwing themselves all over him for the rest of the night but he seemed preoccupied." Willow rambled.

"What time is it, Will?" Buffy asked. She had decided to dress up for her mid-afternoon rendezvous with James. She wore a pair of black Guess sandals with a navy blue skirt and a white tube top. She’d changed at least twenty times and fixed her hair in about ten different styles before deciding. During her morning class she had thought about James. His touch, smell, hold, presence, and his aura. Aura? I’m losing it. Then Spike invaded her thoughts, he actually sounded sincere. Now, I know that I’m really losing it.

"It’s 12:20. Why?" Willow asked curiously. "Got a hot date?"

"Kinda."

"With who? That guy from the Bronze last night?"

"Yup," The smiled that shone over Buffy’s face made the sun seem dim. "I’m meeting him at Russo’s at one."

"Well, when you get home you have to call me right away," Willow ordered. "And tell me every detail."

"Sure, Will. There’s my bus. Gotta step."

"See you later, Buffy."

* * *

James used Herman’s credit cards and got cash advances on all of them. Herman wasn’t too smart, writing his pin number on a piece of paper inside in wallet. James found a furnished apartment in the morning paper and paid first and last month’s rent. Earlier that morning he had also bought new clothes and still had over three thousand dollars left of Herman’s money.

He walked towards the coffee shop to see Buffy already sitting there reading a magazine. He quickly maneuvered himself so that she couldn’t see his approach to the open patio seating. He crept towards her until he was practically on top of her then lowered himself and whispered into her ear. "Is this seat taken?"

Buffy jumped, slightly startled. Usually she could sense people but she hadn’t in this particular case. Only because I wasn’t on guard. she told herself.

He grabbed the seat not waiting for an answer. "Did you order anything?"

"No."

"You look amazing." he said, smiling shyly.

"Thanks."

An awkward silence passed between them, but was interrupted when he grabbed her hand. Their eyes locked and seconds, again, seemed like hours. The sun shone between them making his green eyes sparkle like emeralds.

"So how come a girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend? Or, if you do have one, why does he let you out of his sight?"

"I dunno. I’ve got issues."

"Issues? What happened some stupid so…guy did you wrong and you want to blame yourself?" James said, pinching himself to remember his speech. No Spike talk you moron.

"It was partially my fault."

"Really? I don’t believe that. I peg you as the loyal type."

Buffy smiled. "Sometimes to a fault."

Don’t I know. he reminded himself Their conversation continued for hours. It wasn’t until six that they left the coffee shop.

* * *

Days passed by and then weeks; two to be exact. Buffy had seen James every day since their first encounter at the Bronze. The last couple of weeks had been uneventful on the vampire front and on the Glory front, which worried Buffy because it could only mean that a big disaster was about to happen.

She was getting ready for a date with James when an unexpected visitor climbed through her window.

She walked from the bathroom to her room. As soon as she opened the door she could sense the vampiric presence.

"Spike, what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you, Slayer."

"About what?"

"Your friends tell me that you've been seeing some bloke…"

"So?" Buffy said in a 'hurry the hell up' tone.

Spike shifted his jaw. I can’t go through this again. Seeing her with someone else is too much to bear even if she doesn’t give a damn about me.

"Nothing. Forget it." Spike turned to leave.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders to his exit, except he didn’t. Buffy felt herself being turned around before she could even react, and felt his cold lips kiss her hungrily. Once she’d gathered her senses, she pushed him back and put her hand to her mouth.

"Leave." Was the only thing that she could muster to say. Spike kissed me. No spells, no nothing. He kissed me.

Spike stood frozen. Leave? That’s all she has to say? "Leave?"

"I didn’t stutter, did I? Leave. Get out. I don’t know what kind of a game you’re trying to play but I am not going to…never mind. Just go." Buffy yelled.

Spike dove out the window not looking back at her. Why did everything have to be such a battle with her?

* * *

Another week passed by rather too quickly for Buffy’s liking. On the demon front things were still uneventful, a couple of vampires here and there but nothing apocalyptic. But on the romantic front James had come over to the Summers house and met Joyce and Dawn. Buffy loved the interaction he had with the two other Summers women.

"Mom, Dawn, this is James." she'd smiled as he stepped in the house.

Both of them had been a little concerned about Buffy's new boyfriend, Riley hadn't been gone very long and there was a chance that she was just looking for someone to fill the void that he'd left. James had quickly put them at ease. He'd entertained them all with stories of his travels all over the world and of the amazing things that he'd seen.

After an hour or so, Joyce and Dawn loved James almost as much as Buffy did. Joyce was amazed at the different cultures and places that he'd experienced and Dawn was captured both by the fact that he didn't treat her like a child and by the adventures he'd had. When she was older she wanted to travel and see some of the things that he had.

Just as he was leaving Joyce walked in with a camera.

"Honey, I need to finish off this film so I can get it developed," She'd said to Buffy. "I don't suppose you want to pose with James for me do you?"

She'd been a little embarrassed but James loved the idea. Pulling her into his arms he'd managed to coax her into smiling for the camera. SNAP!

* * *

Buffy looked up at James; she couldn’t control the smile on her face. I’m grinning like a fool. she scolded herself. But she was so happy, she thought that she would never find happiness after Riley left. But now she was almost giddy, when she looked at James, when she kissed James, when they just held hands, it was perfect. Except that he’d be going back to Canada sometime in the near future unless she convinced him to stay. She prayed that she could convince him to stay. But staying would mean the whole Slayer secret would have to be revealed. Although James never got angry over the broken dates or the weird absences, Buffy always wondered why he didn’t mind.

"So are we going to meet your friends here tonight?" James asked pulling Buffy closer to him.

Buffy inhaled his scent slowly before answering, "Yup."

"What are you doing?" James asked her as they walked toward the Bronze entrance.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Buffy and James turned around to see the owner of the voice. Behind them stood five Polgara demons and Dreg.

"You should leave, James." Buffy warned.

"You might need my help, Buffy." he replied, holding a fighting stance.

"Hey, guys how are…" Xander stepped out of the Bronze and then saw the demons. "Holy shit."

"Xander go." Buffy yelled at him as the demons charged on Dreg’s command. James backhanded the demon that came after him. The other Polgara demon punched him in the stomach, knocking him ten feet away.

Buffy pushed Xander out of the way as she was backhanded by another demon.

James struggled to get off the ground as the demon advanced. He sidestepped him and slammed his fist into his face. The demon sputtered backward as the other one moved toward him. James gave the demon a roundhouse kick to the face, only stunning it.

* * *

As Spike rounded the corner, he could hear the Slayer’s grunts as she fought. He saw the Buffy trying to protect Xander and fighting off three demons at the same time. Then he saw the Slayer’s new beau taking on two of the demons by himself. Spike saw Buffy being backhanded by one of the demons. Xander punched one of the demons, and tackled one that approached Buffy.

The last demon turned toward Buffy and his forearms shot out sharp pointed skewers as he stalked toward her.

"Oh, bloody hell." Spike said to himself as he ran toward the scene.

* * *

James used the leverage from one of the demons to knock out the other, leaving him one to deal with. He felt a wave of nausea pass over him. Distracted, he looked towards Buffy. She was on one of the demons’ back, her little hands holding his head strategically as she broke his neck. The sickening snap shocked the other two Polgara demons. But they quickly regained their focus.

James felt two large fists hit his chest as he turned back towards the demon. He flew across the alleyway, landing hard. The nausea hit him again, not only from the blow, but also from something else. The Polgara demon that knocked him down turned and went after Buffy.

Buffy and Xander quickly found themselves surrounded until one of the demons was drop kicked and hit the floor. Spike stood beaming. "Looks like you need some help."

The two demons left standing shot out their skewers and went after Xander and Buffy.

Buffy quickly moved out of the way but Xander tripped and the demon took advantage. It brought its arm back to the fallen man and aimed its skewers straight for his heart.

Spike tackled the demon and Buffy was already on the back of another gripping onto his neck.

* * *

James knew that he had to leave, Spike's presence was what was causing the nausea and if they interacted they would both cease to exist. But he couldn’t leave Buffy in the middle of a battle.

The fallen Polgara demon stirred as the man stood unaware of his presence. He quickly released its skewer and slowly crept behind the mortal.

James saw movement from the corner of his eye and turned in time to see the skewer aimed towards his heart. He deflected the demons arm but it was still too late. The skewer sliced into his right shoulder. It entered under his collarbone stuck out just above his shoulder blade.

James gasped in pain as the demon retracting the skewer as it growled.

It took all of his strength as he backhanded the demon, ignoring the pain the movement caused. He looked to the dumpster and saw a two-by-four sticking out of the side pile of garbage. He picked it up with his good arm and smashed the demon in the side of the head with it. The polgara demon dropped to the ground and James broke one of the skewers off of the demon’s forearm and plunged it into its heart. He turned to see Buffy and Spike finishing off the last demon. Pain shot through his shoulder as he turned back and ran down the alley. He needed to get away from himself before they both died; they were already to close.

Dreg quickly retreated before the Slayer realized that he was still there.

* * *

"You ok, Xander?" Buffy asked as Spike helped him off of the ground.

"Yeah I’m cool." Xander answered dusting himself off.

"What the hell were those?" Spike asked.

"Polgara demons. Glory must have sent them." Buffy huffed, she spun around looking for James who was nowhere in sight.

"You looking for your honey? Think he ran off." Spike told Buffy, she spun around to give him a venomous glare.

"Xander, I’m going to look for James. If you see Giles before I do, tell him what happened." With that, Buffy left the two standing there.

"Well, that was gratitude for you." Spike said as he turned to leave.

"Hey we’ve got to move these bodies." Xander yelled after Spike.

"I think not, chum." Spike replied, leaving.

* * *

James stumbled back towards his apartment. His shoulder was still bleeding and the throbbing pain was nearly unbearable. It hurt like hell but it wouldn’t kill him as long as he stopped the bleeding. He opened the door and walked toward the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head.

"It’s started." he whispered to himself.

James slowly opened the medicine cabinet, took out the first aid kit and closed it back. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Buffy standing behind him.

"Buffy!"

"James."

He stood still only looking at her through the mirror.

"Why did you…" Buffy stepped closer, looking at the small blood droplets on the floor that were beginning to create a tiny pool. She looked at his right hand, which was covered in blood. "You’re hurt!"

Buffy rushed to his side and James pulled away. "It’s not that bad."

"Like hell it’s not." Buffy said angrily, not only for his attitude, but for pulling away from her.

"I think that you should go, Buffy." He sunk his head down. He needed to do his job and he shouldn’t have done the things that he'd done for the last month. He shouldn’t have let her fall in love with him, no matter how much he wanted her. He shouldn’t even have made his presence known to her. But the chance to be near her and part of her he couldn’t resist. He should have never seen her again after the first encounter at the Bronze. But after two hundred years he just wanted to see her, to hold her, to have her near.

"What? Why?"

He looked up to see her face, broken, torn, shocked and confused. Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly looked away from him.

"Because explaining everything right now would be…" Stars passed before his eyes, he could feel himself starting to lose consciousness.

Buffy caught him before he fell. He quickly regained his focus as the faintness passed.

"I don’t care. I’m not leaving you alone." Buffy helped him into his bedroom and took off his shirt. The wound was clean through his shoulder. She could tell that it hadn't hit any bone or anything vital, but he’d lost a lot of blood and was looking quite pale. She quickly ran back into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. She walked back into the bedroom only to find James lying unconscious on the bed, his hand pressed over his wound. Buffy sat down beside him. Opening the first aid kit she gently moved his hand away and began to clean and bandage the wound.

* * *

Buffy watched him as he slept. A remote next to his bed caught her eye. She pressed the power button and watched his stereo light up. She pressed the random button, and turned up the volume on the remote, to hear a sad romantic song playing. She pressed the random button again and the next song that came on was another slow romantic one.

She watched James intently wondering what he couldn’t explain. Why he didn’t want to explain whatever it was to her. Was she destined to be heartbroken by every guy she ever fell in love with? She sighed as she stroked his hair.

* * *

He ran down the street knowing that it was too late. He felt it in his bones, in his heart. Her body lay crumpled, broken and bloodied on the cold hard concrete. He dropped to his knees as he reached her and lifted her head gently, placing it in his lap. She tried to speak but only gurgles of blood escaped her mouth. She looked at him in bewilderment as his thumb caressed her face.

He should never have listened to her. "I can handle it. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you, Spike."

She tried to talk again. "Dawn. Don’t let her get Dawn. Please protect her, and my Mom. Please protect all of…"

Her body tensed one last time and then shuddered before it relaxed. He couldn’t cry; he was too shocked. The sirens could be heard in the distance.

Her words filtered into his mind as he picked up the oddly shaped knife and walked toward the shadows of a nearby building. He watched as the police and ambulance took away her body.

* * *

He woke up and was greeted with her ever-changing eyes.

"Hey." she whispered, as she continued to stroke his hair.

"Hey," he replied. "How long have I been out?"

"Half an hour. You in pain?"

"Nothing I can't live with." James replied, slowly sitting up.

Buffy could see the conflict and utter despair in his eyes as he looked at her.

She passed him a glass of water and two aspirin. He took the medicine and set down the glass.

"Are you going to leave me?" she asked quickly. All of a sudden her throat seemed dry as she waited for a response.

The silence that followed was confirmation in her mind as tears rolled down her cheek.

"No!"

"Uh?" she looked up at him.

"I would never leave you. I just…" He looked away.

"What?" she begged him for an answer.

He turned back and felt a single tear spill down his face. She wanted him to tell her. She wanted him to trust her.

The next song started to play. They just stared at each other as they listened to the beauty of the words that played. Finally, Buffy leant forward and gently brushed her lips over his. The sensation made his whole body tingle and he knew there was no turning back. Still he forced himself to speak.

"Maybe we shouldn't…" His words trailed off as she kissed him again, this time with more passion. James was lost, he returned the kiss with equal force and at the same time he gently eased her onto the bed with him. For the first time James knew the perfect happiness that he'd heard Angel speak of, it was enough to make him insane, he was completely consumed by it.

Afterwards, as they lay in each other's arms, James reached a decision. If they were to have any sort of future together after the war had been averted, he had to be totally honest with her. He loved her too much to lie anymore. Propping himself up on one elbow he ran his fingers gently down her cheek.

"Buffy, there’s something I have to tell you."

* * *

One week later Buffy paced around the Magic Shop nervously. James said today was the day that she was supposed to die. Permanently. She had told Giles most of the story and definitely edited out the James really being Spike in the future part. That would have freaked him. Hell, it freaked her out.

She was dressed in the most sensible fighting outfit that she could think of: sneakers, a tank top and jeans. Combat clothes. she told herself.

James told her that her death meant that Glory found out about Dawn, after torturing and killing Tara. She used Dawn to open her dimension. The next Slayer, Mikita closed the portal but could only do it by sacrificing her life to save the world. Then the Hellmouth opened a year later. Giles, Willow, Anya and Xander were killed trying to close it. After the gang had died, Spike and Angel fought in the first battles together against The Sisterhood of Jhe.

But when the battle was over, most of California had been destroyed by the earthquakes that had erupted daily when the Hellmouth had opened. Most of the west coast of America, Canada and Mexico was also destroyed. The next Hellmouth in Hawaii opened, and that, according to James, was the beginning of the end. He, Angel, Cordy and Faith headed for the east coast to find the next Slayer in New York, Shoshanda, but when they found her she had already been killed in a battle against the aliens.

Yes, aliens. Through the opening of the Hellmouths they finally found our solar system and invaded. Nothing like the movies, James told her. They allied themselves with the hell gods and demons and then began to kill all the warriors for the Powers That Be. After Faith and Cordelia’s death, Angel and Spike went their separate ways. Angel went to find Slayer after Slayer and Spike moved to defend one of the few free cities left on earth, Toronto, for over a hundred and ninety years.

Spike was the last warrior to survive because he was never warrior for the Powers. He only championed against evil because of her, because it was her dying wish. The dying wish of the woman he loved whom he had failed. So he tried to rewrite his wrongs by fighting for others as she did, he went to the Powers That Be. They were about to be invaded but they made a temporal fold to change the past and sent Spike back to recreate the future.

Buffy paced as the information flooded through her head, again. She felt sick to her stomach. That all started because she wasn’t there to protect Dawn or Tara and the rest of the gang. Everything and everyone she’d ever loved would die. She turned around and ran into Spike.

"Watch where you're going, Slayer." Spike grumbled brushing past her. He grabbed a seat between Anya and Tara.

Buffy looked at him, examining his face, all of his features. For some reason she couldn’t see James in him; not just his physical attributes, but she couldn’t see a defender of good in Spike. He was selfish, cocky and revolting most of the time. But he was James and James was him. The man that James is, is in Spike. How could that be possible? The Powers That Be are screwed up. He told me that he loved me. That he’d loved me for years. He confessed all of his feelings to her, from when they started until today. She was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions as she looked at Spike.

"What the hell is your problem, Slayer?" Spike asked staring back at her. Anya and Tara looked at Buffy.

"Nothing." she replied in a small voice.

As soon as Xander and Willow walked in, Giles relayed the story that Buffy had told him.

* * *

Gasps escaped everyone's mouths except Spike’s.

"What’s this got to do with me?" Spike asked, bored.

"Everything." Buffy replied, concerned at his attitude.

"Not the way I see it. I’m vampire. Immortality. And the way you make it sound they keep the evil. Sounds like heaven to me." Spike smiled as he got up walked toward the magic shop door. She treats me like dirt for the past month, ever since her new beau showed up and then wants my help. Priceless. he smirked to himself.

"Well, it won’t be. Not even for you. Spike, I need you here with the gang. Just in case I…"

"Don’t talk like that Buffster, you’re going to kick some demon butt." Xander tried to reassure her.

Buffy smiled at him.

"Then I should go with you. Instead of staying here." Spike suggested.

"No. I’m…going with James." Buffy informed them.

"What?" Spike and Xander burst out at the same time.

"Guys, this is not the time for questions. When Buffy comes back, then we’ll talk about everything. But for now she has to go and save the world. Again." Willow tried to stop the impending explosion by Spike and Xander.

Xander and Spike both looked at each other and then resigned to sighing, backing off.

* * *

He smiled as she saw her standing in the doorway, but that smile quickly went away. Since the night he had told her the truth, nothing had been the same between them. He understood, but it didn’t hurt any less.

"What is supposed to happen? Exactly?" Buffy asked as she brought the duffel bag full of weapons into the living room.

"I don’t know the exact details. I only left the shop because I thought something was wrong…you weren’t dead when I found you, you died in my arms moments later. You were stabbed in the stomach with a poisoned knife. That’s all I know." he answered solemnly.

"In the stomach." she looked down at herself and sighed.

They left his apartment and walked in silence until they found the demon.

* * *

"Look out!" called James as Buffy narrowly dodged a swipe of the knife. The demon snarled and prepared to attack once more. It was no species Buffy had ever encountered before, and it was strong. Glory had known exactly what she was doing when she'd sent it to kill Buffy. There was no way she'd have been able to defeat it on her own, it was lucky she had James with her.

While Buffy gained her momentum, James dealt the demon a powerful kick to the chest, he'd put all his strength into it but the demon only stumbled back a couple of paces. Buffy then launched a powerful tirade of kicks and punches against the demon but again it seemed to have little effect.

"How do we kill it?" she yelled to James.

"You can't" the demon rasped. "The end of days is imminent and nothing you can do will prevent it. Your death will crown Glorificus' ascension to power and she will become unstoppable."

Buffy and James glanced at each other before launching a joint attack. Their combined force was enough to put the demon on the defensive and it was now doing its best just to block the punches, which were raining down on it.

Finally spotting an opening the demon dealt James a powerful punch, which sent him crashing into the wall behind him. He hit it hard and slumped to the floor.

Buffy took one second to glance over at James to see if he was all right and that distraction was all the demon needed. Seizing her by the throat he raised the dagger and prepared for the kill. There was nothing Buffy could do other than brace herself. Tears welled up in her eyes and she hoped that this time around James would be able to protect her friends and sister.

James sat up and saw the demon about to complete his task. No! He wouldn't let her die this time, he *would* save her. Jumping to his feet he yanked the demon off Buffy and pushed her out of the way. Buffy hit the ground hard and turned to see James dodge the knife then use the demons own momentum to imbed the knife into its chest.

Climbing to her feet Buffy walked towards James, unable to keep the smile off her face. They had won. He stood still over the demons body and then took a step back as Buffy turned him towards her. He looked at her, his eyes glazed.

"So what…" Buffy looked at his statement and glanced down. His shirt was torn and a horizontal line marred his chest. That’s when it sunk it. The knife had barely grazed him, but already she could tell that it was enough.

"Buffy!" James exclaimed weakly as he fell to the ground.

"Oh, god, no." Buffy gasped as she knelt beside him.

A thin sheen of sweat covered his face as the poison seeped into his body.

"Buffy I…" whispered James, so softly she could barely hear him.

"You are…are going…" she choked, her sentence punctuated by sobs.

"No, listen to me." he breathed heavily as he watched the tears course down her cheeks. "My time is up. But…"

"Please, don’t." she pleaded, not wanting to believe that this was really the end.

His body shuddered in pain as she cradled him in her arms.

"I am glad that the Oracles gave us this time. I don’t regret any of it. Not even this." He swallowed before continuing. He could taste his own blood on his tongue. "I’ve finally been able to fulfill your dying wish. It’s the only thing that I’ve lived for all those years. I didn’t keep Dawn safe when I should have and I have always regretted not doing it. But I have now, by keeping you alive. I…"

His body convulsed again and his eyes closed.

"James?" Buffy cried out.

His eyes fluttered open as he looked at her for the last time. He smiled as he thought it wasn’t his last time. He reached up, caressed her cheek as he stared into her eyes. He hoped that things would be different this time around.

* * *

Buffy watched as James took his final breath. His hand dropped gently to his side and the life whispered out of his body.

* * *

Spike ran. He hadn't been able to explain it to the others and he hadn't bothered trying. All he knew was that something was wrong and that he had to find Buffy.

Turning into an alley he stopped at the sight, which met his eyes. Buffy was kneeling on the floor, the body of her lover in her arms. Even from where he stood, Spike could tell that the man was dead. Hearing her desperate sobs, Spike felt the tears well up in his own eyes. If it was one thing he couldn't bear it was the sight of Buffy in pain. He wanted nothing more than to do something to make it better, but he knew that there was nothing he could say, or do to help her. He remained where he stood, not wanting to leave but not wanting to get any closer either.

Suddenly the entire alley was filled with a bright white light and Spike had to shield his eyes to prevent himself from being blinded. When the light was gone Spike saw that Buffy was now alone, the body that had been in her arms was gone.

* * *

Buffy held James close to her, knowing that he was gone but not wanting to let go. She wondered if whoever had sent him back in time had known this was going to happen, that in order to save the world she would have to give up the man she loved. Again. With a feeling of despair, she realized that she'd never told him that she loved him. It had been every day implied but never spoken. Now it was too late.

At that point, a white light engulfed James’ entire body and she heard a voice gently whisper to her, so softly it was almost inaudible.

"It's not too late, Buffy. Remember, a part of me will always be with you."

Buffy looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"James?" she called hopefully, but there was no response. The light faded and Buffy realized that she was now alone. Burying her face in her hands she began to sob once more. After a minute she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, holding her.

Spike was torn between leaving Buffy to grieve in private, and doing something about it. Seeing her bury her face in her hands and her body shaking with sobs, he knew that he had to do something. Walking over, he knelt down beside her, when she didn't even look up he wrapped his arms around her and held her, rocking her slightly in a desperate attempt to soothe her.

After a moment, Buffy looked up to find Spike gazing down at her with tear filled eyes. All at once she saw what she had been unable to see in the past, James. The love and the pain of Spike's statement matched James' almost exactly. This had been what the voice was telling her. They had been given another chance. Burying her face in his chest she continued to cry while Spike gently stroked her hair, just being there for her when she needed him. Nothing from the past mattered. Harsh words and cruelty was forgotten in this once instant. All that mattered was now, and the possibility of the future.

* * *

Buffy walked inside her house slowly and went immediately to shower. Her face was tearstained and she looked as tired as she felt. Her mother and Dawn were fast asleep as she crept into her room. On he bed was a large package. She wiped the single tear that ran down her face as she read the note her mother left,

‘That nice young man, James came by this evening and left this for you.’

Buffy eyes clouded with tears as she opened the box. Inside was a framed photo of the two of them that Joyce had taken when James first came to meet her. The picture was blown up to an eight by ten and in gold italics printed at the bottom of the picture were the words 'Buffy and James, Love knows no time'. She was glad that it was framed because her tears would have ruined the picture.

She took it out of the box and saw a CD shining as the moonlight glimmered on it. She put it into her CD player, her hands trembling as she closed it, and pressed play.

The last item in the box was the brown linen sweater he wore the first time they met. A week later she’d picked it out of his closet one day and had worn it to school. It was way too large for her but she loved it. She wiped her face again and slipped on the sweater. She sat on the bed and set down the box. That’s when she saw the piece of pastel blue paper at the bottom. She felt as if she was having a heart attack as she read the beautiful lines.

The song finally started to play. She curled into a ball of pain as she listened to the song that they made love to the first time, the last time, the only time.

It still feels like our first night together
Feels like the first kiss
It’s getting better baby
No one can better this
You’re still holding on, you’re still the one
The first time our eyes meet
The same feeling I get.
Only feels much stronger
I wanna love you longer
You still turn the fire on

So if you’re feeling lonely don’t
Cause you’re the only one I’ll ever want
I only wanna make it good
So if I love you a little more than I should

Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you
Don’t deny me this pain I’m going through
Please forgive me, I need you like I do
Please believe me every word I say is true
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you

Still feels like our best times are together
Feels like the first touch
Still getting closer baby
Can’t get close enough
Still holding on, you’re still number one

I remember the smell of your skin
I remember everything
I remember all your moves
I remember you, yeah
I remember the nights you know I still do

So if you’re feeling lonely don’t
Cause you’re the only one I’ll ever want
I only wanna make it good
So if I love you a little more than I should

Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you
Don’t deny me this pain I’m going through
Please forgive me, I need you like I do
Oh believe me every word I say is true
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you

The one thing I’m sure of,
Is the way we make love
The one thing I can depend on
Is for us to stay strong
With every word and every breath
I’m praying, is why I’m saying

Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you
Don’t deny me this pain I’m going through
Please forgive me, I need you like I do
Babe, believe me every word I say is true
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you
Babe believe that I don’t know not what I do
Please forgive, I can’t stop loving you
Can’t stop
Loving you