Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series and all the characters that appear on the show are the exclusive property of Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, The WB, UPN, Mutant Enemy, Inc. and any one else with a legal binding claim to the shows and/or characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

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OUTSIDE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Faith felt herself lifted in the air and hurtled backwards. She marveled at the lack of pain. Unlike when the first energy ball had grazed her, this time there was no burning or nausea, just the feeling of flight. She supposed this was what death was like: big scary build-up, and then the show was really nothing. Then she heard frustrated screams and gunshots. Her eyes flew open and she realized why her feet had not yet hit the ground.

"Angel?" The vampire adjusted his grip, moving soundlessly through the prison corridor.

"Don't talk. I'm getting you out of here."

"What?" Faith gasped. She honestly hadn't believed that she'd heard him right. She knew they were in danger from the crazy Slayer and Watcher wannabes, but the thought of actually making a jailbreak hadn't even occurred to her. Angel actually picked up speed as he confirmed it.

"Out of here. Now. You and me."

Faith wanted to say more but the expression on Angel's face caused he to shut her mouth instead.

"Hang on!" was all he said before leaping out the window. She had the stomach lurching sensation of freefall before they landed with a jarring jolt. Faith now heard shots dinging off of the prison walls and buried her face in his shoulder, a second before his hand moved to protect her head there. She could feel him building up speed and instinctively braced herself. A moment later glass shattered all around her as the high-pitched sirens of alarms and the ping of sniper's bullets filled her ears. Angel grunted once, then again, but his pace never slowed. Faith had the sensation of flying again, then she heard the crunch of pine needles and leaves replace the sound of feet hitting pavement. Angel didn't stop running until he reached a clearing. As he gently set her down, Faith was shocked to see that his car was parked there.

"You planned this?" she said. Angel shrugged and winced, and she realized that at least one of those bullets had found a home.

"I knew you were in trouble. I knew I probably had to get you out to save you...and I know we have to get out of L.A."

"No arguments...but where can we go? These people want me dead, Angel. They're not gonna give up."

"We go to people we can trust," Angel said slowly, and Faith shook her head.

"No, Angel. No! Not Sunnydale! I can't..."

"We have to Faith. There's nowhere else...at least in Sunnydale we stand a chance!" Angel wrenched open the car door as Faith reached tentatively for his shoulder.

"Get in," Angel growled.

"Angel, you're hurt, let me-"

"There's no time, Faith. We've got to go now!"

Without further protest Faith fell into the car, immediately ducking down to the floor. Angel climbed into the driver's seat with a grimace and took off, tires squealing. He pulled something from his pocket and dropped it on the passenger seat.

"Dial the office. Speed dial 1. Tell Wesley what's happened, and where we're going. Have him call Giles...and then tell them to clear out. The cops will be looking for us. Tell them to meet us in Sunnydale."

"Great. A party...and I think I can guess who'll be bringing the favors." Faith felt a hand on the side of her face and looked up at the face of her vampire companion, noting that he hadn't taken his eyes off of the road. Nevertheless, the next words were spoken with so much sincerity that she still felt like his eyes were probing her soul

"I won't let the Watchers destroy you, Faith. I give you my word."

"Not that I don't believe you Angel, but I don't see how you can stop them. Especially now that they'll have the law on their side. Nothing to stop them killing an escaped con, couldn't be easier."

Angel opened his mouth to say something comforting, then closed it. Faith was right; they were officially out of the frying pan.

And the road block up ahead was the fire.

*********

DESTINY, MAINE

"You're right. Koy said I should kill you if I have to," Tampa confirmed. An unnervingly cold smile found its way onto Lydia's face as she stared down the demon holding the pistol directly facing her heart.

"What? He never...that's not true! Tampa, have you gone mad?" Tricia sputtered.

"She's not taking him anywhere, Tricia. I promise you. Alright, you, you hand Matthew back to his mother...very gently, if you please."

"Put the gun down, Tampa. Please, you're frightening Matthew," Tricia protested again. The last was said uncertainly, as Matthew was smiling up at Lydia and seemed completely unaware of the gun pointed in his direction.

"Matthew is in danger, Tricia. Don't you get it?" Tricia asked, her voice rising incredulously.

"My friend would never hurt my son," Tricia said, never losing eye contact with Lydia. Lydia's gaze softened, and she smiled faintly at her friend, who nodded solemnly in reply.

"How do you know she's your friend? You haven't seen her in years, she shows up out of the blue. Why is it so hard for you to believe your own sister-in-law over a near stranger?"

"Look at Matthew."

Tricia's simple statement called both of their attention to the way Matthew was reaching for Lydia's hand. The former Watcher took it in her own and smiled down at the boy.

"I don't pretend to understand what is going on here, Trish. But I can say with utter certainty that I have no intention of harming your son in any way."

"She's lying," Tampa said weakly.

"No, she's not," Koy said, appearing from behind his sister and wife. Both of them gaped at him as he quickly took the gun from Tampa's unresisting hand. "I was wrong. I'm sorry." His eyes locked on Lydia's. "I've had another vision...I see things much clearer now."

*The rain is gone,* Lydia thought dizzily. His next words shocked her to her soul.

"Lydia. Please. I need you to promise me you'll protect my son." A strange hum filled the air with his words, and he grabbed hold of his wife, closing his eyes.

"Koy?" Tricia asked faintly.

"I'm so sorry," her husband responded, hugging her to him. She never heard his words. They were drowned out by the explosion.

*********

SUNNYDALE, CA

"Any change?" Xander asked softly as he entered Willow's room with two steaming cups of hospital coffee, which had been determined to be vile but nontoxic. He handed one to Tara, who grasped it with her good hand with a smile of gratitude. The smile quickly faded as she looked back at her unconscious lover.

"Nothing. It's like she's not really here," Tara replied, blinking back fresh tears. She kept thinking she was all cried out, but thinking about Willow possibly...Tara stopped the thought before it could fully form. Life without Willow in it was simply inconceivable.

"She's gonna wake up, Tara. Any second now," Xander said, hoping he sounded more confident then he felt.

"I...I know," Tara said, bringing the cup to her lips with shaking hands.

They sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the still form on the bed. It was almost possible to believe that she was just sleeping, but both of them knew that Willow never slept so still.

"Willow's so strong. The doctors don't know..." Xander began. It was a familiar conversation, but they both found it strangely comforting.

"They said they can't...they said it was up to her. And y-you know Will, if it's up to her..." Tara said with desperate optimism. Xander stood and put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"I know."

"How's Giles?" Tara asked, wanting to think about something else, if only for a moment.

"I just called. He sighed a lot about being fussed over, which I'm taking as a sign he's fine," Xander said, wandering back over to his chair and picking up his now cold coffee.

"What happened to Giles?"

At first neither one of them reacted to the origin of the sleepy question.

"You know, the usual concuss...Will?" At first there was no response. Xander had begun to think they had imagined hearing the question when the redhead moaned as her eyes fluttered open.

"Oh my God, Willow!" Tara cried, gently showering Willow with kisses while grabbing hold of her girlfriend's hand. The redhead smiled back at her fuzzily.

"Hey baby. You okay?"

"Now. I am now. Oh, Will," Tara sobbed, overcome with relief.

"I'll get the doctor," Xander said, smiling down at both of the women and feeling another twinge of déjà vu as he ran from the room.

"Tara, I need to-" Willow struggled to sit up, grimacing when she pulled against some of her stitches. Tara easily pushed her back onto the pillows, stroking her forehead gently in a way that she knew from experience would calm the redhead. Willow closed her eyes and sighed.

"You don't need to do anything except rest and get better."

"No, I can't...there's no time. I can't go back to sleep...we have to help her...call Giles..." Willow protested faintly, her eyes fluttering back open determinedly.

"Help her who?" Tara asked curiously. Willow grabbed her hand with surprising strength.

"Buffy."

*********

DREAMING PLANES

"I feel someone else. I think It feels different..." Buffy said, startling Aldric. They were the first words she had spoken since Willow had vanished from the Dreaming Planes. He had been staring at her worried face, lost in his own concerns. One of the reasons he had never really been active Watcher material was his ingrained impulse to protect and shelter others, whether they needed it or not. Even knowing that Buffy was the Slayer couldn't overcome that urge.

"Can you pinpoint, like I showed you?" he asked, and she nodded, closing her eyes briefly.

"Yes...yes, I've got it!"

"Okay, where..." Aldric began, trailing off as Buffy broke into another run. He sighed. "Never mind, I'll just follow you, like a faithful puppy." He had to run to keep up with her again, but then she stopped so suddenly that he almost plowed into her back. "Sorry," he murmured, but she did not even seem to realize he was there, staring as she was at a man kneeling as if in prayer. Unlike with Willow, the area surrounding him looked just like the field where Buffy and Aldric were standing.

"Why no bubble?"

"It's there, just not visible," Aldric said, squinting at the man, whose blonde head was strangely familiar. Aldric blinked in shock. "Dear Lord. Is that who I think it is?"

Buffy sighed. "It is if you think it's Spike."

"William the Bloody? You could sense...you've made friends with a vampire?" Aldric sputtered. Buffy colored briefly, but then cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Your sister merged minds with him, Mr. Pot."

"Point taken, but still...you are a Slayer."

"I know...but Spike is different. He can't kill, you know. And he's been very...helpful," Buffy said, a vision of Spike hugging Xander flashing through her mind and making her falter. "You told me yourself, he saved the lives of all my friends."

"He's still evil," Aldric grunted stubbornly.

"I need to bring up the sister thing again?" Buffy drawled, her eyes reflecting both annoyance and amusement. Aldric reddened and she laughed.

"Yes, well..."

"Well nothing. We have a message, and he's as good a messenger as anyone. Better, in fact, because he already knows the bit about Lydia and all that stuff that I didn't know and still kind of wish I didn't." At Aldric's puzzled frown, she added, "There was a lot of hugging. Hugging of Spike. Spike hugging. It's weird."

"Yes, I imagine so," Aldric answered noncommittally. They both watched the vampire in silence for a moment.

"So...is this gonna be the same as with Willow or what?" Buffy asked, taking a deep breath and beginning to put her game face on. This business was so different than slaying; harder in some ways.

"It shouldn't be appreciably different," Aldric conceded. "Although to the best of my knowledge no one has ever entered a vampire's dream before. They rarely show up on one's list of friends."

"Well, color me a trendsetter," Buffy said drolly, closing her eyes and adjusting her breathing. She cleared her mind and stepped forward...and found herself standing next to Spike, looking down at her own body. Buffy shivered. She had a flash of memory of having seen herself in just this way shortly before finding herself on the Dreaming Plains. It was creepy, especially because the eyes of the dead Buffy were open in an unseeing stare. She looked at Spike, prostrate before the body and felt instantly uncomfortable. She didn't want to see the vampire this way.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, her tone a bit sharper than she'd intended. He looked up at her in resignation.

"Come to tell me how I failed you, pet? Come to tell me you wish you'd staked me when you had the chance?" Spike asked. His flat hopeless tone made Buffy shiver.

"You didn't fail me, Spike. I'd say the opposite. I should be thanking you."

"What?" Spike blinked. This was a first; the Buffy of his dreams always brought him down, although occasionally there was kissing, or...other kinds of contact intermingled with the browbeating and eventual slaying.

"I know what you did. You saved them, Spike. You saved my friends and you never even told me. I just...I had no idea. Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you, pet. You know that I do. I have ever since..."

Buffy frowned at Spike's aposiopetic moment, then glowered when he started laughing derisively. He looked at her and shook his head, then turned away, talking to himself.

"That's brilliant, Spike. What a lovely twist this is. You have the Slayer come to you all sweet and thankful, do the nasty and then she dies again, is that it? You unbelievable wanker." He was jarred out of his self-reproach by a sudden blow. His dream self landed on his back and looked up at the Slayer in shock. Hands on hips, she stared down at him angrily.

"I so don't have time for this. I need you to shut up and listen, Spike."

"Th-that felt real," he sputtered. "I never feel the blows-"

"That's because I'm real," Buffy snapped, cutting him off. "I'm really the real Buffy. And I need your help."

***********

Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long! Real life is such a pain sometimes, but I promise you I'm still hard at work on this.