Disclaimer: I own no one, most especially the characters in this story. I'm merely borrowing them and putting them through the proverbial blender I call story.

**************************************

June 19, 2001

"What do you mean, something horrible?" Spike asked. Xander shook his head.

"It's just a feeling...I don't know."

"Xander shows up out of nowhere and the two of you are talking complete nonsense...I still say that Cordelia's done something bad here," Buffy said stubbornly. Angel rolled his eyes as Willow sighed.

"I don't think so...there's something about my memories, something that doesn't feel right. Don't you feel it?" Willow's brow furrowed, as if almost capturing a memory. Xander leaned in closer to her, his eyes encouraging. She looked up at him and gasped. "Xander...you're alive!"

"We covered that ground just a second ago, Will," Xander replied in confusion. He looked up at the murderous glares of Buffy and Angel, and at the shocked looks of the others. Spike's face showed a dawning understanding.

"C'mon, Harris, let's get you out of here before they kill you. You're wasting your breath." Xander instinctively went to protest, but remembering how he had just been punched and thrown a few minutes earlier he hastened to run out the door with Spike at his heels. Spike called out to him after a few minutes. "Harris, here. We'll take me car." Xander turned and saw Spike standing next to a shiny black car of the hovering variety he had seen earlier, windows tinted beyond black. He stared at it dumbfounded, but climbed in. Punk rock music blasted inside as Spike took off, but after a look of abject misery from Xander he turned it off.

"Thank you. My head is only barely attached right now." Xander made every effort to ignore the speed with which they were traveling. The view out the window was blurry, so instead he concentrated on looking at his unlikely partner. "I don't get why you're not affected by whatever's going on here. I mean, apparently I've changed time somehow." Spike shook his head.

"That's just it. I'm betting you haven't, not really." He paused and lit a cigarette, looking at it in amusement. "It's a good thing I've got money now, 'cause these things are worth more than this car. But I can't seem to give them up. Funny, huh?" A thought occurred to him and he brightened. "Hey, you don't suppose...nope, never mind. Geez, Harris, if you had to change your future, you couldn't drop the price of cigarettes?"

"Wait, you just said I haven't changed the future, and now you say I have." Xander cradled his aching head in his hands.

"Okay, it's like this, see. Being a vampire seems to make me immune from some spells. I think it's because I'm dead, but I don't really know. Don't specially care, either. I wasn't aware that things had changed at all until I entered that screwy house. But now I can remember the changed future too...it's like a second set of memories, or something. Only the real memories feel more real to me, the fake stuff feels like some kind of dream I had. I'm happy to say I'm filthy rich in both realities, so kudos to you for not screwing that up for me."

"Okay...I think that clears it up, or maybe I'm just too tired to care. I only have one other question." Spike smirked at his companion as he continued to careen down the highway.

"Only one?"

"For right now...Spike, what do we do now?" The silence that greeted the question didn't surprise Xander. "That's what I thought...you don't know either."

***************************

December 9, 2000

Buffy felt the wrongness before it became apparent to the others. She had spent years honing her ‘spidey sense’; she could feel trouble practically hanging in the air. Something very bad was happening. They could all see the swarm of doctors, nurses and security guards running towards the direction of ICU. Buffy knew that the bad something she was sensing involved Xander. From the grim expressions on the faces around her she knew the others had reached the same conclusion. Fear gripped Buffy but she struggled not to let the others know. When she turned to Giles, all that showed on her face was determination.

"I've got to get out of here, Giles. There's badness going on here...I've got to find out what's the what." Buffy nearly fainted from surprise at his response.

"Yes, you're right. The question is how."

"I have an idea," Tara said, so quietly that at first no one reacted. Almost as one they turned in her direction and stared expectantly. She blushed to her roots at the sudden attention, and Willow squeezed her arm encouragingly.

"What is it, Tara?" Willow asked.

"The translocation spell," Tara murmured. At their horrified expressions, she hastened to continue. "Willow and I modified the spell for Glory, that's why it was so out of control."

"That's right," Willow chimed in excitedly. "I was trying to get Glory as far away from us as possible. To move Buffy within the hospital...that's easy for the two of us. No nosebleed easy."

"Well, I'm not sure it's really that simple," Tara corrected gently. "The heavier the object, the harder it is to do the spell."

"Tara, are you saying I'm fat?" Buffy asked half-jokingly. She waved off Tara’s stammered protestations, giving the idea full consideration. It sounded risky, but it also seemed to be the best plan they had at this point. Buffy trusted her friends. And she had to get to Xander now. "Willow, can you send me to Xander's room?"

"Yes."

"Then I say let's do it. I get a feeling we're on the clock here, you know?" Willow and Tara nodded and stepped aside to prepare. Buffy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was a bit nervous about letting a spell be cast on her, but a bigger part of her was just happy to be doing something. She opened her eyes when she felt a tug on her sleeve. She was surprised to see Anya tearfully clutching her arm.

"When you see Xander, tell him I love him." Buffy nodded, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"I will, Anya. But he already knows." Buffy pulled the former demon into a hug. It felt strange for a second, then it felt pretty good. Bittersweet. She knew that Xander would be happy if he could see his friends embracing his girlfriend. He should have been there to see it.

“Are you ready, Buffy?” Tara’s question caused Anya to let go, and Buffy looked at Giles and Dawn for a moment. Dawn looked petrified, and Giles polished his glasses gravely.

“Tara, Willow, are you both quite certain you can do this?” Giles asked quietly. Willow and Tara exchanged glances, then smiled and nodded.

“Tara’s right,” Willow said, “it’s not as easy as I made it sound earlier, but we can do it.”

Buffy walked over to the witches then paused uncertainly.

“What do I do?”

“Just stay where you are, Buffy. This will only take a few seconds.” Willow and Tara began chanting the spell under their breath, and after a few moments they tossed the glittery powder on Buffy. Willow clapped her hands and said “Transfere.” Buffy heard Dawn’s gasp as she disappeared...

...only reappear an instant later in Xander’s room. The spell had definitely worked. There was just one small problem: she was hovering about five feet over Xander’s bed. She only had time to give a quick yell as she plummeted, executing a quick tuck in the air so as to avoid landing on her friend. She landed on her feet by the bed and froze in shock. The bed was empty. No Xander.

“What the-”

“Don’t move!” A very jittery doctor and a paunchy security guard both blundered into the room, blocking the only means of escape. Buffy was too upset about Xander to care about how much trouble she was in now.

“Where’s my friend?” she asked sharply. The two men exchanged bewildered looks.

“How did you get in here?” The guard countered.

“I asked first.” She heard a gasp and knew that the doctor had recognized her. It was all she could do to suppress a groan.

“She’s one of the people we put in quarantine. There’s no way she could have gotten past the guards and the medical staff...what are you people, magicians or something?”

“Or something...look, are you going to tell me what happened to Xander Harris?” The doctor shrugged, scratching his balding head.

“Damned if we know. He’s disappeared. If you have any idea where he might be, you’ve got to tell us. He needs to be in the hospital, and if what he has is contagious, there might be an epidemic that we won’t be able to stop.”

***************************

As he passed the sign saying he was leaving Sunnydale City Limits, Ben drove faster than he had ever dared before. He only spared short sideways glances at his passenger. He spoke to the unconscious man even though he knew he was beyond hearing. He spoke because it made him feel a little less nervous. And because his guilt over what he was about to do drove him to explain.

“I don’t know why they were after you, but it must mean Glory’s involved in this somehow. I can’t let her start a plague; you understand that, right? Whatever it is she’s done to you, it’s got to end with you. I don’t really want to kill you, I think you’re a great guy, but it’s for the greater good. I can’t let Glory get her hands on you...so that means I’m going to have to take care of this quickly, before she comes back. We’re almost to the lake now. Just a few more minutes and it will be over.”

His passenger moaned and to Ben’s shock, actually regained consciousness. Ben laughed almost hysterically.

“Xander...hey, buddy, I didn’t really expect you to wake up. Look, you’re very sick, so try not to move, okay? I’m taking you somewhere you can get help.” Xander opened his eyes, though they still lacked focus. He spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Ben.”

“Yes, that’s right, it’s Ben.”

“Dead.” Ben took this for a question.

“Xander, you’re not dead.”

“You.” He leaned towards Ben, who reached with one hand and pushed the feverish man back into his seat.

“You just need to relax, okay? We’re almost there.”

“No. Stopped. You.” Ben frowned. Xander was obviously delirious. He had just begun to cross the bridge. When he stopped he would give Xander a little dose of Seconal before sending him into the lake. He didn’t want the poor young man to suffer. No sooner had Ben completed this thought then Xander suddenly grabbed the steering wheel with surprising strength. As Ben tried desperately to regain control, the car careened off of the bridge. Ben screamed as his car plunged into the water below.

***************************