Disclaimer: All Hail Joss, god of the Buffyverse

Buffy puttered around her rooms for the rest of the two hours, opening drawers, going through her stuff. She even found a couple of uniforms. And most importantly she discovered the food maker thing. Buffy set a plate of Jelly doughnuts on her coffee table just as there was a chirp from her door way.

“It’s unlocked.” said Buffy standing in the middle of her living room.

In walked Xander followed closely by Anya. Buffy had never been happier to see them in all her life.

“Xander!” cried Buffy as she launched herself into his arms, earning a look from Anya.

“Buff! I haven’t seen you in maybe 12 hours, you can’t have missed me that much.”

“Oh Xander, something’s horribly, horribly wrong.”

“With the program, ya, you told me. Don’t worry, I’m sure he will fix everything before he sends it to the publishers.”

“The what, by the who, to the what?”

Anya began to peel Buffy off of Xander.

“Buffy, you are infringing upon Xander’s personal space.”

“The holonovel, that Spike wrote.”

“Spike? Wait, Holo-something, I was there, I woke up there.”

“You woke up in the Holodeck, was the program that boring?”

“That’s the word, Holodeck. I jumped, and I woke up in the grid looking room.”

“Are you feeling Ok Buff? You seem, well out of it.”

“No! I’m not ok Xander! Not too long ago I jumped to my death to save my sister from being used as a hell gods key and now I’m stuck in some sci fi freaky hell dimension of my own. I thought I was going to die. I was hoping, heaven, eternal rest, something like that, not a Star trek convention!!!!!!”

“She’s crazy.” said Anya with a huff. The woman sat down on the couch and picked up a doughnut.

“Whoa, back up, that all sounds like parts of the program, I mean I haven’t run the last one, but Dawn being the key, that was in the last instalment I ran. Ahn?”

“This is the program in which I’m some sort of ex vengeance demon, instead of the lovable half Bajoran I am?”

“Yes,”

“I haven’t run any of the programs since that time I found out I, well the demon me, dated a Troll.”

“Olaf” said Buffy

“Yes! Imagine Spike making my ex boyfriend into a Troll. Yes he does demolition for a living, but he isn’t a Troll, he was Klingon!”

“Ahn!”

“Xander, I don’t remember it being a Holo-whatsit. That was my life! I don’t remember any of this!”

“Any of what?” he asked

“This!” Buffy showed them her personnel file. “This isn’t my life Xander, I’m supposed to be in Sunnydale, Being the Slayer, looking after Dawn.”

Xander took her hands and led her to a chair.

“Buff, I don’t know what’s happened, but all that stuff about being the Slayer is all part of a Holonovel series. None of it is real.”

“Then how come all of you are all here too? You, Anya, Giles, Riley, Dawn, even my Dad?” “Spike bases his characters on us, always has. Since he started writing the damn things, when we were in High school. Thank god he changes the names before he sends it to the publishers or else Riley and Angel would sue him for slander.”

“And that wouldn’t be wise, as Angel is a lawyer. He’s gonna be president someday you know.” supplied Anya.

“So everyone that I remember is here?”

“Yep”

“Willow?”

“Scientist at the Daystrom Institute, lives in Cornwall,”

“Is she a witch?”

“Practicing Wicca, yes, actual magic, like the program, no.”

“Dawn, it said she lived in Oxford.”

“Yep, she’s in her 3rd year, studying languages. Giles said he always knew she would do well there.”

“Giles?”

“Professor at the academy, your Godfather, Buffy.”

“Tara?”

“She lives with Willow, I don’t know exactly what she does, Meditates, teaches about Spirituality...Willow explained it to me once..”

“Angel?”

“An ex Boyfriend of yours, met you while you were in High school, he was in university, pre law. When you decided to go to the academy he told you to take a hike, wanted a woman at home to support him and have his babies.”

“Not a Vampire?“

“No”

“Riley?”

“Ok, last boyfriend, ex boyfriend , Met him at the academy, tried the long distance thing for a long time, didn’t help that you didn’t know where he was, covert ops and all. Last year, he wanted you to request reassignment to Earth, so that you could be with him during his desk job.”

Buffy Exhaled, “Ok, so what about Spike?”

“Spike, or William Benton, Holo novelist extraordinaire. Friends since High School, He lived next door to you in Sunnydale. He’s like one of your best friends. And no he‘s not a vampire either. He wrote the program: Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

Buffy stood up.

“So what you are telling me is that everything I remember is part of some sort of role playing game thing? That my life as I remember is a bunch of crap that Spike made up?”

“Not entirely, it’s based on our lives Buffy. Your break up with Angel, your break up with Riley, it’s all in there. Your Mom dying, your dad never being there for you, the time you ran away from home because Angel left you the first time.”

“So you and Anya are together here?”

“Oh yes!” said Anya, enjoying that the conversation was back on her. “And I completely enjoy currency. I have quite the horde of latinum you know.”

“We know Ahn, The important thing here is to get back your memories and find out how it happened. I think we need to get you to Sick Bay.”

“Oh, no, Buffy and Hospitals don’t mix.”

“Yes! lets go to Sick Bay, we can ogle Dr Bashir.”

“Anya!”

“What? He’s a very good looking man. Many of the female officers wish that he was not in a committed relationship. It’s too bad he’s only here for a year.”

“Anya! not helping!”

Buffy was practically pushed into Sick Bay. All around her were blinking and flashing panels, beds with displays and weird gizmos.

Xander calmly explained to the very handsome Doctor Bashir, who started pointing things at her, what exactly the reason for bringing Buffy. Buffy lurched back away from the device.

“It’s not going to hurt you, Lt.” said the Doctor calmly, “There is definitely a neuro-chemical imbalance here. Looks like some trauma to the hippo campus as well. Do you remember being attacked, or falling?”

“Both” said Buffy truthfully. The Doctor gave her a look.

“You ran the program with the safeties off?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind... You will required surgery Lt. Lie Down.”

Buffy gave Xander a frightened look.

“Don’t worry Buffy I’ll be right here.” said Xander.

Buffy cautiously lay down on the bed before her. She didn’t like hospitals. And this Doctor guy was going to cut open her brain!

“All done” Said the Doctor from behind her. “Huh?” There was no nastiness, no drugs, no cutting open her head.

“Buffy, we prefer actual language that can be translated by the universal translator” said Anya.

“You can’t be done, I thought you were going to cut open my head?”

“Ah, yes, this program takes place in the 21st century...where you would assume I would have cut open your head. Right, now I recommend bed rest, for at least 12 hours. Come see me tomorrow morning and we’ll see if we need to do anything else.”

Buffy stared at the Doctor for a minute.

“Thanks Doc.” said Xander, grabbing Buffy by the elbow.

“And Buffy, when I say bed rest, I mean bed rest. If I find out you aren’t following my instructions, I’ll confine you here where I can keep an eye on you.” said the Doctor in a friendly way.

Xander ushered Buffy into the corridor, followed by Anya.

Buffy woke up hours later to hear shouting coming from her living room. Picking up Mr Gordo, Buffy stalked into the hallway between her bedroom and the living room only to see Xander shouting at her computer.

“She jumped off the tower you moron, it was part of the program. And thanks to you, she thinks that that is what her life is supposed to be like!”

“Look I’m sorry that she got hurt, you know I am Whelp, But she’s the one running it with out the safety protocols on. Her memory will come back.”

“What if it doesn’t Spike? Her career will be over. You know how important that is to her.”

“Yes, I bloody well know how important her career is to her. Of course I know, I love her.”

“You know, now that you’ve killed the slayer off, you could take a break from your career and come visit her. “

“Have already booked my transport Whelp.”

“Xander?” said Buffy quietly, “Why are you being nice to Spike?”

Xander turned around at her voice.

“Buff, you are awake. Spike is a friend Buffy, remember, not a vampire. He wrote himself to be the bad guy.”

“Right, a bad guy who can’t eat people anymore. A neutered vampire, with no more evilness than a carebear with fangs.”

“That’s right Slayer,” said Spike from the screen. “But I’m your Carebear with Fangs, looking after the Nibblet and all.”

“Is Dawn alright?”

“She’s fine, luv, studying for her finals.”

“No, My Dawn...I mean in the story”

“Yes, Buffy, you saved her. You saved the world, again.”

Buffy smiled.

“Buff? Why aren’t you asleep?” asked Xander.

“Cause someone was yelling, you prat,” answered Spike.

Xander rolled his eyes, and stood up. “Buff, you need rest, just like Dr Bashir said.”

“I’m fine Xander! Julian seems to think that my memory is going to come back over night, I think he’s full of himself. Frankly it’s just a little hard to believe this story crap anyway.” Buffy started to pace.

“Cause the pacing...that’s much better for your broken brain.”

“Pet? Buffy?” came Spike’s voice from the screen. “Who is Julian?”

“Julian? Doctor Bashir, Why?”

“Who told you his first name was Julian?”

Buffy stared blankly at Spike “...I just knew.” she whispered.

“That’s great Buffster! You don’t happen to remember anything else?” asked Xander excitedly

“Oy! Whelp! leave her alone, she doesn’t need you prattling on and asking her fool questions.”

Buffy gave Spike a grateful smile.

“I’m going back to bed, try to keep it down in here will you?” Buffy asked Xander.

“Goodnight Goldilocks” came from the screen.

Buffy walked back into her bedroom and sat on her bed. This was far too weird. She didn’t remember this life. This could be some weird dimension, or a trick some Witch was playing with her mind. The problem was, that she liked this life, as weird as it was. Sure it was futuristic and intensely weird, but she had a job she loved and was good at, apparently, she had friends and family and she wasn’t risking her life everyday to save the world from hell gods and demons. Buffy lay down on her bed and pulled her covers up over her. In this world Angel and Spike were human...and Angel had left her anyway.

“I miss mom” she whispered into the darkness.

tbc...