Summery: The scoobies show up!

Disclaimer: They belong to Joss, well most of them, the rest belong to Gene (Roddenbury)

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Feeling self conscious, Buffy followed the blinking wall panels down corridors and on a turbolift and down some more corridors, at last reaching a room entitled ‘Transporter room 3.’ Plunging ahead Buffy entered to find the Captain, Deanna, Julian, Xander and Anya staring at an empty platform.

“Oh good, Buffy’s here...Er...Lt Summers is here. What took you so long?” asked Anya.

“I had to find my way here on my own, I think the computer made me walk down the same hallway twice.” moaned Buffy.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Captain snicker. “I am glad that you could make it Lt. It would be a shame to have to tell the Admiral that we lost his Goddaughter somewhere between deck 6 and the transporter room.” The Captain smiled. “Ensign, you can beam them over now” the Captain ordered the transporter controller.

Buffy screeched as shimmers of light filled the area on the platform in front of them. As the light dissipated, the platform now held the living breathing bodies of her family. Her eyes passed over them all, but came to rest on the slender brunette at the back of the group.

“Dawnie!” Buffy cried and raced to envelope her sister in a hug.

“Oxygen becoming an issue,” mumbled Dawn.

“Right sorry” Buffy released her hold on Dawn and looked for her next hug victim, Giles.

Unfortunately Giles was right in the middle of greeting the captain. It didn’t seem to phase him at all. The Admiral merely looked down at the Blond hugging him before continuing with what he was saying to Captain Riker.

“I trust that our visit will not delay your mission. All of us, with the exception of Captain Summers will be remaining until Lt Summers is well again.” said Giles.

“Not a problem Admiral, I just want my security chief healthy again as well,” agreed the Captain.

With that Giles turned his attention to the blond still hanging on to his torso.

“Buffy?... Buffy?...Elizabeth Anne!” half shouted Giles.

Buffy released Giles and stepped back, “Sorry” she mumbled, “it’s so good to see you...Admiral, Sir” she said the last part as if she had suddenly remembered that he was an Admiral and she was a lowly Lt.

“No harm, go greet your father, he has to be away again directly.”

Buffy turned and looked at her father, standing to Giles’ right. “Dad” Buffy awkwardly hugged her father and stepped back again.

“Right, then off you go,” came Spike’s wonderfully lyrical voice. Suddenly everyone in the room was looking incredulously at Spike. “What? I’m not in your fool Starfleet, the wanker can go back to his ship and toss off for all I care.”

“This Wanker, just happens to command the ship that got you here boy,” responded Hank.

“Who was ordered to do so by my uncle the admiral” said Spike with a gleeful smile, “to get to your daughter I might add, who clearly doesn’t want you here!”

“Spike!” shouted Buffy, “That is enough!”

Amazingly enough Spike shut up. And amazingly enough It seemed that the Captain, Deanna, Julian and the Transporter chief had cleared out. Xander was now at the controls, waiting for the go ahead to get Hank back to his ship.

“Dawn, you will keep me informed about Buffy’s progress?” her father asked.

Dawn nodded.

“And don’t spend too much time here, you have to get back for your exams eventually.”

“Yes, Dad.”

And Buffy was happy. Here they all were, her family, ready to solve yet another mystery. She had given each one of them hugs (even Spike...once and it only lasted for a microsecond)

“K so here’s the sitch, I don’t belong here. I’m not this reality’s Buffy. I don’t remember a thing about being in Starfleet or the 24th century or anything. I’m the Slayer, pure and simple, I fight Demons, not aliens. I jumped off the tower to save Dawn, to save the world, and if I’m not dead, I have to find away to go back there.”

It was as if there should be background sound effects of crickets chirping in the background.

“This is what comes of running programs with the safeties off!” chastised Giles.

“What do you mean you don’t remember anything, you remembered Dr Bashir’s first name, you remembered, that you drink Klingon coffee in the morning...” stammered Xander.

“That was alien Coffee?” asked Buffy eyes wide.

“Buffy,” said Tara in her usual quiet voice. “You aura is clear, you belong with us. Whatever reality you came from, you belong here now, otherwise I would see it. If you jumped from the tower, you knew you would die. You left that world, why not accept that this is where the powers that be want you to be?”

Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t find an argument to counter it. It was true, she knew she would die when she jumped. Maybe this was the Powers that be’s way of giving her a reward? Buffy looked at her family. It was a good life, she had discovered that already. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. If she could just learn all the stuff that she supposedly had known before?

“That makes sense,” Buffy said looking down at her hands.

“Great!” said Xander clapping his hands. “So, how’s everyone up for a little Bronzing? I’ve booked the Holodeck and issued a general invitation to most of our friends and other nice people on the ship. I say it’s time for a lets get Buffy’s memory back party!”

“Xander, do you really think that it’s appropriate to expose Buffy to so many people?” asked Giles.

“I think it will be fun!” exclaimed Dawn, “Come on Giles...”

“Yes, come on Admiral, Xander’s been planning this for ages.” added Anya.

“Anya, I’ve known you since you were 17, you hardly need call me Admiral when we are among friends.” offered Giles.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t call you Admiral, it is your rank after all, congratulations by the way, I haven’t had time to get you a promotion present yet.”

“No presents are necessary.”

“Come on G-man, it can be like a promotion party for you too!” exclaimed Xander, suddenly realising that he hadn’t even sent Giles a congratulatory communication about his promotion.

“Xander, I’ve been asking you since you were 16 not to call me that.” said Giles annoyed. “Very well, if you are up for it Buffy.”

Buffy nodded, it would be good to be some place familiar again.

“Great! we need to get changed, I have the coolest new top, Buffy, you are absolutely going to freak when you see it,” exclaimed Dawn.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Anya, can you show Tara and Willow to their quarters and Xander, you may show Dawn and I to ours,” Giles half requested, half ordered.

“Wait, Dawn is staying here...” said Buffy.

“Deluded, as usual. There is no way that I am rooming with you, well not in this time space continuum,” said Dawn as she bounced out the door, leaving Spike and Buffy alone in the room together.

There was silence as Buffy looked at the carpet for a few moments, not knowing exactly what to say to Spike, or how to approach the subject that she didn’t want him to spend the night with her.

“You are probably right angry with me for making the program that got you hurt, luv, but can you at least say something to me? I can’t stand getting the cold shoulder from you, never could.”

“I’m not angry with you Spike...monumentally confused is more like, yesterday I was fighting a hell god and firm in my belief that you were a soulless evil vampire, who, yes loved me, but was beneath my notice. And then I find out that half the crew thinks you are my boyfriend and that I’ve been writing in my log about how I want to have your babies. I don’t know what to think Spike. My brain hurts from thinking too much.”

“You want to have my babies?”

“Apparently...it’s all there in my personal log, but I don’t remember writing it.”

“Did your log give you any other insights?”

“Not really, just that Riley wants to get back together and that Harry Kim wants to date me.”

Spike sucked in a breath, “Right...best you go get changed for the Bronze, I’ll be out here waiting ever so patiently.”

Buffy turned to look at Spike, she knew he was keeping something in.

“Ok out with it, let it out now before you rip someone’s head off...”

“I don’t know what you are yammering on about”

“You are jealous...I mentioned 2 guys that want to be with me and you want me all to yourself”

“Damn right I do! But you don’t remember any of it! Oh god, Buffy! I‘m so sorry that your head is all wonky. It’s my fault. I should have written it differently.”

“Spike, I chose to jump off the tower. I chose it, not you. You can’t blame yourself for whatever happened with Glory.”

“I can’t help but blame myself, Buffy.”

“No! I don’t want you to blame yourself. I’m the slayer it’s what I do! I save the world, sometimes I die doing it. I always knew my life came with an expiration date. Just thought, that you’d be the one to do it, you know, get in that one good day.”

“Buffy...luv...I don’t...”

“Please don’t say it’s just a program, Spike...it’s my life. You may be under the impression that you are the creator of my life... and what’s up with that? Huh? I mean, hello, how sucky could my life get? I mean, let’s take a 15 year old kid and tell her that she has to fight demons and save the world. And if that isn‘t enough? Let’s tell her she’d gonna die before she’s 25 and won’t be able to have a normal life? Yeah that’s a real nice life you came up for me there, William.”

“It started out as a fun idea, luv. You seemed to like it at the time. You always gave me ideas for what the Slayer should do next.”

“Oh yeah? Well how about this? How about the Slayer gets brought back to life and falls in love with her soulless vampire sidekick. I bet you’d love that! Hmmm...you know what I’m starting to think that this is all some whacked out dream, that some how you are manipulating, Spike. I mean I wouldn’t put it past you. You like holding people against their will.”

Spike did not make a retort. Buffy could see the flash of pain across his face and she felt bad. What if this was really where she was supposed to be? What if she was ruining yet another relationship?

“Of course,” Buffy continued quietly, “You aren’t really Spike the Vampire are you? I’m sorry if what I said was harsh. I’m just really confused and well more confused. I don’t know what to do.”

“I guess that’s what I get for writing all that angst. It’s not your fault Buffy, I know you are feeling overwhelmed. It’s just, this isn’t how this visit is supposed to go, with you losing your bloody memory and all. I don’t know how much of your logs you read pet, but we’ve sorta agreed to give us a chance...Was gonna spend 3 weeks here, and I thought you were excited about it too.”

“I think maybe I was...that’s what my log says anyway. Remember the having Spike’s babies quote?” Buffy smiled.

“Ya, Goldilocks, I do,” Spike smiled too.

“You know, this life isn’t all that bad, I could get used to it. No cooking for Buffy. Buffy and replicators...very mixy.”

A thought crossed Buffy’s mind.

“Spike?”

“Yes, pet?”

“Can I... I mean you aren’t a vampire...I’m not getting vamp tinglies, but ...can I...check?”

“Check?”

“Heartbeat?”

Spike let a wide smile grace his face and nodded. Slowly, Buffy stepped closer to Spike and rested her head on his chest. Yep, there was the familiar thump thump of a heart beat. Buffy stood there listening, beat after beat, they just kept coming. Buffy closed her eyes, after realising that Spike was also generating his own body heat. She let her hands wrap around his waist.

They stood there, in the middle of her quarters for god knows how long. Chances are they wouldn’t have moved, Buffy with her ear pressed to Spike’s chest and her arms wrapped around his waist, Spike with his own arms wrapped around Buffy and his cheek resting on Buffy’s head. They wouldn’t have moved, except that Dawn walked right into Buffy’s quarters and straight to Buffy’s drawers containing her jewellery.

“Thank god, you’ve come to your senses Buffy, I was wondering when Kick the Spike hour was going to be over. I forgot my earrings, I need to borrow some of yours. And why are we on a different deck Buffy? I thought you were the security chief here, isn’t your job to assign quarters? Really dropped the ball on that one.”

“It might be a good idea to remember that I have been on medical leave since this whole thing started Dawn. I wasn’t the one you assigned you quarters this time. In fact, I think I told people that you were supposed to stay here with me.” Buffy looked at Dawn from her position, wrapped in Spike’s arms.

“I guess that’s why the computer let me into your quarters then. I’m taking these ones” said Dawn as she held up a pair of earrings. “Don’t you think you oughtta get dressed?” And with that Dawn left the room.