“I think I’ve got something,” Xander announced to the group.

Future Buffy hoped he was right. They had been up all night trying to figure out what was going on.

“What is it, sweetie?” Anya asked.

“It says here that they love heat.”

“We already knew that, mate,” Spike told him.

He shot a look at the vampire. “I wasn’t finished. It also says they really hate the cold. It has twice the effect on them as it does on humans. So if…”

“We could find a way to make it cold, it may just weaken it enough for us to kill it,” past Buffy finished.

“Exactly,” Xander said.

“But how are we gonna do that?” future Buffy asked.

“A spell,” Willow said. “I'm sure we could find something that would work. A freezing spell or something.”

“There is a spell,” Tara said, “W-we could try it. It m-makes a glass ball. All you have to do it bust it.”

“We could do that,” past Buffy said. “I feel like smashing things.”

The look on future her’s face was still bothering her. She kept convincing herself that she must be wrong. There was absolutely no way that she could be in love with Spike. As far as she could tell he was still the same in the future, only somewhat tamer than before. But just because he didn’t get on everyone’s nerves like their Spike did, didn’t mean she would develop the warm fuzzies for him.

“It w-won’t take long to do the spell.”

“It’s worth a try,” future Buffy said.

“What all do we need?” Willow asked Tara.

Tara named off a few ingredients and the witches headed to the shelves of the store to find them.

“Yay, we have a plan,” past Buffy said.

“Should we call Spike?” Riley asked.

“Yeah, I guess we’d better.”

He didn’t look thrilled about the idea, but nevertheless went to call him.

“Where’s Giles?” future Buffy asked, realizing that he was nowhere to be seen.

“I think he went to the back to look for something,” Anya told her.

She nodded and looked over at her boyfriend.

“What?! No I…shut up, Spike,” Riley yelled into the phone.

Buffy could only imagine what the vampire had said to him.

“Yeah, you do that.” He hung up the phone and turned to look at Buffy.

“Well?” she asked.

“He’s coming.”

On the other side of the room Willow and Tara were looking through the shelves.

“Do you see the Tagus root?” Willow asked.

“Yeah, I got it. Hey, Willow, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” the red head said looking at her girlfriend. “What is it?”

“It’s just…future Buffy and Spike…don’t you think there’s something…strange about them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they don’t seem to hate each other.”

“True, but maybe they just found some common ground. I mean, he doesn’t kill people anymore, and has been helping us out lately.”

“I know. It just…seems like more than common ground to me. But maybe I'm just crazy.”

“You are not crazy,” Willow assured her. She had to admit that the girl was on to something. She had also noticed the lack of hatred between the couple, but chocked it up to her imagination. There was no way it could really be more than the forced friendship that came when two people work together.

They both looked back into the main room and saw the vampire and slayer from the future laughing quietly to themselves.

“Maybe not.”
-----------------

“Where the hell is he? I called him over an hour ago.”

Riley was beyond frustrated with the no show vampire. He wasn’t alone, that was for sure.

“And you’re sure he said he was coming?” Xander asked.

“Yes, I'm sure.”

“He’s just being an ass,” past Buffy said. “His normal self. We should have expected it.”

“No offense,” Spike mumbled to himself. “It is daylight out there, you know?” he said louder. “Takes longer to get here through the sewers.”

“Well, we can’t wait much longer. We do want to get these two back to the future before it gets here,” Willow said. “Tara and I almost have everything ready for that spell.”

“He’ll show,” future Buffy told them. “He’s too curious about us not to.”

She’d noticed the strange looks he had given them earlier and knew that he would be curious about what was going on in the future. He would be especially curious as to why she was significantly nicer to him.

“Who’s too curious?” came a voice from the back.

Everyone turned to see past Spike entering the room.

“Slayer, so nice to see you.”

“Wish I could say the same,” past Buffy replied.

“Wasn’t talking to you.” He looked at future Buffy.

She raised her eyebrows. “Irritated. Where the hell have you been?”

He looked slightly shocked and disappointed at her answer. Maybe she wasn’t so different after all.

“I had something to take care of.”

“Something evil?” past Buffy asked, still somewhat offended that he seemed to be more interested in future her.

“Does it matter? I'm here, aren’t I?”

She contemplated yelling at him some more, but figured it would just waste time. They needed to get going. There was no telling how much destruction this demon could potentially cause. The book had said they were practically unstoppable when they were on a rampage so they needed to cut it off at the pass, before any real damage could be done.

“Here,” Willow said, handing past Buffy the small globe.

“Ooo, does it tell the future?” she asked jokingly.

“All you have to do is bust it. Throwing it on the floor will work. Just make sure you get within ten feet of the Evolon.”

“Got it.”

“And were sure this will work?” Riley asked.

“Pretty sure.”

“Okay, that’s good enough for me,” past Buffy said.

“Are we ready to go now?” future Spike asked.

“Yes, we are.”
---------------------

“I don’t get it,” past Buffy said. “Why is it that demons love to hang out in this school? It wasn’t so great when I was here.”

“It’s the hellmouth, luv,” future Spike said.

“Well, yeah, but it’s just so…”

“Dank and crispy,” future Buffy offered.

“Exactly.”

Past Spike rolled his eyes. So far he had been pretty quiet since they’d left the magic shop. He was busy studying this other him and this nicer Buffy. There was still something bothering him about them and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

“Well, they are demons,” Riley said as if that explained everything.

“What is that supposed to mean?” past Spike asked.

“It means that demons have no…”

“Shh, I hear something,” future Spike said, holding up his hand. There was someone or something around the corner. He pointed to let the group know the demon they were looking for was more than likely only a few feet away.

Past Spike continued glaring at Riley, daring him to finish the rest of his sentence. The soldier did his best to look like he didn’t care. Spike couldn’t hurt him anyway, not with the chip in his head.

They all held up their weapons and crept slowly around the corner. Sure enough there it was. It was uglier and bigger than the picture showed, but close enough for them to know they had the right demon. It noticed them almost right away.

“Well, there goes the element of surprise,” past Buffy said.

It made a roaring noise and ran towards them. Future Buffy looked around the demon, expecting to see some sort of ritual set up, but saw nothing. It didn’t even look like the demon had been here very long. It also appeared to be alone.

“So you don’t wanna talk then?”

Past Buffy was the first to attack. She went to hit the demon, but it grabbed her hand and threw her back. Future Buffy ran at it next. She punched it in the face before it knocked her to the side.

Its strength matched that of the uber vamp that had beat the crap out of her the first time she had taken one on. The demon grabbed her by the shoulders and sent her flying across the room. Quickly the Spike’s charged him and managed to get in a few hits before it knocked them to the side as well. Past Buffy had recovered and landed a kick to the demon’s stomach, but it didn’t seem to faze it. Instead it reached out and grabbed her around the throat. It seemed determined to choke the life out of her, but dropped her when future Buffy slashed it in the side with her sword.

“No killing me.”

She went to swing the sword again but was knocked off of her feet before she could follow through. Both Spikes were on the demon again but it sent them both flying.

Riley pointed his gun at the demon but as he went to shoot it grabbed the gun, breaking it in half. It punched him in the face and he went down. Hands, fists, and feet flew as all five pounded on the demon. It managed to get in a few good licks itself and both Buffys knew they would have some bruises in the morning.

“Drop the ball, slayer,” past Spike yelled to her.

Buffy nodded and pulled the item out of her bag. She quickly smashed it on the ground. Immediately the room was hit with a cold burst of air. The Buffys and Riley shivered and the demon let out an almost agonizing noise. They took this time to react and attack. Whereas the demon seemed slightly weaker than before it was still able to defend itself.

When the slayers and vampires were pushed away, Riley went back at the demon by himself.

“Riley no!” past Buffy tried to warn him. “He’s still too strong.”

But he ran forward anyway. He raised his hand and punched it once in the face before being thrown backwards into the wall. His body went limp and fell to the floor.

“Oh my God, Riley,” past Buffy yelled.

He was on the ground and didn’t appear to be moving. Buffy tried yelling to him but there was no response. Future Buffy felt a rush of panic as well, but not quite for the same reasons. Riley couldn’t die now. That would change the future significantly. If he were to die now, he would never move away. He would never save all those people and kill all of those demons. He would never marry Sam and he would never come back to Sunnydale and make her realize that her relationship with Spike was wrong for both of them. And maybe she would have come to that conclusion on her own, but what if she didn’t? And would she have otherwise had the strength to end it? And whereas it may not be so bad, on the other hand she knew that it probably would. There was no telling what may have happened had they continued down the road they were on. Spike may have never gotten his soul. And she probably would resent him now instead of maybe falling for him.

Future Spike ran over to him. “He’s still alive,” he announced to the two panic stricken women. The fact that his future Buffy still seemed to care about the soldier so much did bother him slightly. He knew that it shouldn’t because he wasn’t even in the running for her heart in the future, but he assumed that part of it had to do with the fact that she did love Riley, and probably always would. But would she ever be able to love him? Really love him?

The knowledge that he was alive seemed to relieve the Buffys enough to get back into the fight. Though they had somewhat disabled the demon, it was still strong. Past Buffy landed a kick to the demon’s midsection and it stumbled back slightly.

Past Spike was right behind her punching it as hard as he could. The demon stumbled once again and future Spike hit it from behind. For the first time it actually looked affected.

“You have no idea who you are messing with,” it said.

“So you do speak?” past Buffy asked.

“The slayer and vampire must not be allowed to live.”

“And why is that?”

“It will bring about the apocalypse.”

“Hello, already there,” future Buffy told it before landing a kick to its stomach.

The fight resumed then with four sets of arms and legs hitting and kicking at it. Riley opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He could see the fight going on around him, but couldn’t find the strength to get up.

“You do not understand,” the demon tried to tell past Buffy.

He started to say something else, but didn’t get a chance to. Future Buffy raised the sword and swung as hard as she could. The demon’s head fell to the ground with a loud thud. Buffy raised her arm and wiped her forehead.

“That was fun.”

Everyone, including future Spike, glared at past Spike.

“What? Tell me that wasn’t fun.”

They all turned away from him.

“Live a little,” he said, mostly to himself. “Metaphorically of course. The world may end tomorrow.”

They all seemed to ignore him.

“Are you alright?” past Buffy asked Riley, who still looked somewhat unconscious.

“I’ll be fine,” he told them, but even as he said the words, he wasn’t quite sure he even believed himself.

“Right. We’ll get you out of here. Spike, could you help?” past Buffy asked.

The vampires looked at each other and then at her.

“You want us to carry his arse out of here?”

“Why not just leave him here?”

She narrowed her eyes at them.

“I’ll help,” future Buffy said, walking over to where they were.

“Thank you.”

The two women picked Riley up and draped one of his arms over each of their shoulders.

“Really, I'm okay,” he tried to tell them, but as they took a step he winced.

Both Buffys shook their heads as they carried him out of the building.

“Tell me she doesn’t end up with him,” past Spike said.

Future Spike looked at him. He couldn’t tell him anything of course but couldn’t stop himself from smirking before heading after the others.

Past Spike stood there a moment longer. He knew what that look meant. She wasn’t with Captain Cardboard in the future. Though that didn’t by any means imply that she was with him. But it also didn’t mean she wasn’t. And he’d be damned if let them keep this secret much longer.
--------------------------

After getting Riley to the car, they headed back to the Magic Box. Past Buffy wanted to take Riley to the hospital but he refused, saying that he had no broken bones and only needed some Advil. Both Spikes were convinced he just didn’t want to look weak like the human that he was. He had been overcompensating ever since he’d gone on detox from the drugs Professor Walsh had been giving him.

When they got back Willow and Tara were getting together the last of their spell.

“Good, you guys are back. And from the looks of it, it didn’t go so well,” Willow said when she saw Riley limp in the door.

“I decapitated the demon,” past Buffy said. “Well…I didn’t…but I did,” she said pointing to future her.

“Well yay,” Willow replied.

“Yeah, except obviously we’re still here,” future Buffy said.

“Don’t worry. We have everything ready for that spell, and I think it just may work.”

Past Buffy helped Riley over to the table and he sat down in one of the chairs.

“Where are Xander and Anya?” she asked, noticing the two were nowhere to be found.

“They went to get something from Giles’”

Buffy looked to the watcher for confirmation. “Yes. I needed another text, and we are quite busy here so I sent them.”

She nodded.

“So what’s all this?” past Spike asked, indicating the books and bottles lying around.

“That’s for another spell.”

“What other spell?” future Buffy asked.

“Well, Giles came up with a pretty good point about something. Once you two leave, you’ll go back to the future, but the thing is, we will still know you were here. We will remember it and just knowing that there is a future, well, it could change it.”

“So what are you saying?” past Buffy asked.

“We can’t be allowed to remember,” Giles told them. “If we do, the future you return to may not be the one in which you left. Your presence here has altered what is to come, so we must take precautions. Have you come into contact with anyone else since you have been here?”

“Just mom and Dawn. And a few demons, but I don’t think they could tell us apart from past us.”

“Good.”

“So wait. Are you saying you’re going to like, erase our memories,” past Buffy asked.

“In a sense, yes.”

“Hold on here,” past Spike said. “I don’t want you working any mojo on me.”

“I'm afraid we don’t have a choice,” Giles told him.

“I don’t know if I'm too crazy about that idea either,” past Buffy said. “What if we lose all of our memories?”

“We won’t,” Willow assured her. “We’ve gone over the spell a hundred times. And with Tara and I both working it, we should be fine.”

“Should being the operative word,” past Spike said.

“Spike,” future Buffy said to future Spike.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure, pet, what is it?”

She motioned towards the back and he followed her. Past Buffy watched as the two slipped off to the back. She had to stop herself from following them. What were they doing? Going to talk about some top secret future stuff no doubt.

Future Buffy and Spike entered the training room and shut the door.

“Do you think this will work?” she asked.

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, luv, but what other choice do we have? We killed the demon and it didn’t send us back.”

“But what about the other demon? The yellow one that sent us here? The rebock? What if we try to find it?”

“Swinboc. And we could try, but how long would that take?”

Buffy sighed. He was probably right.

“Shall we go find out what this spell is all about then?” he asked.

“Wait, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“What I said?” Spike asked confused. What had he said? Should he remember something?

“Well, not you you. Other you. He said he that you shouldn’t be afraid to live a little. You never know when it’ll be too late.”

“Who knew I could be so inspirational.”

Buffy smiled slightly. “My point is he, you, were right. I'm tired of not doing what I want to do. I'm tired of being afraid to take chances.”

“What are you getting at, Slayer?’ Spike had learned not to make assumptions about the woman standing in front of him. And with the way things were between them lately, he didn’t want to bollucks that up by thinking she meant more by her statement.

“I…you…make me feel…”

He raised his eyebrows at her words. He was also sure that if his heart could beat it would be racing right about now.

“I don’t know how to explain it, really. It’s just…” And a thought occurred to her. She would just show him.

She took a step closer and pressed her lips to his. She found herself relishing in the feeling. It had been so long since they had kissed. It felt good, but almost as soon as it started it was over.

“What was that for?” he asked, tilting his head to the side and studying her expression.

“Everything,” she responded. “I’ve actually wanted to do it for a while, but it didn’t seem like the right time…until now.”

He smiled but didn’t get a chance to say anything as a voice interrupted them.

“What the hell is going on?”