“What do you think Buffy?”

“Huh?” Buffy was sitting at the dining room table, running a fork through the uneaten plateful of macaroni and cheese in front of her, when she was brought out of her daze by Willow’s voice. Dawn, Xander, Willow, and Tara had long ago finished their lunches and had moved on to discussing the antidote. Buffy, however, had something much more important on her mind... Spike. She had not switched realities since she shared that kiss with Spike and she was starting to get impatient! She wanted to talk to him and learn more about their marriage. Mostly, she just wanted to see him again. She liked that Spike. A lot. She almost forgot which reality she was in earlier that day and confessed her feelings to the wrong Spike. That would be all I need! Spike already harasses me about ‘hiding my feelings,’ there’s no way he would let it go if I accidently told him he was right!

Buffy’s wandering thoughts was once again interrupted, this time by Xander, “Earth to Buffy. Come in Buffy.”

“What? Oh, sorry,” apologized Buffy, forcing herself to abandon her Spike issues for the time being. “What were you saying?”

Dawn stood up and started to clear away the empty plates (and Buffy’s full one) as she said, “Willow was saying that we should get that demon tonight and grab his thingy.”

With shock in their eyes, the Scoobies turned to face Dawn as she realized what she had just said. Her face blushed to a deep pink. “Pervs,” she muttered and hurried to the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

“That was a mental picture I could have lived without,” joked Xander.

“So the demon,” started Buffy, trying to force the image from her mind as well, “what’s it called again?”

“Uh...” Willow stood up, shoved her hand into her back pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it, sounding out the words as she read, “Glarghk Guhl Kashmas ‘nik.”

“Oh. The Garlg–, I mean Glark–, oh screw it!” said Buffy, annoyed. She took a calming breath before continuing, “The demon just kinda showed up. I have no idea where to start looking.”

“We got it covered, Buff,” assured Xander, “Dawn dug up some more info. This thing’s gotta be hiding in the woods, probably not too far from where it attacked you.”

“The woods?” asked Tara, “Buffy, I thought you were attacked in a neighborhood.”

Buffy nodded, “I was. It seemed like it jumped off the roof of one of the houses I was checking out.”

Dawn re-entered the room, immediately joining in on the conversation, “The book said that those demons like to hide up in trees, so it could’ve been on the roof.”

“That still doesn’t explain what it was doing in town,” reasoned Willow.

“Maybe it was forced out of its natural habitat,” offered Dawn. Seeing the eye rolls and dismissive looks from the others, she attempted to explain her statement, “Haven’t you guys heard of deforestation?” Seeing that her theory was still out, Dawn slumped into one of the chairs, pouting.

“L-Let’s concentrate on getting Buffy better first,” spoke up Tara, “We can figure out why in was in town later.”

The group nodded collectively.

“So, tonight it is,” said Buffy, “I’ll get my sword.”

“I think you should sit this one out,” said Willow. Seeing that Buffy was confused, Willow continued, “What if you hallucinate in the middle of a fight?”

“Ok, I get the point.”

“Besides,” started Xander, “I’m up for kicking some demon ass!”

“No way, Xander! This thing is too strong,” said Buffy.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” soothed Xander. Before Buffy could protest once more, he added, with contempt in his voice, “Besides, Dead Boy is tagging along.”

“Oh. Well, ok. But be careful!”

As the others continued their discussion about the best way to fight the demon, Buffy excused herself and headed upstairs for a nap. She wasn’t that tired, but if the antidote was going to get rid of the other reality, she was going to be sure to see her husband one last time. Settling down under the covers, Buffy closed her eyes and hoped for sleep to come soon.

-----

Buffy rolled over, stretching her body, and searched the room with her eyes. Buffy must have slept a few hours, because the room was growing dim as the sun went down on another day. There was just enough light for Buffy to spot what she was looking for. A smile spread across her face at the sight of the antique dresser and cheesy wedding photos. It worked! She jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror to fix her tousled hair. When she had finished, Buffy took a moment to admire the happy smile of her reflection. Was it only this morning that I freaked out about being here? It seems like it’s been forever! Buffy tore herself away from the mirror and rushed down the stairs to find her husband.

“Spike?” Buffy had reached the living room, frowning when she found it empty. Her next stop was the kitchen. “Spike, are you here?” she called out to no one. Where the hell is he?

She was about to search upstairs when she noticed that the light was on for the back porch. “Hello?” she said, opening the back door.

“Hey there, pet.” Spike was sitting on the stairs, watching as the sun neared the horizon. He scooted to one side, motioning for Buffy to sit next to him, “Thought you were goin’ to sleep the day away.”

Buffy obediently sat down, snuggling up close, “And miss this sunset? Not a chance.”

Spike placed his hand on her back and pressed a kiss against her forehead. Buffy smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to pull her even closer. This feels so right, Buffy thought, how can this not be real? It made sense, after all. Here, everything seemed to be as it should. Xander and Anya had tied the knot and were as happy as ever, Buffy had not been ripped from heaven but was instead saved from some sort of Hellsville, and she had finally found a man who would never leave her. All in all, this reality was better.

Neither one of them spoke until the sun disappeared from view. Still holding Buffy close, Spike said, “Were the Scoobies back when you woke up?”

Without moving from Spike’s shoulder, she answered, “No. Why, where did they go?”

“They went after the Glarghk Guhl Kashmas ‘nik.”

“What?!” Buffy bolted upright, “You let them go after that thing?”

“Well, yeah,” Spike replied, surprised that Buffy saw a problem with the situation, “Red’s got that Containment of Evil spell she’s been working on, remember?”

“Willow’s doing spells again?” Spike raised an eyebrow at her question. So Willow isn’t addicted to magic here, Buffy thought, Something else to add to my list of the good. Noticing Spike still showing her his confused-face, she corrected herself, “I mean, what does that spell do?”

“Not sure,” answered Spike, but added, “She mentioned somethin’ about a big bubble. I think it’s suppose to capture the bloke for her.”

“Cool. Go Will!” Spike laughed at her enthusiasm. Since the couple would only have the house to themselves for a little while longer, Buffy decided to tell him her thoughts from earlier. “Spike?”

“Yeah?”

“Um. I- I love you.”

A grin slowly spread across Spike’s face as he leaned in close to her, “Can I tell you somethin’, pet?” Buffy nodded. “I love you, too.”

She couldn’t help it, Buffy leaped toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck and crashing her lips into his. Without his vampire strength, Buffy’s attack sent him falling backwards onto the floorboards of the porch.

Buffy pulled her head away, her body on top of his, “Oh! Sorry!” Spike was laughing so hard that he couldn’t speak. The sound of his laughter brought a wide grin to the Slayer’s face, soon sending her into a cascade of giggles.

When they finally caught their breath, Spike stood up, lifting Buffy with him. “So, pet. Would you like to take this upstairs or would you rather throw me around a bit more?”

Buffy grabbed him by the hand and was already dragging him inside as she said, “A little of both, I think!”

-----

Two hours later, Buffy was lying on her lover’s chest, listening to the sound of his newly beating heart as he slept. Sleep was calling for Buffy as well, but she was trying her hardest to push it away. I want to stay here... she thought as her eyes began to close, I want to stay...