Disclaimer: These characters in no way belong to me. They are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox. The story, however, is totally my own creation. This is the second book in my Kindred Series.







Kindred Series

Kindred: (noun) A group of related persons, such as a family, clan, or tribe.
(adj.) Having a similar or related origin or nature.






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BOOK TWO
THE PAST REVISITED
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Chapter Two
First Aid and First Impressions

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Dawn gave Buffy a weak smile and a small wave, but William – I guess that’s who you still are? – didn’t bother to look at any of them. He merely walked over to the sofa where he deposited Dawn in a small heap on the cushions, and then kneeled and proceeded to remove her right shoe and sock, rolling up her pant leg. Everyone else was too shocked by the unexpected appearance of the two missing parties to say anything for a moment. Then all pandemonium broke loose as everyone started speaking at once, asking questions, fussing, trying to reassure themselves that the others were okay. Throughout it all, neither Dawn nor William responded. William was focused on running his hands around Dawn’s ankle and over the heel of her foot, lifting it up and inspecting it closely. Dawn, for her part, had her eyes closed and was trying to focus on anything other than what William was doing to her foot. She gritted her teeth and hissed as he finally located what he was looking for. Buffy, meanwhile, had decided that this was definitely still William as Spike would never overlook her like that and was extremely annoyed by this fact. Both William and Dawn were apparently ignoring her rather loud and much-deserved rant regarding them disappearing and worrying everyone. She had almost reached the point where she was mad enough to punch William, head injury not withstanding, when he suddenly looked up and right past her to Anya who was still standing slightly off to the side of everyone else.

“Do you suppose that you could get me some towels, bandages, a bowl of hot water, rubbing alcohol or iodine or some kind of antiseptic, and also some tweezers or forceps or something to that effect? I’m afraid I have no idea what has become of my medical bag and I will need some supplies to take care of the young lady’s injury.” William inquired politely yet firmly of Anya. She nodded and disappeared toward the kitchen followed by Angel to help her locate everything. William seemed satisfied with her prompt response and turned back to Dawn who opened her eyes to look down at him and was extremely embarrassed by the tears that slipped out when she did. She bit her lip and tried hard to hold them in. “There, there.” he said soothingly and patted her hand gently. “That is a nasty bit of business, no doubt, but I promise you that I’ll soon have you fixed up right as rain. So, don’t worry your pretty little head about those tears. It is surely going to hurt when I pull out that glass, so there’s nothing to be ashamed over shedding a few tears, okay? No one is going to think any the less of you for that, I promise.” That elicited a small smile from Dawn who grabbed his hand and squeezed hard.

Buffy noticed for the first time that Dawn had scratches on both her face and her hands and that her shirt was dirty and had a small tear in it. Her eyes narrowed at the sight and she shut her mouth tightly to keep from yelling at Dawn. She didn’t think she could take too many more scares right now where either Dawn or Spike was concerned, but getting angry wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Especially since they’re both doing a pretty good job of ignoring me at the moment. I hope this isn’t going to become a habit. Biting her own lip at that thought, she walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Dawn grabbing hold of her other hand. Dawn whimpered softly at the contact and closed her eyes again, dreading the barrage that she knew was coming. William had continued with his exploration of Dawn’s foot and ankle and never even looked up as her sister sat down. That set off another emotional wave inside Buffy and she blinked to hold back her own tears. She really couldn’t believe that he didn’t remember her. When Angel had told her his theory that morning about amnesia, she hadn’t really given it a whole lot of serious consideration. More likely than not, just a stunt of Spike’s to divert attention from all the things she wanted to yell at him about. Buffy knew that wasn’t really a fair conclusion to draw and that Spike didn’t play games like that. But she was worn so very thin from everything that had happened these past few months that she hadn’t wanted to consider that there could be yet another hurdle to jump. But realizing that he hadn’t acknowledged any of them since he’d walked in carrying Dawn and had looked right through her earlier, Buffy had to concede that Angel was most likely correct. Spike was acting just like a doctor would with a patient, not like the highly overprotective big brother he usually considered himself to be to Dawn, speaking in a calm and professional bedside manner. Come to think of it, he’s not even using his regular voice. His accent sounds different, more polished somehow. Wonder if that’s how he talked before he was turned? He sounds so much classier. I wonder why he would have changed that.

Anya and Angel returned with the requested supplies, interrupting Buffy’s reverie. William took the supplies with a nod of thanks, and looked them over approvingly before turning to Buffy and finally favoring her with a direct look. She stared at those hauntingly beautiful blue eyes and felt her heartbeat speed up. This is it. He’ll see me, really see me. We’ll connect. We’ve always had some kind of connection after all…and he’ll remember. That fantasy came to a screeching halt though when he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Miss, do you know this young lady?” he enquired softly.

“Yes, she’s my sister.” Buffy wanted to say more, but the words seemed stuck in her throat as she felt herself drowning in those eyes…those beautiful blue eyes that didn’t know her anymore. He really isn’t my Spike anymore. This really is William. She really did want to cry. This was just way too much for anyone to have to deal with.

William tilted his head and looked at them both appraisingly for just a moment. And Buffy nearly lost it at that familiar gesture. But she managed to hold it together (barely) and he merely nodded, and turned his attention back to Dawn who was staring down at the medical supplies with wide eyes. “All right then, precious. This is going to take me a few minutes. It won’t be too awful, but it’s not going to be all that pleasant either. I promise that I will be as gentle as possible, but it’s going to be worse for you if you watch, I think. So, why don’t you close your eyes or look at something else? If it helps to distract you, you can tell your sister how this happened. Okay?” He waited until Dawn nodded in acquiescence and turned her head to look at Buffy before reaching for the bowl of water and the towel. He needed to clean that wound out, and was pleased to find the water temperature correct. He focused on his task, quickly tuning out everything else except his patient. He made soft soothing comments while he worked and Dawn found that he really was incredibly gentle…enough so that after a moment she was able to stop tensing in anticipation of the coming pain and look directly at Buffy.

Dawn focused on her sister for the first time that night and said in a soft, direct voice, “You didn’t tell me what happened here today.”

No accusation. That’s a first. Buffy decided to play on that and not push it by accusing in return. She nodded her head and simply said, “I’m sorry. I should have. I was worried and didn’t want to upset you with it being your first week back in school. But I should have told you.”

Dawn nodded, satisfied with that response. Okay. I can ‘fess up here, too, then if that’s how it is. “Well, I shouldn’t have skipped out of school, but when I stopped by your job and heard you and Angel on the phone…I was just so worried about him that I took off. I wasn’t exactly sure where he’d be, but I had to try and find him, you know?” Buffy nodded and leaned over to give her a quick hug. Encouraged, Dawn continued with her story. “I was going to check all his usual places first, but then I realized that he probably wouldn’t go there, all things considered.” Dawn wasn’t sure how much she should say out loud about William’s amnesia. She’d already seen first-hand that he really didn’t remember anything, but she wasn’t sure what the others knew, so she hesitated for a moment, glancing down at William. He was still focused on her foot and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to their conversation. Yet he looked up immediately when she moved and smiled comfortingly at her. She recognized that look and it reassured her. He might not know who he is right now, but I do. He’s my best friend. No matter what, I won’t lose him again. With that fierce thought she smiled back at him and turned back to face Buffy again. I can’t tell her how I really located him…not yet anyway. So, what can I say that won’t give anything away? “So, anyway, I decided to go about it like I thought maybe he would.” Hopefully that’s vague enough that no one will question me more. “ and I caught up with him at the Eastgate Cemetery about half an hour ago. He didn’t answer me when I called out, so I kind of hurried over to where he was. I stumbled on a rock trying to go down that little knoll in the center too fast. Anyway, I ended up half rolling and half falling the rest of the way down and I landed hard on something sharp. It pierced my shoe and went right into my foot. I guess I must have screamed pretty loud, ‘cause he came running right over to see if I was hurt. He didn’t know who I was, so I introduced myself and convinced him to bring me here to fix my foot. He carried me all the way, and here we are.”

“Indeed, here we are,” William echoed below them, “and your foot is just fine, little miss. I got that nasty piece of glass out and you won’t even need stitches. Just left a cut that should heal easily enough. It was pretty deep, so you should probably try to keep your weight off this foot as much as possible for the next few days, to be on the safe side. And you’ll need to change those bandages and apply antiseptic twice daily for a while, but you’ll be just fine.” He reached up and ruffled her hair affectionately and favored her with a warm smile.

Dawn was surprised, to say the least. She had been so distracted talking to Buffy and William had been so gentle that she hadn’t even felt him pull anything out. She flexed her bandaged foot experimentally and was pleased at how really okay it felt. A bit stiff and sore, but no more lancing pain like earlier. She gave William – her new hero – a truly brilliant smile and reached over to hug him exuberantly. “You really are a doctor, aren’t you? That didn’t hurt a bit. I mean I couldn’t even feel it. Not that I didn’t believe you earlier when you said you were a doctor. I just haven’t ever heard you say anything about this before now. And I’m rambling, aren’t I? I’ll stop, but I’m just so relieved that you’re okay, and that everyone’s here, and…and…THANK YOU!” She ended her blather with a quick peck on his cheek and another fierce hug.

William hugged her back and laughed at her excitement, while the others had to smile at the sweet scene before them. Even Xander had to grudgingly admit to the obvious concern and affection that already seemed to exist between William and Dawn. As Dawn sat back on the couch, still beaming and flexing her bandaged foot, William quickly cleaned up the medical supplies, which Anya took from him and set to the side. He stood up then and turned round to look at the others. Other than Buffy, no one else had said so much as a single word since he’d first spoken earlier. They had been too wrapped up in watching what he was doing and listening to Dawn’s tale. Everyone, except for Dawn and Buffy that is, had observed William treating Dawn’s foot, and were all suitably impressed at his obvious knowledge and skill. The piece of glass he had retrieved from Dawn’s foot was cruelly thin and sharp. A man of lesser skill might have broken it off in her foot, requiring a trip to the hospital, but William had removed it with one quick efficient pull. Only Angel had ever seen this side of William before and it had been a long time since he had the opportunity to witness this talent in action. He was proud of his grandchilde and smiled fondly.

No one spoke, waiting to see what William would do first. For his part, William looked at each one of them in turn, sizing them up, before speaking. When he did speak, it was in a calm, clear voice that totally belied his inner turmoil after what he’d seen and experienced that day. “Um, look. I really have no idea who any of you are. I don’t know where I am or what’s happened to me, but I get the impression that you all seem to know me…or at least think you know someone who looks like me who apparently goes by the rather vulgar moniker of ‘Spike.’” That comment drew a wry grin from both Angel and Giles, although no one noticed at the time…they were all focused on what William was saying. “So, that being said, my name is William Atherton III and I have lived my entire life in London, England. When I went to sleep last night, it was in my bed in my mother’s house, which is where I should have woken up this morning before going to work at the clinic where I’m a resident doctor in my third year. I had plans to attend a social function tonight that I’ve been looking forward to for some time. Instead, I woke up here this morning, and I’m more than a bit confused on how I got here. So, that being said, I’d like to get home where I belong. I will gladly talk to you folks and help you in any way I can, if you could please help me out here in return. First, could someone please tell me where exactly I am?”

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TBC