A/N: Just wanted to thank my readers for taking the time to leave me feedback. I am glad the story has captured your interest.

Also, thank you slaymesoftly for beta'ing. You rock!

~*~

When Buffy regained consciousness, the pain had dulled into a hollow ache. Where once in her mind and being she had felt immeasurable love and support through her bond with her mate, there was now a gaping void that left her feeling bereft. Her body shuddered violently, and she drew in deep breaths as she fought mentally for control. I had forgotten what it was like before him, she thought as she rose unsteadily to her feet. A quick glance around confirmed her sinking suspicion that Jeffery had not bothered sticking around for the beating he was due. Pity.

Now fully in control of herself, Buffy took in her surroundings. O…K, I‘m definitely not in magic school anymore. Warily, she circled a dimly lit, deserted alley, trying to gauge where exactly the portal had dumped her. That it was a portal she was sure, since he had used Dawn’s blood. Question is - where am I? She wrinkled her nose in distaste. It smells like piss and beer. Her musings were interrupted by not-too-distant voices in the midst of what sounded like a scuffle. She headed down the alley in the direction of the sounds and peeked around the corner.

What she saw immediately sent her pulse into overdrive. No, no, no, this is not happening! She stared at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes with increasing trepidation. Oh God, why this place and why this time? Her gaze was drawn to the platinum-haired vampire engaged in a show-and-tell battle with his once mortal enemy. A sliver of appreciation mingled with lust snaked through, briefly eclipsing her confusion. He is so gorgeous, she thought, and for a few moments was held captive by the poetry of his motions. How on earth did I mange to remain so oblivious to his beauty, she wondered, considering that nowadays, the mere sight of him reduced her to a puddle of goo. Four years they had been mated, and still, that hadn’t changed. The physical and emotional response his presence evoked in her, had anything but diminished with the passage of time.

Her attention finally shifted to the petite figure of the other blonde who was fighting. And look at l’il ol’ me - so righteous. God, what did he see in me back then?! She passed a critical, yet appreciative eye over her younger self. Well, ok, apart from my hotness and slayer skills, she snickered. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the vampire lean in hesitantly towards the young slayer, and realised she was about to witness one of his most humiliating experiences. Her breath caught in her throat and she tensed in pained anticipation…..

“It would never be you….You’re beneath me.”

For the first time Buffy Summers, slayer extraordinaire, bore third person witness to that special brand of cruelty she used to reserve for Spike. Her heart ached as she watched a once proud Master vampire reduced to tears under the malicious words of the object of his affections. She barely curbed the desire to run to him and apologise. Damn, but this is hard. She watched him stalk off, his humiliation now transformed into anger. It’s a wonder he didn’t kill me that night. A small smile curved the corners of her lips as she recalled how he sat with her on the porch steps, his presence a strangely welcome comfort given what had transpired between them only hours ago. That gesture on his part had marked the start of what eventually became a tradition with the two of them.

She turned her thoughts back to her current plight. She knew now at least when and where she was - Sunnydale, California, late 2001. Why has Jeffery come here? Did he plan on coming here, or is this just accidental? Somehow she didn’t think it was the latter. It can’t be just a coincidence that he used Dawn’s blood and opened a portal to this time, and this place - when Dawn was being mercilessly hunted for her blood by a Hellgod - also to open a portal. No, she concluded. I bet this is exactly where he meant to go. It’s somehow connected with Dawn…and maybe Glory? She sighed heavily. I have to nab that jerk’s ass before he finds her or Dawn. She briefly indulged in a little fantasy of how she would make him pay for daring to mess with the past and more importantly, her family. She shook herself mentally. Ok, Buffy, time to hunt down the weasel. Fantasies of ripping his entrails out will just have to wait. That brought a wry smile to her face. Sheesh, I’m channeling Spike now! The thought of Spike, however, erased her mirth. Why can’t I feel him? Has coming back in time already changed the future? Is he…? No! Buffy clamped down on her fatalistic musings, not prepared to deal with the possible repercussions of the day’s events just yet. Instead, she forced herself to focus on the crisis at hand.

It took her a couple of moments to orient herself, seeing as how it she hadn’t been in Sunnydale for about six years now. Once she had gotten her bearings, she made her way determinedly to the place where Glory had set up shop. She decided that going to Glory’s would be the less risky course of action since she didn’t particularly want to run into any of the Scoobies -- or herself, for that matter, which is what she feared would happen if she went to check up on Dawn.

~*~

Scotland, 2009 – Slayer Command Central

“Dammit, Red! How long is this gonna to take?!” Willow jumped as the distraught vampire snarled in anger.

“Spike, we’ll find Buffy, I promise. But gotta tell ya, you prancing in circles around me like a cornered lion is not helping,” Willow said in a maddeningly calm voice which served to flame the vampire’s ire even more.

Spike halted in his motions and swung around to face her. After a few seconds, he growled and shifted into game-face. Willow held his gaze, unfazed. She knew him well enough to recognise that his stance lacked threat – he had assumed his demon visage to better sense his mate through their claim. Abruptly he swung around and drove his fist through into the wall. His head dropped, and a shudder ripped through his body as his vampiric features slid back into human guise.

“I can’t feel her,” he said, his voice overrun by grief and laced with desperation.

“I’m alone.” The words caught in his throat and when he turned to face Willow she saw the tears coursing unapologetically down his cheeks. She felt the sharp sting of tears gathering in her own eyes in response, but steeled herself and blinked them away, knowing that it would do them little good if she too let her emotions get the better of her. She glanced at Dawn to see how she was holding up.

Dawn was sitting quietly on the divan in the corner of Willow’s room where she, Willow, and Spike had been for the last hour. She was still fuming at herself for having let Jeffery catch her unawares and take her blood. She was no longer a fifteen year old girl who needed to be protected from the big bad, so she was feeling more than perturbed that today, when it mattered, she hadn’t defended herself. Now, her sister was gone. She started when Spike rammed his fist into the wall, and seeing him break down brought fresh tears to her eyes. She wiped the tears and sensed Willow’s eyes on her. She gave the red-haired woman a weak smile before straightening her shoulders and standing up.

Dawn approached Spike from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Spike, we’ll find her. She is not d-,” she almost choked on the word, “-ead. I would feel it, if she were.” She paused and squeezed his shoulder. “So would you.”

“But I can’t feel her, Bit,” Spike whispered, his eyes now closed. Dawn stepped around him so that she was facing him. She was now tall enough that she could look Spike in the eyes.

“I know, Spike. But I don’t think that means she’s dead. Do you?”

The words gave him pause. He pondered her question silently. He’d felt the connection disappear, for lack of a better term, but did that mean Buffy was dead? No, Nibblet’s right. If she were dead I’d know it. For the first time since that awful moment when he had lost his bond with Buffy, Spike felt a glimmer of hope. His eyelids snapped open and he gave Dawn a small smile. “Thanks, Bit.”

Spike turned purposefully to Willow. “Red, you were sayin’ something about the mojo that bloody git was doing, havin’ to do with time-portals?” He raked his fingers through the hair on the back of his head, causing a few rebellious, platinum curls to spring free of their gelatinous constraint. “You think Buffy’s gone to some other time?”

Willow nodded and began to pace as she launched into an explanation of her theory. “As I told Buffy before she disappeared, I have this magical security thingy in my room that is set up so that if someone breaks in, I know. I was at the coven in Transylvania when my alarm went off, and by the time I had magicked my way back here it was too late. Once I figured out what had been stolen, I knew someone was attempting to open a time-portal since the ingredients are pretty rare and specific for that spell. I didn’t know it was Jeffery, but I knew there was no way a student in this school is advanced enough to try that kind of spell. Besides, the spell only works if one has essence of the light, which is not something you get in your local magic shop.” She stopped pacing and looked at Dawn. “It takes a very powerful witch to get that, and since there are none of those around here, other than yours truly, I kinda guessed that whoever had stolen my stuff could have gone after Dawn.”

Seeing Dawn’s puzzled look, Willow clarified “You were the Key, Dawnie – the living embodiment of light. I know if I were looking for the essence of the light and couldn’t get my hands on it the old-fashioned way, which have to tell ya, so not of the white magic, I would have gone for your blood.”

“But I thought I wasn’t the Key anymore,” Dawn said, looking as bewildered as she sounded. Willow opened her mouth to say that they hadn’t actually known that for a fact so much as had assumed it, but Spike’s words cut her off.

“I guess we were wrong, Bit, seein’ as how the bastard did open a portal and has gone bugger knows where, takin’ Buffy with him,” Spike said. When he saw the frightened, somewhat guilty look on Dawn’s face, he rubbed her back affectionately. “Don’t worry, pet. We’ll find her.” He lifted her chin with his index finger so that she was looking at him. “I know what you’re thinkin’. Don’t. We’ll get this Key thing sussed out, I promise. This is not your fault and you should never feel anythin’ but proud of what you are.” Dawn nodded wordlessly, thanking him with her eyes. Spike smiled and dropped a kiss on her forehead. They had always shared an unusual and puissant connection, one that over the years had withstood all the trials and tribulations of your average relationship, and then some. Theirs was a connection of the blood, although neither one had yet discovered it.