AN: I'm sorry, I've been updating this at Elysian Fields and forgot about this site! But here's chapter two. Other chapters are on their way.

Chapter Two: Emerald Eyes

London, 1878

“I’ve found her,” William said to his mother when he arrived home.

“What was that, dear?”

He smiled into the fireplace. “Elizabeth Winters.” He paused. They may not have known each other long, but the message from his heart was clear: she was the One.

“I love her, Mother.”

Anne Pratt laid down her sewing and positively beamed at her son. “I think that’s wonderful.”

“Did you see the shooting star earlier?” William couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, I did.”

“I wished she would marry me,” William said quietly. Anne gasped.

“William!”

He looked round, startled. “What?”

“You shouldn’t have told me that!” she cried. “Now it won’t happen!”

“Mother, that’s just superstition.”

“Oh, William.” She started crying, and he hurried over to her, pulling out a handkerchief and offering it to her. “I hope that’s true. I want to see you with the one you love … I want to see you happy.”

“I will be,” he assured her. “I’m not planning on asking her yet. I want to get to know her a little more first, and she may decide to return to America, but I will know when it’s the right time.”

Anne kissed him. “I hope you’re right, dear.”

-----

Sunnydale, Present Day

“Buffy, you coming by the Bronze tonight?”

“I don’t know.”

Willow nudged her friend. “Angel might be there.”

“Well …”

“Oh, come on. If that doesn’t motivate you …”

Buffy just squirmed. She had been having the dreams of William for months now and still had not told them to anyone. She had come to the conclusion that they were a way of having what she lacked in her day-to-day life: a normal relationship. Not that a dream man from the 1800s was normal, but at least he wasn’t Undead.

Of course, if she mentioned recurring dreams to her friends, it would be a one-way trip down research lane and no more William.

But still, with things as awkward as they were between her and Angel, she was feeling more guilty than ever. Although he had forgiven her for the ‘dance’ with Xander, she knew he was still jealous of him. What would Angel think if he could see inside her head?

“Good thing he can’t,” she muttered.

“What?”

Willow’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts, and Buffy remembered her friends.

“Nothing. Maybe I’ll come. I’ve got a lot of work to do, though. You do remember Parent-Teacher Night’s coming up, right?”

“That’s not just yet. Is it?” Xander cut in.

“Thursday after next. I’ve done my best to keep it from my mom, but I have to be prepared in case she finds out somehow.”

-----

London, 1878

“When is your mother expecting us?”

William checked his pocket-watch. “Not for another half-hour. Would you like to walk for a while?”

“Of course,” Lizzie smiled, slipping her arm through his.

They took a different route than usual, William leading the way. They stopped for a few minutes outside the park gates again, and he asked a question.

“Lizzie, how old are you?”

She looked surprised. “Sixteen. Why?”

William gazed at her, a slight frown on his face. “Your eyes tell different.”

“I know,” she replied. “They look older than I am.”

“They’re still beautiful,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. After they broke apart, he added, “They sparkle like emeralds.”

He had considered an emerald engagement ring. There had been some beautiful ones on offer, and he knew they would bring out the colour of her eyes. William was anxious that everything should be perfect, right down to every detail. Diamonds were the fashion, but Lizzie did not seem to be bothered by what other women wore, or thought of her. It was one of the reasons he was so fond of her. She was so different from the others – headstrong and sometimes outspoken. She even spoke differently, not just her accent; although she seemed to restrain herself from using words he did not understand, she occasionally did say something that sounded so strange he had to laugh. She had a peculiar sense of humour and a way of taking the lead. Others may have been put off by this, her forwardness, but he didn’t think anything she could do would make him think any less of her. She was unique; she didn’t conform to society’s rules and he found a long-dormant part of him that thirsted for adventure respecting her for it. And, of course, she was astonishingly beautiful; her eyes lit up so brilliantly when she smiled, and her hair was golden, smooth and worn loose around her shoulders, something unusual for a woman of her class.

William was so in love with her, he didn’t think he could stand to wait until he had found the perfect ring – but he had to; he wanted to be able to propose with it. He also wanted it to be a surprise. So he moved the subject away from emeralds, and they began to walk again.

-----

Sunnydale, Present Day

Time continued to pass in the same vein, and Buffy focused her daytime attention on Parent-Teacher Night. If she and Sheila didn’t pull it off without a hitch, one or both of them would be expelled. Buffy could not bring herself to put that look of disappointment back on her mother’s face.

The Big Night was only days away, however, when Buffy made a fateful trip to the Bronze.

“Guys, I’m all alone out there. Somebody has to dance with me,” Xander said, coming over.

“Well, we are studying,” Willow told him.

“C’mon, one dance,” he pleaded. “You’ve been studying nearly twelve minutes.”

Buffy brightened. “No wonder my brain’s fried.”

She joined Xander on the dance floor, her mind for once not on homework, William, Angel, slaying, or not getting kicked out of school. The temporary relief from deep thought, however, was soon broken as a voice behind her spoke loudly.

“Where’s the phone? I need to call the police. There’s some big guy out there trying to bite somebody.”

As Buffy rushed out of the Bronze, Willow and Xander hot on her heels, it only vaguely occurred to her that she knew that voice …

TBC …