Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay between chapter. Thanks to Kar for the beta job and to my readers for all their great comments. This one’s a short one. I hope to get the next part ready over the weekend.


Some readers have expressed confusion about the Spikes, so a little list of the un-dusty.
Spikes, a Field Guide
Spike - our favorite vampire
human-Spike -- has a pulse and a daughter with his wife, Buffy
not-Spike -- born of a challenge at the BSV, this vampire cohabitates with his Buffy in a universe where Joyce lives on.
grabby-Spike -- a smoky, sultry vampire who has a history of bopping about time and space
William -- Angel's unlife partner.


Chapter Seven


"A wish?" Spike practically shouted at her. "You made a wish?"

Buffy held up her hands. "I know. I didn't realize she was a demon or whatever. I was just trying to shut Rosie up, okay? We rescued this woman and she kept talking about how great you were and how much they all miss you, and I guess I said something about wishing you were around more. I really don't remember, and I had just hit my head really hard which might explain why I did something that stupid, and I really don't want to talk about it any more."

Buffy hastened them into the house and found another Spike sitting with not-Spike. "Oh, great," she growled. "Is this one evil, or..."

"Seems safe enough," not-Spike answered.

"Thanks ever so," groused the new Spike.

"He's got a pulse," not-Spike elaborated with false enthusiasm.

"I earned that pulse, you wanker. Any of you tossers ever take down a dragon?"

Spike raised his hand with a smirk.

"Well, sorry about this whole thing," she told the new arrival. "I think I know what happened now, so we'll be able to get you home soon."

"Care to share with the rest of the class, pet?" not-Spike prompted.

Buffy took a deep breath. "I made a wish, okay? A really ill-advised wish. And now we've got to track down the demon that granted it."

"Should know better, slayer," not-Spike chided.

She made a frustrated noise. "It wasn't a vengeance wish or anything, and... I know it was stupid, so could we just concentrate on fixing it?"

Dragon-slayer-Spike made a show of extreme shock. "Did the slayer just admit an error?" he asked with dripping sarcasm.

She exchanged glances with Spike and not-Spike. "I take it we're not buddies back home?" she suggested.

"Not exactly. Christ, I'm glad we're done with you."

"We?"

"Couldn't admit you were wrong about Angel," he groused, then crossed his arms over his chest and sneered at her silently.

"You do understand that I have no idea what you're talking about," she pointed out.

Not-Spike heaved a sigh, obviously having heard this story before. "You thought Peaches had gotten in too deep with some evil law firm, and after you helped him clean up the mess he made, you decided--"

"Went prancing off to Giles," the new guy muttered. "And we were glad to see the back of you."

Buffy clapped her hands together. "Well, we'll get you back to Angel as soon as we track down this demon. She's probably trolling the nearby bars. That's what Anya always did."

Spike knitted his brows at her. "How do you figure this for a vengeance wish?"

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, but do you really think it's a coincidence?"

"Probably not," he agreed.

"Slight problem, pet," not-Spike piped up. "It's nearing sunrise and the bars are closed. May have to delay this little plan until they reopen."

Her face fell. "Okay, fine. We'll call Giles. Maybe he knows some about some other kind of wish-granting demon. We could get everyone over here before the sun comes up..." She bit her lip. "You know, she said her name was Jean... Genies aren't real, are they?"

Spike groaned and not-Spike gave her a little smile. "Real enough. There's a class of jinn that have a yen for granting wishes."

"Reputation for making them come true in the worst way possible," dragon-slaying-Spike agreed. "Good job, Summers."

Buffy really, really wanted to punch him. "I'll go call Giles." She had the sinking feeling that this story wasn't going to get any easier to tell, and that she was going to have to repeat it several more times before the sun rose.

She hung up her phone and turned to see Spike standing close beside her. "Maybe it's better that I didn't come to LA," she whispered.

He snorted. "Wouldn't have agreed to that little arrangement even if you'd asked," Spike asserted.

"What arrangement?"

"Trios never work out, pet."

He'd called her 'pet', but wait... trio? "You mean, the three of them were... together?" She banished a particularly vivid, and not entirely unpleasant, mental image. "I guess that Buffy is less like me than I thought."

He gave her a wan, little smile, like he knew exactly what kind of thought had just passed through her brain. "Just wanted to say, nothing too pressing back in California. And since you did wish for me after all..."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the smile. "I'm just glad you're here." Feeling not entirely confident, she slowly lifted on hand to press against his cheek and just held it there for the few second before the doorbell rang.


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If she had to say one more time that she knew making a wish out loud was a bad idea, she was going to throttle someone. Frankly, a number of the Spikes looked good as an outlet for her increasingly frustration.

She squeezed shut her eyes and jammed her fists against her eyelids. "So, if it was a genie, why did she grant me a wish?"

"Possibly because you saved her life?" Giles suggested. "There's little reliable literature on the subject, but that is consistent with most genie legends."

"So, shouldn't I get three wishes or something?" she asked desperately. "Am I her master now? Like, can I summon her, or--"

There was a blast of sound and light, scattering the Spikes to the corners of the living room as a glowing, flickering hole appeared next to the coffee table. For a moment there was just a nimbus of mist around a gleaming girl. But then the figure solidified into something that was clearly her. The other Buffy looked around the room, shouted, "There you are!", and not-Spike moved so fast that he practically left a little puff of cartoon dust in his wake.

They spun out of sight for a moment, and then the other Buffy was back in view, blinking at her. Buffy took her reflection in as the other Buffy surveyed the assorted Spikes in the room. "Do you guys need some help, or--"

"Can't hold it much longer, Buffy!" Willow's voice rang out from somewhere far away.

"We're good," she assured her double. After all, she knew how guilty she would feel if she were the one leaving another her in the lurch. The other Buffy looked good, sleeker or curvier or something. Maybe it was just that she was happier. "And thank you," she added quietly to not-Spike.

The other Buffy gave not-Spike a sharp look, but he just smirked. "Take care, pet," he replied as the hole collapsed on itself.

Buffy sat down heavily on the coffee table. "Okay, well, I don't think we can count on all of you getting called home that way, so how do we find genie girl? Is there a spell or anything?"

"Have you tried calling her?" asked human-Spike.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Like what? Here, genie, genie, genie?"

"Hi!"

Buffy whipped her head around, and there she was.


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New and longer chapter soon! Feedback is much appreciated.