CHAPTER 76 - HIKING BOOTS & RENTAL CAR

"Shoes?" Xander groaned. "Thought you weren't addicted anymore, Buffy."

"Not just for me, Xander. And, I'm not talking about pretty or sexy shoes, boots, or sandals. I'm talking about hiking boots!"

"Hiking boots? What?" Xander said.

"Buffy's right, Xander. These trails look a bit too rough for regular shoes. I know. Kennedy and I went hiking in the Yorkshire Dales a couple of times. The first time, we nearly sprained our ankles, using regular tennis shoes. The second time we went, we both had on hiking boots and it was infinitely better."

"Where do you propose we find a shoe store, Buffy?"

"I don't know. Couldn't we just look up shoe stores or outdoor stores, camping stores, I don't know...before we stop for gas at the next town? See if there's one, say, within 50 miles of here?"

"You're a genius, Buffy," Dawn said, grabbing the road map and the laptop.

An hour and a half later, they pulled out of Alamosa, Xander at the wheel; the RV was gassed up, and the occupants all had brand new, light weight hiking boots.

"Bet they were glad to see us coming," Dawn said.

"Yeah, us and our money. God, what did we just spend there? About $350.00?" Xander asked.

"Yep, that's about right, but your feet will definitely thank you," Willow said.

"Unless I develop blisters from the new shoes," he grumbled.

"That's what the spanking new, sweat free, super-fabric socks are for," Buffy quipped.

They'd also gotten some trail mix, instant meals, water purifier pills (just in case) some power drink bottles, waterproof matches, rain ponchos, disposable cameras, and other hiking necessities. Also, Xander and Dawn had needed daypacks. Yeah, the salesperson definitely saw them coming!

They oohed and aahed, and took lots of pictures, as they ascended into the San Juan Mountains, higher and higher, until an hour later, they were driving through South Fork, elevation 8300 feet. They had the easy camaraderie of friends, sharing in each other's delight with the scenery.

Almost three and a half-hours later, they pulled into the Alamo Rent-a-Car in Cortez, minutes before they closed, and rented a silver Dodge Intrepid for $29.00 a day, under Dawn's name. Dawn drove, with Buffy and William to keep her company the last 14 miles or so, to Morefield Campground, which was 4 miles just inside Mesa Verde. It was already past dusk, by the time they arrived, paid for 2 nights at the check-in desk, then drove around looking for their numbered campsite. Buffy started to get some dinner ready for the group, along with Dawn's help, while Willow and William helped Xander set up his tent for the night.

Buffy and Dawn managed to pull together a decent dinner, using the RV's stove, so that they didn't have to bother cooking outdoors, as they were all tired, having covered more than 500 miles that day and driven for almost 12 hours.

Before they ate, they heard some noises, and all came outside to watch a fireworks display put on by the campground.

"I just realized it was July 4th yesterday," Xander said, "I promised Alex I'd do some fireworks with him when we get back home. Guess where we were, out in the boondocks, we couldn't see anything."

"Or even hear anything," Willow said, "I'm glad I forgot about it, or I would have been disappointed, I haven't been in this country for a 4th of July for five years."

"Well, then, Willow, this is for you. And William," Buffy said, looking over at him, as he watched with the kind of delight a child would, at seeing his first display of fireworks.

It went on for about 40 minutes, then it was over. They all moaned with disappointment, but all through the campground you could hear the applause, and so they added theirs as well.

After dinner, the women headed off to the showers, as did Xander and William, and shortly after that, somewhere close to half past 9:00pm that evening, they all decided to call it a night.

JULY 6, 2008

SUNDAY

7:30AM

Buffy woke up and nuzzled closer to William.

"Morning," he said, sleepily.

"Morning yourself," she said, kissing him, as she tried to get a look at the clock over on his side.

"Wow, this is like a luxury, sleeping in until 7:30," she said.

William snorted, "More like if it was until 10:00am, now that's an hour I could go for getting up at."

"Not on this trip," she said, tickling him, "but I promise, the day we get home, we can stay in bed the whole next day, if you want."

"Umm, sounds like heaven," he said, and kissed her sensually, sliding his tongue into her mouth to dance with hers, "but not only for sleep," he said, rather smirking at her, reminding her of Spike, which he did sometimes, of course, since he was wearing Spike's face. But that wasn't quite right even, William had softer looks than Spike, his hair was softer, his eyes were softer. Buffy guessed that was because they'd seen so much less life, and none of the horror that Spike's had. Still, when he very occasionally smirked, or cocked his eyebrow in a certain way, her heart would beat a little stronger as the image of Spike overtook the one of William in her mind's eye.

"Uh-uh, not only for sleep," she said, shaking her head, "but there will be lots of that, too. And food. Sex, sleep, food. Repeat as needed. All day!"

"William! Buffy! You guys up?" Dawn yelled from the front.

They both groaned, then laughed.

"Does Dawn always know when we're about to...?"

"I think so. From what I hear, the same thing happens when you're parents, kids always seem to..." she stopped, embarrassed.

William didn't seem to notice, "Yeah, what I hear, too," he said, caressing her face one last time, before sitting up.

They had a quick breakfast, then put together their day packs with the things they thought they might need, put on their new super-fabric socks and new hiking boots.

Buffy made sure that William had the cap and sunglasses she'd bought him, despite his protests that he looked silly.

"No, you don't. It's just being prepared."

He sighed, "If you insist!" he said, but secretly he was pleased that Elizabeth was looking out for him so well. He had never felt so loved as he had in the past few weeks. No wonder the fellows that he'd known who had gotten married had always seemed so much happier and settled than he had, than his other single peers had. He wondered, however, if their love and their love lives were anything that could rival what he had now. Somehow he doubted it.

"Hello, world to William," Elizabeth said to him, "you ready? You looked like you were daydreaming.

"I was. About you, about us," he said, shyly, looking up at her over thick eyelashes.

"Oh," she said, "was it nice?"

"Very, very nice," he said, holding her gaze and causing her to blush like a schoolgirl. Funny how he did that. There she was, a grown woman, who was sleeping with him as if they had never been apart, and still, a word from him, a certain look, and she'd find herself all aflutter, as if thousands of migrating monarchs had just taken up residence in her stomach.

She moved toward him and put her face up for a kiss, "Stop that," she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"Making me want you all the time, charming my pants right off me," she said, giggling.

"Oh, Elizabeth, I don't know what you think it is that I'm doing, but I surely don't want to stop it!" he said, kissing her languidly. She responded by pressing her body into his.

"I don't want you to either, never," she said, running her hands up his back, under his T-shirt.

"Let's go!" Xander said, from the front.

"Ready?" Elizabeth asked, laughing.

"Um, ready," William answered, trying to adjust himself.

END CHAPTER 76

They piled into the car, with Dawn driving, and Willow riding shotgun. William, Elizabeth, and Xander took the back.

They decided to head up to the Far View Visitor’s Center and get some maps and plot out their day. There were a number of ruins accessible from either the Chapin or Wetherill Mesas, with the latter being the easier of the two. They agreed that the visitor’s center was a good place to start.

It took them almost 40 minutes of driving to get up to the center, even though it was only about 12 miles, because of the steep winding roads, reduced speed limits, and stopping at overlooks to take pictures.

Once they got to the visitor’s center, they loaded up on maps and spoke to a ranger about which ruins were where and how strenuous the hiking would be.

They decided to head over to Wetherill Mesa parking lot and take the easier, self-guided walking tour to the Step House ruins. There was a tram that took you to the more spectacular Long House, which was a ticket-only, ranger led tour, but it was considered very strenuous. After some debate, they decided that none of them were probably in the shape to take that on for now. Buffy was especially worried about William and Xander. She thought that her, Willow, and Dawn might do alright, she still had some slayer stamina, Dawn was young and worked out regularly back at home, and Willow, well, she could always use magic, if she absolutely had to. There was also the issue of the altitude, which they’d been warned of, and which none of them had time to become acclimated to, except for just having driven through the mountains. Not the same.

The trail started out flat, but soon became steep over uneven stones and ground.

"I’m changing my mind about the uselessness of hiking boots," Xander said, after almost slipping.

"See?" Willow asked.

Xander groaned, "Yeah, but I still slipped."

"But you didn’t fall," Willow countered.

"Yet," Xander said.

Dawn was in the lead, followed by Willow and Xander. Buffy and William were in the back.

"How you doing?" Buffy asked William.

"I’m good. Just enjoying the scenery," he replied, and gave her a hand, as she was about to take a deep step down. She turned around, returning the favor and helped him down, too. As she looked up at him, she couldn’t help but see his face was a bit red and sweat was beginning to form on his brow. It wasn’t that it was different from anyone else’s, or that she hadn’t seen it in Michigan, too. It was just that seeing these things on William, was something that always took her aback, remembering Spike.

Forty-five minutes later, they had arrived at Step House. They took out their Mesa Verde National Park brochure and read,

"The site known as Step House is unique because there is clear evidence of two separate occupations in the same site. A Modified Basketmaker site, dating to approximately A.D. 626, is situated between the old stone steps on the south and the large boulders on the north. The rest of the alcove is occupied by a masonry pueblo dating to Classic Pueblo times (A.D. 1226)."

The park ranger on duty pointed them in a good direction to start their tour and so they did, visiting each part of the ruins and seeing how the areas where it certain artifacts had been discovered, giving an idea of the different uses of the site.

They took lots of pictures of the site and of each other. They talked to the park ranger about if any other sites were near enough to walk to. He told them it would be better to go back to the trailhead and take the tram if they were planning on visiting Long House or to walk the other trails to some of the smaller ruins, as that would put them closer.

By the time they got back to the trailhead, it was late morning, and they were all getting hungry. They decided to eat a power bar on their way driving to Chapin Mesa, where they had decided that the one, bit more strenuous hike of the day, would be to Cliff Palace, which they all wanted to visit. They would lunch there and then proceed to the ruins, but first they had to go back to the Far View Visitor’s Center to purchase tickets for the ranger-guided tour.

After purchasing their tickets, they drove twenty-five minutes to get to the Cliff Palace Loop Drive, finally parking near the headquarters and museum. Their tickets were for the 2:00pm tour and it was only around 12 noon. They decided to visit the museum and see some of the exhibits, then have lunch.

They looked around at the exhibits for a while. If William had any qualms about being in a ‘museum’ he didn’t say so, or show any qualms, which Buffy was grateful. Perhaps the fact that it was so different a museum than the one in Chicago had something to do with that.

To their surprise there were some lectures and ‘live’ exhibits going on that day. They stopped to watch two potters work with clay, while behind them, a video talked of the traditional art and how they clay is gathered, fired, and painted, using natural materials for paints. They all admired the finished items that were for sale and decided to purchase some on their way out, or later in the day.

Next, they came and sat in on a lecture that had already started about kiva mural art from the past and how the designs continue to influence contemporary Southwestern artists who work in a variety of mediums such as painting, basketry, pottery, kachinas, and sculpture.

Finally, they went outside in the back of the museum, where a group of Hopi dancers were performing traditional social dances. It was there that they found a picnic table, and decided to have lunch while watching the dancers.

They decided to go back into the museum and make their purchases and leave them in the car, as the museum would likely be closed by the time they returned from their Cliff Palace tour.

Willow purchased a jar that reminded her vaguely of the Urn of Osiris, that she had used so long ago, to bring Buffy back from the dead.

Xander found a pretty painted vase for Angela, a clay flute for Alex, and a tiny jar with lid for Ann, that had a painted bird on the top, which she would more than likely appreciate when she was much older. He also bought a vase for his mother-in-law, Betty.

Dawn decided on a painted coffee mug for Dr. John, and a pair of painted clay cactus earrings and a painted Kachina doll for her.

William, once again, felt funny having no pocket money of his own, and Buffy gave him some, though this didn’t do much for his self-esteem. They both liked these tall pots, with intricate painted scenes of the Southwest best, and decided that they would buy a pair of them, for back home. They were slightly different, only in that one had an eagle and the other a hawk, along with other scenes.

They had them wrapped to travel, then quickly went to put them into the car, hurrying back, with 10 minutes to spare before the tour started.

A group had gathered at the trailhead and soon there were about 35 people waiting to go on the tour. Buffy looked around with somewhat disappointment at the large group.

"Sheesh," this is getting to be quite a group," Dawn whispered to Willow.

"Sure is. Hey, maybe I can do a spell and…"

"Hey now!" Buffy said, walking up to them, "only if they get in my way, then I give you permission to turn them into toads or something," she said, laughing.

"You’re on!" Willow said, smiling.

William walked up right then, and their banter stopped. He put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. She smiled, at his open display of affection, even more, that she was comfortable with it. Once in a while, though, she felt guilty on Spike’s behalf, knowing that when ‘he’ was here, she never would have allowed that, nor would he have taken it upon himself to do so, knowing how she felt about her friends knowing about them. Even after Julian, for the short time they shared her bedroom, he was still circumspect about displaying public displays of their feelings. Of course, back then things were…

Just then the rangers arrived, interrupting her train of thought. He gave a short talk about the Cliff Palace, and warnings about the moderately strenuous trail that they were about to embark on.

Buffy’s group decided to bring up the rear, along with ranger number 2. Ranger number 1, started their hike, while giving them lessons in the natural history of the place. Ranger number 2 also repeated it, so that the back of the group could hear. Those in the middle would have had the most trouble hearing. About mid-way down the steep 100-foot descent into the canyon, a woman near the middle started having trouble breathing. She was larger than most of the other participants, and a bit older. The group waited for about 10 minutes for her to catch her breath, then they started again. This time, it only took about 5 more minutes for it to become apparent that she wouldn’t be able to complete the tour. Ranger number 2 decided he would stay with her and help her back to the trailhead if possible, otherwise, he would call for assistance. The rest of the group managed to make it to Cliff Palace without further incidents about 25 minutes later.

Upon seeing the Cliff Palace ruins, Buffy reached out for William’s hand, just to share the moment with him.

The ranger told them how on December 18th, 1888, two cowboys, Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason, were riding across the mesa top looking for stray cattle. As they looked over the edge of the pinyon and juniper forest surrounding them, they saw Cliff Palace. After further exploration, they entered the dwelling and made a small collection of artifacts before leaving for the day. In the next 18 years these same men, as well as various exploring parties and tourist groups, made expeditions into Mesa Verde. Back then, it wasn’t illegal to take artifacts. Protection for the dwellings came with the establishment of Mesa Verde in 1906, yet it was not until 1909 that Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Smithsonian Institution excavated and first stabilized Cliff Palace.

The ranger explained that the foundation of the cliffhouse is sandstone, geologically deposited during the Cretaceous Period some 78 million years ago, but since sandstone is very porous material, moisture seeps right down through it. Beneath the layer of sandstone, however, is a layer of shale through which the moisture cannot penetrate. In the winter months, when the moisture freezes and expands, chunks of sandstone are cracked and loosened. Later these pieces collapse, forming alcoves such as the one here where Cliff Palace is standing.

It is these alcoves that make up the 151 rooms and 23 kivas of Cliff Palace. Many were so small, as to just be able to accommodate only a few small rooms, while very few are large enough to house a dwelling the size of Cliff Palace.

He said, out of the 600 or so dwellings concentrated within the park, 75% contained only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. Cliff Palace is an exceptionally large dwelling, which may have had special significance, even for the original occupants.

He told the group that, "The people who lived in Mesa Verde are sometimes referred to as the "Anasazi", a Navajo Indian word meaning "ancient ones" or "ancient foreigners". In recognition that the people who once lived here are not only the ancestors of some of the Navajo, but also ancestral to most tribes living in the southwest, we now refer to the ancient people of Mesa Verde as the Ancestral Puebloan people. There are 24 tribes that affirm an ancestral affiliation with Mesa Verde National Park. Tribes affiliated with the park include all of the pueblos of New Mexico, the Hopi tribe in Arizona, as well as the Ute and Navajo peoples."

Ancestral Puebloans had occupied the cliff alcoves since 500 AD, but it wasn’t until 1200 AD that they had built the cliff dwellings, then only lived in them for the next 75 - 100 years, before migrating south.

After the lecture, they went over to explore the tower-like structure first. It had been explained that it was probably something like an apartment building in the 1200’s. The noticed the small doorways that they had to bend down in order to go through. It was thought that these were made intentionally small, to keep out the drafts and cold in the winter. They explored the ruins for the better part of an hour, climbing up four 6’ to 10’ ladders, before they were finally at the exit.

They had all taken a ton of pictures of Cliff Palace.

"That was spectacular!" Dawn said.

They all agreed.

"I wish we could stay another day or two and see all the sites," she said.

"Me, too," Xander agreed, "but I’ve got to get back to Kansas, then we’re all going to head over to the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia for a couple of days and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, before I have to head back to work. Good thing I know the boss, but still, I’ll have been gone a good two weeks, if not more."

"I know, I need to get home and get ready for the new semester. Crap, I need to get signed up!" Dawn said.

"I need to get back to England, my job, Kennedy," she smiled sheepishly.

Buffy nodded, feeling a moment of guilt for having had them all disrupt their lives on her behalf. For her and for Spike, at least that’s the way she felt about Willow and Dawn. For Xander, she wasn’t sure if Spike had come back as Spike and not as William, if he would have agreed to come.

Willow and Dawn didn’t ask Buffy, they knew that her main concern was seeing after William and getting him all settled into their life back in California. However, Xander did.

"What about you, Buffy? What are you planning on doing once you’re back in California?"

"I’m going to get us settled at home, I don’t really have any plans other than that at the moment," she answered.

"But don’t you teach?"

"Well, I’m…I guess I’m going back to school, I mean to teaching. There’s a meeting next week," she said, then felt guilty for having mentioned it that way.

William looked at her questioningly, but before she could explain or he could ask, Xander continued, "And William, what are you going to do when Buffy is at work?"

Dawn and Willow glared at him.

"I’m…I don’t know," he shrugged, feeling once again, lost in a world he knew so little about. He’d tried not to think much of what the future months would be like. To do so, was to throw himself into some sort of blackness that he all too well remembered, from when he first realized that he didn’t really ‘belong’ anywhere. When he came to realize that his ‘false’ memories provided him with nothing to help him in the world he found himself in. He barely knew what to say to people, other than these friends of Elizabeth’s, and Dawn.

The only thing, no, person, who had made him feel he had a purpose had been Elizabeth. Suddenly, he realized that she wouldn’t even be around him that much once they got back! He shivered; the warmth of the fun day they had, evaporating like so much smoke.

"We’re going to work on that," she said, putting her arm around William, after seeing his reaction, the near panic in his eyes. She could kill Xander for his thoughtless remarks, even though she knew he wasn’t being cruel, but the effect had been the same.

"Hey, maybe you could take some classes, William," Xander continued.

Dawn gave him a slight kick.

"Ow!" he said, looking at her, she gave him a subtle shake of her head, motioning over to William and Buffy.

William gave a slight nod, not really conscious of Xander's words at this point, only of the voice in his head, telling him that he had no place in this world, that he didn't belong. He was also aware of Elizabeth’s arm around him, trying to reach him, to keep him anchored in the now. He looked at her, his blue eyes wide with fear of the unknown.

"Well, we should go return this rental," Dawn said, breaking the tension.

They walked back to the car and joined Willow in the backseat. The group still oohed and aahed over the scenery and at the outlooks coming back down from the ruins, but somehow, the mood wasn’t the same, and the pall that William had felt, seemed to cast a wide net. However, feeling that the mood was different because of him, William made an attempt at joking even with Xander, whom he somehow sensed had an undercurrent of disdain for him. In any case, soon the good feeling that they’d had as a group returned, and William kept his worries well hidden.

Except from Buffy, who still put her hand on his reassuringly for the rest of the trip back to the campsite.

Dawn, Willow, and Xander drove the car back to the rent-a-car place. They had found out that the rental car people would give them a ride back, so they left the RV at its site.

As soon as they'd left, Buffy turned to William, "I didn't want you to start worrying about what we were going to do when we got back home yet, that's why I didn't mention the meeting to you. I just found out yesterday, when I checked my email."

"Don't you mean that you didn't want me to worry about what I'm going to do?" he asked, pacing in front of the RV, "you have something waiting for you when you go back."

"No! I mean what we're going to do, William! Do you think that I flew across country three times in order to find you, just to bring you home and then abandon you? Just to let you just sit in the house all day by yourself? Is that what you think?" she asked, angrily.

William hung his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so...pathetic. I just don't want to be a burden to you, Elizabeth."

"You're not pathetic. You listen to me, William! First of all, you are not, nor have you ever been a burden to me! Secondly, do you think those things are important to me? Sure, I have a job, because for the past five years I didn’t have YOU! And I was no longer the sl…," she caught herself, and finished saying in her head, what had been in her heart; that being the slayer had been her calling, teaching, while gratifying, was still only her job. "So, I went back to college, got a job, and as much as I like it, well, most of the time anyway, it doesn’t mean anything to me. You mean something to me. You mean everything to me," she said, putting her hands on his face, as she looked into his eyes.

"Elizabeth…"

"I mean it, we'll work something out, I won't abandon you."

"I know you won't," he said softly, "but I won’t have you quit on my account. You've sacrificed for me, I know you have, in so many ways, I don't want you to sacrifice anything else on my account."

"It's not a sacrifice, William," she said, "it's love."

He bent forward to kiss her, as he looked at with awe and gratitude, "Yes, it's love, Elizabeth. And I may not have had a lot of experience with love, until you came into my life," he said, taking both her hands in his, "but I think love is when people sacrifice the most for each other, and I think that you've been the one to sacrifice the most, for a long time. I just don't want you to sacrifice anything else on my behalf. It's not fair to you."

"You sacrificed, too," Buffy whispered, her heart heavy with the knowledge of just how much, "why don't you let me worry about fair, William?" she asked, with a small smile.

"Maybe Xander’s right, maybe I could…go to school and learn how to do something, or I could get some sort of job, perhaps?" William asked, looking at Elizabeth hopefully.

She nodded, "Sure, we can look into it, when we get back, okay?"

They sat for a few minutes, not talking.

"When does…school start for you?" William asked, finally breaking the silence.

"In about 6 weeks, I think. Sometime near the end of August. That’ll give us some time to get adjusted, to figure things out, you’ll see!"

"Okay," he agreed, putting a smile on for her sake, but wondering if he‘d know any more in 42 days than he did now, about why he didn’t remember anything. And if that were still the case, what could he do, so as not to be a burden to her?

"Maybe I should see about starting some dinner," Buffy said, starting to get up.

"I'll see to it, Elizabeth. You look tired," he said, coming up and putting an errant strand of hair behind her ear, "why don't you take a little nap?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" she joked.

"Never!" he said, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her deeply.

"Why don't you come and lay down, too?" she smiled at him in a way that made him lick his lips.

"You go get comfortable, while I start the grill, then I'll join you. How's that?"

"Okay," Elizabeth said, and walked into the RV. She went into the bedroom and pulled off her hiking boots and socks, soon wishing she'd done that outside, since sand and tiny rocks were soon all over the carpet. She then changed out of her dirty jeans and top before lying down on the bed and waited for William to join her.

William started a fire on the grill. He watched it for a few minutes, making sure it wasn't going out, then went to look in the refrigerator and take stock of what their choices were for dinner.

Satisfied with what he found, he closed the door and headed back to the bedroom.

He walked into the bedroom and looked at her, asleep on the covers. He smiled, noting that she was now wearing a tank top and his sweat pants.

William debated about lying down next to her. It took every bit of self control he had in him to pass up the opportunity to lay down with her and put his arms around her, but it would have to wait until later. Other parts of him were not pleased with his decision, especially the straining bulge in his pants. Sighing, he walked over to the bed and pulled the covers around her, tucking her in, then gently kissed her on the forehead. He was pleased when she smiled at him in her sleep.

"Stay," she murmured in her sleep.

"No, you rest, I have to start dinner," he said, regretfully. He figured she’d earned a nap, if by for no other reason, than putting up with the likes of him.

He found some hamburger patties and steaks and, counting the amount of each he might need, took them back outside to start cooking.

Willow, Dawn, and Xander drove up with a young man behind the wheel. They thanked him for the ride, and then as it started driving off, they yelled to him.

"Stop!"

He put on the breaks.

Dawn ran up, explaining that they had left their purchases in the trunk. He got out and opened up the trunk, and they took them out.

"Good thing I drove you back in the same car," he said.

"Yeah, sure is," Willow agreed.

They walked up to the RV with all the wrapped packages, "Can’t believe we almost forgot these!" Dawn said, smiling to William, who nodded. He was glad, too. Elizabeth would have been disappointed had they lost their pots.

"What’s for dinner?" Xander asked William.

"Steaks and hamburger," he answered, tending the meat, while Xander looked over his shoulder.

"Do I have time for a shower?" he asked.

"If you’re having hamburger, no, if you’re having steak, yes."

"Steak and a shower it is, then!" he said, going off to get his toiletries.

"Where’s Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"Napping," he answered.

"Who’s napping?" Buffy said, at the door.

"Thought you were," he answered, admiring how beautiful she looked, with her hair all messy.

"Not anymore. I’m good," she said.

Willow brought out all the rest of what they would need for dinner, plus had cooked baked potatoes in the microwave.

They talked about the ruins over dinner and how much fun they’d had on the tours, and of the things they’d learned. Xander suggested that they all make plans to come back here and meet up in a few years, especially, when his kids would be older and they all agreed, not really believing, yet hoping somehow it could really happen.

They turned in earlier than the previous night, and fell quickly asleep from the fresh air, the altitude, and all the exercise.

Tomorrow would once again have them on the road at the crack of dawn, and take them only one state away from their destination.

California.

END CHAPTER 77

JULY 7, 2008

MONDAY

6:00am

"Hey, sleepyheads, time to get up!" Dawn said, knocking on Buffy and William’s bedroom door. She waited a few seconds, then knocked again. "You up in there?"

"Yeah, sorry. Must have overslept," Buffy called.

"We’re leaving in a few minutes. Just wanted you to know. Xander already took his tent down. Breakfast is done."

"Okay. Thanks, Dawn, we’ll be out in a few."

"No promblemo!"

Buffy leaned over William to look at the clock, "Crap! I thought I set it for 5:00am," she said.

"I may have turned it off."

"Oh?"

"I thought I hit the snooze," he said, sheepishly.

"See, you’re already picking up one of the bad habits of the 22^nd Century."

"That so?"

"Oh, definitely; abuse of the snooze button is just the tip of the iceberg! Next you’ll be throwing litter on the highways, crunching beer cans on your forehead, and who knows what else?"

He laughed; a warm rumbling laugh that made her smile, as she felt the vibrations in his chest.

"Maybe I do remember something about the 22^nd Century, then, huh? Very uncivilized way to wake, I must say. What I remember about waking up was having the housekeeper come in with tea. She would open the curtains, lay out my clothes, draw a bath, that is, until the money for housekeepers ran out, after my father passed," he said, then looked at her, ashamed all of a sudden.

"It’s alright, I like to hear about your life," she said, putting her head down on his chest.

"Problem is, I’m not sure they’re really my memories; my life or not. The way I picture things…they don’t even belong in the last century," he said, rubbing her back, inhaling the smell of her hair.

"I…I think they must be, William, you…when you tell them, you tell them with so much feeling," she said, still not looking at him, trying to walk the line between not denying those parts of his life, yet not confirming the time period they came from.

"Hmm," he murmured into her hair.

He raised her face to his and kissed her. She scooted up to align herself better with his mouth and was soon pulled on top him, by a very aroused William.

"Want you, Elizabeth," he whispered into her mouth, as he moved underneath her, his erection rubbing between her legs, only separated by the thin material of her nightgown, which his hands were busy pulling up, "always want you."

"Want you, too. Oh…but we should get up. See, you shouldn’t have turned off that snooze," she said, half-heartedly, even as her body was responding with ideas of its own; quivering in expectation and desire, as she rubbed up and down on top him, like a cat in heat. Her hands now helped him pull the nightgown up over her head. As she raised up to do so, he caught her breast with his mouth. His lips gently pulled her nipple into his mouth, as his tongue began to slowly swirl around and around her areola, eliciting a soft moan from her, as she pushed her breast forward even more, giving him better access.

William grabbed her arms, pushing her back, so that she was now in a sitting position. He put his legs underneath hers, and pulled her onto his lap, lifting her up slightly, so as to position them. She reached down to help and gasped when she felt his hard length enter her, totally and fully. She looked into his lust and love filled eyes as they started moving together. Just then, the felt the RV start moving.

"Crap," she said.

"Too late," he said, kissing her, "they don’t need us. I need you."

"I know. Need you, too," she said, loving the feeling of how hot he felt inside her.

It was strange to think of the different ways his cock felt inside her, but she couldn’t help it. With Spike, she had marveled at how cool it felt when it first entered her, giving her a thrill almost, but by the time they were done, it felt the same temperature as she did. But with William, she was always surprised at how much warmer it was. Sometimes, more than others. This was one such time, where once inside her, it felt hot, not merely warm. Maybe it was her or something to do with her body’s monthly cycle, she wasn’t sure, but she knew that it was particularly delicious at this moment!

"God, you’re so hot," he said, suddenly, voicing what she’d been thinking.

"I was just thinking that," she giggled, "thought it was you."

"Think it’s you, Elizabeth. God, you’re like an oven, a wet, hot oven!"

"Wait," Buffy gasped.

"What? Did I hurt you?"

"Uh-uh, I want to say good-bye."

"What?"

"You’ll see," she said, breaking contact to reach over him and open the blinds a little. As she did so, he nearly got dizzy, as her bottom was near to his face. He grabbed her hips, pulling her near.

She giggled, "Hey, that’s cheating!"

"Not with what you’re doing to me, missy," he said.

She squirmed out of reach and pulled him up into a sitting position, motioning for him to sit sideways. She put her legs over his, while once again, lowering herself down on him, so now they were both sitting, arms around each other.

"Good?" she asked him.

"Oh, God yes!" he gasped, as he rocked them back and forth.

"Look," she said, pointing to the window, "I wanted us to see Mesa Verde one more time. That was the only reason I thought we should get up."

She reached over him, nearly landing him on his back, but then she pulled him back up, "Sorry, that wasn’t some new move, just wanted my camera."

He looked at her questioningly.

She took it and aimed it at the window and the towering mesas in the distance, "When I get this picture back, I’m going to remember exactly where I was and what I was doing!" she smirked.

He smirked back, pulling her down hard on top of him, until her breath came faster and faster.

"Still feel like taking pictures?" he asked, through his own gasps.

"Not so much," she was barely able to answer.

"Good, don’t need a picture; you’re my picture, my painting, my poem," he said, his voice sending her over the edge almost.

Until she looked up.

"Oh no!"

"What’s wrong?" William asked alarmed.

"Look!" she said, pointing to the window.

He looked. Instead of seeing the mesas, he saw the driver of another RV staring squinting into the window of their bedroom, grinning.

"Bloody…sorry. Duck down, Elizabeth."

"How?"

He grabbed the sheet and threw it over her, then pushed her off him and rose up, closing the blinds, while glaring at the other driver.

"Oh my God," she said, "I’m sorry, I had no idea…"

"Pillock! Shouldn’t been lookin’ into other people’s bedrooms," he said.

"Didn’t have much choice did he?" she asked, her eyes laughing.

"Guess not," he said, begrudgingly. Then he looked at her. Beautiful, naked, wanting him, and instantly, he forgot everything else, "Now where were we?" William asked, smiling as his lips found hers once more.

When William and Elizabeth came out 15 minutes later, they’d forgotten all about the other driver. Until they heard Xander talking to Willow and Dawn.

"…so this idiot pulls up alongside me, and I’m thinking he’s trying to tell me that I’ve got a flat tire or something. He keeps grinning and giving me the universal sign for jacking off. What the hell was up with that? Finally I gave him the bird, also known as the universal sign for, fu…screw off," he corrected himself. "Oh, good-morning you, two. Finally decide to join us?" he asked, looking back toward William and Buffy.

"Morning, Xander," Buffy said.

"Good Morning, Xander, did you sleep well?" William asked.

"Yep, very well, thanks."

"Good. Sorry, I wasn’t awake to help you take your tent down," William added.

"That’s alright. It’s easier to take down than put up, anyway. You can help me tonight, alright?"

William nodded.

"Guys, there’s breakfast still on the stove, might need to warm it up, though."

"Thanks, Willow," Buffy said. "Can I get anyone anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"I’m good," Dawn said.

"I’m fine," Willow said, "Xander?"

He shook his head, "Got a hot cup right here," he motioned to his travel mug.

"Okay, then, I guess we’ll go and help ourselves," Buffy said, and pulled William along with her.

She pulled him over toward her and whispered, "Did you hear Xander? Do you think that was the guy? The one who was looking in our window?" she asked, giggling.

"I didn’t understand all of what he was talking about with the universal sign for…what was that? Jacking off? Is that what I think it is?"

She made a motion with her hand, and he looked shocked for a second, then burst out laughing, mumbling something very Spike-like under his breath, shaking his head in a mixture of disgust and amusement.

"Look what we did to him," she whispered in his ear, laughing.

He whispered back in hers, "Turned him into a wanker!"

She looked at him in surprise, and he lifted his eyebrow and smirked.

God, she loved him all over again!

END CHAPTER 78

Within the hour they were passing through Four Corners, the only place in the United States, where you can stand in four states (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona) at once.

"Can we stop? Can we, can we?" Dawn pleaded with Xander.

"Dawn, I don’t want to stop, I’ve barely gotten into my driving rhythm," Xander whined.

"Please?" Dawn pleaded, "just for a few minutes?"

Xander grumbled, but relented, "I don’t want to stop for long!"

"We won’t, I promise," Dawn said.

"Five minutes. Ten tops," he said, knowing five minutes would be impossible anyway.

"I promise, cross my heart," Dawn vowed, giving Buffy a wink.

The Four Corner’s Monument, signifying the intersecting spot was located on the Navajo Reservation. They got out of the RV and went into the building. Inside there was information about the area, as well as Native American vendor booths, which normally, would be selling jewelry, pottery, and traditional food. However, at 6:45am, they weren’t scheduled to be open for another 2 hours.

"Well, we can’t wait," Xander said.

"I know," said Dawn, "I mostly just wanted to see the monument and stand in the Four Corners, because, hey, that’s just so cool!"

"Darn, I wanted to buy some Indian Fry Bread," said Buffy.

"What’s fry bread?" William asked.

"Sort of like an Elephant Ear," Dawn said.

"What’s an Elephant Ear?" William asked.

"They’re a lot like this, except they sell them at carnivals, and they come with powdered sugar on them," Dawn explained. "You’ll have to have Buffy take you to a carnival sometime."

"Sometimes they sell them in front of Wal-Mart, too. That had a rather carnival-like atmosphere, didn’t you think?" Buffy asked, grinning at William.

Before he could answer, Dawn continued, "They’re rides, and games, farm animals, and all sort of bad-for-you-food, like ice cream, fried foods, fatty foods, red meat, etc."

He looked at Elizabeth confused; "Those things are bad for you?"

"Well, not in moderation, but if you eat too much of them…I’ll explain all that another time, okay?" she asked, not wanting to go into the American Heart Association’s diet guidelines right then.

William just made a funny face at her and nodded. His head was beginning to hurt like it sometimes did, when they talked of things he was unfamiliar with, which actually, was most of the time. A lot of the time, he’d just tune them out, so as to not have to deal with feeling like such a stupid git. Besides, if ice cream was bad for him, he really didn’t want to know that; he loved it!

In spite of the fact that Xander had worried about stopping, they made good time as they crossed Northern Arizona, passing monumental, towering rock formations with funny names such as Mexican Hat, etc. The highway they were on, bordered Navajo and Hopi reservations.

William looked out the window at the desolate, though colorful landscape. He turned to Buffy, "This is the land the U.S. government gave the Indians?"

"Yep, this would be it," she answered.

"How do they make a living out here? It doesn’t seem very…?"

"Hospitable?"

"Well, that’s not exactly the word I was searching for, but yes, that would be one way to describe it. It doesn’t look like good farming land or good anything else, for that matter, beautiful, though."

Buffy sighed, "Willow, you want to take this over?"

Willow perked up and for the next half-hour, gave William a lesson on what the United States government had done to the Native Americans and how they’d gone about it.

"…and so you see, it was an governmental economic and an institutionalized racist policy, given that…"

"Willow, I think he got the point," Buffy said, finally.

"No, that’s alright," he said to Elizabeth, then turned back to Willow, "It’s quite interesting, and very sad, but historically, nothing new. That’s what conquering nations do. They go in, take over the best areas, either kill off or enslave the indigenous or conquered people, or at the very least, delegate them to menial, subsistence levels of work, power, and in this case, land, as well. They never really had any type of power, at least not the sort of power that is understood as power by the white, European settlers."

Buffy looked at William, then at Willow. She’d heard Spike say something similar years ago, after their run-in with the Chumash Indians, right after he’d come to them for help, after being chipped by the Initiative. Another great governmental policy, she snorted to herself.

"What?" William and Willow both looked at her, annoyed.

"Um…nothing guys, I was just thinking about something…about someone saying something similar one Thanksgiving’s Day, when we were ‘talking’ about the Chumash Indians," she said, looking at Willow.

Willow looked at her for a moment, then caught on, "Oh, yeah, that was some Thanksgiving’s Day, huh Buffy?"

Buffy nodded, as William just looked from Willow to her and back again.

It was only a little after 10:15am by the time that they got to Tuba City, where they stopped for gas, to check out the convenience store, and to stretch their legs.

"Hey look," Dawn said, pointing across the roadway to a small store that said Michael’s Trading Post.

"Oh, no!" Xander said, but Dawn and Willow were already heading across the street. "What kind of an Native American name is Michael, anyway? Think about it, it’s not too late to turn around!"

"We’ll be right back," Willow called out laughingly to Xander.

"Sure you will, Willow," he said, looking at William for moral support.

"Um, why don’t you just drive across the street and pick them up? It will probably take you ten minutes to fill this up, right?" William asked.

Xander sighed, resigned, "Yeah, you’re probably right. Buffy, you and William can go, too if you want."

"You sure?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I’m sure," Xander said, sighing again.

"I can stay here with Xander," William said.

"No, that’s alright, William. You go ahead with Buffy," Xander said.

William looked undecided. On the one hand, he didn’t want to feel like a ‘bird,’ himself, going and looking in shops with the women, but he was truly enjoying learning about Indian things that he’d read about as a boy. That and the chance to be with Elizabeth was always the most compelling argument.

Xander looked at William and laughed, "Go ahead, I’m fine. Really."

William nodded a silent ‘thanks’ to Xander. He then took Elizabeth’s hand and they went across the road to join the others.

As they neared Michael’s Trading Post they could see there was a vendor outside, selling none other than fry bread.

"See," Buffy whispered, "just like a Wal-Mart."

William looked at her confused for a moment, then laughed, "Thought that was the other way around."

"No. Yes. I don’t know," she giggled.

"Then I’ll vote that Indian Fry Bread came first, just like the Native Americans," William said.

Once inside, Buffy and William wandered into a small shop that had artwork and books. William decided to purchase two books for him and Elizabeth, one on the Navajos, and one on Mesa Verde, which he’d forgotten to do at the museum the day before.

A few minutes later, Xander wandered in himself, and wound up buying his kids a couple of small traditional Navajo toys, while Willow and Dawn each bought a pair of Hopi earrings.

On the way out, Buffy purchased five pieces of fry bread for them.

"Thanks for the greasy goodness, Buffy," Xander said.

"You want me to drive?" Dawn asked.

"Nah, I’m fine, enjoying it, in fact," Xander said.

"Come on Xander, you know Angela isn’t going to approve," Dawn said.

"Really, Dawn, I’m fine, but if you want, I’ll let you drive for a while."

"Whoopee!" Dawn said, grinning as she got behind the wheel once more.

William and Buffy were sitting on the couch when Willow came and plopped into the chair opposite them."

"How’s the fry bread, William?"

"It’s quite good, thanks. And thank you," he said to Elizabeth, who smiled and squeezed his hand.

William finished his fry bread and put on his glasses, before starting to read one of the books, showing Elizabeth and Willow different things from them. About a half-hour later, as Buffy and Willow were quietly talking Willow pointed to him.

His glasses had slid down his nose, and he was quietly snoring.

Buffy smiled, then motioned for Willow to follow her into the bedroom.

"What’s up, Buffy?" Willow asked as soon as she’d closed the door to the bedroom.

"I’ve been thinking about William not having any papers."

"What do you mean?"

"When we were at the eyeglass place, they asked me for his insurance card. Of course, I told them we were just paying cash, but it got me to thinking. He’s paperless! He doesn’t have a license, no Green Card, or whatever you call those things that allow you to work or go to school."

"Oh, I see your point. William doesn’t have anything to say he exists, does he?"

Buffy shook her head, sadly, "Only our ‘pretend,’ marriage license."

"Well, if sounds real enough, and if Lawrence did it, maybe it is."

"You think? I don’t know. I don’t think that it’s real, since it’s probably not registered with the State of California."

"Well, you can find that out. If it is, then you could just add William to your insurance policy. You do have insurance through your school, right?"

Buffy nodded her head, then burst out laughing.

"What?"

"Just the idea that I’m so normal now, and that William the Bloody is so normal now, that we need insurance. Oh, the Powers must really be laughing their asses off over that one."

"It does seem rather strange when you put it that way, but sort of nice, too."

"Yeah, I guess so. I was wondering, though…is there any way that you can come up with some legitimate papers for him, so that if anyone needs something…"

"Oh," Willow said. "I guess I could ‘come up’ with some, only…"

"Only what?"

"Will you be telling William that they really are his papers?"

"Sure, why would that be a problem? Oh…" Buffy stopped, thinking of the complications of that.

"You might want to at least get the day and month of his birthday for me, before I do this, unless you know it?" she looked at Buffy, questioningly.

Buffy shook her head, "Sort of compounds the lie, doesn’t it? If we come up with papers, then he’s going to believe those, and if he ever finds out, then that’s something else I’ll have to answer for. Shit!"

"You did tell him that you weren’t really married, right?"

"Yes, he knows about that. I guess I could just tell him that…I don’t know what I’ll tell him, but he’ll still need papers, no matter what I tell him."

Willow nodded, "Well, see if you can at least get his real birth date, then I’ll see about conjuring a Green Card up for him, or Naturalized Citizenship papers, right? Either way, that should be a start. "

"Sure, either way…Willow?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"Do you think you could you ask him when his birthday is? I feel so stupid doing that. I mean, what’s he going to think if I ask him? He’ll think that I, of all people, should remember it, right?"

"Either that, or you could ask him, because you’re checking to see if he remembers…"

"I suppose you’re right, but when it comes to the year, I’m screwed."

"He won’t give either of us the year that he remembers, but you know how old he was when he was sired, right?"

Buffy nodded.

"Okay, then that’s the number you have to subtract from 2008 and you’ll remind him that he’s…?"

"28," Buffy answered, "or will be 28."

"Good. 28, so that would mean he was born in 1980."

"I was born in 1981," Buffy said softly.

"Yeah, me, too. So William is really about the same age as we are."

"Not really…"

"Well, I didn’t mean…"

"No, I’m really only 7 years old," she said, smiling softly.

"Oh…ha-ha, yeah," Willow said, knowing that Buffy was taking about when she’d brought her back to life. "Well, still better than him being 129 years older than you," Willow said.

"Yeah, don’t want someone who remembers the Industrial Revolution!"

"Nope, wouldn’t want that…"

They fell into silence for a few minutes, until Willow finally added, "You know, I could probably make him up a resume of some sort, too."

"That would be great…only he really doesn’t know much, so it wouldn’t help him getting a job."

"That would depend on what he still remembers, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if he knows Latin or Ancient History, those things would still be skills he would be able to use."

"Oh," Buffy said, taking time to think. "You mean if he was going to teach those things."

"Yeah, that would probably be the only thing he could do with those skills."

"Well, first things first. We’ll get him those papers and…"

They heard a soft knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey William, Willow and I came back here, so our talking wouldn’t disturb your nap."

"Wasn’t napping, just resting my eyes," he said.

"Oh, and what was that snoring sound, then?"

"Wasn’t snoring, just…I don’t snore, do I?" he asked, turning to Elizabeth.

She nodded, "A little bit, nothing obnoxious. I kinda like it, though," she said, smiling. She wouldn’t have really cared if it had been obnoxious; she just liked hearing anything that reminded her that he was there next to her, alive!

"William," Willow said, "what sign are you?"

"Huh?"

"You know, astrological sign?"

"I’m not sure I follow you," he said, looking at Elizabeth.

"Well, they say that your personality is determined by when you’re born, using the stars. There’s Gemini, that’s in late May through June, Pieces is late February through March, Scorpio is late October through Novermber…"

"Oh," he said, "I’m in August, what does that make me?"

"Beginning or end? They’re usually like from the 22^nd of the month to the

"Right in the middle, August 15^th."

Willow smiled, "That would make you a Leo, that’s a very strong sign."

"Is that right?"

"Absolutely! And Buffy, your birthday is January 21^st, so that makes you an Aquarius."

"Right," Buffy said.

"Who’s older, you or Elizabeth?" William asked. Since the subject had come up, he was happy to find out some missing information on Elizabeth, too.

"Elizabeth is. She’ll be 28 in January; same as you’ll be next month. But I won’t be 28 until June. Nope not me, I’m just a baby."

"Just a baby," Buffy said, smiling at Willow, who had just pulled the whole birthday thing off so beautifully.

"Well, think I’ll go back up there," William said.

"I’ll be right there," Buffy said, smiling at him.

She turned back to Willow, a big grin on her face, "You. Are. A. Genius!"

Willow shrugged, "It was just too perfect an opportunity to pass up."

"It was perfect. At least now I know when his birthday is. Crap, next month! Wish you guys were going to be around for it!"

"Well, Dawn isn’t too far away, and Clem will be there."

"Yeah, Clem," she said, "I told him I’d call him the morning of the evening we were going to be home, I guess that’s…tomorrow?"

"Should be, Buffy."

"Tomorrow," Buffy repeated and sat down on the bed, as she looked up at Willow, shaking her head.

"It’ll be alright Buffy, you’ll see," Willow said, coming over and patting her on the back, "you and William are going to be okay, I just know it."

Buffy swallowed, refusing to let her brain contemplate anything else than Willow’s encouraging words, "Thanks, Willow. Don’t know what I would’ve done without all your help."

"You know I’ll always help you if I can."

"I know you will, and for that, I’m eternally grateful."

"Buffy, better we don’t speak of eternally or eternity, don’t you think?"

"With our track record Willow, you’re probably right!"

END CHAPTER 79

It wasn't soon after Buffy and Willow had come out of the bedroom, that Xander told them that they would probably be at the Grand Canyon in about 45 minutes.

Buffy joined William back on the couch and Willow went up front to talk to Xander and Dawn.

"Miss me?"

"Always miss you," William whispered into her hair, his face lingering there for a moment, before wandering down to kiss her neck.

She closed her eyes, as her body responded to his touch, as it always did these days. Her hand tightened on his thigh, "Don't," she whispered.

"Stop me," he whispered back, in his low, sexy voice. It was their little game; they'd recently played when others were around. Buffy wondered if some part of him didn’t remember the oh-so-familiar-words from a much darker time in their history. She hoped not.

Suddenly she was aware that he'd stopped, but hadn't moved.

"What's wrong?"

He sat up and looked at her, "Nothing. I don't know...I just had a funny feeling."

"What kind of funny feeling?" she asked, worried by the expression on his face.

"I'm not sure, felt a little nauseous all of a sudden."

"Are you still feeling it?"

He nodded.

"Maybe the greasy goodness of the fry bread didn’t sit too well in your stomach. You want to take half of a Dramamine?"

He shook his head, "No, I think I'll go use the bathroom," he said rising a bit unsteadily.

She stood up and put her arm on his.

"I'm okay, really, Elizabeth."

"Don't be a baby," she said, lightly, but kept her arm on his, until he was at the bathroom door.

Once inside the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and shook his head at himself. He grabbed a washcloth and wet it with cool water, wiping the sheen of sweat from his face, "What's the matter with you?" he asked his reflection.

A wave of dizziness hit him, and he grabbed the counter, before swinging himself over to plop down on the toilet. His head was pounding and his heart was beating fast. He put his head down between his legs, willing the feelings to abate. And then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they did.

Buffy knocked on the door of the bathroom a few minutes later, "Are you okay, William?"

He opened the door, "I'm okay, Elizabeth," he said, looking at her face all scrunched up with worry over him.

He put his hand in her hair and caressed her face; "I'm fine. Really, it passed, whatever it was."

She smiled, "Good, I'm glad."

They walked back to the couch and he sat down, while she popped open a can of 7-Up and gave it to him, insisting he drink some.

"I’m okay," he assured her.

"I know, just drink it, anyway. For me."

He obliged her and took a few sips, "Think I’m going to rest my eyes a while," he said.

"Okay," she said, starting to move away.

"No, stay," he said, a little too quickly.

"Of course," she said, and sat down, she placed a pillow on her lap and motioned for him to lie down.

He looked like he was about to argue, but quickly changed his mind. She expected him to either lay on his back, or turn sideways so that he was facing out, but for some reason; he drew up his legs and lay facing inward, so that his face was nestled on her stomach and beneath her breasts.

She rubbed his back with one hand, while the other played gently in his hair. Once in a while, she thought she detected a little tremor go through him, then again, she wasn’t sure, but there was something about the way William was acting that was making her feel ill at ease.

William himself wasn’t sure what was going on, just that every once in a while; he was hit with nausea and a wave of heart pounding fear. If it had just been nausea, he would have just chalked it up to motion sickness, but the rest of it, he didn’t understand. That’s why he decided to curl up in Elizabeth’s lap when she offered. It had taken him half a second to fight himself over feeling like a little child or accepting the offer of comfort. Comfort won out.

"Hey, we should be at the Grand Canyon pretty soon," Xander called out, "we’re entering Kaibab National Forest."

Again, a wave of nausea hit William, and his heart pounded. He winced, trying to bury his face in Elizabeth’s stomach.

Buffy looked down at him, and saw him scrunch up his face, felt him pull up his legs more. She could see the pulse pounding through his skin near his temple.

"It’s okay," she whispered to him, "we’ll be stopped soon, you’ll feel better, then."

He didn’t answer her back, and she wasn’t sure if he had nodded off or not.

Willow walked back from the front and took a seat opposite Buffy. She looked at Buffy questioningly, her head motioning toward William.

Buffy shrugged, but her eyes showed how worried she was.

"Not feeling well?" Willow whispered.

Buffy nodded.

"Um, Xander wanted to tell you that we’re going to be at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in about 5 minutes, though it may actually take longer to get to an overlook, depending on the traffic there," Willow said.

Buffy nodded, still idly rubbing William’s back. He stirred and turned his face upward a little to look at her.

"I’m up," he said.

"How are you feeling?"

"I’m…I don’t know. Maybe I should’ve taken half that Dramamine when you suggested it."

"You still want it?"

"Well, we’ll be stopping in a few, right? So, maybe once I’m out of this bl…thing, I’ll feel better. Why don’t I wait and see how I feel after my feet have been on the ground for a while," he suggested.

"That sounds like a smart idea."

He swung his legs over the side of the couch and sat up slowly, leaning back and taking a few deep breaths.

Buffy handed him the 7-Up again, and he took a couple of sips.

He shook his head and looked at her sheepishly, "Don’t know what happened," he said.

"Don’t apologize, you can’t help it if you’re not feeling well," she said, feeling his head, which felt rather warm.

"Do we have a thermometer, Willow?" she asked.

"Is he running a fever?"

"He might be."

"I’m not, I just got up and my head was against you," he said, smiling. "Probably why it feels warm."

"You don’t feel warm to yourself?"

"Not really."

"Okay, but I want you to let me know if you do. Maybe you should take a couple of aspirin anyway."

"Don’t fancy swallowing anything right now," he said, "might not keep it down."

"Oh, of course. We’ll just wait, then."

"Okay," William said, patting her hand, and trying to smile. "I’m okay, don’t worry so much about me, it’s nothing."

She looked at him trying to gage if he was telling her the truth.

William looked at her, trying to read him. He looked over at Willow, "Tell Elizabeth she needn’t worry."

"I can tell her, William, but I doubt it would do much good. Once Buffy sets her mind to something, that’s it. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to accept the worry-wartiness of her, until she’s sure you’re feeling better."

He looked from Willow to Elizabeth and sighed, shaking his head, "Women!"

"Men!" they both replied at once, then started laughing.

They felt the RV slow down and looked out. They were in line, behind other vehicles on Desert View Drive, as it wound its way along the South Rim.

About ten minutes later, Dawn called out, "We’re stopping."

"Okay, Dawn," Buffy called back.

Once again, a wave of nausea, dizziness, and heart pounding hit William. He stood up, unsteadily, and steered himself toward the door.

Buffy looked at him questioningly. He gave her a peck on the cheek, "I’m okay," he lied, "really, right as houses."

"You sure?"

He nodded, "Yes, let’s go," he gave her a smile, which she returned, making him feel better.

The parking lot was across the road, and about 200 yards from the lookout point. They got their cameras and piled out into the parking lot.

Dawn and Xander were the first ones across the road. Dawn took his arm as they reverently viewed one of the wonders of the world.

"You know, right now I’m glad I have only one eye," Xander said.

"What? Why?" Dawn asked.

"Because if I had two to transmit to my brain all this beauty, I think it would explode," he said, in all seriousness.

She squeezed his arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Lot different from the last crater we saw, eh, Dawn?"

It took her a half-second to figure out that what he meant. She nodded, "Sure is."

Willow was next to join them, "Hey, let me take your picture," she said.

Xander and Dawn turned around and Willow snapped the photo. They took turns taking pictures of each other.

Buffy and William were last to stand at the overlook. They stood in front of the gaping chasm that the Colorado River, over millions of years had forged. Saw the myriad of colors, grays, browns, pinks, reds, oranges, and everything in between. They saw the layers of rock that divided the epochs from each other.

The closer that William had come to the edge, the harder his heart pounded, and the more nauseous and dizzy he was becoming. This terrible sense of dread, of foreboding that he couldn’t shake, couldn’t voice. He gripped Elizabeth tightly around the waist, and she did the same, unaware that he was doing it to steady himself, to steer himself to the edge, not for the usual reasons he had when he hugged her to him.

They stood there for a few moments looking out, "God, William, it’s so…"

"Hey, guys, turn around," Willow said, and as Buffy did, Willow took her picture.

"You, too, William," she called.

He was terrified to have his back to the edge. If it hadn’t been for Elizabeth turning him around as she gripped him, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to move, he felt like he had two lead feet

"Smile," Willow said.

He gave a wan smile and she snapped the picture.

"God, Buffy, this is fantastic. We should walk further down here on the outlook," Willow said, motioning to her right. "You could take our picture…"

"Sure, I’ll take your picture," Elizabeth said.

William tried, but he was unable to keep track of the conversation, just that suddenly, Elizabeth had let go of him and was going over to where the others were.

He swayed, feeling like a leaf in a windstorm. He swallowed hard, his throat dry. "Stop being such ponce!" he berated himself, then slowly forced himself to turn back around.

"Here, you get in there with Willow and Xander, and I’ll take your picture, Buffy," Dawn said, grabbing the camera.

William turned around and that’s when he saw them. Thousands of them; inhuman beings with unearthly, glowing eyes, and with long, shining, horrible teeth. He started stumbling backward, just as they looked up from the cavernous depths and started charging forward. He looked around him, but only saw dozens of girls, fighting the beings with swords and knives, stakes and fists, as they poured up and out. He saw death and blood and total destruction.

"Okay, now you Dawn, get in there with Willow and…"

"BUFFY!"

Buffy turned around, just as William was stumbling backwards, arms flailing as if he was fighting something.

"BUFFY!"

"SPIKE?" SPIKE, STOP!" she screamed at him, as he was just moments away from stumbling backwards onto the roadway. She took off running; reaching him just as a car horn blared. She tackled him to the ground only a couple of feet from where the car whizzed by.

Buffy landed on top him. "What’s wrong?" she yelled at him, but he didn’t answer. He was still flailing his arms, trying to get up. She struggled with him for another few minutes, before doing what she had to. She hit him. Hard.

He looked up at her, finally seeing her, "Buffy," he barely whispered, "there were monsters…so many monsters," he said, then fell silent.

The others had run over just as she had tackled him to the ground.

"What’s happening? What’s wrong with him?" Dawn said, standing over them.

Buffy looked up at her, "I don’t know, he was…"

"Hey, what’s wrong with your friend here? Do you need some help?" a man asked, who had just come over from across the road.

"Um, no…he just," Buffy started, not taking her eyes off of William, who was now just staring up at nothing.

"He had a seizure," Xander said, appearing beside her, "he’ll be fine."

"You sure? Because I can call the Ranger. They have some first aid training…"

"Thank you for your concern," Xander said, taking the surprised man’s hand shaking it, "but he’ll be fine in a few minutes, happens all the time."

"Well, if you’re sure," the man said, and started to walk away, "still think he ought to be looked at, though."

Xander waited until the man had his back turned then looked at Buffy, "What the hell just happened?" he asked.

"I don’t know," Buffy said, shaking her head, "I don’t know. He said he wasn’t feeling well before, but I just thought it was motion sickness again. I think he…" she stopped.

"You think what, Buffy?" Willow asked.

She shook her head, afraid to say it aloud.

Willow caught her eye; "Can you hear me, Buffy?" Willow asked, telepathically.

"I hear you."

"Xander?"

"Yeah, Willow, you got me ‘online,’ too."

"What is it, Buffy?"

"The Hellmouth. I think he thought we were fighting at the Hellmouth. He mentioned monsters."

"Oh, Buffy," Willow said, sympathetically, looking at her and William.

"He…" she stopped, gathering her thoughts.

"He what?"

"He called me ‘Buffy,’ he never calls me Buffy, only Elizabeth," she said to them, looking up, shock on her face.

"What are you guys doing?" Dawn asked.

"Tell you in a while, Dawn," Willow said aloud, then turned toward Buffy, "We need to get him out of here. Do you think he can walk?"

"Uh-oh, 2 o’clock," said Xander. They looked over and saw the man that had come over, now talking to two National Park Rangers, while pointing in their direction.

"I think this calls for something," Willow said, and then relying on one of the first spells she had ever done, she said a few words in Latin, then said, "Freeze!"

All movement around them stopped, even the wind seemed to still.

"Let’s go," she said.

Xander got on one side of William, while Buffy got on the other. They sat him up, then pulled him to his feet.

"There’s blood!" Dawn said, alarmed.

Buffy back to where he had been laying, "It’s from where his head was," she said, "Oh God, I shouldn’t have…"

"You had to, Buffy. Otherwise, William here would be road-kill," Xander said, as he supported most of William’s weight.

"Come on William, you’ll be okay. Let’s get you back to the RV and get you all fixed up," he said.

William didn’t answer, just walked slowly forward, with Xander and Buffy’s support. Suddenly he stopped, lurched forward, and threw up.

"That’s it, buddy! You get all that bad stuff out of your system. You’ll feel better now, you’ll see," Xander said, holding him up, while Buffy supported his head.

She looked over at Xander, gratefully. He was doling out just the right amount of sympathy, while doing what was necessary at the same time.

Dawn hurried ahead and opened the RV door.

"Let’s get him into the bedroom," Xander said.

"Willow, can you bring me some wet towels?" Buffy asked.

"Xander do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, it’s under the sink in the kitchen area."

"I’m on it," Dawn said.

Xander and Buffy had sat William down on the edge of the bed. He seemed to be in some sort of shock.

Willow brought in the wet towels the same time that Dawn brought in the first aid kit.

Buffy kneeled down in front of him, trying to make eye contact with him. "William," she said softly, "I’m going to take a look at the back of your head, where you hit it, okay?"

He didn’t answer and didn’t look up at her.

"Okay then," she said. Although his lack of response was tearing her up, she was now in ‘slayer mode,’ doing what needed to be done. Take care of the physical wounds, before worrying about any of the other stuff.

She got up from the floor and got on her knees behind him and started to wash off the blood. "It’s not a deep cut, it’s stopped bleeding already," she said to all of them, while applying antiseptic, and a bandage, "but he’s got a pretty good sized goose egg."

"Dawn, could you go look in the freezer? I think we have an icepack," Xander said, "oh, and could you bring the empty, plastic ice cream tub, too?"

She came back a few seconds later with both items.

"What’s the tub for?" Buffy asked.

"In case he needs to throw up again."

She nodded.

"Let’s get him into bed," Xander said, "we’ll lay him on his side, in case he needs to throw up again, he can just lean over and…"

"Yeah, but what about the icepack?"

"We’ll prop some pillows between the back of his head and the icepack," he answered.

"You’re good at this," Buffy said, grateful to him.

"Comes with the territory."

They all just looked at him.

"Kids," he explained, shrugging, "always falling off something, banging themselves up, scaring you half to death. You learn to deal with minor emergencies and illnesses."

"Thank you," Buffy said, as Dawn and Xander pulled him to his feet so she could pull the covers back. They sat him down again. Buffy once more got behind him and pulled him toward the center of the bed.

"Hold on a minute," Dawn said, and took off his shoes. "There you are, William. That’s better now, isn’t it?" she said, in the same voice she had used on him in the hospital. The only difference was that in the hospital, he had answered her back.

After they had settled him onto his side, bucket within reach, and icepack wedged between a pile of pillows and his head, Xander said, "I’ve got to get us back on the road. We’re still about 100 miles from Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona."

Buffy looked blankly at him.

"Campground we’re booked at."

"Oh."

Think he’ll be alright with the driving?" Xander asked.

"I don’t know, but we should get out of here; the sooner the better. He started getting sicker the closer we got. I didn’t put it together as such, but that’s what it seems like to me now. Then with him seeing…" she stopped herself from saying more.

Xander nodded, "Yeah, and if he really does need a doctor, we’ll have better luck finding a hospital in Flagstaff than around here."

"No! No hospitals!" Buffy said.

"Just saying…"

"No, I’ll take care of him, no hospitals," she repeated, adamantly.

"Okay, Buffy. Whatever you say," Xander said, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm before leaving the bedroom.

"Dawn," can you watch William for a minute? I need to talk to Willow,’ she said. She had called him Spike after he had called her Buffy, outside at the overlook, but somehow, she couldn’t just bring herself to start referring to him as Spike, not before knowing for sure, if all of his memories were returning, or if this was some sort of aberration. Aberration? Poor William! Poor Spike! Poor herself!

"Sure, be glad to," Dawn answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed, just as the RV started moving. Buffy looked over at William, but he hadn’t made any movement or indication that he knew what was going on. She shook her head and motioned for Willow to follow her.

Buffy stopped and turned once she’d gotten to the kitchen galley, "What the hell is happening, Willow?" she asked, running her hands through her hair, "what the hell is happening?"

"I don’t know Buffy. I wish I did," she said, looking out the window, and just in time, saw the people in the parking lot still frozen by her spell. "Oops, hold on," she said as she reversed the spell. "There, that’s better."

Willow turned back toward Buffy, "You said William was getting sick and it increased the closer we got to the canyon?"

Buffy nodded.

"But if he was getting sick anyway, wouldn’t that just be the course; starts out with a little feeling and increases more?"

"Of course, and that’s what I thought, too. At first, but there was something about the way he was acting that made me feel he wasn’t telling me everything, that is, if he could even express what it was he was feeling. I think he was covering up how badly he was feeling for my sake. Maybe I even let him convince me," she said, sadly.

"Stop blaming everything on yourself, Buffy."

She looked at Willow, "You’re right. It’s not going to help him if I stop for a ‘pity party,’ anyway, is it? So, here’s what we think we know; he got sicker as we came closer to the canyon, either related or unrelated. I’m going with the first, and if it is related, why? Because something inside of him was sensing that something would remind him of the Hellmouth? Again, why? I can sort of see why looking into the canyon reminded him of the Hellmouth, but why would he sense it beforehand? Is he getting his memories back?"

Willow thought for a moment before answering her, "I don’t know, but it appears that there’s something of Spike’s memories inside of William, so we know that he isn’t just William from the 1880’s; not if he’s channeling some of Spike’s experiences. Or it’s something else, altogether? I really don’t know."

"As for why he would sense it, my guess is that the canyon, because its size and its age, might carry some sort of energy."

Buffy looked at her blankly.

Willow continued, "Old, ancient memories, as old and ancient as the Hellmouth’s were. I mean all things have their own energies, good/bad, negative/positive, yin/yang…so maybe it was that energy that was exerting some sort of pull on William. Not that the canyon is good or bad, just that William, because of who he was, what he did, what he is, was affected by it. All things are connected, every molecule, every atom, they’re all a part of each other, a part of us…maybe he’s just more connected now. Just a theory."

"Did the Shanshu Prophecy say anything about it?" Buffy asked.

"No. It didn’t say anything about what the Shanshu will experience, in regards to his ‘humanness,’ his memories," Willow said shrugging.

"What about the part of the prophecy that you couldn’t read? Do you think there’s anything in there about this? Maybe you could check?" Buffy asked, hopefully.

"Um…I don’t think it has anything to do with this."

"How do you know?"

"I don’t, it’s just they way it was reading up to that point, it didn’t seem like it was leading in that direction," Willow said, feeling guilty about what she knew, yet couldn’t tell.

"Well, would you just check it out for me? Please? There might be something that will help me to help him…adjust…when we get back."

"I’ll check it out."

"That is, if he comes out of the state he’s in now," Buffy said, shuddering.

"I’m sure he will," Willow said.

Buffy didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. Absentmindedly, she strummed her fingers on the counter, "When we down in the Hellmouth battling the First, just as the amulet he was wearing started to activate, moments before the light shot out from it, Spike called out to me, just like he did back there at the canyon. He called out Buffy."

"I know. I heard him, I mean back at the canyon. That must have been shocking for you," Willow said, sympathetically.

Buffy nodded, "It was, and he sounded so scared Willow. Not back then, but now. So scared," she said, wiping a tear that had found its way down her cheek.

"Buffy!" Dawn called.

Buffy and Willow hurried back to the bedroom.

"He started to shake a few minutes ago," Dawn said, motioning over to the bed.

"Why didn’t you call me?" Buffy asked, going over to the bed, where William lay shivering.

"I did, Buffy," Dawn said, exasperated, "it was only a little at first, then as soon as it started getting worse, I called you."

"I’m sorry. Of course you did," she said, pulling the blankets higher up and tucking them around him. She put her hand on his forehead; it felt more or less normal.

"Maybe the icepack is making him cold," Dawn suggested.

"Could be, but I don’t want to remove it yet. Listen, you guys can go up there with Xander, I’ll stay with William."

"You sure you don’t want us to stay?" Willow asked.

"No, I’ll be alright, I’ll call if I need you."

"Okay, we’ll check back with you in a little while."

As soon as they’d left, she pulled up the covers on the opposite side, loosening those she’d tucked around him and lay down next to him. He was still shivering, his eyes opened, but unfocused.

"William," she sighed, "it’s just me. Elizabeth," she said to him, hoping he would hear her, not wanting to startle him.

She pulled him towards her, and wrapped her arms around him. She forced his legs, which were bent, down, so she could give him the most body contact and warmth as possible.

He lay shaking in her arms, as she rubbed his back and whispered comforting words to him; "It’s going to be alright, William. You’re safe. I’ve got you. You’re safe."

Finally, after they’d been driving for what seemed to be close to an hour, his shaking seemed to lessen, then finally it stopped. He had closed his eyes a while back, she wasn’t sure if he was actually asleep or not, but was glad that he was resting more comfortably now.

She tentatively moved the icepack off his head and felt for the bump. It seemed to have gone down quite a bit. She sighed in relief.

"That’s it, William, you rest now," she murmured, kissing the top of his head, which rested below her chin.

"You rest now, so you can come back to me," she whispered, exhausted, as the tears she’d been holding back, fell onto his hair, "please, come back to me."

END CHAPTER 80

CONT. CH. 81 - 85

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