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Sunnydale High School Library, 2019-Three teenagers; one girl (16) and two boys (15 and 13), were fighting what appeared to be a strange opening in the Hellmouth.
"What did you think you were doing?" Joy asked the two boys.
"We were trying to create as time spell," Alex, the youngest, told her.
"We just wanted to look into the past," Will said.
There was a sudden rush of air. Joy pushed her brothers away. Will and Alex watched in horror as their sister somehow sinks through the floor and disappeared. "Joy!" They cried out in unison, but the sinkhole was gone. So was their sister.
The Library doors opened and Buffy, older now, rushed inside. She looked from one stricken boy to the other. "It's happened."
****
Sunnydale High School, 1999. Buffy, Willow and Xander were walking down the hall. It was after hours; they were heading to the Library for another research session.
Willow was bummed, "is it just me, or are full moons coming more often?"
Buffy and Xander exchanged a look. "It's just you, Will." Buffy told her with a smile in her voice. "At least this is the last night."
"This month." Willow added sadly.
They heard a howl emanating from the Library. Buffy and Xander looked at Willow.
"Looks like he knows you're on your way," Xander commented.
"No. That didn't sound right." Willow said, an odd look on her face. She turned to Buffy. "He sounds scared."
Buffy returned Willows look. "He's a werewolf, Will, what's gonna' scare him?"
"Exactly," Willow responded worriedly.
"Giles." Buffy took off at a dead run for the Library, followed by Willow and Xander.
They burst into the Library, but at first they didn't see anything. Buffy spotted Giles in his office doorway; he was looking towards the center of the room.
"Will, Alex, I'm going to kill you," Joy said unaware of her surroundings.
"Not today," said Xander as he rushed at her.
"Xander, don't." Giles yelled.
But of course Xander didn't listen. He tackled her.
Buffy grabbed Joy before she could hurt Xander and Giles grabbed Xander before he could get hurt.
"What's going on here?" Buffy demanded.
"It's not my fault, Mom...." Joy's words trailed off as she turned to face Buffy and stopped dead.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked the now pale girl.
"She doesn't look okay." Willow said.
Joy looked from Buffy to Willow. "What did Will and Alex do?" She asked, unnerved.
"Who?" Xander asked.
Joy looked at him with wide eyes. Then she saw Giles and her eyes widened even more. "How...?" She said, a whisper of a word as she fell to the floor in a dead faint.
Buffy looked at Giles. "Interesting effect you have there." She told him as he picked the girl up.
Giles laid the girl on the long reading table. "Me and the Beatles," Giles said wryly, as he took his jacket off and placed it under the girls head.
"Isn't anyone else bothered by the fact that she was trying to open the Hellmouth?" Xander asked.
"She wasn't opening it, Xander." Giles told him. "She was closing it. After she fell through it."
Buffy looked at him. "How did she fall through it?" She asked.
"I'm not quite certain." Giles told her. "I heard Oz howl and came out to check on him. She was just suddenly there. She stood right up and started speaking a binding spell." He gave Xander a glance. "Fortunately, she finished it."
"How was I supposed to know?" Xander asked defensively.
"You might have tried asking," Giles commented repressively.
Willow was looking at the girl as if she were a specimen. "She looks familiar." She looked at Giles. "Uh, you don't think she like me do you? The other me, I mean?"
"Anya," Buffy said.
Giles touched the girl's neck. "She has a pulse and she's breathing."
"Not a vampire, then," Buffy commented.
"She does look rather familiar," Giles concurred. "Could she be a student here?"
Xander looked at the girl. "No." He looked up to find them all staring at him. "What? I'm a teenage boy."
Joy woke up slowly, and found the four of them hovering. She focused on Buffy, although her focus wasn't good. "Mom?" She said, questioningly in a voice that quavered.
"Huh?" Buffy responded, confused.
"Where am I?" Joy asked.
"The Library," Buffy supplied.
"Where are Will and Alex?" Joy asked next.
"Not a clue. Sorry," Buffy told her. Then she asked, "who are Will and Alex?"
Something was definitely wrong here, Joy thought to herself. "My brothers," she told Buffy with just a tinge of uncertainty.
"So, when you said that you were gonna' kill 'em, you didn't mean literally?" Buffy asked humorously, with a glance at Xander, who shrugged.
"No," Joy said, as she sat up. She rubbed the back of her head.
"I think you hit your head when you ...fell." Willow said.
"I think you're right, Aunt Willow," Joy said.
"Did you say Aunt Willow?" Willow asked, confused.
Now Joy was confused. "I've always called you that." She looked at Buffy, more hesitant now. "Mom always says that you're like sisters."
Buff took a step back. "Why do you keep looking at me when you say 'Mom'?"
Joy looked at them closer now.
"Somethin' you wanna' tell us, Buffy?" Xander asked, an attempt to add some levity. Buffy glared at him. "Or not."
"Let's try something else," Giles suggested. "What's your name?"
"Joy." She looked at him skittishly. "Joy Anne...." Her words trailed off. She looked from one face to the other. Would they believe it? This wasn't where she belonged.
"Joy," Giles repeated. "A lovely name." The girl looked ready to bolt. "And your mother?"
Joy's eyes move to Buffy.
"Stop that," Buffy told her, it gave her the creeps.
Giles looked from Joy to Buffy, then back again. "My God," he said reverently. "Joy, what is today's date?"
Buffy, Willow and Xander looked at him like he has lost his mind. Then....
"June 15, 2019." Joy said hopefully.
"Did you say 2019?" Buffy asked.
"She did," Giles confirmed.
Buffy looked at Giles. "So, what, now the Hellmouth is a time tunnel?"
"Apparently," Giles said. "Buffy, look at her."
Buffy looked at Joy. "What?"
Willow looked from Joy to Buffy. "Oh," she said in a small voice. She looked back to Joy. "Oh," she repeated as she realized what Giles was getting at.
Buffy looked from Joy to Giles. "What?"
"That's why she looks familiar, Buffy," Willow told her. "She's your daughter."
"I don't have a daughter, Willow," Buffy stated emphatically. "Even on the Hellmouth I couldn't have a daughter and not know it." Then she looked at Giles in a moment of panic. "I couldn't, could I?"
"No," Giles assured her with a sigh. "You don't have a daughter, Buffy, but you will. I suppose that technically, she won't be born for another three or four years."
"Huh?" Joy asked, sounding so much like Buffy, that it was eerie.
"Okay," Xander said. "I'm ready for Rod Serling."
Giles looked at Joy. "Do you have any idea how you got here?"
"Not really," Joy told him. "My brothers...."
"Oh, God. I forgot about them," Buffy nearly wailed.
Giles ignored her and prompted Joy. "Your brothers...?"
"They were...." Joy stopped and slapped herself on the forehead. "The morons were working on a time spell."
"A time spell," Giles echoed.
"Right over the Hellmouth," Joy said, as she rolled her eyes. "Why are boys such idiots?"
"Genetics." Buffy told her. "Sometimes they outgrow it."
"Okay," Xander said. "So Buffy's a Mom, with three kids. Where's dear old Dad?" He asked hopefully.
"Sometimes they don't," Willow commented.
Joy got down off of the table; "Daddy died."
"Harsh,"Willow said sympathetically.
Buffy was very still. "Was it vampires?" She asked.
"Uh...." Joy said, at a loss as to what she should tell her. If she said something now, maybe she could prevent it from happening. She opened her mouth-no. She didn't know what could happen. She looked at Buffy sadly. Joy wished that she hadn't said anything at all. "I think it's best if I don't say anything."
"Quite right," Giles said in understanding/ "We mustn't disturb the timeline."
Xander looked at Giles. "You've been watching Star Trek, haven't you?"
Giles ignored him and kept his attention on Joy. "Do you have any idea what type of time spell they used?" He asked her.
"Not really," Joy answered. "They had already done it by the time I got there." She thought for a moment. "Will said that they just wanted to look into the past." She saw Oz in the cage. She tilted her head to one side as she looked at him.
Giles was struck again by how much she looked like Buffy.
"Is that Oz?" Joy asked, her eyes never left the Werewolf in the cage.
"You know Oz?" Xander asked.
"I've never seen him like this." Joy said quietly. "Mom's never let us. Now I understand why."
"Why?" Xander asked.
"Because, he isn't a sideshow," Joy told him. "In there is a man in torment."
"Your Mother is a very wide woman," Giles commented with a looked to Buffy.
Buffy had been watching Joy, now she turned to Giles. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course," Giles responded, somewhat flustered. He followed her into his office.
Joy watched them go.
Once in the office, Buffy turned to Giles. "Do you believe her?" She asked.
"It does seem rather impossible, doesn't it?" Giles responded. "Even for here on the Hellmouth. But, yes, I believe her. I saw her fall from nowhere. Even Oz felt something. Do you believe her?" He asked.
"I don't know," Buffy said. "It sounds crazy."
"True," Giles agreed.
"I want to believe her," Buffy said. "Giles? Did you ever think that I'd still be alive in twenty years?"
"I never doubted it." Giles told her, but he couldn't quite meet her eyes.
"So, how do we get her back?" Buffy asked.
Three hours later, they were all deep in research mode. So far, they hadn't found anything on a time spell.
The door to the Library opened, everyone looked up. It was Angel, who looked concerned.
Buffy looked at her watch, 10:30 PM. Then she looked apologetically back to Angel. "I'm sorry."
"I'm just glad you're here," Angel told her. He knew that Buffy could take care of herself, but when they were supposed to meet at nine and she hadn't shown or sent word by after ten, he'd worried. He was glad she was here, his next stop would have been her home. Asking Joyce.... "Is something up?"
"Massive understatement." Buffy told him. She stood and stretched. "Angel, this is Joy. Joy, Angel." She said as she indicated each. She looked at Angel. "I'll explain while we patrol."
"Buffy," Giles said. "Are you certain that's a good idea?"
Buffy gave him a look. "Yes. Don’t worry Giles."
"Actually," Giles said, just a touch on the defensive. "I was referring to your patrolling. We don't know what other ramifications there could be to Joy's presence here. There could be unexpected side effects."
Buffy almost smiled. "More unexpected than Joy? How will I manage? Oh, I know. If it's bad, I'll kill it and if it's good, I'll bring it back here."
Joy couldn't help the laugh that escaped. She put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled from behind her hand.
Angel looked her intently.
"Maybe we should go with you," Willow commented.
Buffy thought that over. "No," she decided. "Stay her with Joy. Find her a way home." She looked at Giles. "We'll just take a quick sweep, then come back here."
"Well, be careful," Giles told her.
Angel was still looking at Joy when Buffy dragged him off.
Joy watched them go with an odd expression on her face.
"Oh no," Xander nearly wailed. "Don't tell me Angel's your Dad."
But it was Willow who answered. "Xander, vampires can't have kids."
Xander looked at her. "How do you know that? Why do you know that?"
Willow became sheepish. "Buffy told me."
"Euuww," Xander groaned. "That means they've talked about it."
Willow rolled her eyes. "A long time ago." Then she went back to reading.
Xander made a face at her, then did the same.
But Joy was watching Giles.
Giles felt her eyes on him and looked up from his own book. "Is something wrong?"
"No," Joy said quickly. Then she put her book in front of her face.
Giles was taken aback, and looked to Willow in hopes of an explanation. Willow shrugged. He returned to reading.
Willow, however, watched as Joy lowered her book to watch Giles again. Willow filed it away in her mind and went back to reading.
********
Buffy and Angel were walking through the cemetery. Buffy had just finished telling him what happened.
Buffy watched him as she waited for some kind of response, but he remained silent. "Aren't you going to say something?"
"What do you want me to say?" Angel asked in return.
"Something," Buffy said weakly.
"She looks like," Angel told her. "She laughs like you."
Buffy waited expectantly for more, but there wasn't any. "You need to learn to how to hold back," She told him with a smile. "Don't you think it's weird? Even for Sunnydale."
"Very weird," Angel agreed.
Buffy stopped walking and looked at him. "Okay, what?" She asked as Angel stopped as well. "You're even less talkative than usual. And that's not easy. Do you not believe her?"
"It's not that." Angel told her. "I'm... glad that you'll find someone and have a family."
Buffy understood now. "But it can't be you. Angel, I can't imagine ever feeling the same way about someone else."
"For you to be happy is all I ever want." Angel told her.
She took his hand in hers. "I'm happy with you."
"We both know it won't stay that way." Angel said.
***
Back in the Library; Willow and Joy are in the stacks on the upper level.
"Do you know what kind of book it was?" Willow asked as she pulled a book off of the shelf. She looked at it and returned it to it's spot.
"I guess it was one of Dad's," Joy said, rather off-handed. "But I'm not positive."
Willow looked at her, surprised. "Your Dad was a witch?"
"No, he was a...." Joy's words trailed off as she caught herself. "He loved books. He knew things existed that most people didn't even believe in. You know the old saying that 'knowledge is power'?"
Willow nodded. "It's true, you know."
Joy smiled. "Dad lived it. Mom always teased him that research was his department. Then, she'd grab a book and snuggle up next to him on the couch."
Willow smiled at her, Joy's eyes were shining at that memory of her parents. That was when she noticed. "You must have you Father's eyes," she commented.
Joy nodded. "Mom says that she can see him in my eyes."
"That's nice," Willow sighed, romantically.
"Any luck?" Giles asked as he joined them, cleaning his glasses.
"Not really." Willow told him. She looked at him and since they'd just been talking about eyes, she looked at his eyes. Then she looked again. She looked back to Joy, but she had bent down to replace a book on a lower shelf. Willow looked back to Giles, his glasses back where they belong now. No way. But she couldn't quite shake it. He'd asked her a question. Had she answered it? Yes. "How 'bout you?" She asked weakly.
"Not particularly, no," Giles told her. "Xander has gone for pizza. You should both come down and take a break." He turned to leave, followed by Joy.
"I'll be down in a minute." Willow told them as she held up the book in her hand. "I'm just going to put this book away first." She looked along the shelf until she found it's spot, and replaced it. She turned and headed downstairs.
"I'll be down in a minute." Willow told them as she held up the book in her hand. "I'm just going to put this book away first." She looked along the shelf until she found it's spot, and replaced it. She turned and headed downstairs.
Willow came to a frightened halt. She looked at the bookshelf. She'd just returned that book-twice. "Giles!" She yelled as she ran.
***
In the cemetery; Buffy and Angel came across a rising vampire.
Buffy saw him first. "Another perfectly nice stroll through the cemetery ruined," she said calmly as she pulled a stake out of her jacket.
The fight was over rather quickly, a brand new vampire not being much of a challenge to the veteran Slayer. She turned him to dust.
She and Angel headed for the park.
Buffy and Angel came across a rising vampire.
Buffy saw him first. "Another perfectly nice stroll through the cemetery ruined," she said calmly as she pulled a stake out of her jacket.
The fight was over rather quickly, a brand new vampire not being much of a challenge to the veteran Slayer. She turned him to dust.
She and Angel headed for the park.
Again.
They stopped and looked at each other and knew by the look on the other's face that it had happened.
"What was that?" Buffy asked, bothered more than she'd like to admit.
Angel looked around; everything seemed normal now. "My guess is that it's one of those side affects Giles warned you about."
"We should probably head back to the Library," Buffy told him. "'Cause I didn't like that at all."
"Agreed," Angel said.
***
Buffy and Angel walked into the Library in time to hear Giles tell Willow "... I seem to recall reading about time repetition somewhere before."
"Sounds like this deja vu thing is contagious," Buffy commented.
Giles turned to her. "You experienced it as well?" He asked Buffy.
"I dusted the same Vampire twice." Buffy told him.
"Are you all right?" Giles asked, concerned.
"Just a little wigged," Buffy assured him. "He wasn't much of a fighter." She smelled pizza and looked at Xander. "I don't suppose you got twice the pizza?" She asked brightly.
Xander shrugged. "I seem to be the only one it's missed." Xander shrugged. "I seem to be the only one it's missed." He looked at them expectantly, but they were looking at him patiently. "I can't help myself."
"Do try," Giles told him.
"So what happened her," Buffy asked, wanting to move on.
"Nothing quite so dramatic." Giles told Buffy. "Willow replaced a book, twice. I poured a cup of tea and brought it out here, twice. And Joy...." He looked at Joy, not wanting to embarrass her.
"What?" Buffy asked, and realized as she did that she had asked that a lot today.
Joy smile ruefully. "Joy tripped over her own two feet," Joy told her. "Twice."
"I take it that you didn't hurt yourself," Buffy commented.
"No," Joy assured her. "Just my already fragile teenage ego."
"What do we do now Giles?" Willow asked.
"We continue researching and hope we find something," Giles responded.
Buffy looked at Giles. "Whatever happened to research being your department?"
Willow looked at Buffy sharply.
"It was a good arrangement," Buffy continued as she sat down. "You did the reading, I did the Slaying. It was a system that worked for me."
"At least you don't have to read through the diaries." Giles told her, then went into his office.
Joy looked from one resigned face to another. "Would it make you feel better it I promise that the boys will pay for this when I get back?"
Buffy gave a little laugh. "There's the motivation we need. Of course, you're assuming that I haven't already made them pay."
"Yeah, and she's had more experience at that kind of thing," Xander commented. "Trust me."
Joy smiled at that. "I guess I shouldn't have left them alone. I just wanted to look around the school."
Buffy looked surprised. "You don't go to Sunnydale?"
"No. I went to High school in Maine." Joy told them.
"Went?" Willow asked. "Did you transfer or graduate?"
Joy looked embarrassed. "I graduated."
"You can't be more than sixteen," Angels said.
"Who'd I marry? Will Robinson?" Buffy asked rhetorically.
"Don't sell yourself short, Buffy," Willow told her. "Remember your SAT's."
"Thanks Will," Buffy said with a smile to her friend. She turned and found Angel had already grabbed a book and sat down. It must have been the joke about who she'd married. She felt bad for him. She had meant what she'd told him; she couldn't imagine loving someone else. A thought occurred to her-What if he were dead? Or worse? She looked at him, stricken by the possibilities. Could she go through that again?
Giles walked out of his office, an open book in his hand. Before he said a word, he saw Buffy watching Angel. He stopped. Okay, it bothered him. It bothered him a lot. He knew that Angel was trying to redeem himself. Giles turned and returned to hi office. And despite what they all believed, it wasn't just because of Jenny. Or even that Angel, sans soul, had tortured Giles, and enjoyed it. It was that he, Giles, knew that Buffy would be hurt.
When Buffy had believed Angel dead, she had been devastated. After some time though, she had gotten on with her life. Even dated. Now.... He severed his thoughts. He just wished that there were something he could do. He sat at his desk.
Joy had seen him come out, look at her Mom and Angel, then return to his office. She worked up her nerve then stood and walked to his office doorway.
She stood in the doorway until he noticed her. "Hi," she said, giving him a shy smile.
"Is there something you need?" Giles asked.
"Actually, I thought that you might need some help." Joy responded.
"With the Diaries?" Giles asked, surprised. He knew that the others, with the exception of Willow found research dull. And even Willow found the Diaries dull. He thought they were a little longwinded himself. "Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?"
"Oh sure," Joy said as she bounced in. "you used to read them to me. I was always fascinated."
"You were?" Giles asked, so taken by surprise that it didn’t occur to him to wonder why he would have read her the Diaries. He handed her on of the Diaries and she curled up in a chair with it.
They read quietly for a while, and Joy cast the occasional glance his way. After about a half an hour, Giles chuckled quietly.
Joy looked up questioningly from her book. "Care to share?"
"Oh," Giles said as he looked at her. He had forgotten that he wasn’t alone. "Just a very dignified Watcher in a very undignified position."
"Would you read it to me?" Joy asked, a hopeful look was on her face.
"All right," Giles responded, a bit hesitant. "'I write this only because it is my duty, not only to this Slayer, but also to all that follow. Also in the hope that I am long dead before it is read....'"
Giles read aloud about the way a Watcher, Sir Devon Alexander, and his Slayer, Elinore O'Hare, had outwitted an admittedly dense pack of vampires. A ruse requiring an exchange of clothing. Which, in 1894 meant that the male Watcher donned a dress. "'An effective, however embarrassing, ruse'." Giles looked up to find Joy with a tear running down her cheek. "What is it?" He asked as he took out his handkerchief and handed it to her.
Joy wiped her eyes; "I miss y...." She caught herself. "...My Dad." She cried a little harder.
Giles went over to her, and attempted to comfort her. Which caused her to break into sobs. "I'm afraid that I don't understand," Giles said, at a complete loss.
"I think I might," Willow said from the doorway.
"Well, what is it?" Giles asked.
Willow looked at him. "I'm sorry, Giles. I don't think I can explain." She put her hands on Joy's shoulders and urged her to stand. Then she put an arm around Joy and led her out.
Willow led her past the others. Willow stopped Buffy with a shake of her head when she had moved to follow.
Buffy looked concerned disappointed and just a little miffed, but she sat back down, trusting Willow.
Once Willow and Joy had left the Library, Buffy stood back up and went into Giles' office. "What happened?"
Giles was perplexed. "I don't know. One moment I'm reading her a rather amusing story from one of the diaries and when I looked up, she was crying."
Buffy put her hands on her hips, and gave Giles a look of reproach. "I told you that one day those diaries would bore someone to tears."
Willow took Joy to the Bathroom, where she wet paper towels with cold water and patted Joy's eyes and wiped her face.
The others would have been laughing at the mental debate going on in Willow's mind. She made a decision and looked at Joy. "It's him, isn't it?"
"What's who?" Joy asked.
"He's your Dad, isn't he?" Willow asked although she still couldn't believe it.
Joy was motionless for a moment, then nodded.
Willow couldn't quite manage a laugh. Questions abound in her mind, but she couldn't quite put any into words. Finally she managed to choke out one word. "How?"
Joy looked at Willow astonished and disbelieving face and couldn't help but laugh.
********
In the Library; Giles was pacing around with a book in his hand; Buffy was at the table, a book in front of her, but her eyes were on the door.
Angel and Xander were the only two actually reading.
Finally, Willow and Joy returned. Buffy and Giles looked at them expectantly. Even Angel and Xander looked at them.
"Are you al right?" Giles asked, concerned.
Joy gave him a wobbly smile. "Aside from acute embarrassment, I'm fine."
"This experience must be quite disorienting." Giles paused. "However, I may have found an answer."
"You found the spell that the little monsters used?" Joy asked.
"Possibly," Giles told her. "Do you know what time it was?"
"Exactly?" Joy asked.
"Well, as close as possible." Giles explained. "We need to cast the spell as close to the same time as possible."
"We were suppose to meet at 9pm." Joy told him. "I was early. Does that help?"
"Indeed," Giles said. "Since there's nothing more any of you can do until tomorrow evening, I suggest that you all go home and get some rest." He looked at Buffy. "Would there be a problem with Joy staying with you tonight?"
"Doubt it," Buffy assured him. "She'll be glad I'm home, instead of out slaying. But what do I tell her?"
"Tell her the truth if you wish," Giles told her. "It would reassure her tremendously, I should think."
Buffy brightened. "Cool." Then she tilted her head and asked, "is it just me or are you trying to get rid of us?"
"Nothing permanent, I assure you." Giles told her. "I need to go over this very carefully. I also need to make some phone calls. We don't want Joy to end up even farther back in time. Or too far forward."
Buffy looked at him and deadpanned, 'how can you stand being so optimistic?"
"Go home," Giles returned. "And do be careful." He said with a look to all of them.
"What do you suppose the future us are doing?" Willow asked.
"Probably very much what we are," Giles told her. "Worrying. Trying to figure out how to get Joy back."
Sunnydale High School Library, 2019. Buffy was glaring at her two sons, Will and Alex. Willow, Oz, Xander and Cordelia were also there.
"I told you boys not to do this," Buffy said angrily. The two boys hung their heads. "Magic can be dangerous. Magic on the Hellmouth can be cataclysmic."
"We're sorry, Mom," Will said, repentant; frightened and worried about his sister.
Alex was so upset that he couldn't even speak for the lump in his throat. He just nodded his head in agreement with Will's words.
The anger drained from Buffy as she looked at them. She knew why they had done it. They had just wanted to see their Dad. She understood. She missed him, too.
Buffy turned away from them. Willow came up behind her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. However, before either could say a word, they saw someone that they thought they would never see again. Buffy's eyes widened and she reached out a hand. "Giles."
1999: Buffy, Joy, Willow, Angel and Xander were about to leave the Library, when Giles' voice stopped them.
"Yes, Buffy?" Giles said. He looked up from his book and saw what appeared to be ghost images. Then they were gone.
Oz howled.
Everyone looked around, but all they see is Giles standing there in wide-eyes shock. "Did you see them?" He asked.
"See who?" Buffy asked.
"I saw...." Giles began, flustered. "I believe it was you and Willow, only older."
"How?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know," Giles told her. "But they saw me as well. Fascinating." Giles said, enthused.
"Why didn't anyone else see them?" Xander asked.
Giles was thoughtful. "I don't believe that you were facing them."
After dropping Willow and Xander at their respective houses, Buffy, Joy and Angel were now headed for Buffy's.
"Mom's going to freak," Buffy commented. "But maybe she'll stop being so afraid every time I leave the house."
"She worries about you." Angel said. "It's not a bad thing, Buffy." His voice was just a touch wistful. "At least you know she cares."
Buffy took his hand.
Joy watched them uneasily. Her reaction caught Angel's attention.
Angel looked at Joy in sympathetic understanding. "This must be very difficult and strange for you," he said to Joy. Your Mom as a teenager, a vampire following her around."
Joy shrugged. "I knew about you," she said quietly. "I even met you once."
Buffy stopped suddenly. "Oh God." She looked at Joy; a cold fear enveloped her. "Tell me you're not a Slayer."
"I'm not a Slayer. And I won't be," Joy assured her Mom. "I'll probably be a Watcher," she stated proudly.
Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, and they resumed walking.
They decided to cut through the Park. At the other side, Buffy realized that they were not alone. Her eyes started darting and her hand casually reached for the stake under her jacket.
Peripherally, she noticed that both Angel and Joy were also aware that they were about to have company. "Can we make it to my house?" She asked Angel.
"Maybe," Angel responded.
Buffy looked at Angel. "Make sure she gets there."
"Promise." Angel assured her.
"Joy," Buffy said as she turned to her. "When I say go, you go with Angel."
"But...." Joy began, but Buffy didn't let her finish.
"No. You go." Buffy told her sternly. "You run as fast as you can and don't look back."
"Yes ma'am." Joy said dutifully. She didn't like it, but she'd do it.
Buffy reached into her pocket and handed Joy her house key. Joy clutched it tightly.
"Go!" Buffy shouted just as two vampires appeared out of nowhere.
Angel grabbed Joy by the hand and they ran.
Angel and Joy could see the house when another vampire jumped out in front of them. Angel and Joy were forced to stop suddenly. Angel moved so that he was between the vampire and Joy.
The vampire recognized Angel. "It's true, you are helping the humans again. How disappointing."
"You should be used to disappointment by now, Victor." Angel told him. "You've had enough experience."
Victor was trying to get a look at the girl behind Angel. "This can't be the Slayer cowering behind you. But she seems very important to you."
Angel felt Joy slip a stake into his hand. He almost smiled, Buffy had taught her well. He got a good grip on the stake.
Victor was irritated by Angel, and the girl's lack of reaction. "So, does your little Slayer know about this little bit? Or do the three of you have fun together?"
"Nasty little vermin," Joy commented from behind Angel.
She almost sounded like Buffy, Angel thought to himself. Just less graphic.
"Come on out little girl," Victor cajoled. "I won't hurt you."
"You're right," Angel told him. "You won't." Angel rushed him.
The two fought, the stake was knocked from Angel's hand. Neither noticed as Joy picked it up and waited for the right moment.
Victor knocked Angel to the ground. He turned to find Joy, but the stake clenched in her hand found his heart first. He looked from the stake to her face in disbelief.
"Pillock!" Joy spat at him just before he turned to dust.
Angel's head snapped up. That word. The look in her eyes. A flash of memory.
Joy reached down and helped Angel to his feet. She didn't understand the look on his face. But she didn't have time to think about it. They once again ran for the house.
Joy had the key in the lock, when that door was opened from the inside by Joyce. Angel pushed Joy through the door and followed quickly. He closed the door and looked outside.
"Buffy, what...?" Joyce began, but the girl wasn't Buffy. "Who are you?" Joyce asked the girl looking at her with wide eyes. Joyce turned to Angel. "Where's Buffy?"
Angel answered by opening the door for Buffy as she came rushing through. She closed it again.
Joyce went to hug her daughter in relief, but was beaten to it by the unknown girl.
Buffy returned Joy's hug. "Are you okay?" Buffy asked as Joy pulled away.
"Is she okay?" Joyce asked. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Just some vamps looking for fun," Buffy told her.
"But you're all right?" Joyce asked.
"I'm fine," Buffy assured her. She looked at Joy then Angel. "Any trouble?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Angel told Buffy with a glance at Joy.
"What happened?" Buffy asked, curious about that look
"Came across a vampire," Angel told her. "Joy's pretty handy with a stake."
"Really?" Buffy said with a smile to Joy.
"Good genes," Joy told her.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Joyce asked.
"Buffy looked at her Mom. "Maybe you should sit down."
Ten minutes later, the four of them were sitting at the dining room table.
Joyce was staring at her daughter, torn between laughter and tears. Then again, there was the hysteria. "This isn't a joke, is it?" Joyce asked, numb.
Buffy shook her head no. "Sorry, Grandma," she said, unable to resist.
"Very funny," Joyce commented. "I suppose it's rather reassuring." She looked from Buffy to Joy and back again. "You do look an awful lot alike."
"I've heard that a lot today," Buffy commented.
Angel was looking at Joy. This wasn't good. She was looking at Joyce as if she'd never seen her before.
Buffy and Joy were alone in Buffy's room. Joyce had gone to bed and Angel had presumably gone home.
"You're awfully quiet," Buffy said.
"Am I?" Joy responded vaguely. "I guess I'm just trying to take it all in." She shrugged and smiled impishly. "I mean, if you could go back in time to when your Mom was your age, wouldn't you try to catch something you could blackmail her with?"
"Terrific." Buffy said with a laugh. "I have Machiavelli for a daughter."
Joy just grinned.
The Library: Giles was in his office, on the phone at his desk. "Thank you, Mrs. Kramer. Please call if you think of anything else." As he hung up the phone he looked up and nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw Angel in the doorway.
"Must you do that?" Giles asked, miffed.
"Sorry," Angel said.
"What do you want?" Giles asked next.
"It’s about Joy...." Angel began.
"Has something happened?" Giles asked, concerned now.
"She and Buffy are fine," Angel assured him. He was unsure of how to continue. How to put into words the impressions he had gotten from Joy. So he decided to ask a question of his own. "Do you know who her father is?"
Giles was surprised by the question. "Joy wouldn't say. Do you know?"
Angel had his suspicions. "Joy hasn't said anything to me either." Which was the truth. "Has she said anything about Joyce?"
"Buffy's mother?" Giles thought a moment. "I don't recall Joy mentioning her. Why?"
"She was looking at Buffy's Mom as if she'd never seen her."
"Oh dear," Giles said in understanding.
Before school the next morning, Buffy walked with Joy to the Library. Aside from the color, their short dresses are nearly identical.
They head towards Giles' office and could hear Oz, back to normal, in the cage.
"Hey, Oz," Buffy called. "You decent?"
"I try." Came the laconic response. "Willow there?"
"I'm here." Willow said, as she ran in. "Sorry I'm late, Oz." She went to unlock the cage.
"No problem," Oz told her. Very little phased Oz.
Buffy and Joy returned to their course to Giles' office. They find him asleep at his desk, his hand on the phone and an open book under the arm his head was resting on.
Buffy and Joy looked at each other and smiled. Buffy looked back to Giles. "Time to wake up Giles."
"Buffy, look out." Giles said as he woke up. He realized his surroundings, embarrassed. He looked at his watch as he tried to appear casual.
"Look out for what?" Buffy asked, unable to keep from teasing him. "So tell us, research guy. Do we try to get Joy home tonight?"
Giles looked at Joy. "Are you ready to go home?" He asked her.
"Yes," Joy answered without hesitation.
"Good," Giles said. "We'll begin a little before nine tonight."
"What does Joy do in the meantime?" Buffy asked. "I have classes."
"She can stay her if she wishes." Giles commented. He looked at Joy. "You could help me prepare for the spell."
"Sounds like fun," Joy said sincerely.
"It does?" Buffy asked doubtfully. "Are you sure you're my daughter? You sound more like Willow." She grinned. "Or even Giles."
"Very amusing." Giles told her. "Go to class."
Neither noticed as Joy looked at them with a smile.
*******
Hours later, still in the Library, Giles was amazed by Joy. She could read four languages, and speak six. And she spoke English, his English. Words, phrases, even slang that she could only have picked up in England.
He looked at her, his curiosity piqued. "Is your father British?"
Joy looked at him, surprised. "How did you know that?"
Giles shrugged. "Certain words, a phrase here and there Occasionally, you have an accent. Is he a Watcher?"
Joy realized that he was just curious, not suspicious. However, he was not a fool. But she couldn't lie to him. Not him. "Yes," She said slowly. "He was a Watcher."
The "was" caught his attention. He remembered that she had said that her father had died. So he let the subject drop. The temptation to tell them about her father, to possibly prevent his death, must have been overwhelming. But she hadn't given in to it. Such strength in that beautiful little girl. So like her mother.
Joy was alone in the Library. Alone for the first time since she arrived here. Giles had gone to try to catch Willow between classes.
So, of course, that was when Snyder walked in. Joy knew who he was immediately-The Nazi Troll. The description was apt.
Snyder sighed when he saw Joy. "Why are there always students in the Library?"
Joy looked at him. She adopted the perfectly toned accent of British nobility. "I should think that that would be a good thing. However, I am not a student."
"You're British." Snyder commented.
"Just the sort of keen observation that led to your present position, I'm certain." Joy said.
Snyder, unsure if he had been insulted, ignored the comment. "You related to Mr. Giles?"
Joy nodded. "Is there something that I can assist you with, Principal Snyder?"
"I wanted to speak with Mr. Giles about a dog." Snyder told her. "It seems someone heard a dog in here last night."
"Utterly absurd," Joy told him. "As if he would allow a dog in the Library."
"Maybe it was a werewolf," Oz said, having come in unnoticed.
"Very amusing," Snyder said sourly. He looked at Joy. "Tell Mr. Giles that I was here." Snyder said, then left.
"That man is like sunlight to a vampire," Joy commented, without the accent.
Oz almost smiled. "Willow asked me to check on you. Don’t know why."
Joy smiled knowingly. "What did she tell you about me?"
"Future. Time spell. Buffy’s daughter." Oz responded, summing it all up in five words. "Cool accent by the way."
"Lived in England for a while," Joy told him.
"Cool."
Giles walked in, looking over his shoulder. "Was that Principal Snyder?" He asked. "What did he want?"
"It seems that someone heard a dog in the Library last night." Joy told him.
"We assured him that there wasn’t." Oz said.
"Right," Joy agreed. "We told him that it was probably a werewolf."
Giles looked apoplectic. "You what?"
Joy and Oz looked at each other and smiled. Sometimes it was just too easy.
It was eight o’clock, Angel was walking to the High School. He almost stayed home. No one, except Buffy, would care or even notice if he wasn’t there. But against all logic, Buffy did care. So, he would be there.
His thoughts turned to Joy. Buffy’s daughter. He remembered the egg/baby fiasco of last year. The concept of motherhood frightened her, but Angel knew that when it happened, she would be terrific. Fierce, loyal, protective. Joy was proof of how good of a job she would do.
But what about Joy’s father? What was he like? Could it be Giles?
"I knew about you." She had said. "I even met you once."
How? Why? He hoped he hadn’t tried to hurt her…or anyone else. She didn’t say.
She had said that she wasn’t a Slayer. "I’ll probably be a Watcher." She’d told them.
Angel had to wonder if Buffy knew that most Watchers have pedigrees to rival European Royal Families. It was inherited, like a family estate.
Giles was at least third generation.
There were other Watchers of course, but….
"Pillock!" She had called Victor.
British slang.
Okay, so there were quite a few British Watchers.
But the look on her face, her tone. The way she had spat the word. The same word, the same inflection. The same eyes.
Except that Giles had spat it at him, during torture. A torture that Angel had forced him to endure.
He wondered, despondently, if Buffy’s daughter knew about that. He suspected that she did.
Angel had to know a few things. Little things, like if he’d returned to being Angelus. If Giles were her father. Could he ask her? Would she tell him. And is this beginning to sound like a soap opera?
When Angel walked into the Library a few minutes later, it looked like a scene out of a gothic novel. Only the skirts were shorter. With their backs to him, it was difficult to tell Buffy and Joy apart. They turned to face him, Buffy a half second before Joy.
"Look more like twins than Mother and daughter." Oz said as he walked in behind him. "I get the impression that she wants to take something of her Mother back with her."
Angel looked at Oz, amazed by the young man’s quiet insight. "What do you think of her?" Angel asked.
Oz looked at the brooding vampire. What had sparked the question? Not romantic. Angel was devoted to Buffy. So, what? "Does something about her bother you?"
"No." Angel said, a little too quickly. Oz just looked at him. "I need to ask her things. Things only she might be able to answer."
Oz looked inscrutable. "Ask her."
"You think she’ll tell me?" Angel asked, oddly timid.
Oz shrugged. "You’ll never know unless you ask her. What have you got to lose?"
"My soul." Angel responded, so quietly that any one other than Oz probably wouldn’t have heard him.
"Ask her, man." Oz told him, then wandered off to find Willow.
"Angel made his way over to Buffy and Joy. "Can I talk to you?" He asked.
"Sure," Buffy told him.
Angel looked caught. "No, I…." His words trailed off.
"Joy looked at him, understanding. "I think he needs to ask me something." Joy’s eyes never left his face.
Buffy looked from one to the other. There was an odd, silent communication going on between them. "Okay." She said. What’s up with that? She went to find Giles.
Now that Angel and Joy were alone (As alone as two people could be in the Library when the gang was working on something), he didn’t know what to say.
"What is it, Angel?" Joy asked him.
"I’m trying to think of a reason for you to help me." Angel said.
"Why wouldn't I want to help you?" Joy asked. "You saved my life."
Angel shook his head. "You saved yourself from Victor."
"Maybe I'm not talking about Victor." Joy said cryptically. Angel looked at her questioningly, but she didn't
explain. "I'll help if I can Angel."
"I...." Angel began, but was unsure of how to go on. "I can't hurt her again."
"You mean Angelus?" Joy asked. At his nod, she shrugged apologetically. "I don't know what I can tell you,
except that I have known of you that way. The Angel that I know has a soul." She smiiled ruefully. "And I believe that I owe
him an apology."
He started to ask her what she meant, but she shook her had. She wouldn't tell him. He dabated his next question,
but he had to know. "Your father...?" Her eyes instinctively looked to Giles. "It's him," Angel said in a bewildered tone. "How?"
Joy almost laughed. First Aunt Willow, then Angel. Seeing her mother and father here, in this time, she guessed could understand. The connection was there, but the switch hadn't been flipped yet. She looked at her Mom and Dad. For Joy, the question wasn't 'how'. She looked at Angel as he watched her parents. "How not?"
"Are they happt?" Angel asked, as he looked back to Joy.
"They were," Joy told him softly. "She misses him."
"Is she happ?" He asked next.
"I think so," Joy responded. "Most of the time."
Everyone started to form a hlaf circle between the candles and the large oval mirror. Xander, Willow, Oz Giles, Joy, Buffy and Angel. They were about to join hands when the Library doors opened behind them.
"Okay," Cordelia said, walking in. "What's going on?" They turned to look at her. "I don't know why, but I had this urge to come here. Like I had no choice."
"As if it were a sale at Nieman-Marcus?" Joy asked with a grin.
"Exactly," Cordelia agreed. "Except that I'd want to be there." She looked at Buffy and asked, "Who is she?"
"You wouldn't believe it." Buffy assured her. She looked at Giles. "Why would she feel pulled here?" She asked him.
Giles looked unsure. "I suppose her counterpart could be on the other side," he responded.
"She is." Joy told them.
"Other side of what?" Cordelia asked. She looked at their joined hands. "If this is just some kind of weird sing-a-long..."
Joy interrupted her. "Look into the mirror, Cordelia." Her voice was compelling.
Cordelia walked up between Oz and Giles. She needed no second urging, she looked into the mirror. SHe could hear Giles speaking a chant. She wondered for a momentif anyone other than Giles knew the language. For all they knew, it was just gibberish.
Suddenly there was smoke swirling around the mirror. <Okay> Cordelia thought, <Not gibberish> The reflections fade, only to return. Then Cordelia realized-it wasn't them. "What's going on?" She asked, her voice quavered a little.
"Mom!" Joy cried out.
"Joy." The older Buffy said. The image became clearer.
Joy released Buffy and Giles to walk toward the mirror. She stopped in front of it. and looked down at the handerchief clutched in her hand. The one Giles had given her yesterday when she had been crying. She turned around. She went back and gave Buffy a hug. "Bye, Mom." She whispered. She looked at Giles, as the tears streamed down her face. SHe jumped into his arms. *Bye Daddy*, she said silently.
"Giles." The older Buffy said, as she reached out a hand.
Joy turned and jumped through the mirror as if it were a window.
The could see her now, as she looked back at them. through the mirro, through time.
But it was the elder Buffy that had Giles' attention <she's beautiful> She had one arm around Joy, but the other was reaching out. His own hand reached back. He started to move towards the mirror.
"Giles," the elder Buffy said again. Her hand came through the mirror, as if to assist Giles through.
"Giles." This time it was the younger Buffy who said hi name. She grabbed the hand that reached toward the mirror. "Where are you going?"
Giles looked down at Buffy as if he were waking from a dream. "Going? Buffy?"
"How would I get you back?" Buffy asked.
"Back?" Giles asked blankly He looked at the mirror, only to see that it was just a mirror again. He looked at Buffy's hand as it held his. It felt....
"Giles." Buffy said again.
"Hmmm?" Giles responded distractedly.
How not? Joy had said. Angel heard the words again as he watched them.
They all had different reactions to the *event*.
Willow was saddened by what she had witnessed. The longing on Buffy's face as she had reached out to Giles. But she was somewhat heartened by the fact that, except for Giles, they were all there. She had even seen Angel, lurking in the stacks. And no one had been trying to kill anyone.
Xander was just stunned. He hadn't seen Angel. But he had seen Cordie.
Oz was wondering if anyone else had noticed that the other Buffy was wearing the same ring that Giles was wearing now. How interesting.
Willow strated putting ou the candles, Oz and Xander helped.
Buffy was chattering out of some kind of odd nervousness that she didn't inderstand.
Giles was still a bit dazed and somewhat confused. He followed Buffy's lead, and was heading for the door. He on one side of Buffy, Angel on the other, Willow, Oz and Xander followed.
"What just happened here?" Cordelia demanded.
They all stopped and turned around at the sound of Cordelia'a voice.
"Was that us?" She asked, then stated, "That couldn't have been us."
"You're partly correct," Giles told her. "It was a reflection of the future." And he hadn't been there, he realized.
"The future?" Cordelia echoed questioningly. "When?" She asked, almost panicked. "When is that going to happen?" She demanded.
"What's the matter, Cordelia" Buffy asked her. "You were there." Buffy had seen her, at least peripherally. Well enough to know it was Cordie. Maybe a little heavier-Buffy rolled her eyes. Was that it? "It was twenty years from now, Cordie. Everyone gained a little weight."
"Gained weight!" Cordelia nearly screamed. "I didn't gain weight-I was pregnant." A moment of shocked silence. "Oh mu God," she wailed. "Did you say twenty years?" She asked in horror.
Buffy culdn't help it, she just started laughing. The first, but not the last.