TITLE: Spirit Guides

AUTHOR: Lady Ra

E-MAIL ADDRESS: Ladyra11@yahoo.com

SPOILER WARNING: Buffy episode: The Gift

RATING: R for bad language and slash innuendo.

PAIRING: J/B, established relationship

DISCLAIMER: It all belongs to Joss, the real king of the world, the WB, UPN, Fox, Mutant Enemy and anybody else who feels they own Buffy et al. Oh, and Jim and Blair? Sigh, they don't belong to me either, dammit.

SUMMARY: Jim and Blair find themselves in Sunnydale and end up a part of the fight against Glory. Alternate ending for The Gift.

NOTES: Buffy died at the end of 5^th season. This is an AU version of that story line. For those whose memory needs prodding, Glory, an uber bad bitch, actually a hell god, has kidnapped Dawn and plans to do a little blood letting to open the doors between universes. She's also done something bad to Tara so she's fruit loops. I snitched a lot of lines from the episode The Gift, although, I also changed a bunch, too, being an AU and all.

WARNING: Look both ways before you cross the street

FEEDBACK: Absolutely.

THANKS: Thanks to Joss Whedon who wrote the episode, to Joan the English Chick who transcribed it, and thanks to Wikipedia who helped fill in my trivia holes. Many thanks to my betas: Hawthorn, Joolz, Chark, Susan, and Odinsvoid, and special thanks to Ruth for keeping Giles and Spike properly British.

Spirit Guides

"Tell me again why I let you drag me here?"

It was around ten at night, and they were walking back to their hotel after having a late dinner.

"Because you worship the ground I walk on?"

Jim snorted. "Try again, Chief."

"Because you can't stand to be out of my presence for more than a couple of hours?"

Jim snorted again. "Keep 'em coming."

Blair grinned at him. "Because you hoped you'd get lucky?"

"Getting warmer."

Blair let out a laugh. "Getting hot, you mean."

Jim grabbed him around his neck with one arm, and gave the top of his head a noogie with his knuckles. "You can be replaced, you know."

"I'll help you write the ad," Blair magnanimously offered. "Needed: Guide to help temperamental Sentinel keep his senses in control. Ability to give good blow jobs a must. They'll be lining up at the door, Jim."

"How do you suppose I should screen the applicants?" Jim asked innocently. "Especially about the blow jobs?"

"I could help you out with that," Blair said innocently. "It would be a supreme sacrifice, but I could let them try out their skills on me to help you find that perfect someone."

The arm around Blair's neck withdrew and settled over his shoulder, and Jim hauled him in close to his side. "I have the perfect someone, thank you very much, and you even think about letting someone near your body parts, I'll have to kill you."

Blair turned his face up to his partner, grinning, batting his eyes. "Gosh, Jim, you say the sweetest things."

Jim let out an exasperated sigh. "Did you have to pick Sunnydale? There wasn't a conference on South American artifacts you could go to in Hawaii or, say, South America?"

"Hey, I can't help it if they scheduled the damn thing here," Blair protested. "Besides, what's wrong with Sunnydale?"

"Look around you, Chief. Where is everyone? This town is dead."

"Man, I guess that means we'll have to go back to our hotel room and think of something to do," Blair said with a dramatic sigh. "Too bad I didn't bring a deck of cards; I can't imagine how we'll entertain ourselves."

Jim grinned at that and let his hand trail down Blair's back until he tucked his fingers inside Blair's left jeans pocket.

They walked along companionably for a few minutes until Blair suddenly stopped. "Oh, I forgot. He wasn't at the conference, but Dr. Piquar says that the foremost expert on ancient artifacts lives here in town. Name is Rupert Giles. I thought we could go see him, see if he knows anything about those ruins in the jungle."

Jim frowned down at Blair. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Sure it is," Blair cajoled. "I can ask questions without it looking like it has anything to do with us. I spent part of the afternoon drawing some of the figures we saw so I could show them to him."

"Suppose he figures it out on his own? The last thing I need is another scientist wanting to dissect me," Jim said grumpily.

Blair wrapped his arm around Jim and gave him a tight hug, sorry that Jim always felt so vulnerable. "Not gonna happen, Jim. Not on my watch. I'm the only scientist who gets to dissect you. We'll go meet him and feel him out. If it feels bad to you, we'll just leave."

"No arguments? If I say we go, we go?"

Blair nodded. "I'll let you call it." He tugged at Jim. "Let's go back to the room. I feel a need to do some dissection right now. Course, first I'll have to cut all your clothes off," he added with a leer.

Jim let out a quick laugh and allowed himself to be tugged. Then, he came to a sudden stop and grimaced.

Blair saw Jim's nostrils flare and said softly, "What is it?"

Jim shook his head. "Smells like something died." He looked around, searching for the source. Then, hearing footsteps, he turned around to face whatever was coming their way, pushing Blair behind him. Two men stepped through the trees until they were only a few feet away.

Blair rolled his eyes at Jim's typical overprotective mode, but when he saw Jim go for his gun Blair started paying more attention. Jim must be picking up something Blair wasn't, as the two men looked like regular guys to him. Blair forced a smile on his face, saying, "Hey, can we help you?"

One of them grinned. "Yeah, you can."

Jim stiffened next to him. "They don't have heartbeats."

Blair gave him an incredulous stare. "What?"

Jim reached for his gun and pulled it out. "They don't have heartbeats."

Blair's forehead creased with confusion. "How can they not have heartbeats? They're standing right there."

"This is how." Their faces morphed into something out of a horror movie, complete with fangs and yellow eyes.

Blair let out an involuntary curse and moved in closer to Jim. "Shit. Is this a joke? Cuz I'm not laughing."

Jim shook his head. "They're dead. They stink of rot. And their hearts aren't beating." Brandishing his weapon, he warned, "I'm a police officer. Don't come any closer or I'll shoot."

One of the vampires laughed. "Go ahead, shoot. Unless you got wooden bullets, it's not gonna do a thing to us."

Blair had been too many places in the world and seen too many weird things not to take the advice he'd just been stupidly given, no matter how nuts this whole situation was. He bent down and, scrabbling in the dirt, came up with a couple of sturdy sticks and attempted to hand one to Jim. "Just like Bram Stoker said, Jim, wood stake through the heart."

"I'll stick with my gun, thanks anyway," Jim said with his usual deadly calm when they were facing down death.

Blair let out a manic laugh--his usual response--doing his best to stomp down the hysteria that was threatening to shake loose. "How weird is this? All we need is a werewolf to show up, except I don't think we're likely to find silver bullets underneath the bushes." Knowing he was babbling but unable to stop, he added, "Maybe Abbott and Costello will show up, too."

The vampires attacked, one going for Jim, one going for Blair. Jim began to shoot, but it didn't stop them--slowed them down a little--but they kept coming. Blair did his best to fight back but he was quickly overpowered and a hand grabbed his hair, pushing his head to the side, baring his neck. "Jim!" he yelled, terror tightening his throat so his yell was feeble at best, even as his heart was beating so loud he was sure it would burst out of his chest. He couldn't fathom that this was how he was going to die. He needed to fucking wake up right now. Blair felt a sharp pain as fangs pierced the skin over his jugular.

*****

Jim heard Blair's cry, heard the terror in it and, heart in his throat, managed to kick the vampire in the head that had gone after Blair, dislodging it. Before he could help Blair up the other vampire was on Jim, dragging him down.

Then, like something out of a superhero movie, two other people joined the melee. A young blonde girl staked the vampire Jim had kicked who'd been staggering to his feet. Then she grabbed the other one off of Jim, punched him and, as the vampire reeled from the hit, she smacked him with a roundhouse kick. "I am so not in the mood for any shit from dead guys tonight, okay?" she snapped. With that, she thrust her stake into the heart of the second vampire.

Jim and Blair lay there for a few seconds, staring up at the petite blond and the dark-haired young man. Jim used his senses intently, very relieved when he heard the reassuring sound of heartbeats and the normal smell of living human beings. He moved quickly to Blair. "Are you all right?" he demanded. He could smell the copper tang of blood, could see two small pinpricks with slender trails of blood seeping down Blair's neck. The sight of it made Jim's gut clench.

Blair sat up with Jim's help, lifted his hand and felt his neck, bringing away fingers spotted with red. Then he jumped up, pacing, a fireball of nervous energy. "Man oh man, did you see that? What the hell was that? Were those vampires? I've seen some weird shit, but that, that, that tops them all." He let out a full body shiver and then glanced at the blonde. "You were great!" he enthused a little wildly.

Jim got to his feet and put his hand on Blair's shoulder, needing to touch him, to reassure himself that his partner was fine.

Blair held up the remains of a stick. "I tried, but it broke." Then, looking up at Jim, he said sincerely, "You were great, too, man. Great kick." Slipping out from underneath Jim's hand, he started pacing again.

Jim glanced at the blond and shrugged at her. "You sort of have to let him unwind. He'll be done in a minute."

The young man grinned at the comment. Pointing at his chest he said, "Xander Harris and this is Buffy Summers."

"Jim Ellison," he said in return. "And the small hurricane is Blair Sandburg, my partner." He chose not to holster his gun, appreciating the solid feel of it in his hand.

Blair finally stopped pacing and moved to stand next to Jim. He grinned at Buffy. "Really, you were awesome." He mimed her staking movement. "Pow. Kazam. Gone. Like you were some sort of superhero. That was so great."

Buffy frowned at them both. "What are you doing walking around Sunnydale after dark?" she asked, as if they were both out of their minds.

Blair held up a hand in a peace gesture. "Hey, we're just visiting. No one handed us a rulebook." He grinned. "Otherwise I'd have packed my pointy stick." The grin slid off his face as he felt his neck again. "Jesus, I almost got killed by a vampire." He glanced at Xander. "That was a vampire, right? I mean, what else could it have been?"

Xander nodded. "Yup, vampire. Welcome to Sunnydale. You sort of picked a sucky time to visit."

Jim cocked his head to the side, considering the young man. "Why?" He didn't understand anything that was going on, and he hated not understanding stuff. Blair was about his limit on a day-to-day basis.

Buffy shot Xander a dark look, but Xander ignored her, saying with a sickly smile, "The world's about to end. Again."

"Then it doesn't really matter where we are, does it?" Blair said pragmatically, a bit of a grin curling his lips. Then he took a closer look at Xander. "You're not kidding, are you?"

Jim lifted up his head, sniffing. He pointed over Buffy's shoulder. Buffy turned as a vampire sprang out at her. In seconds it was dust. Buffy stared up at Jim. "How'd you do that?"

"They stink," Jim said disgustedly.

Blair gestured at Jim with his thumb. "He's got a good sense of smell." With a snort, he added, "You guys would make a killer team. He could sniff them out and you could stake them."

One look from Buffy told Jim what she thought of that plan.

"Look, guys," Buffy directed, "just forget what Xander said." That was accompanied by a narrow-eyed glare aimed at the young man. "Go back to your hotel room and stay inside until morning."

"Yeah, and have yourself a good dinner cuz it's gonna be your last." Xander said morosely.

"Xander," she said, exasperated.

Jim saw that Blair was studying Buffy with that give-me-a-minute-I'm-thinking look on his face. Jim waited for it and grinned to himself when Blair snapped his fingers, saying excitedly, "You're a Slayer. Oh, man. Right? You are. I've read about Slayers but I didn't think I'd ever get to meet one."

Buffy got in his face. "Where did you read about Slayers?" she said with a hint of danger in her voice. "Who are you? How do you know about Slayers?"

Jim took an aggressive step toward Buffy, making it clear she needed to back off. It was a little disconcerting when she didn't. In fact, she glared at him as if he was on her shit list, too. He went for placating, something he'd learned from Blair. "He tends to know everything," Jim said in explanation. "It can be really aggravating sometimes." Glancing down at his partner, risking the further wrath of Buffy, he asked, "What's a Slayer?"

"I read this book, once, about ghosts and demons, and they talked about a Slayer," Blair said. "Into every generation a Slayer is born," he said, obviously quoting something, given the melodrama in his voice. "One girl, in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer."

Jim felt a shiver slither down his spine.

Xander let out a laugh. "He and Giles would get along great."

"Giles? Rupert Giles?" Blair asked, eyebrows high, eyes wide. "You know him?"

Buffy twirled the stake in her hand, making it seem like a threat. "What do you want Giles for?" she growled.

Blair put up both hands in a universal we-come-in-peace gesture. "Look, I'm not here to cause trouble, I'm just here for a conference. I'm an anthropologist, and I'd heard that Dr. Giles was an expert in artifacts. I wanted to show him some drawings and get his opinion. Is that the same Giles you know?"

Blair's explanation had done nothing to relax Buffy if her stance was any indication. Jim found himself going on guard in response.

"Yes, I know him," Buffy said begrudgingly, "but he doesn't have time to meet with you."

"I don't plan to take up hours of his time, I just want to introduce myself," Blair said defensively. "If he's busy, I can get his number and call him later." That thinking look appeared on his face again, and Jim wondered where Blair was going now. Blair's eyes widened comically, and his jaw dropped. "He's your Watcher, isn't he?" He spun around in a complete circle. "Man, it's like the mythic zone here, vampires, Slayers, Watchers, wow, I can't believe it."

Buffy's glare had turned into a glower. "How do you know that?" she demanded.

"Did I mention that he's really smart?" Jim reminded her. "And don't forget the knowing everything part, too."

Xander was grinning. "He's like a mini-Giles."

Blair suddenly snorted. "And your name is Buffy?" He let out a delighted laugh. "That is so cool!"

This time the glare was arctic. "What's wrong with my name?" she asked hostilely.

"Nothing, man," Blair said with a wide grin, "it's just so ironic. You know, valley girl does Dracula. Even better than Abbott and Costello."

"Buffy whipped Dracula's butt," Xander said proudly. Then, with a wince, he added, "And I ate bugs, but the less said about that the better."

Jim let out a sigh and ran a hand down his face. "I am seriously hoping this is a bad dream, because expecting me to believe there really is a vampire named Dracula is pushing me over the edge." And considering their evening so far, the ledge Jim was standing on was getting narrower by the second.

Blair turned to him, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Jim, I'm telling you, she's a Slayer, and every Slayer's got a Watcher. He's sort of like me. He trains her, and watches over her, making sure she can use the gifts she's got. Like you and me, man."

"Look, I don't know who you guys are," Buffy said impatiently, "but I don't have time to stand here and talk to you. Okay? So, go home or get inside, or go do something that keeps you out of trouble so I don't have to waste my time rescuing you again." She grabbed Xander's arm. "Come on."

Xander stumbled after her. "Buffy, maybe they can help."

Buffy snorted. "Right." Her head cocked to the side and she scowled. "Xander, get them someplace safe, and I'll meet you back at the store. I gotta go." With that she took off at a run.

The three men stared at each other until Xander clapped his hands together. "Well, that was fun." There was a pause, then he asked, "Where are you guys staying?"

At the same time, Blair asked, "What did you mean that the world was ending? That was metaphorical, wasn't it?"

Xander looked at Blair and then at Jim. "Let's talk about you two, first." When neither of them spoke, he shook his head in disgust. "What? You can know our secrets, but we can't know yours? How're you going to help if we don't know who you are?" Xander pointed at Blair. "You said you were like Giles, and that he," that was accompanied by a thumb jab at Jim, "was like Buffy. What did you mean?"

Blair glanced at Jim, and Jim rolled his eyes heavenward, looking for strength. "Go ahead," he said wearily, the sense of inevitability too strong to ignore.

"You sure, man?" Blair asked.

"I get the feeling that whatever these people are, they're used to keeping secrets," Jim said.

Xander snorted. "My whole life is a secret. This whole town is a secret." He gave them both a serious look. "I meant what I said before. If we don't stop something from happening, everything's going to hell. For real. As in not an expression."

"Maybe you should take us to Dr. Giles," Blair offered after a moment's pause and a quickly exchanged look with Jim, "and we can all talk. If we can help, we will."

Xander studied them for a moment, wincing a little, then said, "Sure, why not." He pulled out several stakes from his jacket pocket and handed one to both Jim and Blair.

Jim looked at the stake in his hand, finding it the most surreal part of his evening so far. He glanced at the gun in his other hand. Stake. Gun. Stake. Gun. It seemed inconceivable to him to choose the stake. Trusting his gun was a hard habit to break.

"By the way," Xander said to Jim, "the gun thing doesn't work."

"Yeah," Jim said dryly, "I figured that out." He unhappily holstered his gun.

Blair gave the stake some serious and apprehensive scrutiny. "You've really staked vampires?" he asked Xander.

Xander nodded. "You either stay in at night, or you learn how to fight back, or you die. Those are kind of your three choices here in the merry little land of Sunnyvale." He started walking and Jim and Blair followed him.

"I sort of got the impression that Slayers worked alone," Blair observed.

"Are we likely to run into more vampires?" Jim asked, sort of stumbling over the word vampire, looking around vigilantly.

"You never know," Xander said. "Sometimes there's lots, and sometimes there's none. It's sort of weird they're out tonight, though, usually when there's an apocalypse looming, they tend to lay low." To Blair, he said, "And, yeah, Slayers usually work alone." To Jim, he asked, "What's with the gun, anyway?"

"I'm a cop," Jim said succinctly.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Xander said in a side whisper to Blair.

Blair grinned. "He can be a real blabbermouth when he wants to be."

Xander shot him a disbelieving look but let it slide. "So, a cop and an anthropologist. How'd you guys hook up?"

"Long story," Blair said. "Short version is I was working on my dissertation and needed to ride along with a cop to get some material. Jim pulled the short straw." He threw a smile over his shoulder at Jim.

"I never have been lucky," Jim said, completely deadpan.

Blair snorted. Jim watched Blair trace the small holes in his neck. "I can't freaking believe I got bit by a vampire." He shuddered and put out his hand holding the stake; it was shaking. "Shit, look at me, I'm a wreck."

Jim could see Blair's whole body was shaking. He wasn't in much better shape. He hoped like hell they didn't run into another vampire because they'd both be pretty useless in another fight. And while Xander seemed a trustworthy kid, it was Buffy who'd taken out the vampires, and she wasn't with them. When Jim heard a rustle behind them, he snapped, "Could we hurry a little?"

"Good idea," Xander said, speeding up enough so Blair had to trot to keep up.

"Can you smell anything?" Blair asked Jim anxiously.

Jim shook his head. "No." But he kept reaching out with his senses just in case.

"What's that about, anyway?" Xander asked.

"Let's get to Dr. Giles, and I'll fill you in," Blair offered.

They made their way out of the park and crossed the street toward a store called The Magic Box. When they headed right for it, Blair asked, "A Magic Store?"

Xander shrugged and grinned. "It's a good cover."

When they got inside, Jim took Blair to the side, behind a shelf of…he stared at it trying to figure out what the stuff was and finally settled on junk. He pulled Blair into his arms, dropping his nose into the curly hair, breathing in Blair's essence. "Jesus," he muttered.

Blair hugged him tightly. "I know. That was a close one."

Jim could feel Blair shaking, and knew they'd both be having nightmares about this for a while. Give him serial killers any day. At least they had a fucking heart beat and if you shot them enough times they died and stayed dead.

As he let his senses roam over Blair, trying to talk them into believing that his partner was all right, he overheard a conversation between two women. Taking advantage of his sentinel eyesight, he looked through several gaps of shelving to see who was speaking. One of them was Buffy, but he didn't recognize the redhead.

"Will, what ya got for me?" Buffy asked.

The other woman, Will, said, "Some ideas. Well, notions. Or, theories based on wild speculation. Did I mention I'm not good under pressure?"

"I need you, Will. You're my big gun."

"I'm your - no, I-I was never a gun," Will said worriedly. "Someone else should be the gun. I, I could be a, a cudgel. Or, or a pointy stick."

Speaking of pointy sticks, Jim noticed that Blair was still hanging on to the stake Xander had given him. He worked it out of Blair's fingers and stuck it in his coat jacket.

"You're the strongest person here," Buffy said, "You know that, right?"

Jim wondered what that meant. If Buffy was the Slayer, what the hell did that make the other woman?

"Well ... no," Willow said unhappily.

"You're the only person that's ever hurt Glory," Buffy said persuasively. "At all. You're my best shot at getting her on the ropes, so don't get a jelly belly on me now."

"Well ... I, I ... do sort of have this one idea," Will said reluctantly. "But, the last few days, I've mostly been looking into ways to help Tara. I-I know that shouldn't be my priority...." her voice drifted off.

There was a pause, then Buffy said, "Of course it should."

Will smiled at Buffy, then said, "Well, I've been charting their essences. Mapping out. I think ... if I can get close enough, I may be able to reverse what Glory did. Like, take back what she took from Tara. It might weaken Glory, or ... make her less coherent. Or," she added honestly, "it might make all our heads explode."

With a sinking feeling, Jim was afraid that wasn't just an expression.

"Buffy," a man's voice said guardedly. "We have guests."

"Show time," Jim said to his partner, thinking wistfully of their hotel room, and then, even more wistfully, of their loft in Cascade.

Blair pulled out of their hug and nodded. "Thanks," he said to Jim with a smile and a look of love that made Jim wish they were alone. "I needed that."

"Me, too, Chief," Jim assured him. He herded Blair over to where Buffy, Xander and a few others were gathered. Will moved to where another woman sat, her mouth lax, staring off into space. Lovingly, Will said to her, "Don't worry, love. It won't be long."

To Jim's surprise, the woman slapped Will hard across the face, saying angrily, "Bitch! I'm supposed to work on the factors!"

Will looked at her sadly.

The anger on the other woman's face faded and she looked anxious. "I'm, I'm not ... I'm not...." She put her hand gently on Will's cheek and began to cry.

Her eyes filling with tears as well, Will said determinedly, "I'm gonna bring you back."

Jim found the whole exchange disturbing, and there was something truly wrong with the other woman. Her smell was off, not as bad as the vampires, she didn't smell dead, and her heart was beating, but it was as if her humanness had been mixed with something bad, tainting her human smell.

"Hello," a man said cautiously. "I'm Rupert Giles."

Blair strode forward, holding his hand out. "Dr. Giles, it's great to meet you."

"It is?" Giles asked, looking confused.

"Dr. Piquar told me you were the world's foremost expert on ancient artifacts, and I was hoping to have a chance to show you some drawings and ask you about them."

"Oh," Giles said, brows furrowed.

"I mean," Blair continued, "I get that this isn't the best time, apocalypse pending and all of that, but still, it's great to meet you."

Giles frowned at Xander.

Buffy was frowning at Xander, too, with a surprisingly smug you're-gonna-get-it look. It almost made Jim smile.

Xander gestured at Jim and Blair. "Look, they knew about Slayers and Watchers," he said defensively. "And the tall guy could smell the vampires. I figured we could use all the help we could get."

That comment seemed to arrest Giles. "You could smell the vampires?" he asked. "And I'm sorry, but your names?"

"Jim Ellison," Jim said, holding out his hand to shake Giles', delighted there was someone in the room who wasn't a teenager. The man felt like an oasis of sanity and strength. Jim added, "And the one who won't stop talking is Blair Sandburg."

Blair shot him a look, but then grinned in apology. "Sorry," he said. "I think I'm still a little wired about the vampire thing." He touched his neck and it made Jim want to hold him tightly to keep him safe.

"Vampires can be disconcerting," Giles agreed, mastering--in Jim's opinion--the understatement. To Jim, he said again, "You could smell the vampires?"

"And hear them," Jim said, "or not hear them. They don't have heartbeats."

"That would be because they're dead," Buffy said.

Giles was staring in a way that made Jim think of Blair and the look he'd get on his face when he was thinking of excruciating ways to experiment on Jim. He wondered what the chances were of getting Blair out of there and of the two of them getting back to their hotel without getting attacked by the undead.

"Good Lord," Giles said excitedly. "You're a Watchman, aren't you?"

"You've heard of them?" Blair asked, gasping.

"Yes, yes," Giles said absently. "All five senses?"

Jim scowled but nodded.

"And you must be his Guide?" he asked Blair.

Blair shot Jim a look of apology but nodded as well.

"Extraordinary," Giles said.

"What's a Watchman?" Xander asked.

Almost absentmindedly, Giles said, "They stand ever-vigilant in the protection of others. Seeing before others see, sensing what others can't." He paused, "They go by another name, as well, don't they?" He made as if to move to the staircase heading up to a library of books.

"A Sentinel," Blair said proudly.

"Yes, that's right," Giles said, stopping and turning back. "Is that the name you use?"

The only thing that was keeping Jim from freaking out was the fact that Giles seemed so much like Blair; he couldn't sense any malice from the man.

"I hate to be a party pooper," Buffy interrupted, somewhat hostilely, "but unless these guys can come up with a way to keep Glory from using my sister to open the doors between universes and ending all life as we know it, I'm thinking this is a waste of time."

The bell on the front door jingled as it opened and another man entered. Jim noticed the bleached blond hair and black fingernails a second before he realized the man didn't have a heartbeat. His smell wasn't quite as strong as the ones in the park, but it was strong enough. He pushed Blair behind him and pulled out the stake.

"I knew I liked that guy," Xander muttered behind him.

"Much as I'd like to encourage you," Giles said ruefully, "I'm afraid that this one is, temporarily at least, on our side."

"Nice," the vampire sneered. "Who are these jokers?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed the vampire's arm, spinning him around. "Spike, we need weapons. Come with me." In seconds they were both out the door.

There were a few moments of silence, then the redhead approached them and said, "Hi, I'm Willow Rosenberg, and that's Tara," she added, with a fairly dispirited wave toward the other woman.

"And I'm Anya," the woman by the cash register added.

"What's wrong with her?" Blair asked Willow softly, his chin pointing at Tara.

Eyes pained, Willow said, "Glory. She stuck her hand in Tara's head and scrambled her brain."

"I don't understand," Jim said, wishing he was anywhere but here. "Who's Glory? What's going on? Why do you keep saying the world's coming to an end?" To Willow, he said, "Why does Buffy say you're the strongest one here? Who are you?" He heard a roar and glanced up the stairs to see a mountain lion pacing along the banister. "And who does he belong to?" he asked, pointing to the lion.

Blair stepped close to him. "Who does who belong to, Jim?"

"The mountain lion," Jim said, already regretting opening his mouth. He was usually better at editing himself but he was off his stride dealing with just a little too much weirdness at one time. And given that he was a Sentinel with Blair as his Guide, he'd foolishly thought he'd gotten used to weirdness.

"There's a lion here?" Xander sort of squeaked out, cautiously looking upstairs.

Willow cocked her head and stared at Jim. "You can see her?"

"Can you?" Jim challenged back.

"Every now and then," Willow said. "Although usually just out of the corner of my eye."

The mountain lion roared again, and Jim was surprised the windows didn't rattle. He did his best not to wince at the sound. "Is she yours?" Jim asked Willow.

She shook her head. "I think she's Buffy's. Ever since Giles took Buffy to the desert where she met with the first Slayer, she's been hanging around."

Giles was staring at Willow. "And you didn't think that was worth mentioning?"

Willow flashed him an apologetic wince. "I sort of thought maybe I was imagining her."

"How do you know it's a her?" Blair asked.

Blushing, Willow said, "She doesn't have, you know," she made sort of a nondescript squeezing motion, "stuff hanging."

Blair snickered a little. Then, quickly, as Willow started to frown, he said, "Jim and I have spirit guides, too. Jim can see his, and sometimes can see mine. I've only seen them once," he said wistfully, "and that was when I was dead," he ended with a grimace.

Jim could have done without that painful memory being thrown around.

"You were dead?" Willow asked.

Jim wasn't going to talk about this. "Dr. Giles, what's going on?"

"Just Giles, please," the man said. "And that's a long story." He walked to the table that was covered in books, putting Blair's study sessions to shame, and sat down. "Glory is a god from a hell dimension--"

"What?" Jim said, interrupting. Feeling weak all of a sudden, he abruptly sat down. He needed a beer. Maybe two. Or six.

"It gets better," Xander quipped.

"Go ahead," Blair encouraged Giles, putting his hands on Jim's shoulders as he stood behind him.

"She was banished when the other two gods from her realm decided she was too powerful. Unfortunately, they banished her here," Giles added. "She shares a body with a man named Ben, a medical student here at Sunnydale General. When she gains control, she's--"

"She's a skanky ho," Willow threw in.

Giles shot her a look. "Yes, thank you for that, Willow," Giles said dryly.

"Well she is," Willow said petulantly.

"A skanky ho who is nearly invulnerable, is super-fast, and beat the snot out of Buffy," Xander pointed out.

"She's still a ho," Willow said defiantly.

Giles sighed. "She came to Sunnydale looking for the Key, a mystical item that will break down the walls between all dimensions, allowing her to return to reign in her own dimension."

"Is there such a thing?" Blair asked, his voice cracking a little. Jim totally didn't blame him.

"It's Buffy's sister, Dawn," Anya said. "These monks turned her into a human being to keep her safe." Anya snorted, making it clear what she thought about that plan.

"Glory," Giles started again, shooting Anya a look, "kidnapped Dawn once she determined that she was the Key."

"And she's going to use this Key to open the door between universes?" Blair asked with some trepidation and a hint of disbelief.

"Hang around for a while," Xander assured him. "You won't even believe the stuff you'll hear yourself saying."

"And what happens when she does that?" Jim asked, trying to keep things focused, at least as well as he could, considering what they were talking about.

"Well, as I said, she'll be able to return to her own dimension and reign," Giles said.

"And while the doors are open, every demon from any other universe can come pay us a visit," Anya said gloomily. "And trust me, they'll come. Most of the other universes don't have easy to eat meals like humans."

"When is this all supposed to happen?" Jim asked, not sure if he believed a word of it. Only the slowly closing holes on Blair's neck kept him from deciding they were all escapees from some mental institution.

"At sunrise," Giles said. He glanced at his watch. "In about nine hours."

Naturally, Jim thought to himself.

*****

Later, as if he'd been doing it all his life, Blair was sitting with Giles, poring through books, looking for something that might help. Willow was also studying, and every now and then she'd get up to peruse the shelves, occasionally grabbing something and putting it on the shelf by the cash register. Anya and Xander were downstairs looking for something called the Dagon Sphere, although considering what Jim was hearing and smelling, there wasn't much searching going on. Those were sex sounds, not looking for something sounds. Not that he blamed them; if he had his way, he'd be doing something similar to Blair right this second.

He was hungry, but had been told that no one delivered at night anymore after most of the delivery people ended up dead. Jim wasn't in the mood to go out and take his chances with the vampires again just because he wanted something to eat.

Prowling the store, Jim ignored his jaguar who had decided to show up to make Jim's night complete. The mountain lion had hung around for a while but then left, presumably to be with Buffy. Every now and then he heard the rustle of wings, but whenever Jim looked, he couldn't see anything. He suspected that if Buffy had a spirit guide, then Giles did, too, but it wasn't revealing itself to Jim.

Tara began to rock, clearly agitated, letting out little cries of distress.

"She doesn't smell right," Jim offered. "Your friend."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked unhappily.

Jim moved to Tara and crouched in front of her. "I think Glory leaves some of her essence behind when she does whatever she does."

"The moon is rising," Tara said anxiously.

"Hush, baby," Willow said, sitting down next to her.

"Have to go," Tara said. "Have to go, have to go, have to go," she yelled at Jim, almost shrieking.

Another shriek rent the air and Jim instinctively ducked as something sizeable flew by his head. He turned and finally saw it: a peregrine falcon. "Got you now, you damn bird," Jim said.

"What?" Giles said.

"Another spirit animal," Jim said. "I'm thinking it's yours."

"What is it?" Blair asked.

"A falcon, a peregrine falcon," Jim said, pointing to the railing on the library where it perched directly above Jim's jaguar.

"Mine?" Giles asked, looking stunned.

"How come I don't have a spirit animal?" Xander asked with a frown, who had just returned from the basement, reeking of sex, with something in his hand. "How come everyone else gets the good stuff?" He put the thing on the table.

Giles and Willow stopped their studying for a moment to pay it some attention, and Jim decided it must be the Dagan Sphere, whatever the hell that was.

After a minute, Willow went back to the books, and started flipping through one, stopping when she came to a falcon. "Listen to this, Giles. A falcon totem is filled with responsibility because Falcon people seek the overall view. They are aware of omens and spirit messages." She started flipping pages again, muttering, "Mountain lion, mountain lion." Finding the page she read: "Cougar is the master hunter, known for its high intelligence, its knowledge of other animal and life forms, its physical prowess, its strength of will, and its intuitive ability. Cougar sees the maintenance of its territory as essential for its survival."

"Sounds like the right spirit guides picked the two of you," Xander noted.

"Yes, well, as fascinating as this is, I'm not sure how it helps," Giles said with a sigh.

"I guess it doesn't," Blair admitted.

"No point learning anything new," Anya said gloomily, "when we're all probably going to be dead soon."

"Anya," Xander said sharply.

"No, you see," Anya said forcefully back to Xander, "usually, when there's an apocalypse, I skedaddle. But now I love you so much that instead I have to try to think of a way to fight a god, and worry terribly that something might happen to you. And also worry that something'll happen to me. And then I have guilt that I'm not more worried about everyone else, but I just don't have enough! I'm just on total overload, and I honestly don't think that I could be more nervous than I am right now."

Her outburst was met with silence.

"Unless there were bunnies," she added in genuine horror.

"Bunnies?" Blair asked tentatively.

"Don't ask," he was told emphatically by Willow and Xander.

Buffy and Spike chose that moment to return, and even though he'd been told that this vampire was helping them, Jim's blood still ran cold when he came closer. He and Buffy were loaded down with weapons. "Anything?" Buffy asked tersely.

Giles and Willow both shook their head no.

"Nada," Xander said, "although Jim saw yours and Giles' spirit guides."

"Are they big and hairy with lots of claws and sharp pointy teeth so they can tear Glory apart?" Buffy asked.

"Nope," Xander said.

"Forget it, then," she said shortly. Looking grim, she directed Spike, "Put them here." There was a loud clank as weapons hit the floor.

Jim was the last person to wax poetic about spirit animals, but he felt Buffy's rejection keenly. They wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. Every time he'd seen the jaguar or Blair's wolf, something bad was going down, and they'd been there to warn him. For all of two seconds, he thought about trying to explain, but with another look at the falcon and the mountain lion, who had returned, he let it go. He'd pay attention to them for Buffy and Giles, and hopefully, figure out why they were here and making themselves visible.

"Then we go with the plan," Buffy said. She looked at her watch. "It's almost time." Turning to Willow, she said, "Will?"

Jim glanced at his watch and was astonished that hours had gone by.

Willow nodded, and moved to Tara, who was busy staring at nothing as far as Jim could see. "Tara, baby? Is there somewhere you should be?"

And just that fast, Jim got the plan, and he thought it sucked. "You're going to use her?" he asked, appalled.

"Shut up," Buffy said fiercely.

Jim shut up. It was all over Buffy's face that she hated this plan, too, but it was all they had.

"They held me down," Tara accused.

"No one's holding you. It's the big day, right?" Willow said. When nothing happened, Willow coaxed, "Do you wanna go?"

Tara looked anxiously from Buffy to Willow and back again. She got up and began walking toward the door. Spike was gathering up weapons, as Giles unsheathed a sword. "Perhaps you should stay here," he advised Jim and Blair.

Jim glanced up at the spirit animals and saw they were following Tara. Not even believing what he was about to say, he said, "I think I'm here because of them." At the blank looks, he remembered no one could see them except for Willow, and all her attention was on Tara. "The spirit guides," he explained. "They seem to be going, so we are, too."

Giles frowned, but nodded. "Just stay back."

"What he means is stay out of our bloody way," Spike snarled.

Tara was at the door when Buffy turned around and said, "Everybody knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn." With that, she stalked off. Willow opened the door for Tara and the three of them walked out the door.

Spike smirked at Giles. "Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?"

"We few--" Giles started, as he moved past Spike. "We happy few."

"We band of buggered," Spike finished off, gathering up the rest of the weapons.

Despite the grim circumstances, Jim found himself sharing a grin with Blair about the overheard exchange. Sobering quickly, he wished he had some idea of what was going to happen, and what he could do to help. "You ready for this, Chief?"

"No freakin' way," Blair admitted. He held out his hands displaying several items. "Xander gave me more stakes, holy water, and some communion wafers." He let out a crazed laugh. "Is this for real?"

There was a shriek and Jim looked up to find the falcon hovering by the door. "I'm coming," he said. To Blair, he said, "Stay close."

"I'll be stuck to you like glue," Blair promised.

"And the next time you want to take a trip," Jim groused, "I'm picking the place." He strode to the door, held it open for Blair, and shut it behind the two of them.

*****

Tara was taking her time, so Jim and Blair easily caught up. The streets were completely deserted. It reminded Blair of High Noon, the stillness of the town as the two gunfighters faced each other down. The only thing missing was some sagebrush blowing across the street. "Can you still see them?" he asked Jim, feeling a little envious that he couldn't see the spirit animals.

Jim nodded, but didn't say anything.

Tara moved around a corner and when Blair followed, he saw a large scaffolding tower ahead of them. Somehow, in the dark, and given what was going on, it looked like some ominous monster waiting to gobble them up. Glancing around didn't help. Spike, a vampire, was carrying a crossbow, Anya had a baseball bat, and Giles had a sword. It was like a really freakish Halloween.

"What is that?" Anya asked in a hush.

"The portal must open up there," Giles guessed.

"Will," Buffy said, "you're up."

"Need anything?" Giles asked Willow.

"Could use a little courage."

Spike handed her a small flask.

Willow shook her head. "The real kind. But, thanks."

Spike put the flask away. Blair wished he'd hand it his way. He'd heard so much tonight his head was spinning. He still wasn't sure he bought it all, including Willow's I'm-a-witch thing, even if it did explain why she could see Buffy's spirit guide. But, true or not, no one was stopping her as she went to face the evil-she-god-skanky-ho without a weapon in hand. He backed up until he was pressed against a wall, feeling safer with something hard at his back. Jim stood next to him, and that made him feel even better. He was taking Spike's advice literally, wanting to make sure he didn't get in anyone's way.

Blair might have picked up a lot of extraneous skills on his life journey, but fighting vampires and demons, and gods from other dimensions wasn't one of them. Not that he wouldn't help if he could, but jumping in when he had no idea what to do wasn't a good plan. He hoped that didn't make him a coward.

And suddenly there was so much going on Blair didn't know where to look first. There was some sort of explosion to the left of him, and he saw people climbing the scaffolding. There were little men in brown cloaks scurrying around, and then he caught his first view of Glory. His initial thought was that she was kind of hot.

"You don't seem like you're feeling too great," Buffy taunted the blond god.

"Your little witch-bitch gave me kind of a headache there." She took off her ceremonial robe and stood there in a strappy black dress.

Blair blinked. She was definitely hot. A murdering demi-god who sucks out people's brains, and kills kid sisters to let demons come to Earth, Blair reminded himself starkly. Definitely not sexy.

"I noticed you're talking," Buffy jeered, "whereas in your position, I would attack me."

The little brown-robed guys picked up Glory's robe and started milling around.

One of them said, "Oh, most sweaty-naughty-feelings-causing one, should we…"

"Oh, boy," Jim muttered.

Blair couldn't even believe the guy had said that.

"Go guard the girl," Glory ordered.

The--minions--Blair decided, scurried away. "Maybe we should follow them," Blair suggested. "Maybe we could get the girl away."

Jim was already moving, following the men.

Blair could hear Buffy continue to mock Glory, and then he heard the sound of punching. He was tempted to go back and watch. It wasn't every day you got to watch two hot blondes get in a bitch-fight.

Then, one of the minions said to his buddies, "Stand fast! Kill anyone who dares approach! This will be our day of glory!"

"Well punned," another minion approved.

"Well, it just called out to me," the first minion said modestly.

Blair was rolling his eyes, feeling another surreal juxtaposition of scary-ass life-threatening danger and a good Abbott and Costello flick.

Suddenly an arrow appeared in the punning minion's chest and he fell back, dead. Blair spun to see Spike reloading his crossbow.

As if that was the cue they'd been waiting for, the minions attacked, and Blair suddenly found himself with his hands full. Fortunately, they were worse at fighting than him, and he was able to lay a couple out with some well-placed punches. Jim, on the other hand, was having no problem, and the minions were piling up at his feet.

The sound of a massive fight was still going on where Buffy and Glory were, and Blair hoped like hell that Buffy was winning. That was when he heard a scream.

"Buffy! I'm up here!"

Blair looked up and saw someone on top of the scaffolding. It was too far away for him to see anything but vague shapes. "Jim! Who's up there?"

Jim took a look even as he punched another minion into unconsciousness. "A girl, she's tied up." He stared again. "There's something else up there, something not human, but he's hiding."

Blair winced at that even as he was impressed Jim could tell. "Vampire?"

Jim shook his head. He looked like he was about to take off to help her when Spike raced by them, heading for the scaffolding, Buffy right behind him, Glory behind her.

"Buffy!" Dawn screamed again.

The minions kept coming, and Blair thought he could see some vampires in the crowd as well. He wrapped his fingers around the stake in his pocket, his heart beating fast enough to probably attract every vampire in the city like some huge all-night-buffet neon sign.

Spike kept moving, making his way up at an amazing speed. Buffy tried to climb, but Glory was hell bent on keeping her down. Blair was amazed the scaffolding didn't come down around their ears, as hard as it was being hit by the huge hammer Buffy was hurling around.

Jim pointed to the scaffolding. "There're more of those guys up there, going after Spike," he said, clearly frustrated.

"Should we go help?" Blair asked anxiously, still not sure what constituted getting in the way. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse. He'd been lectured about this very topic ad nauseam by Jim. And while normally that wouldn't stop him, nothing about this made sense, and he still wasn't sure he could definitely tell the good guys from the bad guys.

"As long as Buffy can keep Glory down long enough, it doesn't matter," Giles said from behind him. Blair jumped, startled. He hadn't seen the man join them. "There're only a few minutes left to start the ritual," Giles said tightly, glancing at his watch.

Jim was staring at the top of the scaffolding.

"What is it?" Blair asked.

"That thing that was hiding, it's moving, getting closer to the girl," Jim answered.

"Who or what is it?" Giles asked anxiously.

"It looks human but the heart beat is off, and his voice--" Jim shook his head as if incapable of coming up with the right words. Giles opened his mouth to speak again, but Jim put his hand up to silence him. "Wait. Dawn knows him. She's asking him to help her." Taking a step forward, Jim said sharply, "He just took out a knife. He's helping Glory." He made as if to go help, but Giles put out his hand. "Spike's almost there."

Jim didn't look happy but stayed put. Blair supposed if a vampire couldn't help her, then Jim probably couldn't, although it felt disloyal even to think that. "He's looking at a pocket watch," Jim said. "He saying: 'It's about that time.'" Then, "Spike's up there now."

Blair could see shapes struggling up top, but he couldn't tell who was winning. When Jim took off running for the scaffolding, Blair took a wild guess that it wasn't going well.

"He just knifed Spike," Jim yelled over his shoulder as he started climbing.

Blair, his heart in his throat, watched Jim climb. He was so focused, when Spike landed close by crashing through a pile of bricks, Blair almost had a stroke. Even more afraid for Jim, Blair searched for him on the scaffolding. He knew Jim was tough, but if Spike had gotten tossed over the edge like yesterday's garbage…Blair didn't care to finish his thought.

Buffy was back on the ground pummeling Glory into, literally, a bloody pulp. Blair swallowed a taste of bile. Then, in front of his eyes, Glory turned into a guy, who stared up at Buffy from where he was lying on the ground. "I'm sorry," the guy said, looking like he truly was.

"Tell her it's over," Buffy snarled. "She missed her shot. She ever, ever comes near me and mine again…"

"We won't," the young man said fervently. "I swear."

Buffy dropped her weapon and ran for the scaffolding.

Giles walked over to Ben and knelt beside him. Hoping like hell the bad stuff was over for the night with Glory down for the count, Blair went with him and grimaced at how wounded Ben was. "Is he her?"

"Yes," Giles said grimly. "And him we can kill." He looked up at Blair. "Do you understand?"

Blair didn't want to, but he nodded. "As long as he's alive, she can come back, right?" There were voices inside his head screaming that this was murder, that you couldn't just kill someone like this, but he was so far in over his head in this town that had vampires and demons and hell gods, that Blair swallowed the words and kept his mouth shut.

"She could have killed me," Ben gasped.

"No, she couldn't," Giles said. "Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge and make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that and still she couldn't take a human life." He turned to Blair. "Leave us."

Blair felt like crying; it was all too much for him. He forced his feet to move away, deciding he needed to find Jim now and hide in his arms for about a month. He heard Giles say, "She's a hero, you see. She's not like us."

"Us?" Ben gasped.

Blair could hear a sound of struggling, and through a haze of tears he kept walking. He looked up at the scaffolding, searching for Jim. He heard a scream and for a heart stopping moment imagined Jim being pushed off, plunging to his death.

He wished he could see like Jim could, wished he could help in some way, instead of only being able to get the fuck out of the way of these people fighting a fight he couldn't even imagine.

There was another scream, and all Blair could see were several people on top of the scaffolding, unable to tell one from another. One was taller, and Blair guessed that that was Jim, but he couldn't be positive. He was near Dawn, while two others were fighting.

Someone else was tossed over the side and Blair refused to believe it was Jim. The tall person was still with Dawn, and the other person up there wasn't fighting anymore, so the person who fell had to be another bad guy. It had to be.

Giles was suddenly standing next to him, wiping his hands off with a handkerchief. Blair did his best not to imagine what he was wiping off.
"What's happening?" Giles asked, peering up just like Blair.

"I think it's Dawn, Jim and Buffy up there," Blair said. "I think everything's okay." Please, God, he thought to himself, let it all be okay. He desperately wanted this to be over.

"Why aren't they coming down?" Giles asked, frustrated.

"Good question," Blair muttered. It looked like the three of them were arguing. Again, he wished for Jim's senses. "They're arguing about something," Blair said.

"Buffy?" Giles yelled.

"Dawn's bleeding," she yelled down.

"Glory's dead," Blair pointed out, clutching at straws. There was a loud sound like thunder and flashes of light crackled across the sky.

Pointing at what looked to be a growing hole in the sky, Giles said worriedly, "I don't think it matters."

Blair watched as the portal grew larger. A huge bolt of lightning slashed down, and even though Blair couldn't see where it hit, he could hear the resulting explosion. The portal grew wider, and more lightning poured out. A building at the end of the alley burned to a shell in an instant.

Backing up until he hit something solid, Blair watched in horror as the sky was ripped apart. Something huge and black with wings came through the portal, shrieking. The ground started to shake and it was all Blair could do to stay standing.

When he could tear his eyes away from the horror show in the sky, he glanced at the top of the tower, wishing Jim would get the fuck down. If this was the end of everything, he wanted to be with Jim. Right. Fucking. Now.

"Can she do anything?" Blair yelled at Giles.

Giles just shook his head in despair. "No. It's too late. The only way to stop it is for Dawn to die, and Buffy won't allow that to happen."

Blair remembered Ben's helpless face, wondered if Giles could have so easily killed Dawn.

The portal continued to grow and a flash of lightning hit the ground not twenty feet away, opening a crack in the ground. The scaffolding shook; Blair wanted Jim off the damn thing before it came tumbling down to kill them all. "Jim!" Blair yelled, panicking.

Then, like something out of the Demon Olympics, Buffy dove off the tower right into the portal. She hung there, motionless, as the portal still sent out tendrils of lightning.

"Buffy!" Giles yelled in horror.

"Get your ass down here!" Blair yelled at Jim. He was beyond relieved when Jim started making his way down, Dawn right in front of him.

The portal shrank to nothing and disappeared, leaving behind a sky barely lightened by a soon to be arriving dawn.

They stood there, shocked. Taking a look around, Blair saw that Tara was standing with Willow, both of them with tear streaks down their faces. Anya was bleeding, and none of the rest of them looked any better. Xander stumbled over to the ladder to help Jim get Dawn the rest of the way down.

Spike staggered toward a pile of wood and that was when Blair saw that Buffy was lying there. Giles was right behind Spike. Spike fell to his knees, sobbing.

Blair felt his own eyes fill with tears. It was almost more than he could bear but then, finally, finally, Jim's arms were wrapping around him, and he leaned back, weary to his bones.

Giles just stared at Buffy, his face pale, his eyes haunted, hurting.

She looked alive. Considering what she'd done, there wasn't a mark on her. Like Snow White, she just looked like she was sleeping. Unable to believe she was dead, Blair was the one who reached out and felt for a pulse.

"Her heart's not beating, Chief," Jim said softly.

"She looks like she's sleeping," Blair protested. "She's not hurt at all."

He could hear Willow and Tara weeping in the background. He felt something nudge his foot and looked down to see his wolf standing there.

Blair blinked, then gasped when he saw Jim's jaguar. As if it had just happened, or maybe was happening again, he saw the two of them jump toward each other and merge into one. "Jim," Blair said, almost in shock at the idea he was having.

"What?" Jim asked, standing close.

"Can you still see the mountain lion and the falcon?"

"Just the falcon."

"Show Giles, Jim. Show him what you did to bring me back. That's gotta be why we're here." He pointed toward the wolf and jaguar, sitting on their haunches. "That's why they're here, and why I can suddenly see them."

Giles turned to look at them and the weariness in his eyes made Blair's heart hurt. "What are you talking about?" Giles asked.

"When I died, and I was dead, they called it," Blair said firmly, making sure there was no doubt about it, "Jim sent his spirit guide after me, and he brought me back to life. You can use your falcon to go after her."

"I don't even know what I did, Chief," Jim protested, "let alone how to teach someone."

"Just do it, Jim," Blair snapped. "It can't hurt."

Acknowledging that with a tight nod, Jim approached Buffy. "Put your hands on her face, like this." Jim demonstrated, showing how he'd touched Blair.

Giles took his place and cradled her face in his hands. "Now what?"

"Close your eyes, and…" Jim stopped and shot a frustrated look at Blair. "I don't--"

Blair moved next to Giles. "Just close your eyes and believe in your spirit guide. He'll come to you. If this is going to work, he'll come to you. Then send it after her mountain lion. There's no other reason for them to be here," he said, gesturing to the wolf and jaguar. "And sure as hell no other reason for us to be here. I'm living proof that this works."

Giles stared at Blair for a long moment then, still cupping Buffy's face, closed his eyes.

Spike was watching from the shadows, an almost painful look of hope on his face. Blair caught him glancing at the horizon, at the sun that was just starting to rise.

They surrounded Buffy and Giles: Anya and Xander, Xander's arm around a still sobbing Dawn, Tara and Willow, Spike a ways away, but just as present, and Jim and Blair. Blair prayed to every deity he knew for this to work. He glanced at his and Jim's spirit animals and saw how relaxed they were and suddenly was sure that it would.

Willow let out a gasp, and Blair's eyes flew to Buffy as she drew in a breath and opened her eyes. "Giles?" she said.

Giles nodded, too overcome to speak, tears rolling down his cheeks, biting his lips hard to keep it together. Buffy launched herself at him, holding him tightly. "Is it over?"

"It's over," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"Glory?"

"Dead," he said.

"Dawn?" she asked, her voice tight, pulling back to stare at him, her eyes worried.

"She's fine, Buffy," Giles said, his voice breaking a little. "Everyone's fine."

"Thank God," Buffy said, as she buried her face in his chest again.

Giles looked about a second from breaking down. Willow was in tears--happy ones this time--and Giles gestured to her with a slight head movement. She ran over as if let off her leash, getting in on the hug. "Oh, my God," Willow cried, hugging Buffy tightly. "You're alive."

Then they were all crying and hugging each other, and Jim and Blair took a few steps back and let them have their moment. Blair wrapped his arms around Jim, wishing they were alone so he could love Jim the way he wanted to.

"Sorry, Chief," Jim said, ashamed. "I just couldn't think of how to tell him."

Blair stood on his toes and kissed Jim. "We're a team, Jim. You got things rolling, and I just finished it up. And it worked." He beamed up at Jim.

"Yeah, it did," Jim said, smiling back, his eyes full of love.

"I don't know how to thank you," Giles said, suddenly standing in front of them. He pulled off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "She'd be dead if it wasn't for you two."

"She'd be dead if it wasn't for you," Blair argued kindly. "We just pointed the way. It was your belief that saved her."

Looking around, Giles said, "Can you still see our spirit animals?"

Jim looked around and shook his head. "No. I don't usually see mine unless there's trouble ahead of one sort or another. So pay attention if it shows up."

Giles shot him an exhausted smile, and nodded.

Blair was sad to note that he couldn't see the wolf or jaguar any more, either. But at least he'd gotten to see them for a little while.

"Hey, cop," Spike called from the safety of one of the remaining buildings.

Reluctantly, they moved to where the vampire hid from the sun, and Blair was glad Giles chose to join them.

"Yeah?" Jim said guardedly.

"You two ever need anything," Spike said, his voice angry, making it a weird accompaniment to the tears on his face and the words he was saying, "you let me know and it's yours. Clear?"

Blair gaped as Spike turned and stalked off.

Jim blinked at Blair, then turned to ask Giles, "Are we safe to head back to our hotel?"

Giles nodded. "Sun's up." He pointed at Spike who was shimmying down a steam vent. "Sunlight kills vampires."

"Good safety tip," Blair said, attempting a grin that was interrupted by a yawn. He wanted nothing more than to lie down with Jim next to him. "Maybe later I could come by and show you the drawings I brought?"

Smiling, Giles said, "I'm at your disposal."

"Cool," Blair said. "Ready to go, big guy?" he said to Jim.

"More than ready," Jim agreed.

"Go back to your Slayer, Watcher," Blair suggested. "She's looking for you." And she was, her eyes searching for him over Xander's back as he hugged her.

This time it was Jim who yawned wide enough to crack his jaw.

Snorting, Giles said in return, "Put your Watchman to bed, Guide."

"I'm on it," Blair promised.

"And don't go out at night," Giles warned.

"Trust me, I'll be coming to see you when the sun is still shining brightly," Blair agreed.

With that, Giles went back to where Buffy was sitting, surrounded by jubilant friends.

*****

Blair and Jim started making their way through the rubble, back to the main street. "Why isn't anyone here?" Blair asked. "I mean, where are the police and the fire engines? Why didn't anyone notice that the sky almost ripped in two?"

"I don't know," Jim said. "And I don't want to know." He'd been here a little over one day and already hated this place with a burning passion. As soon as Blair had his meeting with Giles, Jim planned on convincing Blair to forget about the rest of the conference and head for home.

Stopping, looking around, Blair shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't get this place. Why isn't everyone freaked out? Why isn't the National Guard here to help with the vampire problem? Why are kids the ones who are fighting them?"

"Buffy may look young," Jim said, "but her eyes tell you a different story."

"I know," Blair admitted. "It just doesn't seem fair. These people should be heroes. There should be a ticker-tape parade in their honor for what they did, and instead, no one is even gonna know what happened."

"I'm betting it's all part and parcel with the demon activity," Jim ruminated. "Maybe when you get enough of them in one place, they make everyone forget they're around." All the more reason to leave.

"Creepy," Blair said. "Even creepier that a vampire owes us a favor. Think we'll forget?"

"I sincerely hope so," Jim said with a wry grin.

"So, you're not feeling a huge need to move to Sunnydale and help fight the ghosts and ghoulies?" Blair asked.

"Not even a little bit," Jim said.

"Thank God," Blair said fervently, putting Jim's fears to rest.

"But you know what I am feeling a huge need for?" Jim asked.

"What?" Blair said, grinning.

"Kissing you, and seeing as there's no one around, I think I'll take full advantage of it." And with that, he leaned down and proceeded to make himself at home in Blair's mouth, with Blair's soft lips, and strong, wet tongue, and his breathy moans. He kissed him for a long time. And when he finally straightened up, Blair's eyes were glazed, and his lips were swollen, and Jim looked around, feeling dangerously proprietary.

No one. There was no one at all. "What a weird town," he observed, giving Blair one more quick kiss. "Let's go back to the hotel."

Blair licked his lips, which almost made Jim kiss him again, but he wanted to get Blair naked, and sooner or later someone would appear, spoiling his fun. Unless the entire population somehow got sucked through the portal, he suddenly thought, creeping himself out. He focused with his senses, listening, and was gratified to hear the noise of a city waking up.

"Everything okay?" Blair asked worriedly.

Jim didn't want Blair looking worried, not when he'd looked like sex on a stick just a few seconds before. He leaned down and ravished Blair's mouth again. When he was done, he smiled at the dopey look on Blair's face. "Everything's fine." And as soon as he could get Blair in the shower to wash the scents of the night away, and then naked in bed, everything would be perfect.

The End

June 2, 2007

If you liked the story, please let me know: ladyra11@yahoo.com

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