Bit o' FIC: A Stitch in Time

[PChazzman@xxxxxxx]

A Stitch in Time 
By Chazzman

E-MAIL: PChazzman@xxxxxxx  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Joss and the WB network. Please don't sue. 
RATED: PG
DISTRIBUTION: Just ask me, please...
FEEDBACK: Is very welcome.
SPOILERS: Post season 3.  No season 4 or 5.  OK may be a little, but that's all.

NOTE A: Due to an incident involving a crate of tequila, a ancient sword, a couple of kittens, and one of Xander's more garish Hawaiian shirts, Spike has been bound by the PTB's to protect and serve Willow.  It is best if you don't ask too many questions.  It was not a pretty scene. 

NOTE B: After a series of dating disasters, Buffy has stopped dating.  Most date nights, she now hangs with Giles, studying to be a spinster at the feet of the master. 

NOTE C: Oz left and Willow is not seeing anyone.  Or she has been going through sorority girls like potato chips, and hasn't told Buffy. Take your pick.

NOTE D: Sometime in the year 2003, Spike has used a talisman that has transported Buffy, Willow and himself back in time to the dark ages near a small town in England.

~~~~~

They had found a barn near a town in which Spike could hide until nightfall and filched some clothes that had been hanging on a line.  The hardest thing had been what to do about money.  Spike suggested Buffy could sell herself, adding that she should start early as she'd probably only get a few pennies per shag.  Willow stopped the fight before Buffy did any serious damage.  She then told Spike to hand over his lighter and Buffy her cross and rings.  She added her own necklace and bracelet to the pile.  She had then gone out to sell the items and to her surprise made quite a tidy little some of money, especially from the lighter.  She then divided the money between the three of them before heading out into the quaint little town of Carthe.

Willow was having a grand time.  It was fascinating to see the things that only yesterday had been just history from a book. She'd watched in fascination as an apprentice smith had shoed a horse, and a cooper had made a barrel.  Of course they had thought she had been simple staring because she liked them.  And the smells.... fresh baked bread - she'd never seen a Bakery in Sunnydale, all her bread was store bought.

And then there were the Alchemists seeking to discover the secrets of basic science that she had know since she was a small girl.  She had gotten so interested in their work that she forgot about where she was and began to point out their mistakes.  

The Alchemists were not pleased.

*****

Buffy on the other hand was not having a good time.  In fact, she had summed up the whole experience when she had seen the squalid little village into which Spike had dropped them and said, "This place sucks!"

She did not care about the day to day life of simple villagers in the dark ages.  It would not be on the test.  Willow had gotten that glazed wistful look in her eyes that she got every year the Renaissance Fair started up over in Hazelwood.  Then Buffy would get the 'Sad Kitten Eye' treatment until she gave in and agreed to go with Willow to the damn thing.  Then, once she got there, she would have to put up with being called a 'Wench' by freaks in costumes whom she wasn't allowed to kill.  She'd even asked Giles, just to make certain.  

Wench.  She hated that term.  She suspected it was a polite way for them to call her 'slut'.  Willow never got called Wench.  She was always 'Lass' or 'Fair Maiden' or even 'My Lady'. 

So now Willow was off immersing herself in the daily life and having a ball, while Buffy had spent the day sulking. She knew she was being bad, but at the moment she didn't care.  Willow understood and decided the best recourse was to just let her be.  She had stopped Buffy from staking Spike when they had arrived, and without Giles there to distract her, Buffy would need a few hours to get over her black mood. 

As evening approached, Buffy felt the need to get something to eat and headed for the tavern where they had decided to meet in the evening.  

After all she was 21.

****

Spike was hungry.  And while he wasn't above killing for his dinner, the one thing he knew about time travel was never kill someone if you weren't absolutely certain that they weren't an ancestor.  The Fates were nasty enough to screw you over if you went about killing willy nilly as he wanted to.  That was why he'd never taken Dru on one of these trips.  She'd be likely to seek out and kill her great-grand parents as children and then erase herself from existence.  So in spite of his teasing of Peaches about his diet, when he traveled in time, he ate animal.

Of course there was that other little problem which was the whole cause of why he was in servitude to a novice witch, but he'd rather not think about that.  So he slipped into the barn and prepared to have beef for dinner.  It wouldn't kill the beast; he couldn't eat that much.  Just a nick on the side and dinner was served.  

The cows sensed his unnaturalness and began to shift in nervous agitation.   

"Hold on, you stupid beasts." Spike told the cows.  "I don't like doing this anymore than you so let's stay quite and I'll be quick and out of here in a flash."

He moved to the nearest cow with a rope and tied it by its neck to a post.  Shifting to his demonic face, he moved forward to feed.  The cow let out a frightened bellow and moved about in an effort to elude him, but Spike used his strength to grip it firmly continued to feed.  He had just finished when he heard a shout.  Looking up he saw the barn door open and a young boy standing there.  The boy took one look at Spike's face and bolted, screaming about a demon killing the cows.

"Ah shit!" Spike said as he scrambled to get out of the barn before anyone else saw him.

A cry of, "There he is!" greeted him as he opened the barn door to face a large crowd of people who gaped at his blood stained shirt. 

Spike slammed the door shut but knew even as he bolted it that he was in trouble.  The crowd had torches, and it looked like they weren't afraid of using them.

*****

"You seem a remarkably informed young woman in the ways of 'The Arts'," said a man beside Willow as she looked over the supplies in the shop

"'The Arts'?" ask Willow as she looked up and realized for the first time that there were quite a few people in the store and that they were all watching her.  "Oh no, no, no.  That was just sophomore chem.  Nothing to do with any 'Arts'." She scoffed as if to say 'How Silly.'  "Well, gosh, look at the time," she said glancing at her watch.  "I really should get going.  My friends are going to be wondering where I am, and-"

"She's a witch."

The words froze Willow in her tracks, "I...I... nothing I have talked about has anything to do with Witchcraft.  It-it-it's all based on solid scientific principles."  She looked at the bewildered crowd and realized her error.  "Principles that you don't have the slightest idea about because they haven't been discovered yet," she added in a weak murmur.  "Oops."

The crowd moved in to grab her by the arms and drag her from the shop.

"Take her to the Magistrate!"

"Put her on trial for Witchcraft and consorting with Scientific Princes!"

"And then hang her!"

The Alchemists nodded significantly to each other satisfied at the removal of this latest threat to their knowledge.  There was enough competition for people's gold in this town from each other as it was without some young upstart.  Still, some of her ideas sounded like they might be worth looking into.  

*****

Buffy closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as yet another man tried to make a move on her at the tavern.  Where was Willow?  Heck, she'd be happy to see Spike.  At least if he was sitting with her it would maybe stopped the seemingly endless flow of men who seemed to want to 'buy her a drink'.  All of the men had had a leering _expression_ that left no doubt in her mind as to what they wanted in return.  For the thousandth time today she wished that Giles was there to tell her it would be OK and she could kick Spike's arse when they got home.

Instead, she got Farmer Hands and the Tweedle Twins, Dum and Dee, crowding around her and making it difficult to be polite.  Of course it could be worse, she considered as she watched the treatment with which the serving maids had to put up with. Although, several of them enjoyed and even seemed to be encouraging the men, there was one who definitely seemed as out of place as Buffy felt.  She had long, jet black hair and darker skin than any of the locals, and she had an almost exotic look to her, despite wearing the same dingy clothing that everyone else wore around here.  To Buffy she looked almost Spanish, and it was evident from the treatment of her that she was a second class citizen.  Maybe even a third.  She never served any of the food instead being assigned to clean the tables and any messes on the floor.  Buffy caught the name Idara as she was called to clean the table next to hers.

As the girl bent to pick up scraps that had been tossed upon the floor by the tables previous occupants, one of the other serving maids was passing by with a huge tray of food and drinks.  Buffy clearly saw Farmer Hands reach out to pinch the passing girl who giggled and jumped to the side.  Unfortunately, she stumbled over the legs of the dark-haired girl.  The platter of food tilted and spilled on top of the Tweedle Twins.  

"Anabella!" screamed a huge woman from the kitchen as she began to plow her way through the crowd.   The woman was about 5'6" and must have weighed at least  350 to 400lbs by Buffy's estimation.  Her furious _expression_ only made her beet-red face all the more unattractive.

"It wasn't my fault," yelled an ashen faced Anabella as she cowered back from the woman.  "It-it was her," she quickly said pointing at the dark-haired girl who was still on the floor.

The red faced woman looked at the girl on the floor and began to draw in a large breath to begin a fresh tirade.  Buffy, however, had had enough.

"Hold it!  It wasn't her fault.  It was that man over there playing 'grab-ass' that made you dodge over here and trip on her legs."

The silence that fell in the tavern as Buffy pointed out the man, who drew himself up and glared at her.  Buffy glared right back.  

"Is that what happen, Anabella?" asked the large woman.

The girl looked at the man briefly and shook her head.  "N-No ma'am.  It was the Dog's fault," she said spitefully as she glared first at the girl and then at Buffy, daring her to refute her story.

The red-faced hostess was joined by an equally large and red-faced barkeep who said, "Young lady, you are obviously a stranger here in, but I will not have the likes of you making slanderous remarks against our Mayor."

Buffy couldn't hold back her outburst. "He's a pig! He's been grabbing every woman who has passed by tonight. Including me."

The man gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "She is simply upset that I refused her advances earlier."

The hostess gave Buffy a look up and down.  "We don't need your kind here.  Get out."  Had she left her statement there, things mind have ended right then.  But the woman felt the need to elaborate.

"Harlot"

Buffy slapped the Hostess.  

The woman enraged raised her hand to smash them down upon Buffy.  Buffy punched her, and the woman flew backward to crash on top of the Mayor, unconscious.

Her husband the barkeep moved forward to attack and Buffy grabbed his arm and flung him across the common room.  Suddenly, the whole tavern erupted into chaos as punches, food, drink, chairs, and even tables were thrown left and right.  

Buffy was throwing people, which resulted in a large clear space around her.

A hand tugging at her skirt got her attention and she looked down into the grateful face of the girl, Idara.  The girl indicated from Buffy to follow and Buffy slipped under the table after her.  The girl led her to the kitchen and then out the back door.  

Meanwhile, the town constables rushed in the front door and began to quell the riot before taking down the report of the unnaturally strong blonde temptress who had been seducing men all evening and had started the whole thing.

The red-faced hostess finally was revived and she began immediately screaming for the arrest of the blond harlot.

Nobody noticed the overturned candles near the Brandy casks until it was too late.

*****

Spike dodged down another ally and stopped to listen for pursuit.  The damn mob had seemed to grow from nowhere.  Didn't these people have better things to do than run around burning things in search of a demon?  Apparently not, as they had already torched 2 barns, 6 chicken coops, 10 haystacks, three dozen head of cattle, and over 60 chickens in their pursuit of him.  No wonder the older vamps lived underground.  People in these times were just too damn flame-happy.

And the bloody, bright-as-day full moon wasn't helping matters much either.

He needed to find Red and get the hell out of here.

And the Slayer, if Willow insisted.

*****

Willow was getting angry.

The crowd that had dragged her from the alchemist's shop had taken her to a person who had to be the oldest and deafest Magistrate in history.  His hands shook as he wrote down illegible notes.

She was now trying to tell him her name and for some reason he kept asking her to repeat it.

"ROSENBERG!"

"Eh! Sounds foreign.  Where are you from again?"

"Sunnydale, California."

"Never heard of it."

"No you wouldn't have."

"What was that?" 

"Nothing"

"Now-now-now what are the charges against this little girl?"

"She's a witch!"

"And a spy!"

"A spy?  That's a serious charge.  Who-who is she spying for?"

A murmur went through the crowd as it tried to remember.

"Some foreigners."

"Yeah a bunch of Princes."

"Sienfic Princes!" said somebody and the crowd began to murmur in agreement. 

"Oh god. I'm in a Monty Python sketch," groaned Willow as she slumped down.  At least they were distracted from the witchcraft charge.

"None of that language here, missy," snapped the Magistrate.  "Now then what is your name again?"

"Rosenberg!  For crying out loud, how many times do I have to say it?  Willow Rosenberg!  And yes! It is foreign, it's Jewish!"

A gasp ran through the crowd. 

Willow looked around wondering what was wrong.

The crowd was looking as if she had just threatened to eat their babies.

"Burn her!"

With a roar the crowd moved forward to seize her again.

"Hey! Hey! What about my trial?" Willow yelled.

"That's only for witches and spies," said the Magistrate with a glower. "Not for the likes of you!"

Willow was stunned.  She knew about anti-Semitism and all but she had never really experienced it until this moment, and it was pissing her off.  As she was carried forth into the street the mob met up with a larger mob carrying torches and chanting 'Burn the Cow Killer'.  

Willow was carried out to a nearby bonfire already set-up and ready where she was tied to a pole.  A clergyman of some sort stepped forward.

"Have you any last word's?  Do you wish to abandon your heathen ways and embrace the one true lord and his son Jesus Christ?"

"Buffy!  Spike!  Help!"

******

Buffy and Spike crashed into each other as they rounded the corner heading in opposite directions. 

"Ow! Dammit Spike."

"Slayer!  Where's Willow?  We've got to get out of this town."

"No shit, Sherlock," snapped Buffy.  "And I have no idea where Willow is.  She didn't meet me at the tavern."

"Well what the bloody hell are you doing here then?"

"There was a slight misunderstanding, probably best if I don't go back. What are you doing here?"

The sounds of shouting could be heard down the street and Spike looked about nervously.

"Another misunderstanding."

Buffy looked darkly at him, "Did you kill...?"

Spike glared at her, "No dammit! Some bloody kid walked in on me while I was having a snack on Bessi.  He sort of took it the wrong way." 

The girl Idara tapped Buffy on the shoulder and in broken English said, "We hide.  I know place."

Buffy looked at the girl.  "We need to find my friend first."

"Buffy! Spike! Help!" came a faint cry in the direction of the mob.

Buffy and Spike looked at each other for a second before they spun and ran towards the sound of Willow's voice.

The girl hesitated for a moment longer.  She doubted she would be welcome back at the tavern and this strange blond girl had been the first person who had been kind to her since Master Bernard had died.  So with a shrug she headed off after the blond duo.

*****

Willow was concentrating.  She needed to do something spectacular enough to frighten these people but not hurt them.  However, she was in and emotional uproar and still very upset at the way she was being treated just because she was Jewish.  She couldn't help but think of how these people must have done this same thing to other Jews who may have come to this town and it infuriated her.

As two men carrying the torches approached, Willow finished the incantation she had been muttering under her breath, pursed her lips and blew at the men.  A gust of wind suddenly swooped in, picked up the two men and sent them flying away to crash into nearby houses.

They crowd pulled back for a moment.

"Alright.  Yes I am a witch!" Willow yelled.  "And I was being nice and not bothering anyone but you couldn't live and let live.  Now release me or feel my wrath," Willow told the crown.  It was a good speech, and it might have even influence the crowd if she hadn't stammered.

"Burn her!" shouted the mob and they began tossing their own torches at the bonfire.  Willow frantically blew back and all of the torches flew away over the crowd's heads and some of the houses.

"There! That'll teach you to play with fire!" Willow yelled at the mob.

The mob seemed to consider this for a moment before a consensus was reached.

"Hang her!"

"Hang the Jew-Witch" 

"BUFFY!"

The mob began to close around Willow when suddenly, Buffy and Spike were there.  Buffy tossed people left and right while Spike was busy cutting the ropes that bound Willow.  

"Alright you bunch of medieval dickweeds!" yelled Buffy as she raised a log in what she hoped was a threatening manner.  "Back off" 

"Oh Buffy! Spike.  I'm so glad to see you guys," Willow sobbed as her hands came free.  "They wanted to burn me just because I was Jewish."

Spike growled and his face shifted, "Alright you bunch of wankers!  The next one you lays a hand on my Mistress gets to see his guts up close and personal, ya hear?!"

"Mistress?" asked Willow.

"It's the cow killer!"

"It's the Harlot!"

"Ah crap, I though I lost this bunch," muttered Spike.

"HARLOT?!!!" screeched Buffy.  "That does it!"  She moved over and ripped from the ground the pole to which Willow had been tied and snapped it in half.  "Could a Harlot have done that?!  No!  And your Mayor is a pig!"

The crowd stepped back at this amazing display of strength from this tiny girl.  Another murmur swept through the crowd.  

"It's the Jew-Witches pet demons!"  

At this point, Idara came running forward, "Fire!  Fire!  Fire!"

The crowd turned to look and saw blazes sprouting up from behind several of the houses lining the street.  With a cry, many ran from the square to gather buckets and save their homes. 

In the Hog's Head tavern, the Brandy casks finally exploded. 

****

Two hours later, on the out skirts of the now fully blazing town, a very tired witch, slayer and vampire sat and watched the stream of refugees fleeing as the town burned.  Several farms surrounding the town also seemed to be inexplicably ablaze as well.

"I forgot the marshmallows again."

"Willow, you ok?" asked Buffy with concern.

"Oh sure, Buff.  I just killed a town.  OK, sure they wanted to kill me, but...I'm gonna have guilty feelings like crazy when we get home." 

"Slayer.  What are we gonna do with your little chit?" Spike asked indicating the girl who had attached herself to Buffy.  

Somehow, during the flight out of the town Idara had managed to acquire some food and pots and other camping supplies and she had happily cooked up a meal.  Her prayers of rescue from the hellish servitude under the Holditch's had finally been answered and she would do whatever it took to please her new Mistress Buffy.  Sure she was somewhat strange as were her friends, but Idara had put up with years of cruelty from people who were 'normal' and she felt it was time for something strange.

"I don't know," said Buffy as the girl took away the now empty bowl and began to pack up the rest of the supplies.  Buffy smiled at the girl, "Thank you. It was delicious.  Do you have any family around here?"

Idara shook her head.  "No, no family, Mistress.  Idara sold long ago to Master Bernard.  Master Bernard travel many places, but two seasons ago he get sick and died here.  Master and Mistress Holditch tell Idara she must stay and work to pay for bills from Master Bernard.  Idara not have anywhere else to go.  Now Idara serve Mistress, Buffy."

Buffy was grim faced as she listened to the girl and then mortified as she realized that Idara now considered herself to be-.

"Idara, I can't have you as my servant."

Spike began to chuckle.  A harsh glare from Buffy and he pulled out a talisman from his pocket and pretended to be studiously looking at it.

"Idara not servant," said Idara and Buffy sighed in relief. "Idara slave."

Spike fell back on the grass and began to laugh out loud.

"Spike stop it!" chided Willow.  "Idara, we don't believe in slavery. Where we are going, you-" 

"THERE SHE IS!" cried out a voice and suddenly a whole host of angry towns people were swarming into the glade from all sides.   This time they were armed with a lot of sharp, nasty-looking farm tools, and a few had bows.

Buffy immediately pushed the girl behind her as she tried to figure out how she was going to get them out of this mess.

"Spike," said Willow. "Does that time thingy need to wait until midnight to get us out of here?"

"To get us back to Sunnydale?  Yes.  To get us out of here?  No."

"Then I think you better get ready to use it."

"But-"

"Just do it!" hissed Buffy at him as the mob closed in around them.

"We might end up anywhere." 

"Spike. They have arrows."

Spike pressed the activation gem on the talisman, and the four people vanished.

*****

(2003 AD)

Rupert Giles settled back to enjoy his tea and pick up the book that had arrived a few days ago.  It had the strangest account about the Legend of the Carthe Jew-Witch.  Many Watchers still debated whether this was a real demonic visitation or a pack of lies created by religious intolerance of the times.  Giles tended to fall in the later group, but still considered it a fascinating study with the Witch who could not be named and her pet demons, the succubus Uffae and the cattle killer Spite.  The Witch had called up hundreds of fire devils and burnt the entire town to the ground.  Hundreds of cattle and other livestock were supposedly slaughtered by the demon Spite. And the succubus had seduced and then tormented hundreds of men, including transforming the Mayor into a pig.

The door opened and he heard a voice call out, "Honey, I'm home!"

"In here dear," he called back to his slayer and lover.  "How were classes?" he asked as he moved the tea and book to the safety of a nearby table before she threw herself into his lap and embraced him in a passionate kiss.

"I have had the worst day and missed you so much, you have no idea," she sighed as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"How about a relaxing back rub then."

"Ooohhh! Spoil me baby!" she chuckled as she stripped of her shirt.  "But I've been slayin' and there's something I need before all else."

"Anything for my Faith," Giles murmured as he pulled her down into another passionate kiss.

~~~~~~~

TBC...

OK. This was originally a round robin piece. I've edited it slightly and am setting it loose here for whomever wants to play around and add on more parts.