FF: Razor's Edge 1/9 - AU Willow/? - PG13

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Razor's Edge
Part 1: Born to Be Down

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 
Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, 
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be 
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made 
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright 
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>. If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed 
your laws. 

Spoilers: takes place after New Moon Rising  anything to that point.

Summary: A Slayer from another realm ends up in Sunnydale. Can they 
get the Irish wildcard back to her own realm or will the relationship 
developing between her and this Willow get in the way? What happened 
in her realm that left her body shattered and her spirit just as 
wounded?

Rating: PG-13 for violence and language.  

Author's Note: Pairings: A/U: Fitz/W, B/A (past tense)


Jessica FitzHugh jammed her elbow back into the ghoul's face as his 
hands clawed at the Slayer's neck. She barely noticed the sound of 
his nose breaking and his howls of pain as he released her.

The Slayer moved like a cat, reaching behind her and pulling the 
ghoul over her shoulder in time for him to take the spear in the back 
that had been aimed at her chest. Fitz knew Giles would yell about 
the loss of life later but Fitz didn't care at that moment.  
Technically ghouls were human but Fitz had lost all sense of ethics 
in this fight.

She had lost it when Willow had been kidnapped by the latest 
sorcerer. He wanted Willow's energy to tap into the Hellmouth and 
open the damned thing up again.

Fitz had nearly gone insane looking for her lover and when they had 
finally tracked the red-head and sorcerer down, Fitz had gone into a 
berserk fury. Willow was tied to an altar and her clothes had been 
cut away. What had driven Fitz to a homicidal rage were the bruises, 
cuts and burns on the pale skin of her lover. Willow had been 
tortured as the sorcerer attempted to steal her magickal energy.

The Slayer turned and saw Giles working at the ropes holding Willow 
down with a knife and turned her attention back to the sorcerer and 
his minions. Ghouls, humans, and vampires Fitz knew she and Buffy 
could deal with. She didn't know how they were going to handle the 
wizard without Willow and it looked like her mate was unconscious.

Fitz saw Buffy grab two ghouls and ram their heads together, pull out 
her stake and backhand it into the chest of a vampire. She then spin 
kicked another vampire in the chest before jumping forward and 
staking him.

"Saints, Buff, you are good!" Fitz grinned as the blonde Slayer 
smiled back and wiggled her eyebrows.  

Fitz frowned when Buffy lost her grin and her eyes widened. The dark 
haired Slayer turned and glanced around the cave.

Giles was putting Willow over his shoulder, the sorcerer was 
muttering inside his protection circle, three ghouls were trying to 
get back to their feet and two vampires were holding back from the 
Slayers. Fitz felt something grip her stomach when she saw what 
Buffy had been noticing, the rocks were beginning to move from the 
cave walls.

"Rock demons!" Giles shouted. "Use the hammers and get out of here!"

Fitz turned and ran for the opening of the cave, flipping over one of 
the ghouls and rolling into a crouch. She grabbed one of the sledge 
hammers the gang had dropped at the opening of the cave, along with 
swords, stakes, a crossbow, and crosses. She tossed the hammer to 
Buffy and grabbed the other hammer up in her hands.

"No!" Buffy screamed as a rock demon materialized beside Giles and 
hit the Watcher across the jaw, dropping him and Willow to the cold 
stone. Buffy somersaulted to stand over their Watcher, lashing out 
with the hammer. A good placed blow took the demon's arm off.

Fitz turned, distracted by several demons getting close to her. Fitz 
glared at the sorcerer in the circle as he looked up and laughed at 
their struggles.

The battle took a turn for the worse when four rock demons charged 
Fitz at the same moment while three others rushed at Buffy. The 
blonde Slayer launched herself into the air, letting the demons crash 
into each other, two of them smashed fatally, the third lay stunned.  

Fitz started to make the same move except she hesitated, seeing a 
demon reaching for Willow's unconscious body. The dark haired Slayer 
felt the demons hit her from three different angles and screamed as 
darkness tried to crowd her.

The Slayer lashed out with the hammer, not aiming at anything, just 
swinging to try and keep the demons off her. Suddenly there was a 
flash of color and the demons weren't hitting her anymore. Fitz 
tried to breathe as Buffy knelt down beside her.

"You okay?" Buffy asked.

"I don't believe I am," Fitz muttered. "Protect Will."

"Got it!" 

Fitz sat up slowly and moaned with the effort. "Oh that is a bit of 
a fix then," she muttered when she caught sight of her leg. It was 
twisted strangely inside her jeans and dark red was darkening the 
faded black material. It didn't help Fitz' confidence when she 
couldn't move her foot.

"Goddamn rocks busted me ribs, nose and leg," Fitz yelled, assessing 
her injuries. She knew she was hurt but it wasn't life threatening, 
yet. The Slayer turned over and began crawling towards where Buffy 
was fighting off three rock demons and the two vampires, trying to 
protect Giles and Willow.

Fitz crawled next to Willow and gently shook her lover. "Come on, 
Will, we be needing your magics."

Willow moaned and opened her eyes slowly.  

"Come on, my love," Fitz encouraged.

"Jess?" Willow whispered.

"That's me," Fitz smiled. "I told you I'd come for ya."

"You'll always return to me," Willow nodded and glanced up at her 
best friend and Slayer fighting the demons. "I'll try and help."

"Good girl," Fitz nodded and tried to pull herself up with the hammer 
but fell back onto the floor with a cry of pain when her leg refused 
to hold her. The Slayer had to wait for a wave of nausea to pass 
from the incredible pain. Fitz leaned against the stone wall as 
Willow stood up and faced the sorcerer.

Buffy took two of the rock demons down but the Slayer was badly 
beaten and tired as she faced her last rock demon and a vampire.

Fitz frowned. <One vampire? Where the hell was the other one?>

The dark Slayer yelped when the missing vampire landed in front of 
her and yanked the sledge hammer out of her hands. Fitz reached for 
a stake in her belt as the vampire raised the hammer over her. The 
stake flew into the vampire's chest as the hammer came down on her 
leg.

* * *

Fitz whimpered, not wanting to open her eyes. It was better in the 
dark, it didn't hurt as much.  

<Willow?>  

The dark Slayer opened her eyes to find that not much time had 
passed. Buffy was struggling with the rock demon and the last 
vampire was rushing up behind Willow.

"No! Will!" Fitz screamed.

Willow was grabbed by the vampire before she could turn and Fitz 
screamed as the vampire sank his fangs into her lover's neck.  

"Buffy!" Fitz screamed.

The blonde Slayer smashed the rock demon over the head with her 
hammer and turned, throwing a stake as she spun.

Fitz felt her world stop as the vampire twisted Willow's neck a 
moment before crumbling to dust. The dark Slayer didn't hear the 
snapping of the bones but watching Willow's body crumble to the floor 
told Fitz her lover was gone.

Buffy screamed and rushed to Willow's side, sobbing as she pulled her 
best friend into her arms.

Fitz felt her blood go cold as the sorcerer laughed.

The dark Slayer reached down into her boot and pulled out a dagger.  
Giles rose up on his hands and knees and spotted Buffy holding 
Willow's body. Giles began crawling towards them as Fitz rolled over 
and crawled two feet to one of the unconscious ghouls.  

Fitz felt nothing as she slit the young male's throat, coating the 
knife in blood.

The Slayer began a slow crawl towards the sorcerer with the bloody 
knife in her hand.

* * *

Giles moved around in front of Buffy, looking Willow over. His 
Watcher eyes took in the fang marks and the angle of Willow's head.  
Buffy held the red-head close, tears streaking her face. The Watcher 
wrapped his arms around his Slayer and little friend.

He wiped at his tears and looked for his Irish firebrand; Giles' eyes 
widened when he saw her almost at the protective circle.

"No!" he shouted. "You can't cross! It'll kill you!"

"I got a frickin' key," Fitz muttered. "I'm taking him with me."

The dark Slayer reached the edge of the circle as Giles tried to get 
to his feet.

The Sorcerer laughed at the sight of the Slayer crawling towards him 
with murder in her eyes.

"You can't hurt me! You touch the circle and you die!" he taunted.

Fitz' eyes were manic as she held up the bloody knife.

"I read Giles' book, the blood of one of your servants," Fitz growled 
and thrust the knife into the circle. "I'm taking you with me!"

The sorcerer screamed as Fitz pulled herself into the circle.

* * *

"Easy," a voice urged. "Don't try to move."

Fitz gritted her teeth and shouted in pain. She had never felt 
anything like this in all the years of Slayer training and then 
actual Slaying with Buffy.

"Giles!" Fitz reached out and grabbed her Watcher's hand, squeezing 
it tightly.

"Do I know you?" 

The Watcher was kneeling beside the wounded Slayer and looking very 
concerned and puzzled. Fitz could tell that much but the pain was 
making any more concentration than that difficult.

"Did that blow to your head rattle your brains again, boyo?" Fitz 
snapped, trying to joke.  

<Willow? No, don't think of Willow!> she snapped at herself. <With 
this pain, you'll be following soon.>

"Giles!" Buffy's voice reached through the pain. "Xander called 911 
and is going to lead them here. How is she?"

<Xander? What's she talking about?> Fitz asked herself. <Xander's 
been gone nigh three years.>

"It's bad, Buffy," Giles said softly as the dark haired girl clenched 
his hand. "She called me by name."

"You know her?" Buffy's voice questioned.

"No, not that I know of, but this is Sunnydale, after all," Giles 
pointed out to the blonde Slayer.

<Sunnydale? Not Sunnyville?>

"Frick," Fitz muttered.  

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"One, it hurts like a sea dragon has been using my leg for a 
toothpick!" Fitz snapped, glaring at the Watcher. "Two: I know you 
but you don't know me. Three: Xander's been dead three years since 
Angeleus nailed him to a wall. Four: I'm thinking I'm not in Kansas 
anymore."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked.

"Damn, this is bad, girl," Fitz muttered, falling back onto the stone 
floor, thrashing in pain. "I've been your shadow for almost five 
years. Light and Dark Slayers, called when you were killed by the 
Master it was."

"But what about Kendra?" Buffy asked, obviously confused as Fitz 
slammed her other hand against the stone floor in anger from the pain.

"Where are they?" Giles demanded. "Buffy, release that tourniquet 
for a few moments."

Fitz screamed in agony and let the darkness claim her.

* * *

Willow's hair fell back over her shoulders as the vampire sank his 
fangs in her neck. Fitz could see the look of pain on her lover's 
face and the absolute terror in Willow's eyes as they dimmed.

Fitz screamed at the sound of breaking bones as the vampire twisted 
Willow's neck.

"Hey! It's okay," a voice said, trying to sooth her. Fitz could feel 
someone holding her wrists down and started to fight back but then 
hesitated at the familiar voice. "You're having a nightmare! Come 
on, wake up."

Fitz opened her dark blue eyes and whimpered at the sight of beloved 
green ones hovering over her.  

"Not real!" Fitz cried out, trying to pull away. "I saw you die!"

"Hey, I'm real!" Willow protested. "See, this is me trying to hold 
you down so you don't rip the IVs out of your arm. If you don't stop 
they'll strap you down again."

Fitz stopped thrashing and blinked. "You died."

"No, I swear that I've never died yet," Willow shook her head, trying 
to smile and then slowly released Fitz' wrists. She reached over to 
the nightstand and held a cup with a straw to Fitz' lips. The Slayer 
drank the water gratefully.

Fitz leaned up as far as her wounded ribs would let her and wasn't 
surprised to find her entire left leg in a cast, complete with 
tension pulleys and an ace bandage around her ribs. Tubes ran under 
the covers and into her arm.

"Again?" Fitz questioned, noticing the restraints hanging loosely 
from the bed railing.

"You were out of it for awhile and kept trying to hit everyone," 
Willow explained softly. "They think it was from the pain and the 
trauma."

Fitz finally sighed and turned her attention to Willow, hoping and 
praying to every god, goddess and saint that she found that it was 
her Willow.  

Fitz felt her throat tightening when she looked at this Willow. Her 
Willow had longer hair and seemed older, not as shy. Her Willow also 
wore a simple gold wedding band, the one that matched hers. The 
inscription inside remained hidden from the world, shared only by 
them.

The young woman closed her eyes as the tears began to flow.

"What is it?" Willow asked, panicked. "Are you in pain?"

"Yeah, physical and emotional," Fitz muttered and opened her eyes 
again. "You're not my Willow, are you?"

Fitz felt her heart breaking as this Willow blushed, just like her 
Willow.

"Your Willow?"

"My Willow," Fitz said firmly, suddenly needing answers. "My best 
friend, Scooby Gang member, and my wife."


"Well, I am a Scooby Gang member and I could be a friend&.wife?" 
Willow's eyes went wide as she backed away from the bed.

"Leave me please, lass," Fitz said wearily, wishing she could turn 
over, away from the young woman that had the body, face, voice and 
eyes of her lover. The wife that she wouldn't see until death .

"Your Willow died, didn't she?" a voice asked softly and Fitz tried 
to remember to breathe as she fought back sobs.

"Aye! Just before I got zapped here. Leave me please!" Fitz begged, 
throwing an arm over her eyes.

Fitz heard the door shutting behind Willow and let her tears overcome 
her emotions and rational thought.  

* * *

When Fitz opened her eyes again she found Giles sitting in a chair 
next to her bed, reading some obscure book on demonology and spells.

"Giles," Fitz said, her manner strangely calm.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Giles said slowly, 
putting the book aside and leaning forward.

"Jessica FitzHugh, Slayer," Fitz replied. "You're Rupert Giles, 
Watcher of Buffy Summers. At least in my world, you are."

"You've figured that out, have you?"

"Yeah, you've always been saying I'm awfully clever for an Irish 
brat," Fitz complained. "In this world Xander is alive, Willow isn't 
my&she's not my Willow and you don't know me. That means I'm out of 
place."

"We need to talk about what got you here and how to get you back," 
Giles nodded, having come to the same conclusions.

"First, my injuries, tell me," Fitz insisted.

"Well, yes," Giles stood up and nervously pulled off his glasses and 
began cleaning them with his shirt tail.  

"How weird is this?" Fitz muttered and smirked as Giles turned with a 
questioning expression. "You clean your glasses when you're nervous, 
my Giles does that."

"Well, yes," Giles said, frowning. "Well, the doctors think that 
you'll be able to keep the leg. It seems that whatever happened to 
you is fairly unique. Opposing forces connected at the same time, 
breaking your leg at an odd angle and then there was the other 
breakage."

"Three rock demons hit me at once and then a vampire used a sledge 
hammer on it," Fitz grumbled, explaining.

"Well, yes, that would do it, wouldn't it?"

"You're being awfully damned Brit today, Giles," Fitz complained. "Is 
it me Irish accent that has you uncomfortable or just me?"

"I could care less whether you're Irish, Scots, Russian or Haitian," 
Giles replied indignantly. "I'm just confused about your presence 
here and how to set things right again."

"I don't know if they can," Fitz muttered.

"You have your friends, family and Slaying to return to," Giles 
pointed out.

"You're about to tell me I'm not going to walk on me leg again," Fitz 
countered. "I just watched my&I saw Willow killed in front of me. 
There's nothing to go back to."

"What about your friendship with Buffy and that Giles?" he asked 
softly.

"Aye," Fitz said thoughtfully. "You've got me there. I will be 
missing them if we don't set this right. Saints, Giles, I saw Willow 
die! She couldn't&I didn't even have time to&"

Fitz threw her arm over her eyes again.

"Willow said that you mentioned you and your Willow were, uh, close?" 
Giles asked.

"Aye, Watcher," Fitz answered, not removing her arm. "Against 
Council wishes and without their blessings, we were married in a 
religious ceremony. You gave away the bride when her family rejected 
her because she choose me after Oz was killed by the bounty hunter."

"Oh God," Giles muttered. "Oz wasn't killed in this realm."

"They're together then?" Fitz asked, trying to tell her heart not to 
feel anything. <It didn't matter, this wasn't her Willow. She 
wasn't being rejected for Oz, she didn't exist in this realm. This 
Willow didn't even know her name.>

"No, he left a month ago to find a cure for the werewolf part of 
him," Giles explained. "We need to find out how you got here."

"Call a Scooby meeting and compare notes as usual?" Fitz 
suggested. "How long am I here?"

"Six weeks," Giles answered absently. "And how did you know I was 
going to tell you that you may not walk again."

"I'm slightly psychic and I saw the leg," Fitz said, keeping her eyes 
closed. "Call the gang then."

"This is disconcerting, you know us but we don't know you," Giles 
complained.

"I don't know you," Fitz snapped. "You have the names, the bodies 
and maybe even some of the same history, but you're not my Watcher 
and Willow isn't my&she's not my Willow."

"Yes, well," Fitz could hear Giles moving toward the door. "I'll 
call the group together."

"Good, you be doing that," Fitz growled.

* * *

"Tell me how I got here," Fitz demanded once the gang was assembled 
around her bed. The dark Slayer fought her emotions down when Xander 
and Willow walked into the room. She wanted desperately to hug them 
both but fought against the desire. These weren't her best friend 
and lover. They were strangers. She didn't recognize the girl with 
Xander and nearly came off the bed when Spike walked in. Fitz 
grabbed for the rosary hanging from her bed rail.

"Easy, Mick," Spike growled. "I'm tame in this world."

"Tame?" Fitz questioned, wondering why he hadn't been staked by Buffy 
yet and that the gang seemed to accept him.

"A secret government agency put a modifier chip in his brain," Willow 
explained, her voice soft and shy. "He can't attack anything human."

"Someone went and neutered the boy?" Fitz said in wonderment.

"Rack off, bitch!" Spike grumbled. "I hear you're a Slayer without a 
home."

"Aye, that I am," Fitz agreed with a snarl. "In my world you're just 
a pile of dust along with that crazy bitch you hung with."

Spike was about to counter when Buffy and Giles walked into the room.

"Enough you two!" Giles snapped. "My God, Spike, do you piss off 
everyone you come in contact with?"

"It's my specialty," the vampire muttered, leaning against the wall.

Now they were gathered around the hospital bed and looking at a 
Slayer none of them knew.

"How did I get here?" Fitz demanded again.

"We were looking for Willow," Buffy began explaining. "She had been 
kidnapped by a sorcerer."

"Same in my world, bastard wanted revenge on my&on Willow for finding 
and performing the spell that sent his half brother back to hell."

"Yes, exactly," Giles nodded. "He had her in a cave and was about to 
torture and kill her."

"He told me the best revenge was losing someone you love," Willow 
joined in, her manner still extremely shy. "Darius said that he was 
going to do a spell that would bring my soul mate to the circle and 
then he was going torture and kill them in front of me."

"In my world, Will was kidnapped by Darius the sorcerer," Fitz said 
thoughtfully and wiped at the tears in her eyes. "He&he didn't have 
grand plans. He just figured on torturing and killing Will was all, 
trying to steal her magic. Darius had a protective circle and we 
couldn't get to him without Will awake to counter his spells."

"Awake?" Willow asked softly.

"You were&Will was unconscious when we got there," Fitz said softly, 
turning her attention away from Willow, it hurt too much.

"So why did you show up in the circle and not Oz?" Xander questioned.

"You got me," Fitz complained.

"The spell was for Willow's soul mate, we know that isn't you," he 
snapped.

Fitz felt her face blushing with anger as her eyes blazed.

"Maybe not in this realm but in mine we were&" Fitz hesitated. "We 
were close."

"You and Red were shagging?" Spike smirked, loving the way Willow 
turned a bright red and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Shut up, Spike," Giles muttered. 

"Willow's straight, don't even think of trying anything here!" Xander 
warned Fitz.

"You look like my Xander and you even act like him but don't be 
threatening me, boy!" Fitz growled. "Cast or no, I could still snap 
your spine if you got close enough."

"Enough!" Giles shouted, moving close to Xander. "This isn't 
productive."

"Yeah, maybe Red there has been playing for the wrong team," Spike 
suggested with a laugh. "You did say that weird vampire twin of hers 
played both sides."

Spike found himself pinned to the wall with his boots dangling in the 
air as Buffy's hand wrapped around his throat.

"Shut up, Spike," she growled and released him, sending him tumbling 
to the floor.

"Everyone shut up!" Giles snapped. "Whether the spell went wrong and 
grabbed Jessica here or whatever, we need to find the spell and send 
her back."

"Fitz, please call me Fitz," the dark Slayer said 
absently. "Everyone calls me Fitz except Will, she&nevermind."

"You said your Willow was unconscious, what happened during the 
fight?" Buffy asked.

"We were holding our own but I got smacked by three rock demons," 
Fitz said slowly. "They took me leg out. You were busy with three of 
the bastard things and two vamps. Will woke up and took on the 
sorcerer."

Fitz hesitated and smiled but avoided eye contact when Willow handed 
her a plastic cup with a straw.

"Giles was down, broken jaw this time, I'm thinking," Fitz 
continued. "One of the vamps grabbed my hammer and smashed my leg 
again and everything went gray."

Fitz stopped as the memories of a vampire's fangs sinking into her 
lover's throat flooded her mind.

"We were fighting ghouls and vampires, no rock demons," Xander 
commented. "Willow wasn't hurt, just tied down."

"The sorcerer had already cast his spell," Giles continued. "There 
was this blinding flash and you were in the circle, injured and with 
a knife in your hand."

"Aye," Fitz nodded. "After Willow was&after she&Buffy and Giles 
didn't see me for a bit as I crawled to the circle. I had read 
something in your book about breaking a protection circle with the 
blood of a willing servant of the sorcerer."

"The bloody knife," Giles reasoned, his face becoming stern. "Do 
Slayers normally kill humans in your realm?"

Buffy's eyes widened and everyone became very quiet.

"No," Fitz admitted as she glanced at a confused Willow. "I saw the 
light of my life killed in front of me, my leg was shattered and I 
knew I was dying. I was going to be taking that bastard with me."

"You killed one of his servants with the knife and broke the circle," 
Giles nodded.

"Aye," Fitz admitted, her own jaw clenched and her eyes challenging 
anyone in the room. "I don't remember anything after the circle 
exploded until you were telling me to be still."

"There was a blinding light and you were there with the knife," Giles 
repeated. "You crawled over to the barely conscious sorcerer and 
slit his throat."

Fitz wasn't sure what she felt. She knew she should feel horrible 
for having killed a human but didn't. She wasn't happy at getting 
revenge for Willow's death either. Fitz realized she didn't feel 
anything, just numb inside.

"I'll not say I'm sorry then," Fitz growled.

"Slowly slit his throat," Xander added.

Fitz felt her pale Irish skin blushing.

"About bloody time, a Slayer with some balls," Spike grinned.

"Yes, well, you were out of your head with pain and grief," Giles 
amended.

"And if I was in my realm the Council might let me off then?" Fitz 
smirked. "Might just let me retire since I won't walk again? Maybe 
set me up in a small library in Eire?"

Giles frowned. "We didn't find his spell book at the cave so we'll 
have to find where he was hiding or living and find the book. It's 
the only way we'll be able to send Fitz back to her realm."

"Okay but I'm not sure how we'll track that down," Buffy said slowly 
and thoughtfully. "We're usually tracking someone living or undead. 
Finding someone after the fact will be a little harder."

"I suggest we get on it right away," Giles said calmly. "I'm going 
to stay here for awhile and talk with Fitz."

"Why?" Xander demanded. "We're sending her back as soon as possible, 
right?"

Fitz growled deep in her throat and met the young man's glare.

"I don't think I was in any shape to have pissed you off meself so 
what bug crawled up your bum about me?" she demanded.

"You thinking you're close to Will," he snapped. "Bad enough Oz was 
stupid enough to leave without some pervert coming in and confusing 
her."

"Stop it!" Willow shouted. "It's not Fitz' fault she's here!"

Xander shut his mouth and pouted.

"As it is, until she can be moved, we can't send her back or she'll 
lose that leg," Giles pointed out. "I suggest we make her as welcome 
as we can. She is a Slayer."

"And a Scooby Member in her world," Willow pointed out, jumping to 
Fitz' defense. "That makes her okay."

"Yeah, well Faith was a Slayer and a member and look what happened 
with her!" Xander countered.

"Is that what's got you all twisted?" Buffy demanded. "You think 
she's their version of Faith?"

"Well, it would make sense!" he grumbled. "We got Willow's double 
that time, why not Faith this time to mess us up."

"One: Faith is here and alive; two: this is not Faith," Buffy 
snapped, listing the things on her finger. "Faith has dark eyes and 
is American, Fitz has blue eyes and is Irish. Three: Faith was 
called when Dru killed Kendra, Fitz was called when the Master killed 
me in her realm. Four: nothing Fitz has said indicates that she's a 
psycho like Faith."

"Except intentionally killing two men," Xander countered. "Even 
Faith thought the Mayor's assistant was a vampire when she killed 
him."

"Xander, what would you do if you saw someone kill Anya in front of 
you?" Willow asked softly.

Xander started to answer and then clamped his jaw shut, glaring at 
Fitz.

"You're just upset because she was with Willow in her realm," Buffy 
complained. "You've always been overprotective and jealous of Will. 
Though the thought of a gay Will is a little strange."

"Aye, even in my realm he was," Fitz nodded wearily. "He always 
suspected how I felt about Will."

This world version of Xander turned almost purple with anger at the 
thought of the dark Slayer with his best friend.

"Don't tell me we're stuck with another Slayer for two months," Spike 
complained and Fitz' eyes widened.

"No, you've got to send me back sooner than that!" she demanded. "I 
don't care about the leg, just get me out of here."

"Here as in hospital or this world?" Giles asked softly.

"I hate hospitals, I hate being bored, I hate recovery!" Fitz 
shouted, pounding her fist against the mattress.

"Typical Slayer," Buffy smirked. "Don't worry, we'll find ways to 
keep you busy."

"Everyone go on," Giles ordered and sat down in the chair next to 
Fitz' bed. Willow hung back as the others left, bickering and 
debating with each other where to start looking for the living space 
of a dead sorcerer.

"Did you have any idea where your sorcerer lived?" Giles asked.

"No, none," Fitz shook her head. "That's why it took so long to find 
him and he had time to&to do his rituals."

"Willow?" Giles asked, looking up from the chair and his notes.

"I'd like to stay," Willow said softly, noticing that Fitz wouldn't 
meet her eyes.

"Why?" Giles asked, obviously puzzled.

"Well, Fitz is going to be here at least six weeks," Willow pointed 
out. "She's going to need a friend."

"No!" Fitz snapped, glancing at the red-head for a moment and then 
looking away. "Send Xander to sit with me, our fighting will get me 
tossed out of here quick."

"I'd like to stay," Willow repeated. "I want to know about you and 
your world, maybe it'll help if you can talk about your Willow."

"Just seeing you kills me, lass," Fitz said softly, finally meeting 
Willow's eyes.  

"Willow might be right," Giles said slowly.  

"Fine," Fitz grumbled, relenting. "I never could deny her anything."

Willow looked pleased and sat down on the window ledge.

"What do you want to know, Watcher?"

"Everything," Giles smiled. "We know there are other realms, 
including demon ones and parallel ones. The more we learn the better 
it will be if any of us get caught up like you have."

"Okay, let's see," Fitz said thoughtfully. "One, my town is 
Sunnyville, California, United States of America. I was born in 
Belfast, Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. I'm Catholic, mostly 
non-practicing. I was orphaned at age 10 by an Ulster bomb and lived 
in various foster homes."

"Ulster?" Willow asked softly.

"The Protestant side of the Irish/English conflict in Northern 
Ireland," Giles explained.

"Aye, happens a lot. The Provos of the IRA bomb an Ulster police 
station or English troop convey and they turn around and bomb us," 
Fitz agreed.

"Us?" Giles asked with an intense frown.

"Aye, I was IRA when I was twelve," Fitz nodded, closing her 
eyes. "I was in a foster home in Derry. Four of the boys had 
already died fighting the Brits. I began running guns across the 
countryside on my bike or hiking them in from the coast. Then this 
really weird Brit shows up looking for me when I was thirteen."

Fitz opened her eyes and smiled a rueful smile.

"He starts going on about Slayers and vampires and how I'm supposed 
to go with him," she snorted.  

"A Watcher," Giles smiled. "They sent an English Watcher to you?"

"Aye, not too brilliant, were they?" Fitz smirked.

"I don't understand," Willow said. "Don't Watchers and Slayers 
transcend international boundaries, like the UN?"

"Aye, but you first have to get that through the mind of a stubborn 
Irish rebel," Fitz pointed out. "I wasn't impressed with the man and 
figured him for some lame English trap."

"What happened?" Giles asked.

"He was following me and telling me about vampires," Fitz said. "I 
tried to walk away from him and we were jumped by three vampires. He 
was slashed to bits in front of me. Being a decent Catholic, I held 
them off with my crucifix and ran into a church."

Willow and Giles waited for the Slayer to continue.

"When the next one came looking for me, I was ready," Fitz 
shrugged. "They sent a German woman this time. She took me to 
England and trained me for the next two years until I got the call, 
the strength and everything. I was sent to Sunnyville to replace 
Buffy and take on the Master and try and to close the Hellmouth."

Fitz took a long drink of water.

"I found Buffy alive, the Master dead and the Hellmouth a pain in the 
arse," she grinned. "The demons and vampires kept getting stronger 
so the Council decided I should stay with Buffy as a team."

Fitz hesitated.

"I was sixteen and beginning to realize I was in love with Willow and 
Buffy was all nuts for the vampire with a soul," Fitz said softly, 
her eyes cloudy with memories. "Then came Buffy's birthday and we 
got Angeleus."