Title: Gift of a Future 2/?
Author: Gileswench
Feedback: Constructive criticism always welcome. Praise abjectly sought.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc., etc., etc. I just let them have all the fun Joss won't. I own nothing except my twisted mind which you really don't want. Please don't sue.

Willow tinkered with the damaged Buffybot at the tarot table while Giles did his best to ignore the scene. That...thing...really was most disconcerting to look at. Especially in its current state of undress. Giles was frankly disturbed by his own impulse to sneak a peek at it. Perhaps that was why he had been so harsh with Xander when he caught the lad staring at it.

The Englishman moved to where Anya stood rummaging through some packets of herbs.

"We're running low on hellebore. Order some tomorrow. And some mugwort."

"Yes, Anya, I'll do that, certainly. Are you alright?"

The former demon put down the herbs and sighed heavily.

"No, I'm not. Xander wanted to look at the naked robot."

"It's not *quite* naked."

"Underwear is worse. It's all sexy and erotic. Xander likes me to wear underwear when we have sex. Now he'll want to have sex with the robot."

Giles' cheeks reddened. He was heartily relieved when the door opened and Buffy entered the room. He was less impressed when a bald man in a tweed suit followed her in.

"Well, Spike didn't talk," Buffy announced. "And I found a faux French guy in the cemetary. He claims he's not a Watcher. Do you know him, Giles?"

"I've never seen him before."

Buffy saw what Willow was up to and strode to the tarot table, eyes flashing with anger.

"What do you think you're doing with that...that...thing? And couldn't you even put the jacket on it? There are guys here."

"It's just a few fried wires, Buff," the redhead protested. "I can fix this easily and then, extra Slayer. You could maybe take a vacation or something and the slaying would still happen even without you. The vamps would never know the difference."

"It's not another me, Will. It's - it's Spike's wet dream with my face. I don't ever want to see it again."

Willow shot a guilty look in Giles' direction.

"Giles, you cannot possibly have given Willow the green light on this," Buffy fumed. "That stupid thing can't even say your name right."

"I think we have a more important matter at hand, Buffy," Giles said. He turned to Picard. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"

Picard shifted uncomfortably.

"You may find this difficult to believe," he began.

*****

Beverly looked around herself in confusion.

"Jean-Luc? Will? Anybody?"

"Mom!"

She breathed a sigh of relief and took a step forward. She nearly tripped on her high heeled shoes.

"Wesley? Where are you?"

"Over here, Mom! I need a hand."

Beverly followed her son's voice down the dark alley.

"Where are you, Wesley? I can't see you."

She heard a thump from inside a large, metal container behind her. Lifting one of the flaps, she found her son sitting disconsolately in a heap of garbage. The doctor helped her son to climb out of the dumpster and removed a stray wilted lettuce leaf from his hair.

Then she stood back from his fragrant form.

"How did you end up in there?"

"I don't know. Last thing I remember, I was in Main Engineering. Suddenly I was in there."

"What were you doing in Engineering at this hour? You're supposed to be studying to get into the Academy."

"I was, but I needed some help with a problem and Ensign Page..."

"Would that be Ensign Sophia Page? The one who worked as a Dabo girl before going to the Academy? I don't want you involved with her."

"So where do you think we are?"

Beverly was furious at Wesley's abrupt change of subject, but decided that her concerns about Ensign Page could wait. Right now it was more important to figure out when and where they were.

"It appears to be Earth, but without a Tricorder, I can't tell much more about it."

"We're dressed funny," Wesley said as he inspected his plaid, short sleeved dress shirt and kakhi pants. "I wonder if we're the only ones here, or if anybody else from the ship is around."

"I don't know. It's frustrating. I wish I knew where to go or what to do."

Wesley looked up and saw a man approaching.

"Maybe we can ask him where we are. I bet he'll help us out."

The teenager hurried to the stranger.

"Excuse me, but my Mom and I are lost. Can you tell me where we are?"

"Lost?" the stranger asked. "You're not lost, but you will be very soon."

The man's eyes turned golden and ridges appeared on his forehead. What worried Wesley the most, though, was the set of sharp teeth that descended to his throat.

*****

Riker spun angrily.

"Q! Come out and tell me what you're doing, dammit!"

"Will, calm down," Troi said soothingly. "If Q has brought us here, he has a purpose and shouting won't do any good."

"Oh, it'll do some good, Deanna. It'll make me feel better."

"You keep saying that, but it never works. I can sense that your tension is mounting."

"Only because I don't know where that intergalactic pain has gotten to."

"This is getting us nowhere, Will. We know from experience that Q will only return us to the Enterprise when we've done what he wants of us."

"Yes, but usually he shows up pretty quickly to at least tell us where we are. How are we supposed to do what he wants if we don't know what it is."

"But we do know. We have to stop Buffy Summers from jumping into that rift."

Riker took a deep breath and focused himself.

"Which means he's put us down somewhere near her, sometime near when she jumps. Okay. Now, how do we find her?"

Troi pointed to a store where the lights were still on.

"Why don't we ask here?"

"Imzadi," Riker explained patiently, "we don't have any reason to think anyone here would know her."

"I'm sensing several people in there, and they're all very confused and angry. That could be a sign that they are dealing with something unexplained. Something that frightens them."

Riker shook his head.

"Alright. We'll try. If they don't know where to find the girl, maybe they can tell us where we can get a room for the night."

He knocked on the door of the Magic Box.

******

When Geordie came to, he found himself flanked by Data and Worf sitting in a room that was clearly inhabited by a girl. It was just as clearly not onboard Enterprise. The green and ivory striped wallpaper was decorated with photographs and trinkets, including a straw hat, and the bed with its ivory linens held a stuffed plush pig. Despite its neatness, the room's effect was one of cheerful clutter.

"Where am I? And why am I on the floor?"

"From the brief inspection Worf and I have been able to accomplish while you were unconscious, it would appear that we are in the bedroom of Buffy Summers. It would also appear that she is not here," Data informed his friend.

"Nobody is here," Worf added. "The house is empty."

"That doesn't tell me why I was passed out on the floor."

"You hit your head on this," Worf said.

Geordie looked at the heavy pommel of the ancient sword.

"No wonder I've got a headache," he deadpanned. "This Buffy Summers is just a girl, right?"

"That is what records of the period indicate," Data agreed. "She has, however, been involved in several violent incidents by this point in her life. She was expelled from Hemery High School in Los Angeles when she was implicated in the destruction through arson of the school gymnasium. She was briefly suspected in two homocides, though charges were never formally brought against her, and she was questioned about a third some time later. A building at Sunnydale High School containing the library was demolished by an unexplained explosion on the day she graduated from the school. The mayor of Sunnydale and the principal of the school, one Robert 'Bob' Snyder, were among those killed in the incident. No charges were ever filed due to lack of evidence. Later..."

"Alright, alright, I get it, Data," Geordie said. "So this girl is trouble, but we're supposed to save her?"

Worf inspected the contents of the trunk he'd found.

"She is a warrior."

"Okay, but what kind of warrior? How many warriors do you know who decorate like this?"

Geordie's gesture took in the peach-colored drapes and stuffed animal collection.

"I suppose that we will just have to 'wait and see' when she returns."

"Yeah, Data, I guess you're right."

The blind engineer, the Klingon, and the android sat on the frilly girly bed to wait.

*****

As Xander drove past the alleyway behind The Bronze, he thought he heard a noise. He pulled his car to a smooth stop and made certain he had a stake in his pocket before going to investigate. Too many kids died every year in this alley because they walked through it alone and stupid.

He skulked through the shadows until he saw his prey. A big, nasty vamp held a skinny, geeky looking kid off the ground. His fangs were close to the boy's throat. There was a woman in the alley, too. She screamed and tried to drag the creature off the boy. Unfortunately, she had no weapons and only average human strength. She was no match for the beast.

Xander crept closer as the vampire's jaws closed on the boy's neck. He knew he had to hurry, or his rescue mission would be moot. While the demon drank, Xander ran at it from the shadows with a fierce battle cry. The woman jumped back, startled, giving Xander the room to attack the beast.

"Huh?" was the last thing the vampire said before exploding in a cloud of dust.

His victim dropped to the pavement with a groan and hit his head hard against the concrete.

"Wesley!" Beverly cried.

She hurried to kneel by her son and examine his injuries. Xander knelt by her side.

"Sorry I couldn't get here before he got bit. I don't think he lost all that much blood. He's probably got a hell of a concussion, though."

"Are you a doctor?"

"Nah. I'm in construction. But I've seen a few head injuries in my time."

"We have to take him someplace safe."

"I know just the place. Come with me."

Xander took one of Wesley's arms while Beverly took the other. Together, they dragged Wesley to Xander's car.

"Where are we going?" Beverly asked.

"I got some friends. They'll patch him up just fine."

NEXT