Title: Ages Apart

By: dawnm

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or Xena. All Hail Joss Whedon, Rob Tapert, et al. Please don't sue me for trying to have a little fun with them.

Spoilers: Takes place around Buffy s3 ep. "Choices" and Xena s2 ep. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", but events from all episodes prior to those are fair game for mention here as well.

Rating: PG-ish

Classification: Romance/Action/Crossover

Pairings: Buffy/Willow, Xena/Gabrielle

Summary: A routine patrol brings unexpected guests into Buffy and Willow's lives. New friends help to bring clarity to our slayer and hacker and much B/W goodness ensues. And though their path to love is winding, X/G also find enlightenment along the way.

Feedback: I'd love to hear what you think of the story. Feel free to email me anytime with comments or questions. Email: dawnm92@yahoo.com.

Chapter 11 - Clandestine Meetings By Dark Of Night

Buffy, Willow, Xena and Gabrielle left the library together then. As they walked across the schoolyard, Buffy stopped, suddenly remembering something, and turned to Willow. "Oh I forgot. I'm supposed to meet Angel tonight. He wants to talk and I'm gonna do a quick patrol on the way. You guys go on ahead without me, check in with Jan, and I'll meet you at the house in no time. I promise."

"Sure, Buff." Willow replied, trying to ignore the twinge of jealousy that rose in her chest at the thought of Angel and Buffy together.

"Will you guys be alright? What am I saying? Of course you will…Xena's with you." Buffy realized. Turning to Xena, she added. "Take good care of my Willow. We just got her back." The hacker felt the blush rising on her cheeks as Buffy pulled her into a sideways hug.

"I hear you." Xena agreed, flashing the slayer a knowing smile.

"Thanks…for everything you did tonight." Buffy added.

"Don't mention it." The warrior replied. "Glad I could help."

"Be careful." Willow called after Buffy as she headed in the opposite direction across the schoolyard.

"Always." Buffy replied with an endearing smile, turning back to reassure the redhead before continuing on her way.

****************************

Willow and Gabrielle talked animatedly about the events of the evening as they made their way through the darkened streets toward the Rosenberg home. Xena raised an eyebrow a time or two and even joined the conversation as Willow recounted the details of her capture that evening. Xena marveled at the normally shy redhead's bravery that night. Just like Gabrielle, She mused. So young and innocent, with the same amazing inner strength and conviction.

"Hey, Red. I was hopin' I'd run into you." Faith said, stepping out of the shadows in front of Willow, bringing the trio to an abrupt halt. "I see you've made some new friends." She commented, flashing Gabrielle a predatory grin before looking up at Xena. "Man, you're wicked tall for a chick."

"What do you want, Faith?" Willow demanded.

"I was thinkin' we could finish what we started earlier." Faith said with an evil grin before taking a swing at Willow. Shock shown on the dark slayer's face as she found her fist intercepted by the warrior princess who crushed Faith's fist in her own hand before sending her reeling backward with a powerful shove.

"What's this? New bodyguard?" Faith mocked, looking from Xena to Willow with contempt.

"Something like that." Xena said, stepping in between Faith and Willow.

"Well, ain't that the shit. Where's B anyway? Off with her boy-toy, letting her little girlfriend fend for herself?" Faith taunted, then turned to Xena, "Look, I've got no beef with you." She said, raising her hands in surrender. "But I will kick your ass if you get in my way." She pledged, taking a cheap shot at Xena, hoping to catch her off guard.

The warrior blocked the blow and countered with a forceful kick to the midsection sending Faith to the ground. Faith scrambled back to her feet and Xena offered, "Walk away while you still can. I don't want to fight you."

Faith, realizing that she had underestimated Xena, came at the warrior with a full battery of punches and kicks. Xena blocked and countered, trading blows with the dark slayer and finally drawing first blood when she landed a punch that split open Faith's lower lip. Xena paused, hoping the girl had come to her senses and would back down. Little did Xena know…things are never that simple with Faith.

Faith laughed wickedly, clearly enjoying the battle, and came at the warrior like a crazed animal, finally landing a punch of her own in Xena's midsection that sent the warrior a little off balance.

Feeling responsible and suddenly afraid for Xena, Willow started to step into the fray until Gabrielle caught her arm. "Xena will be okay." She assured the hacker.

Turning their attention back to the battle, Willow caught a glimpse of something in Faith's hand. "She's got a knife, Xena." She cried, rushing toward them.

As Willow approached, Faith turned her attention to the redhead, lunging at her with the weapon and missing her by mere inches. Xena, who had been holding back, let loose then with all of her rage. In a matter of seconds, the warrior had rained a series of kicks and punches on the slayer, knocking the knife out of her hand, sending it skittering across the pavement.

Before Faith could regain her senses, Xena had her up against a nearby fence, holding her by the throat as she dangled a foot above the ground. Faith's eyes showed a mixture of fear and some twisted sort of enjoyment, as if she had a bona fide death wish that was about to come true. Willow stood in shocked silence, never having seen Xena this angry before, wondering if she would actually kill Faith. From the wild look in the warrior's eye, the hacker thought that she might.

Gabrielle stepped up to Xena then, laying a hand softly on her shoulder, "Xena?" The bard said calmly. "You can let her go now. I've got her weapon. We're all safe." Xena hesitated for a moment, then she glanced at the bard and her expression softened. The warrior's rage dissipated almost instantly.

She turned her attention back to the stunned ex-slayer. "Stay away from my friends. I won't hesitate to kill you if I have to." Xena ground out, the rage flashing in her blue eyes again. She released her grip then and Faith crumpled to the ground gasping for air before stumbling off into the darkness.

"Are you okay?" Xena asked softly, approaching the shaken redhead. Willow nodded, at a loss for words after what she had just witnessed. "I think you've had enough excitement for today. Let's get you home."

The trio walked in silence for a block or two before Willow finally found her voice. "Thanks." She said, smiling up gratefully at the tall warrior walking next to her.

"Don't mention it." Xena replied, putting one arm protectively around the hacker and the other around Gabrielle, who gratefully leaned into the warrior's side. "You shouldn't have gotten in the middle of it, though, Willow. You could have been hurt." Xena softly scolded her. "If something had happened to you…" The warrior trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

"Sorry." Willow said, pouting slightly. "I just didn't want you to get hurt protecting me. I-I thought she was going to kill you. She would, too, you know. She's that evil." The hacker replied, her anger rising again at the thought of the dark slayer.

****************************

"You're late." Angel said as Buffy approached the tree in the center of the cemetery where they had planned to meet.

"Sorry, I was a little tied up." Buffy said with a hint of sarcasm, pocketing her stake. "I ran into some friends on the way."

"Are you okay?"

"Sure." Buffy replied. "There was only three of them, no big. So, what did you want to talk about? Cause…I kind of need to get back to Willow's."

"Oh, uh I've just been thinking…about our future. And the more I do, the more I feel like us, you and me being together, is unfair to you." Angel replied.

"Is this about what the mayor said?" Buffy asked. Even though he is a big stupid evil guy, the slayer had to admit that the things he had said hit home.

"He was right." Angel replied. "You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. You should be with someone who can take you into the light. Someone who can make love to you." He added. Buffy opened her mouth to disagree when a thought of Willow skittered through the slayer's mind. Lost in her own thoughts, she remained silent.

"Before you know it, you'll want it all, a normal life." Angel continued.

"I'll never have a normal life." Buffy interjected, more than a little bitter about that fact.

"Right, you'll always be a Slayer. But that's all the more reason why you should have a real relationship instead of this, this freak show." Angel replied, stunning the slayer into silence once again.

"I'm leaving. After the Ascension, after it's finished with the Mayor and Faith. If we survive, I'll go." He concluded.

"Maybe that would be best." Buffy answered finally, a little sad. She had known for a long time that things weren't right between them. Nothing had really been the same since Angel had lost his soul and went on a killing spree more than a year before, Buffy admitted. She still cared about him. They had a history. Still, she couldn't honestly say that she was in love with him anymore.

"You know I love you?" Angel asked.

"I know." Buffy said quietly, offering him a small smile.

Unsure what else to say, they laid the issue to rest. And, after saying their good-byes, Angel stood and watched as Buffy walked out of his life.

****************************

When the group made it back to Willow's house, the redhead went upstairs to check her email, certain that Xena and Gabrielle were anxious to know if they could go ahead with the spell. Within minutes, she bounded down the stairs to tell them the news. "Jan says the spell should work with the ingredients we have." She informed them with a yawn. "So, we can go ahead as soon as Buffy gets back if you want."

"That's great news. Isn't it, Xena?" Gabrielle responded.

The warrior nodded in agreement. "You've had a long day. Why don't you get some sleep?" She said to the yawning redhead.

"I'm okay. Really. I know you two are looking forward to getting home." Willow replied.

"A few more hours won't make a difference really. And we could use the rest too." Xena assured her.

"Well…if you're sure…I promise, first thing in the morning…" Willow replied.

"That'll be fine." Xena said, smiling at the yawning redhead. "Get some rest. We'll see you in the morning."

"Okay…goodnight then…oh, and thanks again for everything you did today." Willow said before heading upstairs again and crawling into bed.

"'k, I'm here. What did Jan say?" Buffy asked, coming in the front door about fifteen minutes later.

"Willow said that we can give it a try, the ingredients she has should work fine." Gabrielle replied.

"So, where is my favorite redhead anyway?" Buffy asked, looking around.

"We had a little run-in with Faith on the way here…" Xena said.

"Faith? What happened? Is Willow okay?"

"She's fine. A bit shaken up, but she wasn't hurt." The warrior assured her. "She was exhausted, so I told her to get some sleep. We can try the spell tomorrow." Xena explained.

"I should have known after what happened tonight that Faith would come after her." Buffy said, pacing the room. "You're sure Will's okay?" She asked, pausing in the middle of the floor to look at the warrior.

"Like I said, she was pretty upset…but other than that, she's okay." Xena confirmed.

"What exactly happened?" Buffy asked.

Xena and Gabrielle relayed the events of their encounter with Faith as the slayer paced restlessly back and forth in front of them. When Gabrielle told her about Willow nearly being stabbed, Buffy lost it. "I'll kill her!" She headed for the door, determined to hunt Faith down and make her pay.

The warrior caught her by the arm as she reached for the doorknob. "Try to calm down, Buffy." Xena urged. "I know how you feel. I would have killed her myself if Gabrielle hadn't stepped in."

The slayer stepped back from the door nd leaned against the wall. "Thank you." Buffy said. The weight of it all came crashing down on her then and Buffy slid down the wall to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest as the tears began to flow. "If you hadn't been there…"

"But I was. And she's safe now." Xena assured her, squatting down in front of the petite blonde to meet her gaze.

"Twice in one night." Buffy whispered around the lump in her throat. "I almost lost her."

"But you didn't." Xena paused. "That's all that matters." Her heart went out to the girl in front of her. The warrior cursed the fates for the burden that Buffy must bear - the weight of the world on her shoulders every day - something that no one should have to carry, let alone someone so young. "Why don't you go up and try to get some sleep?" Xena urged, gently brushing a few strands of hair back from Buffy's face.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "I want to check on Will anyway…"

"We'll see you in the morning then." Xena said as Buffy got to her feet.

Buffy nodded, a silent thank-you written in her expression, before turning and going up the stairs. She eased open the door to Willow's room and slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her.

"Buffy?" The redhead asked in a sleepy voice.

"Yeah, it's me, Will." Buffy replied, kneeling down beside the bed in front of her friend. "Go back to sleep." She urged, reaching out to caress Willow's cheek.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" Willow asked sleepily, her eyes still closed.

"Sure." Buffy replied, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she silently thanked the powers that be for keeping Willow safe that day. She quickly went to the other side of the bed, kicked off her shoes and crawled in. For a moment she simply lay there, longing to bridge the distance between them. Finally, she reached out, slowly brushing the hair back from the redhead's face.

Willow stirred at the touch, murmuring sleepily as she turned into the slayer's arms. Buffy smiled then, for what felt like the first time in days, as the hacker made herself at home - her head resting on Buffy's shoulder and one arm draped possessively around the slayer's waist. Relishing the feeling of simply holding Willow close, Buffy slowly relaxed and soon drifted off to sleep.    

As the morning sun filled the room, the slayer woke to find the redhead still snuggled into her side sleeping soundly. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Buffy saw that it was already after 7:00. School, she thought with a sigh, was the last place she wanted to be today. As Willow began to stir, the slayer formulated a plan to salvage the day. A contented smile appeared on the redhead's face as she savored the warmth of Buffy's embrace before finally opening her eyes to find the blonde regarding her closely.

"You're up…" Willow said nervously, moving back to her own side of the bed.

"Yep." Buffy smiled, turning onto her side to face the hacker. "And I've been thinking."

"About?" Willow asked tentatively, completely clueless as to what to expect.

"Well, after cramming a week's worth of work into one day yesterday, I'm feeling the need for a little vacation. So, what do you say…wanna play hooky with me?" Buffy put on what she hoped was her most irresistible smile. "Pretty please with sugar on top…" She added for good measure, giving Willow her best impression of puppy-dog eyes. The redhead giggled and nodded her agreement.

"Is that a yes?" Buffy asked excitedly.

"Uh huh." Willow confirmed, still giggling.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought." Buffy noted before continuing. "Can I eat junk food and watch TV all day?" She asked animatedly. "Huh, can I?" The redhead nodded.

"And can I drink milk right out of the carton?"

"Is there any other way?" Willow asked, with an impish grin.

"Oooh, and can I have a pony?"

"Uh huh."

"Are you gonna give me anything I want?" Buffy paused. "'Cause if so, I'm gonna need some time to think about this." She concluded with a mischievous grin. Willow giggled nervously.

"You think about it…and I'll call Giles and tell him that we are taking the day off!" Willow replied, reluctantly climbing out of bed.

"Good idea." Buffy agreed, hopping off the bed. "And Will…"

"Yeah, Buffy?" The redhead turned to face her best friend.

"Xena told me what happened…with Faith" The slayer said, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry I wasn't there…I'm so glad that you're okay." She said, locking her gaze onto the most amazing green eyes that she'd ever seen, then pulling the redhead in for a hug.

"Aww, Buffy. I'm okay. Really." Willow said, stroking Buffy's back reassuringly as the slayer clung to her. "Besides, it was kinda fun watching Faith get a much-deserved butt-kicking." She joked.

"I'll bet." The slayer agreed, laughing a little before finally ending the embrace.

"So…" Willow cocked her head to the side in thought. "We call Giles, then work a little dark mo-jo for Xena and Gabrielle, then we can just kick back and relax, eat junk food and watch TV, drink a little milk right out of the jug, and then we'll go out and buy you a pony, young lady." She chuckled. "Did I forget anything?" Buffy laughed.

"No, I think that about covers it…for now." She added with a playful grin.

Chapter 12 - Playing Hooky

Little more than an hour later, the obligatory call to Giles was done and Willow was scrambling about, gathering everything that was needed for the spell. In preparation, the warrior and bard changed back into their own clothes. Xena smiled, feeling like herself again, as she put on her armor and snapped her chakram into place at her side. When they descended the stairs once again, Willow looked at Xena, now dressed in full battle dress, and realized then why she had found the warrior so intimidating at first.

"I'm gonna need to take a picture of you two…for the spell." The redhead informed them. "And maybe one or two for Buffy and I to remember you by…if that's okay." She added with a shy smile.

"Why don't you guys stand here in front of the hearth?" Buffy suggested. The warrior and bard followed the slayer's direction and Willow snapped the first photo. When the picture rolled out of the instant camera, the redhead held it for a moment until it finished developing, then handed it to Gabrielle who looked at it in disbelief. There they were, she and Xena, in living color. She passed it to the warrior who was equally impressed that the object in Willow's hands could produce an instant likeness of them.

"You can keep that one if you want." Willow offered. "I can make more." She said, indicating the camera in her hands.

"Thanks. This is amazing. Can you make one of you and Buffy? It would be so nice to have one…to take with us." The bard explained, with a note of sadness in her voice.

"Sure. Let me just take a few more of you guys first." Willow replied. After snapping a couple more shots of Xena and Gabrielle, the redhead asked, "Okay, which one of you wants to take our picture?"

"Go ahead, Gabrielle." Xena offered.

Willow showed Gabrielle how to use the camera before joining Buffy on the couch. Gabrielle took a minute lining up the shot before taking the picture. When it emerged from the camera, Xena held the photo, watching in amazement as the image appeared on the paper in front of her.

With that done, Willow laid out the necessary items on the living room floor while the others looked on. When everything was ready, she stood up and turned to Xena. "Okay, I think we're ready to begin."

"When we do this, that's it, isn't it? We won't be seeing you again?" Gabrielle asked.

"If it works right, you should be back home, pretty much when and where you were before Kronos sent you here." Willow clarified. "So…I guess this is goodbye." She said reluctantly.

"We'll miss you." Gabrielle said hugging first Willow and then Buffy. "It's been so wonderful getting to know you."

"I miss you already." Willow pouted, throwing her arms around the warrior who happily accepted the hug, even though she rarely hugged anyone.

"Take care of yourself." Xena said, looking into Willow's eyes. "And take care of Buffy. She needs you to keep her in line."

"Hey, I resent that." Buffy interjected, feigning hurt. "It's true, but still…"

Buffy looked from Gabrielle to Xena. "I have to say…these past few days with you guys have been…well…strange." She joked. "Seriously though, it's been nice having you around, more than nice actually…really great." Buffy confided, genuinely sad to see them go. She extended her hand to Xena, who shook it before pulling the slayer into a fierce hug.

"I guess we should get started then." Buffy said sadly, stepping back a minute later.

"Right. What do you need us to do?" Xena asked.

"First, we have to sit in a circle, here on the floor. I'll light the candles and mix a few ingredients. Then we'll all join hands and close our eyes. I will recite the incantation. This spell should open a temporal fold, a portal, sort of like the one that brought you here but not exactly. You should know…it might be pretty intense. I tried a spell that opened a temporal fold once before and I saw all of these images…it's pretty powerful magick. Try not to be afraid. Just relax and focus on going home. Then Buffy and I have to pour the sacred sand over your picture. If all goes well…you'll be home. So…are we ready?"

Seeing nods all around, Willow showed them where to sit, then walked around lighting each candle before taking her seat on the floor between Buffy and Gabrielle, completing the circle. She added the eye of newt, chicken's feet, and other ingredients to the brass bowl in front of her. Then, she held out her hands and the others followed suit, all joining hands. Willow closed her eyes, took a cleansing breath and tried to clear her mind before beginning the incantation.

Aradia, Goddess of the lost, I call on thee.

The child to the mother. The river to the sea.

Images flashed through Willow's mind, signaling her that the temporal fold was opening. Some rather disturbing pieces of Xena and Gabrielle's lives played out before her eyes.

The room crackled with energy as the portal grew. Unsteadily, Willow guided Buffy's hand with her own to the bottle of sacred sand. Together they picked it up and slowly poured it onto the picture that lay in the center of the circle. The images came more quickly then, flooding Willow's mind. She began to shake violently and within seconds, she blacked out, falling to the floor unconscious.

****************************

Xena stirred and tried to sit up. The pain in her head was excruciating. She collapsed back to the ground and lay there for a moment before it registered that she was no longer in Willow's house. She tried again to rise, more slowly this time, and made her way to Gabrielle's side. The bard was lying on the ground nearby, moaning slightly. "Gabrielle, are you okay?"

"My head…is killing me." The bard complained, as she slowly opened her eyes. "We made it, Xena. We're home?" She asked in disbelief, realizing that they were indeed back in the forest where they had been before Kronos had appeared.

"Ohhhhhhhh." Buffy groaned, clutching her head as she tried to open her eyes. "What the…?" The slayer looked around trying to focus. She could make out a fuzzy figure that looked a lot like..."Xena?"

"Yeah, I'm here." The warrior replied, kneeling beside the slayer. "Something went wrong."

"Obviously…where are we?" Buffy asked.

"The Bacchae forest." Xena replied.

"Xena!" Gabrielle cried. At the bard's cry, Buffy sprang into action. She sat up then and saw Gabrielle kneeling beside Willow, trying, without success, to wake the redhead.

"Willow?" Buffy called, making her way over to the motionless redhead in record time. She fell to her knees beside the hacker, scanning her for any visible injuries. Finding none, she reached out lightly touching the base of her throat, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found a steady pulse. "She's alive." She told the warrior and bard. "She's unconscious. The spell must have taken a lot out of her."

"Is she going to be okay?" Gabrielle asked, leaning into Xena for support.

"I hope so." Buffy answered, cradling Willow in her arms. "Come on, Will, come back to us." She urged, brushing the hair back from the redhead's face and kissing her on the forehead. Buffy rocked Willow gently, talking to her softly for a minute or two. Finally, the redhead began to respond, moaning in pain as she fought her way back to the conscious realm. "Take it slow. It's okay." Buffy whispered, tenderly caressing Willow's cheek.

"Buffy?"

"I'm here, Will." She assured her. "How do you feel?"

"Not so good. My head…the spell…did it work?" Willow replied, slowly opening her eyes.

"Kind of." Buffy replied.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, finally managing to open her eyes and focus on Buffy.

"Well…let's put it this way…know how you've always wanted to go to Europe?"

"Wha…?" Willow said, looking around as she struggled to sit up. "It can't be. Buffy…It can't! How could this happen?"

"I have no idea. I was hoping you could tell me." The slayer replied.

"I don't know…what are we going to do? This can't be happening. How are we going to get home?"

"Again, no idea."

"We've got to get back. School. The mayor's Ascension. Oh, Buffy, you're here…that means…"

"I know. As long as I'm here…I'm not there. No slayer in 1999 means no one to fight the bad guys." Buffy said dryly.

"If we don't make it back before the Ascension…"

"End of the world…yeah, I know." Buffy concluded.

"Aww, Buffy. I don't know what went wrong. I'm so sorry." Willow said, her green eyes brimming with tears.

"It's okay. Don't cry." Buffy urged, reaching out to wipe away the tear that trailed down Willow's cheek. "We'll figure something out. We always do. Right?"

The redhead nodded and tried to put on a brave face. "Well, you did say you wanted a vacation…" Willow pointed out.

Buffy chuckled. "Not quite what I had in mind."