“Tell her that you love her beyond measure and that a love like the one you share has no equal, not in your time or any other,” Willow suggested easily, sliding down onto his bed.

Xander whirled in surprise and gaped at the intruder. “Willow!” he exclaimed, his face reddening. He chuckled nervously. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that. I was supposed to tell you in a lot more romantic way than you overhearing me practicing in my bedroom.”

“However I hear it, it means the same to me,” Willow purred, stretching languidly on his bed. She sat up and leaned forward. “I love you too.”

Xander’s breath caught. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the mirror. “Will, you wanna dance with me?” he asked slowly, softly. “Like before Homecoming?”

“Of course,” Willow answered, gliding into his arms. He twirled her softly around the room, coming to stand in front of the mirror. He glanced into it and his heart sank at the confirmation.

“Get away from me, you blood-sucker,” Xander growled, grabbing the cross on his dresser and thrusting it into her face. She howled in rage and stepped back.

“Xander, that’s not a very nice way to treat the woman you love,” Willow pouted. She easily moved back to the bed.

“You’re not Willow,” he shot back. He trembled. He had a stake within easy reach, but how could he stake the vampire that looked exactly like the woman he loved? He slowly inched backwards, wanting the safe feeling of the wood in his palm, whether he used it or not.

“Of course I’m not,” she snapped. “Willow died.”

Xander half-stopped. He stared at the vampiress. “Is she really dead, or are you talking about yourself?” he inquired fearfully.

“I’m talking about goody-two-shoes Willow Rosenberg, the mouse that I was before Xander turned me. She doesn’t exist anymore. That other version is still running around, but she’s the one that belongs in this dimension. The one from my world is dead.”

Xander breathed a sigh of relief. The telephone rang, catching him off guard. He eyed Willow, who sat contentedly on his bed, and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Xander, I just broke up with Oz,” Willow announced tearfully. Xander’s heart constricted. “I can’t deny anymore that it’s not him I want. It’s not Oz I love.”

“Willow, are you sure?” he asked carefully, never once taking his eyes off the vampire in front of him. She gazed at him in amusement.

“Yes, Xander, I’m sure,” she wept. “I can’t pretend anymore. And I can’t continue to let him believe a lie. So I broke up with him.”

“Willow, I have something I need to take care of,” Xander told her. “Then I’ll be right there. You can cry on my shoulder all night long if you need to.”

“Xander, hurry,” she pleaded before hanging up. Xander eyed Willow, the one sitting right across from him on the bed.

“I’m leaving now,” he announced. “You’re going first.”

“Why?” she pouted. “I wanted to talk.”

“I have to go comfort Willow. The other Willow. My Willow. She just broke up with her boyfriend and she needs me, a whole lot more than you need a snack. So get out and leave, and don’t ever come back.”

Willow’s eyes gleamed at the knowledge. Willow just broke up with her boyfriend? Xander was going over to comfort her? “Can I make a phone call?” she asked innocently. Xander’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Make it quick.” Willow punched in the numbers to her Xander’s pager. They had taken identical pagers off the bodies of two of their victims, and used them to keep in touch with each other. She left the number to Xander’s house and waited. When the phone rang, she quickly pressed the on button.

“Xander, it’s me. Meet me at the spot where *it* happened,” she instructed briskly. She waited for his confirmation before she hung up the phone. “Guess I’ll be going now,” she announced with a slow smile. Xander eyed her warily and she turned her back, walked downstairs, and out the door. Xander watched her from his window. She never looked back.

“It’s happening again,” Willow informed Xander excitedly. “That’s why we’re here, don’t you get it? We’re here to make sure that what happened to us, happens to them. They’re supposed to be together, like we are. We’re supposed to turn him, and let him turn her.”

“Sounds like fun,” Xander acknowledged with a deadly smile. His face shifted into vampire mode and he waited for his doppelganger to come into sight. The two vampires waited at the park bench one street over from Willow’s. Xander had to pass by to get to Willow’s. It was where Xander had been accosted and turned in the alternate dimension, and it was Willow and Xander’s spot to go to when they needed to meet. Minutes later, they saw the unprotected teenager hurrying across the street, the collar of his jacket raised against the unusually fierce wind.

“Let’s go get him,” Willow suggested, her own beautiful face morphing into the craggy, ridged features of a vampire.

The two strolled over to meet Xander, and he looked up, recoiling in fear when he recognized them. “You’re going to kill me,” he realized in resignation.

“Mmm yeah, we are,” Willow allowed, circling him like vultures at a kill.

“We thought it most appropriate that we kill you here, since this is where I was turned in our dimension,” Xander allowed evilly.

“Then hurry up and do it!” Xander snapped in anger. He knew that he would not be able to outmaneuver himself. The vampire would know every move he made and would be able to counterattack without problem, leaving Willow available to attack him. He howled at the injustice of never being able to be with Willow, after finally having the opportunity to tell her he loved her.

Xander and Willow moved in on their helpless victim, eager to begin the change.

“And the vampire got him when he was running to be your shoulder to cry on.” Anya finished her story quickly, as Willow’s features paled.

“Did she say where?” Willow asked, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“Some bench. Supposed to be close to your house. That’s their meeting spot,” Anya supplied.

“He’d have gotten there by now,” Willow realized softly, her heart feeling like it was going to break. “They’ve got him by now.”

“Not if we get there and stop it,” Anya said grimly. She pulled the young redhead to her feet. “We’re going to stop them from killing Xander. He’s not going to die.” She led Willow out the front door. “Show me where to go.”