Disclaimer: Buffy and Company are the property of Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon. Rose, Jack and their Titanic story line are property of Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron.
SPOILERS: This fan fic gives away some very important parts of the ending to Titanic! If you haven't seen Titanic you may want to consider watching it before reading this story!
Note: This story takes place after the werewolf episode.
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Part One
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Laughter could be heard from the bedroom of Willow Roesenburg as Xander helped her sort through a pile of pictures that she was transferring into a photo album.
"And do you remember that field trip to the museum? Mr. Anderson refused to pull the bus over when Steve started feeling sick and he puked all over him!" explained Xander as he fell onto the bed in hysterics.
"Yeah, I do remember that. Mr. Harrison HAD to stop after that," giggled Willow as she set the picture into the album.
Xander picked another picture out of the pile and a puzzled expression crept onto his face. "Hey Will, where was this one taken?"
Xander handed her the photo and she looked at it. Child versions of her and Xander stared back at Willow. They were standing in front of a fairground. "Oh, I remember this. It was seventh grade, I think. You lost ten dollars at the ring toss game and Jesse won that purple elephant after he lost twenty."
"I thought so at first too, but you're wrong. Jesse was in that picture. I've got a copy of it at home. This has to be another time we went to the fair."
"But Xander, look at the date on the banner in the background. It says 1993. That was the last fair they had there before they built the new fairgrounds across town and turned the old fairgrounds into a parking lot. That was the whole reason the three of us went in the first place, remember? Kind of a last hurrah thing."
"You're right, but I'm starting to wish you weren't cause if Jesse is suppose to be in that picture where is he?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Jesse in any of these pictures," said Willow as she started digging through the photos. Xander quickly pitched in and before long they had gone through the majority of the pictures. "I don't understand it, Xander! I had lots of pictures with Jesse in them, but he's not in any of them now."
"I think it's time we talk to the master of weird."
"Right."
"I'll go home and look through all my pictures before we get too bent out of shape. I'll meet you at the library in an hour."
"And then we can get bent out of shape?"
"Pretzel style, Will. Pretzel style."
* * *
Jack gazed at the ceiling in his room. For the past week he'd been telling his story to his doctors, but they still didn't believe him. Not that he really expected them to. At least they had provided him with some pencils to draw with. He'd wanted coal, but he wasn't allowed to have the objects required for sharpening the coal in "his state".
He shifted in his bed to get more comfortable. He wondered what Rose was doing and realized the stupidity in the question. She was probably dead by now even if she had made it out of the Atlantic. It was, so they told him, 1998. It had taken him three days to convince himself he wasn't dreaming, but now he realized he was living this. And hating it.
* * *
Xander walked into the library and found Willow busy at the computer with Oz looking over her shoulder. Buffy and Giles were still doing their evening training. Willow had obviously waited to hear from him before alerting the others. He wished he had better news to give.
"Xander did you find any pictures with Jesse in them?" asked Willow as she noticed him.
"Nada. And you?"
"According to the school records Jesse never enrolled here. I can't find evidence that his family ever even existed in this town."
"But I passed their house on my way here."
"So did I, but I didn't recognize the car parked in the driveway."
"So they have company."
"That's what I thought, so I decided to call them. Someone else answered the phone. He says he's lived there for ten years and has never heard of Jesse's parents."
"So what are you saying? No one remembers anything about this guy?" asked Oz.
By this point Buffy had noticed the apprehension in her friends' faces. "Guys, what's up? You looked wigged."
"Buffy, do you remember Jesse?" asked Xander.
"Who?" said Buffy.
"Jesse," repeated Willow. "He was abducted by the vampires when you first moved here. The Master lured you down into the sewers with him, remember?"
"Sorry. I'm drawing a blank. Are you sure I met him?"
"No Buffy, we get you confused with the other Vampire Slayer we know," replied Xander.
"Well I'm sorry, but I really don't remember him."
"I beginning to feel like I'm in the twilight zone here," said Xander. "Look, our best friend was named Jesse. He went to school here and died here. But today we noticed that everything about Jesse seems to have been washed off the planet."
"Do you have any ideas Giles?" pleaded Willow.
"It could be any number of things," replied Giles. He took off his glasses and thought for a moment. "Parallel dimensions and curses are a few possibilities, but it may be something entirely different."
"Gotta start somewhere I suppose," replied Willow as she turned back to her computer screen.
"I guess that banishes us to the books, right?" commented Buffy as she walked to the upper level of the library.
"Right, but I got to use your phone first Giles," stated Xander.
"What for?" replied Giles.
"Cordellia was suppose to stop by my house."
"And I'm glad I didn't wait for you there," said Cordellia as she walked into the library with a newspaper in her hands.
"Cordellia, how did you know I was here?"
"Please, it's not like you have a life. I have to pass the few other places you might be to get here."
"Well now that you're here you can join us in our fun," said Buffy.
"Oh, all right," said Cordellia disgustedly.
"Did you really believe you wouldn't have to do anything if Xander was here on a Saturday?" asked Giles.
"Point made," replied Cordellia. "I'll start with the paper I brought, okay?"
Buffy looked at the cover of the newspaper and laughed. "That isn't a newspaper, it's a tabloid. The head article is women gives birth to baby elephant."
Xander quickly joined in. "Let's see, Elvis spotted for third time at Quacker Canyon. That's helpful. What's this one? Jack Dawson, seventeen-year old survivor of Titanic found off the coast of California. The least they could do is make him a little older, even I know he'd have to be older than that."
"Wait a minute, what was that last one?" asked Willow.
"Survivor of Titanic found off coast of California. Hilarious, huh?" replied Xander.
"What was his name Xander?" asked Willow.
"Jack Dawson," said Xander. "Why?"
"Dawson, Dawson, where have I heard that name before?" pondered Willow.
"Maybe you saw it at the check out counter," suggested Oz.
"No. I remember now! I heard it from Jesse's grandmother, at least, sort of. Her name was Rose."
"What do you mean sort of?" asked Buffy
"Well, she told her story to a guy who published it not long after her death last year. She was on Titanic with a man named Jack Dawson. He saved her life."
"So, what are you saying? They're using the name of someone who really was on Titanic to try and cover up the glaringly bogus things in their story?" asked Buffy.
"No, she means that if Mr. Dawson was somehow transported here Rose died and Jesse was never born," explained Giles. "That also explains why we don't remember him Buffy."
"But why do we still?" asked Xander.
"I think it's the same reason you remember vampires. Normal people will quickly forget things that seem odd to them, but you've been conditioned to accept the abnormal. Since you knew Jesse so well your memories concerning him have refused to leave, but if things aren't restored soon you'll forget everything about him just like the rest of us."
"Then we better get going," said Willow.
"Yeah, I don't want to forget Jesse," piped in Cordellia.
"You remember Jesse? I don't believe it," said Xander.
"Why not?" asked Cordellia.
"It's no secret that you didn't like Jesse. The way you acted around him made it seem like you tried to forget him when he was alive," said Xander.
"Well, yeah. But as annoying as he was, it was kind of flattering to know someone cared about me so much," replied Cordellia.
"Cordy, I had no idea," said Xander sympathetically.
"Okay, enough talk. Let's go get Jack. Where does that paper say he is?" asked Buffy.
"It says he's being held at the Sunnydale Mental Health Center and there's a picture of him in the article we can use to recognize him," said Cordellia.
Buffy glanced at the picture. He had a very youthful appearance. He was a slender guy with blond hair and deep bluish-green eyes. "He's a hottie. Should be easy enough to spot him," said Buffy.
I'll drive," offered Cordellia.
"Xander you come with us," directed Buffy. "Willow, you and Oz help Giles figure out how to send Jack back after we get him."
They ran out the door and Willow sighed. "Are you okay Willow?" asked Oz.
"Yeah, but sometimes I wish Cordellia and Xander were the brains and we got to go with Buffy."
"Brains and Cordellia. That sounds kind of funny when you put the words together in the same sentence," said Oz. Willow giggled.
* * *
Headlights illuminated the darkness around the curb as Cordellia's car slowly came to a stop in front of the Sunnydale Mental Health Center. The threesome got out of the car and walked towards the building as they tried to run through the vague outline of a plan they had devised on the way there.
"Okay, Cordellia will distract security while Xander and I slip in. If they still try to stop us we'll have to use our powers of persuasion to change their minds," said Buffy.
"Those persuasion powers being us kicking the shit out of them, right?" asked Cordellia.
"Well, I guess, if you want to get technical." replied Buffy.
"Oh God, look!" said Xander as he pointed to the main entrance. There two security guards were lying in a pool of blood.
"Someone beat us here," said Buffy.
"Why would anyone want to come after this Jack guy?" pondered Cordellia out loud.
"We can ask him after we save him okay? Let's go," ordered Buffy as they entered the building.
The walls of the Mental Center were typical hospital white, but smears of blood disturbingly colored them now. Buffy and company followed the trail of crimson down the halls and came face to face with a set of three vampires that held Jack's limp body. They dropped him as they saw the Slayer and went on the offensive.
"I had no idea you guys were such picky eaters," teased Buffy.
"Yeah, late night joggers not enough variety for you anymore?" joined in Xander as he took out crosses for Cordellia and himself.
With that the vampires attacked, each taking one of the teens as their target. Cordellia put her cross in the face of the vampire that attacked her and held him at bay as Buffy dusted the vamp that had rushed her. Buffy then proceeded to do the same to the one that had come after Cordellia. Xander used the same tactic as Cordellia, but the vampire knocked his cross away. Xander started to retreat when a wooden chair smashed over the vampire's head. Jack stood with the broken remains of the chair in his hands as he breathed heavily.
"Thanks," said Xander.
"Don't mention it," replied Jack.
"Listen Jack, we don't have time to explain right now, but we've come to get you out of here," said Buffy.
"Is this some kind of trick?" asked Jack.
"No. Listen I know that this is weird, but we believe you. We want to help send you back to where you belong," explained Buffy.
"All right, but you've got to promise me one thing," replied Jack.
"What?" asked Buffy.
"That you'll get me a cigarette. They've been real strict about it in here," said Jack with a sly grin.
"Done! Now get whatever you need from your room and let's get out of here," pleaded Buffy.
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