It was another one of those sunny days in California. There were many things that Allison missed in Oregon, but the weather had to rank up there in one of the top three positions. Here in California, today, tomorrow, followed by the next day, would all have the same glaring, orange, hot summer sun. She missed the rain. She missed the fog. She even missed the wind from her small little coastal Oregon "blink and you miss it" town. Back there, every day was different. The tides turned, the surf pounded, the mist blanketed everything in it's path. Once in awhile, the sun would come up and dry everything out, and the warmth of it on your skin would bring a smile to your face. But now, the sun just baked, glaring at you, and every day was the same.

Allison thought that was what tended to bring her down, the fact that every day was much like the one before it, and the one after it. Just now, for example, the laundry was in the dryer, the older kids were still in school, and Brendan was playing quite loudly with his trains. Allison crinkled her nose again, as Mister broke wind for the hundredth time that day. It was constant repetition in her life. These were the things she pondered as she washed the breakfast bowls in the sink that morning.

Little did she know that everything in her life was about to change. And it would never be the same again.

The knock came at the door. It was an insistent knock, one that Allison could not ignore. She grumbled under her breath as she wiped her hands on a dish towel, and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Brendan would be okay. He seemed oblivious to everything but his trains, so Allison quickly made her way to the front door. She wondered what kind of salesman would be standing on her stoop this morning. Or would it be that rascal George, coming to cause more problems again? Or perhaps someone from the church for an unannounced and unwelcome visit?

She opened the door and gasped.

"Hi." The red head smiled at her beguilingly and waved.

Allison was speechless. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Hello?" the young lady said again. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm Willow."

"Willow?" Allison was still in shocked silence. Willow? Wasn't that just a television character? Wasn't this girl standing before her an actress, named Alyson, pronounced the same as her name, but spelled differently?

"Yes, my name is Willow. Again, I'm sorry to bother you, but we need your help. Don't you know who I am?"

Allison finally found her voice. "You aren't real."

At this point, Brendan had tottered up behind his mom, grabbing her leg and peering out at the lady standing on the stoop. "Willow?" he said. Willow smiled at the young boy. It was a smile that could charm the honey right out of the bee.

"Hi cutie! You must be Brendan." Brendan smiled, and then ran back into the living room to play with his trains. His mom was still quite dumbfounded.

"Allison, I'll try and explain, but we really don't have much time. Yes, I'm real. We all are real. The TV show is just a ruse, really. I'm really Willow, playing Alyson, playing Willow. We can't let the world know that all the demons and vampires really exist, you know? It would cause mass hysteria and panic. It's been going on like this for generations. I'm only here now because we need your help. See, Giles found this prophecy, and we need to bring you and your friend Carolee back with us in order to avoid another apocalypse."

Allison just stared at her. Then she closed her eyes and rubbed them, wondering if she had finally gone off her rocker. Had she accidentally fallen asleep on the sofa and this was all some crazy dream?

When she reopened her eyes, she saw another girl, who as a television character she recognized as Cordy, pushing a dolly up on the driveway. She wielded the cart up the sidewalk and parked it right behind Willow. "This thing is heavy, Willow. I don't get paid enough for this. I'm not the manual labor person, you know. I'm vision girl."

"Sorry, Cordy, but the boys can't come out in the sunshine. Plus, you wanted to get away, remember?"

Cordy just snorted, and then pulled the blanket off of the object that the dolly held in place. Allison gasped as she looked at, "Allison". The object on the cart was an exact replica of herself.

"Isn't it great?! It's an AllisonBot. I worked really hard on it and I must say, I'm very proud of it. I think I got it just right. No one will ever know it's not really you."

"I don't understand, what's going on? And, I think I need to sit down." Her knees were getting quite weak, and Willow hurried over to her and helped her walk into her living room, and gently lowered her down on the sofa. Cordy stayed outside with the AllisonBot for the moment. She had on short shorts and a tank top, and decided to lie down on the lawn and get a good tan. She missed the California sun! Besides, it was Willow's job to do all the explaining.

Back inside, Willow was trying to do just that. But Allison was just not getting with the program. "Wait a minute. You're saying that the world depends on me, and I have to leave here, leave my family with this AllisonBot," Allison shuddered just thinking about it, "and go to Whispering Pines with you?"

Willow was trying to be patient, but she was getting to the end of her patience stick. "Yes! Exactly! So let's go! We have to hurry."

Allison just stared at her. Brendan came over and crawled up into her lap. He was fearful of the strangers, yet mesmerized by Willow's huge, beautiful eyes. Willow smiled at the young boy.

"I can't in good conscience leave my family with a robot." Allison finally retorted.

Cordy peeked her head into the living room. "Spike will be there." Allison's face suddenly flushed, and again she went speechless. But then she shook herself, resolved. She just couldn't go. She was a wife and mother, not some wicca or television bad ass.

"You know, if you don't go with us, and the apocalypse occurs, you won't have a family to worry about."

"Cordy!" Willow gasped and shouted at the brunette. But Cordy just shrugged. Allison held Brendan close, caught between the two and their angry retorts with one another.

"What? You know it's true Willow. I'm just the only one willing to say it!" Then Cordy turned to Allison. "If it's the Bot you are worried about, which I can completely understand because Willow's tinkering and all that, I have another suggestion."

"You have a suggestion?" Willow looked at her sarcastically. But Cordy ignored her, intent on Allison. "Yes. A suggestion. I could talk to The Powers That Be about folding time. You know, like what they did for Angel and Buffy that one time, when Angel became human and like a big dunce gave it all up for Buffy. Gawd he frustrates me sometimes! Anyway, I could talk to The PTB, have them fold time, and Allison could be here washing the dishes, caring for her family, yet at the same time, be with us. We could put her family in a time fold, holding them in place until she returns."

Allison actually sort of followed this, and it did intrigue her. She did yearn for an adventure. Something different. Something just for her. "What would happen if something happened to me, and I didn't return?"

"Well, if it's because the world ended, it won't really matter, will it?"

Allison didn't really have an answer for that.

Willow was starting to pout. "I really wanted to try out this new AllisonBot." Cordy waved her off, however. "You still have the CaroleeBot. I'm sure that one will work just fine." That brightened Willow a bit.

Cordy and Willow both smiled, and then turned as one to look upon Allison. Allison, on the other hand, was in a turmoil. She just didn't know what she should do. Brendan looked up at her, wrapped his hands around her neck, and pulled her in close to whisper in her ear. "Go Mommy. You need to go." Then he jumped off her lap, and went back to play with his trains. Allison was shocked. How many times could a person go into shock in one day without going into cardiac arrest?

Willow looked at Allison, and then nodded at Cordy. "Do it, Cord." Cordy nodded back, and then stepped out front, sat cross legged under a tree, and concentrated on contacting The Powers That Be.

"I thought she was dead," Allison said to Willow in wonderment.

"Oh no, she just wanted off the show."

"Oh." Allison sunk more into the sofa, lost in thought. Suddenly, a flash filled the living room. In the next moment, Allison was in the back of a van, driven by Cordy, with Willow in the passenger seat. Willow turned around in her co-pilot seat and held up a pink box to Allison. "Jelly donut?"

They were on their way.

Chapter 2

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