Summary: Takes place during the summer that Buffy died (between season 5 and 6) How everything came to be during that summer (between Willow & Tara moving in with Dawn, the Buffybot becoming the 'slayer', Spike becoming Dawn's babysitter, and of course Willow, Xander, Tara, and Anya deciding to resurrect Buffy.)

Authors Note: If you're reading my other story In Love With A Memory, I PROMISE I'll update that soon, and I'm sorry it's taking me so long. I PROMISE it will be updated. PROMISE. Again sorry.

Willow, Xander, Giles, Tara, Dawn, and Anya arrived back at Buffy's house a few hours after everything that had happened. An ambulance had taken Buffy's body to the morgue and everyone wanted to get to Buffy's house to figure out what they were gonna do now that she was gone. Even if that was the last thing they wanted to admit out loud.

"Uh, Dawn," Tara said gaining the younger girls attention. "do you wanna go upstairs to bed, or I could make you something to eat, or..." Tara trailed off when Dawn started shaking her head.

"I don't want anything. I don't wanna sleep either." Dawn said in a monotone.

"OK, well you could.." Willow began but Dawn cut her off.

"I just, I wanna stay up, I don't think I could sleep anyway after..." She trailed off. She closed her eyes tightly trying to keep the tears from reforming in her eyes. She spent the whole ride home crying and she didn't think she could handle it anymore.

"Alright." Tara told her softly. She brought her hand up to Dawn's hair and ran her fingers though it which caused Dawn to flinch back. "I'm sorry I.." Tara looked at Dawn confused.

"Buffy, used to do that..." Dawn whispered more to herself. Tara nodded in understanding.

"Sorry." She said.

"She um...Buffy, wanted, uh she told me some stuff she wanted me to tell you all." Dawn said trying to focus on everything Buffy told her up on the tower, she was having trouble focusing on anything right now. Nobody replied, they just waited patiently for Dawn to continue. "Uh, she said..." Dawn closed her eyes and tried to replay the words in her head.

"Buffy no."
"Dawnie I have to."
"No."
"Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen."
"Dawn listen to me, listen. I love you, I will always love you, but this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles...tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live for me."

Dawn reopened her eyes, letting a couple of tears fall.

"Dawn?" Xander asked, taking a step towards her. "You okay?" He asked, knowing it was a stupid question to ask in this situation. Dawn quickly wiped the tears off her face and nodded.

"She said," She began from where she left off. She turned to look at Giles "she wanted you to know that she figured it out...and she's okay..." Dawn trailed off. She hated thinking that Buffy was 'okay' when she was dead, but this is what Buffy wanted them to know so she continued. "And she said that she loves you, all of you." Dawn glanced at everyone else in the room. "She said we have to take care of each other now...She said, she said that this was the work she has to do." Dawn finished the last sentence with a bit of anger in her voice. Willow felt her eyes well up with tears. She put a comforting hand on Dawn's arm but Dawn shrugged her away. "I'll be in my room." Dawn told them quietly before walking up the staircase. Everyone walked into the dining room and took a seat around the table.

"This all feels like a bad dream." Xander said. "I mean first Joyce and now..."

"Poor Dawnie." Tara commented. Xander nodded in agreement.

"I don't even wanna begin to imagine what she's going through. I mean she lost her mom and sister in just a few months." Xander replied.

"Yeah, and to top it all off, having to deal with knowing that it's all her fault." Anya commented and Willow glared at her.

"It's not her fault." Willow bit out angrily. Anya sighed.

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely. "I didn't mean it was Dawn's fault, I know it isn't. You know it isn't. I'm just saying that If she had never been this key, or gotten kidnapped, or if she had jumped off the tower instead of Buffy then Buffy would be here and..."

"Anya." Xander cut her off, knowing Willow was getting madder with each word.

"What I mean is, it's not Dawns fault." Anya assured everyone "But, if you were in her situation, wouldn't you be blaming yourself?" Anya asked. Willow sighed and nodded.

"I guess.."

"Well whatever Dawn is going through, we'll all be here to help her through it, of course." Giles said, speaking up for the first time since they saw Buffy's body. Willow nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, speaking of which, where is Dawn gonna live? I mean somebody has to watch her." Xander said.

"Well we can move in here and stay with her." Willow said, turning to Tara. Tara nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Tara said, Xander shook his head.

"That's not what I meant, I mean yeah obviously we're all here and willing to take care of her but...what if her dad wants to take her away?" He asked looking around the table. By the looks on everyones faces he could see that nobody had thought of that yet.

"That is a possibility." Giles stated "We could talk to Dawn about this, she might want to go live with her father."

"Yeah but what if she doesn't?" Willow asked "He can't take her away can he? I mean if we're all here to take care of her it should be okay right?" Willow asked, hopefully.

"I don't know, he might not want his daughter under the care of a bunch of strangers."

"Yeah but we're not strangers!" Willow said. Giles shook his head.

"To Dawn, to Buffy and Joyce but to Hank? He might not allow it." He said, Willow frowned.

"Well what if we didn't tell him?" Anya asked, trying to help. Willow rolled her eyes.

"Can you ever say something appropriate?" She asked Anya, annoyed.

"What?" Anya asked innocently. She didn't understand why that was inappropriate.

"We can't just not tell him that his daughter is dead." Willow told her harshly.

"Actually, that might work..." Xander said, getting a thought. Willow looked at him.

"How could that possibly work? She's gone, what if he calls here and wants to talk to Buffy, are you gonna give the phone to her ghost?" Willow asked. She frowned, she knew she shouldn't sound so harsh right now but she was just angry at the situation.

"What if you got the head back on the Buffybot?" Xander asked. Giles let out an agitated sigh.

"You can not honestly be suggesting what I think you're suggesting" He said annoyed.

"Well I mean, minus the whole 'yay Spike' routine the thing has going on, it's convincing enough as Buffy." Xander told them. Giles rolled his eyes.

"It's a metal thing! And I hardly believe that Dawn, or any of us for that matter are gonna wanna have to see some fake machine walking around with Buffy's face attached to it!" He said and his words got louder with each word to the point of yelling.

"Giles." Willow said a little nervous that he was about to throw Xander through a wall or something. Giles calmed down a bit at the concerned tone in Willow's voice. Everyone remained silent as Giles continued to calm down. He thought about it for a few minutes. He thought about the effects that Buffy's death might have on not only them but the world. A world without a Vampire Slayer.

"I'm sorry.." Xander apologized after several minutes of silence. "I just figured-" He began to explain but was cut off by Giles.

"Buffy is gone." Giles stated. Everyone stared at him. "Perhaps the Buffybot...Perhaps it isn't such a horrible idea." He stated. Willow stared at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked hesitantly.

"The last thing I want is to see that...thing...walking around and pretending to be Buffy..." He trailed off.

"But?" Willow asked, not believing these words were coming out of Giles' mouth.

"But, if the demon world somehow finds out that there's no slayer then, well lord knows what kind of havoc will take place." Giles explained. Willow shook her head vigorously.

"No. A new slayer will be called, that's not an issue Giles." She told him.

"No one will be called. Buffy already died at the hands of the Master. Kendra was called as her replacement, and once Kendra died Faith was called. The slayer line runs through Faith now." Giles explained to them.

"And Faiths in jail." Xander stated. Giles nodded.

"So we're using the robot then?" Anya asked, not really understanding anything Giles was talking about. Willow hoped Giles would say no but frowned when he nodded.

"I don't see that we have much of a choice. Not now anyway." He said sadly.

To Be Continued. So, like? Dislike? Review. =)