Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Joss and UPN do. Except the characters that I made up.

Author's Note: This was my first fic ever and I realize it wasn't the greatest fic ever but I appreciate all the support I received. I have taken the time to edit this fic and improve some of the sentence structure and grammar in the earlier chapters (I'm referring specifically to Ch 1-14). I might have missed some stuff (You won't believe how much you miss despite going over the fic countless times), but I think fixed most of my errors.

If you want to read a better fic of mine, I recommend you read "Inner Revelations" which I'm the process of revising to bring myself up to speed on what I've written and finally finishing it.

darklover (1/1/11)

It has been two months since Willow had been on the verge of destroying the world. Willow was learning how to control her powers in a school for witches in England with Giles. Xander and Anya were trying to work out things between them; it didn't matter that Anya was still a vengeance demon. Buffy was teaching Dawn how to protect herself from the Hellmouth's big bads; much to Buffy's surprise the teen was learning fast. Spike still hadn't returned to Sunnydale. Nobody knew where he was.

Buffy was walking through the cemetery with a stake clutched to her hand. A full moon hung high in the sky on a rather peaceful night. A vampire suddenly rose from a nearby grave. As its arms broke from the dirt and it raised itself up, the Slayer rammed a stake in its heart.

"That was easy," She muttered to herself.

She was looking for some action tonight but there was none. She continued walking through the cemetery and before she knew it she was in front of Spike's crypt.

What I'm doing here, she thought as she stared at the crypt. She hadn't meant to come here.

The truth was a part of her missed Spike although she often refused to think of him. She thought it was for the best the he left.

I wonder if he's coming back? Buffy thought then immediately chastised herself. Stop thinking that Buffy.

She turned and left the cemetery, annoyed that there hadn't been many vampires to slay.

The next day Willow called and talked with Buffy. The redhead often made a point of calling once a week to check in with her friends. The Slayer was glad to hear from her since it was pretty clear Willow needed all the support she could get even if her friends weren't physically with her.

"Hey Will, how's it going?" asked Buffy.

"Better, but I still need help," Willow said.

"That's good. Don't worry Will you'll get through it," Buffy reassured her friend.

"I hope so," Willow said.

They said their goodbyes and Buffy hung up the phone.

"How's Willow doing?" Dawn asked, coming into the kitchen.

"She's doing better," smiled Buffy.

"That's good," the teen said.

"Yeah, it is. Well, Dawnie you better get to school," Buffy said as she stood from her chair.

"Yeah, bye," Dawn said.

Buffy then proceeded to get ready for her job at the Double Meat Palace.