About a kilometre away, Spike kicked at the ground with the scuffed toes of his shoes. He wasn't able to sleep, as was custom for him now. Often, he walked past a large rosebush on his way to the cemetery and picked a large bouquet of the red flowers to lie on Buffy's grave. He kicked the ground more fiercely when he thought of that freak Willow and the even weirder librarian. Fancy trying to convince him with all that rubbish about demons and Slayers… What utter bollocks.
And then came a sound that chilled him to the bone. A scream was tearing through the night air as effectively as a razor through rice paper- a very familiar scream.
"Buffy?" Spike yelled, and sprinted as fast as he could, throwing the roses to the ground as he ran.
Willow heard Spike call out and paled. "Oh my god. It's Spike. What are we gonna tell him?"
However, no one heard her, they were too busy attending to Buffy, who was staring down at her hands in shock.
"Buffy? Buffy, can you hear me?" Xander asked urgently.
"Where- where am I?" she asked shakily, her voice somehow musty, as if with disuse.
Giles offered out his hand to help her stand. "You're back. You're on Earth, alive."
Buffy stood up as unsteadily as her voice had sounded, and she wobbled on her feet for a second before grabbing Oz's shoulder for support.
Willow rushed forward to help too, and it was lucky she had, for the moment she reached Buffy Oz and Xander let go of her, staring at something over her shoulder. Spinning around, Willow felt her stomach sink in dread. They had hoped to have at least a day to try and figure out how to explain to Sunnydale inhabitants the fact that Buffy was no longer dead, but Willow felt that opportunity graze the side of her face as it swooped away.
"Buffy?" Spike's voice cracked.
"Spike?" Buffy's voice imitated her boyfriend's.
Spike's eyes scanned Buffy for a moment, as if he feared she might disintegrate before his gaze, and then he ran forward and enveloped her in a massive hug.
"Oh, Buffy," he murmured into her hair, inhaling the scent he thought he would never smell again.
When he finally let go of Buffy, Spike turned and faced Giles and Willow. He had no idea what to say- the idea that he had been rejecting all day as impossible and stupid now had living, breathing proof. The awkward moment was solved as Giles addressed Buffy.
"Ah, forgive my intrusion Buffy, but I really must ask this question," Giles began, "where exactly did we bring you back from?"
Buffy was silent for a moment, and everyone feared that Giles had dug too deep far too quickly, but a minute passed and she spoke falteringly. "I really don't know. It was…empty. Nowhere. There was other people there, but we didn't speak." She shuddered.
"So you literally were in nowhere?" Xander asked curiously, which resulted in Willow elbowing him rather hard.
But Buffy nodded. "Yeah. I was. It was terrible- I just knew I wasn't meant to be there." She looked around the circle and half smiled. "Thank you so much for rescuing me," she murmured, much to the shock of Willow, Xander and Oz.
"That's perfectly alright, Buffy. Now, let's get you home so you can rest." Giles said encouragingly, stepping forward to offer more support. Everyone had agreed previously they would give Buffy at least a day to adjust to being alive again before dropping the massive bombshell of her Slayer status on her.
"Um, Giles, maybe it would be a better idea to take Buffy to my place instead," Spike suggested, "after all, her mum might be a bit confused."
"Excellent point. OK, Buffy, you don't mind spending the night at Spike's house, do you?"
"No," she mumbled, "but wait a second…how the hell did you manage to bring me back?"
Willow winced. They had been hoping very much to avoid this topic for at least a day. "Don't worry about it. We'll explain it all tomorrow, when you've rested."
Buffy looked uncertain and slightly mutinous, but continued walking along with the support of Willow and Giles out of the graveyard until they reached Giles' car. Everyone piled in, and Spike gave Giles directions to his house.
"My parents aren't home tonight, so there's no worries about any awkward questions," Spike explained, as they pulled up in front of a fancy, darkened house.
Buffy climbed out of the car without help this time, and Spike slipped in his key and unlocked the door.
Willow and Xander tiptoed in reverently, whilst Oz sauntered in casually and Giles hurried to close the door. Once everyone was safely inside, Spike flicked on the light and was just in time to see Buffy collapse on the marble floor.