Branches, twigs, rocks, and fallen trees; whatever nature could conceive of made an attempt at slowing the Slayer. Through her panicked, blinding velocity though, the blonde girl hardly noticed. Hands reached without a second thought to push away the low-hanging limbs of trees, her head and body flexed in accordance with various horizontal obstacles, and it seemed as if her legs had mapped out an injury-free route hours ago.

Every ounce of the portal's brilliant light had been shed only seconds ago, and Buffy's eyes remained fixed on its last location. After hours of arduous searching and listening to the doubtful whispers in her subconscious, the Slayer's wish had finally been granted. Nothing, whether its origin be Heavenly, Hellish, or earthbound, was going to stop her from completing her mission. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching Spike.

Halt!

Contracting each of her skilled muscles, Buffy obeyed the command, not realising at first that it had originated from within her. Eyes still fixed forward, it took another moment for her peripheral vision to register the existence of a synthetic object, something that didn't belong in the forest. Allowing the emerald centres of her orbs to cautiously slide downward, the Slayer's chest tightened with her shocked gasp.

At first, Buffy considered herself foolish for undertaking such a reaction. After all, she had been given ample time to prepare for Spike's return. Of course, such an event was incredibly underrated in its ability to shock people. Buffy had been expecting Spike; she had been ready to receive him from Hell and hopefully recuperate his surely broken mind. But this was something different. How could anyone prepare for the shock of stumbling upon a once mortal enemy, his naked, ruined, and quite shivering body within a ten-foot proximity?

Cascaded in a blanket of moonlight, its beam slightly interrupted by overhanging trees, Spike's naked, shuddering form appeared infinitely less threatening than it actually was. Although he had only just escaped from some ungodly Hell dimension, Buffy couldn't help but take the time to realise that his creamy complexion was unmarred. Either it was a condition of being reincarnated, or Spike had possessed a rather skilled aptitude for self-preservation, which he maintained over a century or so of unlife.

Oh, God! Focus, Buffy, focus! You'll have plenty of time to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over Spike when you get him home and in the safety of restraints… Buffy asserted herself, not wanting her easily distracted mind to wander even a millimetre from its line of duty. Taking in a deep breath, the Slayer shuffled through the rather concise process of readying her faithful tranquilizer gun.

Lifting the barrel to what she guessed was the correct height, Buffy let out a long breath. "Say hello to suspiciously easy" she said, a faint hint of worry resonating at the edge of her usually confident voice. Buffy gave the trigger a fluent squeeze, and Spike's body responded with a signature jerk, the silver dart penetrating his flesh, relaxing venom instantly finding its way through his veins.

Replacing her weapon in its cradle across her back, the Slayer now stood before the unconscious form of her resurrected ally. Amidst absolute silence, the soft ripple of Spike's erratic shuddering now dissipated, Buffy permitted her mission a moment's hiatus. Jade orbs taking in the blonde vampire as their subject of focus, the Slayer forced herself to really look at him for some unknown reason.

The fact that Spike's face was not visible made it easy for Buffy to admit something to herself; all things considered, he was a fairly handsome creature. Never before had the vampire's flesh been quite so exposed to her, muscular triceps and rippling back always hiding beneath the leather of Spike's loyal duster. Although he wasn't the tallest or most brawny of his species, concealed within such a lean build was strength that even Buffy found difficult to overcome at times.

Bodily functions keeping her sewn to reality, the Slayer gave her head a light shake, distracted thoughts quickly dispersing. Consuming what few feet separated her from the vampire, Buffy took a knee beside him, suddenly wondering what her next course of action was to be. Of course, it was obvious that she needed to get him back home, but what then? Was it stupidity to bring Spike back from Hell, to hope that there would be some way of restoring what sanity he once possessed?

Spike's visage now within full view of her slightly glazed orbs, the Slayer realised just how troubled he appeared. Fright and chaos were scrawled messily across the vampire's features, his face twisted into a crumpled heap of tension. Wherever he had been moments ago was most definitely a place Buffy would be willing to wait an eternity to visit. Any dimension that could cause Spike to look so utterly disturbed had no potential for friendliness.

"Buffy!" the Slayer snapped to attention, head whipping to face the voice's origin. "Buffy!" Giles repeated, the Englishman's signature call not difficult to identify.

"I'm here, Giles!" the blonde girl answered, eyes flickering to the lifeless shape before her. Perhaps it was the absence of his dark, mysterious jacket, its poise about his body utterly intimidating, but with an absence of clothing, Spike seemed so… vulnerable. Absence of clothing? Her mind repeated the phrase, finding it a little too grammatically perfect. Absence… of… clothing… oh, God! Spike! Naked Spike! Giles! Dawn!

After years spent concealing the unacceptable and unexplainable, Buffy's reaction to remove her jacket was almost instantaneous. With fluid movements, she draped the faux-leather garment over Spike's nether regions, hands cautious to avoid contact with them in the meanwhile. How the Hell was she ever going to get him home like this?

"Buffy!" her Watcher's voice penetrated the evening stillness once again, followed closely by an echo from Dawn. Glancing in the sound's general direction, Buffy could make out what she assumed to be the vague, wandering contours of her companions. Standing up, she double-checked the fact that Spike's appearance was of a strictly PG-13 nature before responding to Giles' call.

"Over here, Giles!" she returned, throwing a momentary glance at Spike before stepping toward her comrades. Intercepting them within seconds, the Slayer was lucky to have done so in a region that made Spike rather invisible to her family. "Hey," she greeted them with a slightly breathless smile, purposely putting her body in front of Spike's.

"Ah, there you are" Giles breathed upon approach. Heaving in necessary litres of oxygen while speaking, the Watcher glanced behind his protégé, able to see the faint outline of what he supposed to be a vampire. "You found him?" he asked, wanting confirmation.

"Yeah… Didn't put up much of a fight though," she said, eyebrows flickering upward momentarily. "Which, to be honest, gives me a major wiggins…" at Giles' questioning glance, Buffy gave a deep sigh. "I mean, if the Powers did that on purpose… If they were willing to just hand Spike over to us, shouldn't that be a bit of a warning?"

"I'm afraid I'm having a bit of trouble understanding you…" Giles said, Dawn nodding silently.

"It's just… How crazy can Spike be if the Powers were willing to make it so easy to find him? What exactly have we gotten ourselves into?" arms crossed with concern, Buffy shook her head to the side in an attempt to reset a stray lock of hair. Watching as comprehension washed over Giles' features, Buffy gave a slight nod, briefly turning to look at the vampire.

"Giles, I want you to take Dawn home. See if you can round up the others on your way… I'll meet everyone at my house in an hour" although she sounded confident, the Slayer was constantly posing new questions for herself. Carrying Spike home was one thing; carrying a naked Spike home while trying to coordinate the placement of her leather jacket over his private parts was quite different altogether.

"But Buffy, won't you need help getting Spike home? I know you have Slayer strength and everything, but it's kind of hard to sneak through Sunnydale with some guy tossed over your shoulder" mimicking her sister's crossed arms, Dawn finally chose to speak.

"If you're suggesting that you'd like to help, the answer is no. I'd rather give the good people of Sunnydale a lesson on human anatomy than my little sister" Buffy returned with bitter sincerity.

Dawn's eyes spread to full width in that moment, head sliding forward in curious disbelief. "You mean… Spike's… He's…?" she stumbled over a wanted sentence while attempting to look past her sister's barricading body.

"Yes. He is. The Hellmouth has a strange habit of sending back its torture victims without their clothing" dryly responding to her sister, Buffy decided then to turn back to Giles, constantly readjusting her position to match Dawn's inquisitive manoeuvres. "Please take her home, and make sure the spare bedroom is ready when I get there… Dawn, stop it!" ruthlessly putting Dawn in her place, Buffy's gaze slid back to Giles within seconds.

Chuckling softly when his Slayer's temper snapped, Giles placed a soothing hand on her already tensed shoulder. "Everything will be ready. I'll see you in an hour" smiling gently, he then took Buffy's tranquilizing weapon from her, knowing the projectile would only get in the way. "Be careful" Giles said, fully trusting that his Slayer would not put her own life in danger for the sake of Spike's.

"I will" drinking a cleansing breath, Buffy's eyes remained locked on her sister and Watcher. "See you soon" the Slayer smiled with only partial confidence, turning from her companions after the proper salutations had been executed. How am I going to do this? Buffy vaguely heard herself think yet again, consciousness now focused completely upon the vampire.

Fishing in her pocket briefly, the Slayer was relieved to find an extra tranquilizer dart. "Please don't make me use this," she mumbled, kneeling next to the chalk-skinned reincarnate. Emerald eyes wanted desperately to roam the vampire's form, mysteriously curious about moonlight's effect on his various rippling muscles.  It was mind over matter though, and for once in her life, Buffy's mind was winning a usually futile battle.

"All right, Spike… God, it's so weird to be saying that… Well, it's even stranger that I'm standing here talking to myself, but…" realising that she had started what could possibly become a drawn-out conversation, Buffy paused, shaking her head. "Let's get you home" the Slayer's eyes focused on Spike in that moment, vocal chords having gotten back to their original trail of speech.

Thankful that the opening in her jacket was currently spread across the side of Spike's thigh, Buffy quickly fastened the buttons, figuring it couldn't hurt to keep the garment around him. As she came up with different tactics for carrying the vampire, Buffy also tried to imagine different excuses should she run into people along the way.

Fireman's hold: practising to be one of the first female Sunnydale Firefighters… her first and foremost thought was created with a somewhat logical explanation. Holding him under the arms and knees… he thought it would be funny if I carried him like the bride for once… she would definitely have to modify that one. Piggyback… he fell asleep at a friend's house… I just live down the street… hey, it didn't sound totally crazy. Of course, undermining each of her genius explanations was the fact that Spike was wearing only a girl's jacket, the garment furthermore being worn around his waist.

Buffy groaned aloud at the absurdity of her situation, knowing that no matter what, she would appear completely insane to anyone who passed her by. Randomly choosing to start off with an over-the-shoulder hold, the Slayer closed petite palms over Spike's upper arm and leg. Balancing the vampire's weight properly over either shoulder, the blonde woman set a determined set of brilliant green orbs straight ahead, right leg falling forward, planting itself perhaps two feet in front of her other appendage.

Alright… Buffy thought internally. One footstep down, about four thousand to go…

(Oh my gooosh! I am so sorry everyone… I know it's been practically a century since my last update and I apologize for it a thousand times over. It's just… You have no idea how busy I've been… with all of my extra-curricular activities and my job, I probably haven't had a free night in a month or so. But hey! Have no fear, I'm still pluggin' away, working on my stories when I can… My next update for this story will be MUCH sooner, I guarantee it! Until then, I hope you'll be able to understand if I'm not updating every three days or so. THANKS for being such loyal readers, too!)