Buffy had found the trail of destruction the dragons were leaving behind shortly after she had lost the others. She followed them to a cave, but before she entered it was clear that the cave was guarded. Several large demons stood around the front of the cave.
She watched, trying to formulate a plan. All she knew was she had to get inside, to where Dawn was being held. But the demons weren't any she had seen before, and she was unsure how to go about fighting them. She watched, for hours, as more demons showed up. She was just about to give up when a voice whispered behind her, and she spun around.
"You! I thought you were dead, Spike! I thought...I..." She glared at him.
"Sorry, love. But in all fairness, I am dead. I'm just not deader than usual." He smirked at her.
Her glare didn't falter for a second, not until she took in his appearance. "What happened?" Worry took the place of anger.
"That's a good story, for later, love. For now, let's figure out how to get nibblet back." Buffy studied his face and nodded.
"Okay, Spike. But when we're done, we're going to have a serious conversation about what you've been doing for the last year and why you never bothered to tell me you were back." She was right in front of him, and when she said the word 'you', she poked him in the chest, regretting it the moment she saw the pain in his face. "Are you sure you're up for fighting? You look...terrible." Her eyes roamed over his body, remembering how good it felt having his arms around her, but also feeling pained at the visible wounds she could see. She moved closer to him, suddenly feeling the need to touch him. She reached out, slowly, and touched his check, pulling back when he winced from the burns there. But he reached up and held her hand there, looking into her eyes.
A throat being cleared broke the moment and she sighed, pulling away from Spike to look at Xander and Willow. She fought the urge to glare, realizing it was Xander who had broken the moment. "Sorry," he said, holding up his hands, "but don't you think maybe we need to focus more on the big nasty demons guarding the cave where Dawny is?"
Buffy nodded, turning to look at the demons again. Spike spoke again. "We faced some of those nastys in L.A. I barely made it out of there. Probably wouldn't have if that bloody dragon hadn't targeted me." Buffy turned to look at him, studying his wounds. "No, pet these wounds are more recent. Like I said, I'll explain later." He turned to Willow. "Red, can you do something witchy to distract them?"
Willow nodded, focusing on the demons gathered at the mouth of the cave. She started mouthing some spell too quickly for the others to keep up with. Suddenly, the demons dropped to the ground. She grinned to them, but staggered slightly, showing how much energy the spell had cost her.
"They're asleep, and won't be for too long. We should get Dawn out before then." The others nodded and they all started down to the cave, picking their way around the unconscious demons. Buffy noticed Spike having a little bit of an issue and looked at him worriedly. He caught the looked and shrugged it off.
Soon, they were in the mouth of the cave. Willow and Xander pulled out flashlights. Slowly, the four of them made their way through the cave. They came to a cavern, and Buffy spotted Dawn, chained up on a dais.
She rushed forward, not seeing the dragons until it was too late. Claws raked her back, leaving deep gashes. She fell to the ground, pain stealing her breath for a moment.
Spike rushed to her side, his own wounds forgotten. He knelt down beside her, blocking her body with his so that the dragons couldn't attack her again.
The dragon swooped again, claws reaching out and grabbing Spike. Buffy moved up, slicing out at the dragon's leg with a knife. The dragon roared in pain and released Spike. Spike fell to the ground and Buffy rushed over to him.
Willow had been performing a spell to transport the dragons away. As Buffy reached Spike, the spell took effect, with a brilliant burst of light. Buffy shielded Spike, as the dragons disappeared. She looked up at Dawn on the dais and then down at Spike, unconscious.
Spike's eyes fluttered open. "Buffy...go help the Bit. I'll be fine." Buffy nodded and stood up, rushing to the dais. She released the chains binding Dawn, and held her close as Dawn started sobbing. Buffy carried her down from the dais, and found Willow standing over Spike, a worried expression on her face.
"He's unconscious again. Buff, when he came to me, he was so badly burnt, and weak he could barely stand. But when we got the call that you had taken off on your own, he insisted on coming to get you. I healed him as much as I could, but I think it was all superficial." Buffy nodded.
"Xan, take Dawn please?" Xander came forward and took Dawn, who was currently asleep, into his arms. Willow and Buffy knelt beside Spike's unconscious form.
"We need to get out of here." Buffy nodded and bent down to lift Spike up. Willow took the other side, and they started back out of the cave.