Willow couldn't stop pacing. She knew that she was probably making everyone else more nervous than they already were, but if she didn't keep in motion, then she wouldn't be able to handle her own anxiety. It was strange, when she thought about it, that she was nervous at all. Last night, after Tara had come home, she and Willow had talked about what they'd seen in Faith's memories, and they'd basically agreed to disagree about the other slayer.

They'd hugged and kissed it out, and despite Tara's reassurances, Willow couldn't help but feel that Tara was holding back her feelings about what Willow had done, and that scared her. Tara was her everything, and Willow wanted to be the same for her. If Tara wasn't comfortable with sharing her thoughts about Willow and what she had done… Well, Tara's own feelings about Faith had caused a small, niggling worm of doubt to begin gnawing at the back of Willow's mind. Was her tinkering with the Buffybot really all that wrong? Not only that, but could Faith have really changed?

Willow's mind kept coming back to how Tara might feel about her, when she felt that she should really be focused on the wonderful, miraculous news that Dawn had received while Willow had been busy napping away her sorrows after she and Tara had quarreled. Somehow, even after Faith had defiled the Urn of Osiris, even after the ritual should have been disrupted entirely, it had worked. Buffy was alive, and she was with Giles, and now she was on her way back home.

They were all gathered in the living room waiting for Buffy. Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Dawn. Dawn had wanted to include Spike as well, but she'd only come to that realization after the sun had risen, and Willow wasn't quite sure that it was a good idea all the same. Spike might fight demons with them, but it was only because of a tiny piece of technology wired into his brain that he couldn't hurt a human being. At his core, Spike was still a soulless demon.

A soulless demon who had a sexbot made in Buffy's image. A sexbot that youchose to use to inflict pain. The scathing self-rebuke used words that sounded too much like the calm, subdued argument that Tara had used the other day. Willow tried to push the words back into the dark recesses of her unconscious mind and focus on the fact that Buffy was alive again. Willow hadn't been wrong about her abilities as a witch. She'd gambled, true, but it had paid off.

So why was she so nervous now? Was it because Buffy hadn't immediately come straight home? No, she realized upon a moment's reflection. It was because of why she hadn't come straight home. Faith had taken her to Giles's place, or so he had told her on the phone last night. Of course, Faith wouldn't let Buffy rest where she needed to be. Faith was still the same selfish, worthless waste that Willow had called her to her face just over two years ago.

"Willow, do you have to keep pacing like that?" Xander asked, sounding stressed.

Willow smiled despite herself. Finally, someone had spoken up, and as if a switch had been flipped, she stopped pacing and felt herself relax. "Sorry, Xander. It's just… I thought it was all over. I thought that Faith had ruined everything. A-and part of me is still afraid that maybe, something went wrong. Th-that maybe, Buffy's back, but she's not completely all right, and that even if Faith interrupted it, I started it, and-"

"Shh. It's all right, baby," Tara said, taking Willow's hands in her own. "Whatever happened, Buffy's back now. A-and I'm sorry for doubting you, baby. I know I said it was wrong, and I tried to stop you when you first proposed it, but you did it, Willow. You did it."

Willow's felt her face brighten, and she leaned into a warm embrace with her girlfriend. "Have I ever told you that I love you, Tara?" Willow said softly.

"Once or twice," Tara said with a warm smile, and Willow felt herself relax a bit more. That was Tara in a nutshell. Always there to make things better.

A collision into her side alerted Willow to the presence of Dawn hugging both her and Tara in a single embrace. "I like it better when you aren't fighting."

"Fighting?" Xander said carefully. "Is something wrong?"

Willow looked up at Xander, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to repeat the talk she'd had with Tara. "We can talk about it later, okay?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Sure thing, Will."

"How much longer until Buffy gets here?" Anya asked from beside Xander, with the distinct tone of a child asking a suffering parent on a long trip 'Are we there yet?'

"Probably just another minute or two," Willow said, growing a bit frustrated. "Do you have some place to be?"

"Yes. The Magic Box is closed until either Giles or I opens it. And since Giles has been busy with watching Faith, it's been my job. And I can't make money while the store is closed," Anya said, as if explaining a simple concept to an idiot or a child.

"An," Xander said, turning to face his girlfriend, "Buffy needs us right now, so we're going to be there for her. That's what friends do."

"She did ask us all to be here," Tara said. "Or, at least that's what Giles said. And, look on the bright side. With Buffy back, there'll be more slaying going on, and more working with us to do research, which means more spending money at The Magic Box."

Willow smiled at Tara's kindness. She knew that Tara didn't really think of Buffy's return in those terms, but she was going out of her way to help Anya get to a good space in the here and now.

For her part, Anya smiled and nodded. "Yes. Make a good first impression with a returning customer. Thank you for the advice, Tara. And also for all the money you spend at the store."

Tara chuckled, and Willow took one of her girlfriend's hands in her own. "You're welcome," Tara said warmly.

"Oh! I see Giles's car," Dawn said from the window. "And she's with him! It's Buffy! She's really here!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's welcome our favorite slayer home, am I right?" Xander said with renewed optimism.

It was infectious, as Willow felt her own confidence begin to return. "Yeah. Let's go welcome Buffy back."

Buffy had been dreading this moment since she'd been cognizant enough to realize that it was inevitable, and she wasn't sure if she was ready now that it was here. It didn't really matter. She would force herself to be ready. It was going to be hard to pretend to be all fine and dandy, and that was on top of the difficulties of just being back in a world that wasn't heaven. Going back wasn't an option, so Buffy would have to make the most out of this second lifetime. Or third, depending on how we're keeping score.

Faith had been surprisingly accommodating in helping Buffy to prepare. Far, far more so than Buffy had ever expected. Buffy's relationship with Faith was, and always had been, unique. They were both slayers, they had once been close friends, and then the bitterest of enemies, and then they'd literally lived a short while in each other's skin. And now, after everything that their shared history added up to, Buffy wasn't sure what to make of Faith anymore. Buffy had last seen Faith turning herself into the police in Los Angeles, and Buffy had been petty and vindictive at the time, wanting nothing more than to punish Faith.

Looking back, Buffy realized that she had acted childishly in that moment, and before she'd been able to make any of that up to Faith, she had died. And just days ago, she had been brought back to life, and Faith was the one who had been there for her. Since Buffy had come out of the earth, Faith had continued to be there for Buffy, and while it was surprising, it wasn't entirely unwelcome. Her own anger towards Faith was still present, but it was so distant that it felt almost like a dream.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you, Buffy?" Giles asked from the driver's seat.

Buffy smiled back at him. She'd been practicing smiling in front of the mirror a lot lately. She'd been able to fool Giles after a bit of practice, and she hoped she was up to the task of fooling everyone else. It hurt that she had to pretend, but the alternative – everyone trying to help her and look out for her and knowing that they'd done so much to hurt her – was not something that Buffy could deal with.

"I'll be fine, Giles," Buffy said, her calm voice very carefully rehearsed. "And it's not like I'm going anywhere. I might want to see you sometime soon. Probably a lot, actually, but for the right now, I just want to see my friends and let them know that I'm okay."

Giles nodded. "Of course, Buffy. I… Having you back is a miracle, truly. I can only imagine how much everyone is looking forward to seeing you," he said as he leaned in to wrap Buffy in a warm embrace.

Buffy leaned into the hug, despite the grating feeling of physical contact that was so harsh and difficult to process after being in Heaven, for lack of a better term, for what might have been an eternity. Time hadn't mattered there, so it was hard to say how long it would take to get used to just existing in the moment in the real world again.

There was another spot where Faith had been unexpectedly helpful. Buffy had known that her friends would be eager for physical contact, whether in a hug or a pat on the shoulder or anything in between or beyond. And Faith had obliged Buffy in practicing with physical contact, in hugging her and brushing a hand against her cheek and patting her on the back. What surprised Buffy the most was how gentle Faith had been throughout it all. When Buffy thought about Faith, 'gentle' was not a word that came to mind. Even when Faith held her in a tight hug, as her friends were almost certainly going to do, it had felt surprisingly heartfelt, quite possibly beyond just practicing for the real thing.

Buffy dismissed the notion before she let it take root. Faith was many things, but she wasn't the kind of person to embrace Buffy like that of her own volition. All the same, Buffy felt very mildly inured against the pain of a physical embrace. Buffy told herself that it wasn't much, but her irrational, emotional side that she couldn't let show told her that it was a huge difference.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy opened the passenger door and walked up the path to the front door of 1630 Revello Drive. Home. This is home, Buffy tried to convince herself. Turning around, she waved to Giles to assure him that all was well, and off he and his little red car went.

Steeling her resolve once again, Buffy looked ahead at the house and began to walk forward. Before she made it to the front door, however, it had already opened, and the old gang was there, coming out to meet her. In response, Buffy put on her well-practiced smile and she took in all of their faces. Willow, Xander, Tara… The three of them all had looks of simultaneous awe and joy on their faces. Anya looked more like she was analyzing the situation. Buffy would have to be careful. And Dawn, right in the middle of the group, looked at Buffy in disbelief that threatened to spill into tears.

Buffy let her teeth show in a white smile and gestured to Dawn. "I'm back, Dawn. Come here, little sister of mine."

Dawn broke into a run and almost tackled Buffy to the ground in a fierce hug. Buffy had expected it, but still had to brace herself for the sudden, hard sensation of a small body colliding into her. And then Dawn was crying, and Buffy felt warm tears on the side of her face. "I missed you!" Dawn said through her tears. "I missed you so much!"

Buffy wrapped her arms around Dawn, just like she'd practiced, and held her close. Strangely enough, holding her sister evoked something in Buffy. She felt warm in a way she couldn't define. Buffy knew that this was her sister, her blood kin, and that she had to be here for her. Part of this was undoubtedly the doing of the monks who had brought Dawn into existence, but it was still a real feeling that Buffy felt was anchoring her to this world. Part of her wanted to reject it, but she couldn't. This was right, what she was feeling. Buffy belonged here, with Dawn, no matter how much she wished they could both be in heaven.

After what felt like too long, Dawn let go, and Buffy turned her attention to Willow. Willow, her best friend. Willow, who had always been there for her. Willow, who had spearheaded the effort to take Buffy out of heaven and drag her back into this harsh, bright, painful life. And Buffy smiled and embraced Willow as warmly as she could.

"I can't believe it," Willow said into Buffy's shoulder. "You're really back." Stepping out of the hug, Buffy looked at Willow's smiling face, wet with tears. "This is… It's a miracle, Buffy. I mean, obviously, you know that, since you're standing right in front of me. B-but, you're really here! Alive! And not a vampire or a zombie or anything nasty and evil. You're you! You're Buffy, and you're back!"

Buffy forced herself to chuckle. "Breathe, Willow. Yes, it's me. I'm back, and I hear that I have you to thank for it. So, thank you. All of you. Thanks," Buffy said. "Do you mind if we go inside? It'd be nice to get reacquainted with the old homestead."

"Sure thing, Buffster," Xander said with a hesitant smile. "Whatever you want. It's just…"

"I know," Buffy replied. "It's a bit of a surprise to me, too."

Willow and Xander laughed a bit as the group went inside. Buffy took in the house. It was just like she remembered it, at least on a superficial level. Whether it would ever be a place that she could call 'home' again… That was less certain.

Buffy ran her hand over the armrest on the sofa and remembered finding her mother lying here, eyes wide open, dead of an aneurysm. There, at least, was one good thing to come out of having died and come back. Buffy could now say with certainty that her mother was content and at peace, and that she would never suffer again for all eternity. Joyce Summers had not been a perfect mother, but she'd done the absolute best that she could, especially once she'd gotten over the fact that she couldn't change the fact that Buffy was a vampire slayer.

After a moment, Buffy decided to take a seat on the couch. If she was going to live in this world again, she'd have to get used to feeling things again. Buffy's friends and sister remained standing in a semicircle around her. "So… I hear that you moved in to look after Dawn?" Buffy said to Willow and Tara. "I hope she didn't give you too much trouble," Buffy added with a playful look at her sister. At the very least, Buffy would try to be strong for Dawn. Her little sister might not have been ripped from paradise, but she'd lost a mother and her sister, and she was still so young.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at Buffy, causing a small, genuine chuckle to escape from her lips. "They've been great. They're using mom's room. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it…"

"Of course it's fine. And I'm guessing you both moved out of your dorms on campus," Buffy said to the two witches. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both welcome to stay. You looked after Dawn, and I hear you helped with the slaying while I was… While I was away. You're always welcome here."

And how it hurt to say that. How could Buffy say to them, 'You took more away from me than anyone else could ever possibly take?' How could she say, 'You stole everything from me?' These were her friends. Buffy couldn't tell them the truth, couldn't let them know how much they'd hurt her. But she couldn't just feel completely at ease with letting her home be their home after what they'd done. It wasn't rational, she told herself. But then, where did rationality have a place after what she'd been through?

Tara held Willow's hand and smiled warmly at Buffy. "I'm just glad that you're okay. The ritual we used… It scared me, I won't lie. And then when… When it was interrupted… We thought you were gone forever. O-or worse, that we might have done damage to your soul, wherever it was. It's such a relief to see you here, Buffy."

"Ain't that the truth?" Xander agreed. "You had us quite worried, young lady," he joked.

"Xander!" Willow said chidingly.

Buffy held up a hand. "It's okay. Really, it's all good. I'm just glad to be back. Back here with all of you." Now came the part that Buffy guessed would be more than a little bit harder. "So, um… Dawnie. I don't want to sound too kooky, but do we have a spare guest room? I guess I don't really remember if any of the rooms could actually be bedrooms, or if mom turned them into studies or storage closets or something else."

Dawn looked confused, but thankfully she didn't question it. "Yeah, we have a guest room. You sure you're okay, Buffy?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I guess… What do you call jet lag from being dead? Death lag? Right. I'm suffering from a slight case of death lag. Please humor me."

After a moment of silent nods of approval, Buffy continued. "So, um… I was with Giles for a little bit, and I got to see more of his place than I remember seeing before, and I realized that he only has the one bedroom, and since we have a spare, I wanted to see if you would all be okay – that is to say, Dawn, Willow, and Tara – I want to see if you'd be okay with Faith taking the spare bedroom."

An uncomfortable silence filled the house. After what seemed like far too long, Xander spoke up. "I'm going to assume that's the death lag talking. Because if it's not… What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Xander!" Dawn yelled indignantly.

"Look, I get it, Buffy," Xander said in the same patronizing tone that he tended to take when scolding Buffy about dating Angel, or not loving Riley enough, or various other minor things in her life since she'd met him. "She covered for you while you were gone, so you feel you owe her. But you don't. She's the one who went evil and did all that damage, remember?"

Buffy sighed. "I remember, Xander. But before we continue this discussion, I wasn't asking you. You're my friend, Xander, but you don't live here. I'm asking the people that do."

"Fine, then," Xander huffed. "Willow, tell Buffy she's crazy."

Buffy turned to look at Willow and saw a strange play of emotions on her face. In the span of moments, Buffy saw flashes of anger, guilt, grief, and more vie for dominance on her best friend's face. "Buffy," Willow said carefully, "I won't pretend to be comfortable with living so close to Faith. I mean, I'm not exactly her biggest fan. A-and this is your home. I can't tell you what to do with it. But if it's okay to ask, a-and you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable with it, but why do you want to let her stay here? I mean, don't you hate her?"

The way that last question was voiced said a lot to Buffy. It sounded like Willow was asking permission to hate Faith. Willow had her own reasons for disliking the other slayer, but she was trying to be the best friend right now, and Buffy appreciated it. "I used to hate her," Buffy said at last. "I hated her so much. I hunted her to Los Angeles for a chance at revenge, I hated her that much."

Buffy took a deep breath and exhaled. The process should have been relaxing, but it only served to exhaust her further. One more thing to adjust to as she came back to live in this world. "It took some time afterwards, and a lot of persuasion during phone calls with Angel. And then, once mom realized that the body swap had happened, she told me some things that she only thought she'd told me, what with me being in the wrong body at the time."

"I remember that," Dawn said. "And I remember thinking that there was something weird about your reaction the first time. Mom didn't understand what could drive someone to do what Faith did. Then you… Sorry. Then Faith asked mom how she knew that Faith was driven to do anything, that maybe she liked being the way she was."

Buffy laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, right. Mom told me that she thought Faith was really unhappy, deep down. And after everything I've seen from her, I believe it. I don't know if she's still as unhappy as she was then, but…"

Buffy paused. She knew her friends wouldn't truly accept her need for Faith without some justification beyond just what Buffy needed. They needed something that they could accept on a personal level. "She turned herself in. She took responsibility, however late it was. And after the spell you did that brought me back… I didn't just poof back into being. I ended up exactly where I was after I died. In a coffin under the ground.

"And Faith was there, and she dug through the dirt and she got me out. I was panicking when I first came to. It was dark and cramped, but then I heard someone digging, coming to get me, and I knew I'd be okay. I was surprised when I saw it was Faith, but… She got me out. I don't know if it's something you can understand, but she was there for me, and I remember that I wasn't the only slayer who wasn't all that happy with the other slayer a while back."

Buffy paused and looked from face to face. "So, there's that. Also, I don't think any of you ever saw where she lived before, but-"

"I did," Xander said quietly. "It was a crappy motel room. Still doesn't excuse everything she did."

"No," Buffy agreed carefully, "but I can't help but think that if maybe this offer of a guest room had come earlier, if I'd shown her that I cared enough to even ask mom about letting her stay in a place where a vampire actually needed an invitation to get in… Maybe if we'd all been a bit more appreciative, then maybe things might not have gone down the way they did."

Dawn sat down next to Buffy. "If you're sure about this, then I'm okay with it, Buffy. When she told me the news yesterday… She wasn't acting all psycho. It was like the good times, before she went all evil."

Buffy smiled at her little sister, and this time the smile wasn't forced at all. "Thank you, Dawn." Looking up, Buffy returned her gaze to Willow and Tara. "You've done so much for Dawn while I was gone, and now that I'm back, I'll say that you did a lot for me in the process, so I don't want to dismiss that. If you can't handle Faith having a room here, then I don't want to push it. I won't demand anything, and I won't demand that you forget your feelings about Faith. I'm asking you to tolerate her staying in this house. If you can't do that, I won't force you to."

And Buffy wouldn't force Willow if she wouldn't budge. It wouldn't be fair at all to Faith, but Buffy couldn't bring herself to use her death as an excuse to demand things of anyone. Maybe someone else wouldn't have an issue with it, but Buffy wasn't someone else. She could only hope that Willow would be willing to abide by her wishes. And if she wasn't willing… Buffy hadn't told Faith about this yet precisely because of how Willow might react. It would be cruel to get Faith's hopes up only to dash them later.

Buffy saw Willow turn to look at Tara, and Buffy wondered if they were communicating with their thoughts, or if they just understood each other so intimately that words weren't needed. Whatever the case, Tara smiled gently at Willow, who turned back to look at Buffy with apprehension. "I don't particularly like Faith, and so long as you don't force us to spend time together, and you don't ask me to change how I feel… Buffy, this is your home. I only moved in with Tara because we wanted to look out for Dawn. But now that you're back, a-and you're letting us stay here… I can't really say no, and even if I could, I wouldn't. I might want to, but I wouldn't and I won't. I can't say it won't be really weird, but it's a small price to pay for having you back, Buffy."

"Excellent," Anya said with a smile on her face. "Maybe Giles will be able to pay more attention to the store now that he'll have his house back to himself."

"Oh, my God! Anya!" Willow half-shouted. "What is wrong with you?!"

Anya simply shrugged. "I just don't see why you can't get over this whole Faith business. I've heard what you have to say about her, and she isn't that person, at least not what little I've seen of her. Maybe she's changed. It does happen. After all, some of us are only recently human, and making the most of it. You tolerate me, if only just. What makes Faith so different?"

Buffy appreciated the silence that fell over the room, for she knew the answer to that question, as did everyone else. Buffy thought that she might be the only one who not only knew the answer, but accepted it. As for her friends… They'd have to come to the same conclusion eventually. Faith hadn't committed nearly as much harm in her twenty-something years alive as Anya had in her thousand-plus years as a vengeance demon.

It shouldn't be hard to understand, but Buffy knew that it would be tremendously difficult for everyone else to accept that Faith was – for better or worse – only human.