1630 Revello Drive
Sitting in the dim candlelit room, Buffy jerked herself back into reality. She lifted her eyes to Joyce then to Willow slowly realising where she was and all the things that had happened in the last few hours.
Her lungs sucked in air which caught in her throat. Buffy looked at her mother and burst into tars.
Joyce moved from the chair and around the coffee table to sit beside Buffy on the couch. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her tightly. Buffy buried her face into Joyce's neck unable to stop the tears flowing from her eyes. The months and months of stress and torment had finally erupted in Buffy. She could no longer hold it back.
Holding her daughter tightly, Joyce whispered words of love and encouragement into her ear and ran a soft hand over Buffy's back as she wept.
Sometime Later
Magic Box
The store bell chimed as Buffy, Joyce, and Willow entered the shop.
Buffy was immediately greeted by Graham's strong arms wrapping around her body. He hugged her tightly and whispered, "Good to have you back," into her ear.
Relishing the feel of his solid body holding her, Buffy closed her eyes breathing in his woodsy scent thankful that she such support in her life. "I'm fine." She whispered.
Graham withdrew his tight hold around her knowing she had a mission at hand to complete. He stepped aside and let her proceed down to the main area of the shop meeting the gang. "I hear you found the ritual text." Buffy said looking at Giles.
"Did you know Ben is Glory?" Xander scratched the top of his head still confused by the concept.
Buffy placed her hands at her hips and frowned, "So I'm told. What do we know?"
Giles hesitated for a moment, cleaning his glasses in the meantime then said, "Well, according to these scrolls there is a way to stop Glory. I'm afraid it… Buffy, I've read these scrolls very carefully there's not much margin for error. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He looked at her with serious eyes.
"Might help if you actually said it." Graham crossed his arms standing behind Buffy.
"Glory plans to open a dimensional portal by way of ritual bloodletting." Giles began to explain when Joyce looked at him.
"Dawn's blood?" The fear was evident in her voice.
Giles hesitantly nodded his head, "Yes, once the blood is shed at a certain time and place, the fabric separating all realities will be ripped apart. Dimensions will pour into one another with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know will be destroyed and chaos will reign on Earth."
Joyce gasped trying desperately to not add more pressure to the amount Buffy was already burdened with.
Buffy swallowed, "How do we spot it?"
"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped. And the only way for that to happen is to…" Giles grimly looked at the Slayer, "… Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."
No-one spoke. The air seemed stale like chalk. The sounds of rapid heartbeats was a high-pitched treble in their ears.
Buffy stared at the Watcher unblinkingly slowly processing his words. In her mind she had come to an instant decision, one that would not send her running back to an abyss. She opened her mouth and said with fearless intensity, "Then the last thing she will see is me protecting her."
