Xander had to help the Potential take the vampire to his lair, as he was almost completely unable to walk by himself. For the first time since the man had known the bleach blond, he was quiet. He tried to get him to talk, at least to tell them if he'd revealed the Key's identity to Glory, but Ally cut him with a shake of her head. "I'll take care of everything." She assured, right around the time they got the blanket covered mess into his crypt, pushing him up onto a tomb.

By the time Xander leaves, the cuts and bruises in the vampire's face had swelled up. He seemed to barely be aware of his surroundings, flinching when Ally approached him with the first aid kit.

"Shh. It's just me. I'm gonna clean up those cuts. You look like a meatbag straight out of the slaughterhouse." She slid her hand into his, squeezing lightly and tracing circles with her thumb on his skin. At least the hands didn't seem to have been damaged; except for some chain marks around the wrists, nothing else.

The brunette carefully treated the cuts on his face first, seeing him shrink and wince every time she got near them, but he didn't resist it. A couple times, Ally could swear she had heard him snarl, yet he at least tried to keep it low, not scare her away. When she reached the already closing hole in his chest, his whole body tensed and she had to place her hand on his stomach, rubbing until he relaxed and she could take care of the rest of wounds.

"Spike..." She had been thinking about how to start their conversation since she'd gotten to him at the mansion, after the battle. She still had squat, but she had to give it a try. "What happened?"

"The hell bitch's minions... thought I was the Key." His battered lips barely moved, swollen as they were, and his voice was strained, like it took all of what he had to say just a word. "Looks like they... didn't know vamp... equals impure. Then the hell bitch thought... I at least had some info on it."

"Did you tell her?" Her voice was only a whisper and she was sure that, hadn't he been a vampire, he wouldn't have been able to understand her.

"No." His voice gained strength and he struggled to sit up, Ally's hand coming behind his shoulders to help. "She's your sister. Anything happened to Dawn, it'd destroy you. I couldn't live, you bein' in that much pain. Let Glory kill me first. Nearly bloody did."

Her eyes watered, mixed feelings invading her. He loved her, he really did, but he had also gotten that bot to do whatever he wanted with her image, and it was disgusting. Yet... right now, he could get away with anything; he had saved Dawn, he was ready to die if it meant protecting her, because she was important for Ally.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, not applying to much pressure to avoid hurting him. He leaned down, closer to her, before pulling back and looking at her through bruised and swollen eyelids.

"Thank you. Thank you..." The words were shaken, her lower lip trembling with emotion. "I won't forget what you did, what you went for, for Dawnie and me. Ever." She promised, taking a step back to assess his injuries again. His arm had definitely something wrong to it. "Is it broken?" She asked, placing her fingertips on his forearm carefully.

"Think so."

"Want a sling?" She looked around the 'room" in search of something that could be used as one while he nodded slowly, hunching over, looking like any and every posture brought him a lot of pain. "Whisky and pain meds?" She added, seeing his face visibly light up, even in its current state. "I'll be back as soon as possible, lie back down." She assisted him before placing a soft kiss in his forehead and leaving the crypt.


The lights were dim, flickering, alive. It was fire. The flames were dancing on the walls, making the pillars cast sinister shadows across the floors. The room was warm, yet cool at the same time.

It took her a moment to realize she had fallen asleep at the crypt yet again. She had been doing that quite often the last couple of weeks, taking care of Spike, getting him blood from the butcher's when he couldn't walk, buying new Passions videotapes. He kept telling her to stop smothering him, but she felt responsible for what happened to him. Because she was. He did it for her. And she could never pay him back, no matter what.

She sat up, the comforter sliding down her body and causing a shiver to run down her spine. The contrast was really the worst, it was not that cold. She was on the couch again, Spike must have moved her from her spot on top of the tomb, where the book she had been reading still lay, yet she couldn't see him. Had he gone out? It was still night time.

He had gotten much better already. Vampire healing was an immense advantage, but Ally still made sure to clean his wounds daily and spend some time with him. She had barely seen the Gang in quite some time. She should probably go back now that the bleach blond could take care of himself and actually go out on his own, even though he had a limp.

And she was aching for a good fight. Good thing her magic wand was always with her.

Time to go back to her previous routine.


Buffy was worried. Dawn was not attending school and she didn't know how to get her to. And if she didn't set things right, they were going to take her sister away from her. She needed help. She had to be a grown up. She couldn't do it alone.

"Please? I can't... I can't deal with everything, I already dropped out of college and... I don't know what to do..." The Slayer begged, sitting on the couch, in her living room, holding the Potential's hand.

The brunette smiled softly, glad that the blonde had asked her for help, that she knew she could rely on Ally. "You know I will. I'll take care of anything to do with school work. You focus on... the rest of the stuff." She squeezed the Chosen One's hands and shifted on her seat, getting more serious. "There's already enough on your shoulders, Buff. Besides, I love the things she studies. I get all excited about her homework. I'll pick her up from school and help her do her homework, first thing. I'll keep a planner with her exam dates or project deadlines. Everything will be alright."

"You're happier about this than I expected." Buffy joked, catching onto her friend's excitement.

"Come on, an excuse to use a planner again. Colour coding, using sticky notes, making schedules! I love it." She smiled brightly and looked at the time. "I'll get right on it. I'll go get little Dawnie." She winked at the Slayer and jumped up from the couch, skipping to the door. "We'll be back soon!"

Buffy knew that Ally could make it better. Dawn didn't see her as a authoritative figure, someone trying to take mom's place. Ally was her friend, her sister. She understood her better than Buffy did. And Dawn needed that right then. Buffy did too. She needed her empathetic sister, one that could understand her, her duty, her burden. Because she bore it too. She was the middle ground between the Summers sisters. A new Summers girl.


"Ally!" She heard Dawn before she spotted her. She was running straight at her, her bag bouncing up and down at the movement.

She had immediately seen her sister. She stood out among the students getting out of school, heading home. There was no one else who could rock military boots, worn out jean shorts and an old looking AC/DC t-shirt like her. She looked kinda menacing, standing there with her arms crossed across her chest, inspecting her surroundings. The teen noticed boys from her class staring at her, yet Ally wouldn't ever begin to care about that. And the Potential had come looking for her.

Ally instantly smiled at the sight of her baby sister. She lunged herself at the eldest, hugging her tightly. "Whoa. I see you missed me, Dawnie." The wannabe slayer chuckled, throwing and arm over the teen's shoulders and beginning to head to the Summers residence.

"I was thinking it was Buffy who would come pick me up, to make sure I was at school and all that." She grumbled, eyes fixed on the ground before her.

"Buffy is worried. We've decided that I'm going to help you with school work, drop you off and pick you up, and she'll take care of the house, the meals and all the rest of the stuff. Cut her some slack, Dawnie. She's going through a rough time too, plus she's got all the Slayer things to worry about on top of it all." Ally held the kid tighter against her side, lowering her voice. "And you're going to go back to class, promise?"

She thought about it for a moment, not daring to look her in the eye until she spoke. "Yeah. I promise."


Buffy was about to leave the house when they arrived, telling them to get to Spike's as soon as possible.

It was Tara.