Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. Spike could Feel it, and it made his feet run faster as he hurried back home. When he neared the house, he could hear Dawn's voice chanting through her open bedroom window and he saw an unearthly glow emanating from something in the room. Cursing in every language he knew, he burst through the door, ignoring the two people in the living room who were hastily scrambling for clothes as he leaped up the stairs. He was halfway up when he heard the sound of breaking glass, then something hitting the floor and then a scream, a blood-curdling, heart-wrenching scream. He froze on the stairs for a moment before uttering his own cry and charging for Dawn's bedroom.
With a savage kick, he forced open the locked door, nearly ripping it off its hinges, and stopped dead in the doorway. Dawn lay sprawled on the floor, feebly trying to get up. Around her were the remnants of multiple spell components and what was left of a Sacred Circle. But it was what was in said Circle that made his unbeating heart turn cold. There, naked and shivering in what was most likely shock, was Buffy Summers.
Dawn made a choked noise and he snapped out of his paralysis long enough to rush to her side. He grabbed her, shaking her roughly, not wanting to take his eyes off the naked woman in the room.
"Dawn, what have you done?" he demanded.
Dawn smiled, her eyes glazed and her skin sweaty with exertion. "I made her out of me."
"Oh my God," Xander gasped, and Spike looked up to see him and Anya in the doorway.
"Buffy?"
"Oh dear God," Anya breathed, covering her mouth with her hand.
Dawn gave a triumphant laugh then passed out.
They stilled, breathing heavily, as Buffy looked at them, her eyes wide and confused, and waited as Buffy examined her hands. Not knowing exactly what they were dealing with yet, Spike deliberately placed Dawn's unconscious body behind him so that he could protect her if needed, but when Buffy looked up again, there was a hint of recognition in her eyes.
"Buffy?" Xander tried again, and she turned her head in his direction.
"Xander?"
The single word caused both Xander and Spike to burst into tears.
"What? What happened? Where am I?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God," Xander babbled.
"I'll call Giles," Anya offered and ran for the phone.
Xander was the first to touch her and that galled Spike. The whelp was the only one with the presence of mind to grab a robe and cover Buffy's naked, shivering body, when he- the Big Bad himself, was too busy not believing what he was seeing to do a damn thing except cry. Then she looked at him.
"Spike?"
His heart lodged in his throat and he swallowed hard. "Yes, luv?" he gasped hoarsely.
She stared at him for several moments, long enough for him to get very very nervous, until her expression changed from one of confusion to one of horrified understanding.
"I was dead wasn't I?"
It wasn't a question, and he knew she was looking to him because he was the one person in the room who would not lie to her or sugarcoat the truth. He managed to nod, and she looked away, her head shaking.
"How long?" she demanded.
"Three months."
"Three months? What happened?"
Spike cast a glance at Xander, silently pleading.
"You you sacrificed yourself for Dawn," Xander replied. "The Portal started opening and the only way to close it was"
"Was to give it the blood it wanted," Buffy finished. "I jumped into the portal. I remember. I remember now oh God! Xander! Anya!?"
"Anya's fine," Xander assured.
Buffy grabbed his arms. "And Willow and Tara and Giles?"
"They're all fine. Even Tara. Willow was able to restore her. You were the only one who"
Realizing that she was probably hurting Xander with her grip, she let him go.
"I see"
There was more silence, then Buffy asked softly. "So, how did I get here?"
"Dawn," Spike replied. "Dawn made you out of her."
It was several hours before all would be discovered and divined. They had to do it without Dawn because the teen had drained herself into exhaustion and was in no condition to be interrogated. Once everyone had arrived and the initial shock of reunion had somewhat worn off, Willow and Tara were able to piece together what Dawn had done by examining the spellbooks and components. It was then that the sheer magnitude of Dawn's undertaking, and her deception, was revealed. How she had managed to keep so much from so many for so long, defied their understanding, but earned her their grudging respect. As for Buffy, she had no memory of anything that occurred after she jumped into the portal, which coincided directly with what Angel had experienced after Willow had restored his soul.
They knew it would be days, perhaps even weeks, before everything was sorted out and understood, but for now they all basked in the knowledge that Buffy had been returned to them more or less whole. She was bewildered and somewhat disoriented, and she had a little trouble making her body do what she wanted, but for the most part she was handling her rebirth much better than anyone could expect. In fact, of all of them, Buffy seemed to be dealing with what happened the best; probably because she had no recollection of being dead, and aside from some minor motor control problems, she was physically unscathed. Whether or not she was mentally and emotionally unscathed had yet to be seen, but no one wanted to face that right now.
It was close to sunrise and everyone, including Buffy, was starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep, and the adrenaline rush was wearing off. Spike especially was barely hanging on, having been up since the early morning and out late Slaying. Willow and Tara were also reacting to the remnants of Dawn's spells, and the power fluctuations were draining on the women. It was decided that a rest was in order, and sleeping arrangements were hastily defined. Anya and Xander would take Joyce's bed while Giles took the couch, and Willow and Tara slept in sleeping bags on the floor.
Buffy followed Spike into the basement, and took in the simple but obvious living quarters. The vampire shrugged at her askance glance.
"I moved in the day you" he explained. "To be closer to Dawn. So I could"
"So you could protect her," Buffy finished.
Spike nodded. "I'll uhhh I'll move my stuff back to my crypt just as soon as the sun sets"
"Why?"
He blinked at her in confusion. Not daring to hope that she would let him stay.
"Because now that you're back"
She stopped him by raising her hand and he shut up immediately, mesmerized by the mere sight of her. He had yet to touch her, and frankly he was nearly out of his mind with wanting to touch her, but at the same time terrified to touch her because he feared that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop.
"Do you know what the first thing I really saw when I woke up tonight was?" she asked him.
He shook his head.
"It was you guarding my sister." She came closer, her eyes burning into him with their intensity. "For three months you have steadfastly kept your promise to me. You have kept Dawn safe and looked after her as if she were your own flesh and blood. That says more to me than any words ever could. I want you to stay, Spike, at least until we get everything all sorted out. After that, if you want to move out, that's up to you."
He felt like screaming for joy, but he held himself in check- so tightly that he barely managed a nod. Her lips pursed and it seemed that she might say more, but then she gave a quick nod and left him in the basement. When the door closed behind her, he let himself breathe a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure he could do this. Wasn't sure if he could live with the unanswered questions that hung between them, then he thought himself a stupid idiot for thinking dour thoughts when Buffy was back in his life. Questions would be asked and answered, later. For now it was time to sleep and dream of a brighter future.
