( Note: I am totally unsure where I am going with this. I am just trying to make it sound good as of now. But please keep reading. PLEASE..okay, I'll stop my begging...oh after this. PLEASE! Now I'm done. Read on.)

Buffy suddenly went numb all over, even her thoughts seemed to halt abruptly. Everything dissolved around her, and she could do nothing but stare straight ahead. Spike was standing on his doorstep, a box in his hands. He looked around anxiously several times before taking a hesitant step forward, and then continuing away from his crypt.

Buffy watched him as he quickly and silently made his way across the graveyard, and then turned the corner out of sight. Long moments seemed to pass, what seemed like an eternity but what was in reality only seconds. Then everything came rushing back. Feeling and sounds and thoughts all burst back in on her consciousness. And the dull pain in her right arm came also.

She looked over to see Dawn's pale-as-a-ghost face staring in the same direction Spike had gone. Her hand was clutching Buffy's arm, her nails cutting into her skin. Buffy gently reached out and took Dawn's hand, prying her fingers from Buffy's bruised arm. "It's okay, Dawn," she said quietly, not wanting to startle her sister.

Dawn slowly shook herself, looking down at the ground in a trance-like stare, then up at her sister. Her eyes looked moist and her characteristic cheeriness seemed to have evaporated.

" Was that..did I dream that?"

" No," Buffy said gently. She had the distinct feeling that soon she was going to be needing this comfort from someone, but right now it distracted her to help Dawn.

" Then he's back? Home? Or..our home, and he's in it?" Dawn was babbling, her eyes wide and her motions looking frantic.

Buffy remained as calm as she could, smiling gently. " Dawn, just because he's.back, that doesn't mean he's going to come.back back. He does have a right to go where he wants, but you know I would never let him.do anything."

Dawn's eyes widened more, if possible, and she once more clutched at Buffy's arm. " Do what? What would he do? Why we he do.what he would do." Dawn shook herself again, finally realizing she was babbling also.

" Dawn, I'm sure he won't do anything. After he.after what happened, between us, I took you to his crypt, for him to look after you. I never would have done that if I didn't think he was safe for you to be around."

Dawn looked at Buffy slightly shocked and disbelieving. " Safe? After what he did to you?"

Buffy put her hand to Dawn's face trying to calm her, which was working not at all. When Buffy needed the calming herself, she wasn't exactly the one to be giving the comfort and rational talks right now.

" Dawn, I can protect you, you know that. But I honestly don't believe you need it. Not from Spike. But if it makes you feel better.I can have Will--- "

Buffy stopped herself. She was going to suggest recruiting Willow to do another de-invite on the house, but she had just remembered Willow was gone. Off with Giles. Not here to do spells, and even if she had been, Buffy wasn't sure she wanted her doing any ever again.

Buffy looked back up at Dawn, who was waiting expectantly for an answer. " Xander and I can do the spell on the house. So Spike can't come in anymore without an invitation."

Buffy was surprised by the look Dawn gave her. Her younger sister looked shocked and saddened by this announcement. Buffy was about to inquire as to what was causing this, but Dawn spoke up first. " You can't! Why would you do that? Spike.he did something awful, but Buffy, do you think we really need to?"

Buffy stared at Dawn, her own expression one of shock. " Dawn, I was just proposing the un-invitation on our house because you seemed scared."

" Scared of Spike? He would never hurt any-" Dawn stopped herself looking at Buffy. And for a long time they just stared at each other, their faces looking shocked and surprised. Dawn had forgotten for a moment the entire reason why Spike had left, why it was so jolting for him to suddenly be back, and why Buffy would think she could be afraid of him. But now she seemed to suddenly know exactly why, and felt her chest writhe in pity for her sister.

" Buffy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean." Dawn trailed off, not knowing what to say. Here she had been anxious and excited over Spike's return, and Buffy was the one that had been the victim in the first place. The one that had been hurt, and was left be the comforter.

" Dawn, its okay. You were.surprised, is all. Like I was. I didn't expect him to be back so.suddenly either. Not that it could have been any more gradual, but it still feels.not real."

Dawn looked down at her hand, gripping tightly to Buffy's. she slowly eased her hold, and looked back to Buffy, whose stare was faraway and vacant. Too familiar. " Buffy? Are you okay?"

Buffy didn't look back at Dawn, but turned away and started to walk. " I just don't know how to react to this," Buffy said, stopping near a tombstone and picking at the cement cross protruding from its top. " It was all so confusing before, and then he left. I was.not hurt, but surprised I guess. He didn't leave when I told him-order him to, not even when I was.gone. And then he just up and left over.this whole thing. I didn't know if he'd ever come back."

Buffy turned to look at Dawn, who was now only showing pity on her expressions. Buffy smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. " I guess I'll just have to deal. Like I always do."

Dawn hurried to agree, liking this more relaxed atmosphere than the one they'd been standing in only seconds before. " Yeah, Buffy. You can deal with it. And I'll be here," Dawn offered, raising her brows in questioning, trying to find if that was what Buffy wanted.

Buffy's smile suddenly seemed more heartfelt. " Thanks, Dawn."

The night was over for the two of them, and they silently agreed to go home and made their way through the cemetery that had just seconds ago seemed so full of adventure. Now it seemed as it should be: barren and lifeless.





The next day they sat anxiously in the airport lounge, Xander and Anya sitting nearby. Anya looked bored and unattached to what was happening. Xander's legs were bouncing up and down like a kid about to be given an all access pass to a candy store. Dawn and Buffy sat close together, but not speaking. They had told no one of their news of last night. And when Willow had called this morning saying she was taking a plain home that afternoon, Buffy had thought it even less a top priority.

Right now, all she could think of was what was to come. Willow has left only a day after she had tried to destroy the world. Giles had told her to gather her things, then they teleported to back to England, to Giles home. He called only twice the entire summer to inform them of Willow's condition, and even with two months of recovery time in between the calls, the report had barely changed.

Willow had been as lifeless as one of the mental patients in a psychiatric ward; staring off into space when she did anything, sleeping most of the day away, barely eating or talking, and never openly talking about anything. Giles as well as the entire Scooby gang still in Sunnydale had been very worried, but she had eventually begun to heal.

She began to speak more with Giles about her feelings revolving around Tara's death, and her own descent into the dark arts. She told him about the experience of taking a life and about the hatred she had felt. She began to act more lively when it came to everyday activities. Talking to him over meals and reading in her down time.

All this Buffy had listened to apprehensively, just dreading him saying that she would never get better, or that it would take more than just a summer at his home. Buffy and Xander had each talked to him, learning also that not too long ago, Willow had met with the coven of witches Giles spoke about concerning her abilities and her privileges.

As a punishment for taking a life using magic, she was prohibited from practicing for a year, then she would have to return to England for another meeting with the coven. Buffy was just looking forward to having her friend back. She didn't care about all of the other stuff, she just wanted to try and be happy again with everyone around her feeling the same way.

The four had been sitting in the lounge for over an hour now, and most of that had been in complete silence. Anya finally broke it by exclaiming, " I have heard of the tradition of plains and trains and buses, things like that, never arriving on time. But is there a tradition of them not arriving within the same hour they were scheduled to arrive in? Because we are approaching that, and I for one am bored out of my skull."

They all looked at Anya, who was sitting in her orange plastic chair as if it were lined with needles. " Maybe the plain just got going late," Dawn suggested.

" Late. A bit of an understatement," Anya said with a roll of her eyes. " More like forgot to take off and then got lost in the big fluffy white things the idiot pilots forgot were clouds."

" Anya, I'm sure the plain will arrive soon," Buffy assured her, and Dawn who was looking slightly nervous. " They should be here any-" A voice suddenly came out over the speakers announcing that plain 246 had just landed and was now unloading passengers. That was Willow's plain. " Now," Buffy said as she hopped out of her seat and nearly sprinting to the terminal where she would finally see Willow again for the first time in four months.

The flight must have been large, because it seemed they waited through nearly a thousand people, though it was no where near that number, until they finally saw a glimpse of the bright red hair-hopefully with willow attached to it.

She was behind one tall and one extremely large woman, and it was a few moments before they saw all of her. " There she is!" Dawn announced excitedly.

Anya stood up on her toes and looked around, frowning. " I can't see her. The large woman with the ugly hair is obviously serving as a door and not a window because I don't see her at all."

" I do," Xander said calmly. He was smiling for what seemed the first time all summer, and Buffy herself found it hard to resist. She let a grin spread across her face as she finally saw her best friend. Her red hair was longer, shining in the light, and seemed almost fluorescent next to the dark navy shirt she was wearing.

" Willow!" Buffy found herself yelling. She almost didn't recognize her voice when it came out sounding high-pitched and childlike. But she understood where it was coming from: she hadn't been this happy in what seemed like years.

Willow quickly made her way towards them, and only smiled when she stopped in front of her welcoming committee. " Hey, guys. I'm back." She looked close to tears as she was caught in a flurry of arms and wrapped into a big hug. Even Anya seemed ecstatic to see her, and was hugging her with joy.

After their long and friendly hug, and just a few spilled tears that were quickly swiped away, Willow stood back and grinned at them. " Oh, I forgot. I brought you all something." She stood back, looking at the terminal where a few scattered people were still making their way off. And they all were drawn to one lone man, in his early fifties, his salt and pepper hair and thin glasses looking all to familiar and welcome.

" Giles." It was the last thing Buffy said before he too came up to them and they once more swept an old friend into a welcome-home hug.