PART TWENTY-FIVE

"She's been gone for some time now," said Willow, watching the unconscious
figure of Buffy propped against the wall. "You think she'll be all right?"

"Don't worry," answered Marcus, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"She'll be fine."

"She's moving!" came a sudden exclamation from Giles, pointing excitedly at
Buffy.

Buffy's eyelids fluttered for a moment before opening suddenly. She awoke
with a gasp and sat up hurriedly, breathing heavily and rapidly. She looked
around in confusion and touched her stomach where the wound would have been.
There was none.

"Willow? Giles?" she asked weakly as she scanned the room. "Am I…?"

"You're back!" Willow rushed to her side with a barrage of questions. "Are
you all right? Did you get Xander back? Why isn't he waking up too?"

"I'm fine," Buffy answered. "Just a little dizzy. And I'm seeing some
spots."

"Perhaps you should lie down," said Giles as he helped Willow pick her up
and walk her to the bed. They laid her on the bed, despite much protest
from Buffy who was still persistent that she was in good health. She finally
gave in and leaned her head back gently on the soft pillow, closing her eyes
slowly. However, in a few seconds, they shot open again and she sat up.

"No!" She almost screamed. "Xander… He … Karakos…"

Willow and Giles looked on in concern.

Buffy looked around the room and spotted Marcus. "Marcus… you have to send
me back!"

"Buffy, you need your rest," said Giles.

"I don't care!" Buffy went on. She climbed out of the bed and tried to walk
to Marcus, but stumbled to the floor. She picked herself up quickly.
"Karakos is going to kill him! Please! You have to send me back! We can't
leave him in there!"

Willow didn't say anything but a look of grave worry was etched on her
face. She looked at Buffy and then at Marcus and Giles.

"Buffy," said Marcus slowly, "You are weak. Sending you back into Xander's
mind would put tremendous strain on you both physically and mentally, and in
your current condition, even if you do survive the transition, Karakos would
slaughter you in an instant."

"I don't care! Xander… Karakos will kill him!"
"Tell us what happened."

Buffy ran her fingers through her hair uneasily. "I… I found Xander… and
then I went after Karakos. There was … I couldn't see him, and he… killed
me."

"Killed you?" echoed Willow softly.

"I… I remember feeling a horrible rush of pain… and then darkness. And …
I'm here." Buffy buried her head in her hands. "How did that happen?"

Marcus pondered the question. "Hmm. It seems that Karakos has managed to
expel you from Xander's mind. By killing you there, he banished you from
that reality."

"How come I didn't just die?" Buffy asked. "Why send me back here?"

"He couldn't, even if wanted to," answered Marcus. "To kill you here, he
needs to be manifested in this reality… and the only way he can do that is
to gain utter control of Xander. But he was a complete entity in Xander's
mind, and hence his ability to slay you there. So when he killed you, you
reverted back to your original reality, meaning here."

Buffy nodded slowly. "Can you send me back again?" she asked again.

"No," said Marcus. "I told you before. Even if you survive the…"

"I heard you the first time," snapped Buffy. She looked around helplessly.
"Xander's there, and he's all alone! With Karakos! What are we supposed to
do, just sit here and wait for Karakos to take control? And then what? Do we
kill Xander as well?"

Buffy was on the verge of tears. The rest of the group kept silent. Buffy
looked from one person to another and stormed out of the room. Willow
started to go off after her, but Giles held her back.

"Maybe she needs to be alone right now," said Giles softly.

* * *

Spike spun around in annoyance as he heard the door slam behind him. "Do
you people bloody mind? *Some* people are watching…"

Buffy walked past him quickly and headed for the front door.

"Hey Goldilocks! Where are you going?"

Buffy turned to look at him, unaware that a tear was rolling down her
cheek. "I don't have time for you , Spike."

"Why? Late for your Blondie's Anonymous Meeting?"

"Shut up," shot Buffy as she turned back to the door.

Spike looked at her, rather disappointed that she didn't have a good
comeback. "Ooh, hey, you're back from… that place. How did that turn out for
you?"

"Why do you care?" asked Buffy rudely.

"Oh, bloody fine," said Spike. "Ask a simple question and you bloody wanks
don't even have the bloody decency to answer it politely."
Buffy kept quiet for a while. She looked down.

Spike watched her before venturing another question. "Is Xander all right?"
He caught himself and quickly added: "Because I hope not."

"I don't know," said Buffy, putting her right hand over her mouth and nose
in an attempt to stifle a cry that she knew was going to come any time soon.

"Oh, what, you're going to bloody cry now?"

"I have to go," said Buffy, her voice muffled. She put her hand on the
doorknob.

"And where are you going to go?"

"I don't know," said Buffy weakly. "Anywhere… I can't just sit here and do
nothing while Xander's there… I… maybe Giles has some books or something
that can tell me… I don't know. I don't know."

"Oh, stop being so whiny. You and I both know that no matter what you
bloody do or what bloody boring books you read it's not going to change
anything. It's all up to him now. " said Spike. He looked at Buffy. "And the
bloody wank's a fighter."

Buffy looked at Spike and allowed herself to smile a little. She walked up
to him. "You really like him, don't you?"

"Not at all," said Spike almost immediately. He looked at Buffy and paused.
"Maybe. But if you breathe a word of this to anybody else I'll rip out your
throat for sure."

"You're just a teddy bear with fangs," said Buffy, sniffling a little.

"Yeah, yeah, bloody shut up already," said Spike. "Now do you want to watch
the bloody tele or not?"

Buffy said nothing but sat down on the couch beside Spike.