CHAPTER TWO - The Scythe

The light of the day was starting to fade when Buffy woke up. She reached for Spike and found his side of the bed empty. "Spike?" she said in a small voice. She started having flashbacks to the first time she and Angel had made love, how she'd woken up in the bed alone. "Spike!" she said louder, panic sounding in her voice. She sat up in bed and peered into the darkening shadows of the room.

"Right here, Luv," he called, unbending himself from the mini-bar. He had on his black jeans and nothing else. "I was just checking what we had for breakfast. I have a bag here. But there isn't much for you except for some orange juice, peanuts, some stale looking crackers and over processed cheese. Oh, and those little fish shaped snacks in different colors." He came to the bed, holding out the items he'd listed. When he saw the alarmed expression on Buffy's face he stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Just . . . just had a bad dream."

"Not surprising, with the apocalypse coming and all." He sat down next to her on the bed and held out the food.

Buffy reached up and kissed him desperately, as if to verify he was real.

"Now I know there's something wrong," he said. "Give out."

"I was just remembering Angel going bad the morning after we slept together."

"Ah," he said, understanding, "the pesky happiness clause. Well, that can't happen to me. My soul is no deposit, no return."

Buffy smiled. "I think I'll take the juice, the peanuts and the fish crackers."

"Excellent choice." Spike handed them to her and put the rest of the items back in the mini-bar. Then he ripped open his bag of blood. "It's quiet out there," Spike said, pulling back the curtains on the window. The street was totally empty. He kept watch while Buffy dressed. When she was finished she came up behind him.

"There's no one at all down there," he said.

She wrapped her arms around him and he covered her arms with his own. They stood that way for several moments, Spike instinctively breathing in time with Buffy. It felt as if they were the only ones left in the world.

"Even the demons were fleeing Sunnydale," Buffy said.

"The ultimate evil scares even them."

"We'd better be getting on to that mission," Buffy said. They had an apocalypse to stop.

- - - - - - - - - -

Angel's friend left him in front of Buffy's house as the sunlight faded. As soon as Angel hit the front porch, his ride put on the brakes and went screeching away from Sunnydale. The town was pretty well abandoned by that time and the word was out that something really ugly was coming.

Angel knocked on the door and wondered what kind of reception he would get. How would the rest of Buffy's friends act? Her sister? How much had Faith and Willow told them about what he'd been up to over the last year? There were some things that would really need explanation, like Connor.

The door was opened cautiously by a young woman. She had dark shoulder length hair and scowled at him suspiciously. But the most noticeable thing about her was the gleaming sword held aloft and at the ready in her hand. "What do you want?" she asked gruffly.

"I, uh . . . Is Faith there?" Angel asked.

"You a friend of hers?"

"Yes. She asked me to come."

"Wait here," the young woman ordered. And she slammed the door in his face. From the inside Angel heard her call, "Faith! Faith, there's someone here to see you!"

A couple of moments passed and the door was flung open by Faith. "Angel!" she cried, her dark eyes welcoming him. "I knew you'd come."

"You said you needed me."

"I do." Her lips trembled just a bit, but she pushed the emotion back into place. "Come on in. Everybody's just getting up." She gestured into the livingroom where bed rolls were being tucked into corners by several young women in the teens. "These are the potential slayers," Faith explained. The one who let you in was Kennedy."

"Oh, yes. Willow mentioned her."

"Yeah, they're kinda tight."

Speaking of Willow . . . The first thing Kennedy had done after answering the door was to run upstairs and fetch her. The red headed witch came to a stop on the stairs as soon as she recognized who it was. "Angel!" she called out with uncertainty. "What a surprise. We didn't expect to see you. I figured you were ironing things out in Los Angeles."

"I was. But Faith called me. She said there was trouble."

"A lot of trouble," Willow said. "Probably the end of the world." It's even worse than anything I did last year, she thought to herself. And it looked like things had barely begun.

From the kitchen, Dawn, Xander, and Anya had heard the name Angel and had come barreling into the hallway. They stopped just below Willow on the stair. Dawn was out in front, with Xander just behind and Anya holding onto him lightly.

"So, you got your soul back in place," Xander said. "Anya, why don't you go downstairs and tell Giles who's come to visit?"

Anya nodded and slipped away.

"Tricky the way some of those souls can slip off sometimes," Xander said. He was remembering the first time Angel had become Angelus. "I remember how once you tried to end the world. Now it seems one of your friends is trying to do it for you."

"The First is not my friend," Angel said patiently. "He's not anybody's friend. All he wants is to destroy." Angel could tell by the patch over Xander's eye and the anger in his voice that the First had been hard at work here. With the exception of Faith, all the expressions around him were vaguely hostile. The potentials in the livingroom were huddled together at the doorway. They hadn't known who Angel was when he came in, but they'd heard enough from Willow and Faith to know he was a vampire. "I've been attacked by the First myself," Angel said. "I know how he works on your own fears and angers, using them against you till he gets you to do what he wants."

Giles appeared in the midst of the potentials, with the former principal following behind him. For Giles, the nightmare was only getting worse. He hadn't told anyone, but the First in the form of Jenny had been appearing to him regularly. And no here was Jenny killer standing right in front of him. Giles thought he had accepted it all, along with the differences between Angel and the murderer Angelus. But the emotions crashing through him told him he had not. Memories of Jenny and the way her body had been left so cruelly in his bed flooded back. That's why he'd been so adamant about getting rid of Spike. He couldn't bear the thought that it might happen again. Even if Spike's soul was supposedly more secure than Angel's. You never knew. You couldn't trust. "Angel," Giles said.

"Giles," Angel returned. He read the anger in the Watcher's eyes and knew what it was about. "I was just saying how the First works on your own fears and angers. The last time I fought against it, it filled me with such despair that I almost committed suicide."

"Angel is here because I asked him to come," Faith said, throwing her chin up and balling her hands into fists. The vulnerability and fear she'd felt earlier were gone now. She felt stronger with Angel standing at her side, watching her back. "I'm the leader now and I say he stays."

Angel's eyes snapped to Faith. "What happened to Buffy?"

"She's gone," Faith said. "A day or so ago. We had a difference of opinion on what action to take."

"And we asked her to leave," Kennedy finished.

"Well, asked is kind of a strong word . . ." Willow said, hedging.

"She wanted to pull a direct attack on what she thought was the First's headquarters," Faith said. "And I wanted more information. Everyone agreed with me."

"So she left?" Angel said. "To do what? Tackle this thing by herself?"

"She's not alone," Faith put in quickly. "Spike's with her."

Angel gasped in surprise, his face clearly showing his shock. He'd heard vague things about Spike being chipped and his helping them for cash sometimes. But neither Buffy nor Willow had told him the full story of what had been happening with Spike over the last few years. "That's supposed to make me feel better. Spike's with her. Giles, how could you allow that?"

Indeed, thought the principal. And how could they allow Angel around them either. From what he'd heard, Angel was even more dangerous than Spike. And it was obvious from the way this Faith stood so close to him that she considered him a friend and perhaps more. What was it with these slayers and vampires? Didn't they understand vampires were supposed to be the enemy? He was utterly disgusted with all of them. Why hadn't their Watchers held them in line?

"Well," Willow offered weakly, "a lot of things have happened since you've been around."

"Spike has a soul," Dawn said coldly. She was remembering all the times that Buffy had cried over Angel. Maybe they were made up memories put there by the monks. But she remembered them all the same. Buff locking herself in her room for days on end after Angel left for "Buffy's own good." Yeah, his leaving did her lots of good, Dawn thought. Made it harder for her to trust men. Gave her a load of abandonment issues. And he played it like he was being all noble.

"What?" Angel said. He looked at Willow. "You cursed him with a soul?"

"No," Willow said, shaking her head.

"He got it by himself," Dawn said. "Somewhere in Africa I think. He got it for Buffy." She paused for a moment to let it all sink in. "Because he loves her."

Angel was stunned. He felt as if the tall thin teenager had struck him with fists of iron. The unspoken comment was that he hadn't loved Buffy enough.

Angel had heard something about an ancient demon in Africa who could do such things . . . if you survived the tests he gave. The tests were mostly for the demon's own enjoyment Angel had always supposed. It had sounded like a foolishly dangerous thing to do, just to fix his soul onto himself more tightly. What if he had died in the midst of the tests? What if he passed the tests and the demon went back on his word? He had dismissed the idea almost before it had occurred to him. He had a mission to perform. So did Buffy. And she needed him to fight the good fight. Wasn't there a prophecy that the slayer would forestall the apocalypse with the help of a souled vampire? He'd always assumed he'd be needed alive to help Buffy. But now, considering how things had turned out, who she was with at the moment, he couldn't even be sure that he was the vampire the prophecy had talked about.

Why hadn't he at least tried to verify the stories about the African demon, to give them the possibility of sharing some happiness? He could have at least checked. Instead he had left Sunnydale, supposedly so that Buffy could have a normal human life. Normal? The most normal thing that had happened to her in the last three years is that her mother had died of natural causes. Not much of a consolation prize. It seemed that as long as she was a slayer, Buffy life would never be normal and at times like this with the end of the world about to take place, wasn't she better off with an extra pair of strong hands backing her up? And wouldn't she have been a better mother for his child than Darla? Dawn had struck him hard and fast . . . and fairly. His private life was a mess. The one person who had stood by him with the most reliability of late was Faith. And he would be damned if he let her down.

"All right," Angel said with a sigh. "So where did Buffy and Spike go?"

"There are really only two choices," Giles said. "Either they went to the vineyard where she wanted to go in the first place. Or they went to the mission where I sent Spike and Andrew. I doubt they'd attack the vineyard with just the two of them. So, I'm going to assume they went to the mission. From what Andrew says, it may have something that will help us. Whichever it is, they're undoubtedly together."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "They're pretty tight."

"So, what have the rest of you been up against here?" Angel asked.

- - - - - - - - - -

The mission was abandoned when Buffy and Spike got there. The monk who had been there the last time was gone. Spike took Buffy through the same dark tunnels to the secret room and showed her the stone panel that he and Andrew had read. The one that said there was something special here that only "she" could wield.

"So what is this thing?" Buffy asked out loud.

"Dunno," Spike said. "I was hoping you could figure it out. Or that maybe your being here would trigger something."

Buffy ran her hand over the writing in the stone, letting her fingers fall into the grooves. As she did, it began to glow.

"Ah," a female voice said, "You're here." And a funnel of light began to glow at Buffy's side.

Since the markings in Caleb's ring had brought them there, Buffy was taking no chances. She pulled her hand away from the stone panel and stood in readiness to do battle. Spike took his place beside.

The funnel of light got brighter and a figure appeared in the center of it. It was a tall woman, dressed in clothes from the 1930's. Buffy's first thought was that she looked like a Watcher, dressed in khaki pants and sensible buttoned down shirt and loafers. She was tall and had a serious face and little make-up. Her hair was dark and loosely pinned behind her head. In her hand was a golden scythe that glinted and gleamed in the light that seemed to emanate from all around her.

"Greetings, slayer," the woman said. "I've been waiting for you."

Buffy glanced up at the woman's face, but kept a good eye on the scythe as well. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is unimportant. I was a slayer like yourself once. An earlier guardian of the Hellmouth."

"A slayer?"

"Yes. I died in defense of this spot. But my spirit lingered on to give you this." She held out the golden scythe to Buffy.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, still holding her defensive position.

"The ring that your enemy wears was created with dark magic. Its function is to open the Hellmouth in its entirety and wreak unimaginable pain and destruction upon the earth. It gives its wearer extraordinary strength because it focuses the powers of darkness from the other side of the Hellmouth."

"Is this ring something new?"

"No. It is very old. But it could not be used in total as long as the powers of good and evil were in balance. When you returned from the dead, the inexperience of the witch who cast the spell made the barrier between certain dimensions unstable. It gave the First an opportunity to try and gain more power. As soon as you clawed your way out of your grave, the First began twisting the emotions and lives of you and your friends into confusion, so that you could not fight properly. Then it sent its waves of chaos steadily outward to create confusion in the rest of Sunnydale. And eventually to the world beyond. The First has now called its ringbearer to this spot because the time is finally right to throw open the Hellmouth. Indeed, it is already opening. That is where his army of super-demons is coming from. By the time the next night arrives the real battle will begin. The First has been trying to break you down further permanently dividing you from those closest to you. He knows an army of one is of limited use. Once you were alone, he thought he could gain control over you so that you would not come here."

"Why didn't he simply kill me?" Buffy asked.

"Because he thinks your death will return things to what they were. But he is wrong. It is the barriers themselves that are unstable. Your living or not living has nothing to do with it. This will restore order." The woman held out the scythe to Buffy again.

"What is it?"

"When those of the slayer line first learned of the ring, we began searching for a way to defeat its power. For hundreds of years we worked, keeping our actions so secret that even the Council of Watchers did not know about it. We finally succeeded in my time. The previous ringbearer managed to kill me. But not before the scythe was hidden. I remained behind in this form to protect it and wait for you."

"There were these ancient African guys that I saw recently. They offered to invest me with some kind of additional demon power of some kind. Will this do the same thing for me?" Buffy asked. "Or is it some kind of Excalibur?"

The woman smiled. "I take you have visited with the first Watchers. Theirs was a well-intentioned gift, but you already have the power of that additional demon fighting on your side, even though the First tried to separate him from you." She nodded toward Spike with her chin. "As long as you have him, you don't need their gift. What you need is this." For the third time the woman offered Buffy the scythe. This time she took it.

Buffy reached her hand into the light that the woman stood in and wrapped her hands around the golden handle of the scythe. It felt warm to the touch, as if it were alive. As she pulled it into the darker recesses of the secret room, she realized that it had a golden light of its own. She hefted it, testing its weight. Then she swung it over head testing it as a weapon. The blade at the end flashed white as it cut through the air. Spike instinctively stepped back against the wall to get out of the way. Buffy's attention was completely enveloped in the scythe. It felt right. She felt stronger just holding it.

"No one but a slayer can wield it," the woman in the light said.

"What does it do?" Buffy asked.

"It will kill any demon that comes out of the Hellmouth with ease. You simply harvest their heads. But your main job is to reclaim the ring from the ringbearer. You must slice off the hand that wears it. Once you have both the ring and the scythe, you will be able to close the Hellmouth forever. You will still have to destroy any demons left on this side. But those on the other will never again be able to cross through. Not as long as both the ring and the scythe are held by the slayer line."

"What happens if someone else gets a hold of the scythe?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Throw it to your friend," the woman instructed.

Buffy tightened her grip around the scythe once more and threw it over to Spike. He caught it handily, but didn't have it long. It evaporated at his touch and a moment later appeared at Buffy's feet."

"We made sure that it could never be used by anyone other than a slayer. It cannot be captured and used against you. You can pass it in battle to the other slayer who is working with you. But if anyone else touches it, it will fade away."

"What if a potential slayer tries to use it?"

"It won't work for them either. It recognizes only the touch of those who have already been called, of the ones who bears the burden. If the slayer wielding it dies in battle, it will simply return here to my care till the next slayer comes to claim it." The woman's face got softer. "We are all part of one another, you know. Each slayer who has passed on, to some extent exists in the one who serves. You will not be alone in this battle."

"The first slayer told me all slayers must walk alone."

"That's because that was her experience. She was the original slayer. She had to walk alone. Though she lives in us, I believe she is a little jealous of all those who came after. Forgive her and move on. The First would like very much for every slayer to continue that lonely walk, for a single soldier is easier to pick off than a battalion. When a slayer feels alone they become easier to destroy. Surely you saw that with Chloe. And guessed it in Nikki."

"Is there any way of killing the First?" Buffy asked.

"No. He is necessary to the balance of things. It is his job to test the evil that lives in all hearts, minds, and souls. It is only through facing the evil and darkness within that true strength can be attained. Without the First, this would not be possible. Time is growing short. You must return to your work. I will be there if you need me." And the funnel of light and the woman contained within it changed to mist and disappeared.

Buffy stood in silence for a moment, running her hands over the glowing golden scythe.

"You know" Spike said, "Joan of Arc was supposed to have had a special sword. Given to her by one of her voices. St. Catherine I think it was."

"If we drive really fast, do you think we could get back to my house before daylight?"

Spike sighed. He'd been kind of hoping for another night alone at the abandoned hotel. There was no way of knowing if the closeness they'd experienced during the day would continue or be forgotten in the heat of the coming battle. But Buffy was the slayer and she had to follow her destiny. "Maybe. At least there probably won't be any other traffic on the road."

"Let's go," Buffy said, leading the way out.

- - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the Scoobies spent the night up to their necks in Uber-vamps and blood. Two more potentials died. And they barely slowed the army of advancing monsters.

"We can't fight them as we are," Angel said, when they returned to Buffy's with their decreased and exhausted numbers. "We need some kind of edge."

"Perhaps Buffy will find something," Faith said. She was at Angel's side, as she had been all evening. They'd fought side by side earlier in the night, the advance team in the onslaught against the First. Since Faith had been inside Angel's mind she understood his way of thinking, his approach, his strategy. It was as if they'd been a team for years, they were so much in synchronization.

"Unfortunately," Giles said, "We don't know if Buffy is coming back. We haven't heard anything from her or Spike in quite some time."

"Willow," Angel said," As the resident witch here, is there anything you can propose?"

"I've been thinking about it, actually," Willow said. Excitement shown in her eyes despite her fatigue. "I've been wondering if I could try closing the Hellmouth by magic."

"Can you do that by yourself?" Xander asked.

"It would be better if I had help," Willow admitted.

"I'll do it," Anya offered. She was standing next to Xander feeling as tired as everyone else. But at least this was something she could do better than fighting.

Kennedy leaned up against Willow to get her attention. "But will you need to draw extra power . . . like you did with Dawn and I when you tried to bring Buffy back from the past?"

"I've been thinking about that too," Willow nodded excitedly. "And I can try drawing it from the Turok-han."

Giles's eyebrows fluttered up and down. "I don't know if it will work. But at least it might serve as a distraction to allow us to fight more efficiently."

"Then let's do it," Faith said. "Angel and I will lead in tomorrow night. Willow and Anya will stay at our center, protected on all sides by the rest of you. Then you'll have the cover you need to begin the spell."

"And hope for the best," Xander said. "Even if we fail, we'll go down fighting." As much as he had complained to Buffy the last time he saw her about the cost of their fight. He realized now that it was the only thing to do. It was better than waiting to die or running off and postponing the inevitable.

The group around Xander agreed silently. They were too tired to talk anymore.

"Nothing left to do then except to get some sleep," Faith said.

The group dispersed to their various corners. A few of them stopped in the kitchen to eat. Faith and Angel were the only ones still standing in the front hallway, where they had begun the night's adventures.

"Well," Angel said to Faith in a low voice, "I guess I'd better be getting downstairs. I'm not really looking forward to bunking in with Giles and that principal guy. But Anya made it clear that she and Xander have the kitchen. And I think the potentials feel a little uncomfortable around me."

"You're welcome to share my room," Faith offered.

Angel hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh, it's not a come-on or anything. You can sack out on the floor. I promise not to take any liberties."

"No. I think not. You're the leader now. You should have your own space."

"I don't really want to be the leader, you know," Faith said, leaning hard into the door. "I don't like being responsible for whether or not everyone lives or dies."

Angel turned into her, his arm blocking off their conversation from the potentials wandering in the livingroom. "I know. But that's what a slayer does. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don't. But the point is to keep on trying so that a whole lot more people don't die."

Faith looked away from Angel toward the two potentials who were settling down in the diningroom. Her liquid brown were eyes sharply worried. "We may not be able to stop the dieing," she said. "Only postpone it. I think this thing is much bigger than we are."

"We'll do what we can. And it's possible Willow will succeed in closing the Hellmouth."

"You know . . . I once wanted to be Buffy." Faith shook her head slowly. "I don't anymore."

"So, be Faith instead. We need your daring bravado here."

Faith smiled up at Angel. "Yeah, well, I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't be able to do this without you."

"Sure you would."

"No. This is the kind of time when you need to know you have someone you trust watching your back. And even if these people voted me in as leader over Buffy, they didn't do it because of me. They did it because they were angry at Buffy. I need someone that I really know is in my corner."

"Well, happy to be of service. Now you better get some sleep. The sun will be up soon. You're going to need your strength."

"Yeah." Faith ran her hand intimately across Angel's chest. "See you later." And she made her way off to Buffy's room as Angel headed down to the basement.

- - - - - - - - - -

The last shadows of night were starting to fade when Buffy and Spike rode up to the Summers' house. Spike drove up to the curb and came to a stop.

"Front entrance or back?" he asked.

"Definitely front," Buffy said.

Buffy led the way to the front door, never hesitating. She had determined that she would do what was necessary and not bother to think about anything else. She opened the door wide and entered, leaving Spike to close it behind her.

By that time the house was settling down. There were potentials sleeping in the livingroom and diningroom. They looked up as Buffy and Spike came in.

"All right!" Buffy announced, "I've got some new information." And she flipped the glowing scythe up and around for emphasis. "Go get Faith and Giles," she said, pointing the scythe at a couple of the girls in the livingroom. "Tell them I'm back."

"Buffy! You're home!" Xander said, coming in from the kitchen with Anya close behind. He wanted to run up to her and hug her, apologize for everything they'd said the last time they'd seen her. But the businesslike look on Buffy's face and the large shining weapon in her hand kept him from it.

"Xander," Buffy said. "How many have you lost?" She didn't need to count to know that there were a lot less potentials than there were when she'd left.

"More than we'd like," Xander admitted. "The First has been churning out an army of Uber-demons."

"I know. He tried to capture me near the vineyard, but Spike saved me and we went to check out that mission that Giles sent him to. That's where I got this." She held up the scythe just as Giles and the principal appeared behind Xander.

"Buffy, you're back," Giles said. There wasn't the same ring of joy in his voice that there had been in Xander's. It was more a statement of fact. Since he couldn't see any real happy ending to any of this, he couldn't move himself to be joyful about anything. "What's happened?"

Faith appeared at the top of the stairs with Willow, Kennedy and Dawn close behind. "Buffy!" Faith called. She was the happiest of all to see the blond return. Now all the weight of the world wouldn't be on her anymore.

From down the hall at the entryway to the kitchen, Angel finally appeared. He was subtle about his entrance, almost as if he were ashamed to be there. But there was no way he could hide.

"Angel!" Buffy said, her face and voice full of surprise. Behind her Spike's face darkened.

"Hi, Buffy," Angel said, moving forward a touch.

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked him to come," Faith said, coming downstairs. "I needed his backup."

Buffy nodded. It made sense. But she didn't need this added emotional distraction. Too much was happening . . . had happened. "Fine. Then you need to hear this too." Buffy gave them a shortened version of what had happened with the woman in the light, the scythe, and what it was supposed to do. "What's been happening here," she asked Faith. She still felt hurt that everyone had chosen Faith over her. But she was mindful of what the woman in the light had told her. All slayers were connected. She owed Faith respect, even if she hadn't always liked her. And for better or for worse, Faith had been the leader in her absence.

"We've lost a lot of our people," Faith said. "I think most of Sunnydale is empty now except for us. And they've been sending armies of those super- vamps against us."

"Well, this should help with that," Buffy said.

"Later tonight Willow was going to try and use her magic to close the Hellmouth. Anya was going to help her. Angel and I were going to lead the way into the vineyard while they did their magic."

"We should still do that," Buffy said. She was respecting Faith's role as the leader in her absence, but she was assuming command now. "Except that Spike and I will lead. It will give the scythe a chance to harvest a few heads as we go in. Faith and Angel can follow. Then Willow and Anya will do their thing. That will give us a three way battle with a couple of surprises."

"I tried to call my crew in Los Angeles just before you got here," Angel said. "But there was no answer. Things are crazy there as well. By the time they start out, they probably won't be here before tomorrow."

"Right," Giles said. "I suppose we should all try and get some sleep now. Spike, I believe you're down in the basement with the rest of us. Since you've been gone, it's sort of become the boy's dormitory. With the exception of Xander, that is." Giles shot the young man in question a look of disapproval.

Spike started to move forward, but Buffy stopped him. "No. He's with me," she said.

A silence descended over the group. Everyone got Buffy's meaning. It wasn't entirely unexpected considering how clear she'd been lately about his importance to her. But it was still a surprise to hear it announced.

"We kind of gave away your room," Anya said sheepishly.

"No, that's fine," Faith said. "They should have privacy. I'll move my things." And she quickly ran upstairs, eager to give up Buffy's room.

At that, most of the other people standing there started to fade away, leaving only those closest to Buffy.

"We're glad to have you back, Buff," Xander said, trying to make his voice sound more casual than it felt. Then he and Anya wandered off to the kitchen.

"Buffy . . . I," Giles said. But he couldn't find the words. "Welcome back," was all he could come up with. They'd been so much at odds of late. They obviously needed to sit down for a very long talk. But now wasn't the time. So, he turned and walked back to the basement. The principal was already down there.

Willow pursed her lips, trying to come up with the right words. In the end, she decided for action. She came down the stairs the rest of the way and hugged her friend as hard as she could. Then as she pulled away and kissed Buffy on the cheek. "Welcome back," she said with a little smile. Then she led Kennedy back upstairs to their room.

Dawn came next. She took Buffy's hand and squeezed it. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"I know," Buffy said. She gave her sister an embrace, holding the scythe out and away from herself. "It wasn't you. It was the First talking."

"But still . . ."

"We'll just pretend it didn't happen."

"But it did. I just want you to know I'm sorry."

"I know."

Dawn turned and started back up the stairs, touching Spike's arm on the way, to let him know she hadn't forgotten about him. "Night, Spike," she said.

"Night, 'Bit," Spike said.

From the open hallway next to the stairs, Angel had been watching all this. It was good to see they were all trying to put the First's nonsense behind them. Although there would still have to be some healing of the angers it had uncovered.

"I hope you don't mind my coming," Angel said, awkwardly. "I don't want to step on your toes here. But I couldn't turn Faith down."

"I understand," Buffy said, pursing her lips. "You two have become close."

"You and Spike too, it would seem." Angel shot a look at Spike. He wasn't sure yet how he felt about this whole thing between Buffy and Spike. He could tell by Spike's hooded expression that he wasn't happy to have Angel there. But for Buffy's sake Angel intended to keep things civil.

"A lot of things have happened over the last year or so," Buffy said.

"Yeah. With me too," Angel said. "But I'll catch you up on all that later. So, Spike . . . you got yourself a soul. Gotta hand it to you. Angelus would never have let me do that. And you and Buffy . . . well, I guess I should have guessed that too. Darla kind of hinted about it. She talked to Dru you see, and she said that you and Dru had broken up and she bet that I couldn't guess who you were in love with now. But I didn't pursue it."

"Wait a minute," Buffy said, waving her free hand. "You talked to Darla? Isn't she dead?"

Angel made a face. "Well . . . she came back . . . But she's dead again now. That's a part of the long story that I have to catch you on."

"I can hardly wait."

"I think it's better if you two get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow."

The sun was coming up in earnest by then. Buffy realized he was right. She nodded and moved off toward the stairs with Spike close behind.

Angel wasn't sure what to do with himself. He really didn't want to go back downstairs to the basement and be stared at suspiciously by the other two men. The hallway was clear. He wondered if maybe he couldn't just sink down there and sleep by the stairs.

- - - - - - - - - -

By the time Buffy and Spike came into the bedroom Faith had gathered her things and straightened the bed.

"It's all clear," Faith said. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed it."

"No," Buffy said leaning against the door. "There was no reason to waste a whole bedroom when the rest of the house is so crowded."

"It wasn't even my idea," Faith said. "The others kind of insisted."

Buffy just nodded, not wanting to get into a discussion about her being voted out.

"And I hope you don't mind me calling in Angel either," Faith said. "I know I always play self-sufficient. But I really needed someone here I knew I could trust."

Buffy glanced at Spike. She knew exactly what Faith meant. When Buffy had talked to Angel downstairs she'd felt as if they were almost strangers. But there was very obviously a bond between him and Faith. That mind thing that Faith had talked about might be part of the reason. But they'd always had a bond. "I understand," Buffy said. And she did.

Faith closed the door as she left and went downstairs, wondering where she was going to sleep. The diningroom maybe? There hadn't been a lot of potentials in there. The claw foot table somehow made it hard to spread out. Then she saw Angel, sitting with his back against the stairwell. "Hey. Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Sure, plenty of room," Angel said.

"How ya doin'?" Faith asked. "About Buffy and Spike, I mean." After having spent some time in his mind she had a pretty good idea of the depth of his feelings for the other slayer . . . And for Cordelia, although she hadn't mentioned it.

"It's a little weird. But it's all right. I don't know why I didn't see it. William the Bloody, scourge of the slayers! But for some reason he could never kill Buffy, no matter how much he ranted and raved about it. I kept expecting him to. Then when he didn't, I wondered why he was always hanging around Sunnydale. Why he didn't go off and look for excitement elsewhere."

"They're really tight. You should see them fight together. They're a real team . . . Sort of like we were tonight."

"Yeah, I guess we work pretty well together."

"Damn straight."

- - - - - - - - - -

Upstairs, Buffy had left the scythe leaning against the wall by the closet. Now she was rummaging around the room, putting her belongings in place just the way she was ordering things in her mind.

Spike watched her at first, not wanting to interrupt. He'd been glad to hear her acknowledge him in front of everyone. But at the same time he wondered if maybe it was a bit of grandstanding to impress Angel. "Buffy? Luv? Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable with me going downstairs?"

"What?" Buffy said. She had kicked off her shoes and was then putting them in the closet, busily arranging several other pairs around it.

"I said . . . would you prefer me to go downstairs."

"No," she said, getting up. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking." She crossed to him and slipped her arms around him under his duster. She snuggled into him, head resting her face against his chest.

"What about?"

"Last year. Was most of what happened because of the First? You and me treating each other the way we did? Xander and Anya's wedding falling apart? Willow and Tara? . . . Dawn's stealing?"

"It might have been. A bit strange everything fell apart at once. It took big magic to bring you back from the dead. And magic's always got consequences."

"I'm sorry . . . For all the times I hurt you."

Spike swallowed. "I'm sorry I hurt you too."

Buffy pulled away from his chest and looked into his eyes. "You know how much I depend on you, don't you? How much I need you?"

"I need you too, pet," he said, fondling her hair, enjoying the play of light and shadow in her blond hair. "You know I love you."

"I love you too," she said.

A thousand emotions passed over Spike's face at once, as if he couldn't believe what she'd said.

"Facing an apocalypse makes you think of the important stuff," Buffy said. "The important people."

Spike tightened his arms around her and kissed her hard, as if trying to pull her into himself. With a sense of urgency he backed her toward the bed and they made love, coupling with an intensity they'd never shared before. Both knew this could be their last time together. Their last chance to be all they wanted to be to each other.

Afterwards, Buffy didn't want to go to sleep. She wanted to hold onto this moment forever. But then her eye was caught by the scythe gleaming in a stray beam of sunlight from the closed curtains. It seemed to be saying that she could rest, that the slayers of the past would not let her down. And somehow, she fell asleep.