Title: Forgiving Evil
Chapter 8/12: The Return
(see chapter one for more details)
The ringing of the phone woke Dawn from her peaceful slumber on the living room couch. She was a little disoriented as she turned to see that she had been sleeping on Spike's shoulder and she suddenly remembered the previous night. She got up and walked across the room. As she was about to reach for the phone it stopped ringing. She shrugged and went back to Spike, nudging him to wake him up.
"No, not the midget! He needs his tricycle or else he can't go to the tea party!" Spike mumbled, still unconscious. Dawn giggled and shook him a bit harder. He didn't budge.
'God, he sleeps through anything!' she thought to herself. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Spike, its morning and you need to wake up 'cause it won't be good if Xander comes back and finds you asleep on our couch." Spike still didn't respond. Dawn signed heavily. "Spike! I'm pregnant with Xander's child!" she yelled into his ear.
Spike's eyes shot open and he was off the couch in an instant. Dawn was in a fit of giggles as Buffy descended the stairs.
"Dawn? What are you doing up this early and what are you laughing at?" Buffy turned at the bottom of the steps and noticed Spike. "Hey, what are you still doing here? I thought you would have got out of dodge post-haste after last night. And by the way, thanks." She placed a kiss on his cheek and then went to the hall closet for her coat. "Anya just called. Scooby meeting in fifteen minutes at the Magic Box. Xander will not be attending so that leaves us…do you want to come Spike?"
Spike was taken off guard but agreed nonetheless. Dawn dressed and Spike grabbed his blanket. They headed out to the car and ducked inside to escape the rain that was still coming down in sheets. Spike removed his blanket when he realized it was still incredibly dark out, due to the storm. They were half way to their destination when Spike spoke up from the back seat.
"Buffy, luv, when did you learn to drive?" he asked. Buffy chuckled and Dawn turned around to answer him. "She took Driver's Ed this summer and, with my help, passed with flying colors!" Dawn smiled triumphantly as Buffy made a 'pfft' noise.
They arrived at the Magic Box and ran inside. Spike closed the door behind him and removed his soaked duster. Following suite, Dawn and Buffy also removed their wet jackets. "Next time, we bring umbrellas and raincoats." Dawn stated as she took a seat at the new round table. Spike took a look around and couldn't help but notice how much better the shop looked than he would have thought. Buffy took a seat by Dawn and Spike leaned against the railing by the stairs.
Anya appeared from the stock room carrying a box. She gently placed it on the table in front of the sisters and started emptying it while she spoke. "I've been hearing gossip, of the demon variety of course, that this storm isn't natural. They have this theory that the storm is a warning."
"What kind of warning? Like a 'get out of town' warning for the demons?" Dawn asked.
"Precisely." Anya stated. Spike stayed silent as they talked amongst themselves. "I think it means the return of an old evil…"
As Anya spoke she turned to place some inventory on a shelf, but when she caught sight of Spike, she stopped.
Noticing that conversation had stopped, Spike looked up.
"How?" Anya asked.
"How what, pet?" He asked warily. 'Bloody hell, she can sense the soul! Stay calm, stay calm stay calm…'
"How did you do it? Is that why you left? To get it?" She persisted.
"Spike?" Buffy questioned as she rose from her seat.
He looked to Dawn.
"Demon crazy talk?" Dawn supplied.
"Oh my God, I can see you!" Anya exclaimed, and in a move that through Spike off guard, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. "Congratulations on your new soul, Spike!"
Dawn watched Buffy's face carefully, gauging her reaction.
"Spike," she said tentatively, "is it true? You really have a soul?"
"Yes, luv. That's why I went to Africa."
There was silence for a few moments. Dawn looked from Buffy and then to Spike. She also noticed that Anya looked kind of guilty. She hadn't meant to spill the secret.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Buffy whispered.
In a second he was by her side. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel an obligation to me. I wanted out relationship to be about us, not the soul. I'm sorry, I should have told you."
"No, no. It's okay. I get why you didn't tell me." She smiled. "I'm so happy for you."
"I'm really sorry to break up the special moment, but I think we should get back on track with the demony sorm warning thingy." Anya stated.
"So what so we think it's a warning against?" Dawn asked. "We don't know how to prepare unless we know what's coming…or what's already here."
"Well," Anya hesitated, "As I said, I've heard that a storm like this one means the return of an old evil. Not old as in age, but old as in we've fought them before."
They all took a minute to process this information. "So we're fighting something we already defeated? That makes no sense." Dawn replied. The three girls talked back and forth and didn't seem to notice that the storm had come to a halt outside. The clouds moved aside and the rain had stopped, revealing a beautiful California day. They also didn't notice the annoying sound of the bell above the door ring.
"Um, ladies, I believe we don't need to worry about preparing." He said above their voices. Buffy turned to him with a fearful expression.
"What do you mean? It's…" Buffy began.
"…Already here." Spike finished.
The three girls turned to face what Spike was looking at and three distinct gasps were heard above the silence of shock. In the doorway of the Magic Shop stood modest little Willow Rosenberg.
"Hi guys."