Willow stood with her back to Tara and the First Lady each of her hands in one of theirs. They held hands too, the three of them forming a triangle. Lord Marbury arranged them saying "here stands the focus." No one except him was allowed to speak until he said so.

C.J had one hand on Abbey's shoulder. Donna stood on C.J's other side, their hands clasped.

"The one who came before and the one who came after," Marbury intoned.

Toby stood on the outside of the circle they were forming, behind Donna. His expression said quite clearly that this was much further into the magic than he had ever wanted to go. The President was standing behind Abbey. He thought that everyone else was crazy. He couldn't believe that this was going to work. But if Marbury was in charge and had said that it was his duty to make sure Abbey didn't go too far, than damned if it would his fault it didn't work.

Anya held Tara and Willow's clasped hands. She was to be the vessel of need. She raised her eyebrows at that. Marbury had shrugged before pushing Xander into the circle beside her. Spike was next, much to Xander's chagrin.

"We call her back to her greatest strengths, her heart and her fight and her love."

Dawn hang on tight to Spike's hand staring blankly in front of her. When Giles had said that they were going to get Buffy most of her had thought that he meant metaphorically, or something equally proper and disappointing. The rest of her had squealed and hid.

Giles stood facing the space left between Donna and Dawn, directly opposite Anya.

Lord Marbury walked around their circle in the middle of basement C of the White House and read the Latin phrases from the little book in his palms. No one heard what he was reading over the beating of their hearts or their breathing. Except Spike, who heard everyone else's breathing. And the President who was trying to translate in his head but kept getting confused by the repetitions.

Slowly the power in the room built. Even the President could feel it and he wondered, vaguely about the secret service agents outside the door. The circle was being pulled together fiercely. They would have been pulled into the middle except for the three men outside, standing fast.

The magic in the little circle between the three witches was becoming visible. It formed a cylinder or swirling cloud, white, blood red and black. The President's concentration kept flicking between Abbey and the Thing at her back. Everyone else's was drawn to the gathering power in the space between Dawn, Donna and Giles.

Slowly it coalesced into the shape of Buffy. Then even more slowly the form took on colour and solidity. The cloud turned bright blue for a moment before Abbey clenched her teeth. Slowly the blue receded.

Buffy looked around at the gathered group.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked. She sounded worried.

"Ma'am, my name is John Marbury," Marbury said.

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "And you're in charge?"

"Yes."

"What am I doing here?"

"We need you."

Buffy smiled brightly. "That's great, really, but you know, I retired. In fact I died. I'd really like it stay that way."

"It can't," Marbury said.

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Why not?" she asked sharply.

"We need you. Everyone here needs you to come back. There are things yet that you need to do. Your resurrection opens gates the world needs to walk thought."

"Well, that's odd. See I thought the world didn't do very much walking on its own. And the walking that it did do, I did. I died; I'd like to rest. It's kinda nice here, you know?"

"I do."

The quiet solemnity in his voice stopped Buffy.

"Hey guys," she said.

She turned so she could smile at Dawn and smoothed her hair behind her ear gently. Dawn looked at her, close to tears. Buffy realised that she had missed the feel of her sister's hair. She stepped away quickly seeing Xander's avid look and the growing fear in Willow's eyes.

"Who are these people?" she asked Marbury.

Marbury gave their names, and their talents. Buffy nodded.

"Why do they need me?" she asked.

They looked strong and healthy enough. The two slayers were intriguing. Both for the fact that they were slayers and the way they were dealing with it. The younger one was worried she would loose her skills. The older one wasn't pleased with being uncovered. The witch was the strongest person in the room. She didn't look like she liked what was going to happen, but she was resolved to do it. And like Tara, when she had truly decided something, nothing would change her mind.

"That is for them to know, and them alone to tell," Marbury said.

Buffy turned to Spike. "You'll keep Dawn safe?"

"With my life."

"You won't put Spike in extra danger?" she asked Dawn.

Dawn shook her head. Spike wondered what care for him had let her ask the question.

"Tara, Willow, you'll make sure Dawn gets off to school in the mornings and does her homework in the evening?"

"Yes, Buffy, but," Willow said.

"You'll be careful with magic and study hard at college?"

"Yes," Willow answered, her voice small.

"Xander, you'll build buildings that won't fall down?"

"Yes, sir."

"You'll train them, Giles, stay with them and help them keep themselves safe?"

"Buffy," he said. But he couldn't say anything more.

"That's enough for me," she said. In the middle of the circle she couldn't avoid anyone. "I like it here. It's warm and comfortable, and I'm safe, and I know that you'll be safe. I'd miss you if I felt anything, but I don't. Can't you just let me rest?"

She turned the last question on Giles. He looked like a Watcher, though. She wondered how much of him was a Watcher, and how much of the Watcher was a mask. If they had to do this, then he wouldn't give her a chance to use his feelings to talk him out if it. She turned her back on him.

Willow was crying. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. She hadn't noticed. Xander had.

"Isn't once enough, Xander?" Buffy demanded.

"No," Xander said.

His certainty struck Buffy hard. They were going to this, she thought. She was dead, and the love of her friends was going to kill her.

"They made a vow," Marbury said. "They can't stop, no matter what arguments anyone makes."

He was still outside the circle. He seemed closer, or further than he was. More real, and less real than the people around him.

"Don't you dare do this. You can't make me do this, and you aren't going to get me to this because I'm guilty that I told them when they had no choice. They could have not started. They could have trusted me to find my own way out if I wanted to, I did last time. How long has it been?"

"Fifteen days," Spike answered instantly.

"It could have been forever," Buffy said. "I haven't felt like this in forever. I had forgotten what it was. I hate it."

"What do you want?" Marbury asked.

It seemed to be a ritual question. But then his voice had never had the emotion or tone of some affected by what was happening.

"I want to see them fight," Buffy told him, pointing to C.J and Donna.

"The circle can't be broken until the spell is finished."

"If I say I want the spell finished, I'm stuck here, aren't I?" Buffy said.

His face darkened for a moment and Buffy rejoiced.

"I don't believe in this," a voice said.

Buffy turned to face the speaker. It was the man behind Willow, Tara and Abbey. He was Abbey's husband, although he hadn't been pleased with the introduction.

"I don't believe in vampires, or demons. I don't believe in vampire slayers, or witches or magic. I don't believe in rasing the dead. I don't believe it can be done, I don't believe it should be done. But every promise should be kept. You promised to protect these people, they promised to bring you back."

Buffy felt the tears coming. She refused to cry over this. She sighed; even now she couldn't be scared little girl she wanted to be.

"Buffy." It was Dawn.

"I'm sorry, Dawn. I don't want to come back. I won't be able to look after you, I can't keep you safe."

"You don't have to," Dawn said. "It's been horrible without you. I don't need you to keep me safe from the world, Buffy. I just need you. I keep forgetting things, like what mom said to me when I broke my arm."

"She said she'd get you a new one if you were good and didn't cry," Buffy said.

Dawn cracked a smile. "That's right! And she said that you'd never got new arm, ever."

Buffy smiled.

"I want Giles to keep them safe," Buffy told Marbury.

"He can't. He can only train you to."

Buffy nodded. She knew that this was coming. When she'd jumped she wondered at how easy it was. Now she knew why. The pressure of being held between dimensions, or universes, or planes was beginning to tell on her. The guilt she had at leaving her friends and Dawn was coming back full force, even though she had had no choice. And it didn't drown at the anger she felt at them being too weak to leave her alone.

"I want the spell to be over," she told Marbury. The snarl in her voice forced him back a step.

"Let each here regain what they lost," he intoned. "The Slayer, her life. The Key, her teacher. The Spear-maker, his general. The Writer, his deepest friend. The Highest Rank, his rank. The Leader, his faith. The one who knows, her leader. The one who feels, her trust. The one who sees, his heart. The Demon, her strength. The oldest, her calling. The youngest, her choice. The fighter, his focus. The First Witch lost nothing, by that which is hers, let the spell be ended."

Abbey clenched her teeth and shut her eyes. The power passing through her was more than she had ever felt. And she didn't like the feel of it. It had been so long since she'd done this.

The cloud between the witches blurred faster and faster. Red, black and white shifting constantly on the surface. Abbey cried out, and Jed stepped forward. He didn't care what Marbury had said about anything; he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the circle. She fell into his arms, breathing heavily.

The cloud disappeared. Buffy fell to the floor with a moan. Spike fell beside her.