Willow's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as the angry Daywalker let her know just what, exactly, she had done.

"Wh-what's going on?" Buffy asked, looking between the two witches. "Wills?" Her voice sounded so small.

Willow's face crumpled as her tears began to fall uncontrollably. Tara was dead. Was that just one way that God was punishing her for what she had done?

Spike closed the door and took a tentative step toward Bella. An angry, unpredictable witch was not someone he wanted to take by surprise. He made it two steps into the room when she flung herself at him, taking him by surprise. Ah, that was his girl; one of the smartest, most powerful women in the world with the heart of a little girl. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to his chest. He could hear her swirling thoughts, feel the rippling anger and, for the first time since he met her, smelled the faint tinge of fear on her skin.

What the Hell is wrong with these people? she asked him silently. They've created this apocalyptic mess and now I'm expected to make it all better. What if I can't make it better? Me and God, we're not best friends or anything, but I'd like to think we co-exist on pretty decent terms, Spike. I don't know if I can do this.

"I know, Baby," he whispered soothingly against her hair. "But you've got me now. We'll figure this out."

Buffy heard herself echoing his sentiment.

"We'll all figure it out together, Bella. It'll be okay... but I need to know what you think has happened."

"It appears that the ressurrection spell that Willow performed to bring you back," Giles began, "it could have been the catalyst for all that has happened since."

Buffy stared at him, but her eyes didn't hold even a hint of surprise.

"Uh-huh, and the whole thing about God being pissed off?" she asked rather casually.

Spike released Bella. He couldn't believe the progressing thick of which he was in the midst. Willow had known that the spell could have dire consequences. But she insisted on performing it, keeping her fears to herself. If she had left well enough alone... you might never have met Bella, you git, he selfishly thought. But then there was the whole issue of the prophesy.

"Listen, Buffy," Bella sighed and shook her head. How the Hell do you tell someone that they shouldn't exist? That their whole resurfacing had shifted the planes of the universe? "This is really complicated. And I'm just piecing together the story. Angel," she paused. "He didn't tell me everything. In fact, he was pretty damned cryptic. Now I see why. Probably knew that I would have run a million miles in the opposite direction to not be part of this."

Buffy resigned to the seat next to Willow and watched Bella as she began to slowly pace. The Slayer had been ressurrected by the witch... who had used black magick. Dawn, the sister, was an ancient key formed by monks to open the gates to Hell. The vampire... he was ensouled and as far as her mother and the Powers were concerned, he was her soulmate. The others... the Watcher. He looked so tired. The children neglected his authority. Even the Xander and Anya were helpless bystanders in this debacle.

"I think we should call it a night," she finally decided. "There's nothing more to talk about... nothing we can do until I figure this out. I-- I think that... I need to talk to Angel. I have this feeling..."

"You think there's something he's not telling you, Kitten?" Spike asked, brushing the hair from her eyes with his hand.

"Yeah. I think there's a lot of somethings that he's not telling me," she admitted. "Fucking Peaches," she muttered. He grinned down at her.

"Right then," Giles announced, standing. "I'll take Buffy, Dawn and Willow home. I believe we're all in need of some rest."

"Uh, yeah," Xander piped up. "Ahn and I will get going, too. We'll brainstorm, see if there's anything we can remember about that night."

Bella smiled weakly at the boy. It was the first time she'd ever looked upon him with softness.

"Thank you all. I appreciate it. Anything you might remember about that night... or after. And, uh... I know it's nearly impossible, but... I think that the Powers might owe me another special meeting," she blurted out.

Giles looked up, his eyebrow arched. She'd met with the Powers before?

"Uh, tomorrow," Spike said as he ushered them all out the door. "We'll all talk about it tomorrow."

Bella pulled out her cell phone as Spike exchanged a few last words with Giles at the front door.

"Angel?"

"Hey, Bella. What's up in good old SunnyHell?" he asked.

"You fucking son of a bitch--"

"Hey, hey, hey. Language, language--"

"You threw me right into a fucking ring of fire! Something you want to tell me about a ressurrection spell, Soul Asylum?" she seethed. Spike chuckled in the background at her not-so-flattering nickname for his grand-sire. He pulled out the bottle of scotch he'd found earlier figuring she needed a drink and knowing that he did.

"So, uh, guess they told you about Buffy coming back from the grave, huh?"

"The grave? The grave?" Her voice was crackling with fury.

"Well, yeah. She died... well, twice if you want to split hairs, Bella. But, yeah. She died. And her friends brought her back."

"Uh-huh. And do you happen to know just from where they brought her back, Peaches?"

Angel felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the sound of the insult she'd obviously picked up from Spike.

"I don't know, Bella," he responded tightly. "From some Hell dimension, I suppose."

"Guess your Powers didn't bother to tell you that those stupid children ripped her out of Heaven."

She listened to the crackle of shocked silence at the other end.

"Mmm-hmm. Didn't think you were in on the big secret either. We're not just dealing with the forces of evil now, Angel. We're dealing with one seriously brassed-off supreme being. These kids have pissed off God in apocalyptic proportions and now, thanks to you, the Powers and this unfulfilled destiny I seem to have, I have to figure out if there's some way to fix this whole mess without getting anyone else killed. So, any other information that you've got in that thick scull of yours, it would be most appreciated."

She heard the sigh from his end of the line and took it as a sign of resignation.

"Angel?"

"Yeah. I'm here... I-- I didn't know, Bella. I'll be there tomorrow night."

She hung up her phone and sank down into the sofa. Spike handed her a glass of scotch and sat beside her. She sipped at the fiery liquid trying to will herself to put it all out of her mind. At least for the rest of the night. There was nothing else she could do. Not until more of the blanks were filled.

"Don't leave me," she whispered shakily, staring into her glass.

He pulled her to him and kissed her temple tenderly.

"Never leave you, Kitten," he promised. "Love you too damn much."