For Disclaimer - see chapter one

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while - I'm in the middle of exams at the moment!

I'm sad that you guys are confused :'( ... Can you explain at all why it's confusing? I'm sorry, as the writer I guess I just have all the ideas in my head so I know what it all means... Sorry guys.. Yea, just let me know what the dealio is and I'll fix it up for you. I thought that maybe you might have been referring to the continuity of the story in the last chapter, so I've added the three words "Later that night" to the start of the third part of chapter 3 to hopefully sort that out...

THANKYOU wonderful reviewing people - you make me want to write more, and more often! Keep with the reviews, and I'll keep dealing out the chapters.

A/N 2: have edited this chapter after nice reviewers (anyanka & mirrorkills) helped me see i was relying on the script too much. i was really only using it to help readers understand where i was up to according to canon, but yea, i think it may have been a little overbearing. anyway, hope i've cut that stuff out enough, and that you like it better now!

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ANYA
What do you want me to do?

XANDER
Reverse the spell.

ANYA
It's not that easy, Xander... ... None of this happened until you dumped me at the altar.

XANDER
And sooner or later, Anya, that excuse just stops working.

Anya blinked hard and turned away for a moment to regain her composure. As she turned back to face him, she tried not to look into the eyes of the man in front of her, the man she still loved. It hurt to be this close to him and yet feel so distanced.

"Anya, look..." Xander said, speaking more softly this time. "The thing is, I know we're not on the best of terms. But you have to know, you're a demon now... again... and if bad things are happening to people and you're causing them, Buffy's gonna have to, you know, remedy the situation. And for everything that's happened," he put his hand over hers on the table and squeezed it softly "I don't want that."

Anya knew what he said about Buffy was true,but was surprised that he still cared for her enough to worry about her like that. Knowing she would regret it later when she had to explain herself to D'Hoffrin, she nodded slowly and readied herself to reverse the spell.

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When Xander and Anya finally arrived in the alley, Buffy gave them directions to look after the wounded worm-demon come man, then ran after Spike. She had known he would eventually slip up with his little act, but hadn't expected it to happen in this way or to such an extent. The facade having been long-since abandoned, she new he would now be ready to let her help him. Before that though, she would have to find him. Suddenly she caught sight of him running into a chapel up ahead. She sped up a little to cover the distance more quickly, and was soon inside as well.

She listened quietly to the words he said. He had a soul. She could feel the tears start to gradually make their way down her cheeks. She looked down at the floor as the magnitude of the situation began to sink in. He had gotten his soul back, an unthinkable feat - for her.

As she watched him draping himself over the crucifix at the front of the chapel, resting one arm over each side of the cross bar, and his head in the corner of the vertex, she noticed smoke rising where his body touched the cross, and a faint sizzling. She couldn't bear to see him this way, exhausted by madness.

Buffy stepped up to him, carefully turned him around, pulled his head down to her shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist and neck. She felt more comfortable doing so than she had thought she would, and soon found herself rocking from side to side and patting the back of his hair. This went on for some time, until Spike finally lifted his head and whispered softly "I really do love you, you know".

Knowing this was a sign he was ready to leave, Buffy sat him down on one of the few pews remaining unsmashed by their crash-athon earlier and went in search of his shirt and leather duster. After finding them, she carefully dressed him, while he sat limply allowing her to do so. The burn on his chest was red raw, and she made a mental note to find some burn cream when they got home.

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Arriving at the Summers residence twenty or so minutes later, Buffy took Spike down to the basement, then, quietly so as to not wake Dawn, made her way up to the bathroom for medical supplies. losing the medicine cabinet and turning around however, Buffy was startled by her younger sister, who was standing in the middle of the hall with her arms crossed.

"So." Dawn said, clearly angry.

"Dawn!" Buffy said, shaken. "Uhh… What are you doing still up?"

"Waiting. For you." Dawn replied. She paused, then continued "So. Were you just going to let him stay here, and hope I wouldn't notice? Oh yeah, because the sixteen year old is so stupid she wouldn't be at all aware of the VAMPIRE in the BASEMENT! Buffy… I don't want him to hurt you. He shouldn't be here" she finished.

Buffy sighed, tired from the emotional stress the day had brought. She looked into her younger sister's eyes, letting her know that what she had to say now was important. "Dawn… Things have changed. He's changed. He has a… He got his soul back, Dawn."

Dawn gasped, and let her arms hang loosely at her sides. She stepped closer to Buffy. "Are you serious? Buffy.. I didn't think... How?"

"I don't know." Buffy replied shortly. "He's kind of out of it at the moment. I think he still needs some time to come to grips with all the stuff that he's done. He's acting really weird" she said. "No, he's acting really insane" she corrected. "Dawn, I think it's okay, at least for now. We'll just... see how it goes, okay? For now," she held up the ointment and bandages in her hands, "he's in the basement, and he's pretty badly burnt, so I have to go take care of that, but..." Buffy bit her lip and looked anxiously at Dawn "I think it would be best if he stayed here, for now. He needs help, Dawn. Is that okay?"

Dawn was dumbstruck. Spike had a soul. "I suppose so" she said eventually. "Just remember, even people with souls do bad things, Buffy. Be careful."

Buffy nodded. "I will" she said.