Bess stepped into the woods and changed into her ceremonial robes. Clad in dark purple, she stood at the peak of the pentacle and asked them all to clasp hands and raise them skyward. In a loud, ringing voice, she invoked the spirits that would animate the body. She poured out the blood that had been dropped into the cup from each of their slit palms.

The four that had known Buffy best jumped when a hand reached over the edge of the hole where her casket lay. Panicked eyes met startled eyes as they all watched the blonde-haired body move jerkily out of the hole. It stood and stared, eyes vacant, into the hole it had just climbed out of.

"Saw this, saw this!" Willow murmured frantically beneath her breath. "If I hear her say a WORD about brains, I'm leaving!"

Tara squeezed her hand. "It'll be OK. Send her the love you have for her," she whispered softly.

Bess motioned for the group members to lower their hands.

"Willow, come here," she said. "Lay down next to the grave. I will have Buffy laying with her head facing yours. I will put my hands on both of your heads and say a spell to transfer her mind and essence from your body into hers.

"Spike, Giles, Tara ... I need you three each with candles standing around us. I will need all your love, your energy, being sent to the three of us, OK?"

Willow leaned over and kissed Tara softly, squeezing her hand. "I don't know how this will end," she said softly. "But Tara, I want you to know something. No matter what happens, I am, and will always be, your friend. I love you so much."

Giles looked softly at her.

"I ... am proud of you, Willow," he said. "You have been so strong."

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Thank you," she said, raising her chin a little.

"Red ..." Spike said, his eyes caring and worried. He'd come to appreciate the fire and courage of Buffy's introverted best friend. They'd grown to be friends of a sort, patrolling together. Every fiber of him wanted Buffy back, but he didn't want to see Willow hurt, either.

"You too," she said, squeezing his shoulder.

Willow lay down, her red hair in vivid contrast to the grass beneath her. Bess motioned for Buffy to lay down as well. Jerkily, the blonde knelt and then lay flat.

Bess knelt between them and her eyes went white as she began murmuring her spell. Tara jumped as a crack of lightning split the night sky above them. Thunder rolled nearly continuously as Bess's body arched, straining to reunite the essence and body of one without harming the other.

Tara's hand reached unconsciously for Giles' when she saw her lover's body go limp. He squeezed it firmly.

Bess let out a cry of pain as a cut appeared on her forehead.

"This isn't supposed to happen," Giles said. "This is white magic reanimation. There's dark here somewhere. Tara, help me."

The two of them stood in front of and behind Bess. Harking back to his Ripper days, Giles began murmuring spells that he knew would show the dark spirits in the area. The demons were thick and dark -- none wanted the Slayer to be back to herself.

Giles paused briefly. "Tara, use your magic for protection. I will battle them."

With none of the hesitation she sometimes had, Tara began calling out to the forces of good. Her hair began to lift upward in an unseen wind. Her face glowed with unearthly light as her voice deepened. A white light lit up the clearing, helping show the location of the demons.

Giles's spirit, on the other hand, stepped away from his body, spirit-sword in hand. He dashed to the dark spirits around them and began fighting. Though it had been long since he'd fought on the astral plane, the memories came back quickly. Quick swordstrokes decapitated demons left and right. Others lay bleeding and broken. He stood easily in the onslaught, bolstered by the protection of Tara's white magic and his own deep-seated power.

They were welded together with their caring about the ones they loved. Spike stood silent and watchful, listening to the battle around him. He lent his own will, his own strength to Bess as she seemed to be nearing the end of her spell.

A burst of white light illuminated the clearing brighter than a camera flash, and Bess fell to the ground in a slump. The three bodies on the ground didn't move.

Tara closed her eyes, tired herself, and Giles' body shook briefly as his spirit re-entered his body. He put a hand around her waist and the two of them stood to the side, waiting to see what would happen. Bess roused first, looking up, her hair damp with sweat. A trembling hand wiped the blood from the cut from her forehead.

"It's done," she said. "We'll know the results in a matter of moments."

Spike reached out to Bess, pulling her up. Swaying slightly, she stood next to the vampire. All jumped when the redhead sat up.

Tara dashed to Willow and knelt in front of her. There was no recognition in the redhead's eyes. Tears welled up in Tara's eyes.

"Hey, baby," she whispered, her voice thick with tears. "Are you OK?"

Willow looked in confusion at the curvy blonde.

"Where am I?" she said.

"You had to help a friend," Tara replied.

Willow tilted her head to the side. "Tara," she said thoughtfully. "Your name is Tara."

"Yes," she replied, helping Willow stand.

Spike knelt next to Buffy, who had not yet responded. He lay a hand on her chest and looked up in wonder, first at Giles, and then the others.

"I feel her heart beat," he said with tears in his eyes. "I ... hear it. And for the first time in a hundred years, I don't want to drink that blood, that aphrodisia, that power. It's her heart, and it's beating again. My heart almost feels like it could beat again. You may not believe me, but there's love. That's all that matters."

Bess smiled softly.

"Wake her up, Prince Charming," she said.

Giles gave a glare, more out of habit than anything, as Spike leaned over and planted a soft kiss on the Slayer's lips. With a gasp, she sat up. The first thing she saw was the vampire, and rather than reach for a stake, she reached for him.

He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.

"Let's get back," Spike said.

The six walked out of the forest, Willow and Tara hand in hand, the vampire carrying the Slayer, and the two older spellcasters side by side.

The future was not certain, but for the moment, they were together.