Spike lay on his back on the bed he shared with Tara, tears streaming down his face to soak the pillow on either side. He listened to the muffled sound of Dawn and Buffy quietly talking for a few moments, then a single set of footsteps going up the stairs. A moment later, he heard the bedroom door beginning to swing slowly open, and turned over on his side to avoid contact.

"Spike?" Dawn's voice was soft, hesitant. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy, Niblet. Why would you ask?" he said in a bitterly sarcastic tone.

Dawn frowned, fighting back her indignation, trying to remember how hard this had to be for him. "Well you don't have to get so snippy about it," she pointed out, a bit huffy.

He turned over to look at her as he snapped back, "Sorry, there, Bit. Next time my world goes spinning on its head, I'll try and remember to be extra nice about it so as not to hurt your feelings."

The anger she would normally have felt about his using that tone, those words, with her vanished at the sight of the obvious pain and confusion in his eyes, and his tear-streaked face. Silently she sat down on the edge of the bed, placing her small warm hand on his arm.

"She's not like she was then, Spike. You know that, right?" she asked him quietly, seeking his eyes.

But he was already avoiding eye contact again. "Yeah," he answered her with a deep, tired breath. "I know. It doesn't make it any easier, though. I see her, and all I think about is…" His words cut off as he was unable to go any further without more tears, and would not allow himself to break down in front of Dawn. Not again. She had been his support for the past few weeks, she and Tara, and now it was his turn to be strong for her.

But she seemed to feel differently. "It's all right," she said gently, running her hand soothingly up and down his arm as she spoke, and he was struck by how much older she sounded than she had only weeks before. A pang struck him; the girl had been forced to do some growing up lately. "It's okay. It's just gonna take some time. She knows that, too."

Just then, they both heard the sound of the front door opening. "That's Tara," Dawn said unnecessarily. "I'm gonna go tell her. Unless you want to?"

He just shook his head.

Giving his arm one more gentle squeeze, she stood up and walked out into the a style'text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href"http/ onmouseover"window.status'Search for: living room'; self.qlskeyphrase'living20room'; if(window.event) self.qlseventwindow.event.srcElement; self.qltimeout setTimeout('qldoMouseOver(1)', 1000); self.qlisOverLinktrue; return true;" onclick"if(self.qltimeout) clearTimeout(self.qltimeout); self.qlisOverTip false; qlcloseiframe(); self.qlskeyphrase'living20room'; window.status'Search for: living room';return true;" onmouseout"window.status''; if(self.qltimeout) clearTimeout(self.qltimeout); self.qlisOverTip false; setTimeout('qlcloseiframe()', 1500); " living room /a . Once more he heard the sound of hushed voices in conversation; once more one set of footsteps going upstairs; and again, the bedroom door swung open. He lay with his back to the door, waiting.

After a moment, he felt the slight pressure of the mattress shifting, as Tara laid silently down behind him, putting her arm around him. "Hey, Baby," she said, and her warm, gentle tone by itself nearly brought back the tears. "You okay?"

He nodded without saying a word, but she knew it was a lie, and he knew that she knew.

"It's all right, Sweetheart," she whispered in his ear. "Everything is different now. She's not like she was, and she's not gonna hurt you."

"I know," he whispered, the tears flowing again.

"Baby, I know this is hard," Tara went on, her soft melodic voice soothing him. "I know this is probably the hardest thing you've ever been through. But I want you to know that I'm here for you, and whatever you need, I'm gonna be that for you. Okay?"

Before she had even finished her simple promise, her lover had turned suddenly in her arms, taking her by surprise, capturing her still-moving lips in an almost frantic kiss. Instantly she responded, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him tighter, as he clutched desperately at her, as if he would never let go. There was a desperation in his kiss, as he urgently sought the reassurance he needed in her embrace.

He pulled away, breaking the kiss, needlessly breathless. Still clutching at her arms, his forehead leaning against hers, he whispered, "You love me." It was a question and a statement at once.

"So much," she whispered back immediately, nodding against his head.

"Gonna be here."

"Always."

"Not going anywhere."

"Never," she promised, and felt him relax against her, his insecurities relieved by her gentle reassurances. She just held him a few minutes longer, leaving soft tender kisses on his lips, his face, his throat, using the psychic connection they now shared to allow her love to flow over him, enveloping him, comforting him, until she felt the last of the tension ease from his body, and knew that he finally felt safe.

Slowly she pulled away from the embrace, her hand behind his head continuing to gently stroke through his disheveled blonde curls.

As she sat up, she said quietly, "Mr.Giles should be here soon. His plane got in at 5:00, and Xander was picking him up at the airport. He was going to come straight here." Her eyes widened. "Oh my God! Xander doesn't even know about Buffy! They're gonna be so happy!"

Spike managed a small smile at her words. As he sat up and put his feet on the floor, taking a deep breath to steady himself, he resolutely echoed the reassurances she had given him.

"Everything's gonna be okay."

Upstairs, Dawn sat awkwardly on the edge of her bed, trying not to stare too much at her sister, who sat just as awkwardly in a chair across from her, desperately avoiding eye contact.

"We were so worried about you, Buffy," Dawn said, forcing a smile. "We're so glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said in a small, timid voice. "I didn't mean to scare you. I woke up and I was just – so confused. I didn't even know who I was at first. I went off…"

"In your nightgown," Dawn inserted with a grimace.

Buffy nodded slowly, not looking at her. "I didn't even know where I was going. Somehow I ended up…at Spike's crypt." Her voice was almost a whisper now. "And – and then I remembered." Her eyes welled with fresh tears. She finally met her sister's eyes, her own stricken with guilt and panicked pleading. "I couldn't come back, Dawn! Not right then! Not knowing what I'd done to you all! Oh God, Dawnie, I'm so sorry!"

"I know," Dawn said, going to her sister and putting her arms around her. "It's ok, Buffy. It's ok."

Buffy shook her head. "No," she said softly. "It's really not. I'm sorry I hit you…sorry I scared you so bad."

"It wasn't you," Dawn reassured both of them.

"No. In a way it was…it was but it wasn't…" Her voice trailed off and she smiled a sad, rueful smile. "I guess I'm still pretty confused about the whole thing."

"We all are."

Buffy's eyes darkened with memory, and she looked back up at her sister with a fearful expression on her face. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me, Dawnie?"

Dawn did not want to make promises that may or may not actually come to pass. But deep in her heart, she was sure that eventually Spike would come around. While under the control of the thing that had possessed her, Buffy had done terrible things to him. But in enough time, after he saw that Buffy was back to her true self, he would surely be able to move past it.

"I think so, Buffy," she answered truthfully, with a hesitant nod. "It's just gonna take time, you know? I mean…it was really, really hard on him, Buffy. It's gonna take a while to…to get his trust back, you know?"

"I know," Buffy whispered.

There was another brief awkward silence before Dawn asked softly, "So where have you been these past couple days? We were really scared, we thought maybe something…. something got you."

Buffy smiled an odd, sort of sad smile. "I'm sorry," she repeated, and there was a mournful, haunted look in her green eyes.

"Buffy – what happened…while you were gone?" Dawn asked hesitantly, frowning. "You seem – different." She laughed at her own awkward words and added quickly, "I mean, of course you're different, you're supposed to be, but…I don't know…something…did something happen while you were gone?"

That very odd smile was back on Buffy's face as she answered softly, "I can't hide anything from you, can I Dawnie?"

"Then something did happen?" Dawn frowned in concern. "What? Are you okay, Buffy?"

"No…and yes," Buffy answered cryptically, her arms around her little sister tightening slightly. "It's…really hard to explain."

"Try," Dawn urged her gently. "I want to know what you're dealing with, Buffy. I know this is really hard, but I want to be there for you through this."

"Do you really?" Buffy's intent eyes focused on Dawn's suddenly, and all at once Dawn felt a chill of apprehension. There was something…wrong…in her sister's eyes. Something dark and cold and…different. Not different like she had been during the months of her possession, but still…frightening.

"Of course I do, Buffy," she responded almost automatically, transfixed by her sister's almost hypnotic gaze.

"Well," Buffy began, never taking her eyes off Dawn's. "Like I said…it's hard to put into words…I think I'm going to have to show you."

Tara got up from the couch at the sound of the doorbell, unentangling herself with difficulty from Spike's arms. As expected, Giles and Xander were at the door. Tara was surprised to see that there were tears in the older man's eyes as he looked at her, and even more surprised when he pulled her into a gentle hug. They had never been that close before, but she supposed that his helping her through the recent ordeal had probably made him feel a bond toward her.

"Tara, my dear," he said softly in her ear as he embraced her. "You've saved the world."

Her eyes welled with tears at the gentle admiration she heard in his voice. But when she pulled back to smile at him, she knew immediately that something was wrong by the extreme sorrow she saw in his eyes. Glancing at Xander, she saw that he too looked almost as if he were in shock.

"What – what's wrong?" she asked, frowning, swallowing hard. After all that had happened, she felt sick with dread at the thought of what news these two might have for them.

"Let's – let's sit down, Tara," Giles softly instructed, and she obeyed, taking her place again by Spike, gripping his hand tightly, her anchor.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice low. He had instantly picked up on the odd atmosphere that had entered the room with the two guests.

"I'm afraid I have very bad news," Giles said, sitting across from them in an armchair, and taking off his glasses to clean them.

Xander had been about to sit down; as Giles spoke he suddenly turned and rushed toward the bathroom, obviously sick. Giles cast a pitying glance after the boy before turning back to them and taking a deep breath.

"I know you've been wondering about Buffy's whereabouts since she disappeared…" he began.

Tara smiled hopefully. "But that's just it…" she started.

Giles held up a hand. "I'm sorry, dear, but if you could please just let me get this out." He paused before adding more quietly. "If I don't now I'm afraid I might not be able to."

Tara respectfully remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm afraid we must abandon hope of finding her well. I've just spoken with the Council on the plane, and…and it seems…another Slayer has been called."

Tara's heart skipped a beat. "How is that possible?" she asked slowly, her eyes widening as she frowned.

Spike sat forward in his seat a little, also frowning, his eyes intent on the Watcher. "What about that other bird? Faith, innit? Something might have happened to her."

"No," Giles insisted, shaking his head. "We've checked on that, and she is still alive and well. And as we have no idea where Buffy is at this moment, we can only assume that she is…no longer among the living."

Tara and Spike exchanged a panicked glance as the truth dawned on both of them.

"Dawn," Tara whispered, and Spike jumped to his feet. He rushed to the stairs, Tara at his heels, reaching them just as a loud crashing sound was heard from the bedroom upstairs.

Followed by a child's terrified scream.