Dawn got up quickly to answer the door. "Come on in, guys," she said cheerfully. Spike wasn't sure if Dawn failed to see the direness of the situation they were in, or if she was simply putting on a brave face in an attempt to convince the Scoobies there was no danger. Knowing the younger Summers sister's intelligence, he guessed the latter.

By the looks on the gang's faces, Giles had already filled them in, to a degree. Willow looked close to tears, Tara hovering behind her in an attempt to offer comfort. Xander, predictably, looked furious. Anya's expression was entirely indifferent.

Buffy stood as they entered. "Hey, guys," she said, softly but firmly. The group kept their distance, clearly worried about the danger Buffy may impose. They didn't say anything for several moments. Spike stayed close to the Slayer, in case anyone was to attempt to attack her.

"Oh, please," Dawn finally piped up. "She's been in the house with me all day. There's not a scratch on me."

"Inviting vampires into the house, especially vampires as strong as Buffy and Spike, was probably not the best idea, Dawn," Xander said through his teeth. Dawn scowled at him.

"You didn't see her," she insisted. "She doesn't want to hurt anyone."

"So she says!"

"Now, Xander," Giles stepped in. "It may be that Buffy has kept enough humanity to not want to harm humans. I spoke with her this morning, as I told you-"

"And I'm sure she seemed about as dangerous as a bunny," Xander cut in. Anya whimpered slightly, now looking worried. "At some point, you guys are going to have to realize: these demons that take over? They're not our friends." He pointed at the Slayer. "That's not Buffy in there." Buffy flinched, and Spike barred his teeth at the boy. Xander wisely look a step back.

"Actually, Xander, that's not entirely true." Anya stepped closer to Buffy, unafraid despite the fact that she was no longer a demon and couldn't hold her own against the Slayer, much less the Slayer-turned-vampire. "She's still in there. She still has Buffy's mannerisms. She's still Buffy. There's just a demon residing in her now." She peered at Buffy as though she could see a physical change in her without the vampiric distortion upon Buffy's face. "Are you stronger?"

"I'm not really sure. I haven't really tried out my strength or anything yet."

Anya whipped her head back to glance at her boyfriend. "See? A normal vampire would have gone nuts with the killing already. I think you're right, Giles—she's still kinda human."

Spike could see that Buffy was happy with this news.

"Well, are you, y'know . . . gonna bite us?" Willow asked hesitantly. Buffy shook her head.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Xander scoffed and was quickly elbowed in the ribs by Anya. The rest of the group seemed satisfied, however.

"Well, I consulted my books. As far as I can tell, no Slayer has ever been made into a vampire before, although I am requesting more research materials from my contacts in England." Giles said, moving around the group to have a seat on the couch. The rest of the gang followed suit, looking slightly more at ease than they had been previously. Buffy and Spike sat as well, still leery. Only Dawn seemed completely untroubled, absolutely trustful of her sister.

"So, basically, this is going to be an entirely hands-on experience." Buffy sighed.

"Well, yes. I really don't have anything to go on," Giles admitted.

"I guess we'll just have to see how it goes," Buffy said softly."Wil, that spell you cast for Angel, to restore his soul. Would that work on me?"

"Hm. I'm not really sure. I think it should." Buffy's face brightened at this. "I'll take a look into it," the redheaded witch said. Buffy nodded, grateful.

"Any more news of Glory?"

"More people being admitted to the psych ward at Sunnydale Memorial—two were sent there just last night," Willow said. "But other than that, she's being pretty low-profile for a Hell-god."

Buffy nodded. "I think maybe I should patrol tonight." She looked at Spike. "Will you come with? Keep an eye on me?" Spike nodded. "'Course."

"Uh, maybe not the best idea? Considering he would love nothing more than to hunt if he weren't so, y'know . . . neutered?" Xander chimed in.

Buffy looked at him, obviously getting annoyed. "And, what, you want to come with and stop me if I lose control?"

"I think all of us together could—"

"Get stomped to pieces," Anya cut in.

"Spike promised to keep me from hurting anyone," Buffy said firmly. Xander rolled his eyes, but declined comment. He seemed to be the only one to have a problem with it; everyone else had taken Buffy's turning in stride. Spike wondered if they had all thought about the possibility of Buffy becoming a vampire at some point. They seemed very calm, all things considered.

"All right then," Buffy said as she got to her feet. She pulled on her coat and grabbed a stake from a table in the living room. "Dawnie, get to bed at a decent time? And make sure you lock the door." Dawn nodded.

"I'll look into that spell for you, Buff," Willow said.

"Try not to kill anyone," Anya added in what she seemed to think was a helpful way.

"Thanks," Buffy said dryly.

She and Spike exited the house, the Scooby Gang following suit. Buffy made sure she heard the lock on the front door click before she headed off toward the nearest of Sunnydale's many cemeteries with Spike.

"Well, that went a lot better than I expected," Buffy said cheerfully. "No dusty Buffy."

Spike snorted. "I don't think they could have taken you, love."

"Honestly? Not sure I could have fought them," Buffy admitted.

"I would have. The welp was working on my very last nerve."

"Xander's just being cautious," Buffy defended her friend. "And he's right. They probably shouldn't have let me live."

"I wouldn't have let them touch you."

An uncomfortable silence followed, and Spike wondered if he had said too much. It was true. Regardless of the pain he would have endured, he would have stopped her friends from harming her. He suspected she knew that.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked to break the silence. They were making their way over to a new grave; the deceased had been buried earlier that day and the obituaries stated that he had died from puncture wounds to the neck: obvious vampire attack.

"I'm alright, I think. My hearing seems a lot better. I can hear the spider that's over there." She pointed a few yards away. Spike raised his eyebrows—even his hearing wasn't that good. He couldn't wait to see what other enhanced abilities she had.

They sat down on the grass near the new grave, stakes in hand, to wait for the newest vampire to rise. Buffy sighed.

Spike raised his eyebrow. "Something on your mind, pet?"

Buffy shrugged one petite shoulder. "I don't know. This all feels weird. I should be upset, you know? Being turned was my absolute worst nightmare. It's all I ever thought about right after I was called. And now, it just doesn't seem so scary. Which, somehow, makes it scarier." She sighed, frustrated. "Maybe I'm not explaining it right."

"No, I get it."

"And what makes it all worse," she continued, "is the fact that I should hate you."

Spike paused. "But you don't?"

"I don't know. You've tried to kill us so many times. I can't forget that." Spike nodded, expecting this. "But at the same time . . . why did you turn me?"

Spike took a deep, unnecessary breath. "Because I had hoped that if I made you a vampire, you would want me. Because we would be the same then." There didn't seem much point in telling her anything but the truth.

Buffy was silent.

"Look, pet. This is a big mess. And I know it's gonna take a while for you to learn to trust me, let alone love me." He paused again, trying to find the words to express the big jumble that was his brain. "But I can be a good man." To her credit, Buffy didn't argue with his phrasing. She couldn't see him as just a monster anymore, not considering what she was going through. The affection she still felt for Dawn and her mother and friends was proof enough that maybe her perceptions of vampires hadn't been quite correct.

"So . . . maybe, we can start by being friends," she said slowly.

It wasn't quite what Spike wanted, but he'd take it for a start. "Friends," he agreed.

A hand exploded out of the earth covering the new grave by which they sat. They both hurriedly climbed to their feet.

"About damn time," Buffy muttered.