The walk back to the house is silent, each one lost in their own thoughts. Giles meets them all at the door with a look of concern. "Where were you? Did you find out anything?"

"No. Caleb killed a woman, probably to keep her from telling me anything about this." She holds up the bloody and gore-splattered Scythe. "He stuck around for a while, but then he had to split." She giggles wildly at this and Spike rolls his eyes.

Giles looks confused. "You let him go?"

She giggles again. "No. He's dead. She hands the Scythe to Giles and snags the sleeves of the two vampires standing behind her. "We're going downstairs. Call if you need anything."

Giles looks like he's about to argue or say something annoying and English. Buffy shakes her head. "Don't, Giles. Just don't."

Buffy closes the basement door quietly and walks slowly down the stairs. Spike and Angel are standing in the open space next to the punching bag, looking uncomfortable. Buffy stops in front of Spike and looks up at him. "Spike, I want to tell the gang about us." She blushes and stutters out, "I mean if there is an us. Is there?"

Spike looks at her in shock for a moment then he grins. "Of course there's an us, luv."

She grins back and reaches for his hand. "You'll be there with me, right?" Spike nods and twines his fingers with hers.

Angel clears his throat. "I'll be there for backup if you want me to. Just tell me when." Buffy smiles at him. "How about now? Does now work for you?" He nods, and they all head for the stairs.

Buffy gathers the Scoobies together in the living room, waiting until everyone is seated. She glances behind her, catching Spike's eye, and gives him a small smile, then turns back to the group. "Hey guys, can we talk?"

Xander glares at Spike and Angel. "Sure. What's up, Buff?"

"Right." Buffy begins with a deep breath. "I have a lot to say, so I'd appreciate it if you all could listen and not butt in. And Xan, get that look off your face, really not helping." Xander forces his face into a blank expression as Buffy looks at the floor for a minute, trying to decide where to start. "Okay. Xander, Willow, you two are my best friends and I trusted you completely, but you've destroyed that by betraying me... more than once. In the past, I've always let it go without comment, but I'm no longer able to do that. You betrayed me three times in less than a year. I was able to forgive bringing me back to a point because you thought you were helping me. Wils, you betrayed me again by lying about your magic and nearly ending the world, but last night's betrayal was the last straw."

Buffy glares at Xander, changing who she is faulting now. "Ever since it happened, you've gone on and on about what happened in the bathroom, but you really can't talk, can you Xan? Hyena ringing any bells?" Xander manages to look contrite and Buffy looks around the room. "You all really need to get out of the habit of telling me how to live my life. Telling me who I can and can't date. Don't you think I've had enough of my life decided for me without my so-called friends doing the same thing? I think the only exceptions are Dawn and Spike."

Buffy turns and gives Spike another smile then turns back to the silent room. "Now, I'm not saying that you can't give me advice or discuss things with me, but please stop making decisions for me without giving me any say in them. It makes me feel like I have no control over my own life."

Buffy turns to Giles, it is his turn. "You have been with me since I came to Sunnydale, and I appreciate everything you've done for me. But everything I said applies to you, too. It's gonna take me a while to forgive you for trying to have Spike dusted, and for the part you played in the mutiny, and you're just gonna have to deal with that. I want you to back off and let me make my own choices." Buffy looks around the room nervously, waiting for the shouting to start.

Her eyes widen in shock at the chorus of apologies, Willow's the loudest. She smiles slightly and nods. "Thanks, guys."

Buffy looks at Xander. "Oh, one more thing, Xan. You had no right to tell Dawn, or anyone else, about the bathroom thing, especially since you didn't have the full story. You didn't know the events that led up to that or why Spike acted the way he did, but with your all-demons-are-evil mindset, you decided you knew the whole story." She glances guiltily at Spike then takes a deep breath. "You know, I'm surprised that he didn't kill me after all the abuse I heaped on him for months. Do you guys remember my birthday last year? How bruised Spike was? That was me. I beat the crap out of him because he tried to talk some sense into me when I thought I'd killed Katrina." She drops her eyes to the floor and her voice drops to a whisper. "You know the worst part? He didn't even fight back. He let me beat him to a pulp and then I just walked away and left him there." She turns to Spike. "I'm really sorry about that, Spike. I'm sorry for all of it."

Spike steps closer. "It's ok, Slayer." He says, "I forgave you almost straightaway." He leans down and pulls her into a hug, then looks over her shoulder, catching the eyes of Xander and Giles. "Look, I know we've never gotten on, but I really want to help, so I'll make a deal for you lot. You don't give me a hard time and I won't give you a hard time. Slayer's got enough on her plate without having to keep her group from killing one another." They both look at him in surprise then slowly nod. Spike pulls back and whispers, "You done here, pet?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just one more thing." She turns around and crosses her arms then lifts her chin defiantly. "Spike and I are together." Buffy looks around the room, daring anyone to say anything. When no one speaks, she smiles slightly. "We were going to wait until after we'd stopped The First, but I realized that that would be the same thing I was doing last year with the secrecy and everything. Spike is who I want, and I hope you can all deal with that and not give us a hard time about it." She looks pointedly at Xander.

Dawn slowly gets up from the couch and walks over to Spike, looking up at him shyly. "I'm sorry for threatening to set you on fire, Spike. Can we be friends again?"

Spike beams a smile at her. "Of course we can, Niblet. As far as I'm concerned, we've always been friends you were just having a Summers' tantrum." There's a loud squeal and Spike suddenly finds himself with a giggling Dawn attachment. Spike squeezes her tight for a moment, then lets her go and looks at Giles. "About the attempt to kill me. I accept that you were protecting Buffy, but I don't accept being dusted for something I had no control over."

He gives Giles a glare and Giles looks at him in shame. "Why did you never tell us?"

Spike snorts. "Would you have believed me? You were all determined to think the absolute worst of me." He starts pacing the small area in front of the stairs. "I can just see it. I tell you the truth and the whelp reaches for a stake while the rest of you lot laugh me outta the bloody building." He throws a glare at the group, a few of them wincing under his withering look. "l took your shit treatment of me. All the bloody insults and the dismissive attitudes. I stayed on and helped even though Buffy was dead. When she came back, you all pretty much forgot I existed unless you needed muscle or someone expendable to send into a fight and still I stayed."

Spike stops suddenly, whirling to face the room, his duster flaring. "And you know what? None of you have ever thanked me for any of it. Not once." Everyone in the room looks down, differing levels of shame written in their features. Xander gets to his feet and walks over to Spike with his hand out. "I'm sorry, Spike, and thanks." Spike shakes his hand, his eyes wide with wonder. Xander turns to Buffy. "I don't know if this will mean much, but if you really want to be with Bleachy here, it's fine by me." Buffy smiles and looks at Willow, who nods in agreement. "Thanks guys. It means a lot, really."

She reaches back and takes hold of Spike hand. "Angel has something that will help us stop The First, but we need a plan."

Buffy turns at the sound of Angel's cough. "I have an idea," he says, "but it needs all of us to do it. I need everyone in here."

Buffy calls an extended meeting with all the Potentials joining the Scoobies in the living room. She waits until everyone is seated then nods to Angel. She then goes to join Spike, who's curled up in a large chair.

Once he has everyone's attention, Angel begins. "Willow and Cordy will be stationed just above the seal, performing a spell to make all Potentials into Slayers. I'll be wearing this," Angel holds up the necklace. "Spike, you and Buffy will clear everyone out before the amulet takes full effect and guard the seal, making sure no ennemies get out." He reaches out and grasps Spike's forearm. "You make sure you get her out before the amulet activates, no matter what. The one thing I was told about it is that it will destroy anything supernatural."

Spike nods and looks at Buffy, noticing the suspicious look on her face. "Okay, Angel, what are you not telling us?"

Angel shakes his head and Spike turns to Willow. "You birds need to look anything up or get supplies for the spell?" Willow shakes her head, "No, we've got everything here, and we've both gone through it enough that we've practically got it memorized." Angel gets to his feet. "Alright, we'll go in first thing in the morning. We should all get some sleep."

Willow and Cordy head up to Willow's room as Buffy nods at the stairs, "You're welcome to crash in Dawn's room," She says to Angel. He nods absently, "Alright." He looks between Buffy and Spike, then focuses on Buffy. "There's something that's been puzzling me. The last time I was here, you said that Spike was back and still wanted to kill you. How did he change so much? He's a totally different vampire from the one I turned."

Spike freezes as Buffy turns to stare at him. She says over her shoulder, "Make with the splainy, Angel."

"Drusilla'd almost drained William, but she got distracted by her pixies or whatever and dropped him. I stepped in and finished the job. He's my Childe, not hers." Angel explains.

Buffy nods slowly, her eyes still locked on Spike. "Why did you never tell me?"

He gives her a sad smile. "After Angelus got the bloody soul and waltzed out of our lives, I felt betrayed. So, I started telling everyone that Dru was my Sire - didn't want to have any memory of Angelus. Figured if he was gonna forget me, I'd forget him as well." Buffy wraps him in a hug and murmurs into his neck. "Oh, Spike. What am I gonna do with you?