Disclaimer: Some of these scenes are directly from the show.

Chapter Nine: Busted

In another part of Sunnydale, a guy from Buffy's past was getting into trouble. Jonathan Levison was hanging out with two of his friends: Warren Mears and Andrew Wells. They were playing a board game when Warren had an idea. He looked at his friends and asked,

"So you guys wanna team up and take over Sunnydale?"

"Okay." Both Jonathan and Andrew said.

With those words, Jonathan was part of a group now. They were serious about taking over Sunnydale. They had thought that The Slayer was gone so it was going to be easy to take over the town.

Meanwhile, back at the Winters' house, everything was getting settled. Wesley took a day to visit Wolfram and Hart to fill out paperwork. He was officially an employee at Wolfram and Hart. The law firm kept true to their word and provided everything for Connor. They even sent money for the mortgage, bills, food, and clothes. They were all under the protection of Wolfram and Hart.

The decision made Buffy feel ill. This deal still didn't sit well with her. Everyone else was happy so why couldn't she shake this feeling? Buffy decided to go on patrol. She found a couple of vampires at a local graveyard and had an eerie feeling that she was being watched. Buffy looked around and didn't see anyone.

Jonathan, Andrew, and Warren were all in that same graveyard. They saw Buffy stake the vampires no problem. Since Buffy wasn't in her real body, the boys wondered who this girl was. Warren was very concerned that they wouldn't be able to pull off their next plan with a new Slayer in town. He used his binoculars to see the girl clearer.

"Who is she?" Warren whispered.

"I wanna see!" Jonathan said.

"Me too!" Andrew said.

"Quiet!" Warren snapped. "Is she a new Slayer?"

"I don't recognize her." Jonathan said.

"Maybe there's a new Slayer in town." Andrew whispered.

"Great." Warren said sarcastically and watched Buffy stake another vampire. "She's another Slayer."

"We can handle a Slayer!" Andrew whispered.

Buffy whirled around and all three boys ducked behind a tombstone. She sensed someone there, but shrugged it off. Buffy walked back home and found Spike in the living room with baby Connor. No one else was awake at this hour. Buffy walked over to Spike and sat down next to him. Spike was trying to calm Connor down.

"Shh niblet, it's okay mate." Spike whispered and he rocked Connor in his arms.

"I wonder why he's so upset tonight." Buffy stated.

"I have no clue. I fed him, changed him, rocked him, and still nothing." Spike said. "He's just very upset."

Buffy held Connor's hand and he instantly stopped crying. Spike looked at Buffy and asked, "What did you do?"

"I just held his hand." Buffy told him.

Connor yawned and closed his eyes. Spike smiled. "Oh thank goodness."

"I'll stay with you." Buffy said.

"Don't you have to rest?" Spike asked.

"I'll be fine." Buffy said. "I wanted to talk to you about patrol."

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"Nothing too serious," Buffy said. "But I got this feeling that I was being watched. I staked a couple of vampires, but I didn't see anyone else there."

"I'll go on patrol with you tomorrow night." Spike insisted and Buffy nodded.

"Thanks." Buffy said.

Buffy looked at Spike and smiled. She loved seeing this side of him. He was peaceful. Spike was good with kids and Buffy was starting to see what kind of man he was. The sun rose and Buffy was exhausted. Wesley came downstairs to check on Connor. He looked at Spike and Buffy.

"Everything okay?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, Connor finally fell asleep." Spike said.

"Everything is good." Buffy said.

"I can take him." Wesley said and walked over to Spike.

Spike handed Connor to Wesley and stretched. "Well, I'm exhausted. Time for bed."

Buffy yawned and nodded. "I agree."

Dawn came downstairs next. "Good night sis."

"Good night Dawnie."

Back at the Summers' house, Giles came back. He flew from England and finally arrived. He was hesitant to come back, but it was urgent. The Scooby gang had lost Dawn. She was gone. He needed to come back and find her. Giles knocked on the door and Willow answered it.

"Giles!" She said and hugged him.

Giles hugged her back. "Good to see you Willow."

Willow stepped aside and let him into the house. Giles set his things down and looked around. He noticed the silence. It was so quiet.

"Are you and Tara the only ones that live here now?" Giles asked and Willow nodded.

"Dawn left." Willow said flatly.

Tara came downstairs and smiled at Giles. "Mr. Giles!" She said and hugged him.

Giles hugged her back and then let go. He was worried for Dawn. Where was she? Giles wondered. Dawn was supposed to call him if she needed anything. Giles, Tara, and Willow sat in the living room and discussed what happened.

"Where did she go?" Giles asked.

"There is an imposter, claiming to be Buffy." Willow said and shut the door. "We have a lot to catch up on Giles."

Giles sat down on the couch. "Please, fill me in."

Willow explained that she cast a spell to bring Buffy back, but that it didn't work. Giles was highly upset and Willow was surprised by his reaction. Tara remained quiet. She knew the truth. After hearing the entire story, Giles stood up. He took off his glasses and cleaned them.

"Willow…" Giles said and put his glasses on.

"What?" Willow asked.

"You shouldn't have done that." Giles said. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Giles, I did what I had to do." Willow said. "I had to bring back Buffy. I wasn't going to just leave her there."

"You used powerful magicks!" Giles shouted. "You have no idea what you have done. Now, we lost Dawn to this imposter."

"I don't think she is an imposter." Tara suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked.

"I've gone to visit her…" Tara confessed.

"Tara?" Willow asked and looked at her, hurt.

"I'm sorry Will, but you wouldn't believe it. The real Buffy is back. Your spell placed her inside another body." Tara explained.

"Another body?" Giles asked and Tara nodded. "Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, I can take you both to see her now." Tara said. "Then you can decide for yourselves."

Giles drove the girls to the Winters' house on Tara's directions. Willow remained quiet the entire time, not really sure what to say. Giles was hopeful. He was extremely upset with Willow, but he had to see for himself if the real Buffy was back. Once they got to the house, Giles turned off the vehicle and parked.

"Are you guys ready for this?" Tara asked and Willow nodded.

Giles nodded as well and stepped out of the car. Willow and Tara followed him to the front door. Giles knocked on the door and Dawn answered it. Her eyes widened.

"Giles!"' Dawn shouted and hugged him. "It's so good to see you!" Giles smiled and hugged Dawn back. He let go of her and asked,

"Where is Buffy?"

"She's upstairs, sleeping." Dawn told him. "Let me go get her, come in, come in."

Dawn stepped aside and the three of them walked into the house. He spotted Wesley in the living room. Giles also saw Jack and Laura. Laura had the baby in her arms. Willow shut the door behind her. She was nervous about being there. What if she was wrong and the spell did work? Dawn ran upstairs and woke up Buffy urgently.

"No, what, what what?" Buffy asked and turned in the bed. She looked at Dawn, who seemed very happy. "What is it Dawnie?"

"It's Giles, Tara, and Willow." Dawn explained. "They're all here!"

Buffy sighed and thought, so much for sleep. She sat up in her bed. "Okay, I'll be there shortly."

Dawn smiled and ran out of the room, closing the door behind her. Then it hit Buffy. Wait, Giles?! She quickly got up and brushed her hair. Buffy put her hair up and then changed out of her pajamas, into something presentable. She walked downstairs and saw that Giles and Wesley were in the middle of a conversation.

When Giles saw her walk down the stairs, he stopped, and walked over to her. This girl looked nothing like the real Buffy, Giles thought. Yes she had blonde hair and green eyes, but the body was completely different. Buffy stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Giles…" Buffy said, stunned.

Everyone got quiet, except for Connor. Giles and Buffy stared at each other for a moment. Willow's heart sank. She realized she was wrong. It really was the real Buffy. Buffy was alive and well. She treated Tara so terribly. She treated this girl so terribly. Giles immediately hugged her after he realized it was Buffy.

Buffy hugged him back. "I'm glad you're here." She said and sniffled. Tears came to her eyes.

"Oh Buffy," Giles said. "I can't believe you're back." He let go of her.

Willow walked up to Buffy and said, "I'm sorry…"

Tara smiled at Giles and Willow. Buffy nodded at Willow and hugged her. Everyone talked until nightfall. Buffy was exhausted, but she needed to go on patrol. Giles, Willow, and Tara left the house and went back home. Spike joined her on patrol this time. She fought the vampires like normal, but still had that strange feeling that she was being watched. Spike looked around and tried to find something. Anything that would help Buffy out of this strange feeling that she had.

The nerd squad remained quiet and low. They went to a different graveyard this time and the same girl was there. They had to figure out who she was before they put their plan into motion. Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew watch Buffy fight the vampires. Warren shook his head and whispered,

"Damn. There's a new Slayer." Warren confirmed.

"That's okay, we can still go with our plan!" Andrew whispered back.

Spike turned to Buffy and said, "Hey Buff, you see anything?"

Buffy shook her head and Warren's eyes widened.

"Wait, did Spike just say, Buff?" Warren asked his friends.

Andrew and Jonathan nodded. "Yeah he did." They both said and got a little closer.

"I don't see anyone, but I have this feeling that won't go away." Buffy said.

"We'll figure it out, Buffy, swear it." Spike said and turned around.

He sensed something too. The nerd squad ducked and tried to be quiet. Spike walked towards their direction. "I thought I heard something over here." Spike said.

Buffy walked towards Spike. The nerd squad tried to hold their breath and hid behind tombstones. Spike shrugged. "Maybe it was nothing." He said. "Let's call it a night Buffy." He paused. "I want to check on Connor."

"Good idea." Buffy said.

The two of them walked home and the nerd squad got into their van. Warren shook his head. "The Slayer is back."

Author's Notes: This season will be different because of the twist in the storyline. Had to bring in Jonathan and his friends. Stay tuned for more chapters! This has been a fun project!