Third year, Air Force Academy.

The third year of her time at the Academy was an eventful year for Willow. She went on different missions with various SG teams during her summer break, in addition to travelling to Petersons for an internship, and taking a leadership course. However, the only thing that she was not really happy about was the fact that none of the missions was with SG1, which frustrated her a little. However, she understood. Around the SGC, she heard whispers of how SG-1 would be attacked by some Goa'uld at least twice every week or so during their missions. Still, it didn't hurt to talk to O'Neill about it.

"Red, you're still a cadet at the Academy," O'Neill had said, "Although I agree that you are the most experienced cadet when it comes to gate travel, no one is going to put you in the firing line yet." Yes, that was Willow's guess as well. She listened - they were walking down one of the SGC's many hallways - as O'Neill continued, "You still have one more year to go. Trust me, you should enjoy it. Because once you hang with SG1, we'll be attacked by some Goa'uld at least twice a week."

So, the rumours around the base were true. Still, Willow had to try one more time. She pouted, "Please let me go with SG-1 next time, sir?"

"No, your pouting magic shall not work on me," O'Neill smirked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

"Well, I thought I'd try," Willow shrugged before nodding her head just before O'Neill walked down one hallway for a briefing with General Hammond. She walked through another hallway to meet with Carter.

Willow didn't visit Sunnydale in her third year mainly because she felt that she wasn't ready to face Dawn. The youngest Summers sister was still so angry at her. She did still talk to Xander, but the calls between them seemed so far between now. Where they once spoke nearly every day, now it was cut down to twice a week. It used to be that either Willow or Xander and Buffy would call, but now Xander rarely called. It was Willow who would take the initiative. It seemed like she was losing her friends in Sunnydale. That the physical distance between them was creating an emotional distance. Willow wondered if this meant they would lose contact soon. Was Buffy the glue that held them together? NO, Willow didn't want to believe that.

Many months passed by, and the calls between them were reduced down to once every other week. The last time Xander called, he told Willow about something called a Buffy-Bot; apparently it was commissioned by Spike and pitted against Buffy sometime before her death. Willow didn't ask Xander why he never told her this when she visited Buffy's grave last year. All Willow could do was nod her head.

It would be two weeks ago that Xander called Willow, the first time in a long time. He mentioned that there were some updates made to the Buffy-bot. And then he added that Dawn had threatened to bring Buffy back from the dead.

"Say what now?" Willow had said, not sure if she heard right. Despite not having practiced magic for nearly three years, even Willow knew bringing someone from the dead was a big no-no. Xander told Willow that Dawn discovered a ritual, that she gathered all the ingredients for the ritual, and that she was ready to do it on her own if she had to. He told Willow that both Giles and Tara stopped Dawn before she could even begin the ritual. Willow listened, feeling as if she was having an out-of-body experience.

And now, just before Willow was due to leave for a three-day training program through the Stargate to the Alpha Site, her phone rang. Willow quickly picked it up. It was Xander. There was something in the way he said, "hey Willow" that made her feel uneasy. His voice was a mixture between excited and apprehensive.

"Hey Xander," Willow said, placing her pack on the bed, "what's up?" There was quiet on the other line for a few seconds. She could hear Xander breathing, as if he was gathering something within him. And when he did speak, Willow had to admit she was stunned.

"We have been trying to talk Dawn down," he said, "but she insists on doing the ritual to resurrect Buffy. She hid an important ingredient for the ritual and… and if Giles and Tara don't help her, then she's going to do it herself. And she's really serious about it this time."

Willow shook her head. There was no way to know what would happen. There could be a magical backlash. And Willow said so.

"That's what Giles and Tara told Dawn," Xander agreed, "but… but she'll do it herself, Will." Willow ran her hand through her hair with her free hand. This was unbelievable. Willow loved Buffy, but using a resurrection spell? Willow didn't know what to think. She asked Xander what were they going to do.

"Tara and Giles don't want to," Xander said, "but Dawn pointed out once again she'll do it without them, even if they don't agree to help her. And she added Buffy's death was a mystical death, so… so Tara and Giles need to help her."

"Damn," Willow whispered, her head shaking. "Xander, I'm the last person who should be talking about being careful with magic… I know that… but this…." Willow rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I don't know, Xander."

"Tara and Giles agreed to help Dawn," Xander said with finality. He sounded so exhausted. "I don't know about this either, Will. But Dawn doing this by herself…? That's really dangerous. And… and If it works…"

"Then Buffy comes back," Willow breathed. There was a part of her excited at the thought of Buffy returning to life. Then there was the part fearful of what would be returning; would it be Buffy, or would it be something else wearing Buffy's skin. They talked for several more minutes after that, Willow telling Xander to call her once the ritual was completed.

SGC Off-World Base, Alpha Site

Living in the Alpha Site for the past three days, Willow was having her final practice session with Teal'c at the Alpha Site. And it wasn't just Willow, there were nearly thirty other Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel participating in the training sessions. They participated in various training sessions involving armed and unarmed combat with Teal'c and his former mentor, Master Bra'tac, who Willow was very pleased to meet. During their free times, Willow kept on asking many questions about the Jaffa and their home planet Chulak, and was excited having the opportunity to help them fight for their freedom. Bra'tac even came up with a nickname for Willow; he started calling her 'Willow of the Flame Hair', and this made her chuckle. During the training sessions Willow learnt new moves and techniques, all of which were utilized during practice with both Bra'tac and Teal'c. There were even light sparring sessions between the participants where they used padded staffs against each other.

The latest sparring session between Willow and Teal'c had been going on for twenty minutes, both combatants using unpadded staffs. After a day of practice, Willow was exhausted, yet trying to stay strong. Even though there were others sparring with their partners, it felt to Willow as if everyone was staring at her… to see if the only cadet among them would fail. This feeling – even if it was not really true – forced Willow to concentrate more the moves Teal'c was making, as well as her counters to those moves. For this final practice session, everyone was given the choice to use either the padded or the unpadded staffs. The majority selected the unpadded versions, and Willow had taken notice. This wasn't the first time she used the unpadded ones; she used them when practicing at the SGC with the new recruits. But there was a sense of awkwardness about using the padded one even though everyone was given a choice; maybe it was due to the fact that everyone in the training session were hardened veterans who had fought the Goa'uld many, many times. Willow selected the normal non-padded staff and fell in for the final practice sessions.

And from all the other participants, Willow found herself partnered with Teal'c. Bra'tak looked on as Teal'c brought his staff down hard on Willow's staff, effectively breaking it in half which made the redhead stumble back. Already exhausted, she lost her balance, dropping both halves of the broken staff and fell backwards onto the ground. It was the tenth time she fell onto the ground within the last twenty minutes. It was now that the Jaffa warrior stood up straight and walked towards Willow with an extended hand. Grabbing the hand, Teal'c pulled Willow back onto her feet before he stepped back and bowed at the redhead.

"You have done well, Willow Rosenberg," said Teal'c to Willow, who was panting, "however, you have failed to maintain your balance at the end. If I were an enemy Jaffa, you would be dead."

It was then that Bra'tac ending the practice session. And that ended the three-day training program at the Alpha Site with many of the personnel patting each other, many of them even giving Willow high-fives. Smiling, Willow walked a few steps forwards and picked up the two halves of the staff. She then looked at the two halves before looking at Teal'c and smiling.

"I guess that my last part could have gone better," Willow said.

Teal'c nodded his head and said, "you remember it takes time for a warrior to learn from a defeat or a draw." He continued as they made their way towards the Stargate after putting away their staffs, "this is all a part of your training, Willow Rosenberg. You have improved a great deal; however, there are still aspects in your techniques that have flaws."

"All a learning experience then, I guess," said Willow.

Bra'tac added, "Indeed it is, Willow of the Flame Hair." Nearing the Stargate, Bra'tac continued, "I will return to Chulak. There is still much more to be done in recruiting Jaffa to our cause." After dialing a buffer world – from where Bra'tac would be making his way to Chulak – he said his goodbyes to Teal'c and Willow before stepping through the Gate. This would be followed by Willow dialing Earth, and Teal'c inputting the GDO code. Once they received confirmation the Iris was retracted, Willow and Teal'c stepped through the event horizon of the wormhole and found themselves in the SGC.

The moment the Stargate deactivated; Willow felt a shift in the air. She grabbed onto the ramp railing and closed her eyes. She felt dizzy. She could hear Teal'c calling her name, but his voice sounded distant. 'What's going on,' Willow thought just as a wave of magic washed through her. And she knew. She simply knew. Although she hadn't been practicing magic for a long time, she knew this wave was cause by powerful magic. It was a ripple effect.

'Did they, do it?' Willow thought to herself. 'Did they succeed?'

Willow opened her eyes to Teal'c, who was joined by Major Carter, staring back at her. The redhead told them she had felt slightly dizzy, but she was feeling better… she just needed to get her bearings again. Teal'c and Carter still had looks of concern. And Willow still had to get her medical done as per gate travel protocols.

An hour later, Willow's dorm room.

Willow didn't realize how truly exhausted she was until she closed the door to her dorm room. Her roommate was out, 'Colleen's probably on a date.' She dropped her pack onto her bed when she noticed the blinking red light on her phone, indicating a voice message. And that reminded her, she needed to call Xander. She needed confirmation that the wave she felt was from a successful resurrection spell.

Exhaling, Willow sat down on her chair. And she felt great relief when she sat down, as if her stress was washed away. She picked up the cordless phone and accessed her voicemail. It was a message from Xander. And they were successful. They had some problems with some demonic bikers, but they were essentially successful in bringing Buffy back from the dead.

Willow placed the phone back on the cradle. There was a small smile on her face. Her best friend was back. She was back. She picked up the phone once again and dialed Buffy's home number. It didn't matter that Dawn was still not talking to her, or that the youngest Summers was still angry at her. Willow needed to hear Buffy's voice.

She listened to the ring tone. Willow counted the seconds.

And then Xander picked up.

"Xander," Willow said, perking up on her chair, "I… I just got back from… I just got your message. Is… Is Buffy… I mean, did Tara and Giles really do it? Is she okay?"

"She's a little out of it," Xander whispered as he strode to the kitchen while Dawn and Giles were cleaning the bloody fingers of a confused Buffy. "The ritual was successful but… but we were attacked by some demonic bikers. They attacked the city and so we were distracted."

There was a strange tone in his voice. One that Willow thought was out of regret.

"We held the ritual at Buffy's grave," Xander said, "the demonic bikers drove us away from there… and Buffy was resurrected in her coffin." And Xander didn't have to say anymore. Willow placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes opened wide in shock.

"She climbed out of her own grave?" Willow whispered, her voice cracking. That must have been scary… traumatically scary. Willow couldn't even imagine.

"She did," Xander said just before Dawn called for him. "Will, Dawn's still holding a lot of anger and… and I'll get Buffy to call you as soon as possible." Willow nodded her head while saying she understood. "She's back, Will… she's back." Willow nodded her head before telling Xander she would be looking forward to Buffy's call.

After talking to her oldest friend, she couldn't help but feel a certain amount of pride towards Tara who looked to be growing into a powerful magic user. A resurrection spell was no joke after all. But Willow was still very worried about what may be coming in the future for her friends in Sunnydale. In the meantime, she was thinking about whether it would be a good idea to let Carter know that Buffy was back or keep her in the dark about it, at least for now.

'Oy, how the hell am I going to explain this one,' thought Willow to herself. No, for now, she was definitely keeping this to herself. Magic, Vampires, Demons… all of these were something her new friends were still coming to terms with. But someone being resurrected from the dead? Willow doubted anyone would be able to handle that.

Buffy would call three weeks later. Willow picked up the phone, and all she heard was silence. She knew it was Buffy because her number popped up on the Caller-ID. "Buffy?" Willow said. There was silence. She could hear gentle breathing on the other end. "Buffy, I… I'm so glad you're back. Are you… are you okay?" Still nothing. "I missed you, Buffy."

"I…," Willow's heart raced at hearing Buffy's voice, "I missed you too, Will."

And then the line was cut. Buffy had put the phone down. Willow understood. Buffy was resurrected from who knows where… Xander mentioned she was in one of thousands of Hell dimensions. And so, Willow understood Buffy needed time. Yes, she just needed some time. But little did Willow that she would have to face another tragic incident at the SGC.

To be continued.