Chapter Two

Xander had been standing the closest to the Slayer during her heartfelt speech and was at her side, lifting her easily into his arms, before she’d even begun the slide to the ground. “Whoa,” he announced to know one in particular. “Guess it was just too much excitement for the Buffster,” he laughed shakily as his nervous eyes met those of the aging Englishman. Without another word, he turned and carried his slight burden up to her bedroom to rest. Vaguely, he heard Giles send a couple of the young Potentials to stand watch while the others sought out their beds for the night.

Molly and Kennedy grudgingly accepted their duty.

With the new arrivals all out from underfoot, the Scoobies could speak freely amongst themselves in hopes of formulating a serviceable plan with which to rescue the missing vampire.

Willow was already at the computer when Xander returned to the group downstairs. Anya and Dawn were curled together on the couch with books spread open across their laps. The girls occupied, Xander wandered into the kitchen where Giles was busy making coffee.

“Perhaps we could perform a locator spell with which to find the place where the First is holding Spike.” He held up a hand before Xander could answer. “Yes, I know we have located the entrance to the First’s lair. But the tunnels beneath the city are rather extensive and if we could somehow decipher exactly where beneath the city Spike is being held, we may be able to devise a route with which to rescue him.”

“I agree,” said Xander. “But, Will already tried a locator spell to find the First.”

“What was the result?”

An image flashed across Xander’s mind; the memory of seeing that demonic apparition shooting out of Willow, energy striking Buffy in the chest and tossing the Slayer across the living room. The sound of screams filling the air and the smell of burning sulphur searing his nostrils.

The younger man shook his head. “It didn’t want to be found,” he replied blandly. “I think it tried to possess Willow. Lemme just say, I’m not a fan of scary, vein-y Willow. Possessed Willow? Way scarier.”

A sudden thought occurred to Xander and he called out for Willow to join them in the kitchen. “Yeah?” The witch asked when she entered the cheerfully decorated heart of the Summers home.

“You’ve done locator spells using a piece of clothing or personal item, right?”

“Tracking spell,” Willow replied softly.

“Right. Tracking spell,” Like the one you used to track down, torture and kill the guy that murdered your girlfriend a small handful of months ago, was left unsaid. “Think you could use the same spell to find Spike?”

The redhead shook her head. “I don’t think it’s such a good idea for any of us to be out there until after sunrise. That neander-vamp's still very much with the ‘slash and kill very much dead’ way of thinking.”

“Just use his coat,” Dawn suggested as she and Anya joined the others.

“Buffy kept Spike’s coat?” This from Anya. Dawn nodded and accepted a steaming mug from the patriarchal figurehead of their group.

Before anyone could else could add to or change the subject, the doorbell sounded and Dawn set her coffee down with a confused frown before going to answer it. Bad guys usually didn’t bother to knock and everyone she knew was already in the house. However, a quick peek through the peep hole had the teen throwing the locks and yanking open the door to find a couple just standing over the threshold. She knew better than to invite someone into her home after dark, though. It was a lesson she’d learned the hard way and would never forget.

Instead, Dawn folded her arms across her chest and stepped aside to await whatever came next. The silence seemed to stretch as she felt the presence of the others as they waited as well. Seconds ticked by unnoticed as everyone waited to see if the dark-haired couple would need an invitation before they were allowed entrance into the Slayer’s home. A collective sigh of relief was expounded as Cordelia smiled confidently and crossed the invisible barrier without the slightest hesitation.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said by way of greeting as she and her companion crowded into the foyer.

Dawn shrugged nonchalantly. “We were up anyway.”

Cordelia took in the tired faces around her before finally settling her attention back on the youngest Summers. “I didn’t mean the time,” she replied.

There was no mistaking the Seer’s meaning. A soft sob squeaked past Dawn’s lips and she launched herself into the older girl’s arms. An instant later found Cordelia Chase, former bitch queen of Sunnydale High School as the focal point of a group hug. A frown marred her beautiful face suddenly and she peered over the trembling teen’s head to the weary face the eldest of those assembled. “Uh, Giles? That better not be your hand.”

Her words had the desired effect and the group released her with much blushing and mumbled apologies from the aging Watcher. Cordy shrugged out of her calf-length coat and folded it over her arm. She took a moment to breathe in her surroundings and realized there was a hominess here that she had dearly missed while living in Los Angeles. “I’m glad to see you guys, too. Though, for once, I really wish it wasn’t some hell mouth-y or end of the world thing.”

As she smiled her thanks when a steaming mug of black coffee was set in front of her, Cordelia caught the curious eye flicks in the direction of her silent companion. “So, what’s the what, Cordy?” Xander asked his old high school girlfriend.

“You know us demon-y types. We just love the hellmouth.” She placed a hand on her companion’s shoulder and grinned at the Scoobies. “Guys, this is Connor. Connor, this is the Slayer’s team. Dawn, Xander, Giles, Willow and Anya. They work with the Slayer to protect the hellmouth.”

“Hey,” Connor mumbled shyly and shifted uncomfortably from all the attention. His face felt a bit warm as the pretty girl named Dawn smiled at him. Before he could think of something else to say, Cordelia cleared her throat in order to bring the focus back to their reason for being here.

“Before you ask, I had a vision. Hellmouth’s getting the munchies and some kinda vampire-y demon-y whatever’s out there painting the town red. Figured it was the perfect time to pay a little visit. Look up some old friends, show Connor my old stomping grounds. Heal the Slayer’s internal bleeding.” She grinned happily at the astonished faces around her and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m feeling all benevolent and what’s with the bound and gagged?”

“Andrew?” Xander asked with no little amusement at the whiplash-inducing way Cordelia had switched topics in the middle of a sentence. “The First Evil tricked him into killing Jonathan Levenson in an attempt to bring forth our current problem.”

Cordy frowned as she thought about the young man who had gifted Buffy with a special award during their Senior Prom. She could still hear the heart-warming speech their graduating class had put together in appreciation for saving their lives. A pang of sadness went through her heart as she recalled the boy who had picked on and shuffled aside throughout his entire life despite- or probably because of- his sweet nature and willingness to anything for the sake of gaining friendship. “Oh,” she softly whispered and resolutely trained her dark brown eyes on Willow. “Could you take me to see Buffy now?”

“Sure,” the redhead stood up and led her old friend and rival towards the stairs. “Um, what about…,” she nodded to Connor. The Seer turned to her fellow brunette.

“Stay here. Don’t kill anything unless you have to.”

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“Leave us,” Cordelia told the two females pulling guard duty over the unconscious Slayer. Kennedy looked askance at Willow, having automatically decided the witch was this group’s default leader while Buffy was incapacitated.

“It’s okay,” Willow assured them. “She’s a friend.”

Without another word, Kennedy nodded curtly and followed the other girl into the hall, closing the door behind them with a soft click. A very brief silence followed as the new arrival studied the battered blonde. Cordy took in the bruises covering nearly every visible inch of her former rival. Buffy was one of the strongest people she had ever met. Seeing her this way frightened Cordelia and steeled her resolve at the same time. She was here to help the Slayer, and help her, Cordy would.

In a gentle, yet firm tone, the Seer directed Willow to Buffy’s bedside while she, herself, took a seat on the opposite side of the bed. “Hold her hand,” the brunette instructed as she clasped one of the sleeping girl’s hands in her own. “I can help her, but I need to borrow a little power from you.”

Willow’s eyes grew large at the request, but she forced herself to remember that this was to help Buffy. She noticed Cordy holding a hand out to her and Willow grasped it firmly as Tara’s face rose, unbidden, to the forefront of her mind’s eye.

Before she had time to dwell upon her grief at Tara’s death, however, Cordelia’s normally chocolate brown eyes became twin pools of solid, glowing white. That glow grew and spread quickly over the Seer’s body. It moved down her arms; changed to a rosy golden nimbus as it covered Buffy’s supine form.

In seconds, the power spread to Willow, where the colour changed once more into a bluish white aura. Soon, all three women were enveloped within a golden aura of warmth and bliss. Nothing hurt here. There was no such thing as sadness or grief or fear. Willow wondered idly if this was what Buffy felt before she had been ripped from heaven. If it was, no wonder the Slayer had been so broken and damaged when she had returned to the living.

The gashes and bruises on Buffy’s face faded quickly. Her eyes flew open and her lips parted on a silent scream as her body bucked and writhed against the rapid healing going on with in her body. The sound of bones popping and re-knitting themselves made Willow’s stomach churn and bile rise in the back of her throat. The sudden agony was unbelievable as she felt every injury Buffy had sustained in her battle with the ancient vampire creature heal itself. Try as she might, Willow was frozen in place, unable to escape the excruciating pain slicing through her body.

Cordelia’s eyes were locked onto the girl lying in the bed, allowing the images to roll through her mind as the girl’s body healed. She could see Spike as Buffy saw him. She could feel the blonde’s fear for her erstwhile demon lover; could taste the desperation in Buffy to rescue Spike as something bitter in the back of her throat.

Beyond the images of Spike, Cordelia could see hints of things to come. Fear rose like a tidal wave threatening to crash down upon them all. It was the Slayer’s fear. A fear that this time, despite anything she tried or the sacrifices she was willing to make, the end was here and there was no way to stop it.

“Shhh,” Cordy murmured as she stroked her thumb against the back of Buffy’s hand in soothing circles. “Let it go…don’t need that anymore…” Over and over, she whispered calming, nonsensical words as Buffy calmed by degrees.

How long they remained like this was anyone’s guess. Time had no meaning. There were just the soothing murmurs of the Seer and the heartbreaking sobs of the Slayer.

Eventually the aura faded, the power receding once more to its place within Cordelia’s body. Willow slumped forward onto her hands and knees, panting, as she desperately tried to regain both her breath and equilibrium. Buffy bolted upright on the bed and dove into her saviour’s arms and wept openly for the first time since this entire mess had begun.

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