Title : Always Remember - I Love You

Author : Ultrawoman

Rating : PG-13

Summary : Starts with an AU ending to the Gift. When the portal is opened only Summers blood can close it, but there’s a man who can’t bear to lose either of the important woman in his life...

Disclaimer : I do not own anything to do with Buffy The Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon. Some very talented people wrote some of the action and dialogue in here so credit to the writers of ‘The Gift’.

Chapter 1 - Sacrifice For Love

Dawn looked down from her place, high on the tower, and watched, panic-stricken, as her sister fought against Glory. Buffy hefted the hammer over her head again, bringing it down squarely on the head of the hell-goddess.

Suddenly Dawns attention was taken from the fight by a presence in front of her. She gasped as she realised it was Doc.

"You can help me" the young girl choked out "Untie me, please. Help me, she's coming" she referred of course to Glory. It was unclear how long Buffy would be able to hold her off.
"Well, it seems she's running a bit late, is the thing" Doc smiled evilly as he walks towards Dawn. She suddenly realised he was not on her side, "And if our Goddess can't be here in time to bleed you..." he leered.

Dawn’s face contorted in panic as Doc stood right in front of her.

"Hey kid. Wanna see a trick?" he asked rhetorically, pulling out a large shining knife and showing it to her. He held it right up in her face and the girl winced, knowing what was coming.

Down below, amongst the debris, Xander rejoined the rest of the Scoobies crouched down in shelter. They all glanced up at the tower in fear.

"How are we doing?" the young man asked, panting for breath.
"So far it's a tie" his girlfriend told him.
"We haven't got up to Dawn, but then neither has anyone else" Giles elaborated, still staring up at the girl.
"Someone's up there" said Spike suddenly, extra panic in his usually calm tone.

"Okay, so we gotta charge or something" Xander suggested, fearing for his life as everyone else did but knowing they had to save Dawn and the world.

‘Spike. Can you hear me?’

A voice rang through Spike’s mind, a voice no-one else could hear.
"Yeah, loud and clear" he answered, knowing who’s voice he was recieving into his mind.

Willow crouched at the other side of the warehouse, with a now fully-functional Tara behind her. Her lips didn't move as she communicated with her vampire friend on the other side of the building.

‘Is there someone up there with Dawn?’ she asked him.
"Yeah" he spoke aloud and nodded, although it was pointless "can't tell who though"
"Are you talking to us?" Xander asked, confused, but Anya answered him in a whisper.
"Telepathy - it must be Willow"

‘Get up there. Go now’ the red-headed witch told the vampire as he continued to stare up at the tower.

"Yeah, but-" he began to protest but she interrupted him.
‘Go!’ was the only word she used before the communication was over.

Spike knew she was right. He’d promised to keep Dawn safe. Willow had reminded him of that promise and he would not break it, for the love of Buffy he would not.

As he stormed the crowd of Glory’s minions, the rest of the Scoobies looked on, shocked by his actions and unaware that the two witches across the warehouse had a plan.

Willow grabbed Tara’s hand and with careful concentration a spell was cast. An invisible force caused the entire crowd to suddenly part like the Red Sea. They shouted, displeased, angry and confused, as the unseen hands pulled then off to the sides, allowing Spike to run through between them.

The vampire wasted no time, diving up the stairs of the tower as soon as he reached them. He was soon at the last level where he ran up the ramp and climbed the ladder, praying to anyone that would listen that he would make it in time.

Doc wasted time as he pulled out a watch and told Dawn ‘It is time’

She panicked and tried to break her bonds but relief flooded her features when she saw Spike appear.

"Spike!" she yelled his name but it caused the vamp a disadvantage as it drew Doc’s attention to him. He whirled around as Spike came toward him.

"Doesn't a bloke stay dead when you kill him?" the vampire asked, striding purposefully at the man.
"Look who's talking" Doc sneered, ready for a fight.
"Come on, Doc. Let's you and me have a go" Spike said coolly and Doc glanced back at the girl tied to the tower.
"I do have a prior appointment" he fingers the knife in his hands.
"This won't take long" Spike told him, knowing it was true and hoping he could in fact finish the job he went up there to do.
"No, I don't imagine it will" Doc smiled evilly as Spike lunged forward. Doc side-stepped the attack and grabbed Spike thrusting the knife he held into the brave vampires back. There was a sickening sound and Spike gasped in pain.

Down below them, Buffy continued laying into Glory with the Troll’s hammer in her hands. The god began to look more and more defeated with every blow and blood ran out of her nose. She glared up at Buffy, a look of anguish plain on her features.

"You're just a mortal" she choked out "You couldn't understand my pain"
"Then I'll just have to settle for causing it" Buffy seethed, raising the hammer again. She hit her, sending her reeling to the side but the hell-god was soon on her feet again.

"You can't kill me" she growled but Buffy knew she didn’t need too.
"No" she grinned, somewhat madly, "but my arm's not even tired yet"

On that note, she struck her again.

Back up on the platform, the knife from Spike’s back, dripping with blood, fell to the floor. The black-clad figure pulled himself up between his enemy and his almost adopted sister.

"You don't come near the girl, Doc" he threatened but the man was unafraid and confused.
"I don't smell a soul anywhere on you" he told him "Why do you even care?"
"I made a promise to a lady" Spike held his head high, proud that he was doing this for Buffy. He would die for her, for the sake of his promise to her, for the sake of his love for her.
"Oh, then I'll send the lady your regrets" Doc yelled, diving at Spike again and grappling with him. The two continued to fight and Dawn winced every time a strike was made. With one final punch Doc knocked Spike to the ground, his head hitting the platform and knocking him out cold.

Meanwhile, Buffy gasped as she swung again and again with the hammer, putting all her strength into defeating Glory. She knelt beside the broken god still hitting her over and over and over. Suddenly, the bloodied figured started to morph and Glory turned into Ben. Buffy lifted her hammer again but she could not strike the blow.

"I'm sorry" the man beside her coughed as he tried to speak.
"Tell her it's over" Buffy cried "She missed her shot. She goes. She ever comes near me and mine again..."
"We won't. I swear"

Buffy dropped the hammer, knowing the fight was over, at least for now. Besides, there was no way she could take the life of a human being and that is what was in front of her now. She turned and hurried toward the tower.

As Ben lie battered on the ground, he gave a pained cough and he tried to speak.

"I guess we're stuck with each other, huh baby?"

His breaths came painfully as Giles moved to kneel beside him.

"Can you move?" he asked simply.
"I need a minute" Ben managed to say "She could've killed me"
"No she couldn't" Giles shook his head "and sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and make her pay for that, and the world with her. Buffy even knows that and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. She's not like us"
"Us?" Ben gasped and choked as Giles suddenly reached down, clasping his hand over Ben's nose and mouth, holding them shut. The battered man struggled weakly but he has no power left. Giles kept him still and his calm expression remained throughout.

At the top of the tower, Dawn screamed, as Doc approached her. Spike lie still unconscious behind the man, now of no use to anyone. The knife moved toward the young girls stomach and she had no way of fighting back or running.

Dawn cried and sobbed as the pain hit her, the knife making thin slits through the material of the ceremonial gown and then her skin.

"Shallow cuts...shallow cuts let the blood flow free" Doc said quietly as more cuts were made and more blood was released. The red liquid trickled down onto Dawn’s feet, to the edges of her toes just as Buffy appeared.

"Dawn!" she cried to the girl she knew as her younger sister.
"Buffy!" came her pained reply and Doc whirled around to confront the Slayer.

"This should be interesting" he grinned, evilly, but Buffy didn't even pause. She just walked right past him, giving a forceful shove as she went. Doc stumbled backwards and fell over the edge of the platform. Neither Dawn nor Buffy noticed his fingers catch on the edge.

Buffy moved quickly to Dawn, who continued sobbing with fear and pain.

"Buffy, it hurts" she cried and the Slayers attention was completely with her ‘sister’. She didn’t notice Doc hauling himself up behind her.

Spike’s eyes flickered open his first thought being the pain in his head, the second was immediately to warn Buffy of approaching danger.

"Buffy! Behind you!" hr yelled and Buffy turned just in time, hitting Doc again, with all her strength, making sure he really did go over the edge for good this time. His screaming continued, getting softer as he fell further away, and then it stopped with a sudden crash.

As Spike struggled to his feet, Buffy released Dawn from her bonds but it was all too late. A few drops of the girl's blood dripped over the edge of the platform and hung in mid-air. A small circle of light appeared, growing, getting bigger all the time. Buffy and Spike did not notice as they took one side each of Dawn and helped her limp across the platform. Suddenly, the younger girl stopped.

"Buffy, it's started" her voice was shaky as she realised it’s was all too late.

Buffy and Spike turned now and both saw the bright light of the portal as it grew ever larger. Huge bolts of lightning flew from the hole, destroying the town around them. Buildings shattered and burned, and demons screams could be heard all around. The Scoobies watched from the ground as Buffy turned back to Dawn who continued to stare at the portal, horrified.

"I'm sorry" the younger girl sobbed.
"It doesn't matter" Buffy answered calmly, shaking her head.

Dawn suddenly decided what she must do and broke from the grasp of her sister and her friend. She tried to run past Buffy but Spike grabbed at her arm.

"What are you doing, pet?" he asked her and she looked at him with desperation in her eyes.
"I have to jump. The energy" she explained.
"It'll kill you" Buffy tried to reason with her, even though she knew what she said made sense.
"I know. Buffy, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it" Dawn tried to pull away and do what she planned to do, but niether of them would let her make such a sacrifice.
"No" Buffy cried as the tower shook beneath them, making them all stumble.

"I have to" Dawn begged "Look at what's happening"

More lightning crackled from the portal, even larger than before, and Buffy and Spike watched as a huge dragon flew out and away.

"Buffy, you have to let me go" Dawn begged "Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop"

Buffy stared at Dawn in anguish, knowing what she said was right but not wanting to let the girl she saw as her baby sister go.

"You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood" Dawn cried as the two girls held onto each other, eyes locked together.

"Cause it's always got to be blood" Spike murmured his words spoken earlier. A thought had developed in his mind and now it all made sense.

He grabbed Dawn from Buffy’s grasp, making both girls jump. He hated himself for what he was about to do and with the chip it was going to be painful, but he had to do it. Vamping out, he sunk his teeth into Dawn’s neck, draining her life’s blood from her. Buffy watched, panic-stricken and shocked, but she didn’t stop him. She knew what this brave vampire, this brave man, was trying to do.

Spike screwed his eyes up, tightly shut, as every gulp of blood sent a shocking pain through his head. Eventually, as Dawn became paler and paler, he felt her go limp in his arms. Not dead, merely unconscious, he handed the girls body to Buffy who laid her careful down on the platform.

In the distance, holes seemed to be opening in the sky and it grew lighter as the sun tried to rise. Buffy cried and sobbed at the sight of her sister and the thought of what Spike was about to do.

"You can’t" she choked out as he looked toward the portal.

"Spike, no" she begged him but he had to do it, he knew he had to. He turned to her, gripping her upper arms, his human face now firmly back in place.

"Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen"

Lightning continued to crackle behind them as Spike spoke his final words and the Scoobies watched from beneath the tower.

Finally Spike stroked the side of Buffy's face, then, leaning in, pressed a kiss to her forehead. Buffy’s tears fell like rain as Spike took a run and a dive into the centre of the portal. He seemed to move in slow motion as Buffy sank to her knees beside Dawn’s motionless body, barely breathing.

Spike fell and then hung, motionless, in the centre of the portal, making expressions of severe pain. The portal writhed and spat and a huge lighting strike shot out, passing through Buffy and Dawn, jolting their bodies wildly. The shock awakened the younger girl but seems not to harm either of them as it curved back into the opening half way down the tower.

Buffy watched as Spike hung in the portal and Dawn gasped as she sat up and saw him there, realising what had happened and what he had done, and wondering how her strength had returned so fast.

Buffy could almost hear Spike’s final words to her as the portal continued to writhe with him inside of it.

"Buffy, listen to me. Listen. "I love you. I will *always* love you, but this is something I have to do"

The portal slowly shrunk to nothing and disappeared as if it had never been there at all. In the distance the sun began to rise, and Willow and Tara, Xander and Anya, and Giles walked forwards, sadness etched on all their features.

"Tell Dawn I’m sorry for what I did" Buffy continued to hear the words "but it was for her own good. It’ll all be okay. She’s a survivor like her sister"

Down amongst the debris, Spike's lifeless body lay motionless as the Scoobies moved towards it.

"And tell the gang I care for them all, even if it wasn’t obvious" he’d said, "You have to take care of each other, especially my nibblet. You’ll all carry on without me, I’m just a worthless vampire" Buffy knew he was so much more than that, as she came down the stairs with Dawn beside her, both of them in a state of shock, but with their physical pain subsiding.

"Buffy, just please don’t ever forget me" Buffy cried again as she remembered those words, as if she ever could forget him after what he’d done, "Be brave. Live. And always remember - I love you"

Two days later, in a graveyard, beneath the sun and amongst the pretty trees and grass, a headstone was placed. A small bunch of flowers laid on the grass in front of it.

The stone read simply:

WILLIAM

~~~~~~~

A FIGHTER, A PROTECTOR, A FRIEND

HE SAVED THE WORLD

WITH HIS LOVE

Chapter 2

Willow descended the stairs of the Summers house, shaking her head as she reached the bottom and came into the living room. Xander, Tara, Anya, Dawn and Giles looked solemn, knowing that Buffy was no better. It was several weeks since the incident on the tower, the day when Spike had sacrificed himself and saved the world. Dawn had been deeply upset and blamed herself for a while but the others had convinced her it was not her fault. She didn’t know what Spike was going to do and besides, he would not want her to feel bad about it. He cared for her and he would only want her to be happy.

Buffy was less easy to console. She barely spoke, she barely ate and she was a fraction of the woman she used to be. Her strength seemed to have almost completely vanished and she would stay in her room for hours, days even. Her friends were worried about her. The fact she wasn’t eating much and her strength had seemingly disappeared, the fact she remained in her room, in the dark if possible, not wanting to talk to anyone or even see them really.

"It’s been weeks" Xander looked down as he spoke quietly from his spot on the sofa. Anya was next to him with Dawn on the other side. Giles sat in the armchair with Tara in another, Willow perching on the arm beside her. "I know it was tough but, I thought she’d be dealing by now..." he trailed off.

"It must be the guilt" Willow started, "I can’t see why else she’d be so upset, unless..."

"Unless what, sweetie?" Tara prompted her girlfriend. If she had an idea then they all needed to know. Willow and Tara had moved into the house once it became obvious that Buffy was in no condition to look after herself, nevermind Dawn.

"Well, he loved her" the red-head sighed, "What’s to say she didn’t love him too?"

"Impossible" Giles said immediately, which upset the youngest girl in the room.

"Why?" Dawn snapped, "because he’s a vampire?"

Everyone looked uncomfortable as the teen stood up, especially as they noticed her speak in the present tense - as if Spike were still alive or at least undead.

"He loved her, he really did and she could love him too! She loved Angel! And don’t tell me a soul makes all the difference. If Spike was capable of loving us enough to die for us, why shouldn’t Buffy love him too? Just because it wasn’t obvious doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel it!"

The younger Summers girl stalked up the stairs, tears streaming down her face. She planned on going straight to her room but Buffy’s bedroom door had been left open and the young girl was drawn to her sister.

Buffy half laid, half sat on her bed, a glazed look in her eyes and a blank expression on her face. It was as if she wasn’t even there, just a figure, just a body, barely alive. Dawn sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her sister. So pale and drawn, she was barely recognisable as the Slayer.

"Buffy" Dawn whispered, "I’m sorry. Everyone keeps telling me not to blame myself, but I’m sorry anyway" She moved her hand to push some stray blonde strands off of her sister’s face, but Buffy didn’t even move, not at all.

"Y’know it’s okay" Dawn told her, "It’s okay if...if you..if you loved him, Spike I mean"

"Spike" Buffy echoed his name, eyes still focused somewhere else, "My William"

Silent tears spilled down her cheeks once more and Dawn decided to leave her alone again. It was pointless sitting there with her, she barely knew she was there.

Dawn was just about to close the door when she heard a whisper and she listened to the words her sister kept repeating softly to herself, the same words she had said to herself since that day on the tower.

"Always remember - I love you"

Dawn closed the door and cried a few of her own tears, for Spike and for Buffy, til she felt someone behind her.

"Hey Dawnie, we’re sorry if we upset you" Tara smiled slightly and the two girls hugged each other.

"It’s okay" the younger girl nodded as they pulled apart, "I probably over-reacted anyway"

"How’s Buffy?" Tara whispered her question as the two girls headed back down the stairs.

"The same, still talking to herself" Dawn sighed.

"You okay, honey?" Willow tried to smile at Dawn who shrugged a reply as she entered the living room again, "and Buffy?"

"No better" she said sitting back on the sofa as Tara went back to her chair.

"Why can’t she talk to me?" Giles thought aloud. He was her Watcher, practically her father, he felt responsible for her and yet she would not let him in, wouldn’t talk to him, or anybody.

"When she had problems she talked to Spike" Dawn explained, "Same as I did"

"It’s ironic, the person she needs to get over him is him" Xander laughed humourlessly. He and Spike, they had never seem eye-to-eye, in fact they had more or less hated each other, but even Xander had to admit that Spike had done a brave and wondrous thing when he made that deadly jump into the portal. "I never thought I’d live to see the day when I said this" the young man continued, "but I wish Spike were here"

"We all do" Tara nodded in agreement.

"Then why don’t we bring him back?" Dawn had a sudden thought.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Dawn looked at the floor and tried not to cry as she explained herself.

"When Mom died, I did a spell, to bring her back..." she swallowed hard, "Spike helped me"

"Dawn that kind of spell is dangerous..." Anya told her.

"I know, that’s why I broke it, but there are two of you" she continued, looking up at the two witches in the armchair, "and you have all this power and Spike was a vampire so I know it would be different, but, couldn’t we try?"

"Dawnie, I don’t think the answer is..." Willow started but she was interrupted by someone entering the room from the kitchen.

"I made coffee" the creature who seemed to be Buffy announced with a smile as she put the tray down on the table. The Scoobies had used the BuffyBot for the purposes of patrolling since the real Buffy had not felt up to leaving her room, nevermind staking the undead. It would not do for the demons of Sunnydale to know that the Slayer was so vulnerable, but the gang knew Buffy would probably not appreciate having the mechanical double around so she had been staying with Giles.

"I think perhaps I should be going and taking Bu..her home" Giles amended, tilting his head toward the robot and getting out of his seat.

"Yeah, we should go too" Xander nodded also standing up with Anya at his side.

"I’ll give you both a lift" the older man offered and the three, plus the Buffybot, said their goodbyes.

"I’m going to bed" Dawn gave the two Wiccas a half smile and climbed the stairs.

"Night Dawnie" they called behind her and Tara yawned.

"Maybe we should head up too"

"Yeah" Willow nodded as her girlfriend got out of her seat, "Tara, what Dawn said about bringing Spike back...do you think we could?"

The other witch glanced back at the red-head.

"Willow, you know it’s dangerous, but...I don’t know, maybe it would be possible"

"It’s just" Willow sighed, "Buffy needs him, I, I’m starting t-to think she might love him and well, we need her and she needs him so..."

"We’d need supplies, and it wouldn’t be easy" Tara admitted "but w-we could try"

Willow smiled, a thing rarely seen amongst the gang lately.

"We should try" she nodded, "We’ve got nothing to lose"

"We’ll start research in the morning" Tara smiled back, "but in the meantime" she held out her hand, "let’s go to bed"

* * * * *

Seven thirty in the morning, the alarm clock in the Wicca bedroom sprung to life and both young women moved to turn it off. Neither had really slept, too busy thinking about what they had discussed before.

"Should we tell the others?" Willow wondered, aloud.

"I don’t know" Tara was just as undecided on that issue as her girlfriend was. "Dawn would approve and maybe even Xander and Anya, but I can’t see Giles liking it"

"What about Buffy?" the red head sighed, "We can’t really tell her either, I mean, get her hopes up and then if it didn’t work, she’d be heart broken all over again"

"Do you really think she loved him?" Tara turned on her side and looked at Willow.

"Did and does, I think" the other witch nodded, "she wouldn’t be like this just from guilt, not for all this time and you’ve heard her when she talks to herself"

"Always remember - I love you" Tara said quietly, echoing the words they had all heard Buffy repeating so often. "You think that’s the last thing he said? Before, y’know"

"Could be" Willow agreed, "Could be what she wants him to know too"

"I can’t imagine what I’d do if anything happened to the person I love" Tara fought back tears, "If anything happened to you"

Willow hugged her girlfriend.

"Well, nothing will happen to me, we’re going to be together forever, I promise" she assured her, "And if our plan works, Buffy and Spike will be together too"

* * * * *

"And this will work?" Xander asked the two Wiccas. Willow and Tara had just divulged their plan to their fellow Scoobies; Xander, Anya and Dawn. It was a week since their original idea and since then Willow and Tara had studied every possible book about resurrection and revival, in an attempt to find a spell to bring back Spike. Eventually, when they were sure they had the right one and one that stood a chance of working, they told their friends about it.

"It should work" Willow nodded, "Of course there are no guarantees"

It was late in the day and the Scoobies were gathered around a table at the Magic Box. Giles was at the Summers house, taking his turn to ‘baby-sit’ Buffy. Of course this had been planned so that the younger members of the group could discuss their plan and then patrol with the Bot as usual when it got dark.

"Well, I think it is good that someone is finally doing something useful" Anya spoke suddenly, "Sitting around crying isn’t helping anyone"

"Anya" Xander said her name with a warning tone, but it had no effect, his girlfriend did not see how she had done anything wrong.

"She’s right" Dawn agreed, "We should be doing something other than feeling bad about it"

"Well, we will" Willow nodded, "and it has to be soon too. The spell has to be done under the full moon and we have a lot of ingredients to get sorted out before then. We only have eight days"

"Eight days?" Xander echoed, "that’s not long. Do you think we can do it?"

"I think we have to" the red-headed witch half smiled.

Back at the Summers house, Giles was half asleep in an armchair, the television still switched on in front of him. Suddenly the man was awoken by a scream and he shot up the stairs immediately. He flung open the door to Buffy’s room and found her writhing on her bed, yelling, her eyes firmly shut, in the midst of a nightmare.

"Buffy, its okay" Giles told her, trying to hold her, "It’s okay, you’re safe, it’s just a dream"

He shook her slightly.

"Wake up Buffy, please, it’s just a dream"

"Spike!" she yelled, still dreaming, "Please don’t leave me" she sobbed and cried and choked on her words, as her Watcher tried to hold her still.

"Buffy, please" he shook her a little harder and her eyes shot open.

"Spike?" she whispered when she realised there were a man’s arms around her.

"Buffy it’s me, Giles" the man told her, hugging her.

The girl sobbed into his chest, realising what had happened at last. It was another dream, another flashback, Spike was still gone.

"Always remember - I love you, always remember - I love you" she repeated her mantra, softly to herself as Giles laid her back down in her bed and she cried herself to sleep once more.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 3

"Hey Will" Xander greeted his friend as she entered the Magic Box. Anya smiled from behind the counter where she was counting money.

"Hey guys, is Giles around?"

"No, he was going over to your place with the bot, apparently she misfired or something, needs repairing" Xander explained.

"Oh then I should get back there, I left Tara with Buffy" the red-head told them, "but I’m actually glad he’s not here, I brought the last thing for the spell" she said, taking a jar from her backpack.

"I can’t believe we’re gonna do this" the brunette smiled as he watched his friend produce the last needed item "and tomorrow, its so soon"

"I know" Willow nodded "but we have to do it. For Dawn and for Buffy"

"Do I wanna know what’s in this jar?" Xander asked as he took it from his friend, a thick mixture of red and black swirled inside the container.

Willow grimaced and shook her head.

"Just put it in the trunk with the other stuff"

There was silence as he went to the back room and did just that, taking a moment to marvel at the contents of the trunk no-one but the Scoobies knew anything about, not even Giles. Many spell ingredients, ancient writings, jars of things that Xander either couldn’t pronounce or just didn’t want to know about, black market produce, powerful things that could be used for great evil as well as the greater good.

He closed the trunk and returned to the main room, sharing small smiles with the two women there.

"Okay...well, thirty six hours to go" Willow tried to sound positive but inside she was freaking out about the resurrection. Xander voiced his own feelings on the matter just then.

"I’m starting to worry about this Will, are you sure it’s gonna be okay. I mean I didn’t want to say this in front of Dawn or anything but what if he comes back wrong?" he asked the witch with concern "What if he comes back like evil, or more evil or y’know what I mean"

"Trust me Xander" she said, taking his hand and squeezing it, "it’ll be fine" she said calmly, wishing she believed in what she was saying. So many things could go wrong.

"But we might get it wrong"

"We won’t" Willow said even more firmly "You want me to go through it again with you?"

"I would, please" Anya spoke up. She was an ex-demon and she knew about magic and things but to bring back a vampire from the dead, a good vampire killed by a mystical power who died to save the world, well, it was complex.

"Okay" the witch sat down at the table, Xander and Anya sat opposite her "basically by combining mine and Tara’s power and burning a mixture of certain rare ingredients, we can call on the greater powers" she began to explain.

"The powers, that’s the gods, right?" Xander wanted to make sure he understood completely, this could not be screwed up.

"Well, yes, and we must ask them to let Spike cross over from wherever he’s gone" Willow told him "I should say, wherever his spirit has gone" she amended.

"But he didn’t have a soul cos he was a vampire" Xander thought aloud "so when you say spirit...?"

"Even though demons don’t have souls, they have a spirit and some of them have good in them" Anya pointed out.

"Yes" Willow agreed "we know that because Spike was able to feel love for Buffy and Dawn, enough that he sacrificed himself for them. He has some worth in that respect and the powers may therefore be inclined to let him come back"

"So, where exactly do you think his spirit would have gone?" the human wondered.

"Well, it’s hard to say" Willow shook her head, it was complicated "He wasn’t killed by staking or holy water or fire like ordinary vampires, in many ways he wasn’t an ordinary vampire, that’s why we stand more chance of the spell working. There’s a chance he went to some kind of heaven but being killed by a mystical spirit like he was and being filled with Dawns blood, it’s hard to say exactly what would have happened"

There was silence as the three took in what was being said and the gravity of the situation. It was a major thing that they were going to try to do.

"And we all have to be there, at the graveside" Xander looked pale with worry, messing with the undead everyday he figured he’d be okay with this, but the idea of raising the dead to be undead again, it was confusing and freaking him out.

"Well, the more of us there the more energy will be focused" the witch reasoned "so with me and Tara, you two and Dawn, and a lot of concentration, I think we should be able to pull it off"

Xander sighed.

"Well, I guess tomorrow night, we’ll find out"

* * * * *

"Buffy?" Dawn sat on the edge of her sisters bed again, hoping she would listen to he this time, that she would hear her words and understand, "Buffy, we’re going to make it all okay again, we’re going to try our best and then it will all be okay again"

Willow had made the young Summers girl promise not to say too much about their plans to resurrect Spike. If the spell didn’t go to plan and he didn’t come back, or he came back wrong and they had to destroy what did appear, it would be less painful it Buffy knew nothing of it.

"I have to go now" Dawn said quietly, "But it’s gonna be okay Buffy. Giles is gonna stay here again tonight so you won’t be alone, and if tonight goes okay, which we’re pretty sure it will, well, we won’t ever be alone again"

Dawn kissed her sister on the forehead and slipped out of the room. As she headed down the stairs she heard someone at the front door and soon Giles and Xander appeared in the room.

"Hey Dawnster, ready to patrol?"

Since Spike had died and Buffy had been unable to patrol the Scoobies had taken over, taking the BuffyBot and Dawn out with them. At first the gang had refused when Dawn begged to be included, Buffy never wanted her to fight demons, but when she pouted and said she wanted to do it for Spike and for Buffy, they relented and let her go with them.

As it turned out, Dawn had strength and moves that the Slayer herself would have been proud of and she surprised everybody, including herself. She did not tell anyone, but since that day on the tower she had felt this extra power in her being. It was a little scary for her but she had been so glad she was no longer the Key, that she was normal, she didn’t want everyone to think she was a freak all over again.

"Yeah, I’m ready" Dawn nodded her head and went to fetch her jacket. As she came back into the room Giles turned to her.

"How is Buffy?"

"More or less the same" her sister admitted to the Watcher, and in her mind she added, ‘but after tonight she’ll be better’.

"Okay, well, I’ll see you two later" the older man nodded as Xander and Dawn left the house.

"Are you sure it’s a good idea to keep this a secret from Giles?" Dawn asked as soon as they were outside.

"We have to Dawnie, we don’t have a choice. He wouldn’t approve of the method even if he does of the end result" the man explained.

The girl nodded that she understood. She focused on the good that would, hopefully, come out of tonight. They would bring Spike back and then Buffy would be okay again. She smiled at the thought of having the two most important people in her life back the way they should be.

* * * * *

The Scoobies had met at the Magic Box and took the necessary supplies with them to Spikes grave. It was the night of the full moon, as it needed to be, all they had to do now was wait until midnight.

11:55

Willow sat facing the tombstone, Tara on her left with Dawn next to her, and Xander to her right with Anya next to him. In the centre of the circle, formed of five people and the headstone, lay a dish with a mixture of ingredients inside. In front of Willow lay a box of matches

11:56

Dawn glanced over at the tombstone, read it’s words again like she had so many time these last few weeks since her friend had sacrificed himself for her sake, her sisters sake, the worlds sake. He was William, he was Spike, her protecter, her friend, a warrior until his end, he went down fighting as he always knew he would.

11:57

Willow and Tara exchanged nervous smiles, knowing what they were doing was against so many rules of the world and life and death, but also knowing what they were doing was right even if it was unnatural. This vampire, this man, had ended his undead existence for the sake of the world and his love for a woman, he would return to that world and that woman tonight - he deserved to.

11:58

Xander glanced around the circle and then back at the ground. He felt strange, not just because he was about to resurrect a dead vampire, although that would be enough to scare anyone. He felt odd because he and Spike, well, they had never seen eye to eye, and here he was helping to bring him back from the dead. He wondered to himself ‘why am I doing this?’ but he knew the answer. Spike was one of the Scoobies, how ever much Xander tried to deny it, he was a changed vamp and he loved Buffy and Dawn that was for sure. Those two needed him, the world needed him, he had to come back.

11:59

If Xander felt strange, Anya felt stranger. An ex-demon helping in the resurrection of an evil-turned-loving dead vampire. But she was helping Dawn and Buffy and that was all she needed to know.

Seconds before midnight, Willow took a match and lit the contents of the bowl before her. She began to chant in Latin, taking Tara and Xanders hands in hers. They in turn took the hands of Dawn and Anya and as Willow nodded the signal the teenager and the ex-demon placed their hands on the side of the headstone.

A smoky mist floated from the dish and whooshed around the circle of friends, faster and faster, visibly red and orange in colour, spinning to form a ring within the circle.

Willows chant ended and she spoke in English now.

"Concentrate on the energy" she told her friends before looking heavenward.

"Oh great powers, we ask this of you

Send back this warrior who died for love

Regenerate body and resurrect,

Let his spirit cross over and come back to us"

The circle of energy shifted, wrapping itself around Willows head, still spinning.

"Concentrate" the witch whispered and the friends gripped each others hands tighter.

The band of energy tightened around the witches head, tighter and tighter making Willow scream in agony.

"Let his spirit cross over and come back to us" she yelled through the pain.

The other four friends looked panicked by the red-heads pain but did not know what to do about it or if they should do anything at all. Tara remembered Willow telling her there might be pain but she had not imagined anything like this.

Suddenly, without warning a gang of demons rushed the Scoobies. They dropped each others hands and got to their feet instinctively. As soon as the circle was broken the energy moved from around Willow’s head, hovered over the grave and disappeared, as the witch collapsed on the ground.

"Willow!" Tara screamed, rushing to help her girlfriend.

Xander, Anya and Dawn began battling demons left and right. there was no telling why they had come or where they had come from but it didn’t matter. As far as the gang were concerned they just needed killing.

Willow came back to consciousness with Tara at her side.

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

"Demons attacked" Tara hurriedly explained, "We have to get out of here"

"The spell" Willow mumbled as her girlfriend helped her to her feet.

"Not now, we have to go" the blonde Wicca told the red-head, but she argued.

"It has to be done now, we have to finish" she rambled.

"No, we have to get you out of here" Tara said firmly. She focused herself enough to put a moveable protective barrier around herself and her girlfriend and started half carrying, half dragging her away from the scene.

Xander, Anya and Dawn managed to kill several demons and Dawn surprised herself with just what she could do. It would have surprised the others too but they were too busy fighting to notice. Finally as the last demon was killed the group stood together and looked around at the devastation.

"Worst timing ever for an attack" Xander panted for breath and the two girls nodded in agreement.

"My friends" they heard suddenly, all turning to see what looked like Buffy behind them.

"Hey Buffster-bot" Xander called, "You couldn’t have got here a little faster, say when we were fighting the demons"

"It’s not her fault, Xan" Dawn pointed out, "She’s not really Buffy"

"Maybe we should get back to the house, see if Willow and Tara are okay" he suggested next.

"You and Anya go" Dawn said quickly, "I’ll patrol with the bot, in case anymore nasties show up"

"It’d be safer if we all went home..." the man started but Dawn cut him off.

"No, please, I need some time" she said slowly, and Xander knew what she meant. The spell had failed, he suddenly realised it, and Dawn was hurting all over again.

"Okay, Dawnie. Anya and me will go back and we’ll see you in say two hours, no longer"

Dawn nodded in agreement, before walking away with the robot of Buffy.

* * * * *

"You foolish girls!" Giles reprimanded the two Wiccas as they finished divulging their plan to him. He was shocked by their behaviour.

"That sort of spell is very dangerous!" he told them, cleaning his glasses for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"We know" Tara nodded, "but we had to try Giles, for Buffy’s sake as well as for Dawn"

The Watcher sighed and sat down.

"I do understand why you did it, but I worry about all of you and anything could have happened"

"But it’s okay" Willow assured him, "I mean, the spell failed, but I’ll be okay and I’m hoping the guys handled the demons"

"Certainly did" Xander smiled, entering the room with Anya, "All done and dusted, pardon the pun"

"Where’s Dawn?" Giles wanted to know.

"Patrolling with the bot" Xander explained, "She needed some time"

The gang all nodded that they understood.

"Well, I’m thinking research of the new demon population is in order" Xander continued, "Cos I’d never seen those type of things before and I sure don’t think I can face sleep tonight"

"Very well" Giles agreed, getting up, "We’ll go to the Magic Box"

"Willow, you shouldn’t go anywhere, you’re still weak" Tara told her girlfriend.

"I’ll stay here" Willow nodded, "Someone has to stay with Buffy anyway, but you go, all of you, the more people the faster the research gets done"

The two Wiccas shared a watery smile, before Tara nodded and agreed to go with Xander, Anya and Giles to the Magic Box.

* * * * *

The Buffybot wasn’t half as smart as Buffy and it didn’t take Dawn long to get the facsimile of her sister to let her go on alone. Yes, there were dangers, but Dawn had felt a lot stronger since that day on the tower, and look what she had done to those demons today! It seemed so strange for her to be so strong when Buffy seemed so weak, it was almost as if...

A strange feeling came over Dawn and she knew she was being watched.

"Who’s there?" she called, before realising how stupid that was. A vampire or demon or something was hardly likely to call back and tell her who they were. Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and without a second thought Dawn grabbed the arm and spun the figure around. She laid a few impressive punches and kicks on him before finally bringing him to the ground with a crash. Dawn moved towards the black clad creature, lying on its back in front of her. She didn’t even consider running, she grabbed her stake from her pocket and made to launch herself at the figure who had attacked her.

"Buffy?" she heard him murmur and she knew that voice. Through the shadows she made out a face.

"Spike?" she whispered, kneeling beside him. Bright blue orbs blinked up at her.

"Little Bit?" Spike gaped at her.

"Oh my God, Spike, it worked!" Dawn shreiked, grabbing her friend "It worked! It’s really you!"

To Be Continued...

Chapter 4

"Oh my God, Spike, it worked! It’s really you!"

Dawn shrieked with delight as she helped Spike up off the ground and made to hug him, but he pulled back and shook his head violently.

"I’m sorry if I hurt you" she said quickly wondering why he seemed so desperate to escape her grasp.

"No, no, no, too hot, too hot and too loud" he rambled, wandering back and forth and shaking his head.

"Spike, it’s okay" Dawn tried to calm him down and she reached for his hand. She was shocked when she saw blood.

"What happened to your hands?" she asked him but he wasn’t making sense, still repeating words like ‘hot’ and ‘loud’ and seeming completely disorientated.

"Look, let’s just get you back to the house" the young Summers tried to get him to listen, "Spike for Buffy’s sake, please"

"For Buffy" Spike echoed, suddenly still and quiet.

"Yes, for Buffy, come home with me"

Spike just nodded and Dawn led him by the arm, through the graveyard and back to the Summers house, only glad they were not too far away and that hopefully either Willow or Tara would be home by now.

"Too loud, too hot, oh god please help me, make it stop" Spike continued to mumble to himself and Dawn was getting scared as she entered the house and sat him down on the sofa. He didn’t seem at all aware of where he was or what was going on.

Willow came down the stairs when she heard someone at the front door. She had been checking on Buffy while the rest of the gang were at the Magic Box, researching the demon from earlier.

"Dawnie?" she called as she entered the living room. She jumped back several feet when she saw Spike on the sofa with Dawn kneeling in front of him.

"Willow, I don’t know what to do with him" the teen said as calmly as she could, and the red-headed started to edge forward towards Spike.

"Oh my God, it worked, he’s back" she said in amazement. She’d been so convinced their spell had failed when he didn’t appear immediately.

"Yeah, but something isn’t right" Dawn sighed as Spike writhed on the sofa, half standing then sitting again and rambling madly still, "I found him in the graveyard like this - and look at his hands"

"Oh God, the graveyard..." Willow put her hand over her mouth and went deathly pale. It all added up to something frightening.

"What is it Willow?" Dawn didn’t understand.

"We brought him back" she said quietly, sitting down on the coffee table opposite the frantic man as he seemed to tire of thrashing around, "We brought him back right where we left him"

"Oh my God, you mean in the ground?" Dawn felt sick at the realisation.

Willow nodded, swallowing hard as Spike seemed to get calmer, almost lying flat on the sofa now, speaking less and not shaking so much.

"How did he get out of the coffin and the grave?" Dawn whispered, almost afraid of what she was asking.

"I guess from the state of his hands he dug out. No wonder he’s such a mess"

"But he would have done that when he first became a vampire" Dawn thought aloud.

"I don’t think it’s something you get used to Dawnie, it’s still gonna be traumatic" Willow spoke quietly as Spike finally slept. She stood up and took Dawn aside.

"Go and fetch the others, tell them what happened and bring them back here" she told the younger girl, "Tell them to be quiet when they come in, we should let him sleep, maybe he’ll be better when he wakes up again. I’ll try to clean his hands up while he’s sleeping"

"Okay" Dawn nodded, going to fetch her jacket.

"Oh Willow" she said to her friend before she left, "What about Buffy?"

"She’s asleep too and it won’t help her to see him like this anyway" the Wicca explained.

Dawn nodded in agreement as she opened the front door.

"And Dawn" he friend called to her, "be careful"

The young girl left the house and Willow went to fetch bandages and other supplies to clean up Spikes hands. She sat on the coffee table as she had before and reached out to clean the blood from his fingers. He flinched in his sleep and Willow realised it was never going to work. She sighed, glad she was a witch and with a few simple words and the pointing of her fingers, the cuts on Spikes hands cleaned and sealed themselves.

Willow smiled at her work and went to out the medical supplies back in the kitchen cupboard. Spike was back, a little worse for wear mentally right now, but she was sure he would be alright. Okay, maybe she wasn’t sure, but she hoped. If Spike was okay then Buffy should be too and things could get back to normal.

A sound from the living room interrupted her thoughts and the red-head rushed back to see Spike moving slightly and moaning in his sleep. She moved cautiously towards him and saw he was sweating too.

Willow put her hand on his forehead and found him to be very hot and feverish. ‘How is that possible?’ she thought to herself, ‘Vampires are cold’ She placed her other hand on his head instead, checked again, thinking she was going crazy. No, she was right, he was very hot. He seemed to be calming down again and she pushed his hair out of his face as he slept quietly again. It was then she noticed something, underneath her hand, a strange movement like a pulse, but it couldn’t be, not a real pulse.

Willow carefully moved her hand from Spike’s head to his chest. A regular thump was there, a heartbeat. She drew her hand back fast as if it had burnt her.

Body heat, a pulse, a heartbeat and, she checked, yes, he was breathing steadily, out of necessity. Realisation dawned within her mind just as she heard the front door open.

She turned as the Scoobies; Dawn, Xander, Anya, Tara and Giles, as they piled into the living room. They all glanced at Spike in wonder and then at Willow. They knew he was back but actually seeing him there, asleep on the sofa was a shock. Willow half smiled, pleased but confused by her discovery.

"Guys" she said, slowly "Spike’s back and...he’s alive"

To Be Continued

Chapter 5

The Scoobies; Dawn, Xander, Anya, Tara and Giles, piled into the living room. They all glanced at Spike in wonder and then at Willow. They knew he was back but actually seeing him there, asleep on the sofa was a shock. Willow half smiled, pleased but confused by her discovery.

"Guys" she said, slowly "Spike’s back and...he’s alive"

"He’s what?" Dawn’s eyes were wide with shock as she took a step forward towards the man asleep on the sofa.

"Alive" Willow repeated, almost unable to believe it herself, but almost one hundred percent sure it was true.

Dawn moved forward, just watching Spike as he slept. Could it be possible that he was no longer a vampire but a real human again?

"This is extraordinary" Giles gasped, "And you are certain of this fact Willow?" he checked.

"He’s got a heartbeat and a pulse and everything" she nodded, "He’s warm, too hot actually even for a human, and he seems to be breathing more out of necessity than habit. He’s alive" she said again.

"Well then, it is no wonder his was confused as Dawn said" the Watcher cleaned his glasses as he spoke, "To be brought back from, wherever he was and to be a human instead of a vampire, imagine the distress"

"Plus the whole digging out of the ground thing" Xander shuddered at his own thought.

"So, the spell worked but it went wrong" Anya was having trouble understanding, as usual. She was standing with Xander, holding onto his hand, with Giles and Tara on her other side. Dawn, who was now sitting on the edge of the sofa by the sleeping Spike, turned to answer her question.

"Well we got him back so yeah, the spell worked, but something weird happened"

Willow, standing between the other Scoobies and the sofa, shook her head.

"I don’t know what happened, I mean, he was just supposed to come back the way he went - a vampire"

The gang just stood still, awe-struck by the whole situation when suddenly there was a sound, something like a moan from Spike.

"Spike, can you hear me?" Dawn asked him gently, "Spike, it’s okay, it’s Dawn"

"Nibblet" he whispered as is eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah, it’s me" the girl smiled when she heard one of his many nicknames for her, "Don’t worry, you’re safe and you’re gonna be okay"

"Make the noise stop, it’s too loud, thumping" he rambled quietly his eyes flickering open and closed.

"It’s okay" the young girl assured him, "You’re back home now, whatever happened to you when you left it’s over now"

"The heat, the noise, please make it stop" he begged, starting to struggle to get away.

"He must have been somewhere awful to be in that kind of state" Xander spoke quietly to Giles, "You think he’s been in hell? Y’know with the heat and the noise?"

"No" the Watcher shook his head as realisation dawned on his face, "No, it’s his body"

"Of course" Willow nodded in understanding, "Vampires are cold, now he’s a human he’s warm and he doesn’t understand why"

"But the noise..." Tara started before realising, "Oh, it’s his heartbeat, he’s not used to hearing it"

"Spike" Dawn turned her attention back to the semi-conscious figure on the sofa, "Spike, it’s okay, but you’re alive now, not dead or undead anymore, you’re alive"

He stopped moving completely and his eyes were suddenly wide open, boring holes into the girl who leaned over him.

"You have bodyheat like the rest of us now" Dawn continued quietly "And that sound you hear is your heart"

She smiled as she picked up one of the mans magically healed hands and placed it over her own chest and then over his.

"You see, you have a heartbeat like mine"

There was a moments silence as the ex-vampire stared up at her and the other Scoobies watched the almost completely one-sided conversation in amazement. Slowly Spike nodded, it seemed he was beginning to understand.

"How?" he asked in a low whisper and Willow knelt on the floor beside him.

"We don’t know Spike, we were just trying to bring you back, to bring you home"

The man glanced over at the witch and then back at Dawn. He nodded again, his head was spinning but things were starting to make some sense.

He remembered waking up in the coffin and being scared. He felt claustraphobic and he dug his way out through the box and the ground until he reached oxygen. Breathing had been hard and he’d found he needed to do it too. Then it had hit him, the heat and the sound and it was too much. He was disorientated and confused and he had wandered through the graveyard for several minutes until he’d seen someone, a person. He’d thought it was Buffy, she looked like her, from the back and in the dark. He soon found out she fought like her too, but it wasn’t Buffy. It had been Dawn, his Little Bit. She was alive and well and suddenly it all came rushing back to him, the day on the tower - his death.

"I’m sorry" he whispered. Dawn shook her head, she didn’t understand and Spike looked up at her with visible tears in his eyes.

"I hurt my Nibblet, I bit you" he said in a shaky voice, he couldn’t bare to face her eyes and he glanced away. Dawn put her hand on the side of his face and turned his head til he looked at her again.

"You did it to save my life" she smiled, "to save Buffy’s life and to save the world. You don’t have to apologise for that"

He nodded slowly, weakly, he understood.

"And I’m fine" Dawn smiled as tears slid down her cheeks, tears of joy at having Spike back, "We’re all fine, look everyone’s here for you" she gestured across the room and he turned to see the silent Scoobies.

"Welcome home, Spike" Tara smiled and he smiled back at the kindly witch, then at Anya who waved a little.

"I guess my calling you Evil Dead is over" Xander grinned, trying to bring some humour to the situation. Giles rolled his eyes, thinking the comment inappropriate, but Spike just smiled.

He was back, in the world he had died to save and surrounded by people that he had cared about. He’d told Buffy he’d cared about them all and as strange as it seemed it was true, even the whelp with his stupid comments. He’d missed them all in the place where he’d been, especially Buffy - where was she?

"Buffy?" Spike asked weakly, "Is she okay?"

"Yes" Dawn answered quickly, "Well" she considered what she’d said, "she misses you a lot"

‘Understatement of the century’ the entire room thought simultaneously.

"Where is she?" Spike tried to sit up, but found he had hardly any strength and fell straight back down.

"Upstairs, sleeping" Willow told him, "which you should probably be doing too"

"I want to see her, please" he begged, knowing he could do nothing but ask. He had to have their permission and their help if he was going to make it up those steps to his beloved girl.

The Scoobies glanced at each other and Xander spoke up.

"We brought you back for her, makes sense for you to see her now you’re here"

"Something sensible from you Xander" Giles commented, "Two miracles in one night"

"Watcher makes jokes now" said Spike with a grin, causing the rest of the group to smile too. Their expressions soon changed to grimaces as Spike tried to climb off of the sofa. They could almost feel the pain he felt as he pulled his weary body to it’s feet. Willow stepped toward him, encouraging him to lean on her.

"Thanks Red" he smiled and she felt tears in her eyes at the sound of the name she’d missed hearing, "And I mean for everything"

"Let’s get you to Buffy" she smiled in response and they walked toward the stairs. As the reached the bottom, Spike grabbed the banister rail and let go of the witch.

"I can manage now" he told her.

"Okay" she nodded, "Er, Buffy doesn’t know that we were going to bring you back"

"Why didn’t you tell her?" he asked with a tilt of his head. He leaned his weight on the banister and looked over at the gang.

"She’s not like she was" Dawn told him, "She hasn’t been the same since you left"

"What’s wrong with her?" he wanted to know, suddenly panicked and very alert.

"She’s weak" Willow explained, "She hasn’t been eating much and she doesn’t like leaving her room. She says things, sort of to herself..."

"What kind of things?" he wanted to know.

"‘Always remember - I love you’" Dawn quoted, "That’s what she says most, sometimes I think she’s trying to talk to you"

"No" Spike shook his head and then glanced up the stairs as he thought of Buffy, "No, that was what I said to her, the very last thing I..." he trailed off, suddenly starting to climb the stairs.

The rest just watched him go, hoping that all would be well now he was back. He was back as a human now and that would take some getting used to for everybody, himself included, but with any luck Buffy would get back to some normality soon.

Chapter 7

"Guys" Buffy said slowly, "Thankyou"

It was such a small word for all she wanted to say. All this emotion she had inside, all the thoughts that spun in her head and all the joy and love in her heart - but all she could do was say ‘thankyou’ to those friends that had made her happiness possible, by bringing her Spike back to her.

Tears slipped down her face, tears of happiness of course, and it was not long before similar tears fell down the cheeks of Willow, Tara and Dawn. No-one really knew what to say and so Spike echoed what Buffy had said.

"Yeah, thankyou for bringing me back to her" he said quietly, glancing over at Buffy, "I was lost without her"

"I know what you mean" she smiled, as more tears crept down her cheeks. Spike gently brought his hand to her face and wiped away the droplets that were gathering.

Dawn couldn’t bare to stand there any longer just watching. She was so happy to have Spike back and over-joyed to see Buffy looking more like herself, she ran across the room and flung herself at both of them. She cried as they formed a three way hug which soon grew as Willow and Tara joined in. Giles, Xander and Anya stayed back for a moment as the others sobbed and held each other.

"Thankyou so much" Buffy repeated to the two witches as the large group hug split apart at last.

"You’re so welcome" Willow told her "but it wasn’t just us"

"Dawn helped and so did Xander and Anya" Tara explained, "We kind of didn’t tell Giles til afterwards..." she looked down and felt half ashamed and half embarrassed.

"Don’t worry about that now, Tara" the Watcher told her kindly, "Let’s just thank our lucky stars that it worked"

"Better than it should’ve" Spike smiled, "I mean, I’m back in the real land of the living now, with you lot to thank for it"

"Does that mean we’re supposed to hug you too?" Anya asked, wondering what the correct thing was to do when you had helped your vampire acquaintance to be recently resurrected as a human being.

"Yeah, I s’pose so" the ex-vamp smiled stepping toward the ex-demon and hugging her briefly. She smiled widely as they broke apart, feeling happy she’d down the correct thing.

"Your turn Xander" she said, shoving him forward and the brunette looked daggers at her. He was glad Spike was back for Buffy’s sake and he had to admit he respected him for saving the world and everything the way he had but did he really want to hug him?

"What do you say Xan?" Spike asked and Xander was shocked to hear his real name, albeit an abbreviated form, "New life for me, new start for us?" he suggested.

It made sense, Xander thought. Spike wasn’t a vampire anymore, no longer undead or evil or bad, plus he probably had a soul now and Buffy did love him...

"Why not" he shrugged, sticking out his hand which Spike took and shook it before pulling the bemused man forward and hugging him.

"I think there might be something wrong with my glasses" Giles mumbled as he cleaned them and everyone smiled knowing what he meant. The sight before them was a strange one.

"Don’t start, Watcher" Spike threatened but with a smile on his face as he released Xander, "You’re next"

"Thankyou Spike, but that really won’t be necessary" he took a step back, "I had nothing to do with your, erm, resurrection"

The bleach blond almost looked offended but he just nodded and went back to Buffy’s side, taking her hand in his again. She seemed to notice for the first time that he wasn’t perhaps as clean as he might be.

"Spike, you’re covered in dirt" she said without thinking about the possible reason for it. He glanced down to see trademark black T-shirt and jeans covered in dust and dried mud and suddenly the memories of digging from his grave came back to him. He closed his eyes and shuddered violently at the thoughts then curiously looked at his hands, the one holding Buffy’s and then the other.

"My hands" he said almost to himself and Willow knew what he meant.

"I fixed them" she told him, "Cleaned them up with a spell whilst you were sleeping"

"Thanks" he nodded.

"What happened to your hands?" Buffy didn’t understand.

"Can we sleep on it, luv, and talk about it in the morning?" he suggested, he didn’t know if he had the strength to go over it all right now, besides he knew there would be plenty the Scoobies wanted to tell him as well as ask him and he needed to rest and get used to his new body before that.

"Sure" Buffy smiled and nodded, and Giles checked his watch.

"Oh goodness, yes, look at the time" he said, "We really should be going"

Soon he had gone along with Xander and Anya, who all promised to come back the next afternoon. Tara and Willow went up to their room, what used to be Joyce’s, and Dawn went to hers after giving Spike a final hug.

"I’ll crash out on the sofa" Spike told Buffy but she shook her head.

"No, you’re coming with me" she smiled, leading up the stairs by the hand. They only got two steps up when he stopped her.

"Buffy, I don’t think we should..." he started and she knew what he meant.

"We’re not going to" she told him, "I just want you with me" tears came to her eyes as she looked down at him, "I just want your arms around me, I can’t be away from you not again"

"You don’t have to be" he said gently, his own tears starting to form. He pulled her into his arms and dropped a kiss on the top of her head as she hugged him back.

"I love you so much" she told him.

"And I love you too" he said, pulling back a little to look into her eyes, "I always have and I always will"

She smiled, moving to take hold of his hand again and leading him up to her bedroom, where they slept peacefully in each others arms.

To Be Continued