A/N: Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to the first chapter! You guys really are fuel for my inspiration. Hope you enjoy this second instalment.

Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas! :-)


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CHAPTER TWO


It took Spike’s bewildered mind a whole five paces to make the connection: the Scoobies’ strange behaviour… and Buffy’s sudden appearance. They had done this. They had brought her back. His sudden realisation stopped him in his tracks and Buffy came to a startled stop behind him as he whirled to face her.

“They did this,” he murmured, taking in her dazed, scared look; her long, dark hair; her bloodstained hands, “They did this… And didn’t even think to dig you up first.”

If she had any idea what he was talking about, she showed no sign of it, simply watching him quietly, eyes still tinted with fear. In an instant, his awe was replaced by anger and he spun quickly, marching with renewed fervour in the same direction.

“Stupid stupid children,” he growled to himself, speeding up his pace.

He needed to see them, see the awful guilt in their faces when they realised just what they had done. Yes, they had achieved a miracle: Buffy was alive. But he knew – had known from the instant she rose to her feet – that this was not Buffy. Not the Buffy he had known and loved. She was different, changed in some awful way – and it only took one look at her bewildered eyes to confirm this suspicion. He had never seen Buffy afraid.



His every sense was tuned into her – the smell of her, the regular beating of her heart – as she followed him at an unsteady pace. He was slightly taken aback by how trustingly she followed him, without hesitation, and thanked a God he didn’t believe in that he had been the one to find her. As she was now, she was easy prey – too bewildered, too dazed – and he didn’t even want to imagine what might have happened if he hadn’t been there.

He slowed his pace now and let her catch up to him, needing to look at her again, needing to know that she was real. She caught up quickly but kept what he assumed she thought of as a safe distance between them, eyes darting over him nervously.

“It’s alright, love,” he spoke up, unable to bear the silence, “Get you home soon enough. Dawn’ll be… she’ll be chuffed.”

When he thought of how Dawn would react to her sister’s sudden return to the living, he felt a lump in his throat. The Bit had struggled these few months, losing all faith in a world that had taken her mother and her sister from her. Now her sister was back and he could hardly imagine how momentous this would be for the poor girl.



Thanks to his inner turmoil, he had hardly noticed their progress across town until the Summers’ house was looming over them. He could see the silhouettes of the Scoobies in the living room and anger returned once more. He forced it down and turned to look at Buffy. She was studying the house intently, but he couldn’t tell if there was recognition in her gaze, or just simple curiosity.

“This is your home. Gonna be a lot of… lots of people waiting for you.”

She regarded him blankly and with a breath, he turned to the house, struggling to restrain his temper. It would be all too easy to rip the door off and storm in, force them to face the reality of what they had done. But that was not what Buffy needed right now, in her fragile state.

He forced himself to take several deep – albeit unneeded - breaths and finally moved forwards, opening the door and walking in, Buffy following him slowly. The Scoobies looked up and fell silent as soon as he came into view.

“Spike-“

Whatever Willow had been going to say was completely forgotten as his companion came into view, eyeing the occupants of the room warily. He saw the wave of shock ripple through them, one by one.

“Oh my God,” Willow breathed, “It worked.”

He clenched his jaw tightly to stop any kind of outburst and stepped aside, watching Buffy carefully as the group rose almost as one and descended upon her.



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There were too many of them. These nameless but recognisable faces that crowded around her. They were all talking to her but she could make no sense of their words. Her still blurry vision could hardly distinguish their features and helplessly, she turned her head, searching for the blonde man. The one who had pulled her from that dark, tight place. He stood at a little distance, watching her, and his steady gaze calmed her once more. She would be safe as long as he was watching over her, she knew that.


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He sensed her as soon as she left her room and turned his gaze to the stairs. The teen descended hesitantly, unsure what all the noise was about. He knew the exact moment she laid eyes on her sister as she went deathly still and her eyes went wide. She let out a gasp and her eyes flew to his, searching for reassurance. He nodded once and beckoned to her. She made her way down the rest of the stairs and paused at the bottom, staring at the back of her sister’s head.

Seeing the girl, the group stepped back and he saw Buffy’s wary gaze fly to his. She turned and Dawn gave a tearful gasp.

“Buffy?”

Before anyone could say anything, the girl threw herself at her sister and embraced her tightly. He saw Buffy recoil but she did not pull away – although she did not return the embrace either.

“Dawn,” he called softly, and the teen pulled away and looked at him with a teary gaze, “She needs cleaning up. Why don’t you take her upstairs, yeah?”

The teen nodded slowly and gently took one of her sister’s hands.

“I’m going to get you clean, okay?” she murmured, drawing Buffy towards the stairs.

He saw Buffy throw a look at him, but then she followed her sister obediently, still eerily quiet. He turned towards the Scoobies and felt all of his anger return full force.