Disclaimer: All the characters are borrowed from Joss Whedon. 

Thank you for all the encouraging reviews! Sorry it took so long to update!


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Chapter 5
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By the time evening fell, Spike’s stomach was growling with hunger. They had watched TV all day, first cartoons, then some nature shows that Buffy seemed to find soothing. Now they unwound themselves and Spike led her back downstairs, making her some more soup for her dinner. “I need to go out to get more food,” he explained.
 
“More?” she said, trying to understand.
 
He pointed at the soup and nodded. “More. I need to go. Can you stay here?” he asked, gesturing to the room. Buffy concentrated, then nodded. She patted the bed and said, “Here.”
 
“That’s the ticket. I’ll be back as fast as I can.” He smiled reassuringly at her before dashing up the stairs.
 
Buffy listened as the crypt door opened and closed, leaving her in silence. She curled up against the headboard, nervous about being alone. She understood that he was coming back, and that she had to stay here. Safe place, she repeated silently to herself. This is a safe place.
 
Outside, Spike looked around, sniffing the air to see if any vamps or demons were around. The breeze ruffled his hair and flared his coat, and he had a bit of a struggle to light his cigarette. Checking once more for threats, he made his way out of the cemetery to his motorcycle, kicking it to life and heading for the butcher’s. I’ll have to grab some more supplies for Buffy as well, he thought. Maybe try to sneak in a quick patrol. He was so preoccupied with his shopping list that he didn’t notice the car parked in the nearby alley.
 
“Ok, he’s gone,” Xander said as they watched Spike roar by. “Let’s go.” Xander, Willow, and Anya piled out of the car and headed for the crypt. Tara had been left at home to explain the situation to Dawn, since she had the best rapport with the teen. The three remaining Scoobies made their way quickly through the cemetery and were soon standing before Spike’s door. They cautiously stepped in and crossed to the stairs.
 
Buffy sat up when she heard the door open. She looked with anticipation at the stairs, hoping her angel had returned. When she heard Xander’s voice say, “Buffy? It’s just us. We’re friends, okay?” she scrambled off the bed and backed away from the stairs slowly. Xander came into view first, holding his hands out. “No one’s going to hurt you. We just want to take you home, that’s all.”
 
Buffy made a frightened sound and shook her head violently. “Here,” she said shakily. The angel told me to stay here. Then she looked up and saw Willow and Anya and backed away even more. “No no no,” she repeated, clearly terrified.
 
Xander continued approaching, like someone trying to catch a wounded animal. “Easy, Buffy. Just come with us. We’ll get you out of this hole, okay?” When he reached for her she skittered away with a screech. She saw the stake on the dresser and grabbed it, holding it in front of her for protection.
 
Xander stopped. “Uh, Willow, this isn’t working. I think it’s time for plan B.”
 
Willow held out her arms and muttered an incantation. “Still,” she proclaimed at the end. Buffy froze in place, her eyes wide and frightened, her heart beating a mile a minute. Xander gently took the stake and put it down. He tried to pick her up, but she was stiff as a statue. Willow closed her eyes and spoke again. “Sleep.” Buffy suddenly crumpled, and Xander barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor.
 
“Jeez, Willow, a little warning would be good,” he complained. He hefted the now unconscious Buffy in his arms. “Ok, let’s get her home before Deadboy returns.” He followed the girls upstairs and out to the car. They arranged Buffy in the back seat next to Willow and drove home. “It’s okay, Buffster,” Xander said to the sleeping girl. “You’ll be back where you belong soon.”
 
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“Why didn’t any of you tell me any of this?” Dawn cried. Tara had just finished explaining the whole tale of Willow’s resurrection spell. At first Dawn was overwhelmed by a mixture of astonishment and joy at the news that her sister had been returned to her. But as Tara had continued her description of how Buffy had run from them, and how she was now at Spike’s crypt in a very fragile state, Dawn’s happiness was being overshadowed by suspicion and distrust.
 
“We didn’t want to get your hopes up, Dawnie,” Tara soothed. “We didn’t know if it was going to work at all. Then when she came back and ran from us, we didn’t know what had happened. We didn’t want to worry you or cause you more stress.”
 
Dawn was slightly mollified by this explanation, but questioned further. “So she’s alright now? That’s why you’re bringing her home?”
 
Tara took a deep breath and faced the agitated teen. “Dawn, we’re… we’re not sure how alright she is. Last time we saw her, she wouldn’t let us get near her. She’s frightened; she doesn’t seem to remember who she is and where she is. She attacked Willow at one point. It may… it may take a while before she recovers from wherever she was.”
 
“Do… do you think she’ll remember me?” Dawn asked in a sad little voice.
 
“We’re hoping that when she sees you and gets into familiar surroundings that she’ll come back to herself,” Tara explained. “But you just need to be prepared for the fact that she may not be herself right away.”
 
Dawn chewed her lip thoughtfully. “What did Spike have to say about all this?” she asked.
 
“Spike wasn’t involved in the spell,” Tara said. “Buffy just showed up at his crypt, and he’s been taking care of her. He called here early in the morning when we were all exhausted after fighting those biker guys. He says that she hasn’t been talking or understanding him much.”
 
“Is she… is she safe?” Dawn asked. “She’s the Slayer. What if she decides to Slay us or something?”
 
“Willow can restrain her with magic if necessary,” Tara said, sounding more confident than she felt. Truth was that this constant use of magic worried Tara more than she could say. The resurrection spell had been much closer to black magic than Tara had thought it would be, and Willow’s casual casting of spells with hardly a thought was starting to turn Willow into something Tara didn’t like. I’m really going to have to talk to her when this all settles down. Turning back to the matter at hand she said to Dawn, “I think it would be a good idea to get all the weapons out of her room, just in case. Can you come give me a hand with that?”  Dawn followed her upstairs to help prepare for Buffy’s homecoming.
 
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When the car pulled up, Dawn was waiting impatiently in the living room, hugging her long thin arms to herself and pacing with anticipation. The door opened and Xander came in, carrying Buffy’s sleeping form, and Dawn rushed up to greet them. “Buffy?” she said, hardly daring to believe. “What happened?”
 
“I had to knock her out to get her to come with us,” Willow explained as they all followed Xander up to Buffy’s room. Xander laid her gently on her bed and was nearly run over by Dawn who came up to stroke her sister’s face, reassuring herself that Buffy was truly alive again.
 
“When will she wake up?” Dawn asked.
 
“I need to lift the spell,” Willow said. “Dawn, you might want to, um, stand back a bit. She’s been a bit violent at times.” Nervously, Dawn stepped back a foot or two. After a short incantation, Willow said, “Arise” in a firm voice. They all waited, hearts in their throats, to see what would happen.
 
Buffy stirred, her eyes still closed. Soft, she thought. She must still be with the angel. She thought the others, the bad ones had come, but she must be mistaken. She slowly opened her eyes. When she saw her surroundings she bolted upright, practically hyperventilating in panic. This wasn’t the same place. This room was bright – too bright. Instead of the piercing blue eyes of the angel who protected her she found the four who had come before with their loud voices and the stink of their magic. There was another too, but she was too terrified to look closely at her. She jumped out of the bed, looking wildly around for something to defend herself with. Mustn’t hurt them the angel said, she thought. But what are they going to do to me?
 
“Buffy?” said the unfamiliar one. Dawn walked slowly toward her, trying not to frighten her. “It’s me, Dawn. Do you remember? Your sister?”
 
Buffy backed away, but looked searchingly at the newcomer. The dark haired girl. I needed to keep her safe. I brought her to the angel to keep her safe. They must have gotten her too. She suddenly grabbed Dawn’s arm and pulled the teen behind her, guarding her with her body to protect her from the others.
 
Dawn yelped a bit with surprise and a little pain from her sister’s strong grip. “Buffy, what are you doing?” she cried. “This is home. It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you.”
 
Buffy’s eyes darted from the Scoobies to Dawn and back. The dark haired girl wasn’t frightened of the bad ones. Could it be that she didn’t know what they were capable of? Dawn tried to get out from behind her and rejoin the group but Buffy grabbed her again. “No! N…not s… s… safe,” she stammered, struggling to get the words to form.
 
Tara saw that Dawn was becoming frightened, and that Buffy’s panicked grasp was hurting the girl. “Buffy, let her go. You’re hurting her,” Tara said in a gentle yet firm voice.
 
Willow on the other hand immediately muttered another incantation, and Buffy froze in place. Dawn pulled out of her grasp and stepped back. Tara quickly drew the teen to her side, comforting her. “Willow, let her go,” Tara insisted. “She needs to know we’re not trying to hurt her.”
 
Willow muttered again, and Buffy was free to move. Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, completely bewildered. The dark haired girl was siding with the bad ones. She used to be someone important, but somehow she had gone against her. Why is she joining them? Did they force her, like they forced me to leave the good place? She shook her head again and again, tears of confusion and fear running down her face.
 
“Buffy, it’s okay,” Willow said. “You’re home. We got you out. We want to help. Just tell us what you need and we’ll help you.”
 
Buffy had no idea what the red-haired woman was saying. She wanted to be back with her protector, the one with love in his eyes. “A.. angel,” she whispered, slowly sinking down to the floor.
 
The others looked at each other in confusion. “What did she say?” Anya asked.
 
Buffy curled up in the fetal position, weeping. “Angel,” she sobbed. “Angel…” Her words dissolved into continuous pitiful sobs.
 
The Scoobies all looked at each other, floored. “She wants Angel?” Xander said. “Where did that come from?”
 
“He was her first love,” Willow ventured. “He’s been to hell too. Maybe she’s locked on to that somehow.”
 
“Well then we should call him and get him here as fast as possible!” Dawn exclaimed. “Someone’s got to be able to help her.” Her voice broke as she looked at her sister, curled up on the floor, more miserable than anyone Dawn had ever seen.
 
“Dawn’s right,” Tara said. “Let’s go call him, and let her calm down a bit.”
 
“Should someone stay with her?” Willow said.
 
“I’ll stay,” Dawn said. “She doesn’t seem to be afraid of me for some reason.”
 
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Dawn,” Xander began.
 
“She’ll be okay, Xander,” Tara broke in. To Dawn she said, “Leave the door open, and if anything goes wrong, we’ll be right there, okay?” Dawn nodded, and the others filed out, looking back uncertainly. Dawn walked slowly up to the small huddled figure and knelt down beside her. “Buffy? They’re gone now. It’s just you and me. They’re going to get Angel for you, okay?”
 
Buffy looked up at Dawn, sniffling. “Angel?” she whispered.
 
“He’ll be here soon, I promise,” Dawn reassured her.
 
Buffy didn’t know what to make of things. This girl was saying the angel would come, but she was friends with the bad ones. What if they hurt him? Something in this dark girl was familiar, but Buffy was too afraid of the ones with the magic to trust her. She turned to face the wall, squeezing her eyes shut to block out this bright, loud, unfriendly place.
 
Dawn sat next to her, stroking her hair silently with tears running down her own face as well. “I need you, Buffy,” she said quietly. “Please come back. Please.” But Dawn got no answer from the whimpering wreck that was her sister. 

TBC