A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 3: Lost and Found

Dawn sighed as she hung up the phone. She had spent the last twenty minutes telling Giles everything that had happened. He felt the same betrayal and anger over being unaware as Dawn did.

“What did Giles say?” Willow wondered when Dawn came back into the living room. The teen took a quick glance at the witch and settled down on the couch next to Tara. She was still angry with her, but she knew that Willow felt horrible about the outcome of her spell.

“There were a bunch of ‘good Lords’ and ‘oh, dears’. He’s pretty upset. He said he would get the earliest flight he could. Probably won’t get here until tomorrow night at the earliest. Any luck with the locater spell?”

Willow shook her head, “It keeps showing us the cemetery. I guess the spell still thinks Buffy’s… gone.”

Dawn sighed again as Tara wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. She really hoped the others were having better luck in finding her sister.

***

Spike’s fists clenched along his sides as he tightened his jaw and closed his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to calm himself. He could not believe they would turn against him so quickly. He had fought along side them all summer, saved their ungrateful asses countless times, and the second the Slayer comes back into their lives, albeit different, they go right back to hating him. Okay, so maybe it was mainly the whelp, Spike was still brassed.

The vampire pulled a cigarette from the crushed pack in his pocket and brought it to his lips. He lit it, letting the nicotine settle some of his agitated nerves. He needed to find Buffy. He took a few drags as he walked and contemplated what to do once he found her. She was in a feral state but had seemed to calm down for a while with him. Maybe he could get her to relax again. It sure as hell would make getting her home easier.

He came to a stop when he reached his destination. He took one last long drag of the cigarette before twisting it beneath his boot. He could smell her here, the place where she jumped off the bike. Spike growled. He should have just knocked her out. Sure, the Slayer would have been right pissed when she came to but at least she would be home safe.

Spike shook his head, ridding himself of the negative thoughts. Thinking about what he should have done was not going to bring his slayer back. Closing his eyes and inhaling, he noticed the Slayer’s scent and stalked in the direction it led.

***

“I just don’t see why we can’t tell them,” Anya practically whined, “Good news equals happy feelings. Happy feelings equal less sad and worried ones. It’s a process.”

Xander fought back the impulse to yell. Was it possible to knock yourself out? “Look, Ahn, I get that you wanna help but now isn’t the time. We have to find Buffy and figure out what’s wrong and how the heck to fix it. Everything is too chaotic right now. Ergo the bad timing.”

“That’s exactly why we should tell them!” Anya countered as they wondered through yet another cemetery.

“No!” Xander was getting frustrated. He loved the girl, but sometimes he really questioned why, “Everyone has too much on their plates right now. The buffet can’t get any bigger. As soon as we figure out what to do about Buffy, we’ll tell them.” He stopped and turned to her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders, “I promise we’ll tell them. We’ll tell everyone. You can even get a blimp if you want,” he smiled, “Just wait a little longer.” He kissed her forehead and sighed, “I don’t think Buff is here. Might as well go back to Command Central and see if they’ve had any luck.” He turned and started back towards Revello Drive.

After a moment, Anya followed, calling after him, “Can I at least show them my ring?”

***

His surroundings were getting more familiar as Spike followed the Slayer’s musk. This was a part of Sunnydale that he rarely ventured to, he usually only came here when he was trying to hide out from some demon or lay low in order to avoid the wrath of Angry Buffy. Ironic how he was now here searching for her.

A sudden realization halted Spike in his tracks; the familiarity of the rundown buildings and shadowed alleys hitting him like a ton of bricks. This was where he and the Scoobies had been that horrible day.

How they found Glory.

“Bugger,” he snarled and took off at a run down the street.

***

Buffy stood at the top of the tower, looking down on the cement below. She pictured the bright portal that had taken her life; lighting bolts flying in every direction, creating cracks in the unsuspecting earth, and bringing forth monsters of a nightmare’s creation.

Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she remembered her words to Dawn. She visualized the pain in her sister’s eyes when she realized what Buffy was about to do. In that moment on the tower, the Slayer had found the peace she had been searching for so desperately. All of her questions finally answered.

Now she was back to the harsh reality of her life.

A yell of her name pulled her out of her reverie. Spike was now below her looking up, begging her to come down. She shook her head in the negative. Living was too hard now; she knew what Heaven was like.

“Buffy, luv, listen to me,” Spike shouted from the ground, “You have to come down. That tower doesn’t look too stable and I don’t exactly fancy watchin’ you die again, not to mention the mess you’ll make if you fall.” He attempted at humor but it was useless.

The Slayer just stood there, looking down at him unseeing. Her expression was painfully confused and lost and Spike wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms. He growled when he realized she wasn’t going to come down.

He took the steps up the tower two at a time, his vampire speed helping him get to her even faster. He stopped when he reached the top, not wanting to crowd her, “Slayer… Buffy.”

She flinched when he spoke her name and looked at him over her shoulder.

“Look, pet, I don’t rightly know how you’re back but I’m not goin’ to lie and say I’m upset about it. When you died, I felt empty. I wanted to meet the sun that mornin’ but my promise to protect the Bit stopped me. We mourned your death… all of us. I went to your grave every night. I was finally acceptin’ that you weren’t comin’ back to me. Learnin’ to move on an’ then I saw you in that alley.” He sighed and ran a hand through his unruly curls.

She was watching him intently and he took it as a good sign. Feeling more confident, Spike took a small step forward and spoke again, “I don’t know what happened to you while you were away, but you can get through it. You’re strong, Slayer. It’s a reason I love you. Please, pet, be strong again. For me. For the Bit. Please Buffy, I can’t lose you again,” his voice was pleading as he finished.

Buffy stared at him for a long moment then turned away, looking back down at the ground. If his heart could beat, it would have stopped at that moment.

She finally turned back to him and took cautious steps in his direction. Spike wanted to jump with joy. Instead, he held out his hand, beckoning her towards him, “That’s right, sweet.”

When she reached him, Spike pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her protectively. That’s when the tower began to sway.