Title: Fluffy Grave

Author: Hils and Nebula

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Everything I have borrowed from Joss.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow smirked as Giles entered the shop. "Uh oh," she said sarcastically, "Daddy's home. I'm in wicked trouble now."

"Giles?" Buffy called softly, wincing as she tried to stand.

"You have no idea, Willow," Giles said.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to care? Because, right now, all I want to do is go back to beating up Buffy, 'kay?"

Giles clenched his fists. When the coven had called him, saying a dark power had arisen in Sunnydale, he couldn't believe it was Willow. They had explained about Tara's death, and he had heard no more. He'd grabbed the first flight out, and with the coven's power backing him up, he'd headed forward to take on Willow. Or take her down, whichever the case. He stepped towards her.

"Sure that's such a good thing to do?" Willow said, her eyes flashing black briefly.

"I'm here to help..." Giles started, but never finished.

Willow chuckled bitterly. "Isn't that what everyone wants to do? Well, maybe I don't need your help. I can stand on my own two feet and pummel everyone just fine without your help."

Anya began creeping away from Willow. Her aura was starting to send off bad vibes again, and she was beginning to look pissed. A sure sign that things were about to turn ugly.

< --- >

"Congratulations. You have passed the trials. You may now take your prize."

Spike smirked, despite the pain he was feeling. He'd won. The prize was his. As he stepped forward to claim it, however, the demon stopped him.

"You have two choices, vampire. You may take your prize, what you asked for, and be done with it. Or, you can forsake your prize to be of some assistance back where you come from."

Spike frowned. "What do you mean? Sunnydale? What's goin' on?"

A hand extended from the darkness and turned its palm upwards. A small crystal appeared, and in it, Spike could see the Magic Box from the street. The windows had been blown out, the door was ajar, and light shown from the inside. "Lemme see it," Spike said, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The image swooped into the shop, first stopping on Anya, who was inching away from the middle of the room. Giles was there, a grim _expression on his face. In the back of the shop, Spike saw Buffy on the ground, laying in an assorted mess of broken tables and books. She, too, was staring at the middle of the room with dismay. The image moved, and Spike saw what they feared. "Red?"

But she wasn't red anymore. She was black. Her hair, her clothes, and even her veins were tinted inky black. He knew she'd been close to tipping over the edge, but she'd been doing better this year. Something must have happened to send her over like this. Something horrid.

"Your choice, vampire," the demon said. Spike frowned. Which should he choose?
His eyes turned back towards the crystal, and he watched as Buffy slowly stood, only to have Willow whip around. Her eyes flashed black, and Buffy was thrown against the back wall.

That was all Spike needed to see. "I forfeit my prize. Send me back. Now!" he yelled.
He blinked, and found himself back in Sunnydale, in the training room. "Not bad," he said softly, as noises came from the shop. He peered through the doorway, trying to see what was happening.

Willow was standing but appeared to be a little more shaky than she had been before. Giles' face remained grim and his eyes fixed on hers.

"I know about Tara." Giles said softly, "but this isn't the way Willow. This won't help."

"No?" Willow smiled, a cruel smile that showed no sign of the Willow any of them used to know. "Might make me feel a bit better though."

She shot out her hand before any of them realised what she was doing and fired a bolt of magic at Buffy. Spike reacted instantly, bursting through the door and tackling Buffy to the ground less than a second before the magic hit the wall behind where she was standing.

Stunned, Buffy blinked for a moment until she realised who it was that had saved her.

"Spike?"

She jumped to her feet and stepped away from him, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Spike flinched but said nothing, he couldn't blame her for acting this way around him.

"Oh look, more people for me to pound."

Willow smiled happily and turned to face Buffy and Spike.

"How about I kill you both together? Seems only right after what you two have been doing."

She raised her hand once more but suddenly found herself bound in a ring of powerful magic. She twisted her head to see Giles with his hand stretched out towards her.
"Hey! Get this thing off me!"

She began to mutter some words to break the spell but Giles' magic was too much. After a moment her eyes closed and her head dropped forward onto her chest.

"What did you do?" Anya asked, moving over to inspect Willow.

"Bound her power. For the moment." Giles replied, his eyes on Buffy and Spike who were staring at each other but saying nothing.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy finally asked when she realised Spike wasn't going to be the first to speak.

"Came to help." Spike replied, almost wishing he was any place but here. This was so much harder than he'd ever imagined it to be.

"Well, Giles has it under control. We don't need your help." She was agitated, that much was clear

Spike glanced at the burnt wall where he had pushed Buffy out of the way.

"Right, don't need me. Of course."

Giles moved over to the pair. "What did Willow mean when she said that you two had been doing something?"

Both Buffy and Spike cast their eyes to the floor, clearly ashamed of something. Giles had a pretty good idea what it was, but he needed to hear it. From both of them.

"I think maybe we should go into the training room and talk."

His tone of voice made it clear that there were to be no arguments and the two of them followed him without a word.

"I'll just stay here and clear up." Anya called once the door had closed. She cast a wary eye at Willow and began to clear the wreckage from the fight.

"Which one of you would like to go first?" Giles asked, staring at the two.

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay as far away from Spike as possible. She did not want to talk about this. How could she admit to this? And to what had happened afterwards. She was surprised that Spike hadn't started crowing it out, that he'd banged up a Slayer.

So she was even more shocked when he mumbled, "Nothin'," and looked at his feet. Speaking of his feet...where were his shoes? And his shirt and trademark coat? Buffy frowned and took a closer look.

His chest was marked with scars, and his hair was a mess. He was sporting a few bruises on his face, and his hands were burned. What had he tangled with?

"I believe I know what it is," Giles said, causing Buffy to whip her head up. He didn't. Did he? "So don't lie to me," he said, glaring at Spike. "Tell me the truth."

"A mistake I made," Spike said softly. "Nothin' she did."

Giles turned to Buffy, and said dangerously soft, "The way I understand it, it requires two people."

Buffy's face turned crimson red. He knew all right. The only thing she didn't understand was why Spike was trying to save her hide.

Giles returned his gaze to Spike. "You forced her into this, didn't you?"

Spike cringed, his hands shaking. The image of him in the bathroom with Buffy flashed through his mind, causing him to shudder.

"Leave him alone," Buffy said loudly. Both men turned to look at her. She swallowed. She'd seen the look on Spike's face, and his unsteady hands, and she had leapt to his defense. Of course, doing that meant she had to start owning up. "I'm more responsible for this then he is," she said quietly.

Spike's eyes widened. What was she doing? He began to protest when a familiar voice said, "Anya listens very well. Did you know that?"

All three turned to see Willow in the doorway, holding an unconscious Anya by the neck. "Now I get to have fun," she said, tossing Anya to the side. A ball of blue flame appeared in her right hand, and with a flick of her finger, sent it hurtling towards the three.
Buffy jumped and pushed one of the tables over, and took cover behind it. Giles and Spike weren't far behind her.

"What do we do now?" Buffy hissed, as the clang of weapons reached her ears. She risked a peek over the table to see what Willow was doing.

She quickly ducked back down as Willow sent a barrage of weapons at the table with her magics. One of the axes managed to penetrate the table, nearly hitting Spike.

"Get out," Giles said. "Take Anya with you. I'll keep her occupied. I also won't have to worry about hitting any of you. Do you understand?"

Spike nodded, as Buffy bit her lip. "Go on," Giles said impatiently. "I'll deal with this."

"Don't hurt her," Buffy said softly. "If you can help it. I think the magics have taken over completely. That's not Willow, and you know it. She's still in there somewhere."

"And if we get outta this, she'll be bakin' cookies for months on end," Spike joked weakly.

Buffy smiled, as she recalled how Willow best apologized: through her cooking. "I will try," Giles said, smiling slightly himself. "Now go. And be careful."

The two nodded, and Giles gathered magic in his right fist. When the magic Willow had just thrown flew over them, Giles flung his own attack at her. While Willow dodged it easily, Buffy and Spike ran as fast as they could to Anya. They grabbed her and headed out towards the shop, slamming the door behind them as they went.

< --- >

Outside the shop Spike and Buffy carefully set Anya down and began to check her for injuries. There appeared to be none which meant Willow must have used her magic, Hopefully Anya would be all right. Buffy couldn't believe how powerful and dangerous Willow had become in such a short space of time. It scared her, and she was beginning to wonder how her friend was ever going to come back from this.

A loud crash resounded from the shop and Buffy looked over her shoulder to see what was happening. Smoke now rose from the building and through the windows she could see flashes of light which could only be bolts of magic.

"My shop!" Anya gasped, her eyes snapping open.

"Easy, pet." Spike said gently, helping her to sit up. "Nothing you can do about it now."

Anya stared in dismay as further crashes and explosions rang out.

"Are you hurt?" Buffy asked, turning her attention back to the vengeance demon. Anya shook her head slowly, her eyes still fixed on the shop.

"Listen to me," Buffy said sharply, capturing Anya's attention. "I need you to find the others and make sure they're ok. Tell them what's happened and keep them safe."

Anya's eyes fixed on Buffy's and she nodded her head. "I can do that."

Buffy smiled. "Good, Now go."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Buffy sighed, "but Spike and I are going to help Giles somehow."

Anya nodded, climbed to her feet and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Neat trick," Spike murmured to himself before looking at Buffy. He suddenly had the urge to say something to her, he didn't know what, just something.

"Not now, Spike." Buffy said before he had even opened his mouth. "We have to help Giles."

Of course, there'd be time for talking later and Spike knew that. There was no way he was going to walk away from this again. They had to talk but a little more waiting time wasn't exactly going to make the situation worse.

"Right, let's go."

< --- >

"Do you remember what you said to me just before you left?" Willow asked, her neck craned upwards. Above her Giles was pinned to the ceiling with her magic, unable to move. "You called me a rant, arrogant amateur. Well, guess what?"

She sent another blast of energy into him and Giles groaned with pain, feeling as though his whole body was being crushed with weights.

"I've turned pro." Willow finished with a smile. She began to circle beneath him, keeping her eyes locked on him the whole time.

"You know, I'm glad we got to have this alone time." Willow said casually. "Makes a change not to have Buffy butting in, and it also means I get to-"

She never finished her sentence as Buffy charged into the shop and tackled her to the floor. Willow's concentration broke, and the spell holding Giles to the ceiling lifted. With a small cry he dropped down onto the floor. Spike was at his side in an instant, helping him to his feet and moving him away from Willow and Buffy.

"You could have found something soft for me to land on," Giles groaned with the smallest amount of humour in his voice. Spike gave a wry smile.

"Sorry about that, Rupert. I'll be sure to bring a mattress next time one of the Scoobies goes insane and tries to kill us all."

Buffy, in the meantime was using all her skills just to keep Willow on the defensive.

"Willow, you have to stop this." She pleaded.

"Why?" Willow sneered. "Because you say so? Ooh, the Slayer told me to stop so I'd better do what she says. Where do you get off telling people what to do all the time, Buffy? You come in with your high and mighty attitude and expect everyone to do what you say just because you're stronger than us."

Buffy paused for a second and just stared at Willow in total disbelief.

"If that's what you think then you clearly have no idea what being a Slayer means."

Willow rolled her eyes and sighed. "I really don't care, and I'm getting bored of listening to your voice preaching at me."

She raised her hand to fire a bolt at Buffy but frowned when the magic just fizzled and faded away at her fingertips. Buffy relaxed a little and smiled.

"Looks like the batteries are dead, Wills."

She moved forward to restrain Willow while her power was still gone, but Willow merely smiled at her.

"Guess I need a boost then."

Before Buffy even realised what was happening, Willow reached out and pressed her palm firmly over her chest. She gasped in pain as she felt the life force literally draining out of her, it was worse than anything she had ever felt in her life, even when she had died. She could feel herself getting weaker with every second that passed and as she looked down she could see energy flowing from her body into Willow's hand.

"Wow…" Willow gasped as she finally pulled her hand away. "That's good stuff."

Spike and Giles could only stare in horror as Buffy stumbled back from Willow, her face pale and her whole body trembling. She looked over at them for a split second before her eyes closed and she crumpled to the floor.

"So," Willow asked, her eyes glimmering dangerously, "Who's next?"

Spike stood in front of Giles, switching into game face. He could feel the rage coursing through him as he stared at Buffy. He turned to Willow, growling.

"Cute," Willow smirked. "Real cute. You want to do this, Spike? Haven't you been beaten down enough this year?"

That set him moving. He roared and leapt for Willow, only to have her side-step the attack without even glancing his way. As he landed, her eyes went black. "Crystanium," she said, her voice deep. Spike barely had time to look up when he was thrown backwards towards the windows.

He began to pick himself up, but Willow was already there, grabbing him around the throat and hoisting him into the air. "I know this isn't causing you to not breathe, because, hey, you're a vampire, don't have to breathe. Of course, I've got enough power in my fingertips to wrench your head off, and it's not even magics. Slayer strength," she said, grinning. "Does a body good."

Spike could feel tears pricking his eyes. "Red, listen to me," he whispered. He may not have to breathe, but her grip was tight, and it still hurt. "Don't do this."

"'Red' is dead," Willow said, her grin disappearing. "She died with Tara."

Spike's eyes widened. So that's what had happened. "I'm so sorry," he said. "She was a wonderful woman."

For a moment, the black in her eyes faded, and Spike could see a glimmer of Willow. Grief-stricken, tired, ready to fall to pieces. "I know," she said softly. "I miss her." Then, the black was back, and her grip tightened. "Why would you care? Nobody was there when she left. Just me. I held her as she faded."

"And the whole world's to pay for it? Why?" he asked. "What'd it do to you?"

"IT TOOK HER AWAY!!" Willow screamed, throwing Spike towards the back of the shop.
Spike groaned as he hit the back wall. "Willow," he called, but she was already headed towards the door.

"Sorry, got a world to end. I'll see you in Hell," she said over her shoulder, stepping out onto the street.

"Spike," Giles called. Slowly Spike rose to his feet to head towards the Watcher, who was kneeling next to his charge.

Spike knelt next to him and found himself staring into a pair of green eyes. "Spike?" Buffy said faintly.

"I'm here, luv," he said, taking her left hand in both of his. She was shaking, and her eyelids were fluttering. "Just hold on."

She shook her head. "I can...." She paused, trying to focus. "I can feel her. Her pain. And I was right, Giles. She's still in there, but her emotions have trapped her."

"You can feel her?" Giles asked, puzzled.

Buffy nodded slowly. "Yeah. Got a pretty good idea where she's headed, too. It's the ridge overlooking Sunnydale. Used to be an old temple. She's going to raise it to bring about the next apocalypse. She..." She shuddered, her eyes closing.

"Buffy, listen to me," Spike said, grasping her hand in his. "I'm gonna make this right. Promise." He swallowed, not sure how she would take the next part. "After everythin', I know I have really no right to say this, but......I love you."

Her eyes popped open, and she looked surprised. "You still do?" she said weakly.

Spike leaned down a little further and smiled. "I never stopped."

Buffy smiled back, and was about to say something, when all of a sudden her breathing shallowed. "Buffy?" Giles asked worriedly.

"She's...she's almost there..." she gasped, closing her eyes.

"Buffy?" Spike called worriedly, but she was slowly drifting into an unconscious state. "Buffy!"

He placed her hand on her chest and looked up at Giles. "Stay with her," Spike said, standing. "I got a witch to find."

Giles nodded. "This may be the only time I ever say this, but be careful, Spike."

Spike smiled bitterly. "You too, Rupert," he said, heading outside.

< --- >

Thanks to Buffy's words, Spike knew where to look for Willow. Now it was just a case of getting to her before it was too late. He walked briskly, trying to keep the images of Buffy's unconscious form out of his mind. This was his fault. If only he'd been a bit quicker, done something to stop Willow from draining Buffy.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see the others until he was almost on top of them. Anya had apparently only just arrived and was explaining to Dawn, Xander, Jonathan and Andrew about Giles' arrival.

"Cool." Andrew sighed almost dreamily. "It sounds just like Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Dawn rolled her eyes and then jumped in surprise as she saw Spike approaching.

"Spike!" Anya exclaimed, as she too spotted him. "Did you save my shop? Did you stop Willow?"

"Not exactly…" he began uneasily but then he spotted that Xander and Dawn were staring at him with little less than hatred in their eyes. He wasn't surprised about Xander, they'd been through enough lately that he knew any partial friendship he may have had in the past was long gone. Still, Spike couldn't understand what he'd done to upset Dawn.

"You ok, bit?" he asked cautiously.

"Why don't you ask Buffy?" Dawn snapped in reply. "If you're not too busy trying to rape her that is."

If it had been possible, the colour would have drained from Spike's face.

"She told you what happened?" he asked softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.
Dawn merely shook her head.

"So she told you?" Spike asked Xander.

Xander snorted. "She didn't have to, I saw the marks."

Dawn reeled and glared at Xander. "You said Buffy told you what Spike did. How do you know if she didn't tell you? Anything could have happened!"

She turned back to Spike before Xander could reply. "Tell me you didn't do this, Spike. Please?"

There was a pleading look in her eyes that almost broke his heart. He sighed.

"I wish I could, bit. More than anything. I don't know what came over me. Believe me I never wanted it to happen. I would never hurt Buffy. It's just things between us are so…"

"Complicated." Dawn finished bitterly. "That's what everyone keeps telling me and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of people patronising me, keeping things from me and treating me like a kid. I'm not a child anymore!"

Spike sighed again. This was turning into a night for awkward conversations. "Alright, Dawn. You're right. You deserve to know."

And with that he told her everything, starting with the time he and Buffy had spent together after her resurrection, right through to the incident in the bathroom. He spared no details and placed no blame on either Buffy or himself. He just told it as it was and didn't care that the others were listening too. At the end of his speech Dawn's face was blank.

"Well, I guess I should thank you for being honest with me. I'm not sure if I can forgive you for what you did to Buffy, it depends on her I guess. If she can forgive you then I will too."

Spike gave her a small smile. Dawn hadn't given him much but it was a start.

"I guess we'll have to have another talk later then. Stay safe, bit."

Dawn watched as he disappeared into the night, resuming his quest for Willow. Once he was out of sight she gave a small smile

"You too, Spike."

< --- >

Spike didn't need to go much further to find her. Willow was standing on top of a ridge that overlooked Sunnydale in all its glory. A spire stood crookedly from the ground in front of her, with a statue of a woman's head and a serpent's body. Power pulsed from Willow to the statue, and every now and then the ground trembled.

"You might as well go home, Spike," Willow said, without even sparing him a glance.

"And why's that?" he asked.

Willow smirked. "Sunrise is in twenty minutes. Of course, if you intend on facing me, you'll be long dead before then."

"Don't do this, Willow."

She turned and faced him, her eyes black. "And why not, Spikey?" she said, mock-pouting.

Spike stared at her, not moved. "She wouldn't want this."

Her eyes flashed red as she rumbled, "You wouldn't know that! Tara's dead, Spike. She's never coming back. Warren got what he deserved. He took her light away."

"Look Red, I don't know what Warren did, but I know this isn't right. You're becomin' the thing you've fought for all these years, when it's not gonna change a thing."

"You're wrong," Willow said. "It'll make me feel a hell of a lot better." She turned back to the statue, ready to give it more power.

"I know how you're feelin'," Spike said, causing her to turn again.

Willow laughed. "Now that's rich. The only thing you were feeling this year was Buffy. You wouldn't know pain."

"Oh really?" Spike said, clenching his fists. "You think you're the only one that's in pain? When Buffy fell off the tower, I fell and died with her. I couldn't save her, and all I wanted to do was rip Glory to shreds," he said hoarsely, tears rising in his eyes. "Rip her to pieces for touchin' my Bit, and makin' Buffy jump. So yeah, I know where you're standin'."

Willow had turned to stare at him, the black in her eyes receding slightly. Spike smiled inwardly. He had a chance to bring her back. He could feel the sunrise coming; it was only several minutes away.

"Not only would she not want this, Willow, but you don't," he said gently. "You're angry, hurt, and not all too sure what to do about it. You're also grieving. Tara was a wonderful woman."

"And they took her away," Willow said, her voice shaking. The little black that remained in her eyes wavered. "The world did this, and it should pay!"

"Yeah, it should," Spike agreed. "But not like this. It's gonna pay by not havin' a beautiful lady 'round anymore. Two if you keep this up. You're gonna lose yourself in this, and you don't want that. I don't. Neither do the Scoobs."

Willow shook her head, the veins disappearing. "I-I can't go back. I've done too much harm. I don't...They can never forgive me," she whispered, tears rising in her eyes.

"Yes they can," Spike said, stepping forward. He could feel the air heating around him; he estimated sunrise in two, maybe three minutes. "You did your share of damage on me, and I forgive you."

Willow turned to look at the spire. "Don't do this," Spike pleaded. "She loved you, Willow. And she knew you loved her when she left. She knew."

The black faded to reveal shimmering red hair, and her eyes returned to their normal color as she fell to the ground, sobbing. Spike knelt and wrapped his arms around her as she broke down. He looked up and could see the sun begin to peek over the horizon. He'd stopped her, at least. He'd saved her.

Willow turned to see what held Spike's interest. "Return," she whispered. The grass beneath them faded to a tiled floor, and Spike looked around the Magic Box. He smiled at Willow, and she tried to smile as well.

"Welcome back," Anya's voice said from behind them. They turned to see her standing with a broom and dustpan.

Willow's bottom lip quivered. "Anya, I'm so...."

"Peanut Butter," Anya interrupted.

Willow frowned. "What?"

"I said, I want Peanut Butter cookies. You will be making cookies, right?"

Willow smiled through her tears. "Lots. Trust me."

"Spike," Giles called. Spike turned to see him still by Buffy's side. She was pale, and her breathing shallow. Spike's eyes widened before he hurried towards them.

He knelt down beside her and took one of hands in both of his.

"She's been unconscious since you left." Giles said softly, "I'm not sure she'll wake up again."

"She WILL!" Spike said firmly, ignoring the tears that were running down his face. "She's strong. Come on Buffy, show them how strong you are. Wake up."

She continued to lie there, motionless. Her shallow breathing was the only indication that there was life in her at all.

"I'm so sorry." Spike whispered, "I never should have left you. Never should have hurt you. Don't deserve to live after what I did to you. If you wake up I'll do whatever you want, Buffy. You want me to leave, I will. Hell if you tell me to throw myself on a stake I'll do it. I love you so much."

He buried his face in her hand and sobbed, ever particle of energy he had willing her to wake up.

Tears welled in Willow's eyes as she realised what she'd done. She'd almost killed her best friend, when all she was trying to do was save her. Now she had to make it right.

Kneeling down beside Buffy, Willow placed her hand on the Slayers chest and muttered some words softly under her breath. Spike raised his head to see the energy flowing back into Buffy and looked at her face hopefully. The energy stopped flowing and Willow slumped to the side, exhausted. Anya helped her to her feet and eased her into a chair.

"Buffy?" Spike called, not daring to wish she was going to be ok.

Her eyes fluttered and she coughed, finally opening them to see Spike's face hovering over her.

"Spike?"

He smiled. "Welcome back."

Before either of them could utter another word a light filled the shop, so bright that they were all forced to shield their eyes. When it finally dimmed Spike rose to his feet in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"The trials are complete." The demon from Africa said.

"Yeah, you told me and I made my choice."

"Trials?" Buffy asked, looking at the demon and then Spike with confusion.

"Long story." Spike replied before moving over to the demon. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"The final trial was your choice. You chose this woman over your prize, and you have now successfully completed the trials. The prize is yours, if you still want it."
Spike glanced over his shoulder at Buffy who was still looking confused. He had a momentary flashback to the bathroom and his face hardened.

"Do it."

"Very well, your soul is restored to you."

Before anyone in the room could react, the demon pressed his hand against Spike and a white light filled his whole body. Spike screamed in pain as his soul burned him and the guilt began to flood through him. Nothing could have prepared him for how much it hurt.

The demon removed his hand and vanished without a word as Spike collapsed to the floor.

Buffy stared, numb with shock. He couldn't have just done that. His...his...

"His soul?" Willow asked softly, staring at the vampire. Giles nodded and headed over to her, to see how she was. A few murmurs were exchanged, before Giles embraced her, holding on to her tightly. Another wrong righted.

Neither of them noticed Buffy scrambling across the floor for the vampire. His eyes were closed, and he looked dead. "Spike," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "Spike!" A small burn lay across his chest, but Buffy knew that most of the pain would be on the inside.

She ran her fingers through his hair, as she tried to stop the tears from coming. He had ridiculed Angel for so long over the very same thing he had just asked for. "C'mon, wake up," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. He had to be okay.

Slowly Spike drifted back to consciousness, his eyes focusing on her. "Buffy?" he said softly, as she smiled.

"Welcome back," she said, tears coursing down her face. Her smile disappeared as she looked into his eyes. There was something there, that she'd never seen before. A spark. His soul.

"Why?" she whispered.

Spike glanced at their hands, clasped together, and suddenly tried to pull away. Buffy gripped his hand even tighter, refusing to let him go. "Shouldn't...shouldn't be near me. Any of you," he mumbled, his eyes pleading with her to let him go.

"Why did you do this? You went out and searched for something you knew would only bring pain. Why?" she asked again.

"You," he whispered. She blinked, startled. That hadn't been the answer she'd been expecting. "After what I did...I had to make it right. Had to prove to you that I could be a better man. I'm sorry, Buffy, I'm so sorry..."

Buffy shook her head. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me. After what I put you through..." She closed her eyes for a moment, before looking his way again. "I'm sorry for everything, Spike. Will you forgive me?"

"If you can forgive me," he said, already in her arms. The two held each other, not bothering to wipe away tears.

Buffy pulled away and smiled. "Done," she whispered, leaning forward. Their lips met, passionate, yet peaceful.

Anya glanced at the two and smiled. Things might just be okay.

THE END