All characters belong to Joss Whedon, The WB Network, and 20th Century Fox. I am just a fan.

Her alarm clock was ringing in her ears. Buffy reached over to shut it up, but realized it was the phone that was ringing.

"Dawn, can you get that?" she mumbled, her voice still groggy from sleep.

When no one got it, she groaned and picked it up off of the receiver.

"Hello?"

Silence.

She was about to hang up, beyond frustrated, when a familiar voice finally spoke up.

"Buffy? Is that really you?"

"Giles?"

Suddenly, it was all coming back to her. She was back from the dead. Giles hadn't seen her in five years and... it was three in the afternoon!

"Buffy, are you there?"

"Uh, yeah, Giles. Wow, long time no chat, huh."

Silence.

"I missed you," she told him.

"And I've missed you. More than you know."

She smiled.

"Um, is there someone you needed to speak with?"

"Er, yes, actually. Is Willow around?"

"I think so. Lemme go get her."

Buffy set the phone down and got out of bed. Her legs felt like jelly and her knees were all dizzy, but she managed to make it to the door.

"Willow?" she called out.

Realizing she was only in a see-through tank top and boxers, she didn't want go walking around the house.

"Will! Giles is on the phone!"

When there was still no answer she crossed her arms over her chest and walked down the hallway. Just as she turned the corner, she crashed into a hard-framed body. Make that a shirtless hard-framed body.

Spike caught her around the waist, as she collided with him. He was sound asleep when all of a sudden he heard yelling from Buffy's room.

"You alright?" he asked.

Buffy tried to cover herself up as much as she could, as she quickly backed away from him.

"I'm fine, is Willow here?"

"Not sure. Why?"

"Giles is on the phone," she told him, keeping her eyes focused on anything but his muscled chest.

He just stood there, looking her up and down.

"My boxers give that - well, whatever you're wearing - a nice touch, you know."

"You can move now," she said, embarrassed that she had put on Spike's boxers. It must have been Willow's tank top, becuase she would never buy anything that racy.

He just gave her a half-smile and stepped out of her way. She pushed past him and continued to look for her friend. When she was nowhere to be found, she decided to return to her room. She picked up the phone, prepared to tell Giles that Willow wasn't there, when she heard the two talking to each other.

"Okay, then," she said to herself. She decided to listen in on their conversation.

"I don't understand, Giles," Willow said. "So they just decided to send her back?"

"I believe so. Only the qualities of a Slayer will be able to defeat these creatures. And, while Faith is still imprisoned, Buffy was the last Slayer to walk the Earth."

"But to bring her back from the dead. It's just so..."

"It is disorienting."

"I mean, I'm not complaing at all, I just can't believe they went to all that trouble. These demons must be pretty powerful."

"Indeed."

There was silence for a moment, before Giles spoke again.

"Well, I better go. I'll keep you informed if I come across anything new."

"Alright. Thanks again, Giles."

"Take care, Willow. And send the others my love."

"You got it."

Click.

Buffy hung up the phone. So, she was brought back from the dead to slay. Was that all her life was about? She wasn't just a Slayer. She was also Buffy. Why couldn't they send her back because they invented a new line of lingerie? Or because they created ice cream so you can eat all you want and never gain a pound? But, no. It was all about slaying. She sighed and decided to get dressed. When she opened up the closet door, she found a bunch of slinky dresses and lacy bras and underwear. Buffy made a face of disgust and came to the conclusion that Spike had a girlfriend. Oh, and that she was a slut.

She groaned and plopped back down onto the bed, silently hoping that when this was all through, the Powers would take her back to where she belonged.

* * * * *

Willow knocked on her door a few moments later.

"Hey, Will. What are you still doing here?"

Her friend came and sat next to her on the bed.

"Well, I came back this morning to check on you. You were still sleeping, so I thought I'd wait 'til you got up."

"Thanks, Willow. Oh, and do you happen to have any extra clothes I could borrow? Spike's ho isn't really my style."

Willow laughed.

"You've met Bianca?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. Bianca? Yep, ho alright.

"No, no I really haven't," she told her and pointed to the open closet.

"Oh, gotcha. Don't worry, though. They broke up, I think. Actually, I could be wrong, 'cause we don't see much of Spike anymore. He usually goes on patrols alone and when we do see him, we don't chit chat. He's been pretty withdrawn after everything happened."

"Everything? You mean, my death?"

"Well, yeah. He was totally heartbroken and took it really hard, you know. But, then Dawn got taken away and that's when he moved. I guess it hurt too much."

Buffy had a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"So he and Dawn got pretty close, huh."

"Very. For almost a year after your death they were always together. Dawn would stay at his crypt all the time and when Xander went looking for her, they would either be watching TV or Dawnie had fallen asleep in his arms. Then Hank showed up and everything got screwy again. The court battles went on for months and Spike helped out all he could to hold onto her, but it was no use. They said the biological father deserved to be with his daughter. And, I quote, "to be in surroundings with such painful memories, wasn't a good influence on a growing girl." So, the next thing we knew she was gone. I mean, she would write sometimes, primarily to Spike, but after about another year, the letters just stopped coming."

Willow noticed the tears streaming down Buffy's face and she brushed the away with her finger.

"Go on," Buffy said.

Her friend nodded.

"Anyway, after she left, Spike moved and we haven't seen much of him since. We would see him with Bianca a lot, who's also a vampire by the way, and they would patrol together sometimes. She was pretty cool, I guess. But, then Spike started patrolling alone, so I figured they broke up."

"I see."

"Yeah, and that's about it. Oh! Well, as you know, Xander and Anya had baby. Her name's Callie and she's almost four. The cutest thing, I must say. Looks just like Anya."

Buffy's sad expression instantly turned joyous.

"I can't wait to see her."

"Yeah, you'll love her."

Buffy smiled.

"Well, I guess we should get you some clothes then."

"That would be a start."

"K, come on, I know just the place."

* * * * *

It was almost nine by the time the two girls returned. Buffy was headed in the direction of her old house.

"Thanks again, Will. I'll see ya tomorrow."

Willow looked confused.

"Um, Buffy? Where are you going?"

"Home," she said, without looking back and then took off running, bags in hand, leaving a stunned Willow behind.

Spike suddenly approached Willow.

"Thinks she still lives there, eh?"

Willow nodded sadly.

"Maybe you should go after her."

"Nah, let 'er see for 'erself."

A sudden rush of adreneline surged through Buffy's body as she ran. After all these years, she was finally going home. She spotted Rovello Drive and stopped as she reached the familiar street. She steadied her erratic breathing and walked the rest of the way. She began to approach her house and a small smile crept up over her features. Then she noticed. Her house, her home, was nothing but a rundown shack with a beat up 'For Sale' sign in the middle of the front lawn. The dead and yellow stained front lawn. The windows were all shattered and the door was hanging off it's hinges. Buffy felt sick. Bile rose to her throat and she fell to her knees emptying her stomach's contents onto the curb of the abandoned street. Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand patting her back. When she was through, she looked up to see Spike standing there. Buffy wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her new sweater and then the tears fell. She tried to stop them, but they came anyway.

"Come 'ere," he told her.

Buffy didn't think twice and collapsed, sobbing, into his arms. Spike placed his chin on the top of her head and softly rubbed her back as she wept. He could feel her tears seeping through his black shirt, but he ignored them. He cursed himself for letting her near him. Part of him wanted to hold her and love her like he used to, but the other half of him wanted nothing to do with her. He wanted push her away and bury her memory back into the hole in his heart where she belonged. Mainly because he didn't love her anymore. Not like he used to. And he never wanted to again. The thought of loving her and becoming her pathetic lap dog like he used to be, made his blood boil. He had missed her so much, but at the same time hoped he would never see her again. It would only bring back all those emotions that he had no business feeling. Right now he was conflicted. Because there she was, crying in his arms. Something he had always wanted to feel, but she had never let him. But, now he had the chance to turn the tables on her. Let her know that from here on out he was through. He was over her. He had changed a lot since her death and it was only for the better.

With this new thought in mind, he removed her arms from around his neck and stepped away from her. He look down at her with nothing but indifference in his eyes.

Buffy stared up at him with a tear-stained face and searched his eyes for something she could not find. In that moment she realized that this was not the same Spike that she once knew those five years ago. The lines in his chiseled face were hard and his eyes reflected... absolutely nothing. She had once looked into those eyes and saw the man within. She saw how much he loved her and that had given her a change of heart. She respected him. But she did not see that anymore. She knew he no longer loved her. She could see it in his face. And for some reason that left her with an uneasy feeling. She shivered.

Spike broke eye contact with her and pulled out a cigarette. She watched him intently as he lit the fag.

"What are you lookin' at," he asked her coolly.

She focused on her feet.

"Nothing, let's go."

"You have no place to go," he reminded her.

Buffy closed her eyes, realizing it was the truth.

"I'll stay with Willow," she said, and began to walk back to where she had left Willow standing a little while ago.

He didn't follow her and didn't watch her go. Instead he turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the night.

Beyond Surrender: Part III
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