Dawn led me toward a house that seemed familiar but yet so strange. "Home. See? You're back home. We're all okay now."

I looked at the house, still disheveled.

    ~~~~~~     

Dawn led me inside, closing the door behind us.

I walked toward the living room.

Dawn turned on a light.

I winced at the sudden bright. "Ow." Dawn walked closer. I walked around the house, surveying everything. Dawn followed. "It's the same."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Just how you left it. That's easier, right? That home's exactly the same from when you last saw it?"  The door opened. I turned to the door unsteadily. "It's okay. It's okay."

 Mom walked in. She looked at me, in shock. "Zoey."

I stepped away from Dawn, looking at Mom apprehensively.

"Yeah, uh... I called Mom," Dawn told me. "I told her what was going on, and see? She came right home." She looked at Mom. "Are you okay?"

Mom nodded, walking closer. "Yes, I'm fine. I've been worried about you."

Dawn looked at me. "Uh, remember how you were always watching me when Mom was at work? Well, since you were gone, someone else had to. Spike came over time to time to watch me, and it's a good thing that he did last night, because all of the demons." 

Mom didn't think it was funny.

I didn't react.

Mom looked over me. "We should get you cleaned up."

I looked over the black dress, the black high heels, my skin filthy with the dirt from the ground, my hair tangled in a mess. I looked at Dawn and Mom.

    ~~~~~~     

I was clean, wearing a white button-down shirt that was unbuttoned with a camisole underneath, my hair pulled back neatly.

Mom was wetting out a face-cloth, turning off the faucet, turning to me, wiping my neck. "There you are. Knew you were under that dirt somewhere." She chuckled nervously. I looked into my reflection, not knowing what to make of all this yet. Mom looked nervous, putting down the cloth, turning to me. "You remember what I used to say? 'Either wash that neck or plant potatoes'." 

I looked at her. 

Dawn was standing in the door, shaking her head. "Yeah, I never thought it was funny, either." 

Mom indicated my shirt. "You want to button that, or, um..." I looked down at my hands that were still scratched and bleeding. Mom and Dawn noticed them for the first time. "Oh. Ow." Mom gently lifted my hands to look at them. "Um, we'll... take care of that after."

I pulled my hands away. "Okay."

We heard the door open, and a man from downstairs. "Dawn! Dawn! Are you there?"

"It--it's just Spike," Dawn told us. She called downstairs. "I'm here!"

Dawn walked downstairs.

Mom and I followed more slowly.

Spike looked at Dawn. "Thank God. You scared me half to death... or more to death. You--I could kill you."

Dawn walked closer slowly, giving him a look. "Spike."

"I mean it," Spike told her. "I could rip your head off one-handed and drink from your brain stem."

Mom reached the bottom of the stairs next to Spike and Dawn.

I stayed on the stairs.

Spike realized something was going on.

"Look," Mom told him.

They looked up at me.

"Yeah?" Spike asked. "I've seen the bloody bot before. Didn't think she's patch up, so..."

Spike realized.

I walked down the stairs.

"She's kind of, uh... she's been through a lot, with the... death," Dawn told them. "But I think she's okay." I suddenly realized my shirt was still unbuttoned, beginning to button it. Spike was in shock, in disbelief. Dawn looked at him. "Spike? Are you okay?"

"I'm..." Spike trailed off. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Dawn asked. "Nothing."

I held the top of my shirt closed, looking up at Spike nervously.

"Her hands," Spike told them.

I lowered my hands, putting them behind my back uncomfortably.

"Um, I was gonna fix them," Mom told us. "I don't know how they got like that."

"I do," Spike told them. "Clawed her way out of a coffin, that's how." He looked at me. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah," I answered quietly. "That's... what I had to do."

Spike was still looking at me as if he thought he was dreaming. "Done it myself."

"Um, we'll take care of you," Mom told me. "Come here." She took my arm, leading me to the living room, looking at Dawn. "Get some stuff, uh, mercurochrome, bandages."

"Okay," Dawn told us, walking off.

I sat on the sofa.

Mom sat on the coffee table facing me.

Spike walked in, standing nearby, but keeping his distance.

Mom took my hands, looking at them.

"How long was I gone?" I asked.

"147 days yesterday," Spike answered. "Uh, 148 today." He smiled a small smile. "Except today doesn't count, does it?" I didn't answer. "How long was it for you... where you were?"

"Longer," I answered.

Dawn walked in from the kitchen, carrying medical supplies. "Got the stuff."

The front door burst open.

I stood in alarm.

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara walked in.

"Is she here?" Willow asked.

"She's here!" Anya told them.

"You're here," Buffy told me.

"We didn't know where you were," Xander told me.

"You ran away," Willow told me.

"Zoey," Buffy told me.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked.

Spike walked away with a disgusted expression.

Mom stood in shock. "You knew she was back?" Spike walked out, leaving. "How did you know?"

Anya looked at me. "You're not a zombie, are you?" 

"Anya!" Xander told her.

"Are you in pain?" Willow asked.

"What do you remember?" Buffy asked.

"What do you know about what happened?" Tara asked.

I sat down, feeling like I couldn't handle the barrage of questions.

"Hey!" Dawn told them. "Back off!"

They looked at Dawn in surprise.

"You did this," Mom told them. "What did you do?"

"A spell," Willow answered. "We--we did a spell."

"We didn't think it worked, but--" Anya started.

"Is she going to be okay?" Mom asked.

"I'm okay," I told them. Everyone looked at me. "I'm gonna be fine. I remember. You brought me back."

"What was it like?" Buffy asked.

I shook my head, looking down. "I--I can't..."

"It's okay," Xander told me. "You don't have to talk about this, Zo. Hey, do you want something? Anything? Pizza. I'll get you pizza."

"Zoey likes pizza," Anya told them.

"Yeah, something to eat," Tara told us.

"She doesn't want pizza," Willow told them.

"I just meant--" Tara started.

"Guys!" Dawn told them. "Back off."

There was a beat of silence.

"Right, uh, Dawn's right," Mom told them. "We should just be quiet, and let Zoey tell us what she needs."

Everyone looked at me.

I stood uncomfortably. "I--I think I... just wanna go to sleep."

"That's a good idea," Tara told me. "You--you should sleep."

"Right," Willow told me. "Long day. But, Zoey... be happy." She smiled. "We got you out. We really did it."

I looked at them uncomfortably. "Tired."

"Well, yeah, I mean..." Anya trailed off. "Jet-lag from Hell has gotta be, you know, jet-lag from Hell."

I looked at Mom and Dawn. "My room is still.."

"Yeah," Dawn answered. "Yes. It's your room."

I walked upstairs.

     ~~~~~~  

I was in my room, lying in bed, still dressed. I stood, picking up a picture from the bedside table. It was a picture of Buffy, Xander, Willow and me, putting it back, walking over to the wall.

There was a bulletin board covered with more pictures of me and my friends, me and my family, all smiling.

All the flesh melted away, the smiling faces becoming dead skeleton faces.

I closed my eyes in anguish, opening them again.

The photos were back to normal.

But I wasn't.

     ~~~~~~  

The gang was in the backyard the next morning.

I walked toward them with a mug of coffee.

"It's okay," Willow told them. "We--we just kill the beastie and then all is good. We're rolling in puppies. Right?"

"Can we do that?" Buffy asked. "Kill it?"

"We killing something?" I asked.

They looked at me in surprise.

"Zoey, you're not supposed to be up," Buffy told me.

"How--how are you feeling?" Tara asked. "Are you okay?"

I didn't answer. "So what are we killing?"

"A demon you brought back from Hell with you," Anya told me.

Buffy gave her a look.

"Oh," I said.

"It's not like she's making it sound," Willow told me. "A little haunting-type stuff. Boo-scary, everything's normal."

"You shouldn't worry about it," Tara told me.

"Um, I remember something, last night, uh..." I trailed off, losing focus. They looked at me, waiting for me to continue. 

"Zo?" Xander asked.

"Um, the photographs," I told them. "O--of us. They changed."

"How did they change?" Tara asked.

"They were... dead," I answered. "I--I--I mean, we were dead. Like, um... dead bodies. But--but then they were okay. So, I just, you know, figured it was me. That I was going crazy."

"Well, maybe you are," Anya told me. "Going crazy. From Hell." Buffy gave her a look. Anya scoffed fakely. "No. You're fine."

"You are," Buffy told me. "And, Zoey, we're--we're so glad."

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "This thing, this haunting thing, we'll fix it, and then we'll still have you back, which is... it's so important."

"Yes," Willow agreed.

"It's wonderful," Tara told me.

I nodded. "We should get to work."

     ~~~~~~  

Us and Dawn sat in the Magic Box, around the table, looking at books.

Willow was writing.

Dawn stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. "What's the list?"

"Possible hitchhikers," Anya answered.

"Demons that might have come out of Hell at the same time Zoey did," Xander told her.

Dawn read aloud. "'Skaggmore demons, trellbane demons, skitterers, large and small bone-eaters.' If we get to pick, I say we go with the small bone-eaters."

"Well, that just means they prefer to eat things with small bones, like you," Anya told her.

"That's just what we have so far," Willow told us. "Five species of demons that have been known to move trandimensionally. Two of them may be invisible in this dimension, and, uh, two others can perform spells to alter perception."

"Well, that's four," Buffy told us. "What's the other one like?"

"Uh, like the others, only dripping with viscous fluid," Tara answered.

"Ew," Dawn said.

"So, should we concentrate on how to kill those, or should we try to find more?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not sure," Willow told us. "Maybe... maybe some of us can, uh, keep going finding more, and the others--"

"I miss Giles," I told them.

Willow looked up. "Oh. He's coming back. I talked to him. I know I'm a kind of poor substitute, but until then, we'll get it done."

I looked around. "I think I should patrol."

I put my book down, standing.

"Well, I know we'll find something soon," Willow told me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Uh, do you want me to go with you?" Buffy asked.

"No," I answered. "I--I need to go. Sorry."

"You should go," Dawn told me. "I'll be safe here with the others. Don't worry about me."

I nodded barely, walking out, leaving.

     ~~~~~~  

After dark in the cemetery, I walked slowly along, distracted.

I didn't know where else to go, so I came to the one that wasn't treating me like glass and wasn't fawning all over me.

Spike.

I walked into the crypt, standing by a table, looking at some magazines that were spread out.

Spike came up from underground. "Zoey." I turned to face him. "You should be careful. Never know what kind of villain's got a knife at your back." 

I looked down to see that he was holding a knife in his injured hand. "Your hand is hurt."

Spike nodded. "Hmm. Same with you."

I looked down at my bandaged hands. "Right."

Spike walked over to the wall, putting the knife down. "Willow's getting pretty strong, isn't she? Bringing you back. It's hard to get a good night's death around here." He chuckled barely. "You can sit down. Got furniture." I sat down in a chair. "You should see downstairs, too. It's quite posh." I looked at him, but didn't say anything. Spike walked over, sighing, sitting on the edge of a table across from me. "I remember that night. Every night. And I hated myself for not doing more to help, so you wouldn't have had to jump. But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but.. after that. Ever night after that, I'd see it all again. Do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways. Every night, I save you."

I didn't know how to take that, still feeling distant and guarded and reclusive.

But that was the first thing that anyone had said to get a real emotional reaction out of me.

     ~~~~~~  

I walked into my house, into my room. I paused to look at the pictures on the wall.

I heard a whispery voice. "You don't belong here." I turned to see demon mist floating in, punching at it, but my fist went through it. It shot out a tendril, hitting me, making me fall onto the bed. I stood, looking around in confusion. The mist reappeared. I punched at it again. The mist swirled around me, reforming behind me. I turned around, punching at it again, but still nothing. The demon hit me, making me stumble out the door, into the hallway, into the opposite wall. I turned around, looking back at the door into my room, but the mist was gone. I walked cautiously inside. "Did they tell you you belonged here?" The mist reappeared in front of me, putting out a hand. I tried to grab the wrist, but my hand just went through it. "Did they said this was your home again?" It disappeared again, reappearing. I hit at it with no effect. It swirled around behind me. "Were you offered pretty lies, little girl?" It swirled around me, wrapping around my waist, crushing me. "Or did they even give you a choice?"

     ~~~~~~  

I struggled in the grip of the demon, curling my hands into fists, managing to break free, swinging at it, but my hand went through. It hit me, making me fall onto the bed, roll off the side onto the floor.

The demon stood still. It seemed to be becoming more solid.

I laid on the floor, looking up at it. 

     ~~~~~~  

I reached under my bed, pulling out an ax, standing.

"You're the one who's barely here," the demon told me. "Set on this earth like a bubble." I swung the ax at it without any affect, and again. The face was a little clearer now. It stopped swirling, confronting me. "You won't even disturb the air when you go."

Xander, Anya, Buffy and Dawn ran in.

"Go!" I told them. "Take Dawn out of here!"

     ~~~~~~  

The demon suddenly became fully solid. It looked like the rotting corpse of a woman, taller than me.

I swung the ax toward the demon. It caught the handle. We struggled to pull it away from the other.

Buffy punched the demon from behind, making it let go, spinning to kick it in the back, making it fall into the wall, pinning it there, standing out of the way.

I swung the ax at its neck, beheading the demon, killing it.

Xander, Dawn and Anya all gave little yelps of dismay.

Dawn turned her head away, grabbing Xander's arms. "That's probably the sort of thing I'm not supposed to see, right?"

Buffy and I let go of the body, watching the head and the body fall.

     ~~~~~~  

It had been a few days since then.

And I was feeling more like myself again.

Dawn walked out of the house, dressed for school.

I was standing on the sidewalk.

Mom opened the door. "Dawn."

Dawn turned back. "What's wrong?"

Mom walked closer, holding a brown paper bag. "Lunch."

Dawn smiled, taking the lunch bag. "Wow. Thanks."

"You better go," Mom told her. "You've been out since... Zoey got back." I walked closer. "And you know what they say. Those of us who fail history? Doomed to repeat it in summer school."

We smiled small smiles.

"Thank you, Mom," Dawn told her.

They looked at me.

"Are you okay?" Mom asked.

"I'm going to start charging money for every person that asks me that," I told them.

"Everyone's been doing that, huh?" Mom asked.

"A little bit,' I answered.

"It's because they care about you, a lot," Mom told me. "When you were gone... it was bad when you were gone. But it'll be better now. Now that they can see you being happy. That's all they want."

Dawn and Mom gave me a hug.

Dawn walked away, leaving.

I watched her go thoughtfully.

     ~~~~~~  

I walked into the Magic Box.

Buffy, Tara, Willow, Xander and Anya were there.

Buffy smiled. "Zoey. Hey."

"Hey, you get Dawn off to school all right?" Xander asked. "'Cause I was thinking, if you need help picking her up, I..."

"It's okay," I told them. "I got it. Look, you guys, um, there's this thing... so I'm just gonna say it. You brought me back. I was in... I was in Hell. I, um... I can't think too much about what it was like. But it felt like the world abandoned me there. And then suddenly... you guys did what you did."

"It was Willow," Tara told me. "She knew what to do."

Willow looked embarrassed.

"Okay," I told them. "So you did that. And the world came rushing back. Thank you. You guys gave me the world. I can't tell you what it means to me." Willow had tears in her eyes. "And I should have said it before."

"You're welcome," Willow told me, hugging me.

Buffy hugged the two of us.

"Welcome home, Zoey," Xander told me, hugging the three of us.

We pulled away.

     ~~~~~~  

I walked out into the back alley behind the Magic Box, closing the door behind me, slowly walking a few steps, thinking.

Spike was standing in the alley. "Zoey." 

I frowned. "Spike, it's daylight, and you're--"

"Not on fire?" Spike finished, looking at the sky. "Sun's low enough, shady enough here." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I was gonna go inside, but I overheard you and the super-friends exchanging a special moment, and I came over a bit queasy." I brushed back hair from my face. "Say, aren't you leaving a hole in the middle of some soggy group hug?"

"Just wanted a little time alone," I told him, sitting on a packing crate a few feet away from Spike.

"Oh, uh, right then," Spike told me, standing, starting to walk away, reaching the line of shadow, realizing he could leave the alley without going into the sunlight.

"It's okay," I told him. "I can be alone with you."

Spike turned to me. "Thanks ever so." I looked down. Spike walked closer. "Zoey? Slayer? Are you okay?"

I wasn't okay, but composing myself, nodding. "I'm here. I'm good."

"Zoey, if you're in... if you're in pain... or if you need anything... or if I can do anything for you..." Spike trailed off.

I looked down. "You can't."

"Well, I haven't been to a Hell dimension just of late, but I do know a thing or two about torment," Spike told me, sitting down beside me. 

"I was happy," I told him. Spike looked at me in confusion. "Wherever I... was... I was happy. At peace." Spike was surprised. "I knew that everyone I cared about was all right. I knew it. Time... didn't mean anything... nothing had form... But I was still me, you know?" I looked at him. "And I was warm... and I was loved... and I was finished. Complete. I don't understand about theology or dimensions or... any of it, really. But I think I was in Heaven." Spike looked at me in dismay. "And now I'm not. I was torn out of there. Pulled out... by my friends. Everything here is... hard, and bright, and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch... this is Hell. Just getting through the next moment, and the one after that... knowing what I've lost..." I stood. "They cane never know. Never."

I walked out into the sunlight.