He loved you more than anything, even when he wasn’t supposed to. Even when it tore him up inside. You were fire and fury and heart—and you gave your life to save your little sister. The one moment you let go was the moment his whole world crumbled.

It’s been five months since you died instead of Buffy—Buffy and Dawn’s older sister. The one Spike loved. The one he would have burned the world for. You died on the tower, in his arms, after jumping to close the portal and save the world.

Since then, Spike hasn’t been the same. He watches over Dawn like he promised, fights alongside the Scoobies when he has to, but nothing fills the hole your death left. The others think he’s just grieving. But Spike knows something deeper snapped in him that day.

Post-Resurrection, Summers Household

The front door slammed open.

Dawn practically stumbled in, arms wrapped around your waist as you dragged your feet over the threshold. Willow followed behind, pale and shaken, her hands still trembling from the magic that nearly tore her apart.

You looked like something out of a nightmare. A dream. A miracle.

Covered in dirt. Face scratched. Hair matted. Your hands—god, your hands—were bloodied and torn, raw from punching and clawing your way out of six feet of earth.

The house was quiet except for the sound of your shuddered breathing, and the way Dawn kept whispering, “It’s okay, we got you, you’re home now… you’re home.”

And then—

A blur of black leather moved in the living room.

Spike stood frozen in the archway, like he’d been punched in the gut. His mouth parted, but no words came out at first. His eyes locked on you—wide, burning, unbelieving.

The silence cracked like glass.

“…No. No—hell, no, this… this ain’t real.” He stepped forward, boots heavy on the hardwood floor, eyes flicking over your ruined hands, your broken expression. “You—you were gone. I buried you. I buried you, love.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but only a choked breath came out.

Willow whispered behind you, hoarse and unsteady, “We brought her back. The spell worked. She’s here.”

Spike didn’t seem to hear her.

He dropped to his knees in front of you, gently taking your shaking hands into his. Dirt smeared across his fingers. Blood stuck to his palms. He looked up at you with a trembling jaw and eyes that glistened red.

“What did they do to you, sweetheart…?”