“Tara!” Buffy croaked, “Help him, you have to help him. He saved me!”

Tara shook her head sadly. “There’s nothing I can do Buffy, I’m sorry!”

Buffy wiggled from Willows grasp and fell to her knees at Tara’s side, the dog looked up at her with loving eyes and whined softly.

“Sweet dreams.” Buffy whispered as she leant in and kissed the dogs muzzle softly before resting her head lightly against his.

In her closeness, she heard the dogs final breath leave his exhausted body and for a split second, she envied him.

With tears staining her cheeks, she got back to her feet and shuffled to the couch.

“Where the hell have you been?!” Kennedy asked accusingly, although one death glare from Tara silenced her once more.

Buffy raised an eyebrow slowly at the potential and sighed heavily.

“I decided to push on ahead a little, next thing I know, I see a bunch of bringers coming for me, so I slip behind an pillar so that I can maybe leap out on them once they pass me and I’m leaning on the wall and well, the wall kinda caved in and I fell.” Buffy began slowly.

“Could you get me a glass of water, its all kinds of dry in my throat!” She asked Amanda who willingly trotted off to fetch their leader a drink.

“What’s this?” Faith asked as she entered the living room. In all the excitement, no one had noticed Buffy had returned with a shiny new weapon.

Buffy shrugged and took the glass that Amanda offered, drinking deeply before continuing. “Anyway, I fell about 40 feet, I think, I don’t really know, it was dark.” She took another deep drink and smiled. “I King Arthur’d that from a rock and as I turned, there was this preacher guy just stood there all smug.”

“Ahhh, Caleb, we met him!” Tara said, the merest hint of venom tinting her voice.

”Well he doesn’t like me very much, was all mouthing off about girls being dirty and such.” Buffy frowned slightly as she spoke.

Tara nodded in agreement.

“But when he saw this…” she took the weapon from Faiths grasp and showed the rest of the group. “He backed off rapidly.”

“It’s wicked powerful!” Faith said matter of factly.