aired on: October 2, 2001

written by: Marti Noxon

directed by: David Grossman

Since Buffy's death, the Scooby gang has been patrolling with the help of Willow's telepathy and the Buffybot. Together they are able to take several vampires but only barely. Back at the Summer's house, Willow and Tara have moved in to help the Buffybot take care of Dawn. It seems that Buffy's death has been kept secret from all but the inside group and the Buffybot is used to keep up appearances. This includes a trip to Dawn's parent-teacher day where there are a few close calls but nothing is suspected.

At the magic shop, Giles is preparing to move back to England, while Anya looks on and double checks records. He is driving her nuts with his talk of leaving and then not yet going anywhere. She is torn between wanting to take over and not wanting him to leave. She is also upset that Xander refuses to tell anyone about their engagement because everything is still confusing after Buffy's death.

That night, Spike babysits Dawn while the scoobies have a group meeting. Dawn tells him that he doesn't need to stay but he insists that he isn't going to leave her to be hurt again.

The Buffybot is out patrolling when she encounters a vampire. Everything goes well until she is hit and injured with a bottle, exposing some wiring and herself to the vampire who escapes. She starts walking into barrels before heading to Willow for repairs.

At the Scooby meeting, the gang is discussing a spell to resurrect to Buffy since Anya has just found the last item needed on E-Bay. Willow believes that she can bring back Buffy because she was killed by mystical forces and silences Xander's complaints about the danger. She also stresses that Dawn, Spike, and Giles must not find out about the attempt because they wouldn't understand.

After returning back to the Summer's house, Willow finds Dawn trying to control the malfunctioning Buffybot. That night, Dawn creeps into Buffy's room and lays down with the bot, drawing comfort from her sister's image, almost as if Buffy was really still there.

The next day, Giles is testing the Buffybot's repairs and trying to teach her how to pretend to breathe while fighting. Anya comes in and reminds Giles that it isn't Buffy that he's training. Giles replies bitterly: "I was a perfect Watcher. I did what any good Watcher would do; I got my Slayer killed in the line of duty....That's how all Slayer/Watcher relationships end, isn't it? She's gone. I did my job."
The Buffybots asks why he is still in Sunnydale, what are his reasons to remain now that Buffy is gone.

The vampire that escaped from the Buffybot is very much alive and telling his tale in a bar to a group of biker demons. Upon learning that the Slayer is dead and Sunnydale is unprotected, their leader kills the now-useless vamp and the gang leaves to attack Sunnydale.

Willow prepares for the ritual by killing a deer and collecting it's blood. She returns to the Magic Box to meet up with the group. They find a note from Giles that tells them that he has left for England. Not allowing him to slip away quietly, everyone rushes to the airport to give him a proper fairwell, complete with balloon and gifts bought at a gas store along the way.

That night, Willow and the others meet at Buffy's grave to perform the ritual to bring back Buffy. They sit around the grave as Willow begins the spell. Cuts appear on Willow's arms and a snake comes out of her mouth as she is tested but Tara insists that they don't stop her.

Meanwhile, downtown Sunnydale is being attacked by the biker demons. Spike is watching Dawn at the Summer's house and makes sure she is safe. The Buffybot fights the demons, but is soon injured and leaves to find Willow for repairs, leading the demons right to the ritual. One of the demons break the urn and stops the spell as the scoobies flea for safety.

They all assume that the spell didn't work, but inside the coffin, the decaying body returns to whole and a very alive Buffy begins struggling inside.