Surfacey Physical Stuff

BUFFY VOICEOVER: 

Are you sure? 

Cut to Buffy's house, living room. Buffy sits on the coffee-table facing Tara, who sits on the sofa. 

TARA: 

I-I've double 

checked everything. 

(smiling) There's 

nothing wrong with You.

BUFFY: 

Then why can 

Spike hurt Me?

TARA: 

Well, I said that there was 

nothing wrong with you, 

but ... You ARE different. 

Shifting you out of ... 

f-f-from where you were ... 

funneling your essence 

back into your body ... 

i-it, it altered You on 

a basic molecular level. 

Probably just enough to 

confuse the sensors or 

whatever in Spike's chip. 

But it's all just

surfacey physical stuff. 

It wouldn't have any more 

effect than ... a bad sunburn. 

Buffy looks close to tears 

as she contemplates this. 

BUFFY: I didn't 

come back Wrong?

TARA: 

No, you're the same Buffy. (lightly) With a deep 

tropical cellular tan.

BUFFY: 

You must have 

missed something. 

Will you check again?

TARA: (concerned) 

Buffy, I-I promise, there's 

nothing wrong with you.

BUFFY: 

There has to be! 

This just can't be Me, 

it isn't Me. (starting to cry) 

Why do I feel like this? 

Why did I let Spike do 

all those things to Me?

TARA: 

You mean hit you. 

Buffy meets Tara's eyes, 

but only for a moment, then 

looks away. Tara frowns 

as she begins to get it. 

TARA: Oh. 

Longer shot of the two of them. 

Tara rubs her knees nervously. 

TARA: Oh, huh. Really.

BUFFY: 

He's everything I hate. 

He's everything that ... 

I'm supposed to be against. 

But the only time that 

I ever feel anything is when ... 

Don't tell anyone, please.

TARA: I won't.

BUFFY: (crying) 

The way they 

would Look at Me ...

I just couldn't...

TARA: 

I won't tell anyone. 

I wouldn't do that.

BUFFY: (whispers) 

Why can't I stop? 

Why do I keep letting him in?

TARA: (concerned) 

Do you love him? 

Buffy just stares at her tearfully. 

TARA: I-It's okay if you do. 

He's done a lot of good, and, 

and he does love you. A-and 

Buffy, it's okay if you don't. 

You're going through 

a really hard time, 

and you're...

BUFFY: (still tearful) 

What? Using him? 

What's okay about that?

TARA: 

It's not that simple.

BUFFY: It is! It's Wrong. 

I'm Wrong. Tell me that 

I'm Wrong, please... 

Buffy starts to cry for real now. 

BUFFY: 

Please don't forgive me, please... (sobbing) 

Please don't... 

She slides off the table onto the floor, kneeling, putting her head in Tara's lap. Tara looks uncertain, puts her hands comfortingly on Buffy's head. 

BUFFY: (sobbing, muffled) 

Please don't forgive me... 

Tara strokes her hair gently 

as she continues crying.

Blackout.

Executive Producers: Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon.

THE END