P/N: (posters note) My best friend (who shall only be known as Gnat) so anyway Gnat's mother's birthday is coming up and she wanted to do a custom scene of their favourite television show. Because she doesn't have her own account so she called in one of the favors that I conveniently happened to owe her. So here's a birthday gift from Gnat to her mom. ^-^

A/N: (authors note) After Tara accidentally informs Glory Dawn's the Key. Pretend special never happened. Dawn stays with Spike, set during season five. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Disclaimer: Okay if either of us owned Buffy do you seriously think that we'd be here on this website writing FanFictions? No. Because if we did own this, quite frankly, amazing show then we would be sitting pretty on large piles of cash, not going to school, and sipping margaritas with little pink umbrellas in Tampa. So, in short, no neither one of us own Buffy the Vampire Slayer…end of story buh-bye the end.

Errands

Spike had prepared himself for many situations when agreeing to babysit the Nibblet. Shopping in the feminine isle of the 24-hour local drugstore, however, was not one of them.

*Signature FLASHBACK line that signifies we must now go back in time*

"Erm, Spike…we might have a little problem," Dawn mumbled.

"What? What?" Spike panicked. "Is Glory here!"

Dawn coughed into her fist, slightly amused. "Uh, no," she paused, "slightly more embarrassing than that."

Now that the threat of danger was disproved, Spike relaxed. He fell back into his chair, turning most of his attention back on Passions that was much more important that whatever the Nibblet had to say. "So, what is this 'embarrassing thing' that requires my attention?" he asked flippantly.

"Erm…weeeell, I need a pad."

"Of paper? What's so embarrassing about that?" Spike was completely oblivious.

"No, a pad." Maybe stressing the word 'pad' would get it though his thick head.

"Oh." Spike went very red. "Wait, but why are you telling me this? I could have lived a long, happy un-life without ever knowing that."

Dawn stammered. "I er, k-kinda need you to run to the drug store and get me some. We left in a hurry and I didn't have time to pack any."

"WHAT! No, no way. Uh, there's…ah…th-the sunlight! That's right I can't go out in the sun!" He was scrambling for an excuse, any excuse, that could save him from doing that.

"It's 24-hour. Aaand," Dawn twitched the curtains aside, "it's sunset." [insert winning smile].

"Bol-I mean…crap." He sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll go. But you owe me…" he paused as he was walking out of the hide-out. "Big time." He added.

Dawn just smiled sweetly. "Get the green kind."

*Cue the end of the FLASHBACK sequence*

So that was how Spike found himself in this particular section, the feminine section, of the drug-store. He was looking at all the kinds trying to figure out which green one Dawn wanted. There was a greenish-yellow one, a light green one, and a dark green one. And don't get him started on the different brands.

Ahhh! Too many choices. And all these women giving me dirty looks. This is making me uncomfortable, sure enough when he looked out of the corner of his eye there was a mother and her teenaged daughter giving him a strange grimace. I'm just gonna go with this one. He reached out and plucked a random box off the shelf; the yellowish-green one…or greenish-yellow one. Whatever.

When he got to the check-out counter, the clerk kept looking at him funny the whole time she was ringing it up. Finally, spike just couldn't take it anymore. "What? They're for my…niece."

"Riiiiiight. And she couldn't get them herself becaaaauuuse….?"

Spike winced internally. Crap what do I tell her about lil'Bit? I can't very well tell her Dawn's in hiding because she's the Key and she's got a hellgod looking for her. Yeah, that'd go over reall well. She'd probably find the nearest straitjacket and lock me in a padded cell somewhere.

"Uh, she's, errr, she's ill! Yeah, that's it, she's ill!"

The sales lady gave him a skeptical look but didn't press the issue. She just handed him the bag. Spike practically ran in his hurry to be out of there.

When he got back to his crypt Dawn was waiting impatiently. "What took you so long?"

"Shut-up," he grumbled. "And you had better thank me." He threw the bag at Dawn. She caught and looked inside.

"Spike," she began carefully. "I said green. These are the greenish-yellow. You're gonna have to go back."

"WHAT! Why can't we get umm….the Buffy-bot to do it!" Pure inspiration why hadn't he though of this sooner?

"Willow's still playing Operation on her."

Oh yeah. That's why.

"Besides," Dawn continued. "if you don't want to do it willingly, there's always," she paused dramatically, "blackmail."

Spike snorted. "Yeah, what're you gonna blackmail me with?"

"Well," she thought, "I could always tell…I don't know, Angel, about this little episode…"

He narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"You're diabolical. Fine." He snapped. 'But this time I'm just getting anything that looks remotely green. That way, you can't send me back and you'll be set for a few years."

All the Nibblet did was laugh.