Title: Story Time
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Spike, Dawn, Cindy (OC)
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 926
Summary: Dawn's slayer wants to know about Spike's history with Dawn.

Cindy looks over at her watcher and grins widely. "If there's anyone you would wish to be your consanguineal brother, who is it?"

Dawn raises her eyebrows, deeply impressed. "Big word."

Cindy nods. "We've been studying family trees, and Mr. Pillock uses that word a lot in relation to genetics."

Dawn laughs. "Pillock? His name is Pollock. You've been spending way too much time with Spike."

Cindy pouts. "Answer my question."

"Fine. If I could pick a consanguineal brother, it would have to be Spike."

"Not Xander?"

She shakes her head.

"I'm touched, Nibblet. Especially since I remember you telling me you'd set me on fire."

Dawn smiles and sticks out her tongue, acting like she did when she was 17. "Don't let it go to your head."

Cindy tilts her head sideways, eyes moving between the two of them. "So, you guys didn't get along always. Obviously, if she threatened you, there was some bad tension."

Spike goes to sit next to the two. "Before that little threat, we were pretty close. I was her usual babysitter and tutor."

"He was the only one that didn't treat me like a little kid." She lays her head on his shoulder and breathes his smoky scent in when he wraps his arms around her.

"What happened?" Cindy asks, unaware of what she's stirring up.

Spike's eyes turn dull as he gets lost in his most horrific memory.

Dawn lays a hand on his arm. "He did something bad, something I was angry about, and then he left. So when he finally came back, I wasn't feeling very friendly towards him."

"What did he do?"

"That's not important," Dawn quickly says. She looks at Spike and realizes he's still lost in the memory. She tugs on his shirt to get his attention. When he's looking at her and after his eyes clear in awareness, she says slowly and clearly, "It doesn't matter anymore. Everything is fine now and all is forgiven."

Spike smiles weakly, but Dawn knows his mood has been brought down. She hates when he gets like this, how he still allows his bad memories to haunt him, even if he's made up for everything tenfold.

"How did you guys make up?"

Dawn turns back to her charge. "What is this? Story time? You're supposed to be training."

Cindy shrugs. "I can't help but be curious. Not many slayers or watchers are friendly with a vampire. Heck, not many vampires have souls."

Dawn grins. "Spike has always been a special case. So has my family when it comes to vampires and demons. We all learned that soulless vampires are capable of love just like how some demons are harmless to humans. Not many slayers had as much experience as my sister so she learned a lot more than the past slayers about the demon world."

Cindy looks at Spike and then back to Dawn. "I still want to know how you guys made up."

Spike finally tunes back into the conversation. "I'm not quite sure of that myself. One day, Dawn just decided to forgive me."

"Trust me; it took a lot of soul-searching. It wasn't something I decided on a whim."

"So, how did you decide?" Spike asks, his head is tilted in that cute way of his.

"Okay, well, first of all, although I was angry about what happened, the root of my anger came from you leaving. Like Buffy, I have a lot of abandonment issues. We can thank my dad, Giles, mom, and even Buffy herself for those issues. You were the one who had never left, and I trusted in that. Then suddenly you're gone with no goodbye and Willow's gone crazy with magic. Buffy wanted me to stay somewhere safe, and I told her I wanted to be with you. We get to the crypt and you're gone with only Clem there. Not a nice way to find out that my best friend has left."

Spikes holds up a hand. "I get it. I screwed up by leaving the way I did. You know what happened, though. I just couldn't face it, and I hadn't been thinking clearly. All I wanted to do was make things better."

Dawn kisses his shoulder. "I know that now, and that was something I realized after awhile. I knew you loved me, and you made a mistake. You were doing your best to make amends, and that was what helped me forgive you."

"And now your best friends," Cindy happily concludes.

Dawn glances at her slayer, and then locks eyes with Spike once again. "We're more than that."

Spike reassuringly squeezes Dawn's shoulder affectionately. "Yeah, we're brother and sister."

"In every way that matters," Dawn finishes.

Cindy's 'awww' is ignored while they hug.

When Spike and Dawn separate, Dawn stands up and crosses her arms. "Now, back to work Cindy. Spike is here to give you a little taste of what a vampire can really do to you. Up," she orders.

Cindy lets out a put-upon sigh before doing what she's told.

Spike smirks as he stands up. "Tell me what to do Nibblet."

"I want her to begin working on cultivating her vampire sense, something that has been neglected for awhile. So hide and do sneak attacks."

"Yes, m'am." Spike playfully salutes before fading into the surroundings.

Dawn shakes her head at her vampire's antics. She gets in position and watches the scene unfold, knowing it will be a regular occurrence until Cindy learns how to utilize something that was given to her.