Title: Cold Comfort
Prompt: Kidnapping
Medium: Fic
Rating: G
Warnings: Kidnapping
Summary: Dawn gets kidnapped and the loss of her sister is even more evident when she's found again. Spike/Dawn friendship.

Dawn wasn't too sure how long she had been trapped in that dark, unseemly cellar. It was cold, it stank, and she was pretty sure that she hadn't been the first person to be held down there. She had just been grateful that there was at least a small pan in the corner of the room for her to go to the bathroom, but even then that only added to the smell.

She missed her sister. She would have found her by now, bursting in with a quip on her lips and a stare that would make even the most assured of villains flinch. Every night, she dreamed of her, watched her jump off of the tower and into the electric portal that was only there because of her. Part of Dawn realized that the portal opening wasn't her fault – the other part rationalized that if it wasn't for her existence, Buffy would still be alive.

When the door finally burst open and the Scoobies came scuttling in, fighting off bad guys left and right, it was Spike who untied her from the sacrificial stone and got her out of there. Spike had slowly started to take Buffy's place as the protector of the group even if Xander and Giles refused to admit it. The vampire that was slowly proving to be the only person she could call family.

And so now she stood, staring in the mirror of her bathroom that she used to have to share with Buffy, and staring at the dark shadows under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping ever since the Quib Lak demons had kidnapped her and deemed her to be the perfect candidate for their sacrificial offering. She kept seeing their blank, unfeeling stares as they manhandled her, kept feeling their cold clammy hands as they tried to keep her still, and she could still smell their rancid breath as they hovered ominously over her.

A shiver went down her spine and she shut her eyes tightly while she took a deep breath. When there was a knock on the door, she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Come in!" She called, her voice catching slightly. The door opened and she watched for the intruder in the mirror, but when they didn't appear she turned and saw Spike leaning against the door and watching her with compassionate eyes.

"You feelin' okay, bit?" he asked softly. Dawn averted her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm…I'm fine." She said, twisted her fingers in her shirt while she stared at the nozzle of the sink, "I'm just a bit shakey. I'll be better after I get a good nights sleep."

"You've been back for three days." Spike said, "'M guessin' sleep isn't comin' easy."

Dawn shook her head, and with a heavy sigh let her hands drop to her sides, "I…I just…getting kidnapped made me realize how much…how much I miss Buffy."

"It also made you realize that you should stay home on Tuesdays." Spike said with a weak smile. She looked at him with a faint smile on her lips and with a sigh he waved her towards him. She hurried towards him, and when he wrapped his cool arms around her in a surprisingly warm embrace she pressed her face into his shirt and cried.

"I-It's just, normally Buffy is the one to s-save me." Dawn said in a broken voice, "A-and having you guys save me j-just made me realize that Buffy isn't going to be there any more. E-Even when I was about to die, a part of me kept thinking that Buffy would suddenly burst in and kick their asses. A-And when she didn't, it hit me that she's actually gone."

She broke down then, and Spike didn't say anything as he tightening his grip around her and rubbed her back in soothing, circular motions. It felt like a lifetime passed before she could finally breathe evenly, and even longer for her to stop crying.

"You feel any better?" Spike asked softly. With a sniffle and a nod she pulled away and turned back towards the sink, flipping on the water and quickly splashing her face.

"A bit." She said softly, looking up into the mirror where the vampire wasn't reflected, "Thank you. Sorry I got snot all over your shirt." Spike laughed and she quirked an eyebrow in surprise – it was rare to hear him laugh anymore. It was nice.

"It's alright, bit. I'll let you use my shirt as a snot rag whenever you like if it makes you feel better. Now why don't you go to bed? I'll be nearby so I'll know if you need anything."

Dawn smiled sadly and nodded. That night, for the first time in the weeks since Buffy died, she didn't awake screaming because of nightmares.