Chapter two: Jane Smith
Dawn saw his thoughts in his eyes as though he'd said them out loud. He would give her what she wanted; take her far away from Sunnydale. Though he had yet to have said it she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face. She would skip town with Spike, more importantly the new Spike. Not the sulking miserable Spike from the previous months but the Spike that had realized he'd never loved Buffy. This was the Spike that loved her and didn't want her messing around with boys, the Spike that was her best friend.
Spike looked at the smile on Dawns face and wondered if felt as foreign as it looked. Spike could tell by the joy in Dawn's eye that it was a genuine smile. But then why did it appear so strange? Spike realized then that it was the first time he'd seen Dawn smile in months. He felt a pang of guilt. How could he have left her so utterly alone?
"When can we go? Can we leave tonight?" Dawn asked eagerly.
"Bit we need to figure out where to go, you ought to pack and I should probably talk to red and her witchy mate." Spike said as he began to wonder exactly where they should go.
Dawns face fell at his words and Spike felt as though someone had staked him.
"Then again I am the big bad and all, wouldn't be proper to go around planning and being all responsible and what not. There's no thrill in that, no adventure." Spike said with a playful wink.
Dawn's face brightened again.
"I'll go fetch the car, while you get dressed and throw a few things together. Then we'll just pick a place and drive yeah?" Spike asked with a grin.
Dawn nodded enthusiastically she wanted to throw her arms around her favorite vamp but then there would be nothing holding up the blanket. Spike dipped out the window from which he came and Dawn began fluttering around her room ecstatically. She got dressed and then grabbed a large duffel bag throwing an assortment of her favorite clothes and shoes in for an array of different kinds of weather. She threw in the essentials like her hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste a bit of makeup, shampoo and conditioner and a razor. She emptied out her piggy bank which had more than a couple hundred dollars in it since she hadn't paid for anything since Buffy died. She then grabbed her backpack filled it with the spell book she'd gotten for her birthday from Tara and Willow, things she'd stolen from the magic shop that could be handy and a bunch of food for the trip. She scrawled a note out on the table explaining that she'd skipped town with Spike and that she wasn't planning on returning. Then she grabbed her duffel bag and her backpack and stood outside waiting for Spike. He pulled up in his car, with the blacked out windows and Dawn felt giddy with excitement.
"Hop in!" Spike called.
Dawn ran toward the car dumping her bags in the back seat. She couldn't have stopped smiling if she tried. She was leaving Sunnydale and Spike was with her, for the first time she felt hopeful that maybe life wasn't going to be so terrible.
"Where to Nibblet?" Spike asked as he nodded at the large map spread out in front of him.
Dawn looked at it trying to choose a place to go.
"I don't know I want to go everywhere" Dawn said with a sheepish grin.
She focused on the states the farthest away from California.
"New Hampshire sounds nice." Dawns finally decided.
She liked the way it sounded and traveling there would let them see a whole bunch of states in-between.
"We'll get us a nice place in Manchester" Spike agreed with a grin.
"If we head out now we could easily make it to Las Vegas before morning" Spike told her with a raised eyebrow. "It could be a fun pit stop, then after that we could visit the Grand Canyon if ya want"
"Okay! After all we have all the time in the world." Dawn said happily.
Spike didn't know it, but Dawns words were exactly true. Giles had called Dawn one night from England and told her that upon more researching into her unique circumstances, what with her being a key and all, it was highly likely that she would be immortal due to the fact that she was made from such strong magical energy. At first the thought freaked her out, but she'd gotten used to it after a while. After all wasn't it every woman's dream to stay forever young and pretty? Besides it was kinda cool that she could get the whole immortal thing and not have to give up her soul. It was after that discovery that she'd taken up magic. She wanted to understand it, how it worked, she wanted to be able to use it and well if she was going to be around forever she seriously needed a hobby.
They drove for hours radio blasting, Dawn with the map and Spike at the wheel. Around four in the morning they had made it to Las Vegas and they used the remaining hours of nightfall to find a hotel to stay in for the day. Once they had checked in Dawn was ready to pass out, but she tried to stay up a little longer since she knew if she was going to be living with Spike she'd have to learn to sleep during the day and stay up at night. Spike stared at Dawn all sleepy eyed as he opened his cooler and took out a packet of blood.
"You need a bite to eat Bit?" Spike asked.
"No I'm fine" Dawn said with a smile as she sprawled out on the bed.
The hotel room had two beds; Spike didn't want to risk any weirdness between them by repeating the mistake of sleeping together like they had in his crypt. When the sun was just about up Dawn disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into her pjs. Spike who typically slept naked realized that with Dawn sleeping a mere few feet away from him that was no longer an option. Tonight he would sleep in his jeans and t-shirt and he would figure out what to wear tomorrow. Dawn came out of the bathroom in an oversized t-shirt that went down to about mid-thigh. Spike inhaled deeply despite his lack of a need to breath.
"I hate to break this to you Bit, but I think you forgot pants" Spike said trying to seem jokingly casual.
Fact was, it was distracting as hell to be around her when she was constantly half naked all the time.
"This is how I always sleep" Dawn replied innocently.
"Right well. Never mind then" Spike stammered.
"Okay…" Dawn said shooting Spike a weird look.
Dawn wondered why he was acting like a weirdo all of a sudden.
The two of them fell asleep that night with each other on their minds.
Dawn awoke around twilight; Spike was snoring softly in his bed. She was eager for the night's activities, exploring Las Vegas and all the fun they would have while doing so. She grinned to herself as she got up and began to get ready. Spike got out of bed mere minutes after her. He watched Dawn excitedly getting ready while he drank some more blood from his cooler.
"You do realize that all the real fun is strictly for those of us over the age of twenty one in Vegas yeah?"
Dawn shot Spike a look, "You do realize I'm millenniums older than you yeah? Besides you're supposed to be the big bad, are you really saying you can't get me a decent fake ID?" She asked him in a sassy tone.
"Well we'll have to get you fixed up right and proper if anyone will buy it, millenniums older or not you still look sixteen." Spike said with a grin.
This was not true in any sense; Dawn looked far closer to nineteen then sixteen. Hopefully with the help of makeup and the right clothes they could pass her off as twenty one.
"You order yourself something from room service; I'll go find you an ID." Spike said as he pulled on his leather duster.
Dawn bounced onto the bed and began perusing through the room service menu, she wondered how long before they were going to run out of money but she pushed the thought away.
An hour or so later Spike returned telling her he'd found a guy, and that they could head out as soon as she was ready.
Dawn stepped out of the bathroom and Spikes eyes went wide. One thing is for sure, she definitely looked twenty one.
"What?" Dawn asked self-consciously, after seeing Spike's expression.
Dawn was wearing a shiny gold halter top that showed off an impressive amount of cleavage and left the majority of her back bare, paired with a pair of tight black pants and gold heels. She wore her hair as usual letting flow down her back in subtle waves. Her makeup enhanced her features and added maturity to her face. Her eyelashes looked a mile long and her full lips were a shade darker than her natural pink and slicked with gloss.
"Nothing, you just look different is all..." Spike stammered. "Where did ya get the cloths from?" He asked because she couldn't have packed that in her suitcase.
"Pants came from my suitcase, the top and shoes I bought across the street." Dawn said as she looked down to admire its glittery fabric which could only be pulled off in Vegas.
"You ready to go?" She asked eagerly.
Spike nodded focusing hard not to let his eyes linger on her breasts. After they had retrieved Dawn's ID they headed towards one of the many casinos.
"Now Spike you do know they don't gamble with kittens here right?" Dawn teased.
"Yes Jane, I know" Spike said with a slight grin.
"What?" Dawn asked confused.
Spike slid his hand into Dawn's back pocket and retrieved her ID, the feeling of his hand there made Dawn's heart start beating fast which she prayed he didn't hear. He did of course but ignored it. He pointed to the name beside Dawn's picture.
"Jane Smith." Dawn read aloud.
"That's your name." Spike said.
Dawn nodded trying to imagine herself as Jane. She decided that it was a fine enough name as far as names went. Spike however couldn't imagine Dawn as some plain baby Jane in a million years, but still it would do for now. The two of them entered the casino and Spike watched with a smile as Dawns eyes lighted up.
"So Jane, what shall we do first?" Spike asked her with a devilish grin.