Dawn woke up the next morning with a queasy feeling rocking her insides. For no particular reason, she had the deepest feeling that something bad was going to happen that day or soon. She didn't understand why it made her feel so afraid, though, when her intuition wasn't usually anything she worried about. They'd made it through everything they had faced so far, and she preferred to continue to believe they would always surpass the evil that constantly threatened their existence. But today was different with a lingering foreshadowing of dark things to come hovering in her heart and mind.
Dawn hurriedly got dressed and rushed downstairs to read one of the books she had become seriously engrossed in the day before while everyone still remained asleep. Before she sat down to read the book she had just removed from a high bookshelf, Dawn returned upstairs to check in on Buffy. As she cracked the door, Dawn quietly peeked inside the dark room, but Buffy's bed was still made and Buffy was nowhere to be found. She hoped she was fine, but just assumed that her big sister had probably spent the night patrolling the nearby town.
In the lobby, Dawn made herself comfortable on the couch, resting against the arm. Half way through the book, Dawn was reading about an ancient conflict between a race of demons and primordial deities. It said the demons and deities had once lived harmoniously together, sharing the duties of the many dimensions, but their peace had been broken by one particular demon whose name she couldn't pronounce. Dawn read on about how this demon had broken a sacred pact of the two races to never interfere in the fates of their subjects by crossing the boundary that separated their world from the human world. This demon had lived amongst the humans, determined to use her supernatural abilities to alter the destinies of a sacred line of warriors called the Slayers.
At this point in the book, Dawn paused to contemplate the idea that a demon had managed to interfere in the Slayer line and what it had done and how it had done so. She couldn't imagine what destiny awaited a Slayer other than a life spent fighting the forces of evil, only to meet an early death. Though, Dawn thought, Buffy has survived longer than any Slayer before her had or should have lived.
Dawn's thoughts were interrupted by the noises coming from upstairs, signaling that the newly-made Slayers were beginning to stir. Sitting the book down beside her on the couch, Dawn glanced at the clock and saw that it was just barely past six in the morning. Surely Buffy would be home soon for the daily training of the ex-Potentials.
Faith came bounding down the flight of stairs, not in a particularly good mood. Her body sagged beneath her tight clothes and her eyes drooped a little. Obviously, she had had a long night or probably just had more to drink than was legal. The dark-haired Slayer grunted as, one by one, other Slayers made their way downstairs. Dawn stood and made her way over to the disgruntled Slayer.
"Have you seen Buffy? I didn't find her in her room. I think she might not have come back last night."
"B was here when we got in last night, lil' sis. Maybe she's just getting in some last minute dusting. Why don't you just give her some time or just go look for her again. Maybe she's somewhere around the hotel," Faith replied, shrugging her shoulders wearily.
Dawn decided to try one more time around the hotel and if she still didn't find Buffy, she'd have no choice except to wait for her to show up. Beginning at the backyard, Dawn glanced at the training grounds from a back window. Buffy was nowhere in sight. Dawn expanded her search to the basement training room, the makeshift office, the kitchen, and, finally, ended back in the lobby. Only one place left to look – upstairs.
Solaris blinked against the harsh rays of sunlight streaming in through the drawn curtains decorating the window. She really did need to close the curtains at some point, so she would stop waking up to the blinding sun. Stretching her arms above her head, Solaris rolled over onto her side to look at anything that wasn't as bright as the sun. Lying in bed next to her, fast asleep, was Buffy curled up into a fetal ball. She was angled in a mess of sheets and blankets, her face more peaceful than Solaris had ever seen it.
Solaris smiled, stood, and headed over to her luggage trunk that she still refused to unload. Opening it, she silently dug around inside, searching for something to change into. She withdrew a blue collared shirt and a pair of baggy jeans that didn't have holes like the rest of her jeans, but relentlessly slid off her waist no matter what she was doing. Taking the rest of the necessary items she'd need, Solaris entered her personal bathroom and turned the knobs in the shower causing the faucet to produce a steady stream of hot water. Steam rose around her, already beginning to fog the mirror, and, clothes removed, Solaris stepped gently into the spraying water.
Awoken by the soft shush of running water coming from the bathroom, Buffy gradually opened her eyes, blinking the sleepiness from her sticky eyes. It took a few seconds for Buffy to realize that she was not waking up in her own bedroom, but in someone else's. Her eyes had to adjust to the lightening darkness before she could assess where exactly she was. Glancing around, she noticed that she was lying on a large mattress on the floor in one of the other Slayer's, Solaris, bedroom. Had she actually slept soundly in this room throughout the night?
Rising from the mattress, Buffy advanced to the bedroom door about to walk out into the hallway until she heard Dawn's distant voice calling her name. For some strange reason, Buffy didn't want Dawn to know she was in here, or else Dawn might wonder what Buffy was doing in here. Quickly and silently, Buffy crept to the bathroom door and slid inside. The air in the bathroom was filled with fog, but steadily began to dissipate. Standing just next to the shower was Solaris, half-dressed in a black, lacey bra and jeans that hung way too low on her waist, revealing a pair of black and blue girl's briefs. Water drops trickled down Solaris' muscular torso, followed by Buffy's transfixed eyes.
Shaking the excess water from her midnight black mane, Solaris lifted her eyes to look at Buffy, not the least bit disconcerted by Buffy's sudden appearance.
"Thought you'd drop in for a chat, then?" teased Solaris, an amused grin appearing on her face.
Buffy began to reply, but fumbled over her words in embarrassment. For the moment, she was rendered speechless, unable to commit to saying anything that wouldn't just sound foolish. Completely mortified, Buffy's cheeks and neck burned red hot with humiliation. The strong composure she had perfected over the past seven years seemed to always fail her when Solaris was in the room.
"I…I just came to tell you that you're coming with Faith and I to patrol. Need to see you in a real fight. That's all."
Solaris grinned broadly, obviously amused. "Couldn't wait until I came down, could it?"
Lacking any decent reply, Buffy turned to the bathroom door and opened it a crack, preferring to face an interrogation from Dawn than to stay in the cramped room with this mysterious girl who could make her feel so young and immature with just one smile.
Deciding it best not to linger on a clearly embarrassing subject, Solaris continued to dress as she addressed Buffy. "By the way, thanks for the help last night. Didn't think I'd ever make it past that first step. Sorry you had to see me so trashed. Not a normal behavior for me, know that. But yeah, most people would have let me pass out where I lay. I just need you to know that. I'll be down in a minute. Hurry on before everyone begins to worry. I think the lil' bit has gone. It's safe now. Oh, and Buffy, it's our secret and no one else need know, I promise."
Not daring to say another word lest she risk further embarrassment, Buffy just nodded slightly then strolled out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom. Buffy had just barely made it off the stairs and into the lobby when Dawn came stomping down the stairs, too. At first, Dawn's face was hardened in frustration, but when she glimpsed Buffy making her way into the center of the lobby, she looked much more relieved.
"There you are," Dawn said, slightly irritated. "I was looking all over for you; I was about to send a search party. Where were you?"
"I was just…out. Yeah, out," Buffy lied.
Upstairs, before she headed downstairs to join the other girls, Solaris dug in her trunk once more and pulled out a brown, leather bound book that seemed to have no way for a person the open it. The moment Solaris touched the book's binding the curvy insignia on what probably was the cover burned intense gold, and part of the binding vanished on the right side of the book. Opening the book to some random page, Solaris let the words on the page seep into her memory and smiled sadly. She flipped through the many pages until she reached the first blank one. Then, carefully, she withdrew her most recent memories and placed them within the pages, protected from the destruction of any forgetfulness she might endure.