The training room in the back of the Magic Box was utterly quiet. Giles' glasses dangled from his hand as he stared off into space. Buffy sat on Angel's lap, enclosed in his arms. Her fiancé could make her feel safe, which was really what she needed right now.
"I don't know what to say," Giles stammered.
"Tell me about it," Buffy mumbled dryly.
"It's just difficult to wrap one's mind around…and she has no idea?"
Buffy straightened slightly, lifting her head from Angel's shoulder. "None. She thinks she's my kid sister."
"Are you going to tell her?"
Buffy frowned. "How can I? She'd freak out and that's the last thing we need. We have to keep her safe."
"This woman, this…whatever she was," Giles said, beginning to polish his glasses. "She knows you now. Should we be thinking about sending Dawn away?"
Angel cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "And send her where?"
Giles shrugged and stammered a bit. "I don't know… Your father's?"
Buffy's face closed down. "He's off in…Spain or something, with his secretary. Living the cliché. I called when Mom got sick, he hasn't even… You know when he bailed on us, I remember Dawn cried for a week. Except she didn't. She was never there, but I can still feel what it was like." She shifted in Angel's arms and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "They sent her to me, Giles," she continued. "I think I have to take care of her. I want to."
Giles nodded solemnly. "Do we tell the others?"
Angel stirred again. "No. No one. It's safer for them if they don't know."
"Yes," Giles agreed. "We have to find out who exactly this woman is, and what it is she needs Dawn for. If she comes after you—"
"She'll come," Buffy said grimly. "She'll come for us."
*****
"So this is what you mean by research mode," Doyle said, looking suitably impressed at the sheer amount of books on the table. "I guess the party's about to begin, eh?"
"Not yet," Willow peeked out over the top of her book. "Oz has to get back from the donut run. Then the party starts."
"It would help if you could give us a better description of Miss Congeniality," Giles said, looking over at Buffy, who was balancing a book, a bottle, and her baby in her lap.
"Um…" Buffy replied, slightly distracted. "Angel, honey—book, please?"
With unerring accuracy, Angel caught the book just as it slipped from her lap and placed it with the others. "Major attitude," Buffy said, trying to convince Caddie to take the bottle. "Kind of reminded me of Cordelia, actually."
"Watch it, Slayer," Cordelia warned, pointing a forefinger towards the ceiling. The tip of her finger suddenly burst into flame and Cordy cocked an eyebrow threateningly. Buffy smiled wolfishly at the witch.
"She was strong. Like really, really strong. And I don't think that was her natural hair color."
Giles rolled his eyes. "Yes, because that's going to be so helpful."
"What is this?" Dawn piped up, holding a small statuette. "Can I have this?"
Giles' expression turned comically concerned. "No!" he shouted. "Put that down! The last thing we need is a bunch of snakes everywhere and underfoot."
"Eep!" Dawn hastily replaced the figurine and hurriedly backed away just as Oz pushed open the front door, carrying a bulging, pink box.
"The requisite sugar has arrived," he announced. Buffy felt her eyes go wide. Since she had last seen the werewolf, Oz had colored his hair flame red. She tilted her head. She was pretty sure she liked it better blue.
"Ah-ah!" Giles warned as Cordelia and Willow converged on the pastries. "The jellies are mine!"
"I have to admit, I like this place much better than Los Angeles," Doyle said happily, a book in one hand and a donut in the other. "I've got more friends here."
Buffy grinned at him and put Caddie on her shoulder to burp her. Joyce had had another headache, so Buffy had brought Caddie to the meeting. Being a mom made things much more complicated, but Buffy wouldn't change a thing. She sniffed and made a face. Well, except for Caddie's diaper.
"I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for," Willow complained after about a half-hour. Oz looked up.
"I'm going to have to agree with the redhead," he said.
"I've been looking over the list of general baddies who can take human form," Doyle offered. "Unfortunately, it's pretty long. I haven't narrowed it down much."
Angel looked up, his dark eyes thoughtful. "Maybe because whatever she is, she isn't there."
Giles sent Angel a piercing look. "What do you mean?"
"Could whatever Buffy encountered predate the written word?" the ex-vampire asked quietly. "Be so old that there's no written account of it?"
Giles looked disturbed. "That's…quite a troubling possibility."
"Or…" Doyle began pensively, unconsciously crumbling the remains of his donut. "She could be from another dimension. She might not even belong here, in our world."
"These kinds of things give me headaches," Buffy said. She handed Caddie to Angel. "My turn for fattening sugar rings." She plucked a glazed one from the stack; it was a shame Giles had forbidden powdered sugar. He claimed it got in the pages of the books.
Everyone jumped a bit when the phone rang. Mumbling to himself, Giles got to his feet and went to answer. Buffy could have eavesdropped, but chose to ignore it in favor of kicking off her shoes and propping her feet against Angel's thigh, exchanging a look with her fiancé.
"You okay?" he mouthed.
"I'm fine," she said silently. Her eyes flicked to Dawn, who was chewing on the end of her pencil as she puzzled through her math homework.
Giles returned to the table, looking distracted and polishing his glasses. Everyone stopped and turned to stare expectantly at him.
"Uh…Giles?" Buffy asked. "What is it?"
"It's the Watcher's Council," he replied bleakly. "They're coming here."
