Sorry I haven't posted in so long everyone! This chapter gave me a lot of trouble and I honestly have no clue if it came out alright. So let me know what you think. If you hate it tell me and I just might scrap it and start over.

Let me know what you all want to see and I'll try to give it to you next chapter.

The pain in Dawn's chest had made it impossible for her to get back to sleep, so she was the first one in the kitchen that morning. After she made coffee and ate a small breakfast, she found herself wishing she had to go to school. She had nothing to do but sit around and wait for everyone else to get up. Wait for Sam to get up… "Fan-freaken tastic," she muttered to herself.

She had resolved to tell him it meant nothing, that it had been the silliness of the spell. She was going to make it easy on him.

Didn't mean she had to like it.

In order to clear her head and loosen herself up she decided to take a walk. The sun had just come up so it wasn't like too many baddies would be lurking about. Still she left a note on the table so that someone would know where she was.

Hand on the door, Dawn heard the steps creak as someone came down them. "Morning Dawn," Sam said. She cringed before plastering a smile on her face and turning around.

"Morning Sam," One hand still on the door ready to say what needed to be said and bolt.

"Okay so I know it's early, but I kinda want to get this out there before too much starts happening around here." Sam began. Dawn's stomach clenched. No way was he going to get it out first. "About what happened last night-"

"Crazy huh? That spell was so weird! Everyone with the mixed relationships, kinda funny that you thought you were an FBI agent." Dawn rambled trying to find the point she wanted to make, "We kissed, Giles and Anya kissed. So many weird things that wouldn't ever happen in real life." She gave a manic little laugh and opened the door. "I think I'm gunna go for a walk. Just need to get out of the crazy fun for a while."

"Well wait just let me get dressed and I'll come with." Sam tried desperately to make sense of her attitude.

"Oh no. I'm good really. Just want some quiet time to… reflect." And with that she closed the door and jogged down the sidewalk, anxious to be away from the house.

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Sam stared at the door for a moment. He had wanted to ask her out before everyone woke up, but now he wasn't sure if he should at all. Maybe the spell was having after effects on her; maybe she was under too much stress to be dating right now. Or maybe she was repulsed by the idea of kissing him. The thought was odd. She'd had an unspoken crush on him for as long he could remember. Either way he didn't want to push her, so he followed the scent of coffee to the kitchen.

Not long after, Buffy descended the steps. "Hey Buff. Are you feeling okay?"

Buffy looked up at him and then shrugged a slender shoulder. The dream she'd had was eating at her. She wanted so badly to give in to the fantasy, but knew that if she did she would spend the better part of her life sleeping in hopes of remaking the dream. Maybe it'll go further next time. Maybe I'll actually get to see- she cut herself off. The thoughts wouldn't stay buried, but she had to try. For Dawn and Sam she had to try.

Her eyes fell to the note Dawn had left. She rushed to the front door and pulled it open. "Buffy? Something wrong?" Sam had followed her and was looking out the door with her.

"I just wasn't sure if the sun was up all the way yet, but she could've left this note at any point in the night." She glanced at the note hoping it had a time or some other clue as to when Dawn had left, and began to panic when she found none.

"Whoa hold on." Sam placed his hands on her shoulders, "Dawn left when I got up about 20 minutes ago. Nothing to worry about." Buffy's tension eased as she took a deep breath. They made their way back to the kitchen where Buffy poured herself a bowl of cereal that she didn't feel like eating.

"I wonder what she's upset about," she mused as she stirred the flakes hoping to absorb nutrition without actually taking a bite.

"Hm?"

"Well Dawn normally only takes early morning or late night walks when there's something she's stressing about." She paused in thought, "I guess it's not like there's a shortage of stress around here."

"Should I go talk to her, see if she needs anything?" Sam just felt like seeing her.

"Nah. I always think it's good to let her have some space. Let her breathe."

"Gotcha," Sam was slightly disappointed but understood. From the way she was talking this morning it didn't sound like she was too interested in discussing the events of the spell. He could leave her to herself for a bit.

Suddenly Buffy had a thought. "What if she saw you in my room last night?"

"How? I didn't see her come in."

"That's because if she saw you in my bed she'd think it was something more… intimate. Dawn has been there every time I've woken up screaming and last night was the worst." Her arm prickled in imaginary pain as she remembered Castiel taking hold of her. "That would definitely be cause for one of her walks. Me cuddling up to her big old Sammy crush." She attempted a chuckle, but it sounded awkward. Sam couldn't take his eyes off of the table. If he wanted to ask Buffy's permission it would have to be now.

"Buff, I kinda need to talk to you about that. Um, I… don't know exactly what happened, but I picked up a small crush of my own…" Buffy's eyes widened as she tried to asses whether he was serious or not.

"You mean a crush on Dawn? As in you have feelings for Dawn?" Sam nodded. Buffy's first thought was to kick his ass squarely. He didn't have any business liking her little sister. He was a hunter; his life would constantly be on the road. Dawn couldn't ever depend on him and let's not forget that she hadn't graduated just yet. Then more thoughts began to filter through. It's not like she hadn't fallen for a hunter herself, and at least it was him. Someone she knew and loved. Someone that knew how to protect her little sister, and would, even if it meant giving up his own life. It was Sam.

"Well… okay. I mean I'm cool with it. That is why you were telling me right to see if I was cool with it?" Sam simply nodded once more, "This is… good. Dawn has liked you since forever, and you're a great guy. I mean it's not like you're Dean." They both laughed a little at that, but the laughter was followed by sharp stabs of pain. Dean. Sam could see Buffy's eyes welling up and he moved to put an arm around her.

"We're gunna be fine. Giles will find a way to get him out." He told her. She looked up at him and sighed.

"Yea. You should go find Dawn, set things straight and tell her how you feel. I'm just going to head upstairs and see if Willow and Tara want to help me out with some stuff."

"Oh shoot. Um Tara's gone." Buffy gave him a confused look. "As in they broke up last night." Buffy looked down. How had she missed that information? Had there been signs? Did Willow mention something about a possible break-up to her? She couldn't remember.

"Well then I'm just gunna go see what I can do for Willow." Sam gave her a short squeeze and then headed towards the front door.

"I'll see ya later." Sam made to leave, and then turned back, "I'll call a psychologist friend of ours and see if there's anyway he can get some pills to help you sleep without dreaming." Buffy smiled inwardly at Sam's ability to sense what she needed. Once he was gone she sat at the table for a few minutes trying to gather herself. She needed to go deal with Willow's pain, but it was so hard when her own was overflowing.

Taking a deep breath she went up the stairs to Willow's room.

Maybe they could have a share all and get everything out on the table like old times. Buffy would have help with the blonde vampire drama, and not to mention the dreams she'd been having, and Willow would be able to cry out some break-up pain. Maybe a day with her best friend would break some of the ice that encased her. Maybe it would make matters worse. Or maybe Amy the rat would suddenly be a human again and Willow would slip farther into the magicks that had come between her and Tara.

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As Dawn walked she couldn't look at anything without being reminded of Sam. Some of the things were so ridiculous. Like the grass. She kept remembering this one time Sam had been playing soccer in the park.

She'd been stuck inside sick for a week and he had come over to see if Mrs. Summers would let him take her for a short walk.

He'd promised that the fresh air would do her good and that he wouldn't let her exert too much energy. Once they'd gotten to the park some friends asked if he wanted to join. Dawn told him she would love to sit and watch, and she hadn't been lying. If it involved Sam she'd watch all day.

So he played. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't quite used to the way his legs had grown at the time, so they'd get tangled up and he'd fall down. He had huge grass stains on his jeans when the game was over.

It went on like that. The tiniest things bringing up memories of Sam. It sucked that he was going to be with her sister, but at least he'd be around.

She tried to remember the conversation they'd had before she left. Had she been clear? She really had no clue. She'd been in such a rush to get it over it that she wasn't sure if she'd actually said the things she needed to say. Well she hoped he got the picture anyway because there was no way she was going back for a second helping of that heart ache.

When she reached the park she sat down on a swing and rocked. This was a day for being miserable and she was just going to let all of it out at once. Buffy, Tara, Sam, her mom. She was long overdue for a good cry, and just like that the tears were flowing.

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After Amy went downstairs in search of cookies, Buffy turned her attention back to Willow.

"Wow."

"Yea, I just realized I could and there she was." Willow smiled, "It's nice having another magically inclined friend around. So what were you gunna tell me?" Buffy felt the shell harden once more.

"Oh um, it's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

"Yea. I mean I'm not parades and cotton candy, but ...okay." Buffy thought she seemed a little too okay. Her break-up with Oz had been horrendous and she had chosen Tara over Oz. Shouldn't this one be worse. Maybe this is Willow's worse. The thought was scary. Buffy knew from experience that bottling was what got you in trouble.

Willow was definitely bottling. Buffy just wasn't sure how much or how bad it would get, but she figured she had enough to deal with for now so she went downstairs to check on Amy.

LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS

When Sam found Dawn in the park, he didn't reveal his presence right away. He just watched her swing lazily back and forth. He couldn't see the tears through all her hair, but he knew she was sad. The way she slumped forward told him so much. A merely stressed out Dawn would have been kicking more anxiously at the ground. Her spine would've been a little straighter.

Sam smiled at his knowledge of Dawn's moods. He hadn't realized he knew her so well. A few minutes later he went up behind her and started pushing gently. The first swing startled her and she nearly fell off the seat, but Sam grabbed her before it could happen.

Her eyes turned to him furiously. Why on earth would someone push a crying girl like that?! Seeing it was Sam she quickly hopped off the swing to put distance between them. "What are you doing here?" She wiped at her face trying to remove all traces of the weeping she had been doing.

Sam took a step toward her. "I had to tell you something. I wanted to talk to you this morning but you left in such a hurry." Dawn breathed in deeply to try and control herself. He really had to come and tell her here? The park would be ruined for her! The only thing she'd ever be able to think of when she went there was how Sam had told her that he was in love with her sister. Freaken great.

The thought gave Dawn a little anger and she used it to keep the tears away. Folding her arms across her chest she imitated Buffy-sass, "It really couldn't wait till I got back to the house?" Sam was taken aback.

"Why are you acting that way? Did I do something to make you mad? Because I really don't know what I could've done. Does it have something to do with the spell?"

Dawn didn't know what else to do so she just said it, "You don't have to tell me that you're in love with Buffy, because I already know! Alright? I saw you guys last night and I don't need you to spell it out for me! I get it, okay?! I'm too young and I'm not her." With that she stormed off. Sam stared for a moment before going after.

"You have it wrong Dawn! I wasn't with Buffy last night because we're together. I was there because she's like a sister. I was there because Dean loves her and I need to take care of her for when he gets back." Dawn stopped but didn't turn around.

"So what did you need to tell me?" her voice was barely above a whisper and she was fighting hard against a giddy hope that was rising up against her better judgment.

"Well I came to tell you that lately I've been thinking about how I feel about you. And I've been coming up with more than friends. I thought maybe if you wanted to I could take you out some time." He got it out as fast as possible. Dawn squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stop the big goofy grin from spreading across her face.

Sam walked further so that he could turn to face her. With a small smile of his own he reached out for her hand, "I'll take that as a yes." Neither of them noticed the car pull up to the curb next to them as Sam bent his face to meet hers.

"Hey Sam. Forget all about me much?" Ruby was leaning up against the shiny red car with a small coy smile playing on her lips. Inside she was fuming. Of course he was with the freaking key girl. Dawn could feel the anger coming off of Ruby in waves. She frowned as Sam dropped her hand.

"Ruby? What are you doing here? I told you I wouldn't be back for a while."

"Well I couldn't just let you stay on the hell mouth all by yourself. You can get into all kinds of trouble here." She came over to stand closer to the pair. "Besides we have a few things to talk about." Dawn did not like this woman. She had a wrongness about her.

Sam turned back to Dawn and took her hand. "I'll be back a little later alright? Ruby and I have some things discuss." Dawn looked up at him searching his eyes. He bent down and kissed her very lightly on the lips. "I'll see you back at home alright?" Dawn could only nod.

He had kissed her. He had kissed her without the influence of a spell. She wanted to run and jump and do all sorts of frolicky little girl things. Then she remembered that he had just driven off with Ruby.

That Ruby chick had some how known about the hell mouth. Odd. Dawn didn't like her one bit. She tried to brush it off as she headed home, but something about her made Dawn's skin crawl. Oh well. Sam had just asked her out. Sam wanted to go on a date with her, Dawn! She couldn't wait to tell Buffy.

Wait Buffy? What will she think? Will she really be happy for me? Dawn walked home, playing all of the ways the conversation could go. There was a chance Buffy wouldn't like it.

Hand on the door knob, she took a deep breath and entered the house. A strange girl was on their couch. "Hi, I'm Amy." Amy smiled up at her from her plate of cookies.

"The rat?" Was Dawn's graceless reply. Amy laughed.

"The former rat. Willow changed me back. You know, she's come a long way with the Wicca stuff." Dawn frowned.

"Buffy home?" Just then Buffy called from the kitchen.

"In here Dawn." Dawn waved to Amy and made her way to Buffy.

"Hey where's Sam? Did he find you?"

"Um yea… I wanted to talk to you about what Sam told me." Buffy offered her sister a sincere smile. Even if she was in mass amounts of pain from not having her love at her side she could try and be happy for Dawn.

"I think it's great Dawnie." Dawn smiled.

"Really?"

"Definitely. What could be better? My Sammie and my Dawnie." She pinched her cheek and Dawn stuck her tongue out. "He's a great guy Dawn, and I know he'll take care of you. Cus if he doesn't I'll whoop his butt." Dawn threw her arms around her sister. Buffy hugged her back trying to enjoy the sisterly moment, but it was tough.

Pulling back she asked, "Where is he anyway?"

"Oh the Ruby chick, he was with last time I saw him, pulled up. Said they needed to talk about stuff. He said he'd be back later." Dawn looked a little downcast. "She somehow knew about the hell mouth. Have you ever heard of this girl?"

"Wait did you say Ruby?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Yea. I didn't get a last name though." Buffy's eyes flashed furiously.

"Dawn you are never to go near Ruby again."

"Well it's not like I called her up." Dawn tilted her head in confusion.

"I am going to kill Sam Winchester!" She stormed off to find a phone, leaving Dawn standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what was happening. She decided to go ask Willow. She passed Buffy, who had dialed Sam's number only to hear it ringing from the couch startling Amy.

"Willow? She knocked on the door and found Willow sitting on her bed with a book.

"Hey Dawnie what's up?" Dawn recounted the story to Willow.

"He finally asked you?! Aw Dawnie that's great! I've been picking up traces of the from him lately." Willow smiled and Dawn was uneasy. Willow had been using magic to pick up on Sam's emotions. She pushed the unease aside to get to the point.

"But then Ruby pulled up."

"Ruby?"

"Yea I told you about her when I went to see Sam before you brought Buffy back."

"But you never said her name Dawn." Willow's eyes were wide, not with the fury that Buffy's had held, but definitely something not good. "You told Buffy this?"

"Yea. She got really mad."

"Dawn… Oh wow. We gotta go downstairs. If Buffy goes to find Sam, she'll kill him."

"What? Why?" Dawn was even more confused as she followed Willow down the stairs. They found Buffy going through her weapons chest.

"Have either of you seen the salt? Or my demon killing blade?" Willow cleared her throat, and Buffy turned around to see the items in Willow's hands. Amy was watching the whole thing wide eyed.

"Willow, the bitch is going to die." Buffy growled. At least she was angry. They hadn't seen too much emotion from Buffy in a while.

"I agree that she should Buffy, but we need to talk to Sam. This has been his battle and he's the only one who knows what's really going on."

"He let my sister around a demon! She spent the night there!" Buffy yelled. Sam wasn't this careless. He was supposed to be the good brother. If Dean were here he would kick Sam's ass 8 different ways to Sunday. At Dean's name in her thoughts, her emotions froze up again. She couldn't let it all go now. She had to keep sane enough to kill Ruby, and then beat the hell out of Sam for whatever he was thinking.

When she thought about Dean, thoughts just became tears. Tears just became make-out sessions with Spike. Those made her feel good for a bit, but then the guilty shoe dropped. She couldn't let that happen again.

"Buff, how bout we just wait till Sam gets back and have a chat with him. Maybe he can explain."

"Give him a chance to tell Ruby to get out of dodge? I don't think so. De-"She choked on the name, "He would want her dead. He always said that Ruby was poison for Sam and I have to believe him. He would've wanted this."

"Buffy, he's not here." Willow tried to be gentle, but she knew the words would hit Buffy hard no matter would. Buffy looked up to meet her gaze.

"Doesn't that mean I should fight harder for he wanted?" Willow couldn't say anything else. Buffy was clearly not going to give this one up. Just like you're clearly not going to give up the magic. A small voice nipped at her.

"We promised Anya we'd go in and help with the shop today." Willow said trying to divert Buffy's attention. Buffy glared but knew she was right, they had promised to help clean up the mess that had been caused because of the spell.

"Fine. We'll go, but don't think I'm just going to forget about Ruby."

"I don't want you to. I think it was careless of Sam, but I also think that it's Sam and we should let him explain why he did it." She turned her attention to Amy. "Will you be alright here?"

"Yes. I mean I think so. I'm just trying to absorb… everything."

"Well Dawn will be here if you need anything." Willow looked to Dawn who nodded that she would be.

"Tell Sam to call me when he gets back." Buffy said as her and Willow left.

Just as things with Sam looked like they could be good, Ruby happens. She really didn't like that girl… or demon actually.

Wow. Demon.

When Dawn thought about it she was kind of hurt. Sam thought it was alright to live in a motel with a demon? And then he let her, Dawn, stay there as well. Why would he take that chance? When it looked like it could be alright, they dip right back into the roller coaster of demons. Both methaphorical and actual.

Maybe this time they wouldn't all make it through. They'd already lost Dean and Buffy. It was by some miracle that they had gotten the latter back. Some crazy awful miracle. She loved her sister. She was so happy to have her alive, but she'd put her back in heaven in a heart beat if she could. If anyone deserved heaven it was Buffy.

LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS

They walked to the Magic Box trying to keep conversation but ultimately failing, because Buffy wouldn't let the subject float too close to Sam. It was hard enough keeping Dean from her thoughts without having this new problem shoved in her face. She kept running through the dream she'd had. She'd been to that place before. She'd seen Dean there, but Castiel was new.

Castiel had been her friend in heaven. She couldn't quite remember all the details, but she knew Castiel had been her friend. Why had he appeared in her dream? Couldn't she have just dreamt that she busted Dean out on her own and they lived happily ever after?

Nope. Of course not. She had to bring in another friend to miss. Another piece of her that she had lost. The shoulder that Castiel had grabbed ached. Her subconscious was cruel. Maybe they'd discover a new big bad to fight soon. Fighting helped her numb to things. She wanted the numbness back.

LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS

Ruby drove to the motel she had rented and went inside without a word. Sam followed unsure of what exactly she wanted to discuss. He was hoping she wanted him to practice, but it became all to clear what she wanted once they were behind the door.

She started kissing him, and when he didn't respond she stepped back and glared. "You leave me one lousy message after you'd already left, and then I don't hear from you after that. What's the deal Sam? You're just going to give up on our plan?"

"Ruby, I'm sorry I didn't call. I should have. It's just they needed me here and I got so caught up with…stuff. There was a spell and-" Sam wasn't exactly sure how to do this. He hadn't really thought about his relationship with Ruby when he realized he had feelings for Dawn.

"It's alright." Ruby's mood immediately shifted as she realized she was coming off too angry. She needed to be a hurt female, not an angry demon. "I mean it's not like I didn't know you had feelings for her, and we're not exactly dating. So…"

"Ruby I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just… I didn't think this was a thing." He placed his hands on her shoulders and she looked up at him. Careful to put just the right amount of sadness into her expression. She didn't want him avoiding her.

"Sam it's okay. I mean I'm different but I am a demon. What we should be doing is training you to kill Lilith so she can't bring Lucifer back. The… other stuff was kind of just a bonus." She gave a little smirk to show she wasn't angry. He sighed in relief.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me." He said earnestly.

"Well good but we've still got a ways to go. You haven't had a drink in too long." Sam looked uneasy.

"Maybe I need to lay off right now. They can't find out about-" But Ruby had already cut her hand and was holding it out to Sam who took it and drank. She thought he had been cut off from those friends, hadn't counted on the slayer being brought back. She wondered how the stupid brat could've wiggled her way into his arms. Surely Ruby had been giving him all he needed from the romantic aspect of things. As he sucked greedily at her hand she realized it wasn't going to matter. He was still addicted and he still thought they were going to save the world. Silly naïve boys.

LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS

Bobby watched Dean eat. After playing a few rounds of 'excorism' he had begun to accept that this was the real Dean. They'd hugged and Bobby was still in shock but Dean had asked for food, and Bobby had set about pulling some food together.

"So… what brought ya back?" Dean only shrugged and put the sandwich down to push up his sleeve and let Bobby have a look at the handprint burn. He then resumed eating as Bobby examined the flesh. After Dean finished one sandwich he paused before biting into the next.

"I gotta get a hold of Sammy. Think you could call him and tell him… Never mind. This is an in person kinda deal huh?" Bobby nodded.

"He'd hang up after the first syllable." Dean nodded, that's what Bobby had done.

It hurt Dean more than anything but he had to ask.

"Any word from the Sunnydale crew? With the slayer gone they must need mass demon control. You and Sam have been helping em out right?" He couldn't bring himself to look at Bobby with those words. The Sunnydale crew minus a slayer. His slayer.

"Sam's there now. Before that I think that Spike character was helping keep things under control." Dean snorted at that. He freaken hated Spike. He was there helping while I was torturing people. Dean struggled to get control before he broke something. "Actually, we need to discuss Sunnydale." Dean looked up at the tone Bobby's voice had taken. "They brought her back." Dean's stomach flipped over and he suddenly couldn't eat. Very un-Dean Winchester like.

"They brought her back?" His voice was quiet. Bobby nodded "How'd they do it?"

"Willow." That was the answer Dean had been waiting for. Witchcraft. They had used witchcraft to bring his girl back. Seconds later a plate hit the wall and Dean had knocked his chair over. Bobby sat patiently. He had been prepared for this.

"Didn't they know it would go wrong?!" Dean bellowed. He couldn't believe he was going to have to do this. He had been through hell and back, literally! Now he had to go kill the woman he loved. This was going to be way worse than anything Alistair could possibly devise. In hell he'd had the knowledge that Buffy and Sam were alright. As long as he knew they were alright… Now Sam was there trying to off her and he had to go help.

"It didn't." Bobby's voice was quiet and clear. Dean looked at him confused. "It didn't go wrong. Buffy's alive. Mr. Giles stopped by before he left for the mother country. Buffy is alive and she didn't come out wrong, but she was pulled from heaven. Dean laughed a little.

"Of course she was Bobby. Now are we leaving anytime soon?" Bobby grabbed his keys and led Dean to the car. They listened to the radio as they drove and Dean busied himself with memories of the slayer.

The one time she bought new underwear in his favorite color. The time she beat a monster senseless to save his sorry ass. The times he held her to sleep. The time when she died to save the world and how this world would never know. In between the memories, little flashes of blood and guts would smear themselves across his eye lids. He didn't dare fall asleep.

It would be alright. Soon he'd be with Sam and Buffy and it would be alright. Or it would get worse. With Winchester boys involved things mainly got worse.