Aunt Faith had described this time to them in less than lavish detail, but finding her alone and unprotected ticked Taryn off. There had been bad blood between her mother and her aunt, but this was unacceptable. Her Aunt tended toward the wild extremes. True. She was always one to act first and repent at leisure. Taryn frowned.
"Heal her, and let's head out." Kate growled. "We don't have a lot of time here."
"That isn't our aunt. That's Faith, the rogue slayer extraordinaire." R.J. crossed his arms over his chest. "This could go very badly."
"What do you suggest?" Taryn frowned. "We don't have much in the way of choice here and now."
"We need Mom." R.J. stepped into the room. "Aunt Faith always said she wanted to be loved. She saw Mom as the perfect version of herself."
"Yeah, yeah. The perfect Donna Reed of slayers. She still goes on about it." Kate nodded. "So what?"
"She went to a lot of trouble to matter to Mom." R.J. smiled.
"Bad attention is still attention." Taryn smirked. "Mom is pregnant. Do you think this is a good idea? Faith tried to kill her more than once."
"I think the three of you are in fairly big trouble." Dawn smirked at them and tossed an envelope to R.J. "Faith gave me this. It will help. Wesley swears it. I'd stay to help, but the brood needs to leave as soon as possible. Buffy doesn't need them frightening her into getting her tubes tied."
"You're not going to force us back?" Taryn frowned and cocked her head. "What gives?"
"Your Uncle Wes is walking without a limp." Dawn shrugged. "Whatever you lot are doing seems to be fixing things. Be honest with her. She's dangerous, but she's still your aunt."
"We're hundreds of years older than these people. Why do we have to play the children in this situation?" Kate rolled her eyes.
"Because." Dawn smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kate rolled her eyes. "Mom is actually in her twenties. She doesn't just look like it. None of us are born yet. Everything's weird, and you pop out the annoying answer."
"Wanna go for a dimensional fun ride?" Dawn tilted her head letting the curtain of her hair slide off her shoulders. "Because I did not come here to deal with your lip. You have a mission. I have a mission. This is not a joke or some bizarro world playtime. Armaggedons and apocalypses are on the line. Red is a minor player here, but she can still do mojo that hurts us. Eyes wide, mouths shut. Are we clear?"
The quick nods of their heads were her only answer. Taryn fought the urge to piss Aunt Dawn off. It was always fun but rarely appropriate.
"She doesn't know me yet. None of them do." Dawn sighed. "It makes the whole thing a bit tricky. Do your best."
Aunt Dawn disappeared in a flash of green light. Taryn frowned and looked at Aunt Faith. This was going to be a trial if ever there was one.
"Heal her." Taryn swallowed. "We need to remember she isn't our Faith yet. No hugging and no maudlin tears. She's tough and angry. It'll be like training with Mom. No mercy."
"So, you're my sister." Buffy blinked at the pretty brunette with the wide blue eyes. "But you're made from me and not my mother."
"By George, I think she's got it." Dawn nudged Spike with her shoulder.
"She may, but I'm less inclined to indulge in this continued expansion of our family." Spike glared at Dawn.
"Your children know me." Dawn pointed to the backyard. "It's too weird that you're the one that doesn't trust me."
"So, in this future of yours, we're the very best of friends?" Spike's scarred brow arched up.
"Sometimes." Dawn shrugged. "Most of the time, I like to annoy you."
"That seems to be everyone's goal lately." Spike snarled.
"I can't stay, so my goals are slightly less sinister than usual." Dawn waggled her fingers dramatically. "The kiddos need to go home."
"This is their home." Buffy glared at this pseudo sister. "They live here."
"They need to return home to their own time. All of them back here is a recipe for disaster." Dawn sighed. "We tried to fix this thing so many times. We wound up creating alternative planes until the Powers decided to resolve them all. I'm only a taxi service here, or I'm celestial dust."
"Sod this." Spike started pacing. "If they're here and they're safe, they should stay. Bugger the bloody powers."
"Things never go well when you fight the Powers. Now is not the time to tilt at windmills. Buffy is pregnant." Dawn pointed at Buffy and slammed the flat of her hand against Spike's chest. "This fight is out your weight class. It would take all the Aurelians to protect this mob. Last I checked, Angel and you don't play together, and Dru sure as hell hasn't seen the light. I'm not sure when Datla went dark side again, but I wouldn't want her near any of us. Penn and Sam are weirder than weird and I think Angel has probably offed one of them by now. The other strays are too afraid of the three of you to be any use at all."
"Darla is dust." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Dawn. "Angel took her out years ago."
"Yeah." Dawn snickered and patted Buffy on the shoulder. "Aurelians seem to have an uncanny ability to come back. It's caused more grief for us than you want to know, but it has its perks."
"Vague references to doom and gloom aren't going to impress me. I've heard the damn prophecies. I've ignored them." Spike's eyes flashed to amber. "You're nothing more than a niblet. You prove yourself or you clear off."