Chapter 10

The next day, Dawn sat down beside Ann in the lunchroom. "Are you talking to me?" she asked.

"I'm not the one who stopped talking," Ann said coolly, not looking at Dawn as she ate her sandwich.

"If I could've made more time for you—" Dawn said.

"You would've," Ann cut Dawn off. "Yeah, yeah."

Dawn had taken their friendship for granted the past few months—but that was because she assumed Ann and her were such good friends that a little time apart wouldn't kill the friendship.

"I hear you blew off Harvard," Ann said after a few minutes of silence.

"I want to go to the Sectionals." Dawn told Ann.

Ann stared at Dawn with an amazed lack of understanding. "So, that's everything now?" she asked.

"I wish it wasn't," Dawn admitted. "Ann, I don't know what—"

Ann clamped her hand down on Dawn's wrist, squeezing slightly. "Don't," she insisted. "Don't look to me for help. I'm still totally mad at you. I don't even know if we're friends anymore. You've got your new friends to talk to."

"I don't," Dawn told Ann. "I can't go to the rink."

Ann looked at Dawn, not understanding. "So, how are you going to practice?" she asked.

Dawn didn't know.

Two days later Dawn stood looking at the lake, the same lake that she had been skating when Buffy had praised her on how good she was getting.

Buffy came out of the house and stood next to Dawn. "So what are you going to do?"

"Well I'm going to break these skates in, and I guess go on from there." Dawn said in response.

Buffy nodded. "I can't train you full time, you know that. I can't really even train you part time. I will offer what little assistance I can, Dawn."

Dawn smiled and hugged her older sister. Ever since Sunnydale she and Buffy had grown closer. Buffy still had yet to show her the world like she had promised but Dawn didn't care. For as far she cared she saw the world in Buffy. "Thanks, Buffy," she said as she sat down on the bench that Buffy had set out by the lake the winter before so that Dawn would have a place to put on her skates. Once she had them on she stepped onto the ice, her feet once again burned. "I will be glad when I have these broke in."

"You are protecting your feet I hope?" Buffy asked with a slight tone of concern.

"Yeah," Dawn said as she looked at her older sister. "I have my feet bandaged at the sensitive spots. And I am wearing several layers of socks. The discomfort is bearable." She tried a lap on the ice and stumbled some. "I forgot how bumpy lake ice is compared to rink ice. I'm not used to it anymore."

Buffy watched and nodded. "Take it easy, then. We don't want you going to the hospital, ok."

"Ok," Dawn said as she built speed and jumped a triple. She came down clean, and stumbled on some ridges of ice, coming down hard on her right side.

Buffy was there in an instant. "Let me see," she said as Dawn turned to face her. She examined her younger sister and found only a scrape. "Just a scrape you will be fine."

Just then the sisters looked looked up as they heard a low hum.

"Do you hear that?" Dawn asked.

Buffy nodded as she looked around, using her slayer enhanced hearing to find out where the sound was coming from. Then she saw it a huge machine slowly rising over a nearby hill. "Over there," she said motioning toward the hill.

Dawn turned to look at what Buffy had seen. At first she didn't even know what she was looking at. Then suddenly both she realized what it was.

It was the Zamboni—and Teddy was driving it.

Dawn and Buffy stood and watched as Teddy steered it towards them. He stopped at the edge of the pond. "How did you know?" Dawn asked as she and Buffy walked over to meet him.

Teddy grinned, clearly pleased at the amazed expression on Dawn's face. "I didn't think you'd just give up," he explained, "which meant you be out here bumping it out. Besides your sister called me."

Dawn looked at Buffy who nodded. She then pushed Dawn towards Teddy and the Zamboni. "Teddy," Dawn began. "I've been trying to find some way to apologize to you for the things I said."

"I've got some ideas about how you can do that," Teddy said with a smile. He moved the Zamboni onto the pond. "Do you like your ice medium smooth or glassy?" he asked as he drove forward.

Buffy pulled Dawn off the ice as Teddy drove the Zamboni. "You called him?" Dawn asked.

Buffy smiled. "Yes. I figured you wanted to say you were sorry. Besides I knew you would never be able to skate out here. As you yourself said you're not used to lake ice anymore. Teddy owed me a favor anyways."

"A favor?" Dawn asked. "What favor?"

Buffy simply smiled. "You'll find out when Teddy is ready to tell you."

When Teddy finished the pond it was glistening thing of beauty. If Dawn closed her eyes as she sailed out onto it, she could have imagined she was back at the rink.

Teddy came down from the Zamboni seat as Dawn performed her routine for him. With the ice smoothed out, nothing could stop her. When she'd spun to a finish, Dawn smiled at him, feeling like she'd never stop smiling.

Buffy knew at that moment she should leave the two of them alone as she headed back into the house.

Teddy watched for a second as Buffy left and he nodded to himself as he came out onto the ice beside Dawn, clapping.

"I'm usually so shy," Dawn admitted. "How come I can do a whole performance in front of you?" she asked.

"You let people see you when you skate," Teddy said, looking into Dawn's eyes.

Dawn looked down, but Teddy lifted her chin with his finger. "Don't worry," he said. "It's a nice view."

And then Teddy did something that took Dawn's breath away—he kissed her.

Buffy smiled from the window as she watched. Her smile quickly disappeared when she saw a car pull up the driveway. She knew it couldn't be anyone she knew. And Ann likely would have ridden her bike over. Then she saw who sat in the driver's seat, Tina. Buffy rushed out of the house and met Teddy and Dawn as they came up to the car.

"Mom, look," Teddy began, "I took the Zamboni. I know that was way wrong and probably illegal, but I kept off the main roads. I only wanted to help Dawn out because I thought somebody owed her."

Dawn looked at Teddy amazed that he stood up to his mother like that. "And, you know, none of this would have happened if this sport weren't filled with nut jobs!" He continued.

"I'm not here about the Zamboni," Tina said calmly.

"You're not?" Teddy cried, shocked.

"Just make sure it gets back in one piece," Tina insisted.

Buffy frowned. "Then mind telling me why you're trespassing on private property?"

"I came to talk to Dawn," Tina said, looking between Buffy and Dawn. "I want to train you for the Sectionals."

"What?" Dawn asked with disbelief. "Are you crazy?"

"I have to agree with Dawn," Buffy said as she glared at Tina. "What makes you think I would allow you to train my sister?"

Tina's eyes held Buffy's as she spoke. "Teddy can smooth out the ice all he wants, but he can't smooth out her skating—which, if he's honest, he'll tell you is all over the place. Not a chance! I mean no offense to you Ms. Summers but you work a full time job you don't have the time to train Dawn. Not the way she should be trained, anyways."

To Buffy and Dawn's surprise, Teddy didn't seem angry with Tina. "She's right, Dawn," he said. "You can't win."

"Not without me," Tina added.

Buffy sighed, knowing what Dawn wanted to hear. "Tell her what happened at Calgary, Tina."

"I had an unfortunate warm-up before my short program. I collided with another skater and she got hurt," Tina told Dawn. "There was talk because I'd been chasing her scores for years but no one could prove a thing."

"But was it on purpose?" Dawn insisted on knowing.

Tina's expression grew very hard, even for Tina. "Look, I paid my dues," she said defensively. "They threw me out and by the time they considered reinstating me. I was twenty-six and it was too late."

Dawn looked at Buffy and noticed her sister was feeling the same thing, sympathy—despite the fact they both didn't trust the woman.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could relive that moment and do it differently," Tina added.

"Are you really sorry?" Dawn pressed Tina. "Or do you just want me to think you are so I'll train with you?"

"I'm not going to beg," Tina replied.

"I'll think about it," Dawn said. That was for sure! She knew she wouldn't be able to think about anything else until she'd decided. And very likely Buffy would push her to make a decision.

"I thank you, Tina. We will give you our answer in a day or two." Buffy said.

Tina nodded and got back in her car and drove off.

The next day Dawn sat with Buffy in the dining room of their house discussing what Tina had said the day before.

"Okay let's look at this from both sides," Buffy said. "On the one side we both don't trust Tina. She injured your feet with those skates. If I had been there I would have told you that you can't skate for at least 10 days in new skates, not till the boots are broken in. But Tina took advantage of the fact you didn't know."

Dawn let out a sigh. "On the other side. You yourself said you can't train me. You have to put food on our table somehow, right? And Tina is right on one thing I need a coach. I'd prefer it to be you, Buffy. But since it can't be …"

"I know, Dawn. Which I think is why you should tell her yes." Buffy said. "When you place at Sectionals maybe we can get a sponsor and I can cut back on my hours at work to train you."

Dawn nodded as she got up and walked to the kitchen phone, picked it up and pressed in Tina's office number at the rink. "Tina." She heard Buffy pick up the extension in her room. "The answer is yes."

"That's from both of us at least for now, Tina." Buffy said. "If Dawn comes home hurt again. It's over, ok? I was generous this time; I didn't send you the doctor's bill."

"I understand, Ms. Summers," Tina said. "You have my word that Dawn will come home every day after practice, maybe a little exhausted but in otherwise the same shape she left your house in. Now Dawn I want you here bright and early at five-thirty in the morning. And get plenty of rest; you're going to need it."