I would like to point out here that Buffy had not met parker – she hasn't been in school. Somehow, I'm sure I can fit him in if anyone wants to see him … I could even kill him convincingly, but I would like opinions on that. Grins.

This will be strange, and as usual, any concerns will be replied to. If, however, it's just a case of 'this didnt make sense' then i wont be repeating myself - any questions about what the hell is going on will be gladly answered though.

Dawn had just gone upstairs when willow and oz barged into Giles' place – she was staying over night so that Buffy could patrol, and truth be told, she still wasn't comfortable with being at home without Buffy there too. Willow was holding her neck, and oz actually had an expression on his face, which h was a sure sign that something was up. Sure enough,

"Dawn! Upstairs, now!"

God, she wasn't three! So what if she was a bit tired, and was thinking about asking if she could go back to school in the morning, which would mean waking up, like a lot earlier than usual? She was so annoyed at being left out all the time! Buffy got to do all the cool stuff!

Xander jumped at the chance to stop shelving and categorising Giles' stuff that wasn't Anya, not even caring that this meant that he would have to either do research or go in search of donuts, Buffy looked up from the papers she was sorting, and gave her full attention to her bleeding friend, and Giles stepped into full watcher mode, but Anya just stood in the corner, looking as if she didn't really know what to do with herself. The last time they had seen her, she had been running in terror, not believing that any of them would survive. Now that she found out that they all did, she didn't quite know what to do.

Xander and Anya wandered through the party, on the look out for anything strange – the Scoobies figured that harmony hadn't changed, and she would be at this party or at the bronze with her new 'boyfriend'. Willow and oz were checking there, and Buffy was doing a routine patrol, just in case.

"We saw her."

"And?"

"For once, she was telling the truth about her boyfriend, and I think …"

"It's Spike." After meeting back at Giles' apartment, it would seem that Anya wasn't feeling quite so out of place anymore.

"Alright, I think you've all done what you can – go on home to bed all of you, and I'll speak to you in the morning. Buffy, I believe dawn is still awake if you two wanted to get home, or you could leave her here with me – I certainly don't mind."

"I think we'll head home then Giles. Thanks for watching her."

"Well it is his job!"

As she passed Xander on her way upstairs to grab dawn, Buffy took the opportunity to thump her best male friend. It was a wonder his arms weren't' covered in bruises!

… Anya removed her clothes …

… "Fabric softener." …

"Dawn, it's okay if you don't wanna go in, you know. It's only been a few days, and it really would be alright for you to stay off school for a little bit longer."

"No, I want to. I need to get back to normal – prove to them that I'm not just a silly kid from LA."

"You aren't…"

"Bye, Buffy."

The slayer watcher her little sister walk inside, to what Buffy just knew would be her doom.

"Bye."

"Wow. That was pathetic." She didn't even see the first punch coming.

"We're not destroying it!"

"I have that gig in LA – I could swing by."

"Thanks, oz. I'll call Angel tonight and tell him. Ooh. I have to go pick up dawn, and tell her all is well on the spike front."

"He'll be back."

"He always seems to be – even when he swears he's never coming back, he always ends up here."

"Here is where the party's hoppin'"

"Did he really just say that?" Her only answers were grave nods from around the room.

I hope that wasn't too confusing. Anything not included in the story just stayed the same – I included the Anya/Xander bits just to let you know that that plotline still happened, even though it was them at the party. It might have gone down a little bit differently, but that basic stuff is all the same (minus Parker).