If Not Wisely
Chapter 6: The Morning
Spoilers: Begins immediately post-Wrecked, becomes AU after that.
Rating: R for swearing and some sexual situations.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Feedback: Would be highly appreciated. This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I'd like to know how I'm doing. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Distribution: So far, just here. If anyone wants it, just let me know.
Summary: Buffy continues to struggle with her feelings for Spike, and the whole gang tries to help Willow with her abuse of magic.
A/N: I noticed when uploading my Word document for the first couple of chapters that my italics somehow disappeared, so I'm trying a new tactic. I'm using *word* for emphasis and single quotations for the characters thoughts. Thanks to the nice people who left reviews. It made my day. More chapters to come.
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Buffy carefully opened the door to the house on Revello Drive and stepped quietly inside. There was one small light burning in the living room, but it looked live everyone had gone to sleep. Turning out the light, Buffy kicked off her boots and tip toed up the stairs. She wanted to see if Willow had come home and make sure that her sister was okay.
Stopping outside of her mother's old room, Buffy listened momentarily at the door. She could hear noises coming from inside. Easing the door open a bit, she stuck her head inside. Willow lay in bed, sleeping fitfully. She had kicked the covers off, and top sheet was tangled around her legs. In the faint light that came from the window, the witch appeared to be sweating as she tossed fitfully in her sleep. A frown creased Buffy's brow as she gazed at her friend with worry. Willow moaned and flopped over onto her stomach. `This does not look good,' Buffy thought as she gently shut the door.
Continuing down the hall, Buffy stopped in front of Dawn's door. She could clearly hear her sister's cries from the other side. Taking no care to be silent this time, she threw open the door and rushed inside, afraid of what she might see. Dawn, too, was tossing in her sleep. Her arms flailed violently as she cried out. "Willow, no! Watch out! You're going too fast." Not waiting to hear another word, Buffy quickly ran to her sister's side. She gently picked up the sobbing girl and wrapped her arms tightly around her.
"Dawnie, shush. It's okay. Everything's okay. You're safe." Buffy continued to rock her sister and reassuringly stoke her shiny dark hair.
"Buffy?" Dawn was slowly coming awake. "Oh God, Buffy. I was so scared. Willow...the car." She started to cry even harder.
"It's okay. It was just a dream Dawnie, just a dream. I've got you. You're okay." Buffy's calming words finally managed to do their job and Dawn's crying came to a stop. She pulled slightly away to look at her sister's tear-stained face. She gently brushed a lock of hair out of the girl's eye. "Feel better?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry for being such a baby. I was just so scared. It seemed so real." Dawn reached out to hug her big sister once more.
"It's okay. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's only natural that you have nightmares."
Grateful for the comfort of Buffy's arms, Dawn drew in a ragged breath. Something was off. Buffy didn't smell right. She usually smelled like a combination of apple shampoo and vanilla body lotion. Now she smelled like...smoke. "Buffy, you reek of smoke." She pulled back to study her sister carefully. "Is that Spike's shirt you're wearing?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open in shock. She had totally forgotten that she was still wearing Spike's T-shirt. Shit, she was busted. "What? This? Oh, it's nothing. I, uh, I...You see, it's just..."
Dawn's Spike smirk appeared on her face as she listened to her sister stammer. "Why are you wearing Spike's shirt? Did you guys...you know...did you?" Dawn let her question trail off. As much satisfaction as she was getting from seeing Buffy squirm, she just couldn't bring herself to actually say it.
"What? No! Dawn, no!" Jesus Christ! Now her little sister thought she'd had sex with Spike. Well, she had, but not that night. But that was beside the point. Buffy's mind scrambled to find a reasonable explanation. "No, how could you even ask that? Of course we didn't. We were patrolling, see, and there was this big demon, and I killed him, and he oozed this disgusting slime all over me, and it got on my shirt and I couldn't wear it home that way, and Spike's crypt was much closer, and so he let me borrow this." Buffy knew that she was babbling and that she should probably quit while she was ahead, but she couldn't force her lips to stop moving. "So, you see, it's nothing, really. Definitely not what you were thinking. Nope, just a little demon slayage. Just another exciting night in the life of the Slayer. Did I mention that I was covered in slime? `Cause I was. And Spike lent me a shirt, that's all."
Dawn smiled. She knew her sister was lying. The babbling was a dead giveaway. This was almost too good to be true. Were Buffy and Spike finally getting together? She couldn't wait to grill Spike about it the next day. He wasn't any better of a liar than Buffy, and at least he didn't insist on treating her like some baby who was too young to know about the birds and the bees. "Whatever you say, Babble-Girl." Dawn could barely contain her laughter. "So, what kind of a demon was it, anyway?"
"What kind?" Buffy didn't know what to say. What kind of demons had slime anyway? Remembering something Spike had said to her once, she quickly recovered. "Oh, it was a Chaos Demon. Real nasty thing, all slime and antlers. Don't worry though, we killed it." Buffy was starting to get into her little cover story. "Yep, he's dead. Won't be causing any more trouble around here. You shoulda seen the way I--"
"Okay!" Dawn was shaking from her barely restrained laughter. "I got the picture now. Demon. Slime. Killed it dead. Shirt got dirty. If you say that you weren't shagging Spike, then I believe you." She tried to sound innocent, but the smile would not leave her face.
"Shagging? Dawn, since when do you say shagging? You *are* hanging out with Spike too much! Besides, there was no shagging. Absolutely no shagging whatsoever!" At least that part was true.
"Okay, okay. Enough! I'm going back to sleep. Thanks for calming me down." Dawn settled down into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. "I love you, Buffy."
Buffy bent down and kissed her sister softly on the forehead. "I love you too, Dawnie. Good night." She turned and walked out of the room as quickly as possible, but not before she heard Dawn let out a final giggle.
Buffy made it back to her room and sank down on her bed with a sigh. It had been a close call, but she thought that her sister believed the lame cover story. At least, she hoped so. If Dawn found of what had happened between her and Spike, Buffy would never hear the end of it. She needed to get to Spike and tell him the cover story before Dawn had a chance to interrogate him. Buffy's mind immediately went back to the events that had taken place earlier in the evening. She gently brought a finger up to touch her lips, remembering their final kiss. It had seemed so different, yet so familiar. Buffy wondered if there would be more kisses like that in her future.
Sighing again, she stood to take off her pants. She decided to sleep in Spike's T-shirt. It smelled like him, like cigarettes and whisky and...him. It was a good smell, and Buffy wanted to enjoy it. She was still terribly confused, but, right now, she almost felt a little bit happy. `Might as well enjoy it while I can'. Who knew what he might do to piss her off tomorrow. Buffy pulled back the covers and got into bed. Snuggling under the blankets, she turned her head to sniff her black-clad shoulder. Yeah, it smelled good. With a small smile of contentment, Buffy drifted off to sleep.
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BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. The sound of the alarm clock ripped through the silence in the bedroom. With a groan, Buffy turned over to hit snooze for the third time. She had been dreaming of Spike lips. Lips of Spike. It was a pretty good dream, and she *really* wanted to get back to it. Just as she was beginning to drift off again, the door flew open and Dawn burst in. She was carrying a plastic dry cleaning bag in one hand and a roll of duct tape in the other. Buffy immediately shot up into a sitting position. "I'm up! I'm up. Okay, I'm up."
"Then get out of bed," shouted Dawn. "Come on, Buffy, I need your help to wrap up my stupid cast so that I can take a shower. I'm going to school today, remember? Plus, I need lunch money, and you still have to write me an excuse note for missing yesterday." Buffy flopped back down onto the bed, and Dawn shrieked in protest. "Buffy! I'm going to be late. Come *on*!"
With another loud groan, Buffy pulled the covers back and got out of bed. "Okay, *now* I'm up. Come here, and I'll wrap up your cast. What do you want for breakfast?" Seeing that Dawn had made no attempt to move, Buffy became concerned. "What's wrong? Do you need another pain pill?" Dawn just continued to stand there, and an evil smirk began to spread across her face. "What?"
"Ah, Buffy, how cute! You slept in your boyfriend's shirt. Wow, this must be love."
Buffy looked down at her borrowed shirt and was suddenly very embarrassed. Her embarrassment quickly turned to anger when she noticed that Dawn was still smirking at her. "Are you crazy? Spike is not my boyfriend! And I am not in love! You have no idea what you're talking about, so why don't you just shut up?"
Dawn would have loved to take advantage of this golden opportunity and tease the hell out of her sister, but she was running late and didn't have the time. "Fine, whatever, just help me."
Buffy was tempted to tell her bratty little sister to do it her own damn self, but thought the better of it. She quickly wrapped up Dawn's cast and sent her off to the shower with a promise of scrambled eggs and toast. Despite Buffy's irritation at Dawn's adolescent teasing, she really was in quite a good mood.
As she made her way to the stairs, Buffy stopped to listen outside Willow's door. She could hear the witch moving around inside. Good, maybe they would get a chance to talk today. Buffy was still really worried about her friend, and the no-show act that Willow had pulled yesterday didn't make it any better. With a sigh--what the hell was she going to say to her anyway--Buffy moved away from the door and continued down to the kitchen. She busied herself putting on coffee and starting Dawn's breakfast, and tried not to think about Willow and what might happen if the witch ever decided to show her face.
Just as Buffy was pouring herself a cup of coffee, she heard someone coming down the stairs. Figuring that it must be Dawn, she called out, "Dawn, eggs will be ready in five!" She was a little surprised to see Willow poke her head into the kitchen. "Oh, Willow, hi. Didn't know you were up. How are you?"
"Fine," mumbled Willow as she walked straight past Buffy to get to the fridge. She looked terrible, and Buffy couldn't help but be shocked by her friend's appearance. Willow had dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes, and her hair was lank and greasy. She looked thinner than usual and like she hadn't slept in days.
Buffy felt sorry for her friend. It couldn't be easy just quitting magic cold turkey like that. After all, she hadn't had much luck kicking the Spike habit herself. "You want some eggs? These are Dawn's, but it'll only take a few minutes for me to make more." She tried to keep her voice light and cheerful, no sense upsetting Willow when she looked this bad.
Willow grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and winced at Buffy's invitation. She had felt instantly nauseous the second she had smelled the eggs. There was no way she would be able to even pretend to eat. "Um, no, that's okay. Don't really feel like eggs." Seeing that Buffy was about to offer some other form of food that would undoubtedly be equally as offensive to her already churning stomach, Willow added, "I'll just grab something at the student union."
"Um, okay." Buffy could tell that her friend had absolutely no intention of eating, but she decided not to push it. "How `bout some coffee then? We've got that French Vanilla creamer that you like. Or, if you want, we could mix some coco powder in. Kinda like a mocha?"
"No!" Willow hadn't meant it to come out that strong, but, goddess, she was going to heave right there on the kitchen floor. Trying to cover, she gave Buffy a weak smile. "It just feels more like a water day. My stomach's kinda squishy." She closed the refrigerator door and sat down at the island, immediately dropping her head to her hands.
Unsure of what to say next, Buffy walked over to the stove and stirred Dawn's eggs. She had never seen Willow like this before, and she didn't know what to make of it. Did it mean that she was going through magic withdrawals, or did it mean that she was suffering the after effects of another magic binge? Biting her lip in frustration, Buffy tried to think of something to say. When nothing immediately popped into her head, she decided just to go for the truth. She turned around to face Willow, took a deep breath, and let it fly. "Will, you don't look so hot. Are you okay? I really think you need to eat something."
With a sigh, Willow dropped her head to the counter. She was not in the mood to deal with this right now. She briefly considered another forgetting spell to make Buffy shut the hell up. Then again, that's what had gotten her into this trouble in the first place. If only she could just go back and make sure that no one ever found out about the stupid Tabula Rasa spell. If Tara hadn't left, she never would've de-ratted Amy, and if she had never de-ratted Amy, then she never would have gone to Rack in the first place. If she had never gone to Rack, then she wouldn't be feeling like crap right now, and Buffy wouldn't be talking her goddamn ear off. `I wonder if there's some sort of spell that would turn back time? Amy might know.'
Willow realized that Buffy was staring at her with worry. `Right, gotta defuse that one.' "Buffy, I'm fine. It's no big. I just didn't sleep well last night, and I've got a big French Lit test today. I'm just nervous about it. That's all it is, really." Willow was pleased with herself. She could be a pretty darn good liar when she wanted to be, and she was sure that Buffy would fall for it.
But Buffy didn't fall for it. She knew her friend too well, and she really didn't appreciate being lied to. Turning the heat off under Dawn's eggs so that they wouldn't burn, Buffy walked over to where Willow sat. "Willow, don't lie to me. I know something is wrong, and I know it's a hell of a lot more than some test. Listen, I know how hard this is for you, and I want to help you, but I can't unless you talk to me."
Willow's head shot up angrily. "What the hell do you know? You don't know shit! You have no idea what this feels like. Remember what you were like when you turned eighteen and the Council stole your Slayer strength? I seem to recall that you weren't too freaking happy about it! So, don't you dare stand there and lecture to me!"
Buffy blanched at Willow's mention of the Council's little test. "Don't bring me into this! That wasn't an entirely different situation and you know it!"
"Why shouldn't I bring you into it? You're the one who claims she knows everything! Besides, I don't seem to remember it being all that different."
"Willow! That's bullshit, and you know it. I needed my powers--"
"And so do I!" Willow's face was flushed with the heat of her anger, and she had a look in her eyes that was making Buffy grow increasingly uneasy.
"No! You don't need them. You just want them so that you can feel all big and special and be Little Miss Super-Wicca. I needed my powers to slay, to protect people. That's what I do; I save people. You, on the other hand, almost got my little sister killed!"
"Oh, yeah," Willow laughed bitterly. "You're the Chosen One and I'm just some would-be killer! What do you think you do every night, huh, Buffy? You kill! I didn't mean to hurt Dawn, and you know it, so don't even go there. You may be the Slayer, but don't for one second forget that I am stronger and more powerful than you. I could take you out in the blink of an eye, and I don't think it's a very good idea to piss me off." Willow's voice had a menacing quality that Buffy had only heard once before; when she had been battling Glory.
Just as Willow's eyes began to flash and turn black, Dawn walked into the kitchen. She had heard the shouting from upstairs and had come to see what was going on. Seeing Willow's eyes, she panicked. "Buffy! Watch out!"
Buffy whirled at the sound of her sister's voice and didn't notice the change taking place in Willow's eyes. "Dawn, it's okay." She rushed over to where Dawn was holding back in the doorway clutching her broken arm. Seeing the terrified look on her sister's face, Buffy pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. Just a little argument. Nothing to worry about."
Looking fearfully over Buffy shoulder at Willow, Dawn noticed that all the black had gone out of the witch's eyes, and they now looked completely normal. Dawn had seen Willow's eyes like that right after she had come out of the crack house, and she knew it wasn't a good sign. Whatever she had been planning on doing to Buffy, it must've been bad.
Willow got up off her stool and took a few steps toward the two sisters. "Dawnie," she began hesitantly.
Buffy's head turned at the sound of her sister's name. All of the menace was gone from Willow's voice, and she sounded like regular old Willow again. Buffy wasn't sure exactly had happened to scare Dawn so much, but she didn't think that it would be a good idea to the let the witch get too close to her sister.
"Dawnie," Willow started again, "how's you arm? Are you okay? I'm really sorry about what happened." She took another step towards the pair.
"Get away from me," Dawn spat, her voice filled with loathing, "and don't you *dare* touch my sister!"
"Dawnie...I...okay, you're still mad. I understand. I'll just go upstairs and finish getting ready for class. Big test today and all. Sorry about all the yelling, Buffy." Willow quickly walked out of the kitchen, making sure to cut a wide swath around Dawn and Buffy.
As soon as she was gone, Buffy disentangled herself from the hug and held Dawn out at arm's length. "What was that all about? I mean, I know we were arguing pretty loudly, but it wasn't really that bad. Why'd you freak out?"
"Why'd I freak out? Buffy, didn't you see her eyes? I think she was going to do a spell on you."
"What? What was wrong with her eyes? Why would you think she was going to do a spell on me? Willow wouldn't do that!"
"Buffy, her eyes were going all black and stuff. I've seen it before. It's what happened after she came out of the Rack guy's magical crack house, right before that demon started chasing us." Dawn looked at her sister pleadingly, hoping that she would believe her. "Something bad was going to happen. I know it."
"Okay, Dawn." Buffy hadn't seen anything strange about Willow's eyes, but she decided to just go with it. "Everything's fine now. Please calm down. I'll take care of Willow." She went to the stove and scooped Dawn's rapidly cooling eggs out of the skillet and onto a plate. "Here, eat your eggs before they get cold. We don't have much time if you wanna make homeroom."
"I'm not hungry," grumbled Dawn. She didn't think Buffy was taking her seriously enough, but she didn't want to be late for school, so she chose to let it drop for the time being.
"Dawn!" Buffy had on her mom-voice. "You need to eat. Besides, I made these just for you. You don't want them to go to waste do, you?"
"Fine! Give `em." Dawn took the plate at sat down at the island. Hearing Buffy's mom-voice brought back her bratty teenager side. "Um, I kinda need a fork." Buffy made a face, but she went and fetched a fork for her sister. Not bothering to say thank you for the fork, Dawn continued to make with the bratty. "We got any OJ?"
"Quit being a brat! Get your own damn juice." Buffy was getting tired of all the attitude. Too bad that Dawn chose that exact moment to give her the puppy dog eyes. Slayer or not, no mere mortal could resist. She went to get the juice.
The Slayer's efforts were finally rewarded with a, "Thanks, Buffy," as Dawn began to shovel down her eggs. Just as Buffy was setting the juice in front of her, Dawn noticed the clock. She grabbed the glass out of her sister's hand and drank it down in one gulp. "Shit! It's late! I gotta go! Did you write me my note? Don't forget I need money." The last bit was said around one final mouthful of scrambled eggs.
"Dawn! Language! Shit, I forgot about the note!" Dawn gave Buffy a pointed look. "Hey, I'm older. I can swear if I want. You, on the other hand, are much too young. Go get your stuff. I'll walk you to school and explain to the attendance office in person. Oh, can you bring down my purse? I think I've got some cash in there."
"Bloody Hell!" Dawn swore as she headed for the stairs.
"I heard that, young lady," came Buffy's voice from the kitchen. Dawn just laughed and ran up to get her stuff.
She was back in a minute and handed Buffy her purse. Buffy rummaged through it and pulled out a twenty. "Is this enough for the week? Wait," she put the twenty back in her wallet and pulled out a ten, "I forgot, it's Wednesday already. Here, this should do it." Dawn made a face, but Buffy chose to ignore it. "Are you ready? We should really get going."
"Um, Buffy, if you think that you are going to walk into my school wearing nothing but your new boyfriend's T-shirt, you are sorely mistaken. I would never hear the end of it."
Buffy looked down at her outfit. Ohmigod! She hadn't even gotten dressed yet. How had her mom handled all of this? "Good call. Give me a sec, and I'll change." Buffy made it all the way to the top of the steps before she remembered to yell out, "And Spike is *not* my boyfriend!" She heard Dawn giggle from the foyer, and swore to herself. She would kill that girl yet.
Chapter 6: The Morning
Spoilers: Begins immediately post-Wrecked, becomes AU after that.
Rating: R for swearing and some sexual situations.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Feedback: Would be highly appreciated. This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I'd like to know how I'm doing. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Distribution: So far, just here. If anyone wants it, just let me know.
Summary: Buffy continues to struggle with her feelings for Spike, and the whole gang tries to help Willow with her abuse of magic.
A/N: I noticed when uploading my Word document for the first couple of chapters that my italics somehow disappeared, so I'm trying a new tactic. I'm using *word* for emphasis and single quotations for the characters thoughts. Thanks to the nice people who left reviews. It made my day. More chapters to come.
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Buffy carefully opened the door to the house on Revello Drive and stepped quietly inside. There was one small light burning in the living room, but it looked live everyone had gone to sleep. Turning out the light, Buffy kicked off her boots and tip toed up the stairs. She wanted to see if Willow had come home and make sure that her sister was okay.
Stopping outside of her mother's old room, Buffy listened momentarily at the door. She could hear noises coming from inside. Easing the door open a bit, she stuck her head inside. Willow lay in bed, sleeping fitfully. She had kicked the covers off, and top sheet was tangled around her legs. In the faint light that came from the window, the witch appeared to be sweating as she tossed fitfully in her sleep. A frown creased Buffy's brow as she gazed at her friend with worry. Willow moaned and flopped over onto her stomach. `This does not look good,' Buffy thought as she gently shut the door.
Continuing down the hall, Buffy stopped in front of Dawn's door. She could clearly hear her sister's cries from the other side. Taking no care to be silent this time, she threw open the door and rushed inside, afraid of what she might see. Dawn, too, was tossing in her sleep. Her arms flailed violently as she cried out. "Willow, no! Watch out! You're going too fast." Not waiting to hear another word, Buffy quickly ran to her sister's side. She gently picked up the sobbing girl and wrapped her arms tightly around her.
"Dawnie, shush. It's okay. Everything's okay. You're safe." Buffy continued to rock her sister and reassuringly stoke her shiny dark hair.
"Buffy?" Dawn was slowly coming awake. "Oh God, Buffy. I was so scared. Willow...the car." She started to cry even harder.
"It's okay. It was just a dream Dawnie, just a dream. I've got you. You're okay." Buffy's calming words finally managed to do their job and Dawn's crying came to a stop. She pulled slightly away to look at her sister's tear-stained face. She gently brushed a lock of hair out of the girl's eye. "Feel better?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry for being such a baby. I was just so scared. It seemed so real." Dawn reached out to hug her big sister once more.
"It's okay. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's only natural that you have nightmares."
Grateful for the comfort of Buffy's arms, Dawn drew in a ragged breath. Something was off. Buffy didn't smell right. She usually smelled like a combination of apple shampoo and vanilla body lotion. Now she smelled like...smoke. "Buffy, you reek of smoke." She pulled back to study her sister carefully. "Is that Spike's shirt you're wearing?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open in shock. She had totally forgotten that she was still wearing Spike's T-shirt. Shit, she was busted. "What? This? Oh, it's nothing. I, uh, I...You see, it's just..."
Dawn's Spike smirk appeared on her face as she listened to her sister stammer. "Why are you wearing Spike's shirt? Did you guys...you know...did you?" Dawn let her question trail off. As much satisfaction as she was getting from seeing Buffy squirm, she just couldn't bring herself to actually say it.
"What? No! Dawn, no!" Jesus Christ! Now her little sister thought she'd had sex with Spike. Well, she had, but not that night. But that was beside the point. Buffy's mind scrambled to find a reasonable explanation. "No, how could you even ask that? Of course we didn't. We were patrolling, see, and there was this big demon, and I killed him, and he oozed this disgusting slime all over me, and it got on my shirt and I couldn't wear it home that way, and Spike's crypt was much closer, and so he let me borrow this." Buffy knew that she was babbling and that she should probably quit while she was ahead, but she couldn't force her lips to stop moving. "So, you see, it's nothing, really. Definitely not what you were thinking. Nope, just a little demon slayage. Just another exciting night in the life of the Slayer. Did I mention that I was covered in slime? `Cause I was. And Spike lent me a shirt, that's all."
Dawn smiled. She knew her sister was lying. The babbling was a dead giveaway. This was almost too good to be true. Were Buffy and Spike finally getting together? She couldn't wait to grill Spike about it the next day. He wasn't any better of a liar than Buffy, and at least he didn't insist on treating her like some baby who was too young to know about the birds and the bees. "Whatever you say, Babble-Girl." Dawn could barely contain her laughter. "So, what kind of a demon was it, anyway?"
"What kind?" Buffy didn't know what to say. What kind of demons had slime anyway? Remembering something Spike had said to her once, she quickly recovered. "Oh, it was a Chaos Demon. Real nasty thing, all slime and antlers. Don't worry though, we killed it." Buffy was starting to get into her little cover story. "Yep, he's dead. Won't be causing any more trouble around here. You shoulda seen the way I--"
"Okay!" Dawn was shaking from her barely restrained laughter. "I got the picture now. Demon. Slime. Killed it dead. Shirt got dirty. If you say that you weren't shagging Spike, then I believe you." She tried to sound innocent, but the smile would not leave her face.
"Shagging? Dawn, since when do you say shagging? You *are* hanging out with Spike too much! Besides, there was no shagging. Absolutely no shagging whatsoever!" At least that part was true.
"Okay, okay. Enough! I'm going back to sleep. Thanks for calming me down." Dawn settled down into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. "I love you, Buffy."
Buffy bent down and kissed her sister softly on the forehead. "I love you too, Dawnie. Good night." She turned and walked out of the room as quickly as possible, but not before she heard Dawn let out a final giggle.
Buffy made it back to her room and sank down on her bed with a sigh. It had been a close call, but she thought that her sister believed the lame cover story. At least, she hoped so. If Dawn found of what had happened between her and Spike, Buffy would never hear the end of it. She needed to get to Spike and tell him the cover story before Dawn had a chance to interrogate him. Buffy's mind immediately went back to the events that had taken place earlier in the evening. She gently brought a finger up to touch her lips, remembering their final kiss. It had seemed so different, yet so familiar. Buffy wondered if there would be more kisses like that in her future.
Sighing again, she stood to take off her pants. She decided to sleep in Spike's T-shirt. It smelled like him, like cigarettes and whisky and...him. It was a good smell, and Buffy wanted to enjoy it. She was still terribly confused, but, right now, she almost felt a little bit happy. `Might as well enjoy it while I can'. Who knew what he might do to piss her off tomorrow. Buffy pulled back the covers and got into bed. Snuggling under the blankets, she turned her head to sniff her black-clad shoulder. Yeah, it smelled good. With a small smile of contentment, Buffy drifted off to sleep.
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BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. The sound of the alarm clock ripped through the silence in the bedroom. With a groan, Buffy turned over to hit snooze for the third time. She had been dreaming of Spike lips. Lips of Spike. It was a pretty good dream, and she *really* wanted to get back to it. Just as she was beginning to drift off again, the door flew open and Dawn burst in. She was carrying a plastic dry cleaning bag in one hand and a roll of duct tape in the other. Buffy immediately shot up into a sitting position. "I'm up! I'm up. Okay, I'm up."
"Then get out of bed," shouted Dawn. "Come on, Buffy, I need your help to wrap up my stupid cast so that I can take a shower. I'm going to school today, remember? Plus, I need lunch money, and you still have to write me an excuse note for missing yesterday." Buffy flopped back down onto the bed, and Dawn shrieked in protest. "Buffy! I'm going to be late. Come *on*!"
With another loud groan, Buffy pulled the covers back and got out of bed. "Okay, *now* I'm up. Come here, and I'll wrap up your cast. What do you want for breakfast?" Seeing that Dawn had made no attempt to move, Buffy became concerned. "What's wrong? Do you need another pain pill?" Dawn just continued to stand there, and an evil smirk began to spread across her face. "What?"
"Ah, Buffy, how cute! You slept in your boyfriend's shirt. Wow, this must be love."
Buffy looked down at her borrowed shirt and was suddenly very embarrassed. Her embarrassment quickly turned to anger when she noticed that Dawn was still smirking at her. "Are you crazy? Spike is not my boyfriend! And I am not in love! You have no idea what you're talking about, so why don't you just shut up?"
Dawn would have loved to take advantage of this golden opportunity and tease the hell out of her sister, but she was running late and didn't have the time. "Fine, whatever, just help me."
Buffy was tempted to tell her bratty little sister to do it her own damn self, but thought the better of it. She quickly wrapped up Dawn's cast and sent her off to the shower with a promise of scrambled eggs and toast. Despite Buffy's irritation at Dawn's adolescent teasing, she really was in quite a good mood.
As she made her way to the stairs, Buffy stopped to listen outside Willow's door. She could hear the witch moving around inside. Good, maybe they would get a chance to talk today. Buffy was still really worried about her friend, and the no-show act that Willow had pulled yesterday didn't make it any better. With a sigh--what the hell was she going to say to her anyway--Buffy moved away from the door and continued down to the kitchen. She busied herself putting on coffee and starting Dawn's breakfast, and tried not to think about Willow and what might happen if the witch ever decided to show her face.
Just as Buffy was pouring herself a cup of coffee, she heard someone coming down the stairs. Figuring that it must be Dawn, she called out, "Dawn, eggs will be ready in five!" She was a little surprised to see Willow poke her head into the kitchen. "Oh, Willow, hi. Didn't know you were up. How are you?"
"Fine," mumbled Willow as she walked straight past Buffy to get to the fridge. She looked terrible, and Buffy couldn't help but be shocked by her friend's appearance. Willow had dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes, and her hair was lank and greasy. She looked thinner than usual and like she hadn't slept in days.
Buffy felt sorry for her friend. It couldn't be easy just quitting magic cold turkey like that. After all, she hadn't had much luck kicking the Spike habit herself. "You want some eggs? These are Dawn's, but it'll only take a few minutes for me to make more." She tried to keep her voice light and cheerful, no sense upsetting Willow when she looked this bad.
Willow grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and winced at Buffy's invitation. She had felt instantly nauseous the second she had smelled the eggs. There was no way she would be able to even pretend to eat. "Um, no, that's okay. Don't really feel like eggs." Seeing that Buffy was about to offer some other form of food that would undoubtedly be equally as offensive to her already churning stomach, Willow added, "I'll just grab something at the student union."
"Um, okay." Buffy could tell that her friend had absolutely no intention of eating, but she decided not to push it. "How `bout some coffee then? We've got that French Vanilla creamer that you like. Or, if you want, we could mix some coco powder in. Kinda like a mocha?"
"No!" Willow hadn't meant it to come out that strong, but, goddess, she was going to heave right there on the kitchen floor. Trying to cover, she gave Buffy a weak smile. "It just feels more like a water day. My stomach's kinda squishy." She closed the refrigerator door and sat down at the island, immediately dropping her head to her hands.
Unsure of what to say next, Buffy walked over to the stove and stirred Dawn's eggs. She had never seen Willow like this before, and she didn't know what to make of it. Did it mean that she was going through magic withdrawals, or did it mean that she was suffering the after effects of another magic binge? Biting her lip in frustration, Buffy tried to think of something to say. When nothing immediately popped into her head, she decided just to go for the truth. She turned around to face Willow, took a deep breath, and let it fly. "Will, you don't look so hot. Are you okay? I really think you need to eat something."
With a sigh, Willow dropped her head to the counter. She was not in the mood to deal with this right now. She briefly considered another forgetting spell to make Buffy shut the hell up. Then again, that's what had gotten her into this trouble in the first place. If only she could just go back and make sure that no one ever found out about the stupid Tabula Rasa spell. If Tara hadn't left, she never would've de-ratted Amy, and if she had never de-ratted Amy, then she never would have gone to Rack in the first place. If she had never gone to Rack, then she wouldn't be feeling like crap right now, and Buffy wouldn't be talking her goddamn ear off. `I wonder if there's some sort of spell that would turn back time? Amy might know.'
Willow realized that Buffy was staring at her with worry. `Right, gotta defuse that one.' "Buffy, I'm fine. It's no big. I just didn't sleep well last night, and I've got a big French Lit test today. I'm just nervous about it. That's all it is, really." Willow was pleased with herself. She could be a pretty darn good liar when she wanted to be, and she was sure that Buffy would fall for it.
But Buffy didn't fall for it. She knew her friend too well, and she really didn't appreciate being lied to. Turning the heat off under Dawn's eggs so that they wouldn't burn, Buffy walked over to where Willow sat. "Willow, don't lie to me. I know something is wrong, and I know it's a hell of a lot more than some test. Listen, I know how hard this is for you, and I want to help you, but I can't unless you talk to me."
Willow's head shot up angrily. "What the hell do you know? You don't know shit! You have no idea what this feels like. Remember what you were like when you turned eighteen and the Council stole your Slayer strength? I seem to recall that you weren't too freaking happy about it! So, don't you dare stand there and lecture to me!"
Buffy blanched at Willow's mention of the Council's little test. "Don't bring me into this! That wasn't an entirely different situation and you know it!"
"Why shouldn't I bring you into it? You're the one who claims she knows everything! Besides, I don't seem to remember it being all that different."
"Willow! That's bullshit, and you know it. I needed my powers--"
"And so do I!" Willow's face was flushed with the heat of her anger, and she had a look in her eyes that was making Buffy grow increasingly uneasy.
"No! You don't need them. You just want them so that you can feel all big and special and be Little Miss Super-Wicca. I needed my powers to slay, to protect people. That's what I do; I save people. You, on the other hand, almost got my little sister killed!"
"Oh, yeah," Willow laughed bitterly. "You're the Chosen One and I'm just some would-be killer! What do you think you do every night, huh, Buffy? You kill! I didn't mean to hurt Dawn, and you know it, so don't even go there. You may be the Slayer, but don't for one second forget that I am stronger and more powerful than you. I could take you out in the blink of an eye, and I don't think it's a very good idea to piss me off." Willow's voice had a menacing quality that Buffy had only heard once before; when she had been battling Glory.
Just as Willow's eyes began to flash and turn black, Dawn walked into the kitchen. She had heard the shouting from upstairs and had come to see what was going on. Seeing Willow's eyes, she panicked. "Buffy! Watch out!"
Buffy whirled at the sound of her sister's voice and didn't notice the change taking place in Willow's eyes. "Dawn, it's okay." She rushed over to where Dawn was holding back in the doorway clutching her broken arm. Seeing the terrified look on her sister's face, Buffy pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. Just a little argument. Nothing to worry about."
Looking fearfully over Buffy shoulder at Willow, Dawn noticed that all the black had gone out of the witch's eyes, and they now looked completely normal. Dawn had seen Willow's eyes like that right after she had come out of the crack house, and she knew it wasn't a good sign. Whatever she had been planning on doing to Buffy, it must've been bad.
Willow got up off her stool and took a few steps toward the two sisters. "Dawnie," she began hesitantly.
Buffy's head turned at the sound of her sister's name. All of the menace was gone from Willow's voice, and she sounded like regular old Willow again. Buffy wasn't sure exactly had happened to scare Dawn so much, but she didn't think that it would be a good idea to the let the witch get too close to her sister.
"Dawnie," Willow started again, "how's you arm? Are you okay? I'm really sorry about what happened." She took another step towards the pair.
"Get away from me," Dawn spat, her voice filled with loathing, "and don't you *dare* touch my sister!"
"Dawnie...I...okay, you're still mad. I understand. I'll just go upstairs and finish getting ready for class. Big test today and all. Sorry about all the yelling, Buffy." Willow quickly walked out of the kitchen, making sure to cut a wide swath around Dawn and Buffy.
As soon as she was gone, Buffy disentangled herself from the hug and held Dawn out at arm's length. "What was that all about? I mean, I know we were arguing pretty loudly, but it wasn't really that bad. Why'd you freak out?"
"Why'd I freak out? Buffy, didn't you see her eyes? I think she was going to do a spell on you."
"What? What was wrong with her eyes? Why would you think she was going to do a spell on me? Willow wouldn't do that!"
"Buffy, her eyes were going all black and stuff. I've seen it before. It's what happened after she came out of the Rack guy's magical crack house, right before that demon started chasing us." Dawn looked at her sister pleadingly, hoping that she would believe her. "Something bad was going to happen. I know it."
"Okay, Dawn." Buffy hadn't seen anything strange about Willow's eyes, but she decided to just go with it. "Everything's fine now. Please calm down. I'll take care of Willow." She went to the stove and scooped Dawn's rapidly cooling eggs out of the skillet and onto a plate. "Here, eat your eggs before they get cold. We don't have much time if you wanna make homeroom."
"I'm not hungry," grumbled Dawn. She didn't think Buffy was taking her seriously enough, but she didn't want to be late for school, so she chose to let it drop for the time being.
"Dawn!" Buffy had on her mom-voice. "You need to eat. Besides, I made these just for you. You don't want them to go to waste do, you?"
"Fine! Give `em." Dawn took the plate at sat down at the island. Hearing Buffy's mom-voice brought back her bratty teenager side. "Um, I kinda need a fork." Buffy made a face, but she went and fetched a fork for her sister. Not bothering to say thank you for the fork, Dawn continued to make with the bratty. "We got any OJ?"
"Quit being a brat! Get your own damn juice." Buffy was getting tired of all the attitude. Too bad that Dawn chose that exact moment to give her the puppy dog eyes. Slayer or not, no mere mortal could resist. She went to get the juice.
The Slayer's efforts were finally rewarded with a, "Thanks, Buffy," as Dawn began to shovel down her eggs. Just as Buffy was setting the juice in front of her, Dawn noticed the clock. She grabbed the glass out of her sister's hand and drank it down in one gulp. "Shit! It's late! I gotta go! Did you write me my note? Don't forget I need money." The last bit was said around one final mouthful of scrambled eggs.
"Dawn! Language! Shit, I forgot about the note!" Dawn gave Buffy a pointed look. "Hey, I'm older. I can swear if I want. You, on the other hand, are much too young. Go get your stuff. I'll walk you to school and explain to the attendance office in person. Oh, can you bring down my purse? I think I've got some cash in there."
"Bloody Hell!" Dawn swore as she headed for the stairs.
"I heard that, young lady," came Buffy's voice from the kitchen. Dawn just laughed and ran up to get her stuff.
She was back in a minute and handed Buffy her purse. Buffy rummaged through it and pulled out a twenty. "Is this enough for the week? Wait," she put the twenty back in her wallet and pulled out a ten, "I forgot, it's Wednesday already. Here, this should do it." Dawn made a face, but Buffy chose to ignore it. "Are you ready? We should really get going."
"Um, Buffy, if you think that you are going to walk into my school wearing nothing but your new boyfriend's T-shirt, you are sorely mistaken. I would never hear the end of it."
Buffy looked down at her outfit. Ohmigod! She hadn't even gotten dressed yet. How had her mom handled all of this? "Good call. Give me a sec, and I'll change." Buffy made it all the way to the top of the steps before she remembered to yell out, "And Spike is *not* my boyfriend!" She heard Dawn giggle from the foyer, and swore to herself. She would kill that girl yet.