Dawn came slowly awake and stretched luxuriously, enjoying the chance to lie in bed on a sunny Saturday morning with no immediate demands on her time. After the crises of the past weeks, she felt she deserved it twice as much as usual. Today would be even better than a usual Saturday, because the four of them were going to the mall - a four-girl shop fest - and she wanted to make the most of it. She could tell that Willow and Tara were already awake; she could hear them muffling giggles in their bedroom, trying not to wake the household.
Dawn decided to hit the bathroom before Buffy could get in there ahead of her. With four women in the same house, willingness to start early was a definite advantage, she thought to herself as she spread toothpaste on her brush. After brushing her teeth, she applied a bit of her favourite flavoured lip-gloss, and then ran a comb quickly through her long hair and secured it at her temples with sparkling clips. Flashing a quick grin at herself in the mirror, she headed back to her room to get dressed.
She chose her clothes quickly because she heard Tara and Willow already downstairs in the kitchen starting breakfast. Once dressed, she hurried down the stairs, expecting to be last to the table at usual, but was surprised to see that Buffy wasn't down yet. Dawn felt a momentary twinge of uncertainty, though the others seemed unconcerned.
"Hey guys, what's up?" she asked.
"Not Buffy," said Willow with a grin. "She's probably experiencing serious post-slaying sleepiness. Want to go bang on the door?"
Willow's cheer infected Dawn, and she smiled back. "Sure." Get to annoy her sister, and by request? How could she refuse? Dawn bounded back up the stairs, two at a time.
"Buffy?" she called, knocking sharply on the door. "You awake yet? I'm going to eat the last of your cereal and use all the milk," she teased. When she received no answer, she opened the door and hesitantly peered into the darkened room, fearing the worst.
She wondered why Buffy would have all the blinds closed on such a beautiful morning, but when her eyes adjusted to the darkness within she understood. Two blond heads nestled close together on the pillows, sleeping quietly. Buffy lay peacefully on her side under the covers and Spike was spooned up behind her with one bare arm wrapped protectively around her waist, his face buried in her hair. Neither one of them stirred at her presence.
Dawn smiled, and closed the door again softly. "Sweet dreams," she whispered, then returned to the kitchen to let the others know that the shopping trip would involve a trio rather than a foursome today.
Upstairs, Buffy curled more closely into Spike's embrace, sleeping deeply and sweetly - and dreamlessly, at last.
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Author's last words (here, anyway)
Oh my. Does this mean I can finally rest without endless permutations of dream sequences running through my head? Probably not, eh? This wasn't even done before another one began. Do you know, every time I rewatch "Prophecy Girl", "School Hard", "What's My Line", "Innocence" or "The Gift", I wait to see the characters do what I wrote, and am always surprised when they don't.
I'd really like to thank everyone who has been so good as to read and review "Fragments" all along the way. Your encouragement and kind words have meant an awful lot to me as I struggled to control some of my more sophmoric dialogue and situations. This is only the fourth story I have ever written, and has (to this point, anyway) been the most work I've ever voluntarily done for something that didn't pay me any money. It's a short novel, for heaven's sake! It's official, I am obsessed with Buffy (and Buffy and Spike in particular).
Thanks my friends I've never met, my faithful readers. This was a great ride. Now let's go jack another, shall we? *g*