Hide and Seek

Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy are not mine, sadly. They belong to the people at Fox, the WB, UPN and of course the Evil Tyrant of all things Buffy, Joss Whedon.

Description: Willow/Tara and Dawn/Sarah.

Spoilers: The entire season six. BSD fully revealed. Set after the Tara Trials (if you missed them, they basically tell how Tara came back to life).

Rated: PG-13

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Dawn was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. If you looked long enough you could notice all sorts of things: the thin crack left over from one of the apocalyptic earthquakes, the way that shadows and chipped paint turned one corner of the room into a face, and of course the way it absolutely sucked to have an overbearing sister who punished you for (almost) no reason. A tapping sound made her look up. Sarah was outside her window. Dawn opened the window and let her in.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.

"Funny you should ask that. I know you're in trouble and can't have friends over or answer the phone, but I really had to see you."

Dawn was unsure whether to feel excited or nervous. She settled for a combination of both.

Sarah began pacing. "I know I've been acting kind of strange, but I'm scared. See the thing is, I never thought I would like girls. It just never even occurred to me. I mean that's not something you grow up expecting, right? And I never had really liked a girl before I met you. But then the more I got to know you, the more I liked you. And I mean *like* like, not like. I sort of thought that maybe it would go away, but then again, I'm not so sure I want it to. So I was thinking that maybe we could be girlfriends? That is, if your sister doesn't ban me from the house." Sarah gave Dawn a smile that melted her heart.

"That is so great." It was a lame response, but the best that Dawn could come up with her heart fluttering all over the place.

Dawn and Sarah started kissing each other again. Their mouths mingled in blissful anticipation of things to come. Hands inched cautiously towards uncharted territory. The door opened.

This time the interrupter was not Buffy.

"My fault for not knocking," Tara told them. "I'm going to forget I just saw that and come back in a minute."

She walked back outside and closed the door.

"I'll see you at school on Monday," Dawn said.

"Yeah, see you then," Sarah replied.

The girls shared several last, desperate kisses, their lips reluctant to part. Dawn gave Sarah a final smooch good bye, and watched her climb back out the window.

Tara knocked loudly.

"Come in."

Tara sat down by her, a smile stealing its way onto her face, even though she knew she shouldn't be encouraging disobedient behavior. "I'm glad things are working out for you two."

Dawn beamed. "I have a girlfriend!"

"Dawnie, that's wonderful! Though this may not be the wisest meeting place at the moment."

"I need a lock on the door," Dawn muttered. "Although I doubt *Buffy* will let me get one."

" You should go easier on your sister," Tara told her. "She's not an ogre you know."

"Of course not," Dawn explained. "I've fought ogres. They have an excuse."

Tara was patient. "She's doing the best she can to take care of you."

"But it's so unfair!"

"Why don't you tell her that?"

"Because," Dawn said, "that would require speaking to her, which I have vowed never to do again."

"If you want her to treat you like an adult, show her that you are one. Don't whine or complain. Simply explain the situation to her. She's bound to come around."

A gleam of hope entered Dawn's eyes. "Would you talk to her for me?"

Tara shook her head. "Dawnie, this is your problem, not mine. And as much as I want to see you happy, I can't go interfering in the way you are disciplined. That's up to your sister."

Dawn slumped back on her pillow.

"Talk to Buffy," Tara advised.

"No."

Tara sighed. "I hope you change your mind. And do me a favor ok? Don't give her cause to ground you further. That's my girl." After planting a kiss on her forehead, Tara left Dawn alone to sulk.

* * *

Dawn was getting a book out of her locker when she spotted Sarah walking over. Dawn smiled and waves, dropping her book in the process. She tried to appear cool, calm and collected as she mentally cursed her clumsiness and bent over to pick the volume up.

"Hey," Sarah said.

"Hey."

Dawn straightened up and tucked the book away in her bag, before it could cause any more mischief. They both hesitated, unsure of the proper high school hallway etiquette in such situations as theirs. Not yet ready to declare their romance to entire world, they settled for a hug that lingered on longer than one of "just friends." Sarah slid her hand down Dawn's arm until their fingers met and tightly clasped. A rousing rendition of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" began to play in Dawn's psyche.

"Lets meet up tonight!" Sarah suggested.

Dawn was unsure of the wisdom behind that. "We might get caught. I don't know ..."

"C'mon," Sarah said with a playful pout. "It's either tonight or skip class and sneak into the boiler room or something. And we'll definitely get in trouble for that."

Dawn couldn't miss any more classes. Her councilor was constantly throwing around phrases like, "suspension", "child services" and "academic probation."

She tried to figure out the best way to explain. "The thing is, it's dangerous to be wandering around at night, there are all sorts of ... loonies."

Sarah shrugged, unconcerned. "So what? There are loonies everywhere."

"Not like the ones we have in Sunnydale."

Sarah tried a different tactic. "I'll make it worth your while."

"How worth my while?" Dawn asked.

Sara grinned.

Nightfall could not come soon enough. "I'll be there! Just don't wander off without me, ok?"

* * *

Dawn told the others she wasn't hungry and then went up to her room. She made herself cute as possible, brushing her long, brown hair and putting on her favorite blue shirt, the one with the butterfly on it. The thought of leaving some sort of decoy behind in her bed crossed her mind, but she decided against it. If Buffy caught her, she caught her. What was she going to do, ground her more? She slid out of her window into the night air. Sarah was waiting for her on the ground below.

"Glad you could make it," the blond said, greeting her with a peck on the lips.

"Where to?" Dawn asked.

"Where else? The Bronze."

Dawn hesitated. "And if my sister's friends stop by?"

Sarah caught her drift. "How about the park? You know, pretty trees everywhere, the stars twinkling up above."

"What about your house?" Dawn suggested.

Sarah shook her head. "I'm not allowed to have friends over this late on school days. Or we could always go to the cemetery-"

"The park it is!" Dawn announced.

The couple strolled along, enjoying the effect that the crisp night air against their warm, intertwined fingers.

"So I was thinking we should go to the dance," Sarah proposed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be great. We can get all pretty and boogie till we drop. Whadda you say?"

"Sure," Dawn answered. "I should be able to get myself out of trouble by then."

"I don't know," Sarah told her, a grin plastered on her face. "Trouble can be kind of fun."

They began making out intensely. Dawn pulled her girlfriend to a bench, where they lay back, their lips and hands never parting.

A twig snapped.

Dawn bolted upright, smacking noses with Sarah.

"Ouch!" they both cried out.

"Sorry about that," Dawn apologized. "I just thought I heard ..." She noticed a group of three vampires closing in on them, all in game face. "...something."

Dawn pulled a stake and a cross out of her pocket. She handed the latter to Sarah.

"Here, take this."

Sarah eyed it skeptically. "Religious fanatic much?"

Dawn groaned. "Just trust me on this, ok? And get back. I can handle this."

Dawn staked the first one easily. It was a large vamp who obviously was not used to helpless-looking females fighting back. The second gave her more trouble. After seeing what she had done to his buddy, the vampire flipped Dawn over onto her back. The landed with a hard thud on the ground. Dawn alternated between kicking it in the hear and punching it in the face. The vampire did not appreciate being turned into an undead punching bag, and scrambled off of her long enough for her to climb to her feet. She had but a moment to get her bearings before the vampire began trying to strangle her.

She was about to stake the foul creature when she heard Sarah scream. The third, female, vampire had the blond pinned beneath her and was going in for a bite.

Dawn tossed the stake in Sarah's direction.

"Catch!" she told Sarah, as the wooden weapon fell a few inches from her fingertips. Sarah reached for it and reached for it ...

Suddenly, it flew of it's own accord into Sarah's hand. Dawn didn't take the time to wonder how.

"Aim for the heart!" she told her.

Sarah staked the vampire, which exploded into dust above her. Dawn kneed her vampire in the groin and impaled him on a tree branch. He also vaporized.

"Um Dawn, what is going on?" a bewildered Sarah dared to ask.

"Well, it's a long story. Did you watch a lot of monster movies growing up?"

* * *

"Am I'm being unfair with her?" Buffy asked.

Willow and Tara exchanged a knowing glance.

"Well..." Willow began.

"I am, aren't I? I totally over reacted, right?"

"Well..."

"Then again, Mom would have done the same, you know? I mean she had a major wiggins when she found out about me and Angel."

"Well..."

"Not that that was the same thing, because this is different. Sort of."

"True..."

"But," Buffy pointed out, "if I let her off the hook now it'll almost be like rewarding her for ignoring me. So what kind of message is that going to send, huh? How can I get her to respect me if I start backing down?"

"Buffy..." Tara cut in.

"On the other hand-"

"Buffy!!!" That got the slayer's attention. Tara continued on, "It'll be fine. You're doing fine. You two just need to talk things out and set some ground rules. It'll all work out, I promise you."

A wave of jealousy washed over Buffy, mixed with a splash of awe. "I don't know how you do it. You came back all good and happy and optimistic to a fault. I came back and I'm the Wicked Witch of the West."

"As the only person here who has actually been a wicked witch, I must object," Willow said.

"There are important differences between us Buffy. I wanted to come back, I even fought for it. You were happy where you were. I had my soul mate to come back to. You're still looking for yours."

"Or already found but lost him to s gypsy curse," Buffy grumbled.

"Angel?" Willow asked.

"Yes of course Angel! What, can you imagine Spike with a soul? How lame would that be?"

"You'll find yours," Tara reassured her, "and you'll be a great mother to Dawn. Just have faith."

"Thanks." Buffy gave Tara a hug. Her eyes strayed towards Dawn's room. "If only the monks could have left an instruction manual." She headed up the stairs to have a sisterly heart to heart.

Buffy was back a moment later. "She's gone! Dawn's gone!" Buffy grabbed her coat.

"Where are you going?" Willow asked.

Buffy should have thought that was obvious. "To find her and drag her sorry ass back."

"Wait Buffy-" Tara told her.

"For what?" Buffy cut her off. "For Dawn to get herself killed? This is a pattern. She doesn't get the benefit of the doubt any more. No benefit for Dawnie."

"It's just that that could take all night," Tara explained. "There may be an easier way."

Willow looked at her lover. Was she suggesting ...?

Tara saw the look. "I understand if you need to leave honey. If it'll be too hard for you."

"No, I'll be ok," Willow assured her. "I don't really care for magic anymore. Even if I could do it again, I wouldn't."

Tara sat down on the floor cross-legged and began to chant.

* * *

"So," Sarah said, badly shaken, "I'm getting that vampires are real. Kinda had to deal with that one head on. But demons and werewolves and witches?"

"And mummies and monsters and succubae ..."

"Whoa." Sarah tried to take it all in. "And fairies?"

"What about them?" Dawn asked.

"Well, they're real right? Cuz there's one right behind you."

Dawn turned and saw a familiar speck of light dancing around her. "That? That's Tara."

Sarah frowned. "Tara's a fairy?"

"No, she's a witch. She must have sent out her essence to find us. I'll be home in a minute, ok?" she told the light. It bounced up and down and sped away into the night. "We should go."

* * *

Tara gasped as she reentered her body.

"They were in the park. They're on their way back," Tara informed them.

Buffy and Willow stared back at her as if she had grown a second head. Tara felt above her shoulders, just to be on the safe side. She lived on the Hellmouth, anything could happen.

"You ... you're ok!" Willow said, rushing to hug her. "I was so worried."

"Honey, I've done the spell before-"

"But you glowed." Willow's voice shook. "You became light. It lit up the entire room. Nothing like that had ever happened before."

Tara furrowed her brow. "Must be something left over from my Goddess powers. Hmm... I wonder what other of my powers have changed?"

Dawn and Sarah came in the front door. Buffy rushed over to them.

"Are you insane, or are you just irresponsible?" Buffy scolded. "How could you put yourself and your friend in danger like that. You know what kind of mons- um, creeps are out at night!"

"She knows," Dawn told them.

"I know," Sarah said softly.

"You told her?" Buffy asked in amazement.

"Well, it was kind of obvious after the gang of vampires attacked us."

Buffy was impressed in spite of herself. "You took on a gang of vampires?"

"*We* did. Sarah killed one too."

"Yeah, it turned into dust and everything. It was sort of cool," Sarah added.

"And I think she might be a witch. Either that or whatever you call it from that movie, Carrie. She made the stake move without even touching it!"

Tara examined the girl. "Have you been able to move things before?"

"A few times," Sarah admitted, "but not very far and only if I'm really emotional. I always just figured I had imagined it."

"Then perhaps you should study with me," Tara offered, "and we'll see if we can't fine-tune your powers, whatever they may be."

Sarah was game. "Cool."

Buffy extended her hand. "Welcome to the Scooby Gang. But it's late, and I'm sure your parents are getting worried. Willow, Tara - would you be kind enough to walk Sarah home?"

When they were at last alone, Dawn braced herself for a fight. "You were really great with Sarah tonight," she told Big Sis.

"I'm glad you thought so." Buffy gave her a stern look. "Of course I don't have to tell you how badly you screwed up tonight."

"Under house arrest until I'm forty?" Dawn guessed.

"No, but we're talking serious probation here. Run off again, and you'll be grounded until you're fifty! You catch my drift?"

Dawn nodded. "Drift caught. Wait, probation? Does that mean I can leave the house and answer the phone and stuff?"

"Yes, as long as you let me know where and when you go out and listen to me if I forbid you to do something, ok?"

"And Sarah?"

Buffy gave a slight smile. "You can go out. I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm thrilled about it, but then again I wouldn't be any more thrilled if it were a guy putting moves on my baby sister. And she *is* a nice girl."

Dawn let out a scream of job and hugged Buffy tight.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll be good, I really will. No more sneaking around, I swear."

"I just want to be a part of your life, ok? It hurts when you shut me out."

"I won't, I won't," Dawn promised. "I'll be tell-all Dawn." She gave her another hug. "You're the best. Oh my God, you have to help me pick out my Twerp's dance dress!"

Buffy, not for the first time in her lives, wondered what she had gotten herself into.