CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: JAYDEN
Friday: 11am
2nd July 1999
California: Sunnydale
"Are you alright?" asked the voice in front of her.
Buffy's head snapped to attention and she looked up to find her mom in the doorway of the office she was currently occupying in the gallery.
"What? Oh…yeah. Yeah, I'm alright," she said.
Joyce stepped forward and put a hand on Buffy's forehead.
"Hmmm…"
"Good hmmm or bad hmm?" Buffy asked.
"You're a little warm," Joyce said.
Buffy shrugged and took a sip of water from the battle that sat on her desk.
"Maybe I'm just getting the flu," she suggested.
"In the middle of summer?" Joyce asked.
"It's no big," Buffy assured her. "I'll be fine by lunch time. Honest."
Joyce nodded and went to leave. She turned suddenly and regarded her eldest. "If you want to go home, it's alright. There's not a lot to be done today."
Buffy considered it. She hadn't slept well in weeks, and she really wasn't up to a day of not doing a lot.
"Actually, yeah. That'd be good. Thanks mom."
She stood and kissed Joyce's cheek, walking out of the gallery and into the sunshine.
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Friday: 11:58am
2nd July 1999
California: Sunnydale
She'd tried sleeping at home, but it hadn't worked. Her mind refused to shut down, and she was getting hungry. After a search of the fridge and the cupboards, she had sighed, grabbed her purse and headed into the centre of town to find some real food.
She stepped into the Espresso Pump, her personal favourite store for lunch, and seated herself at a table, glancing over the menu.
"You ready to order?" asked a voice.
Buffy looked up and saw one of the waitresses that she knew quite well.
"Hey Stacey."
"Buffy, hey. Didn't realise it was you. Just your regular, hon?"
Buffy nodded and the older woman walked away, scribbling down the order that she had previously memorised. Buffy stood up and grabbed a drink from the self-serve fridge, hesitating over regular Coke or diet before finally choosing the less sugary product.
Across town, the bell tower chimed twelve, the bells ringing a distinct pattern to announce that it was noon already.
She popped the can open and returned to her seat, sliding into the booth and downing a quarter of the drink in one gulp. She let out a quiet burp and patted her chest, trying to settle the bubbles that had ended up inside of her.
"Charming as always, I see."
Buffy looked up and grinned at the familiar face.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were gone for the week," she said.
"Well, I was, but…well, Xander's car decided to fall apart before we even made it out of the state, so…we decided to stay in SunnyD for the holidays," he explained.
"That sucks. You guys were really looking forward to that trip," Buffy said, genuinely saddened by the news.
"Well, it means we get to hang out here with you, Faith and Wills, so I think we may have got the better end of the deal," he replied with a grin.
"Flatterer."
He grinned and stole her can of Diet Coke, gulping back half of it and belching loudly. Buffy wrinkled her nose and swatted his arm from across the table. "Gross."
"Yeah, but you love me anyway."
She rolled her eyes and took her can back, sighing when she realised that there was only a mouthful left.
"Can't you buy your own lunch?" she complained.
"I could," he replied easily.
She laughed a little when he made no move to even try to order. Stacey returned with Buffy's order of a burger and fries. Buffy smiled and thanked her and took a bite from the burger. With both her hands full, she couldn't stop him from stealing one of her fries.
"Hey! Get your own," she cried.
"But yours are always so much tastier than mine."
"Jerk."
"Whiner."
"Doofus."
"Blonde."
She stopped at that and stared at him with confused eyes. "Uh hello? Look who's talking."
He ran a hand through his own blonde hair and grinned sheepishly. His hair was actually a darker brown, but he had taken to dyeing it blonde when he had turned thirteen.
"Oh. Yeah. Uh…ditz."
"I think we're done," she stated, taking one of the fries off her plate.
"Right. Sorry. I keep forgetting the stopping part," he said with a grin.
"I'm sure you're girlfriend loves that," Buffy teased.
He narrowed his eyes. "Just for that…" he took her can of Diet Coke and chugged the rest.
"Jackass."
"I thought you said we'd stopped," he said with a smirk.
"That was before you stole the rest of my drink."
"Oh, cry me a river, Sunshine."
She smiled at the nickname and looked at her watch.
"Are you picking up the third musketeer this afternoon?" she asked.
"Yeah. Sunrise is out late though. Detention."
Buffy groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why?"
"Fighting," he said with a grin.
"She still hasn't learned huh?"
"Well, between you and your Slaying, and me and my tai-kwon-do, I think it runs in the family."
"Hmmm…Sunrise, Sunshine and Sunset, all fighters. I thought we were meant to be all sunny and good," she mused.
"We are good, lil' sis."
"That right, big bro?"
Jayden grinned at the girl and stole another fry. "Course it is."
Hmmm…ever wondered what woulda happened if they hadda made Dawn a boy instead of a girl? And made the sibling older? Changes the whole dynamics. I've wanted to explore this for a while, but I never got around to it. This fic gives me that opportunity to do so.
Oh, and for anyone who's interested, I've even re-written some parts of the fic to include Jayden (yes, I've got a LOT of time on my hands…) Unfortunately, I'm about to get disconnected in about five minutes, so they won't be up until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!