"Buffy, she's the key, we have to keep her safe."
Andrew slipped quietly into the Library and slid inta seat at the table. He had deposited the computer into the Cafeteria, and had, as requested, come straight here. Only to find Buffy deep into an argument with Willow.
"We can't afford to let her get away with this. You have to let me put a leash on her, so we know where she is. It's the only way we can know where she is, keep her safe."
"Willow," Giles was tired, and he'd hoped that Willow had learned something. "There are certain flaws I don't think you are aware of. One, for such a spell to work, you would continuously have to hone it, which would be a constant distraction. Powerful you might be but it would sap your strength. Also, should the leash be found, and your attention diverted, even momentarily, say by an attack on the school, or elsewhere, it would be relatively easy to break that leash, and reweave it so that someone else is in control."
"Control," sqwakked Willow. "I just want to know where she is so we can keep her safe. Not control her."
"The purpose of a leash control Will," chimed in Xander. "And that way lies dark veiny scary Willow."
"But I'm sure I could," Willow began before she was interrupted.
"No!" Everyone seemed surprised that it was Andrew that had spoken.
"Andrew," snapped Buffy. "You stay out of this.
"No, I won't cause Faith asked me to talk to Dawn and I did, and it looks like I needn't have bothered, cause it didn't matter that I did cause you are going to do what you want and what she wants doesn't matter."
"I suppose yyou know what she wants?"
"She wants to be safe. She wants to be safe here with Buffy and Xander and Mr. Giles, even with Willow. But deep down she can't forget that there were two people that tried killing her for her power and one of them was Willow."
"What, wait, I'm not after her power, and anyway that was when ...besides I more than redeemed myself for that? How long do I have to keep paying?"
"Good question." Andrew smiled wryly. "I helped you save the world, but you don't trust me. Not fully, and I didn't even try to destroy the world. Willow did and everything's all okay. Maybe it depends on who the redeemer is, or who decides that that person has done enough redemption type things, but that's not the issue. Saving the world is one thing. A good thing, but we're not talking about that, or you nearly destroying the world, but what you did to Dawn. Did you even apologize to her?"
Every eye turned to Willow, who grew as red as her hair. "I, uh...uh..."
"You didn't, did you?" Willow shook her head and Andrew forged on. Usually he wasn't this brave, but something in him was pushing him to do this, and, secretly, he was enjoying putting Willow on the spot. "That's okay, she's just a kid, not worthy of an apology, not even after you tried to kill her. So not something she's going to get over with, not soon anyway, the trying to kill her, not the apology, maybe even the apology too. She might be able to live with it, push it way down, but it's always going to be there, and when you just merrily go ahead and magick her that kind of reinforces the thought that you're one of the people she has to watch out for."
"Wait," Xander piped in. "Dawn told you all this?"
"No, but sometimes I can put two and two together and comes up with all the right pieces." Andrew glanced at Buffy. "Dawn wants to stay, she will sta, I think. But if Willow uses magick on her, you're going to lose her."
"Okay, we'll find some other way to keep her safe." Buffy looked at Willow. "You have to promise me that you won't use magick on Dawn. Not unless it's absolutely necessary and especially not without checking with me first."
"Buffy," protested Willow.
"Willow," Buffy was adamant. "You're my friend, the best friend I ever had, but Dawn's my sister, part of me. You so don't want to make me choose."
Buffy didn't say what the choices were, but nobody had anydoubt as to what they were. Or what Buffy's choice would be.
"I promise," said Willow with a sigh.
"Good," smiled Buffy. "Now we need to figure out a non-magickal way of keeping Dawn safe."
"I already told her that sleeping in the basement might help," said Andrew. Cause earth helps dampen the transmission of magick."
"Well that's a start," said Xander. "I can have that room slapped into shape in a jiffy, day, two, at most. Um, that is if she agrees."
"I think she will," said Andrew, "at least when she feels, uh, under attack, and I could maybe get her a warding stone which I could make into a pendant, she could wear, that would help ward off any attacks." Andrew paused. "They would at least let her get her shields up faster."
"How soon could you get this, uh, warder stone."
"I could order one over the internet, a week."
"Not soon enough," Buffy grumbled. "Okay, any other ideas?"
Xander looked at Giles. "You want me to say or do you?"
"Say what," demanded Buffy.
Giles polished his glasses. "The Watchers Council would, er, like to have a Watcher assigned to Dawn. Because of her, ah, unique qualities."
"You mean they want to get their claws into her."
"That too," said Xander. "But you can't say it's not a bad idea. This Watcher would primarily be responsible for helping keep Dawn safe. There's the added plus that we get input into who her Watcher is going to be."
"Andrew," came a voice from near the doorway. Everyone looked to see Dawn standing there.
"If I gotta have a Watcher, it's going to be Andrew."
Andrew sat dumbfounded .
"You have got to be kidding." Buffy was outraged. "There is no way that I'm gonna let Andrew be your Watcher."
"Why not?"
"Because of what he did. He's got a long ways to go before he redeems himself."
"What has he done that is so worse than what anyone here has done?"
"Dawn, how can you ask that?" Buffy was truly amazed. "For a year he was evil, he killed a man."
"Xander killed three with that music demon thing, Giles killed one, that I know of, Willow killed two, and the only reason you didn't kill is because Faith survivied and you were going to feed her to a vampire." Dawn paused, and looked around the table. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." Dawn took a breath. "Someone said something about that once."
"Dawn, what has gotten into you."
"I'm scared Buffy. I've got all this power in me and theirs other people trying to get it, and I need to feel safe."
"I'm doing the best I can to make you feel safe."
"I know that Buffy, and that's what's making this so hard. But you've got this whole new hellmouth thing and all these new slayers, and your other job, and I don't feel safe, especially with Willow, with what she did. She didn't even ask, course I'm just a kid and I guess you don't need to ask, but it would have been kind of nice and I don't feel safe. I'm just scared that when the time comes I'll have to watch you die all over again and I don't want to do that and maybe if I have a Watcher that won't happen and I'll be safer or at least feel safer and..." Dawn ran out of breath. She took a few deep breaths. "Besides, I think Andrew understands what it like to be me, more than any of you do."
"That doesn't matter, Dawn. Even if I let him, the Council wouldn't accept him as a Watcher. He was evil." Buffy turned to Xander. "Tell her."
Xander looked uncomfortable. Buffy's jaw dropped. Andrew was stunned.
"You have got to be kidding," Buffy exclaimed. "Andrew spent a year working against us. He was evil, well not exactly the big bad, but definetely on the dark side. He was part of the group that killed Tara and shot me, and they want him to be a Watcher. Just how crazy is this?"
Xander shrugged as if in apology. "Not my first choice, but the Council thinks his demon knowledge might be useful." Xander scowled. "The First really knocked them for a loop, and their still trying to come up with the damage. Andrew may have worked on the dark side for a while, but as evils go, he was hardly more than a pimple, except to us. Not that that mattered."
"They were going to make him a Watcher without talking to us? Even if I did by the redempted thing, which I don't, he hasn't had near the training."
"Which is why, under normal circumstances, Andrew wouldn't have been more than a Researcher. But these aren't normal times and we helped see to that. So they're gonna assign a Slayer to him and put him somewhere quiet."
"No," yelped Buffy. "He needs to be somewhere he can be supervised. We can't..."
"We don't get a choice," snapped Xander. "What are you going to do Buffy? Slay him?" The atmoshere tensed, and everyone stared at each other. Finally Buffy sighed and slumped.
"It's not right."
"No it's not," agreed Xander, "but we gotta deal. So, Andrew," Xander shifted his focus. "You wanna be a Watcher?"
"A Watcher, that would be keen," Andrew paused. "That is if you think I can be cause I'm not real sure."
"Wonderful," muttered the Slayer. "He doesn't think he's ready."
"We'll," Xander glanced at Buffy. "I'll help all I can, it's not going to be easy, but you can do it."
Buffy couldn't take any more. "He can be Dawn's Watcher, if they insist on making him one." She started to the door. "At least he'll be here where I can keep an eye on him."
Andrew slipped quietly into the Library and slid inta seat at the table. He had deposited the computer into the Cafeteria, and had, as requested, come straight here. Only to find Buffy deep into an argument with Willow.
"We can't afford to let her get away with this. You have to let me put a leash on her, so we know where she is. It's the only way we can know where she is, keep her safe."
"Willow," Giles was tired, and he'd hoped that Willow had learned something. "There are certain flaws I don't think you are aware of. One, for such a spell to work, you would continuously have to hone it, which would be a constant distraction. Powerful you might be but it would sap your strength. Also, should the leash be found, and your attention diverted, even momentarily, say by an attack on the school, or elsewhere, it would be relatively easy to break that leash, and reweave it so that someone else is in control."
"Control," sqwakked Willow. "I just want to know where she is so we can keep her safe. Not control her."
"The purpose of a leash control Will," chimed in Xander. "And that way lies dark veiny scary Willow."
"But I'm sure I could," Willow began before she was interrupted.
"No!" Everyone seemed surprised that it was Andrew that had spoken.
"Andrew," snapped Buffy. "You stay out of this.
"No, I won't cause Faith asked me to talk to Dawn and I did, and it looks like I needn't have bothered, cause it didn't matter that I did cause you are going to do what you want and what she wants doesn't matter."
"I suppose yyou know what she wants?"
"She wants to be safe. She wants to be safe here with Buffy and Xander and Mr. Giles, even with Willow. But deep down she can't forget that there were two people that tried killing her for her power and one of them was Willow."
"What, wait, I'm not after her power, and anyway that was when ...besides I more than redeemed myself for that? How long do I have to keep paying?"
"Good question." Andrew smiled wryly. "I helped you save the world, but you don't trust me. Not fully, and I didn't even try to destroy the world. Willow did and everything's all okay. Maybe it depends on who the redeemer is, or who decides that that person has done enough redemption type things, but that's not the issue. Saving the world is one thing. A good thing, but we're not talking about that, or you nearly destroying the world, but what you did to Dawn. Did you even apologize to her?"
Every eye turned to Willow, who grew as red as her hair. "I, uh...uh..."
"You didn't, did you?" Willow shook her head and Andrew forged on. Usually he wasn't this brave, but something in him was pushing him to do this, and, secretly, he was enjoying putting Willow on the spot. "That's okay, she's just a kid, not worthy of an apology, not even after you tried to kill her. So not something she's going to get over with, not soon anyway, the trying to kill her, not the apology, maybe even the apology too. She might be able to live with it, push it way down, but it's always going to be there, and when you just merrily go ahead and magick her that kind of reinforces the thought that you're one of the people she has to watch out for."
"Wait," Xander piped in. "Dawn told you all this?"
"No, but sometimes I can put two and two together and comes up with all the right pieces." Andrew glanced at Buffy. "Dawn wants to stay, she will sta, I think. But if Willow uses magick on her, you're going to lose her."
"Okay, we'll find some other way to keep her safe." Buffy looked at Willow. "You have to promise me that you won't use magick on Dawn. Not unless it's absolutely necessary and especially not without checking with me first."
"Buffy," protested Willow.
"Willow," Buffy was adamant. "You're my friend, the best friend I ever had, but Dawn's my sister, part of me. You so don't want to make me choose."
Buffy didn't say what the choices were, but nobody had anydoubt as to what they were. Or what Buffy's choice would be.
"I promise," said Willow with a sigh.
"Good," smiled Buffy. "Now we need to figure out a non-magickal way of keeping Dawn safe."
"I already told her that sleeping in the basement might help," said Andrew. Cause earth helps dampen the transmission of magick."
"Well that's a start," said Xander. "I can have that room slapped into shape in a jiffy, day, two, at most. Um, that is if she agrees."
"I think she will," said Andrew, "at least when she feels, uh, under attack, and I could maybe get her a warding stone which I could make into a pendant, she could wear, that would help ward off any attacks." Andrew paused. "They would at least let her get her shields up faster."
"How soon could you get this, uh, warder stone."
"I could order one over the internet, a week."
"Not soon enough," Buffy grumbled. "Okay, any other ideas?"
Xander looked at Giles. "You want me to say or do you?"
"Say what," demanded Buffy.
Giles polished his glasses. "The Watchers Council would, er, like to have a Watcher assigned to Dawn. Because of her, ah, unique qualities."
"You mean they want to get their claws into her."
"That too," said Xander. "But you can't say it's not a bad idea. This Watcher would primarily be responsible for helping keep Dawn safe. There's the added plus that we get input into who her Watcher is going to be."
"Andrew," came a voice from near the doorway. Everyone looked to see Dawn standing there.
"If I gotta have a Watcher, it's going to be Andrew."
Andrew sat dumbfounded .
"You have got to be kidding." Buffy was outraged. "There is no way that I'm gonna let Andrew be your Watcher."
"Why not?"
"Because of what he did. He's got a long ways to go before he redeems himself."
"What has he done that is so worse than what anyone here has done?"
"Dawn, how can you ask that?" Buffy was truly amazed. "For a year he was evil, he killed a man."
"Xander killed three with that music demon thing, Giles killed one, that I know of, Willow killed two, and the only reason you didn't kill is because Faith survivied and you were going to feed her to a vampire." Dawn paused, and looked around the table. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." Dawn took a breath. "Someone said something about that once."
"Dawn, what has gotten into you."
"I'm scared Buffy. I've got all this power in me and theirs other people trying to get it, and I need to feel safe."
"I'm doing the best I can to make you feel safe."
"I know that Buffy, and that's what's making this so hard. But you've got this whole new hellmouth thing and all these new slayers, and your other job, and I don't feel safe, especially with Willow, with what she did. She didn't even ask, course I'm just a kid and I guess you don't need to ask, but it would have been kind of nice and I don't feel safe. I'm just scared that when the time comes I'll have to watch you die all over again and I don't want to do that and maybe if I have a Watcher that won't happen and I'll be safer or at least feel safer and..." Dawn ran out of breath. She took a few deep breaths. "Besides, I think Andrew understands what it like to be me, more than any of you do."
"That doesn't matter, Dawn. Even if I let him, the Council wouldn't accept him as a Watcher. He was evil." Buffy turned to Xander. "Tell her."
Xander looked uncomfortable. Buffy's jaw dropped. Andrew was stunned.
"You have got to be kidding," Buffy exclaimed. "Andrew spent a year working against us. He was evil, well not exactly the big bad, but definetely on the dark side. He was part of the group that killed Tara and shot me, and they want him to be a Watcher. Just how crazy is this?"
Xander shrugged as if in apology. "Not my first choice, but the Council thinks his demon knowledge might be useful." Xander scowled. "The First really knocked them for a loop, and their still trying to come up with the damage. Andrew may have worked on the dark side for a while, but as evils go, he was hardly more than a pimple, except to us. Not that that mattered."
"They were going to make him a Watcher without talking to us? Even if I did by the redempted thing, which I don't, he hasn't had near the training."
"Which is why, under normal circumstances, Andrew wouldn't have been more than a Researcher. But these aren't normal times and we helped see to that. So they're gonna assign a Slayer to him and put him somewhere quiet."
"No," yelped Buffy. "He needs to be somewhere he can be supervised. We can't..."
"We don't get a choice," snapped Xander. "What are you going to do Buffy? Slay him?" The atmoshere tensed, and everyone stared at each other. Finally Buffy sighed and slumped.
"It's not right."
"No it's not," agreed Xander, "but we gotta deal. So, Andrew," Xander shifted his focus. "You wanna be a Watcher?"
"A Watcher, that would be keen," Andrew paused. "That is if you think I can be cause I'm not real sure."
"Wonderful," muttered the Slayer. "He doesn't think he's ready."
"We'll," Xander glanced at Buffy. "I'll help all I can, it's not going to be easy, but you can do it."
Buffy couldn't take any more. "He can be Dawn's Watcher, if they insist on making him one." She started to the door. "At least he'll be here where I can keep an eye on him."
