Author's Note: Thanks for all of the kind reviews. And thanks to Tara for helping me stop writing and post this part now XD There will be two more chapters after this. To answer some of your questions, no, Dawn is not paired up with anyone. And Spike is in this chapter, enjoy Spike fans. Spike is not in the "normal" dimension because he has no place there. Enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 4: Decisions, Decisions

Dawn entered the Summers house a little while later. Buffy and Angel were sitting on the couch. "Dawn! Perfect. You can be the tiebreaker vote." She jumped to her feet and held up two dvds. "Heartbreakers or The Mummy Returns?"

Dawn was a little surprised at first, because she couldn't remember the last time they had rented a movie in her dimension. But she smiled. She had decided on her way home to enjoy her time here, away from all the bad stuff. "Heartbreakers, all the way," she said with a smile.

Buffy turned to Angel triumphantly. "Ha! The chick flick it is." She sat down on the couch next to her fiancé. Angel looked pained.

"If I didn't love you so damn much..." he kissed her gently.

Dawn smiled as she watched the couple kissing. She wished that her sister could have this kind of happiness back home.

They broke apart, and Buffy turned to face Dawn. "Come sit down. Unless you have homework."

Dawn smiled and lied. "I did it at Janice's house." It wasn't like she knew how to do this honors stuff anyway. And besides, she had vowed to herself that she was going to enjoy her time in this dimension. She sat down on the couch while Buffy started the movie. As the opening credits began to roll, Dawn looked at Buffy and Angel smiling and happy in each other's arms. This is the way things should be. She settled down to watch the movie.

Vampire Dimension

"Well that's just not good enough Wesley!" Buffy yelled. They had been researching for over 30 hours now and they still had next to nothing. Wesley had explained to them about the hot spots, but even if they found another one besides the one in Dawn's room, they still didn't know how to get to the same dimension her sister had been taken to.

"Buffy," Angel said softly, touching her arm. "Wesley is trying the best he can. Just sit down." He eased her back into her seat.

Buffy rubbed her forehead and sat back down. "You're right. I'm sorry. But every minute is a minute longer that Dawn is afraid and alone." She didn't even want to think about the fact that it might actually be much longer where Dawn was.

Spike frowned. He had come immediately when he had heard of what had happened to Dawn. He came to help, but all he was doing was feeling nauseous looking at the slayer and her giant poof. "We're gonna get the little bit back, slayer," he said frowning at Angel.

Completely ignoring him, Buffy began to talk to the others gathered around the table in the Magic Box. "Is there any way we can just reopen the last portal that was opened in Dawn's room?"

Wesley shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Once a portal is opened, the energy at the hot spot is depleted. It could be days before it builds up again, and even then we would need the proper ritual."

Buffy stood up again. "Guess we'll just have to start opening random portals until I find her."

Angel stood up quickly. "No. That's much too dangerous, and besides there are too many dimensions."

She looked at him defiantly. "I don't care. I will go through every dimension and then some if that's what it takes to find my sister." She turned to Willow. "You said you can open a portal, right?"

Willow looked at her sadly. "Well, sure. But I can't pinpoint a location."

Buffy took a breath. "Xander, find anything on the necklace yet?"

There had been quite a scene when Buffy and Angel had returned from her house. When they had showed everyone the necklace, Anya had totally freaked. "That juvenile delinquent robbed my store! She took valuable merchandise without exchanging it for cash first!" she had said angrily. It had taken Tara, Xander, and Giles to calm her down, and Buffy hadn't even mentioned the other stolen stuff yet.

"Not yet," Xander said. Just then Giles held up his hand.

"Buffy, I think I found something." He passed her the book he was looking at.

Buffy looked at the book and saw a picture of the talisman they had found in Dawn's room. "The Talisman of Draynek takes a wish made by the wearer and transports them to a dimension created to match the specifics of their wish." Buffy paused a moment.

"That's g-good. W-what do you think she would w-wish for?" Tara said. She thought she had overcome her stuttering problem, but with the addition of the two LA visitors, not to mention the sexual tension between Buffy and Angel that you could cut with a knife, she was feeling a little vulnerable.

Everyone paused and looked at each other.

"Could I just wish to find my sister?" Buffy asked Giles.

Giles slowly removed his glasses. "I wouldn't think so. It says it creates a dimension based on the wearer's desires, and since Dawn is already in a dimension, you cannot ask for her to be in two places at the same time. The best you could hope for is an imitation," he said.

"Well, I think it's worth a try," Buffy said, reaching for the necklace.

Angel quickly snatched it out of her grasp. "No way. We don't know enough about this necklace for me to allow you to just put it on and start wishing," he said, trying to control his frustration.

Buffy reached for the necklace, but he held it out of her grasp. "Allow me? Who died and made you the boss of me?"

"You tell him slayer," Spike encouraged/ Angel and Buffy ignored him again.

Angel glared at her. "You did." There was complete silence in the room. "I am not about to lose you again."

Buffy looked at him pleadingly. "I just want to get my sister back."

Angel's heart was breaking for his love. "I know." He gently pulled her into a hug. Buffy used the opportunity to rip the necklace from his grasp and run towards the door.

"Buffy! No!" he yelled, running after her.

"Normal" Dimension

Dawn walked to her locker at the end of the school day with a smile on her face. Today had been a lot better than yesterday. She had actually completed most of the homework last night after the movie, and today she actually understood most of what the teachers were saying. It was surprising how much a normal environment can do for you.

As she gathered the books she needed for homework, she remembered that she had to meet Rob at the Magic Box. She wondered if he had found anything. She felt guilty when she realized that she hoped he didn't. She was beginning to like it here.

I'll just drop by for a few minutes, see if he found anything, then go home and figure things out from there. She picked up her bookbag and headed out the door. She had told Buffy she was going to Janice's again. She felt bad lying, which surprised her since it came so naturally in her home dimension. But some things just had to be done.

Later Dawn walked into the magic shop. She was surprised to see a customer, an old woman. Rob was showing her his selection of scented candles. As the bell above the door rang, he looked up and saw Dawn. He excused himself from the customer and hurried over to Dawn. "Thank God you're here, you won't believe what I found!" He herded her behind the desk and pulled out a spell book and a notebook with notations scribbled all over it. He looked at her excitedly. "I may have found a way for you to get home."

Dawn felt her heart sinking. "Really?"

Rob nodded excitedly. "I found a ritual that can be used to reverse the dimensional energy most recently present in a space. This means that by performing this ritual, you can reopen the portal that brought you here and return home."

Dawn looked at the spell book. "That looks too complicated. Guess we have to keep looking," she said, faking disappointment.

Rob looked at her quizzically. "It's really quite basic. I have all the ingredients here. All you have to do is set up the sacred circle at the place where the portal was opened, and read this incantation." He handed her a bag. "Inside is everything you need. And here is the incantation." He handed her a piece of paper with what looked like Latin written on it. "I can help with the pronunciations if you want."

Dawn shook her head. "Wow. How can I ever thank you."

Rob smiled crookedly. "It was my pleasure. I never thought I would actually meet someone from another dimension," he said. He had said it a little loudly, causing the old lady to stare at them and then leave without buying anything.

Dawn smiled. "I think you just scared your customer away."

Rob shrugged. "It's alright. So do you need any help performing the ritual? Because I could...you know..."

Dawn looked at Rob firmly. "You're not coming. You belong here. And besides it's a much better place here anyway."

Rob slumped a little, trying to hide his disappointment. "Well it was worth a shot."

Dawn began digging in her bookbag. "Let me just pay you for this stuff, then I'll be on my way."

"No, please I don't want any money. Just meeting you was amazing." He looked her in the eye. "Good luck Dawn."

Dawn gave her new friend a quick hug. "Thank you so much Rob." She began to head for the door.

"Dawn wait!" She turned around.

"The mystical energy only remains for 3 days after being opened. So you have until tomorrow night at the latest to get home, or else you are probably stuck here for good."

Dawn nodded. "Thanks." Then she walked out the door.

Once outside, Dawn slumped against the wall. She had a way home. Now she just had to decide whether to use it or not. And time was running out.