Disclaimer - You know the drill
Time Bomb by Seven Sins
Chapter 3 - Punishment
Posted: 8.16.04
Dawn opened her eyes to find herself back in her room in Sunnydale. She sighed, "Okay, no messing up this time," she told herself.
She slipped out of her bed just as she heard footsteps in the hallway. Tentatively, she reached for her doorknob and pulled the door open. Willow was just closing Buffy's bedroom door.
"Is she back yet?" Dawn asked as Willow turned around.
"Uh..." Willow started nervously, "Not yet. I'm sure she'll be home soon. Everything's fine, just go back to bed."
"It's ten o'clock," Dawn said.
"Oh. Uh..." Willow trailed off.
"You don't think she's going to hurt Spike, do you?" Dawn asked.
Willow frowned, "She told you about Spike?"
Dawn raised an eyebrow, "It was kind of obvious," she paused, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner..." she trailed off, talking to herself more now than Willow.
"Yeah, I totally knew," Willow lied.
Dawn was silent, so Willow continued.
"It's gonna be all right. It's just ... complicated. You know, when, when people have such strong feelings for each other, sometimes-,"
"Is she back yet?" Tara's voice called.
Tara stepped out of the bedroom, wrapped in a sheet. Dawn saw her, and her face lit up. "Tara!?" she asked.
Tara looked embarrassed, "Oh..hey," she said.
Dawn would have given her a hug, but felt it would only make the situation a bit more awkward. They stood there silently for a moment.
"Well, that's my cue to go put some clothes on," Tara said, turning back into the bedroom.
"No!" Dawn said, "No no no! I'm totally not here! You guys, you do whatever you want. Um...I'll go watch TV," she giggled, "Downstairs, really loud! In the basement. Where I can't hear anything," she started to rush down the stairs, and then turned around, giggling like mad, "I love you guys!" she said.
Willow and Tara smiled as she disappeared.
-----
Dawn and Buffy were downstairs sitting on the sofa when Tara and Willow finally decided to leave their room.
"Okay, we're here," Willow said, "Ready for action! Uh, bad guy fighting action," she giggled.
Buffy and Dawn looked up at them.
"Guys, you didn't have to...You know, if you still wanna be alone-," Buffy said.
"No," Willow said, "No, we're good."
"We're better than good," Tara added.
Dawn smiled, but inside she was dying to say something.
'Keep your cool, Summers,' she said to herself, 'Remember what happened when you went crazy last time'
"Great."
"Super," Willow said softly.
Her and Tara kissed briefly, and then slowly began kissing more intensely.
Dawn giggled, causing them to pull away.
"Aww.." Buffy said, smiling.
"Okay, all right, we'll stop," Willow apologized.
"Oh, you better not!," Dawn warned, still smiling.
Tara smiled at her and then said, "So, um, nerds. How are them? They?"
Buffy sighed, "Well, I found their lair, but they obviously knew we were tracing their signal. They left in a hurry. Van was gone, but everything else was still there," she said.
"We should go back," Willow said, "Uh, Tara and I can Sherlock around-"
Buffy cut her off, "There's nothing left there now. Giant buzz saw. It was a thing," she pointed to the papers, "This was all that I could save. I, I know it's not much, but we need to go through it and see if we can find anything that might tell us what, what they're doing, where they're going..."
Willow and Tara knelt on the floor next to the coffee table. Tara reached out and picked up one of the books, but it fell apart in half on her lap.
"Um," she chuckled, "This might take awhile."
"Any way we can fast-forward it?" Buffy asked, "We really need to find Warren and the others before anyone else gets hurt."
Dawn suddenly remembered Warren. 'I have to keep them from going back upstairs,' she thought, looking over at Willow and Tara.
"Should we call Xander?" Willow asked.
Buffy grimaced, "I don't think he's really in the Scooby space. We need to give him some time."
Dawn finally spoke up, "Maybe they've heard something in the demon bars about those guys. Spike-"
"Spike," Buffy interrupted quickly, "Spike's not part of the team."
"Wh-" Dawn started, and then paused, remembering the cameras, "Oh yeah," she said quietly, "So he's not going to be around anymore?" she asked.
"I don't know, Dawn," Buffy said, "Not for awhile."
Dawn shook her head, "You don't get it, do you?" she asked suddenly.
Tara and Willow both looked up at her, surprised.
"I mean..." Dawn said, trying to cover up her outburst, "He loves you," she looked over at Buffy, "You know that, right?"
Buffy looked at her, shocked, "Dawn, what are you-"
"Just," Dawn paused, "Just think about what you would do if he was ever gone."
Buffy opened her mouth to say something back, but Dawn stopped her.
"Don't answer me. I told you, just think about it," she said, standing up and walking to the kitchen.
Tara, Willow, and Buffy stared after her, "What?..." Buffy started.
Both witches shrugged, looking as baffled as the slayer.
-
Later that night, Dawn stood it front of the door to Spike's crypt.
"Okay," she said to herself, "No outbursts, no hugs. Stay calm," she slowly pushed the door open.
Spike was standing with his back to her, mixing some kind of blood 'n' beer drink.
"Does it help?" Dawn asked.
Spike looked over his shoulder at her, "Doesn't hurt," he said, taking a sip.
Dawn stood there quietly, trying to control her urge to babble out some strange combination of 'I'Miss-You's and 'Buffy-Really-Does-Love-You's.
"Not planning a camp-out, are we?" Spike asked, looking at her backpack.
Dawn shrugged, "Actually, that's kind of what I had in mind," she admitted.
Spike raised an eyebrow.
"It's just..." she continued, "I figured Willow and Tara might want some time to, uh..."
Spike smiled slightly, "Oh, so the birds are flying again, eh?" he asked, looking down into the glass, "Ain't love grand," he added bitterly.
He turned and sat down in his armchair, avoiding Dawn's gaze.
Dawn sighed, "Everyone's kind of mad at you," she said.
"Yeah," Spike said, taking another sip of his drink, "Kind of picked up on that."
There was silence.
Spike shook his head, "It's complicated, Nibblet."
Dawn sighed and stepped into the room, dropping her bag along the way, "Everyone keeps saying that," she said, sounding exasperated.
"Must be true then," Spike took another drink.
"Yeah well," Dawn plopped down on the floor, "You guys make it that way."
Spike chuckled, and they returned to silence.
"Was it worth it?" Dawn asked, "What you did with Anya."
Spike looked at her, surprised, "Buffy told you?"
Dawn shrugged, "Kind of caught the show," she admitted, "There was a camera somewhere in the Magic Box. Warren and Jonathan and that other guy have been watching Buffy."
"Wankers," Spike muttered angrily.
Dawn looked around the crypt, then back at Spike, "I know you love her."
Spike almost laughed, "Oh, no. It was just a ... It was a bad day. For both of us. And we just had a few drinks and, things just-"
"No, not Anya," Dawn said, "Buffy."
Spike just looked down into his glass.
"Why'd you do that to her, then?" she continued.
Spike shook his head, "Oh, right , 'cause Big Sis was treating me so well up until that point. Must still be a bit of the evil left in me after all."
Dawn sighed, "I don't know everything that happened between you two. But what you did last night, if you wanted to hurt Buffy, congratulations, it worked."
Dawn had the urge to leave, but forced herself to stay. If she wanted to change things, she'd have to put up with going through all these emotions again.
Spike stared down into the glass. "What are you here for, anyway?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
Dawn shrugged, "Everyone's worried about Buffy," she said, standing and walking around the crypt, "But no one's worried about you."
Spike shook his head, "'Course they're not. I'm the evil dead with no soul, remember?" he took another sip.
Dawn turned around to look at him, "So get one," she said.
Spike looked at her like she was crazy, "What? A soul?" he asked, "Not that easy, bit."
Dawn shrugged, "I'm just saying," she started, "Maybe, if you got a soul, things would change between you and Buffy. Things could...I don't know...work out, maybe?"
She walked back over to her bag. Spike stared at her, surprised.
"What are you trying to say?"
Dawn flung her bag over her shoulder and took a few steps to the door, "I'm not trying to say anything. I'm telling you. There's still a chance. Think about it," she walked over to the door and pulled it open.
"Where are you going?' Spike asked as she stepped outside.
"I don't know," Dawn shrugged, "I'm thinking I actually might go over to Janice's. I haven't seen her in a while," she said, shutting the door.
Spike stared after her, his mind reeling with a mixture of shock, confusion, and ideas.
-----
Dawn had caught Janice by surprise that night. Lucky for her, her parents didn't seem to mind. So she spent the night, and thankfully it wasn't too bad. She had steered clear of mentioning any of the unhappy situations at home, and at one point of the night, she found herself forgetting that she had done all of this before. For a brief moment, she was back in Sunnydale with one of her best friends. For a brief moment, everything was a little less complicated than it had been before. And afterwards, Dawn found herself wishing that she had Willow's book with her so she could go back and attempt to relive that moment again.
-----
"I'm home!" Dawn said, throwing the front door open and stepping inside.
She looked around for a moment, wondering where everyone was.
That's when she spotted it. Spike's jacket. It was sitting on the railing.
"Oh no," she whispered, dropping her bag and racing up the stairs, "Shit. Spike, please don't do anything stupid yet," she kept muttering to herself.
She was up the stairs and outside the bathroom door faster than even she thought she could get there. She reached for the handle, and then stopped, listening to the conversation going on inside.
"You should have let him kill me," Spike was saying.
"I couldn't do that," Buffy said softly.
"Why?" Spike asked.
"You know why."
"Because you love me."
She heard Buffy sigh, "No, I don't."
"Why do you keep lying to yourself?" Spike asked.
Dawn looked through the crack in the door, watching as Buffy whirled around and glared at Spike, "How many times do I have to tell you-" she paused, composing herself, "I have feelings for you. I do. But it's not love. I could never trust you enough for it to be love."
Spike chuckled, "Trust is for old marrieds, Buffy."
Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Great love is wild," he continued, "and passionate and dangerous. It burns and consumes."
"Until there's nothing left! Love like that doesn't last," Buffy shot.
Dawn's eyes followed Spike as he began pacing, "I know you feel like I do. You don't have to hide it anymore."
Buffy sighed, "Spike, please stop this," she was almost begging.
Spike paused, "Let yourself feel it," he whispered, so quietly that Dawn was surprised that she heard it.
He moved forward then, reaching for Buffy. Dawn wasted no more time to throw the door open and interrupt them.
Spike whirled around and Buffy looked over at her in surprise.
"Hey," she started, once again completely unsure of how she was going to handle this, "I...uh...you guys. I thought you were fighting...or something," she said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"No," Buffy said, "Spike was just leaving," she glared at Spike.
He looked up at her helplessly one last time and then turned around, walking out of the bathroom past Dawn.
"Bye," Dawn said quietly as he walked past.
Spike nodded to her and continued down the stairs, grabbing his jacket along the way.
Once he was out the door, Dawn turned back around to Buffy.
She glared at her, "You're a bitch, you know that?" she asked, walking out of the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.
Buffy stared at the door in shock, her mouth agape. 'What the hell has been wrong with her lately?' she wondered.
-----
Dawn had been sitting in the living room fuming when Xander burst through the door. He glanced around, spotting Dawn on the couch.
"Hey Dawnie, where's Buffy?" he asked.
"Upstairs," Dawn answered, "Rewarding herself with a nice, warm bath."
Xander raised an eyebrow, "Rewarding herself? For what?"
Dawn shrugged, "For ripping out yet another guys heart and beating it with a sledge hammer."
Buffy rolled her eyes as she walked down the stairs, "Ignore her," she said to Xander, "she's been sticking up for Spike lately. I'm beginning to think he brainwashed her."
Dawn glared at her, "Whatever, Buffy," she muttered, turning back around and flipping on the television.
------
Dawn woke up the next morning, still on the couch where she had been watching television. It had gotten boring quickly, seeing as she'd already seen anything worth watching.
She sat up and looked around, listening for any sign of life. She heard giggling upstairs, which was undoubtedly Willow and Tara. But where was Buffy? The clock read eleven-thirty.
'Buffy should be here,' Dawn thought.
Then, as if someone had heard her worries, the door opened, and Buffy and Xander stepped in.
"But why Africa?" Buffy was asking.
"Why do you care?" Xander asked back.
Buffy shrugged, "I don't know. It's just...what Dawn said, it kind of guilt tripped me. I don't know why but..." she stopped when she saw Dawn sitting on the couch, watching them.
"Dawn!" Buffy said, "You're just waking up?"
"Yep," Dawn said, standing and stretching her arms above her head, "Where were you guys?"
Buffy hesitated, "I was..." she sighed, "I went looking for Spike," she admitted, "And I ran into Xander on the way back here."
Dawn nodded, "You didn't find him?"she asked.
Buffy shook her head, "No. Clem was there. He said all Spike told him was that he'd be leaving for Africa. He didn't say why," she walked into the kitchen, Dawn and Xander close behind.
"And I for one still don't understand why she cares," Xander added.
Dawn and Buffy both rolled their eyes. Buffy reached out to open the kitchen door into the backyard, when Dawn froze.
"Don't!" she yelled.
Her outburst made both Xander and Buffy jump, "Why?" Buffy asked.
Dawn paused, "Um...it just...don't you think Willow and Tara would want to come out with us, too?" she asked.
"Dawnie, I think they still want to be alone," Buffy answered.
"Well we should check," Dawn insisted, and before anyone could stop her, she spun around and ran for the stairs, "Willow! Tara!" she called.
"Yeah?" Willow's voice called back as she appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Um...we're going to sit out back and...sit," Dawn said slowly, "You guys want to come."
Willow smiled as Tara appeared next to her, "Sure," she said, "We we're planning on coming downstairs in a few minutes anyway."
Dawn smiled back as they descended the stairs, hand in hand. Then she turned and headed back into the kitchen where Xander and Buffy were whispering. When Buffy saw her walk in, they both stopped and stared at her. She smiled sardonically at them.
"Well, let's go!" she said, pushing past Buffy and opening the door.
Once they were all outside and sitting, things got quiet. Like no one had any idea what to talk about.
"How did we get here?" Xander asked finally.
"Scenic route. Long drive," Buffy answered.
"The past few weeks..." Xander continued.
"Have been rough for everyone," Dawn finished.
Everyone turned to look at her where she sat Indian-style on the ground.
"She's right," Tara said quietly, "Things have been rough lately and..."
She stopped suddenly, "Oh my God, Buffy!" she pointed over Buffy's shoulder where Warren stood.
"You think you can just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?" Warren asked, laughing like a mad man, "Think again!"
He started shooting wildly, the bullets flying through the air at random targets as he ran away. Dawn rolled away on the ground, and looked up just in time to see one shoot through Willow's bedroom window.
'The one that killed Tara,' she thought.
She rolled back around, just as Tara and Xander were also picking themselves up off the ground.
"Oh no," Xander said.
Dawn was frozen, "No," she whispered to herself, "No, not like this...this isn't how..."
"Willow?" Tara asked quietly," rolling Willow's still form over in the ground, "Oh God," Tara cried, when she saw the bullet hole through Willow's chest, "Oh God," she said again, her body beginning to rack with sobs, "Willow!"
"Buffy?" Xander's hand came up to cover his mouth and he looked down at Buffy, who was lying in the grass, still. She blinked slowly, "Oh God, Buffy...Willow, oh God," he fell down onto the ground on his knees, tears steaming down his face.
Dawn's own eyes were filling with tears, "Buffy," she whispered, "Buffy's still alive!"
She stood up and began to rush toward her sister, when she felt the familiar pain seer through her head and she fell back down onto the ground, screaming.
The doctor came out into the waiting room where Xander, Tara and Dawn sat.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "We've lost both of them. We tried everything we could for Miss Summer's, but she died on the operating table..."
And then
Spike stood outside, knocking on the door to the Summer's home. His hair was unbleached and there were still fresh tear trails on his face.
Giles opened the door, his own face grim.
"Is Buffy here," Spike asked quietly, "Is she here? I need...I need to talk to her."
The sound faded out as Giles began to explain to Spike what had happened. The last thing Dawn remembered of the vision was Spike falling to the porch floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
And then
Tara, hugging Dawn goodbye, "I wish I could stay Dawn," she said, "But God, it's just too painful..."
Dawn opened her eyes to find herself sitting in Buffy's old room. She heard sobs. She knew those sobs.
"Spike?" she asked, looking over where he was huddled in the corner, clutching one of Buffy's shirts, his tears falling onto it.
"It's my fault," he murmured, "My fault. William's being punished. I'm being punished. I was a bad man. This is my punishment," he cried, then breaking down again, unable to say more.
"Spike," Dawn felt her heart break, "Spike no, it's not your fault," she said, she could feel the warmth of tears behind her own eyes.
"Yes it is, all my fault..." he continued.
Dawn opened her mouth to say more, but she heard someone walk in behind her.
"Xander?" she asked.
Xander looked horrible. The way Joyce had in the apartment in LA. Empty.
"Spike," he yelled, "Why are you in here again?!" he stepped forward and reached down, ripping the shirt away from him, "Get out! You shouldn't even be here! I don't know why Giles let's you stay here!" he yelled.
"Xander!" Dawn yelled in disbelief, "Don't!"
"Why?" Xander asked, turning around to look at her, "Because he has a soul now? Because he can 'feel' now?" he turned back to Spike, "Like that changes anything."
Dawn shook her head, and raced from the room. She threw the door open the Willow's old room, and ran over to her bookshelf, "The book...the book. Where is it!?" she yelled. She stepped away from the piece of furniture, her eyes filled with rage.
"Where is it!?" she yelled again, so angry, that she didn't even notice that she had picked up the lamp and threw it across the room until it hit the wall and the lightbulb shattered.
She looked down at where the shade had landed on the floor. On top of the exact book she'd been looked for, "Oh." she said, feeling a bit stupid.
She ran over to it, and bent down, flipping to the page almost automatically.
"Dawn?" she heard Giles call up the stairs, "Are you all right? What was that crash?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine in just a second," Dawn said, taking a breath to say the spell that would reverse everything she'd attempted to make better.
She was getting so used the feeling, that she didn't even scream or grab her head when the world spun and went black again.
-----
She opened her eyes and was, once again, back in the kitchen in Rome.
Her eyes were still filled with anger, and it took everything in her not to throw something again.
"This isn't working," she admitted to herself outloud, staring down at the book in disgust.
She sighed and was just about to give up, when she spotted Spike's lighter again. She reached out and picked it up, twirling it between her fingers.
'One more try,' a voice in her head said, 'If it doesn't work, I'll stop."
She flicked the lighter on and leaned over the spell book.
"May 20th, 2003."
A/N - Sorry for the lack of updates!! I meant to get something up before I left for vacation, but then got side-tracked. Oops...Anyway, I doubt I'll get anything up before this big upgrade on the 17th and 18th. Sorry! But I have school-supply shopping and what-not to get done before I have to go back on the 25th! I'll try to keep school from making my updates slower, but I'm not promising anything. Fanfiction comes first in my eyes, but unfortunately, not in the eyes of my parents...Ah well, R&R! Also - If paragraphs are messed up or anything, I apologize. stopped supporting indents, and I wrote part of thsi chapter before I knew that!
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