Ch. 9

Dawn grumbled as she crawled out of bed. At Sunnydale, school didn't start until nine, so she'd always been able to stay up late. She'd been helping Buffy last night, walking the local streets for any sign of vampires. There'd been two, one of which escaped.

This school, however, was different. The day started at twenty of eight, and it took a good fifteen or twenty minutes to get there. So, Dawn would be leaving the house at ten after seven. Xander would drive, but at least he had the luxury of coming back and crashing. Dawn would have to make a good impression on her teachers, meaning staying awake.

She walked down the stairs to find Buffy and Willow talking. She continued into the kitchen where Uncle Jimmy was standing over the stove, making breakfast. "Hey, Dawnie," he said, noticing her. "I'm making pancakes."

"Rounds are fine," she said, not realizing that he hadn't asked like Tara always would, even though she knew Dawn liked rounds.

"Huh?"

"I said rounds are- oh.... Never mind."

Willow had appeared in the doorway during this conversation. Tears were in her eyes as she walked over to the stove and stared at the pancakes.

Kennedy snuck up behind Willow and put her hands over Willow's eyes. "Guess who!" She pulled her hands away, feeling the wetness. "What's wrong, Sweetie?"

Willow snapped out of her trance. "Huh? Oh, nothing." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "No, I- I got smoke in my eyes- you know, from the pancakes."

"Okay," Kennedy said, smiling. She pulled Willow into her and the two kissed.

"Is Xander up?" Dawn asked.

Willow and Kennedy both snapped their heads at Dawn. Uncle Jimmy said, "He's out getting coffee. He'll be back soon."

Willow and Kennedy relaxed a bit, but not much. It was obvious how fresh the memory of finding Xander and Dawn in bed was. Dawn ignored their judgmental stares as she heard a car honking. "That's Xander. I'll take one with me." She grabbed a dry pancake and threw a paper towel around it. She dashed out the door.

Dawn climbed into the car as Willow rushed out the door. Dawn was about to close the door when Willow grabbed it. "Do I need to come with you?"

"Don't worry, Wil," Xander said. "I won't let anything happen."

She closed the door and watched worriedly as they pulled away.

They were stopped at a stop light when Dawn leaned over and tried to kiss Xander.

He pulled away. "Dawn.... I think the other night was a mistake."

"I think you're right," she said. "From now on we'll have to be much more careful not to get caught."

"No, Dawn. I don't mean-"

He was silenced as she pressed her mouth to his and climbed onto his lap. "Nnn.... Dnnn...Hffft.... Drff."

"Huh?" she said, pulling away.

"I have to drive. It's a green light."

"Okay, pull into that gas station."

Xander had every intent of ignoring her, but it was hard to do when, halfway down the road, she reached over and unzipped his pants.

He knew he wouldn't be able to drive with all this going on, so he pulled into a driveway in a secluded, tree-surrounded area. They climbed into the backseat and had their way.

Five miles away, Willow, in her meditative state, saw the whole thing.

Three thousand miles away, a blond woman awoke in an enormous crater. "Where am I?" she asked aloud, examining her blood-soaked shirt.