A/N" Thanks for the reviews, I could get used to those. And big thanks to
Catlimere for a beta.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual. Joss owns most and Jake owns himself.
CHP 10 not wrecked.
Buffy sat up with a start and I blinked as light penetrated my tired eyes. She reflexively grabbed my jacket around her and I looked around to see a pile of rubble, a hole in the ceiling above me, and both of us naked. She stood up and looked around alarmed before she turned back to me.
"When did the building fall down?"
"I don't know. Must have been sometime between the first time and... I don't know." I found myself not wanting to talk about what had just happened. She looked around through the rubble for her clothes and put them on one piece at a time. We were quiet as we looked at each other. She moved past me to get her other boot and I grabbed her hand, pulling her back down to me.
"What's your hurry?" I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She tolerated it for a second, and I thought she enjoyed my lips on her neck. She pulled away and her face was serious.
"The hurry is that I left Dawn alone all night."
"Wait a sec, babe, she's a big girl. I'm sure she'll be fine for one night." She seemed distracted by my hands on her body and my lips on hers before she pulled back again.
"We have to go; I can't leave her alone like that." She got up and found the rest of her clothes as I reluctantly got dressed. It wasn't until I pulled the shirt over my head that I realized my face had been cut. I tried to feel the extent of the damage with my fingers, but I couldn't tell how bad it was. It couldn't have been too bad, because it wasn't bleeding too badly until I started messing with it. I put my jacket on from where she'd left in after she realized she was safe. She caught me playing with my cut and grinned at me, as I realized her own face was bruising from where she'd fought with Spike. I grinned ruefully as I shook my head and surveyed the scene once more before we walked out into the light. We walked the short distance back to the Magic Box and my car, where I pulled out my first aid kit and cleaned up the cut on her hand from when she'd hit the pillar. Then I started cleaning up my face with the mirror, but she caught my hand and carefully wiped away the dirt and crusted blood. Her eyes were thoughtful as her amazingly strong hands became soft and gentle. I winced once as she probed the part of the cut on my cheek, it cut a little deeply into the soft tissue of my face, but wasn't serious enough to warrant stitches. I think she noticed the glimmer in my eye and asked me what I was thinking.
"I was just picturing what would happen when someone asked me to tell the story behind the scar I'm about to have." Her answering smile was well worth the pain she was trying not to cause me. Shortly my wound was cleaned and I started up the car to drive us back to her house. We pulled up and she turned to me before I opened the car door.
"Do you think we could just... I mean. Could we not... talk about what happened last night?" I held back a sigh. I could wait until she was ready to tell her friends. I nodded and at her relieved look opened my door and led the way to open the front door for her. She led the way into the kitchen where we passed Tara. I nodded at her politely, but she seemed not to notice me as she walked right by. In the kitchen we found Willow, Amy and Dawn, with the last still in the same clothes from yesterday. Judging by how tired the other two looked, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd stayed out all night themselves. I stayed standing in the hallway behind her as she walked all the way in.
"Buffy, where were you? Are you okay?" Worry permeated Dawn's voice.
"I'm fine." Buffy was quiet and reserved in her response. Dawn wasn't letting it go that easily.
"You're not; you're all sore and limpy."
"I'm not sore." I walked in to see her wince as she sat down. "I just had a fight; all nighter kind." I drew looks from the others in the room and I met each gaze in turn, looking at Dawn last.
"What about you, are you okay?" I fingered the butterfly bandages on my face, but nodded and quietly answered her.
"I'm fine. It was quite a... fight." I didn't look at Buffy as my hand found her shoulder to let her know I had her back.
"I figured. I knew that's why you didn't call. So what's the big bad?" Buffy threw out a general reassurance and then she changed the subject as quickly as possible.
"So Tara was here?" Willow answered her, but I only caught part of what she said. I was paying attention to the burning smell but Buffy was listening and responded.
"You guess? Where were you?"
"We went out, kinda' lost track of time." I was trying to track down the smell by opening the back door and looking outside. I finally looked over at the stove as dawn mentioned her pancakes were burning. Willow took the steps to shut it off and turn on the exhaust vent.
"Tara was making them."
"I've... I've gotta get some sleep" Willow seemed very drained.
"Me too." Buffy chimed in, standing up. My eyes were on her carefully moving her body fully upright, as Amy announced she should go home to see her dad. A quick glance at the calendar on the wall told me today was a school holiday. Okay, so I wouldn't have to get Dawn off to school. Buffy was checking to see if Dawn was really alright again before she turned and headed upstairs. Willow turned toward me and asked if I was okay too? I nodded and she turned and followed in the same direction as Buffy. Dawn turned and looked at me as I found a glass for juice before she began asking me questions.
"So what's up with you and my sister?"
"I'm not sure." I wanted to keep to the truth as much as I could.
"You sure have been spending a lot of time with her lately." I only got here two days ago.
"She is an amazing person. She deserves as much support as I can give her."
"She needs support? She's the Slayer; saver of the world and stuff." Huh, looks like Buffy was right about that too.
"Everyone needs support sometimes, Dawn. Nobody can do everything by themselves." I sipped my juice for a second while she posed her next question.
"So you guys were in a pretty big fight last night, huh?" I nodded and she came closer to me. "Is that cut deep?" She reached out a hand, as if she wanted to touch it, but I stopped her.
"Not too deep, but it's enough to hurt. Buffy cleaned it up for me, and it'll be okay." She pulled back, but still looked curious. I glanced at my watch and realized I was awake for the day at 9 o'clock so, finishing my juice and moving to the pan and the bowl of batter by the stove, I asked Dawn what she wanted to do today.
"Really? You're staying awake?" I dumped out the burnt pancake and cleaned the pan a little before spraying it down lightly and starting on some serious cooking; serious for me that is. I was admiring the batter as I talked with Dawn over my shoulder.
"It's too late for me to go back to sleep. I do need a shower before we head out, but wherever you want to go is okay with me."
"Really? Wherever I want to go?" That actually sounded kind of scary, when she said it. I had a lot to learn. I'd opened my mouth and now it was time to put my money where my mouth was. Literally, I was to discover, as she wanted to go to the mall. I flipped both the browning pancakes at the same time with a flick of the pan, as Dawn was telling me that she would need a shower herself before we could go.
"We've got plenty of time, all day in fact."
"That's cool." I set out those two on a plate for her and poured two for myself into the pan before going to the fridge to pull out syrups for her and asking if she wanted butter or jam or something. She told me she didn't as she moved past me to get her glass of juice from the counter. I poured myself a glass of water this time before going back to the pan and flipping my pancakes. I turned and leaned back against the counter to watch her eat.
"You're sixteen, right?" I knew she was fifteen, but I wanted to make conversation and playing up to her would induce more topics than silence. It worked; she smiled as she shook her head and swallowed her bite.
"Not yet, but almost."
"Cool. I think I had some of the best fun in my life when I was your age." She smiled again. I got a plate for my pancakes and turned off the stove to sit down and eat. We were quiet until she finished up and headed up to shower and change. I finished up quickly before I cleaned up the kitchen, leaving a note on the fridge for Buffy in case I forgot to tell her, and then went outside to grab my bag from the car. I came back inside just in time to hear Dawn get out of the bathroom and close the door to her bedroom. I headed upstairs to peak in on Buffy sleeping in her bed before ducking into the bathroom myself. I carefully peeled the butterfly bandages off of my face, I'd replace them afterwards, before stripping off my dirty clothes and carefully washing the blood dust and sweat off my body. I grabbed clean clothes out of my bag and shaved down the two days worth of stubble on my chin.
I put all my dirty clothes together on the top of my bag and headed down to the basement where I started a load of my wash and then headed back up to the living room to grab the sheets from the couch to add to the mix. I went back upstairs then to the living room where Dawn was waiting for me and I nodded that I was ready as I grabbed my bag from beside the sofa and we headed out to my car. She admired my blue beauty as I started her up and Dawn's eyes lit up at the throaty purr of the mighty engine. We took off and I only had to ask for directions twice before we found the mall she liked. I had counted on spending most of the day and quite a bit of money there shopping with a teenager, but I was at a loss to describe the next four hours, not counting lunch. We didn't go into every store, of course, but we did find quite a few things that she liked and one or two that I could buy for her that wouldn't make me seem like I was trying to buy her favor with gifts. Then over a lunch of hamburgers and ice cream I made a request of her that I hoped I wouldn't regret.
"Dawn, I have a bit of a favor to ask."
"Oh yeah? What's up?"
"Well, I don't really move around too much with the intent to stay in one place for too long, and I don't really have the clothes to impress, well, girls. I guess what I'm asking is –"She cut me off
"You want me to pick out a few outfits for you so you can impress my sister?"
"Well, I... I mean, not outfits really, just a few shirts and maybe a new pair of pants or two."
"And some shoes?" I looked down at my Doc Marten steel toe half boots.
"What's wrong with my shoes? I like these shoes."
"Fine, no shoes. But yes I accept. Lets go." She swallowed her ice cream so quickly I was surprised she didn't get brain freeze before she grabbed my arm and dragged me off to a posh men's store. She convinced me to try a few different colors and some definitely nicer styles than I was used to. I trusted her fashion sense, but I had two factors I wanted her to consider. Firstly, I had to be able to move in these clothes, and second I did not want to suddenly look like the cover of GQ. She pouted at the last stipulation, but then moved us on to other stores that seemed to feel more like me than the others had. Almost three hours later and I had a much enlarged wardrobe. We stored my six bags and Dawn's three in the trunk and then went on back to the house with Dawn chatting with me about things going on in her school, including who thought who was cute.
We pulled up to her house as it was getting dark. I walked in with her to check for notes on the fridge. Willow was gone, but my clothes were now in the dryer and I said a silent thank you for that as I stuffed them into my backpack. I'd kept my other bags in the back of my car, and this would join them. I called the magic box to find Buffy and the Scoobies minus Willow there researching away. I was going to wait there with Dawn until they got back, but Willow came in and, while she seemed a little woozy, she said she was okay with Dawn. Myself being the newcomer to this group of friends, made me inclined to agree with her. I got into my car and headed over to the Magic Box just in time to see them coming out the front door.
I offered a ride to Xander and Anya, but he indicated his car and waved to Buffy as she climbed in. She closed her door and leaned over to kiss my cheek as I asked how her day was. She was fine and her day was slow, but she was more interested in my day with Dawn. I told her some of the gossip from her school to give her an idea, and she nodded as though she understood. We went directly back to her house from the Magic Box, and I held the door open for her after she unlocked it. I heard some strange sounds from upstairs as Buffy checked the fridge. She came back with the note from Dawn about her and Willow. I read it quickly and nodded as I pulled out my pistol. Her eyes went wide as she saw it, but I motioned her to be quiet as we made our way up the stairs.
I cleared each room we came to as quietly as we could, and then made finally made my way to willow's partially opened door. Opening the door the rest of the way, I saw no one and waved Buffy forward as I tucked my pistol away. She went in looking at the chaos of the room around her centered on a chest I assume held magical supplies. She crouched down and poked through it as I watched the door move on its own. Buffy heard its hinge creak also and turned to see me grab Amy by her shoulders and move her back into the bedroom. Amy's arms were full of herbs and such. I got out of the room as she grabbed Amy be the shoulders and shook her as she asked Amy questions. It finally came out that Willow might have Dawn downtown with this serious magic user guy, but the entrance to his place kept moving around and you had to be part of the big bad to find it. She let Amy finally go yak in the bathroom and Slayer face came on in full effect as she started past me down the stairs and I hurried to keep up.
"Do you think you can find that place she was talking about?"
"The way she said it, you have to be part of the dark-side, magic or demon or something. I might be able to find him, if I knew him. Or Willow and Dawn, but if they're inside his spell it'll mask them from me too. I think we need someone else on this." I hated to say it, and she knew exactly who I meant. I grabbed my coat on our way out and put it on as we got back in the car. She didn't say a word either then or as I drove over to the cemetery that had Spike's crypt in it. I went to get out of the car but she stopped me.
"I think it's better if I go talk to him alone." She didn't elaborate and I trusted her, I guess, as I sat in silence on the back of my car. It was times like these, when I had nothing to do with my hands, that I wished I still smoked. Instead I turned inward, centered myself and locked myself down as who I was, before putting my walls down and opening myself to the world around me. I was looking for Dawn's aura specifically because I knew her better than Willow, but it was as I suspected and they were shielded by his spell. I didn't know that much about those kinds of spells and idly found myself wishing Willow was here. Of course if Willow was here, we wouldn't be looking for Willow now, would we. I didn't hear anything of what Buffy told Spike to get him to help her, but they came walking out of the cemetery together and he got in the back seat.
I drove my way downtown and I tried to keep myself as open as possible to everyone I could at once, knowing I would pay for it later. Spike was smoking in the backseat and I almost would have asked him for one if I hadn't been purposefully distracting myself with being so open. The car was silent, with Spike making only directional comments and with even the radio off. Tension permeated the atmosphere in the car as everyone was either just uncomfortable with each other or at least worried for Dawn. Finally Spike made a comment to Buffy and then it was on. My headache grew worse exponentially the longer I kept myself open this way and I finally had to close myself down again. It was all I could do to drive, let alone try to pay attention to what those two were saying to each other. The only part I heard was Buffy telling Spike that she wanted him out of her life.
They were so caught up in their own argument that I was the first to hear?... sense? I wasn't sure how it found its way into my head, but it was unmistakably Dawn's voice. I spun the car around in a 180 that got me moving again in the right direction and momentarily stunned my passengers into silence. Buffy was the first to ask, and she did ask the right question.
"Do you sense her?"
"I think so, but she's going in and out and it's hard to track. Keep your ears open. And Buffy, I think she's in danger; I heard her crying out in fear, but not pain I think." She nodded and thankfully they didn't speak to each other again for the rest of the ride. I got another flash that told me we were close and then I saw motion near a crashed vehicle. I pointed and Buffy nodded; that was them. I pulled up and slid sideways and suddenly the Slayer was out of the car and in full butt kicking action. She went after the demon that seemed to be terrorizing Willow and Dawn. I ran to Dawn, keeping an eye on Buffy, but checking for any injuries. She was clutching her arm to her chest and there was some blood, but she seemed pretty much okay. I got her to give me her arm and it seemed tender and bruised, possibly fractured. Better safe than sorry and I would make sure she got to the hospital tonight. It wasn't long until Buffy finished up that demon and I looked over to see Spike helping Willow as Buffy came to see how Dawn was.
"We need to get her to a doctor, but she'll be okay. I'm going to get her to the car." Buffy nodded and helped her sister up as Willow started trying to talk to all of us at once.
"Dawn... oh god there's blood. Is she okay? Is she okay? No, Dawnie, I'm so sorry. I didn't see. I'm so, so sorry." In spite of Buffy telling her to back off and that she, Buffy, had it Willow moved in front of us as she ranted and blocked our way to the car as she tried to apologize to Dawn. I saw some of Buffy's temper in her sister as Dawn's eyes got hard and she slapped Willow. I retook Dawn's arm and got her moving again. Buffy followed quickly until Willow fell over sobbing that she was sorry and Buffy stopped and nodded for me to keep getting Dawn to the car. I pulled out the ever present first aid kit and cleaned up the cut on her face, just a scratch really, before carefully putting a compress on it and then I pulled out an ace bandage and a soft plastic splint board to support her arm and wrist before I immobilized it against her chest.
Buffy had gone back for willow and they came up to the car as I got Dawn settled into the front seat. Spike had walked up in front of them and he spoke softly as he told me he was going to take a walk I should take care of the girls. He left with a nod to Buffy, who nodded slightly in response. I don't know what Buffy said to Willow while I'd been caring for Dawn's injuries, but it was a much subdued red head that sat in the back seat with Buffy as I drove to the hospital to drop off Buffy and Dawn. Willow stayed sitting in the backseat quietly on the ride from the hospital to where I dropped her off at Buffy's house before I returned alone to the hospital to pick both of them back up. The ER doc had put Dawn into a gel cast support for a fractured arm and given her something for the pain. I got them into the car and left it running in front of the main entrance as I went in to speak to the lady at the desk. I asked her if she took my insurance and when she said that they did, I had her write in that information instead of Buffy's address as billing address. I also left my phone number for the insurance follow up verification number. It wouldn't keep them tied up for too long, but at the end they'd ask me to pay instead of Buffy... I hoped.
I got them home safe and helped Buffy get a groggy Dawn into bed before going back downstairs to set up the sheets for my bed on the couch and Buffy went in to talk with Willow. I had the sheets arranged and was in the kitchen when Buffy came down to find me. We were quiet for a minute before she spoke. She seemed a little reluctant to get close to me. I thought we were going to have kind of a serious conversation, but I got surprised instead.
"So, you made up the couch?"
"Yeah, is that a problem? I can stay somewhere else if you want." She responded quickly.
"No, that's not it. I just thought... I mean." I think I understood. I nodded at her and finished my glass of water before moving the sheets to the floor of her bedroom while she was in the shower. I grabbed a clean undershirt and shorts as I headed in and she came out of the bathroom. I took the time to clean the cut on my face and rub some of my herbal compound onto some of my worse bruises on my back, the ones I could reach anyway. I came out of the bathroom and quietly crossed the hall into Buffy's room, closing the door behind me, to find the sheets I'd arranged on the floor were refolded and to find Buffy in an undershirt herself, lying in bed on one side under the sheets with the other side of the sheets folded back in invitation.
"I thought we should actually try sleeping in a bed for once." I detected a sense of irony in her voice, and smiled as I shut the light off and made my way into bed. Once there I settled into the soft sheets and warm blanket. I didn't make any moves on her, tempting as it was now that we were actually in a comfortable bed. Instead I just enjoyed our close contact. Shortly she was spooned against my back and using me as a large teddy bear, but I had absolutely no problem with that and shortly found myself lulled to sleep by her soft breathing, body warmth and steady heartbeat.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual. Joss owns most and Jake owns himself.
CHP 10 not wrecked.
Buffy sat up with a start and I blinked as light penetrated my tired eyes. She reflexively grabbed my jacket around her and I looked around to see a pile of rubble, a hole in the ceiling above me, and both of us naked. She stood up and looked around alarmed before she turned back to me.
"When did the building fall down?"
"I don't know. Must have been sometime between the first time and... I don't know." I found myself not wanting to talk about what had just happened. She looked around through the rubble for her clothes and put them on one piece at a time. We were quiet as we looked at each other. She moved past me to get her other boot and I grabbed her hand, pulling her back down to me.
"What's your hurry?" I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She tolerated it for a second, and I thought she enjoyed my lips on her neck. She pulled away and her face was serious.
"The hurry is that I left Dawn alone all night."
"Wait a sec, babe, she's a big girl. I'm sure she'll be fine for one night." She seemed distracted by my hands on her body and my lips on hers before she pulled back again.
"We have to go; I can't leave her alone like that." She got up and found the rest of her clothes as I reluctantly got dressed. It wasn't until I pulled the shirt over my head that I realized my face had been cut. I tried to feel the extent of the damage with my fingers, but I couldn't tell how bad it was. It couldn't have been too bad, because it wasn't bleeding too badly until I started messing with it. I put my jacket on from where she'd left in after she realized she was safe. She caught me playing with my cut and grinned at me, as I realized her own face was bruising from where she'd fought with Spike. I grinned ruefully as I shook my head and surveyed the scene once more before we walked out into the light. We walked the short distance back to the Magic Box and my car, where I pulled out my first aid kit and cleaned up the cut on her hand from when she'd hit the pillar. Then I started cleaning up my face with the mirror, but she caught my hand and carefully wiped away the dirt and crusted blood. Her eyes were thoughtful as her amazingly strong hands became soft and gentle. I winced once as she probed the part of the cut on my cheek, it cut a little deeply into the soft tissue of my face, but wasn't serious enough to warrant stitches. I think she noticed the glimmer in my eye and asked me what I was thinking.
"I was just picturing what would happen when someone asked me to tell the story behind the scar I'm about to have." Her answering smile was well worth the pain she was trying not to cause me. Shortly my wound was cleaned and I started up the car to drive us back to her house. We pulled up and she turned to me before I opened the car door.
"Do you think we could just... I mean. Could we not... talk about what happened last night?" I held back a sigh. I could wait until she was ready to tell her friends. I nodded and at her relieved look opened my door and led the way to open the front door for her. She led the way into the kitchen where we passed Tara. I nodded at her politely, but she seemed not to notice me as she walked right by. In the kitchen we found Willow, Amy and Dawn, with the last still in the same clothes from yesterday. Judging by how tired the other two looked, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd stayed out all night themselves. I stayed standing in the hallway behind her as she walked all the way in.
"Buffy, where were you? Are you okay?" Worry permeated Dawn's voice.
"I'm fine." Buffy was quiet and reserved in her response. Dawn wasn't letting it go that easily.
"You're not; you're all sore and limpy."
"I'm not sore." I walked in to see her wince as she sat down. "I just had a fight; all nighter kind." I drew looks from the others in the room and I met each gaze in turn, looking at Dawn last.
"What about you, are you okay?" I fingered the butterfly bandages on my face, but nodded and quietly answered her.
"I'm fine. It was quite a... fight." I didn't look at Buffy as my hand found her shoulder to let her know I had her back.
"I figured. I knew that's why you didn't call. So what's the big bad?" Buffy threw out a general reassurance and then she changed the subject as quickly as possible.
"So Tara was here?" Willow answered her, but I only caught part of what she said. I was paying attention to the burning smell but Buffy was listening and responded.
"You guess? Where were you?"
"We went out, kinda' lost track of time." I was trying to track down the smell by opening the back door and looking outside. I finally looked over at the stove as dawn mentioned her pancakes were burning. Willow took the steps to shut it off and turn on the exhaust vent.
"Tara was making them."
"I've... I've gotta get some sleep" Willow seemed very drained.
"Me too." Buffy chimed in, standing up. My eyes were on her carefully moving her body fully upright, as Amy announced she should go home to see her dad. A quick glance at the calendar on the wall told me today was a school holiday. Okay, so I wouldn't have to get Dawn off to school. Buffy was checking to see if Dawn was really alright again before she turned and headed upstairs. Willow turned toward me and asked if I was okay too? I nodded and she turned and followed in the same direction as Buffy. Dawn turned and looked at me as I found a glass for juice before she began asking me questions.
"So what's up with you and my sister?"
"I'm not sure." I wanted to keep to the truth as much as I could.
"You sure have been spending a lot of time with her lately." I only got here two days ago.
"She is an amazing person. She deserves as much support as I can give her."
"She needs support? She's the Slayer; saver of the world and stuff." Huh, looks like Buffy was right about that too.
"Everyone needs support sometimes, Dawn. Nobody can do everything by themselves." I sipped my juice for a second while she posed her next question.
"So you guys were in a pretty big fight last night, huh?" I nodded and she came closer to me. "Is that cut deep?" She reached out a hand, as if she wanted to touch it, but I stopped her.
"Not too deep, but it's enough to hurt. Buffy cleaned it up for me, and it'll be okay." She pulled back, but still looked curious. I glanced at my watch and realized I was awake for the day at 9 o'clock so, finishing my juice and moving to the pan and the bowl of batter by the stove, I asked Dawn what she wanted to do today.
"Really? You're staying awake?" I dumped out the burnt pancake and cleaned the pan a little before spraying it down lightly and starting on some serious cooking; serious for me that is. I was admiring the batter as I talked with Dawn over my shoulder.
"It's too late for me to go back to sleep. I do need a shower before we head out, but wherever you want to go is okay with me."
"Really? Wherever I want to go?" That actually sounded kind of scary, when she said it. I had a lot to learn. I'd opened my mouth and now it was time to put my money where my mouth was. Literally, I was to discover, as she wanted to go to the mall. I flipped both the browning pancakes at the same time with a flick of the pan, as Dawn was telling me that she would need a shower herself before we could go.
"We've got plenty of time, all day in fact."
"That's cool." I set out those two on a plate for her and poured two for myself into the pan before going to the fridge to pull out syrups for her and asking if she wanted butter or jam or something. She told me she didn't as she moved past me to get her glass of juice from the counter. I poured myself a glass of water this time before going back to the pan and flipping my pancakes. I turned and leaned back against the counter to watch her eat.
"You're sixteen, right?" I knew she was fifteen, but I wanted to make conversation and playing up to her would induce more topics than silence. It worked; she smiled as she shook her head and swallowed her bite.
"Not yet, but almost."
"Cool. I think I had some of the best fun in my life when I was your age." She smiled again. I got a plate for my pancakes and turned off the stove to sit down and eat. We were quiet until she finished up and headed up to shower and change. I finished up quickly before I cleaned up the kitchen, leaving a note on the fridge for Buffy in case I forgot to tell her, and then went outside to grab my bag from the car. I came back inside just in time to hear Dawn get out of the bathroom and close the door to her bedroom. I headed upstairs to peak in on Buffy sleeping in her bed before ducking into the bathroom myself. I carefully peeled the butterfly bandages off of my face, I'd replace them afterwards, before stripping off my dirty clothes and carefully washing the blood dust and sweat off my body. I grabbed clean clothes out of my bag and shaved down the two days worth of stubble on my chin.
I put all my dirty clothes together on the top of my bag and headed down to the basement where I started a load of my wash and then headed back up to the living room to grab the sheets from the couch to add to the mix. I went back upstairs then to the living room where Dawn was waiting for me and I nodded that I was ready as I grabbed my bag from beside the sofa and we headed out to my car. She admired my blue beauty as I started her up and Dawn's eyes lit up at the throaty purr of the mighty engine. We took off and I only had to ask for directions twice before we found the mall she liked. I had counted on spending most of the day and quite a bit of money there shopping with a teenager, but I was at a loss to describe the next four hours, not counting lunch. We didn't go into every store, of course, but we did find quite a few things that she liked and one or two that I could buy for her that wouldn't make me seem like I was trying to buy her favor with gifts. Then over a lunch of hamburgers and ice cream I made a request of her that I hoped I wouldn't regret.
"Dawn, I have a bit of a favor to ask."
"Oh yeah? What's up?"
"Well, I don't really move around too much with the intent to stay in one place for too long, and I don't really have the clothes to impress, well, girls. I guess what I'm asking is –"She cut me off
"You want me to pick out a few outfits for you so you can impress my sister?"
"Well, I... I mean, not outfits really, just a few shirts and maybe a new pair of pants or two."
"And some shoes?" I looked down at my Doc Marten steel toe half boots.
"What's wrong with my shoes? I like these shoes."
"Fine, no shoes. But yes I accept. Lets go." She swallowed her ice cream so quickly I was surprised she didn't get brain freeze before she grabbed my arm and dragged me off to a posh men's store. She convinced me to try a few different colors and some definitely nicer styles than I was used to. I trusted her fashion sense, but I had two factors I wanted her to consider. Firstly, I had to be able to move in these clothes, and second I did not want to suddenly look like the cover of GQ. She pouted at the last stipulation, but then moved us on to other stores that seemed to feel more like me than the others had. Almost three hours later and I had a much enlarged wardrobe. We stored my six bags and Dawn's three in the trunk and then went on back to the house with Dawn chatting with me about things going on in her school, including who thought who was cute.
We pulled up to her house as it was getting dark. I walked in with her to check for notes on the fridge. Willow was gone, but my clothes were now in the dryer and I said a silent thank you for that as I stuffed them into my backpack. I'd kept my other bags in the back of my car, and this would join them. I called the magic box to find Buffy and the Scoobies minus Willow there researching away. I was going to wait there with Dawn until they got back, but Willow came in and, while she seemed a little woozy, she said she was okay with Dawn. Myself being the newcomer to this group of friends, made me inclined to agree with her. I got into my car and headed over to the Magic Box just in time to see them coming out the front door.
I offered a ride to Xander and Anya, but he indicated his car and waved to Buffy as she climbed in. She closed her door and leaned over to kiss my cheek as I asked how her day was. She was fine and her day was slow, but she was more interested in my day with Dawn. I told her some of the gossip from her school to give her an idea, and she nodded as though she understood. We went directly back to her house from the Magic Box, and I held the door open for her after she unlocked it. I heard some strange sounds from upstairs as Buffy checked the fridge. She came back with the note from Dawn about her and Willow. I read it quickly and nodded as I pulled out my pistol. Her eyes went wide as she saw it, but I motioned her to be quiet as we made our way up the stairs.
I cleared each room we came to as quietly as we could, and then made finally made my way to willow's partially opened door. Opening the door the rest of the way, I saw no one and waved Buffy forward as I tucked my pistol away. She went in looking at the chaos of the room around her centered on a chest I assume held magical supplies. She crouched down and poked through it as I watched the door move on its own. Buffy heard its hinge creak also and turned to see me grab Amy by her shoulders and move her back into the bedroom. Amy's arms were full of herbs and such. I got out of the room as she grabbed Amy be the shoulders and shook her as she asked Amy questions. It finally came out that Willow might have Dawn downtown with this serious magic user guy, but the entrance to his place kept moving around and you had to be part of the big bad to find it. She let Amy finally go yak in the bathroom and Slayer face came on in full effect as she started past me down the stairs and I hurried to keep up.
"Do you think you can find that place she was talking about?"
"The way she said it, you have to be part of the dark-side, magic or demon or something. I might be able to find him, if I knew him. Or Willow and Dawn, but if they're inside his spell it'll mask them from me too. I think we need someone else on this." I hated to say it, and she knew exactly who I meant. I grabbed my coat on our way out and put it on as we got back in the car. She didn't say a word either then or as I drove over to the cemetery that had Spike's crypt in it. I went to get out of the car but she stopped me.
"I think it's better if I go talk to him alone." She didn't elaborate and I trusted her, I guess, as I sat in silence on the back of my car. It was times like these, when I had nothing to do with my hands, that I wished I still smoked. Instead I turned inward, centered myself and locked myself down as who I was, before putting my walls down and opening myself to the world around me. I was looking for Dawn's aura specifically because I knew her better than Willow, but it was as I suspected and they were shielded by his spell. I didn't know that much about those kinds of spells and idly found myself wishing Willow was here. Of course if Willow was here, we wouldn't be looking for Willow now, would we. I didn't hear anything of what Buffy told Spike to get him to help her, but they came walking out of the cemetery together and he got in the back seat.
I drove my way downtown and I tried to keep myself as open as possible to everyone I could at once, knowing I would pay for it later. Spike was smoking in the backseat and I almost would have asked him for one if I hadn't been purposefully distracting myself with being so open. The car was silent, with Spike making only directional comments and with even the radio off. Tension permeated the atmosphere in the car as everyone was either just uncomfortable with each other or at least worried for Dawn. Finally Spike made a comment to Buffy and then it was on. My headache grew worse exponentially the longer I kept myself open this way and I finally had to close myself down again. It was all I could do to drive, let alone try to pay attention to what those two were saying to each other. The only part I heard was Buffy telling Spike that she wanted him out of her life.
They were so caught up in their own argument that I was the first to hear?... sense? I wasn't sure how it found its way into my head, but it was unmistakably Dawn's voice. I spun the car around in a 180 that got me moving again in the right direction and momentarily stunned my passengers into silence. Buffy was the first to ask, and she did ask the right question.
"Do you sense her?"
"I think so, but she's going in and out and it's hard to track. Keep your ears open. And Buffy, I think she's in danger; I heard her crying out in fear, but not pain I think." She nodded and thankfully they didn't speak to each other again for the rest of the ride. I got another flash that told me we were close and then I saw motion near a crashed vehicle. I pointed and Buffy nodded; that was them. I pulled up and slid sideways and suddenly the Slayer was out of the car and in full butt kicking action. She went after the demon that seemed to be terrorizing Willow and Dawn. I ran to Dawn, keeping an eye on Buffy, but checking for any injuries. She was clutching her arm to her chest and there was some blood, but she seemed pretty much okay. I got her to give me her arm and it seemed tender and bruised, possibly fractured. Better safe than sorry and I would make sure she got to the hospital tonight. It wasn't long until Buffy finished up that demon and I looked over to see Spike helping Willow as Buffy came to see how Dawn was.
"We need to get her to a doctor, but she'll be okay. I'm going to get her to the car." Buffy nodded and helped her sister up as Willow started trying to talk to all of us at once.
"Dawn... oh god there's blood. Is she okay? Is she okay? No, Dawnie, I'm so sorry. I didn't see. I'm so, so sorry." In spite of Buffy telling her to back off and that she, Buffy, had it Willow moved in front of us as she ranted and blocked our way to the car as she tried to apologize to Dawn. I saw some of Buffy's temper in her sister as Dawn's eyes got hard and she slapped Willow. I retook Dawn's arm and got her moving again. Buffy followed quickly until Willow fell over sobbing that she was sorry and Buffy stopped and nodded for me to keep getting Dawn to the car. I pulled out the ever present first aid kit and cleaned up the cut on her face, just a scratch really, before carefully putting a compress on it and then I pulled out an ace bandage and a soft plastic splint board to support her arm and wrist before I immobilized it against her chest.
Buffy had gone back for willow and they came up to the car as I got Dawn settled into the front seat. Spike had walked up in front of them and he spoke softly as he told me he was going to take a walk I should take care of the girls. He left with a nod to Buffy, who nodded slightly in response. I don't know what Buffy said to Willow while I'd been caring for Dawn's injuries, but it was a much subdued red head that sat in the back seat with Buffy as I drove to the hospital to drop off Buffy and Dawn. Willow stayed sitting in the backseat quietly on the ride from the hospital to where I dropped her off at Buffy's house before I returned alone to the hospital to pick both of them back up. The ER doc had put Dawn into a gel cast support for a fractured arm and given her something for the pain. I got them into the car and left it running in front of the main entrance as I went in to speak to the lady at the desk. I asked her if she took my insurance and when she said that they did, I had her write in that information instead of Buffy's address as billing address. I also left my phone number for the insurance follow up verification number. It wouldn't keep them tied up for too long, but at the end they'd ask me to pay instead of Buffy... I hoped.
I got them home safe and helped Buffy get a groggy Dawn into bed before going back downstairs to set up the sheets for my bed on the couch and Buffy went in to talk with Willow. I had the sheets arranged and was in the kitchen when Buffy came down to find me. We were quiet for a minute before she spoke. She seemed a little reluctant to get close to me. I thought we were going to have kind of a serious conversation, but I got surprised instead.
"So, you made up the couch?"
"Yeah, is that a problem? I can stay somewhere else if you want." She responded quickly.
"No, that's not it. I just thought... I mean." I think I understood. I nodded at her and finished my glass of water before moving the sheets to the floor of her bedroom while she was in the shower. I grabbed a clean undershirt and shorts as I headed in and she came out of the bathroom. I took the time to clean the cut on my face and rub some of my herbal compound onto some of my worse bruises on my back, the ones I could reach anyway. I came out of the bathroom and quietly crossed the hall into Buffy's room, closing the door behind me, to find the sheets I'd arranged on the floor were refolded and to find Buffy in an undershirt herself, lying in bed on one side under the sheets with the other side of the sheets folded back in invitation.
"I thought we should actually try sleeping in a bed for once." I detected a sense of irony in her voice, and smiled as I shut the light off and made my way into bed. Once there I settled into the soft sheets and warm blanket. I didn't make any moves on her, tempting as it was now that we were actually in a comfortable bed. Instead I just enjoyed our close contact. Shortly she was spooned against my back and using me as a large teddy bear, but I had absolutely no problem with that and shortly found myself lulled to sleep by her soft breathing, body warmth and steady heartbeat.