(Set after "Help")
Dawn looked down the hallways on either side of her before opening the door to the school basement and slipping inside. As she descended the stairs, she wished for the umpteenth time that Tara were still alive. Then she would have had someone with whom she could have talked this idea through, which was impossible with everyone else. If Buffy found out, she'd kill her. Xander would kill him. And Willow, well, she was still in serious self-blame mode and didn't feel justified in judging anybody, even Spike. Which wasn't a huge deal because Dawn wasn't sure she was ready to trust Willow's opinion anyway.
At the bottom of the stairs, Dawn stopped and got her bearings before continuing on.
Now Tara, she'd handle it differently. Tara would ask the right questions to help her think it through and let her make her own decision - unless that decision would lead her into serious, gushing chest wound kind of trouble. Dawn sighed. She'd tried to think up the questions Tara would ask. Probably "Why?" Not accusing, but probing.
~Because he's been there for me and now he needed help. Because of Cassie.~
She knew Tara'd tactfully ask why the secrecy - as it was usually a sign of the not good. Dawn had a ready supply of examples from the past year to know the truth of that. It didn't matter now. Here she was.
"Hi Spike. It's Dawn," she said as she drew closer.
He looked up at her from the corner he sat in. "Dawn?"
To her ears it sounded like he was mimicking back a foreign word. She knelt down in front of him, shrugged her book bag off her shoulder and rummaged inside, pulling out two packages of blood and holding them out to him.
"Um, I though you might be hungry."
"Did Buffy send you?"
He looked so hopeful. "No," she said, watching his face fall and wondering who was more pathetic, Spike for yearning for a whole lot more than any sane person would expect or herself for wanting to matter enough to him that he would stop thinking about Buffy for a whole five minutes.
He still hadn't taken the bags, so she set them down. "I gotta go. Class and all," she said, grabbing her book bag and moving away. Then she thought of Cassie again and turned around. "Spike, I'll be back tomorrow, so drink up, 'kay?"
Maybe it was just the bad lighting, but she thought he might have nodded. Dawn dashed off, knowing she'd be cutting it super close for Bio. As she took the steps two at a time, her thoughts were not on her class.
~Did I do okay Tara?~
Dawn looked down the hallways on either side of her before opening the door to the school basement and slipping inside. As she descended the stairs, she wished for the umpteenth time that Tara were still alive. Then she would have had someone with whom she could have talked this idea through, which was impossible with everyone else. If Buffy found out, she'd kill her. Xander would kill him. And Willow, well, she was still in serious self-blame mode and didn't feel justified in judging anybody, even Spike. Which wasn't a huge deal because Dawn wasn't sure she was ready to trust Willow's opinion anyway.
At the bottom of the stairs, Dawn stopped and got her bearings before continuing on.
Now Tara, she'd handle it differently. Tara would ask the right questions to help her think it through and let her make her own decision - unless that decision would lead her into serious, gushing chest wound kind of trouble. Dawn sighed. She'd tried to think up the questions Tara would ask. Probably "Why?" Not accusing, but probing.
~Because he's been there for me and now he needed help. Because of Cassie.~
She knew Tara'd tactfully ask why the secrecy - as it was usually a sign of the not good. Dawn had a ready supply of examples from the past year to know the truth of that. It didn't matter now. Here she was.
"Hi Spike. It's Dawn," she said as she drew closer.
He looked up at her from the corner he sat in. "Dawn?"
To her ears it sounded like he was mimicking back a foreign word. She knelt down in front of him, shrugged her book bag off her shoulder and rummaged inside, pulling out two packages of blood and holding them out to him.
"Um, I though you might be hungry."
"Did Buffy send you?"
He looked so hopeful. "No," she said, watching his face fall and wondering who was more pathetic, Spike for yearning for a whole lot more than any sane person would expect or herself for wanting to matter enough to him that he would stop thinking about Buffy for a whole five minutes.
He still hadn't taken the bags, so she set them down. "I gotta go. Class and all," she said, grabbing her book bag and moving away. Then she thought of Cassie again and turned around. "Spike, I'll be back tomorrow, so drink up, 'kay?"
Maybe it was just the bad lighting, but she thought he might have nodded. Dawn dashed off, knowing she'd be cutting it super close for Bio. As she took the steps two at a time, her thoughts were not on her class.
~Did I do okay Tara?~