(Set during "Bring on the Night.")
What was the etiquette when other people were staying in your room? Do you walk in or knock first? Dawn knocked and the door swung partially open, revealing Molly and Annabelle sitting on her bed. "Uh, hi. Do you have enough blankets and stuff?"
"We're fine, thank you," replied Annabelle.
"And we're really sorry we turned you out," added Molly.
Dawn shrugged. "It's no big bunking with Buffy. She'll be out most of the night anyway. I should get my books though."
"You've got school in morning when there's the Turok-Han and the First Evil trying to kill us? Ow, whatcha do that for?" asked Molly, rubbing her foot where Annabelle had pinched it.
"You're being nosy."
"It's okay. Buffy has this 'an apocalypse is no excuse' policy. Hard to argue with it, since she managed it when she was in school." Dawn shouldered her book bag. "Any last requests? For tonight, I mean. Not 'last requests' in a 'end of the world last request' kinda way." Jeez, good way to reassure them.
"It must be so exciting being the sister of the Slayer," Molly said as she scooted away from Annabelle's reach. "You've seen vampires, haven't you?"
"Well," replied Dawn, leaning back against her desk and amazed to see both girls lean forward. So this is what it was like to have people hang on your every word. "I've actually killed a couple of vampires."
"Really?" squealed Molly. "My Watcher wouldn't let me. Said my coordination needed improvin' first. Say, if you know about that I bet you can answer another question of... ouch! Annabelle, quit pinching me. I want to know!"
"Molly, no. Mr. Giles will provide us with any information we need."
"Maybe they forgot we don't know and they won't think to tell us what they think we already know."
Dawn gave up trying to untangle that logic knot and cut through the debate saying, "We're really not that formal here, if you have a question, you can ask any of us. So ask away." It was kinda fun being the one with the info for a change.
"What's a spike?" blurted Molly.
"A wah?" said Dawn.
"Tonight your sis and Mr. Giles were talking about a spike being important. But that other lady? Anya? She didn't sound so keen on finding the spike. What is it? Is it a special kind of stake? That's what Annabelle thought."
Annabelle blushed to the roots of her hair while giving Molly a look to kill. Then both girls looked at Dawn expectantly.
It was a good question, Dawn reflected. Too bad her mind had gone completely blank. Well, not so much blank as overloaded with information that was jockeying to connect with her mouth. She finally managed, "He's a... it's a... he's a vampire."
"So why does your sister want to find him?" asked Annabelle.
"Yeah, I thought that we were supposed to make them dusties," added Molly.
Again, good question.
"Spike's different. He helps Buffy," replied Dawn. "Usually."
"Oh!" said Annabelle with a tone of comprehension that Dawn hadn't expected. "He must be the vampire with a soul my Watcher told me about. But I thought his name was Angel."
"I thought my Watcher said his name was Jealous. Or something."
"Yes and no and yes and no," Dawn replied.
"Which one is it? Yes or no?"
Dawn followed the voice and found Kennedy leaning in the doorway. She suddenly felt very trapped. "It's not an either or answer. Spike isn't the vampire with a soul your Watcher told you about. That's Angel. Except when he doesn't have a soul and he's super psycho, then he goes by Angelus."
Molly bounced on the bed. "Yeah, that's the name. Angelus."
"So Spike is a vampire without a soul and your sister is looking for him and thinks he will help us?" asked Kennedy. "Somehow, I'd imagined the Slayer having a better plan than that. Or any plan other than that."
"But he does have a soul," Dawn protested, "it's just so new I doubt the Watcher's Council would have known about it."
"So is it a curse like Angel's?" asked Annabelle.
"I..." Dawn paused. Again a good question. "I don't think so. I'm not sure how it was put in place, but he sought it out. He wanted his soul back."
"Then why was Anya all grouchy and talking about him having the crazies and killing people?" asked Molly.
Dawn began nibbling on her lower lip. She wished Kennedy wasn't blocking the doorway. She wished that she hadn't gotten cocky and thought she was a know-it-all. And she wished Kennedy would quit looking at her as if she could read her thoughts.
"He's killed since then, hasn't he?" asked Kennedy.
"Yeah. We think the First Evil has been possessing him since he got his soul, making him kill people. It was kinda unexpected because he hadn't killed anyone in a long time before getting his soul."
They all got quiet. And it wasn't a good quiet, but the nervous kind. Dawn sighed. She should say something reassuring, but she was with Anya on this one. Spike was crazy and dangerous. Buffy's stubborn Summers streak was widening daily when in came to Spike and her trust in him was so misplaced it was surprising she could even find it. But then, a lot of Buffy's most successful plans could be described as having large doses of stubbornness and loyalty in them.
Looking around, Dawn could see that Molly was picking at the pills on her bedspread, Annabelle was scribbling furiously in her notebook and even Kennedy didn't seem to know what to do with her hands, especially since Dawn's room was weapon free.
She'd thrown them into the deep end of the pool, hadn't she? She'd bet money that none of them, not even Kennedy, had ever seen a vampire. They were so far out of their element. She couldn't tell them what she was feeling, even if she had managed to downgrade her desire from really wanting Spike really dead to just mostly dead. It would only feed into their panic.
"Hey now," said Dawn, trying to give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Buffy believes we'll find a way to fix it. And Buffy always finds a way."
Dawn couldn't believe that had just come out of her mouth. Maybe this was a little like what Buffy was always dealing with. Saying what needed to be said, even if it wasn't what she herself was fully feeling inside.
And for a moment Dawn thought it would be good enough. Until Annabelle looked up from her notes.
"So to summarize, Angel is a vampire with a soul. He doesn't kill humans when he has a soul, but when he doesn't have a soul, he's crazy and kills people. Buffy even killed him once because of that, right? Whereas Spike without a soul doesn't kill people and helps Buffy, but with a soul is crazy and does kill them. And knowing all of that, Buffy wants to rescue him and bring him here." Annabelle looked at the others two and then added, "Certainly Mr. Giles can't be in favor of such a plan."
"Well..." Dawn replied.
Kennedy raised her hand high, saying, "Show of hands. Who thinks Spike's not the only crazy one in this scenario?"
There was a perceptible nod of agreement from both Molly and Annabelle.
"Hey!" Dawn snapped, "How dare you! Have you stopped an apocalypse lately? Or caused a statistically significant drop in the local death rate? Or how about killed a nest of vampires? No? Okay then. Buffy has. If her intuition says that our best shot involves getting Spike back, then it really is the best shot. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got class in the morning."
Dawn pushed past Kennedy and tried to look dignified moving down the hall and firmly shutting the door to Buffy's room behind her. She sagged onto the bed, the righteous indignation draining away. She squeezed her eyes shut. Saying those things felt right at the moment, but now the memories and the anger were flooding back in. She couldn't not defend her sister, but defending her meant defending Spike and she wasn't ready for that. She didn't want to think about it tonight and if she were sleeping, she wouldn't have to think about it.
Dawn reached under the pillow for her pajamas, only to realize they were under her own pillow. Well too late now. She kicked off her shoes, peeled off her shirt and jeans, and climbed into bed, not even bothering to turn off the light.
What was the etiquette when other people were staying in your room? Do you walk in or knock first? Dawn knocked and the door swung partially open, revealing Molly and Annabelle sitting on her bed. "Uh, hi. Do you have enough blankets and stuff?"
"We're fine, thank you," replied Annabelle.
"And we're really sorry we turned you out," added Molly.
Dawn shrugged. "It's no big bunking with Buffy. She'll be out most of the night anyway. I should get my books though."
"You've got school in morning when there's the Turok-Han and the First Evil trying to kill us? Ow, whatcha do that for?" asked Molly, rubbing her foot where Annabelle had pinched it.
"You're being nosy."
"It's okay. Buffy has this 'an apocalypse is no excuse' policy. Hard to argue with it, since she managed it when she was in school." Dawn shouldered her book bag. "Any last requests? For tonight, I mean. Not 'last requests' in a 'end of the world last request' kinda way." Jeez, good way to reassure them.
"It must be so exciting being the sister of the Slayer," Molly said as she scooted away from Annabelle's reach. "You've seen vampires, haven't you?"
"Well," replied Dawn, leaning back against her desk and amazed to see both girls lean forward. So this is what it was like to have people hang on your every word. "I've actually killed a couple of vampires."
"Really?" squealed Molly. "My Watcher wouldn't let me. Said my coordination needed improvin' first. Say, if you know about that I bet you can answer another question of... ouch! Annabelle, quit pinching me. I want to know!"
"Molly, no. Mr. Giles will provide us with any information we need."
"Maybe they forgot we don't know and they won't think to tell us what they think we already know."
Dawn gave up trying to untangle that logic knot and cut through the debate saying, "We're really not that formal here, if you have a question, you can ask any of us. So ask away." It was kinda fun being the one with the info for a change.
"What's a spike?" blurted Molly.
"A wah?" said Dawn.
"Tonight your sis and Mr. Giles were talking about a spike being important. But that other lady? Anya? She didn't sound so keen on finding the spike. What is it? Is it a special kind of stake? That's what Annabelle thought."
Annabelle blushed to the roots of her hair while giving Molly a look to kill. Then both girls looked at Dawn expectantly.
It was a good question, Dawn reflected. Too bad her mind had gone completely blank. Well, not so much blank as overloaded with information that was jockeying to connect with her mouth. She finally managed, "He's a... it's a... he's a vampire."
"So why does your sister want to find him?" asked Annabelle.
"Yeah, I thought that we were supposed to make them dusties," added Molly.
Again, good question.
"Spike's different. He helps Buffy," replied Dawn. "Usually."
"Oh!" said Annabelle with a tone of comprehension that Dawn hadn't expected. "He must be the vampire with a soul my Watcher told me about. But I thought his name was Angel."
"I thought my Watcher said his name was Jealous. Or something."
"Yes and no and yes and no," Dawn replied.
"Which one is it? Yes or no?"
Dawn followed the voice and found Kennedy leaning in the doorway. She suddenly felt very trapped. "It's not an either or answer. Spike isn't the vampire with a soul your Watcher told you about. That's Angel. Except when he doesn't have a soul and he's super psycho, then he goes by Angelus."
Molly bounced on the bed. "Yeah, that's the name. Angelus."
"So Spike is a vampire without a soul and your sister is looking for him and thinks he will help us?" asked Kennedy. "Somehow, I'd imagined the Slayer having a better plan than that. Or any plan other than that."
"But he does have a soul," Dawn protested, "it's just so new I doubt the Watcher's Council would have known about it."
"So is it a curse like Angel's?" asked Annabelle.
"I..." Dawn paused. Again a good question. "I don't think so. I'm not sure how it was put in place, but he sought it out. He wanted his soul back."
"Then why was Anya all grouchy and talking about him having the crazies and killing people?" asked Molly.
Dawn began nibbling on her lower lip. She wished Kennedy wasn't blocking the doorway. She wished that she hadn't gotten cocky and thought she was a know-it-all. And she wished Kennedy would quit looking at her as if she could read her thoughts.
"He's killed since then, hasn't he?" asked Kennedy.
"Yeah. We think the First Evil has been possessing him since he got his soul, making him kill people. It was kinda unexpected because he hadn't killed anyone in a long time before getting his soul."
They all got quiet. And it wasn't a good quiet, but the nervous kind. Dawn sighed. She should say something reassuring, but she was with Anya on this one. Spike was crazy and dangerous. Buffy's stubborn Summers streak was widening daily when in came to Spike and her trust in him was so misplaced it was surprising she could even find it. But then, a lot of Buffy's most successful plans could be described as having large doses of stubbornness and loyalty in them.
Looking around, Dawn could see that Molly was picking at the pills on her bedspread, Annabelle was scribbling furiously in her notebook and even Kennedy didn't seem to know what to do with her hands, especially since Dawn's room was weapon free.
She'd thrown them into the deep end of the pool, hadn't she? She'd bet money that none of them, not even Kennedy, had ever seen a vampire. They were so far out of their element. She couldn't tell them what she was feeling, even if she had managed to downgrade her desire from really wanting Spike really dead to just mostly dead. It would only feed into their panic.
"Hey now," said Dawn, trying to give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Buffy believes we'll find a way to fix it. And Buffy always finds a way."
Dawn couldn't believe that had just come out of her mouth. Maybe this was a little like what Buffy was always dealing with. Saying what needed to be said, even if it wasn't what she herself was fully feeling inside.
And for a moment Dawn thought it would be good enough. Until Annabelle looked up from her notes.
"So to summarize, Angel is a vampire with a soul. He doesn't kill humans when he has a soul, but when he doesn't have a soul, he's crazy and kills people. Buffy even killed him once because of that, right? Whereas Spike without a soul doesn't kill people and helps Buffy, but with a soul is crazy and does kill them. And knowing all of that, Buffy wants to rescue him and bring him here." Annabelle looked at the others two and then added, "Certainly Mr. Giles can't be in favor of such a plan."
"Well..." Dawn replied.
Kennedy raised her hand high, saying, "Show of hands. Who thinks Spike's not the only crazy one in this scenario?"
There was a perceptible nod of agreement from both Molly and Annabelle.
"Hey!" Dawn snapped, "How dare you! Have you stopped an apocalypse lately? Or caused a statistically significant drop in the local death rate? Or how about killed a nest of vampires? No? Okay then. Buffy has. If her intuition says that our best shot involves getting Spike back, then it really is the best shot. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got class in the morning."
Dawn pushed past Kennedy and tried to look dignified moving down the hall and firmly shutting the door to Buffy's room behind her. She sagged onto the bed, the righteous indignation draining away. She squeezed her eyes shut. Saying those things felt right at the moment, but now the memories and the anger were flooding back in. She couldn't not defend her sister, but defending her meant defending Spike and she wasn't ready for that. She didn't want to think about it tonight and if she were sleeping, she wouldn't have to think about it.
Dawn reached under the pillow for her pajamas, only to realize they were under her own pillow. Well too late now. She kicked off her shoes, peeled off her shirt and jeans, and climbed into bed, not even bothering to turn off the light.