Disclaimers: I own nothing.

Buffy blindly stood in the center of her living room, nearly oblivious to the flurry of activity around her. She was vaguely aware of paramedics and coroners bustling in and out of her house, but she wasn't aware enough to say anything to them. All she remember either pair of medics saying was 'she's dead' and 'you should call some one.' She didn't remember picking up the phone, but only minutes after the coroners left, Willow arrived. Buffy wasn't sure who called her, or why Willow was there. All Buffy's mind could process, was her mother's death and her fight earlier with Spike.

'Spike.' Her brain called out to her. 'Call him. He should know. He loved her too.'

Before Buffy even knew what she was doing, she had picked up the phone and began dialing a number she didn't even remember learning. She waited impatiently until his soothing voice appeared on the other end of the line.

"I need you to come." Buffy said simply before hanging up the phone again.

"Buffy?" Willow asked her best friend, confusion written upon her face.

"He's coming." Buffy said distractedly. "He's coming."

Ten minutes later, a black Desoto pulled up in front of Buffy's house and she dashed outside, leaving a still confused Willow in the empty house.

"You came." Buffy said as she slid inside the car.

"You asked me to." Spike responded.

"Thank you." Buffy said as she threw herself into the arms of a very confused Spike and began to cry.

"Slay- Buffy, love, what happened?"

Buffy only buried her head further into Spike's shoulder.

"Buffy, are you going to tell me what happened?"

She shook her head 'no.'

"Do you want me to take you back inside to your mum?"

This only caused Buffy to cry harder.

"Love," Spike said as he gripped Buffy's shoulders and peeled her off of him so he could see her face. "You have to talk to me. Where do you want to go?"

"Home." Buffy said quietly.

"Love, you are home." Spike said somewhat confused.

"No, I'm not, Spike. Home is where you are."

"Ten little soldiers all in a line. A shot rings out. Bang down to nine!" Dawn giggle as she knocked one of her Barbie dolls down. "Eight little soldiers-"

"Dawnie." Willow interjected as she walked into the little girl's room. "Have you seen your daddy?"

The six year old nodded. "Yup. What time ish it?"

Willow kneeled down next to Dawn. "Sweetie, where is your dad?"

"What time ish it?" Dawn repeated.

Willow sighed knowing she wasn't going to win either way. "It's one fifteen."

"'e's still sleeping then." Dawn responded matter of factly as she went back to her Barbie dolls and 'killed' the eighth one. "Seven little-"

"Dawnie, how do you know where your father is by what time of day it is?" Willow asked intrigued.

"'Cuz 'is soap ish on at two." She responded.

"Thanks, Dawnie." Willow said as she shook her head and stood up. She took a deep breath before turning and knocking on Dawn's parents bedroom door.

"That's not gonna wake 'im up!" Dawn shouted after the redhead.

Willow sighed and walked into the bedroom. "Spike?" She called.

Spike groggily opened his eyes and looked up at the witch. "Red? What are you doing here?"

She gulped.

"Willow." He warned as he sat up.

"It's Buffy."

Spike was fully awake now. "What about her?!"

"There was an accident." She said softly.

"What kind of accydent?" Dawn asked as she walked into the room.

"Is she?" Spike asked as he held his arms open for his daughter, who vaulted over the bed and into her father's open arms.

"She's still alive." Willow said noting Spike's large sigh of relief.

"Can we go see 'er?" Dawn asked as she wiggled further into her father's embrace.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, she can't come home for a week though."

"That's okay." Dawn said. "Once me and Daddy is there she'll be home. When we're together, we're home."

Dawn Crawford shot up, and rubbed her eyes. 'Bloody hell, that's the third time I've had that dream this week. Now, I'm not a slayer, but that's gotta mean something. I'll have daddy talk to Rupert tonight.' She sighed, and rolled off of the trundle bed and onto her feet.

Janice groggily opened an eye and peered at her best friend. "You okay, Dawn?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, but I got to go now. Da's expecting me." She said as she got dressed.

"Okay, I'll call you tonight? You never did tell me about your date with Tommy." Janice informed her.

"You were still out with Charlie when I got back." Dawn pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Janice said, remembering. "Well, I'll talk to you tonight."

"Kay. Laters." Dawn said as she grabbed her bag and left Janice's room. She nodded a quick hello to Janice's mom before walking out of the house and into the sunlight.

As Dawn walked home, she began to make up the story she would tell her father. It was tradition for them. Nearly every Saturday, she'd say she was spending the night at Janice's and then they would go out on dates with their respective boyfriends. Afterwards Dawn would crash at Janice's house. The next morning she would come home at nine thirty, her dad would make her a cup of hot chocolate and they'd spend the day watching SoapNet. It was their Sunday tradition and Dawn loved it. Sundays was the only real day she got to spend any time with her dad. As far as Dawn was concerned, Sundays were the best day of the week. She only wished that her dad hadn't gotten her hooked on Dark Shadows and Passions.

Shaking her head, she unlocked the front door and walked into the apartment. She frowned at the darkness and silence that greeted her. "Dad?" She asked softly as she flipped a light on. She looked down at her watch. 'Okay, nine thirty, I'm on time. I'm not late or anything. He must still be sleeping. I mean technically day is sleeping time for dad but he hardly ever keeps night hours any more. Mummy always slept during the day, but Daddy liked spending time with me instead. Especially on Sundays. Mummy wasn't even allowed to join us on Sundays. It's always been our day.'

She sighed as she opened the door to her father's room and walked inside. "Oh. My. God." She openly stared at the obliviously asleep couple on the bed. 'Okay. Daddy. Buffy. Naked. Bed. Not exactly the image I wanted to see first thing this morning or ever.'

Not wanting to awaken the couple, Dawn quietly crept out of the room and closed the door behind her. 'Thank the gods they're both heavy sleepers.' She walked to the front door and opened it. "Here goes nothing." With that she slammed the door shut as hard as she could.

"Daddy! I'm home!" She shouted, knowing very well that they couldn't sleep through shouting. Well, she knew her father couldn't. He'd sense her and wake up immediately.

Hey, sorry this chappie is so late and so short. The next chapter will explain a little more about what happened the night before. Hopefully, I'll have it up and posted soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Keep it up. Reviews inspire me to write. They give me a happy. )
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