It was dark. She had never felt so alone. Dawn was still cowering in Willow and Tara's room. No one had been home for hours. Willow's dead. She's… dead.
"Giles, I'm heading back to Buffy's. Call me if she wakes up." Xander walked outside and drove to Buffy's house. Walking around to the back, he saw blood sprinkling the grass. With a burst of energy he took a hose and washed the blood away. Once all trace of blood was gone, Xander went into the kitchen through the back door. Just then he remembered Dawn.
"Dawn? Dawn, are you home? Dawnie?" When she heard his voice, Dawn began screaming Xander's name. He jumped, then raced upstairs. He ran into Willow and Tara's room. He froze when he saw the body, with Dawn curled next to it, screaming. He rushed to her side. "Dawn, it's okay. It'll be okay. Come on, let's get out of here." He helped Dawn to her feet and brought her downstairs. Once she was settled onto the couch with a blanket and some popcorn, he dialed 911 again. Twice in one day. This must be a record.
"Um, yes, 911? We have a dead body in our house…. Her name's Willow Rosenberg…. Okay. No, I don't know what happened. Yes. Okay, thank you." He hung up the phone and walked over to the couch. "Mind sharing the popcorn?"
Giles was still at the hospital with Buffy when Willow was wheeled in. He could only stare after her pale body being rushed down the hall. In less than ten seconds he was on a payphone to Xander.
"Xander, I just… saw Willow. What happened?"
"Not sure. I came to Buffy's house and found Dawn sitting next to the body, crying. We came downstairs and I called 911. Do you think this has to do with Buffy?"
"I think so. Two people shot at the same house on the same day. That's no coincidence."
"Yeah…. Well, me and Dawnie are eating popcorn, but call me if you learn anything more. Bye."
"Goodbye."
Xander looked back at Dawn and grabbed another handful of popcorn. She was looking at him with huge, scared eyes.
"What happened to Buffy?" A tear spilled from her eye and rolled down her face. "Xander, what happened?"
He took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. "Dawn, stay calm. Buffy's fine. She's in the hospital recovering, but she'll be home in a few days."
Dawn was becoming hysterical. "What happened?"
"She was shot. We don't know why, we don't know who. But she's fine. Those Slayer powers come in pretty handy. Unfortunately Willow didn't have healing powers. Giles thinks she was shot when Buffy was." Now, thinking about his friends, one broken but healing fast, one dead, Xander was about to cry. He was one of few people with dry eyes. Giles, Dawn, and the old Tara were all weeping.