Disclaimer: You know what I have to say. Summerland isn't mine, blah, blah, blah. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not mine, blah, blah, blah…

Chapter Three

Dawn smiled as night approached. She had spent the entire time with Bradin's family, both immediate and extended. She could identify most of the people if she saw them at this house, the beach, or if they came up to her first. She knew there was Bradin, his sister Nikki, his brother Derrick, their aunt Ava, Ava's friends Susanna, Johnny, and someone else. She wanted to say his name was Jay, but she would not swear to it.

"So why are you here in Playa Linda?" Nikki asked curiously as she sat up on her bed. She patted the comforter next to her as a signal for Dawn to come and sit next to her instead of on the spare mattress on the floor next to Nikki's bed. "You seem so cool."

Dawn smiled weakly. "I'm not really that cool. My sister's always been the cool one as long as I can remember. Just because she can kill things with sticks."

"What?!" Nikki asked in shock.

"Nothing!" Dawn immediately said. "Forget I ever said that. My sister's just always been cool because of her abnormal strength. She had all the boys when she was my age and I don't."

Nikki smiled. "I think Bradin likes you."

"Really?" Dawn asked. "Not to sound all junior high, but what did he say exactly? Including facial expressions and tone of voice."

"It's not something he said. I just see how he looks at you," Nikki said. "And I think you're way cooler than that other girl he brought home."

"Other girl?" Dawn asked with a hint of jealousy.

Nikki nodded. "She's bad. And she's no longer a problem," she assured Dawn.

"That's good. Don't tell him I said this, but I think I might really like your brother," Dawn admitted. "He's really hot, isn't he?"

Nikki looked up at Dawn with a slightly disgusted look. "Um, he's my brother. I don't think of him like that."

"Right," Dawn noted. "Sorry, my bad. But he is!" She smiled just thinking about the boy she had met. How wonderful. Someone she would just love to show Buffy just so she could see how jealous her sister could get. Although she was probably off screwing the Immortal and would fail to realize Dawn's absence, Dawn thought to herself. "What about you? Any guys?"

Nikki sighed heavily. "There was. I kinda messed things up with him though. I don't really wanna talk about it."

Dawn nodded. "Right. So, um, were you a Friends fan?"

Buffy sighed heavily as the plane landed. Luckily she was able to catch a flight to Los Angeles in no time. The flight had taken a long time but she had landed. She was not sure how long it would take to readjust to Pacific Time, especially considering how long she had been in Rome, but she knew she would get used to it eventually. She sighed as she began exiting the plane,

She looked around the vast airport trying to see if it was still the same as she had remembered it to be. To her pleasure, it was. She smiled, glancing around at all the joy brought to the other people who were on her plane. All of them busy hugging and greeting family and friends. She suddenly wished she were doing the same thing.

She stopped suddenly as she noted the familiar looking figure in front of her. The one man she would recognize almost anywhere. Sure he had broken her heart and she knew there was no hope of ever getting back together with him, but there he was. With the wife, Buffy noted somewhat angrily. "Riley Finn?" she asked as she approached the man and his wife.

Riley turned around. "Oh my god, Buffy!" he said as he threw his arms around her in greeting. "What brings you here?"