All Dawn could see was white. White floors, white walls, white doors. She squinted, the brightness of it all hurting her eyes. She kept walking down a long corridor, glancing at the doors that lined the sides.

"Dawn!"

She stopped short. She knew the voice, though at the moment it sounded too far away for her to place it. She kept walking, her eyes now darting around in search of who was calling her.

"Dawn!"

The voice was louder, clearer now, and she knew who it was—Andrew. Still, she couldn't see him, but she realized he was behind one of the doors. Dawn grabbed the handle, shaking it with frustration when she found it locked. She looked down then, noticing a keyhole beneath the handle. She ran her hand over it, and the door began to emanate a shimmering green light. Suddenly, the door flew open and all the white was gone. Darkness engulfed her, pulled her in, and Dawn screamed.

"Dawn! Dawn, wake up!"

Dawn's eyes shot open. She was sitting in her bed, Andrew's hands on her shoulders. "Andrew?" she asked, her voice cracking.

He let go of her and pushed a lock of sweaty hair away from her face. "You're shaking."

"I had a nightmare."

"I figured. I was walking past your door on the way back from the bathroom, and I heard you scream." Dawn moved towards him, putting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms tightly around him. Andrew hesitated for a moment before holding her, trying to comfort her. "Were there any snails this time?" he asked once she'd stopped trembling.

Dawn chuckled, and Andrew smiled, pleased that his question had had the desired effect. "No snails," Dawn replied, sitting up again. "Just doors."

"Doors?"

"Yes. I tried to open one, and it was locked. But then when I touched the keyhole, the door opened, just like I was…like I was…"

"The key."

Dawn nodded and her shoulders slumped. "The Key—before it was just me—was green energy. When I touched the door, that's what I saw—green light. And in the dream with the snails, I saw a key that was surrounded by the same light."

"But you're not the key anymore, are you?"

"Giles said he thought the energy passed out of me after Glory failed, but how does he know that? It's not like he did some sort of blood test to look for residual Key-particles floating around in there or something."

"Do the dreams seem to you like they have some kind of significance? Like they're maybe more than just regular dreams?"

"They don't feel like any other dreams I've ever had before. And this one…" Dawn shivered.

Andrew took her hand. "What made you scream, sweetheart?"

Dawn felt herself relax just from Andrew calling her "sweetheart." It made her feel safer somehow, knowing he was there for her. "When I opened the door, there was darkness. It surrounded me. I felt like I was drowning."

"How do you feel now?"

"Better, but still a little uneasy," Dawn replied. "Do you think maybe you could stay in here with me for a little while, at least until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, sure."

Dawn lay back down, covering up with the sheet, then pulling it back a little for Andrew. He gave her a nervous smile before lying down beside her, stiffly on his back. "I'm not going to bite you, you know," Dawn said, amused by his nervousness. "I know you've shared a bed with a woman before, so you don't have to play the blushing virgin."

"That may be the case, but I've never shared a bed with a woman when her sister who likes sharp, pointy weapons was in the next room."

"Buffy came home?"

"Yeah, a little while ago. She woke me up when she was banging around in the kitchen. That's one thing that sucks about sleeping on your couch—Buffy's post-slaying fridge raids."

"Figured she would've shown a bit more concern about me screaming in the middle of the night," Dawn muttered.

"She probably didn't hear you. You only screamed once."

"Still, some alert Slayer she is. Besides, I've been told I scream loud enough to shatter glass."

"If Buffy had woken up, I wouldn't be here."

"Hmm. Good point." Dawn rolled on to her side, resting her head on Andrew's chest. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah." Andrew relaxed, putting his arms around her. "Are you comfortable?"

"Very. You make a good pillow."

"Is that a polite way of saying I need to work on my muscle tone?"

Dawn giggled. "No. It's a polite way of saying I like lying on your chest."

"Oh. Well, I'm good with that." Andrew glanced down at her, his heart clenching at the way she was looking up at him, like he was someone special—like he meant something to her. "You're beautiful," he said softly, not knowing any other way to describe what he was feeling at the moment.

Her response let him know she understood. She ran her hand down his cheek and said, " So are you."

Andrew gave her a long, slow kiss, keeping the contact between them soft and gentle. He broke away only to kiss her again, quickly this time, before she laid her head against his chest, her eyes drifting shut. Andrew pressed his lips against the crown of her head. "Have sweet dreams now, Dawnie."

"You, too," Dawn mumbled, already half asleep.

Andrew smiled as his eyes closed, too.

Dawn felt herself torn in two different directions. On the one hand, she was warm and comfortable and didn't want to move. On the other hand, there was a loud, obnoxious noise causing her head hurt, and she wanted to make it stop.

Before she could drift further into consciousness, the source of the warmth and comfort she'd been feeling moved. Much to her dismay, the noise persisted.

"How do you turn this damn thing off?"

Dawn blinked, the sound of a male voice coming from her bed waking her fully. She remembered then that she'd fallen asleep with Andrew, and realized that the sound was her alarm. She leaned over him, taking the alarm from his hands and turning it off before setting it back on the bedside table. "Sorry," she said. "That thing is obnoxiously loud."

"As long as it's over now," Andrew said, rolling over on his side. "It's nice waking up with you."

"As nice as waking up with two women?"

"Nicer," Andrew replied, kissing her. "Do Caprice and Isabella still bother you?" he asked after he pulled back.

"No. Yes. Well, maybe. It's just back in Sunnydale, you never had a date, like ever, but then when we left, you changed your image and started getting all these European women. I don't see how you can be satisfied with just me now." Andrew chuckled, and Dawn frowned. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not laughing at you. Well, maybe a little." At Dawn's glare, Andrew kissed her forehead. "No, it's just, well, it's unbelievable that you don't know how incredible you are. You're more attractive than either Caprice or Isabella, and you're smarter and more interesting, too. Besides, dating two women at once—not all it's cracked up to be."

"Why not?"

"Tiring," Andrew replied. "They wore me out."

Dawn gave Andrew a sly smile, moving closer to him in the bed. "And you don't think I can wear you out?" Andrew's eyes widened in surprise, and Dawn giggled. "Don't you have anything to say to that, Mr. Wells?"

Andrew pulled her to him, kissing her hard. Dawn froze at first, Andrew's sudden movement taking her by surprise, but she soon responded, her mouth melding to his as she wrapped her arms around him, one hand gripping his back and one of her legs wrapped around his. He rolled them over, pinning Dawn beneath him. She moaned against his mouth, tightening her grip on him. When he finally broke away from her mouth, he kept his lips on her, kissing from her jaw to her neck, finally reaching her ear and finding a spot that made Dawn gasp.

They froze when there was a knock at the door, and Buffy's voice sounded from the other side. "Dawn? Should you be up? Don't you have school today?"

Andrew and Dawn stared at each other, the knowledge that Buffy was one closed door away from catching them like a rush of cold water. The handle began to turn, and Dawn snapped to attention, knowing she had to do something. "Don't come in! I'm, um, getting dressed!" The door stayed shut, and Dawn and Andrew shared a look of relief. "I'll be ready for school in a bit," Dawn added.

"Okay," Buffy replied, still in the hallway. "Oh, do you know where Andrew is?"

Dawn felt her fear rise up again. Did Buffy know? Was this some sort of test? "He's not on the couch?" Dawn asked, feigning innocence.

"No. Maybe he went to meet one of his girlfriends or something." Dawn and Andrew shared another look, both catching the irony in Buffy's statement.

"Probably," Dawn replied.

"Oh well. You want me to make you some cereal?"

"Uh, sure."

"Chocolate, marshmallows, or both?"

"Both."

"Got it."

When they heard Buffy walk away from the door, Dawn and Andrew breathed simultaneous sighs of relief. "Figures this would be one of the few mornings that she decides to acknowledge my existence."

"I don't think she suspects anything, so we should be okay," Andrew replied.

"What are you going to do?" Dawn asked. "You're in here—in your pajamas—and Buffy thinks you've gone out."

"I'll just hide in here until she leaves. She usually goes out at least once during the day. I can pretend I came in while she was gone. She doesn't care enough about what I do to question me about it."

"That should work," Dawn said. Suddenly, she realized that she was still lying beneath Andrew, and she began to blush. "Um, you think maybe you could let me up?"

"Oh, um, sorry."

"It's all right. Honestly, I'd rather stay here with you, but…"

"Yeah, I know." Andrew pushed up off of her, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Dawn went to her closet, taking out her clothes. She almost started to undress when she realized that Andrew was in the room. She knew it was a little strange to have been all over him one minute and self-conscious around him the next, but she was all the same. "Could you maybe, um, turn around?"

"Oh, sure. Right. Sorry." Andrew did as she asked without hesitation. "I just wasn't thinking. I wasn't expecting a free show or anything."

Dawn laughed as she started to change her clothes. "It's fine, really."

When Dawn had finished dressing for school, she went over to Andrew, placing her hand on his shoulder. He turned around, smiling at her and taking her hand. "You're wearing the bracelet I gave you," he said.

"Well, I like it," Dawn replied. He tugged gently on her hand, and she let him guide her into his lap. "Almost as much as I like you," she added, tapping him on the nose with her fingertip.

Andrew cupped her cheek, bringing her closer still for a kiss. As with earlier that morning, it didn't take long for things to heat up between them, and Dawn had to force herself to pull away. "School, and Buffy, and…and stuff…"

"It's okay. We'll have more time alone together later."

"Promise?"

"You can count on it. Now off to school with you, missy."

Dawn giggled and kissed him one more time.

Dawn was paying even less attention in class than usual. It was math, which she tended to be able to follow on account of numbers being the same in both English and Italian, but at the moment she had more pressing thoughts on her mind.

She couldn't stop thinking about that morning and what had happened with Andrew. Kissing him had had quite an effect on her, and she couldn't help but be disappointed that Buffy had interrupted them.

However, what would've happened if Buffy hadn't shown up when she did? How far would things have gone? How far was Dawn ready to go? She knew that Andrew had been sleeping with Caprice and Isabella, and probably somebody before them, too—if not more than one somebody. Was he going to expect sex from her soon? And if he did, did she want to or not?

Dawn chewed on her bottom lip, drawing designs in her notebook as she contemplated the possibilities. She didn't think Andrew would push her towards anything she didn't want to do. He just didn't seem like that kind of a guy. But what if she decided she wanted to wait, and he couldn't? Would be go back to a woman who would give him what he wanted?

No, Dawn decided, Andrew wasn't like that either. And honestly, she wasn't even sure she wanted to say no if—when—it came to that. If they moved at the pace they'd already apparently set, it was going to be something that would come up soon. She'd have to give the matter some serious contemplation. It would be irresponsible of her not to.

Dawn wished she could talk to Buffy about it, but knew at best Buffy would freak out at the mere mention of Dawn considering getting all sweaty with Andrew. Honestly, Dawn figured that Buffy would throw Andrew out and forbid them from ever coming anywhere near each other ever again. Still, Dawn really wished she and Buffy had the kind of relationship where she could get sisterly advice on these sorts or things. For all her talk about wanting to "show Dawn the world" sometimes Buffy still seemed oblivious to how much Dawn had grown up.

Class came to an end, and Dawn pulled herself away from her thoughts, deciding to give the matter more attention when she had the time to really sort out her feelings.

Review please. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. Reviews make me a happy little writer!