Close Call

"Hey, Buffy, who died?" I say in my real sarcastic tone.

Buffy crosses her arms and is looking at me in all seriousness. "No one died, Faith, at least, not yet," Buffy replies.

Alarms go off in my head, as I'm almost positive that Buffy knows about Dawn and me. She's here to kill me.

I decide that it'll be best to not admit to anything or react until I know for sure what Buffy's doing here, so I ask, "What are ya doing here, Buffy, you know that I'm not feeling well."

"Yeah, I know. I just needed to talk to you about something, something that has been on my mind for a while."

I look at her and see Buffy's expression turn to an expression of thought and worry. "Can it wait, Buffy, I seriously don't feel so hot."

"No, Faith, it can't wait!" Buffy snaps back at me. A hint of fear and anxiety begins to grow in the pit of my stomach, and is growing larger by each passing second. "It can't wait because it's about Dawn! It can't wait because I need to know what you think I should do about her. She's up to something and I know it!"

I look away as my mind is screaming at me to attack first before Buffy does, but the other thoughts tell me to play it cool and hear what she has to say. I pick the thought that won't get me killed, or even worse, that won't force Dawn to never speak to me again. So I look back up at Buffy and reply as calmly as I can. "What's going on with Dawn? Is everything ok between you two?"

Buffy sighs as she replies, "I don't really think I should be talking about this outside, out in the open and all. Can I come in?"

"Ahh, no, Buffy, sorry, you can't," I reply.

"Why not, you got someone in there that I should know about," she questions as she tries to look past me to see the person that's inside.

"No, there's no one that lives here but me, B, you know that I don't like sharing." I smile at her. She smiles back at me with equal sarcasm in her expression. "Ok, whatever, Faith. So I guess that I'll be telling my troubles out in the open, no pun intended."

"Of course," I reply.

"So what's the big deal with the brat of the household? Is she not playing nice?" I ask as I try to avoid any reason for Buffy to suspect anything.

"Well, she's been acting strangely, and I'm a bit worried about her," Buffy explains as I listen.

"And what has she been doing?" I ask as I try to move this conversation a little faster.

"Well, she's been really happy lately, she drifts off into space, and whenever I interrupt her daydreaming, she always blushes then disappears for an hour or two," Buffy states as she watches for my reaction.

"Really..? And what do you think she's daydreaming about?" I ask as Buffy watches me intently.

"I don't know, but it's definitely about a boy. It's only a matter of time before I find out which boy Dawn has been crushing over. He's probably in one of her classes."

I smile in relief as I say, "Probably. She is a young, boy-crazed teenager. It's bound to happen at some point."

"Yeah, well, I better be off now. I've got a long night of research to do before I can get to bed. Oh, and by the way, you should come over to the house tomorrow afternoon for a Scooby meeting, it's important."

"Sure thing, B, it ain't a party unless I'm there," I say with I smirk.

"Whatever, Faith," Buffy responds as she walks away from me and heads down the street on her way home.

As soon as she's gone, I let out a sigh of relief as I close the door and lock it. I then make my way to the bed to find Dawn sitting on the edge with a look of relief evident on her face.

She sees me and smiles instantly. I move to embrace her and she stands up to receive my loving hug and a tender kiss. We hold each other for a moment longer before we fall onto the bed with me on top. I smile at her and ask, "So, have you been daydreaming about me lately?"

She laughs and says, "Hmm, maybe." She kisses me and I kiss her back as her hands move to my lower back and rest themselves there.

"So what did Buffy have to say, other than my apparent daydreaming fiasco?" Dawn asked.

I look at her and smile at her young beauty. "Well, she did say that you were grounded as soon as you get home from your friend's house…"

"She did NOT!" Dawn interrupts as she slaps me playfully. We laugh for a few moments while trying to find each other's ticklish spots.

Our tickling fight soon erupts into wild fits of laughter and wild rolling around on the bed, as fingers rush to find the dreaded ticklish spots. My hair is mixed in with her as we're rolling on top of each other trying to make the other laugh the hardest.

As the moments pass, it's Dawn who begs for the end then jumps off the bed and says, "I've got to go, I gotta go!" through her fits of laughter. She runs for my bathroom as I laugh at her from my position on the bed. I wait for her to comeback, resting my wanting body on the mattress with the sheets tangled around me.