After Xander's outburst earlier, Dawn had been a bit more subdued. It had been easy enough to pretend that Sunnydale hadn't fallen and that some of their friends hadn't died. She just turned that part of her brain off, and pretended that none of it ever happened. But she couldn't do that forever, and Xander had reminded her of that when he had stormed out of Adam's house.

Anya had died, and Dawn would miss her. She would miss Spike even more, as he had always treated her as an equal, not as a child to be coddled or talked down to. She hadn't wanted to miss either of them. She wanted to go on pretending that nothing was wrong, that somehow she was in Paris because of some fluke and concentrate on clothes and the Paris scenery, but life didn't work that way.

She had been reminded of the loss of her friends today and it was difficult to allow herself to relax, even while talking to an immortal as interesting and engaging as Richie Ryan.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his company. He was tall, and nicely built, though not too big like MacLeod, or all skinny like Adam. He looked to be about nineteen, no more than twenty and yet Dawn wondered what his actual age was. Buffy had mentioned that Duncan was about 400 years or so, but she hadn't told her how old either Richie or Adam were, and Dawn wasn't sure if it was bad taste to ask or not.

His hair was a sandy blonde colour and cropped closely to his head. His smile was warm and welcoming and his eyes were the nicest blue that Dawn had ever seen.

His good looks were only the beginning though as Dawn soon found out that Richie Ryan possessed a wonderful sense of humour. They had been talking for over half an hour now and some of his stories actually managed to break through her funk and cause her to laugh. At the moment, he was regaling her with a very amusing story about MacLeod that Dawn suspected he would kill Richie for if he ever found out it had been repeated.

"So the police caught him like that naked?" Her eyes were wide with surprise as she snuck a peak at the dignified Highlander who sat next to Adam, deep in conversation.

"Oh, not completely naked," Richie admitted, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I mean, he was wearing the garland from the mall Christmas tree."

Dawn's jaw dropped open and her mouth formed a small 'o' of surprise. Richie grinned.

Richie had never met anybody like the slayer's sister. Dawn Summers, he decided was something else entirely. She possessed a maturity far beyond her years and yet there was an energetic and youthful exuberance that even the darkest of experiences hadn't managed to take away from her. He knew that her home had been destroyed and from the emails Buffy had sent Methos, he knew some of the events of her life up until this point. He knew that her mother had died a couple of years ago for example. All of these things would have destroyed most people, or at least hindered their ability to smile. Even Buffy, when he had first met her had been beaten down by the things she had gone through, so much so that it had taken and good long while before she could move on.

He knew that Dawn hadn't by any stretch forgotten what had happened, but she didn't appear to be completely destroyed by it either. She was dealing with it, and Richie was fascinated right from the beginning by her obvious strength.

She's the sister of the slayer, he reminded himself. That alone guaranteed strength, but with Dawn he sensed it was strength of a different kind. Where Buffy was hard, determined and focused, Dawn seemed sprightly, energetic and gentle. She appeared to be more thoughtful than her quick-to-action slayer sister and more approachable to others who didn't know her.

She was pretty too. That was something that was never lost on Richie Ryan. She was tall, with clear brown eyes, silky dark hair and a graceful frame that reminded Richie of a dancer. She was the kind of girl that was pretty enough to make guys notice, but awkward still in a way that took off the pressure one might feel upon talking to her. In another few years she would be completely comfortable in her skin and her beauty and then she would make men all kinds of nervous. Richie was glad however that at the moment she seemed enthusiastic about talking to him. He felt a new warmth every time she smiled at him and decided he did not want that to end any time soon.

"Mac was pretty embarrassed," Riche said as he concluded his story. "Especially after Amanda developed the pictures and put them in her Christmas cards to everybody."

"Oh no!" Dawn said with a sympathetic giggle. She didn't really know Duncan MacLeod, but from the way Adam and her sister had described him, she got the impression that his sense of humour was a little more selective than his friend's and he wouldn't always appreciate a good practical joke. He seemed like a nice guy though, and Dawn felt a small bit of guilt for finding the story so funny especially when she barely knew the poor man.

"He'd kill me if he knew I told you all this." Richie told her, looking over at him then back again. "Well, he wouldn't actually kill me….I don't think….but still…"

"My lips are sealed," Dawn promised solemnly. "I thought you couldn't be killed anyway…."

"We're immortal, but we can still be killed." Richie told her. "If we get beheaded then we're done for. Anything else, and we just wake up and keep going."

"Like the energizer bunny!" Dawn exclaimed with a laugh. Then, as the thought of bunnies reminded her of Anya, she sobered slightly and looked away as the sadness washed over her. She wasn't supposed to be sad right now. Later.

"A little bit," Richie agreed, noticing the slight change on the girl's face when she mentioned the bunnies. "But dying is not exactly fun, even if we do come back. It hurts like hell for one thing."

"How do you become immortal?" Dawn wondered. "I mean, Buffy told me a little bit about it, but not everything. I mean, do you just get to a certain age and stop growing?"

"No," Richie said with a heavy sigh. "All immortals have the capacity to live out a mortal life span. The only way you get-'activated' I guess is the word for it-is if you die violently and get back up again. However old you are when that happens is how old you stay. I was nineteen."

"So…if you hadn't been killed…" she trailed off, leaving the implications of her words unvoiced. Richie nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he assured her. "I mean, it's not something I planned on, but I live with it. A friend of ours died the same night that I was killed. We were both shot. That was pretty tough."

"She wasn't immortal?"

Richie shook his head.

"No, she wasn't." He looked over at Duncan briefly, then back at Dawn. "She and Mac had been together for ages, I expect he would have told her if she was pre-immie. Not sure what he'd have done if she had gotten back up though. Tessa…she wasn't a killer. She was far too gentle that way."

"I'm really sorry." Dawn said sincerely. She could tell that Richie had cared for her. It was a tragic story, but it gave Dawn some insight as to why Adam thought that Duncan might be able to talk to Xander about Anya. "How…how do you know if someone is pre-immortal?"

"You sense it." Richie told her. "It's like how immortals sense each other when they get into close range, only not as strong. Not many people are pre-immie and even if they are, that doesn't mean they will become immortals. Most of them just grow old and die peacefully. Believe me, that's the better way to go."

"Mac didn't tell you that you were then?" Dawn guessed. Richie shook his head.

"I think he wanted to give me the chance at a normal life." He chuckled slightly. "That's Mac for you…always being all noble and self sacrificing for others, but not ever really knowing what they want, or need. He tried to protect me for so long, thinking I couldn't take care of myself…"

"I know how that feels," Dawn said with a wry smile. "Buffy has always been there protecting me, keeping me alive, but not always letting me live…you know? I mean, I'm grateful to her and everything, but…"

"You want out from under her shadow." Richie surmised. He nodded in perfect understanding. "I get that. I don't blame Mac for not telling me. Immortality is not something I would have chosen. Well, certainly not being eternally nineteen anyway."

"What about if someone you knew was pre immortal?" Dawn asked him. "Would you tell them?"

"I don't think immortals are supposed to." Richie replied after giving it some thought. "I've never met anybody who was pre-immortal, so I've never asked Mac if it's an official rule, but it just seems…well, it doesn't seem right. The game is something that nobody should have to participate in. Giving them the choice might feel like the right thing to do, but I think it's better to just let fate do its thing."

"Fate," Dawn mused. "Like a higher power? Believe me when I tell you I've had my fill of those. First evil, first good….they only ever cause trouble if you ask me."

"Must have been one hell of a ride," Richie guessed noticing the visible anger on her face as she spoke of what happened. "I mean, we saw the news story."

"It was crazy." Dawn agreed. "Two good friends died. And all those slayers….Xander-he's another friend of ours isn't here right now cause he's just too upset at the moment. He lost someone he loved."

"You're worried about him." It was not a question and Dawn liked that he seemed to be able to read her so well after knowing her for such a short period of time. She shrugged.

"He's alone in Paris and he's sad." She met Richie's gaze and smiled softly. "Yea, I'm worried. He was always the strong silent guy, you know? But today he went all 'Hulk smash' and it was weird. Plus…he's missing an eye and I'm kinda worried that his depth perception might cause him to fall into the Seine or something."

The last part was a joke, but Richie did not laugh. Dawn was genuinely worried and he hated to think that more heartbreak was yet to come, now that the big battle was over. Summers women…was there anything they couldn't handle?

"I'm sure he'll be…" Richie trailed off in his assurance as Dawn's gaze traveled to the door and a young man about the same age as Buffy with an eye patch on, walked into the bar.

"Xander!" She exclaimed, rushing over to where he stood and hugging him tightly. Xander looked distinctly uncomfortable as she hugged him and then pulled back and whacked him soundly on the shoulder.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, surprised by the force of it. "What was that for?"

"For taking off and scaring everybody." Dawn replied. Buffy had moved up behind her and was staring at Xander with worry in her eyes. He looked away. When he looked back he had managed to smile apologetically.

"Sorry Dawnster," he told her. "I just needed…"

"It's OK," Buffy told him, not wanting to push him any further now that he was here and appeared to be relatively stable. "Um, guys this is Xander Harris. Xander this is Duncan MacLeod, Richie Ryan and Joe Dawson."

"Nice to meet you," he said with a lopsided grin. "Sorry I'm late."

The rest of the night progressed with Buffy, Dawn and Xander all trying to pretend that everything was OK, but failing spectacularly. The battle was over, but none of them were even close to out of the woods yet. And judging from the heartache that Xander seemed to be going through, Buffy wondered if they ever would be.