"Welcome to Summer's Shore Side Surfing and Supplies, can I help you with anything?" Dawn locked her eyes on the young man in front of her. He had long brown hair, spilling over his eyes and beautifully tanned skin, which was very apparent by the fact he was shirtless.
Dawn could feel the color creep into her face and turned to Oz for aid, who quickly stepped up to help. "We're here to see Alex, he's expecting us."
Dawn noticed a slight glow to her friend, Oz was certainly in his element here, not that he wasn't in Sunnydale; he was just very adaptable in just about anywhere. She was shook out of her thoughts as Oz placed a hand on her back and motioned for her to follow the dark haired employee into the back section. Drew Barrymore's famous line from Ever After rushed into Dawn's mind "Just Breathe." Dawn would have laughed at the thought if this wasn't such a serious matter.
The young man in front of her stopped next to a door and waved Dawn and Oz in.
"Thanks Joe, oh and tell Danny he still owes me six hours of work for that board," the blonde man in the room rose to greet the two visitors. Their escort nodded, "sure thing Alex," and with his task completed, he shut the door and returned to the front desk, Dawn could only assume. She redirected her attention to Alex who flashed a grin and offered his hand, which she shook firmly.
"I feel honored that you two flew out from Cali to come see me. I know Oz here from S+S trips, but you I've never had the pleasure of meeting before Ms-?"
Dawn raised an eyebrow at Oz who muttered, "Soul searching."
She nodded knowingly, and turned back to Alex, "Summers, Dawn Summers." Dawn noticed his ears perked with interest with she said that, and he motioned for them to have a seat at the table.
Oz placed a briefcase on the tabletop and popped it open as Dawn sat down and attempted to quell her nerves.
"Could I get you something to drink? Water? Soda?" Alex asked as he too settled into a seat. Dawn shook away the offer as Oz place the briefcase on the floor, leaving a single folder in front of him.
"Alex, I'm not entirely sure how to do this properly so I suppose I'll just dive in," Oz began as he slid the folder to the young man across from him. "You've got a living relative who is interested in meeting you."
Alex's eyebrow rose in question, "oh really?" He opened the folder and scanned the contents. Buffy's marriage license laid on top followed by deeds to assorted houses, a bunch of other legal papers Alex could only dream the meaning of, and a couple of birth certificates. The first was his older brother Alex already knew about, Scott Summers. The second birth certificate belonged to Alex himself. Behind the certificates were a few snapshots of a laughing family of four. Alex and Scott as little children, sitting on the shoulders of people Alex undoubtedly would never forget; their mother and father. While Alex had nabbed his mother's blonde wavy hair, Scott took after their father, from the tight dark locks to the focused, commanding brown eyes to the air of responsibility that seemed to engulf them.
"And who might this relative be Oz?" Alex traced his finger over his mother's face; her laughing eyes seemed to hold a secret that she had taken to the grave. Of course, Alex's father, Warren, had plenty of secrets as well, one of which changed the lives of Scott and Alex forever. "Who could possibly have interest in an 18 yr old surfer boy? And why now? Why did they suddenly find interest in me? Level with me Oz, what's the hidden agenda?"
"I don't have one, Alex," Dawn said softly, looking down at her hands in her lap. She could feel him look at her, examining her more fully, as if he had missed something the first time.
Alex leaned back in the chair, sneering, "And who might you be Ms Summers? My dear mother or maybe a sister I was never aware of?"
"Alex, let us explain," Oz said sternly. "We just found out the truth ourselves a few days ago." Oz placed a hand on top of Dawn's, squeezing it reassuringly.
"I'm your aunt Alex, and whether or not you want to believe it isn't the reason I'm here. I came because I know what it's like not to have family. I know first hand how it feels to not have anyone. I came because you should find out the truth straight from the horse's mouth. I came because I'm not letting Buffy keep me from my family, not again." Dawn raised her eyes on locked onto Alex's. He could feel her hurt, but he didn't care. Who was she to claim she knew what it was like? She was normal for god's sake, and Alex, he was far from normal.
Alex stood up suddenly, "you don't know anything lady. You think you can claim to be a long lost relative or whatever and expect me to take you into my arms and claim you as family? You're wrong. You're not the first to try it, even with documents in hand, and you certainly won't be the last. Now I'm a very busy man, I think it's time for you two to leave."
Oz rose uneasily, it wasn't supposed to go like this, not this way. Dawn however, stayed seated, eyes locked on Alex still. It's time to pull a Buffy, Dawn thought to herself. A quick shift of her facial expressions was all she needed, at least, that's all Buffy needed.
"Alexander Harris Summers, I flew here from Sunnydale, California. I had to change planes four times to get here, and I fear heights. Now I came here in search of finally meeting one of my nephews that my late sister had failed to mention the existence of. Now you've got two choices: Option A, you can continue being the inconsiderate pity party surfer boy and ignore everything coming out of my mouth. Option B, you can be civil and let us tell you of how we discovered Buffy's well hidden secret. Either way, we're not going anywhere till we say what we came to say."
EOC
