Chapter Thirty-Seven: Sunnydale and Spike
The next day, Joy worked as hard as possible to avoid all council members who would be interested in asking her questions about her vision the previous day. She had said everything she felt she needed to say to Angel, and as far as she was concerned about it, these councilmen had no business prying into her past life, concerning her mother or anything else for that matter. So she remained closed on the subject.
At seven o'clock that night though, Joy was unable to ignore the new powers that her mother had promised would only continue to expand and grow more powerful as she aged.
"You are not concentrating Joy!" Marcus scolded as Joy tripped over her own feet during a common lunge and kick. "You have never shown any weaknesses with this move, why is it so complicated for you now?"
Joy shook her head and let out a long frustrated sigh. "I know, I just tripped…" She wrung out her hands and moved her head around in a circle to stretch. "I'm just tired. But it's okay…" She paused and then performed the move again flawlessly this time. "See, there's nothing wrong. I'm perfectly capable of all my moves…"
Marcus grunted, not quite convinced. "Again, this time add a spinning jump." He snapped his fingers when he wanted her to start the move and she obeyed quickly. "Good." He moved around her slowly and she stood still taking deep breaths, preparing herself for whatever he would demand of her next. "I want to test your reflexes, your instincts…do what you feel…" He paused for a minute and she closed her eyes trying to clear her head and feel the air moving around her, as though hoping it would speak to her. She wasn't quite sure what he'd throw at her today but for the past few weeks he'd been training her with everything from bolts of magic from the council's powerful Wiccas to dummies dressed up as vampires being thrown at her from all angles.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Joy called out with her eyes still closed.
Marcus snapped his fingers to alert her that he was going to begin and then a large sack packed full of sand swung down from somewhere above Joy's head and Joy expertly ducked just in time to miss it and then just as easily blocked another one with a high jump kick. Her eyes snapped open as she heard the soft clink of the metal of blades bumping together being prepared to be thrown. She saw which direction they were flying from and bent backwards as the skimmed just an inch above her stomach. Three more small daggers flew out her and she dropped to the floor, rolling quickly to avoid them. He stopped for a moment to reorganize his weapons, which gave Joy enough time to stand and catch her breath. Which probably wasn't the best thing for her to do because the second that she closed her eyes again and started clearing her mind for the next segment of attacks, she was forced into an emptiness that set her up for a crushing vision.
"Oh god…" Joy held her head in pain and dropped to her knees. "Stop!" She ordered the vision that had erupted inside her mind but it just got worse. The second it ended she was aware of Marcus kneeling beside her with a worried frown creasing his young face.
"Joy, are you alright?" Marcus reached out a tentative hand but pulled it back quickly. "I think I might be overworking you, perhaps you need a rest."
Joy's body shook as Marcus helped her to her feet. "No, I don't need rest, I've got to go!" She panted and started sprinting towards the main building in a desperate search for Angel.
"What's wrong?" Angel opened his bedroom door the second he smelled the fear cloaking Joy's body as she sprinted down the hallway towards him. She was still trying to catch her breath. She was motioning furiously with her hands but barely saying anything. Angel placed his hands on Joy's shoulders and stared deep into her eyes, waiting for her to calm down enough to speak.
"I saw an attack…they'll be gone, all of them…Buffy won't be able to help…" She panted.
"Calm down," Angel urged. Marcus came rushing down the hallway, finally catching up with his runaway slayer. "Tell me what you saw…"
"There's no time!" Joy decided vehemently. "We've got to leave now, or we won't get there in time." She started rushing down the hallway towards her own room. "I'm the only one that can help…"
"Joy stop!" Marcus insisted, hurrying after her. "Explain your hurry to us and then we can perhaps help you…" he didn't seem to convinced of really being able to do anything for the hysteric girl.
"Buffy will be out tomorrow night…and everyone at home…they'll be unprotected."
"Joy, you're too unnerved. Vampire's can not enter without an invite…" Angel reminded gently, but Joy was already shaking her head.
"They don't enter. They burn the house down. Nobody will survive."
"Why are your visions always so damn deadly?" Angel growled. When Joy started frantically stuffing her clothes back into her bag he sighed. "Joy, let's just call Buffy and warn them."
Joy nodded absently and continued packing up her bags. She handed her cell phone to Angel and he quickly dialed Buffy. When there was no answer he tried Xander, and then Dawn's cell phone, but still nobody would answer. He turned to Joy with an apologetic smile. Joy didn't need an explanation.
"We have to go Angel." Joy stated softly.
"Right," Angel didn't try to argue again. "Marcus, please arrange for our plane. I'll be ready in five minutes, Joy." He left Joy's room and headed back to his own to gather his things.
Marcus was left alone with Joy, staring at her in surprise and confusion. "Umm, Miss Peters…Joy…are you sure…"
She silenced him with a simple nod of her head. "Marcus, I have to go." She turned to him slowly. "I've learned a lot from you this past month and I'm grateful, I guess, but honestly I've learned everything I can. You know it. There's nothing else you can teach me, I'm ready to go back home. Admit it."
Marcus nodded in agreement. "I will go and arrange your transportation back to the states."
"Thank you for understanding." Joy stuffed the final piece of clothing into her suitcase and zipped it closed. "I'm going to go and say goodbye to Eline."
Ten minutes later, Angel and Joy were sitting on the private plane that was ready to take them back to California. Joy was sitting in a large chair, with her knees tensely hugged into her chest. She was rocking back and forth nervously, silently counting the seconds as they passed.
Angel sat across the aisle from her, watching her fearfully. He'd never seen her so distraught before. Even though this month at the council was supposed to have helped her and given her answers, as far as Angel was concerned it only made her life more confusing and stressful.
"Joy, there's nothing you can do right now so you might as well try to think about something else." Angel encouraged. "You are going to drive yourself crazy thinking about it by time we get to Sunnydale."
Joy's head snapped up and she almost fell out of her chair when Angel spoke. She seemed to have forgotten that he was there.
"I'm serious. Try to rest. You have almost twelve more hours before we're there." Angel suggested. "If anything really exciting happens I'll wake you up, okay?"
Joy nodded, "Okay, fine. But I doubt I'll be able to sleep for very long."
"Just try."
Almost twelve hours later though Joy was still very much asleep. The plane was only a few minutes away from landing at its private airstrip in Sunnydale and the sun had just set. Angel knew that Joy would panic when she realized that her foreseen attack could happen at any time.
The pilot announced that they were reaching their destination and Joy started to stir. She opened her eyes slightly and noticed Angel staring out the window at the dark city that they were quickly approaching.
"Why did you let me sleep so long?" Joy accused as she sat up and stretched.
"Well, I thought you needed rest. It's probably going to be a long night for you."
"God I hope we're not too late." Joy bit her lip and checked the time on her cell phone. She kept unconsciously chewing on her lip as the plane touched down and the pilot pulled it to a complete stop.
"Joy, relax." Angel warned her in a low voice.
She glanced up at him and winced slightly as she realized that she had been grinding her lip so hard it was now bleeding. "I didn't even realize…" She wiped the blood away from her mouth and cleaned her fingers off with her shirt, staining the edges of the white material. "Let's hurry." She was up and out of her seat before the plane was even completely stopped. Angel stood up with her and grabbed both of their bags. They waited by the door and as soon as the steps were lowered Joy ran out into the night, with Angel sprinting along behind her towards the waiting taxi that Angel had thought to call for while they were still in the air.
Joy directed the driver to the cemetery and sat on the edge of her seat the entire way. The driver pulled up in front of the cemetery, frowning but not questioning his passengers' strange request for a drop-off place.
"I'm going to find Buffy. Go back to the house and check on the others." Joy instructed Angel. He didn't argue with her, he knew better then that. She leapt out of the car and sprinted towards the center of the cemetery and Angel instructed the cab to the Summers' house.
Joy ran silently through the grassy graveyard, leaping over short headstones, her eyes busily scanning the dark for any signs of the other slayer. Joy heard Buffy before she could see her. She ran towards the older slayer's voice.
"I don't know what you think you're all going to achieve here tonight, boys!" Buffy's words were interrupted occasionally by the sounds of fierce kicking and punching. Joy could just picture her fighting off a group of novice vampires who of course had absolutely no chance of surviving against Buffy's excellent skills.
Joy ducked under a low-hanging tree branch and spotted Buffy through the bushes. She was anxious to interrupt the slayer's nightly patrol, eager to inform Buffy of her mistake in leaving the house that night. However, before Joy had a change to emerge from her hidden location behind the bushes she was tackled to the ground from behind. She tried rolling the body away from her but her attacker was surprisingly strong for an ordinary vampire and she had to struggle more then usual. Her arms were pinned at her sides and knees were locked on either side of her legs to keep her from kicking. When she calmed her nerves down enough to comprehend her surroundings she realized that there was something very familiar about the scent of her attacker. She frowned as she recognized the strange mixed smell of cigarette smoke, leather, and cookies.
"Spike?" Joy strained her neck, trying to see behind her.
"Bloody hell!" Spike gasped. But he didn't move off of her right away. "What're you doing here Gidget?"
"I'm here to help Buffy…" She frowned and tried to wriggle free from his grip. "Can I get up, please?"
"Oh right, sorry!" Spike moved off of her and picked her up off the ground, setting her gently on her feet. "Now, why're you here? I thought you were in England!" There was an unmistakable smile on Spike's face and Joy couldn't help smiling herself. It was good seeming him again. It had been so long and Joy hadn't realized how much she'd missed him. For a split second she felt a strong urge to wrap her arms around his neck and let him hold her in a tight embrace…
"Umm," She quickly snapped her mind back to the reason that she had left England in the first place. "I have to tell Buffy…Dawn's in trouble, again." Joy turned away from Spike, trying to clear her thoughts about him out of her mind so she could focus on helping Buffy. She slipped through the bushes and rushed over to Buffy who had just knocked a vampire to the ground. "Buffy!"
Buffy spun around and her eyes grew wide when she saw Joy approaching her. "You're back!" She smiled happily. "How was England?" She ducked as a vampire swung at her and staked him quickly before returning her attention to Joy.
"Buffy I'm back because I needed to warn you! I had a vision." Joy was surprised at how easy it was for her to admit that to Buffy. It had only been a month but she had already become very comfortable with the fact that she was the daughter of a goddess.
"Really? Well, what's up?" Buffy didn't seem to be taking Joy's eagerness too seriously.
"It the house. It's going to be attacked…" Joy explained in a rush. "You have to come back with me now!"
Spike had followed Joy out from behind the bushes and was watching her in complete captivation. He knew that he had missed her while she had been away; he thought about her every day. But he hadn't realized how excited he would be to see her again when she finally returned. A vampire was trying to creep up behind the Slayers but Spike dusted him before either girl had a chance to fight.
"Joy, what are you talking about? I haven't seen this many vamps out for weeks!" Buffy motioned to the dozens of shadowy creatures creeping through the trees, starting to surround the two slayers.
"It's a distraction." Joy decided confidently. "Something is going on tonight, some sort of demon plan. They're going to set fire to your house and burn down everyone inside." Joy told Buffy quickly.
Buffy frowned for a second, not quite believing the anxious young slayer, but Joy's eyes were entirely serious. "Okay, umm, then what exactly am I supposed to do about these? I can't just ignore them!"
Joy frowned. "You have to! Dawn needs you." Joy knew that her sister was the only thing that could convince Buffy to abandon her nightly patrol. "Please, I know it sounds crazy, but you have to trust me."
Buffy was taking position to fight again but when she looked at Joy and saw how honestly terrified she looked, Buffy reconsidered. "Okay, let's go."
Joy nodded and pushed Buffy ahead of her, back through the trees, away from the approaching vampires. Before following, Joy glanced at Spike briefly.
"I'll stay here and take care of them." Spike decided with a casual shrug. "See you later, I guess."
Joy nodded and started to follow Buffy who, obviously completely believing Joy, was now sprinting down the sidewalk towards her house.
Spike touched her arm as she passed him. She glanced at him quickly. "Umm, I'm glad you're back, Gidget." He let a brief grin play at his lips before shaking it off and turning to the oncoming vampires, preparing to fight them.
Joy smiled to the back of his head and then turned and ran after Buffy's small shadow that had moved far into the distance.
By the time Joy arrived at the Summers' house, she found Buffy and Angel engaged in a furious battle against a group of at least a dozen vampires. Joy spied three more slowly sneaking towards the house carrying what looked like cans of kerosene and lighters. She slipped around the outside of the group attacking Buffy and Angel and crept up behind the other three. She pulled out the only weapons that she had with her (a small vile of holy water from the back pocket of her jeans, a stake stuffed in her belt, and a six-inch dagger sheathed inside her left boot) and took her stance behind the three vampires who were preparing to soak the house with the lighter fluid. One of the three vampires was hanging slightly farther behind the other two and Joy actually managed to stake it in the back before any of them had noticed her presence. As the first vampire turned to dust though the other two turned around angrily and instantly attacked Joy. She threw the holy water at one of the vampires and he growled in agony as the liquid burned on his face. Joy jump-kicked the other vampire in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards while the other one took a few moments to recover from his sizzling flesh. He did recover though, and with a new sense of revenge, he lunged at Joy knocking the stake from her hand. Joy tripped backwards briefly but quickly caught herself and punched the vampire hard in the gut before lifting her dagger and slicing him deep across the bicep. He screeched in pain and swung his arms angrily, trying to hit Joy but she managed to duck his swatting and kick his legs, sending him tumbling to the ground. Before Joy had a chance to think though the other vampire had wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning her arms to her side. She threw her head back hard and made contact with his face. She felt his sharp teeth slice against her skull and she shut her eyes tightly trying to ignore the sting as blood dripped from the cut. Out of surprise he loosened his hold on her and she fought free, turning around and punching him hard in the face. As he tripped backwards on the ground with the other, Joy pulled her cigarette lighter out her front pocket and flicked it on, setting fire to both of the vampires jackets. They flailed their arms helplessly as their frames erupted in bright flames and they turned to dust.
Joy instantly turned back to assist the others in their own battles, but saw that between the two of them they had already managed to dust most of the vampires and there were now only two left. Angel was fighting one, particularly strong vampire who actually managed to knock Angel to the ground with a hard kick in the stomach. Buffy's attacker didn't seem quite as strong since Buffy easily kept her stance after his many hits, but he was quick and managed to avoid most of her attacks.
Joy wasn't sure which to help at the moment. But then Buffy's vampire got the better of her and kicked her legs out from underneath her, sending Buffy sprawling out on her back. He leapt on top of her pinning her arms to the ground. Joy jumped on the vampire's back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling back hard until his neck snapped and a cloud of dust coated both girls.
"Thanks," Buffy sighed as Joy helped Buffy to her feet. The girls looked at Angel who had just dusted the vampire that he had been fighting. He grinned at the girls eagerly, ignoring the fact that his face had turned vamp.
Buffy didn't seem to notice it either, but Joy was still a little uncomfortable and she glanced away, trying to look natural and undisturbed. Angel noticed her unconscious frown though and quickly shook his fangs away.
"See, I told you to trust me." Joy didn't know what else to say.
Buffy nodded with a shrug. "Welcome home." She held out her arms and gave Joy a friendly hug. "Let's go inside. I'm sure Dawn will be excited to see you!" Joy turned back to Angel to make sure that he was following them inside.
Dawn was waiting to open the door as soon as she was certain that everything was safe outside. She squealed and pulled Joy into a tight hug. "I missed you!" She exclaimed excitedly as Joy returned the hug. "I've never had a more boring first month of summer!"
Joy laughed. "Well, mine wasn't too much better I'm sure!"
"You have to tell me all about England, did you get to see anything fun?" Dawn wanted to know.
"Actually, I never got to leave the council so I didn't see anything. I might as well have still been in California." Joy allowed Dawn to lead her over to the couch while Buffy and Angel whispered a brief explanation of the battle outside to Willow and Tara who had been waiting nervously by the front door.
"How'd you know about the vampires here?" Dawn asked curiously, not giving Joy much time to catch her breath.
"Umm, I had a vision…" Joy glanced up at the two witches who had moved into the living room, obviously eager to hear about the young slayer's vision.
"Joy, are you hungry? Do you want anything?" Tara offered thoughtfully.
Joy started to nod and then paused. "Wait…" She leapt to her feet and headed towards the front door. "I completely forgot about Spike…"
"Joy, wait…" Buffy tried to stop her from leaving. "I'm sure he's fine."
"He might need help!" Joy decided. "He was way outnumbered when I left him." She stepped outside. Buffy started to follow but Joy waved her back. "Don't worry about coming with me, I'm sure the two of us can handle things."
Buffy shrugged and stayed just outside the doorway with Angel, watching as Joy set off at a run back towards the cemetery.
"She's starting to care about him, isn't she?" Buffy asked Angel knowingly. Angel nodded without saying anything. "He cares about her too." Buffy sighed. "I could tell how much he missed her when she was gone."
"Joy talked about him a lot too." Angel told Buffy.
"I don't like it." Buffy decided. "He's not safe for her. She doesn't understand how dangerous…I mean he's not good for her…"
"I know." Angel agreed solemnly. "She promised to be careful, but I don't think she fully realizes why she needs to be."
"Maybe we should talk to Spike…" Buffy thought out loud. Angel didn't answer. "Yea, you're probably right." Buffy agreed as though she'd read his silent thoughts. "If he really cares about her as much as he seems to…we won't be able to talk him out of it…"
Joy sprinted towards the cemetery without thought. She felt bad to have forgotten about Spike for so long as it was and she was afraid that he might have been too outnumbered by all the other vampires. She realized that it was a bit strange for her to be worrying so much about Spike's well-being. He was a vampire after all and she shouldn't care, but…she tried to shake her worry about him from her mind, but her pace increased nervously.
A shadow loomed ahead of her in the distance and she squinted, trying to make out the form. Her hand instinctively moved to the stake sheathed at her side and she slowed down just a little, slightly apprehensive about whatever creature was moving towards her. Before the figure was near enough for Joy to see its face, she stepped off the path she was on, and into the shadows cast by the trees that lined the sidewalks, still creeping forward but much slower.
"Joy!" The figure called out to her just after she had ducked into the shadows.
"Spike!" Joy stepped out of the shadows, instantly recognizing his voice. "You're okay!" She couldn't help letting out a deep sigh of relief.
"Of course, didn't you think I'd make it?" Spike caught up to her and at closer inspection Joy realized that he was limping slightly and his lip was bloody.
"Well, yea, but…" Joy shrugged, not quite sure how to tell Spike that she had been worried about him. So instead of telling him she just smiled at him. "Umm, the others are waiting…" She was staring to feel a little nervous being alone with Spike. She wished that she could just talk to him normally like she used to but, now that she was starting to feel something for him…well she wasn't really sure what she was feeling but…Oh this is ridiculous! She criticized herself inside her head. I'm just feeling all weird because I let myself believe that Spike might have feelings for me. I'm sure he doesn't and I'm just being a stupid girl…She lifted her chin a little and turned away from Spike. "Come on." She started walking briskly back towards the house and Spike followed closely at her heels.
"Joy…" He spoke softly from directly behind her. "I meant what I said earlier…"
"About what?" Joy decided it was best for her sake to just play dumb and hope Spike couldn't read her feelings to well.
"I'm really glad that you're home. It was sort of boring without you around." He stepped up beside her and kept his pace even with hers.
"Are you saying that you missed me?" Joy couldn't stop the flirty grin that emerged on her face. Maybe I'm not stupid. Maybe he really does care about me…
"Yea, well, maybe I did…" Spike seemed a bit tense all of a sudden. "Didn't you miss me at all?"
"I don't know, I didn't really have much time to think about it." Joy teased. "The council kept me pretty busy…"
"Oh…well, yea, I was keeping pretty busy myself…" Spike decided quickly.
"Of course you were." Joy agreed. They were almost back at the Summers' residence and neither of them spoke again until they were inside with the others.
"Good, you're back." Buffy greeted them at the front door. "Come on into the living room, everyone's waiting."
Joy followed the older slayer into the room and sure enough everybody was gathered around, looking expectantly toward the entryway. Tara and Willow were sitting close together on the couch while Dawn sat opposite them in an overstuffed chair, and Giles leaned patiently against the wall. Xander and Anya sat on the other, smaller sofa and Joy realized that she hadn't even noticed them when she had been in the house before.
"Where's Riley?" Joy asked, noting the absence of Buffy's boyfriend.
"Oh, he left." Buffy stated simply.
Angel's eyes seemed to brighten just slightly from their usual broodiness but the natural shadow returned just as quickly when Buffy spoke again.
"He had to do some work for the government but he'll be back in a few days."
"Oh," Joy glanced at Angel, momentarily wondering if he had ever truly gotten over his feelings for Buffy, even though he claimed that he had. She didn't completely believe him.
"So Joy, tell us what happened in England…" Buffy urged.
Joy hesitated. "Can it wait…Spike's hurt…" She glanced at Spike who was trying to casually wipe the blood away from his lip, while he was very obviously favoring his right leg as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Don't worry about me Gidget," Spike frowned. "It's just a scratch." He straightened up and seemed to be forcing himself to put weight on his hurt leg. "I think I'll be going though, I'm not really one for the big reunions." He headed for the door. "See you around." His eyes locked briefly on Joy and she swore that he was trying to convey to her more then he was saying, but then he left.
"Don't worry about him, Joy." Angel echoed. "He'll be fine and he doesn't need you to baby him."
Joy blushed. "I wasn't trying to…" She shook her head. "Anyway, about the council…" The others leaned forward anxiously waiting to hear what she was going to tell them. "So, it turns out that I'm sort of a goddess." Joy stated bluntly. The others stared at her with frowns or puzzled stares and so Joy started telling them everything, starting with the second that she and Angel arrived in England to the second that they left. She didn't leave out anything that she thought they needed to know, of course she didn't mention a word about the private talks that she had shared with Angel; that was none of their business.
"Well, I guess we've got ourselves some more magic on our hands." Xander grinned.
Joy shook her head quickly. "I'm not magical Xander." She looked at Giles. "Am I?"
Giles sighed and nodded slowly. "Actually Joy, as the offspring of a goddess I believe you yourself are quite magical. Joy, your visions could prove to be a powerful asset in our constant fight against evil. You have already managed to save the lives of your friends twice and I am certain that your visions will prove to be just as powerful in the future."
Joy bit her lip. "Yea, I guess you're right…" She glanced up at Angel who was smiling down at her, looking almost proud. She smiled back at him. "I just wish my visions weren't so damn painful." She rubbed the temples of her head gently, trying to ignore the pain that still hadn't gone away since the vision.
"Your head still hurts?" Angel was instantly worried.
"Yea, just a little though. It's not half as bad as it was. I think I'm just tired…" Joy wanted an excuse to get away by herself.
"I'm sure you are, why don't you go to bed?" Buffy stood and retrieved Joy's suitcases from where Angel had left them just inside the front door. "Come on."
Joy nodded and started following Buffy up the stairs. She was surprised when everyone else started following, but she didn't say anything. Buffy led the way down the hallway, but instead of stopping at her own room, which Joy had been occupying before, she moved all the way to the end of the hallway to the spare bedroom that used to be a room purely for storage. Joy frowned as Buffy pushed the door opened and flipped on the light, standing back to let Joy enter.
"Oh my god!" She gasped as she entered the room. The room had been completely cleared of all the junk that used to be stored in it and all of her furniture from her aunt and uncle's house had been moved in and set up. The walls were still the old tacky brown color and the floral print drapes would definitely not be staying in the room, but she couldn't believe that she actually had her own room. "Buffy, this is incredible!"
"I thought it was time that you had your own room. Plus I was sort of sick of sharing a room with Dawn." Buffy grinned. "She snores."
"I do not!" Dawn defended herself from the hallway.
"I can't believe it! I have my own room!" Joy felt her eyes watering and she forced them back, ashamed at the emotion that was threatening to show.
"Well, Xander, Riley, and Spike helped me move the furniture and the girls arranged it all in here." Buffy explained.
"You guys are so…thank you!" She felt like the right thing to do would be to go around in a circle and hug everyone, but that would definitely take too much emotion, so she clenched her hands into fists and continued fighting against the tears.
"Well I'm glad you like it." Dawn smiled and stepped up next to Joy and gave her a quick hug. "Buffy said that as soon as you got home we'd go out and pick out paint and everything so you can decorate it how you want it."
"Great, that's awesome!" Joy nodded. "I really appreciate it, you guys. Thanks so much."
"Alright, now everyone out so Joy can get some sleep." Buffy ordered, pulling Dawn out by the elbow.
"Umm, okay…" Dawn stumbled out backwards. "I guess we'll talk tomorrow Joy!" She looked disappointed.
Joy nodded. "I'm sorry Dawn, but I'm so tired. Let's spend the day together tomorrow, okay? We'll have a complete girls' day, with manicures and everything." Dawn was smiling. "We'll even watch Sixteen Candles, okay?"
"Great, okay! I'll see you tomorrow!" Dawn, in a much better mood, followed Buffy willingly out of the room, leaving Joy alone to rest.