Chapter 3: Buffy, It's Me, I'm Dawn

September 13, 1997 - Saturday

Dawn woke with a sigh as she looked over at her alarm clock. It was already ten o'clock in the morning. After obtaining the evidence they needed and the witness statements from Dawn and Xander for their investigation Detectives Stabler and Benson, with the doctor's permission let Dawn take Xander home with her. She had put Xander into one of the spare bedrooms.

When Dawn arrived in the kitchen to make herself breakfast, she found Xander sitting in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. "Morning, Xander," she said.

"Morning, Dawn," he returned.

Dawn let out a sigh as she heard a knock at the door. She went to open it and found a man at the door.

"Ms. Summers?" he said. "I am Michael Kuzak from Paine and Hope. The hospital said they released Mr. Harris into your care last night after the detectives had acquired their evidence and yours and his witness statements. Is he in?"

"He is," said Dawn as she let the attorney in and led him back to the kitchen. "Xander this is one of the attorneys for the law firm that administers my inheritance. As I'm sure you probably remember I called them last night before calling 911."

Xander looked at Michael and nodded. "Hi," he said.

"Mr. Harris," said Michael as he sat down. "Ms. Summers has put us on retainer for you for legal advice as well as potential emancipation if you so choose."

"I am going to let you two talk, I have some errands to run," said Dawn. "You have my cell number, Xander, if you need anything while I am gone."

"Thanks, Dawn," said Xander as he hugged his friend.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Dawn was sitting in front of 1628 Revello looking toward her sister's house as Hank Summers' car pulled out of the driveway of 1630. "She's home," she said. She got out of the car and walked toward the front door. She saw Buffy sitting on the porch swing. There were butterflies in her stomach, and it was made even worse by a faint buzz that creeped into the back of her head. It grew stronger as she approached the house. Dawn kept a smile on her face. As she approached, she immediately recognized her sister as the source of the buzz. "Hi!"

Buffy was staring at Dawn, intensely, as if studying her face. She looked towards the house, then back at Dawn, then back at the house, and then finally back at Dawn. Buffy's face was a mask of confusion, fear, and a tincture of anger. She said nothing for several seconds, before blurting out, "DAWNIE!?"

Dawn knew that like Xander, Willow and Giles that Buffy would recognize her. After all she didn't look much different than she did when she was eleven. "Hi, Buffy. Yeah, its me." At Dawn's words, Buffy's mouth had opened and closed, twice, but no sound had left Buffy's mouth. "Look, I know this is weird, but..."

She caught the change in Buffy's demeanor almost as quickly as it happened. Dawn could see the slight shift in

Buffy's weight, the tiny bursts of motion in her shoulders and her legs, and somehow Dawn knew what was coming.

Buffy's lips grew thin and her eyes narrowed, and it broadcast her intentions to anyone who knew what it meant. Dawn sidestepped the punch and pushed Buffy's arm out of line, causing the other girl to stumble. She stepped back, not wanting to seem aggressive, but Buffy followed. The senior Slayer was on the scent, like a hound after a fox, and wasn't going to let Dawn disengage that easily.

Dawn backed into the house's small front yard. A blocked punch, blocked punch, duck under a kick, roll backward to avoid a follow-up kick. "Buffy, stop! I'm not here to..." She ducked under a jab, knocked another punch aside, all the while backing away. Dawn sidestepped a kick and missed the follow-up backhand, but rolled to the side to minimize the force behind it. It put enough distance between the two girls for Dawn to drop into her own fighting stance. Dawn stepped back as Buffy's roundhouse kick swept through the area her head had previously occupied, then pushed aside her sister's follow-up punch with a high block that she turned into a capture maneuver.

Dawn grabbed Buffy's wrist and pulled. Not expecting it, Buffy stumbled forward, allowing Dawn to turn Buffy, dragging her arm back and upward in a classic arm-lock. Using her greater mass and height, she pushed Buffy forward and hooked one of her feet around Buffy's ankle and took her down to the ground as gently as she could. She wasn't there to hurt the other Slayer.

"Okay, stop. Just stop. I'm not here to fight you. Think about it, for God's sake. I'm a Slayer!" Dawn spoke directly into Buffy's ear. Buffy was struggling, and it was taking all of Dawn's effort to keep her on the ground. Buffy brought her other arm around, grabbed a handful of Dawn's hairs, and yanked. Dawn bit her lip against the scream, trying to ignore the pain. "Damn it, Buffy! I'm Dawn! I'm Dawn! Stop, already!"

"You can't be Dawn!" Buffy 's response was frantic, and Dawn suddenly realized that part of it was fear that Dawn really was who she was claiming to be. "Dawn's just a kid! You can't be her. She's not... she's not... you!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy, but it's true. You were right the first time. I'm Dawn. I'm your sister." Dawn sighed. She let Buffy go, scrambling backward out of Buffy's reach, but staying on the ground. "What can I do to convince you? Wait. Got it. When I was eight, I accidentally set fire to the back yard while trying to cook a hot dog over a campfire! Dad grounded me for a month! When I was ten, I decided I was going to grow up and marry Taylor Hanson; I played their album so often you threatened to throw it into a wood chipper!" Buffy rolled over and pulled herself onto her knees. She was staring at Dawn as if the other girl were on fire. "Oh! When Mom and Dad sent you to that hospital, I tried to give you my elephant, Fred, because I didn't want you to be lonely!"

"You tried to give me Fred." Buffy's voice was weak, almost non-existent.

"Yeah, you know. Stuffed elephant. Wears overalls. Has big white plastic buttons on his suspenders, which is why the dork orderly wouldn't let you have him 'cause you might have choked. Missing one ear. His trunk bends..."

"... to the right. Because you got sick and puked all over him and Dad put him in the washing machine. Then there was just two months ago, I followed you into the Master's cave. I watched you face the Master, I watched you drown."

"You held my head in your lap begging me to wake up," Buffy's eyes grew misty, and Dawn felt her own eyes welling over. "Dawnie? What happened? How are you so... big? How are you a Slay-" Buffy slapped a hand over her own mouth, stifling the rest of the sentence. "Oh God. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I never wanted..." Dawn watched as her sister's eyes went even wider, and was amazed that it was possible. "You're older, and you're a Slayer! You're from the future! Somehow you're from the future!"

"Yeah," said Dawn as she pulled Buffy into a hug. "I missed you so much. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Dawn could feel Buffy stiffen suddenly, then relax into the hug. "I guess -"

"What in Heaven's name is going on out here!" Dawn jerked at the voice. Both she and Buffy turned toward the house. Dawn stared at the woman on the porch.

"Buffy, who is... what happened to your face? Why do you have dirt and grass all over... were you two fighting?"

"Mom?" Dawn's vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. "Mommy?" She brushed past Buffy at a run.

"Dawn! Wait!" Buffy tried to grab Dawn by the shoulder, but it was hopeless. She ducked under Buffy's arm, vaulted the short flight of steps, and engulfed her mommy in a hug.

"Dawn..." Buffy's voice was close. "Dawn, you can't just... Oh God, how do we... Mom, you have to understand..."

Dawn released Joyce from the hug and took a half-step back, her arms still holding the other woman. Joyce's face was a moving current of surprise, confusion, sadness, anger, back to surprise and confusion. Dawn wiped the tears from her face. "You're alive and you're here! I missed you, Mommy. I missed you..." Her words dissolved into uncontrollable sobs and all of the stress and the tension and the agony and the misery of being the lone survivor of her entire world fell on Dawn all at once.

She felt Joyce pull her in, gently pushing Dawn's head down to her shoulder. Joyce's other hand rubbed small circles on her back, a gesture that Dawn could remember from every single time her mom had comforted her.

"Buffy?" Joyce asked. "Who... you called her Dawn? What is going on?"

There was silence, and then Buffy said, "That's Dawn, mom. That's our Dawn. I don't know how, but she's... I think she's from the future."

"The future? That's... what are you talking about, Buffy? That's not possible. She can't be..." For all her protests,

Joyce continued to comfort the sobbing girl. "Sweetie... um... Dawn? Honey? Look at me."

Dawn raised her head, taking a moment to wipe her nose on her sleeve. "Yeah, Mom?"

Joyce stared at her, taking in every square inch of Dawn's face. "Oh my God." She caressed Dawn's hair, then cupped her face. "You – you are Dawn. Oh my God. You're Dawn, all grown up."

Dawn just nodded. "Yeah."

Joyce looked into the house. "But... but Dawn's..."

Dawn nodded again. "I know. I'm, uh..."

"How is this poss – wait." Joyce held up a hand. "Let's – let's go inside. Okay, honey?" Joyce nodded to Buffy.

"Okay? Let's go inside."

Not waiting for an answer, she carefully walked Dawn inside. "Here, sit down." Joyce looked over at Buffy, who was hovering near the door. "Buffy, why don't you bring me a glass of water for... for Dawn."

"No, I'm okay. I'm fine." Dawn said as Buffy stopped in mid-stride at Dawn's words. "Please, just... it's okay. We should talk about this."

"Right. Talk. Okay." Joyce said.

"There is a lengthy explanation," said Dawn. "I intend to do that with our friends here as well. Tomorrow, okay? For now, you have questions, I will answer them."

The three women stared at each other, not knowing exactly what to say. Dawn was looking at anything but Buffy and Joyce, Joyce was staring at Dawn while trying make it look like she was staring at Dawn, and Buffy was studying her hands. The silence dragged on. Dawn became aware of the ticking of a clock in the kitchen, and the sounds of movement coming from upstairs. Her younger self was upstairs, moving things around, and humming. It took her a moment to recognize the tune as "MMMBop" by Hanson. She could hear it over the click of Buffy's heels as she paced.

"The first thing I want to do is tell mom," Dawn said as she looked toward her sister. "Everything."

"What? You want to tell... No!" Buffy was shaking her head, obviously furious.

"We have to, Buffy. We have to." Dawn waved off Buffy's objection. "She'll be safer if she knows what's going on."

"Tell me what?" Joyce asked. "Tell me what?"

"Nothing, Mom. It's nothing. We don't need to talk about this, Dawn." Buffy crossed her arms.

"Jesus, you are so dense sometimes." Dawn fumed. "Buffy, do believe I'm who I am? Have I proven it to you?" Buffy nodded. "Do you believe me when I say I'm from the future?" Buffy nodded again. "So, if I'm from the future, I know what's going to happen, right?"

Buffy shrugged. "I guess."

"Mom finds out eventually anyways, a year from now. I would rather do it now though as it will make the explanation of me being from the future easier to swallow. So, trust me on this, okay? Mom, you, me, and even, um, me... the other me." Dawn rolled her eyes and pointed to the ceiling.

Buffy nodded resignedly.

"What are you two talking about?" Joyce asked.

"Mom, you see. Um. Okay, this is going to be difficult." Dawn was quiet for a moment. "Hey, Buffy? I think we need a prop. How about a frying pan? Can you go find a frying pan or something? Please? It will make the discussion about how there is now two of me better to handle."

"Hold on a second." Buffy stepped through the kitchen door. Joyce and Dawn sat quietly.

Joyce seemed to want to say something, then stopped. "Yes?" Dawn asked.

"Oh. It was nothing."

"No, it's not nothing," said Dawn. "You deserve every single question answered today."

Joyce nodded as they could hear Buffy rummaging around in the kitchen.

"So, uh, when did you. Um. How should I...? When did you arrive?" asked Joyce.

"Two days ago." At Joyce's look, she nodded. "Yep. Two days ago. Arrived just at sunrise. Spent the day figuring out what was what. Met Willow and Xander before the days end. Of course, already knew them, just had not seen them in a long time."

"Where have you been staying?"

"I have a house, just down the block. I'm not quite moved in, yet. I mean, I dug some clothes out of the boxes, and some sheets." Dawn's expression lightened. "Oh! And I went grocery shopping, so I have food."

"Um, that's good. Food is good." Joyce looked around at her own house. "So how did you get a house?"

"When I came here, things had been set up for me to survive, so I've got papers, and money and a bank account." Dawn didn't want to get into the next part, but she felt she had to. "I, um... I even have a birth certificate. You're not on it. According to the birth certificate, my folks are Celia's parents. Uncle Mark and Aunt Lyssa. Apparently, I am Celia's twin now."

"If I remember right Hank said they died a couple months ago," said Joyce. "Wait, so you're all by yourself?" At Dawn's nod, Joyce frowned. "You weren't placed with Hank?"

"No, I was declared emancipated, I assume that was part of their will. All my legal stuff and money issues are handled by a law firm in LA." Dawn shrugged. "It's okay."

"What are you two talkin' about?" Joyce and Dawn turned to look at Buffy as she came back into the room, holding a saucepan.

"Where I was living. I've got a house just down the block." Dawn took the pan from Buffy. As if reading Joyce's thoughts, she said, "Don't worry. I'll replace it, I promise."

"What, you mean you're not going to live here with us now?" Buffy sounded honestly surprised.

"I could," admitted Dawn. "But the thing is, you recognized me. How many people do you think are going to notice that I look like her?" She motioned toward the ceiling to indicate her younger self. "It's one thing for me to be your cousin, Celia's twin. Coming over from time to time will draw less suspicion than if I am seen on a daily basis coming from this house."

"I guess you have a point," said Buffy with a sigh. "Wait you said you were Celia's twin?"

"Yeah I was made to be Uncle Mark and Aunt Lyssa's child."

"Wow," said Buffy.

"Dawn," said Joyce.

"Right. Um, Mom, do you remember back when Hemery High's gym burned down, and everyone was blaming Buffy? Buffy had run off to Vegas with her boyfriend, and while she was gone, I got into her diary and told you all about her saying that she was fighting monsters and vampires?" Dawn began. "Well, she really was fighting monsters and vampires. That's why she burned down the gym."

"Wait!" said Buffy. "You read my diary? I can't believe you read my diary."

"Look, it was a long time ago, okay? Years, even." Dawn shrugged. "I was only ten! What did I know?"

"For you it was years! For me it was a single year, Dawn!" Buffy grumbled. "I can't believe you read my diary."

"Girls, calm down." Joyce laid a hand on Dawn's arm and turned to Buffy. "Both of you calm down." She centered back on Dawn and her eyes got wide. "Wait. Are you implying that vampires are...? No, that's just... That everything with the monsters was real? You're telling me Hank had our own daughter committed for nothing?"

"Mom, it's okay. I survived it okay. And I don't hate you or dad." Buffy shrugged. "It was actually a little bit restful at times."

"But yeah, it's all real. And Buffy is a Slayer." Dawn said. "And so am I."

Joyce put a hand to her forehead. "Monsters are real. Monsters are real. Okay. Monsters are real." She shook her head, as if not wanting to accept what she was hearing. "And what's a Slayer?"

"Giles, would do it better," said Buffy as she glanced at her sister.

"Into every generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer," Dawn said. "Slayers are like superheroes. They've got increased strength, stamina, reflexes. They heal really fast, have really sharp senses. It's sort of a package thing."

"Okay, and you both are one of these Slayers?" Joyce asked as Buffy and Dawn nodded simultaneously. "You said you could prove it. That you could offer me evidence that you were telling the truth." It was clear that Joyce wanted anything but.

Dawn gave a slight smile and held up the sauce pan. "Nothing up my sleeve but my elbow." She casually bent the sides of the saucepan until it caved in on itself. She tossed it to Buffy, who caught it out of the air. Buffy proceeded to bend the pan in successive rolls until it resembled an empty, stainless steel tube with a handle. She tossed it back to Dawn, who handed it to Joyce. "Careful, it's a little warm where the bends are."

Joyce stared at the piece of pop art that used to be a sauce pan.

Dawn decided it was time. "Six years ago, from my perspective, I was held hostage for five years so that another Slayer wouldn't be called. Anyways several years from now, Buffy led a team of fighters against the worst threat she'd ever faced. It was like nothing she'd fought before, and she'd fought everything at that point. Witches, sorcerers, vampires, evil robots..." That caused Joyce to chuckle. "But this was nothing like anything that had come before."

"I lost, didn't I?" Buffy's mouth was pulled thin.

"Yeah. There were maybe twenty or thirty of us who went into the fight, and..."

"Wait, us? Was this before or after you were called as a Slayer?" Buffy asked.

"Before," answered Dawn.

"And you were fighting?"

"You tried to keep me out for years," explained Dawn. "But in time I started helping. Then at that battle everyone had a job to do. I did mine. You lost. The bad guys chased us out of Sunnydale whittling our numbers down. Xander and Giles died in the battle with all the girls you took in. It was just me, you, Faith and Willow. At some point you died, I don't know win as you and Willow were separated from me and Faith. For years I didn't know what had happened to Willow. Eventually it was just me and Faith. Faith died protecting me, calling me a Slayer."

"Can you?" Joyce asked. Her face was a mix of shock and concern. "Fix things, I mean?"

"I think I can. At least some things. There's a handful of things I think I can stop entirely. There are other things I think I won't be able to stop, but think I can change, hopefully for the better. And there are some things I still don't know what to do about."

"And you're going to tell us about them?" Joyce asked.

"Some of them, yeah. Not all of them," said Dawn as she felt a new tingle. It was like with the Slayer, the tingle that told Dawn that she was in the presence of the older Slayer. This was the reverse of that. It was telling her that she was in the presence of someone who also held the Key, but in this she was the senior.

Dawn turned and looked toward where the feeling came from at her younger self, her eleven-year-old self.

"Who's she?" the younger Dawn asked as she. "Buffy, is she a new friend of yours? Why is she looking at me like that?" She looked down at herself, then behind her. "Do I have something on me?"

"Dawn..." Buffy started. She closed her mouth abruptly.

"What?" Younger Dawn approached the older, obviously curious. As the two became closer to one another, Joyce suddenly let out a gasp. The smaller girl brought a hand up and traced the lines of the older Dawn's face with a finger. As she ran it across the Older Dawn's brow, she realized every single contour of the older girl's face she recognized for they were mirrored in her own. "I know who you are. I had a dream about you, the other night."

The Older Dawn understood exactly what had happened. Whatever had caused the younger Dawn to come early had caused at least during that dream for the younger girl to see at least some of her memories. "My memories," she whispered as the younger Dawn nodded. She looked at the others. "She knows who I am because she saw bits and pieces of my memories. Probably a result of how I arrived."

"Dawn..." Buffy began, slowly. "You're doing a fine job at not freaking out right now. How's that work?"

The younger Dawn shrugged. "I think she helped," she said. "Like the other me said I saw some of her memories. That said there probably should be at least some freakage, you know? But I just don't feel it."

"Well I feel it. I'm feeling a lot of it. I need a drink." Joyce stood up, looking at the three girls. "I just... I need to..." Without saying anything else, she bolted for the kitchen.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Chloe stifled a yawn as she entered the Sunnydale High School library. She placed her two suitcases, all she had in the world at the moment, behind the counter and looked around. At first, she thought no one was there, but then she noticed that the door to the library's office was open. She knocked lightly on the office door before entering. "Mr. Giles? Good morning."

"Good morning," he said. "I've just been in contact with the Council. They confirmed your assignment as Dawn's Watcher. They also suggested I provide a reference here at the school in case you wish to procure employment here as part of your cover."

"Ah, well thank you, Mr. Giles. I appreciate it. I hadn't decided yet what I was going to do." Chloe paused for a moment before continuing. "I, too, spoke to the Council. I received some in depth results of the background check on run on my Slayer."

"And what did they find?" he asked knowing exactly what they would find, what Dawn herself had said they would find, that she was Buffy's cousin.

"They found that Dawn Marie Summers was born to Mark and Lyssa Summers in 1981 in Beverly Hills, California, one of the suburb communities of Los Angeles. Mark Summers was a senior associate at Paine and Hope Law Firm in Los Angeles. Lyssa Summers, formerly Lyssa Thompson was an executive at one of the movie studios in Hollywood. She had a twin Celia Summers who died when she was eight. Their cousin Buffy, your Slayer, who was also eight years old at the time, was there, she watched as Celia Summers died."

Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them. He would have to discuss this with Buffy privately, or at least semi-privately as he might want Dawn there to help, about seeing Celia die. It would not surprise him in the least if Buffy had repressed trauma from watching her cousin die at such a young age. It would also explain, he realized, why Buffy had been afraid of facing the Master. "In your medical opinion," he said knowing that Chloe had been pre-med during her Watcher's Academy training. "Do you believe Buffy could house residual trauma at watching her cousin die?"

"In my medical opinion," said Chloe. "While not my field of interest, I was wanting to be a emergency room doctor, I do believe that there could have been residual trauma, yes. I also believe there could be residual trauma for Dawn as well."

"First her sister dies and then years later her parents die leaving her alone," said Giles. While he knew the truth, he had noticed that Dawn had been holding herself in check like she didn't want to release the emotions she felt escape. He was sure beside potentially being held captive for years she might actually have trauma from something even more scarring. "I have noticed it as well."

"I, uh, I may have betrayed my oath as a Watcher last night, Mr. Giles."

"Just Giles, please," said Giles. "I have grown accustom to the familiarity since Buffy started doing it herself not long after her move to Sunnydale.

Chloe nodded. "Very well," said Chloe. "Anyways, I failed to inform the Council that Dawn is aware of the Cruciamentum. Or that she was adamant that neither she or Buffy would be participating. Personally, I'm like you in that I feel it is a barbaric tradition designed to ensure Slayers do not live past the age of majority when they can walk away from the Council legally."

"That was always my assessment as well since most potentials and Slayers typically become the wards of their Watchers and their families give up all rights to us," agreed Giles. "So, bringing back to the topic of her background."

"Yes," said Chloe, "Dawn is a legally emancipated ward of the State of California as a result of her parents' death. Her affairs are overseen by her father's former employers, and they seem to be doing a fine job of it. This put a stop to the Council's initial idea, which was to use our connections to force an adoption through the system."

"Yes, that would make it sticky. I suppose for such an adoption to occur, she'd have to enter it voluntarily. I don't suppose..." Giles looked the question at Chloe.

"Mr. Giles, please." The female Watcher shook her head at the very idea. "I'm only four years older than Dawn. Being a mother to a teenager is out of the question as it would bring up questions. Now if we were related, I could do a kinship adoption, but since I am not then it would look weird why I am her legal adopted mother when I am not much older than she."

"And a mentor relationship would not work as well either due to your age. I believe it might be prudent to form a more personal, intimate relationship with her," said Giles. "Once you have gained her trust, you should possibly try and form a sisterly bond, someone she could talk to openly and freely."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy and both Dawns trailed Joyce into the kitchen. Joyce was sitting at the table, an empty glass and a full bottle liquor next to it in front of her.

"You going to be okay, Mom?" Buffy asked. She eyed the full bottle as she sat across the table from Joyce. Younger Dawn pulled a chair over next to her mother and gave Joyce a quick hug. Older Dawn took up a chair to her mother's right.

Joyce stared at the bottle. "I don't know."

"You probably have a lot of questions." Older Dawn said looking at Joyce.

Joyce laughed a grim laugh. "You could say that. For a start, let's talk about this Slayer thing. How long have you been..."

Buffy looked at the Older Dawn who reached across and patted her hand comfortingly. She smiled at her sister in thanks. "About a year and a half ago, is my guess. I'm not sure exactly when. Right before things went bad at Hemery."

"Wait, did this have anything to do with... no, of course it did. This is why you started having trouble." Joyce put her head in her hands. "I've been so blind." She turned to Older Dawn. "And you? How long have you been a Slayer?"

"A little over five years," answered older Dawn. "I know the exact moment pretty much when I was called."

Joyce sighed. "So how does it work? How do you become a Slayer? I mean, do you have to volunteer or something?"

"I wish that was the case," said Buffy.

"Pretty much it's more like a destiny," said Dawn. "Buffy and I kind of were destined to become Slayers. A long time ago there were these men, they imbued in a girl the essence of a demon. Since then every potential Slayer can trace their ancestry back to that girl. Technically mom, you should have been a Potential when you were our age. Now how one is called over another no one truly knows. But generally, sometime after the start of our period but before the age of eighteen is when we're called. So, if a girl starts her period at the age of say eight, she could be theoretically anyways called then."

"Really? I hadn't heard that part." Buffy said.

"But what, um, what starts it? What turns it on?" Joyce was looking from one girl to the other. Younger Dawn was just sitting and watching the byplay.

"When one girl dies, the next one is called." Buffy said in a flat tone.

"What?" Joyce turned to Older Dawn. "What does she mean?"

Older Dawn sighed. "What she means is that usually there's no retirement plan for Slayers. They fight until they die, and when they die the next girl in line inherits the power. I was called after one of Buffy's successors died protecting me. We never even knew I was a potential to begin with."

Older Dawn could see it in Joyce's face when it clicked. "Wait... Buffy's been a Slayer for... and you're from the future, so you came after..."

"Yeah." Older Dawn said.

Surprisingly, it was Younger Dawn who broke the ensuing silence. "But you're here now, right? You're going to change things."

Older Dawn nodded. "I'm going to try."

So –" Buffy coughed, trying to clear her throat. "How, uh. Crap. How..." She stopped talking and stared at the floor.

"I don't know, not for sure," said Dawn knowing that Buffy was asking how she died or how much longer she would live. "You have technically died three times. The first was at the end of the last school year in the Master's cave. That triggered a potential in Jamaica to be called."

"Wait, Buffy died?" Joyce shook her head.

"Sorry, mom," said Older Dawn as she pulled Joyce into an embrace and held there for a moment before releasing her. "You okay?"

"Somewhat," answered Joyce. "I just never pictured after what happened with Mark and Lyssa that I would have to do the same thing potentially that they did."

Dawn looked toward Buffy and sighed. She would have to talk to Joyce later about the cancer. For now, it was better to continue answering questions. "Anyways, the second will be protecting me. Buffy, you sacrifice yourself for me. There was this ritual that opened a portal with my blood and for it to close…"

"You had to be dead," said Buffy as she looked toward the Younger Dawn and let out a sigh. She looked toward the Older Dawn. "So, I jump instead."

Dawn nodded. "You were dead that time for five months, the longest five months of my life. You then get resurrected by Willow, who by the time is an extremely powerful witch. The third and final time we were separated. It was you and Willow, and me and Faith. I don't know what happened, Willow didn't say when I found her."

"Dawn, you have to tell us what's going to happen if we're going to stop it all," said Buffy.

"I know. I just... I don't remember it all. You know how I talked about keeping things secret? While I had my first encounter with a vampire from your perspective two months ago."

"What?" Joyce said as she looked at the Younger Dawn and then the Older Dawn.

"Dawn followed me," said Buffy. "The night that Dawn was just telling us, the night of my death. She saw a master vampire drink from me and then cast me aside. I fell into a pool of water and drowned. Dawn saw all of it."

Joyce looked toward the Younger Dawn and saw tears escaping the young girls' eyes. She pulled the girl into an embrace holding her. "It's okay, my little pum'kin belly," she whispered comfortingly.

Older Dawn smiled as she watched Joyce with the Younger Dawn. When Joyce looked back at her she continued, "Even though I now knew there were vampires in the world. You and Buffy kept me out of it for as long as possible. So, there's holes in my future knowledge."

"We still want to know though," said Buffy. "What you can remember anyways."

"I know and I'll tell you. But it's going to be a long conversation, that I want with everyone here, not just us. And there are some things I'm not going to tell you, because its better if you never know about them, ever."

Joyce coughed, getting their attention. "Not to change the subject, but earlier you said that you have a new birth certificate?" Dawn nodded. Joyce thought for a moment. "Your mom and dad are Mark and Lyssa... right." She looked at Buffy.

"I know, mom," said Buffy. "Dawn is technically now my cousin and I need to start thinking about her that way at least when we're out in public."

"Also, we should give Mini Me a nickname, or possibly even changing her name outright. The problem I am seeing here is there are two Dawn Marie Summers. Unless there is a logical explanation for why you and dad, Uncle Mark and Aunt Lyssa both name me and Mini Me the same…" suggested older Dawn. "I would change my name to fix that but I don't know how that might affect my inheritance."

Joyce looked at Younger Dawn and then Buffy. "She does have a point. We should come up with an excuse on why both of them share the same name." She looked at the Younger Dawn. "Maybe to differentiate between the two of you, you should go by Marie as a nickname."

"Okay, mom," said Marie.

"I don't know how long I have been here but I probably should go." older Dawn said. She glanced around herself. "Where did I put my purse?"

"Uh, you didn't have one." Buffy said. "At least not when you came up and started talking."

"Great. Left it in the car." Dawn sighed. She caught Joyce in an all-encompassing hug. "I missed you, Mom. I'll be back, I promise. Buffy, you have no idea how much it means that you're here." She turned to her younger self. "And you, I want you to behave and listen to your sister. You saw some of my memories so you know what I'm talking about."

Marie nodded as she remembered one of Dawn's memories, "It doesn't matter how you got here or where you came from. You are my sister. There's no way you could annoy me as much if you weren't," she said as Dawn nodded. She hopped off the chair and walked around the counter to Buffy and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Buffy. Be brave. Live. For me."

Buffy returned the embrace. "What was that?" she asked Dawn.

"Memory," said Dawn. "Something you said to me." She gathered herself. "I'll try and come back this afternoon as soon as I can for dinner. Then tomorrow I plan to get everyone for that lengthy explanation." And with that, she was out the door, and out of the house.

"There is one other memory..." said Marie. "It's blurry like her memories are slowly slipping away."

"What's that, pum'kin belly?" Joyce stood and picked up the bottle and glass.

"I think something happened to you." Marie stared at her mother. "We have to figure out what so we can prevent it."