Episode 4 Chapter 4 Part 2

Dawn's Lament

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Zett Jukassa couldn't stop thinking about Dawn.

It was illogical, he knew. It was over between the two of them. That much she had made clear. But he still didn't understand why.

Zett had been given to the Jedi as a newborn by his parents and raised in the strict confines of the Jedi Temple. He had never known love; his experiences with Dawn had been his first taste of a romantic relationship, as well as his first real attachment. Dawn had truly opened his eyes, showing him what it was like to love and be loved…

And then, inexplicably, she ripped it all away. And for the life of him, he couldn't understand it.

"And then one time, at band camp…oh, forget it. He's not even listening to me," an irritable voice said, snapping Zett's attention back to the here and now.

"Band camp? Where the hell did you get that from?"

"I hear the Slayers saying it on occasion. It's probably one of the things we missed while we were 'away'."

The Jedi Knight was seated in Master Skywalkers' personal quarters at her insistence, along with Xander and, much to his discomfort, Willow. While Dawn had tried to warm him up to the former Sith, Zett could never forget what she had done at the temple or how many lives she had taken that night. Still, Willow had made remarkable strides over the years in trying to atone for the past. She and her teacher, Tara, had helped Dawn's team out of more scrapes than he could remember and for that he had earned his gratitude. Still, it was a bit…odd… to be sitting here as she tried to comfort him.

"My apologies, Master. My mind was elsewhere…"

"Yeah, on my sister," Buffy sighed. "Listen, Zett - Dawn's going through some tough times right now. Vi was her friend - I might even say best friend - and her loss devastated her. She's taking her anger and frustration out on everyone around her and unfortunately you got caught in the crossfire."

"I know everybody is saying to just give her time," Xander added. "But that's the best idea right now. Once she works through this, she'll come around."

"Dawn loves you, Zett," Willow added. "I'm not sure if she even fully realizes it. But I can tell in the ay she looks at you, the way she talks about you. Don't give up on her, Zett."

Zett smiled sadly. "I don't intend to. But I must say that life was easier before we were allowed attachments."

"The really good things are worth fighting for, Zett," Buffy said. "And sometimes, they're worth suffering for-" Buffy hissed suddenly, feelings of pain and despair flooding her senses through the Force. Likewise Willow suddenly doubled over, the pain too intense for her fractured Force control. As for Zett…

Zett, hear me…

"Dawn…." he whispered. Then like a shot, he was on his feet and out the door, with Buffy and Willow right behind him. Xander, alarmed by the sudden change of mood, took off soon after.

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With Dawn's pain still fresh in his mind, Zett tore through the halls of the Watcher's Council. Dimly he noticed other Jedi moving through the halls, no doubt called by the same disturbance in the Force he was. Though he doubted if they knew what was causing it.

Zett came up to the second floor balcony and without stopping leapt over the railing, using the Force to carry him down to the first floor. Buffy and Willow followed, leaving a panting Xander behind. Groaning in frustration, he leapt up onto the banister and slid the whole way down, landing less than gracefully at the bottom.

"Damn super powers…" Xander grumbled, hauling himself to his feet. He saw the door the lower level stairway was open and made for it.

"Xander!" The carpenter turned and saw Anakin and Padmé heading for him. "What's going on?"

"Something happened to Dawn. Everybody's heading down…"

"Lead the way," Anakin interrupted and the three headed for the stairwell.

Zett burst through the stairwell door and looked down. While the original manor the Council had set up shop in had an underground level that was originally used for servant quarters and laundry rooms, in more recent years there had been several underground additions to the manor, including an armory, a simulated training course and several large storage vaults for dangerous or valuable artifacts. Closing his eyes, Zett tried to focus on Dawn through the Force. It took him only moments to find her in the lowest vault, five floors below. Without hesitation he leapt over the railing, letting himself fall between the stairs and using the Force to control his decent. He landed gracefully at the bottom and dimly noted that Buffy and Willow landed right behind him. Without a thought, he reached out to the heavy locked vault door through the Force and ripped it off of its hinges, sending it crashing into the all besides them. The three ran into the room - and were stopped short by what they saw.

Crates. Dozens and dozens of crates, along with artwork, statues….

"Holy Hannah," Willow murmured. Buffy groaned.

"She went. She disobeyed our orders and went. Of all of the times to be a rebellious teen…"

Zett wasn't focused on their conversation; instead he was glancing around frantically for his fallen lover. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he spied a pair of feet lying on the ground.

"DAWN!" he yelled running over to her fallen body and sliding to a halt besides her. "Dawn! Dawn, come on! Wake up!" he screamed, shaking her .The fallen girl groaned and weakly opened her eyes.

"Hi," she said hoarsely. "Knew you'd hear me. Sorry…"

"Don't talk, Dawn. Just stay awake. MASTER!" Zett called out behind him, "She's over here! She needs a medical team NOW!"

Buffy came around to where the two Jedi lay and covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, God," she breathed, looking at her badly beaten sister. She turned at once to Willow. "Can you…"

"I'm on it," the witch said, falling to her knees next to Dawn and placing her hands on her. Instinctively she let the Force, along with her own magic, flow through her and into Dawn, trying her best to heal the girl's injuries. After a few moments, she frowned.

"I can stabilize her," she announced as Xander, Anakin and Padmé entered. Anakin's eyes widened in alarm when he saw Willow kneeling over an injured Dawn.

"What are you doing?" he demanded harshly.

"She's trying to save our sister!" Buffy spat back. "So let her work!"

"I can stabilize her," Willow said again patiently, "but I can't heal her like I did Shmi. There are massive internal injuries, and not all of them were from the fight she was in."

"Portal…wasn't stable…." Dawn groaned in pain. "Couldn't wait….had to leave early… fells like...I'm leaving…again…."

"You're not going anywhere, Dawn!" Zett said forcefully. "Stay with us!"

"Sorry…I can't stay…love you, Zee…" Dawn murmured, her voice trailing off as the darkness took her once more.

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One Week Later

Willow sat in her darkened room, staring off into nothing. Beside her was a cold cup of tea that she had hardly touched; on the table in front of her, several volumes of magical texts that Tara had dropped off several days ago. It had been a week since they had found Dawn, bloodied and broken in the Council's vault. Willow couldn't help but remember the helplessness and fear she had felt as she desperately tried to save her young friend.

"Penny for your thoughts, sweetie?"

Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I thought my locking charms were stronger."

"I've taught you everything you know about magic, sweetie," Tara said, closing the door behind her and stepping into the darkened room. "But I haven't taught you everything I know."

"Huh," Willow sighed. "I just can't help but think…that I could have done more…"

"By doing what? Tapping into your Dark Side?" Tara asked gently. Willow shook her head emphatically.

"No! Never that. I know now that NOTHING good could ever come out of the Dark Side. It's just…"

"That you feel like you didn't do enough." Willow nodded. "Sweetie, you did everything you could have done. You did more than you were able to do with Shmi, from what you tell me. Find happiness in that. Willow," Tara moved to kneel in front of the older witch, "you have come so far from the broken woman you were when you came back. Your magical knowledge has grown by leaps and bounds. In fact, I'm afraid there's very little left I can teach you."

"But I believe there is some thing I can teach you."

Willow looked up in alarm at the source of the other voice - and finally noticed the tall figure of Anakin Skywalker lurking in the shadows by the door. Tara smiled.

"I'll leave you two alone," she said serenely, wagging a finger playfully at Anakin. "You be nice."

Anakin nodded and Tara slipped out of the room, leaving the two alone in awkward silence. After a few moments, Anakin cleared his throat.

"Well, this is a bit awkward for me." Willow couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah. Me, too." Another pause. "So, what brings you to the dark side of the moon?" Willow cringed. "Bad choice of words, there."

"It's alright," Anakin said. "This is difficult for me, Willow. You hurt me. You forced me to kill my colleagues, my friends, my family…" Anakin sighed. "But at the same time, you saved my mother. And you saved my sister…"

"I should have been able to do more for her," Willow argued.

"If you hadn't stabilized her," Anakin pointed out, "Dawn would have died."

She knew he was right. Thanks largely to her efforts; Dawn's vitals had been stabilized shortly after the girl had passed out for the final time. It was then up to Zett and Buffy to bring her up to the Councils' medical ward, where she was immediately immersed in their recently acquired bacta tank. The miracle liquid had done its work well and after only four days Dawn had been well enough to be taken out of the tank and placed on a medical bed. Dr. Soren, the recently found Jedi that had gathered the medical equipment and come across the barrier with it, had pronounced that Dawn should awaken within a few days and be well enough to leave within another week.

"I know," Willow sighed. "I just wish I could have spared her the pain."

"We learn from our pain, Willow. Of all of the people here, we know that better than most."

"I don't envy her when she wakes up," Willow chuckled mirthlessly. "Buffy is pissed."

"And worried. Never a good combination on her," Anakin added. "Look, Willow - the reason I came today is because Buffy cornered me the other day and told me, in no uncertain terms, that it was time to put aside my anger at you and learn to work with you. And perhaps she is right. I'm not saying I like you, or that I completely trust you," he added, drawing a crestfallen look from the witch, "but I am learning to respect you. And I am grateful to you for helping my family." The Jedi Master sighed. "And, quite frankly, I need your help."

"My help?"

"I am having…difficulty… teaching my students about the Dark Side. They need to be better prepared, Willow. They need to learn of the Dark Side so they can overcome it. I would like your help in teaching them."

Willow was floored. "I-I would be happy to help!"

"Good," Anakin said. "There is also something else…" he took a moment to compose himself and then looked Willow dead in the eye. "I would like you to become my apprentice."

Willow felt as if her jaw had hit the floor. "Your - what?"

"My apprentice," Anakin repeated. "We both know that, no matter how you try to deny it, you are attuned to the Force. One of the biggest mistakes the old Council made was not training you when they had the chance and I would like to make up for that."

"But my training with Tara…"

"It was Tara's idea, actually," Anakin interrupted. "She told me that she's just about taught you everything she could and that you could only benefit from true Jedi training. It won't be easy - you hurt Padmé and I dearly and it will take much to make up for that. But perhaps by doing this, we can repair what friendship we had - and you and Padmé can get closer once more."

"I've tried very hard to pull myself from the Force, Anakin," Willow said at length. "But perhaps you're right. Things are happening and I sense that the war we've been preparing for is looming." She looked up at him and smiled. "Dark and difficult times lie ahead. And it's time to choose between what right and what's easy."

"You're quoting Harry Potter now?"

Willow smirked. "Who do you think suggested to Dawn that she give the books to Roan?"

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The first thing Dawn was aware of was pain.

It wasn't too terrible, though. And it certainly wasn't as bad as it was before she had passed out in the vault. It was a dull pain that radiated throughout her entire body, centering mostly in her lower abdomen.

I got stabbed, she remembered, by that woman - Mara Jade, I think her name was? She stabbed me, on Coruscant-

Realization sunk in. Oh, boy. Buffy is going to be pissed…

Dawn groaned softly and forced her eyes opened. She noticed immediately she was in the medical ward and from the sunlight pouring through the windows, she judged it was about noontime. Dawn moved to sit up and her arm brushed against something. She looked over to see Zett's head lying peacefully on the side of the bed. The poor boy had been sitting by her side and must have fallen asleep, Dawn reasoned as she began to gently stroke his hair. After a few moments, Zett began to wake.

"Whuzza?" he mumbled, raising his head. He smiled when he saw Dawn smiling back at him. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Dawn rasped back and then started coughing. Zett grabbed a pitcher of water and a glass that he had set aside for her and poured her a glass. Dawn took it gratefully and drank.

"Easy, drink it slowly," Zett chided as Dawn coughed again. "I didn't help save you from mortal wounds just so you could choke to death on water."

"Sorry 'bout that," Dawn said, struggling to sit up. Zett obliged her and helped. "Thanks," she said, trying to make herself comfortable. She winced at the pain in her side. "How long was I out?"

"A week," Zett replied. "Me and Buffy have been in here twenty-four seven. She just left a few hours ago, actually. As for what's been going on - you made Starstone's day when you brought back those artifacts. She's been working non-stop, cataloguing everything and integrating what she downloaded from the archives into what you recovered. It looks like Palpatine managed to save the entire archives - how much he's looked at is unknown, but at least now he won't have them to look at anymore."

"That's one in my favor."

"But you're still in serious trouble, Dawn," Zett said seriously. "What were you thinking, disobeying the Council? I've heard they're talking about excommunicating you!"

"Don't worry about that, I got everything covered," Dawn said, wincing a little as she squirmed on the bed. "Listen, Zett…about what I said to you that night…"

"Forget it," Zett said quickly. "You were hurting, I know that."

"I was hurting," Dawn admitted. "Vi was my best friend here. When she died, it was like…it just felt like everybody I cared about was leaving me. First my mom, then Buffy and Willow, Amanda… I couldn't deal if anybody else left me."

"I'm not leaving you, Dawn," Zett said earnestly, leaning in for a kiss. "I'm not going anywhere. Trust me."

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Buff stood in the Council chambers, looking blankly at the beautiful vista outside the window. She closed her eyes and reached out through the Force to her sister and sighed gratefully as she sensed she was finally awake - then blushed when she realized what she was doing with a certain young Jedi Knight. Pulling back, she sensed another presence entering the room.

"Dawn's awake," Buffy announced, turning towards Obi-Wan. "And in good spirits, apparently."

"Yes, well Zett did insist on being there when she awoke," Obi-Wan chuckled. "Though I do hope they don't get too carried away - Dawn does need to recover, after all."

Buffy's face scrunched up. "Thanks for that wonderful mental picture, Ben. The LAST thing I want to think about is my sister's sex life."

The two stood in companionable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying one another's company, before Obi-Wan spoke again.

"Why are you so uneasy, Buffy?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"I could feel it down the hall," Obi-Wan confirmed. Buffy sighed.

"I want to be so angry with her. Hell, I AM angry with her!" Buffy exclaimed. "But, seeing her laying there, so close to death…"

"It was hard for you," Obi-Wan reasoned. "She's not just your sister; she's the closest thing you have to a daughter."

"And I nearly saw another child of mine die." Tears started streaming down her face and Obi-Wan pulled her close to himself for a hug. Buffy closed her eyes for a brief moment as the comfort washed in waved over her.

"But she didn't die," he assured her. "She alive, safe and ready for tribunal at a moments notice," he joked, getting a laugh from the Slayer. "Don't worry, Buffy. She's a tough as you and twice as resilient. She's going to be fine."

"Yeah, I know," Buffy pulled back slightly and looked up at Ben's face. "Thanks for being here for me." Obi-Wan smiled softly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you found her." His hand reached up to touch her face, to brush away her tears.

"It's okay…" Buffy said quietly, bringing her lips closer to his. "You're here now, that's all that matters…"

They kissed.

It was a soft, sweet kiss, full of uncertainty and awkwardness on both parts. Soon though, the kiss deepened as years of repressed attraction coming to the forefront. Absently, Buffy couldn't help but think how differently Obi-Wan kissed from Jacen…

Jacen.

Abruptly Buffy pulled away. "I-I have to go," she said lamely, then took off out of the room, leaving a flabbergasted Obi-Wan behind.

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"So, what do we do now, Master?" Willow asked Anakin as she turned on the lights. "Do we begin training now or should we wait until you tell Padmé?"

"Padmé already knows," Anakin said. "She not too happy about it, but she understands my reasons. As for training, I have this for you." He handed a small data tablet to Willow, who took it with interest.

"My first day's training as a Jedi and you give me a reading assignment?" she asked. "My first day with Dooku, he gave me a sword."

"Yeah and look where that got you," Anakin shot back irritably. "Besides, I think you'll like what's on there."

Willow glanced at the pad curiously as Anakin moved into the kitchenette. "Jedi healing techniques," she read. "Some of this stuff is ancient."

"It's still viable," Anakin called out. "These arts were lost to the archives thousands of years ago, as most of them were replaced with bacta. Still, as it was demonstrated when Dawn returned, there is still a place for the arts."

"Yes, I believe you're right…" Willow trailed off, reading through the information until suddenly the door slammed open. Willow looked up in irritation. "Okay, Tara's GOT to teach me some more advanced locking charms…"

"Willow!" Buffy exclaimed, paying no attention to Anakin. "You won't believe what I just did! I kissed Obi-Wan!"

Willow blinked and sat back in her seat, an unsurprised look on her face.

"About damn time," Anakin said, sipping on the drink he had fixed for himself. Buffy looked over at her brother in surprise.

"What the Sith are you doing here?" she asked, then blanched. "Oh, boy. Bad choice of words…"

"Don't worry, Buffy," Willow said dryly. "We put off galactic domination until next Tuesday."

"I'm taking Willow on as my apprentice, so she can learn how to use the Force in a positive way," Anakin explained. "As for you making out with my former Master - as Spike would say, good on you, mate!" hr finished with an impish grin and a thumbs up.

"This doesn't surprise you?"

"No, but it disturbs me. I mean, Obi-Wan's been like a father to me over the years and now my sister's macking on him…"

"Where did you learn the term 'macking'?" Willow asked, looking over to Anakin, who shrugged in return.

"I watch 'Passions' with Spike. I'm bound to pick up a few things."

"While this is fascinating - and highly disturbing - can we get back to the problem at hand?" Buffy said exasperatedly.

"What exactly is the problem, Buffy?" Willow asked. "You and Obi-Wan have always gotten along. I thought more than once that you'd make a great couple."

"But what about Jacen?" Buffy asked in a small voice. "I feel like if I do this with Obi-Wan, I'm forgetting him."

Anakin's face softened at that. "Buffy, you'll never forget him, as long as you keep him in here," he said, pointing towards her heart. Willow nodded in agreement.

"Jacen would want you to be happy, Buffy. He'd want you to move on."

Buffy sighed. "Maybe… I just-" she was cut off by her comlink beeping. Anakin's beeped at the same time. Buffy raised her eyebrows at her brother, who pulled out his comlink and activated it.

"This is Skywalker."

"Anakin, this is Kilwallen," the Jedi Master's voice spoke over the comlink. "Have you seen your sister?"

"Buffy's here with me, Ydra," Anakin replied. "What's going on?"

"Dawn has requested that we convene immediately," she replied. "I believe she wants to get our judgment out of the way."

Buffy frowned, but held her tongue. Anakin nodded absently. "Very well, we'll be there at once."

"There's more." There was a pause on the other end of the line before the Jedi spoke again. "Dawn also requested something else. Your wife and Mr. Giles will also be attending and Dawn has requested…that Ms. Rosenberg attend."

"I'm here with her as well. We'll be there at once."

"Will Ms. Rosenberg be vertical?" Ydra asked dryly.

"I'll be any way you want, Ydra," Willow called out, causing Buffy to quickly stifle her laughter. There was a grumbling on the other end of the line before it went dead. "Yeah, this will be fun," Willow observed, pulling herself to her feet. "Shall we?"

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Buffy, Anakin and Willow walked into the Council chambers to find all of the other Masters, plus Padmé and Giles, already seated. Dawn was standing in the center of the room, with Zett at her side supporting her.

"I'll stand in the back," Willow said quietly to Buffy, who nodded and headed for her seat next to Obi-Wan.

She sat down and leaned over to Ben. "We'll talk later," she said quietly. He nodded and then looked to Roan who took his cue.

"We are here to address the charges being brought against Dawn Summers, Padawan to Master Buffy Summer-Skywalker. Due to the relationship between Master Skywalker and Apprentice Summers, I must ask Buffy to abstain from voting."

"I so abstain," Buffy replied, settling back in her chair. Roan nodded and turned to Zett.

"Knight Jukassa, you may leave."

Zett hesitated for a moment looking to Dawn, who nodded. "I'll be right outside," he whispered, then turned to the Council members and bowed in respect. Without further words, he turned and walked out.

"Before we begin Dawn, I know you just woke up. If you would like to sit…"

"I'll be fine standing, Master," Dawn said earnestly.

"Very well," Master Sibwarra said. "Now Padawan, would you care to tell us why you disobeyed a direct order from this Council?"

"Very simply - I never disobeyed your orders."

There was a minor furor with the Council members for a moment before Master Chatak leaned forward.

"Would you care to clarify your statement, Padawan?"

"I was told not to undertake any mission for the Jedi Council without your express permission."

"And you were suspended from active duty," Obi-Wan pointed out. Dawn nodded.

"However, I was not suspended from my duties as a Watcher. And as I stated, I did not disobey your orders, because my mission to Coruscant was not a mission for the Jedi Council." She paused for a moment, waiting for it to sink in. She knew it did when Anakin started to laugh.

Buffy turned to her brother with an incredulous stare. "You find something funny about this?"

"Yes, actually," Anakin replied, getting himself under control. "Actually, I'm beginning to understand how Master Yoda and Master Windu used to feel about me. Don't you see?" he asked, looking at each Master in turn, before settling on his wife and Giles. "She didn't undertake this mission for the Jedi Council. She undertook it for the Watcher's Council."

"I don't recall any plans filed by you, Dawn," Giles said before he then realized something. "Of course, you wouldn't have to file…"

"Why not?" Buffy asked, looking to her former mentor.

"Dawn passed her qualifications for the Watcher's Council," Giles explained. "Due to her past experience in Sunnydale, and her relationships with the Sunnydale survivors, she was classified as a Senior Watcher."

"Which means that I have full discretion on what missions I am to undertake for the Watcher's Council," Dawn finished. "I write up the plans, I pick my team, I get my equipment and I go. No need to go through the hierarchy."

"And what reasons could you have possibly had to classify this mission as a Watcher Council mission, Dawn?" Padmé asked.

"The Jedi, sooner or later, are going back to reclaim their galaxy," Dawn explained patiently. "To do that, they will need the Slayers and the Watcher's Council's help. The archives I recovered alone will allow the younglings to learn so much more, which will increase their effectiveness and increase the overall effectiveness of the Jedi/Slayer teams. Plus, I was able to remove valuable historical references from the hands of an evil tyrant and gain some valuable intelligence in return." She turned to Giles. "I know in doing this that I abused my authority as a Watcher. Which is why I wrote this before I left." She pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to Giles. "This is my letter of resignation from the Watcher's Council. When you give it to Sir Nigel, you might want Doc Soren standing by, in case he has a heart attack out of happiness."

Giles was at a loss for words as he opened the envelope and read the letter. Finally, he found his voice. "Dawn-"

"Don't, Giles," Dawn cut him off forcefully. "I made my choice and I'm going to face the consequences of my actions."

Giles nodded in defeat. "Very well, Dawn. I'll bring it to Sir Nigel."

"And I'll talk to him about organizing a new Watcher for your team," Padmé added.

"Before we go any further, there's something I have to tell you. Especially you, Willow," she said, looking to the witch briefly before turning back to the Masters. "My mission was almost a complete success. There were no guards in the storage area when I arrived - the Temple was completely deserted. I was able to affix the PPG's to he artifacts and send them through with no problem. It was only after I did that that I ran into a problem - a girl, about my age, who called herself the Emperor's Hand. She said her name was Mara Jade." She turned to look at Willow. "And she said she was your daughter."

There was a shocked silence in the room and Padmé moved her eyes off of Dawn and onto Willow's shocked face. "My…daughter?"

"That's not possible," Padmé pointed out. "If she was as old as Dawn, then Willow would have to have been pregnant at the same time I was."

"That evil, manipulative son of a whore!" Willow exclaimed. "She's a clone!"

"No, not a clone," Dawn said. "She looked like you, but not exactly like you. My guess is Palpatine used your DNA along with someone else's he had a sample of - who, I don't know - and grew her. Perhaps in a cloning tube or perhaps in a donor mother. But I want you to know that she's out there and that she's been raised to consider you a traitor, a deserter and basically she hates you."

A deep sadness formed in Willows eyes and they lifted to meet Padmé's. Padmé flinched slightly when Willow said, "Well, at least your children know and love you."

"She also indicated she had more than one Master," Dawn continued. "I gathered that all of the orders came from Palpatine, but she was being trained by someone named Halcyon."

"That's impossible!" Anakin exclaimed. "I killed him at the temple!"

"It's possible that Palpatine sent another team through after we left to find survivors for his experiments," Willow reasoned shakily. "If that's what happened, then it's a good chance he successfully turned Nejaa."

"He wouldn't turn," Buffy said adamantly. Willow lowered her head in shame.

"I started the job, Buffy. It wouldn't take much more to finish it," Willow said, glancing at Dawn. The girl was dangerously pale and it was obvious she was expending a great deal of energy to remain standing. "Master, if I may - I think we should wrap this up so Dawn can head back to the medical ward."

"Agreed," Roan said, looking around to the other Masters. "Well, as Anakin stated, Dawn didn't actually disobey us - from a certain point of view. And since she has resigned from the Watcher's Council, we don't have to worry about her doing an end runaround against us again."

"Dawn," Teryl started, "I sense most, if not all, of the pain and confusion you were feeling at our last meeting together has fled. Do you think your mission helped with that?"

"Actually, Willow helped me the most with that," Dawn said. "The mission only helped me see that I could still do the job without giving into my anger."

Teryl sat back in her chair. "I'll be frank with you, Padawan - I never like the idea of training you. I felt that this was an experiment doomed to failure from day one. This incident, however, has caused me to rethink that." She paused for a moment before continuing. "You still have a lot to learn, Padawan. But you have learned more in these few short years that I ever dared to hope you would. What's more - you have faced the Dark Side and overcame it." She turned to the other Masters. "It's my feeling that we should continue with our original idea - suspension and counseling, coupled with time off to heal now."

"What's more," Master Chatak added. "Let it be stated clearly that anyone holding the rank of Padawan shall not cross the barrier without express permission and an escort from a Jedi, no lower than Master status." The Zabbrak turned to Dawn. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," Dawn replied, sweat starting to bead on her brow. Chatak noticed this and frowned.

"There will be no further punishment. For now, Please call Zett back in here and have him escort you back to the medical ward."

"Thank you, Masters," Dawn said and leaned forward to bow - and almost toppled forward as a result. Before Buffy could even get up to help, both Willow and Zett were there to steady her.

"Okay, back to bed for you, love," Zett said softly, leading Dawn, with Willow, out of the Council chambers. Buffy sat back and sighed.

"Those two are getting married someday," she mused.

"Pleasant thought, isn't it?" Anakin mused. "They get married, they'll have kids - who will be taller than you by the time they reach age three…"

"Funny," Buffy said sourly as the other Masters all rose.

"I need to go see Sir Nigel," Giles announced, turning to Padmé. "Care to join me?"

Padmé stared at where her estranged sister had been standing moments before and then shook off her melancholy feelings and stood. "Right behind you, Mr. Giles."

One by one everybody moved out of the room, leaving only Buffy and Obi-Wan behind.

"Buffy, about what happened earlier-" he started, but was cut off as Buffy's comlink chirped. Buffy sighed (in relief or annoyance, she wasn't sure), and activated the comlink.

"Buffy."

"Buffy, this is Fred," the Texans voice said anxiously over the com. "I just got an urgent message from Tatooine - Owen and Beru's farm is under attack by Imperial Storm troopers!"

Buffy looked up at Obi-Wan in shock and then felt her resolve kick in.

"It's beginning," she stated, and as one the two Jedi ran out of the room.

TBC…