Author's Note: I love how Dawn knows how to hotwire a car, but Alison doesn't. Somehow, it just seems like the kind of thing Dawn would learn how to do.

There's something really fun about Dawn's voice in this particular story. She sounds so completely unlike anyone else, and it just tickles me. Like, yesterday, when Gray startles her, and anyone else would say, "Ah!" or "Don't do that!" but Dawn says, "Thanks for the freak-out session. Just let me find my lungs and I'll get back to you"...

It's just so... distinctly... her!

This is kind of a wonderful Dawn story. You really get her benevolent, but matter-of-fact nature, and her relationship with her family. Plus, I love how the story lets you see the evolution of her various different theories about what's going on, throughout. I'm sure other people have written wonderful Doctor Who/Torchwood fics focusing on Dawn that probably do this, too, but I happen to like mine.

Anyways.

Enjoy this next part!

"I know it's your ship," said Dawn, when she ran into Seo, again. "And you're in charge of who comes and goes. But… it's just… this guy I rescued. Gray. He's gotten really attached to me. And I think I can help him find his brother. And—"

"Yes," said Seo, not looking up from the central console.

Dawn, for a moment, wasn't sure what to say.

Seo glanced up at Dawn. "You're asking if he can come with us," she said. "And the answer is yes. Of course he can." Her eyes drifting upwards, towards the flights of spiral staircases and layers upon layers of Oliver's ship-space. "I think it's a good idea."

Dawn hadn't expected Seo to cave that quickly.

Not at all.

"I mean, I don't want you to feel all third-wheel or anything," Dawn said. "And if you're uncomfortable, that's totally fine. It's just—"

"Stick with him," Seo told Dawn. She turned back to the central console. "Really. Every moment he's out there. Stick with him, and don't let him go."

"I mean, I'm sure there's all kinds of stuff that Seo can do," Dawn explained, leading Gray into the central console room. "DNA craziness and super-tracking and whatever. Trust me, we can totally find your brother."

Gray didn't answer. Taking in the central console room. The bamboo floors and the sculpted console-thingy, the entire majesty of the ship that Seo had built. And Seo, standing there, in the middle of it.

She looked up. And for a moment, their eyes met.

Seo and Gray.

Neither spoke. Both just staring at one another, an unreadable expression on both their faces.

Then Seo looked back down at the central console. "Let's start off slow," she said. "Get him back on his feet and associated with the real world, before we look for this brother of his."

Dawn glanced at Gray, a little nervously, but Gray didn't answer. Just stepped off the last step of the staircase, and began to circle the console room, his eyes taking in everything around him. Pausing, once more, on Seo.

"Seo," Dawn whispered, rushing over and leaning across the central console. "This brother thing. It means a lot to him. Couldn't we—?"

"He's been a prisoner for a long time," said Seo. "Tortured by a group that tore away his world and his family, and knew no mercy or compassion. Treated him like an object." She flipped some more switches. "You don't just… 'get over' something like that."

Dawn peered at Seo. Studying her, carefully. "Okay, seriously, what's really going on?"

"Nothing," said Seo, dematerializing the ship and sending it into the vortex. "I'm fine. I told you."

"Is this just you teenage angsting, again?" asked Dawn. "Or should I be really worried about this?" She waited a moment. Then whispered, "It's not something I did, right?"

Just then, Oliver buckled and shook. Then gave a cry and a whine, his circuits all flipping around like crazy, as he continued to rattle and jostle.

Seo barely caught herself on the central console.

Dawn raced out, and caught up Gray, before he could fall and hurt himself. Shortly before another jolt threw them both to the ground, tumbling together in a tangle of limbs and body parts.

Their faces were only an inch apart.

"Someone's following us," said Seo, as the ship lurched, again. She kept trying to steer and keep it steady, but the ship was still whining and groaning and shaking like crazy. "Trying to trace us through the vortex."

Dawn peered past Gray, out the window. And caught a glimpse of who it was. Recognized the face, the hair, the deranged expression.

"Hart," Dawn breathed. "Just my luck!"

Seo caught the name. Looked back over her shoulder, hesitating, just a moment, as if trying to decide what to do.

"Seo!" Dawn snapped.

Seo shot her head back at Dawn. Received Dawn's reprimanding expression, with just a hint of sheepishness on her part. Then grimaced, seemed to realize that exposing someone already mentally fragile like Gray to a crazy flirting nutcase like Hart was probably a bad idea, and turned back to the console.

"I can lose him," Seo assured her. "Throw him off our trail. The ride just might be a little… bumpy."

The ship lurched, throwing Dawn and Gray against the far wall. Gray took a shaky breath, as his hand touched the window-wall. "This… ship," he muttered. "It's made of glass."

"Yeah, but it's got super defenses," Dawn assured him. "Basically indestructible. Like, this one time, it got caught in an explosion, and it turned out totally fine."

Gray didn't seem placated. He took her hand in his, squeezing it, tightly. As if she were all he had. All he knew.

"It's okay," said Dawn. "I got you. I'm not letting go."

His expression softened, at those words. Looking deep into her eyes.

As their ship tumbled through the vortex.

"See?" said Seo, stepping out of the ship, and patting it on the side. "Oliver's fine. It didn't even damage him."

Dawn emerged, right after. Her hand still holding Gray's.

They'd landed in a bustling bazaar in the middle of an alien-looking city. The smell of rich alien foods wafted through the air, the shouts of street merchants and the rush of busy shoppers surrounding them.

"We'll just give him a chance to cool off," said Seo. Her face a happy beam. "See the sights!"

Dawn looked back at Gray, who was looking around himself with a sort of lost expression on his face. Unable to take it all in.

"You'll both be all right," said Seo. She shot Dawn a pointed look. "Just… look after him. Really. Don't let him out of your sight."

Seo, of course, ran off somewhere else. Probably to find trouble or an alien invasion she could thwart or something. Dawn wanted to follow her, still sure there was something Seo wasn't saying. Something important.

But Gray was in the middle of a minor freak-out. So Dawn kind of had her hands full.

"Where are we?" asked Gray.

"No clue where, no clue when," said Dawn. "Seo likes to land in totally random places and times and just explore."

Gray stared at her. "What do you mean… 'times'?"

"Oh, um, the ship, Oliver — it's a time machine," Dawn admitted. She looked around herself. "I'm thinking this is still the 51st century, though. She's been sticking to that, recently."

Mostly hoping she'd catch a glimpse of Hart.

(Although why she'd want to was way beyond Dawn's understanding!)

It took Dawn a moment to notice that Gray was hyperventilating. She took him aside, sat him down on a bench.

"I guess you've never really been around this many people before, at once, huh?" asked Dawn.

"When I was a boy," Gray said. "I barely remember it."

Dawn looked deep into his eyes. Squeezed his hand in hers. "I'm here," she said. "Remember that."

"I always do," Gray replied.

He tried to settle down. Tried to get used to it all. Tried to brave the crowds and craziness and beautiful sunlight. He even let go of Dawn's hand, for a little while, and ventured off on his own.

But after only a half-hour, he seemed exhausted. Drained. Worn out.

"We can go back to Oliver," Dawn proposed.

Gray shook his head. "The outside," he said, staring up at the sky, "is… my freedom. I want that." He turned back to her. "Just… somewhere else. Somewhere quieter."

They wound up traveling outside the city. To a countryside retreat-type place, where Dawn thought he could cope better. And he did seem to be coping well. Very well.

They wandered around, together, hand-in-hand, taking in this beautiful world around them. The sunlight and the trees. The rolling grass and gently sloping hills.

"Freedom," said Gray. His voice shook, a little, as he touched one of the leaves on the trees. "I never thought I'd be free, again."

Dawn watched him. His form silhouetted by the sunlight. His eyes so intense, it took her breath away.

"You," said Gray, turning on her. "You saved me."

Dawn shrugged. "That's the day job."

Gray grabbed her up, pulling her closer to him. "You gave me life," he said. "Gave me hope. A chance to accomplish a goal I'd once thought could only ever be a dream. You've given me everything, Dawn. I want to repay that."

"Okay," Dawn breathed.

He had to kiss her, now, right? They were plastered against each other, and that was so totally a make-out line!

But he didn't.

Just reached into his pocket, and brought out a small, metallic device. Still staring into her eyes. "I'd do anything for you," he said. "Anything at all. Even this."

And he hit the button on the device.

A violent roaring filled Dawn's ears, as the ground shook beneath her feet. She almost fell, but Gray caught her, didn't let her fall.

"What the…?" Dawn started.

Then stopped.

Stared.

Where the city had once stood, there was now just a gigantic crater of rubble and ruins. The heat and smoke from the explosion still trailing up to the sky.

Dawn couldn't breathe.

"You… you…" Dawn stuttered.

"I did it for you," said Gray, putting the device away. "I told you."

Dawn spun on him. "All those people!" she shouted. "Everyone—!"

"If my former masters couldn't harm your niece," said Gray, calmly, "there was no other option. This was the only way."

A chill ran through Dawn. "What?"

"A niece," said Gray, "who reminds you of your sister. I killed her. For you." He squeezed her hand in his. "As a thank-you."

Dawn yanked herself free from him. "No," she said. Shook her head, as she stumbled back. "No, no, no, no!"

Dawn hadn't even thought… couldn't even think…

Seo. Dead.

Could Seo even regenerate from something like this?

"I have to find her," said Dawn, spinning on her heels to race back to the city. "If there's any chance she survived, I have to—"

But she was caught by the wrist. Dragged back, with a punishing grip, by Gray.

His eyes were cold. Calculating.

"You said you wouldn't let me go," Gray said, his voice now hard. "Wouldn't leave me."

"Yeah, but then you murdered my niece and blew up a city!" Dawn shouted. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

Gray wouldn't let her go. Just grabbed her wrist tighter and tighter, until Dawn squeaked in pain.

"The important thing is… your ship survived," said Gray. "Your… Oliver. You said it had survived explosions, before."

"Let me go," Dawn pleaded. "You're hurting me."

"As long as I have the ship, I can still find my brother," said Gray. He looked at Dawn. "We can find him. You and me, together."

Dawn froze. A sudden horror washing through her.

That spark… in his eyes. That fire. She could see, now, what it really was. Not love at all.

"You're going to kill him," Dawn whispered. "Your brother."

"Your sister gave up her life for you," said Gray. He squeezed her wrist even tighter, until Dawn cried out in pain. "My brother never did that for me. He let me go. Left me behind with those… monsters." His eyes grew cold. "I thought he'd come rescue me. But he never did. Day after day after day. And he never came."

"Seo came," said Dawn. "She rescued you." She struggled to fight back tears. "And you killed her."

"She doesn't matter," said Gray. "None of this matters. He is all that matters. The only purpose I have left."

"She mattered to me!" Dawn screamed.

Gray looked at her, impassively. A cold iciness inside of him that Dawn hadn't seen before. An iciness she'd only ever caught a glimpse of, when he had first seen Seo.

Dawn struggled to free herself. Struggled to get loose. Her heart racing in her chest. "What… are you going to do to me?"

"My savior?" asked Gray. He smiled — but it was a smile devoid of any warmth. "I'm going to give you the life you deserve. The life you were denied." He leaned in, closer, and whispered, "The life of Buffy Summers."

Dawn started back. Eyes wide.

"What?"

"She tried to give up her life for yours," said Gray. "But she's still alive. She cheated you out of her blood. Her life."

"Don't you dare," Dawn hissed.

"You and me," said Gray, "the younger siblings. Swept under the rug and forgotten about, while the heroes go off to fight. We're insignificant. The shadows." His eyes gleamed. "But that life should be ours. We have a right to take it."

"I love her, you idiot!" Dawn shouted. She managed to wrench her hand out of Gray's grip, and stumbled backwards. "I love her, and I love Seo, and… I…"

Love.

Loved.

Past tense.

Because Seo was dead.

Gray stepped forwards, reaching out for Dawn. But she darted out of the way, fast as she could, and ran. Raced across the sunlit grass, heading towards the remains of that city. The rubble and ruin it had turned into.

No.

Seo had to be alive. She just had to. Buffy said she was all Doctor-like and regeneratingy, right? She had to have come back. Looking different, but herself.

Dawn jumped into a car, hotwired it, and raced back into the city.