This is almost directly after chapter 37, in Sunnydale.

It was dawn's second day back at school, and she had just left the house when Buffy decided that she had to decide.

The house was huge with only two of them living there, and she couldn't afford to live there for more than a few months without getting a job. She couldn't work because of looking after dawn and slaying (even if it was meant to be a night job, she had found that most of her days were also filled with demon work), and really, she was talking about a proper adult full time job and not a three-day a week part time thing. She had only had two jobs in her entire life that weren't about slaying – babysitting her sister (which didn't really count because she was never paid) and that waitressing she did the summer before last.

She just could not afford for her and dawn to live as they had before their mother had passed away. Unless the council were willing to provide her with money for slaying, but she had quit the council now, so that option was out too. It was catch 22 – dammed if she did, dammed if she didn't. The only way to keep dawn with her was to become financially stable; the only way to do that would be to get real work and not some rubbish thing at a fast food restaurant – that wouldn't exactly pay the bills for a three bedroom house!

There hadn't been much insurance money for her and dawn – there was a fund for them both, but dawn couldn't get that money until she was 18, and, they weren't that desperate yet. Anyway, that would still only hold them down for up to a year before it got really bad.

Then there was college. She hadn't been to classes since her mother died and that was three weeks ago. She couldn't live there anymore, not while she had her sister to watch, so maybe she could get that money back. Buffy didn't even know if she should or could go back to school. Sure, she wanted to, but now … well it was a tough decision that. ultimately, was hers to make.

Once she had a rough idea, she would talk to Angel about it all, but it really wouldn't affect him, and it's not like he could help the situation any – unless he had some secret stash of money hidden, he still had to work for a living (…unliving…) and couldn't afford to help bail her out of this one. Besides, she didn't want him to help – she was a big girl and wanted to handle it herself.

What she really needed was Giles. Not Giles that watcher, but Giles, the man who was fired because he loved her. She needed a dad. Mum was gone, and she needed a parent. Besides, if they thought they were actually hiding their feelings for each other … well lets just say that even Xander had noticed the weirdness! She didn't think they would have ever acted on any of it, but Buffy knew it was still there – she found that out after that whole aspect of the demon thing, and what happened with that band candy.

You know what, I'm not even going to bother trying to carry on right now. I have so much school work that I'm actually surprised it isn't coming out of my ears literally, and it's three in the morning on a Sunday when I have to be up in five hours for church.

In response to Kelli (it was an anonomous review, so i can't reply to them:
not entirely sure exactly what you mean. if you think that the last chapter was rubbish, you are right! it was, and i knew that when i posted it, but that chapter wasnt meant to be a good one, just to make sure people who have knowledge of the episodes don't get left wondering what has or hasn't happened. if you want more description and less speech, i suggest you read fanfic of a book, as the TV programs are based around script, and so are bound to have more speech in them. it would be brilliant if you could leave an email adress next time you want to critique, because then i can reply to you and not everyone else.

Obviously, it isn't anymore, but I wrote this about a week ago, and since then my Internet has been very dodgy, so that's why it is being posted now.

Happy Christmas everyone! I know this is VERY late, and I honestly meant to get it up, well a week ago, so yeah… I hope it's been a good one, and that this finds you and your loved ones well and happy. And yes I do know just how cheesy that sounds – I honestly mean it, because I have had one of the best Christmas days hat I can remember – including the one spent in an almost empty children's ward five years ago – that actually was fun by the way, I'm not just saying it!