Dawn kneeled in front of the couch, in front of her friend with a patience she almost never felt. She held her hand in front of her, offering it to Xander when he had calmed down from whatever nightmare he had just been trapped in. He looked like a wild animal caged as his brown eyes skittered around the room, pupils dilated but slowly retracting to their normal size. When they landed on her, he took a deep breath and tried to relax into the couch, finally lifting his hand, shaking visibly, to take hold of hers.

Squeezing his fingers, she slowly maneuvered herself onto the cushion beside him, keeping a respectable distance between them, unlike when she had cuddled up to his side that morning. "You okay?"

Xander took a shuddering breath, looked pale and gleaming with a thin layer of sweat. She took it all in, wondering if she should attempt to get Giles. She didn't know what to do in these situations, and Giles had probably done this much more than she had. She didn't want to leave him alone just then, though. He looked terrified and confused, and although he wasn't aware of it, he was gripping her hand firmly.

He nodded. "Yeah, it was, uh…I had a, um…"

"It was a nightmare," Dawn helped, keeping tight hold of his fingers when he tried to tug away. She squared her jaw when he looked at her, eyes still wild and just a little unfocused. He was allowed to be scared, but he could take her comfort, she thought to herself. He could hold her hand when he felt out of control. She wouldn't judge him. Xander turned his gaze towards the wall parallel to them, said nothing. They sat in silence for a moment, before Dawn pressed on. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Deep, steadying breath, slight shake of his head. "Nah, Dawnie. It was…it was just a memory. Nothing you should really hear about."

She frowned deeper than she had been before, covered their entwined fists with her free hand. "You might feel better if you do…just tell me the basics?" she suggested, her eyes searching his desperately.

He looked at her, brown eyes finally leaving the wall. "I wouldn't do that to you. You really don't want to know."

"Xander…I may not want to know, but I do want you to tell me." She gave his hand a gentle shake between hers. "I can take it."

He stared her down, but she lifted her chin, daring him to treat her like a little kid, daring him to hide from her like he hid from everyone else. She could see him. He could see her. It was one of the things they had understood since he knew Buffy. He was her friend.

When she didn't back down he shook his head, jaw tight as he answered, "It was about my father…what he did to me." He lifted his right arm a bit, before letting it drop back onto his lap with the gentle smack of plaster against skin.

Dawn bit her lower lip, staring at the cast, blank and glaring at her. She took the chance of scooting closer to him, taking one hand away from his so that she could wrap her arm around his shoulder and rub his neck. "He won't ever be able to do that to you again, Xander," she said, staring intently into his eyes. "No one will ever be able to hurt you like that again, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know," he told her, but it didn't necessarily sound like he believed it.

Dawn withheld her upset sigh, leaned over to give him a comforting peck on the cheek. "Come on. Dinner's ready."

He was still shaking, but it had settled down to where you would only see it if you were looking for it. She let his hand go and he took it to wipe at his face with the hem of his tee-shirt. "Okay, let's go," he said, putting on his brave face, painting on a happy smile.

She painted one on her own face, wondering if hers was even half as convincing as his.

Xander led the way into the kitchen, smiling at the various greetings of, "Wondered when you'd get here," and "Thought you were in a coma," that blared out at him. He ushered Dawn in front of him so that she could grab her plate first.

Once she was seated at the table, seated beside Willow—who tried her best not to look dismayed at the fact that Dawn had taken the seat she obviously saved for Xander—he grabbed his own plate. She watched him as carefully as she could without letting him or the others know that that was what she was doing. She saw that his shaking was a bit more pronounced with a plate in his hand. It wasn't tumultuous, but definitely noticeable.

He piled his plate full of food, and Dawn watched as the strain to hold onto the plate became not only visible, but attention-grabbing as well. If anyone else at the table took their eyes away from their food or the conversation they were having, they would have caught it right off the bat. As it was Dawn was almost positive she was the only one keep a trained eye on her friend.

She saw in slow-motion as the plate slipped from his fingers and shattered onto the ground with a deafening clatter. Before she could say anything Buffy, Willow, her mom, and Giles were out of their seats. She and Spike, she saw out of the corner of her eye, stayed at the table as the others swarmed him.

"I'm sorry," she could hear Xander saying, somewhat frantic as everyone crowded. "I'm sorry. I'll clean it up, just don't... don't…"

She could hear her mother trying to push Xander away so she could clean up the mess for him, her calming, "Don't worry about it, Xander, just let me…"

Buffy and Willow flitted around him with alternating, "Xander, are you okay?'s" and "Do you need something? Xander? Xander?'s"

Giles was the only one she couldn't hear, but he was close to his ward speaking to him lowly as Xander's eyes bounced from face to face.

"You're crowding him," Dawn heard herself say as she stood from the chair, but a firm hand around her wrist halted her attempts to pull everyone away from Xander. She looked over her shoulder to see Spike's clear blue eyes regarding her carefully. "He can't be crowded like that!" she growled, or as close to it as she would ever come. "They're making him nervous!"

He nodded, saying, "Let the Watcher take care of that one."

And just then, Giles' voice could be heard clearly, "If you would kindly let him breathe for just one moment, I would highly appreciate it!"

She whipped her head around to see him glaring at the other three women, who backed away with various looks of shock before finally leaving them alone. Her mother finally snapped back to herself, recognizing that Giles was right and put her arms around Buffy and Willow and pulling then towards the table. "Come on, girls, Spike. We'll take tonight's meal in the dining room."

Dawn was first with her plate and out of the kitchen, turning back only once to see Giles trying to calm Xander's breathing again.