Xander sat with Giles and Spike for a while before he actually attempted to follow through with his threat to take a shower. They spoke of many things, like classes they would take part in, stories they had encountered in the past, and eventually Spike and Giles spoke of England. Spike had been there long after Giles had left. The younger of the British didn't speak of why he had left or what he had done, but he did speak of London fondly, and Xander, though he hadn't been there, smiled, trying to imagine what they were talking about.

After their talk of London, Dawn had bounded in and made herself some Spagettios and sat down next to Spike. They had made small talk with her, asking what she was going to study in her Freshman year at high school. After a while though, Dawn tired of speaking of what she would take when school started again. She bounced a bit, staring at Spike, and asked, "You don't have to work tonight, right?"

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair to prop his feet up onto the chair across from him. "Nah. I still have Thursday's off."

Dawn wiggled in her chair. "Awesome. So what are you gonna do tonight?"

Spike shrugged. "Faith mentioned goin' to her apartment for a beer or two. Might take her up on the offer."

"Can I go with?" she asked, exuberant and hopeful.

Giles spoke up immediately, looking horror-struck. "Absolutely not. If there's beer…"

Dawn cut him off simply. "Giles, I don't drink. Spike takes me to Faith's apartment all the time. She keeps Pepsi for me." She then nodded happily, looking about ready to clap her hands like a little five-year-old.

Giles did not look pacified. "Who will drive you home, hm?"

There was a long drawn out silence in which neither Spike nor Dawn knew what to say. It was obvious that in previous months, no one had honestly thought about designated drivers, or if they had, Spike had—hopefully—waited to sober up.

Giles stared at them expectantly, brows drawn up. When after a few moment's Dawn started to deflate, Xander sat up a bit more and said, "I'll go with them; be the D.D."

Everyone in the kitchen looked shocked, like he had proclaimed that he was sleeping with an ex-demon or some such. Xander tried not to fidget, felt himself hold onto his cast just as long to keep from doing what he hated. He didn't know what the big deal was. Just because he didn't have a car or anything, Giles and Dawn, at the very least, knew he had a driver's license. It wasn't really that shocking, so he just stared at them as best he could with a 'what?' expression on his face. At last, Giles caved.

"Very well," he said. "You'll promise me that you won't drink anything alcoholic?"

Xander knew he didn't have the right to be upset about that, though he inexplicably was. Giles had only asked that because he knew for a fact Xander had drank and been inebriated on several occasions before. Hell, having alcoholics for parents, it must have come to him shortly after he realized Xander had been abused. Xander had been drinking since he was fourteen, and he had admitted that to his guardian. The news hadn't been received very well, the old librarian looking as if he wanted to hug him, or something equally as sympathizing.

Xander cleared his throat, remembering the last time he had felt the burn of rum running down his throat, what he had confessed to Jesse before he died in that car crash, the one that happened because they had been drinking. "No, G-man. I'll stay sober."

He nodded, let it drop. "Very well, then. I would request that you call when you arrive and when you are about to leave."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Dawn roll her own pretty blue eyes, but it must have escaped Giles attention. Xander was about to give his nod, but Spike said quickly, "Sorry, Watcher. Faith is pretty low key. She doesn't have much more than a telly with them old rabbit ear things."

Giles scoffed a little. "Yes, of course. As that is the case, I'll simply say, be safe."

"Sweet," Dawn said with a happy bounce in her seat. She looked between Xander and Spike, blue eyes glittering gleefully. She looked to be up to something devious. He remembered that look would always come just before she messed with all of Oz's amp settings until it was set to deafening or before she put regular cola in place of Buffy's diet or…or…she iced cornbread muffins and told everyone it was just crumbly yellow cake. That had been awful.

He eyed her wearily, suppressing a shiver. "O…kay then. I'm going to go take that shower before we go. Need to tell Buff and Wills that we'll be going too."

Dawn and Spike snorted simultaneously, but it was the older who said, "That shouldn't cause World War III here."

Sparing them a brief look of question, and noticing that Giles had done the same, he headed upstairs with those words snapping at his heels where the his friends had migrated to after their movie had finished. The bedroom door was shut, probably to ward against nosey sisters and live-in British men, but he figured it wasn't barred against him. They wouldn't be asleep. They didn't believe in naps the way he did.

With flourish, he pushed the door open with a grand gesture, saying, "What is Xander's lovely harem doing?"

Buffy smiled at him with wide honest green eyes. "Being all harem-like, with the sharing of gossip and doing each other's hair and generally being ignored by the sultan. Where is he anyway?" she asked sweetly, looking around Xander.

Pressing his left hand to his heart, he theatrically proclaimed, "You wound me, Buff!"

"I know," she said with a loving roll of her eyes and a gentle smile. "What do you need, Xand?"

He shrugged. "I was just on my way to the shower, but I wanted to stop and say I was gonna go with Dawn and Spike to see his friend…er…that Faith-girl later on."

"You WHAT?"

It looked like his shower was on delay for a little while longer.