Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & anytime after Alden Parker joined NCIS.
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Author's Note: Written for Day 14 of the 2024 August Fic-A-Day.

"So we talked about my ex-wife. Give me the low-down on your love life."

"Not much to tell. I've been single for the last few years. There've been a few dates here and there but nothing serious, and no one I'd like as my honey."

Spike had been her last relationship if you could call what they had been doing that. It had been destructive, but also what she had needed at the time; a man who wouldn't physically break if she accidentally used more strength than a normal human could handle.

"Have you had any serious relationships?" Uncle Alden looked curiously at her over the rim of his coffee cup.

"A few. They all more or less went down in flames, but somehow I'm still at least on semi-speaking terms with them. They worked for a while then... Things got in the way." Things like Angel's emo behavior and then his redemption thing where he tried to help other people in L.A.; Riley's fractured masculinity because she was stronger and a better fighter than him, and then he left; and Spike... Well, she and Spike were better off as friends.

"I take it that means no children?"

"Definitely not. Unless you count Dawn, I did raise her after Mom died."

Uncle Alden frowned in confusion. "Who's Dawn?"

"My younger sister. She was a toddler or maybe a little older when I last saw you." Off his continued confused expression, she added with a little dread. "You don't remember her at all, do you?"

"Sorry. It was a family function, and you know me and small children. I know they're there, but too young to really interact with." Buffy really hoped that was the reason, and not that he somehow didn't have the fake memories most other people had gotten of Dawn. If he didn't have those memories and he spoke to someone else in the family who also hadn't gotten them...

"Would you like to meet her? She's still in college in the Land of Tweed, so getting all our schedules to line up might be even worse than what we just went through. Or I could just ask her to drop by the next time she's in D.C. or somewhere nearby. She works part-time for the same organization as I do."

"Sounds good." He replied on autopilot before clearly reviewing what he'd just said. "Do you have a picture? I just realized I don't know what she looks like."

Amused Buffy took up her phone and scrolled through the gallery for a good, normal picture of her little sister. It took a little time as she had gotten into the habit of taking a lot of photographs with her cell phone, but finally, she found one from the last time she'd visited Britain. They'd done a little sightseeing, and Big Ben was visible in the background.

"Huh," was his initial reaction. "The two of you don't look alike at all." He made some serious eye contact and it took her a few seconds before she realized why. "Your eyes are hazel green, but both of your parents have brown eyes. So do I, and the same goes for both sets of grandparents. So how did Dawn end up with bright blue eyes?"

Buffy took the phone back and stared at her sister's very blue eyes. That was a good question, and she flashed back to school when they learned about eye colors and the probability of brown-eyed people having blue-eyed children, especially if their parents had brown eyes as well.

"Umm...," she hedged. "I haven't thought about that, not until just now." She frowned, that was strange. Yes, Dawn was mystically made from Buffy and the Key, but that should still have given her the same DNA. The alternatives were not something she wanted to think about.

She spent the rest of their lunch thinking about it, and her uncle allowed her to do so while sipping the remains of his coffee. What had the monks done?