(no subject)
And the last one, where Jess is a Summers and Dawn become Illyria (for a while)
"I got it!" Dawn Summers yells as she runs down the stairs.
"If it's Xander tell…."
"Xander wouldn't knock, Buffy, you know that." Dawn interrupts her sister. "Neither would Anya." Not waiting for Buffy to respond, Dawn grabs the front door handle, looks through the peephole even as she opens the door. It is daylight after all so it's not a vamp…not that most vampires would knock anyways. A balding man, a perfectly pressed suit covering his rather scrawny frame, is on the other side of the door, a briefcase in hand. Beside that man is a woman that scarily resembles Mary Poppins, though she's a little chunkier than Julie Andrews was. Standing between the two adults is a rather nervous looking teenager, head bowed slightly so that her blonde hair covers her face. "Um, hi."
The bald man clears his voice and then in a rather nasally voice says, "Is Joyce Summers home?"
"Um, no." Dawn quirks a brow.
"Do you know when she'll be home?" The woman asks.
"She passed away over two years ago so I'm going never." Dawn snaps.
The woman frowns.
"What about Buffy Summers?" The man asks, glancing down at a piece of paper poking out the top of his briefcase. "Is she home?"
"Yeah." Dawn steps back, holding the door open. After a second, they walk through and she directs them to the dining room, grabbing her laptop off the table before gesturing for them to sit down. "I'll just go get Buffy." Tucking her laptop into the case on the buffet behind them, she hurridly shoves the small axe sitting there into the inside pocket. Then she runs upstairs, grabbing a short sword off the first step as she goes. "Buffy."
Buffy pokes her head out of her room, her blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. "Who was at the door?"
"I don't know." Dawn replies. "But they're in the dining room."
"Dawn, you're not supposed to invite people in." Buffy scolds. "You know this."
"I just held the door open, they entered without an invitation." Dawn replies. "And they wanted mom."
A frown covering her lips, Buffy grabs a hooded sweatshirt to throw over the tank top that's she's wearing. She stuffs her feet into a pair of clogs and then heads downstairs.
Three people are sitting around the table, a bald skinny man, a chunky librarian looking woman (what she always perceived librarians to look like until she met Giles), and a teenage girl that is probably only a few years older than Dawn. "Hi, I'm Buffy. Dawn said you wanted to speak to my mom?"
"My name is Edward Clinton." The man stands up. "This is Andrea Wilson." He points to the chunky woman. "And this Jessica Moore."
"Okay." Buffy says slowly. "I don't want to be rude or anything…but why are you here?"
"I'm a probate lawyer with Kripe and Whedon, a law firm San Francisco." Edward says. "I was your aunt Bethany and uncle Hank's lawyer."
Buffy just looks at him blankly. "We don't have an aunt Bethany or an uncle Hank." She casts a look at her sister who just jumped away from the table.
Edward stares back just as blankly. "Ms Summers, I'm not sure how that can be since your aunt Bethany was very clear that if something were to happen to her, she wanted custody of Jessica to go to her ex-husband's sister, Joyce."
"My mom didn't have a brother." Buffy frowns. "I think you completely got your wires crossed or something….."
Dawn slams a framed picture on the middle of the table, pushing it towards the blonde. The picture is old, she's just a baby in it, and her dad is holding her up, smiling broadly. "Is this your dad?"
Jessica looks at the picture and nods.
"Yes, that is Hank Moore." Edward agrees.
Buffy laughs. Laughs like she did with Giles only a few weeks ago when Willow tried to end the world and she was telling him what had gone on while he was gone. Laughs so hard tears run down her face and her stomach starts to hurt.
"Buffy, I think you're freaking them out." Dawn bites her lip to keep from giggling.
"I just can't…he told you that he had a sister Joyce?" Buffy looks at the blonde teenager.
"Yes." Jessica says quietly. "He told us you lived in Pennsylvania and that's why we never got to see you. But I guess he lied since Mr. Clinton found you here."
"That's not the only thing he lied about." Buffy nods at the picture. "Hank isn't our uncle, he's our father. That's a picture of him and Dawn at Christmas like fourteen years ago."
"No." Jessica shakes her head.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so." Buffy rests her elbows on the table with a deep sigh, the sigh of a person that has suddenly realized what's going on. "This Bethany person…she passed away?"
Jessica nods, teeth clamped between her lips. "A few weeks ago."
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Buffy says sympathetically.
Jessica nods, not looking up from where her hands are clasped on her lap.
"This changes things." Andrea says, nose tilted up as if the whole situation disgusts her.
"Changes what?" Buffy frowns. "I'm confused."
"Bethany left custody of Jessica to your mother in case anything happened to her." Edward opens his briefcase and pulls out a plain white envelope which he slides across the table to Buffy. "She left this for your mother."
Jessica sits up at the sight of the envelope, her mother's familiar handwriting catching her eyes.
Buffy studies the envelope for a moment before opening, being very careful not to rip the envelope; she knows the blonde teenager across from her will want it because she wanted everything that her mom left behind.
Joyce,
I can't believe I'm going to write this, it's so clichéd, but if you are reading this, I am no longer alive. I hope that you never have to read this note, that Jessica is long past the age of needing a guardian. You don't know me and after receiving this letter, you will probably hate me. I've known about you from almost the start, Hank was very honest about his family. I know this won't make a difference to you but I never asked him to leave you and the girls, that was his decision. Though I will admit that I thought things would be different for us than it was for you, sadly I was wrong. I don't think Hank was ever meant to be married, much less have a family. I think he thought it was something he was supposed to do, something that seemed fun at the time, but when it came down to the actual event, he blanched at the whole idea. I know you were married for sixteen years before you divorced. I was with him just as long. I became pregnant with Jessica a few months after Buffy's forth birthday. It wasn't planned and I never asked Hank to leave you. I was quite content teaching and raising Jessica on my own; he chose to be a part of her life.
Jessica doesn't know. She assumes like everyone else that her father and I were married at one time. As you know, Hank's work keeps him on the road most of the time so the lie was very easy to keep. I don't regret what I've done, I love my daughter too much to, as I assume you love Buffy and Dawn. My only regret is not telling Jessica the truth, especially after Hank left for Spain with his secretary two years ago. I do plan on telling her, when she's a little older, perhaps before she leaves for college, which will make this letter not needed. I don't know how your girls took Hank's abrupt absence from their lives, I did try to tell him to spend more time with them but he always had an excuse why he couldn't. I should have probably known at that point that he was never going to completely commit but I was naïve in believing that Hank truly did love me and Jessica more than himself. Jessica won't talk about her father's absence, she pretends as though he's just on another business trip.
You're probably wondering why I wrote this and why on earth I would ask my lover's ex-wife to care for my child if something happened to me. I don't want to ask, I'd honestly rather shove needles under my own nails, but my feelings aren't important. Jessica is. She is the most important thing in my life and if for some reason, I can't be there for her, I want her to be with family. Hank is not an option, my own parents are dead, and my sister is even less family oriented than Hank, if that’s possible. The only other family she has are your daughters and I hope that you're the kind of person that will not punish Jessica for her parents' mistakes. From what Hank has told me of you, you are that kind of person. I hope for Jessica's sake, that is true.
I'm not sure how to end this, what I want my last words to be. There's only one thing that would even seem important in that moment.
Tell Jessica that I love her more than anything in the world.
Sincerely,
Bethany Moore
Buffy reads through the letter twice before carefully folding and putting in back into the envelope. "This doesn't change anything."
"Pardon?" Edward arches an eyebrow.
"She's my little sister and her mom wanted her with us." Buffy replies. "And as long as that's okay with Jessica, that's what's going to happen."
"No, your father…" Andrea starts snottily.
"My father hasn't contacted us since I was nineteen." Buffy interrupts. "I left dozens of messages when my mom died and he never called back, not once. Did he come to your mom's funeral?"
Jessica shakes her head. "I've tried to get a hold of him but he won't call back."
"That doesn't surprise me." Buffy says. "Jessica, this is your choice. If you want to live with your aunt, that's fine, but if you want to stay with us, that's fine too."
"My aunt doesn't want me to live with her." Jessica replies quietly. "I heard her talking to Mike, that's her husband, and if she did up getting custody of me, she was going to send me to boarding school."
"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here with me and Dawnie." Buffy offers. "If you want to try it out for a few weeks before you make a decision, that's fine with me."
"Miss Summers, are you sure you're ready to do that?" Edward asks. "That's a large amount of responsibility."
"I know." Buffy agrees. And a few months ago, she wouldn't have been able to handle that but now she's pretty sure she can. Because she doesn't have to do it alone and she doesn't have to be her mom. She just has to be there. "And I've been raising Dawn since she was fourteen so I'm thinking I can handle a…how old are you?"
"Seventeen." Jessica replies quietly. "I'll be a senior this year."
"She's almost an adult." Buffy points out. "We'll be fine."
Jessica drums her fingers on the table, not lifting her head up. "You really don't mind?"
"You're family." Buffy says simply. "We take care of family."
-
Buffy knocks softly on Dawn's door, waiting for sister's okay before she opens the door. "Hey."
"Hey, Buff." Dawn says. "How'd the big people talk go?"
"Fine." Buffy walks over to her youngest sister's bed, a tray full of ice cream balanced effortlessly in one hand. "Jess, you're not allergic to anything, are you?"
Jessica shakes her head.
"So mint chocolate chip cookie dough is okay with you?" Buffy holds out a bowl.
Jessica nods as she takes the bowl.
"And for Dawnie, vanilla ice cream with hot sauce." Buffy grimaces as she hands the bowl to her sister, laughing when Jessica's eyes go wide. "Yeah, you'll have to get used to her crazy food tastes."
"It's good." Dawn defends, stirring the ice cream around and around until it's pink rather than white.
"You're weird." Buffy sets the tray on the ground and gracefully sits down on Dawn's bed, between her two younger sister's. "Okay, Jess, Mary Poppins is going to come back in two weeks to check on us and see how you're liking it here. And if you still want to stay here. So, for now, is okay with you two to share a room? If everything goes okay and you still want to stay, we can redo Willow and….Willow's room for you, Jessica."
"Okay." Jessica agrees, stirring her ice cream but not actually eating any of it.
"Are you sure you're okay staying with us?" Buffy asks Jessica. "If you'd rather go to your aunt's or something…"
"I don't want to go there or back home." Jessica cuts in, her voice monotone. "I just want to start fresh."
"That's cool." Buffy agrees, stirring her own ice cream.
The three sisters eat their ice cream quietly, Dawn finishing first and stealing bites of Buffy's without a word being said. Jessica finishes about half before setting the bowl on the desk next to Dawn's bed.
"I don't know if your mom wanted you to read this or not but if it were me, I'd want to read it." Buffy reaches to the floor and grabs the letter from Jessica's mom off the tray. "Here."
Jessica takes the letter with shaking hands but doesn't open it. Instead, she sets it on the desk next to her ice cream.
Buffy doesn't comment, just lets Jessica be. "Okay, so Xander should be here soon, he's bringing pizza and movies. I have to run out for a little bit but I'll be back. Dawn, you know the rules."
"Okay." Dawn nods.
Buffy grabs the three empty bowls and tray, casts a look at her little sisters, and then walks out of Dawn's room without another word. Ten minutes later, she's in Restfield Cemetery, beating the hell out of a few fledges. Her father….she wants to pummel him. A part of her wishes he was standing in front of her. It's not about herself, she's gone through so much crap in the past six plus years that a dead-beat dad barely registers. It's about Dawn and Jessica. Jessica more importantly. Dawn has her, she always has and will until Buffy's dead again. And she has the gang. Jessica has nobody, not really. She'll try to be there for her, knows Dawn will too, but their father should be here for Jessica. She can't help but wonder who made the funeral arrangements, if Jessica had to identify her mom's body after the car wreck on her own. If she had to pick out the casket, watch her mom get lowered into the dirt alone. God, she barely had the strength to do that herself and she had the support of her 'family'. She can't imagine having to do it on her own.
But regardless of their piece of shit father, Jessica is one of them now and nothing is more important to Buffy than her family.
-
"Um, should we do something?" Jessica whispers to Dawn, eyes wide as she watches the two adults in front of her scream at each other.
"Rule number three here at Casa de Summers, never interrupt a fight." Dawn says. "They…um do this kinda often." Then off Jessica's look. "Don't worry, they're not going to hurt each other or anything. It's just…okay, cliff notes, Xander left Anya at the alter a few months ago and she kind of lost it. They can manage to get along for about thirty seconds and then all this crap happens."
"Oh." Jessica murmurs.
"Yeah." Dawn agrees. "We really do try to keep the separate but sometimes it doesn't work." The phone rings and Dawn reaches behind her to grab it. "Hello." "Oh, hey Giles." "No, she's out." "Yep." "I'll have her call you later, I know she has something to tell you anyways." "Bye."
"Who's Giles?" Jessica asks, partly curious but mostly wanting something to keep her mind off the letter upstairs.
"He used to be their librarian back when they were in high school." Dawn replies. "And he's kinda of a…mentor for all of us. He's cool, British and majorally stuffy, but cool. He's back in Tweed Land but he should be coming back sometime."
"Tweed Land?" Jessica says, a small smile crossing her lips. Dawn is very animated, very different from her friends back home.
"England." Dawn verifies. "We refer to it as the Land of the Tweed, you'll understand when you meet Giles. He has a love for the tweed."
"Who's Willow?" Jessica asks, wincing as the blonde girl segues into multiple ways to castrate Xander.
"She's Buffy and Xander's best friend." Dawn replies after a few seconds, her heart hurting at thinking of the redhead that she used to worship. "Her girlfriend Tara was killed a few weeks ago and she kinda lost it. She's with Giles in England trying to deal with everything."
Jessica pauses for a second, just a second. "Oh."
"Yeah, it was…bad." Dawn bites her lip, tears filling her eyes at the thought of the soft witch.
The front door opens and closes quietly, Buffy quietly moving across the room to where her sister's are standing. "They been at this long?"
"Twenty minutes maybe." Dawn replies.
Shaking her head, Buffy places her pointer and middle fingers between her lips and whistles loudly. "Hey, knock it off. You two want to fight it out, go somewhere else."
They both stop fighting at once, Anya glaring at Xander while a smirk covers Xander's lips. "The oldest of three and yet still the shortest."
"Hey!" Buffy plants her hands on her hips, glaring up at her best friend. "It's not my fault they stole all the tall genes."
"Buff, you were born first, you had the pick of the genes." Dawn points out.
"Okay, it's dad's fault for not splitting them up evenly." Buffy gestures to Jessica. "I mean, really, couldn't he have given me a few of your inches…then we could all be the same height."
Jessica tries not to laugh, unsure if Buffy is being serious or just joking, but then Dawn giggles and she can't not giggle. Buffy scowls for a second and then starts laughing too.
"Okay, I guess I should just accept my shortness for what it is." Buffy sighs. "Xan, did you get the pizza?"
"Yep." Xander replies. "An, you staying?"
Anya shrugs. "Sure."
Dawn follows the three adults towards the kitchen, pausing to hold her hand out to Jessica. "You coming?"
"But they were…." Jessica frowns, some of Anya's more….intense threats filtering through her mind.
"Yeah, they do that a lot." Dawn says. "But when there's food, there's food. We stop for pizza."
Still confused, Jessica takes Dawn's hand and lets her sister pull her into the dining room. Only a few hours in and she's suddenly has the realization that her life is never going to be the same.
-
"Jessica, I'm coming in." Buffy says softly, effortlessly breaking the bathroom doorknob to get to her sister. Jessica has been in the bathroom for about an hour, the water turned off about thirty-five minutes ago. She's not surprised when she walks in to find Jessica curled up on the floor, a terry robe covering her body and the letter crumpled in her hand, sobbing. Sobbing like her entire life has been shattered and in reality it has been. She doesn't know what to say, doesn't think that there really is anything to say that can make this better because nothing will. Nothing will ever fill the hole that her mom's death left. So she doesn't try to say anything. Instead she just folds her down beside the sobbing teenager and lifts Jessica's shaking body onto her lap.
She feels like Dawnie, like her mom….like family. Jessica's arms squeeze around her, her slim body shaking from her sobs. Buffy just holds her, stroking her long hair gently. After a few minutes, she feels Dawn move beside them and then join their group hug, Dawn's arms wrapping around both of them.
-
She knows it's not her bed. This bed is too big, too soft. It's not hers. Plus, there's someone else in bed with her. She forces her eyes open and is greeted by off-white walls with a flowered border. A snort to her right has her head turning and that's when she realizes where she is. She's not in Sacramento anymore, she's in Sunnydale, a small town a few hours from Los Angeles…with her sisters. Sisters she just met yesterday. She starts to scramble off the bed when last night returns to her. She remembers taking the letter to the bathroom with her, setting it on the back of the toilet while she took a shower. She remembers brushing her teeth and cleaning her face, doing all her nightly things before she even looks at the letter. Then, unable to stand it any longer, she opened and read it in under thirty seconds. Thirty seconds. Thirty seconds and her entire life changed. She doesn't remember much after that, just collapsing to the ground and crying. Then she remembers feeling safe, protected. Remembers Buffy's surprisingly calloused hand brushing through her hair and a few minutes later, Dawn moving beside them. She doesn't remember anything after that. Doesn't know how she got here, in what must be Buffy's bed. A soft 'hey' from the door has her turning, Buffy standing there with a tray in her hands. "Waffles."
Dawn grumbles beside her and sits up, pushing brown hair out of her face. "You cooked?"
"No, the diner in town cooked." Buffy moves onto the bed beside them. "I just drove."
"Then I'll eat them." Dawn grabs one of the plates, the one with honey on the waffles instead of whip cream and strawberries. "A little warning, Jess, Buffy can't cook. At all. So if she tried to cook it, don’t eat it."
Buffy throws a strawberry at Dawn's head, hitting her right on the forehead.
"Hey." Dawn growls.
Jessica laughs. Really laughs for the first time since her mom died. It doesn't make up for it, it doesn't make her heart hurt any less, but in that moment, she knows it will get better, eventually. She lost the only family she's ever known only to gain a new one. And while they'll never be a replacement, you can't replace people, they will help mend the hole her mother's death left.
-
"Breathe, Jess." Buffy helps her sister sit down and place her head between her knees. "C'mon, you're going to pass out if you don't breathe."
"That….was…a…." Jessica gasps.
"A demon." Dawn offers helpfully. "A Faryl demon to be exact. Nasty buggers…."
"Dawn, not helping." Buffy interrupts, shooting Dawn a look.
"Sorry." Dawn apologies. "I sometimes forget people don't care what type of demon it is, just that it is one."
"I don't understand." Jessica says.
Buffy sighs at the distress and confusion in her younger sister's eyes. "Dawnie, go get Jess some water while I take snotty here outside. Then we'll explain everything, okay."
Dawn shots to her feet, running out of the living room before the order is even out. Buffy follows afterwards, shaking her head at the once again broken bay window. She should just have Xander wall over the whole space but she likes looking outside in the mornings. Squeezing Jessica's shoulder in a comforting manner, she brushes the stray hairs off the blonde's forehead before walking over to the dead demon lying by the front door.
Jessica eyes widen as her older sister, her tiny, short, little older sister throws the huge monster over her shoulder like a bag of flower. The motion is effortless, something she seems to have done before. She closes her eyes and all she can see is that huge thing crashing through the bay window. In that moment, she realizes how much her life has changed. A part of her wants to run out the door, take refuge in her aunt's house, but after almost two weeks, she can't leave her sisters. She lost her mom already and she's not ready to loose them.
-Three years later-
Sam Winchester shuffles his books to one arm and fumbles for his keys with his other hand. The apartment he shares with Jessica is a little run down but in better condition than most of the housing around campus. Cheaper than he thought, between him and her, they're able to keep up the rent. Jess should be home, her last class ended an hour ago. But instead of finding his girlfriend sprawled out on the couch, like she normally is after class, a teenage brunette is sitting on the back of the couch, a bowl in her hand.
"H'ya, Sam." She waves.
"Um, hi." Sam frowns. "Who are you?"
"Dawn." Dawn stirs her ice cream, trying to get the hot sauce spread evenly through the ice cream.
"Jessica's little sister." Sam sets his books down, glancing around the room.
"She's getting ready." Dawn says. "You can relax, sit down, and tell me all your dark secrets."
"Jessica said you were noisy." Sam smiles a bit as he sits down on the couch arm.
"Hey, I have to do the interrigation thing since Buffy's not here to do it." Dawn defends. "And trust me, you'd rather have me do it than her."
"Dawnie's right, Sam." Jessica walks into the room and kisses her boyfriend on the cheek. "Buffy can be very intense."
"And that's putting it mildly." Dawn finishes off her ice cream and hops off the couch to walk her bowl into the kitchen. "Lucky for you though some thing came up at work and she couldn't come."
"Dawn's thinking about going to Stanford winter quarter." Jessica says.
"Spring quarter." Dawn corrects. "I want to slack off for a little longer."
"You slacked off for an entire year." Jessica says disapprovingly.
"Okay, Buffy." Dawn replies sarcastically. "Why you guys are so up in arms about me going to college, I'll never know."
"Because you're so freaking smart." Jessica says. "And you're just wasting that."
"Okay, Jess, I didn't come here to have the same argument with you that I have Buffy on a daily basis." Dawn rolls her eyes. "Can we just not talk about my slackerness and just have fun. I feel like I haven't seen you in years."
"It's been two months." Jessica rolls her eyes.
Sam feels a mixture of unease and envy at watching the siblings fight. It reminds him of every fight he's had with Dean, only without the punching that Dean and him normally resorted to. They continue to argue but after a few minutes, Dawn seems to win and Jessica just rolls her eyes in that 'Fine, I give up way' that she has when he won't talk about his family or cut his hair. "So, what are we doing?"
"Dawn's hungry so we're going to go get pizza and then walk her around campus." Jessica says. "Do you want to go with us?"
"Sure." Sam nods. "Just let me get a coat and we'll go."
"Okay." Dawn smiles at him. "Oh, maybe we can do some shopping."
"No." Jessica shakes her head. "I don't want to scare him off, Dawnie, and shopping with us probably would."
Dawn cocks her head to the side and after a second. "Yeah, you're probably right; he looks a little too scrawny to handle one of our shopping sprees."
"Hey!" Sam protests.
Dawn grins back. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun this week."
-
Sam shifts his weight as the two girls hug goodbye, both of them crying a little. The past week has been interesting to say the least. For having not grown up together, Dawn and Jessica are very close. As close as he was to Dean. Having her here was great, after about two days he started seeing her as his little sister too, but also made him miss his brother more than he already does.
Dawn is sweet, kind, slightly evil, sneaky, nosy, and about a hundred other things that condridict each other. She's smart as hell too and should be in school. And she kicked him in the shin when he told her that. Said that he was supposed to be on her side and not the blondes'. Cuz as a fellow nerd, they're supposed to stick together. He sort of took offense at the nerd comment, could picture the Dean laughing in agreement, but understood what she meant. They are both nerds. Jess is smart, she did get into Stanford, but she's not studious. She doesn't get lost in research or learning like he does. Like Dawn does. Dawn went to one of his classes with him and actually took notes. And then did the research for the homework assignment because she thought it was interesting. And by research, she spent hours in the library, hours on the net, and hours actually completely the work. Just because it was fun.
"It was nice meeting you, Sam." Dawn pushes up on her tiptoes and kisses her sister's boyfriend's check. "Jessica was totally right about you. You are sweet and nice. Buffy's going to love you. Except for the height thing. She'll think it's injustice or something."
"Okay." Sam hugs her back, absently brushing a kiss across her forehead.
"And you got my IM so we can talk and stuff, right?" Dawn asks. "And my report to give to the teacher. You have to let me know what grade he gives it."
"I will." Sam promises. "It was nice meeting you too, Dawn."
A few more goodbyes and the teenager is walking away, a carryon hung over her shoulder.
Sam wraps an arm around Jessica's waist, kissing her forehead when she leans against his side. "What's in Rome?"
-
"Hey, Fred." Dawn chirps as she walks into the science laboratory of Wolfram & Hart.
"Dawn." Fred smiles brightly. "When did you get here?"
"Just a few minutes ago." Dawn replies. "Buffy's off making googly-eyes at Angel and Faith is off trying to score with Spike. I really didn't want to watch any of it so I decided to explore." She looks around the room, eyes widening at all the shiny equipment. "Wow, this is neat."
"Yeah." Fred agrees. "I love it here."
Dawn fingers a high-tech microscope, imagining all the different demon specimens that she could look at under it. Her and Willow have spent the last couple years doing exactly that, making a database of different demon snot, slime, hair, drool, and excretions. But they never used anything as high-tech as this microscope. Something else catches her eye though before she can ask to use it: an ancient, massive sarcophagus sitting a few feet away. "Oh, neat."
"Yes, we just got it in." Fred frowns.
"I couldn't find any invoice on it."
Dawn turns her head to see a cute but nerdy man walking towards them wearing a white lab coat.
"I thought maybe you went crazy on E-Bay."
"No, no E-Bay." Fred shakes her head. "After that commemorative plate incident, I'm living clean." Then she gestures to Dawn. "Knox, this is Dawn, a friend of mine. Dawn, this is Knox, he works for me."
"Nice to meet ya." Dawn smiles at him.
"You too." Knox smiles back.
Fred studies the sarcophagus. "Did you run spectral analysis?"
"Yeah." Knox nods. "Everything's bouncing it off, which doesn't thrill me."
"Yeah, let's not be hasty about opening it." Fred says. "It's probably just a mummy."
"Mummies can be a lot more trouble than you think." Knox says. "And you're seeing Wesley now."
Fred freezes, a blush covering her face. "Um, okay…that's not connected to mummies in some ways."
Dawn looks down at her hands, trying to give them some privacy.
"No, I just wanted to get it out there." Knox says with a nervous laugh as he puts on goggles. "And I'm totally okay with it. I know I've made…advances…"
"I'm sorry." Fred sincerely says with a shrug.
Dawn winces and starts to leave but Fred grabs her arm to keep her from doing so.
"No, no I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Knox removes his goggles. "I love working with you and that's plenty for me."
"You're sweet." Fred says, cheeks blushing again.
"You want me to get our HazMat's on this baby?" Knox asks.
"Yeah, and see about where it came from." Fred nods, breathing a sigh of relief when he walks out of the lab.
"Wow, that was uncomfortable." Dawn comments.
"Yes." Fred nods her agreement. "Thanks for not leaving. I think it would have been worse."
"Yeah, he did seem to have the puppy eyes." Dawn agrees, following Fred over to sarcophagus. She watches as the scientist studies it, a chill running down her spine. It didn't bother her when they were across the room but standing next to it, something just feels off. Then Fred reaches out to touch a purple crystal and as her fingers brush it, Dawn shoves her away, knocking the skinny brunette across the room. And a second later, a gust of air hits her face, the iris on the sarcophagus having opened. She coughs, backing up and bracing her hands on her knees.
"What happened?" Knox rushes out of the room.
"I don't know." Fred moves to her feet, cradling her right arm. "Dawn, why did you do that?"
"I don't know." Dawn says, eyes widening as she takes in Fred's arm. "Oh, god, did I hurt you?"
"I think my arm might be broken." Fred says, pain scrunching her face. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure, it opened and then there was air." Dawn shakes her head. "I just don't…it felt off, wrong somehow. I'm so sorry for that."
Knox lets out a deep sigh. "Let's get you two to medical."
-
"Fred, you need to calm down." Wesley says softly. "We need you to focus. We need you to help us work through this."
"I am calm!" Fred slams a specimen container down on the table.
Wesley sets his source book aside and gathers Fred into his arms. "This isn't your fault, Fred."
"It is." Fred whispers against his chest. "It should be me. She pushed me out of the way. Whatever's happening to her, should be happening to me."
"I know." Wesley squeezes her tighter. "Which is why we have to focus, find out whatever it is, and destroy it before it destroys Dawn."
Fred nods after a moment, pushing away from Wesley with a determined look on her face. "Okay, we can do this. We can."
-
"You grieve still…for a single life."
Buffy tightens her fists, head turning to look behind her. "Why are you here?"
Jessica lifts her head from Buffy's shoulder, her face red and blotchy, covered with tears. The tears start flowing more at what stands before her, Dawn. But not Dawn. It's not her sister, it's some monster walking around in her sister's body. Some type of skin tight blood-red armor covers her body, covering her from toes to shoulder, only a slight bit of her collarbone showing. Her long hair is streaked through with an unnatural blue, which also tints her skin. But her eyes are what hurts the most, the humor and love she's also seen in Dawn's eyes replaced by something completely inhuman, something empty.
"I…am unsure." Illyria tilts her head to the side. "This place…was part of the shell."
"Don't call her that!" Buffy yells. "She isn't a shell. She's my baby sister and you killed her."
"This is important to you." Illyria says, as if Buffy's anger meant nothing. "Things have names. The shell….Dawn Summers…she can't return to you."
Buffy bites her lip, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know."
"Yet there are fragments. When her brain stopped functioning, electrical spasms channeled into my function systems…memories." She holds up two fingers, a spark of electricity formed between them. "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it…you guys have to live, for me."
"Don't do that." Buffy growls. "Don't use her voice. Don't act like her. Don't….just get out."
"Illyria, leave them." Wesley says from the doorway.
"You presume to order me." Illyria comments, turning to face him. "You were to be my shell."
Fred nods, her right arm in a cast.
"The Qwa'ha Xahn was weak." Illyria sneers. "Your shell could not hold my power. It would have rotted away first." She runs her hands down her sides. "This shell, this shell is different. Stronger." Her head tilts to the right. "The Key. In my time, it was sought after by thousands and found by none."
"Buffy, Jessica, Angel's in his office." Wesley says quietly. "Why don't you two go down there."
Buffy nods and pulls Jessica out of the room, casting a last look at what was once her baby sister.
"You should leave." Wesley advises.
"I have nowhere to go." Illyria says quietly. "My kingdom is long dead. Long dead. There's so much I don't understand. I've become overwhelmed. I'm not sure of my place."
"Your place is with the rest of your people." Wesley growls lowly. "Dead and turned to ash."
"Perhaps….but I exist here." Illyria cocks her head. "I must learn to walk in this world. I need your help."
"If we're going to help you find your way, you have to change" Fred says. "You can't kill."
"He killed the Qwa'ha Xahn, in defiance of your leader." Illyria says.
"Knox made this happen." Wesley says. "He was going to kill Fred and instead ended up killing an eighteen year old girl."
"And that made it just?" Illyria asks.
"No, it wasn't just." Wesley sighs. "I'm probably the last man in the world to teach you what's right."
"But you will." Illyria cocks her head. "If I abide, you will help me."
"Yes." Wesley agrees.
"Because you feel guilty." Illyria looks at Fred. "You think the demise of this shell is your fault."
"Yes." Fred whispers.
"And you are grateful." Illyria looks at Wesley. "That it was Dawn Summers and not her. And that makes you feel guilty."
"Yes." Wesley agrees.
"We cling to what is gone." Illyria walks over to the window, looks down at her sarcophagus with what could almost be called longing. "Is there anything in this life but grief."
Wesley looks over at Fred before answering. "There's love. There's hope, for some. There's hope that you'll find something worthy….that your life will lead you to some joy. That after everything, you can still be surprised."
"Is that enough?" Illyria turns to look at couple. "Is that enough to live on?"
-
"Okay man, thanks for checking." Sam sighs deeply. "If you do hear from…yeah, thanks."
Sam slams his phone closed and sticks it into his pocket, running a hand through his already messy hair. He paces the apartment, the very empty apartment, his tall frame a mass of nervous energy. Jessica's missing. The last time he saw her was this morning, before he left for class at seven. Which was twelve hours ago. She didn't go to any of her classes, he checked, and none of her friends or his have seen her, he checked that too. He's walked the campus four times and his girlfriend is nowhere to be found. He's called her cell about three dozen times, she never answered. Tried Dawn's, she didn't answer either. In pure desparation, he tried Jessica's older sister, Buffy's cellphone but she didn't answer either.
He hasn't gone to the police yet, he's not ready to cross that line. Bringing the cops in is always a last resort for a Winchester.
His phone rings and he fumbles for it, actually dropping it once before he can focus on the Caller ID. "Jess, baby, where the hell are you?"
"Can you pick me up at the airport, terminal six."
Sam frowns at the tone of her voice. Jessica is usually so chipper, so lively, and right now, his girlfriend sounds lifeless. "Jess, what's wrong?"
"Just come pick me up, please."
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." Sam grabs his coat and heads out the door.
"Okay. Bye."
It only takes forty minutes, five of it spent pleading with a friend to let him borrow his car, and Sam's running through the airport, searching for his girlfriend. Panicked after ten minutes of searching, he starts towards a service desk to have her paged when blonde hair catches his eye. Blond hair belonging to a girl huddled against the ground, arms wrapped around her bent knees. He bypasses it as being Jess until he sees the purse next to her feet. It's small, pink, and completely pointless as she can't fit more than her phone, lip gloss, cash, and driver's license in it, but she just had to have it.
"Jess?" Sam squats down in front of her and then hits his ass when she launches herself into his arms, sobbing. Not quiet crying, deep, body shaking sobs. He tries to talk to her, get her to talk, but she doesn't stop sobbing long enough to do so. They've drawn a crowd by this point so Sam shuffles Jessica to one side, grabs her purse, and shakily straightens up, Jessica cuddled against his chest. She doesn't say a word, not walking to the car, not the drive home, not even the walk up to the apartment. She doesn't speak when he changes her into one of his tee shirts and a pair of her shorts, nor while he strips down to his boxers. Doesn't say anything until they're in bed and his arms are wrapped tightly around her.
"Dawnie was in an accident." Jessica whispers against Sam's chest, fingers digging into his skin.
"God, Jess, I'm so sorry." Sam kisses her forehead. "Is she okay?"
Jessica jerkily shakes her head. "She's in some kind of coma. They're um, bringing in a specialist but…she just looked so lifeless. Dawn's always been this big whirl of endless energy but she…looked like a corpse."
"Jess, you should have called me, I would have come with you." Sam combs his fingers through her hair.
"Buffy needs to focus on Dawn right now." Jessica says. "If I was there, her attention would be diverted between the two of us and Dawn needs her right now. She needs me here, where she knows I'm safe. I need to be here, with you. I can't….I need you, Sam."
"I'm right here." Sam kisses her temple. "I'm not going anywhere."
-
"Dawn's body was created to house an unlimited amount of energy." Fred says. "Which is why her body can hold Illyria's enormous amount of power without crumbling under it. If it were anyone….if it would have been me, I would have been hollowed out first to make way for her power. My body couldn't have housed it otherwise. But Dawn, Dawn's body could…can. Her body is still whole."
"But her soul was shattered." Willow rubs her hands over her face. "I don't know if it's even possible to find the pieces let alone stitch them back together."
"You are going to try, right?" Angel asks.
"Of course." Willow nods. "But not right now. I don't have the strength….staying on the astral plane for so long drained me. I have to build up my resources before I even attempt to search for the pieces. And then there's gluing them back together and somehow shoving them back into Dawn's body without Illyria realizing it."
"Do you have any ideas?" Angel questions.
"On putting her soul back, yes." Willow nods. "But I'm going to have to test it first."
Buffy pauses. "By test you mean what exactly."
"There would only be one chance." Willow says. "If we do it the first time and fail, Illyria will either kill all of us or destroy Dawn's soul to the point it couldn't be put back together. So I'm going to have to test the spell on someone else first to make sure it works…that's not important right now though."
"We were told that her soul was completely destroyed." Wesley drums his fingers on the table. "That everything about her is completely gone."
"If had been Fred, then it would have been." Willow agrees. "But like Dawn's body, her soul isn't normal. It was made out of Buffy so as long as Buffy still remains…"
"A part of Dawn's soul lives on." Wesley smiles for the first time in weeks.
"Precisely." Willow agrees with a nod. "Hopefully, I can use that bond to track the pieces of Dawn's soul. Or at least that's the plan."
-
Spike growls as he's backhanded with a force that would decapitate a human easily. "Ooh, alright grandma. Give ya that. Good one." With another growl, he manages to kick the God-King in front of him.
"This shell." Illyria comments. "You had affection for it, for Dawn."
Spike pauses for a brief moment. "I loved Niblet in a way I'll never love another person. She….I more than had affection for her. She was my bit."
Illyria cocks her head. "Yet you strike at her form without sentiment."
"You ain't her." Spike kicks her in the stomach. "I can see it. Lord knows I can smell it. And I got no problem hitting it."
Illyria punches at him, a hit meant to debilate. Except Spike moves out of the way.
"You're adapting." Illyria sneers.
"We do that." Spike grins.
"Adaptation is compromise." Illyria says disdainfully.
"It's called learning." Spike rolls his eyes. "But then I guess you know everything there is to know."
"When the world met me, it shuddered, groaned." Illyria says, eyeing Spike with distaste. "It knelt at me feet."
"Dear Penthouse, I don't normally write letters like this…" Spike mocks.
Illyria punches him across the face, knocking him back a few feet.
"Oh, ho, ho." Spike smirks.
"Illyria was all they needed to know."
"Then came the internet." Spike grins.
"You have nothing. Your kind has pulled the domain apart." Illyria growls distastefully. "Each of you has snatched a tiny part of it. Even those with the mightiest hoards are paupers."
Spike arches an eyebrow. "The one who dies with the most toys wins, eh?"
"To never die…." Illyria corrects. "And to conquer all, that is winning."
Like an earthquake, the room starts shaking, the lights flickering a few times before going off.
"Great ole California." Spike grumbles. "Bloody fault lines."
"The earth does not move." Illyria cocks her head to the side.
"Sure it does, Blue." Spike says. "Plate shifting about each other or some shit like that. Sort through Bit's memories, you're bound to find some science classes in there somewhere."
Then the entire room shudders, Spike disappears, and Illyria falls to her knees, screaming.
-
"I'm fine, Buffy." Dawn says for the hundredth time. "You, on the other hand, look like crap."
"Gee, thanks." Buffy rolls her eyes.
"Go to sleep." Dawn orders. "Go rest. I'm fine."
Buffy doesn't look convinced.
"I'm serious, Buffy." Dawn repeats. "I am fine."
Buffy nods and kisses her forehead, watching as Angel does the same, and then the two leave the hospital room, Angel giving Spike a look.
"Okay, D, they're gone." Faith drops onto Spike's lap, wiggling around until she's comfortable. "You really okay?"
Dawn just lets her eyes drift closed, biting her lip to keep tears from escaping. It doesn't work though, two lone tears making neat tracks down her cheeks.
"Bit?" Spike questions.
"You shouldn't have brought me back." Dawn whispers. "You should have just….you smell, I can smell you, half-breed. I can smell the slayer and it makes my stomach churn. I can….I can feel the power in this building, beckoning to me. Willow thought the soul would make Illyria disappear but it didn't. It just made her part of me. We are as one, her thoughts, desires, and disgusts are mine as mine are hers. We are but one."
"And you didn't tell B this because?" Faith arches a brow.
"She hasn't rested in months." Dawn cocks her head to the side, her body as it was before being taken over by Illyria but her mannerisms much the same as the God-King. "She only grieved, as did Jessica."
"Yeah, bit, we all grieved." Spike frowns.
"I killed." Dawn looks at her hands. "Merclessly and without hesitation."
"Yes." Spike agrees.
"I should feel bad about that." Dawn says. "Guilt. I should feel it. I don't know if I can. I don't know…I remember loving Buffy and Jessica. I remember being a family. I remember grieving when Buffy died. But I don't remember what it feels like."
"Bit…"
"You shouldn't have brought me back." Dawn bends her knees, arms wrapping around them. "You should have left what was ash, ash. I don't know….Illyria was starting to find her footing. I don't know that I can." She runs one finger up her bare leg. "I don't know how to be human anymore and I can't be what I was. Where does that leave me?"
-
"Hey, there, bit." Spike nods, flicking his cigarette to the corner of the roof.
"Spike." Dawn nods, approaching the half-breed without sound. She remembers playing cards with him, having a crush on him, and she remembers beating the hell out of him. The stench of the half-breed is bad but not as offensive as the girl standing next to him. Slayers reek, she can barely stand to be in the same room with them. "Faith."
"D." Faith nods. "Nice threads."
Dawn looks down at herself, unsure of what Faith means.
"She means your shorts, platelet." Spike nods.
"This is the least offensive of the mortal fabrics." Dawn fingers the silk shorts, underwear really, made of the most expensive silk. The blue fabric sets off the staggering blue of her eyes (The one of part of her God-self that doesn't change when she returns to her resting state, which is her human self.) so says Buffy. Her tank top is of the same fabric, the two articles of clothing nothing more than underwear. She hates clothing now, wears the least amount she can that won't send Angel and Buffy into a frenzy. She's not permitted to wear these during the day, only at night when the law office is full of mostly the AI team and the few scoobies that stay there. During the day, she wears silk sun dresses.
"Yeah, silk is nice." Faith agrees.
"I will leave you two be." Dawn nods.
"Naw, it's cool, D." Faith says. "We're just having a smoke and a drink. What are you up too?"
"Just needed some air." Dawn replies with a smile. It's something she's practiced in the mirror hundreds of times, trying to find the sweet smile that she once had. She's not sure if she's succeeded. Nobody will tell her if she has. They know she's not the same girl she was half a year ago and that she never will be again. Technically, she is a God, even if she did give up some of her powers. She can no longer move through time at will, though she can still slow time within the area around her. Her punch no longer rivals the impact of a Mack truck, the impact now lessened to about the strength of a pickup (according to Spike). She can't travel through dimensions as she pleases but can open a portal anywhere in this dimension. Those powers are limited to her other self though, when she's wearing her human shell her powers are depleted greatly. She's still stronger than any demon that Buffy and Angel have fought (including Glory and the Beast) but no where near the strength she has when she lets her God-King self through.
"Yeah, it is easier to breathe up here." Spike agrees.
"You don't breathe, Spike." Dawn smiles, something like humor crossing her lips.
"Yeah, bit, I know." Spike grins back.
Dawn effortlessly jump onto the building's edge, head tipped back as she lets the calmness of night wash over her. This is where she's most at peace, night. Where the parts of her that are Dawn and the parts of her that are Illyria live together in relative harmony.
"D, you know that scares the shit out of me, right?" Faith lights another cigarette, body tense as she watches Dawn walk the foot edge with her eyes closed.
"I know." Dawn replies. "But you know I won't fall. And if by some chance I did, it wouldn't do any real damage."
"Except give me a heart attack." Faith mutters.
With a sigh, Dawn jumps off, landing silently a few feet from the couple.
"Thanks, D." Faith says.
"It's okay, Faith." Dawn smiles at her. "Buffy doesn't like it either."
"Speaking of big sis, where are her and peaches?" Spike asks. "Off making with the pelvicial?"
"No." Dawn replies. "Buffy is calling Jessica."
"J comin' out again?" Faith arches a brow.
"No. I'm leaving." Dawn says.
Spike frowns. "You're leaving us, platelet?"
"This place….it's intoxicating at times." Dawn wraps her arms around herself. "There's so much power here, so much evil. I can't….I can't find the parts of myself that I was here. Every time I think I've touched something, it slips away. I need peace, quiet. I need to not be here."
"So, what, you're going to Cleveland or England?" Faith arches a brow.
Dawn can't control the shudder than runs down her spine. "No."
"Too many slayers." Faith flicks out her cigarette, taking no offense at the revulsion in Dawn's tone.
"Yes." Dawn agrees. "Buffy's blood runs through my veins; her presence isn't bothersome. You…I can tolerate you because we have a past. Your darkness also makes things easier. But the slayer school….I am afraid that being in the presence of so many would result in…."
"Some blood shed?" Spike offers. "Yeah, I can see that. All them super-powered girls make me a little homicidal too."
Dawn cocks her head, looking for the lie in his words. But there isn't one. Spike is speaking the truth and that makes her feel a little more human. Most beings wouldn't use a formerly evil vampire as a measurement for humanity but for her, it's a goal. Perhaps an unreachable goal but a goal nonetheless.
She hasn't killed since Willow returned her soul, not anything human at least. In fact, she hasn't bled back into her god self in front of anyone except for Wesley and that was only once to see if she still could (a pointless exercise for her as she knew she still could) and Spike to test her strength. It's almost as if they all pretend to not know that she is still the strongest being in this dimension. As if it's easier for them to live that way. And they also pretend that she isn't as detached from humanity as she is. She knows emotions, remembers them from her past, can see them around her, understand them, and is no longer disgusted by them…but she can't feel them. She only has memories of past emotions. What she wouldn't give to feel the love she used to when Buffy would hug her. Or the butterflies in her belly when Spike calls her 'niblet'. Or even the fear that she did when something attacked. But she feels none of it. Perhaps it's because her soul was shattered and had to be pieced together that she can't feel. Or perhaps it is this place, so reminicant of everything she was so long ago; pure power and pure evilness.
"So, where you going?" Faith arches a brow. "Off to explore the world or some shit like that?"
"No, I don't think I'm ready to do that alone." Dawn says. Truthfully, without some connection to her life before Illyria infested her body that the small grasp on humanity that she has will disappear. "I'm going to stay with Jessica."
"Um…are you sure that's safe?" Spike hesitates for a few seconds before asking.
"You think I would hurt Jessica?" Dawn cocks her head to the side, not a bit of hurt in her voice.
"No, I don't think you would." Spike says. "But I think that somebody is bound to realize you're not as human as they come. You gotta admit, bit, you are rather…."
"Emotionless." Dawn provides in her normal lackluster voice before switching to what she once sounded like. "But I can so totally be a teenager girl and go shopping for clothes and stuff. I mean come on, nobody can have too many shoes."
Spike jerks back as if struck.
"Just because I'm not her anymore doesn't mean I don't remember how she was." Dawn says, her voice returning to its normal whisper. "Jessica told Sam that I had some memory loss from the accident; he'll be a little worried about my behavior but write it off as just damage from the accident."
"You think you'll find yourself there?" Spike asks, the longing for the Dawn of the past evident in his voice.
Dawn shrugs. "If there's anything left to find."
-
Sam pushes open the apartment door and for the third time, feels his heart drop into his stomach. Jessica isn't on the couch. It's their thing; whoever gets home from class first crashes onto the couch to wait for the other. Being Thursday, Jess got out of class first but she isn't on the couch. There's no note by the door, saying where she might be, and she didn't leave him a voicemail. He still vividly remembers the past two times, when Dawn got in an accident and Jessica went to see her, and when Dawn woke up from the coma she was in and Jessica went to see her. Both times she wasn't home, didn't leave a message, just disappeared. It's one of the only things they've argued about and she promised not to do it again. And yet here she has again. He's reaching for his cell phone when quiet whispers catch his ear. Dropping his books on the couch, he quietly stocks over to the window in the kitchen and sure enough, his girlfriend is sitting on the fire escape outside of it, talking on the phone.
"Because, Buffy, it's Sam's apartment too and I have to ask him first." Jessica says. "No, of course not. I would be glad to have her here but Sam has a say in that…"
"Sam has a say in what?" Sam leans down to poke his head out the window, jerking back when Jessica screams in his ear.
"Damn it, Sam." Jessica reaches in to smack him on the head. "No, it's just Sam being a butt and scaring the shit out of me." "Don't laugh." "Hold on a second and I'll ask him."
"Ask me what?" Sam asks.
"Dawn wants to come stay with me for a while, but not if that's not okay with you." Jessica replies nervously.
"Of course it's okay with me, Jess." Sam says. "She's your sister. Plus, I grew rather fond of her that week she stayed with us."
"You are the best boyfriend in the entire world." Jessica leans through the open window to kiss his check. "What would I do without you?"
"Crash and burn, baby." Sam grins lopsidly at her.
"Sam says it's cool, Buffy." Jessica says. "Yeah, we'll pick her up. Gate six, yeah, I got it. Four hours, uh huh." Jessica rolls her eyes. "Love you too." She hangs up the phone and then dives through the window, tackling Sam with a giggle. He laughs with her, flipping them over to straddle her hips. Then tickles her.
Jessica giggles and trashes under Sam, begging him to stop.
Sam lessens up on tickling Jess when her face goes red. She collapses backwards, eyes closing as she pants for breath. "So, four hours?"
"Four hours." Jessica agrees.
Sam scoops her up and then runs to their bedroom, Jessica laughing in his ear.
-
Sam eats his cereal quietly, studying the teenager in front of him. She looks exactly the same but completely different at the same time. The biggest difference is her eyes which are an unique shade of blue, something that almost looks unnatural. Jessica said it's from the accident, some type of discoloration of her iris from the impact. She's so much quieter, so damaged looking that he wants to wrap her up and protect her from the world. But if she's anything like Jessica, and he knows she is, she'd probably hit him for it. "Do you want to go to class with me?"
"Thanks, Sam, but I'm kinda tired." Dawn smiles at him as she eats her fruit. Illyria never had to eat, she didn't need food to survive, but when Willow put her soul back and she stopped using her god form, she might need it now. She's not sure. She eats because it's what she should do, just like she bathes and sleeps, though she's not sure if she needs to. She's not sure if she can live without eating or sleeping and doesn't want to know. She'll do both because that's what girls do, even if she might not need to do them.
"You didn't sleep well?" Jessica walks in the dining room, kisses Sam's cheek and Dawn's temple before sitting between the two.
"No, not really." Dawn smiles reassuringly at her. "I'm still adjusting and all."
"Okay, then, tomorrow I have a history class." Sam says. "Professor McGraw wants to meet you anyways. He still remembers your paper."
"Okay." Dawn agrees. "That will be…fun."
-
"Get off me." Dean Winchester grunts, shoving his younger brother off him. He ignores the hand Sam holds out and hoists himself to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asks.
"I was looking for a beer." Dean grins.
"What. The Hell. Are you doing here?" Sam grinds the words out from between tightly clenched teeth.
"Okay, all right." Dean holds up his hands in a placating manner. "We gotta talk."
"Uh, the phone." Sam says.
"If I'd'a called, would you have picked up?" Dean arches an eyebrow. But before Sam can answer, the light flips on and a voice sounds from behind them.
"Sam?"
Dean turns his head and then ends up doing a double take. Standing behind them, wearing nothing but a small pair of black panties is one of the most gorgeous females that he's ever seen. She's basically long curves and pale skin, long, thick brown hair hanging down over her shoulders, masking her naked breasts. Barely. If she moves, her nipples are going poke through. Her legs are endlessly long and the small black panties barely cover anything. Anything. He hopes like hell that she isn't his brother's girlfriend because he is so planning to score.
"Sam?" Another female voice says. "Dawn?"
Dean turns his head the other way to see another gorgeous woman, this one blonde, wearing a pair of short shorts and a ripped up tee-shirt. "Whoa, Sammy, I gotta say, I'm impressed."
"Shut up, Dean." Sam growls.
"Dawn, sweetie, you can't walk around without clothes on." Jessica says.
"I have panties on." Dawn cocks her head.
"You need to wear a shirt." Jessica says.
"Oh." Dawn murmurs, glancing down at herself. "I'll go get one." Dawn crosses the room, not noticing that her hair shifts as she does so.
Oh, and the view is just as good from the back. Dean smirks, head tilting to watch the brunette's ass sway. And what an ass it is. The panties are the string bikini type, a tiny black string across each hip, connecting two small triangles of silk fabric. Her ass cheeks are cupped by the fabric but not completely.
"Dawn, here." Sam grabs a blanket off the back of a chair and holds it out, his eyes averted from her naked chest. "Dean, this is Jessica, my girlfriend, and her little sister Dawn. Dawn, Jess, this is my brother Dean."
Dean smiles at them both, mentally cheering that the brunette isn't his brother's girlfriend.
"My nudity bothers you." Dawn comments, head tilting as she studies Sam. "But it doesn't bother your brother."
"Dean's a pig, that's why it doesn't bother him." Sam sends his brother a look.
"It doesn't bother you to see Jessica naked." Dawn inwardly winces as the rough fabric brushes against her skin, but dutifully wraps it around herself. "Does that make you a pig?"
Dean laughs at the look on his brother's face. "C'mon, Sammy, aren't you going to answer?"
Sam glares at him.
"Oh, I love the Smurfs." Dean smirks at the blonde. "You know, you are completely out of my brother's league."
"Why are you here?" Sam asks again.
"We need to talk, in private." Dean says.
"No." Sam moves beside Jess, his arm wrapping around her. "No, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Jessica and Dawn."
"Okay." Dean arches a brow. "Um, dad hasn't been home in a few days."
"So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift." Sam says. "He'll stumble back in sooner or later."
"Dad's on a hunting trip." Dean eyes his brother. "And he hasn't been home in a few days."
"Excuse us." Sam steps away from Jessica, his hands clenching at his sides. "We have to go outside."
"I got it!" Dawn Summers yells as she runs down the stairs.
"If it's Xander tell…."
"Xander wouldn't knock, Buffy, you know that." Dawn interrupts her sister. "Neither would Anya." Not waiting for Buffy to respond, Dawn grabs the front door handle, looks through the peephole even as she opens the door. It is daylight after all so it's not a vamp…not that most vampires would knock anyways. A balding man, a perfectly pressed suit covering his rather scrawny frame, is on the other side of the door, a briefcase in hand. Beside that man is a woman that scarily resembles Mary Poppins, though she's a little chunkier than Julie Andrews was. Standing between the two adults is a rather nervous looking teenager, head bowed slightly so that her blonde hair covers her face. "Um, hi."
The bald man clears his voice and then in a rather nasally voice says, "Is Joyce Summers home?"
"Um, no." Dawn quirks a brow.
"Do you know when she'll be home?" The woman asks.
"She passed away over two years ago so I'm going never." Dawn snaps.
The woman frowns.
"What about Buffy Summers?" The man asks, glancing down at a piece of paper poking out the top of his briefcase. "Is she home?"
"Yeah." Dawn steps back, holding the door open. After a second, they walk through and she directs them to the dining room, grabbing her laptop off the table before gesturing for them to sit down. "I'll just go get Buffy." Tucking her laptop into the case on the buffet behind them, she hurridly shoves the small axe sitting there into the inside pocket. Then she runs upstairs, grabbing a short sword off the first step as she goes. "Buffy."
Buffy pokes her head out of her room, her blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. "Who was at the door?"
"I don't know." Dawn replies. "But they're in the dining room."
"Dawn, you're not supposed to invite people in." Buffy scolds. "You know this."
"I just held the door open, they entered without an invitation." Dawn replies. "And they wanted mom."
A frown covering her lips, Buffy grabs a hooded sweatshirt to throw over the tank top that's she's wearing. She stuffs her feet into a pair of clogs and then heads downstairs.
Three people are sitting around the table, a bald skinny man, a chunky librarian looking woman (what she always perceived librarians to look like until she met Giles), and a teenage girl that is probably only a few years older than Dawn. "Hi, I'm Buffy. Dawn said you wanted to speak to my mom?"
"My name is Edward Clinton." The man stands up. "This is Andrea Wilson." He points to the chunky woman. "And this Jessica Moore."
"Okay." Buffy says slowly. "I don't want to be rude or anything…but why are you here?"
"I'm a probate lawyer with Kripe and Whedon, a law firm San Francisco." Edward says. "I was your aunt Bethany and uncle Hank's lawyer."
Buffy just looks at him blankly. "We don't have an aunt Bethany or an uncle Hank." She casts a look at her sister who just jumped away from the table.
Edward stares back just as blankly. "Ms Summers, I'm not sure how that can be since your aunt Bethany was very clear that if something were to happen to her, she wanted custody of Jessica to go to her ex-husband's sister, Joyce."
"My mom didn't have a brother." Buffy frowns. "I think you completely got your wires crossed or something….."
Dawn slams a framed picture on the middle of the table, pushing it towards the blonde. The picture is old, she's just a baby in it, and her dad is holding her up, smiling broadly. "Is this your dad?"
Jessica looks at the picture and nods.
"Yes, that is Hank Moore." Edward agrees.
Buffy laughs. Laughs like she did with Giles only a few weeks ago when Willow tried to end the world and she was telling him what had gone on while he was gone. Laughs so hard tears run down her face and her stomach starts to hurt.
"Buffy, I think you're freaking them out." Dawn bites her lip to keep from giggling.
"I just can't…he told you that he had a sister Joyce?" Buffy looks at the blonde teenager.
"Yes." Jessica says quietly. "He told us you lived in Pennsylvania and that's why we never got to see you. But I guess he lied since Mr. Clinton found you here."
"That's not the only thing he lied about." Buffy nods at the picture. "Hank isn't our uncle, he's our father. That's a picture of him and Dawn at Christmas like fourteen years ago."
"No." Jessica shakes her head.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so." Buffy rests her elbows on the table with a deep sigh, the sigh of a person that has suddenly realized what's going on. "This Bethany person…she passed away?"
Jessica nods, teeth clamped between her lips. "A few weeks ago."
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Buffy says sympathetically.
Jessica nods, not looking up from where her hands are clasped on her lap.
"This changes things." Andrea says, nose tilted up as if the whole situation disgusts her.
"Changes what?" Buffy frowns. "I'm confused."
"Bethany left custody of Jessica to your mother in case anything happened to her." Edward opens his briefcase and pulls out a plain white envelope which he slides across the table to Buffy. "She left this for your mother."
Jessica sits up at the sight of the envelope, her mother's familiar handwriting catching her eyes.
Buffy studies the envelope for a moment before opening, being very careful not to rip the envelope; she knows the blonde teenager across from her will want it because she wanted everything that her mom left behind.
Joyce,
I can't believe I'm going to write this, it's so clichéd, but if you are reading this, I am no longer alive. I hope that you never have to read this note, that Jessica is long past the age of needing a guardian. You don't know me and after receiving this letter, you will probably hate me. I've known about you from almost the start, Hank was very honest about his family. I know this won't make a difference to you but I never asked him to leave you and the girls, that was his decision. Though I will admit that I thought things would be different for us than it was for you, sadly I was wrong. I don't think Hank was ever meant to be married, much less have a family. I think he thought it was something he was supposed to do, something that seemed fun at the time, but when it came down to the actual event, he blanched at the whole idea. I know you were married for sixteen years before you divorced. I was with him just as long. I became pregnant with Jessica a few months after Buffy's forth birthday. It wasn't planned and I never asked Hank to leave you. I was quite content teaching and raising Jessica on my own; he chose to be a part of her life.
Jessica doesn't know. She assumes like everyone else that her father and I were married at one time. As you know, Hank's work keeps him on the road most of the time so the lie was very easy to keep. I don't regret what I've done, I love my daughter too much to, as I assume you love Buffy and Dawn. My only regret is not telling Jessica the truth, especially after Hank left for Spain with his secretary two years ago. I do plan on telling her, when she's a little older, perhaps before she leaves for college, which will make this letter not needed. I don't know how your girls took Hank's abrupt absence from their lives, I did try to tell him to spend more time with them but he always had an excuse why he couldn't. I should have probably known at that point that he was never going to completely commit but I was naïve in believing that Hank truly did love me and Jessica more than himself. Jessica won't talk about her father's absence, she pretends as though he's just on another business trip.
You're probably wondering why I wrote this and why on earth I would ask my lover's ex-wife to care for my child if something happened to me. I don't want to ask, I'd honestly rather shove needles under my own nails, but my feelings aren't important. Jessica is. She is the most important thing in my life and if for some reason, I can't be there for her, I want her to be with family. Hank is not an option, my own parents are dead, and my sister is even less family oriented than Hank, if that’s possible. The only other family she has are your daughters and I hope that you're the kind of person that will not punish Jessica for her parents' mistakes. From what Hank has told me of you, you are that kind of person. I hope for Jessica's sake, that is true.
I'm not sure how to end this, what I want my last words to be. There's only one thing that would even seem important in that moment.
Tell Jessica that I love her more than anything in the world.
Sincerely,
Bethany Moore
Buffy reads through the letter twice before carefully folding and putting in back into the envelope. "This doesn't change anything."
"Pardon?" Edward arches an eyebrow.
"She's my little sister and her mom wanted her with us." Buffy replies. "And as long as that's okay with Jessica, that's what's going to happen."
"No, your father…" Andrea starts snottily.
"My father hasn't contacted us since I was nineteen." Buffy interrupts. "I left dozens of messages when my mom died and he never called back, not once. Did he come to your mom's funeral?"
Jessica shakes her head. "I've tried to get a hold of him but he won't call back."
"That doesn't surprise me." Buffy says. "Jessica, this is your choice. If you want to live with your aunt, that's fine, but if you want to stay with us, that's fine too."
"My aunt doesn't want me to live with her." Jessica replies quietly. "I heard her talking to Mike, that's her husband, and if she did up getting custody of me, she was going to send me to boarding school."
"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here with me and Dawnie." Buffy offers. "If you want to try it out for a few weeks before you make a decision, that's fine with me."
"Miss Summers, are you sure you're ready to do that?" Edward asks. "That's a large amount of responsibility."
"I know." Buffy agrees. And a few months ago, she wouldn't have been able to handle that but now she's pretty sure she can. Because she doesn't have to do it alone and she doesn't have to be her mom. She just has to be there. "And I've been raising Dawn since she was fourteen so I'm thinking I can handle a…how old are you?"
"Seventeen." Jessica replies quietly. "I'll be a senior this year."
"She's almost an adult." Buffy points out. "We'll be fine."
Jessica drums her fingers on the table, not lifting her head up. "You really don't mind?"
"You're family." Buffy says simply. "We take care of family."
-
Buffy knocks softly on Dawn's door, waiting for sister's okay before she opens the door. "Hey."
"Hey, Buff." Dawn says. "How'd the big people talk go?"
"Fine." Buffy walks over to her youngest sister's bed, a tray full of ice cream balanced effortlessly in one hand. "Jess, you're not allergic to anything, are you?"
Jessica shakes her head.
"So mint chocolate chip cookie dough is okay with you?" Buffy holds out a bowl.
Jessica nods as she takes the bowl.
"And for Dawnie, vanilla ice cream with hot sauce." Buffy grimaces as she hands the bowl to her sister, laughing when Jessica's eyes go wide. "Yeah, you'll have to get used to her crazy food tastes."
"It's good." Dawn defends, stirring the ice cream around and around until it's pink rather than white.
"You're weird." Buffy sets the tray on the ground and gracefully sits down on Dawn's bed, between her two younger sister's. "Okay, Jess, Mary Poppins is going to come back in two weeks to check on us and see how you're liking it here. And if you still want to stay here. So, for now, is okay with you two to share a room? If everything goes okay and you still want to stay, we can redo Willow and….Willow's room for you, Jessica."
"Okay." Jessica agrees, stirring her ice cream but not actually eating any of it.
"Are you sure you're okay staying with us?" Buffy asks Jessica. "If you'd rather go to your aunt's or something…"
"I don't want to go there or back home." Jessica cuts in, her voice monotone. "I just want to start fresh."
"That's cool." Buffy agrees, stirring her own ice cream.
The three sisters eat their ice cream quietly, Dawn finishing first and stealing bites of Buffy's without a word being said. Jessica finishes about half before setting the bowl on the desk next to Dawn's bed.
"I don't know if your mom wanted you to read this or not but if it were me, I'd want to read it." Buffy reaches to the floor and grabs the letter from Jessica's mom off the tray. "Here."
Jessica takes the letter with shaking hands but doesn't open it. Instead, she sets it on the desk next to her ice cream.
Buffy doesn't comment, just lets Jessica be. "Okay, so Xander should be here soon, he's bringing pizza and movies. I have to run out for a little bit but I'll be back. Dawn, you know the rules."
"Okay." Dawn nods.
Buffy grabs the three empty bowls and tray, casts a look at her little sisters, and then walks out of Dawn's room without another word. Ten minutes later, she's in Restfield Cemetery, beating the hell out of a few fledges. Her father….she wants to pummel him. A part of her wishes he was standing in front of her. It's not about herself, she's gone through so much crap in the past six plus years that a dead-beat dad barely registers. It's about Dawn and Jessica. Jessica more importantly. Dawn has her, she always has and will until Buffy's dead again. And she has the gang. Jessica has nobody, not really. She'll try to be there for her, knows Dawn will too, but their father should be here for Jessica. She can't help but wonder who made the funeral arrangements, if Jessica had to identify her mom's body after the car wreck on her own. If she had to pick out the casket, watch her mom get lowered into the dirt alone. God, she barely had the strength to do that herself and she had the support of her 'family'. She can't imagine having to do it on her own.
But regardless of their piece of shit father, Jessica is one of them now and nothing is more important to Buffy than her family.
-
"Um, should we do something?" Jessica whispers to Dawn, eyes wide as she watches the two adults in front of her scream at each other.
"Rule number three here at Casa de Summers, never interrupt a fight." Dawn says. "They…um do this kinda often." Then off Jessica's look. "Don't worry, they're not going to hurt each other or anything. It's just…okay, cliff notes, Xander left Anya at the alter a few months ago and she kind of lost it. They can manage to get along for about thirty seconds and then all this crap happens."
"Oh." Jessica murmurs.
"Yeah." Dawn agrees. "We really do try to keep the separate but sometimes it doesn't work." The phone rings and Dawn reaches behind her to grab it. "Hello." "Oh, hey Giles." "No, she's out." "Yep." "I'll have her call you later, I know she has something to tell you anyways." "Bye."
"Who's Giles?" Jessica asks, partly curious but mostly wanting something to keep her mind off the letter upstairs.
"He used to be their librarian back when they were in high school." Dawn replies. "And he's kinda of a…mentor for all of us. He's cool, British and majorally stuffy, but cool. He's back in Tweed Land but he should be coming back sometime."
"Tweed Land?" Jessica says, a small smile crossing her lips. Dawn is very animated, very different from her friends back home.
"England." Dawn verifies. "We refer to it as the Land of the Tweed, you'll understand when you meet Giles. He has a love for the tweed."
"Who's Willow?" Jessica asks, wincing as the blonde girl segues into multiple ways to castrate Xander.
"She's Buffy and Xander's best friend." Dawn replies after a few seconds, her heart hurting at thinking of the redhead that she used to worship. "Her girlfriend Tara was killed a few weeks ago and she kinda lost it. She's with Giles in England trying to deal with everything."
Jessica pauses for a second, just a second. "Oh."
"Yeah, it was…bad." Dawn bites her lip, tears filling her eyes at the thought of the soft witch.
The front door opens and closes quietly, Buffy quietly moving across the room to where her sister's are standing. "They been at this long?"
"Twenty minutes maybe." Dawn replies.
Shaking her head, Buffy places her pointer and middle fingers between her lips and whistles loudly. "Hey, knock it off. You two want to fight it out, go somewhere else."
They both stop fighting at once, Anya glaring at Xander while a smirk covers Xander's lips. "The oldest of three and yet still the shortest."
"Hey!" Buffy plants her hands on her hips, glaring up at her best friend. "It's not my fault they stole all the tall genes."
"Buff, you were born first, you had the pick of the genes." Dawn points out.
"Okay, it's dad's fault for not splitting them up evenly." Buffy gestures to Jessica. "I mean, really, couldn't he have given me a few of your inches…then we could all be the same height."
Jessica tries not to laugh, unsure if Buffy is being serious or just joking, but then Dawn giggles and she can't not giggle. Buffy scowls for a second and then starts laughing too.
"Okay, I guess I should just accept my shortness for what it is." Buffy sighs. "Xan, did you get the pizza?"
"Yep." Xander replies. "An, you staying?"
Anya shrugs. "Sure."
Dawn follows the three adults towards the kitchen, pausing to hold her hand out to Jessica. "You coming?"
"But they were…." Jessica frowns, some of Anya's more….intense threats filtering through her mind.
"Yeah, they do that a lot." Dawn says. "But when there's food, there's food. We stop for pizza."
Still confused, Jessica takes Dawn's hand and lets her sister pull her into the dining room. Only a few hours in and she's suddenly has the realization that her life is never going to be the same.
-
"Jessica, I'm coming in." Buffy says softly, effortlessly breaking the bathroom doorknob to get to her sister. Jessica has been in the bathroom for about an hour, the water turned off about thirty-five minutes ago. She's not surprised when she walks in to find Jessica curled up on the floor, a terry robe covering her body and the letter crumpled in her hand, sobbing. Sobbing like her entire life has been shattered and in reality it has been. She doesn't know what to say, doesn't think that there really is anything to say that can make this better because nothing will. Nothing will ever fill the hole that her mom's death left. So she doesn't try to say anything. Instead she just folds her down beside the sobbing teenager and lifts Jessica's shaking body onto her lap.
She feels like Dawnie, like her mom….like family. Jessica's arms squeeze around her, her slim body shaking from her sobs. Buffy just holds her, stroking her long hair gently. After a few minutes, she feels Dawn move beside them and then join their group hug, Dawn's arms wrapping around both of them.
-
She knows it's not her bed. This bed is too big, too soft. It's not hers. Plus, there's someone else in bed with her. She forces her eyes open and is greeted by off-white walls with a flowered border. A snort to her right has her head turning and that's when she realizes where she is. She's not in Sacramento anymore, she's in Sunnydale, a small town a few hours from Los Angeles…with her sisters. Sisters she just met yesterday. She starts to scramble off the bed when last night returns to her. She remembers taking the letter to the bathroom with her, setting it on the back of the toilet while she took a shower. She remembers brushing her teeth and cleaning her face, doing all her nightly things before she even looks at the letter. Then, unable to stand it any longer, she opened and read it in under thirty seconds. Thirty seconds. Thirty seconds and her entire life changed. She doesn't remember much after that, just collapsing to the ground and crying. Then she remembers feeling safe, protected. Remembers Buffy's surprisingly calloused hand brushing through her hair and a few minutes later, Dawn moving beside them. She doesn't remember anything after that. Doesn't know how she got here, in what must be Buffy's bed. A soft 'hey' from the door has her turning, Buffy standing there with a tray in her hands. "Waffles."
Dawn grumbles beside her and sits up, pushing brown hair out of her face. "You cooked?"
"No, the diner in town cooked." Buffy moves onto the bed beside them. "I just drove."
"Then I'll eat them." Dawn grabs one of the plates, the one with honey on the waffles instead of whip cream and strawberries. "A little warning, Jess, Buffy can't cook. At all. So if she tried to cook it, don’t eat it."
Buffy throws a strawberry at Dawn's head, hitting her right on the forehead.
"Hey." Dawn growls.
Jessica laughs. Really laughs for the first time since her mom died. It doesn't make up for it, it doesn't make her heart hurt any less, but in that moment, she knows it will get better, eventually. She lost the only family she's ever known only to gain a new one. And while they'll never be a replacement, you can't replace people, they will help mend the hole her mother's death left.
-
"Breathe, Jess." Buffy helps her sister sit down and place her head between her knees. "C'mon, you're going to pass out if you don't breathe."
"That….was…a…." Jessica gasps.
"A demon." Dawn offers helpfully. "A Faryl demon to be exact. Nasty buggers…."
"Dawn, not helping." Buffy interrupts, shooting Dawn a look.
"Sorry." Dawn apologies. "I sometimes forget people don't care what type of demon it is, just that it is one."
"I don't understand." Jessica says.
Buffy sighs at the distress and confusion in her younger sister's eyes. "Dawnie, go get Jess some water while I take snotty here outside. Then we'll explain everything, okay."
Dawn shots to her feet, running out of the living room before the order is even out. Buffy follows afterwards, shaking her head at the once again broken bay window. She should just have Xander wall over the whole space but she likes looking outside in the mornings. Squeezing Jessica's shoulder in a comforting manner, she brushes the stray hairs off the blonde's forehead before walking over to the dead demon lying by the front door.
Jessica eyes widen as her older sister, her tiny, short, little older sister throws the huge monster over her shoulder like a bag of flower. The motion is effortless, something she seems to have done before. She closes her eyes and all she can see is that huge thing crashing through the bay window. In that moment, she realizes how much her life has changed. A part of her wants to run out the door, take refuge in her aunt's house, but after almost two weeks, she can't leave her sisters. She lost her mom already and she's not ready to loose them.
-Three years later-
Sam Winchester shuffles his books to one arm and fumbles for his keys with his other hand. The apartment he shares with Jessica is a little run down but in better condition than most of the housing around campus. Cheaper than he thought, between him and her, they're able to keep up the rent. Jess should be home, her last class ended an hour ago. But instead of finding his girlfriend sprawled out on the couch, like she normally is after class, a teenage brunette is sitting on the back of the couch, a bowl in her hand.
"H'ya, Sam." She waves.
"Um, hi." Sam frowns. "Who are you?"
"Dawn." Dawn stirs her ice cream, trying to get the hot sauce spread evenly through the ice cream.
"Jessica's little sister." Sam sets his books down, glancing around the room.
"She's getting ready." Dawn says. "You can relax, sit down, and tell me all your dark secrets."
"Jessica said you were noisy." Sam smiles a bit as he sits down on the couch arm.
"Hey, I have to do the interrigation thing since Buffy's not here to do it." Dawn defends. "And trust me, you'd rather have me do it than her."
"Dawnie's right, Sam." Jessica walks into the room and kisses her boyfriend on the cheek. "Buffy can be very intense."
"And that's putting it mildly." Dawn finishes off her ice cream and hops off the couch to walk her bowl into the kitchen. "Lucky for you though some thing came up at work and she couldn't come."
"Dawn's thinking about going to Stanford winter quarter." Jessica says.
"Spring quarter." Dawn corrects. "I want to slack off for a little longer."
"You slacked off for an entire year." Jessica says disapprovingly.
"Okay, Buffy." Dawn replies sarcastically. "Why you guys are so up in arms about me going to college, I'll never know."
"Because you're so freaking smart." Jessica says. "And you're just wasting that."
"Okay, Jess, I didn't come here to have the same argument with you that I have Buffy on a daily basis." Dawn rolls her eyes. "Can we just not talk about my slackerness and just have fun. I feel like I haven't seen you in years."
"It's been two months." Jessica rolls her eyes.
Sam feels a mixture of unease and envy at watching the siblings fight. It reminds him of every fight he's had with Dean, only without the punching that Dean and him normally resorted to. They continue to argue but after a few minutes, Dawn seems to win and Jessica just rolls her eyes in that 'Fine, I give up way' that she has when he won't talk about his family or cut his hair. "So, what are we doing?"
"Dawn's hungry so we're going to go get pizza and then walk her around campus." Jessica says. "Do you want to go with us?"
"Sure." Sam nods. "Just let me get a coat and we'll go."
"Okay." Dawn smiles at him. "Oh, maybe we can do some shopping."
"No." Jessica shakes her head. "I don't want to scare him off, Dawnie, and shopping with us probably would."
Dawn cocks her head to the side and after a second. "Yeah, you're probably right; he looks a little too scrawny to handle one of our shopping sprees."
"Hey!" Sam protests.
Dawn grins back. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun this week."
-
Sam shifts his weight as the two girls hug goodbye, both of them crying a little. The past week has been interesting to say the least. For having not grown up together, Dawn and Jessica are very close. As close as he was to Dean. Having her here was great, after about two days he started seeing her as his little sister too, but also made him miss his brother more than he already does.
Dawn is sweet, kind, slightly evil, sneaky, nosy, and about a hundred other things that condridict each other. She's smart as hell too and should be in school. And she kicked him in the shin when he told her that. Said that he was supposed to be on her side and not the blondes'. Cuz as a fellow nerd, they're supposed to stick together. He sort of took offense at the nerd comment, could picture the Dean laughing in agreement, but understood what she meant. They are both nerds. Jess is smart, she did get into Stanford, but she's not studious. She doesn't get lost in research or learning like he does. Like Dawn does. Dawn went to one of his classes with him and actually took notes. And then did the research for the homework assignment because she thought it was interesting. And by research, she spent hours in the library, hours on the net, and hours actually completely the work. Just because it was fun.
"It was nice meeting you, Sam." Dawn pushes up on her tiptoes and kisses her sister's boyfriend's check. "Jessica was totally right about you. You are sweet and nice. Buffy's going to love you. Except for the height thing. She'll think it's injustice or something."
"Okay." Sam hugs her back, absently brushing a kiss across her forehead.
"And you got my IM so we can talk and stuff, right?" Dawn asks. "And my report to give to the teacher. You have to let me know what grade he gives it."
"I will." Sam promises. "It was nice meeting you too, Dawn."
A few more goodbyes and the teenager is walking away, a carryon hung over her shoulder.
Sam wraps an arm around Jessica's waist, kissing her forehead when she leans against his side. "What's in Rome?"
-
"Hey, Fred." Dawn chirps as she walks into the science laboratory of Wolfram & Hart.
"Dawn." Fred smiles brightly. "When did you get here?"
"Just a few minutes ago." Dawn replies. "Buffy's off making googly-eyes at Angel and Faith is off trying to score with Spike. I really didn't want to watch any of it so I decided to explore." She looks around the room, eyes widening at all the shiny equipment. "Wow, this is neat."
"Yeah." Fred agrees. "I love it here."
Dawn fingers a high-tech microscope, imagining all the different demon specimens that she could look at under it. Her and Willow have spent the last couple years doing exactly that, making a database of different demon snot, slime, hair, drool, and excretions. But they never used anything as high-tech as this microscope. Something else catches her eye though before she can ask to use it: an ancient, massive sarcophagus sitting a few feet away. "Oh, neat."
"Yes, we just got it in." Fred frowns.
"I couldn't find any invoice on it."
Dawn turns her head to see a cute but nerdy man walking towards them wearing a white lab coat.
"I thought maybe you went crazy on E-Bay."
"No, no E-Bay." Fred shakes her head. "After that commemorative plate incident, I'm living clean." Then she gestures to Dawn. "Knox, this is Dawn, a friend of mine. Dawn, this is Knox, he works for me."
"Nice to meet ya." Dawn smiles at him.
"You too." Knox smiles back.
Fred studies the sarcophagus. "Did you run spectral analysis?"
"Yeah." Knox nods. "Everything's bouncing it off, which doesn't thrill me."
"Yeah, let's not be hasty about opening it." Fred says. "It's probably just a mummy."
"Mummies can be a lot more trouble than you think." Knox says. "And you're seeing Wesley now."
Fred freezes, a blush covering her face. "Um, okay…that's not connected to mummies in some ways."
Dawn looks down at her hands, trying to give them some privacy.
"No, I just wanted to get it out there." Knox says with a nervous laugh as he puts on goggles. "And I'm totally okay with it. I know I've made…advances…"
"I'm sorry." Fred sincerely says with a shrug.
Dawn winces and starts to leave but Fred grabs her arm to keep her from doing so.
"No, no I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Knox removes his goggles. "I love working with you and that's plenty for me."
"You're sweet." Fred says, cheeks blushing again.
"You want me to get our HazMat's on this baby?" Knox asks.
"Yeah, and see about where it came from." Fred nods, breathing a sigh of relief when he walks out of the lab.
"Wow, that was uncomfortable." Dawn comments.
"Yes." Fred nods her agreement. "Thanks for not leaving. I think it would have been worse."
"Yeah, he did seem to have the puppy eyes." Dawn agrees, following Fred over to sarcophagus. She watches as the scientist studies it, a chill running down her spine. It didn't bother her when they were across the room but standing next to it, something just feels off. Then Fred reaches out to touch a purple crystal and as her fingers brush it, Dawn shoves her away, knocking the skinny brunette across the room. And a second later, a gust of air hits her face, the iris on the sarcophagus having opened. She coughs, backing up and bracing her hands on her knees.
"What happened?" Knox rushes out of the room.
"I don't know." Fred moves to her feet, cradling her right arm. "Dawn, why did you do that?"
"I don't know." Dawn says, eyes widening as she takes in Fred's arm. "Oh, god, did I hurt you?"
"I think my arm might be broken." Fred says, pain scrunching her face. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure, it opened and then there was air." Dawn shakes her head. "I just don't…it felt off, wrong somehow. I'm so sorry for that."
Knox lets out a deep sigh. "Let's get you two to medical."
-
"Fred, you need to calm down." Wesley says softly. "We need you to focus. We need you to help us work through this."
"I am calm!" Fred slams a specimen container down on the table.
Wesley sets his source book aside and gathers Fred into his arms. "This isn't your fault, Fred."
"It is." Fred whispers against his chest. "It should be me. She pushed me out of the way. Whatever's happening to her, should be happening to me."
"I know." Wesley squeezes her tighter. "Which is why we have to focus, find out whatever it is, and destroy it before it destroys Dawn."
Fred nods after a moment, pushing away from Wesley with a determined look on her face. "Okay, we can do this. We can."
-
"You grieve still…for a single life."
Buffy tightens her fists, head turning to look behind her. "Why are you here?"
Jessica lifts her head from Buffy's shoulder, her face red and blotchy, covered with tears. The tears start flowing more at what stands before her, Dawn. But not Dawn. It's not her sister, it's some monster walking around in her sister's body. Some type of skin tight blood-red armor covers her body, covering her from toes to shoulder, only a slight bit of her collarbone showing. Her long hair is streaked through with an unnatural blue, which also tints her skin. But her eyes are what hurts the most, the humor and love she's also seen in Dawn's eyes replaced by something completely inhuman, something empty.
"I…am unsure." Illyria tilts her head to the side. "This place…was part of the shell."
"Don't call her that!" Buffy yells. "She isn't a shell. She's my baby sister and you killed her."
"This is important to you." Illyria says, as if Buffy's anger meant nothing. "Things have names. The shell….Dawn Summers…she can't return to you."
Buffy bites her lip, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know."
"Yet there are fragments. When her brain stopped functioning, electrical spasms channeled into my function systems…memories." She holds up two fingers, a spark of electricity formed between them. "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it…you guys have to live, for me."
"Don't do that." Buffy growls. "Don't use her voice. Don't act like her. Don't….just get out."
"Illyria, leave them." Wesley says from the doorway.
"You presume to order me." Illyria comments, turning to face him. "You were to be my shell."
Fred nods, her right arm in a cast.
"The Qwa'ha Xahn was weak." Illyria sneers. "Your shell could not hold my power. It would have rotted away first." She runs her hands down her sides. "This shell, this shell is different. Stronger." Her head tilts to the right. "The Key. In my time, it was sought after by thousands and found by none."
"Buffy, Jessica, Angel's in his office." Wesley says quietly. "Why don't you two go down there."
Buffy nods and pulls Jessica out of the room, casting a last look at what was once her baby sister.
"You should leave." Wesley advises.
"I have nowhere to go." Illyria says quietly. "My kingdom is long dead. Long dead. There's so much I don't understand. I've become overwhelmed. I'm not sure of my place."
"Your place is with the rest of your people." Wesley growls lowly. "Dead and turned to ash."
"Perhaps….but I exist here." Illyria cocks her head. "I must learn to walk in this world. I need your help."
"If we're going to help you find your way, you have to change" Fred says. "You can't kill."
"He killed the Qwa'ha Xahn, in defiance of your leader." Illyria says.
"Knox made this happen." Wesley says. "He was going to kill Fred and instead ended up killing an eighteen year old girl."
"And that made it just?" Illyria asks.
"No, it wasn't just." Wesley sighs. "I'm probably the last man in the world to teach you what's right."
"But you will." Illyria cocks her head. "If I abide, you will help me."
"Yes." Wesley agrees.
"Because you feel guilty." Illyria looks at Fred. "You think the demise of this shell is your fault."
"Yes." Fred whispers.
"And you are grateful." Illyria looks at Wesley. "That it was Dawn Summers and not her. And that makes you feel guilty."
"Yes." Wesley agrees.
"We cling to what is gone." Illyria walks over to the window, looks down at her sarcophagus with what could almost be called longing. "Is there anything in this life but grief."
Wesley looks over at Fred before answering. "There's love. There's hope, for some. There's hope that you'll find something worthy….that your life will lead you to some joy. That after everything, you can still be surprised."
"Is that enough?" Illyria turns to look at couple. "Is that enough to live on?"
-
"Okay man, thanks for checking." Sam sighs deeply. "If you do hear from…yeah, thanks."
Sam slams his phone closed and sticks it into his pocket, running a hand through his already messy hair. He paces the apartment, the very empty apartment, his tall frame a mass of nervous energy. Jessica's missing. The last time he saw her was this morning, before he left for class at seven. Which was twelve hours ago. She didn't go to any of her classes, he checked, and none of her friends or his have seen her, he checked that too. He's walked the campus four times and his girlfriend is nowhere to be found. He's called her cell about three dozen times, she never answered. Tried Dawn's, she didn't answer either. In pure desparation, he tried Jessica's older sister, Buffy's cellphone but she didn't answer either.
He hasn't gone to the police yet, he's not ready to cross that line. Bringing the cops in is always a last resort for a Winchester.
His phone rings and he fumbles for it, actually dropping it once before he can focus on the Caller ID. "Jess, baby, where the hell are you?"
"Can you pick me up at the airport, terminal six."
Sam frowns at the tone of her voice. Jessica is usually so chipper, so lively, and right now, his girlfriend sounds lifeless. "Jess, what's wrong?"
"Just come pick me up, please."
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." Sam grabs his coat and heads out the door.
"Okay. Bye."
It only takes forty minutes, five of it spent pleading with a friend to let him borrow his car, and Sam's running through the airport, searching for his girlfriend. Panicked after ten minutes of searching, he starts towards a service desk to have her paged when blonde hair catches his eye. Blond hair belonging to a girl huddled against the ground, arms wrapped around her bent knees. He bypasses it as being Jess until he sees the purse next to her feet. It's small, pink, and completely pointless as she can't fit more than her phone, lip gloss, cash, and driver's license in it, but she just had to have it.
"Jess?" Sam squats down in front of her and then hits his ass when she launches herself into his arms, sobbing. Not quiet crying, deep, body shaking sobs. He tries to talk to her, get her to talk, but she doesn't stop sobbing long enough to do so. They've drawn a crowd by this point so Sam shuffles Jessica to one side, grabs her purse, and shakily straightens up, Jessica cuddled against his chest. She doesn't say a word, not walking to the car, not the drive home, not even the walk up to the apartment. She doesn't speak when he changes her into one of his tee shirts and a pair of her shorts, nor while he strips down to his boxers. Doesn't say anything until they're in bed and his arms are wrapped tightly around her.
"Dawnie was in an accident." Jessica whispers against Sam's chest, fingers digging into his skin.
"God, Jess, I'm so sorry." Sam kisses her forehead. "Is she okay?"
Jessica jerkily shakes her head. "She's in some kind of coma. They're um, bringing in a specialist but…she just looked so lifeless. Dawn's always been this big whirl of endless energy but she…looked like a corpse."
"Jess, you should have called me, I would have come with you." Sam combs his fingers through her hair.
"Buffy needs to focus on Dawn right now." Jessica says. "If I was there, her attention would be diverted between the two of us and Dawn needs her right now. She needs me here, where she knows I'm safe. I need to be here, with you. I can't….I need you, Sam."
"I'm right here." Sam kisses her temple. "I'm not going anywhere."
-
"Dawn's body was created to house an unlimited amount of energy." Fred says. "Which is why her body can hold Illyria's enormous amount of power without crumbling under it. If it were anyone….if it would have been me, I would have been hollowed out first to make way for her power. My body couldn't have housed it otherwise. But Dawn, Dawn's body could…can. Her body is still whole."
"But her soul was shattered." Willow rubs her hands over her face. "I don't know if it's even possible to find the pieces let alone stitch them back together."
"You are going to try, right?" Angel asks.
"Of course." Willow nods. "But not right now. I don't have the strength….staying on the astral plane for so long drained me. I have to build up my resources before I even attempt to search for the pieces. And then there's gluing them back together and somehow shoving them back into Dawn's body without Illyria realizing it."
"Do you have any ideas?" Angel questions.
"On putting her soul back, yes." Willow nods. "But I'm going to have to test it first."
Buffy pauses. "By test you mean what exactly."
"There would only be one chance." Willow says. "If we do it the first time and fail, Illyria will either kill all of us or destroy Dawn's soul to the point it couldn't be put back together. So I'm going to have to test the spell on someone else first to make sure it works…that's not important right now though."
"We were told that her soul was completely destroyed." Wesley drums his fingers on the table. "That everything about her is completely gone."
"If had been Fred, then it would have been." Willow agrees. "But like Dawn's body, her soul isn't normal. It was made out of Buffy so as long as Buffy still remains…"
"A part of Dawn's soul lives on." Wesley smiles for the first time in weeks.
"Precisely." Willow agrees with a nod. "Hopefully, I can use that bond to track the pieces of Dawn's soul. Or at least that's the plan."
-
Spike growls as he's backhanded with a force that would decapitate a human easily. "Ooh, alright grandma. Give ya that. Good one." With another growl, he manages to kick the God-King in front of him.
"This shell." Illyria comments. "You had affection for it, for Dawn."
Spike pauses for a brief moment. "I loved Niblet in a way I'll never love another person. She….I more than had affection for her. She was my bit."
Illyria cocks her head. "Yet you strike at her form without sentiment."
"You ain't her." Spike kicks her in the stomach. "I can see it. Lord knows I can smell it. And I got no problem hitting it."
Illyria punches at him, a hit meant to debilate. Except Spike moves out of the way.
"You're adapting." Illyria sneers.
"We do that." Spike grins.
"Adaptation is compromise." Illyria says disdainfully.
"It's called learning." Spike rolls his eyes. "But then I guess you know everything there is to know."
"When the world met me, it shuddered, groaned." Illyria says, eyeing Spike with distaste. "It knelt at me feet."
"Dear Penthouse, I don't normally write letters like this…" Spike mocks.
Illyria punches him across the face, knocking him back a few feet.
"Oh, ho, ho." Spike smirks.
"Illyria was all they needed to know."
"Then came the internet." Spike grins.
"You have nothing. Your kind has pulled the domain apart." Illyria growls distastefully. "Each of you has snatched a tiny part of it. Even those with the mightiest hoards are paupers."
Spike arches an eyebrow. "The one who dies with the most toys wins, eh?"
"To never die…." Illyria corrects. "And to conquer all, that is winning."
Like an earthquake, the room starts shaking, the lights flickering a few times before going off.
"Great ole California." Spike grumbles. "Bloody fault lines."
"The earth does not move." Illyria cocks her head to the side.
"Sure it does, Blue." Spike says. "Plate shifting about each other or some shit like that. Sort through Bit's memories, you're bound to find some science classes in there somewhere."
Then the entire room shudders, Spike disappears, and Illyria falls to her knees, screaming.
-
"I'm fine, Buffy." Dawn says for the hundredth time. "You, on the other hand, look like crap."
"Gee, thanks." Buffy rolls her eyes.
"Go to sleep." Dawn orders. "Go rest. I'm fine."
Buffy doesn't look convinced.
"I'm serious, Buffy." Dawn repeats. "I am fine."
Buffy nods and kisses her forehead, watching as Angel does the same, and then the two leave the hospital room, Angel giving Spike a look.
"Okay, D, they're gone." Faith drops onto Spike's lap, wiggling around until she's comfortable. "You really okay?"
Dawn just lets her eyes drift closed, biting her lip to keep tears from escaping. It doesn't work though, two lone tears making neat tracks down her cheeks.
"Bit?" Spike questions.
"You shouldn't have brought me back." Dawn whispers. "You should have just….you smell, I can smell you, half-breed. I can smell the slayer and it makes my stomach churn. I can….I can feel the power in this building, beckoning to me. Willow thought the soul would make Illyria disappear but it didn't. It just made her part of me. We are as one, her thoughts, desires, and disgusts are mine as mine are hers. We are but one."
"And you didn't tell B this because?" Faith arches a brow.
"She hasn't rested in months." Dawn cocks her head to the side, her body as it was before being taken over by Illyria but her mannerisms much the same as the God-King. "She only grieved, as did Jessica."
"Yeah, bit, we all grieved." Spike frowns.
"I killed." Dawn looks at her hands. "Merclessly and without hesitation."
"Yes." Spike agrees.
"I should feel bad about that." Dawn says. "Guilt. I should feel it. I don't know if I can. I don't know…I remember loving Buffy and Jessica. I remember being a family. I remember grieving when Buffy died. But I don't remember what it feels like."
"Bit…"
"You shouldn't have brought me back." Dawn bends her knees, arms wrapping around them. "You should have left what was ash, ash. I don't know….Illyria was starting to find her footing. I don't know that I can." She runs one finger up her bare leg. "I don't know how to be human anymore and I can't be what I was. Where does that leave me?"
-
"Hey, there, bit." Spike nods, flicking his cigarette to the corner of the roof.
"Spike." Dawn nods, approaching the half-breed without sound. She remembers playing cards with him, having a crush on him, and she remembers beating the hell out of him. The stench of the half-breed is bad but not as offensive as the girl standing next to him. Slayers reek, she can barely stand to be in the same room with them. "Faith."
"D." Faith nods. "Nice threads."
Dawn looks down at herself, unsure of what Faith means.
"She means your shorts, platelet." Spike nods.
"This is the least offensive of the mortal fabrics." Dawn fingers the silk shorts, underwear really, made of the most expensive silk. The blue fabric sets off the staggering blue of her eyes (The one of part of her God-self that doesn't change when she returns to her resting state, which is her human self.) so says Buffy. Her tank top is of the same fabric, the two articles of clothing nothing more than underwear. She hates clothing now, wears the least amount she can that won't send Angel and Buffy into a frenzy. She's not permitted to wear these during the day, only at night when the law office is full of mostly the AI team and the few scoobies that stay there. During the day, she wears silk sun dresses.
"Yeah, silk is nice." Faith agrees.
"I will leave you two be." Dawn nods.
"Naw, it's cool, D." Faith says. "We're just having a smoke and a drink. What are you up too?"
"Just needed some air." Dawn replies with a smile. It's something she's practiced in the mirror hundreds of times, trying to find the sweet smile that she once had. She's not sure if she's succeeded. Nobody will tell her if she has. They know she's not the same girl she was half a year ago and that she never will be again. Technically, she is a God, even if she did give up some of her powers. She can no longer move through time at will, though she can still slow time within the area around her. Her punch no longer rivals the impact of a Mack truck, the impact now lessened to about the strength of a pickup (according to Spike). She can't travel through dimensions as she pleases but can open a portal anywhere in this dimension. Those powers are limited to her other self though, when she's wearing her human shell her powers are depleted greatly. She's still stronger than any demon that Buffy and Angel have fought (including Glory and the Beast) but no where near the strength she has when she lets her God-King self through.
"Yeah, it is easier to breathe up here." Spike agrees.
"You don't breathe, Spike." Dawn smiles, something like humor crossing her lips.
"Yeah, bit, I know." Spike grins back.
Dawn effortlessly jump onto the building's edge, head tipped back as she lets the calmness of night wash over her. This is where she's most at peace, night. Where the parts of her that are Dawn and the parts of her that are Illyria live together in relative harmony.
"D, you know that scares the shit out of me, right?" Faith lights another cigarette, body tense as she watches Dawn walk the foot edge with her eyes closed.
"I know." Dawn replies. "But you know I won't fall. And if by some chance I did, it wouldn't do any real damage."
"Except give me a heart attack." Faith mutters.
With a sigh, Dawn jumps off, landing silently a few feet from the couple.
"Thanks, D." Faith says.
"It's okay, Faith." Dawn smiles at her. "Buffy doesn't like it either."
"Speaking of big sis, where are her and peaches?" Spike asks. "Off making with the pelvicial?"
"No." Dawn replies. "Buffy is calling Jessica."
"J comin' out again?" Faith arches a brow.
"No. I'm leaving." Dawn says.
Spike frowns. "You're leaving us, platelet?"
"This place….it's intoxicating at times." Dawn wraps her arms around herself. "There's so much power here, so much evil. I can't….I can't find the parts of myself that I was here. Every time I think I've touched something, it slips away. I need peace, quiet. I need to not be here."
"So, what, you're going to Cleveland or England?" Faith arches a brow.
Dawn can't control the shudder than runs down her spine. "No."
"Too many slayers." Faith flicks out her cigarette, taking no offense at the revulsion in Dawn's tone.
"Yes." Dawn agrees. "Buffy's blood runs through my veins; her presence isn't bothersome. You…I can tolerate you because we have a past. Your darkness also makes things easier. But the slayer school….I am afraid that being in the presence of so many would result in…."
"Some blood shed?" Spike offers. "Yeah, I can see that. All them super-powered girls make me a little homicidal too."
Dawn cocks her head, looking for the lie in his words. But there isn't one. Spike is speaking the truth and that makes her feel a little more human. Most beings wouldn't use a formerly evil vampire as a measurement for humanity but for her, it's a goal. Perhaps an unreachable goal but a goal nonetheless.
She hasn't killed since Willow returned her soul, not anything human at least. In fact, she hasn't bled back into her god self in front of anyone except for Wesley and that was only once to see if she still could (a pointless exercise for her as she knew she still could) and Spike to test her strength. It's almost as if they all pretend to not know that she is still the strongest being in this dimension. As if it's easier for them to live that way. And they also pretend that she isn't as detached from humanity as she is. She knows emotions, remembers them from her past, can see them around her, understand them, and is no longer disgusted by them…but she can't feel them. She only has memories of past emotions. What she wouldn't give to feel the love she used to when Buffy would hug her. Or the butterflies in her belly when Spike calls her 'niblet'. Or even the fear that she did when something attacked. But she feels none of it. Perhaps it's because her soul was shattered and had to be pieced together that she can't feel. Or perhaps it is this place, so reminicant of everything she was so long ago; pure power and pure evilness.
"So, where you going?" Faith arches a brow. "Off to explore the world or some shit like that?"
"No, I don't think I'm ready to do that alone." Dawn says. Truthfully, without some connection to her life before Illyria infested her body that the small grasp on humanity that she has will disappear. "I'm going to stay with Jessica."
"Um…are you sure that's safe?" Spike hesitates for a few seconds before asking.
"You think I would hurt Jessica?" Dawn cocks her head to the side, not a bit of hurt in her voice.
"No, I don't think you would." Spike says. "But I think that somebody is bound to realize you're not as human as they come. You gotta admit, bit, you are rather…."
"Emotionless." Dawn provides in her normal lackluster voice before switching to what she once sounded like. "But I can so totally be a teenager girl and go shopping for clothes and stuff. I mean come on, nobody can have too many shoes."
Spike jerks back as if struck.
"Just because I'm not her anymore doesn't mean I don't remember how she was." Dawn says, her voice returning to its normal whisper. "Jessica told Sam that I had some memory loss from the accident; he'll be a little worried about my behavior but write it off as just damage from the accident."
"You think you'll find yourself there?" Spike asks, the longing for the Dawn of the past evident in his voice.
Dawn shrugs. "If there's anything left to find."
-
Sam pushes open the apartment door and for the third time, feels his heart drop into his stomach. Jessica isn't on the couch. It's their thing; whoever gets home from class first crashes onto the couch to wait for the other. Being Thursday, Jess got out of class first but she isn't on the couch. There's no note by the door, saying where she might be, and she didn't leave him a voicemail. He still vividly remembers the past two times, when Dawn got in an accident and Jessica went to see her, and when Dawn woke up from the coma she was in and Jessica went to see her. Both times she wasn't home, didn't leave a message, just disappeared. It's one of the only things they've argued about and she promised not to do it again. And yet here she has again. He's reaching for his cell phone when quiet whispers catch his ear. Dropping his books on the couch, he quietly stocks over to the window in the kitchen and sure enough, his girlfriend is sitting on the fire escape outside of it, talking on the phone.
"Because, Buffy, it's Sam's apartment too and I have to ask him first." Jessica says. "No, of course not. I would be glad to have her here but Sam has a say in that…"
"Sam has a say in what?" Sam leans down to poke his head out the window, jerking back when Jessica screams in his ear.
"Damn it, Sam." Jessica reaches in to smack him on the head. "No, it's just Sam being a butt and scaring the shit out of me." "Don't laugh." "Hold on a second and I'll ask him."
"Ask me what?" Sam asks.
"Dawn wants to come stay with me for a while, but not if that's not okay with you." Jessica replies nervously.
"Of course it's okay with me, Jess." Sam says. "She's your sister. Plus, I grew rather fond of her that week she stayed with us."
"You are the best boyfriend in the entire world." Jessica leans through the open window to kiss his check. "What would I do without you?"
"Crash and burn, baby." Sam grins lopsidly at her.
"Sam says it's cool, Buffy." Jessica says. "Yeah, we'll pick her up. Gate six, yeah, I got it. Four hours, uh huh." Jessica rolls her eyes. "Love you too." She hangs up the phone and then dives through the window, tackling Sam with a giggle. He laughs with her, flipping them over to straddle her hips. Then tickles her.
Jessica giggles and trashes under Sam, begging him to stop.
Sam lessens up on tickling Jess when her face goes red. She collapses backwards, eyes closing as she pants for breath. "So, four hours?"
"Four hours." Jessica agrees.
Sam scoops her up and then runs to their bedroom, Jessica laughing in his ear.
-
Sam eats his cereal quietly, studying the teenager in front of him. She looks exactly the same but completely different at the same time. The biggest difference is her eyes which are an unique shade of blue, something that almost looks unnatural. Jessica said it's from the accident, some type of discoloration of her iris from the impact. She's so much quieter, so damaged looking that he wants to wrap her up and protect her from the world. But if she's anything like Jessica, and he knows she is, she'd probably hit him for it. "Do you want to go to class with me?"
"Thanks, Sam, but I'm kinda tired." Dawn smiles at him as she eats her fruit. Illyria never had to eat, she didn't need food to survive, but when Willow put her soul back and she stopped using her god form, she might need it now. She's not sure. She eats because it's what she should do, just like she bathes and sleeps, though she's not sure if she needs to. She's not sure if she can live without eating or sleeping and doesn't want to know. She'll do both because that's what girls do, even if she might not need to do them.
"You didn't sleep well?" Jessica walks in the dining room, kisses Sam's cheek and Dawn's temple before sitting between the two.
"No, not really." Dawn smiles reassuringly at her. "I'm still adjusting and all."
"Okay, then, tomorrow I have a history class." Sam says. "Professor McGraw wants to meet you anyways. He still remembers your paper."
"Okay." Dawn agrees. "That will be…fun."
-
"Get off me." Dean Winchester grunts, shoving his younger brother off him. He ignores the hand Sam holds out and hoists himself to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asks.
"I was looking for a beer." Dean grins.
"What. The Hell. Are you doing here?" Sam grinds the words out from between tightly clenched teeth.
"Okay, all right." Dean holds up his hands in a placating manner. "We gotta talk."
"Uh, the phone." Sam says.
"If I'd'a called, would you have picked up?" Dean arches an eyebrow. But before Sam can answer, the light flips on and a voice sounds from behind them.
"Sam?"
Dean turns his head and then ends up doing a double take. Standing behind them, wearing nothing but a small pair of black panties is one of the most gorgeous females that he's ever seen. She's basically long curves and pale skin, long, thick brown hair hanging down over her shoulders, masking her naked breasts. Barely. If she moves, her nipples are going poke through. Her legs are endlessly long and the small black panties barely cover anything. Anything. He hopes like hell that she isn't his brother's girlfriend because he is so planning to score.
"Sam?" Another female voice says. "Dawn?"
Dean turns his head the other way to see another gorgeous woman, this one blonde, wearing a pair of short shorts and a ripped up tee-shirt. "Whoa, Sammy, I gotta say, I'm impressed."
"Shut up, Dean." Sam growls.
"Dawn, sweetie, you can't walk around without clothes on." Jessica says.
"I have panties on." Dawn cocks her head.
"You need to wear a shirt." Jessica says.
"Oh." Dawn murmurs, glancing down at herself. "I'll go get one." Dawn crosses the room, not noticing that her hair shifts as she does so.
Oh, and the view is just as good from the back. Dean smirks, head tilting to watch the brunette's ass sway. And what an ass it is. The panties are the string bikini type, a tiny black string across each hip, connecting two small triangles of silk fabric. Her ass cheeks are cupped by the fabric but not completely.
"Dawn, here." Sam grabs a blanket off the back of a chair and holds it out, his eyes averted from her naked chest. "Dean, this is Jessica, my girlfriend, and her little sister Dawn. Dawn, Jess, this is my brother Dean."
Dean smiles at them both, mentally cheering that the brunette isn't his brother's girlfriend.
"My nudity bothers you." Dawn comments, head tilting as she studies Sam. "But it doesn't bother your brother."
"Dean's a pig, that's why it doesn't bother him." Sam sends his brother a look.
"It doesn't bother you to see Jessica naked." Dawn inwardly winces as the rough fabric brushes against her skin, but dutifully wraps it around herself. "Does that make you a pig?"
Dean laughs at the look on his brother's face. "C'mon, Sammy, aren't you going to answer?"
Sam glares at him.
"Oh, I love the Smurfs." Dean smirks at the blonde. "You know, you are completely out of my brother's league."
"Why are you here?" Sam asks again.
"We need to talk, in private." Dean says.
"No." Sam moves beside Jess, his arm wrapping around her. "No, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Jessica and Dawn."
"Okay." Dean arches a brow. "Um, dad hasn't been home in a few days."
"So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift." Sam says. "He'll stumble back in sooner or later."
"Dad's on a hunting trip." Dean eyes his brother. "And he hasn't been home in a few days."
"Excuse us." Sam steps away from Jessica, his hands clenching at his sides. "We have to go outside."