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I have boldly lifted bits of dialog from "After Life" and following episodes. These show up in red. Footnotes are at the end of each chapter.
148th Day Chapter 4 Dawn Time Dawn finished her breakfast and idly washed the dishes. The house was so quiet. Normally the TV was on, and Willow was surfing the net or fixing the Buffybot. Tara’s steady presence is missed, too. Sometimes when Dawn was feeling lost, only Tara would pick up on it, and she’d come and hold her or quietly talk. Xander and Anya were in and out all the time, too. Giles was around, but he had a distance about him since Buffy died. “Haunted” fit him very well. Dawn was not surprised when he left. And, of course, Spike was about. Dawn had noticed the distance the others kept from him. They did not include him on the few fun times they had; the gatherings and late night parties. She had insisted he come to her birthday party. At least she was his friend. They had him patrol or sit with her with no thought to his feelings. Some nights Spike would show up just after dark so the gang could go and patrol, or do what ever things they wanted to which did not include a 16-year-old. Some days he would stay over, retreating to the basement or he would run out into the sun with a heavy blanket shading him once anyone came home. He joked he was a cheap sitter, working for food. Dawn knew he had promised Buffy he would protect her and he would not let her go out alone at night or patrol with the others. Plus, he made her keep up her homework. They spent evenings watching movies, both classic and bad. Spike taught her many variations on card games, often just so he could cheat, she thought. They would eat pizza or Chinese take out. That got old, so they learned to cook. Spike would talk to her and would tell her stories of the terrible things he had done, and of the wonderful things he had seen. There were few places in the world he had not been. He spoke to her of the existence of vampires. So much so she wondered if the Watchers knew half as much as she did. Some nights they talked of Buffy, but not many. It made them both too sad. Dawn wandered into the living room and saw Spike asleep on the couch. With a start, she realized this was the first time she had seen him so completely asleep. Sure, he would doze in the chair, but always there was a feeling of alertness about him. She studied his relaxed features in the bright room. He was a handsome man, with angular features, which could look kill-you-dead mad one minute and wicked grin the next. Infinitely sad was something she had seen on him a lot this summer. But this was an expression she had never seen before. A slight smile curled his lips, like a child who was completely relaxed and happy. ~~~ At 10 o’clock the phone rang and Dawn leapt to it before it could ring again. “Hello? Hi, Xander.” Dawn turned around from where she picked up the phone to find Spike right behind her. She let out a little shriek and punched him in the arm. “Spike! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” It was a game they would play. Spike said it was to teach her to be more alert, but Dawn suspected he just liked to give her a good scare when he could. Spike grinned and strutted away. Buffy is alive, he felt good. “No, it’s all right, Xander. Spike was teasing me. Yes, I’m perfectly safe around him. I have spent half the summer alone with him and now you worry? No, don’t come over.” There was a pause. “That’s good to hear. She’s asleep. Look, there is a lot to sort out. We don’t need anything, thank you.” Spike hopefully put in “I’m running low on blood,” from where he was sitting sideways in the armchair. Dawn glared at him. “I’m just saying.” “Xander. We’re good. Just keep away.” She chewed a nail as she listened. “Thanks for the update. I’ll call you tomorrow, all right? Thanks for caring.” Dawn hung up the phone and flopped on the couch. “Their little house party getting antsy?” Spike asked. “Yeah. They want answers. We need time.” “You’re handling it well, Little Bit.” “Thanks. I’m glad you’re here. If you hadn’t been, they would have scared her… into herself, it seems. Will she be okay?” “I believe so. It'll take time, and patience. Where's she now?” “She’s upstairs, asleep. She told me to send you up when you woke up.” “Really?” Spike said in wonderment. “Yeah. She needs you and is willing to admit it. Although it looks like it’s rough for you.” She pointed to the bruises on his face. Spike chuckled, “love taps from the Slayer. I’ve done worse damage to myself while drunk.” He paused. “So I should join her, upstairs, in her bedroom?” “That’s what she said. You may want to clean up first. You smell like smoke from the other night.” Spike took a careful sniff of his shirt. “Do I have any clothes stashed here?” “I don’t think so. But there’s a bag of clothes we are going to take to charity for Giles in the basement.” “Watcher cast-offs. How low can one go?” “If you want to shower, I can wash your clothes for you.” Spike found the bag in the basement and managed to dig out a warn white undershirt and bleach-stained blue sweat pants which would service. He went upstairs and showered, putting on the cast offs, and leaving his clothes in the bathroom. Dawn popped out of her bedroom, speaking softly. “Look at you. Very James Dean. You should break out of the basic black once in a while.” “What about my image, pet? Besides, James Dean never wore sweat pants.” Dawn rolled her eyes and collected his black clothes. “Should I be afraid to check the pockets?” “I already did. Don’t shrink them. And no starch!” Dawn flounced downstairs with her arms full.
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