Dawn watched with thinly veiled amusement as Giles tried once again to lift the heavy suitcase. She quickly turned her attention to the contents of her bowl when Buffy took the suitcase from the older man’s hands to show him how to pull out the handle and wheel the case across the floor.

“You could have helped him,” Buffy scolded once Giles was out of earshot on the front porch. She crossed her arms and glared at the teen, her foot tapping in irritation.

The younger Summers couldn’t hold back a giggle. “I was going to. Eventually. You should have seen him, Buff. It was like he was following as set of really bad directions: yank handle, set suitcase down, stare at suitcase, clean glasses, mutter British obscenities, repeat as necessary.”

Buffy grinned and affectionately ruffled her sister’s hair much to the girl’s annoyance. Looking back on what she’d seen from her vantage point in the doorway, Dawn’s observation made perfect sense. “No more laughing at the man who is taking you back to London for a week.” Her heart ached at the thought of her sister being out of town for any length of time. She could count on one hand the number of days she and Dawn had been apart since the horrific nightmare nine months earlier.

Dawn sobered slightly as her thoughts ran along the same lines. She abandoned her soggy cereal to wrap her arms around Buffy’s waist. “Thank you so much for letting me go. You’re the best sister ever,” she murmured sincerely, repeating a sentiment she'd expressed many times in the last three weeks. Once life had settled down, she'd begged and pleaded for the opportunity to check out the universities in London. It had been a relief when her sister finally capitulated on the condition that Dawn be the one to ask the Gileses to escort her around the city. It was a small price to pay, and Spike’s parents had readily agreed.

The girls’ emotional moment was interrupted by Giles clearing his throat before venturing further into the kitchen. “I’ve just heard that due to the inclement weather, all flights have been delayed. Olivia is calling the airline to see what time we are scheduled for take off.”

Buffy carried Dawn’s bowl to the sink and rinsed it out before loading it in the dishwasher. She turned and leaned with her back against the counter staring out the window. Her eyes were fixed on the back porch while her mind drifted back to all the memories the nondescript slab of concrete held. She and Spike had spent many nights sitting on the steps watching the stars. Though no words were spoken, they seemed to understand with perfect clarity what the other was thinking. Having grown tired of hearing her complain about the cold concrete, Spike had hung a porch swing. An impish smile flitted across her face as she recalled the other uses her lover had found for the swing.

“Hello, earth to Buffy,” Dawn waved her hand in front of the blonde’s face, impatiently rolling her eyes when she finally got through. “Giles has only been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes.”

Buffy blushed as tore her eyes from the porch and focused on Giles. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

He smiled sympathetically at the younger woman he viewed as a daughter. She'd grown increasingly absent-minded ever since his son had left for his most recent assignment. “I was merely inquiring as to when you expected William home.”

She shrugged her slim shoulders and pushed away from counter. “He said it was only going to be two weeks at the most but that was nearly a month ago. Should be any day now.” Despite her nonchalant façade, she was concerned for Spike’s safety and dreading the very real possibility that soon she would be without Dawn and Spike at the same time.

Sensing Buffy’s worry, Dawn thoughtfully offered to postpone her trip. It was only the beginning of summer vacation and she could easily reschedule her appointments with the schools. She was also troubled by Spike’s prolonged absence and prayed that no news was indeed good news.

Buffy immediately shook her head, touched by her sister’s selflessness. “Don’t cancel your trip. Go to London, have fun, drink a pint for Spike,” she insisted. After all the girl had endured, she deserved a little happiness. Her brow furrowed as she considered exactly what she'd given Dawn permission to do. “On second thought, forget that last one. Besides, if it gets too lonely around here I’ll just ask Willow and Tara to stay the night.”

The shrill of Giles’ cell phone temporarily halted the conversation as both girls shamelessly eavesdropped on his side of the conversation. After ending the call, he returned the phone to his front shirt pocket. “Olivia says that the plane will be departing at seven o’clock. That leaves us three hours to get to the airport.”

Buffy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Dawn jumped up and grabbed the ringing house phone. “Devereaux-Summers-Giles house can I help you?” She listened to the caller for several minutes and passed the receiver to her sister. “It’s Jack,” she mouthed.

The blonde frowned as she accepted the phone. While the promotion had come with a lot of addtional work, her boss almost never called on Sundays. “What’s up Jack?” A few seconds later, she leaned heavily on the counter for support as her knees weakened. “When? How? No!” The phone slipped from her lax grasp and fell to the floor with a crash. Buffy slid down the counter and ended up on her knees.

The room’s other occupants could hear Jack calling for Buffy, but their attention was focused on the distressed blonde kneeling on the cool tile floor. Without having to be told, Dawn instantly knew the call was about her surrogate brother. She flew across the room to join her sister.

Giles picked up the phone and numbly listened to what the FBI agent had to say. Dazed, he returned the receiver to its cradle and closed his eyes. The rational part of his mind knew that he needed to inform his wife, but he couldn’t force himself to move.

Buffy rocked her sobbing sister back and forth, feeling frozen and dead inside. It took her a few seconds to realize that the agonized, mournful wailing was not coming from Dawn or Giles, but from herself.



A/N: Yes, short chapter. I apologize.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters. Joss and Co. own all.





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