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Author's Chapter Notes:
As always... effusive thanks to my beta Jill.
If anyone can guess who's behind the whole conspiracy to keep Buffy out of LA ...I will post another chapter straight away.
It had taken Dawn a good half-hour or so, but eventually she had gotten her sister calmed down enough to explain. Not that there was a great deal to tell.


Dawn’s brain seemed to be stuck on repeat. The words “Spike’s alive” kept turning in her head.

Not even the shocking fact that he seemed to be sleeping with Faith was enough to get her past the first rush of joy at her sister’s words.

Of course that only lasted about as long as it took for Buffy to start crying again, then she moved right on to pissed.


“That big undead jerk! Just you wait till I see him Buffy…He is so dead… again,” Dawn fumed, anger driving her to her feet..

“And as for super skank? Don’t you worry Sis, Willow taught me some stuff the summer you were gone. You just say the word and that vampire stealing ho is history,” she offered, “there’s this really neat spell I’ve been itching to try for a while.”

Eyes glittering with malicious intent, she turned to her sister and asked slyly. “So, I wonder how Spike feels about slime and antlers. Or maybe scales and mucus would be more Faith’s thing.”


Buffy goggled at her little sister. Who knew Dawnie could be so scary.

Tears forgotten, the slayer watched as her sister started to pace and mutter in a very familiar manner.
Okay, this could get ugly, she thought as she watched Dawn stop to root around in her backpack, obviously searching for something.


Dawn’s whole demeanor was one of righteous anger. Buffy had never seen the girl so mad, and to be honest it worried her.


She knew that only part of what Dawn was feeling was anger on her own behalf. The other part was pure hurt that Spike hadn’t told them he was back. And if Dawn rushed off and did or said something that couldn’t be fixed, Buffy would never forgive herself.

It was all her fault Spike hadn’t contacted them. If she had just told him a little sooner, he wouldn’t have died believing that she didn’t love him. Moreover, if she hadn’t been such a grade A bitch, it would be her bed he was in now, not Faith’s.

It wasn’t his fault that he’d fallen out of love with her. She’d told him get over it enough times… who was she to hold it against him if he finally took her at her word?


Poor Dawnie, she misses Spike nearly as much as I do.

Well, she might not be able to fix things between herself and Spike, but she was damn sure she could arrange it so her sister at least got to have him in her life.


“Dawn hold up for a minute on the vengeance,” she requested lightly. “Not that I don’t appreciate the thought but I feel like you’re channeling Anya, and it’s kinda making me dizzy.”

“Look… I think you and I need to get a couple of things straight before you go charging off,” reaching up she pulled her sister down to sit beside her on the step.

“As much as I appreciate the thought of Faith as a repulsive demon - and just so you know, the scales would have definitely been my first choice - I think you maybe need to stop and think about why you’re really mad.” At Dawn’s mutinous look the slayer sighed heavily.

“Dawnie, it’s not either of their faults that I pushed him away so often that he didn’t feel he’d be welcome back in our lives. Ok, so there was a lot Spike said up there that I don’t understand, but now I’ve had myself a good cry I’m gonna go find Willow and try to make sense of things, before I even attempt to talk to him again.”


Dawn scowled.


“I’m not saying you can’t go talk to him,” she added soothingly. “I’m just letting you know that there’s a lot going on here that we don’t know. So if you do see him, remember he loves you and it’s not his fault that he stayed away, it’s mine. You might also wanna remember,” she offered wryly “that you did threaten to set him on fire that one time. Not exactly the recipe for a welcome back cake. Hmm?”

Smiling coaxingly she reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her sisters’ ear.


“Please Dawn,” she begged her smile fading at her sisters continued glare. “He had no way of knowing that either of us missed him, so promise me you’ll cut him some slack, at least until after I’ve spoken to Willow. And if you do talk to him,” she added thoughtfully her expression turning speculative, “see if you can dig up the dirt on some guy called the Immortal. I don’t know who this looser is but I get the impression that finding out is of the urgent, since two of the three people I’ve seen today seem to be under the impression that I’m dating him.”


“They what?” Dawn interrupted, a confused frown settling on her features.


Buffy shrugged “Beats me Dawnie, apparently according to Kennedy, I am currently supposed to be living the high life in of all places, Rome.” Looking thoughtful Buffy went over the other slayer’s earlier words in her head.

“Whoever this guy is Dawn, I got the impression he’s not exactly human, and with a name like the Immortal it makes me wonder just what his involvement is in all this.”


“Well, you telling me that only makes what I was thinking earlier make even more sense,” said Dawn. Scowling darkly at the Hyperion, Dawn mused aloud. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to stop us talking to anyone from Sunnydale, and now it seems they may have taken it even further.”


“What are you talking about Dawn? What do Giles and the others have to do with Spike and Kennedy thinking I was in Rome?” Buffy asked, her expression confused. “And what do you mean by further?”


Dawn turned back to look at her sister. Watching her carefully now that she knew what to look for, she asked “Who’s the last person you spoke to from the gang and how long ago?”

She watched her sister’s brow wrinkle, her expression becoming curiously blank before clearing. “Well the last time it was Andrew, and that was a couple of days ago…” She trailed off at her sister’s pointed stare.

“What’s with the look? You know Andrew is Giles right hand man. I always speak to him if Giles is unavailable.”

When Dawn just continued to stare, Buffy found herself feeling weirdly defensive.

“C’mon Dawnie I know you don’t like him all that much but he is trying and Giles seems to trust him…What?” At her sister’s openly skeptical look Buffy started to get annoyed.
“All right smart ass; please continue with the Sherlock impersonation. You obviously think you know something I don’t, so let’s hear it.”


Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister’s sarcasm. “All right then,” she started. “Besides Andrew, name the Scooby you spoke to last, and when?” Folding her arms across her chest, she waited for her sister to work it out for herself.


Buffy looked flustered for a moment before answering.

“Ok. Sure I can do that … let me think. Hmm…” she mused. “I remember Andrew reminding me that Willow still wanted mom’s recipe for those pecan cookies she liked, and he said she said to tell me that she’d forgotten to remind me when I spoke to her on Thursday. And since its Tuesday today-- that would make it less than a week since I spoke to her and… Oh crap!”

Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. “It’s a spell isn’t it? I didn’t speak to Willow did I? Of course I didn’t speak to Will," she muttered self depreciatingly. “At least not about any recipe for pecan cookies…"

"Cos Willow’s allergic to pecans.” they both finished together, Buffy rolling her eyes at her own cluelessness.

“But I don’t understand,” complained Buffy her voice uncertain. “I remember Andrew reminding me about it, and while I was speaking to him I remembered the conversation with Wills being crystal clear… but I can’t have, can I? God that is so confusing,” she huffed.

“What the hell is going on Dawnie? Why didn’t I remember that Willow wouldn’t have asked for that recipe in the first place? Did I even speak to her at all?” she demanded, her expression annoyed.


Dawn sighed. “No Buff, I don’t think you did. In fact I don’t think either of us has spoken to anyone other than Andrew for a very long time. And,” she offered decisively, “if it hadn’t been for the news report, I don’t think we would have.”

Searching her sisters’ face for understanding Dawn continued.

“You see, I did some thinking on the way over here and I got suspicious when I asked you on the plane who you’d spoken to lately. Remember? You told me exactly what you just told me… word for word.” She shot her sister her best Duh! look

“I didn’t tell you at the time,” offered Dawn apologetically, “Cos I was so busy going over my own memories of the conversations I haven’t actually had, that I missed the pecan thing too. And I probably would have continued to miss it,” she admitted her expression rueful, “if the whole LA battle thing hadn’t kept me so focused.”

Frowning at her own thoughts she continued to explain.

“You see it just didn’t add up, spell or no spell there is no way Giles and the others wouldn’t have contacted us. Whoever did the spell designed it so our minds sort of skated over anything that didn’t make sense but the spell had us both believing everything was good with them, so again why the no contact?”

She shrugged “Hence the focus! And before you ask,” she added. “I have no idea why anyone would do this, but I think we both know who does.”


“Andrew” they chorused. Each of them, had they known it, wearing frighteningly familiar scowls. In that moment they looked more like sisters than ever before.


“So Buffy, what ya gonna do to him? And can I at least watch?” asked Dawn, her malicious expression from earlier, back with a vengeance.


Buffy looked thoughtful before answering. “First off Dawnie, you and I are gonna do what Riley would have called recon. You’re going to do what you do best. Wheedle info out of Spike. And I’m going to get the skinny from Will, she stated flatly.

Thinly veiled suspicion coated her tone as she stared over Dawns shoulder at the Hyperion.

“I find it less than likely that Andrew Wells managed to pull this one off on his own, and if it’s not Willow? then I wanna know who helped him with the mojo. Cos there is no way he got past our resident witch without some sort of help.”


“And if it is Willow? murmured Dawn with a worried frown. ”


Buffy looked grim as she met her sister’s eyes.

“If she’s messed with my mind again Dawn, regardless of her reasons…good or bad, then she is going to be in for a world of hurt,” she promised, her expression to Dawns eyes, suddenly disturbingly blank.

“And, if I find out she had anything to do with my not knowing about Spike being back, or even if she just kept the knowledge from me?... Well let’s just say Willow has never really seen my true potential for violence,” she growled, her eyes meeting Dawns. “Last time Tara’s death held me back. This time if she’s done this thing…”


Buffy did not need to complete the sentence. Dawn got the idea.


She shivered remembering black-eyed Willow, though studying her sister’s coldly determined features, Dawn found herself hoping for Willow’s sake that their suspicions were wrong.





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