By Heather Martin

Spoilers- Set during and after Smashed. I borrowed a few lines from Wrecked as well. Has spoilers for everything up to that point. Goes AU after that

Summary- B/S T/W A/X Something goes funky with Spike and Buffy after their coupling in the abandoned house. Meanwhile, a demon and a mysterious girl come to Sunnydale from the future.

Chapter Eight- Getting to Know You

Dawn found it odd that she was up before Buffy. It was nine o’clock and usually her sister was up at eight. Oh well, she wasn’t going to wake her. This gave her the opportunity to eat whatever she wanted for breakfast.

She traveled into the kitchen. The linoleum was cold on her bare feet. The refrigerator revealed a few slices of left-over pepperoni pizza. She took two and placed them on a paper plate. Then she heated them in the microwave.

“What ya cooking?”

Dawn shrieked, spinning around. A girl about her age, wearing what looked like her black shirt and blue-jeans, stood there.

“Who are you?” Dawn asked.

The girl smiled. “Alexis. I’m the reason for the Scooby meeting yesterday.”

The microwave dinged. Dawn went over and took out her food. She set her plate down on the island. Then she turned back to Alexis.

“So, you are staying here?” Dawn questioned.

“Until I go back home,” Alexis told her.

“Home?”

“To the future.”

“R-right,” Dawn said dubiously.

A sigh came from Alexis. She was getting tired of explaining the time travel issue. She took a deep breath and began to talk. Afterward, Dawn just stared at her.

Eventually, Dawn came out of her stupor. “The future. Major cool. Do I ever get my driver’s license? A boyfriend?”

“I’m not allowed to tell you,” Alexis informed.

“Oh come on, just a teensy bit of info,” Dawn urged.

Alexis smiled. “You don’t turn out bad.”

“So I get over my loser phase?”

“Definitely,” Alexis assured her.

************************

Buffy didn’t want to get up. She never wanted to move again. Finally, when ten o’clock rolled around she dragged herself out of bed. She dressed in black pants and a red top. She went into the bathroom and quickly brushed her hair and teeth.

As she made her way downstairs, the sound of giggles and murmured voices filtered through the air. A really awful smell accompanied it.

Buffy stepped into the kitchen. Alexis and Dawn sat at the island. They both were chatting, steaming mugs of coffee set before them.

“Hi, guys,” Buffy greeted.

“Hey, Buffy,” her sister said. “Alexis told me what is going on.”

“About the time travel? Good because I really didn’t want to have to.” Buffy took a hand and covered her nose. “What is that smell?”

“Huh?”

“Something is making me nauseous.”

Dawn held up her mug. “It must be the coffee. You always liked the aroma of coffee before.”

“Not today,” the slayer remarked. “I think I better go lay down again.”

Buffy went back to her room. She shut and locked the door. The bed was so inviting. She settled back down with a moan. The churning in her stomach dulled slightly as she stilled, and she no longer felt like she would heave at any second.

There was a knock on her door. “Buffy, are you all right?” It was Dawn.

“Yeah, my stomach hurts. Must be something I ate.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, Dawnie?”

“Yeah.”

“There is supposed to be another meeting at the magic shop this morning. Can you go down and tell everyone it is cancelled?”

“Sure thing. You rest and let that slayer immunity kick in.”

“Yeah,” Buffy replied.

Her ears picked up two sets of feet begin to retreat.

“How long has your sister been sick?” she heard Alexis ask.

“It must have hit her this morning. This is the first time I’ve seen her get sick in forever. It’s been about four years since,” Dawn informed.

It wasn’t true. It hadn’t hit her just this morning. Buffy had been feeling queasy for the past two weeks. She had been extremely careful about concealing it, though. She hadn’t told anyone. She knew if they found out they would demand she go to the doctor. And going to the doctor never turned out well.

The pain was almost gone now. Buffy’s eyes drooped. For some reason she couldn’t get enough sleep lately.

*************************

Dawn and Alexis walked to The Magic Box, getting to know each other on the way. Dawn found out that Alexis was a really nice girl. The topics of music and movies were a little hard, considering the time difference, but they found other things in common. They both loved peanut butter, boys, make-up, dancing, and the mall. They also both hated school and curfews.

They arrived at the shop, still talking as they entered.

“I don’t know what I was thinking trying on Buffy’s uniform anyway. Like I would actually try out? I mean, I should know better. Buffy was such a ditz when she was on the squad. I don’t want to be like that,” Dawn told her new friend.

“Why are you here?” Anya demanded. She was dusting a shelf with crystal balls. “You can’t have the meeting now. I haven’t even sold one thing yet. We cannot do the meeting until someone makes a purchase.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Relax, Anya, Buffy called the meeting off. She’s not feeling well.”

“The slayer’s sick?”

The girls looked over to see Spike. He was lounging in a chair, his feet propped up on the table.

“She has a stomach bug,” Dawn informed.

“Oh, well, tell her I hope she is right as rain in no time.”

Dawn smiled. “Sure, I’ll pass it on.”

The bleach-haired male took his feet down. He stood up. “Right then, if there isn’t any meeting I guess I’m off.”

“But you’ll be back,” Anya ordered. “At one. When you‘re scheduled to work.”

“Yeah, yeah. No problem. Be here on the dot.”

With that, he headed out the door. Alexis and Dawn followed.

“Spike!” Dawn called.

He stopped, spinning around toward her.

“Yeah?”

“Can Alexis and I come see your apartment?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah, can we?” Alexis added. “I never even knew you lived in an apartment for awhile.”

“I don’t live there anymore?” Spike inquired.

“Um . . . No, you live in a house”

“So, can we?” Dawn prodded.

“Sure, bit, come on.”

He led them to a door marked 52B. He put a key in the door, unlocking it.

“Now, it’s nothing posh. But it’s not bad,” Spike remarked.

He swung the door open. The teens stepped inside, taking a good look around. It was kind of small, but not cramped. He didn’t have that many things that needed very much space anyway. He had the bare necessities in the kitchen. The living room held a standard quality color television and stereo. There was a blue couch, with a wooden coffee table in front of it.

Alexis spotted a stack of CDs. She went over to check them out. Sex Pistols, The Best of Woodstock, Billy Idol . . .

“Hey, The Rolling Stones!” She snatched it up. “Can I listen?”

Spike came over and took the CD. He turned on the stereo, placing the disc into the player. Music filled the room, booming out of the speakers.

“Come on, Dawn, let’s dance,” Alexis begged.

Dawn joined Alexis, swaying to ‘Paint It Black’. They giggled, clasping hands and swinging them back and forth.

“Come on, Spike, dance with us,” Dawn pleaded.

Spike shook his head.

“Come on,” Dawn reiterated.

“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered. What is it with Summers women? Couldn’t ever deny them anything.

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: ) So, I bet people know what is up with Buffy. And my mom can vouch for the coffee smell. *L* That bit in Spike’s apartment really didn’t have to do with the story. It only shows that Alexis, Dawn, and Spike get along.