It was late afternoon when Dawn swam back to consciousness. Whatever they’d given her last night had been powerful stuff – she didn’t even remember getting home.

Her room held lingering scents of smoke and perfume, so she knew Spike and Buffy must both have been in here for a while. Which mostly made her feel safe and cared for, but also just a tiny bit weirded out. She didn’t really like the idea of other people in her room while she was unconscious. Especially Spike. I mean, what if there’d been underwear somewhere?

Dawn padded downstairs and found Buffy sitting in the kitchen, staring out into space with a cold mug of coffee next to her. Dawn had to call her name twice before she finally snapped to attention, a smile lighting up her face without ever reaching her eyes.

Dawn hated that smile.

Buffy told her that Willow was gone. She “wasn’t feeling well” – for which read a case of the magical DTs – and she’d be staying with her parents over the holidays. But she’d be back in time for New Year’s at the Bronze, which Buffy thought Dawn was probably old enough now to enjoy with the Scoobies! Cue excitement, possibly with a dose of girlish glee.

Yeah, right.

Dawn patiently explained to her sister that she already had New Year’s plans. With her own friends. Who were not only more fun than Buffy’s, but also safer.

Dawn almost felt guilty when Buffy’s face fell. Almost.

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While Buffy was getting ready to patrol, she remembered that it was Thanksgiving next week. A bark of cynical laughter bubbled up inside her at the thought of being thankful for anything right now.

Dawn could have died last night, a little voice inside her said.

Okay, there is that.

But this was the first Thanksgiving after Mom….

And yet none of her friends seemed to have thought about that. Xander and Anya’s wedding invitations had prompted some aunt of his up in Bakersfield to decide she wanted a big family get-together this year, so they were going to that. Anya was excited; Xander was terrified. Neither of them had thought to even ask what Buffy was planning. And now Willow had abandoned her, too.

So much for my addiction-fighting buddy. Mental note: more garlic.

But then two days ago, Aunt Lolly had called, inviting her and Dawn over for Thanksgiving. Lolly was getting the whole Clark clan together this year, so Aunt Arlene and most of her ginormous brood would be there, too. They were going on to Disney for three weeks, then back to Lolly’s for Christmas. It was going to be family fun-tastic.

Of course Buffy had said yes. What else could she say? So now she and Dawn had bus tickets to LA. Lolly had begged her to stay for the weekend – aside from the funeral, she hadn’t seen Buffy in years! And it wasn’t like Dawn had school that week…. Buffy suspected she just wanted to check up on her parenting abilities. God knows what she’d think of Dawn’s broken arm.

So now they’d be back in Sunnydale just in time for Buffy to see the obits for the week – find out how many people she’d failed to save while she was away.

Joy.

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Spike hadn’t known what to think when he first saw Dawn’s name come up on his call display. He’d been told in no uncertain terms that he was no longer welcome in her life.

Surprise, surprise, there was an emergency: Buffy had busted her ankle somewhere and couldn’t get home. Would he pleasepleaseplease go get her? He didn’t know whether to be grateful his little Bit still trusted him to help or angry that it took Buffy getting hurt before anyone called him.

Predictably, Buffy did nothing but snipe and complain from the moment she saw him. She’d told Dawn to call a taxi, apparently. But the busted ankle was true enough – he could see bone poking through her skin.

Popped him in the nose when he suggested the hospital.

Bitch.

So he kept accidentally-on-purpose touching and jostling the wound until the pain finally knocked her out. Then he’d taken her to the hospital.

The doctor’d said something about pins, but Spike figured she healed like him and that’d mean having to dig them all out again later. Few threats and the doctor saw it his way.

Buffy was silent and seething the whole way home.

Course, that might’ve been because he’d kept telling everyone at the hospital she was his wife….