(Riley and Dawn sit in front of a cheery carousel, with icecream)

RILEY: You're melting.

DAWN: Oh, um ... guess I'm not hungry.

RILEY: Maybe I'm not making this any better.

DAWN: No, I just ... this is better.

(They smile nervously at each other and are quiet for a moment.)

DAWN: I had my tenth birthday party here.

RILEY: Really?

DAWN: Mm-hmm. We'd just moved to Sunnydale, and ... Mom rented the carousel for an entire hour for just me and my friends. (pauses) Except I hadn't made any friends yet, so ... it was just me and Mom and Buffy riding it by ourselves, over and over and over again... for the whole hour, just so Mom felt like we'd gotten our money's worth.

(Pause, then Dawn speaks with her voice breaking)

DAWN: She's ... she's not gonna get better, is she?

RILEY: Absolutely she will. Summers women are tough.

written by: David Fury; Transcribed by Joan the English Chick (pisces@englishchick.com).. Full transcript at:
http://www.studiesinwords.de/86shadow.html