"You know, we've been seeing each other for some time now and I would really like to introduce you to my sister," said Dawn smiling gently.

Damian and Dawn were both in the library awaiting their afternoon class and studying for their math exam.

"Oh? Well… You're sure?… I mean, you know, I'm a little… shy about that," said Damian looking at his hands.

"Why for?" asked Dawn surprised. "Buffy and Spike are super cool!"

"I know… It's just that… What if they don't like me?"

"Don't worry, they'll like you," answered Dawn smiling reassuringly.

"Oh? Okay. When?"

"What about tonight after school? It's Friday, so my sister isn't working tonight. Maybe we could eat at my place and get to the Bronze afterwards. What do you think?" she asked excited.

"Yeah. That sounds like fun. Especially since my father is not home tonight and I won’t have to cook."

"See, that works then! Let me go call Spike real quick to let them know."

"Here, use my phone," said Damian, giving her his cell phone.

Dawn dialled her home phone number.

"Hello," answered a sleepy Spike at the end of the line.

"Spike? It's me," said Dawn smiling at Damian.

"Nibblet? What's wrong?" asked a worried Spike.

"Nothing's wrong, silly!" said Dawn giggling.

"So then, why are you waking me up in the middle of the day?"

"Well, I was wondering if you and Buffy would mind if I brought Damian home for dinner tonight?"

"Is that the guy you went to Homecoming with?"

"Yup!"

"Well Bit, I cannot tell you for the Slayer ‘cause she's working right now but I don't mind… I'm cooking dinner anyway… So let's say, be here by 6 o'clock?" said Spike. "God! Don't I sound domesticated!"

Dawn laughed. She found it always funny to see Spike cooking. She was still amazed by this vampire, supposedly a bad guy, doing something as mundane as cooking.

"Thanks Spike. Love you!"

"Yeah, Bit. Me, too."

Dawn hung up and gave the phone back to Damian with a grin.

"Spike will be cooking," she said.

"Is that good?" asked Damian frowning.

"Oh, yes! Very good!"

Dawn and Damian arrived at the house shortly before six. Buffy's coat was not on the hook so Dawn assumed her sister was not home yet. When she heard a very elaborate curse from the kitchen, she knew Spike was busy preparing dinner.

"Spike, we're home!" she called.

"I'm in the soddin’ kitchen!" said an angry Spike.

Dawn looked at Damian and giggled. Damian looked back at her puzzled.

"Come," she said taking his hand and pulling him towards the kitchen.

Spike was busy stirring the food and didn't look up when they walked in.

"What's up, Bit?" he asked, still visibly angry at the stove.

"Not much. Spike, I would like to present you Damian; Damian, this is Spike," presented Dawn smiling.

Spike turned around to shake the young man's hand but took his hand away at the last minute as if he remembered something.

"Oh, sorry! I forgot!"

And he showed them his right hand. It had a very nasty looking burn with peeling skin and bloody blisters.

"Spike, are you okay? What happened?" asked Dawn worried.

"Well, the bloody recipe said to pour some wine on the damn thing! It didn't say it would catch on fire! Sodding book!" explained Spike. "Should get my recipes off the cooking channel instead of this damn thing!"

"Are you gonna be okay?" asked Dawn smiling, amused at his outburst despite her concerns.

Spike shrugged.

"You know me, Bit. I'll be as good as new tomorrow morning."

He took his mug of blood from the counter and drank deeply. Even if, for somebody who didn't know it, it pretty much looked like tomato juice, Dawn knew what was in the cup, and she felt somewhat uncomfortable that Spike would feed in front of Damian, who was unaware of all the weirdness of her family. "I've got to go to… uh… upstairs, real quick. Spike, you mind if Damian stays here with you for a few minutes?"

"No. Go ahead, Lil' Bit… I'm not going to eat him."

"Ha! Ha!" said a retreating Dawn sarcastically. "Very funny, Spike!"

"Take a seat," offered Spike to the shy Damian once Dawn was gone. "So, you and Bit here, are together?"

"Yeah." answered the young man with a shy smile.

"You love her?" asked Spike very seriously.

Damian looked at Spike somewhat intimidated by him. Spike was not bigger or taller than him, he was even smaller, but he had a presence around him that made him feel out of place. And Damian had never seen a human so pale in his entire life. This Spike, about who Dawn only says good things, was almost as white as a corpse, and he definitely felt very creepy. And he obviously could endure pain like nobody else Damian knew. He knew he wouldn't fare so well if his hand was as badly burned as Spike's.

"Yes, I do," answered Damian seriously, wondering where Spike was going with his line of questioning.

"Good! So let me give you a friendly piece of advice, mate," said Spike calmly, leaning on the kitchen island towards Damian, and staring at the young man right in the eyes. "If you ever hurt her, I promise you, I'll kill you, even if it gives me a bloody headache. So if you don't sincerely love her, I'd strongly recommend that you sod off!"

The seriousness behind Spike's tone made Damian' skin crawl and he knew himself to become a couple of shades paler. This guy, when angry, was probably very dangerous.

"Little Bit and her sister, of course, are the most precious things I *have* on this Earth, and I *don't* want to see them hurt… I *won’t* see them hurt," added Spike going back to the stove.

This last sentence made Damian realise how much this man must care for Dawn. It was not every day that a guy would spill out his guts like that, and Damian could not help but respect Spike for it, even if he was somewhat frightening.

"I would never hurt her," said Damian more defensively that he would want to. "I do love her."

"Good. Then we understand each other..." said Spike. Then, in a dismissive tone he asked, "So, Damian, I heard you play football?"

"Yeah!" said Damian, feeling definitely more comfortable with this new subject.

They were still talking about football when Dawn returned to the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Dawn smiling at the two men getting along. "Damy, can you come? I want to show you the house."

A few minutes later, after the tour, they went into Dawn's bedroom and sat on the bed. That was the first time Dawn had a boy in her bedroom, except for Spike, and she felt a little bit nervous.

"So, this is my room," said Dawn looking around. "It looks a lot girlish, don't you think?"

"No," answered Damian, smiling and looking around. "It's cheerful, just like you."

They kept a few moments of silence.

"I was wondering, what's the deal with Spike?" asked Damian uncomfortably.

"He didn't scare you, did he?" asked Dawn, trying miserably to keep the worry from her voice.

"No, not really, unless you count him threatening to kill me if I hurt you, he didn't really scare me."

"He said that?" asked Dawn astonished.

"Yeah. Is it me or is he a little pale?"

"No, he is at times… But you get use to it. He's usually such a nice guy," answered Dawn smiling.

Dawn could see that Damian wanted to ask something else but he didn't. Dawn mentally sighed with relief. She just didn't know how to tell him about her little family secrets and she sure didn't know how he would react to them.

No, better stay quiet, for now.

"It's very nice of you guys to walk me home," said Damian. "You really didn't have to."

"Oh! Don't worry," said Buffy smiling gaily. "It's our pleasure."

After dinner, Dawn and Damian had gone to the Bronze. Halfway through the night, Buffy and her friends had shown up and they had spent the night with them. Damian really liked Buffy. She reminded him of one of his cousins that he didn't see frequently enough. She was easy going and looked pretty sure of herself.

When it was time to leave, Buffy had offered to walk him home.

"There is strength in numbers!" she had said.

Damian hadn’t known if he should have been offended or not by the offer. He was, after all, a strong, young football player who knew how to defend himself. But he had quickly decided not to be upset when he had realised that he would spend more time with Dawn.

They were now on their way to his place and he felt somewhat uncomfortable to lead them toward the most expensive neighbourhood in town. He was afraid he would look pretentious, but obviously, nobody seemed to care. Buffy, Spike and their friends, Willow and Tara, were talking together behind them. Damian was leading the way, past a quiet cemetery with Dawn at his side. He looked at her smiling. She smiled back at him but he could see she was cold; her jaws were chattering. He took off his coat and put it on her shoulders.

"You'll be cold," she protested surprised.

"Nah! Don't worry about me. Before moving to California, I was living in Minnesota… I'm used to the cold."

"Thanks," she said. "You're so nice to me, I…"

At that moment, ten big menacing men walked out of the shadows of the cemetery. Damian froze in his track and back away when he felt Dawn's hand pulling him back.

"Bloody Hell!" he heard a very annoyed Spike say. "Can’t you demons ever leave us alone?"

"Yeah!" he heard Buffy say. "We're kind of busy right now!"

Damian was totally puzzled by the way Spike and Buffy were reacting at this obviously dangerous situation. They seemed mildly annoyed while the only thing he could think of was to run away as fast as he could. And then, he saw their opponent’s faces changed, every one of them.

"What the Hell?" he said, not believing what he saw.

"Vampires," whispered Dawn next to him, pulling him further back behind Spike and Buffy.

She didn't seem to be very scared and it threw him off. These guys were big, ugly and numerous which put them all at a serious disadvantage.

"Dawn, you and Damian, stay back!" said Buffy who tossed something to Dawn.

Damian wondered what it was. It looked like… a stake? Dawn caught it and pulled on his hand. He followed her in the shadows of the fence. He heard sounds of fight and when he turned around, he could not believe what he was seeing. Buffy, the small and delicate woman, and Spike fought like devils themselves and the two other women had teamed up. They all had the same kind of weapon in their hands.

It was when Buffy’s weapon turned her opponent to dust that he realised that nobody here were what they seemed to be. Buffy was way too strong for her petite figure, and Spike was as good a fighter as she was. They were both fast and very efficient. As for the two other women, one, Tara, was mumbling under her breath and every time she pointed in the direction of one of their opponents, they would freeze and the other woman, Willow, would bring her weapon to his chest with the same dusty result.

"Wh-what…" began to ask Damian.

"Ssh!" said Dawn, squeezing his hand.

They all seemed to be doing pretty well until Buffy's last opponent pushed her and she fell backward to the pavement. She hit her head, hard, and she seemed to have passed out. The monster was about to go for Buffy's neck with its fangs when Damian heard Spike yell, "You bastard!". Intrigued by the anger, Damian looked at Spike.

That's when Damian saw the most disturbing thing of all. He saw Spike's face transform and become like the monsters they had just killed. Spike grabbed the vampire by the coat and pulled him away from Buffy.

"You bloody bastard!" he said, punching the vampire in the jaw. "You don't do *that*…" he continued with a kick to the vampire's stomach. "To *my* girlfriend!" he finished, bringing his stake to the vampire's back.

The vampire, the last one standing, burst into dust. Spike ran to Buffy’s side who was already coming around.

"Luv, are you okay?" he asked his girlfriend, visibly worried.

Damian saw Spike's face change back to normal, and he looked at Dawn, terrified. He just could not conceptualise what he just saw. He knew he was looking a lot paler than usual.

"Wh-what did I just see?" he asked, repulsed and in complete denial.

Slowly, he backed away from Dawn.

"Damian, let me explain," said Dawn suppliantly.

But Damian shook his head, turned around, and ran towards his house as fast as he could.

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled.

Spike and Buffy both turned around to see what was wrong, and saw Damian running away.

"Bloody Hell!" swore Spike frustrated. "I'll get him," he added to Buffy.

Spike ran after the horrified boy who was definitely a fast runner, especially when boosted by adrenaline.

'Idiot! He's going to get himself killed around here alone!' Spike thought, annoyed.

Luckily for Damian, the vampire’s enhanced speed allowed him to catch up with the terrified teen and Spike jumped on his back. They both went down brutally and Spike had to restrain Damian with his arms behind his back in order to gain his attention.

"Let me go!" yelled Damian, struggling.

"Now you listen to me, mate!" said Spike in his own flippant way. "Running away like that is hurting the Nibblet, and you *know* what I told you about that. Besides, might be other vamps out there and, on your own, they *will* catch you and kill you. That will also hurt Little Bit here, and we don't want that, now do we?"

"No," answered Damian with a shaky voice.

"Then make a man of yourself and walk back over there!"

"O-okay," answered Damian.

Spike let Damian go and helped him back to his feet. The youth was visibly shaken and terrified but he didn't try to run away again. Looking over his shoulder at Spike who was following him, he walked back towards Dawn and Buffy. The sisters were holding each other and Dawn was crying.

"See, Spike brought him back," said Buffy to her little sister.

"He's never going to talk to me again," cried Dawn into Buffy' shoulder.

"We'll explain it to him," said Buffy gently caressing her sister's hair reassuringly.

Damian approached them somewhat hesitantly and Buffy let go of Dawn. His eyes met his girlfriend’s and she fell against Damian who brought his shaking arms around her.

"Damian," said Buffy gently. "Are you home alone tonight?"

"Y-yes," said Damian, uncomfortable and disturbed.

"You know, why don't you come and spend the night at our place?" asked Buffy calmly. "We owe you an explanation."

Nodding, Damian followed them towards Buffy's house, keeping away as best as he could from Spike.

"Okay, so let me get this straight: Buffy, you're a vampire Slayer, and Spike is a vampire with a chip which prevent him to hurt humans. And Willow and Tara are witches?"

"Yep! That's the simplest way to put it," answered Buffy.

Buffy, Damian and Dawn were sitting in the living room where Buffy had explained, in an abbreviated version, what had happened over the last six years. Tara and Willow had gone to bed and Spike had gone out smoking on the back porch. Damian had been unnerved by the vampire presence at first but, as they got more and more into the incredible story that was Dawn's family life, he had come to like the blond vampire. He had a heart, Damian thought, if not a soul.

"So, what about Dawn? What is she in all this?" he asked, looking at the snuggled form of Dawn next to him.

Buffy had deliberately kept anything concerning Dawn out of the story, and Damian could not believe that she wasn't as unbelievable as the rest of them.

"Well, I think it's for Dawn to tell you," answered Buffy smiling lovingly at the sleeping teenager next to Damian. "But she's not a freak… And I would hate to see you run away from her because of us… She really likes you, you know."

Damian could see that Buffy genuinely cared for Dawn and she was sincere when she talked about her. He suddenly saw a flash of distraction in the Slayer's eyes, and then she smiled. A few seconds later, Spike silently walked in the living room and put his hand on her shoulder. The way Spike walked around, without a noise, really marked him as the predator he was.

There was no doubt in Damian's mind that they both loved each other very much, despite their conflicting natures.

"Let me put Half Pint here to bed," said Spike approaching them.

Spike took Dawn in his arms as if she weighed nothing and carried her up the stairs.

"Damian, would you rather sleep on the couch or in the basement?" asked Buffy.

"Couch will be fine," answered Damian, not sure if he would get any sleep.

And in this house, the basement definitely didn't look like a safe place, especially after uncovering all the 'family secrets', or almost all of them…

"Don't worry about Spike," said Buffy as if she could read his mind. "He's not going to hurt you."

Buffy got him blankets and a few minutes later, Damian was lying on the couch, alone, starring at the ceiling.

It was early morning when Dawn woke up. It was particularly cold that morning so she took a warm sweater and put it on. She walked out of her bedroom and went downstairs where she hoped to find Damian.

He was awake and watching cartoons on TV. His red eyes clearly told Dawn that he had barely slept. When he heard her, Damian looked up.

"Hi!" said Dawn shyly.

"Hi!" answered Damian.

He pulled the blanket away from him and tapped the couch to invite Dawn to come and sit next to him. Smiling, she sat and he tossed the blanket back on them.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him worried.

"Yeah! A little nervous I guess… You have to admit that you have quite a peculiar family, here," he said shyly.

"Yeah. I guess," said Dawn gently. "But to me. they’re just wonderful, and… family."

"Does anybody else know?"

"At school, you mean?"

Damian nodded.

"Only Megan. And she doesn't know *everything*," answered Dawn. "I mean, she doesn't know about Willow and Tara being witches and all… But I'm pretty sure she suspects it…"

"Do I know everything?"

"I don't know. Fell asleep, remember?"

"Yeah." he said looking at his hands. "Your sister said that you would tell me about you if you feel like it."

"I feel like it if you promise me you won't be totally freaked out by me afterwards."

"I promise I’ll try," said Damian sincerely.

Dawn took a deep breath.

"About two or three years ago, I didn't even exist," began Dawn.

And she told him who she was. Damian seemed alarmed at first but the more she spoke, the better he liked her.

"So," he said. "That means I'm lucky that the priests sent you to your sister… I should thank them," he added.

"You… you mean it?" asked Dawn, not sure if she should believe him.

"Listen, Dawn. What you were… or were not two years ago doesn't change what you are now. And all these vampires, Slayer and witches don't change that neither… even if it is freaky weird. And what I love about you is *you*, what *you* are now," he said sincerely.

Dawn hugged his chest and he gently put his arms around her.

"I was afraid you would never want to talk to me again."

"No Dawnie. I love to be with you… I really do. I feel like I found myself since I’m with you."

She looked at him and he kissed her deeply. He stopped kissing her when he felt it could go further. He had to admit, it was not the time nor the place for something more romantic, especially with Spike and Buffy sleeping on the floor above them. He kissed her forehead and smiled. A few seconds later, he yawned.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"'S okay," said Dawn standing up.

Damian lay on the couch and Dawn lay next to him, her back to his chest. He hid them and his arm came to rest on her stomach.

A few minutes later, they were both asleep.

"What's up with you and Damian?" asked Megan when Dawn arrived at their table.

Dawn put her food tray on the table and sat next to her friend.

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn intrigued.

"Well, you seem a lot closer lately and he looks at you as if he's afraid each time is the last time he'll ever see you," explained Megan.

"Let's just say he learned some of the family secrets," said Dawn with a grin.

"Oh! That would do a number on a man," said Megan. "And he took it well?"

"Well, most of it. He still has some issues with some of the weirder stuff but he deals," answered Dawn.

"I kind of understand him," said Megan. "It's not everyday you learn that your best friend - well, in his case, girlfriend - who looks pretty *regular*, is actually anything but *regular*."

"I'm regular," stated Dawn.

"Like hell you are!"

"'Am!" said Dawn.

"Are not!" said Megan.

"Excuse me?"

Surprised by the interruption, Megan and Dawn looked up at a smiling Damian.

"Hi Damy," said Dawn with a radiant smile.

"Hi!" he said and kissed her lips. "Listen, I was wondering if you were busy tonight. I would like to introduce you to my father," he said, sitting on the chair next to her.

"Oh! That would be great!" said Dawn, happy. "Let me just tell my sister first otherwise she'll freak! I'm pretty sure there won't be any problems but you never know."

"You want my phone?" asked Damian.

"Okay!" said Dawn flippantly. "I really need to get one of those!" she added, walking towards the window to have some privacy.

"So, Damian, I heard you’re in the loop now," said Megan.

"What about?"

"Dawn, silly!" answered Megan rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that. It's pretty freaky."

"Yeah. I cannot imagine that my memories of her since Elementary school are not real," said Megan looking at her best friend lovingly. "Do you think she's normal, I mean, like you and I?" asked Megan suddenly looking at Damian.

"She surely feels that way to me," answered Damian smiling shyly. "What I'm more afraid of is whether or not we're at all interesting to her, you know. Everyone around her is bigger than life. It seems to me we're pretty plain compared to them."

"Don't worry about that. She is a *great* deal interested in you. I mean, you’re a part of her life now," said Megan reassuringly. "You're all that she talks about."

Damian was still smiling happily when Dawn walked back to them and gave him back his phone.

"Done," she said, looking at Damian happily.

"You know, I've noticed something," said Megan. "Why do you always tell Spike that you love him when you hang up the phone?"

"Because I do!" answered Dawn surprised by the question. "He's by far the best thing that ever happened to my sister! Even if she doesn't really want to admit it."

***

"You're kidding me! This is your house!" said Dawn totally amazed.

"Yeah," said Damian taking her hand in his.

They were both standing in front of a grey big building that looked like a metal box with two floors and a door. This building, that Damian called a house, radiated modernity and technology. The building was far from being pretty, but was impressive by its size.

"But this is *so* big! You must find my house so small."

"No, not really. I kind of like your house a lot. It's so homey. My house is pretty plain, and cold," said Damian pensively.

And Dawn didn't have any problem believing it. Damian's house looked so impersonal.

"But come on! Let's go inside!" he said trying unsuccessfully to be a little cheerier.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Dawn shivered. Not only did this house look cold, it was cold, not temperature cold, but… cold. Damian’s demeanour had also changed: he looked like he was oppressed, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Come this way," he said, trying unsuccessfully to smile.

The uneasy feeling kept nagging Dawn all through her tour of the house. Things looked so grim, no wonder Damian preferred her house to his. Everything in here was black or grey and looked so unused. The only exception to what seemed to be the rule was Damian's bedroom. His bedroom had all shades of natural colours which was very inviting and comfortable looking. And there were coloured candles everywhere. The atmosphere also felt a lot less oppressive in there.

As soon as Damian closed his bedroom door, Dawn let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled.

"Your room is so wonderful, Damian," said Dawn looking around.

"Yeah. I try to leave the darkness outside," said Damian walking to her and taking her in his arms. "I know you've seen spooky before but you looked pretty disturbed out there. Are you okay?"

"Yes," answered Dawn smiling at him. "As long as I'm with you, I'm fine."

"Okay," said Damian caressing the side of her face, biting his lower lip. "I hate to interrupt what could become a very joyful moment," added Damian. "But my father's waiting for us in his study."

Effectively, Dawn could feel, against her belly, the excitement that Damian was feeling. And she realised that, in her core, she was feeling it too. They had been going out for more than three months now and Dawn found it quite exciting and frightening to be in the same room as him. Except for that one time at her house, she had never really been in a bedroom alone with a guy, except for Spike, of course, but that was not the same.

Damian broke their embrace and Dawn ached to feel his arms around her again.

"Come," he said, offering her his hand.

Dawn took it, smiling, and followed him out of his room. The suffocating sense of oppression of the house hit her again like a freight train, so much so that she faltered. Damian caught her and looked at her worried.

"Are you okay?"

Too afraid to trust her voice, Dawn nodded.

'How can't he feel it?' she wondered silently.

It was so oppressive, so dense.

A few moments later, when Dawn had composed herself, they walked into an austere looking office. Behind the desk was a mid-forty-year-old man who looked joyous and lively. With a warm smile, he stood up and looked at them. Despite his apparent warmth, he was all dressed in black, which contrasted his apparent jovial personality, but not with the house.

"Ah!" he said. "You must beDawn!"

He shook her hand firmly.

"My son has said only good things about you!"

"Thank you," said Dawn, smiling at Damian.

"It was very nice of you to come for dinner. Please let me show you to the dining room."

Damian's father held out his arm to Dawn who somewhat uncomfortably took it and he guided her away. Damian followed them.

"My name is Raymond, but my friends call me Ray."

Dawn looked at him smiling, not really knowing what to say. She was somewhat disoriented by the dreadful feeling the place was giving her and by Ray's incongruous personality.

"Did Damian give you a tour of the house?"

"Yes, he did."

"As you can see, my dear, I'm quite a collector," said Ray, stopping in front of a painting. "Isn't that marvellous?"

And it was. Austere but marvellous.

"Yes," answered Dawn smiling. "The painter's technique is quite impressive," she added.

"Damian told me you live with your sister."

"Yes, I do," answered Dawn. "She's great."

"Oh!" said Ray opening a door to the dining room.

The dining room was big and imposing, like the rest of the house. The table was long but three plates were set up together at the head of it. Dawn and Damian were sitting on each side of Damian's father, and all through dinner, Ray carried on a very mundane conversation about his numerous travels and art. Dawn was glad that she took some geography and art classes at school. At least, she could follow some of what he was talking about.

After dinner, they retreated to the library where Ray had a very impressive collection of books, collection that Giles would have surely love to see, Dawn thought.

It was around nine o'clock when Damian drove Dawn back home in his father's car.

"I hope my father didn't throw you off or anything," said Damian, once they were on their way.

"No, no. He's pretty cool," said Dawn wondering at that moment if she was telling the truth.

Honestly, the guy had given her the creeps. All through dinner, she had felt probed and questioned, and even with his apparent mirth and light conversation, Dawn hadn't been able to relax in Damian's father company. She had had the impression that somebody had kept looking at her, observing her, studying her. She definitely had to speak with Buffy about it.

***

"Nibblet! Back home so soon? How was your evening?" asked Spike when she walked in.

He and Buffy were getting ready to head out on patrol. There had been so many vampires lately that they always came back covered with dust.

"Okay… I…"

Something nagged Dawn's memory but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had to tell Buffy something but for the life of her could not remember what.

Spike and Buffy, who were getting ready to leave, didn't notice her hesitation.

"How was Damian's father?" asked Buffy.

"Great," she answered. "You guys are heading out?"

"Yes. Willow's in the dining room working on her computer if you want to join her. We should be back around 3AM."

"Okay."

Buffy kissed her sister’s cheek.

"Be nice now," said Buffy, following Spike out of the house.

Dawn walked to the dining room still feeling like she had to tell somebody, anybody, something. She took her bag off her shoulder and took a seat next to Willow.

"Willow, can you help me with my geometry?" she asked the witch.

"Sure," answered Willow still looking at her computer.

Dawn opened her bag and took her mathematics books out of it. She then looked in the front pocket to get her pencil and ruler. Her ruler didn't seem to be there. One by one, she began to take out the things that were in her bag pocket.

'There so much junk in there, no wonder I can’t find anything,' she thought.

She began to look at the different pieces of paper she had found, to decide which one she should trash. She opened a large piece of paper in pretty bad shape, and read it. It was not her handwriting.

'Names and birthdays…' she told herself. 'Who is… Oh God! I had forgotten!'

"Willow, I… I got Damian's parents names and birthdays here," she told the still distracted Wicca. "You think you can look to see if you can find his mother?"

"Sure," said Willow, tending her hand without looking.

Dawn gave her the piece of paper, and Willow raised her eyes.

"God! Dawnie! What did you do with it? Eat it?" said Willow surprised by the condition of the paper.

"My bag was hungry," answered Dawn.

"I can see that… You don't have his mom's birthday?"

"No. He doesn't know it. Is it going to be okay?"

"Yeah! Sure. I'll get to it as soon as I have a minute."

And Willow went back to her computer.

Continued...