Dawn was surprised when Buffy actually asked her to sit with her, to keep her company. The young girl crossed over the threshold and entered her big sister’s room, usually off-limits territory. That was the most startling part of that moment, the fact that Buffy had actually invited her into her sanctuary. Dawn looked around the room with a bit of awe before sitting on the bed beside her sister.

"Buffy, what’s wrong? Is it your dopey boyfriend again?"

Her big sister sniffled away the tears, sitting up straight on the bed and reached out to hug Dawn. "If anything ever happened to me, you’d take care of Mom, right?"

A cold icy fear gripped Dawn’s heart, Buffy sounded serious. Breaking away from the tight embrace, she narrowed her eyes at her sister, "What’s going on?" She felt so inadequate in the midst of Buffy’s storm of tears. Not knowing what to do, she asked, "Should I tell Mom?"

"No! No. It’s just.. you know, hypothetical," Buffy shook her head and stopped crying. Pretending she was fine, she went on, "I love you, Dawnie. I want you to know that, okay?"

Dawn nodded, not fully understanding the bigger consequences at work.

Later, she debated whether or not she should tell her mother. Especially when her sister had hardly eaten anything that night at dinner. Dawn had watched her, with quiet concern as she pushed food around on her plate. Her mother must have noticed it too, the unexpressed grief in Buffy’s fake smile that evening, the tears that looked ready to ruin her mascara.

Dawn overheard them talking in Buffy’s room after dinner. Eavesdropping, she learned of the Homecoming Dance and her sister’s lack of a date. It seemed to explain all the crying, but not the fear she’d also witnessed earlier. Her sister was never afraid. She was brave and strong; just like how Dawn wanted to be when she grow up, though she would never admit to it.

Today however, Buffy seemed torn apart.

So unlike herself.

When Buffy came down the stairs later, wearing the dress their mother bought for the dance, she had a steady determined expression fixed upon her face. Gone were the worry and heartache, replaced with a hard look in her eyes, hidden behind soft curls and makeup. Dawn watched her sister descend the stairs, the long fabrics of the gown dancing around her ankles.

Forgetting the ever-present sibling rivalry that lingered between them, Dawn smiled, "I like your dress."

Buffy looked down, almost surprised that she was wearing it, and put her leather coat on of it. With a faint grin, she said, "Thanks, Dawnie."

Dawn watched her sister stand by the door for a minute, take a deep breath and then leave. It was that moment when she really started to worry about her big sister. However, Dawn forced away the disquieting thoughts as her mother put an arm around her shoulders.

"Its just boy trouble," Her mother told her, squeezing her arms a little stronger. "Nothing you have to worry about for another couple of years."

Dawn struggled not tell her mother that she was growing up, that she could have boys and thus boy troubles too if she wanted to. Instead, she sat on the couch and picked up the remote control, watching tv was sure to relax her and put her fears to rest. It didn’t. All night, news bulletins interrupted her favorite shows. There were more earthquakes, more fires and floods, strange insect swarms, strange weather patterns. It all seemed to add up to more than the new reporters let on, but then Dawn was always one for conspiracy theories.

Dawn stayed up that night after her mother went to sleep and waited for her sister to make it home, hoping that the butterflies in her stomach was just her overreacting. It was half past midnight when she heard someone on the porch, with a relieved sigh, Dawn realized it was Buffy.

She pulled away the curtains by the window just an inch, not enough for her sister to notice as she kissed Angel good night. Dawn made a face of disgust, scrunching up her face as she watched her sister with her perfect boyfriend. There were just sickeningly sweet, too perfect for each other. Still, there was something about the way he looked at her. Dawn hoped someday someone would look at her that way, and love all the parts that made her who she truly was.

Dawn wondered curiously why her sister’s hair was different, why her dress looked like it had been dragged through a puddle. What had those two been doing all night? She didn’t think she really wanted to know. Probably mushy lovebird stuff.

When Buffy finally said goodnight and entered the house, Dawn skipped over to the couch, laid down, and pretended to be asleep.

Her sister tapped her on the shoulder a moment later. "Did you know it’s rude to stare at people? The whole Peeping Tom thing is not a good habit to pick up, Dawnie. Trust me."

There was some light menace in her sister’s voice, but she looked so much happier than when she had left, stronger. Like her old self. Dawn inwardly released the doubt that had nagged her all day. "I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help starring at the two of you. It was like a highway accident.. I wanted to look away, but I just couldn’t," She teased, glad things were finally back to normal.

As Buffy started to tickle her, Dawn wondered why she had ever doubted her sister’s safety.