Dawn
Dawn was in a funk. She, unlike most people, hated her birthday. FOr her, it was a reminder of everything that she had lost, and of the fact that she wasn't human. It was only her memory that was 17 now, physically she was only three, but her essence was nearly as old as the universe. It was all very confusing.
"Dawn? Sweetie? It's me," Tara said.
"Go 'way," Dawn pouted.
"There's a very special present out here for you." Tara told her through her door.
"Who from?"
"Well, the Powers that Be, and the Elders." Dawn looked confused for a moment, and then bolted to the door, throwing it open. When she saw who stood outside her door, she was stunned into silence for a moment.
"Buffy?" she asked tentatively.
"Yep, Babe, it's me."
"BUFFY!!!!!!!!!!" Dawn shrieked, glomping her sister with all her might. "Oh my god, you're back!"
"Only for one day, sweetie. Everyone up there thought you could use a pick-me-up. You are so close to figuring it all out babe, they don't want you to give up trying now."
"Figuring what out?"
"Gotta be cryptic now. You'll figure it all out, and it will be soon."
"Glory?' Dawn whispered. Buffy nodded.
"WHen do you have to go?" Dawn asked her big sister.
"Noon tomorrow, so I have 24 hours to visit you, Angel, Giles, Willow. . . and Spike."
"First you've got to visit Scott. I think that he and Jean are probably in the cafeteria with everybody else, since it's lunchtime."
"Great, let's go. BUt, we are going to spend some quality sister time, birthday girl." Dawn wiped the tears off her face, and they headed down the the cafeteria.
Nathan, Displaced and Chelsea
Nathan's head turned and his hands faltered as they cut the cards.
"No."
"No what?" Chelsea asked as Dawn and Buffy entered the room.
"Can't you just die?" Nathan demanded of Buffy. "So wrong, so wrong, so wrong..." He shuddered, rocking back and forth on his feet slightly. "I can't look at you. Oh god, it burns."
He backed away, then fled.
Chelsea gave Dawn and Buffy a startled look.
"Oh, bunnies. You *are* dead. What is it with dead people? Can't they just *stay* dead? Selfish little Dawnie..."
She quickly followed Nathan, almost but not quite running.
Well, that was interesting. Jonothon remarked.
"Quite, dear boy. Now, what exactly is this measure doing?" Octavian asked.
That? Simple... Jonothon and Octavian fell into a musical discussion that very few other people would understand. Sergei and Angelo listened with half an ear as they played table rugby with a coin.
Dawn
Buffy looked at Octavian. "He's cute," she said to her sister.
"Who, Octavian? Ewwwww!" Dawn said making a face.
"You like him, I can tell."
"Oh, I so do not!"
"Liar."
"Well, only a little." They kept talking and laughing. Scott came in and saw them, and freaked out.
"Oh. My. God! Buffy?!?!"
"Scott!" The former Slayer hugged her older cousin.
"Oh God I missed you. Um, how the hell are you being here?"
"THe Powers that Be sent me back for 24 hours to visit Dawn. I think they were tired of me whining all the time that I missed you guys. Your parents, Alex, and Mom all send their love," she told Scott, and Scott felt the tears come to his eyes. Dawn laid her head on her big sister's shoulder, and BUffy stroked her sister's hair.
Vortigern, Spike and Sergei
"Spike, stop it," Vortigern laughed, half fighting off the advances of the amorous vampire as they walked past the doorway of the caf.
"Spike, mortal, needs to breathe," Sergei called out in a bored voice.
"Yeah, I know. Shut up already!"
The two disappeared in the direction of their bedroom.
Dawn
Buffy's eyes smiled as she saw her former lover. "Dawnie, I'll be right back, I need to talk to him." Dawn nodded, and Buffy dashed out the doorway.
"Spike?" She called out tentatively down the hallway, towards Spike's back.
Spike, Vortigern and Mordred
Spike stiffened and turned. Vortigern looked back over Spike's back.
"Spike...?"
"You...you're dead," Spike told Buffy, already starting to back away, blue eyes dazed and beginning to spark with glimmers of gold. "I, we, we left you, Buffy. You *died*."
"So this is Buffy? I was expecting taller," Vortigern quipped, shaken but not showing it.
Mordred teleported, drawn by his twin's distress.
"Vort?"
"That's Buffy."
"What the hell is with your ex's, Spike?" Mordred hissed, and then turned to face Buffy.
"You better not be here to play mindgames like Dru is, or I'll boot you back into Heaven myself," he warned in a cold voice. "They've already had enough grief."
Buffy
"I, no, a gift," Buffy stammered. "It was a gift from the PTB, and the Elders. It's Dawnie's birthday, and I've been beggin to see her, so I get to come back for 24 hours, to see my loved ones, and spend time with my sister. She's part of me, we need each other," Buffy said, smiling sadly. She looked Vortigern over carefully.
"So, this is the new significant other? He's cute, I can see why you'd go for him." Buffy searched for her words carefully before approaching Vort.
"Please, just promise me something. Love him the way he deserves to be loved. Love him the way I never could."
Vortigern and Spike
Vortigern put his arm around Spike's waist and stared at her.
"I already do."
Spike was biting his lip so hard a trickle of blood appeared.
"And if you couldn't love him like that, I pity you."
Dawn
Buffy sighed and smiled a wan little smile, then kissed them both on the cheek before returning to Dawnie. The younger girl wrapped her arms around her sister.
"Okay, so, we have some serious sister bonding to do, I say, movies & pizza in Dawn's room." Dawn grinned.
"You're the best sister ever."
"Yeah, I know."
Vortigern, Spike, Faolan and Varian
Vortigern shot Buffy an evil glare, then led his shaken lover to their bedroom.
"I can't..." Spike whispered and Vortigern kissed him gently.
"I know."
Faolan scampered down the hallway, chased by Varian.
TAG! Varian touched Faolan's tail with a claw, then jumped up into the air and soared briefly.
HEy! No fair flying! Faolan complained.
Serafina giggled as she flashed across a doorway and through Buffy's legs.
Can't catch me-ee!
Oh, can't I? Faolan growled.
Dawn
"I, I don't know if I can handle seeing Angel right yet. Willow and Xander maybe."
"Well," Dawn responded to her sister, "Xander's in Tulsa, I belive, but Giles is in New York, and we can summon Willow." Dawn said the spell, and Willow appeared. They all hugged and cried and laughed and smiled.