Hi.
Dawn! (Rustle of a book being set aside) Good evening!
Wow. She really beat you up.
Well, yes. Yes, she did.
One of our best friends losing their soul, threatening me, torturing you, and finally trying to use a demon in a statue to destroy the world. This is all pretty familiar, isn’t it?
Yes. (Uncomfortable chuckle) When you put it that way, I suppose it is. I wonder why I’m always the one targeted for torture when one of our little family goes off the tracks.
I don’t know.
(Moment of uncomfortable silence)
So. You’re back.
I suppose I am.
How long are you staying?
That’s a difficult question to answer.
Why?
Dawn—
The way I see it, it’s pretty simple. You just pick a length of time and tell me.
I have to stay at least long enough to help set things right.
That’s the thing, don’t you see? Nothing is "right" here without you.
Dawn—
No. You listen. Buffy tells me that she already filled you in on how messed-up we’ve been while you were away. But maybe you’ve noticed that she doesn’t blame anyone except herself for anything. Well, I do. You shouldn’t have left, and it’s partly your fault that things got so bad around here.
That’s not entirely fair.
I’m fifteen. I don’t have to be entirely fair. It’s one of the few perks to make up for the fact that I don’t get to drive or have sex.
Dawn!
What, now you want to be the daddy? You *left*. Maybe you couldn’t have saved Xander and Anya’s wedding. I *know* you couldn’t have saved Tara, or even helped Willow very much. But you could have helped Buffy.
Could I? I understand that her…relationship…with Spike began while I was still here.
That’s not what I’m talking about. Every day, she comes home from Doublemeat Palace and she looks a little more dead, not less. She smells like their food all the time, and the uniform they make her wear is awful. It’s like Snyder was right all along, and I just *know* she thinks about that when she isn’t worrying about fighting demons or paying the bills, and…and I haven’t made it any easier for her.
No. You haven’t.
It’s not fair, you know? She did as well as she could in high school and she did as well as she could in college. Slaying is the only thing that kept her from doing much better. She did everything *right* and she still ended up working at Doublemeat Palace, which is, like, the hell people go to if they’re bad in school. There were other jobs she could have had if she was a normal person, but slaying kept interfering.
The door was always open at the Magic Box.
Hello? Time loop? Poorly packaged mummy hand? Paycheck docked for one stinking mistake on the first day? Anya’s a lousy boss, Giles. Oh, wait. You were there then, weren’t you?
Touche’.
Yeah. I thought so. It wasn’t long after that that you left for her own good and she was condemned to the Ninth Circle of Fast Food, was it?
No.
I mean, what’s *wrong* with a Watcher supporting his Slayer financially? Isn’t that the way it’s usually been done? You used to be pretty big on tradition once upon a time.
Dawn—
I mean, she’s twenty-one. *Let* people think you’re her sugar daddy.
Dawn! I believe you’ve made your point.
I don’t think I have. My point is this: a lot of people have abandoned Buffy and I over the last few years. Our dad went first. Then Angel. Then Riley. Then Mom. Then…Buffy (swallows hard). Then I get Buffy back, but *you* leave, and Willow and Tara div—break up, and then Tara gets killed and Willow goes crazy and Anya’s a vengeance demon again. Every time it’s happened, there’s something I wanted to say. But I couldn’t say it to Mom or Buffy or Tara, ‘cause they died. Or Angel, ‘cause he didn’t have a choice but to go. I could have said it to Dad or Riley or Willow or Anya, but they wouldn’t have listened. But I have you trapped here in this bed, and you’re going to listen. You’re used to dealing with Buffy, and Buffy forgives just about anyone for anything, right away. Heck, she never even raised her voice at me when she found out about me stealing, and you just *know* that Mom would have grounded me until I graduated from Med school. Part of it is probably ‘cause she’s afraid people will leave if she doesn’t. I’m not like that. I don’t forgive easy, and I don’t forgive quickly, and I promise that if you leave now that you know what kind of crap we went through without you here, I will *never* forgive you.
(Silence)
I see.
Do you believe me?
I do.
You’d better.
I suppose that’s decided, then.
What?
I don’t want the undying enmity of a Summers woman following me down the halls of time. I suppose I must stay, then.
Oh. Good. (Pause) Have we hugged yet?
I don’t believe we have. A most egregious oversight.
Does that mean bad?
Yes.
Let’s fix it, then.
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