Title: Remembrances and Plans
Author: babies stole my dingo (agilebrit)
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Words: 689
Disclaimer: Joss is the genius behind these characters; I am but a lowly follower.
Written for: Aeneas's birthday. She requested Dawn angst, post-Chosen.
Notes: I had a hard time doing angst without a little hope in there too...
They parked the schoolbus in front of the Hyperion. Dawn helped with
carrying in the wounded as much as she could, although she felt a
little extraneous. The other girls (Slayers, she reminded herself) were
far stronger than she, and she finally decided that she'd be better off
going inside and tending injuries instead.
At last, everyone was situated and as comfortable as possible. Dawn
found an empty room and flopped down on the bed, staring at the
ceiling. She'd lost friends tonight, and finally allowed herself the
luxury of tears.
Amanda and the other Slayers. She berated herself, now, for not
learning all their names. They'd died fighting the good fight, and she
quietly paid tribute to them in her mind.
Funny Anya. Usually unintentionally funny, but her pain had been so
real when Mom had died. She just hadn't understood, and somehow that
made it worse for her than it did for everyone else. That hadn't been
funny at all. Forthright Anya, who wasn't afraid to say what everyone
else thought. Xander had been very silent on the bus, staring straight
ahead, internalizing everything in a typically "guy" sort of way. Dawn
had touched his arm once or twice, but he hadn't responded. Andrew had
been pretty shellshocked over the whole thing too.
Spike. She sighed, rolling over onto her side. He'd been such a good
friend, right up to that awful year that culminated in him hurting
Buffy--and getting a soul because of it. She wished that she'd tried
harder to make peace with him. Now that another apocalypse was out of
the way, and he was gone, she wouldn't get the chance. She thought that
out of all of them, he would have survived. "Big stupid hero," she
muttered.
An almost timid knock sounded at her door. "Dawnie?" Buffy's voice.
Great.
"Yeah, come in," she answered as unenthusiastically as she could,
drying her eyes and sitting up.
Buffy opened the door and sat on the bed next to her. "Wow,
craziness much, or what?"
"Yeah, I guess." Her voice was flat.
"What's the matter?"
"Well. It's over. What's going to happen now?"
"Ugh. I haven't thought that far ahead." Buffy put her head in her
hand for a moment. "We're going to have to get organized and hunt the
new Slayers down and let them know what's the what."
"And where do I fit in with all that?" Dawn hated how self-centered
she sounded, saying it. People had died tonight, after all. Principal
Wood was hurt pretty bad. Even Buffy had gotten a sword through her
back, although she'd gritted past the pain and seemed pretty much okay
now.
"Where would you like to fit in?"
She blinked, not expecting that. No one ever asked her opinion,
about anything. Dawn, do this; Dawn, do that; Dawn, don't read that,
it'll deflower your virgin eyes. "Um...can I be a Watcher? I've, I've
gotten really good at researchy stuff, and Giles and Andrew have been
teaching me other languages."
Buffy smiled, her first genuine smile, it seemed, of the whole
night. "Sure, sweetie. In between school stuff, of course."
"Of course," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. Something else nagged at
her. Buffy hadn't said anything about... "Buffy, what happened to
Spike? I know he didn't make it, but what happened?"
"He was a Champion, right to the end. The amulet worked through him,
just like it was supposed to. He--" Buffy choked. "He burned up. He
made me leave before the end, but I saw...enough."
Dawn hugged her. "It must have been awful." She sniffled a little
herself.
"It was." Buffy pulled herself together. "Well. I'm going to turn
in. You should get some sleep too. Big meeting tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you in the morning."
Buffy kissed her cheek and looked at her very seriously. "G'night,
Dawnie. I love you. You know that, right?"
"I do. Really. And I love you too." Her lips trembled as she smiled.
After Buffy left, Dawn lay back down, lacing her fingers behind her
head and staring at the ceiling. She was going to be a Watcher.
Cool.
