TITLE:  A little less numb -- 3/?
AUTHOR:  Bree
EMAIL:  [email protected]
RATING:  PG-13
SPOILERS:  BtVS Season 5 post "The Gift"
CLASSIFICATION:  Spike/Dawn
SUMMARY:  The third of Dawn's diary entries following Buffy's death.
DISCLAIMER:  As much as I'd love to claim ownership for all things BtVS, we all
know that I don't own them and many more powerful, snake-handling professionals
do.
DISTRIBUTION:  Tremble, Lil' Nibblin, RRS&S, The Adventures of Spike & Dawn,
and any lists I'm on that archive.  Anyone else, please ask first.
FEEDBACK:  It makes a great midnight snack and I'm really hungry tonight.
AUTHOR'S NOTE #1:  I have a feeling that some people aren't going to like the
way this story is heading, but I hope you'll continue reading anyway.  As I
mentioned when the story first went out, I'm a S/D 'shipper.  I see chemistry
between the two characters, be it a crush or what-have-you, it's still there.
I don't see Spike as a brother, or just as a protector for Dawn, but I'm also a
confessed hopeless romantic.
AUTHOR'S NOTE #2:  I had a really hard time writing this entry.  If it seems
too forced and I get any negative feedback about it, I'll probably re-write it
before it's archived at Tremble, which will be its finally resting-place.  If
this entry sucks, I apologize beforehand.  It's beta'd by me, so if I missed
anything major, I'll correct it after everyone tells me what I did wrong.  My
search for a beta tonight fell on deaf email accounts, but I did at least try
to find help.
DEDICATION:  To everyone who gave me such positive feedback about my
insecurities of writing a 14-year-old.  I only hope I can write up to
everyone's expectations now!  *bg*

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~


Entry - August 2, 2001


Giles is going back to England next week.  He said that the Watchers' Council
needs to discuss what happened in the fight against Glory and how we stopped
her.  But I know the real reason is because Buffy's dead.  It makes perfect
sense that they don't want him here anymore since he doesn't have a Slayer to
watch over now.  I found out second-hand, of course.  He came by this afternoon
thinking I'd be at summer school and that Spike would be asleep.  I was in my
room studying when I heard a noise in Buffy's room.  It's usually quiet in the
afternoon because that's when Spike sleeps.  Anyway, I guess Giles didn't
expect to find Spike in Buffy's room, and Spike didn't expect to be
interrupted, especially by Giles, while he was sleeping.

Giles was looking for Buffy's diaries.  He said that the Council needs to keep
them for reference.  Spike didn't want to let him take them, and neither did I
at first.  But then I figured if they could help the next Slayer from dying or
at least from dying really early, that the Council should have them.  Spike
wasn't so giving and it took me bribing him with buffalo wings for dinner to
hand the diaries back to Giles.  Of course, he mentioned that 'flowering onion
thing', too.  I *hate* onions, but if it means keeping Spike in line, then I'm
willing to compromise.  But only a little.  And only for Spike.  Or maybe
Xander if he asked really nicely.

Spike really hates being waked up when he's sleeping.  I know because I do it
on purpose at least twice a day.  He makes this really cute face when he's mad,
not the scary all fangs look, but a "you're really going to pay for this at
sundown, little bit," look that makes his forehead all scrunchy and his
cheekbones stand out.  Plus his hair is all messy when he wakes up, and it
looks so much better messed up than all slicked back.  He gets irritated, but
it makes me laugh because I know he'll never hurt me no matter what he says.
He's just a big puppy with fangs and a really bad bark.  Oh God, I really hope
he never reads this because then he probably would hurt me!  As if!  Buffy
would *so* come back as a ghost and kick his ass if he ever hurt me.  But I
still don't want him to read this.

Last semester a letter I wrote to Lisa about Kevin fell out of my folder and
that bee-otch Kirstie picked it up and actually *gave* it to Kevin!  I was so
embarrassed because I'd written about how cute I thought he was and how much I
really wanted to go to the spring dance with him.  Not that I would've been
able to go anyway.  I was sort of being held captive by Glory then.

My birthday is in 3 days.  Well, my fake birthday anyway.  Who really knows
exactly how old "The Key" is?  I really hope no one remembers because I'm not
in the mood for a big party and cake and everyone trying to make it a special
day and all that rot, as Spike would say.  Mom would totally freak if she knew
I was talking like Spike.  She was always getting onto him when he would say
certain words around me.  You'd never know he used to be all prim and proper
before he became a vampire.  I guess that's what 126 years of maiming and
killing will do to a vamp.  Of course, now you'd never know he spent 126 years
of maiming and killing as a vampire if you didn't know Spike before he started
to change.

Spike's doing better and so am I.  We haven't argued this week at all, except
for his threatening me when I wake him up.  I wonder if Buffy ever realized how
much he cared about us, all of us - mom, Buffy and me.  He proved it to me when
he let Glory beat him up because he wouldn't tell her who the key was.  Buffy
never found out that I went to visit him a few days later.  I thought he
deserved to know how much it meant to me that he kept who I was a secret.  I've
accepted that Spike's my protector, and I don't resent him hovering as much
now.  But more importantly he's my friend and that is what I need right now to
help the numbness fade.

There's one diary Giles won't be giving to the Council.  I made sure no one
would find it after she died.  I took it from Buffy's room the day of her
funeral because it was her real diary.  All of the others are just about her
slaying experiences.  Buffy didn't know I knew about this one, but I was her
little sister and little sisters always know more than our big sisters think we
do.  Like all of the times that Riley spent the night and mom didn't have a
clue.  There are some things little sisters wish they *didn't'* know as well.
I used to sneak it from Buffy's room while she was out patrolling.  How else
was I supposed to know what was going on?  I wish I'd started reading it sooner
because then I would've found out about who, or what, I really am.  Buffy wrote
a lot about Angel and Angelus in this diary, but she also wrote things about
Spike.  And me.  Stuff that she didn't want anyone to find out about, and I'm
not going to let them find out either.


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