| The Dragon Part 2 Author: Juliatheyounger Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and all the talented people at Mutant Enemy etc own these characters. I am just playing with them. Spoilers: Season 5. The Gift. Rating: PG so far. Summary: Dawn has been living with her father ever since the Gift. Seven years later she returns to Sunnydale and finds that things and people she no longer believes in are still very real. D/S Author�s Note: I know, there�s something verging on the not right about Spike/Dawn ships, (no offence to the authors of those great Dawn/Spike non-sexual ships) but I was always loved stuff like the Ghost and Mrs Muir, Beetlegueuse etc, where the little girl is friends with the supernatural creature. I wanted a grown up Dawn to come back and find her magic dragon. (er, that's Puff for the person who didn't get the Dragon bit, J ) Thanks to everyone for the incredible response to part 1. I'm writing the rest of this properly now, I hope I don't disappoint. (Major performance anxiety). ****************************************************** Chapter 2: Memories Dawn sank down onto the grass trembling. He couldn't be real. It was impossible. It must be her imagination playing tricks on her again. The sun beat down on her, comforting. But she was sure she'd seen someone there. Someone as real as her. It must be someone who looked like, like the vampire she'd created in her mind. Her shrink had told her, this 'Spike' she'd imagined was probably a friend's older brother or possibly an amalgam of males she admired. In Dawn's imagination Spike had been in love with her sister, so she always thought that it was more likely that he was a friend of Buffy. Perhaps, perhaps that was who he was. He had recognised her, had initially mistaken her for Buffy. He'd called her Nibblet. Dawn got to her feet. This was silly. If it was a real person, some old friend of Buffy's then he must think she had gone mad, running away like that. Dawn turned back to the crypt. And if it had been her imagination then there would be nothing in the crypt to scare her. Spike paced in the crypt. It had been Dawn. His Nibblet. His last link to Buffy. A thousand emotions coursed through his bought blood and dead heart. Anger, confusion, impatience, irritation, and worst of all, hope. God, Powers, whatever it was that turned its face from him, had brought her back to him for a glimpse. And now she was gone. A whole new pain was killing Spike. He wanted to go after her, find her, not let her leave him. Impatience ate at Spike. It was only the sun that stopped him. He kicked the old couch angrily. The sound of the door opening made him look up. Dawn slipped through the crypt door. He was there. Spike stood still as if frozen. His eyes drank her in, studying every feature. She had curves now, more breast, had grown into her features, but it was her. His chest hurt. God she looked like Buffy. Dawn watched him as he cocked his head to one side slightly and he studied her. His expression was unreadable. Then a smirk twitched at his lips. "Look at you Nibblet, you're all grown up." Dawn's stomach did a flip flop, it was him. It was Spike. He might not actually be the vampire Spike she remembered, but for all intents and purposes it was him. "Who, who are you?" That defiant tilt of the chin, the posture. Spike grinned. She was back. "Don't remember me pet?" he asked taking a step closer. He was like a cat, a predator, Dawn thought as he took a step towards her. Everything about him, her fantasy made flesh. It was like coming home or waking up to find the nightmare real. "I know who I think you are," she told him with a flick of her hair. Her eyes were huge and betrayed the image of confidence she otherwise projected. Spike looked at her curiously. "Oh and who's that then Nibblet?" Dawn took a deep breath. "Spike," she said. Saying his name was like a confession. She suddenly felt light. She didn't know what to believe anymore but she suddenly didn't care. Dawn grinned. It suddenly didn�t matter. Spike's face broke into an answering grin. For a moment he almost hugged her. But didn't, cause it would've been a poncy kind of thing to do. "What happened Lil' Bit?" he asked. "You took off like you'd seen a ghost." It was almost as if she had. Dawn blushed. "Sorry, it was just, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Spike studied her. His blue eyes seemed to see through her. Dawn grew uncomfortable under his steady gaze and filled the silence. "You live here?" Spike looked at her curiously, why was she surprised, he'd always lived here. Probably was amazed he still lived in this dump. Spike tried to make it sound better. "Now and then. Just got back from L.A. Saw Angel. Finally got that Shanshu what have you. Bit bloody late for Buffy but that Cordelia bint's happy." He stopped, thinking how bloody unfair life had been for his Slayer. She never got the bleeding breaks, bloody deserved them more than Peaches. Dawn listened to him speak about Angel and Shanshu, things she always thought she'd imagined, he made them sound real. Somehow she didn't care that it didn't make sense. Spike settled on the huge stone tomb in the centre of his crypt and lit a cigarette. His eyes never left her face. "What about you Nibblet? You've been gone an awfully long time, what have you been up to?" Dawn laughed, at herself and at the thought, it had been so long. She flopped onto Spike's worn old couch, not even thinking about how dirty it might be. "So much, where do you want me to start?" Spike smirked at her, hiding the sudden pain in his chest. "How's about, why you left?" Dawn felt a stab of something in her stomach. It felt like guilt. She brushed it away. She was being ridiculous, why would she feel guilty? She smiled ruefully. "Dad decided I should live with him. He has this whole guilt complex going on - for not being there for Buffy after Mom. He blames himself for her death." Spike frowned. "Nothing to do with him." "My therapist said that too but he did say Buffy didn't have the support she needed." Spike winced inwardly. He'd beaten himself up over exactly that, over everything, not being there for Buffy, not protecting Dawn well enough, not giving her the support she needed. Fat lot of good her father being there would have done though. "Wouldn't have done much good him being there Lil' Bit, already had Giles getting in the road, didn't need another old man hanging about." Dawn wasn't sure what Spike was talking about. Well suddenly part of her did know�but surely he wasn't talking about that - that certainly hadn't happened. Suddenly Spike stopped. "Did you just say your therapist?" Dawn nodded. "What ya need to see a bleeding therapist for Nibblet?" He made it sound as if she'd said she'd been seeing a prostitute. Dawn shrugged and looked down. She waved her hand, brushing off her countless problems. "I - well after, after Buffy, died, I had trouble coping." Spike suddenly felt bad, poor little mite had been through a lot, probably needed some counseling. "Sorry pet, shouldn't 've said that. You better now?" Dawn smiled. "Yes, thanks. Well, pretty much," She smiled ruefully. "That's sort of why I was surprised to see you, I always thought you were a figment of my imagination. I'd made up this whole elaborate world as a coping mechanism." Spike chuckled. "Couldn't have been more elaborate than what bloody happened pet." Dawn stopped. What did he mean? Buffy killed herself, nothing else happened. The panic hit her again. "Nothing happened," she said sharply. Spike closed his eyes for a moment as knowledge hit him. He'd seen Buffy in her. He'd seen denial. She didn't want to believe any of it had happened. He looked in her large eyes. They were waiting, waiting. There was fear there. Fear of�she was afraid of the truth. "Anyway," she said, standing suddenly. "I just thought I'd come back and say hi, you know, old times sake. Nice to see you again." She started towards the door. "Nibblet-" Spike started towards her. Dawn stopped at the door, confusion overwhelming her. Part of her wanted to run to Spike to live in her imaginary world again, where bad things happened but real things didn't. She took a deep breath, she had to get out of here. "Goodbye Spike." Spike stopped. His mouth pressed into a tight smile and he gave a quick nod. "Goodbye Lil' Bit." ***************************************** Giles and her father were talking in the next room. A low, angry conversation. Harsh words spoken quietly. Dawn felt sick. Suddenly her father was standing there. "Dawn we're leaving now." "Dad?" Dawn found herself being pushed out to the car. "Dad, no, not yet, I haven't said goodbye!" "Dawn, sweetie, you can call everyone when we get home!" "Dad-" "Dawn no buts, we're leaving now." Dawn looked to Giles for support. "Giles-" He avoided her gaze but said, "Would it hurt to let her say goodbye-" "Don't make this difficult Mr Giles. She can call everyone when she gets home. We are leaving now." The car door was open. "But Dad I can't call Spike!" Dawn was bundled inside the car. "Dad, I have to say goodbye to Spike!" "Dawn, you can call them when we get home." "But Dad-" "Dawn enough!" "Giles - I need to say goodbye to Spike." Dawn's eyes begged the Watcher. The door slammed. "Dad please, I can't go without saying goodbye!" Tears were running down Dawn's face Her father started the car engine. Dawn was nearly hysterical. "Dad please, he needs me, I can't leave without saying goodbye!" The car pulled away from the curb. Dawn fumbled at the car door but it wouldn't open. "I can't leave without saying goodbye!" Dawn sat up in bed with a start. The feeling of intense despair still clung to her. Dawn switched on the bedside lamp. She hadn't dreamt of leaving Sunnydale for over six years now. For months after she had gone to live with her father, before the psychiatrist had managed to get through to her, Dawn had woken up from nightmares, sweating, trembling, crying. This dream had been one of them. Dawn padded to the hotel room's small bathroom and got a glass of water. She went back to bed, switched off the light and shut her eyes, trying to rid herself of the feeling of despair. Instead memories of that afternoon ran through her head. She had sat in her car for a long time after she'd fled from the crypt, trying to calm down. What he'd implied - it must be some misunderstanding. Dawn shut her eyes tight. Tomorrow she'd try to find the people she remembered, the friends she'd lost touch with and her sisters friends. Dawn tried to go back to sleep. She couldn't forget the look she'd seen on Spike's face as she'd left him. Again. End of Part 2. To be continued. |