[#45. Sequel to "Dawn the Vampire Slayer." In what seems to be a pattern, the sequel, to me, is a better story. Dawn's Slayer abilities have faded, but someone wants Buffy's blood for his own evil purposes. PG]

"Hi. How was school?" Buffy asked as Dawn walked into the kitchen.

"Okay," she answered with little enthusiasm.

Buffy didn't say anything, but she sensed something wasn't quite right.

"Anything going on?"

"No."

"You know, with only a week of school left, I think if I were you, I'd be dancing a little jig."

Dawn opened the refrigerator looking for something to snack on. "But you're not me, are you?"

"No, I suppose not."

"And I'm not you. Never will be." Dawn answered with a edge to her voice, shutting the refrigerator door harder than she had to.

"Dawn, are you sure everything's okay?"

"Everything's just peachy!"

"You know you can tell me if anything . . . ."

"Fine! You want to know? They're gone!"

"Who's gone?"

"Not who, what? My slayer strength, and my powers, THEY'RE gone! Happy now? No more worrying about me sneaking out at night! And no more worrying about me accidentally hurting someone in P.E.! And no more worrying about anyone finding out I have a sister who's a Slayer! I guess you must be the happiest no-worrying person in the world, huh?"

"Dawn," Buffy said, trying to sympathetic, "We knew they wouldn't last more than five or six weeks."

"But it's only been a month! Why'd they go away so soon?"

"I don't know . . . ."

"Why'd they have to go away at all? You said those monks made me out of YOU! I should have everything you do? So why don't I?"

"Dawn, it's true, they took some of my -- DNA, or whatever, but we're not clones. You have brown hair and I have blond. You're taller than I am. And as much as I hate to admit it, your chest is certainly bigger than mine . . . ."

Smiling despite herself, Dawn said, "And that's driving you crazy, isn't it?"

Deciding Dawn needed an ego boost, Buffy played along, "Well, it'd be nice if we were same size. But at least I have a nicer butt."

"Do NOT!" Dawn exclaimed with mock anger. "My butt's much nicer than yours."

"Oh, I don't think so. Everyone knows my butt's butter -- BETTER!"

"You said it right the first time -- greasy and soft."

"Is NOT!" Buffy said, laughing along with Dawn.

After the laughter subsided, neither one said anything for a few seconds.

"Dawn, I realize . . . ."

"Don't worry about it, it's just like you said. I guess I knew they wouldn't last. I just kept hoping ... you know."

"I know. But it's really better. Just be thankful you're an ordinary girl with ordinary strength. You don't want to be a Slayer, believe me."

"If you could, would you give up being the Slayer?"

Buffy opened her mouth to answer, but didn't have one.

Finally, she said, "I don't know. When I was first chosen, I thought is was kind of cool until I realized I wasn't going to be able to hang with my friends, and I wasn't going to be the school queen anymore. And then my grades suffered, and my slaying was always getting me in trouble with Mom and Dad. And then I hated it. But now -- I feel like I can't quit. I'm HER, you know? I'm the savior of the world. And while I'd like to believe that another Slayer could do just as good a job as me, I don't. I've lived longer than any other Slayer, well, except for dying a few times and then coming back, but I just feel like there's a reason I'm still the Slayer ... Doesn't really answer your question, though, does it?"

"Yeah, it does, sorta. I know being the Slayer's not much fun, but I still liked being secret Supergirl. Made me feel ... special, you know?"

"Dawny, Dawny. How many times will I have to tell you how special you are until you believe it?"

"Special to you, maybe, but not to anyone else."

"Except for Willow, and Tara, and Xander, and Anya, and Giles, and even Spike."

"Yeah, but you guys are my family."

"But don't you know -- somewhere out there, there's some guy just waiting to meet you. Someone who will think you are the most wonderful, and the most special person in the entire world."

"There she is."

"Her? She doesn't look like much to me. I mean, she's cute, and she has a pretty good body, but are you sure she's the one?"

"Oh, I'm sure. I've been watching her a long time. And if I'm sure about anything at all, it's her."

"And you're sure she has her sister's strength?"

"I'm sure. She tries to hide it, but if you've been watching her as long as I have, you start to see things. She's got the strength, all right."

"So if she's so strong, won't that make it kind of tough? I mean, I certainly don't want to tangle with ANYBODY, not even a girl, who's ten times stronger than I am!"

"You won't have to. I have it all worked out. All I have to do is get to know her a little better, ask her out, get her off by ourselves, use a little chloroform, and she's all mine."

"Well, you know her sister will come looking for her."

"Let her. She won't find us, not until I want her to. See, that's the difference between you and me -- I make plans, and I go over them in my head, over and over, until I know they're going to work. Any more questions?"

"So when do we do it?"

"Soon. I figure a few days to get to know her well enough so she'll go out with me . . . ."

"What if her sister won't let her?"

"I told you! I've been watching her. In most ways she's just like any other girl -- they'll do whatever they think their parents, or in this case, her sister, won't let them do, just to prove they're grown up enough to take care of themselves."

"Well, if you're sure . . . ."

"Trust me, I've never been more sure about anything in my life -- this time next week we'll be just as strong as the Slayer. And once we have all that strength, the Sunnydale cops won't stand a chance."

"But won't we have to worry about the Slayer, and Dawn?"

"Not if they're both dead."

"Was she very upset?" Willow asked.

"A little, probably more than she was letting on. I knew something was wrong. Still, we had a pretty good talk about it, and she seems to understand, but you know how teenagers are, she's still probably not as okay with it as she acts."

"You want me to talk to her?"

"I don't know if it would do any good, but if you want to it's okay with me."

"So her powers are completely gone? Just like that?"

"I suspect they were fading gradually and she didn't notice it until yesterday. Probably wanted to lift something or open a jar, and then discovered she couldn't."

"Gosh, I kinda feel sorry for her. It's tough, having all that power and then suddenly it's gone away."

"I guess if anyone would know how it feels, you'd be the one. Maybe you should talk to her after all. You understand how she's feeling, maybe better than I do."

-

"Willow, I'm fine! I know I'm not the Slayer. That's Buffy's job. You don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure? Buffy said you were feeling kind of ... ordinary."

"Well, I'm not a Slayer, and I'm not a witch. Even Anya was a demon, so that makes her kind of special. So what am I? Extra ordinary!"

"No! Of course you're not ordinary, you're . . . ."

"I know -- I'm 'Special.' Buffy keeps telling me that, but I just don't see it."

"Dawn, you're special because we all love you. The most important people in this world are the ones we love. Xander doesn't have any super powers, but he's special to me because I love him. But you know what? Someday some guy's going to look at you and you'll knock his socks right off !"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"But you can't tell Buffy."

"I don't know, Dawn. Keeping secrets always seems to get people in trouble."

"Well, this isn't that bad, so I guess you could tell her, if you really had to. She'll probably find out anyway."

"Okay, what's this big old secret?"

"Well," Dawn started, the excitement growing in her voice. "We're having this dance the last day of school. And there's this boy, a Senior, and I think he's going to ask me to go with him."

"A Senior? Do you think you're ready to start dating Seniors?"

"It's just this one dance. But if he really likes me, I might get to see him over the summer."

"So, what's his name, and what's he like? He's a nice boy, isn't he? You know, you can't be too careful."

"Yeah, he's nice. His name is Mickey. He's not real tall, but he's nice looking. And he has a car."

"Does he use seatbelts? You can tell a lot about a guy if he's a safe driver."

"I guess so. Probably. Yeah, I'm sure he does. Are you going to tell Buffy?"

"I think you should tell her. Going out on a date is kind of big deal, especially for the sister of Slayers. They tend to worry a lot, you know."

"Don't I know it! You really think I should tell her?"

Willow nodded her head.

"What if she won't let me go?"

"Is it a day-time dance or a night-time dance?"

"It's supposed to start at seven, and end about midnight. You think that's too late?"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe if you have him come over a day or two before the dance so Buffy can meet him, she might not be so worried."

"Will you be here too? To back me up?"

"I'll meet him, if you want me to, but if I think something's not right with him, I'll have to speak up."

"That's okay! I know you'll like him!"

"Then I've got your back."

The two walked downstairs, Dawn leading, and into the kitchen. Buffy looked up from the counter where she was looking through one of her mom's recipe books.

"Hi, guys," she said. "Trying to think of something for supper. Any suggestions?"

"Uh, Buffy," Dawn said, "There's something you need to know."

"Oh?" Buffy answered. Her eyes cut quickly to Willow, who kept a neutral look on her face. "What is it?"

"Well, you know we're having this dance the last day of school."

"Uh huh."

"Well, there's this guy I know who's probably going to ask me to go."

"Do I know him?"

"Buffy, you don't know anybody I know."

"So why should I let somebody I don't know take you out?"

Dawn made an exasperated sound, then said, "What if I bring him home so you can meet him? That way when you see what a good guy he is, you'll say it's okay."

Buffy looked at Willow again, who just gave a weak smile.

"And if I don't like him?"

"Then I won't go with him. But I could still go to the dance, couldn't I?"

"What, just so you could meet him there?"

"Buffy, it's a school dance. Everyone will be there. Can't you at least give him a chance?"

"Couldn't hurt." Willow said quietly.

"Ganging up on me, are you?" Buffy said half joking. "All right. Bring him over and we'll see."

"How 'bout tomorrow after school?"

"Okay."

"Man, oh, man! Can you believe it?" Mickey said as he laughed loud and long.

"What? What's so funny?" Nick asked.

"Tomorrow after school I walk right into the Jaws of the Beast!"

"What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Dawn is taking me to meet Buffy. She says she won't let me take her to the dance unless I do. And, of course, I'll have to make a good impression. This is TOO rich!"

"Do you think that's a good idea? What if she gets suspicious?"

"Suspicious of what? Neither one has and inkling of what's in store for them. I'll meet Big Sister, charm the pantyhose off of her, and then I'll have a perfectly good reason to take Dawn off, and nobody'll be any wiser."

"Wouldn't it just be easier, and smarter, to pick her up at the dance?"

"Probably, but I just love being able to waltz right in, lie my ass off, and laugh all the way home."

Nick shook his head. "That sounds just like asking for trouble."

"Wimp! What's the sense of doing anything if you can't have any fun at the same time? Besides, once we get that Slayer strength, WE'LL be the trouble! More trouble than anyone can handle. And rich, too."

"Now don't be nervous," Dawn said to Mickey as they walked up the front porch steps. "She's probably going to be kind of mean-acting, but it's just an act. She thinks she has to protect me twenty four hours a day like I'm still a little girl. You know how big sisters can be."

"Hey, no sweat. I'll have her eating out of my hand in no time."

"Willow might be there, too."

"Who's Willow?"

"She's Buffy's best friend. She lives here with us. But she's cool. She's a w-- a cool person. You'll like her."

Mickey nodded, he hadn't counted on trying to bluff two of them. Willow's name was familiar, but he didn't know anything about her. 'No matter.' He thought to himself.

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled out as they walked through the front door.

"Out here!" Buffy yelled back. "In the kitchen!"

"Hi," Dawn said as they walked into the kitchen. "Buffy, this is Mickey. Mickey -- Buffy."

Mickey put out his hand. As Buffy took the offered handshake, Mickey began to squeeze her hand, testing her. Buffy smiled as she squeezed back, and said, "So, Mickey, do you have a last name?"

Smiling, and trying not to grimace at the pain, he replied, "Johns, Mickey Johns. Nice to meet you."

He then tried pulling his hand away, but Buffy's grip was too tight.

"You mind?" He asked indicating her still tightening grip.

Buffy let go.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Got a little distracted." She said, smiling sweetly.

Before anyone could say anything else, Willow walked into the kitchen.

"Willow!" Dawn exclaimed, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "This is Mickey. Mickey, this is Willow."

"Hi." Willow said.

"Nice to meetcha." Mickey said, still nursing his painful hand.

When he looked away, Willow gave Buffy a questioning look, Buffy shrugged a little; still not sure if he was okay or not.

"So you want to take Dawn to the dance." Buffy stated.

"That's the plan -- if it's all right with you, of course."

"And you have a car." She said, a slight disapproval in her voice.

"Do you use seatbelts?" Willow interjected.

"Always. Even in parking lots."

"That's good." Willow said, and gave a hopeful smile to Buffy.

Unimpressed, Buffy then asked, "So what time were you planning to pick Dawn up?"

"Well, the dance starts at seven, but I thought if I could get her at six, then we'd have time to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner first."

Buffy heard Dawn suppress a pleasantly surprised squeal of delight.

"And what time were you planning on getting her home?"

"What time do you want her home?"

"How about right after dinner?" Buffy answered with a sweetly evil smile.

"Buffy!" Dawn exclaimed.

"The dance is over at eleven?"

Mickey nodded.

"And I suppose you'll want to get something to eat afterwards?"

"It's kind of traditional." He replied hopefully.

Buffy took a deep, resigned breath.

"Midnight." She finally said.

This time Dawn let the squeal out and ran over to hug Buffy's neck.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She kept repeating.

"We're not finished yet." Buffy said after Dawn calmed down a little.

Dawn made a show of regaining her composure, still grinning at Mickey, who's smile rivaled Dawn's.

"I assume you have parents." Buffy said to Mickey.

"No." He said.

"No?" Buffy asked surprised.

"I live with my uncle. My parents died about ten years ago. I never really found out how. Just something about severe neck injuries. Punctures or something. Nobody seemed to want to tell me anything."

Buffy, Willow and Dawn all exchanged knowing glances. As they did, Mickey suppressed a grin; he knew he was playing to Buffy's weakness.

"Well," Buffy finally said. "Is there a number I can call, in case something comes up?"

"I can give you my home number. But Uncle -- uh -- Nick works from three until midnight, so it might be hard to get in touch with him."

"He doesn't have a work number?"

"There's a number at the dispatcher's office. He drives a truck for Sunn and Son Moving and Storage, so he's usually on the road."

"But I can call him at, say, two o'clock?"

"You can try to call him then. Maybe he won't have the phone off the hook. He likes to sleep right up until he has to leave for work."

"Uh - HUH!" Buffy said, growing more and more suspicious all the time.

Sensing this, Mickey said, "How about if I tell him you're going to call him tomorrow at two? Then he'll know to set his alarm and be awake when you call."

"I think that's an excellent idea. Because Dawn's not going anywhere until I talk to him."

"Hey! That works for me!" Mickey said. "I don't want you to have to worry the least little bit while Dawn and I are together."

"Fine, then. You tell your Uncle Nick to expect my call at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. And if I like what I hear, you can pick Dawn up at six."

Dawn squealed again.

After Dawn had seen Mickey to the door and went upstairs to be happy, Willow asked Buffy, "So you think he's okay?"

"I don't know. There's something fishy somewhere but I just can't put my finger on it."

"He seemed real nice to me."

"That's because you didn't shake his hand."

Willow gave her an odd look.

"When we shook hands, he was trying to squeeze mine really hard, like he thought I'd be intimidated by his macho manliness."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?"

"Not much. Just enough to let him know where he stood."

"Dawn seems to like him."

"Yeah, I noticed. That's got me a little worried, too. She seems to be falling a little too hard, and a little too fast."

"Well, maybe after school's out for the summer, he'll forget about her."

"We can only hope."

"So how'd it go?" Nick asked.

"Are you kidding? I fed Buffy so much B.S. she ought to weigh three hundred pounds." Mickey said. "She thinks I live with my 'Uncle Nick' and tomorrow at two she's going to call him to check up on me."

"You don't have an Uncle Nick."

"No, but I have you, and you're going to be 'Uncle Nick' for a little while."

"Oh no! I can't do that. I'd get so nervous I'd screw things up for sure."

"Don't worry, I know exactly what she's going to ask, and I know exactly how you're going to answer her. And we're going to rehearse it until you've got it down pat."

"How do you know what she's going to ask? What if she asks something I can't answer."

"Trust me. I know how parents, and big sisters, think. You'll see. You'll think she's reading from the same script you'll have."

As Buffy hung up the phone, Dawn was standing anxiously by, barely able to contain herself.

"Well?" She asked. "Can I go?"

With an obvious reluctant look on her face, Buffy said, "I suppose."

Dawn let out a yelp, hugged Buffy's neck, then ran upstairs to get dressed for the dance.

Hearing the noise, Willow came into the kitchen.

"I guess that means you said she could go."

"Yeah. Will, do you think I'm still too protective of Dawn? I mean, she's fifteen. Shouldn't she be able to go to a school dance without me being all worried?"

"Sure she should. It's not like she's going to be there all by herself. They're going to have chaperons and teachers and lots of other kids there."

"You're right. I just wish I didn't feel like there's something -- odd going on."

"You talked to Mickey's uncle. Didn't that help any?"

"Not really. Well, I guess it did. Except that he sounded kind of young, he had all the right answers. I don't know."

"Man! I couldn't believe it. She asked every single question you said she would! How do you know these things?"

"Nick, some things are better left untold. But right now, we have to go home and get dressed. We have a dance to go to."

"We're really not going to that stupid dance are we?"

"Of course not. Is everything ready?"

"It's been ready since yesterday."

"Then all we need are our tuxes, and the Slayer's sister."

-

As Mickey walked up to the front porch, he looked back over his shoulder to make sure Nick couldn't be seen through the car window.

He barely rang the doorbell when Dawn jerked it open.

"Wow!" He exclaimed. "You are absolutely gorgeous!"

"Who, me?" Dawn answered, surprised and embarrassed at the unexpected compliment.

"Of course, you. There's no one else here."

"Oh, well ... uh ... thank you. Come on in."

As Dawn and Mickey walked into the living room, Buffy and Willow were sitting on the couch, both with less than welcoming looks on their faces.

"Do we have to go over the rules again?" Buffy asked.

"No, Ma'am." Mickey answered. "After we leave here, I'm taking her to the Dolphin Room for dinner. Then we'll go to the dance. At 10:30 I'll have Dawn call you. And if you think it's okay, a bunch of us will go out for a late supper after the dance is over, and I'll have Dawn back by midnight."

"So where are you going after the dance?"

"I don't know right now, but we'll know by the time Dawn calls you."

Buffy looked at Dawn, then Willow, back to Dawn and then back to Mickey, and let her stern look soften.

"Then you two have a good time. I'll expect to hear from you at 10:30."

"You will!" Dawn almost shouted. "You'll see."

As Buffy stood up, Dawn hugged her, hugged Willow, then went after her purse.

"I'm trusting you." Buffy said to Mickey. "This is her first date, don't screw it up for her."

"Believe me, I don't want this to be the first and the last. I really like Dawn, and I definitely want to see her again."

"Let's go!" Dawn said, grabbing Mickey by the hand, dragging him toward the front door.

Buffy and Willow watched as the two walked hand in hand to the car.

"They grow up so fast." Willow said.

"Yes they do -- Mother." Buffy said smiling at Willow.

"Well," Willow replied, "I love her, too."

"I know."

-

Dawn didn't see Nick in the back seat until after she got into the car.

"Dawn, I want you to meet my cousin Nick. Nick, this is Dawn."

"I thought it was just going to be you and me." Dawn said, a little disappointed, and uneasy.

"Don't worry. We're just going to pick up his date and then drop them both off at the school, then you and I are going to dinner."

"Oh," Dawn said, relieved. "Okay."

After Mickey had driven a few blocks, Dawn noticed an odd smell, and it was getting stronger.

"You smell anything?" She asked Mickey.

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. Kind of like old orange peelings."

"That must be me." Nick said from the back seat. "I haven't worn this suit in a long time, and I tried using a disinfectant to get the musty smell out of it, but I think I used too much."

Wrinkling her nose, Dawn turned back around to face forward.

"It's not that bad." She lied.

Before she could say anything more, Nick reached around with his left hand to pull her against the seat, and with his right, put a handkerchief soaked with ether over her mouth and nose.

Dawn struggled to pull away from the hands holding her, but was overpowered by the fumes, and was unconscious in less than ten seconds.

"That was easy." Nick said as he rolled down the car windows to air it out. "Almost too easy. Are you sure she's as strong as you say she is?"

"Don't worry. Even Buffy couldn't breathe that stuff and stay awake. By the way. I thought you were going to get chloroform. That ether almost gave it away."

"I'm sorry, but it's all I could get."

"No matter. By the time she comes to, she'll be tied up so tight she'll think she has no strength at all."

As Dawn slumped down in the seat, Mickey turned away from the school, and stepped on the gas, making sure they would be at the abandoned house before Dawn woke up.

"Willow, what time is?"

"I just told you, it's 10:45. Don't worry Buffy, she'll call. She's probably just dancing and laughing and stuff. Young kids don't pay any attention to the time when they're having fun."

"Well, if she hasn't called by eleven, I'm calling the school."

"She'll call!"

"What time is it now?"

Willow sighed, "It's 10:50."

"I'm calling the school."

Buffy picked up the phone, paused, then turned to Willow, "Do you know the number?"

"It's probably in the book. You want me to find it for you?"

"Would you?"

Willow got the telephone book and started leafing through the pages, finally stopping when she found the school, and then called out the number to Buffy, who dialed as she spoke.

"Hi. My name's Buffy Summers, and I was wondering if you could page my sister. Her name is Dawn Summers. It's kind of an emergency. No, no one died. Could you just page her? Yes, I'll hold."

Looking at Willow, Buffy said, "I hate it when they do that. I never know if they're coming back."

Willow nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes, someone got back on the phone.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked. "You're positive? Well, maybe she was in the bathroom, could you page her again? Please, it's really important. Thanks."

More minutes went by.

"Okay," Buffy said. "Thanks for trying."

"She's not there?" Willow asked, concern in her voice.

"They paged her three or four times. She must have left. Damn it, she promised me she'd call."

"Maybe she forgot?" Willow said weakly.

"She didn't forget. Oh, she is going to be SO grounded!"

"So, now what?"

"I don't know. I can't leave in case she does call. It's times like this when I wish I had a cell phone."

"Do you want me to go look for her? I could get Xander, I'm know he'd be glad to help."

"Would you, Will? That'd be so great."

"Sure. Let me call Xander and as soon as he gets here we'll go through Sunnydale with a fine-toothed comb."

"Thanks. But be careful. Still plenty of vamps running around. I hate to suggest this, but maybe you could ask Spike to help. If nothing else, he could keep the demons off you guys."

"Okay. Me, Xander and Spike. We'll find her."

"You sure she's tied up enough? I think I have another fifty feet of rope somewhere."

"I just don't want to take a chance on her breaking free." Nick said, as he checked for the fourth time that the ropes binding Dawn to the chair were secure.

"It would take ten Buffys to break those ropes, she's not Superman, you know."

"I just want to be sure. Shouldn't she be awake by now? I thought that Slayer strength made them -- tougher."

"You probably gave her enough to knock out an elephant. She'll wake up soon enough."

"What time are you going to call Buffy?"

"I haven't decided yet. I want her to worry some first. Probably tomorrow morning sometime."

"What'll we do until then?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to watch some TV and then get some sleep. Going to be a big day tomorrow; don't want to be all sleepy."

"What about her? Someone ought to watch her, just in case."

Mickey slapped Nick on the shoulder. "Then I guess you're elected. Let me know when she wakes up, I'll be upstairs. I think a little supper might be in order. You want anything?"

"Whatever you're having is fine with me."

Willow, Xander, and Spike got back to Buffy's a little after 4 a.m. Buffy met them at the door, looking for Dawn.

"I'm sorry, Buffy, but we looked everywhere we could think of. She still hasn't called?"

"No. I knew something wasn't right, I just knew it. I never should have let her go."

"Hey, you didn't know." Xander said sympathetically.

"Don't beat yourself up over this. Niblet'll show up. Kids do these things." Spike chimed in.

"Not Dawn. She knows better. She would never do this on her own. That Mickey has something to do with it."

"Should we call the police?" Willow asked.

"And tell them what? That my sister is out on a date and hasn't come home yet? How many times do you think they've heard that one?"

"We can go back out looking again," Spike suggested. "For a couple more hours, anyway."

"No. You guys have done enough for tonight. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow."

After Xander and Spike left, Buffy called Uncle Nick, not caring if she woke him up or not.

After about twelve rings, a slurred sounding voice answered.

"Is this Nick?" Buffy answered.

"Ain' no Nick here, jus' me."

"Who are you?"

"Who 'r' YOU?"

"I'm Buffy. Who is this?"

"This's Robert."

"Are you drunk?" Buffy asked, getting angrier by the second.

"Don' know. Jus' got up. . . ."

Buffy slammed the phone down. "Willow, will you hack into the phone company and find out where this number is?"

"Sure. That's easy."

After a few minutes, Willow said, "It's a pay phone near good old Sunnydale High. Probably the only one around there that still works."

Buffy couldn't speak. Between her anger at Mickey and her fear for Dawn, she didn't trust herself to say anything.

She sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands, trying to think. Trying to figure out how this could have happened, and what to do next.

As Dawn slowly swam up from unconsciousness, she was only aware of the fact that she was very nauseous. And the more awake she became, the stronger was the urge to vomit. So bad that she bit into her bottom lip trying not to.

As her eyes began to focus, she began to barely see objects that could be furniture in the darkened room.

When she tried to move, she found her arms were tied down to the arms of a very uncomfortable chair. Then she discovered her ankles were tied to the front legs of the chair.

After the sickness seemed to ease a little, she tried to call out, but her throat was thick and she coughed, almost gagging herself.

Suddenly someone sat up on the couch across the room. She recognized him as Nick, Mickey's cousin.

"Finally woke up, huh?" He said. "I was beginning to think you weren't ever going to."

He reached out to a lamp on an end table and turned on the light. The sudden brightness made Dawn close her eyes and turn her head away from it.

Gradually, her eyes adjusted and she looked back at Nick, who was gone. Then she heard someone climbing up stairs. She then realized she was in a cellar. She could hear muffled voices coming from above. Then heard two sets of footsteps coming back down.

"Hi, there." Mickey said as he walked over to her. "Finally awake, I see."

"What -- what's going on?" Dawn asked, then started coughing and gagging again.

"Nick, get her some water. Can't have our insurance policy cashing in ahead of time."

After she drank what he gave her, she asked "What -- what do you mean, your insurance policy?"

"Just what I said, just a little something to make sure big sister behaves herself."

"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Dawn asked again. "Why am I tied up?"

"She doesn't need to know anything." Nick said to Mickey.

"Oh, I think we can tell her. What's she going to do, beat us up?" And Mickey laughed out loud at the thought.

"You guys are going to be so sorry when Buffy finds out about this. You just don't know how sorry."

"I fully intend for her to find out. In fact in a couple of hours I'm going to call her and tell her where we are."

"What time IS it?" Dawn asked, realizing it must be long past 11 p.m.

Mickey looked at his watch. "About 5:30 in the morning. You slept a very long time."

"I have to go to the bathroom." Dawn said as she realized her bladder was full. "I have to go -- NOW!"

"I guess you're just going to have to hold it a little longer. With your strength, there's no way we're going to untie you."

"My strength? I don't have any strength, I can barely move."

"I've heard that one before. I'm not stupid, you know. I know all about the blood you got from Buffy after your accident. And I know all about the powers you got from it. I've been watching you a long, long time."

"You can't have been watching me very close, then, because if you were you'd know that they're gone. Once Buffy's blood cells started dying, my powers went away."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But I'm not taking any chances. Besides, it's not your blood I want. It's the Slayer's."

A light went on in Dawn's mind.

"Oh, my God! You're going to take Buffy's blood and put into yourself!"

"Bingo! You hit the nail right on the head." Mickey said.

"Into both of us." Nick added. "We're both going to be super strong. And there's not a thing you can do about it."

"But it won't last! My strength went away in less than a month."

"That's time enough. By the time it's gone, if it does go away, we'll have sucked this town dry and been long gone to Mexico."

"You won't get away with it. Buffy won't let you."

Mickey laughed again. "There's nothing she can do about it. Do you really think we're just going to let you two walk out of here? Once Buffy's blood is running, we'll take all we want and just let the rest run out on the floor. Who knows, maybe we'll drain you too. That way you two can watch the other one die. Sisters to the end."

"What time is it now?" Buffy asked for the fiftieth time.

"Six thirty."

"That's it. I'm calling the cops."

As Buffy reached for the phone, it rang, startling her and Willow.

"Hello? ... Who is this? ... WHERE THE HELL IS DAWN? ! ... Hello! Dammit! He hung up!"

"Who was it?" Willow asked, even though she suspected it was Mickey.

"Mickey. He hung up."

"Now what?"

"We wait. He'll call back."

Five anxious minutes later he called.

"Hello." Buffy said, trying hard to keep her voice calm and under control.

"That's better." Mickey said.

"Where's Dawn?"

"Dawn? Oh. She's with me."

"I want to talk to her."

"Well, right now, I don't think what YOU want is the issue. What I want . . . ."

"Let me speak with my sister -- please." Buffy's voice was hard.

"Well, I don't know ... Oh, okay."

Mickey walked over to Dawn and put his cell phone to her ear.

"Buffy! It's a trap! Don't come!" She yelled out. Mickey snatched the phone away and slapped her across the face.

"Don't EVER do that again," he warned, then put the phone back to his ear.

"It seems like Dawn's not in the mood to talk right now, she's all tied up." And he laughed at his joke.

"What have you done to her?" Buffy asked, feeling her control slipping away.

"Done? Nothing ... much."

"What do you want?"

Suddenly Mickey was serious again. "I want YOU, Slayer. I want you right here."

"Tell me where 'here' is and I'll do my best to oblige you."

"I'm going to tell you, but first we have to go over a few of MY rules. Number One -- You come alone. If I see any cops, or anyone but you and Dawn dies. Number Two -- When you get here, you do nothing that even remotely resembles you trying to hurt me or Nick. You do and Dawn dies. Number Three -- You do exactly as I tell you. Try anything else and Dawn dies. Are we clear?"

"We're clear. Where do I go?"

After he gave her the directions, Mickey hung up.

"I have to go." Buffy told Willow.

"Want me to come with? You might need backup."

"Thanks, but he's threatening to kill Dawn if anyone's with me. Besides, I need you by the phone, just in case. Why don't you call Xander and tell him I've gone after Dawn. I know he's worried."

Willow nodded to Buffy's back as she left the house. "Good luck." She said.

-

Thirty minutes later Buffy slowly entered the old abandoned house, looking and listening for any sign of ambush.

"We're down here!" She heard Mickey call out. "Down in the basement!"

Buffy cautiously went down the steps to the darkened basement. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, a light was turned on, shining directly into her eyes, temporarily blinding her.

"Just stay right there a minute. I'll tell you when to move."

Buffy stood still, letting her eyes adjust. She heard scuffling and furniture moving.

"Okay, walk toward me, slowly. One false move and -- well, you know."

Buffy walked toward the middle of the room. There was a single wooden chair with arms on it.

"Sit." She was commanded.

Buffy sat down, her arms resting on the arms of the chair. As she did, more lights came on and she saw Dawn tied up in a similar chair against the wall, tape over her mouth.

"Dawn! Are you all right?"

Dawn nodded.

And she saw Mickey standing next to Dawn, the barrel of a small silver revolver against her temple.

"Now," Mickey said, "You just sit still while Nick ties your arms down."

From behind her, Nick appeared with a length of rope, and he proceeded to tie her arms to the chair's arms as Dawn's were. He next wrapped the rope around her stomach and chest and the back of the chair. Lastly he tied her ankles to the chair legs.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, I won't need this." Mickey said and tossed the gun to Nick.

"What's this all about?" Buffy asked, then added. "Does she have to have that tape over her mouth?"

Mickey reached over and pulled the tape off, causing Dawn to scream out in pain.

"That was necessary?" Buffy asked, now angry.

"Buffy, he wants to take your blood so he can be as strong as you are!" Dawn shouted out.

Buffy looked up at Mickey. "You can't be serious." She said.

"Serious as a heart attack." He answered. "Or should I say 'serious as a blood transfusion' ? "

"It won't work." Buffy declared. "We're not the same blood type. You could get seriously ill, or even die!"

"Somehow, I don't think so. I think Slayer blood is too special to kill anyone."

"You won't get away with this. I have friends who know where we are. And they'll be here any time. You don't stand a chance!"

Mickey laughed.

"He doesn't care." Dawn said. "He's going to kill us when he gets as much of the blood as he wants."

"She's right, you know. Too bad I can't just put you on ice, and milk you whenever I need another shot of super-blood."

"Hi, Buffy. Remember me?" Nick said, leaning down into Buffy's face.

Buffy looked up at him, trying to place him.

"Should I?"

"I didn't think so. But I remember you. We went to high school together. And we graduated together. That's right! I was there when the mayor went crazy and all those vampires attacked. Your buddy Xander even gave me a stake to fight with. Of course, I wasn't THAT stupid. I just ran away. I wasn't about to get myself killed!"

"Too bad. People like you sometimes need a good killing."

Nick went on like he hadn't heard.

"Did you know I was at the hospital when they brought Dawn in, and when you came? But, of course not. You didn't notice me then, either. I was just another one of the janitor-guys. We mop the floors and empty the garbage, and nobody sees ever sees us. But we see you. And I saw what happened after you gave Dawn your blood. And I was there when the doctor couldn't understand why she healed up so fast. But I did. I knew it HAD to be the Slayer blood."

"And he told me," Mickey continued. "And the more I thought about it, the more I knew what we had to do. It was so simple."

"So after you get my blood, then what? You're going to beat up all the kids that beat up on you two?"

"Oh, we have bigger plans than that -- like banks, and jewelry stores, and more banks."

"You think bullets won't stop you?"

"We'll be smart about it. Don't you worry about that."

"We need to stop talking and just do it." Nick said. "Let's do it and get out of here."

"You're right, I think it's time. Nick, if you please."

As Mickey's request, Nick walked over to Dawn and put the barrel of the revolver against her temple.

"That's so you won't think about trying any funny stuff." Mickey said as he got out a rubber tube with large needles on each and. He clamped it in the middle.

He pulled a chair next to Buffy's and sat down. Then he slid one needle into a vein on the inside of her elbow.

Mickey put the other needle into a vein on the back of his hand. Then unclamped the tube, allowing Buffy's blood to flow into him.

"No alcohol?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "Aren't you worried about infection?"

"I'm next." Nick said to no one.

"Oh! I can feel it already." Mickey said. "It's tingling. No, it's burning -- a little."

As more of Buffy's blood entered Mickey's circulatory system, his breathing got faster and harder. He began to tremble. Sweat was pouring off him.

Suddenly he jumped to his feet, causing the needle to pull out of his hand. The loose end fell to the floor, Buffy's blood still pumping out of it.

"OH! OH! God! Make it Stop! Make it STOP!" Mickey was grabbing his head and stumbling around the room. "It's too hot! Oh, God, It Burns! Make it Stop!"

Suddenly, Nick pointed the gun at Buffy. "What did you do to him?" He yelled at Buffy. "What did you do?!"

"Nothing!" She shouted back. "I didn't do anything! How could I?!"

"NO! You did something! You poisoned him somehow. Stop it! Fix him!"

"I - I can't! I can't do anything! I told him not to!"

"YOU LIE!" Nick screamed. "You did something!"

As Mickey screamed and fell to the floor, Nick fired the gun at Buffy. By throwing herself and the chair to one side, the bullet only grazed her neck, but the chair fell back onto all four legs, and back into the path of the gun.

"BUFFY!" Dawn yelled out as she heard the gunshot.

Then suddenly, as she was straining against the ropes, the chair broke apart, freeing her. And without thinking, and before Nick could fire again, Dawn picked him up, spun around in a circle, and threw him twenty feet through the air into the concrete block wall of the cellar.

Instantly she was at Buffy's side. She first pulled the needle out of Buffy's arm, then with quick, hard hammer fists, broke the chair into enough pieces to get the ropes off Buffy.

"Let's get out of here." Buffy suggested.

Together, they ran up the cellar stairs and out of the house, and away from it.

As they ran toward home, Buffy realized she kept having to run slower and slower to keep from leaving Dawn behind, who was finding it harder and harder not to lose her breath.

But they didn't stop until they were on their own front porch. But before they could get to the front door, Willow and Xander opened it, ran out to meet them, and hugged them both. Tears of relief were in the eyes of all four of them.

"That is so sick!" Xander said. "How could anybody even think of something like that?"

"Lot of sick people in this world." Buffy said.

"But what gets me," Willow said, "was Dawn getting her strength back again. When did that happen?"

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know, but it's gone again. Back to the plain old, weak old Dawn."

"It must be like those stories you hear about when little old ladies pick up cars and stuff when someone they love is pinned underneath."

"And magnified about ten times." Buffy added.

"So does that mean I'll be strong whenever there's an emergency?"

"Probably more like in a life and death situation. But I wouldn't count on it. What we would consider as life and death might not be so to -- whatever it is that decides you need to be strong again."

"So what about cousins Mickey and Nicky?" Xander asked.

"I'm pretty sure my blood killed Mickey. Not so sure about Nick, but from what I could tell, he wasn't much in the mood for another go around with Dawn, if he's even alive."

"Oh, my God! You don't think I killed him, do you?" Dawn said in horror.

"No. I'm pretty sure he was alive. Not in the best shape of his life, but still alive."

"I hope so. It was bad enough when I had to kill that vamp that used to be my friend."

"Do you think he'll try anything, you know, like revenge?" Willow asked.

"No." Buffy answered. "Nick is too much of a coward to do anything by himself. Mickey was the one behind all this. Nick was just his lackie."

"So what now?" Xander asked.

"Nothing. I guess it's over." Buffy answered. "I don't know about you guys, but after being up all night, I could use some sleep."

"Oh, yeah."

"Definitely."

"Sleep sounds good to me, too."

Xander left, and Buffy, Dawn, and Willow went upstairs to their respective bedrooms.

Just as she climbed into bed, Buffy heard a light knock on her door.

"Come in."

"Hi." Dawn said.

"Hi, yourself."

After a couple of false starts, Dawn said, "Buffy, I'm really sorry about all this. If I had known what a creep Mickey was, I never would have asked you if I could go out with him."

"No, it's my fault. All along I felt something wasn't right. I should have picked up on it. But you know what I'm the sorriest about?"

Dawn shook her head.

"That you didn't get to go to the dance. I know how much you wanted to."

Dawn shrugged. "There'll be other dances."

"I know, but this was supposed to be your very first one. It should have been a happy time for you."

"Well, it's not like I really went, so the next one can be my first."

"Well, when you do go, try to pick out some guy I actually know, okay?"

"But you don't know any of my friends."

"Then maybe I should, don't you think? Maybe when school starts up again you can start bringing some of them home for me to meet."

"Can I show them your weapons. I bet that'll impress them."

"Either that, or make them think you have a psycho for a sister."

"They'd like that even better!" Dawn said laughing.

"Just what kind of friends do you have?"

"Oh, the usual kind. Not at all like the witches and vampires and ex-demons you have for friends."

"Okay. Point made. Good night."

As Dawn shut the door behind her, Buffy said to herself, "Maybe I do need to find some normal friends, somewhere, if I can ever figure out what 'normal' on the Hellmouth means."