Unknown Factors (Book One)

Ch.45: Who is the fly in your champagne

    "Home. See?" Dawn asked as we stood outside of a large house. "You guys are back home. We're all okay now." Looking at the building, I remembered it.... I had stayed in the guest bedroom, I even cooked and cleaned for the Summers girls here.

  Entering the house, Buffy and I just kind of looked around and wandered as Dawn closed the door. Turning on the lights in the living room, I flinched while Buffy said ow.

  "It's different." She stated as my eyes adjusted to the light.

  "A little. Willow and Tara live here now, and, um, we....we-we didn't do much. We moved some of the chairs an-and took out some of the little tables, but-" Dawn stopped explaining as Buffy walked away. Following her, my tail twitched. "This is the same. Except the computer stuff." Dawn said while turning on the dining room light. "That's Willow's, obviously."

  Buffy went up the stairs, and I followed suit. The scents had changed in the house- It still had that comforting smell and feel to it, but there was other stuff mixed in now. Dawn came up a few seconds later and suggested we get cleaned up. Looking down, I saw the dirt and dried blood caked onto my clothes.

~

  "There you are. I knew you were under that dirt somewhere." The little Summers girl said while wiping a towel on Buffy's face. We were standing in the bathroom, and I was pulling on a clean shirt while Dawn was busy with Buffy. "You remember what Mom used to say? 'Either wash that neck or plant potatoes.'" There was a quiet pause. "Yeah, I never thought it was funny either." Pulling on a pair of pants, I put away my claws so I could zip and button them up. "You want to button that or, um- Oh. Ow." She then saw Buffy's hands. "Um, we'll take care of that after."

  "Okay."

  "Here, I'll do the shirt, and then we'll do your hands. See how nice you look?" Dawn asked as Buffy walked out of the bathroom. My tail swayed as I shook the dirt from my fur. Dawn followed her big sister, and I went to the sink. Turning on the faucet, I cupped my hands under the running water. Bringing my hands to my lips, I washed the taste of demon blood from my mouth.

  My ears twitched when I heard the front door open, and heavy footsteps followed. Growling, I ran to the stairs.

  "Dawn! Dawn, are you there?" I froze at the top of the steps. 'That voice....'

  "I'm here." She called out while walking past me.

  "Thank God. You scared me half to death. Or more to death. You- I could kill you." I followed Dawn down the stairs, looking over her shoulder at the familiar face.

  "Spike...."

  "I mean it. I could rip your head off one-handed and drink from your brain stem." He made a hand gesture. His hair was a little curly and not slicked back like it usually was. ....I mean, how I remembered it. I had no clue how much time had passed.

  "Look." Dawn grabbed my hand.

  "Yeah? I've seen the bloody bot before. Don't tell me she broke something aga-" The vampire stopped mid-sentence as he looked at me.

  "She's kind of, um.... She's been through a lot....with the....death." I looked back as Buffy came down the steps and stood behind me. "But I think she's okay." Dawn glanced at me. Looking down, I wiggled my toes in my socks because I didn't want to see the expression Spike was making anymore. "Spike, are you okay?"

  "I'm...." His voice was quiet. "What did you do?"

  "Me? Nothing."

  "Her hands." Spike furrowed his brows as he gestured to Buffy with his head. Covering them with my own, Buffy and I averted our gazes.