A/N: Thanks to my Beta's AthenaHahn and BlackNBlue2

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Everyone began talking at once, getting louder and louder, trying to be heard over top of everyone else.  Buffy just sat there, listening and watching, her face expressionless. 

Spike shook his head in disbelief at the childishness of the people he had come to call friends.  He glanced down at Buffy, intending to make a smart-ass remark about the idiocy of some people, when he noticed the frozen expression and the blankness in her usually expressive eyes.  Spike surged to his feet, intending to interrupt the madness that had overtaken the others, and paused in concern when Buffy darted towards the basement.

Feeling Spike rise to his feet, Buffy’s heart constricted once, painfully, and then she decided that she didn’t need all the hoopla that seemed to accompany being around people.  She slipped out of the chair and quickly headed towards the basement where her clothing was.  Being intent on her goal, she never noticed the concern on Spike’s face at her departure.

Buffy quietly closed the door to the basement and slipped down the stairs like a shadow.  Finding her clothing neatly folded on top of the dresser, she started getting dressed.  With the ease born of long practice, her nimble fingers laced up the vest Spike had had such trouble with the night before.  Slipping her boots on, she made her way back upstairs just in time to hear Spike start in on the people in the living room with him.

“Are you gits finished yet?  In case you haven’t noticed you drove Buffy out of the room with your bloody yelling and screaming,” Spike snarked, motioning towards the kitchen and the basement stairs.

“Well, she shouldn’t even be in this house, seeing as she’s evil and everything,” Xander bit back.

Dawn stomped over to Xander and kicked him in the shin.  “She’s NOT evil, Xander. If she was, she would have let that demon kill you last night.”

“She only helped us so she could get close, have us trust her and then kill us all in our sleep.  I know how evil types work.  And that’s what she was planning,”  Xander yelled at Dawn, pushing her away from him.

Anya slapped Xander on the back of the head.  “Don’t hit Dawn, you idiot.  Are you looking to get killed?”

Willow rounded on Anya, shoving her back away from Xander.  “Don’t hit Xander!  You don’t have the right to hit him.  He’s my friend and I’ll make you sorry you ever came to Sunnydale!”

Tara looked from one person to the other, wringing her hands and looking like she was about to cry.  She looked over at Joyce and Giles, hoping they could interfere, but saw that they were involved in an argument of their own.

Buffy came back into the room just as Xander shoved Dawn away for the second time, causing her to fall to the floor.  She plucked up her sword from where it was leaning against the wall, and in one smooth motion had the sharp tip pressed against Xander’s throat.

Willow’s loud screech, when she noticed the danger her friend was in, brought everyone’s attention to Xander’s plight.  Loud gasps were heard from everyone in the room.  Everyone that is, except Dawn and Spike.

Spike had seen Xander shove Dawn to the floor and had almost beat Buffy to Xander, a loud growl issuing from his throat.

Dawn scurried across the floor towards her mother, yelling, “He shoved me!  He’s nothing but a big meany who shoves little girls!”

Joyce helped Dawn to her feet and made sure she wasn’t hurt.  “I think you need to explain to me why you shoved my daughter, Alexander Harris,”  Joyce stated calmly.

Buffy interrupted, “I would like that explanation myself.  But then again, Mr. Harris here says I’m evil, so I might not even wait for his explanation before I slice his throat.  After all, that’s what evil types do.  Isn’t it Mr. Harris?”  She pressed the tip a little deeper into his neck, causing a bead of blood to well up onto the blade.

Spike smirked at the look of terror on Xander’s face as he calmly stepped up beside Buffy.  “Easy luv, we don’t want to hurt the boy… too badly, now do we?”

Not even glancing at Spike, Buffy replied in a calm, cold voice.  “I don’t know about you Spike, but I am more than willing to hurt him a lot for the way he treated Dawn.”  As she said this, her pupils narrowed to slits and silvery scale patterns appeared on the curve of her cheek and above her eyebrows.

“OH!  That’s pretty!”  Anya exclaimed. “I’ve never seen you do that before.  Is it something new you’ve learned?”

“No Anya, its part of me being who I am.  I told you I was a child of the Dragon.  Mr. Giles informed you that I am the Dragon’s Daughter.  He is correct.  My Father is the Elder God who goes by the name of Draco,”  Buffy stated calmly.  Returning her attention to Xander, who hadn’t moved or even apparently breathed since she put her sword to her throat, Buffy told him, quite calmly, “If I was as evil as you claim I am you would already be dead.”

Giles chose that moment to intervene.  “Indeed Xander, nothing in the texts I’ve read indicate that she is in any way evil.  Quite the opposite in fact.  From what I can discern, she fights to protect the innocent, the ones who can’t protect themselves.  I would hazard a guess that that is why you are still breathing.”

Anya piped up, “Of COURSE she protects the innocent you morons!  Where in the name of D’Hoffryn do you think a Slayer’s powers came from in the first place?  SHE is the source of the Slayer’s powers.  Gods, you’d think that little fact would be in the watcher’s books.”  Anya sat down in a huff, arms crossed.

Everyone in the room, except Spike, was struck silent by Anya’s matter-of-fact statement.

“So pet, you are a Slayer then? This could get right interesting,” Spike said with a grin.