“I think they’re all demons.” Willow said, pouting.

Dawn looked up from her orange juice in confusion. “Huh?”

The red head was standing at the stove, attempting to fold an omelet in half. “I keep trying to get this half over to the other half but it just flops back over onto the pan,” she grumbled, trying again and failing… again. “I’ve seen the chefs on TV do this a million times, and they never had any problems folding their eggs in half. So, either we have evil eggs, or Food Network is really a demon cult set out to destroy the omelet-making hopes and dreams of humankind.”

Dawn pretended to consider the idea. Shaking her head, she answered. “Nah. Martha Stewart probably just donated a bunch of magic spatulas to them.”

“Martha Stewart?” Willow glanced at the other girl. She tried one more time, pressing down on the top of the omelet with her spatula. Unfortunately, she pressed to hard, and the side split open, making more of a sandwich than an omelet. Shrugging, she cut it in half, sliding the two pieces on separate plates and handing one to Dawn.

“Yeah. She’s a witch.” Dawn said matter-of-factly, nibbling on her breakfast.

“She is?” Willow asked curiously as she poured herself a glass of juice.

“Yep. Anya told me.”

“Hmm. I guess it makes sense. I mean who could do that much decoupage without calling on the powers of darkness?” They both laughed. Willow smiled, happy to have the friendly banter with Dawn again. She didn’t want to get her hopes up that maybe Dawn had forgiven her, but she hoped it was a step in the right direction.

The phone ringing cut off her thoughts, and she went to pick it up. “Hello?”

On the other side of the line, Tara answered shakily. “Uh, H-hey Willow.”

“Tara…hi,” Willow said nervously.

“Is Buffy around?”

The red head frowned in slight disappointment. “Um, Buffy? Hang on. I’ll go see if she’s awake.”

She carried the phone up to Buffy’s room, knocking a couple times. “Buffy?”

Inside the room, Buffy groaned at being woken up so soon after falling asleep. She’d just gotten away from the world, why did she have to come back already? She rolled over in an attempt to ignore the person outside her room, but it was to no avail. Whimpering pitifully, she sat up, rubbing her face and putting on her best “I’m not in any way upset” face. “Come in,” she called, hoping she hadn’t sounded as annoyed as she felt.

Willow entered with a strange expression on her face. “Tara’s on the phone. Um, she wants to talk to you.” Handing the phone over, she quickly walked out of the room, closing the door. Buffy frowned at the door, feeling sorry for her friend, knowing how uncomfortable it must have made her to answer Tara’s phone call and have it not be for her.

She brought the device up to her ear. “Hey, Tara.”

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

Her mind instantly flashed back to her conversation with Tara the evening before. The wiccan knew exactly what had been going on between her and Spike, and, while Buffy was terrified of the fact, she was also relieved to have someone to talk to. And Tara, of all her friends, was the one person who wouldn’t judge her for it.

Coming back to the present, Buffy shrugged in response to Tara’s question despite the fact that Tara wasn’t able to see it. “Terrible with a side of hopeless.”

“Oh. Uh… did something happen last night? You know, after we talked?”

She took a deep breath, remembering the past night. “Yeah. A lot happened. Can… can we maybe meet somewhere?”

“Of course. How about the Espresso Pump around noon? We can talk there.”

Closing her eyes in relief, and also a bit of fear, she agreed. “That sounds fine. Thank you, Tara. I’ll see you then.”

They ended the call, and she looked at the clock. Cringing, she realized she’d been asleep for hours longer than it felt. It was already a little past ten in the morning. She forced herself to get out of bed, walking groggily downstairs. The smell of a late breakfast wafting through the house told her that her sister was awake. She bit her lip when she got to the bottom of the stairs, not sure if she was ready to face her so soon after their… confrontation… that morning. But, remembering her words, she knew that running away now would be breaking her promise. She didn’t think she could bear disappointing her again, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning into the dining room to enter the kitchen.

“Hey guys,” she said as she placed the phone on its receiver. She looked at Dawn’s plate. “Omelet. Yummy. Extra cheese?”

Dawn smiled a little. “Yep.”

Willow grinned. “You Summers women, always with the cheese-loving,” she shook her head in amusement. She focused her attention on the elder of the two. “Morning, Buffy. Sorry I didn’t make you an omelet, too. Dawnie told me you had a late patrol last night, and we didn’t want to wake you up.”

Buffy looked at Dawn, sending her a silent thank you for keeping the truth about her whereabouts between them. The brunette didn’t smile, but didn’t seem too upset about having to lie for her sister, either. “Uh, yeah. It’s alright. I’m not really hungry anyway.”

Willow nodded and turned away from them to do the dishes. In a voice that was meant to sound casual, she asked, “So… how come Tara called?”

“We just made plans to have lunch today.” Seeing how tense Willow was, she tried to step away from a potentially awkward situation. “Speaking of, what all are you guys doing today?”

“Me and Janice are gonna go to the mall for shopping later. If that’s okay, I mean…” Dawn said, looking over at her sister with an unrecognizable expression.

Buffy shrugged. “That sounds fine. Just be home before it gets dark. Oh, and if you’re going to be late, call so I can secretly follow you around to make sure you’re not making out with some vampire,” she teased.

Dawn rolled her eyes lightheartedly. “Please, Buffy. I’m so over vampires. I’m into Fyarl demons now.” When she saw her sister’s eyes bug, she continued. “No sun allergy, no deadness, and hey, instant bodyguard if any baddies attack me.” Scooting off her seat, she laughed at her sister’s frazzled face, and began backing away.

“Okay, well, since you said yes, I’m gonna go get ready. Bye!” With that, she turned and flew full speed out of the room.

Buffy’s mouth opened and closed as her sister disappeared up the stairs. She wasn’t sure what she was more shocked about: that her sister had joked about dating a Fyarl demon or that her sister had joked with her. Finally deciding on the latter, she took in the easy way they’d fallen into their light chatter. She’d barely even had to try this time, and her sister hadn’t made it difficult for her at all. It was almost like they’d never gone through the past seven months at all.

“Is it just me or does she seem extra perky today?” Buffy finally asked in wonder.

Willow leaned onto the island, looking in the direction of where Dawn had gone. “Not just you. We had a pretty good conversation this morning, too. I thought maybe the world turned upside down or something equally as weird.”

Buffy finally turned to Willow. “Um, about Tara…”

“Hey, it’s fine,” the red head waved her hand as if dismissing the conversation. “You guys are friends. Just because we’re not together anymore doesn’t mean you can’t see her. I’m completely okay with it.”

She spoke quickly, making it hard for Buffy to believe her sincerity, which she portrayed in her expression. Willow tried to keep up her calm exterior, but after a few moments, visibly deflated. “Okay, so it’s a little hard, but really, I want you to go.”

Buffy frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Buffy. I promise, I’ll be okay.”

The blond considered her friend for a moment before deciding that she was most likely telling the truth. “Okay, Wills. As long as you’re alright with it.”

Buffy stood up after a moment. “Well, I’d better start getting ready. I should only be gone for a couple hours at the most, so I’ll see you when I get back?”

Willow nodded. “Yep, have fun.”

Buffy smiled at her friend, and then made her way to her bedroom. When she was out of earshot from Willow, she mumbled. “Don’t think fun is the right word.”

~*~*~*~

A/N: Thank you so much to SpikesKatMac, louise39, All4Spike, Syndyloo, kim, DreamsofSpike, Rigby24, Lou, vladt, and Kim Adams for reviewing the last chapter! Your kind words in all honesty keep me going with this story :)

And no worries. Spike'll be back very soon. I know, I know. I miss him, too! -sniffles-