Sitting in class. Boring. Dawn hated history, like, what would she ever need any of this stupid information for? She doodled in her notebook, barely listening to the teacher droning on and on about World War 2, when there was a welcome interruption of his pointless soliloquy. One of the office aides opened the door to the classroom, handed the teacher a slip of paper, and just as quickly disappeared.

“Dawn Summers? The guidance counselor would like to see you. Now.” She gathered her books and things, and left, the entire class staring at her. God, to be dragged to the office like some kind of J.D., this was the pits.

She went directly to the counselor’s office, and was surprised when she saw her. It wasn’t the usual old bag with the horn-rim glasses, this woman was young and pretty and seemed to really care. At least, that was Dawn’s first impression.

“Dawn, do sit down. Don’t hover in the doorway like that. Please close the door behind you.”

Dawn sat, and plucked nervously at the keychains dangling from her book bag. “You wanted to see me?”

“Just checking in with you, Dawn. How are things going?”

Dawn looked away, staring out the window. “Good, I guess.”

“Dawn, look at me. Why do you guess? Don’t you know?”

Dawn looked at the counselor, noticing her pretty necklace. It was old looking, with a big oval stone, blue shot with streaks of blood red. “I like your necklace.”

“Why, thank you.” The counselor caressed the stone with her fingertips. “Now, back to our discussion. Why do you guess that things are good?”

“Oh, things are okay. My sister does the best she can, and her friends are helping as much as possible. Xander stops by and gives me a ride to school every day; Willow and Tara cook and clean while they’re going to college. Buffy, she’s working at the Doublemeat every day, and sl- slipping away to her night job. After I’m in bed, all tucked in.”

“Then, what is the problem?”

Dawn glared. “They all treat me like I’m still a little kid. They don’t see that I’m fifteen now, and old enough to help them. I could do research, and stuff,” she finished weakly. Then defiant, she burst out, “I just wish that they would all be honest with each other and me. They are all so sneaky, and never say what they mean, or tell the truth to anyone. Buffy, I know that there’s something going on with her, and she won’t tell me anything. I think that she’s seeing someone. I wouldn’t care. She needs a boyfriend, someone to take care of her.”

Well, well, the counselor thought. “Dawn, I’m glad we had this little chat. Do you feel better now?”

Dawn smiled. “Yeah, actually I do. Thank you, Miss…?”

“Hallie, dear. Just call me Hallie.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy, Willow, and Anya stood in the kitchen, surveying the amount of food and alcohol Anya had laid in for the party scheduled to start in a half-hour.

“Who are we feeding? The Initiative?” Buffy was amazed at the amount of food there was. Tray after tray of munchables, from crackers with cheese and greenery, to the little hot dogs in flaky pastry, one of her favorites. “Is there a cake?”

“Yes, there is a cake. You cannot see it yet. That is the tradition.” Anya put a finishing touch of greenery on a platter. This parsley, it was such a neat thing, making things look pretty…. Anya was glad she hid the bakery boxes. “Now, go answer the door. Your guests should be here any minute.”

“An, it’s just us—the Scoobies.”

“Be the hostess, Buffy. That is your job tonight.”

Xander came in the back door, carrying more sacks. “Anya, do you really think that we need this much alcohol?”

“Buffy is turning 21, and that is a time for much inebriation. Therefore, yes, we do need this much alcohol.”

“Just as long as she doesn’t turn into Cavegirl Buffy again.” Xander put the sacks on the countertop, and reached for a hor d’oevre, earning a slap on the back of his hand.

“No tasting! It’ll spoil the arrangement.”

He slipped his arms around her, and reached for another bite behind her back. “Love it when you’re forceful, honey.”

“Later, Xander. We’ll sneak off and give each other many orgasms. Right now, we have to celebrate Buffy’s birthday.”

He crammed the tiny wiener into his mouth before she could grab it from him. “Okay,” was his muffled reply.

There was a knock at the door, and Buffy opened it, surprised to see Spike standing there. In shock, she moved back, allowing him to enter.

“Red mentioned the party, and I thought….”

“Oh. Okay. Just, behave yourself.” She frowned at him, then opened the door to the second knock. On seeing who it was, she threw herself at the girl, wrapping herself in a huge hug. “Tara! I’m so glad you decided to come!”

“Glad to be here, Buffy. Hello, Spike.”

“Hey, Glinda. Nice outfit.”

She looked down at the lace shirt and skirt combo she’d carefully picked out. “Thank you, Spike.”

“Tara!”

Willow’s voice, and the longing in it, made them all pause. “Spike, let’s take these things to the kitchen,” Buffy said. They left, leaving the two broken lovers alone.

“You look amazing, Tara.”

“You look pretty good yourself. How have you been?”

“Spell free for 40 days and counting,” Willow said, beaming.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetie.” Tara’s soft smile meant more than the support of all her other friends to Willow.

Just then, Dawn came bounding down the stairs, and threw herself at Tara. The blond almost went to her knees with the force of the teenager’s hug. “I’m so glad you’re here! The whole gang’s here now.”

She linked arms with the lovers, and hauled them into the kitchen. “Okay, Anya, everyone is here. Let’s party!”

On the front porch, a woman sat in the porch swing, holding a china cup full of tea. Draining it, she examined the leaves in the bottom of the cup, then began chanting over the leavings. “For too long and hid by pride, you keep your feelings locked inside, but for tonight without a doubt, the truth will finally come out. Wish Granted.” The air sparkled around her, and she vanished from sight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tara felt the magick shimmer through the air, and the first thought that crossed her mind was that Willow had slipped off the wagon. She looked at her former girlfriend, suspicion on her mind, and tried to scan her aura for recent magickal activity. There was no signs of any magick in her aura, and she knew that Will, although powerful, was not up to that level of cloaking she could hide such a powerful spell.

Dawn, sitting on the other end of the couch, shivered despite the warmth of the room. She wished that she could have invited some other people, because this was turning into less of a party and more of a regular Scooby meeting. Taking the bull by the horns, she turned the stereo on and dialed up a loud music station. Pouting, she held her hand out to Xander. “C’mon. This isn’t a meeting. Dance. Make merry. You know?”

Xander melted. Ever since she was a baby, he couldn’t resist the Dawn pout. He grabbed the teenager into his arms, and swung her into a two-step that had them both breathlessly laughing within minutes. Anya looked at her boyfriend as he twirled the Key/teenager around, and turned to the girls standing with her around the table. “He can dance with all of you, since there is an odd number of girls to boys at this party. I told him that before we came over. Of course, I didn’t expect Spike to be here.”

“I don’t think any of us did.” Willow looked to where Spike stood by the door, watching the dancing couple. “He just asked me what we were doing for Buffy’s birthday, and I told him about the party. I didn’t expect him to show up.”

“I’m glad he came over.” Both girls turned to look at Buffy, who crammed a canape into her mouth. Her eyes wide, she chewed quickly, and swallowed, then added, “It makes things more evenly matched—you know, girl/boy wise.”

“Yes, you’re right, Buffy.” Anya moved over to the Slayer, and handed her a mixed drink. “Here. You need libation to adequately celebrate your maturity.”

“I don’t know about that, Anya. Buffy and alcohol are unmixy things. You know that.”

“You’re here with friends, Buffy. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Buffy smiled at her friends, and took the drink from Anya. Tasting it, she looked at them in surprise. “This is good! The only thing I’ve ever drunk has been that rotgut that Spike always drinks. Oh, and tequila.”

“When did you go drinking with Spike, Buffy?” Willow said, concern lacing her voice.

“Oh, it was after a really bad day. We got drunk and played kitten poker. Well, he played kitten poker, I just kept drinking. Then I let the kittens go free. That pissed the demons off, let me tell you.” She giggled. “It was long before I worked at the Doublemeat. When I tried to work at the Magic Box, and all those weird things happened.”

Willow stared at her, her eyes wide. “Buffy that’s…there’s so much that you don’t tell us anymore. What weird things happened?”

Buffy waved her hand. “That’s too long in the past. Heck, that was months ago, Will. Let’s just say that there was a creepy mummy hand, a bunch of disappearing demons, and some exploding lint that still creeps me out.”

Tara joined them at the table, and pulled Buffy to one side. “Is Spike making you uncomfortable, Buffy?”

“Hmmm…yes and no, Tara. Does uncomfortable count if all I want to do is jump his bones?” She was busy watching Spike devour the pigs in a blanket. “God, I wish he’d do that to me.”

“What, Buffy?”

Buffy turned to Tara, an evil glint in her eyes. “Bite me. I think it would be very erotic—at least, it was when Angel and Dracula did it, and we weren’t having sex when they did. Bite me, that is.”

Buffy noticed the shock in Tara’s eyes, and quickly added, “I just thought, since you know, I could talk to you about it. Can’t I?”

Tara looked down into her glass, and tried to ignore her flaming cheeks. “Yes, but I didn’t think that you would…talk to me about it tonight.”

“Why not tonight? Tonight is as good as any.” She leaned close, and whispered, “Do you think that anyone would notice if we snuck off together?”

“P-p-probably.” Tara heard the music change, and a slow song came on the radio. She watched Buffy put her drink down, and walk over to Spike, holding out her hands. They started to dance, their bodies pressed together, heads close. She could see their lips moving, but couldn’t hear what the two were saying to each other. She looked across the room at Willow, wishing that they could share the same kind of intimacy. To be able to look at one another and have the whole world disappear….

Xander joined Tara by the food and poured himself a drink. “So, Tara, what is Deadboy doing here anyway?”

“Well, you wouldn’t miss Anya’s birthday, would you? It’s only natural for him to want to be here for Buffy’s birthday.”

“Yeah, well, Anya’s my girlfriend, and Spike is just…. Wait, what are you saying?”

Tara rolled her eyes, and scowled at Xander. “For Goddess’ sake, Xander! Everyone needs somebody. Even Buffy and Spike. Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean he can’t feel. You are so narrow-minded sometimes.” She set her glass down, and stomped away from him and into the kitchen.

Xander stared at her disappearing back, then back at the couple gliding slowly across the floor. Yeah, their heads were together, they looked sort of, well…. He thought back to the many times that he had seen them together. The guilty look on Buffy’s face. The smirk on Spike’s face. How Spike had cried, drank, and cried more the days that Buffy was…. Realization smacked him in the face, and he grimaced into his cup.

Willow saw him frown, and said, “Xan, what’s wrong? Your drink taste funny?”

“No. That’s not it.” He looked to his right and left, and leaned forward. “Will, do you notice anything about Spike and Buffy?”

She looked at the couple in question. “Well, they are dancing kinda close. Why?”

“Tara said something…do you think that I’m narrow-minded?”

Willow started to speak, but what came out of her mouth surprised even her. “Well, for someone who has dated insect women, dead mummy girls, and an ex-demon, you can be a little tunnel-vision. I mean, yeah, you accepted me and Tara pretty quick, but then again, that is every man’s wet dream, isn’t it, to imagine sex between two women. So that really didn’t surprise me.”

Xander’s jaw dropped open, and she quickly added, “Then again, that doesn’t mean I think you sit around fantasizing about me and Tara all the time.”

“No, I don’t. But Will….”

“But Will nothing. Would it really be so bad for Buffy to fall in love again? Or are you still hoping that one day she’ll look your way?”

“I can always hope. I’m not dead enough for her though.”

Willow realized what she was hearing, and looked at the dancing couple again. “Maybe we need to talk to her.”

“I don’t think that an intervention is going to take care of it this time.” He gestured toward the blond duo in the front room. “It’s gone past that. The only thing that will make this stop is a well-placed stake.”

Anya joined them, and said, “Who are we staking?”

“Spike.”

“I don’t think that Buffy would like it if you staked Spike.”

The trio turned to look at Tara, who had joined the conversation once again. “Why not?” Willow said.

“Well, if you can’t tell, she has it bad for the Big Bad. Look at her,” Tara said.

“I was going to say that. Actually, not that, but something just like it,” Anya said, pouting into her drink.

They all watched as Spike released Buffy and grabbed Dawn’s hand, swinging her around. “He really does love them. You can tell he does; look at his face.”

“He looks younger. Relaxed. I’ve never really looked at him, not when they’re together.” Willow downed the rest of her drink, and reached to pour another. “Maybe later we can play something like Truth or Dare and get some answers. What do you think?”

“Gonna take a lot more alcohol than what I’ve already drank to get me to listen to those true confessions.”

Anya pouted again. “I was gonna say that, too.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy felt wonderful. Relaxed, pliant, happy, for the first time in who knew how long? She made her way up the stairs to the bathroom, and found Spike in the hall outside her bedroom, looking at the pictures of her and Dawn on the wall.

“Spike—what’re you doing?”

“Just looking, pet. Never really looked at your picture next to the Bit’s. She really was made of you, wasn’t she?”

She joined him in front of the two baby pictures, hung one above the other. “Mom used to say we could have been twins, we looked so much alike. Except for the gap in years, that is.” She leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. He balanced her with an arm around her waist.

“Was that a very good idea earlier? I mean, us dancing together in front of the Scoobies….”

“Don’t care. I didn’t pick their partners. Why should they pick mine?”

“Thought you wanted to keep us a secret, pet. That wasn’t very secretive.”

She looked up at him. “Aren’t you tired of sneaking around, Spike?”

“There are thrills to sneaking around, love. Think anyone would miss us right now?”

She giggled. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” She shoved him into her room, a mischievous look on her face. “Come here. Do me, right here against the wall.”

“Buffy….” Her name caught in his throat as she unzipped his fly and reached inside to grip his cock. Groaning, he buried his mouth in her cleavage as she stroked him to hardness, then pulled her panties off with one hand. She levered herself up, and slid over him, locking her ankles at his waist. He thought back to their first time, in this same position, and hoped that this time they would have better control.

He moved against her, into her, their mouths locked together to muffle the noises the other was making. Suddenly, she tore her mouth from his, and said, “Bite me, baby. Put your mark on me, now.”

Doubt filled him, as this was a new request from her, but he could refuse her nothing. He slipped his fangs into her skin, and sucked her flesh into his mouth as she began coming hard, her body doubling over with the force of her orgasm. He felt her teeth tearing into his flesh, and had to suppress a shout as he shot deep inside her, gripping her ass in both his hands as he held her in place, driving deep into her.

She loosened her legs, and slid neatly off of him, her skirt falling into place around her. She bent over and kissed the head of his cock, tasting her own juices mingled with his, and tucked him away inside his jeans. “I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

Her smile reassured him as he left her room, and went back to join the party.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike looked at the very drunken group gathered around the coffee table. He met Dawn’s eyes across the room, and she shook her head at her sister and friends. “Alcohol. Never a good thing.”

“You’re telling me,” he replied. He looked at the bottle in his hand, and said, “It’s a good thing that I don’t get drunk that easy.”

Buffy, hearing his voice, said, “What’sh a good thing?”

“I said, it’s a good thing that a little booze doesn’t get me plastered like it does you.”

“Yesh, it is. Because then, who could drive us home?” She fell sideways, laughing. Righting herself, she threw her arm over his leg, draping herself against his knee. “Spike, be a love and go get us more alcohol from the kitchen.” She didn’t notice that the conversation stopped, and every person in the room was staring at her in horror. She batted her eyes at him, ignoring the shocked look on his face, and said, “Will you?”

She suddenly noticed the silence in the room, and turned to see them all gaping at her. “What? I can’t ask him to go get booze? ‘S not like he’s never fed me booze before. Right, Spike?”

“Uh…right, Slayer.”

“Anyway, if we can dance and play footsie all the time, then he can at least wait on me on my birthday, like a real boyfriend would.” She looked into her empty glass, and held it out to him. “Spike, more booze, now!”

Willow, however bleary-eyed, tried to focus on her friend. “Buffy, are you trying to tell us something?”

“Huh? Me? Nah, not me, Will. Nothing as shocking as that. Just, if he’s gonna be up my ass, I should be able to make use of him. However I want to.”

Xander shook his head. “I’m not hearing this. She didn’t mean that.”

Anya shot Xander a strange look. “I think she does mean that, Xander.”

“’Course I meant that, Xander. God, why are you so shocked? Do you think you’ve got the market cornered on sex, you and Anya? Hell, Willow and Tara had sex too, I heard them lots of times.”

She looked at her friends, and saw their faces flaming. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.” She looked around at her friends, and said, “So, is there going to be a big if I tell you that I’m fucking Spike?”

There it was, out in the open, and the only one who responded was Dawn. “Oh, I wish I hadn’t heard that.”

“Sorry, Dawnie. I’m just…tired. Tired of hiding things. Like grass stains on my clothes. Like sneaking off to my boyfriend’s crypt in the middle of the night, so I don’t shock or upset anyone. Like not being able to hold his hand, or kiss him, whenever I feel like it, because someone might catch us. Like wanting to stay invisible, so we won’t get caught together. I know that he’s tired of it, too, but he’s too much the gentleman to say so.” She turned, and saw Spike standing in the doorway, her drink in his hand. “So, if I say it out loud, then we can both stop being tired. May be we could make something of this.”

Xander shifted on the couch. “Buff, I hate to say it, but that is so wrong. He’s evil….”

Tara turned to him, anger clearly written on her face. “How can you sit there and pass judgement on him? You think you’re perfect? Xander, you are no better than anyone else sitting here. Remember, he patrolled with us all summer when Buffy was gone. You saw him cry. You got drunk with him a few times, if I remember right. So, now he isn’t good enough? I never realized how bigoted you were, Alexander Harris.”

“Tara, no! I’m not a bigot! I just don’t….”

“Don’t what? Don’t want Buffy to be happy? Don’t want the ‘Evil Dead’ to not be evil anymore? Because, if Spike isn’t evil, then who is there for you to feel superior to? Certainly not me and Willow. Human. Anya? Human, too, although how long that will last is anyone’s guess. Buffy? More than human. More human than any of us ever imagined. You should see her aura, it glows with love, and it glows brightest when she looks at Spike.” She turned to Buffy, and put her hand out. “I’m sorry, I know I told you that I wouldn’t tell, but I just can’t sit by and let them do this to you again.”

“Thanks for standing up for me, Tara.” Buffy looked at her friends, and said, “You know—in the past year, you guys have meddled in my life more than once. Yeah, you thought that you were helping a lot. And in some ways, you were. But not anymore. I don’t criticize your choices, and I would really like it if you didn’t criticize mine. Look at us. Do any of us have a normal relationship? I mean, Willow, you and Tara are lesbians, Xander, you and Anya are sex bunnies….”

Buffy was interrupted by Anya’s squeal. “No! No bunnies! Do not mention sex and bunnies in the same sentence, ever again!”

“Anya and Xander sex bunnies. I wish I hadn’t heard that either.”

Everyone ignored Dawn’s comment. “…And if I want to have hot monkey sex with the undead that has been by my side for however many years after being my enemy for however many years, then I think that I am adult enough to make that decision.”

She reached up, and took her drink out of Spike’s hand. “So, if I wanna fuck the Evil Dead, I’m gonna. Get over it. Don’t need meddling. Don’t need an intervention. Need privacy, once in a while, okay?”

“Oh, uh, I guess we can deal with that, Buffy. It’s not really like you…Spike…uh….” Willow tried to think of something to say, and failed miserably.

Dawn stood. “Okay, now that I’m scarred for life, and I know way too much about my sister’s sex life, I’m going to bed.”

Buffy stood too, weaving slightly. “Night, Dawnie. Love you. Thank you for my gift.” She hugged her sister, and watched her climb the stairs before she turned back to the unusually silent group. “Okay, kids are in bed. Let’s play a game—strip poker, or spin the bottle, or something.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea, Buffy. Let’s pick this up tomorrow, when you’re sober.” Xander stood, and helped Anya to her feet. Willow and Tara joined them, all standing in front of Buffy in a half circle.

“Okay, but listen, I’m serious. No intervention. You guys, you have pushed me around for years, especially when it comes to my social life. Nobody liked Angel, nobody disliked Riley, I keep doing this stuff to make you happy, and I keep getting shit on, you know? So, unless you want my input on your lives, don’t say a word.”

She watched as they gathered their coats and left. Willow turned and climbed the stairs, a sad look in her eyes. She turned to Spike, who stood by the door waiting for her, and said, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home, to my crypt.”

“Wrong, William. I just informed my friends that you and I are fucking, so you better make with the action. I want to score on my birthday. It’s the first time in a long time that things didn’t turn to shit on my birthday, and I want to celebrate it right.”

She smiled at him, extending her hand, and he took it, following her up the staircase to her room.