Author's Note: For those of you who are about to yell at me for the inaccuracy, yes, I did make Dawn a couple of years older. So there. =P

Elizabeth awoke with a weary groan, reached over to the bed beside her, and snapped her eyes open when she found nothing there. “Spike?” she whispered lazily, confused. She rose to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes…and noticed for the first time that the sun was shinning right down on her through the skylight.

Her eyes widened when she looked at the clock. 12:30? Holy crap… OK, so maybe he had a decent excuse for not waiting around in bed for her to wake up.

With a yawn and a stretch, she slipped out from under the covers and pulled a pair of jeans from the bag she’d been too tired to unpack yesterday. Damn, I must’ve been really out of it… She could count on one hand the number of times Spike had woken up before her. An early bird, her boyfriend was not.

But, still, it had become part of her morning ritual to wake up all snug and warm in his arms. And she had some rather naughty designs on that private shower of his that she’d been hoping to test out that morning. Oh well, she’d just have to save it for later.

Now, she hadn’t forgotten the incident of the previous evening, but she had determined that it was too early – yes, even at 12:30, it was still too early – to deal with yet.

Having completed her sloppy morning dressing, she practically ran downstairs to the kitchen, following the voices there. With any luck, I’ll be just in time for lunch…

A little smile crossed her lips at the sight that met her eyes when she entered the Giles’ kitchen, however. Dawn, clad only in fuzzy pajamas with little rainbows and stars on them, sat at one end of the table, her brow furrowed in concentration as she stared down and the various colored puzzle pieces in front of her. Across the table from her, Spike sat, in full hotshot platinum-haired badass regalia, attempting to pound two puzzle pieces together that obviously didn’t fit.

She watched her sister giggle and inform Spike of this fact, and then he got the most adorable sulky look on his face, lower lip jutted out and big blue puppy dog eyes with a pathetic tilt of his head.

Practically leaping on the opportunity, she breezed into the kitchen and kissed that cut pouty look right off of his face. She could hear Dawn making gagging sounds in the background, but…mmm… Did he always taste this good when he pouted?

Dawn’s coughs became more vocal when Spike’s hand drifted across her thigh, slipping into the back pocket there.

Reluctantly, Elizabeth broke their kiss, swatting his hand away. “Minors present,” she shooed him. “PG it up.”

Dawn sulked at this. The fact that there was something to ‘PG’ up meant that her preppy, bubbly sister and the dreamiest, funniest, most gorgeous, treating her most like an adult-ness guy in the world – namely, Spike – were doing the nasty. If her eyes hadn’t been green before, they would have been now with envy.

“You shouldn’t’ve let me sleep so late,” Elizabeth was chiding Spike lightly, oblivious to the sisterly wrath she was incurring.

“Tried,” Spike insisted. “You made some rather scathin’ remarks about my parentage an’ my questionable sexuality before threatenin’ to permanently damage certain fragile portions ‘f my anatomy. I figured it was wise to let you sleep.”

Elizabeth’s nose scrunched up. “Really? You’re making that up, right? ‘Cause I have absolutely no memory of—”

“Guys don’t manufacture threats to their balls,” Spike felt obliged to point out.

Elizabeth whapped him playfully in the head. “PG?” she reminded him.

“I’ve taken sex ed.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “I know all about that stuff.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened as she turned on her sister. “You better not know ‘all about’ it!” she exclaimed in horror. “You’re only fifteen!”

“Only fifteen?” Dawn repeated in disbelief. “Janice—”

“Is a skanky ho,” Elizabeth finished for her. “I am so telling dad if you—”

“You’re only eighteen!” Dawn retorted. “Maybe I should tell him that you’re—”

“Why, you little—!”

“Why, you bitchy—!”

Spike sat perfectly still and hoped that the upcoming World War would somehow pass him by. Amazingly, however, instead of the predicted explosion, one of a very different sort occurred. Suddenly, with no prior warning, Elizabeth giggled.

Dawn’s giggled followed, and pretty soon the two of them were laughing hysterically. Spike nervously got up, hoping to inch from the room unnoticed and thus escape the clutches of these two obvious lunatics. Elizabeth caught his hand and foiled his plan, though.

“You got anything for breakfast around here?” she asked, batting long eyelashes up at him.

“Cocoa Crispies and Pop Tarts!” Dawn bounced in her seat as excitedly as a six-year-old at Disneyland.

“You fed my sister concentrated sugar for breakfast?!” Elizabeth exclaimed in wide-eyed horror. “Do you have any idea how hyper she gets?”

“Spike had ‘em, too,” Dawn pointed out.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened further. “You let my boyfriend eat sugar for breakfast?!” she joked. “He gets even more hyper!”

“If you wanna go back upstairs, ‘ll show you just how much energy ‘ve got,” Spike practically purred into her ear.

Elizabeth flushed both with excitement and with mortification that her little sister was right there. “PG? Hello? Hush.”  She placed one fingertip over his lips to silence them.

Her plan backfired, of course, when his tongue flicked out to suck her finger into his mouth. He looked up at her with wide blue eyes then, sucking sensuously just like he did when they…

“I give up,” Elizabeth sighed wearily. Spike and innuendo were stuck together tighter than super-glue, and she realized the futility of trying to separate them.

Across the table, Dawn sighed inwardly. Me, too, she decided, watching the couple across from her. What good was jealousy around two people that were obviously so inseparable? It just made you feel like the evil bitch-villain from some lame soap opera. Not that she wanted to watch her sister macking with a cute guy she couldn’t have, of course…

Elizabeth watched her little sister turn studiously back to the puzzle and turned back to the matter at hand, leaving her hand to rest on Spike’s thigh as she sat in the seat beside him. “Has mom called yet this morning?”

Dawn froze for a minute, the illusion of peace and tranquility broken, but then shook her head. “No. But it’s three hours earlier over there.”

Elizabeth nodded at that. “I’ll call them after breakfast,” she decided, getting up to search around in the fridge. “Unless there’s lunch…?” She cast an inquiring look in Spike’s direction.

“If you want,” he shrugged. “We’re pretty casual ‘bout that stuff around here. Eat whatever you want whenever you want.”

“That is so cool,” Dawn commented, snapping four pieces of the puzzle into place in quick succession. “Mom’s always got us on this super-tight schedule. Practically runs our whole lives…”

“No point in eatin’ when you’re not hungry,” Spike shrugged, huddling down around the coffee mug in front of him and sipping from it.

“Nice to know there are smart people somewhere,” Dawn agreed, another sequence of pieces falling into place beneath her patient fingertips.

Spike cautiously reached out again, picked up two pieces, and tried to put them together. He scowled when then didn’t fit, preparing for another fist hammering.

Elizabeth cut him off, snatching up one of the offending pieces and trying to put in near the border. It didn’t fit. She scowled. A fist formed.

Whap, whap whap!

Dawn cringed inwardly. “I don’t think that goes there,” she felt obliged to point out.

“Stupid piece,” Elizabeth scowled at it. “Why can’t I ever get the protrude-y thing to fit in the hole?”

Spike leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened in response, and her cheeks turned bright red. Dawn desperately pretended that it wasn’t obvious what Spike had just said and began the equivalent of mental “lalala”s.

“So, what’re you gonna tell mom?” Dawn asked somewhat nervously.

“Um, mom?” Elizabeth seemed a bit stunned by Spike’s suggestion. “Oh, well…um, we’ll have to book you on another flight and find a way to get you to the airport and—”

“I don’t wanna go,” Dawn informed her sullenly.

Elizabeth sighed. “I know, Dawn, but…”

“It’s not like you never did anything like this,” Dawn countered.

“That was different,” Elizabeth snapped almost automatically.

“Yeah,” Dawn agreed, “you never even bothered to contact mom or dad and let them wonder about you for three whole months.”

“You have no idea what that was about!” Elizabeth practically screeched.

“No,” Dawn agreed sullenly, “but I thought maybe it would mean you’d understand when someone needs to get away…”

With an angry huff, Elizabeth stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a guilty Dawn and a very confused Spike in her wake.

“Uh…Sweetness…?” Spike began.

“She ran away the summer after her junior year,” Dawn provided.

Several pieces fell into place for Spike. Metaphorical pieces, of course. The damn puzzle still refused to give in to any of his impatient attempts. “Be back soon, Bit,” he assured her before searching for Elizabeth.

She wasn’t too hard to find. His room was really the only place she knew where she could have guaranteed privacy…except from Spike, of course, but she didn’t mind him. Especially when he wrapped his arm around her like that and tucked her head under his chin and held her close.

“She didn’t know,” Elizabeth felt obliged to point out that it wasn’t Dawn’s fault. “It was right after my dad married my step-mom, and everyone thought that was why…” She gulped. “I never mentioned Angel.”

“’S OK, luv,” Spike cooed softly. “’m not blamin’ you.”

“No,” Elizabeth sighed in agreement, “you’re not…” She took a deep breath, savoring the soft Spikey musk and fortifying herself with its strength. “She’s got a point, though,” she conceded. “I had nowhere to run to, and if Dawn needs somewhere…”

“She’s not a bad kid,” Spike commented. “Just a little lonely, I think.”

“And, oh, can I get that,” Elizabeth agreed. “When my own parents divorced…” She trailed off, fingering the rumpled sheets on his bed.

“Yeah, pet?” he encouraged her to continue.

Her hand drifted to the hem of his shirt, and she studied it intently for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before turning to look up at him. “It makes you feel like you’re all alone,” she finished softly, “like everyone else’s too caught up in their own problems to even notice that you’re there, to even care what you think…”

“’Lizabeth…” Spike whispered against her lips.

Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she smiled at the feel of his warm breath against her cheek. “Spike…” she agreed, accepting his gentle kiss, allowing herself to drown for a moment in his passion, his affection, his… She shook her head and pulled away. “What should I do?” she asked.

His brow furrowed as he considered the options. “She’s gotta go back sooner or later,” he said simply. “Can’t run from her problems forever.”

“Christmas is next week,” Elizabeth pointed out. “I feel like a ogre making her miserable for Christmas. And she really seems to like it here. Do you think…?” The unspoken question, ‘Are you OK if I consider it?’ hung between them.

“If it feels right to you,” he agreed, giving her a little smile. “’m a bit fond of the sweet bit. Has a bit of big sis in her. Especially with the sarcasm and the beatin’s and all.”

“My sister’s been beating on you?” Elizabeth’s eyes widened in mock-horror. “But that’s my prerogative!” She gave him an evil smile and placed a playful whap on his rump. “Mine,” she practically purred, leaning in for a kiss, her hand squeezing his cute ass in the process.

He eagerly returned her kiss, aroused by her possessiveness as well as her playfulness. She slid beneath him, pulling him on top of her, encouraging him to wrap his body around her. They enjoyed a rather blissful ‘make-out session’, as Dawn would call it, just like that, hands roaming and reacquainting themselves with needy flesh.

“You know,” Elizabeth finally broke away with a gasp, her cheeks flushed prettily, “I still haven’t taken my shower this morning…”

“Me, neither…” Spike agreed, molten fire in the depths of his blue-black eyes.

“And I am feeling rather dirty…”

“God, I hope so!” Spike moaned, catching her up in his arms and carrying her over to the bathroom.

Elizabeth let out a little squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly to hold on. “Neanderthal,” she accused.

“And don’t you love it, baby?” he practically purred. He set her feet lightly down on the cold tile and began to efficiently disrobe her, tisking slightly when he found no underwear beneath her jeans and tank-top. “Naughty girl…” he chided.

“I’m the one who’s naughty?” she retorted, one eyebrow raised as she unzipped his pants and freed the evidence of his own naughtiness.

“Guess we’re a matchin’ pair, then,” he said with a smirk, pulling her into the shower beside him and turning on the water.

The spray was cold for a second, and they huddled together before it warmed up. They didn’t let the lack of cold separate them, though. Elizabeth slid into his arms and up his body gracefully, rising above his hardness before oh-so-slowly lowering herself once more…

“Christ!” Spike hissed, his eyes rolling back in their sockets at her heat. He felt his knees weaken and pressed her back up against the cold tile of the shower wall, using it for support as they began moving together frantically.

Elizabeth was sure she was in heaven. Hot Spike in front of her and inside her, cold wall at her back, warm water cascading down their bodies, allowing them to slide together more easily than ever before… Simply. Heaven.

“Spike!” she cried out, having known all along that this was too good to last long. Her inner muscles clamped down around him as she released the slick fluid of her pleasure.

“Luv…” His low voice rumbled, sounding potent and hoarse all at the same time, as he released his climax into her soft body.

With a gasp, they finally broke apart, moving back into a loose embrace.

“Stupid public showers in Westing House,” Elizabeth complained, wishing they could do this every morning.

“Hafta savor the private one while we can,” Spike agreed, still trying to catch his breath.

Elizabeth pulled him back in for another kiss, tasting the heady spice of his tongue before pulling away once more. “Back to reality, I guess,” she said then, disappointed.

“Not quite yet,” he countered with a smirk. “Now, ‘ll wash your back if you’ll wash mine…”

A smirk of her own crossed her lips at that, and she raised the sponge in a menacing manner and laughed…

“Did you have fun having sex in the shower?” Dawn asked matter-of-factly when Elizabeth and Spike walked back in, both of their hair still wet. She looked up from her nearly-finished puzzle with an evil smile to see the two beet-red faces she’d helped create.

“Dawn!” Elizabeth gasped in horror. “You’re… You’re not… No, with the bad… Little sister can’t… Oh god,” she buried her face in her hands, embarrassed beyond belief.

“You! Anya Jenkins! Same room! End of Universe!” Spike seemed equally flustered.

Dawn merely smiled at them, proud of her accomplishment. “Who’s Annie whatever?” she asked curiously.

“Anya,” Elizabeth corrected. “Jenkins. She lives in our dorm. She’s very fond of making statements like that.”

“Two of you,” Spike mock-whimpered, “end of world…”

“Uh-oh, I think I broke him.” Dawn’s nose scrunched up at that. “Sorry, Bu—er, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile that Dawn was making a concerted effort to remember her new name. No one else in her family even bothered to try. “Don’t worry about it,” she assured her sister with a grin. “I’ll fix him this evening.”

“I bet you will,” Dawn agreed with a giggle.

Elizabeth blushed slightly but managed to give Dawn an unrepentant grin nonetheless.

“Girl Talk!” Spike pointed a finger back and forth between them accusingly. “Now you’re doin’ Girl Talk right in front of me!”

“All right,” Elizabeth patted his still-wet hair, “we’ll stop emasculating you…for the moment.”

She and Dawn shared another giggle.

“Where’s dad?” Spike asked, heading for the living room. “Gotta get away from all this bleedin’ estrogen…” he grumbled under his breath as he went.

Elizabeth and Dawn giggled again.

Elizabeth sobered quickly, however. “I hate to say it, but we have to figure out what to do with you, Dawn.” She felt almost guilty breaking up what had possibly been the most fun she and Dawn had ever had together.

A defensive light instantly lit up in the younger girl’s eyes. “Yeah?” she said with feigned disinterest, snapping her gum angrily.

“It seems reasonable to do this in a way that will leave everybody the least pissed off,” Elizabeth went on. “Don’t you agree?”

“Sure.” Dawn rolled her eyes. ‘Everyone’ always equaled ‘everyone but her.’

“Good,” Elizabeth went on as if the attitude weren’t even there. “So, what do you want to do?”

Dawn blinked at that in surprise. “What does it matter?” she finally asked cautiously.

“Well, if I were to, say, argue for you to stay here, then I’d want to make sure you actually want to stay here first,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“You would do that?” Dawn sounded like she’d just been given a puppy.

“Tell me what you want to do, and we’ll see,” Elizabeth replied evenly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dawn bit her lip and thought. “I want to stay here,” she decided. “There’s real snow here, and Christmas lights and – ooh! – maybe a tree? And I won’t spend the entire time being lugged back and forth between business meetings.”

“More like art galleries,” Elizabeth couldn’t help counter with a wry grin.

Dawn’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “You’re kidding, right?”

“You can mock my paintings if you want,” Elizabeth offered as a consolation.

“You paint?” Dawn blinked in surprise. The cheerleader has layers? Where did those come from?

Elizabeth’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Yeah,” she admitted.

“I guess that’s cool, then,” Dawn decided.

“So, I’ve got a check for ‘real Christmas’ and no for ‘Summers Christmas’ from the bratty teen,” Elizabeth teased.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at her, and Elizabeth laughed. “You know,” Dawn said, flicking an invisible speck of dust from the table in order to look anywhere but at Elizabeth, “you’re a lot less lame than I remembered.”

“And you’re a lot less whiny,” Elizabeth conceded as well.

“Plus,” a sly grin crossed Dawn’s face, “you’ve got way better taste in men than you used to.”

A dreamy smile dimpled Elizabeth’s cheeks. “I do, don’t I?” she sighed happily.

“So,” Dawn couldn’t help but press how far this new and entirely unexpected sisterly bonding would go, “does he ride well?”

Elizabeth blushed horribly but gave Dawn an evil smirk as well. “Like a finely-tuned Jaguar,” she couldn’t help but tease.

And then it was Dawn’s turn to blush as Elizabeth went off to continue ‘Impossible Christmas Negotiations ‘99’…

“Oh, Elizabeth, there you are,” Joyce said with a smile.

“Where did Spike and Giles go?” Elizabeth looked around the living room curiously.

Joyce rolled her eyes. “They’re in the garage. Something about William needing to get motor oil on his hands before he turned into a poof.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but snicker at that.

“You and Dawn have been traumatizing him, I take it?” Joyce said with a stern expression.

Elizabeth sheepishly nodded.

A wicked smile curled the edges of Joyce’s lips. “Good for you,” she cheered. “Can’t let those male egos get too big…”

“No danger of that with me and Dawn on the job,” Elizabeth agreed with a smile.

Joyce’s eyes twinkled, but her expression turned serious. “Have you called your mother yet today?” she inquired.

“Stepmother,” Elizabeth corrected automatically. “No. I figured we should sort out the options here before adding more complications.”

Joyce nodded. “Good plan,” she decided. “Have you talked to Dawn?”

Elizabeth sighed. “She wants to stay here for Christmas,” she began. “Look, I’m really sorry for imposing on you like this. I know you didn’t sign up to take in refugees. And I’m perfectly willing to find someplace else in town for her to—”

“Elizabeth,” Joyce cut her off with a kind smile. “We’d be delighted to take your sister in over the holidays.”

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Because we really can work something else out, if you’d rather. I really feel guilty about dumping this all on you.”

“There’s no need to feel guilty,” Joyce assured her. “We’re really quite happy to have her. We haven’t had a big family Christmas in years. Besides, Dawn’s an excellent cooking assistant. She helped me bake the first batch of Christmas cookies just this morning.”

“Dawn can cook?” Elizabeth sounded surprised. More like stunned. Where in the Summers household could Dawn have ever learned how to cook?

“She’s been quite helpful,” Joyce assured her, “and is delightful company.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Don’t look now, but I think William’s a bit taken with her. He always wanted a little sister to look after. You know, to prove his manliness.” She gave Elizabeth a little wink.

Elizabeth chuckled at that. “Then he’s just going to have to learn how annoying having a little sister really is,” she agreed with a grin…

“Well?” Dawn’s voice broke slightly with anticipation.

Elizabeth closed the door to the study behind her, a stern expression on her face. “I just finished talking with mom,” she said, dragging this out as long as she possibly could.

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Well, duh!” she agreed. “So?”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but crack a smile then. “You can stay,” she finally admitted.

“Eee!” Dawn squealed and practically tackled Elizabeth onto the floor.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened with the full horror that was a hyperactive teenager. Sullen to bouncy in less than a tenth of a second.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Dawn gushed. “You’re the coolest sister ever!”

“But only if you behave yourself,” Elizabeth added. “And you are going back home on the 3rd.”

“Why?” Dawn pouted. “I thought you had an extra week off after that?”

“I do,” Elizabeth agreed, “but I have to spend at least some alone time with my gorgeous boyfriend, right?”

Dawn grudgingly conceded the point. “So,” she asked conversationally, “tell me all about this gorgeous boyfriend you managed to snatch up.”

Elizabeth grinned and spilled the entire story in all its romantic – and sometimes not so romantic – detail…

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