Disclaimer: I own nothing (they're carting away my furniture as I type) and none of these characters are mine. I'm merely borrowing them, and making no money, only fun.

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This had not been one of Buffy’s better days. First Principal Flutie had caught her trying to leave campus. Like he hadn’t already pegged her as a delinquent. Then Annoying Cryptic Guy - Angel - had shown up again and insulted her while issuing more warnings about this Harvest thing. Then Xander had followed her on her rescue attempt, only to find that Jesse had been turned. Then they’d figured out that all the kids at the Bronze were in peril from the Harvest and they had to get there pronto. Just as soon as she got her slaying supplies together...

"Buffy?"

Buffy froze for a moment then turned, slipping into her black jacket as she did. She put her hands on her hips and gave her sister a long-suffering sigh.

"What is it, Dawn?"

"You're going out?" Dawn asked casually.

"I have to," Buffy replied briskly, moving on to her weapons chest. Dawn followed, watching over her shoulder while she tattled eagerly.

"Mom got a call this afternoon. From your principal. She tried to cover for you, but still, major wiggage. You should have heard her talking to herself. 'We haven't even finished unpacking and I'm already getting calls from the principal.'" Dawn said, mimicking their mother's voice. Buffy's shoulders sagged momentarily, then she continued to pull out supplies. Dawn‘s eyes widened at the growing arsenal.

"Lots of vampires, huh?"

"Yeah...where's Mom?" Buffy asked. Before Dawn could answer they both heard the front door open.

"Bye girls. Be good!" she heard her mother call as she closed the door behind her. Even with Slayer speed Buffy knew she wasn't going to make it in time to stop her.

"Mom! Wait!" Buffy yelled. She jumped to the bottom of the stairs and ran to the front door. Just as she hit the porch her mother was pulling out of the driveway. Buffy waved frantically, and the car seemed to hesitate for a moment, then kept going. Buffy couldn‘t be sure, but in her heart she knew that her mother had seen her and hadn‘t stopped. Buffy slammed her palm against the front door in frustration, leaving a small mark. Joyce had no idea what she had just done. Dawn watched her, hands on hips and a smug smile on her face.

"Did she say when she'll be back?"

"She said emergency at the gallery. Could be a while."

"Terrific. That's just great. I'll just tell all the people who are going to die, gee, I'm sorry, I had to babysit my kid sister!"

"You can just leave me here, you know. I'm okay alone," Dawn said. Buffy shook her head angrily.

"No, I can't. She knows I can't. God, like this wasn't hard enough without Mom going all passive aggressivey on me. She doesn't know what's going to happen if I‘m not where I need to be. People are gonna die. Lots of people. Maybe everybody."

"So what are you gonna do?" Dawn asked. Buffy stared at her for a long moment.

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"This is absolutely not acceptable, Buffy!” Giles said for the third time. Dawn thought she’d never seen a man turn as red as this British guy. Her sister’s new Watcher, apparently. He was younger than Merrick, but still absurdly old in Dawn’s estimation. With them were a pretty red-haired girl and a dark-haired boy. Willow and Xander, Buffy’s new friends, who knew all about her duties as the Slayer. Dawn would never admit it, but she liked them straight off. Willow was smart and sweet, and Xander was funny. Not to mention that he made her stomach feel all flippy when he looked at her.

"Giles, I had no choice! Trust me, I'm not happy about it either," Buffy said, glaring at Dawn like she had created this problem on purpose. Dawn ignored her, looking down at the five crosses Buffy had hung around her neck before they left the house.

"Hey, can I take these off?" she asked.

"No!" All four of them responded in unison.

"But they're really heavy!" Dawn whined.

“Be quiet, Dawn,” Buffy snapped. Dawn folded her arms over her chest and glared.

“I fail to understand how your mother could do such a thing. Surely when you explained to her about the Harvest...”

“I never actually got a chance to explain, Giles.”

“We can’t take her with us. She’s just a kid,” Xander said, bobbing his head and giving Dawn a little smile. Dawn blushed to her roots and looked away, feeling her stomach flutter again.

“I know. My mom will kill me if I take her slaying,” Buffy groaned.

“I can look out for her,” Willow offered. “We‘ll go back-”

“Hello! Standing right here!” Dawn huffed.

“There’s no time,” Giles groused. “We need to get to the Bronze before it’s too late to stop the Harvest.”

“Okay. Dawn, you’re coming with us. But don’t touch anything, do everything any of us tell you without question, and if you tell Mom about this ever you’re not going to live to see your twelfth birthday. Understand me?”

“Yeah. Am I gonna get to slay a vampire?” Dawn asked excitedly.

“No!” they all chorused again.

A short while later Buffy was banging on the doors of the Bronze.

“It’s locked!” she cried in frustration.

“We’re too late,” Giles lamented.

“I didn’t know I was gonna have kid sister duty!” Buffy said defensively.

“Can you break it down?” Xander asked.

“No...Umm...you guys try the back entrance. I’ll find my own way.”

“Right. Come on,” Giles said brusquely.

“Wait! Guys! Here,” Buffy said, handing Willow her slaying supplies. “You get the exit cleared and the people out. That’s all. Don’t go all Wild Bunch on me.”

“See you inside,” Giles said in way of dismissal. Buffy still hesitated, looking at her sister, then back at her Watcher. “Nothing will happen to Dawn. On my life, Buffy.” Buffy nodded.

“Obey Giles,” she demanded. To her surprise, her sister only nodded meekly. She watched as the four of them disappeared around the corner, then tried to put out of her mind that her sister was about to enter a den of vampires. *When this is over, Mom and I have to have a talk. A really, really long talk.*

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