Sister, Sister (Book Five, BTVS)

chapter 18 - Intervention

Buffy and Giles had come over to have dinner with Mom, Dawn and me at our house. We were in the kitchen, cleaning.

I was washing dishes.

Dawn dried the dishes.

Mom was putting food away.

Giles walked over with a towel.

"Giles, you don't have to help," I told him. "You cooked."

"Oh, come on," Giles told us. "I quite like to cook. Helping out makes me feel useful."

"Wanna clean out the garage on Saturday?" Mom asked. "You can feel indispensable."

"Hmm, how tempting," Giles told us sarcastically.

"Dawn, if there are any plates in your room, let's have them before they get furry and we have to name them," Mom told her.

"Hey, I was like five them," Dawn told us.

Mom and Dawn walked out, leaving.

I looked at Buffy. "How are you doing?"

Buffy sniffed. "I'm okay. Well, some minutes are harder than others."

"I'm so sorry," Giles told her. "All I can say is i--it will get better."

"It has to," Buffy told us. "I'm holding up, though, you know, getting into a routine."

"Good," Giles told us. "In fact, I was thinking that we might... return to our training schedule."

Buffy hesitated, nodding.

"All right," I told him, leading them into the living room, sitting on the coffee table. "What did you have in mind?"

Giles and Buffy sat on the couch. 

"There is something, in the Watchers' diaries, a quest," Giles told us.

"A quest?" I repeated. "Like finding a grail or something?"

"Not a grail," Giles answered. "Maybe answers. About your powers. About being the Slayers. Maybe even about Glory and how to stop her and what she wants to do with Dawn. It would take a day, perhaps two."

"I'm not leaving Dawn and Mom," I told them. "Not with Glory looking for Dawn."

Dawn and Mom walked in.

"Sure you can," Dawn told me, sitting next to me on the table. "What's the deal?"

"Some Slayers before found it helpful in... regaining their focus, learning more about their role," Giles told us. "There's a sacred place in the desert. It--it's not far."

"But I can't go," I told them. I looked at Dawn and Mom. "I'm not leaving you."

"If you have to go learn..." Mom trailed off. "I mean, if it'll help you out... I think you should do it."

Dawn nodded. "We can hang with the gang. We'll be okay."

I looked at Buffy and Giles. "Okay." I looked at Mom and Dawn. "I love you guys. Something made me realize it's important to tell you."

They nodded in understanding.

    •••••     

Giles drove Buffy and me into the desert in his car, pulling to a stop.

We got out of the car.

Giles walked toward the trunk, opening it.

Buffy and I followed.

"What's in the trunk?" Buffy asked.