Chapter 4

At seven o'clock the next morning, Dawn was ready for school. She came down the steps, and carried her books into the kitchen of the Summers' house. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and onions, toast, coffee and orange juice. Buffy stood beside the stove. Only one place setting had been put on the table.

Dawn stood in the kitchen doorway trembling.

Buffy told her, "Don't stand there dawdling Dawn. You don't want your breakfast to get cold, and you don't want to be late for school either."

"Does it matter?" The girl spoke bitterly. "I'm not gonna live to get promoted to the 11th grade anyway."

Buffy tried to speak in a comforting tone, "Please don't say that."

"Buffy." Dawn said, "Let's just get it over with now."

"What do you mean Dawn?"

"You know what I mean!" The girl said sharply. "Kill me! Kill me now! Get it over with! I know it's gonna happen sooner or later, so let it be now."

"Dawn I don't want to kill you. Not now or ever."

"But you will, once you get hungry enough; so go ahead. Make me a vampire." She chuckled nervously. "We ought to make a terrific team of vampire sisters."

"I'm sure we would girl," Buffy said, "but that's no excuse for missing school."

"Does that mean you're not gonna kill me, 'til the end of my sophomore year?"

"It means I'm not gonna kill you ever!" Now Buffy spoke sharply. "So stop dawdling, sit down, eat your breakfast, and don't be late for school!"

Dawn quickly sat down. She had no trouble downing everything on her plate.

Then Spike stood in the kitchen doorway.

"Mornin' everyone." He spoke cheerily. "How you doin' little bint?"

Dawn jumped up from the table, grabbing her books. She stamped toward the doorway.

He asked, "Trouble niblet?"

"Don't call me that!" She screamed, "Don't ever call me that again!"

Then Dawn shoved Spike aside, and rushed out the front door.

"That's another advantage to being a vampire." Buffy said. "No trouble getting my little sister off to School."

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"On the other hand," Spike said, "Dawn was right in one way. There's no guarantee that she will live 'til the end of the School year, or even the end of this week. There's no guarantee that you won't kill her, or all your friends, or a lot of people in this Town."

Buffy said, "As long as I can have all the pigs' blood I need, that shouldn't be a problem."

"There's no guarantee," Spike told her, "that there won't be an interruption in the supply. Then there's also the problem of temptation."

"Unfortunately." Buffy nodded. "I never realized until last night, what an appetizing neck Xander has. Dawn's neck is also very appetizing; so are Willow's, Tara's and Anya's."

"Believe me." He said, "I know. Not killing any of them, or all of them, is gonna be a real problem for you, now that you're a carnivorous predator."

"That's right." She extended her fangs. "Spike. I've just gotta kill somebody!"

"May I make a suggestion, as to who?"

"Please do."

"What about those blokes, who planted that mini-camera in the Magic Box, and caught me and Anya in the act, for all of you buggers to see?"

"Warren, Jonathan and Andrew?"

"The Nerdy Trio themselves."

"I like the idea." Buffy smiled, with her fangs still extended. "Especially Warren. He's the one who killed Trina. He certainly deserves it. As for the other two..."

"You're not gonna kill them?"

"I'm not sure about them, but I'm sure about Warren. Warren stays dead permanently."

Spike went over to the refrigerator.

He said, "Let's see what there is for breakfast."

He opened the door.

"No blood. Not pig or human."

Buffy said, "I'll pick some up at the butcher shop later." She hesitated. "No. That's one of the disadvantages to being a vampire. I can't go out shopping in the daytime."

Spike shut the refrigerator door, and sat at the table.

"How hungry are you?" he asked.

"I'm not. Are you?"

"I can hold out 'til the sun goes down."

"Good." She said, "Then you can pick up a few gallons at the butcher shop, while I go patrolling tonight."

Spike asked, "Are you still gonna go patrolling, to slay vampires, when you're one now yourself?"

Buffy sighed, "I have no idea what I'm gonna do about being a Slayer-Vampire; but that's not who I'm patrolling for tonight."

He asked, "You mean to Nerdy Trio, who are entirely human, though of the unbelievably pathetic variety?"

She extended her fangs, "I have to put a stop to Warren's, Jonathan's and Andrew's crime spree."

Spike spoke hopefully, "And put an end to them too?"

Buffy smiled, "Well what's the point of me being a vampire." She pointed her finger at her fangs, "if I don't get to kill somebody?"