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Both Sides Now	By : addielogan Category: BtVS AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 6136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 33
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- 35
Andrew stood
outside Dawn's door, taking deep, slow breaths. When Buffy had told him Dawn
was awake and wanted to see him, he couldn't help but worry despite his relief
to hear that Dawn had regained consciousness. What would she say to him after
what had happened?
He walked into
the room, his throat immediately constricting at the sight of her in the
hospital bed. She'd never looked quite so fragile to him before.
Dawn gaped when
she saw him. "Oh my god, Andrew�is all that blood yours?"
Andrew shook his
head. "No. Most of it's yours."
Surprisingly,
Dawn sighed in relief. "Oh, good."
"Good?"
Andrew asked.
"Well, yeah.
I've had transfusions, so if it's my blood, then it's all taken care of."
"They put
you on a lot of drugs, didn't they?"
Dawn rolled her
eyes. "No. Well, yeah, but still� I don't like the idea of you being
hurt, Andrew."
"And I'd
rather it be me than you," Andrew replied. He came closer to her, taking a
seat in the chair by her bedside. "I'm sorry, Dawnie. So,
so sorry."
"For
what?" Dawn asked, frowning.
"For
this.
It's all my fault."
"Your fault?" Dawn's frown grew.
"Andrew, if you hadn't stopped Cynthia, I'd be dead right now."
"And if it
wasn't for me having all that information on the Key around her, this wouldn't
have happened in the first place," Andrew replied.
Dawn reached over
the side of the bed and took his hand. "Andrew, the information you gave
me on the Key is invaluable. I learned more from it than I ever thought I'd be
able to. It answered so many questions for me."
"But you
said�"
Dawn admitted
with a blush, "I lied. I was mad at you."
"Oh."
Andrew cleared his throat. "Still, I� I feel like she came after you
because of me, that she hurt you because of me. I'm not sure I can forgive myself."
"Do, because
I'm certainly not holding it against you. It's not your fault. She came after
me because of what I am, not because of you. This is far from the first time
I've had to deal with a wacko who wants the Key." Dawn squeezed his hand
as best she could with as weak as she felt.
"I�"
Andrew shook his head. "When I saw you lying there, I thought� I thought
you were dead."
Dawn looked down,
away from him, and replied softly. "I think I was."
Andrew started at
her admission. "Dawn�"
"When the
Key left me, there was just�nothing. I felt myself die. And then it came back inside of me, and with it this new surge of energy. I feel
stronger." She frowned. "Or at least I will when I'm no longer
recovering from a major stab wound." Dawn turned back to look at him
again. "What you did, when you stopped her, you brought me back,
Andrew."
He stared at her
for a moment, trying to process what she'd told him. Dawn had been dead�
Even as he looked at her now and knew she was alive, the thought that she had
been something else for even a moment was more than he wanted to face. He
couldn't lose Dawn, not like that.
"I'm
okay," Dawn said, trying to assure him enough to make the look of horror
leave his face. "I'm not dead now, and I certainly don't plan to be again
anytime soon."
"Dawn, if
you'd stayed�" Andrew swallowed, unable to say the word. "I
couldn't�"
"I
know," Dawn told him. "I couldn't take it if you died either."
She almost told him what had transpired while he'd been unconscious, but held
her tongue. He already felt guilty enough. Somehow, she didn't think he'd be
overly thrilled to know she'd willingly stepped into the circle in order to save his life.
Andrew reached up
with the hand Dawn wasn't holding on to and cupped her cheek. "You're the
one person in this world I could never get over losing."
The sincerity on
his face and in his words brought tears to Dawn's eyes. "Andrew�"
"You're the
only person who's ever really known me, Dawn," he continued. "The only person who's cared enough to even try. I don't know how I ever
thought I could spend my life without you because I can't. I knew that for
certain the moment I saw you there on the ground, lifeless and still. If you
can somehow find a way to forgive me for what I did to you, Dawn, three years
ago, I�"
Dawn raised her
finger and placed it against his lips. "I've already forgiven you, Andrew.
I couldn't�I couldn't go on doing anything but loving you. It's all I know how
to do with you anymore."
Andrew blinked,
staring at her for a moment in awe. "You�you really still love me? After everything?"
Dawn shrugged.
"Kinda can't help it. Believe me, I tried there for a while, but I gave
up. Somehow you managed to steal my heart three years ago, and it's still
yours."
Andrew gave her a
crooked grin. "I'm not sure how it happened either, but I'm glad it did. I
still love you, too, Dawn. I always have. Pretty sure I always will."
"I guess
we're stuck with each other then."
"That's what
it looks like."
Dawn smiled at
him, the thumb of her hand still gripping his stroking his warm skin. "I
can think of worse fates. I love you."
Andrew raised
their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers. "I love you, too."
"I think I
need to rest a little more," she told him after a moment of silence passed
between them. "Can you stay in here with me?"
"Of
course.
I'd be happy to."
Dawn smiled again
before she closed her eyes, and Andrew settled into the chair, his hand still
linked with hers.

*** *** ***
There was a sweet
scent to the field where Dawn stood, like grass after a spring rain. She closed
her eyes and breathed it in, letting the warm sun wash over.
"You made it
here."
Dawn opened her
eyes again, and she smiled warmly when she saw Summer
standing in front of her. "I did."
"I'm
glad," Summer said. "I was worried about
you, Mommy."
Dawn felt her
throat tighten when the little girl called her "Mommy," confirming
the suspicion she'd already had. "Summer, can you answer a question for
me?"
"Maybe. I can't answer them
all."
"I
know." Dawn knelt down to the girl's level, and met her eyes, no doubt in
her mind now that they were eyes just like Andrew's. "Will I ever get to
see you outside of here, in the real world?"
Summer smiled
slowly. "You want to hold me, don't you? You want to hold me, breathing in
the scent of baby-fresh skin and know I'm yours."
Dawn smoothed her
hand down the side of Summer's long brown hair.
"I do."
"You will. Someday." Summer's smile turned almost teasing.
"You're not enough of a grown-up yet."
Dawn chuckled.
"No, I suppose I'm not."
"I can't
stay now," Summer said, taking a step back from
Dawn. "But I wanted to give you a gift."
"A
gift?" Dawn asked.
Summer nodded,
then reached out and placed her hand against Dawn's abdomen. A pale green light
flowed from the girl, until it was filling the field, becoming all Dawn could
see.
Dawn woke up
still in the hospital bed, and she sat up, feeling no pain in her stomach as
she did. She touched where her wound had been and smiled. "Thank you, Summer," she said softly.
She turned to the
side, a feeling of warmth and love flooding her as she saw Andrew, curled up
asleep in the chair. Dawn knew as she watched him sleep that even with
everything he'd been through, the man she'd fallen in love with three years
before was still there, still needed her.
Dawn scooted to
the edge of the bed, her legs hanging over the edge, and reached out, gently
shaking Andrew. He bolted awake, but quickly calmed when he remembered where he
was. Then he saw Dawn sitting up and frowned. "You should be lying
down," he told her, his voice still groggy from sleep.
Dawn shook her
head. "Nope. I'm all better now."
Andrew's brow
furrowed. "What? How long was I asleep?"
"I don't
think it was that long," Dawn replied with a giggle. "I just
sorta�healed really quickly."
"You what,
managed to heal a major stab wound in your sleep?"
"Pretty
much," Dawn said, nodding. "It was a Key thing, I think." She
decided not to give him details about Summer. He'd meet
her for himself when the time was right.
"Oh. Handy
that." If Dawn's wound had healed, then Andrew wasn't going to argue. He
already knew she wasn't your average girl, and honestly, he was simply relieved
she was all right. Even with the doctors assuring him she was healing just the
way she should, he'd worried that some unexpected complication would pop up,
and he'd lose her. He'd already come so close to that�
"Yeah, very
handy," Dawn agreed. "Let's get out of here. I'm all healed up now,
so there's no point in hanging out in a hospital."
"Are you
sure?"
"Positive."
Dawn looked down and frowned. "Although I do think I need some new
clothes. I'm sure the ones I was wearing are pretty trashed, and I don't feel
like running around in a hospital gown."
Andrew chuckled.
"I'll get Buffy. She should be able to get you some clothes."
"And
probably freak," Dawn said. "But I guess I probably can't keep her
from finding out that my stomach wound miraculously closed, so I might as well
get the big sister freak out over with."
"She'll
probably be happy you're all right," Andrew said.
"Yeah,
after the freak out. Trust me. Anytime I do anything weird because of
the Key, Buffy goes all mother hen on me, like she's afraid it's going to make
me explode or something." Dawn rolled her eyes. "I don't go all wiggy
every time she stakes a vampire."
"She cares
about you," Andrew pointed out. "You're her family."
"Oh I know
that," Dawn replied. "I'm just not in the mood to get all fussed over
right now. I want to get out of here and go home, after the day I've had."
"Then let's
get her in here and get the fussing over with," Andrew said, rising to his
feet. "The sooner you get out of the medlab, the sooner you can go
home." Andrew started walking off, but stopped when he felt Dawn reach out
and take his hand.
"Andrew?"
He looked into
her eyes, his heart thumping faster at what he saw reflected there. It amazed
him that still, after so many years apart, Dawn could have this effect on him.
No one had ever made him feel anywhere near what she did. She made him feel
like he was worth something. She made him feel wanted. "Yeah?"
"When I said
I wanted to go home, I meant�" Dawn paused for a moment, her head ducking
shyly. "I meant I wanted you to come with me."
Andrew thought he
knew what she was asking, but he wanted to make sure all the implications were
really there. Not just an invitation for something physical, but for something
more as well. "You want me to come home with you?"
"It's where
you belong, isn't it?"
Andrew searched
her face for a moment before he smiled. "Yeah, I think it is."
Dawn grinned
back. "Then go get Buffy so I can tell her I've magically healed in my
sleep and we can�" She stopped, swallowing the lump in her throat before
she finished. "And we can go home."
Andrew replied by
cupping her cheek in his hand and tilting her face up to his for a tender kiss.

*** *** ***
"So what
happened again exactly?" Buffy asked, her brow creased.
Dawn sighed.
"I told you like a million times, Buffy. I healed in my sleep. Now will
you please go find me some decent clothes so I can get out of
here?"
"How in the
world did you heal in your sleep?" Buffy asked, as if she hadn't already
asked that question. More than once.
"I just
did," Dawn replied, obviously frustrated. "I think it was some sort
of Key thing."
"That
doesn't sound like other 'Key things,'" Buffy replied with a frown.
"Are you sure it's healed?"
"Buffy, I'm
pretty sure I can tell whether or not I have a gaping hole in my abdomen."
"You should
let someone take a look at you again, Dawn," Buffy said.
"I know what
happened," Dawn maintained. "And I'm fine. Would you just trust me on
this one?" Dawn didn't want to share what had happened with Summer with Buffy either. Something about it felt too
personal, a shared moment between mother and daughter�even if the daughter
wasn't due to make her appearance in the world for several more years.
"Dawn, I
don't�"
"Buffy,
please. We can have a nice long chat later, I promise. Right now I just really
want to go." Dawn gestured towards Andrew with her eyes, trying to
indicate to Buffy exactly why she really wanted out of there.
It took Buffy a
moment to catch on, but when she did, she cleared her throat. "Oh, well,
um that'll be good then. We'll talk later. You want to leave now, so I'll just
go�get those clothes."
"Thanks,"
Dawn replied with a slight smirk.
Buffy ducked out
of the room, leaving Dawn, Andrew, and Spike behind. Andrew had just enough
time to be thankful that he wasn't alone with Spike before Spike clapped
him on the shoulder tightly and asked, "Would you step out in the hallway
with me for a bit?"
Andrew swallowed
hard, but nodded. Spike led him into the hallway, tight grip still on his
shoulder, as Dawn called out, "Don't break him, Spike! I mean it!"
Spike gave her a small wave of his hand without turning around to look at her
as he left the room with Andrew.
As soon as they
were alone, Spike's hand dropped, and Andrew tried to remind himself that he had
actually faced scarier things than the ex-vampire�even if he was hard pressed
to remember what they were at the moment.
"That girl
in there, she means the bloody world to me," Spike began, gesturing
back towards the hospital room. "You've already hurt her once, and the
only reason I haven't hurt you for that is because she seems to have
forgiven you, and I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt. But as it
stands, I don't think you deserve her. A woman like Dawn is nothing less
than a treasure, and I'm not sure you realize that."
"I do!"
Andrew said quickly, then wondered if interrupting
Spike had been smart. But when Spike's only response was an arched eyebrow, he
continued. "I made a mistake before, but it was never because I ever
thought Dawn was anything short of amazing. I know I don't deserve her,
but I love her. And�and I'm going to do everything I can to be the best I can for
her."
Spike gave a
short nod. "Good answer, Watcher boy. But I'm going to be keeping my eye
on you. Hurt her again like you did before, and then I
will make you bleed. Got it?"
"I do."
"Good."
Spike nodded his head back towards the hospital room. "Go on back to your
girlfriend."
Andrew expelled
the breath he'd been holding with relief and hurried back to Dawn to wait with
her for Buffy to return.

*** *** ***
- 33
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- 35
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