Buffy's dorky little sister is all grown up now, and so is Buffy's dorky Watcher. Dawn studies Wesley in the murky light of the bar. Last year, Willow had come back from her Los Angeles trip with tales of a new, badass Wes, but Dawn hadn't believed it. Neither had Xander, who'd spent the rest of the night making Maculey-Culkin-with-a-goatee jokes.

But it was true. Wesley is a badass now, with his jaw set in a hard line and eyes fixed on the drink in front of him.

When Dawn slides onto the barstool next to him, he gives her a cursory glance, looks away, then startles and looks at her again.

"Dawn Summers?" he says, almost whispering.

"Hey, stranger!" She leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek.

Dawn still remembers the last time she saw him. It was four days after the high school got blown up, and he'd shown up at her house to say goodbye to everyone. "I'm setting off to become...a rogue demon hunter," he'd said, pausing for dramatic effect and looking very pleased with himself. It wasn't until Buffy had rolled her eyes and gone upstairs and Joyce had bustled out to make them a pot of tea that Wesley opened the small bag he'd brought with him.. Giving Dawn a shy smile, he withdrew the book and handed it to her. The Collected Poems of A.E. Houseman. Wesley had shown it to her a few months ago, when she was stuck in the Sunnydale High library, waiting for Buffy to get out of detention. She'd absolutely loved the poems, and had read through it almost every time she went to the library afterwards. "I grabbed it before we set up the explosives," he explained. "I thought you might want it."

The memory may not be real, but Dawn still has that book. And somewhere inside that badass is the nice guy who gave it to her.

"Well. You look...older," Wesley says, giving her an appreciative look before catching himself and blushing. Clearing his throat, he says, "Can I buy you a drink? Non-alcoholic, of course."

"Rum and coke," Dawn says to the bartender, leaning forward enough to expose a little cleavage from the low-cut pink top. The bartender nods and goes to get her drink. She turns to Wesley and whispers, "I won't tell if you won't.."

Dawn waggles her eyebrows, and that gets Wesley to crack a smile. "Deal," he chuckles.

If Dawn learned anything from Spike, it's how to drag the nice guy back out of a badass.