For a long moment, Dawn just leaned against him, closing her eyes. A part of her-a huge part-wanted to cry. She needed to, in fact, but the thought of Buffy showing up hopefully soon stilled the urge. She'd cry later, when she was back home and in her room. When he spoke, she smiled a little, lingering for a moment longer, then took a step back. "Hi, Pike."
She took a small breath and looked up at him. She didn't have to look as far as she used to. She'd grown half a foot in just the summer past and was already taller than Buffy, who was five years older, so she actually came up pretty high on Pike. Dawn's eyes widened a little when she saw the scar, and without thinking one hand rose and touched it gingerly. "Pike...god, what happened?"
Concern filled her bright blue eyes as they shifted back to his, wondering if he was really as okay as he had seemed on the computer. As she studied him, she realized that a lot about him had changed.