Dawn wakes to find Buffy hand-slicing prosciutto in the kitchen. Since coming home, Buffy has been intensely involved in daytime household activities. When Dawn appears, Buffy asks about her plans for school and favorite subjects. Dawn sassily parries with questions of her own: What happened to Angel? Why did Buffy leave? What happened in Los Angeles? When Buffy clams up, Dawn rolls her eyes and returns to applying butterfly clips.
Dawn is relieved when Buffy gets back into school. There is only so much prosciutto an almost-thirteen-year-old can eat. When Buffy comes home from the Bronze that night, Dawn closes her door and vows not to speak to her again until she tells the truth. However, she can’t resist snooping when she hears Buffy on the phone, but hearing something about a Watchers’ retreat, Dawn suddenly remembers the old English man from the library and slinks away.
The next day, Dawn announces she’s having dinner at Janice’s. When she returns, a pleather-clad stranger is sitting at the table. Buffy immediately starts to lecture Dawn about walking home alone after dark. Dawn snaps, “I’m practically a teenager!” before storming upstairs. Faith watches her go and asks, “Who’s the brat?” Joyce eventually makes Dawn come back down and she quickly becomes enamored with Faith, who casually answers questions about vampires and slaying without checking whether Buffy thinks Dawn is old enough to hear the answers. When Buffy glares from across the table, Faith notices. “Oops. Sorry. Not really the big-sister type.”
Buffy seems shaken when she returns from patrolling with Faith later that night, and warns Dawn not to idolize her. Dawn declares that Buffy is obviously jealous. When Buffy returns from fighting Kakistos, Dawn is lying in bed reading the latest Tiger Beat. She hears clanking from the kitchen, which draws her downstairs to find Buffy, rifling through the refrigerator. At the sound of Dawn’s footsteps, Buffy whirls around: “Do we have any ribs?”