Big pile of presents on the coffee table in the Summers home. "Pressies," chirps Buffy, which reminds me of my sister, who says that all the time and got it from Blackadder. Attending the party, from left to right, are Joyce, Dawn, Xander, Giles, Tara, Anya, and Willow, who's wearing a silly party hat. Buffy takes a present from Tara and as she opens it, Anya covets all the presents, and in particular the dress that Tara and Willow have given Buffy (which has an Eiffel tower print that looks like it might have made a cute scarf, but is rather startling in dress yardage). Anya wishes the dress was hers and then grumps that the rest of them were thinking the same thing. Giles turns to Xander and snarks, "I'm fairly certain I wasn't. I've got one just like it." Dawn prompts Buffy to open her present next, and inside the wrapping is a picture of the two of them in a frame covered with shells. Dawn explains that the picture and the shells come from a visit the girls had with their father, and everyone in the room becomes sad and quiet. My eyes tear up a little. Sniff. Buffy hugs Dawn close and shares a sad smile with Joyce.

Later, Joyce, Giles, and Buffy are in the kitchen discussing the nature of Dawn. Jeez, guys, you might want to be a little more circumspect. Buffy spots Dawn outside the kitchen, and although she hasn't heard anything, Dawn can tell that Buffy's reaction to her is strange. She claims she was getting plates for cake and returns to the family room, where Xander and Anya are canoodling and Willow is slicing cake. Dawn senses a tense vibe here too and demands to know, "Why does everybody start to act weird when I'm around?" Xander and Anya attempt to claim that they were talking about sex, but as Buffy, Giles, and Joyce enter the room, Dawn is not convinced. She thinks everyone is talking about her, and storms out to go to bed. Upstairs, she slams the door to her room and gets a thinky-face.