AN: This is the fourth story in my little AUville. I would highly recommend reading the other three, Choices, The Four, and The Darkness of Mankind, which are available here, for two reasons. First, they are amazing stories, if I do say so myself. Second, you will be completely lost and this story will make no sense whatsoever if you don't read the first ones. Go. Read. Now.
Everyone back? Good. For those of you who didn't want to live dangerously, I'll try my best to summarize. The series branches away from canon in Season 5, around the time the Knights come into the picture. Glory is still defeated, though in a totally different way, which leads to hugs and puppies and happily ever after. Yeah. Not quite. My series leads to new adventures, new dangers, and new challenges, which I highly encourage you to read, and left off dealing with what humans are capable of doing to each other.
This story picks up about six months after the previous ending. It is not nearly as dark as the previous story, although there are still hints at that darkness. I don't think anyone could go through something like that and be completely fine in a few months. It does deal with forced prostitution and slavery, though nothing as explicit as the previous story. If those situations are not for you, please stop reading now.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything is owned by the very talented Joss Whedon. I'm just taking his toys out and playing with them. I promise to put them back, relatively unscathed. Also I don't consider this a crossover, but I do think Angel and his group, and Buffy and her group would help each other out whenever they were needed. Enough talking. I hope you enjoy reading.
Also, I have no medical training of any kind. I am not a doctor, nurse, psychologist, therapist, or any other medical profession. The extent of my first-aid training is a band-aid, and that makes me queasy. I researched what I could, made up what I couldn't.
AN: This story is complete. Real life, however, is rearing its ugly head in ways it never has before. I will try my best to keep to my one chapter a day posting schedule, but if I fall behind, I will get everything posted eventually.
On to the story.
"Dawn?" Joyce called out when she heard the door open.
"It's me," Dawn replied, heading to the kitchen. Joyce smiled when she saw her.
"How was your day honey?" she asked, placing the list she had been making down. Dawn rolled her eyes.
"It was fine," she told her mother. "Just like every other day."
"It's not an ordinary day," Joyce reminded her. "It's your birthday."
"Yes and as a birthday treat my teachers gave me a whole lot of homework." Joyce smiled. Though Dawn complained about school almost as much as Buffy did, she really liked learning, especially once they compromised on her Scooby level. "Besides, I'm not Buffy. My birthdays are not doomed to death and horror."
"And let's keep it that way," Joyce said, pushing the list toward Dawn. "This is what I was thinking for your birthday dinner. If you want to change something let me know." Dawn scanned the list. All her favorites were there. Not that she was expecting anything less.
"The cake?" she asked. Joyce shuddered but answered.
"Chocolate with cream cheese icing," she told her daughter. "With assorted ice creams. Where do you get your taste in food?"
"I like experimenting," Dawn shrugged. "Where is everyone?"
"I convinced Giles to babysit Andrew at the shop," she told her, "and Willow isn't back yet. Everybody else is napping." She pointed to the two baby monitors sitting on the counter. "I need to run to the store. Can you handle it?"
"Mom," Dawn protested, "I'm an adult. Of course I can handle it."
"Famous last words," Joyce cautioned, grabbing her keys and heading to the door. Dawn rolled her eyes, grabbed the monitors, and made her way to the library. She started working on her homework, half her mind focused on her task and the other half listening for any sounds coming from the baby monitors. Two hours later she heard her mom return, banging the cupboards as she put everything away. She decided she earned a little break, leaning back in the chair and stretching her muscles. She closed her eyes, thinking about the last few months.
Against all odds Buffy came back home. In true fashion, she didn't return in any way they thought she would. Dawn was ashamed to admit she thought Buffy dead after the first few months had passed. Then she felt incredibly guilty at the thought that she left her sister to a fate worse than death. And she wasn't the only one. Everyone was feeling guilty. Everyone thought she died, though it took some of them longer than others.
The months that followed were some of the worst times Dawn had ever had in her life, ranking right up there with the time her mom nearly died. Seeing her normally strong sister so helpless left Dawn scared, and learning how she got that way left her irate. Then just as everyone started dealing, Buffy had to go and nearly die again, fighting not a mystical foe but an all too real medical one. Everyone, from Giles to the doctors, thought she might not make it out of that one. She wouldn't have too, if not for the kindness of an anonymous donor. They all wondered who saved her life, but nobody ever claimed the act.
Dawn opened her eyes when she heard the door open again. A minute later she heard Willow's chipper tone as she talked with her mom. She sighed as she got up and reached for the baby monitors. She held the one labeled 'Buffy' carefully, thinking about what it represented as she slowly made her way to the kitchen.
Once they entered Buffy's mind and the nightmares started it was bad, but when they realized Buffy could still speak it got a whole lot better. Not that she was saying much yet, but Tara was right. She didn't need words to communicate. Anya went and bought another baby monitor to put in Buffy's room. She would usually start whimpering when the nightmares started. If they were able to wake her up right away, she would usually be fine. Of course there were times when she was quiet or they couldn't wake her up in time. Those times still freaked Dawn out. Buffy would wake up, screaming and inconsolable. Usually Giles would have to sedate the young woman before she could calm down again.
Thankfully that was happening less and less. Over the last few months Buffy had continued to make slow but steady progress. She had regained full mobility in her upper torso, though she was still lacking in strength and coordination, especially on bad days. She had also started eating again a couple months ago, much to everyone's delight. The day she got her feeding tube removed they had a big party, with all of her favorite things. She only managed a bite or two of each item, but watching her try new things was amazing, especially when she tried to spit out a dish she claimed was one of her favorites. Everyone got a laugh out of that.
"Hey birthday girl," Willow greeted. Dawn looked up, surprised. She had made it all the way to the kitchen lost in her thoughts.
"Hey," Dawn replied, taking a seat at the counter. She put the monitors in front of her. "How was San Diego?"
"Work is work," Willow shrugged. Buffy wasn't the only one to change these last few months. Both girls had graduated from college. Tara had elected to help in The Gallery, mirroring Anya's help in The Magic Box, though they both went from shop to shop as needed. Willow put out her resume and got bite after bite. After her scare with magic addiction, she decided to get back to the scientific side of slaying. She always was the computer go to girl, so she finished her degree in Computer Science. Companies were desperate to get her onboard, so much so that she had her pick of high paying jobs right out of college. She choose to work for a small software company in San Diego who agreed to let her work from home through emails and phone conferences, as long as she agreed to a quarterly meeting in their corporate office in San Diego. "I stopped in L.A. on my way back to visit Angel and his crew."
"Really?" Dawn asked. Willow nodded.
"They started up Angel Investigations again," she said.
"What about Wolfram and Hart?" Joyce asked.
"Angel's still running that," Willow said, "but after what the law firm did to try to get Angelus back, none of them completely trust Wolfram and Hart, not like they really did before. Cordy and Gunn have officially opened up Angel Investigations again for the common folk who need help. Angel still lives in the hotel so they keep him up to date with what's going down. While he still officially runs the law office he spends most of his time at the hotel. Wesley and Fred split their time between the two. Apparently it works out really well for everybody."
"Cool," Dawn said, reaching for an apple as a quick snack.
"Everybody also sent presents," Willow said.
"Yay," Dawn exclaimed.
"They're in the car," Willow smiled at the younger woman. "The majority of them are from Cordelia, so they're mostly clothes. And just so you know, I spent over two hours with her, alone, shopping for clothes. I should be sainted."
"Should I bring them in?" Dawn asked, motioning to the garage. Willow shook her head.
"They're not wrapped yet," she told her. "I was just about to start when you came in."
"Then I'll leave you too it," Dawn said as she finished her apple. "I've still got homework anyway. Which one do you want?" she asked her mother, gesturing to the baby monitors.
"I can take them both if you still have homework," Joyce offered. Dawn shrugged.
"Naw, I can take one. It makes a good distraction."
"Then you choose," Joyce said. Dawn looked between them for a minute before reaching for Buffy's. Maybe it was because she was just thinking about her, but she felt really overprotective right not. Joyce smiled.
"Get back to your homework. We'll let you know when it's time for dinner."
"And presents," Dawn called over her shoulder as she left the room. "Don't forget the presents." She lost herself in her history paper once more, looking up a few hours later when she heard her sister whimpering. She saved her paper than quickly climbed to the second story of the house. She quietly opened the door and entered Buffy's room. "Buffy?" she called softly before approaching, stopping just short of the bed. She reached out to gently shake her shoulder, calling out again. "Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes shot open, her head quickly turning toward Dawn. It took a few minutes for Buffy to wake up completely, but Dawn waited patiently. They all had too much experience with this ritual. When Buffy realized where she was, she gave Dawn a small smile. That was the sign Dawn was looking for. She took the last step over to the bed, leaning against it gently. "Was it a bad one?" she asked, watching Buffy closely. She was shaking slightly, but she just shrugged. Dawn checked the dresser, seeing Mr. Gordo watching them mournfully. "Do you want Mr. Gordo?" she asked. Buffy followed her gaze, slowly nodding her head. She quickly retrieved the stuffed pig, handing it to her older sister. Buffy immediately calmed down, holding the old toy tightly. Dawn sighed silently, wishing again that Buffy would speak more. She could if she really wanted to, or if it was really important, but for the most part questions were answered with head nods, shakes, or shrugs. It was definitely better than the nothing they had before, but sometimes Dawn just wanted to gossip with her older sister like old times. "You want me to stay?"
Buffy shook her head. Dawn leaned over carefully and gave her a quick kiss to the cheek, watching the whole time for any sign that this small action could set of a larger negative reaction. It was better to err on the side of caution until Buffy actually got out of bed. Sometimes she was still half asleep during these interactions and simple acts brought her right back into her nightmares. But Buffy didn't react, which caused Dawn to smile. Dawn turned to leave, but Buffy reached out and grabbed her hand before she could move. "Do you need something?" Buffy shook her head but didn't release her grip on Dawn's hand. Dawn watched her curiously, surprised when Buffy started opening her mouth, trying to get words to come out.
"Happy Birthday Dawn." It was said haltingly, Buffy stumbling on the words more than once, and took more time and energy than it should, but Dawn was ecstatic. It was the most beautiful thing she had heard all day.
"Thanks," she told her sister. Buffy smiled. "You ready to come down?" Buffy shook her head. Dawn expected that response. She watched Buffy fight to keep her eyes open during the short exchange and knew she probably was ready for more sleep. "Get some sleep. We'll have someone come get you when dinner is ready." Buffy nodded, her eyes already closing. Dawn tucked her hand back under the blanket then left the room.