It was family night at the Summers' residence, and the second-youngest member of the family sat on the back porch, gazing morosely up at the stars. If Buffy—or, God forbid, Angel—knew she was out here alone, she'd get an earful. Which was a total load of baloney, since she was mere feet from the back door. She snorted, able to quote the many lectures by heart. It was dangerous in Sunnydale blah blah vampires blah biddy blah.
As if in response to her thoughts, a faint movement on the edge of the circle of light made Dawn jump. "Who's there?" she called hesitantly. A familiar, black leather-clad figure stepped out of the darkness. "Oh. Hi, Spike. What are you doing here?"
"'Lo bit," the platinum-haired vampire greeted. "Short cut," he nodded toward the other side of the yard. Then he tilted his head. "What're you doing sittin' there all lonesome like for? Sounds like a right ol' party goin' on in the house."
"Family night," Dawn explained. "Mom's all goo-goo over Caddie and Angel and Buffy are making mushy eyes at each other. I figured it be safer out here."
Spike snorted and sat next to her. "Have to agree with you, there." Dawn scooted over to make room for him. He smelled of leather and cigarette smoke. "How's school been?" he asked.
Dawn sighed theatrically. "Awful. No one sits next to me at lunch. Not since the Akasa demon incident. People look at me funny and point and whisper that I'm related to her."
Spike made a sympathetic noise. After the aforementioned incident (which involved a child-snatching demon, Buffy, and the middle school gym), Spike had found Dawn outside the Bronze, crying because no one would talk to her. At that moment, a strange friendship blossomed, one that promised to either end in tears or flower into a strong, lasting relationship.
"It won't last long, pet," Spike assured her. "They'll come around. You just got to let that pretty smile and charming personality win them over."
She looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so?" she asked.
"Worked for me," he joked. Truth be told, he wasn't a normal vampire. With the chip in his brain preventing him from hurting humans, he had been forced into a kind of truce with the Slayer and her gang, but it was a rather uneasy one, probably due to the fact that Spike was personally responsible for the capture and torture of at least half of them.
"How'd you do on that English exam?"
Dawn brightened immediately. "I totally got an A. Mom was so thrilled. She even took me out for ice cream."
"See? So today wasn't so bad, eh?"
She shrugged. "I guess not. Are going to patrol? Can I come with you?"
"Yes, and most emphatically no." Spike chucked Dawn under the chin. "Your sister and Peaches would tear me apart if they found out I took you patrolling. Besides, you've got to eat dinner and finish your homework." He got to his feet to leave, but Dawn grabbed the edge of his coat.
"I'll be at the Bronze tomorrow night," she said. "You could come, if you wanted to." She blushed and looked down. "That sounded too date-y. What I meant was, I need some help on my history assignment. Could you meet me there and help me out?"
"I'll be there, pet," Spike promised, flashing her a quick smile. "Now I'm off before your sister catches me hanging around."
As soon as he melted into the shadows, the back door swung open and Joyce stuck her head out. "Dawn? What are you doing out there? Dinner's ready. Come in and eat."
"Coming, Mom," Dawn said, sighing faintly. She wished Spike could come around more often. At least he actually paid attention to her.
*****
Giles' eyebrows shot toward his hairline when Angel reported in for work the next morning. "What?" Angel demanded defensively. "Joyce had to be at the gallery and Cordelia's sick."
"I didn't say a word," Giles replied mildly, unable to keep his lips from twitching. The tall, muscular, and darkly handsome Angel was wearing a baby sling strapped across his chest. Inside the sling, Cadence Alexandra Summers burbled happily to herself, occasionally reaching up to play with the buttons of her father's shirt.
Doyle, however, wasn't nearly as tactful as Giles. First he burst out laughing, and then he cooed and fawned over the infant as he always did.
"Is Cadence going to be a distraction to you two?" Giles asked his employees rather pointedly. The half-demon and the ex-vampire both shook their heads somewhat sheepishly, and returned to their work.
Doyle ran the register for the Magic Box as well as handled the finances. He was quite good at "crunching numbers" as he called it, and so did well. Angel, lacking Doyle's people skills, restocked, catalogued merchandise, and kept an eye on sales to make sure no one bought the ingredients for any nasty spells. It was a rather good job for them both, as they could drop what they were doing for demon hunting without getting in trouble with their boss.
Over the course of the morning, several women stopped Angel so they could exclaim over the infant. While normally he'd resent the attention, Angel could help wanting to show off his daughter. His daughter. The child he never thought he could have.
"Oh, poor wee thing," Doyle clucked when Caddie got fussy around noon. "Why don't we come to Uncle Doyle and give ol' Da a rest, eh?"
"Do you have to talk like that?" Angel asked with a wince as he handed his daughter to her godfather. "You sound…like a spinster aunt or something. It's creepy."
Doyle glared righteously at his best friend. "I can talk any which way I like, mate," he said emphatically. "Especially to the child the Powers That Be put under my protection."
Angel rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He felt mostly apprehensive about Doyle's reassignment. It meant that Caddie was going to be in some sort of danger. Doyle, seeing Angel's expression, grew serious.
"I don't know what Fate's got in store for Caddie," he said solemnly. "I just know I'm supposed to make sure she gets there."
Angel managed a tight smile and handed Doyle a bottle of formula. "Here. Make her happy."
