Please assume that, yes, Clint will avail himself of Willow to uninvite Angel into his home or have Dawn and Buffy to do it. It's not important to the story, so it's not something I'm going to waste time writing about. A master assassin, though, will ALWAYS do whatever it takes to keep his family safe. He wouldn't take any chances. The humor was supposed to be in how casual and clueless Dawn, a teenager, would be to those kinds of nuances.

Chapter 2: Becoming a Family

*****A Week Later*****

Dawn was excited for her Thanksgiving break. The new school wasn't bad—just different. More boys than girls talked to her. Laura said it was because she was so pretty. It was odd hearing someone say that besides her mother, but Clint thought so, too. It was true that most of her freckles had faded, and she'd finally gotten some boobs—the were bigger than Buffy's non-existent ones. It kind of sucked being away from the ocean, but Clint said they could go to New York for Black Friday shopping. Tony was sending his plane. Clint finally told him that he was married. Dawn thought it was way weird that her brother didn't tell his friends or co-workers that he was married. There was private then there was Clint. It was an entire different level. Since she and Buffy weren't that private, he knew that he couldn't keep his family entirely to himself any longer.

Buffy picked her up from school. It was very odd to see Buffy behind the wheel of Clint's old pickup truck.

"You know everyone back home would die if they saw you driving," Dawn said, getting in.

"It's easy driving when there's no cars on the road," Buffy pointed out. By the time, she made it to town where Dawn's school was, Buffy felt very comfortable driving the giant truck. "Besides, I feel very tall in this thing. I think I'm a truck girl all the way!"

Dawn snickered. "I'm picturing Faith's reaction," she said.

Buffy smiled. Faith had actually called her a few days ago, letting her know that things were five-by-five. Of course, she also wanted to brag about Captain America fighting alongside her and Xander. Naturally, Xander called her nearly every day to give her a play by play—he had a major man crush going. It was very cute. No word yet from Willow. Xander had managed to get Willow and Tara's professors to give them an incomplete for the rest of the semester. Both had been doing excellent in their classes, so their professors had been willing to do it. When they returned, they would take their finals and get the credit for their classes.

"Is it weird to not be on the hellmouth?" Buffy asked Dawn as she drove them back home. Already Clint's place felt like home.

"At first," Dawn acknowledged. "But this is what normal is supposed to feel like. It's been, like, five years or so since we've had it. Mom not being here sucks majorly, but I think she'd have liked Clint."

"Totally," Buffy agreed. "She would definitely love Laura and the kids."

"Do you think she'd be weird about the half-brother thing?" Dawn wondered.

Buffy shook her head. "No. I think she would've treated Clint like she treats Xander—one of hers," she said.

They got out of the car and saw their brother chopping wood. He waved at them, putting down his axe.

"I see you got here in one piece," Clint said, smiling at the two. Dawn bounced over to him, hugging him.

"Barely," Dawn said.

"Laura's got a snack in the kitchen if you're hungry," he said. The high school got out an hour later than the little kids and started an hour later. It meant two trips to town since a bus didn't come out this way—or Clint didn't want it to. Buffy hadn't asked.

Dawn skipped inside to say hi—she literally skipped everywhere these days.

"I was thinking we could do some skill testing if you're up to it," Clint said to Buffy. He hadn't pushed her in the few weeks that she'd been here. The first week, she'd floated around, not saying too much. The second week had been better. Last week, when the ex had arrived, though, she had sparked to life. It was like she was a different person. There was so much energy in her that at times she seemed to vibrate. She went jogging both in the morning and at night. Clint always went with her at night. He tried to keep up with her, but he finally conceded that he was too old. His sister had laughed and said it wouldn't matter—a slayer was designed to not tire.

"Cool. That sounds good. I've got too much energy to burn," Buffy said. "I'm looking forward to Black Friday shopping. I wish Laura would go with us."

"She will next time," Clint said. "She wants us to bond first."

"I really like her, Clint. You're a lucky guy," Buffy told him.

"Don't I know it," Clint said happily. He took her to the backside of the house. He had a target set up along the back-fence post. "I thought we'd start with a bow."

"Naturally," Buffy said with a grin. "I hear you never miss."

"Not yet," Clint admitted. "I've always had a good eye and quick reflexes."

"Me, too," Buffy said. "Even before I was a slayer. I skated, did gymnastics, cheerleading. I used a crossbow as a slayer."

"A crossbow has a quick trigger and requires less skill," Clint said in distaste. "Also, in combat, it's a bitch to reload."

"True. We'd usually use it once and throw it aside," Buffy shared.

Clint picked up his bow. "This is my bow. It's fit to my strength. Since you're stronger than me, I'm sure you won't have any problems pulling it back," he said, handing it and an arrow to Buffy.

Like all weapons, Buffy had no problems knowing how to use the bow and arrow. In fact, Giles had actually had her practice with one a few times.

With ease, Buffy put the arrow on, pulled back the bow and let it loose. It hit dead center.

"Easy-peasy," Buffy said, grinning. "I could do this all day."

"Well, you are my sister," Clint said proudly.

"I bet I am better than you," Buffy bragged.

"Listen, kid, you may have this mystical mojo going on, but no one is better than me," he said firmly.

"Give me a blindfold," she said smugly.

Clint smirked. "Fine," he said. "Just don't cry when you get beat. It's humiliating."

Buffy giggled as Clint went into the house to get a blindfold. Naturally, the entire family followed him out of the house.

"We're having a shooting contest. Your hubby thinks he is the best archer in the family," Buffy told Laura with a wink.

"Daddy's the best in the world!" his loyal son bragged.

Clint ruffled his son's hair and then blindfolded Buffy. "Okay, sis. Try not to hit anyone with that," he said.

Buffy stuck out her tongue and then raised the arrow.

"You know Giles used to throw knives at her while she was blindfolded?" Dawn told him.

"What?" Clint asked dumbfounded.

"She never missed," Dawn said. "It's an unfair advantage. You're just human."

Clint scoffed while his blindfolded sister let the arrow loose. It hit the target slightly to the right of center. Everyone clapped.

"Now let's see what the old man can do," Buffy teased.

"Trash talking, huh? I see how it is," Clint said, grinning at her. He loved seeing this side of her. Clint stared at the target, memorizing it, and then he blindfolded himself. He took a deep breath and released the arrow.

It hit the middle of the target.

"Yes!" Dawn cried. "Ha! Buffy got beat! His is perfectly centered! Yours wasn't!"

"Okay, we'll let him keep the archer title since I excel at, like, everything else," Buffy said, giving him a mischievous grin.

"Teach me!" Dawn told him.

"We have bows and arrows," her nephew said. "Come on. I'll show you."

Soon there was a war party going on with arrows flying everywhere. Laura was not surprised when Dawn hit the target her first try. It wasn't in the middle, but she was related to Clint.

It was a great time.

*****The Next Day*****

The next day while the kids were at school, Clint had Buffy outside. He threw a long staff at her. "Let's see what you've got," he told her.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you," Buffy said with a grin.

Clint chuckled, knowing she probably would. "You do know that I spar with Steve Rogers? I can deal with superpowered humans," he told her.

"Okay," Buffy said. They began to spar.

Clint wasn't surprised that Buffy moved like his partner did. Natasha was the deadliest female that he had ever met. However, his sister hit as hard as Rogers. He was impressed. Her kick was especially deadly. When she got him in the ribs, he knew it was bad.

"Oh no!" Buffy yelled, hearing the crack. "Are you okay?"

"You cracked a rib," Clint said with a grunt. "I'll live."

"No more sparring. I'm the slayer. I'm better than you and everyone else you know except for maybe Captain America," she said.

"It's okay. I asked for it," Clint said, holding his ribs as he limped into the house.

"What happened?" Laura asked in concern.

"I'm sorry!" Buffy said quickly.

"I asked her to spar with me. She cracked a rib," Clint shared.

Laura made a tsking sound as she went into the laundry room to get the wrap. This was not the first time her husband had a cracked rib.

"We should take you to get x-rays," Buffy said. "Make sure you'll be okay."

"I know what they'll say. Keep it wrapped. Take it easy," Clint said. "I have lots of pain meds that I haven't used. I'll be fine."

Buffy's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said.

Clint pulled her down on the couch next to him. "Hey, I'm okay. Nat beats me up all the time. Strong women don't intimidate me, okay? This happens in training. No harm, no foul," he told her.

Buffy leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're a great brother," she said.

"Well, I try. You're pretty great, too," he told her, meaning it. He knew in his head how talented she was. However, seeing her fight made it more real. She could handle herself. It made him happy to know even if he would still probably worry about her.

When Dawn found out he was hurt, she was so upset that he went and got checked out, but he was right. He was okay and the doctor prescribed more pain meds that he wouldn't take. However, he kept getting them filled—you never knew when they might come in handy.

The days passed. His sister continued to thrive and show him just how incredible she was.

Soon, Dawn convinced him that she, too, needed to know how to fight. Clint enjoyed teaching his sister how to spar while Buffy taught her sword play. His kids taught Dawn how to use the bow and arrow. They had so much fun during these times. Clint's injury postponed their shopping trip. But he still ordered both sisters their very own bow and arrow for Christmas.

This was their first Christmas without their mother. It was hard. Clint and his family made it so much better. A surprise visit from her friends and Giles made it the best Christmas—even Willow and Tara came in from Asgard. It was so great seeing everyone and watching them with her new family. It made the changes in her life more real. It made everything okay again.

Buffy was finding it easier to forget waking up in the coffin after being pulled out of heaven. Being away from the hellmouth made this much easier. Not having to constantly fight vampires and demons every night made her horrors fade much easier.

As the year was coming to a close, Buffy began to feel more optimistic and hopeful. Her mother was dead, and Buffy had died protecting Dawn. Everything had been so horrible for so long. Now, though, she was alive, and her brother had come for them.

Buffy was remembering the girl she used to be before she was the slayer. For so long, she fought her fate as the Chosen One, refusing to be happy with the hand she was dealt. Then she'd come to terms with it and began seeing herself the way everyone saw her. The girl inside her gave more and more space for the slayer. The weight of her responsibilities colored every choice she made. Having to choose to save Dawn or the world, though, had been too much. Death had been her escape. She didn't have to make the tough choice to let Dawn die for the greater good. Instead, she got to save the world and her sister—all it cost was her life.

But the Powers had other plans for her it seemed. Now here she was. She had a new family and the hellmouth was no longer her burden. It wasn't heaven, but life was good again.

For the first time in years, Buffy was looking forward to a new year. Finally feeling free, she was excited to wake up and face what each day brought.

******Chapter End******

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