Chapter 2: Making New Friends

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

Willow examined their little house with pleasure. The last of the furniture had arrived. It was the first real home they'd had in over a year. Staying at hotels or with friends of Giles was not the same thing. The house Matt had showed them had been perfect. It had two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Then there was a den that could be used as a guest room. The price was very reasonable. One of the perks of a small town was things were much cheaper than any place in California or Europe. Buffy and Dawn's father Hank had finally been tracked down a few months ago. Buffy had read him the riot act for his gross neglect since their mother's death. She got him to cough up a lot of money in back child support, and he agreed to deposit money monthly into an account for Dawn. Dawn and Buffy both had access to it. Dawn had spent two weeks with him at the beginning of the summer. Unfortunately, things had been strained between him. Willow knew that getting back to some type of normal routine was important to Dawn. She was happy that the house had come together so quickly. Willow hoped to make it a home for both her friends. Buffy needed a place to come home to, a place to call her own. From the first day they had met their sophomore year of high school, Buffy had gone out of her way to make Willow feel wanted, even needed. She had given Willow's life meaning and purpose. And when Willow had spiraled into an ugly place, Buffy had never once judged her or made her feel guilty. Her unwavering support and friendship had been what Willow had hungered for her entire life. Although she and Xander had been friends since they were in kindergarten, they hadn't become so close until Buffy had bound them irrevocably together. Now Willow would do anything to help her friends. Taking care of Buffy's only real family was the least Willow could do. Since Dawn had become her family, too, it was no hardship.

Dawn came downstairs. "So explain to me again why Buffy gets the downstairs room? It's got a bigger closet," Dawn complained with a pout. "She may not even live here!"

"You know she never stays away from you for long," Willow said patiently. "She'll be here as soon as she gets this Ripper guy. And with her late hours patrolling the downstairs bedroom is just more convenient for her to have. Trust me."

"Fine," Dawn said in resignation. "So Matt told me they need another server at the Grille. It's only for about fifteen hours a week. Do you think I should apply? It's a good way for me to meet people."

"Don't you mean it's a good way for you to spend more time with Matt, the cutie patootie," Willow teased.

"That too!" Dawn said happily.

"Well, I think it's fine. But I need a favor from you. It's a big one, and I know you may not like it," Willow said.

"What it is?" Dawn asked curiously. Willow never asked for favors.

"Well, I've been exploring this town more and more. I can't quite figure out the source of the power here. There's not any portals or hellmouths, so don't worry. However, there is something. Some magic in the air in places. Or memory of magic. I'm not sure. Giles said the ring Rick had was a ring of power. Ancient," Willow said. "He found a few mentions of them in one of his books. Like that ring Buffy gave to Angel that rendered vampires invincible. The rings are very rare and very powerful in some way."

"You know I noticed the other day that Damon has a similar ring," Dawn remarked.

"Really? I hadn't seen him around lately," Willow said.

"I noticed it when I was sitting at the bar talking to Matt. Damon had got into a bitter argument with this really beautiful blonde girl. I asked Matt if she was his girlfriend and Matt said no, but he wouldn't be surprised if they occasionally had sex 'cause that was the kind of guy Damon was. Then he said Damon was in love with his brother's girl. Or ex-girlfriend," Dawn said with a confused frown. "I get the feeling that there's a lot he doesn't tell me."

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Willow said. "I need to know what's going on in this town. Something's not right. I did some research on Damon's friend Rick. His wife disappeared several years ago-presumed dead. She was a professor of the occult. I read some of her work in her school's online archives. She believed in pretty much everything we know to be true. Vampires, werewolves, and magical forces. Then she goes and disappears. It's odd. Maybe even suspicious."

"Yeah, it is. Maybe that's why Rick drinks. He misses his wife," Dawn said. Then she remembered. "Matt did tell me he had been dating Elena's aunt that died just a few months ago. The poor guy is a perpetual heartbreak."

Willow looked sympathetic for a moment. Then she frowned. "Well, none of us are indifferent to heartbreak. Your sister and I have a very tragic track record, too, when it comes to romance," Willow said. "Damon's headshake is still bothering me. Those images keep flashing in my mind. There's something not right about him."

"Well, if he didn't come out in the day time, I'd think he was a vamp. A guy that hot has to be otherworldly," Dawn said with a dreamy smile.

"So you'll help me?" Willow asked.

"Do what? You still haven't said what you need from me," Dawn pointed out.

"I have this little truth potion I've perfected that I was hoping you could slip to Matt and get him to tell you what he knows about Damon and Rick and what's going on in this town," Willow asked.

Dawn frowned. "I really like this guy, Will. That doesn't seem right," she said.

Willow looked disappointed, so Dawn suggested, "How about we invite him over for dinner and you slip it in his food or something?"

"Okay, that'll work! Thanks! See if he's free tonight, okay?" Willow suggested.

"Fine," Dawn said in resignation.

******The Salvatores'******

Damon faced Elena, Caroline, Rick, Bonnie, and Matt. Elena had been applying the pressure for the past ten minutes concerning Stefan. She didn't know that Damon and Rick had been tracking his whereabouts. Damon was trying to protect her from the truth of what Stefan had become.

"I want Bonnie to do another locating spell," Elena was saying.

"And what do you plan on doing, Elena, when we find Stefan? Ask him nicely to come home?" Damon inquired in a voice dripping with scorn.

"We got to do something, Damon! Maybe you're okay with him being gone, but I'm not!" she yelled.

Rick came to Damon's defense. "Stefan is his brother, Elena. Of course, he wants him back," Rick said.

"Does he? I'm not so sure," Caroline said doubtfully. She hated that Elena was depending more and more on the elder Salvatore.

"No, Elena's the only one who cares. I don't care about anyone, remember?" Damon said with a bitter edge.

"You said it," Caroline replied, giving him a pointed look.

"Stop!" Elena said. She glared at Caroline. "Damon loves his brother. They've been brothers a lot longer than any of us have been alive. They're all each other has."

"No, he's all Damon has. Stefan has all of us," Caroline insisted, unapologetic.

Rick stood up. He knew that Damon was an ass, but he didn't love very many people except his brother, Elena, and Rick. Rick knew this. And he knew that Damon was tormented by his brother's sacrifice. He didn't deserve Caroline's scorn. "Caroline, you're not helping matters. Nor are you correct. Damon has all of us, too. Let's not forget why Stefan is doing this. He had to save Damon because Damon almost died saving you and Tyler!" Rick reminded her sternly.

Caroline flushed at the reminder but didn't say more.

"You haven't mentioned Klaus," Bonnie said. "He's not going to give up Stefan easily. We can't just approach them even if we did find them. So far I haven't had any success. I think Klaus has his own witch shielding them."

"Speaking of witches. Matt, what have you found out about our new resident Samantha?" Damon asked.

"Samantha?" Caroline asked in confusion.

Damon rolled his eyes. Sometimes he forgot how young they all were. "Samantha is the name of a character on an old TV show called Bewitched. She was a full adult size witch. Not like Sabrina here," Damon said gesturing to Bonnie. When Caroline still looked confused, Damon said impatiently, "Witch. She's a witch!"

All eyes but Matt and Rick's looked surprised at his announcement. "There's another witch in town? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Bonnie asked in disapproval.

"Because I put Captain America on it. The witch's name is Willow. Very cute redhead. She's taking care of her best friend's sister Dawn. Dawn is your age," Damon told them.

"Dawn? I met her," Caroline said in surprise.

"Yes, you did. She and Willow are renting the house I showed them across the street from mine," Matt shared.

Caroline nodded. "Why do you think Willow is a witch?" Caroline asked.

Damon explained about their first encounter with the women and what he'd overheard.

"If she's a witch, it's my business," Bonnie told him. "I should be the one meeting her."

"Fine. Go meet her," Damon said with a careless shrug.

Matt pulled out his phone. "It's her. Dawn," he said. He answered the phone as he walked out of the room.

"So you think this Willow girl is connected with Klaus? Maybe he sent her here to spy on us," Elena said worriedly. "He can't know I'm alive!"

Damon went to her and put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "Relax. We don't know that she has any connection with Klaus," Damon said. "We have enough to worry about. So let's not freak out until we know."

Elena nodded. Matt reappeared. "Dawn wants me to join her and Willow for dinner tonight," he shared.

"Perfect. Tell them you're bringing a friend along," Bonnie told him. Matt nodded and sent Dawn a text.

"So you play nice with the new witch and find out if I need to kill her," Damon said to Matt.

"There will be no killing, Damon!" Elena admonished.

"We'll see," Damon said with a noncommittal shrug. He took a sip of his drink. Like always, he'd do what needed to be done. What none of them were willing to do because someone had to do the dirty work. It might as well be him. After all, he was so good at it. Then they could continue to hate him and all would be right in their world.

Elena gave Rick a longsuffering look. "Damon," Rick said in warning.

"Whatever," Damon said, rolling his eyes. He walked out of the room. He wasn't going to waste time arguing.

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him," Rick said. Rick got up and went after him. Damon was a man of extremes and impulses. If left alone, there's no telling what he'd do. Stefan was the best at keeping in in check. However, now that Stefan was gone, the job was Rick's. Surprisingly enough, Rick didn't mind. Somehow, the two of them had become real friends. Between all the drinking, the bickering, and the battles, a true bond had formed. Since his wife had "disappeared," Rick had been alone. It was ironic that the man responsible for his solitary state was the one to end it.

"Thank God for Rick!" Elena said. The one time adversaries had become real friends. In fact, besides Elena, Rick was probably Damon's only friend. The fact that Rick could also look past the indifferent mask Damon wore spoke volumes to Elena. She trusted Rick completely. If Rick saw what she saw in Damon, then she couldn't be wrong about Damon. Her faith in him wasn't misplaced. Without Stefan, Elena felt truly adrift. She had lost so much. She was counting on Damon to bring him back to her. To make her life make sense again.

*******A Few Hours Later********

Willow opened their front door expecting Matt. However, she blinked in surprise to see a very attractive dark skinned girl with him. "Oh, hi," Willow said, smiling.

"Didn't Dawn tell you I was bringing my friend Bonnie?" Matt asked, detecting her surprise.

Dawn came up behind Willow and looked sheepish. "Well, I meant to," she said. "But it's fine. We got plenty of food. We ordered Chinese and got lots of everything."

"Great. I love Chinese," Matt said with a smile. They stepped in and shut the door behind them.

"Dawn, this is my good friend Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie this is Dawn Summers and Willow Rosenberg," Matt introduced.

Dawn gave a small wave and smiled shyly at her. Willow held out her hand. Feeling a bit anxious to meet a fellow witch, Bonnie took a deep breath as she grabbed the offered hand. She gasped as a hot flash burned through her hand and down her arm at Willow's touch.

Willow, too, felt a connection through Bonnie's hand in hers. She smiled. "Hello, little sister," Willow said warmly.

Bonnie looked at her in open mouth amazement. She looked down at their still joined hands. The power in this woman was unlike anything Bonnie had ever felt. "Who are you?" Bonnie stammered.

"She's Willow. The most powerful witch you'll ever meet," Dawn bragged proudly.

Matt looked at Bonnie in concern. Was this good news or bad for them?

*******In England*******

Giles hadn't been able to put down his books since Willow and Dawn left. The emergence of powerful magics in the United States had sent ripples through the witch world. Giles' coven friends had assured him that the world wasn't in danger over whatever had went down. But one of them had made some obscure comment when Giles mentioned the town of Mystic Falls. Curious, Giles had started researching the town. The more he read, the more concerned he was. There was no hellmouth there. However, there was a long history of unexplained deaths that he would attribute to vampire attacks. The stories went back over a hundred years. He doubted that any town would have so many animal attacks. There had to be a permanent vampire presence nearby. He must uncover the truth so he could warn Willow and Buffy.

******Atlanta, Georgia******

Buffy wasn't quite sure how Faith had convinced her they deserved a night off. Nor did she know how spending time at a popular Atlanta night club was going to help them find their elusive vamp and his friend. In so many ways, Faith was ying to her yang. The sometimes no-fun Buffy seriously needed a heavy dose of the fun Faith brought. However, Buffy still had trouble cutting loose and enjoying herself when lives were at stake. The burden of her calling always weighed so heavily on her. But watching Faith dancing and laughing so exuberantly a few feet away reminded Buffy of how different the two women were. Faith's burden only seemed to empower her; it never weighed heavily on her. Or if it did, Faith never showed any evidence of it. Buffy emptied the beer Faith bought for her in a single long drink. She got out of her chair and joined Faith on the dance floor. She deserved a break.

Across the room, two very predatory gazes were watching the women closely. "Do you see that exquisite creature that just joined the other raven haired beauty on the dance floor?" Klaus asked Stefan.

Stefan glanced at the pixie blonde that was dancing with the very striking brunette that had caught Stefan's eye. "I noticed the raven haired beauty. She's amazing," Stefan observed, admiring her zest and energy. The contrast between the two dancing women was riveting.

It was the first time Klaus has noticed genuine interest in his old friend since he'd struck his bargain with Stefan. "We will have to make their acquaintance," Klaus said with a predatory smile.

"A loud dance club really isn't the place to make new acquaintances," Stefan told him.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Klaus said with confidence.

Both men watched the intriguing picture the two beauties made. Both women were oblivious to their new found admirers. Neither realized their prey was finally within their grasp.

*******To Be Continued*******