Chapter 3:

Sanctuary

Connor strode in the hotel, carrying a limp young girl in his arms. Everyone watched as he laid her on the couch, her head lolling on her shoulder, a dark bruise visible above her left brow. "What the hell happened to her?" Faith asked bluntly, hands on hips.

"Nine Vamps" Connor responded, nonchalant. Angel walked over to his son, placing a fatherly hand on his shoulder. "And you made it out fine? That's my boy; I always knew you had it in you. Nine vampires" he repeated, letting out a low whistle and looking utterly proud. Connor turned to face him, his gaze flickering to the unconscious Lana. "Wasn't really me. She dusted six of them, but unlucky number seven tossed her into the side of a building. She didn't seem to know what they were, though. I picked up where she left off, but one of them managed to get away."

The gang stood there, open-mouthed, all their eyes locked on the fragile-looking girl. Gunn was the first to speak. "So is she a slayer, or something?" he asked, arms folded across his chest, now glancing at Faith.

This brought a spark of life to Angel's face as he rushed to the phone and began dialing a number with lightning speed. "Hi" he answered into the phone. "Is Buffy alright?" Someone responded, prompting angel to reply. "No, it's Angel. I was just checking."

"Dad, no. She's-" Connor stepped in, trying to explain what he saw. He was cut off by Angel's impatience as he responded to something said over the phone, "No, no. Just forget I called. She doesn't need to know, false alarm. Yeah, thanks Xander." He hung up, turning to face Connor. "She can't be a slayer, Buffy's fine. So the question is, how did she dust a half dozen vamps on her own?"

Connor rubbed his eyes, showing his irritation as his hands slapped back down to his sides. "If you'd listen, I could tell you. She didn't seem to have super strength or anything, human as far as I can tell. But she could lift objects without touching them, like telekinesis or something. It was actually pretty cool" he added in awe.

Wesley strode over to the girl, lifting a purse away from her arms. "Maybe something in here will give us a few clues." He opened it, turning it over and spilling out its contents. Among them were a cell phone, key set, and wallet. In the wallet was a UCLA Student I.D card and driver's license.

"Lana Lee Holloway, 18, University Sophomore, 5'3'' tall" Wesley read aloud before neatly replacing the girls things. "There's nothing here to point her out as a Witch."

"What, do most of them carry Hogwarts I.Ds instead?" Gunn asked sarcastically. Wesley turned to face him, irritancy showing on his face. "No, but a lot of practitioners at least carry amulets or something to help them with spells which increase their majicks. Acute Telekinesis is pretty advanced."

"I like a chick who can handle herself. Kinda makes me wanna go knock the Vamp population down a few, too" Faith added before heading out the door.

Angel nodded in agreement, picking back up the sword he selected earlier. "Can we all please just try to stick together for a patrol?" he asked irritably, the rest of the gang following suit and heading out. Angel stopped in the doorframe, turning pointedly to his son. Catching the drift, Connor shrugged, "Already clocked in my hours. I think I'll just stay and, um…watch her." His face turned a slight shade of pink as he sat down in the armchair opposite Lana.

Lorne waved the team goodbye, the usual cheer surrounding him. "I'll just stay here, me being not much for violence. Oh, you all have fun though. Knock 'em dead…er" he added enthusiastically.

No more than ten minutes after the team's departure, Lana was stirring on the couch. Her dark lashes fluttered open as she assessed her new surroundings. A small hand rose automatically to her throbbing temple, a grimace set upon her face. She turned to the side, recognizing the young man sat beside her. "You" she whispered woozily.

"Yeah. Me." Connor responded awkwardly as she pushed herself into a sitting position, a look of severe confusion written all over her face. She glanced around, everything unfamiliar to her. "I'm dreaming right?" she asked, voice weak.

"Not so much. Do you remember everything that happened, in the alley?"

She stood up, head in her hand, trying to put together the images that floated across her mind. "Yeah, I think so. It's all a little fuzzy. There was so many of them…and they were, different. Something was wrong with their faces." She suddenly froze, a look of terror spreading across her face.

"What is it?" Connor asked, voice full of concern as he got to his feet. She looked up at him as he took a step forward, "I, I didn't mean to. They were all around me, and it was so dark, and, and…oh my god" she exclaimed, heart racing. "I killed them. I have to turn myself in."

She turned towards the door as Connor rushed in front of her, arms out wide blocking her way. "Whoa, just hang on a second. You're going to get yourself arrested over a bunch of vampires who were going to bleed you dry? What bodies are you going to show them anyway? The entire lot of them wouldn't fill up a peanut tin."

Lana pulled her eyebrows together in confusion, wondering if the boy was insane. "I'm sorry, did you say vampires? Did you hit your head too?"

Connor rolled his eyes, steering Lana back to the couch. "Maybe you should sit down" he suggested, plopping himself down on the far end of the sofa. "This is going to be a lot to swallow, but, Vampires- they do exist. That's how I found you tonight. I was kind of hunting them. Besides, how else do explain the facial distortion and turning to dust?"

Lana looked at him as if he were a crazy person in the asylum. "Look, you seem really nice and all, but I'm really having trouble believing all this." Connor raised his eyebrows, looking back at her. "It can't be that much of a stretch, I mean, you're not so normal yourself. I saw what you can do, it was amazing."

Lana looked at her hands, feeling both terrified and freed that someone knew her secret- and wasn't trying to have her dissected. "So, what, this is just a normal night for you?" she asked skeptically. He laughed, "You have no idea."

"So if those were vampires, how did you handle them?" she asked curiously. His lip turned up in a half smile, warming his face. "I'm special too, I guess. You see, my dad's kind of a vampire, so I inherited his abilities, only I'm human" he stated.

At that moment, Lorne appeared in the room, both hands holding steaming mugs. "We could all use a little hot chocolate, now, couldn't we?" he asked, friendly and full of cheer. Lana's eyes widened at his appearance, too shocked too freak out. He whistled a show tune as he handed her a mug. She accepted it with a muffled "thanks'', turning to Connor for some sort of explanation.

"Oh, he won't do anything. He's, well, he's a demon- but a good one. He helps us out a lot." Connor smiled in reassurance as Lana regained her composure. She seemed to be put at ease at Lorne's obvious warmth, sensing that he was good.

"That's right sugar, you just drink up. A knock in the head like that, you could probably use a nap too. We have plenty of room here. Stay as long as you like." Lorne invited, taking a seat in the open armchair. Lana smiled her thanks as Connor rose, gesturing towards the stairs. "Come on, I'll show you to a room. The beds are all much more comfortable than that couch" he promised, light-hearted.

She followed him to a cozy, empty room, her body going on auto-pilot as her mind drifted away from her, so sore and exhausted. "If you need anything, I'm right down the hall" Connor reassured her, leaving the room.

She laid herself on the soft bed, drifting into a welcome sleep, her mind pulling her into dreams of Vampires, green men, and super strong teenage boys.