A/N: Wow! Again, thank you for the amazing feedback. You guys are making me completely giddy!

This chapter was fun to write. Dawn makes her first real appearance in the story. Now, I know that a lot of you don't like her, and I really don't either. I thought she was always too whiny and annoying...so I decided to fix that by having her and Angel be pretty close. I can see Angel taking a liking to Dawn. He'd see her as his own little sister and he'd be a wonderful protective older brother that we all know he would be. Anyway, it was fun to explore a new character dynamic. I figured it was only fair because Buffy and Spike will be off doing their thing (don't worry, Angel will be there too...for the most part).

Anywho, now that I've sufficiently rambled, I believe it's time to move on to today's random disclaimer!

Random Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy. BUT if I did...Angel would have punched Xander more, had more lines, and would have never left; Smurfs are really green; Harry Potter trumps Twilight ANY day; One time I dreamed I was being chased by donuts; Seeley Booth = HOTNESS; Severus Snape is awesome; I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod...yeah, no I'm not; Jack Sparrow hides in my closet...still think I own Buffy?


Fool For Love Part One

"You know, it's probably not any of my business, but I gotta ask," Buffy said as she threw a vampire dressed like a Van Halen reject to the ground.

To say that she was working off a little steam would be an understatement. After everything that had happened in L.A., she was still upset, but she was long passed feeling sad and hurt and betrayed. No, now she had settled into being pissed. And it worked.

Angel had called a few times during the week. She hadn't answered until the last time when he'd asked if she still wanted him to come to Sunnydale for the weekend. Buffy had hung up after that. If he didn't know if she wanted him there or not then he didn't need to come.

She wasn't mad at him anymore, not really. Instead she was just tired. She was tired of everything being so difficult. She was tired of everything seeming to go right only to have it go wrong. Right now, she just wanted a hug. From Angel. And maybe a kiss…or two.

Suddenly the vampire lunged at her, forcing Buffy to concentrate back on the fight. She backhanded him hard, knocking him back. "Did you smell this bad when you were alive?" she asked before kicking him into a headstone.

"Cause if this is a post-mortem thing, then boy, is my face red…" she continued as she flipped him over the headstone, pulling out her stake as she did so.

"But just so you know, the fast-growing field of personal grooming has come a long way since you've become a vampire," she smirked.

Pushing off the ground, Buffy somersaulted into the air over the headstone with her stake raised in the air, ready to strike. However, before she could get both feet on the ground, the vampire grabbed her arm and spun her around.

Pain.

Buffy looked down and gasped in surprise and horror as she stared at her own stake protruding from her abdomen. Buffy was frozen for a moment in both pain and shock. Had this seriously just happened? For the first time since she met Andronikos in the graveyard all those months ago she felt fear. Her fight or flight response kicked in. For once, she chose flight.

Buffy gripped the shaft of the stake and pulled, gasping as the bloody stake left her body. Her sweater was already wet, soaking up the blood that was pouring from the wound.

Then she ran.

But her wound was slowing her. Pain shot from her stomach with every step she took. Adrenaline pumping through her veins only numbed the pain, and she knew it would only keep her going for so long. She glanced back over her shoulder, looking to see if she was being followed—the hunter becoming the hunted.

She looked back in front of her and then slid to a halt. The vampire was right in front of her. Desperately she looked for an escape route—or a savior. This was about the time Angel was supposed to show up and save the day.

"You're going?" the vampire asked with a frown. "But you were having so much fun a minute ago!"

Buffy brought her stake up and made a lunge at him, but he easily knocked it from her grasp. Then she was flying through the air and hitting the stone wall of a crypt. Buffy couldn't help the whimper that escaped her. She looked up as the vampire approached her with her stake, a predatory gleam in his eye.

This was it—the moment she always knew would come. She was going to die.

Buffy watched as he raised the stake for the killing blow. She stared up at her enemy helplessly. Suddenly she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, and then the vampire in front of her was on the ground.

A very familiar growl reached her ears and Buffy relaxed. She was feeling tired already, the blood loss making her brain foggy. She glanced over to where she knew he was and watched as he punched her attacker over and over.

The vampire blocked one punch though, and flipped her savior over his head. Then he took off. Her hero looked like he was about to give chase, but instead he hurried back over to her.

"Buffy? What happened?" Angel asked as the smell of her blood overwhelmed his senses.

Buffy held up her hands, red with her blood. "Angel," she breathed as she took a tentative step towards him before collapsing unconscious into his arms.

Angel quickly gathered her into his arms and made his way back to his car, gently laying Buffy across the back seat. He climbed into the driver's seat and sped to the Summers' house since it was closer than the mansion.

He pulled up beside the curb, glancing at the driveway. Joyce was home. Crap. She still wasn't thrilled that he and Buffy were back together. Anytime he and Joyce were in the same room, said room was full of tension. Angel figured it really wouldn't help matters if he came in holding a bleeding, unconscious Buffy.

But Angel had an alley in the Summers' home. Dawn.

Wasting no time, Angel climbed up and through Buffy's window. He listened for a moment. Dawn was in her room…Joyce was downstairs. Luck was actually on his side for once. Quickly, Angel stepped into the hallway and then slipped into Dawn's room.

"Dawn," Angel said quietly, but unable to keep the urgency out of his voice.

Dawn spun around and opened her mouth to scream, but Angel clamped a hand over her mouth. "Ssh, it's just me."

Slowly, Angel let the girl go and Dawn immediately hit him in the chest. "Ow!" he exclaimed softly.

"How many times do I tell you not to do your creepy sneaky tricks?" Dawn whispered, knowing that her mother probably didn't realize that Buffy's vampire honey was in her room.

"Sorry," Angel apologized. "But I need your help, Dawn."

"Huh?" Dawn asked confused.

"I need you to distract your mother," Angel explained. "Buffy's hurt and I need to get her into the house without Joyce seeing."

Dawn frowned. "Why?"

"Because she's bleeding from a stab wound and unconscious," Angel said quickly. "Look, I'm the one who taught you how to pick locks, and I covered for you when you used your new skill to open the weapons cabinet and filch that dagger. You owe me."

"You were the one who told me to steal it!" Dawn hissed.

"Which is why I covered for you," Angel said quickly. "Now go distract your mother."

"The things I do for you," Dawn muttered before heading out of her room and down the stairs.

Angel grinned. He liked Dawn. One of the only roles in his human life that he'd ever thought he'd done right was being a older brother. He was surprised at how easily he'd fallen back into that role. Dawn was his partner in crime...just like Kathy had been.

He waited until he could tell that Joyce was out of the way before hurrying out of Dawn's room, across the hallway into Buffy's room, out her window, and to the car. Gingerly he lifted her out of the backseat and hurried up the front porch steps.

Quietly, he opened the door and shut it gently. He was glad the stairs were close to the entryway, and he took them two at a time. When he was safely in Buffy's room, he laid her on the bed and divested her of her ruined, bloody sweater.

Angel examined the wound expertly. If she weren't a Slayer, he'd have to stitch it up. But the wound was already beginning to heal, and the blood was beginning to clot.

Going to the top drawer of her dresser, Angel took out the bandages and alcohol she always kept there. He knew that even though Joyce knew Buffy was a Slayer now, Buffy still didn't like traipsing through the house in bloody clothes. Normally, she'd climb in through her window to avoid the confrontation, and she kept her own little first aid kit in her room.

The door opened and Angel immediately blocked the entryway, stopping the door from opening only a few inches.

"Here," Dawn said as she handed him a wet washcloth. "Figured you'd need it."

"Thanks gréine," he grinned at Dawn's puzzled face before gently shutting the door.

He'd taken to calling her little nicknames in Gaelic. He wasn't consistent. Sometimes he'd call her sunshine, like just now. Sometimes it was sweetheart. Other times it was 'little one,' and something told him that if she knew that one, she would vehemently protest it.

Angel began wiping away the blood, getting a better look at the wound. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Glad that she was still unconscious, Angel began disinfecting the wound with the alcohol. Once that was done, he dressed the wound, applying the bandages and taping them in place.

Angel cautiously opened the door and peeked out in the hallway. Seeing that the coast was clear, he hurried into the bathroom and rinsed out as much of the blood as he could from the washcloth before putting it in the hamper. He felt somewhat like an idiot for sneaking around, but there was still a childlike thrill that he got out of it.

Darting back across the hall into Buffy's room, he noticed that she seemed to be waking up. When she moved to sit up, Angel gently laid her back down. "Hey, you need to lie back."

"Mhm," Buffy murmured, blinking a few times to fight her tired stupor. She glanced at Angel with a small smile. "Why am I the only one shirtless?"

Angel chuckled and retrieved a sweater from her dresser, and gently eased her up to help her put it on. "This wasn't necessarily what I had in mind," she mumbled as she slipped the sweater on over her head.

"Yeah well, you'll just have to be disappointed for a while," Angel replied with a small smirk as he lay out on the bed beside her.

Buffy turned her head to glare at him, and slipped her hand under his shirt in retaliation, grinning in triumph as the smirk immediately fell from his face. "Buffy," he warned half-heartedly, grabbing her wrist to stop her. He turned on his side to face her, propping himself up on his elbow.

"You were smirking," Buffy replied in defense. "I couldn't resist."

"Uh huh," Angel said disbelievingly before leaning down to kiss her softly. Buffy raised one hand to cradle the side of his face, and Angel broke away to plant a tender kiss on the inside of her wrist.

The week that he'd spent away from her was hell. He hated any time they spent apart, but it was always a comfort to know that at the end of the week they were going to see each other. He hadn't known that to be true for the entire week. She hadn't been answering his calls (which he thought was fairly justified). He'd almost decided to stay in L.A., but he'd learned that when women run away, typically they want you to follow them. And he was sure glad he had. If he hadn't decided to come to Sunnydale tonight...

Angel didn't even allow himself to think what would have happened.

Everything with Darla had put him on edge...the dreams, seeing her...letting her kiss him (which was one of the stupidest things he'd done this century). Buffy had been there for him the entire time. She'd been patient. She'd been supportive. She'd done everything she could. And then he'd gone and practically thrown it all in her face. He was an idiot.

"I'm sorry for everything with Darla. I shouldn't have let her get to me so much, and I definitely shouldn't have let her kiss me." Angel sighed before continuing, "I tried to go to Wolfram and Hart to hunt her down…"

"Please tell me Wes and Cordy stopped you," Buffy interrupted quickly.

Angel smiled, "Wes and Cordy stopped me."

"Good," Buffy nodded. "Anything else interesting happen in L.A.?"

"Wesley pretended to be me and was a bodyguard to a girl named Virginia, whose father wanted her to act as a sacrifice to gain power," Angel said as if it was an everyday occurrence. "But it turns out that Virginia needed to be a virgin…"

"And she wasn't?" Buffy guessed with a small smile.

"Nope," Angel shook his head. He tucked a strand of hair behind Buffy's ear, "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.

"Yeah, well I forgave you on Tuesday," Buffy replied with a smile, and Angel visibly sagged in relief. "For some reason I can't seem to stay mad at you."

"That's a good thing that I will try not to use to my advantage," Angel said, his brown eyes shining with playful mischief before kissing her again.

When he pulled away he was serious again. "What happened tonight?"

"I can't believe I passed out," Buffy said ignoring the question. "Do you think I'm a big wuss now?"

"Nah," Angel shook his head with a smile tugging at his lips. "But I would like for you to stop avoiding the question."

Buffy sighed, and then winced at the pain the action caused. "I don't get it. I'm in the best physical shape of my life. It was just one vamp. Nothing special, right? And he stabs me with my own stake."

Angel was just about to reply when Dawn burst through the door. "Dawn!" Buffy complained with a frown. "Knock, much?"

"Sorry to interrupt the sex-capades, but I just wanted to tell you that mom was coming," Dawn explained glancing at Angel.

Angel jumped off the bed and kicked the bandages and tape under the bed, just as Joyce walked in. She stopped as she entered the room, her eyes automatically settling on Angel.

"Oh, Angel I didn't know you were here," she said with a slightly narrowed gaze.

"Just got here," Angel replied feeling somewhat nervous.

"I didn't hear you come in," Joyce said with a slight frown.

"I came in through the window," Angel explained truthfully and Joyce thought he looked just a bit rueful.

"Do you do that often?" Joyce asked as cautious curiosity filtered through her tone.

"Not anymore," Angel answered again truthfully. A few years ago? The answer would have definitely been 'yes.' "How are you, Mrs. Summers?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation someplace else that didn't involve him sneaking into her daughter's room.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Bordering on chipper and tomorrow planning on being obnoxious." Angel wasn't a bad person. She knew that. She also knew that he loved her daughter and that her daughter loved him. There really wasn't anything she could do to change that...and then with her own health acting up...Buffy needed someone.

"Thank you for asking," Joyce said sincerely.

She looked at Buffy, "Buffy when you get a minute, I'd like you to look over the grocery list for next week."

"Sure thing," Buffy replied with a smile.

Joyce's eyes fell on the alcohol on the bedside table. "Are you disinfecting something?" she asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh uh," Buffy fumbled for an explanation.

"Mine!" Dawn interrupted her sister's rambling and snatched the alcohol off the table. "Some nail polish experiments are doomed before they even begin," she explained.

"But you keep pushing the envelope, honey," Joyce said with an affectionate smile before deciding that her presence was no longer required, and quietly shutting the door behind her.

Dawn smiled and turned to Buffy, "Did I just pull a Slayer-related-Mom-cover-up-thing?" she asked rhetorically. "Yes. Yes, I believe I did."

"Good job gréine," Angel smiled as he ruffled her hair, an action which earned him a playful shove.

"So let me see the reason for all the secrecy," Dawn said.

"Promise you won't tell?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dawn crossed her heart and Buffy lifted up her shirt to show the bandaged wound.

"Oh, cool!" Dawn said with wide, awed eyes, but seeing her sister's disapproving look she switched gears. "I mean, ew, gross."

"And Mom cannot know," Buffy said seriously. "You'll help me with the household stuff?"

Dawn was about to whine, but she saw Angel's warning look. She sighed, "Yeah. You're covered. We're just lucky it's not bikini season."

"So Dawn will help you around the house, and I'll take tonight's patrol," Angel said as he took a stake out of his pocket and twirled it absently.

"When do I get to patrol?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"When you're never," Buffy replied immediately, causing Dawn to frown.

Angel walked Dawn to the door and paused as he saw Dawn's disappointed look. He glanced back at Buffy sending her a silent message. She nodded and he walked with Dawn into her room, leaning casually against the door when he shut it.

"Why does she always do that?" Dawn immediately asked.

"She's just protecting you," Angel replied calmly.

"Yeah cause she's the Slayer, and it's her job to protect people and fight evil and kill vampires and be a Kung Fu master," Dawn ranted before plopping down on the bed. "What am I supposed to do?"

Angel sighed and sat down on the bed beside her, "I know it's hard to be Buffy's sister. She's just a little bit larger than life sometimes," he said causing Dawn to snort.

"Yeah, she slays evil and has a ridiculously-sexy-ninja-vampire-boyfriend," she replied and Angel quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"You know I actually fought a ninja vampire once," Angel said offhandedly, ignoring the whole 'sexy-ninja-vampire' bit. "China. 1822, I think."

"See? That is so cool," Dawn said emphatically. "You have all these stories and you've seen so much. And then Buffy's the Slayer. I'm boring."

Angel thought about that. Dawn didn't know she was the Key. She was anything but boring—but she didn't need to know that, yet. "I'd love to be boring," Angel finally admitted with a smile.

"Yeah, well you're weird," Dawn said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hey," Angel said softly, tilting her chin up to look at him. "Enjoy being a kid."

"I'm not a kid," Dawn immediately snapped and Angel laughed.

"Compared to me you're still a baby," he grinned before adding seriously. "Don't be too anxious to grow up Dawn. Enjoy the freedom of being young. Life goes by fast, gréine, believe me."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Dawn asked. "What does it mean?"

Angel laughed, "Sunshine," he answered.

"Seriously?" Dawn asked dubiously. "What is with you and the irony?"

Angel shrugged. "It happens as you get older," he explained with a smirk.

"I just want to help," Dawn said quietly.

"I know," Angel said with a soft smile. He knew what it was like to wonder about your purpose. Suddenly, an idea came to him. Buffy would stake him if she found out…but it would be good for Dawn…and after dodging a few punches while he explained himself, maybe Buffy would see that.

"What if I taught you how to fight?" he asked hesistatingly.

Dawn's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"It would have to be our secret," Angel said seriously. "Or your sister will kill me."

"Nah, she loves you too much," Dawn shook her head. "But she might beat you up."

"I'm willing to risk it," Angel smiled. "What do you say?"

"Yes!" Dawn said excitedly.

"Okay, we'll start tomorrow," Angel decided.

"Can Spike help me when you're not here?" Dawn asked.

Angel hesitated. Buffy would really kill him if she knew he let Spike help Dawn. And he still didn't trust Spike…but he did have the chip. He couldn't hurt her. "What do you think of Spike?" Angel asked instead of answering.

"He's really cool," Dawn said. "He's the only one who doesn't treat me like a kid all the time, and he tells me all these really awesome stories."

"Uh huh," Angel said slowly, wondering exactly what made these stories awesome. "Do you trust Spike?"

Dawn frowned, "Why does everyone always do that? Spike hasn't done anything but help us for a long time now. He and Buffy aren't actually fighting all the time anymore…they're actually pretty funny together. They bicker."

"Okay then," Angel agreed, though he made a mental note to threaten Spike with bodily harm if he hurt Dawn.

"Thank you!" Dawn smiled before throwing herself at him, engulfing him in a big hug.

Angel chuckled and returned the hug before getting up and heading out the door. He had one foot in the hallway when Dawn called to him.

"Hey Angel," she said seriously.

"What?"

"You're really awesome. You know that, right?"

Angel smiled. "I'm glad you think so," he replied before shutting the door and making his way back into Buffy's room.

He would be lying if he said he was surprised to see her up and about, gathering her things to go out.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.

"I'm going to Giles to research former Slayers," Buffy answered. "What did you and Dawn talk about?"

"Not growing up too fast," Angel replied. "She's just wondering what her purpose is."

"You're a lot like Yoda sometimes, you know?" Buffy said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'd rather be Obi-Wan Kenobi," Angel smiled.

"Again with the pop culture knowledge. I'm so proud," Buffy teased before reached up to give him a quick kiss.

"So why are you going to research past slayers?" Angel asked she left him to throw something else in her bag.

"To see how they died," Buffy answered. "That way I won't make their mistakes."

"Researching how they died isn't going to help," Angel said softly. He didn't know until now exactly how much the incident at the graveyard had scared her.

"Then what will?" Buffy asked. "You've killed Slayers, right?"

"Yes," Angel answered uncomfortably.

"Well how did you beat them?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not going to talk about it," he sighed. "It was a long time ago."

"It's not like I'll hold it against you," Buffy said blithely.

"It's not about how I won," Angel sighed. "It's how they didn't."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "And we're back with the cryptic." She had all her stuff together now, and was standing in front of him. "I'll be at the Magic Box."

"And I'll be hunting down the bastard that stabbed you," Angel replied as his eyes darkened, the anger and rage that he'd quelled in order to take care of Buffy rising to the surface.

"Oh, poor guy…he has no idea what's coming to him."


Well? What do you think? I'm liking my version of this episode a lot better than canon. Mainly because Angel is actually there. And I like writing him and Dawn together. I think they're cute and definitely have that older brother/little sister comraderie vibe going. I'm hoping that this makes Dawn more mature and less annoying!

I think the next update shall be...hmm...how about Monday? That gives me one day to be lazy, and two to write the chapter. Yep. Sounds like a plan.

I think reviewers are fantastical people (hint hint :D),

ArthursCamelot