A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in updating. I've got the next four chapters hand written, I just have to type them up is all. Hope you like.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!Chapter Nine
When they pulled into the ratty looking motel, no one spoke. Faith got a room for her and Talia, Dawn got one for herself, and Dean got one for himself and Sam. They split up long enough to put their things into their rooms, and somehow they ended up congregating inside of Dawn's room. She was very angry and she didn't want to listen to anything they had to say, but she apparently didn't have a choice. Faith had said that they should hear them out, but she disagreed. They'd been up front with them from the get go and seemed that Sam and Dean were the ones with something to hide, not them. Dean and Sam looked about as uncomfortable as Dawn felt. She got a small comfort in the fact that Sam was feeling really low at that moment, but it did little to calm her temper. Since it didn't appear that anyone was going to say anything, Dean cleared his throat and began.
"Okay, we'll answer all of your questions. We should have interrogated each other when we first met, but we got kind of side tracked." Faith smirked at Dean.
"You mean that you didn't feel threatened riding with three girls." Dean smiled devilishly at her.
"Among other things, yes, that's right." Dawn was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed, not looking at anyone. Sam didn't know how to make it up to her. He was about to say something to that effect, when Dawn's phone went off. She saw that it was Buffy, so she answered.
"Hey Buffy, how are you?" She heard her sister sigh.
"Are you still having problems with them?" Dawn shot a glance at the boys.
"We're trying to work it out as we speak." Buffy sighed once more.
"I just found out that they refused to sing for Lorne. He's on the call with us, and they're going to sing. I need you to hand the phone to Sam and discreetly tell Talia and Faith to be ready to use force." Not wanting to cause trouble, she got up slowly. She walked over to Sam and handed him her phone. She then walked over to Faith and casually put her head on her shoulder. Sam immediately started to shake his head, which caused
Dean's attention to shift. Dawn took the opportunity to whisper to Faith.
"Buffy said you may have to make them sing." Faith nodded just as casually. Dawn stood up straight and went to stand by the door. She watched as Faith filled Talia in and they started to walk closer to the refusing boys. Not wanting to witness what was going to happen, Dawn slipped silently out of the room. She had just enough time to sit down, put her head in her hands, and then she heard the thumps, knowing that they'd refused. She put her head in her hands to try and drown out the sounds. After a few seconds, Faith came out with a fat lip. Dawn looked up at her, surprised.
"Who hit you?" Faith chuckled at her expression.
"I had Dean pinned to the wall and Sam sucker punched me. Talia is blocking the window in the bathroom, but we're giving them privacy." Dawn stood up.
"Sam hit you?" Faith continued to laugh playfully.
"Believe me, it surprised me too." After about five minutes or so, the door opened and Sam emerged from the room. He didn't look happy at all and practically threw Dawn's phone at her, and Dawn picked it up without looking at him.
"Buffy, are you still there?" Buffy laughed.
"That was interesting to say the least. They're okay, though. Lorne told me a few things…I'm sending Kennedy to you and I want Talia to come back. After whatever is going to happen happens, Kennedy will come back leaving you and Faith with the boys. Also…Sam set a condition before he would sing. Now Dawn, you're not going to like what I'm going to say." Dawn looked over at Sam, who was watching her.
"What is it, Buffy?" Buffy hesitated.
"Whenever they go a hunt, you have to stay behind." Dawn lowered her head, walked into her room, and closed the door on everyone.
"That's stupid, Buffy, I can take care of myself!" Buffy sighed.
"It's not up for negotiation, Dawn. It was one of their demands, and we
had to say it was okay. They have my permission to subdue you if necessary." Dawn pursed her lips together, trying to hold her temper at bay.
"That's fine, Buffy, I'll just come home." She didn't give Buffy a chance to say anything, she just hung up. She threw her phone on the bed, grabbed her bag and put in it on the bed as well so she could toss her things in it. She'd been packing for a few minutes when there was a soft knock on her door. She thought about ignoring it, but thought better of it. She opened the door to find Sam looking grim. She didn't say anything to him at all, just went back to her packing, leaving him in the doorway. Sam started to speak, but grew panicked when he saw what she was doing.
"What are you doing, Dawn?" She didn't look up at him when she answered.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing so that I can return home with Talia. Faith can stay, but you're getting a new slayer tomorrow to join her." Sam ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
"This is because I told Buffy I didn't want you on the hunts with us, isn't it? You'd be distracting to me, Dawn. Faith and Talia have superpowers, and Dean and I have been doing this for many years. You have to know, that I just don't want anything to happen to you." Dawn zipped her bag up, picked up her phone, and turned to face him.
"That's just an excuse, Sam, and you know it! You wanted some small amount of control, that's all it was. I've been doing this for years as well. Sure, you've been doing it longer, but you don't have superpowers anymore than I do. To try to keep me out of the hunting is just plain condescending. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to call and make flight arrangements for Talia and myself." Sam walked back outside, resigned. When Faith came up to him, he rolled his eyes.
"Do you have to put your two cents in right now?" Faith chuckled.
"Whoa, down boy. Look, Dawn is very much like her sister…stubborn as hell and prideful. I know you were just looking out for her, but you pushed too hard. She wouldn't have gone out on the hunts unless she absolutely had to, or felt obligated to. Unlike us, she doesn't like looking for fights and what not. She wouldn't have gone out on every hunt, but you drew a line for her. You caused Buffy to question Dawn's authority again, and it is
definitely the wrong button to push. Don't think that you're going to talk her out of this again. I was able to get her to stay last time, but she's mighty pissed. She'll leave with Talia in the morning and Kennedy will be here the day after that.
Sam walked into the room he shared with his brother and plopped down on his bed. This entire situation with Dawn had gotten completely out of hand, and he didn't have any way to make it right. He and his brother didn't want new people to show up; they'd gotten used to the girls and liked them. Sam was remarkably drawn to Dawn, even though he wasn't sure why, but he didn't want her to get hurt. Wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't hear Dean walk into the room. He did, however, feel the smack that Dean delivered to the back of his head. Sam glared up at his brother.
"What the hell was that for?" Dean scowled at him.
"You've ruined it, you idiot! I know you like Dawn; I see it every time you look at her. You had to be macho and demand she sit the hunts out. When, fact of the matter is, she's very capable of taking care of herself. She's very skilled, more so than most of the hunters out there. Now, she's leaving with Talia and we're getting someone named Kennedy. I was just starting to get on Faith's good side, man! She can't stand Kennedy, so that's just great!" Sam stood up, his temper rising.
"Buffy was going to send Kennedy anyway, so get over it! Apparently she's more advanced than what Talia is. Is it my fault that Dawn is leaving? Yes, it is, I admit that openly, but leave me the hell alone about it, okay?" Dean just shook his head and stormed out of their room.
Dawn was more than just upset. She desperately wanted to hit something as hard as she could, so instead she wrote it down in her journal. She still couldn't believe how Sam had acted. She'd actually liked him and it was just her luck that he was an ass. Maybe she'd tell Buffy that she wanted out of the whole 'watcher, slayer' thing. She was so
tired of trying to fit in with her friends, that she was about to give up. It was just like Sam had said earlier. She could quit at any time and go have a normal life. She could go to college if she wanted to and maybe even get a boyfriend. She could ignore the vampire attacks and pretend to be oblivious like everyone else was. She didn't think she could do that even if she went out of her way to do so. When a knock sounded on her door, she stomped over to the door and jerked it open.
"What do you want?!" She was more than a little surprised when she saw Dean standing on her doorstep, who chuckled at her expression.
"Not having a very good day, are we?" Dawn winced.
"Sorry, I thought you were Sam or Faith." Dean walked in and shut the door behind him.
"Listen, I want to propose something to you, so hear me out." Dawn paused on her way back to her seat and turned to look at him.
"Okay and what pray tell is your proposal?" Dean gulped.
"I like that you're on your guard. Look, I know that my brother can be an ass at times; it's just in his nature. I want to offer you my support. From now on, you'll ride with me instead of him. You'd be more than welcome to come with me on the hunts, I don't give a damn what Sam says. I'd welcome your skill. If Sammy has a problem it or tries to force you to stay behind, I'll just kick his ass." Dawn giggled at how serious he looked.
"You want me to stay?" Dean blushed and looked away.
"I've gotten used to having you around. You're full of very useful information; also Faith is very comfortable around you. She doesn't like this Kennedy, so I have a feeling that I'm not going to like her either. Besides, we've become a unit, and I don't want to break it up, though I understand that Talia has to leave." Dawn laughed.
"Kennedy is definitely a handful, that's for sure." Dean stepped closer.
"See, you have to stay! We get along really well and if Faith won't, I'll start training with you." Dawn regarded him silently.
"You'd really go against your own brother?" Dean laughed for a moment.
"I'd like nothing else, Dawn. So, do we have ourselves a deal? You ride with me from now on?" Dawn considered it.
"I guess we can try it for a bit and see how it goes." Dean flashed her with a huge smile.
"Good! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Dawn giggled with mirth and shook her head.
"God, you're such a cornball!" He left her with a smile on her face. She picked up her phone and dialed her sister.
Dean exited Dawn's room with a huge grin on his face. Faith was passing by and eyed him suspiciously.
"Why are you so damn smiley?" Dean shrugged.
"I just saved the day is all." Faith scoffed.
"What are you talking about?" Dean glanced back at Dawn's room.
"I just talked Dawn into staying with us." Faith's face lit up and her mouth dropped open.
"Wow, my hero! How'd you do it?" Dean snickered.
"What can I say…I'm just that charming." Faith chortled at him.
"Seriously, Dean, what happened?" Dean went through the conversation with her and Faith regarded him with a smile.
"I really appreciate you doing that, Dean. Buffy has always sheltered her, and she's a very capable person." Dean nodded.
"I agree completely, I saw her up against you. Granted, you were probably pulling your punches a little." Faith made a face.
"I only down play my hits, not my moves." Dean whistled.
"Well, if that's truly the case, we don't have anything to worry about where Dawn is concerned."