Chapter Twenty-eight
Buffy and Giles are back at Giles's apartment. Buffy is lazily stretched out on the couch, happy to be back. Giles puts Buffy's duffel bag on the floor with a smile. It wasn't as heavy this time, since they had hidden Buffy's weapons at the Hyperion. Giles goes over and sits across from her, "Glad to be home?"
Buffy smiles up at him, "Definitely…Dad." She gives him a teasing grin.
Giles gives her a look, "How about we just stick with 'uncle'?"
Buffy smiles and nods in agreement, "Sounds good."
There is silence. After a moment, Giles decides to broach a subject he had been thinking about on the way home, "Who was that girl?"
Buffy frowns, "What girl?"
Giles clears his throat, unsure if he should have mentioned it at all, "Uh, the girl who said goodbye to you."
Buffy frowns, realising who Giles is talking about, "Oh. That was Dawn. She was my friend. She'd been adopted three times, but she's still at the children's home."
Giles frowns sympathetically, "Poor girl."
Buffy nods slowly, "Yeah. We hung out a lot. I wonder who she's gonna hang out with now."
"Aren't there any other girls her age?"
Buffy shakes her head, "Sure there are, but they're all pretty…um…"
"Unpleasant?" Giles supplies a word, with an eyebrow raised.
Buffy nods, "To put it mildly. Well I'm sure she'll be adopted soon. Who can resist her?"
Giles nods, distractedly, thinking quietly, "Yes…"
Buffy gets up off the couch and stands, stretching her muscles, "Well I'm gonna go upstairs. Unpack." She grabs her duffel bag and goes upstairs, while Giles gives her a distracted smile.
Buffy flops on her bed and grabs the phone extension in her room. She dials the number for the Hyperion. After three rings Cordelia answers the phone, "Angel Investigations."
Buffy smiles, actually glad to hear Cordy's voice, "Hey Cordy."
"Buffy!" Cordelia shrieks. Everyone in the room looks up at her. Cordy excitedly covers the mouthpiece, "It's Buffy!" she removes her hand from the mouthpiece "Hey Buffy!"
Buffy laughs, "Hey Cordy. Is Angel there?"
Cordy nods, before realising that Buffy can't see her, "Sure. You just wait right there, and I'll go get him."
The phone is quickly picked up by Angel, "Buffy?"
Buffy smiles, glad to finally hear Angel's voice, "Angel. I missed you."
Angel smiles in return, "I missed you too. I was so worried about you. I hadn't heard from you in weeks. But then Giles came and explained what happened."
Buffy nods, making a face, "Yeah. I was put in the children's home. They wouldn't let me leave. But Giles adopted me. I just got home."
Angel nods, "I know. Giles came to me for help."
Buffy frowns, remembering the man with Giles at the children's home, "Who was that man?"
Angel frowns in confusion at her abrupt subject change, "What man?"
"The man with Giles at the children's home."
Angel winces, knowing who she's talking about, "Oh. Uh, that's Lindsey McDonald. A lawyer from Wolfram and Hart."
"Wolfram and Hart…they're an evil law firm in L.A. aren't they?"
Angel chews on his lip uneasily, "How do you know that?"
Buffy sighs in exasperation, "I lived in L.A. my whole life, Angel. Of course I know. Now how the hell do you know this guy and why was he helping Giles!"
Angel clears his throat nervously, "Well, I helped him out a few years back, and he owes me a few favours. So I…convinced him to come and help Giles adopt you."
Buffy frowns, "But, you don't trust him?"
Angel immediately shakes his head, "Not for a second."
Buffy smiles, relieved, "That's good then. I just had to make sure."
"Don't worry. I know all about Wolfram and Hart. And you don't have to worry about Lindsey. You won't see him again."
To be continued…
Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for the delay in this one. I'm falling behind lol.
