Author's Note: Sorry, Gunn fans—I couldn't come up with an idea for a chapter with just him. Take comfort, though; given how terrible I am at writing his dialect, it's most likely A Good Thing. Love the guy, but he's impossible to write.
Chapter 6: Telling Stories with Gunn and Cordelia
Gunn, Wesley, Kate, and Angel were all in the lobby when Cordelia and Dawn arrived. Kate gave Dawn a mystified look. Angel must have told her of Dawn's secret. Cordelia gave Wesley a shrug when he looked at her questioningly. He, in turn, appeared to decide Dawn had as much right to be here as anyone else.
"What's the plan?" Cordelia asked as she and Dawn seated themselves on the couch.
"Keeping Dawn safe is the priority," Wesley announced. "Therefore, we'll all be stationed here tonight. All the entrances have been blocked off, Angel has sealed off the sewers, and all routes to Dawn's room will be guarded. If any of Glory's minions come back, we should be able to handle them." He paused. "If Glory herself comes, we should at least be able to buy escape time for Dawn. In that case, Cordelia, you'll be charged with driving her back to Sunnydale. However, Buffy thinks, and I agree, that it is extremely unlikely Glory would leave Sunnydale if she still believes Buffy is guarding the Key personally."
"What about an alarm?" asked Dawn suddenly. "Tara and Willow set up a magical alarm so Glory couldn't get close without us knowing. Couldn't you do something like that?"
Wesley seemed startled. "Actually, I might be able to. Now, they're both experienced witches, so whatever I can do would likely be much less sophisticated, however . . ." He trailed off and fetched a book. "There's a protection spell in here that's not too complicated." A frown appeared between his eyes. "Not too sophisticated, either. I'm afraid Angel would set it off just by crossing the threshold."
"Not a problem," said Angel. "I'll walk perimeter. If I have to come in, setting off an alarm will be a moot point anyway."
"Then it's done." Wesley set down the book. "I'll get started on the spell straightaway."
Cordelia felt Dawn lean up against her, and she put her arms around the girl. "See? Not a thing to worry about. These guys can handle anything. Right, Gunn?"
"Absolutely," agreed the young man. "Angel took out five of those things, and I've been working the streets since I was your age. Nothing out there we can't handle. Even English ain't too bad."
"Your words of praise will be my undoing," deadpanned Wesley.
Dawn looked up at Gunn. "What do you do?"
"I'm a demon fighter, kid. I've been fighting vamps and nasties half my life, me and my crew. Best the mean streets have to offer."
"That sounds cool." Dawn relaxed into Cordelia's embrace. "Bet you've got some great stories."
Gunn was on his feet in an instant. "You know it. This one time, me and my boys Domonique and Raul were out patrolling. It was Raul's first time, and he was all edgy, and Domonique's just crazy to begin with. I think his mama dropped him when he was a baby or something. Anyways, we were out walkin' the streets, and Raul's jumping at every shadow, and Domonique's giving him a hard time, and I'm just trying to get the two of them to shut themselves up, 'cause the vamps on the other side of town can hear us, know what I mean?
"So we're makin' all this racket, and these four vamps decide we look like good eating. These guys are big and mean and ugly, you know? Like any vamp's lookin' good all bumpy-faced, but these guys got hit a few extra times with the ugly stick. I call 'em Scarface, Snaggletooth, Blondie, 'cuz this guy had, like, foot-high blond hair, and Moe. Moe's the smart one, he hangs back when Scarface and Blondie go runnin' in on us. Domonique stakes Blondie, and it's even odds. Or it would be if Raul didn't do a freak-out. That boy's standing there screaming like a Wesley."
"I object to that remark very strongly," Wesley's voice informed them from the office.
Gunn grinned wickedly. He was having a great time with his story, acting out all parts while doing the narration. "So anyway, Raul's screaming like a girly-man, and Domonique and I, we're just trying to keep from gettin' sucked. I got my stake knocked out of my hand and had to go in with my fists against Snaggletooth. I knocked some of his crooked teeth down his throat—"
"Without even breaking a sweat," interposed Cordelia.
"You know it. Snaggletooth and me, we're fightin', and I see Moe making for Raul. So I go all postal on Snaggletooth, waving my arms and yelling all 'Aaaah!' and I swear this vamp was lookin' at me like, 'What's up with this guy?' but while he's wonderin', I'm getting my stake, and poof! There goes Snaggletooth. But Domonique's still goin' off on Scarface, and Raul, he's a sitting duck for Moe. Now, Raul's got a stake, and he's holding it out in front of him like this," and Gunn mimed awkwardly holding a stake with both hands about chest high, "like that's gonna scare Moe.
"So you know what I do? I run over, grab Moe by one arm, and he's not expecting me. I swing him around like this," Gunn whirled, holding out his arms in front of him, "and he lands poof!" Gunn clapped his hands hard. "Right on Raul's stake. Domonique finishes killing Scarface, and he's hooting and howling, and Raul's tryin' to hack up a lung, 'cause he just breathed in a bunch of vamp dust!"
"That's really gross," opined Angel, gliding past and pulling on his black duster.
"Again I remind you of the pig's blood," Gunn shot back.
Dawn laughed. "That's a really great story. Buffy doesn't tell me stories about slaying. I mean, come on! It's not like I don't know what a vampire getting dusted looks like."
Angel knelt down by the couch. "You okay with all this, Dawn?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn said, and she really seemed to mean it.
Angel leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about a thing. We're all watching over you." He smiled into her eyes, then stood smoothly and left the building.
Dawn sighed happily, snuggling against Cordelia. "That's way better than any of my stories, Gunn. All I got was kidnapped by Harmony, and she's, like . . ."
"Harmony?!?" both Gunn and Cordelia shouted.
"Harmony kidnapped you?" demanded Cordelia.
"Yeah! Do you know her?"
"Vapid Vamp herself, yeah, I know her. I should have staked her so bad." Cordelia made a disgusted noise. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"
Dawn looked up at her. "No, don't worry. She had this idea she was going to be the Big Bad in town and wanted to call Buffy out, so she had her minions grab me."
"Minions? Harmony?" Cordelia started giggling uncontrollably. "Did she, like, wear black leather?"
Dawn giggled, too. "Yep. The worst part was when she chained me up in a cave and made me listen to her whine about how much her unlife sucked. Did you know she used to go with Spike?"
This was just getting better and better. "Spike rebounded to Harmony after Drusilla dumped him? Oh, man, does that boy have bad taste in women!"
"Yeah. She called him her Blondie Bear."
That sent Cordelia into convulsions of laughter, falling back on the couch and dragging Dawn down with her. When the Seer finally recovered, she said, "I don't know if I should tell Angel that one. He could laugh himself right out of his soul."
"Got any more stories, Gunn?" asked Dawn.
"Oh, yeah. You know how I told you Domonique's makin' with the crazy? Well, this one time . . ."
***
An hour and five stories later, Dawn had finally been persuaded to go to bed. She and Cordelia laid on the bed together, eating popcorn and talking.
" . . . and that's when I found out Mark 'I'm in a serious relationship with my mirror' Quigman had decided I was going to be his latest conquest. Not only that, he knew where I lived because he'd shacked up with my downstairs neighbor for like thirty seconds. I tried blowing him off every way I knew how, even told him I was living with someone, which was technically true thanks to Angel's apartment going blooie, but he just wasn't getting it. Morning after the party, guess who shows up at my place?"
"Mark the Jerk?" guessed Dawn.
"The very same. Now, Angel and I kind of had an arrangement while he was staying with me. Since he stayed up most of the night, I let him use the bedroom after I got up in the morning. I was eating breakfast when Mr. God's Gift to Women knocked on my door. I started in with the blowing-off again, and just then, my bedroom door opens . . ."
" . . . and Angel came out!" Dawn giggled. "What did Mark the Jerk do?"
"He sized it up pretty quick. Angel coming out of my bedroom, all adorable bed-head and bleary eyes, half a head taller and way the heck more built, gorgeous—that's competition not even Mark the Clueless could take. I could have kissed Angel for that one. Which reminds me—I've got a picture of Angel for you to put up in your locker. That'll give you one up on Kirstie. You'll have a genuine, live hottie who you actually know in your locker. Justin Timberlake, nothin'!"
"I don't even like Justin Timberlake." Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Angel's way better looking. What do I say if someone asks me about the picture?"
"Just say, 'Him? That's Angel.' And if they press, tell them he's your friend. Be really casual about it. It'll drive 'em nuts!"
The room door opened, and Kate appeared in the bedroom doorway. "Hi. I'm staying in Angel's room tonight, so I'll be right next door. Is everything okay here?"
"Just fine. Thanks, Kate," said Cordelia. She still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the former cop, but the truce with Angel seemed real enough.
"No problem. Good night, Dawn."
"Night. Don't let the vampires bite," called Dawn.
Kate grinned. "Don't worry. I won't make the same mistake twice." With that, she left.
Dawn immediately pinned Cordelia with her gaze. "Do she and Angel have a thing going?"
What a loaded question, thought Cordelia. "Sort of. Once. I think they kind of had the beginnings of a mutual crush, but that got sidelined by . . . a very, very long story with a lot of boring parts. I think any UST between them is destined to remain U. Which is a good thing, seeing as they're both incredibly stubborn and intense people and what with her blond hair and all, it'd be like Buffy/Angel redux. At least, in my humble opinion."
That apparently got Dawn's gears working in another direction. "Cordy, did you ever have a . . . you know, thing with Angel?"
"No way!" Cordelia answered automatically. The blue gaze on her face never wavered. "Not a thing. Really. Not exactly." She sighed and gave in. "You can never tell any of the Slayerettes about this, okay? Not one word."
Dawn made a zipping motion across her lips. Good enough, Cordelia decided. "Angel and I had a Moment."
"A Moment?"
"A Moment. It was only a little while after Doyle died. I'd sort of been developing feelings for Doyle, and when he died . . . they say the saddest words are 'What might have been.' I don't know how much more I'd have felt for him, and his death made me feel sort of empty and clingy, like I had to hold on extra tight to the friend I had left. That, of course, was Angel. Wesley had made his appearance, but he wasn't really close to us yet.
"Anyway, about a month after Doyle's death, I was still getting used to the visions. One day, I was down in Angel's old apartment—I don't even remember why—when a vision hit. I already had a headache at the time, and it just seemed cruel. Angel made me lie down on the couch before he left to go take care of the Monster du Jour. I was meaning to just lay there until my head cleared, but I guess I fell asleep.
"When I woke up, I was in Angel's bed. He'd returned to find me asleep, and you know how smooth he is—I never even woke up when he moved me. As I was stretching, Angel came in and knelt by the bed, asking how I was doing. I said I was fine and asked him how things had gone, and he started telling me.
"Then he reached over and brushed a bit of my hair behind my ear, and all of a sudden, we were having a Moment. Our faces were only a few inches apart. If either one of us had moved, we'd have kissed. And boy, did we want to."
"How could you tell?" asked Dawn, eyes all dreamy. "I mean, that he wanted to kiss you?"
"Oh, you can so tell when a guy wants to kiss you. Dead giveaway: he can't keep himself from looking at your lips. His eyes will attract like they've got magnets in 'em."
"And that's what Angel did?"
"Twice. I wasn't exactly keeping my eyes to myself, either. Just an inch, and gravity would've taken us in."
Dawn sighed. "But you didn't."
"But we didn't. The Moment passed, and Angel stood up and asked if I wanted something to eat. There hasn't been anything like that since." Cordelia paused, thoughtful. "I can't say I've never wondered what it'd have been like, but . . . I'm glad things turned out the way they did. If we'd have given in and kissed that day, it would have changed everything. Everything."
The teen across from her looked puzzled. "Why? I mean, it was just a kiss, right?"
"No." Cordelia reached over and brushed Dawn's hair behind her ear. "No, not that kind of kiss. You give a guy a kiss like that, you can never take it back." Dawn still looked puzzled. "You'll understand someday."
"Hope so," Dawn murmured sleepily. Cordelia picked up the popcorn bowl and dumped the old maids in the trash. She turned off the lamps in the sitting room, then wandered back into Dawn's room to shut the curtains. As she did so, she saw something that made her smile.
"Dawn, come here." Curious, the girl got out of bed and walked over to the window.
"What is it?"
"Just wait a moment—there!" Below, a dark figure glided soundlessly through a misty pool of light. "Guardian Angel."
Dawn smiled, too. "He's really nice. I didn't think so back in Sunnydale, but I think he's nice now."
"Yes, he can be," agreed Cordelia a little wistfully.
Dawn was looking at her now. "Is there something wrong? Between you and Angel, I mean. I've been getting this weird vibe whenever you two are in a room together."
The girl's perception startled and dismayed Cordelia a little. "The truth is, Angel had some problems earlier this year, and we're all just starting to get things straightened out again. And yeah, I had a real problem with some things he did. He's getting better, and things are getting better between us, but . . . I still feel like we're tiptoeing around each other, and I hate it."
Dawn nodded sagely. "Yeah, Buffy and the Scoobies had a big blow-out last year, too. One night, she, Xander, and Willow yelled at each other for like an hour over at Giles' place. I heard them talking about it later. But Buffy says they're closer than ever now."
"I hope that happens. I really do. I mean, I still love him, I'm just not always sure I like him anymore."
"I get that." Dawn looked out the window again. Angel's figure had vanished. "When I had a fight with my best friend, Buffy told me that you can never go back to the way it was before the fight—but a fight can make things better than ever if you can work it out."
Cordelia considered it. "That was a smart thing to say. She must've gotten it from Giles."
Dawn giggled. "Probably."
Cordelia gave her a hug. "You should get back to bed. I'll be on the sofa."
"You don't have to, you know," said Dawn. "I mean, it can't be comfortable, and the bed's big, and I swear I don't thrash or try to snuggle, so if you want . . ." She trailed off, blushing even in the darkness.
"You know what? That's a great idea. I'll get my pillow."
A few minutes later, she and Dawn were both in bed. Dawn fell asleep almost immediately, but Cordelia stayed awake.
She could still feel Dawn's emotions. It scared her. Lately, it seemed like until a case was put to rest, she could still feel the vision and the people in the vision. She didn't know if it was just something she was more attuned to nowadays, or if the visions themselves were changing her, but ever since her vision, she'd felt Dawn: a sharp-edged mixture of ever-changing adolescent emotions, weighed down with the burden of grief and anxiety.
Cordelia closed her eyes. She wondered if she should talk to Wesley about it, but what could he do? He'd just fret, and Angel and Gunn would worry, too, if they found out. They were already enough like three mother hens.
No, she decided. It's just part of the job. Another part of Doyle's gift. He trusted me, and I can handle it.
Her hand brushed her pajama top, and she smiled to herself. The fine, brushed cotton, straight from the Gap, was another part of the Angel Collection, as he'd given away a set of her pajamas with her other things. It wasn't the clothes that pleased her so much, although new clothes were always of the Good; it was the fact that what he'd bought was so very much her style. The fact that he'd paid that close attention to her, to what she liked and what looked good on her, was a reassurance that she still mattered to him.
With that reflection in mind, she fell asleep.
***
During the night, the Hyperion came under attack by groups of Kaliff demons twice. Neither time did any get past the threshold, and in her room, Dawn slept peacefully unaware.