"So instead of the Three Lame Geeks, we have the Dorkified Duo?" Xander
laughed, despite the pain in his jaw.
There was a communal groan.
"It's obvious that Spike didn't knock any sense into you," Anya grimaced.
"This might as well be written in some dead language for all the sense it's making," Dawn complained looking over the prophecy Giles had found before leaving. "A bunch of gibberish about the Slayer of course and some Empowered person, a Guardian of some sorts, the return of someone else, cursed, redeemed, blah blah . . . oooh, Key." Seeing that she was being ignored, Dawn closed the book with a shrug. She might not have much experience with this kind of thing, but it couldn't hurt to peruse it some more after patrolling. "I know things are kinda wacky at the moment, but shouldn't someone still go out patrolling?"
Buffy looked at the clock. Oh yeah, there was that whole sacred duty thing. But her sister was right, they were getting nowhere, so why not go out and blow off a little steam. "I'm all for that. I'll take the south if you'll take the north, Dawn?"
"But that means you get the docks, and there's always action down there. And what do I get? The greater joys of residential suburbia."
"Exactly," the elder sister smiled.
"Fine," Dawn grumbled, heading out the door.
"I expect you in at a reasonable hour," Buffy called after her.
"And can I expect you to not be there?" the younger Summers grinned, as she walked out the door.
"Wait," Angel said. "Should you be letting her go out like that? I know she's your sister, but . . ."
"Believe me," Buffy smiled remembering Dawn fighting by her side. "She can handle herself. Guess you could say it runs in the blood."
No one noticed Connor slip out the door and follow the youngest Summers.
~*~
Buffy looked pointedly at Spike, "I'll see you later."
Spike made a movement to protest, but stopped when he saw her gaze dart toward Angel. The two needed to talk. Much as he would like to keep the two apart, Spike knew it was something that had to be done. So he just shrugged.
"Angel, coming?" Buffy asked, and he followed her out with a dark look toward Spike.
"Shaking in my boots," Spike scoffed. Then his attention fell on Cordelia and the look that played about her features as Angel walked out with Buffy. He knew that all too well. "Hey, luv, why don't you and me go grab a couple drinks?"
"Why not," she conceded after a moment's hesitation.
Xander opened his mouth to protest, but Cordelia cut him off, "I'm not afraid of breaking my nails anymore. Shall we?"
And with that they left Xander and Anya alone in the Magic Box.
~*~
Dawn was walking along the deserted streets of residential Sunnydale lost in her own thoughts. Well good thing came out of everything so far; Spike and Buffy seemed to have worked things out. But then Angel was back; she wrinkled her nose. The "memories" she had of Angel were anything but fond. Though she hadn't actually been around during the whole romance and torture that was the Buffy-Angel saga (nor would she have paid much attention at the time), she had gleaned a lot from passing conversations. To sum it up: Angel didn't impress her much. Maybe Buffy saw in him the tall, dark, and handsome romantic ideal that all girls desire at one time or another. She had to agree with Spike, Angel was too much hair gel and brooding. Now Connor, Angel's son . . . he was quite worth looking at.
Suddenly Dawn sensed she was no longer alone. Pulling out her stake, she whipped around and nearly staked-
"Connor?!"
Fortunately, he had outstanding reflexes and caught the stake a hairs- breath from his chest.
"Sneaking up on people in this town is really not recommended."
"I'm learning," he looked her up and down. Catching her glare, "So you're the Slayer's sister. Angel's told me some about her."
"So he's your dad, huh?"
He shrugged.
"You're what, like over two hundred as well?"
"Well had I remained here, I would have been nearly a year old now."
"That whole hell dimension thing, it wasn't a joke?"
"No."
"Huh," Dawn was at a loss. He was the one who had followed her; let him keep up the conversation then.
~*~
Buffy and Angel were walking by the docks. A place that brought back a few painful memories; major understatement.
"Who's his mother?" Buffy blurted suddenly.
"Darla."
"Wait a second," she stopped. "Didn't you stake her way back? Of course, like many things, maybe the whole stake the vampire they go poof idea has some loopholes as well."
Angel sighed. "Long story short: She was brought back-human; Dru turned her."
"And so you what, felt the old flame rekindle?"
"Buffy."
"I want to know."
"Well, I'd like to know how you and Spike suddenly became so friendly."
"I wouldn't call it sudden," she muttered.
"I'll tell you what I'd call it-"
"Don't you dare start with me, Angel. What were you going to say? Twisted? Wrong? What about us? The only slayer-vampire relationship that isn't 'wrong' is one that involves a pointy wooden stake, some fighting, and dust."
"It's different."
"Really? How so?"
"I'm different," he offered weakly.
"You know, I used to think that, but then . . . well, let's say Angelus opened my eyes. Without your soul you are a monster. And from what I've learned about your days as a human, you weren't a shining example then either."
"People change."
"You aren't people."
"Fine, I changed."
"Still not a people."
"Neither is Spike."
She had to say it, "No, he's not. But he has more humanity in him as a vampire than many people I've met. Even before he got his-Even before the chip."
"So you shack up with all the 'good' vampires you meet?"
Buffy smacked him.
Angel rubbed his cheek, looking stunned, "I didn't mean that, Buffy. It's just that . . ."
"You did mean it."
"It still hurts."
"And it doesn't hurt me to know that you have a son? It wouldn't surprise me now if I found out you and Cordelia were together."
Silence.
"Cordelia?!"
~*~
Spike looked at the woman across from him. Gone was the self-absorbed rich girl. She was still Cordelia, but she had grown.
"So how long has it been going on between you and the pouf?" he asked casually, sipping his premium domestic beer.
She looked at him, "How did you know?"
"I saw your face when the two of them went out."
"That obvious?"
"I've been there (actually am there right now). So how long?"
Cordelia sighed. "Well, it took me awhile to realize things and then, well there was the whole his being at the bottom of the ocean and me ascending to a higher plane and all."
"Whoa, back up a mite. The pouf was at the bottom of the ocean?"
"Yeah, Connor thought Angel had killed his surrogate father (really Angel's old enemy Holtz who kidnapped Connor to a hell dimension and raised him to hate is real father in revenge for what Angel did to Holtz's family)."
"I knew that would always come back to bite him in the ass. But the great Angelus . . ." Spike shook his head, laughing. "And the higher plane?"
"Well, that's a bit more complicated."
"When did you become part demon?"
~*~
"When did you become such a bastard?"
Xander looked at his ex-fiancée re-turned vengeance demon, "Huh?"
"I mean it. Ever since you ran out on me, you've been nothing short of a creep, to everyone. But me especially. And you treat me like I'm the one to blame for it all."
"So I should just forgive and forget the whole seeing my girlfriend getting it on with Captain Peroxide?"
"This is why I became a vengeance demon in the first place," Anya muttered. "You men are all alike. Self-absorbed ego-maniacs afraid to ever grow up and take responsibility for their mistakes."
"Someone's been watching too much Dr. Phil."
"And the jokes," she groaned. "Always the jokes. Alexander Harris only does two things when things get serious: he cracks lames jokes or he heads for the hills."
"Anya!"
"Every now and then you have your moments. Like what you did for Willow. You did what none of the rest of us could do. And for awhile I had some hope. But then, it's the same old thing."
"Well it seems I did you a favor," he said fighting back. "Better to leave you like I did instead of being married for five years, maybe having some kids, then finding out gee, this isn't quite what I thought it would be."
"The you find out I'm a vengeance demon again and the old Harris defenses come up full force. Now I'm completely untouchable. Not only did I sleep with a vampire (which you seem to almost forgive the great slayer for lowering herself to), but I have the audacity to return to what I was!"
"Oh yeah? Well . . . yeah . . ." Xander paused. All in all he had pretty much been a bastard since the wedding that wasn't. He'd sorta made things right with Buffy until Billy Idol came back. And with Willow, things were almost like they had been, back before everything had gone so wacky. And Anya, he sighed, well . . . he still loved her. But didn't his recent behavior only help prove that he had done the right thing. There was only one thing that he could do, he made his way to the door. "I'm sorry, Anya." Then there was nothing but the tinkling of the door chimes.
There was a communal groan.
"It's obvious that Spike didn't knock any sense into you," Anya grimaced.
"This might as well be written in some dead language for all the sense it's making," Dawn complained looking over the prophecy Giles had found before leaving. "A bunch of gibberish about the Slayer of course and some Empowered person, a Guardian of some sorts, the return of someone else, cursed, redeemed, blah blah . . . oooh, Key." Seeing that she was being ignored, Dawn closed the book with a shrug. She might not have much experience with this kind of thing, but it couldn't hurt to peruse it some more after patrolling. "I know things are kinda wacky at the moment, but shouldn't someone still go out patrolling?"
Buffy looked at the clock. Oh yeah, there was that whole sacred duty thing. But her sister was right, they were getting nowhere, so why not go out and blow off a little steam. "I'm all for that. I'll take the south if you'll take the north, Dawn?"
"But that means you get the docks, and there's always action down there. And what do I get? The greater joys of residential suburbia."
"Exactly," the elder sister smiled.
"Fine," Dawn grumbled, heading out the door.
"I expect you in at a reasonable hour," Buffy called after her.
"And can I expect you to not be there?" the younger Summers grinned, as she walked out the door.
"Wait," Angel said. "Should you be letting her go out like that? I know she's your sister, but . . ."
"Believe me," Buffy smiled remembering Dawn fighting by her side. "She can handle herself. Guess you could say it runs in the blood."
No one noticed Connor slip out the door and follow the youngest Summers.
~*~
Buffy looked pointedly at Spike, "I'll see you later."
Spike made a movement to protest, but stopped when he saw her gaze dart toward Angel. The two needed to talk. Much as he would like to keep the two apart, Spike knew it was something that had to be done. So he just shrugged.
"Angel, coming?" Buffy asked, and he followed her out with a dark look toward Spike.
"Shaking in my boots," Spike scoffed. Then his attention fell on Cordelia and the look that played about her features as Angel walked out with Buffy. He knew that all too well. "Hey, luv, why don't you and me go grab a couple drinks?"
"Why not," she conceded after a moment's hesitation.
Xander opened his mouth to protest, but Cordelia cut him off, "I'm not afraid of breaking my nails anymore. Shall we?"
And with that they left Xander and Anya alone in the Magic Box.
~*~
Dawn was walking along the deserted streets of residential Sunnydale lost in her own thoughts. Well good thing came out of everything so far; Spike and Buffy seemed to have worked things out. But then Angel was back; she wrinkled her nose. The "memories" she had of Angel were anything but fond. Though she hadn't actually been around during the whole romance and torture that was the Buffy-Angel saga (nor would she have paid much attention at the time), she had gleaned a lot from passing conversations. To sum it up: Angel didn't impress her much. Maybe Buffy saw in him the tall, dark, and handsome romantic ideal that all girls desire at one time or another. She had to agree with Spike, Angel was too much hair gel and brooding. Now Connor, Angel's son . . . he was quite worth looking at.
Suddenly Dawn sensed she was no longer alone. Pulling out her stake, she whipped around and nearly staked-
"Connor?!"
Fortunately, he had outstanding reflexes and caught the stake a hairs- breath from his chest.
"Sneaking up on people in this town is really not recommended."
"I'm learning," he looked her up and down. Catching her glare, "So you're the Slayer's sister. Angel's told me some about her."
"So he's your dad, huh?"
He shrugged.
"You're what, like over two hundred as well?"
"Well had I remained here, I would have been nearly a year old now."
"That whole hell dimension thing, it wasn't a joke?"
"No."
"Huh," Dawn was at a loss. He was the one who had followed her; let him keep up the conversation then.
~*~
Buffy and Angel were walking by the docks. A place that brought back a few painful memories; major understatement.
"Who's his mother?" Buffy blurted suddenly.
"Darla."
"Wait a second," she stopped. "Didn't you stake her way back? Of course, like many things, maybe the whole stake the vampire they go poof idea has some loopholes as well."
Angel sighed. "Long story short: She was brought back-human; Dru turned her."
"And so you what, felt the old flame rekindle?"
"Buffy."
"I want to know."
"Well, I'd like to know how you and Spike suddenly became so friendly."
"I wouldn't call it sudden," she muttered.
"I'll tell you what I'd call it-"
"Don't you dare start with me, Angel. What were you going to say? Twisted? Wrong? What about us? The only slayer-vampire relationship that isn't 'wrong' is one that involves a pointy wooden stake, some fighting, and dust."
"It's different."
"Really? How so?"
"I'm different," he offered weakly.
"You know, I used to think that, but then . . . well, let's say Angelus opened my eyes. Without your soul you are a monster. And from what I've learned about your days as a human, you weren't a shining example then either."
"People change."
"You aren't people."
"Fine, I changed."
"Still not a people."
"Neither is Spike."
She had to say it, "No, he's not. But he has more humanity in him as a vampire than many people I've met. Even before he got his-Even before the chip."
"So you shack up with all the 'good' vampires you meet?"
Buffy smacked him.
Angel rubbed his cheek, looking stunned, "I didn't mean that, Buffy. It's just that . . ."
"You did mean it."
"It still hurts."
"And it doesn't hurt me to know that you have a son? It wouldn't surprise me now if I found out you and Cordelia were together."
Silence.
"Cordelia?!"
~*~
Spike looked at the woman across from him. Gone was the self-absorbed rich girl. She was still Cordelia, but she had grown.
"So how long has it been going on between you and the pouf?" he asked casually, sipping his premium domestic beer.
She looked at him, "How did you know?"
"I saw your face when the two of them went out."
"That obvious?"
"I've been there (actually am there right now). So how long?"
Cordelia sighed. "Well, it took me awhile to realize things and then, well there was the whole his being at the bottom of the ocean and me ascending to a higher plane and all."
"Whoa, back up a mite. The pouf was at the bottom of the ocean?"
"Yeah, Connor thought Angel had killed his surrogate father (really Angel's old enemy Holtz who kidnapped Connor to a hell dimension and raised him to hate is real father in revenge for what Angel did to Holtz's family)."
"I knew that would always come back to bite him in the ass. But the great Angelus . . ." Spike shook his head, laughing. "And the higher plane?"
"Well, that's a bit more complicated."
"When did you become part demon?"
~*~
"When did you become such a bastard?"
Xander looked at his ex-fiancée re-turned vengeance demon, "Huh?"
"I mean it. Ever since you ran out on me, you've been nothing short of a creep, to everyone. But me especially. And you treat me like I'm the one to blame for it all."
"So I should just forgive and forget the whole seeing my girlfriend getting it on with Captain Peroxide?"
"This is why I became a vengeance demon in the first place," Anya muttered. "You men are all alike. Self-absorbed ego-maniacs afraid to ever grow up and take responsibility for their mistakes."
"Someone's been watching too much Dr. Phil."
"And the jokes," she groaned. "Always the jokes. Alexander Harris only does two things when things get serious: he cracks lames jokes or he heads for the hills."
"Anya!"
"Every now and then you have your moments. Like what you did for Willow. You did what none of the rest of us could do. And for awhile I had some hope. But then, it's the same old thing."
"Well it seems I did you a favor," he said fighting back. "Better to leave you like I did instead of being married for five years, maybe having some kids, then finding out gee, this isn't quite what I thought it would be."
"The you find out I'm a vengeance demon again and the old Harris defenses come up full force. Now I'm completely untouchable. Not only did I sleep with a vampire (which you seem to almost forgive the great slayer for lowering herself to), but I have the audacity to return to what I was!"
"Oh yeah? Well . . . yeah . . ." Xander paused. All in all he had pretty much been a bastard since the wedding that wasn't. He'd sorta made things right with Buffy until Billy Idol came back. And with Willow, things were almost like they had been, back before everything had gone so wacky. And Anya, he sighed, well . . . he still loved her. But didn't his recent behavior only help prove that he had done the right thing. There was only one thing that he could do, he made his way to the door. "I'm sorry, Anya." Then there was nothing but the tinkling of the door chimes.
