Protecting the Ones You Love - March 2009
Chapter Fifty-Three
Dawn was still at the hotel, one week after the final standing against Spike. No one had heard anything from the vampire. *Was he even still a vampire?* Dawn thought to herself. He had left a vague, to say the best, message. Angel had gotten the hotel cleaned up and was still bitching about how much Spike owed him. She sighed when she thought about the previous week. Buffy had gone back to Sunnydale and Dawn knew she needed some time to heal. Dawn knew that Buffy was just as worried that she was that Spike wasn't going to return. Dawn just wanted things to go back to they way they had been so many years before hand, before Buffy had died, the second time. Connor came up behind Dawn, he looked at the girl and proceeded to sit next to her.
"How's it going?" He asked his friend.
"Could be better, could be worse." Dawn replied.
"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Connor asked, with a thin layer of ice lacing his tone.
"Yeah, but not like that. I just hope he's OK. I want him to go back to Buffy, I want them to finally be happy. Lord knows I screwed it up for them both enough already." Dawn said, wringing her hands.
"You're still in love with him, aren't you?"
"Yeah silly, but I don't think it's in the lusty way anymore. It's just he was the only one that ever made me feel wanted. Which is strange, considering he never wanted me." Dawn said with a nervous laugh.
"Dawn, how could someone not notice you, you are beautiful and talented. I've seen how men look at you, are you that blind?" Connor asked in disbelief.
"Whatever. We've been friends for years and you've never even looked at me." Dawn said, rolling her eyes.
"I've wanted you for years. It's hard to compete with Spike though. You've been in love with him since you were eleven years old Dawn. I just never knew how to tell you." Connor said.
Dawn looked at the handsome man sitting next to her. She had never noticed him before, even though she saw him practically every day for years. He was a great guy. He was talented and smart and had a nice upper body.
"So how come you never just sucked it up and asked me out then?" Dawn said teasingly.
"I didn't want to be the rebound guy Dawn. I didn't want you to just go out with me, so you could try to get over him. I wanted you to go out with me because you wanted me." Connor finished sadly.
Dawn reached over and grabbed Condor's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Fine chicken. Do you want to go have dinner with me?"
"Like as in a date?" Connor asked nervously.
"Yes. Connor, I know part of it was that I was blindly and weirdly obsessed with Spike for years. Part of it was I never thought you liked me like that. I thought I was like one of your guy friends, you know, except with breasts." Dawn said laughingly.
Connor looked at his friend. She was so cute when she laughed. He leaned over and gave a quick shy kiss before pulling away.
"Maybe we shouldn't start dating. I mean my sister and your Dad would be way too happy to see that happen." Dawn said mischievously.
"You're evil. I knew that there was something I liked about you." Connor said.
Dawn looked at her potential boyfriend and let a hundred watt smile fall on her face. Maybe life without Spike wouldn't be so bad. She knew it had to at least be less angsty.
**********************
Angel found Cordelia sitting in their room callously flipping through a magazine. He walked over and sat next to his girlfriend and looked her over. She was so amazing to him. The strength she emancipated was incredible. He wanted her to love him, for all of him. He figured that if Buffy could love Spike for everything he was, then perhaps Cordelia could too."
"Hey sweetie." Angel said to Cordelia.
"Hi." She responded quietly.
"Are you upset with me still?" Angel asked.
"A little, but it's not for the reasons you think. I knew that you had done some horrible things before you got your soul, but I can't believe you thought so little of me to simply not tell me."
"I didn't think you would love me anymore." Angel responded truthfully.
"Come on Angel. You knew me when I was the scourge of Sunnydale High School. I was cruel and mean in my own right. Some of what I put some of the less popular kids through was just as bad as some of the things you did, and I was human, and I had a soul." Cordelia said.
"You were just a kid. You never tortured or killed or raped." Angel said miserably.
"No, I didn't, but you knew that I used to be a not-so-nice kind of gal, but you saw all the changes in me, and you fell in love with me. I did the same thing with you. I know things in your past weren't all puppies and kittens, but I want you to know that I love you no matter what. Besides if your stubborn ex can fall in love with a soulless demon and still know all that he is, why can't I?" Cordelia said with a smile.
"Do you really want to know about my past?" Angel asked.
"You can either give me the PG-13 version or I can just go ask Giles for the triple X version." Cordelia said.
Angel smiled at her and thanked God that he had found such a smart and insightful woman to love him. He then proceeded to tell Cordelia the way toned down version of his days with Darla, Drusilla, and Spike.
********************
The remainder of the scoobies had decided to stay in LA for a dew extra days, take an actual vacation. They were standing around their room, packing their clothes.
"Has anyone heard from the bleached wonder?" Xander asked.
"I talked to Buffy, and she said that he left a message saying he might be gone for a couple of weeks." Willow said.
"Yes, he could have been slightly more vague. Doesn't he know that we are all worried about him. We wouldn't have gone through all this trouble of not killing him so he could go AWOL and MIA in the same day." Anya said crossly.
"An, honey. I don't think Spike is doing this to you personally. He probably has some issues to work out. He did kidnap Faith and Giles and attempted to turn Dawn. He's probably feeling some remorse and guilt right now." Xander said, in a surprisingly wise tone.
"Maybe he's off killing people. We have no idea what happened to him. Who knows, maybe Buffy screwed up and made him stronger." Anya said.
"Anya, I don't think he would have saved all of our lives if he just planned on killing us." Willow said.
Just as Anya was about to reply there was a knock on the door. Fred and Gunn came into the room and looked at three occupants.
"That was someone from the WC on the phone. They were looking for Giles or Wesley. It turns out that someone went into Quentin Travers office last night and slit his throat."
The five exchanged horrified glances.
"He wouldn't. I mean Spike has done a lot of horrible things, but he wouldn't have done that." Fred said, half convincingly.
********************
Rupert Giles was in the kitchen of his flat in Bath. He had disregarded the numerous telephone calls from the Council. He had no use for any of them anymore. He sat there studiously cleaning his knives. He remembered the pleas that came from Quentin's throat as he had slit it. He sighed as he wiped the blood off. He could remember all the times he had looked down on Spike and Angel because they were killers. He was no better than them now. He had killed two men within the last decade. He tried to feel remorse, but it just wasn't there. In his eyes he had served justice. He had just been protecting what was his, his two 'daughters.'
*****************************
Faith was in her guest room deciding what to do. She had one of two choices. She could either skip town and never return or she could go back to jail and finish out her sentence. Neither choice seemed all that appealing to her. She knew that she had changed and the others had seemed to notice the changes her. Even Buffy had been decent to her. She knew what she should do; she just wasn't sure what she was going to do. Just then Wes walked into the room.
"Hello Faith." Wesley stated as he entered.
"Hey Wes. Come to check up on me?"
"Actually I was wondering if you would like a job when you are done with your sentence." Wes said.
"Do you really mean that?" Faith asked, not believing what was her former Watcher was saying.
"Well, I talked to your parole officer this morning and it looks like you're up for parole next week. He seemed more that eager to put in a good word for you if you were released into my custody."
"That's really swell of you, but I don't want to be in anyone's way. Was probably going to go to the east coast and find something to do there. I really don't have anything keeping me here." Faith said sadly.
"That's nonsense. You have us and you have the fight. You can't just give up Faith. You are needed very much here. You have proven to all of us how much you have changed. And you will learn more here than anywhere else. We all have something to atone for Faith. Angel has his past sins. As does Spike and Willow. Cordelia is trying to overcome her shallow ways from the past. And I'm simply trying to make up for being the arrogant bastard that I once was. We need you here Faith."
Faith looked at Wesley and could see that he was telling her the truth. She had made mistakes in the past, but she was only human. And Spike, as well as Angel, had proven to her that it was never too late to change. She wanted to fight the good fight. She wanted to be a part of something. She knew that this was where she was meant to be. She looked up as Wesley and he knew that she was going to stay.
"Can I keep this room?" Faith asked hopefully.
"Sure. Let's get you back before they really do start to think you took off." Wesley said.
The former Watcher and the former Slayer headed out the door and back to the jail. Both happy with how the situation was going to turn out.
Dawn was still at the hotel, one week after the final standing against Spike. No one had heard anything from the vampire. *Was he even still a vampire?* Dawn thought to herself. He had left a vague, to say the best, message. Angel had gotten the hotel cleaned up and was still bitching about how much Spike owed him. She sighed when she thought about the previous week. Buffy had gone back to Sunnydale and Dawn knew she needed some time to heal. Dawn knew that Buffy was just as worried that she was that Spike wasn't going to return. Dawn just wanted things to go back to they way they had been so many years before hand, before Buffy had died, the second time. Connor came up behind Dawn, he looked at the girl and proceeded to sit next to her.
"How's it going?" He asked his friend.
"Could be better, could be worse." Dawn replied.
"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Connor asked, with a thin layer of ice lacing his tone.
"Yeah, but not like that. I just hope he's OK. I want him to go back to Buffy, I want them to finally be happy. Lord knows I screwed it up for them both enough already." Dawn said, wringing her hands.
"You're still in love with him, aren't you?"
"Yeah silly, but I don't think it's in the lusty way anymore. It's just he was the only one that ever made me feel wanted. Which is strange, considering he never wanted me." Dawn said with a nervous laugh.
"Dawn, how could someone not notice you, you are beautiful and talented. I've seen how men look at you, are you that blind?" Connor asked in disbelief.
"Whatever. We've been friends for years and you've never even looked at me." Dawn said, rolling her eyes.
"I've wanted you for years. It's hard to compete with Spike though. You've been in love with him since you were eleven years old Dawn. I just never knew how to tell you." Connor said.
Dawn looked at the handsome man sitting next to her. She had never noticed him before, even though she saw him practically every day for years. He was a great guy. He was talented and smart and had a nice upper body.
"So how come you never just sucked it up and asked me out then?" Dawn said teasingly.
"I didn't want to be the rebound guy Dawn. I didn't want you to just go out with me, so you could try to get over him. I wanted you to go out with me because you wanted me." Connor finished sadly.
Dawn reached over and grabbed Condor's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Fine chicken. Do you want to go have dinner with me?"
"Like as in a date?" Connor asked nervously.
"Yes. Connor, I know part of it was that I was blindly and weirdly obsessed with Spike for years. Part of it was I never thought you liked me like that. I thought I was like one of your guy friends, you know, except with breasts." Dawn said laughingly.
Connor looked at his friend. She was so cute when she laughed. He leaned over and gave a quick shy kiss before pulling away.
"Maybe we shouldn't start dating. I mean my sister and your Dad would be way too happy to see that happen." Dawn said mischievously.
"You're evil. I knew that there was something I liked about you." Connor said.
Dawn looked at her potential boyfriend and let a hundred watt smile fall on her face. Maybe life without Spike wouldn't be so bad. She knew it had to at least be less angsty.
**********************
Angel found Cordelia sitting in their room callously flipping through a magazine. He walked over and sat next to his girlfriend and looked her over. She was so amazing to him. The strength she emancipated was incredible. He wanted her to love him, for all of him. He figured that if Buffy could love Spike for everything he was, then perhaps Cordelia could too."
"Hey sweetie." Angel said to Cordelia.
"Hi." She responded quietly.
"Are you upset with me still?" Angel asked.
"A little, but it's not for the reasons you think. I knew that you had done some horrible things before you got your soul, but I can't believe you thought so little of me to simply not tell me."
"I didn't think you would love me anymore." Angel responded truthfully.
"Come on Angel. You knew me when I was the scourge of Sunnydale High School. I was cruel and mean in my own right. Some of what I put some of the less popular kids through was just as bad as some of the things you did, and I was human, and I had a soul." Cordelia said.
"You were just a kid. You never tortured or killed or raped." Angel said miserably.
"No, I didn't, but you knew that I used to be a not-so-nice kind of gal, but you saw all the changes in me, and you fell in love with me. I did the same thing with you. I know things in your past weren't all puppies and kittens, but I want you to know that I love you no matter what. Besides if your stubborn ex can fall in love with a soulless demon and still know all that he is, why can't I?" Cordelia said with a smile.
"Do you really want to know about my past?" Angel asked.
"You can either give me the PG-13 version or I can just go ask Giles for the triple X version." Cordelia said.
Angel smiled at her and thanked God that he had found such a smart and insightful woman to love him. He then proceeded to tell Cordelia the way toned down version of his days with Darla, Drusilla, and Spike.
********************
The remainder of the scoobies had decided to stay in LA for a dew extra days, take an actual vacation. They were standing around their room, packing their clothes.
"Has anyone heard from the bleached wonder?" Xander asked.
"I talked to Buffy, and she said that he left a message saying he might be gone for a couple of weeks." Willow said.
"Yes, he could have been slightly more vague. Doesn't he know that we are all worried about him. We wouldn't have gone through all this trouble of not killing him so he could go AWOL and MIA in the same day." Anya said crossly.
"An, honey. I don't think Spike is doing this to you personally. He probably has some issues to work out. He did kidnap Faith and Giles and attempted to turn Dawn. He's probably feeling some remorse and guilt right now." Xander said, in a surprisingly wise tone.
"Maybe he's off killing people. We have no idea what happened to him. Who knows, maybe Buffy screwed up and made him stronger." Anya said.
"Anya, I don't think he would have saved all of our lives if he just planned on killing us." Willow said.
Just as Anya was about to reply there was a knock on the door. Fred and Gunn came into the room and looked at three occupants.
"That was someone from the WC on the phone. They were looking for Giles or Wesley. It turns out that someone went into Quentin Travers office last night and slit his throat."
The five exchanged horrified glances.
"He wouldn't. I mean Spike has done a lot of horrible things, but he wouldn't have done that." Fred said, half convincingly.
********************
Rupert Giles was in the kitchen of his flat in Bath. He had disregarded the numerous telephone calls from the Council. He had no use for any of them anymore. He sat there studiously cleaning his knives. He remembered the pleas that came from Quentin's throat as he had slit it. He sighed as he wiped the blood off. He could remember all the times he had looked down on Spike and Angel because they were killers. He was no better than them now. He had killed two men within the last decade. He tried to feel remorse, but it just wasn't there. In his eyes he had served justice. He had just been protecting what was his, his two 'daughters.'
*****************************
Faith was in her guest room deciding what to do. She had one of two choices. She could either skip town and never return or she could go back to jail and finish out her sentence. Neither choice seemed all that appealing to her. She knew that she had changed and the others had seemed to notice the changes her. Even Buffy had been decent to her. She knew what she should do; she just wasn't sure what she was going to do. Just then Wes walked into the room.
"Hello Faith." Wesley stated as he entered.
"Hey Wes. Come to check up on me?"
"Actually I was wondering if you would like a job when you are done with your sentence." Wes said.
"Do you really mean that?" Faith asked, not believing what was her former Watcher was saying.
"Well, I talked to your parole officer this morning and it looks like you're up for parole next week. He seemed more that eager to put in a good word for you if you were released into my custody."
"That's really swell of you, but I don't want to be in anyone's way. Was probably going to go to the east coast and find something to do there. I really don't have anything keeping me here." Faith said sadly.
"That's nonsense. You have us and you have the fight. You can't just give up Faith. You are needed very much here. You have proven to all of us how much you have changed. And you will learn more here than anywhere else. We all have something to atone for Faith. Angel has his past sins. As does Spike and Willow. Cordelia is trying to overcome her shallow ways from the past. And I'm simply trying to make up for being the arrogant bastard that I once was. We need you here Faith."
Faith looked at Wesley and could see that he was telling her the truth. She had made mistakes in the past, but she was only human. And Spike, as well as Angel, had proven to her that it was never too late to change. She wanted to fight the good fight. She wanted to be a part of something. She knew that this was where she was meant to be. She looked up as Wesley and he knew that she was going to stay.
"Can I keep this room?" Faith asked hopefully.
"Sure. Let's get you back before they really do start to think you took off." Wesley said.
The former Watcher and the former Slayer headed out the door and back to the jail. Both happy with how the situation was going to turn out.