MAYHEM
NOTE: If I owned any of these Angel characters then the world would be a much better place. Thank Gidgetgirl for the Restorer abilities and Firefly for beta-ing for me. They're so good to me.
A/N: I guess I'll take this time out to thank you guys for the reviews I've gotten. So this is me going into Ivorycat, nice girl mode. I really need a new mode. Well, enjoy the chapter, guys.
CHAPTER 4Dawn folded a multi colored t-shirt into a large and bulky suitcase that sat open on her bed, taking a quick glance at Skylar who was jumping up and down on top the bed, wrinkling the covers, an eager smile on her face.
"This is going to the bestest!" Skylar yelled for the fourth time since Angel had made his announcement.
"I know," Dawn grinned at her, privately wishing that Richard were coming along on the trip with them.
"Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy," Skylar listed names of several Disney characters excitedly, taking a huge leap off the bed.
Dawn grinned again scooping Skylar up into her arms. "You know what'll be really cool-ish?"
"What?" Skylar practically demanded.
Dawn moved in towards Skylar's ear, whispering into her ear, her long hair falling across Skylar's face, "The Incredible Hulk. That's the best ride ever."
"Yeah!" Skylar agreed enthusiastically, her blonde hair flying up and down with her.
Skylar and Dawn looked out of Dawn's bedroom door at the sound of a whining "Da-ad." Skylar and Dawn poked their heads out the door to see what was going on.
"Connor, just stop it," said Angel dismissively, walking downstairs, Connor not far behind.
"I don't want to go," Connor repeated, glowering at his father. "Tammy and I made plans."
"Connor, everyone else is going," said Angel, patience in his voice, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "It's a family vacation."
"I don't care. I just want to stay here with Tammy," Connor growled. "Why can't I just stay here alone? I could keep up with the clients."
"Loon, son, you heard what I said," Angel said stern yet gently. "It'll be fun, I promise."
Connor glared at the floor, knowing he just could not win. Angel gave his son a mock punch in the in the arm, and headed towards the kitchen. That's when Dawn came down, accompanied by a very hyper Skylar.
"Hey, is everything OK?" Dawn asked with concern.
"No. This trip is ridiculous. Why should I have to go just because he says so?" Connor replied angrily glaring at his father's departing back.
Skylar decided to intervene. "But if you don't go you won't get to meet Goofy and everybody," she protested, grabbing onto her brother's legs.
Connor glanced down at Sky. The little kid had a way of getting exactly was she wanted.. "Fine." He tossed a hand through her hair, messing the blonde locks. "I'll go."
"Yay!" Skylar sang successfully, running up the stairs.
Dawn turned to Connor. "What are you whining about, anyway?" she asked, now that the younger girl was out of audible range.
"Why should I tell you?" Dawn raised an eyebrow at him. Oddly, the so-called miracle child decided to tell her. "I want to stay in LA with Tammy. I don't want to waste my damn time in somewhere I don't even wanna be," he said, folding his arms in front of his chest, clearly still pissed.
"Ooh, big swear words," said Dawn sarcastically, folding her own arms in front of her chest. "Impressive."
Connor glared at her, looking like Angel, or, at least, the way Angel looked when Angelus had paid a surprised visit to them. "Why are you so happy about this, anyway? I'd thought you'd want to stay here with Fisher."
"Richard," Dawn corrected annoyed. "And not all of us want to spend their entire spring break with their ridiculous... private dancer." She thought back to the picture of Tammy on Connor's lap, cringing at the thought.
"What's with you?" Connor asked grumpily.
"Nothing," Dawn replied. "Just pack your stuff and get over this stupid little depression of yours." She turned and walked away, leaving Connor with a pout on his face.
Upstairs Fred and Gunn were also packing for the unexpected trip. Fred, a happy smile on her face, twirled one of her tops around before stuffing it into her suitcase. She turned to Gunn who sat in a chair watching his girlfriend, an indulgent look in his brown eyes. Fred went over and sat down in his lap, winding her arms around his neck.
"This is going to be wonderful," she said. "I can't believe Angel sprung for tickets for all of us."
"I know," said Gunn, wrapping an arm around her small waste. "I just don't get what's up with him. Ever since this shanshu thing he's been... well, weird."
Fred giggled a little. "Angel's just happy. I love seeing him that way," she said dreamily, thinking of the heroic vampire that had once saved her life.
Gunn, noticing Fred's daydream, had to bring her attention back to him. "Anything beats the return of Angelus," he said, kissing her.
A pondering look formed over his face and Fred inquired, "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Why don't we just go to Disney Land?"
Fred thought about that. It was true that Disney Land was located right there in California. "Disney World is better?" she finally replied.
"Good point." Gunn kissed her again. All thoughts of packing left their minds.
Dawn passed by Lorne's bedroom as she walked down the hall. The brunette instantly stopped in her tracks when she heard Lorne's voice releasing his usual golden notes. Dawn tipped over to Lorne's bedroom door and saw him singing as he folded one of his brightly colored suits and packed it away. Dawn had to laugh at the mental images produced hearing the green demon sing, "Love on the rocks." That's when Lorne noticed his one viewer.
"Any privacy in this house?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry," Dawn apologized sheepishly, turning to leave. "I'll just—"
"No, it's OK," Lorne assured her. "I was just kidding. Come on in, honey bun."
Dawn entered the room. "You're packing, too?" she asked, looking around at the colorful clothing lying all around his room, especially the bed.
"Yeah, sure thing, honey bunch. This trip is gonna be great." Lorne turned his back to his dresser to gather more clothes. Dawn remained silent. Lorne, noticing it, looked over at her. "Anything wrong, sweet potato?"
"No," Dawn replied not sure of her own words. Lorne positioned himself in front of her with a "come on, tell me" look written all over his face. "Well, it's just... how do you know if someone is being honest with you?"
"Wait a minute. I know what this is," said Lorne.
Dawn eyes widened. "You do?" she asked, mentally ordering him to stay out of her head.
"Yeah. It's Connor, isn't it?" He's been eating the spin wheels again, hasn't he? I keep telling that kid that he's gonna go into a sugar rush," Lorne continued as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Oh, yeah, right," Dawn agreed with him. "You know what? I better go see if Sky needs help with her luggage."
Dawn did just that, walking into Skylar's pale pink bedroom, which had been recently painted with fantasy colors by Buffy and Angel. Clothes lay sprinkled over Skylar's bed, on which she lay, her nose stuck in a book. Dawn approached the foot of the bed, looking around at the scattered clothing.
"Sky, what are you doing? We leave tomorrow morning. Shouldn't you be getting your stuff together?"
Skylar looked up and frowned. "I don't wanna pack. I wanna read my new bo-ook," she whined.
"C'mon, Sky, you have to pack?" Dawn asked, sitting on the bed. "Why don't you want to?"
"It's boring. Why can't you pack for me?" an imperious tone entering her voice.
"Because you're seven and plenty old enough to do it on your own?"
Skylar turned back to her book. "I still don't want to," she grumbled, ignoring the older girl.
Dawn sighed, not feeling like an argument. "Fine. I'll go get Buffy. Maybe she can convince you to get your stuff ready." The little girl had been spoiled and arrogant lately, she decided. Buffy was the only one who could really get Sky to do the stuff she was supposed to do. And that was a battle of wills to be witnessed. Skylar seemed to be inheriting Buffy's own persuasive little pout.
Skylar shot her head back up quickly, her blue eyes getting wide as she understood the implication. Dawn hid a smile, as she saw how she had won the small feud with her subtle hint. Skylar clambered down from her bed and pulled her flowered suitcase from her closet.
"I guess you wanna pack, huh?" Dawn asked wryly.
A/N: If any of you were wondering I'm most definitely gonna have Chad make an appearance in this. I love him so! Oh, and a spin wheel is a type of sweet cake. Can you say... yum? Well, review so I can update faster.