Author: ImmatureLittleGirl Email: immaturelittlegirl@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon and maybe other people, I'm not sure I just know that I don't own them...

Summary: Dawn goes to live with her father in LA and has to learn to live without her sister. Strange coincidences lead her to meet an interesting person. Dawn/Connor

Rating: PG-13 I guess.

AN: Sorry if I confused anyone, I fudged the timelines a little bit to make it work. It's somewhere in Season 6 of Buffy and Season 4 of Angel, I think.

AN 2: This is just a quick interlude to help answer some questions that have been asked. I hadn't originally planned on writing it, and I don't believe that anything mentioned in it is really dire to the development of the story, I've just been having trouble answering certain questions because the entire story is told from Dawn's perspective, and she can't see or know everything. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave this up, because I'm not sure if I like it. If you think its ok, let me know. If you think it sucks and I should exclude it from the story, well, let me know then too.

PART 5:  Interlude

Gunn and Fred strolled in through the Hyperion's front entrance, grasping each other's hands, while jovially discussing the movie they had just returned from. Things had been so busy around Angel Investigations, that they hadn't had time to dedicate solely to each other, in quite some time. Gunn wrapped his arm around Fred's tiny waist and pulled her closer to him as they made their way over to the couches and collapsed on the sofa, curling up together closely. A moment later Angel joined them, sitting on the sofa across from where they were seated, his serious _expression bringing an end to their lighthearted conversation.

"What's up?" Gunn asked, drawing his eyes away from Fred's sweet smile, to Angel's unpleasant scowl.

"We've been flooded with work all day. We need to check out a demon infestation down on Terrance Ave, then swing around and pick up an incantation to vanquish the evil spirits haunting that club downtown," Angel explained. Pausing, Angel began to nervously fidget with his hands. "Did you see Connor?" Angel finally asked, looking up after a moment.

"Yeah, he's been fine, man. There hasn't really been much out of the ordinary with him. Though, the 'new friend' of his, we've seen him with, was following him. I'm not really sure what's with the two of them. Last time we saw him, he was following her. Now she's following him. I'm not sensing a lot of trust in this new relationship he seems to be developing," Gunn replied; confusion etched on his face as he contemplated his findings.

"I don't like this 'new friend' of his. Why would they be following each other? I want to see who this girl is that has been tailing my son around, and I want to know her motives. I swear, if Wolfram and Hart have anything to do with this, they will be truly sorry they messed with my offspring," Angel declared shaking his head to emphasize his threat.

"I don't know, I think she seems like a nice girl. One of the reasons we enrolled him in school was so that he could begin to intermingle with society and make new friends. I think it's a good sign that he's making new acquaintances, even if they are exhibiting strange behavior, at first.

"Not that I know her very well, or at all, but she appears to be sweet, and I think he might even like her. But it's just a guess. I mean, I don't know what his taste in girls is, but the way he looked at her today, after he confronted her, and the way she looked back… they seemed to be a little smitten with each other." Fred paused at the look of dread that crossed Angel's face. "Or possibly not," Fred added quickly, wishing she could retract her last statement.

"You think he might be falling for this girl? This is worse than I thought. If he trusts her, she could get anything out of him. Wolfram and Hart could lure him to their side, with her." Angel stood and began pacing almost frantically, as he considered this newest development.

"Angel, I know it seems like it was practically yesterday he was just a baby, and that's mostly cause he was, but he's going to have to make his own mistakes and learn from them," Gunn advised, hoping Angel would listen to the voice of reason. The last thing Angel needed to do now, was drive an even bigger wedge in between he and his son by separating Connor from the new friends he had just recently made.

"Uh-oh. He's brooding again. What now?" Cordelia asked, watching Angel as she descended the stairs.

"He's worrying about Connor," Fred explained, leaving Gunn's side to follow Cordelia into the office area.

"He's always worrying about something, now isn't he?" Cordelia sat down on the desk and began to flip through the notes Fred had taken down earlier, on their latest case.

"So it seems."

The phone beside Cordelia sounded a minute later, and she picked it up after the first ring.

"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless," Cordelia chimed cheerily.

"Hi Cordelia, it's Buffy. Can I speak with Angel?"

"Ugh. What do you want? He's already in a broody mood. As if he needs more encouragement!" Cordelia snapped in annoyance. Angel knew who was on the other end of the line as soon as he heard Cordelia's remark and hurried to grab the phone away from her, before a war of words broke out between them.

"Buffy?" Angel greeted tightening his grip on the phone and turning away from Cordelia, who huffed in irritation.

"Hi Angel," Buffy greeted with a note of relief in her voice.

"Is something wrong?" Angel asked, stepping away from Cordelia, who was leaning in close to him, in an attempt to eavesdrop on his conversation.

"No… well, possibly. Dawn called me yesterday to tell me she was attacked by two demons. She said she was able to kill them but she was worried there might be more, although it sounded to me like they were not real threats. Still, I feel guilty for not following up on it. I know she was disappointed, but I have been just so overwhelmed with a possible apocalypse, and other complications in my life. There is so much I have going on right now; I can't just drop everything to run out to LA. I was hoping that maybe you could keep an eye out on her, for a little while, as a favor to me," Buffy explained.

"Yeah, of course. Do you need any other help? Do you have this potential apocalypse under control?" Angel questioned with concern.

"Yeah, I'm going to get everything here in Sunnydale under control, eventually. At least, I hope so. Thanks for looking out for Dawn, though. I really owe you one."

"You don't have to worry about it. Everything here in LA is being taken care of," Angel insisted, trying to assure her.

"Thank you. I'll talk to you later. Update me if you find anything suspicious."

"Yeah, right away," Angel assured her. "Goodbye, Buffy."

"Bye," Buffy replied. After a short pause, Angel heard the click as the line died, and hung the phone up on its receiver.

"What did she want?" Cordelia asked; her voice laced with contempt.

"Buffy needed a favor. She wants me to keep a watch on Dawn, because she thinks she might be in danger," Angel explained as he made his way into his office to grab his jacket, draped over the back of a chair.

"Is she paying?" Cordelia questioned, following closely behind Angel.

"No, I said it was a favor." Angel shrugged his jacket on, ignoring Cordelia, who was trying to form words to express her disapproval, but finding herself too frustrated to succeed.

"We are too busy. You were just telling me how swamped we are with our cases, an hour ago," Cordelia reminded.

"Yes, we are busy, but we can make time for this." Angel hurried back into the lobby, quickly rethinking his plans for the night. "Change of plans, Gunn. Can you and Fred take care of the demon infestation? Afterwards, see if you can find out what Connor's up to. Watch out for that girl and let me know if you see her again. Cordelia, you pick up the incantation. We'll vanquish the spirits tomorrow. I have some things I need to take care of tonight."

"You're just going to drop everything? Just like that? All for Buffy! This is insane. Whenever she asks for anything, you jump to her beck and call. This is so typical of you, Angel," Cordelia fumed.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Angel replied sincerely. "That plan alright with you two?" Angel asked, now turning his attention to Gunn and Fred. Both nodded their agreement, without argument.

"It's not alright with me! I can't believe you're going to just abandon your responsibilities like this," Cordelia shouted, stepping into Angel's path and preventing him from leaving.

"Right now, my main responsibility is to Buffy, to protect Dawn," Angel responded, stepping around Cordelia.

"You're putting your ex's younger sister before your own son's well being? Where are your priorities?" Cordelia followed directly behind Angel not willing to give up her fight just yet.

"Cordelia, be reasonable. You know Dawn and you also know Connor. Who is more capable of taking care of themselves when it comes to demons? I love Connor, and you know that, but if Dawn is in danger, she will have no way of protecting herself. Connor has strength and agility that would far surpass your average demon; Dawn is a teenage girl. I think it's clear where my help is needed more," Angel answered in an authoritative tone that ended the conversation. Angel pivoted and exited the Hyperion, leaving Cordelia alone to seethe in jealousy and anger over her defeat.

*

TBC

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