CHAPTER 9

Historical Note: By now, the story takes place in the end of the fifth season of Buffy, and the fourth season of Angel.

Author's Note: Sorry about the other chapter being sooo short. This one is kinda short too.. Sorry bout this!! How am I doin' on this story?? I hope I'm doin' ok. Remember, Feedback is VERY much wanted!!

Author's Note/Historical Note: This part takes place three months after where the second one left off. Angel is still missing, leaving Buffy to deal with the Hyperion Hotel, and to raise Connor. Cordelia has also gone missing, and the crew is searching for her as well. Also, Joyce gets terminally ill, forcing Buffy to go back to Sunnydale and take care of things for awhile not knowing she'd end up doing it permanently.

"Hey Angel," Dawn said as he walked into her new room. Buffy had helped her set up some of her stuff earlier after they ate their pizza. The two girls had also done some running around earlier together while Angel stayed in for obvious reasons. They also had an appointment with a high school for Dawn. In fact, it was the school Buffy had gone to before moving to Sunnydale; Hemery High.

"Hey Dawn. Wow, this room's looking pretty good," Angel said as he looked around. Dawn smiled.

"Thanks. Buffy helped me unpack some of my stuff from the boxes," she explained. "She even brought up some of the heavier things like my dresser," she added.

"She did," he said as he looked over at Buffy. "Well, it looks like you guys have been busy," he noticed.

"Yeah, but then Buffy started talking about having to go back to school soon, and the mood kinda went down," she explained. Angel laughed.

"Yeah, I didn't care much for school either," he told her. "But Buffy's right. You're going to have to go back to school soon," he told her.

"I tried to tell her she'll be going to school here in L.A." Buffy said.

"Speaking of which, didn't you have an interview today?" Angel asked. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, we did."

"How'd that go?" he asked. He knew Buffy had been nervous about the interview all week long since she had been kicked out of the same school.

"Actually, it went great. Dawnie's starting in two weeks,"

"Well, that's cool, huh?" Angel said looking at Dawn.

"Not really," she said.

"I tried to tell her how lucky she was to be going to a school in L.A. I mean, how many kids back in Sunnydale would kill to go to the school your going to," Buffy told her.

Dawn crossed her arms and looked at her sister. "I liked that school. I had friends there like Janice, and I wasn't afraid to bring them to the house," she told her.

"Well, if it helps, you can have a friend, or two over once in a while," Angel offered.

"Do you know how hard it would be having friends over when your older sister's the slayer, and her boyfriend's a vampire?" she asked. Angel laughed as he scratched the back of his head, knowing he wouldn't win.

"A valid point. Ok, well, I'll be downstairs if you guys need me," he said before leaving. He knew Buffy would be able to defuse Dawn better then he could. He didn't have much experience raising a teenager.

* * *

A few minutes later, Buffy followed Angel downstairs. She looked around the room before realizing he was in his office unloading his weapons.

"So, did you see him?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I saw him," he said as he took off his hand stakes.

"And?" she prodded.

"And, he's fine," he told her. "He was kicking some vampire's ass in an alley. He's fine," he assured her. Buffy could tell by the tone in his voice that he didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Ok. I'll just go up to bed," Buffy said as she headed towards the door.

"Buffy, wait, I'm sorry. I'm just tired of dealing with Connor," he told her. Buffy turned around.

"You don't think I don't feel the same?" she asked him. "And, and on top of all that, I have to help Dawn start a new life here with us. This isn't easy for anyone Angel, but I don't have a choice in this," she told him.

"I'm really sorry. I know it's been hard on you the most. But your doing great," he assured her as he reached for her hand and pulled her into a hug.

"No I'm not. I suck at being a grown up," she told him.

"Your doing better than I ever would have done," he assured her. Buffy looked up at him.

"Really?" she asked.

Angel nodded. "Yeah." He then kissed her on the top of her head as he held her in his arms.

* * *

"Hey, what are the plans for tonight?" Gunn asked as he walked into the lobby. Buffy turned towards him.

"I was kinda hoping we could go out and kill demons," Buffy said. Gunn looked at Angel worriedly as he noted she seemed a little too happy about her suggestion.

"She's been itching for some action," he explained as he looked up from a book.

"Yeah, same here," he admitted. "Hey, where's little bit?" he asked as he noticed Dawn's absence.

"She's upstairs watching TV" Buffy explained.

"Which is exactly where I want her to be when I open up this portal thing," he said as he held up the crystal ball that Wesley had given them before Joyce had died. He had told Buffy that after things settled down a little more, then he'd pick up on trying to find Cordy with the information Wesley gave them a while back.

"What am I supposed to do while your exploring other places?" Buffy asked. He grinned before pointing to Gunn.

"That's where you come in. Take her out, let her kill a demon or something, but please take her out. Wesley will be here to watch Dawn," he explained.

"Alright, fine. But if you leave me here alone again, I'll personally find you and kick your ass," she threatened.

"I'll be back. I promise," he assured her. Buffy smiled at him. Angel then walked over to her and lowered his head down to hers and kissed her.

"All right you two, some of us have dimensions to visit; others have appointments with kicking the un-dead's asses," he said as he pulled Buffy away from Angel, and out the door.