WHAT!!!

By jessebelle

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Reviews: I'm not asking, I'm demanding!!! Please?

A/N: Yeah, yeah, it's been a long time. Okay, this is it, the second to last chapter that I have planned and written out. I now have to work on finishing the story. I'll try to do my best. As for updating, it will probably take a teensy bit longer. Sorry, but I'll try to write as fast as possible.

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Chapter sixteen: Security Blankets, Tearful Reunions, and You Have A Son!?

Los Angeles

Dawn's Apartment

Dawn noticed something was weird as soon as she got home. Lindsey had gotten her ice cream, then dropped her off. The door had opened by itself. Then she had been watching TV when it kept flipping channels. The last straw was when she had whined about being too lazy to get up and get a soda; one had floated in from the kitchen to her hand. She freaked out.

She knew it was silly, but when she was little and was afraid of the dark or monsters, before she knew they were real, she would hide under the blankets. Sure, it was funny now, but she needed that feeling of safety. She was currently hiding in her bed with the covers over her head with the phone on her lap. She'd been debating with herself for a few minutes when she came to the conclusion it was an emergency, and Buffy had told her to call in an emergency.

As she was dialing the number that she'd been left with, she heard a knock on the door. She hung up the phone and peeked out from under the covers; nothing was floating around or moving around by itself. She wondered it the knocking was really the door, or a ghost. Dawn slowly took the blanket off of her head and made a dash for her door. She opened it slowly and peeked out into the living room; the TV was still on but it had settled on a channel.

Cautiously and quietly she tiptoed to the door that was now being pounded on. When nothing spectacular happened, she peeked through the peephole and gave a loud squeal. She flung open the door.

"Angel, I'm so glad you're here. I was just about to call y-" She saw the dark vampire's companion and squealed again. She ran out in the hallway and straight into Spike's waiting arms. "Spike. You're here. Oh My God!!!" She hugged him with such furiosity that if he had needed to breathe, he'd be dead by now. He in favor, hugged her with just as much emotion. Angel just watched amazed at the love between the two.

"Spike, how long have you been back? Does Buffy know? Oh my god, she'll freak." Suddenly she stopped and cocked her head to the side. "Wait a minute, why are you with Angel?" she turned to the aforementioned and gave him a small hug and a smile. "Good to see you too by the way." Angel smiled down at her. She looked at Spike again. "Well, dish. What's up?"

Spike grinned. "Well Nibblet, first you tell us why you were so scared and what's wrong, then I'll tell you what's happened in the land of Spike. Let's go inside too, I don't think you'd like me or the poof to be big piles of dust."

Dawn looked up at the two with fear in her eyes. "Uh, how about we go where you guys are staying first?"

Spike looked at her, concern etched on his face. "What's wrong platelet? Why can't we go in your apartment? And why are you home alone?" At his questioning Dawn broke into tears. Spike pulled her into a hug and she cried against his chest. After a while she started whimpering what only vampires could make out.

"Ghost" sob "Or something" sob "don't want" sob "to live here" sob " want to go" sob "home."

Spike glared at Angel over her head. "Well peaches, your harmless ghost is scaring her. I thought you said it was nothing."

Dawn looked up at Angel from Spike's chest. "Your ghost?"

Angel's heart broke at the sight of her. He reached out and took her from Spike and pulled her against his chest, much to his childe's annoyance. "Dawnie, do you remember Cordelia?" Dawn sniffled and nodded her head. "Well, she lived here in this apartment with a ghost, Phantom Dennis. He's really friendly and won't hurt you. He helped Cordelia and was a pretty good roommate from what she told us. "

Dawn nodded against his chest. "So he knows you? He won't hurt me or anything?"

"No, he won't hurt you and yeah, he knows me."

Dawn pulled away from Angel and wiped a few left over tears away. She gave a small smile to both of the vampires. "Okay guys, come in."

Spike, Angel, and Dawn entered her apartment. A baseball bat came out of know where intent on hitting Spike. Angel intercepted it before it made contact.

"Dennis, no. Spike is our friend, well, not really, but he won't hurt me or Dawn." The baseball bat drifted away and went into the closet.

Dawn looked at Angel accusingly. "I thought you said he was friendly?" Angel took Dawn from Spike and led her to the couch. "He is, but he knew Spike was a vampire and thought he was here to hurt you."

Dawn sat down with a vampire on each side of her. She leaned on Spike, who was to her right, and put her feet on Angel's lap. Spike ran his fingers through her hair. Finally she looked to Angel. "you said Cordelia used to live here. Where is she now?" Spike listened carefully. She wanted to find out where the cheerleader had gone as much as Dawn

Angel took a deep, unneeded breath. "Well, we don't know exactly. Her stuff is stored in a few rooms at my hotel, but as for Cordy herself, we don't know." He gently moved Dawn's feet off his lap, stood up, and started to pace. Spike could see that this was hard for him. After a few moments, Angel continued. "About three or four months ago, I was supposed to meet her for a date. She never showed up and I was trapped in a box in the bottom of the ocean."

"Who put you there?"

Angel was about to reply when Spike's disbelief interrupted him. "A date. You were going on a date!?"

Angel choose to ignore his childe's outburst. "My son Conner put me there. It's a long story. But we haven't found Cordelia yet, but we will."

Dawn accepted his answer, then stopped. "Wait a minute, you have a son!?"