A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. I ALWAYS LOVE THEM ESPECIALLY THE REALLY LONG ONES.

NICOLE: HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA ABOUT THE LITTLE GIRL BEING A PART OF CORDELIA THAT WILL HELP HER WAKE UP AND BECOME A GUARDIAN? YOUR GUESS IS PRETTY CLOSE AS TO WHO AND WHAT SHE IS BUT NOT ENTIRELY.

HERE'S CHAPTER SEVEN. HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

ENJOY. AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW.


~*~


Angel sighed when he returned to his office and Spike was still there. The other man didn't look up but Angel was sure that he had heard him.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Angel walked over to the overly large window where Spike was standing. "I'm assuming it didn't go well."

Spike sneered at him. "You're damn right it didn't go well."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Sure you are." Spike said skeptically.

"Don't start with me. Buffy already gave me the lecture, Spike. I'm not going to hear it from you as well." Angel said before it could lead to another lecture session for him.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Angel asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that Buffy was coming?" The blonde clarified.

Angel shrugged as he let out a breath. "I don't know. I thought maybe it was time that she knew."

Spike scoffed. "Who died and made you king?"

Angel was prepared to give a nasty little remark when his judgment got the better of him. "Look, Spike, I did both of you a favor. You can now stop pretending that she doesn't matter anymore because you're human and Buffy can finally stop believing a lie. You didn't think that you could hide from her forever, did you?"

"I wasn't hiding."

Angel smirked. "Sure you weren't."

They fell into silence and both of them stood there, staring at the city below them. Spike spoke again.

"Why didn't you warn me? I could have left before she arrived." Spike asked, repeating his previous question. "I thought you'd be the first person to want to keep us apart."

Angel look offended. "I love her."

"And?"

"She wants you. Isn't that enough?" Angel replied softly.

"No." Spike answered.

It was strange how they were talking; actually having a civilized conversation instead of beating each other senseless until one of them was either dust or unconscious.

They had lived centuries of hating each other, at least Spike did. He had loathed Angelus throughout his undead life.

But fate, despite their reluctance to believe in it, brought them together yet again and this time, not as enemies.

They weren't friends, not even in the least and neither of them could see each other as friends. But there was a truce and they both knew it.

Granted, there were still some bitter blood between them but being able to endure a few minutes together in the same room was progress.

It was more progress than they've had over the centuries.

"So you're just going to hate her for the rest of your life?" Angel asked.

Spike shrugged. "I didn't say that."

"You don't have a lot of time, Spike. You're human now. That means you have an expiration date." Angel continued.

The blonde vampire didn't like the sound of that at all.  "It's none of your business."  He uttered in a clipped tone.

"Yeah but I'm butting in." Angel retorted with a smirk. "Listen, I don't understand the attraction that Buffy has to you and maybe I'm not supposed to but don't be a fool. Don't waste it because of a grudge."

"So now you're a love guru as well?" Spike asked; a hint of amusement and sarcasm in his voice.

"If you miss out on this chance, you'll regret it." Angel warned him.

Spike glanced at his grandsire curiously. "Did you?"

A sad expression past Angel's face but it was fleeting. "Once, I did. But it wasn't meant to last forever."

"And now you don't regret it as much because your heart has found another." Spike stated knowingly.

"Excuse me?"

"Your Seer. You love her." Spike declared. "You visit her every chance you get. You sit by her side and talk to her for as long as possible until one of the people watching her has to shoo you out of the room. You make sure she's comfortable and that she's taken care of. I've been doing my homework and I'm not blind, Angel. All that attention you give to sleeping beauty isn't because you're friends. You love her. You're whipped." Spike laughed but Angel didn't look amused.

"I am not whipped." Angel argued.

"You'd give her the moon if she asked for it and no matter how wrong she is you'd forgive her." Spike declared. 

"Are we still talking about me here?" Angel asked, shooting him a meaningful look.

"How did she fall into a coma anyway?" Spike asked curiously.

Angel searched his mind for an explanation. He and Lilah never came up with one. He opened his mouth to answer when a knock interrupted them and Lilah came in.

"Sorry to break the bonding boys, but there's an incident at the infirmary." Lilah declared and Angel and Spike were already across and out the room before she could say another word.

"What's going on?" Spike asked as they reached the elevator.

"There's a high demon activity in the infirmary and so far it's unexplained.  No one has reported in what's causing it." Lilah explained.

"What's with the alarm? This building is swarming with demons. What makes this one different?" Angel asked.

"This one is emitting a high amount unknown power."

"And?"

"It means that this creature is new, powerful and dangerous. Wolfram and Hart's database registers every known demon and creature there is. This alarm only goes off when it detects something that is unidentified." Lilah continued. "It's also a signal telling our weapons and protection division to send in some troops."

The elevator doors opened and they were met by Wesley, who was clutching a gigantic book in his arms, trying to tell Angel something and by Gunn who had a large gun in his arms.

"Not now, Wes." Angel said. "Is that necessary?" He asked turning to Gunn.

"Afraid so." Gunn replied.

"Angel, this is important." Wesley pressed.

"English, step aside, you are not helping the situation." Gunn said rather rudely but Wes ignored him. "Angel, they're in the same room as Buffy and Dawn."


************************************************************************


Buffy was rooted on the ground as she watched in sheer terror at what was happening to her little sister.  She had just gotten off the phone with Willow who didn't have any good news for her at all when she heard the alarm and she knew that Dawn was in danger.

When she reached the infirmary, everyone was already on one side of the room.

Fred and the rest of her science team where all huddled to one corner, except for the surprising look of mild interest on their faces, they barely appeared afraid.

Some of the researchers were taking notes, scribbling rapidly while others jutted down configurations into their computers.

On the other side, Dawn remained motionless on the bed while the small child who she had brought with her through the portal laid on her side; the girl's small hands clutching unconscious teenager's.

Connor was a few feet away, looking upset.  What was going on?  Why wasn't anyone doing anything?

A green orb of energy and light surrounded the little girl and it grew bigger until it engulfed both herself and Dawn.

Buffy moved to remove the little girl but the green energy sent shocks, sending the ex slayer across the room.

The child sensed the interruption and snapped her eyes at Buffy, a scowl on her small lips.

She said something in a foreign language; her voice hoarse and almost demonic. The building shook slightly and some of the people in the room gasped in fright.

Another light emerged from within the child and it moved outside the green orb and settled on the floor.

The other light began to grow until it took the form of a demon.

Buffy moved to attack again but Spike, who had arrived with Angel and the rest of the team just shortly after she did, held her back, his grip strong and unrelenting.

Buffy glared at him but he refused to let her go and she was forced to stand back and watch.

"They're going to hurt her!" She said angrily but Spike shook his head.

"I don't think so."

Angel was holding back Gunn who had the urge to shoot.

The demon, which appeared as deadly as the Beast that Angel encountered in the past was at least six feet tall, if not more. Its hard skin appeared burnt by fire and heat while small deathly looking spikes ran across the back of its arms and down its spine. The demon possessed two horns and a long pointed tail.

It looked like the Devil itself.

It began to chant, its voice booming in the room as it offered its one hand to the child while it knelt and took Dawn's free limp hand.

The little girl gladly gave her hand fearlessly and in their triangle, the child and the demon began to chant in a language only they understood.

The green light welcomed the demon into its embrace and it grew as their voices rose higher and higher, until the light became overwhelmingly bright and everyone else was forced to shield their eyes.

The light died down and the demon vanished.

The crowd watched as the little girl smiled in satisfaction and bent down to kiss Dawn on the forehead.

Suddenly, the older girl gasped for air as her eyes fought to open.

The child's arms snake around Dawn's neck as she hugged her tightly.

"Welcome home." The little girl whispered but no one understood except for Dawn.


~*~


A/N: SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER. DAWN'S BACK WHICH IM RELIEVED BECAUSE I KNEW I COULDN'T PUT HER IN A COMA LIKE CORDELIA. AND DON'T WORRY OUR LOVELY SEER HASN'T BEEN FORGOTTEN.

THIS CHAPTER WASN'T ORIGINALLY WRITTEN THIS WAY BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THAT SOME OF YOU WANTED SOME SPIKE AND ANGEL INTERACTON SO THERE IT IS.

SO BASICALLY, THIS CHAPTER WAS WRITTEN TO:

GET SOME ANGEL PERSPECTIVE ABOUT SPIKE AND BUFFY'S NON-RELATIONSHIP.

TO GET SOMEONE TO MENTION CORDELIA AND ANGEL'S FEELINGS FOR HER.

TO GET DAWN TO WAKE UP. THERE WILL BE EXPLANTIONS AS TO HOW THE LITTLE MAGIC STUFF WORKED.

TO INTRODUCE THE "DEMON." HE'LL PLAY A PART IN LATER CHAPTERS.

TO PREPARE YOU FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, HERE'S A FEW HINTS THAT I WROTE IN THIS CHAPTER:

WILLOW'S BAD NEWS FROM THE PHONE CALL WITH BUFFY. (I DIDN'T JUST MENTION HER IN THIS CHAPTER FOR ANY REASON.)

WESLEY'S DISCOVERY

GUNN'S GUNS

THE CHILD, DAWN AND THE DEMON. (THERE'S A WHOLE MEANING FOR THE THREE OF THEM)

THE GREEN LIGHT.

THE STRANGE LANGUAGE

OH AND IN CASE YOU GUYS ARE WONDERING WHY I ALWAYS MENTION LILAH IN EACH CHAPTER, THERE IS A REASON FOR HER TO BE THERE. SHE WILL SERVE HER PURPOSE WHEN THE TIME COMES.

WELL COME ON, GIVE ME SOME REVIEWS BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER BARELY MENTIONS SPUFFY MOMENTS AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU MORE SPUFFY MOMENTS.

THANKS FOR READING.