Part Three
As they neared Xander's car, Dawn's legs buckled and she fell down hard on the asphalt of the sidewalk. Xander dropped down besides her and picked her up, his arms wrapping around her protectively. They reached his car and he gently put her back on her feet as he reached to open the handle of the passenger side. She slid in slowly and he pushed the door closed, running over to the other side as fast as he could. He opened the driver's side and slammed it shut, jolting the car. He jammed the key into the ignition and started the car up; the automatic locks clicking into place. He put the car into drive and stepped on the gas, speeding down Revello Drive and onto Kensington Place, making a sharp right onto Redwood Road and pulled the car to the side of the road. He looked over at Dawn who was visibly shaking from head to toe. He touched her arm and she flinched. He pulled away quickly, feeling bad he scared her.
She looked over at him and put her hand over his. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking." She shivered again.
He reached into the back of the car and pulled an old shirt that was stuck halfway inside the seat. "Its ok, here, put this on, it's freezing out; I don't want you to get sick."
She took it from him and slipped it on, leaving some of the buttons undone. "Thanks." She gave him a small smile and he could see her eyes welling up with unshed tears. Her smile faded into a grimace and her bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold everything in.
"Dawn its okay if you need to cry, you don't have to be embarrassed or anything."
She shook her head and tried to talk but only a choked sob came out. Her hands flew to her mouth to try and quiet it but it was to no avail. Xander reached over and wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head in his chest, her sobs echoing in the car. He could feel her tears being absorbed into the fabric of his shirt, her delicate features twisted in sadness and misery. He ran his hand through her hair, trying his best to comfort her as she let everything out. Minutes passed and her cries calmed, being replaced by sniffles and sighs. She lifted her head up from Xander's chest and wiped the last tear off her face, smearing her mascara down her cheek. She flipped down the mirror on her side of the car and frowned. "I look so horrible." She flipped the mirror back up and touched the left side of her cheek. It was beginning to bruise and she winced at the pain.
Xander shook his head. "You don't look bad at all Dawn, trust me."
"You're just being nice."
Xander touched her arm. "No I mean it, you look beautiful, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
She glanced over at him and smiled. "Thank you." She looked out the window into the night sky. "If you hadn't saved me, I don't think I would be alive right now." She looked back over at him. "You saved my life. It was the bravest thing I ever saw."
He shook his head. "I just did what anyone would've done."
She reached over and took his hand. "No, not many people would've risked their life like that. You didn't even think about it, you just did it. If anyone here is extraordinary, its you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He smiled. "We should get back to my apartment to tell the others what's happened. Buffy and the rest of them were supposed to meet back there pretty soon."
Dawn nodded. "I think we need to call Cordy and everyone in La to find out what exactly happened; why Angel lost his soul."
Xander's eyes darkened at the mention of his name. "Right now I just want to make sure you and everyone else stays safe, we'll worry about them later."
With that, he started the car up and they drove in silence back to his apartment.
***
Xander unlocked the door and helped Dawn into his apartment, closing and locking the knob behind them. She braced herself against the wall for support while Xander pocketed his keys and slid the extra sliding lock into place. He put an arm around here and she limped into the living room where Willow was sitting. Willow jumped up off of the couch, her eyes widening at the sight of Dawn, who by now was starting to look black and blue in places.
"Oh my God, what happened?"
Dawn limped to the recliner and sat down painfully. "Someone decided to pay me a visit back at the house."
Willow glanced from her back to Xander's grim face. "Who did this?"
"Angelus." Xander grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Dawn. "I walked in on - " He paused rethinking his words. "He almost raped Dawn. He would've killed her afterwards."
Willow's hand flew to her open mouth. "Oh God, Angelus? That means Angel's soul is -"
"-Gone." Xander finished and walked over to the coat closet and opened it up. "Did Buffy say when they'd be back here?" He bent down and opened up a large cardboard box on the floor underneath the jackets hung up above it and produced four sharp stakes and a small battle-ax with small ornate designs carved into the handle.
Willow glanced over at Dawn who was staring down at her hands. "No, but they should be back soon, I mean its almost 8 o'clock and Buffy said she wanted everyone to get some extra rest tonight." She glanced from Xander back to Dawn. "But I guess this means that that's not gonna happen."
Xander put the stakes down on the kitchen counter and tossed the ax from his right hand to his left. "No, it isn't, not with that psycho loose. I need you to call Wesley, see what the hell is going on in LA and why Dead Boy's soul is missing in action. I'm going to call Buffy on her cell phone and give her a heads up."
Willow shook her head. "Buffy didn't bring her phone with her, she didn't want any distractions while they were on patrol with the SIT's."
Xander sighed. "Alright, just call the gang in LA and find out what happened there." He grabbed the stakes off of the counter; stuffing them into his coat pockets and headed towards the door.
Dawn turned around and looked at Xander opening the door to the hallway. She got up shakily and limped over to him before he could open it all the way. "Wait, where are you going?"
He turned to her and the hardened glare disappeared off his face. "I need to go warn Buffy and the others, they aren't expecting to see Angelus." He glanced from Dawn to Willow who was standing a few paces away. "None of us were." He put his hand on Dawn's shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Willow take care of Dawn's cuts and stuff ok?" He turned around to walk out the door but Dawn moved in front of him.
"No."
"Dawn, I have to go warn them."
She shook her head. "And what if you happen to come across Angelus? You were just lucky he didn't see you in the doorway at the house. You can't take him; especially now because you pissed him off by whacking him in the head with a baseball bat."
Willow came to stand beside Xander. "Dawn's right, you're no match for Angelus, none of us here are. I could hold him back with magic, but I don't want to begin to imagine what would happen if I let loose; so that's really not an option right now either. We just have to wait for Buffy and everyone to come back here, they shouldn't be much longer." She motioned for them to come back into the apartment and closed the door again, pushing the sliding lock into place. "I'll go call Wesley and find out everything that's happening over there." She picked up the cordless phone from the wall and walked into Xander's bedroom, closing the door behind her. Xander took his jacket off and tossed it onto the counter, a couple of stakes fell out of the pockets and rolled across the surface.
"I'm glad you're not going." He turned his head and saw the look of relief wash over Dawn's face along with the black eye appearing on her right side. She limped over to where he was standing and hugged him. His arms went around her small frame, embracing her in return. She pulled back a little and looked up into his eyes. "You might not be physically as strong as Angelus, but you're stronger here then anyone else I know." She placed her hand over his heart. He smiled and touched her cheek softly, not wanting to hurt her. He gazed into her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of acceptance from her, something he never felt from anyone before, especially his parents. "Dawn..." She could feel his heart speed up underneath the palm of her hand, and he leaned down, his lips hovering over hers. Dawn closed the remaining gap and their lips met, softly touching as if it were their first kiss. Xander's arms went back around Dawn and she leaned into him as their kiss became more passionate; their need for each other no longer hidden. He laced his fingers through her hair and she sighed; her mouth opening, allowing him to go further. His tongue lightly touched hers, almost hesitating whether or not to keep going, but his hesitation quickly dissipated when she responded with as much emotion and feeling as he felt himself. As almost all rational thoughts escaped their minds, the bedroom door started to open, and they broke their kiss abruptly. Xander moved away from Dawn slightly, trying to make it seem as if nothing had just happened; he didn't want anyone to know about whatever was going on between him and Dawn yet. There were too many things happening at once. Willow came out looking more worried then when she first went in there and placed the phone on the counter.
"We need to restore Angel's soul tonight. Wesley explained to me what happened, they were fighting some big bad demon who had literally made it permanent midnight in La and the only person who had the knowledge to stop him was Angelus."
Dawn's eyes clouded in confusion. "Wait, you're telling us that Angel didn't have a moment of happiness? That they took his soul from him on purpose?" She looked sickened.
Willow nodded slowly. "Angel agreed to it, it was their only shot at gaining any information about how to stop the demon. They had him locked up in a cage in the basement, but the spell they performed to restore his soul was a fake. They didn't know that though and let him out. He knocked Cordy and Wesley out before leaving the hotel and taking his car."
"And they didn't think to give us any warning at all. Gee thanks." Xander's hands balled into fists. "Buffy better get back here real soon, she needs to know what's going on."
Willow thought for a moment. "Wait, doesn't Andrew have a cell phone? He always takes it with him wherever he goes, which is usually just around the house and backyard, but still." She grabbed the phone again. "I'll be right back." She walked into the living room and dialed his number.
Xander turned back to Dawn and gave her a small smile. She smiled back but winced a moment later. "Are you alright? Here, sit down." He pulled a chair from the kitchen table over and she slowly sat down. Dawn pulled up the shirt Xander had given her to put on in the car and right above her belly button was a huge gash that was starting to bleed again. Xander's eyes widened at the sight and he grabbed a clean dish towel from the counter. He pressed it against her stomach and she cringed. I'm gonna go get some bandages from the bathroom, I'll be right back." He started to walk towards the bathroom and Willow came back into the kitchen when he heard the front doorknob turn back and forth. He ran to it, unlocking it and opening it as quickly as he could. Buffy and everyone stood there with worried looks on their faces. She walked past Xander and into the kitchen. " We were almost back here when Willow told Andrew that something bad hap -" She saw Dawn sitting there, beaten and bruised. "Oh my God, what happened?" She leaned down to hug her. Spike and Andrew quickly walked into the apartment, with Anya and the SIT's in tow.
Spike saw the huge bruise beneath her eye and for a moment he didn't know what to say. "Jesus Nibblet," he muttered under his breath. Her eyes lowered, looking at the floor.
Buffy turned to Willow and Xander. "Who the hell did this?" She smoothed Dawn's hair, keeping her hand on her shoulder.
Xander started to answer her but Dawn interrupted him. "Angelus. He came to the house after you guys had left and I thought it was Angel, but it wasn't." She looked up at Buffy's shocked face. "Even if I didn't invite him in he could've come in anyway, he was invited from the last time he was here. He thought that you'd be home but when I told him you weren't he looked relieved, like I was what he wanted anyway. He seemed normal at first, just asking how everyone was, but then I started noticing little things that just weren't his normal personality." She coughed and grimaced, the cut on her stomach hurt like hell. She continued on. "I kind of mentioned how Spike and you had a thing and it pissed him off. He told me if you could share his family then it'd be okay if he shared yours." The awfulness of that statement made everyone in the room flinch as it sunk in what it meant.
Buffy looked like she was going to throw up. "Oh God, he didn't -" She stopped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Dawn shook her head. "No, he didn't. He almost, he chased me upstairs and threw me on the floor; he ripped my shirt off and had me pinned underneath him." She closed her eyes replaying the scene in her head over and over. She started to shake again. She looked up at Xander, his eyes were glassy; she knew he was trying so hard not to cry. "Xander saved me. He knocked Angelus out with a baseball bat and we ran out to his car." She slowly stood up, still clutching the towel to her stomach. "I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him."
Buffy slowly turned towards Xander and held his gaze for a moment, silently thanking him. She turned back to Dawn and wrapped her arms around her gently, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She pulled back and pushed the hair from Dawn's face to the side. "I want you to stay here, I'm going to go find him." She grabbed one of Xander's stakes from the counter and turned to look at Spike who had murmured something barely audible. "What?"
Spike turned his attention from Dawn to Buffy. "I'm going with you."
"No, I'm dealing with this on my own." She started walking towards the door when Willow stopped her.
"Buffy, I'm going to restore his soul, I talked to Wesley in LA; Angel had his soul extracted from him, they needed information -" She paused, softly touching Buffy's arm. "-They needed information to stop a demon, information that only Angelus knew. LA is in complete darkness 24/7 right now, people are dying because all the demons decided to come out and party and they didn't have any other choice. They had him locked in a cage and when they thought they had preformed the right restoration spell, he tricked them and had them unlock the cage. He knocked Cordy and Wesley out and left the hotel. I guess he came right here." She bit her bottom lip, not knowing what else to say.
Buffy shook her head. "They were irresponsible. I don't care how it happened, what I care about is that he almost raped and killed my sister. That's not something I can just put aside and forget about."
Dawn walked over to where they were standing. "Buffy, I don't want you to kill him. He's still Angel, somewhere deep inside, and he would never dream of doing what Angelus did, you know that. They're two different entities trapped in the same body; if Willow can permanently restore his soul then he'll be okay."
Buffy sighed. "I know. We still need to get him here for Willow to do the spell, and I'm gonna go and drag his ass back here." She pushed back her long blonde hair. "I don't want anyone leaving this apartment until I get back, understood?" Everyone nodded their heads and she gave each of them a small glance before slipping out the door and slamming it closed behind her.
As they neared Xander's car, Dawn's legs buckled and she fell down hard on the asphalt of the sidewalk. Xander dropped down besides her and picked her up, his arms wrapping around her protectively. They reached his car and he gently put her back on her feet as he reached to open the handle of the passenger side. She slid in slowly and he pushed the door closed, running over to the other side as fast as he could. He opened the driver's side and slammed it shut, jolting the car. He jammed the key into the ignition and started the car up; the automatic locks clicking into place. He put the car into drive and stepped on the gas, speeding down Revello Drive and onto Kensington Place, making a sharp right onto Redwood Road and pulled the car to the side of the road. He looked over at Dawn who was visibly shaking from head to toe. He touched her arm and she flinched. He pulled away quickly, feeling bad he scared her.
She looked over at him and put her hand over his. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking." She shivered again.
He reached into the back of the car and pulled an old shirt that was stuck halfway inside the seat. "Its ok, here, put this on, it's freezing out; I don't want you to get sick."
She took it from him and slipped it on, leaving some of the buttons undone. "Thanks." She gave him a small smile and he could see her eyes welling up with unshed tears. Her smile faded into a grimace and her bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold everything in.
"Dawn its okay if you need to cry, you don't have to be embarrassed or anything."
She shook her head and tried to talk but only a choked sob came out. Her hands flew to her mouth to try and quiet it but it was to no avail. Xander reached over and wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head in his chest, her sobs echoing in the car. He could feel her tears being absorbed into the fabric of his shirt, her delicate features twisted in sadness and misery. He ran his hand through her hair, trying his best to comfort her as she let everything out. Minutes passed and her cries calmed, being replaced by sniffles and sighs. She lifted her head up from Xander's chest and wiped the last tear off her face, smearing her mascara down her cheek. She flipped down the mirror on her side of the car and frowned. "I look so horrible." She flipped the mirror back up and touched the left side of her cheek. It was beginning to bruise and she winced at the pain.
Xander shook his head. "You don't look bad at all Dawn, trust me."
"You're just being nice."
Xander touched her arm. "No I mean it, you look beautiful, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
She glanced over at him and smiled. "Thank you." She looked out the window into the night sky. "If you hadn't saved me, I don't think I would be alive right now." She looked back over at him. "You saved my life. It was the bravest thing I ever saw."
He shook his head. "I just did what anyone would've done."
She reached over and took his hand. "No, not many people would've risked their life like that. You didn't even think about it, you just did it. If anyone here is extraordinary, its you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He smiled. "We should get back to my apartment to tell the others what's happened. Buffy and the rest of them were supposed to meet back there pretty soon."
Dawn nodded. "I think we need to call Cordy and everyone in La to find out what exactly happened; why Angel lost his soul."
Xander's eyes darkened at the mention of his name. "Right now I just want to make sure you and everyone else stays safe, we'll worry about them later."
With that, he started the car up and they drove in silence back to his apartment.
***
Xander unlocked the door and helped Dawn into his apartment, closing and locking the knob behind them. She braced herself against the wall for support while Xander pocketed his keys and slid the extra sliding lock into place. He put an arm around here and she limped into the living room where Willow was sitting. Willow jumped up off of the couch, her eyes widening at the sight of Dawn, who by now was starting to look black and blue in places.
"Oh my God, what happened?"
Dawn limped to the recliner and sat down painfully. "Someone decided to pay me a visit back at the house."
Willow glanced from her back to Xander's grim face. "Who did this?"
"Angelus." Xander grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Dawn. "I walked in on - " He paused rethinking his words. "He almost raped Dawn. He would've killed her afterwards."
Willow's hand flew to her open mouth. "Oh God, Angelus? That means Angel's soul is -"
"-Gone." Xander finished and walked over to the coat closet and opened it up. "Did Buffy say when they'd be back here?" He bent down and opened up a large cardboard box on the floor underneath the jackets hung up above it and produced four sharp stakes and a small battle-ax with small ornate designs carved into the handle.
Willow glanced over at Dawn who was staring down at her hands. "No, but they should be back soon, I mean its almost 8 o'clock and Buffy said she wanted everyone to get some extra rest tonight." She glanced from Xander back to Dawn. "But I guess this means that that's not gonna happen."
Xander put the stakes down on the kitchen counter and tossed the ax from his right hand to his left. "No, it isn't, not with that psycho loose. I need you to call Wesley, see what the hell is going on in LA and why Dead Boy's soul is missing in action. I'm going to call Buffy on her cell phone and give her a heads up."
Willow shook her head. "Buffy didn't bring her phone with her, she didn't want any distractions while they were on patrol with the SIT's."
Xander sighed. "Alright, just call the gang in LA and find out what happened there." He grabbed the stakes off of the counter; stuffing them into his coat pockets and headed towards the door.
Dawn turned around and looked at Xander opening the door to the hallway. She got up shakily and limped over to him before he could open it all the way. "Wait, where are you going?"
He turned to her and the hardened glare disappeared off his face. "I need to go warn Buffy and the others, they aren't expecting to see Angelus." He glanced from Dawn to Willow who was standing a few paces away. "None of us were." He put his hand on Dawn's shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Willow take care of Dawn's cuts and stuff ok?" He turned around to walk out the door but Dawn moved in front of him.
"No."
"Dawn, I have to go warn them."
She shook her head. "And what if you happen to come across Angelus? You were just lucky he didn't see you in the doorway at the house. You can't take him; especially now because you pissed him off by whacking him in the head with a baseball bat."
Willow came to stand beside Xander. "Dawn's right, you're no match for Angelus, none of us here are. I could hold him back with magic, but I don't want to begin to imagine what would happen if I let loose; so that's really not an option right now either. We just have to wait for Buffy and everyone to come back here, they shouldn't be much longer." She motioned for them to come back into the apartment and closed the door again, pushing the sliding lock into place. "I'll go call Wesley and find out everything that's happening over there." She picked up the cordless phone from the wall and walked into Xander's bedroom, closing the door behind her. Xander took his jacket off and tossed it onto the counter, a couple of stakes fell out of the pockets and rolled across the surface.
"I'm glad you're not going." He turned his head and saw the look of relief wash over Dawn's face along with the black eye appearing on her right side. She limped over to where he was standing and hugged him. His arms went around her small frame, embracing her in return. She pulled back a little and looked up into his eyes. "You might not be physically as strong as Angelus, but you're stronger here then anyone else I know." She placed her hand over his heart. He smiled and touched her cheek softly, not wanting to hurt her. He gazed into her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of acceptance from her, something he never felt from anyone before, especially his parents. "Dawn..." She could feel his heart speed up underneath the palm of her hand, and he leaned down, his lips hovering over hers. Dawn closed the remaining gap and their lips met, softly touching as if it were their first kiss. Xander's arms went back around Dawn and she leaned into him as their kiss became more passionate; their need for each other no longer hidden. He laced his fingers through her hair and she sighed; her mouth opening, allowing him to go further. His tongue lightly touched hers, almost hesitating whether or not to keep going, but his hesitation quickly dissipated when she responded with as much emotion and feeling as he felt himself. As almost all rational thoughts escaped their minds, the bedroom door started to open, and they broke their kiss abruptly. Xander moved away from Dawn slightly, trying to make it seem as if nothing had just happened; he didn't want anyone to know about whatever was going on between him and Dawn yet. There were too many things happening at once. Willow came out looking more worried then when she first went in there and placed the phone on the counter.
"We need to restore Angel's soul tonight. Wesley explained to me what happened, they were fighting some big bad demon who had literally made it permanent midnight in La and the only person who had the knowledge to stop him was Angelus."
Dawn's eyes clouded in confusion. "Wait, you're telling us that Angel didn't have a moment of happiness? That they took his soul from him on purpose?" She looked sickened.
Willow nodded slowly. "Angel agreed to it, it was their only shot at gaining any information about how to stop the demon. They had him locked up in a cage in the basement, but the spell they performed to restore his soul was a fake. They didn't know that though and let him out. He knocked Cordy and Wesley out before leaving the hotel and taking his car."
"And they didn't think to give us any warning at all. Gee thanks." Xander's hands balled into fists. "Buffy better get back here real soon, she needs to know what's going on."
Willow thought for a moment. "Wait, doesn't Andrew have a cell phone? He always takes it with him wherever he goes, which is usually just around the house and backyard, but still." She grabbed the phone again. "I'll be right back." She walked into the living room and dialed his number.
Xander turned back to Dawn and gave her a small smile. She smiled back but winced a moment later. "Are you alright? Here, sit down." He pulled a chair from the kitchen table over and she slowly sat down. Dawn pulled up the shirt Xander had given her to put on in the car and right above her belly button was a huge gash that was starting to bleed again. Xander's eyes widened at the sight and he grabbed a clean dish towel from the counter. He pressed it against her stomach and she cringed. I'm gonna go get some bandages from the bathroom, I'll be right back." He started to walk towards the bathroom and Willow came back into the kitchen when he heard the front doorknob turn back and forth. He ran to it, unlocking it and opening it as quickly as he could. Buffy and everyone stood there with worried looks on their faces. She walked past Xander and into the kitchen. " We were almost back here when Willow told Andrew that something bad hap -" She saw Dawn sitting there, beaten and bruised. "Oh my God, what happened?" She leaned down to hug her. Spike and Andrew quickly walked into the apartment, with Anya and the SIT's in tow.
Spike saw the huge bruise beneath her eye and for a moment he didn't know what to say. "Jesus Nibblet," he muttered under his breath. Her eyes lowered, looking at the floor.
Buffy turned to Willow and Xander. "Who the hell did this?" She smoothed Dawn's hair, keeping her hand on her shoulder.
Xander started to answer her but Dawn interrupted him. "Angelus. He came to the house after you guys had left and I thought it was Angel, but it wasn't." She looked up at Buffy's shocked face. "Even if I didn't invite him in he could've come in anyway, he was invited from the last time he was here. He thought that you'd be home but when I told him you weren't he looked relieved, like I was what he wanted anyway. He seemed normal at first, just asking how everyone was, but then I started noticing little things that just weren't his normal personality." She coughed and grimaced, the cut on her stomach hurt like hell. She continued on. "I kind of mentioned how Spike and you had a thing and it pissed him off. He told me if you could share his family then it'd be okay if he shared yours." The awfulness of that statement made everyone in the room flinch as it sunk in what it meant.
Buffy looked like she was going to throw up. "Oh God, he didn't -" She stopped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Dawn shook her head. "No, he didn't. He almost, he chased me upstairs and threw me on the floor; he ripped my shirt off and had me pinned underneath him." She closed her eyes replaying the scene in her head over and over. She started to shake again. She looked up at Xander, his eyes were glassy; she knew he was trying so hard not to cry. "Xander saved me. He knocked Angelus out with a baseball bat and we ran out to his car." She slowly stood up, still clutching the towel to her stomach. "I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him."
Buffy slowly turned towards Xander and held his gaze for a moment, silently thanking him. She turned back to Dawn and wrapped her arms around her gently, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She pulled back and pushed the hair from Dawn's face to the side. "I want you to stay here, I'm going to go find him." She grabbed one of Xander's stakes from the counter and turned to look at Spike who had murmured something barely audible. "What?"
Spike turned his attention from Dawn to Buffy. "I'm going with you."
"No, I'm dealing with this on my own." She started walking towards the door when Willow stopped her.
"Buffy, I'm going to restore his soul, I talked to Wesley in LA; Angel had his soul extracted from him, they needed information -" She paused, softly touching Buffy's arm. "-They needed information to stop a demon, information that only Angelus knew. LA is in complete darkness 24/7 right now, people are dying because all the demons decided to come out and party and they didn't have any other choice. They had him locked in a cage and when they thought they had preformed the right restoration spell, he tricked them and had them unlock the cage. He knocked Cordy and Wesley out and left the hotel. I guess he came right here." She bit her bottom lip, not knowing what else to say.
Buffy shook her head. "They were irresponsible. I don't care how it happened, what I care about is that he almost raped and killed my sister. That's not something I can just put aside and forget about."
Dawn walked over to where they were standing. "Buffy, I don't want you to kill him. He's still Angel, somewhere deep inside, and he would never dream of doing what Angelus did, you know that. They're two different entities trapped in the same body; if Willow can permanently restore his soul then he'll be okay."
Buffy sighed. "I know. We still need to get him here for Willow to do the spell, and I'm gonna go and drag his ass back here." She pushed back her long blonde hair. "I don't want anyone leaving this apartment until I get back, understood?" Everyone nodded their heads and she gave each of them a small glance before slipping out the door and slamming it closed behind her.