Chapter Five:

SUNNYDALE

"Will, what's wrong?" Xander asked her after she'd hung up the phone. Her face was even more pale than usual, and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"You know who Fred is, right? I mean, you've heard of her?" Willow had told the gang about her visit to LA the previous year to help bring Angelus' soul back.

Xander nodded and she continued. "She recently died. Some goddess, Illyria, took over her body and is still inhabiting it."

"I'm sorry, Will. It sounded like you two really bonded, from what you had told us."

Willow nodded. "We kept in touch by email. But, there's more, Xander."

"What is it?" He pressed.

Looking her best friend straight in the eye, she told him, "Cordy's dead."

LOS ANGELES

Dawn was in awe of how big the place was, how fancy, as she pressed a number on the elevator. Oddly enough, the secretary's office wasn't on the first floor.

The elevator dinged and then opened, and she stepped out. How the heck was she supposed to find the secretary? The place was enormous. Straight, just go straight, Dawn told herself. That was probably where the secretary would be. She strode forward, and would've kept on walking had a female voice not called out to her. "Um, hello? Where do you think you're going?"

Turning to her right, Dawn saw a girl who looked about her sister's age, with long blonde hair and a fair complexion. "Oh, hi. I was looking for the secretary, and, well, obviously, you're the person," Dawn told her. The girl looked familiar to Dawn.

"I'm Harmony. How can I help you?" Harmony held out her hand, and Dawn shook it, then, upon feeling the coolness of the skin, drew her hand back.

"Hey!" Dawn exclaimed. "You- you're evil!"

"Do I know you?" Harmony asked. "Wait, you're Buffy's sister."

"Dawn," she corrected. She was grateful that Harmony hadn't used the word little. "You and your gang came over and I accidentally invited you in, where you and Xander then proceeded to have a showdown and kick each other's butt. And you chained me up, and almost had me killed!"

"I so kicked his butt," Harmony boasted, "or I would have, if I hadn't gotten thrown out. And I wouldn't let them hurt you, you know." Realizing how loud her voice was becoming, and how unprofessional she sounded, she calmed down. "I like your outfit," she complimented Dawn. "Red isn't really my color, but you pull it off.

Dawn smiled. "Thanks." She was wearing a silky red sleeveless v-neck top and white jean. She felt like she should dress nice since she was going to a prestigious environment, even if it was evil. She frowned, then. "Um, aren't you evil?"

Harmony raised her eyebrows. "This is Wolfram and Hart. What's your point?"

"I mean, you're working with Angel and Cordelia and them. Seeing as they're good, and, well, you're not trying to bite me and all..." she trailed off, but not before she saw Harmony's expression changed. "What?" Dawn demanded.

"You don't know? Um..." Harmony looked around and then she returned her attention to Dawn. "You're here to see Angel, right?" She punched in a number just as a green demon and a human, at least, Dawn thought he was a human, he could've been a vampire for all she knew, walked by. Harmony hung up the phone.

"Lorne, would you take Dawn in to see Angel? She's the sister of Buffy."

"Sure. Right this way, sugarcakes," he guided Dawn, but she only looked at him quizzically.

"Lorne is a good guy, Dawn," Harmony informed her.

Dawn's face lit up. "Oh. Like Clem. Well, bye, Harm." She allowed Lorne to link his arm into hers, and then they were off.

"You know Clem?" Lorne asked.

She nodded. "Do you?"

"We go way back, darlin'. We're old pals. Oh, don't let me forget my manners. This lad next to me is Lindsey McDonald. He used to work here as a lawyer."

"Hi," Dawn checked him out. He was gorgeous. Long brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and boy, was he built. She was disappointed by the fact that he was too old for her, but she still had Connor.

"So, you're related to the Slayer, huh?" Lindsey asked her, and again, she nodded. "Not always a good thing," she added, then wondered why she had said that, even if it was true.

"I bet," he replied. It was silent for a moment.

"So um, are you friends with Angel?" Dawn asked the both of them. Lorne said yes, but Lindsey laughed at the idea.

"Can't stand the chump, actually. But we're working together against something. Say," He changed the subject, "why are you here if your people don't trust Angel?"

"I-I still trust him," Dawn stammered. "Besides, like I ever listen to my sister. Please!"

"Teenage rebellion, I like that," Lindsey winked at Dawn.

Lorne gave him a disgusted look, and then turned to Dawn. "Well, Appledumplings, we're here." He knocked on the door and then strode in with Lindsey, Dawn behind them, but out of Angel's sight.

Angel was arguing over the phone. "You guys were out of each other's lives. Completely...yeah...no..."

"Angelcakes? You've got a visitor," Lorne announced and Dawn stepped out from behind them.

"Yes, Xander, I know she was your ex, and that you guys told me about Buffy when she- that's different...would you quit calling me that!?" Angel looked very surprised when he saw Dawn standing in front of his desk. "Dawn...no, no, I have to go. Tell her I said hi, ok, or don't," he said as he hung up the phone. He stood up. "Is something wrong? I just spoke to Xander and he didn't mention anything."

"Everything's fine, great. I was, um, around the neighborhood, so I wanted to say hi."

Angel walked around his desk to Dawn and hugged her. "Is anyone with you?"

Dawn shook her head. "I was out with some friends this weekend. How are you guys?" Looking around the room for the firs time, Dawn saw Wes with a blue girl dressed in a leather outfit.

Before she could say anything, Spike barged in the room, carrying a briefcase. He saw Dawn and dropped his briefcase. "Bloody hell, what happened, Niblet?" He ran over to her and squeezed her shoulders.

"Well, hi to you too, Spike," Dawn laughed. "I'm just visiting Angel...and you," she added. "Everything's great...or not," she guessed after noticing the look on Angel's face. "What's going on here? Harmony acted weird when I mentioned Cordelia."

Angel's expression grew grave. "Yeah, I was just talking to Xander about that."

"So I noticed," Dawn replied as she hugged Wesley, who had come over. They greeted each other and then Dawn focused her attention on Angel. "So what's up?"

"Let me get this straight," Gunn told his client that same afternoon. "You want us to find out why you've been feeling so alienated lately? That's easy."

"Really? What's wrong with me?" Connor was eager to find out. He'd been bugged by this trouble, whatever that may be, for a while now.

"It's one of the perks of being a teenager. Feeling outcasted, like you're different from your peers. It's a perfectly natural-,"

"But it's not my friends I feel alienated from- it's my family. I don't belong with them," Connor cut in. "The problem is, I don't know why. I just know that I don't." His voice had risen at the last sentence.

"Look, bro, I told you I'd help you out and I will," Gunn promised him. "It's just that often, teenagers feel many emotions and think that they're unique thoughts, leading them to believe that they themselves are not normal, not experiencing thoughts and feelings that any human being would."

"Did you major in Psychology or something?" Connor asked.

"Not exactly," Gunn said testily. It reminded him of what he thought about all day, every day. "Sorry, he apologized upon seeing Connor's surprised face, "painful story. Um, we'll get on this right away. Let's go talk to Angel," he stood up, as did Connor.

Angel's door was already open, so they just walked in, and the room grew silent upon their entrance. "Yo, Angel, got a new case," Gunn greeted.

"Dawn?" Connor was stunned to see Dawn there.

She turned around. "Connor, hi. Um, what are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," he replied.

"Oh, I'm visiting old friends," she answered. "Angel dated my sister, and Spike used to live in Sunnydale. And Wes was a-,"

"Family friend," Gunn interrupted, knowing that from his long conversation with Connor that he hadn't a clue about the supernatural and evil.

"Wait a minute. How do you two know each other?" Angel demanded, gesturing to the two teenagers.

"Now it's getting interesting," Lindsey folded his arms over his chest and grinned. He knew who Connor really was, but far be it for him to ruin everyone else's fun.

"We met at Harper's," Connor responded. He and Dawn still held each other's gaze.

"Who's Harper?" Angel asked.

"Harper's," Dawn corrected. "It's a club."

Later that evening, after Connor and Dawn had gone home, and only the gang was left, about to leave, Gunn told Angel what Connor's situation was.

"It's usual for kids to feel different from their peers, but from their family? That's odd," Gunn commented." I think we gotta look into this."

"What? Look, it's just a stage he's going through, I'm sure," Angel was shocked to see his son there. Emotions had flooded him. He had to make sure Connor would never find out the truth. "Trust me, Gunn, there's nothing wrong with this kid. I didn't sense anything superhuman, no demon, nothing. He's just a normal teen, confused, is all. I don't want you getting involved in this; we have too much to deal with right now, anyway." Angel stalked away, leaving a curious Gunn behind.

Gunn had no clue why Angel was so defensive about this, but he was going to find out. Maybe Angel was right, maybe he wasn't, but Gunn was going to get to the bottom of this.

WHEW WHAT A LONG CHAPTER, HUH? THAT SHOULD HOLD YOU GUYS OVER FOR A BIT. I'M STUCK RIGHT NOW, BUT HOPEFULLY THAT'LL PASS. UNTIL NEXT TIME!