Disclaimer: This is a fictional story. All instances that are similar to real life events are merely coincidental. All recognizable characters belong to Joss Whedon, and Mutant Enemy Productions. All original characters belong to me, Brandon Collins. This disclaimer applies to all future chapters of this continuing epic.

Cast: Buffy, Dawn, Giles

Guest Star: Angel

Buffy walked down the hall and descended the stair case of her home

in Sunnydale. She was still a tad shaken from waking from her coma,

but otherwise everything was a go. Turning the corner and walking

into the living room, Buffy plopped herself down on the couch and

turned on the television. Slaying had been slow, for the first time

in her whole life, and Buffy had nothing really to do. Sure, she would

patrol as always tonight, but later, around 11, when everything

usually started. Until then there was nothing but free time. Dawn

was....well, somewhere, Buffy didn't really know and she had to admit

she didn't really care. Of course she loved Dawn, but Dawn being

a 'bad-ass' wasn't really working out, and Buffy had felt different

about everything and everyone since waking up.

A soft knock was heard at the door and Buffy didn't notice at first,

until the second knock came. Putting down the remote, Buffy got up

and walked to the door. She twisted the knob and slowly pulled it

towards her, opening the door to a familiar face.

"Angel..." she uttered, his name rolling off her tongue with the

extreme sweetness it always had.

"Buffy....." he said, "I heard that you had woken. Are you..okay?" he

asked, remaining on the porch.

Buffy stood there, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe he had come back

for her. The love she had once felt for him was stirred up inside her

again, unusually.

"Buffy?" he asked.

"Oh...yea. Yea, I'm okay," she answered. "Come in," she invited.

Willow had performed a spell to block any abnormal visitors from

entering the house after Buffy had went into the coma.

"Thanks." he said, entering, and Buffy closed the door behind him.

"So how are things in L.A.? Everything at the firm going all right?"

she asked, walking into the kitchen and getting a glass of water from

the sink.

"Yea, everything's...fine. Well, it's as fine as the word can be

defined when you're dealing with Wolfram & Hart," Angel said, leaning

on the counter with his right arm.

"I couldn't believe it when Willow told me that you took up as CEO

there. Big, bad, and bossy.." Buffy giggled. She put her glass on the

counter and hopped up on it to sit.

"Yea, I didn't think I would get used to it at first, but now

everything's good."

"So where is everyone else? Back in L.A.?"

"Yep. Fred is...well, she was psyched to say the least, to take over

the lab at the firm. And Gunn is big and brainy now, with all the law

information in his head. Wesley's....Wesley's just Wesley, what more

can I say about him, and Lorne is head of Special Activities."

"And doesn't really want to have anything to do with the

firm. She says I'm in league with the devil, even though I've tried

to explain to her that I can do more good with all the resources I

have at my disposal. She wanted to come, but I told her to stay in

L.A., even though I know she won't listen."

"She's right you know. That's bad stuff being up in W&H. You never

know what those pesky Senior Partners are planning. I heard Harmony

is your secretary....(Buffy giggles a bit here)....So how's that

going?"

"How do you think it's going? She's got spunk, I'll admit that much.

But, besides being annoying, annoying, and well, annoying, she keeps

up with everything, despite her hair color. No offense."

"None taken."

"And you? Everything here's good?"

"I wouldn't exactly describe it as good, but everything is better

than you would expect to be in the absence of a slayer. I'm surprised

someone didn't call Faith. Willow took over a lot of stuff, with help

from Xander. Dawn is......Dawn's not doing to well. My coma didn't

exactly sit well with her, but it shouldn't have, right? She's gone

all bad-ass, like she's got something to prove, and I can't control

her. She does what she wants when she wants, and I haven't got the

time to worry about her. Besides, I know she can take care of

herself. I didn't teach her the moves for nothin'," Buffy said.

"You've......I mean, that's....good."

"I've what? What were you going to say?"

"Nevermind." Angel said, but Buffy shot him that look she did when

she wanted to know something, and Angel wasn't going to win this

contest. "I was just going to say that you've changed from the last

time I saw you."

"Wouldn't you have changed? I mean, the last time you saw me was

what, 2 or 3 years ago? Since then I've died once, had to deal with a

destructo best friend, and been in a coma."

"I didn't mean it--"

"I know. It's just...ever since I woke up, things have been

different. And I don't mean like different as in things around me

have changed...I mean I've changed, and I don't know why."

There was an awkward silence between the two past lovers. Neither knew

what to say. Angel wanted to be comforting, but was at a loss for

words, and Buffy was worried about Dawn; worried about everything she

had to adjust to and whether or not she would, and wondering what was

wrong with her.

"So how long are you staying?" Buffy asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure. I guess as long as I need to."

Buffy jumped off the counter and walked over to Angel, and he hugged

her and held her while she said "Good, I don't know what I'm going to

do."

Angel held Buffy for a few moments before breaking the hug and

stepping back a few steps. They weren't together anymore, and he

couldn't hold her up anymore, like he had in the past.

"Buffy, you know I'll always be here to help you but I can't hold you

up or tell you want to do."

"I know that," Buffy said. "It's just that I don't know what to do,

for the first time in a while, and it's just...caught me off guard."

She retook her seated position on the counter.

"So where is everyone? I wasn't expecting you to be here when I came,

I thought you'd be out patrolling."

"Yea, I'm not going out until later, things have been unusually slow

for some reason. Ya think they all moved to L.A. or something? I

don't know where everyone is. Like I said, it's hard to say with

Dawn, and Willow, she's living up the coast somewhere, finishing college."

"Dormant huh? Yes, that is unusual," Angel said. He looked at Buffy's

worried face. She always had to carry more than her fair load. "What

did the doctors say when you left the hospital?"

"Umm...not much. Just to take it easy. I laughed at them, but they

didn't understand why. I fully thought that I would have to jump

right back into the game, but for once, things are working out," just

as Buffy finished, a bang was heard outside on the back porch. "Maybe

I spoke to soon?" Buffy said, going over and opening the door.

She stepped out on the porch and received a kick in the face for

doing so, knocking her to the ground. Angel, already standing up, ran

over and jumped over Buffy to see what was outside. He dodged a kick

from the creature, and returned a punch, knocking it to the ground.

Buffy got up and ran over, kicking the vampire back down after it had

started to get up. The vamp grabbed her right foot and pushed her

into Angel, knocking them both to the ground, Angel hitting his head

on the outside wall of the house. Buffy got up, did a spin kick,

knocking the vamp over the railing. Jumping over the railing after

the vamp, and landing on top of it, Buffy grabbed a branch to her

right and shoved it into the vamp's chest, turning him to dust. She

walked up onto the porch.

"You okay?" she asked, helping Angel up.

"Yea. Slow eh?"

"Yup, just your basic bust and dust."

Dawn walked around to the back of the house. She had heard

shuffling. Buffy was obviously doing something she had no business

doing. She'd only hurt herself. When Dawn reached the back, she

stopped.

"Angel? Why the hell are you here?" She made no attempt to mask the

disgust in her voice. As far as she was concerned, he was

useless. "Couldn't find anyone to torment in L.A.?" She brushed past

him and into the house. She dug through the refrigerator, she found

a beer an opened it. She turned to Angel. "You gonna say something

or gape at me all night?"

Buffy and Angel re-entered the house after Dawn, and shut the door.

Buffy went over, took the beer from Dawn and poured it down the

sink. "Keep it up, and next thing you know you'll be moving out,"

Buffy said.

Angel walked in and stood on the other side of the island. "You know

what Dawn? You caught me! I have to say you're good. You're

completely right--I can here for the sole purpose of tormenting you.

Isn't that great? We can spend nights and weekends together, all the

while me making stupid cracks like this and sinking to your level,

and you hating every minute of it!" Angel said jokingly.

Buffy eyed him. He shot her a look back. She had to do something. "Ya

know Dawn," Buffy said, "I talked to the woman from Juvie Hall today,

and she said she would be happy to have you if you really want to go

there. She said you showed promise, but that it was an elite program,

and only those who are qualified can go. Maybe I'll call her back and

tell her you're qualified? You'd like that wouldn't you? Going to

live with all those bad-asses who are pretending? So they can beat

the shit outta you? Or maybe an insane asylum? I've been to one of

those. They have really nice television rooms. The beds aren't

that comfortable, but they have cool activity programs!"

"Yea, Dawn, they are a lot of fun. Trust me. In all the hundreds of

years I've been around, I've been to a couple myself. I'd have to say

though, that the Tower of London was really the best!" Angel quipped.

"No kidding now Dawn. Keep this shit up, and you'll be taking a one-

way trip to either of those places. It'll be just like a dream

vacation!" Buffy said.

Dawn looked from Angel to Buffy and back again. Buffy wouldn't.

"Fine! We'll play it that way." She began to exit the kitchen with

all intentions of going out the front door. "I never thought you

were here because of me, Angel." She bumped into him, slipping his

wallet away smoothly, quickly. "I'm not that naive. And sister,

dear." Dawn didn't turn as she spoke. She continued to walk. "I'm

this way for a reason. Figure it out and let me know what you

think. Until then, I have better things to do." She opened the front

door with a "hmph," and kept her head in the air.

Buffy followed Dawn down the hall, and Angel was right after her.

Buffy caught Dawn at the door and grabbed her by the arm, jerking her

around. Angel reached for Dawn's hand, taking his wallet

back. "Stupid of you to try to steal from a vampire," he said, "I'm

sure you're sister taught you that our senses are better than the

normal humans."

Dawn glared toward Angel. "I was testing you. Making

sure you were paying attention."

Buffy turned to Angel. "Could you give us a minute?" she asked. He

nodded and went back into the kitchen, putting his wallet back into

his back pocket.

"Dawn, I know why you are like this. You lost me

once before a few years ago, and when I went into the coma you nearly

lost me again. I can understand that you've been lashing out. But you

know that I can't be worried about everything right now, per doctor's

orders. So the only thing that you are doing acting like this is

making things worse for me. You should be thankful that you got me

back. I was near death and not expected to wake up." Buffy looked at

Dawn, a single tear running down her right cheek. "If you continue

acting like this, I will have to send you away. I'm sorry," Buffy

said. She let go of Dawn and went into the living room and sat down

on the couch.

Dawn followed Buffy. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm really

trying, okay?" She took a deep breath, sat in the

chair, and stared at the floor. "I've lost you before.

I have no one left if that happens again. I know you

have things more important than me to worry about. I

can take care of myself. Just in case."

Buffy sat on the couch listening to Dawn. "I know you're trying Dawn,

I know it. But you need to try harder. I worry about you all the

time, even though I do know that you can take care of yourself,"

Buffy said.

Dawn stood and began walking upstairs. She wiped her

cheek with the back of her hand. She would not let

people see her cry. Not anymore. "Angel, I still think

you being here will only cause trouble. Knowing that

it's you, perhaps the trouble will be more than even I

can cause."

She went upstairs and shut her door. No slam that would

have been expected was heard. Dawn knew what she

needed to do. For Buffy. No more problems. She'd

leave. She'd give Buffy one less thing to worry about.

But the only thing she could ever cling to was this

house. She fell back onto her bed. She was completely

confused. And Angel being here was simply making it

worse. Buffy was her's. Angel would cause more trouble

and get attention. "Am I 6? I'm not worried about that

anymore. I'm not." She mumbled into her pillow. As she

tried to muffle her light sobs. She hadn't cried this

way since Buffy went into the coma. She really didn't

think she could cry anymore. "I'm sorry."

Angel came out of the kitchen and went into the living room. "Are you

okay?" he asked Buffy, and received a nod as an answer. Angel turned

and looked towards the stairs. He walked over and ascended them. He

stopped at the top, looking down the hall. He sighed, and walked down

the hall, stopping at Dawn's door. He knocked twice. "Dawn, I need to

speak with you please," he said, knowing that she probably wouldn't

let him in, but he still needed to talk to her.

"What?" Dawn called out. She wiped her eyes on the

edge of her pillowcase. Maybe if she talked to him for

all of 5 minutes he'd go away and leave her alone. She

moved to open the door. "Come in and say what you need

to say. I'll give you five damned minutes." She covers

the sob that threatens to escape from her throat, but

it is obvious that she had been crying. She sat on her

bed and stared at him. There was less force in her

eyes then there had been before. She seemed almost

willing to listen.

"Thank you," Angel said, walking into her room. He noticed her eyes

were red, and handed her a tissue he took from the box of tissues on

her dresser. He stood in front of the window and looked out for a few

seconds before turning around to speak to her. "I know you don't want

me to be here, but when I heard your sister had waken, I had to come

to make sure she was all right," he began. He didn't really know

where he was going to take what he was going to say. "You have to

understand that. Even though Buffy and I had our rocky relationship

however many years ago, we'll still always be friends. You've never

told me why you don't like me, and you don't have to. You can like me

or not. I'm going to be here whenever your sister needs me, but if it

causes strife between the two of you, perhaps it's better if I'm not

here. I know that you know that your sister loves you and worries

about you, and that being the way you currently are is only making

things worse."

Angel paused. He didn't know what else to say. "....Um....Maybe if

you turned your life around and treated your sister better, things

would be better for the both of you. I won't be here much longer, but

while I am, you'll have to endure it. I won't leave when Buffy needs

me simply because you don't like my being here."

Dawn accepted the tissue, she really only held it

though.

"I know. You're right. I just...Angel." She closed her

eyes for a moment. "I can't help it!" She stops. She

was too loud and there was no need for Buffy to hear

that.

"She needs you. Stay as long as that is so. I love

her. You know that! I just can't take it. She's going

to worry horribly about me while I'm here. Maybe I

should just leave. I'll let her be- be concerned with

what she needs to deal with. I'm too much trouble for

her." She went to her dresser where there sat a

picture of Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Xander. "She needs

to get better. I've always been a hassle that she

didn't need. Like I said, I will be fine on my own."

Dawn leaned on the dresser. "I don't want to hurt her

anymore. I just don't know how not to. You can't

change over night!!" She glanced at Angel. "But I

guess you know that. I just can't deal, okay? I'll

just go." She let the tears fall down her cheeks. She

hoped he wouldn't look at her and notice.

Angel looked at her. He felt for her, he really did. He had gone through a similar thing when he got his soul those hundreds of years ago. Angel took Dawn in his arms and hugged her. "I know it's hard to

change, and Buffy doesn't expect you to do it over night. She just

wants you to try harder, that's all." Angel said, trying to be

comforting. "You don't have to leave. Leaving would only make her

worry more about you. Where you are, what you're doing, and who

you're with. You know as well as I do that she'd try to track you

down and find you so she could be assured that nothing would happen

to you. You will have to stay and work your problems out. It's the

only way to fix things," Angel said, releasing her from the hug and

holding her to stand in front of him. "I'll help if you want me to.

And you know that I'm just a call away when I go back to L.A."

Dawn stared blankly at Angel. The hug had taken her by

surprise. "You mean that? I've done nothing but bitch

at you, and you'd be willing to help me?" She shook

her head. "Thanks. And you're right. She'd worry

herself until she was literally sick. I just...I don't

think I can change, Angel. I've tried. You have to

believe that! I've never tried harder for anything in

my life."

She moved around him to look out the window. "I'll

lose her again. It's only a matter of time. And when

that happens, what the hell am I going to do? Move to

L.A. and work with you? Find Dad? Live with Willow?

I'll have nothing! NOTHING! I can't make her

everything anymore. I want to but I can't!" She

slammed her hand against the wall.

"Why am I even telling you this?" She had to ask out

loud because she couldn't figure it out on her own.

"Dawn, if you loose Buffy again you won't have nothing. More people

than you know care about you, and love you like a little sister just

like Buffy does. You shouldn't think about loosing her again, though,

Dawn. That will only make you worry more. It's like....one big ball,

and every time someone worries about something it just keeps going and

rolling and rolling until it goes boom!" Angel said, not really sure

if that was the best example, but figuring that it was decent.

"I know it's hard to change. I've had my turn plenty of times,

believe me, and I've done worse things than you could ever imagine.

But, sometime you will realize that changing isn't something that can

really be accomplished by trying. It's more of a gradual thing. You

act differently based on how differently you think...over time. I

know Buffy doesn't want you to change over night, and she doesn't

expect that. She just wants to know that you're okay, and I'm sure

you know that you can talk to her about anything."

Dawn scrunched her nose at the ball analogy. Angel was

off base with that. She passed that though. "I know

you're really trying here. And I thank you for that.

Just, not that many people care. Willow? Xander? Anya?

They have their own things to tend to." She began to

pace. "I get the whole not changing over night thing.

I'm really going to work on this. Angel, I can't tell

Buffy much. You should know that. She's not able to

hear it. It'll hurt her too bad. If she knew

everything that happened before she woke up...." She

stopped in front of Angel, staring at him. "That is

stuff that no one will know about.

EVER...Period...Exclamation mark! I'll take it to the

grave. And as long as that is that, Buffy will know

that I am hiding something and that's going to piss

her off. I don't need to vent to anyone, anyway." She

stopped for breath. "But that's what I just did isn't

it?" She went to her door. "I need to talk to Buffy.

You got any complaints or comments before I do?" For

some unknown reason, Dawn really wants to hear what

Angel has to say. There's something about him. She

finds a connection. She hasn't had that in a long

time. She never connected to Buffy or any of the

others. Maybe Angel did understand her more than she

knew.

Angel looked at Dawn. Okay, he was right. The ball analogy was bad

but hey, he was trying. "Dawn, you should be able to tell your sister

anything," Angel said. He listened as she spoke and paced at the same

time. "Buffy knows that you will have your secrets. She has her own

that she would never tell anyone. Secrets are a part of life I

guess," Angel said. "Go talk to Buffy."

Dawn walked downstairs, slowly. She felt like she was going in front

of a firing squad. She looked at Buffy. "I'm sorry." Dawn looked

away, she turned toward the wall. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any

of this to happen. I never meant to be a bitch, and I never meant to

make you unhappy. You do understand that right? I just, lost it. I

lost everything when I almost lost you. I can't stand for that

again." She turned to Buffy. "I'm going to try to be the sister you

want. I'm working on it. You might think I'm not working hard

enough, but I'm doing all that I can." She sat in the chair. "I

understand that you want everything to be fine, but the truth is,

Buffy, that things will never be fine. They'll never be the same. I

guess you know that better than me, though." Dawn looked down at the

floor, playing with her hands. "I can leave if you want me to. At

this point, I'll do anything you want me to. I can't grant you a

time on how long this will last. But, Buffy, I love you. I do, I'll

do whatever you need me to." Dawn was really taking a chance. She

felt raw from it. Exposed nerves couldn't be this bad. She wouldn't

do this often, she kept telling herself. Just hurting Buffy hurt her

more than she wanted to realize. That and Angel had struck a chord

she really didn't want to admit.

Buffy listened to Dawn as she rambled on about trying to

change. "Dawn, I know that things will never be the same. Nothing is

ever the same. And you have always been the sister I've wanted, no

matter how you act." Buffy watched as Dawn became increasingly

uncomfortable. "Dawn, I love you to, and that will never change. I

just didn't know how to react when I woke up and found things like

this. For some reason, this time, it's different than before. You

would think that it would be harder to recover from being brought

back to life rather than waking up from a coma, but it's exactly the

opposite. Something's off, I can feel it. I just have to find out what

it is," Buffy said, confessing a little more than she originally

wanted to, but she didn't regret it.

The phone rang, and Buffy looked at Dawn. She wasn't sure whether or

not to answer it, in case the conversation would continue, but Buffy

thought it may have been Giles. Buffy walked over and picked up the

phone. Her suspicions were confirmed.

"Hello?" Buffy said.

"Buffy, it's Giles. I'm sorry I didn't call right away, but I've been

tied up with trying to get together a new Watchers Council."

"It's okay Giles. I've had all the moral support I need. Angel's

here, and so is Dawn. Everything's fine," Buffy tried to reassure her

former Watcher.

"Buffy, don't tell me that when you do not even believe it yourself.

But I haven't the time to discuss that now, unfortunately. I've been

tailing a certain young woman for about a month now, trying to

convince her that she's, well.....that she's the descendant from a

long line of Watchers, but it's proven to be increasingly difficult."

"Take all the time you need Giles. I'm fine here. Everything is under

control. I swear. If I need you I will not hesitate to call."

"Good. I'm always her for you Buffy, you know that. Be on the lookout

for Watchers that I may be sending to Sunnydale."

"Thanks Giles. I will be. Don't worry. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Buffy." Giles hung up on the other end, and Buffy did on her

end as well.

"Giles is good. Worrisome as ever. But what else is new?" Buffy said,

sitting back down. As soon as she sat down, and thud was heard at the

front door. Buffy slowly stood up, walking quietly over to the door.

She placed her hand on the knob, and pulled it open quickly, to find

a dent on the other side left by a huge rock that was now laying on

her front porch. Buffy bent down and picked the rock up. There was a

crack down the center of it, and Buffy pried it apart, finding a

small piece of paper inside, that looked to precede time itself.

Buffy dropped the rock to the porch floor, and carefully opened the

paper. She looked at it. A language she didn't know was written on

it. Buffy walked over to the stairs, glancing at Dawn and sending her

a 'What the hell?' look. "Angel!" Buffy called up the stairs. A few

seconds later, Angel appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What? What's going on?" he asked, concerned that something had

happened.

"I found this on the front porch. Do you know of the language?" she asked him handing him the paper. She walked over and shut the door, locking it, and then followed Angel into the living room.

"It's familiar to me, but I'm not sure I know everything here." He

stared at the paper for a few seconds. "It roughly translates

to 'All those who are blessed with the knowledge to know what's

coming...(Angel paused, not knowing what a few sentences meant, and

then picked up where he could decifer the text)...........and who

finds death at their door." Angel looked at Buffy. "This can't be

good."

Buffy Summers, Angel, and Rupert Giles written by........ Brandon Collins

Dawn Summers written by.......Christi Weasley