Cast: Buffy, Dawn, Angel, Faith, Connor
Buffy walked through the graveyard, absentmindedly thinking about various things. Dawn had changed so much for the better in the past few days that it was hard to believe. And Angel had stayed for longer than she really had expected him to. Somehow, something told her that he wouldn't stay forever, and that he would leave soon. She didn't really need him that much. Willow wasn't in Sunnydale at the moment, but she would come back eventually, Buffy hoped, and Faith was coming back so that would be some extra muscle. Buffy didn't have to worry about Dawn anymore, because she had taught her how to fight, and she knew that if she got into trouble she could get out of it, so Buffy didn't have to worry about leaving someone behind to baby-sit her while she went on patrol.
In mid-thought, Buffy was knocked to the ground. "Oh great. You guys can't just walk on by when I'm trying to figure something out can you?" she said, and the vampire looked dumbly at her. "Why do I ever waste my breath?" Buffy jumped up, kicked the vampire in the stomach, knocking him over a headstone. The vampire jumped up, flipping over the headstone and spreading its legs, wrapping them around Buffy's neck and twisting her up into the air so that she went around in a circle, and landed with a loud thump on the top of a crypt. Buffy groaned a bit, that last blow had hurt. The vampire flew up onto the roof where Buffy was, and she stuck her leg out, tripping it as it approached her. She kicked it in its side, rolling it over and then plopping down on top of it, sinking her stake into it's chest.
"These guys never learn..." she said, jumping down to the ground and landing with a 'oomph!'.
Buffy woke up. She was laying in the graveyard where the vampire had kicked her and made her fall down. She looked around. No vampire. "Hey! That's not fair!" she yelled out.
Dawn paced around the living room, bored. Angel was...well, she
really didn't know where he had gone off to. Buffy was on patrol.
She knew where Buffy hit. Vamps did go outside of graveyards. "Just
a quick once around." She muttered, grabbing her coat and purse, she
headed out the door.
She hadn't run into anything, not that she expected to. As Dawn
passed The Bronze, she stopped. "Just a dance or two. See who's
here." She entered, scanning the crowd. "All the usual suspects."
She muttered, jumping when someone grabbed her arm. She spun, ready
to punch. "Jesus Christ, Marc! You nearly killed me." She quickly
composed herself.
The guy was taller than she was, dressed in a red T-shirt and jeans.
His hair was a bit shaggy, falling into his eyes. "Sorry, Dawl. I
just hadn't seen you in a while."
A blonde girl walked up beside him, hands on hips. "None of us have.
Where you been Dawl?"
Dawn shifted under their gaze. "You know my sister woke up. I've
been with her."
"Haven't answered my calls." Another guy stepped up behind her.
"What the hell is this? A damn intervention!" Dawn started to stomp
outside. She should have known better.
The 2nd guy grabbed her arm. "My parents are out of town. We're
heading there, have a few beers. A little fun." He nuzzled her neck,
kissing her.
She sighed. "Okay, let's go." This had to be bad. As the group
walked down the alley, a man jumped in front of them. He was in vamp
face and glaring. "Damn the luck." Dawn braced herself.
The vamp laughed before attacking. He expected them to run. The 3
with Dawn did. Dawn threw a kick at his chest, backing him up. He
laughed again. "Now you're just being rude." He grabbed her arm,
throwing her against the side of the building. She reached in her
purse as he approached. She opened a small bottle. When he grabbed
her shoulder, spinning her, she flung the substance in his face. He
stumbled back. "Holy water, works every time." He shook it off,
pinning her to the building. She struggled. There was little she
could do.
Buffy got up and looked around. "Okay. Jonathan, if you are anywhere close I am going to rip your head from your shoulders!" Buffy shouted, suspecting the only member of the short lived Trio, left in the town. She received no answer to her shouting. She walked around the corner of the mausoleum, and was punched in the face, briefly knocking her off balance. When she went to throw a punch back she punched nothing but air. "Oh, must have a vampire with some nice little tricks. Either that or some demon WHO'S TO MUCH OF A COWARD TO SHOW IT'S FACE!!!!" Buffy said, trying to provoke the being.
A floating head appeared. It was a vampire, but just it's head. Buffy ran towards the mausoleum, ran up the side of the wall, jumped off, did a 360 spin, and extended her leg, which kicked the vampires head off. "Always stupid," she muttered. As the body was about to turn to dust, it appeared from being invisible. The head was dust before it hit the ground, and the body collapsed, to the same fate. Buffy shoved her stake back into her back pocket, and was about to be on her way when she noticed a shiny object on the ground. She bent down and picked it up. It was a necklace, as best she could guess, silver chain and pendant at the end. A huge green stone was surrounded by silver and gold streaks on the pendant, and the necklace as a whole was heavy. "Stake a vampire, get a prize. That's a new game," she said, holding the pendant in her hand.
She dared not put it around her neck, knowing that if she did, something could happen, something she wouldn't have enjoyed, so instead she shoved it into her coat pocket. She would examine it closer when she got home.
Walking out of the cemetery and down the sidewalk, Buffy made her way towards the south end of town, to patrol the alleys and warehouses, as they were always popular among the night-crawling beasts. She had no idea where Angel was, or what he was doing. She had left him and Dawn at the house, Angel on the front porch and Dawn in the living room, when she went to patrol. She had to admit, she was a little worried about Dawn, but not as much as she usually was. Dawn was responsible, well, as far as Buffy could tell, and Angel would no doubt be there in a pinch if Dawn needed him, no matter how far apart the two were.
Angel entered the rundown building that had once been the Magic Shop. He had left something there, something that he knew would be of some help to Buffy, before he left for Los Angeles. As many times as the shop had been destroyed, Angel seriously doubted that it was still in its place, but hoped that it would be. He walked through the store, kicking debris out of his way, and moving hanging objects from the ceiling so that he would not run into them. He turned the corner when he reached the counter, and went into the back room, hoping to find something to dig with, though he wasn't sure what there would be to use.
Angel found a crow bar in the closet of the office, and picked it up, making sure that it was fit for use; descending the stairs into the basement, he stopped at the bottom, looking about, trying to remember the order of steps and in which direction he needed to move in order to reach the spot where it had been buried. "Three steps forward.......two to the side.........eight back.......one to the left......four to the right......and...bingo," he hoped.
Swinging the crowbar above his head, Angel struck the concrete floor, and the spot he struck crumbled to pieces at once, for the concrete had a crack in it. He moved the rubble aside, and dug into the cold dirt (though he couldn't feel the temperature because he himself was cold) with a piece of wood. He didn't stop until he hit something, at which point he cleared the dirt from around the object and then pulled up a small box, that was so small it would fit in the palm of your hand. There were two buttons, on either side of the small chest, and Angel pushed them both simultaneously. The pressure lock was released, and air shot out from the front, left, and right sides, causing dust from the three sides to shoot into the air. The lid popped open quickly, almost causing Angel to drop the box.
He looked down inside the box, and it was empty. "I knew it. Damn thieves," he said aloud, closing the box and placing it into his coat pocket.
Dawn held her ground, pinned against the building, again. She had
stopped struggling. The vampire leaned toward her neck. Dawn fumbled
in her bag, as quietly and quickly as possible. She slid something
up her sleeve.
He leaned up to her ear. "I've waited on your sister. We'll give her
a little welcome back present." His voice was as cold as his
touch. "Kill the baby."
Dawn punched the side of his head. This moved him over a little. She
planted the stake she had hidden into his heart. "I am NOT a baby."
She practically screamed as he turned to dust. She looked round. She
was the only one there. "Run, run as fast as you can." She shook her
head. "Buffy has witty puns and all I can muster are overdone
clichés." Dawn begins to walk home. If one vampire was waiting to
get Buffy, there couldn't be many behind. "And here I wanted to have
a little fun." She grumbles to herself, hoping Buffy will be home
when she gets there.
Faith was surprised that Buffy didn't tell her to stay the hell
away. But she was glad that Buffy wanted her there, she missed them
all. So Faith decided to leave in the morning, she was going to
drive not take the bus like before.
She started to get her stuff together to take with her, how long
would she be staying there? Se wasn't sure but she took a lot of
stuff. She could keep it in the hotel room.
So she packed and placed the stuff in the car, she went up to bed
and slept. She would leave in the morning.
Buffy walked around the alleyways, not noticing much going on. She peeped in and out of the few warehouses that she usually hit, nothing there either. "Damn. One lousy vampire," she said, walking out of the alley. She turned left, down the street, wanting to go home and find out more about the pendant she had found.
Arriving on her street, Buffy noticed that there was one light on upstairs in her house, in Dawn's room. She turned down her sidewalk and walked up the porch steps and into the house.
Dawn sat on her bed. She hadn't been home more than a few moments.
Neither Angel or Buffy were there. She didn't really expect either
of them. Whatever was taking Buffy so long worried her. Slaying had
been overly slow. Then there was that one vampire. He wanted to
catch her unaware. "I hope you know what you're doing, Buffy." She
heard something downstairs. It sounded like the door. She grabbed a
stake and began to slip down the dark hallway, then stairs.
Faith couldn't sleep. She just wanted to get to Sunnydale, 'It's odd,'
she thought to herself, 'I feel safer there.'
So Faith grabbed her robe from the chair by her bed, and went and
got in the shower. When she got out she walked to the chest of
drawers on the other side of the room and grabbed her outfit for the
drive and to see Buffy and the gang.
She went to the kitchen and put some water on to boil.
"Hmm I feel like oatmeal this morning," Faith said after putting the
water to boil.
She went in the bathroom, got dressed, finished the oatmeal, blew
dry her hair and was in the kitchen eating when the phone rang.
....Ring......Ring...
"Hello?" Faith said in to the receiver.
"Hey baby." replied Eric, the guy she had been seeing.
"Oh hey you, what are you doing up so late?" Faith said happy to
hear his voice, and now she could say bye.
"I couldn't sleep and usually you don't, so I thought I would call and
say hey." his voice sounded so good.
"Well the reason I couldn't sleep is because I am gonna go out and
visit some friends in Sunnydale." Faith said into the receiver, kind
of afraid.
"What? Why? Is something wrong?" He said with pure caring in his
voice.
"My good friend, Buffy, I've told you about her, needs me so I am
going to go there for awhile." Faith said
"Were you going to call me?"
"I was going to call when I had arrived there."
click
"Dammit!" Faith said aloud. "Why does he always get so upset?"
Faith knew that she had a problem dating these guys who were sooo,
sooooo emotional. But he was cute.
"Dammit now my ride will be VERY long."
Faith left some money at the managers door and went down to her car.
And left Burbank, she was glad to be leaving.
Buffy looked up and saw Dawn coming downstairs, stake in hand. "Whoa there killer. I'm not a vamp yet," Buffy said. She looked at Dawn's worried face. "What's wrong Dawn, has something happened?" Buffy asked.
Angel exited the Magic Box, and walked down the sidewalk. He had to find the necklace that was in the small chest. No one could have taken it, not with it being buried under the concrete. Perhaps someone had tunneled up from the bottom. Whatever the reason, or however the thieves got to it, they had made everything worse, and Angel didn't like the feeling he suddenly got when he opened the box and the pendant wasn't there.
He turned down Buffy's street, just in time to see her shut the door behind herself when she entered the house. He slowly walked up to the sidewalk leading to Buffy's porch, but stopped when his cell phone started ringing. He reached into his coat and took the phone out of his pocket, flipping it open. "Hello?" he said into the phone.
"Angel? I don't mean to bother you, but this is rather important."
"What is it Wesley?"
"Do you recall when I left before you traveled to Sunnydale? I went to Portland, Oregon, and I discovered something that would be of interest."
"Wesley, I can feel this is going to be long and drawn out, and even though I really would like to know whatever it is that you're gonna tell me, I don't have time right now. You'll have to tell me when I get back." Angel hung up the phone. (In L.A., Wesley made a face, and slammed the phone in his office down, clearly pist off at his bosses asshole'ish' manner.) Angel replaced the cell phone where it had once been, and entered Buffy's house.
Dawn lowered the stake. She ran a hand over her face. "Had a run in
with a vamp out by The Bronze." She finished descending the stairs
and took a seat in the living room, flipping a light on. "Apparently
they've been waiting to get a stab at you." She glanced up at Angel
as he entered then quickly back to Buffy. "I mean I expected it. I
just didn't think they'd have their sights set on killing me to get
to you. Guess I should be used to that, huh?" She shrugged. "None
the less, I know vampires have to be invited in, so it was pretty
much just my paranoia." Dawn bit her lip, muttering under her
breath. "Hmph. And I had a date, too."
"They're always after me," Buffy muttered, plopping down on the couch next to Dawn. "Why is it always me? What makes me so special?" Buffy continued, with a pouty face and a whine in her voice. "Kidding, kidding. I ran into an invisible vampire, if you can believe that." Angel looked up from the floor, hearing Buffy's words. "Yea. He had this pendant on, and I coaxed him into showing his head so I could kick it off. It was kind of amusing," Buffy said, taking the pendant out of her pocket and holding it up.
Angel stepped forward and snatched it from her, and when he looked up to see her surprised face, he said, "Sorry. I went looking for this earlier and it was gone from where I had left it before I left for Los Angeles. It's called the Stone of Alexcia, the pendant the stone is in means nothing. I'm not sure exactly what it does, except provide protection for the person who wears it. The protection for each person is different, so if one of you put it on, it wouldn't, most likely, make you invisible. I got it from this guy in Berlin a number of years ago. Stole it from 'em."
Buffy looked at it in the light as Angel held it out and explained what he knew about it. "Well, if it's helpful for protection, it's definitely useful."
Dawn looked at the pendent. "So you put the jewelry thing on and
Poof! You get protected? It doesn't make you invincible, just
protects you?" Dawn shrugged. That was odd, but no more so than
anything else they had run into. "So you stole the magic thing and
hid it? Why not take it with you?" Dawn was a little skeptical. What
it was about Angel, she didn't know. He was one of the people she
trusted. She sighed.
"Because it was safer here, rather than with me. If it was with me everyone would have come and bugged me for it, and I would of had to fight them off, so I hid it here to save myself the trouble. Not a bad idea eh?" he looked at Dawn.
"So lets see what it does," Buffy said, lifting it over her head to put it on.
"No," Angel said, taking the pendant back. "There is a catch, as always. Putting the pendant on before you actually need it may cause you to become the way you are, the way it protects you, forever. So, if it turns you into a huge ugly demon, you could get stuck like that." He turned to Dawn. "Wanna try it Dawnie?" he asked, with a grin. "Or at least look at it."
Dawn looked away, biting her lip. "You're right. Good idea." She
listened to Buffy and Angel, sending Angel a glare when he asked if
she wanted to 'try it.' She held out her hand. "I would like to see
it, actually. Though, I've got no desire to wear it and get turned
into something ugly. Ick!" She took the pendant, flipping it over in
her hands to look at it. "So this little thing protects the wearer?"
She handed it back to Angel. "The smallest things always have the
most power. Odd."
"That's what its supposed to do. I'm not sure if it works for everyone, or just some people though," Angel said, sitting in a chair. "So has anything happened in reference to the prophecy we received a few days ago?" Angel asked.
"Not that I know of. I'm starting to think it was fake, just a joke. Maybe if I could actually believe that it would be saying something," Buffy said, turning to Dawn to see if she knew anything.
"I'm just Research Girl, but I've not come across anything." Dawn
shrugged. "She thought for a moment. "Well, If Faith is the one to
run, she's gonna have to be here. Which, surprise, she's not." She
tapped her fingers on her knee before looking at Angel. "What about
Cordelia? She's the one with the link to the future here. What if
something already happened there?" She shrugged again. "But they
would've called ya, right?"
"They would've called. If anything happened, they would have called," Angel repeated. "I'm not sure how long this prophecy is going to take to fulfill. Unless it is a fake, which I'm sure it isn't, then no one really knows when Cordy will see something that will end up killing her."
Buffy looked up. "Faith will be here. There was a tone in her voice, it made her sound like she had changed. I'm not sure when she'll arrive, but she'll be here, I know that."
Dawn shrugged. "And we're sure the VISION is what kills her?
Couldn't she see something that someone wants her dead for knowing?"
She took a breath. "Just a path I think we should look at."
As Buffy spoke, Dawn gave her all the attention she had. "You know
her better than anyone else. You're the only one even remotely like
her, so I'm sure you're right. Plus, you're the one she talked to,
so really no one else here knows how she feels. You're good at
reading people so- Okay, stopping with the rattling." She was
nervous for reasons she couldn't begin to imagine.
Faith pulled up to the house on Revello Drive and didn't know if she
wanted to get out now. She saw lights on in the house and became
intimidated.
'Dammit Faith get a hold of your self, your a slayer, you can handle
anything.' She thought to herself.
She decided to get out but not bring any of her belongings out. She
didn't want them to think she loved being here.
"Even though I really do." She had gained the courage and was even
smiling.
She locked her car door and walked up to the walkway, to the steps
and then to the door. She knocked on the door, and thought about
just busting in but thought this might be better. They still didn't
trust her.
"We can't be sure of either idea Dawn," Angel said. "The vision could kill her, what she sees could want her dead, or something else could happen. The prophecy, if that's even what it was, was so vague that it is hard to tell what will and won't happen. We'll just have to play this one out, I suppose," Angel said, when a knock came at the door.
Buffy shot Dawn a look, then one to Angel, telling them both that it may be Faith. Taking a breath, Buffy walked to the door and turned the door knob. She pulled the door open to see Faith standing in front of her, and a look of shock came across her face, without really meaning to. "Faith! I.....didn't expect you so soon," Buffy said.
Dawn stood to peer around Buffy. Faith must have been in a hurry to
get away from wherever she had been. Dawn almost felt for Faith. She
just seemed to be so lost sometimes. This felt like one of those
times. She decided to say nothing.
Faith saw the look of surprise on her face. Faith was actually
feeling really calm about the whole situation. She told herself, 'I
can handle anything.'
"Well I was sittin' at home and realized, no time like the present.
So here I am." She didn't want to add to the fact that she had just
quit her job their, her boss was a womanizing jerk, nor did she want
to add that her 'boyfriend' was a waste of time.
She smiled.
She saw Dawn from behind Buffy, she sensed something different about
her. She remembered what Willow had said about Dawn getting wild.
"Hey Dawn."
Faith didn't think Dawn liked her, so she tried to just keep that
short.
She stood in the door waiting for Buffy to either invite her in or
change her mind.
Buffy eyed Faith, clearly picking out that something was wrong in her voice tone. "Well come in," Buffy said, stepping aside. Angel stepped up to see Faith, but said nothing. As soon as Faith had entered, Buffy shut the door. She motioned for Faith to go into the living room, and followed as she did so.
"I didn't expect you so soon," Angel said, unsure of what really to say to her. "I trust everything's been going well?"
Dawn nodded at Faith. "Hey." She preceded Faith and Buffy into the
living room, standing near Angel. She didn't want to give Faith an
interrogation so she kept her mouth shut, letting Angel get the
first question in. Dawn did, however, eye Faith oddly. It was
obvious that she wasn't the Faith they expected. Crazy, free,
reckless. There was something different, but she gave it up to just
not seeing Faith for a while.
Faith nearly laughed, they were starting on the questions early. She
was glad though that it was Angel. Out of all of them she trusted
him. When she was down and out he helped her. She'd gladly take a
bullet for him.
"Hmmmmmmm, well I recently stopped workin' where I had been workin'
for hmmm about a year or so? You get tired of people "oggling your
goodies" after awhile. I hope you don't mind me comin' so soon but I
really had nothing else to do where I was. And now that your awake
and all I didn't know, maybe you might need some help?" Faith looked
over at Buffy and Dawn.
She was surprised at how grown up Dawn looked.
'I hope they don't think I'm up to something,' Faith thought to
herself. 'I've been doing good for so long, and I don't plan on screwing
this up.'
Angel eyed Faith. "Good, good. Glad you're staying out of trouble. We wouldn't want you to end up like before," he said reassuringly.
"Yea, sorry about not having someone call you or anything when I woke up, but it's like I told you on the phone. No one was hear really, except for Dawn, and she didn't know your phone number. None of us did really. Any trouble we should know about at home?" Buffy asked, wondering if the answer Faith had provided may have been leading to something else that she didn't want to come out and say.
"Yea, my fault." Dawn shrugged. It was in a light tone, she cold
have said, "Oops" in the same tone. "Things got a little crazy, I
just didn't think about you. I guessed Willow told everyone
important." She really didn't mean it to be insulting, it just came
out that way. Dawn made no attempts to change the attitude, again.
She used to be intimidated by Faith. That wasn't the case anymore.
She watched Faith for the answer to Buffy's question. For Faith to
up and move, there had to be trouble. Of course, where there was
Faith there was always trouble.
Faith smiled at Angel, he was so nice to her. She appreciated it.
"No, uh yeah, I understand. I wasn't like upset or anything that no
one had called. I'm just glad I did. Was anything going on at home?
That I would want to leave? Well first off, I think you all know I
can handle myself. The only thing that was going on there was
normalcy. You get sick of it. There weren't any vampires, and yea I
was doing good, have been since I was released. But I got to
thinking, How could I say I was doing good when I was a Slayer and I
wasn't fighting any evil? Well unless you count my boss, he seemed
evil. So I was going to call Willow and see if you all wanted my
help." Faith realized she was sounding kind of sermony and all with
that last statement so decided it was time to end it.
Angel and Buffy eyed Faith together. Angel believed she was truly reformed. Buffy had her doubts. In all the years and craziness Buffy had endured with Faith: switching bodies, trying to kill Angel, getting Angel mad at her, sleeping with her boyfriend, among other things, all were rekindling in Buffy's mind, reminding her of how Faith once was, and Buffy's gut was telling her that Faith wasn't completely reformed, not just yet. But, above all this thinking, Buffy kept the same facial expression as to not let on anything to anyone, especially Faith.
"Yea, Willow is off at college. She wanted to finish some class. I....I know she told me what it was before she left......" Buffy trailed off. It was unusual for her to forget things. She thought about it for a moment, then returned to the conversation. "Oh well. Help is definitely needed her. We received a prophecy by way of door-bang mail, and it's cryptic, as always," Buffy explained.
"Yep, definitely not the norm," Angel kidded, for once. He noticed Faith's questionative look. "Don't ask. Its your basic something's coming, someone's going to die, blah blah blah, scary, you know. Problem is, it seems ancient than anything we've ever seen before."
"And we haven't ever said that phrase," Buffy chimed in. "We're working on it. Maybe after you get settled in you could look it over. That is, if you're staying. How long are you planning to stay?" Buffy asked.
"Nice monologue." Dawn remarked as Faith finished. "Will is gonna be
back soon. She just had a few things to take care of." She eyed
Buffy oddly. Forgetting wasn't a Buffy-ish thing to do. "I think
you'd be interested in this little message. If you wanna stay and
help out." Her voice was nonchalant., but her expression was
hopeful.
Faith got a vibe that they wanted her to stay. She didn't mind it, this
town was as close as you got to home for her. She was a little bit
worried about Buffy, forgetfulness wasn't something she remembered her
having.
"Well, to be honest I don't know. I will stay as long as I am needed
or as long as I can." She looked at her feet, I should be honest, she
thought to herself. She looked up, to Buffy. " I kind of uhh have
someone back home. A special someone, so I don't know how long I will
be here, or if I might go back soon and then come back. But I would
love to check out that prophecy, maybe I can help?" Faith kind of
smiled to herself, "I am better at the fighting part, but you never
know."
She glanced at her watch, "Well after I get checked in, to a hotel, I
can come back in the morning maybe and try and see what I can do? Or
maybe we could go patrolling? It's up to you, B."
Faith waited to see what their response would be.
Buffy and Angel both stared at Faith, trying not to gawk. A special someone back at home? How unlikely was that? Faith had never gone steady with a guy, ever. She always used them and then discarded them as if they were a mere play thing. And now she had a boyfriend huh? Well, it seemed she had changed.
Buffy nodded. "Yea, if you'd rather stay in a hotel that's fine. You could come back in the morning that would be fine. We could brief you on the prophecy and what we've already found out about it," Buffy said, employing some of the Riley-talk she remembered him using when he was still around.
Angel was about to say something, but his cell phone rang. He nodded to them all and then went out onto the porch to answer the call. "Hello?"
"Hey Dad. I'm on my way to Buffy's house to come get you like you instructed."
Angel didn't say anything at first. He didn't want to leave, which was precisely the reason he had told Connor to come get him in the first place. "How far away are you?"
"About 10 minutes or so. I just thought I'd call to let you know so it wouldn't be a total surprise," Connor explained, still living off the feeling that his Dad needed him to do something to help him out for a change.
"All right. Knock when you get here," Angel said. Connor hung up on the other end as did Angel, then returning into the house.
Dawn glanced at Angel as he excused himself for the call. "Big C.E.O.
finally getting that business call he's been waitin' on." She rolled
her eyes. It was habit to be sarcastic. Angel was a good guy and
all, but he was there which made him fair game.
She looked at Buffy. She thought about mentioning who her sister
sounded like, but decided not to crack on Buffy. She instead tapped
her on the shoulder. "Sorry Faith, I need my sis." Dawn pulled Buffy
into the kitchen. "Why can't Faith just stay here? Wouldn't that
make life a helluva lot easier?" She threw her hands up for
emphasis. "I mean, I don't like her. I used to be scared of her, but
if she ran back here....Just don't you think so?" She decided to
leave it at that.
Dawn pulled Buffy into the kitchen as Angel was re-entering the house and going into the living room. Buffy stood there, surprised that Dawn had actually suggested that Faith stay at the house. "It had crossed my mind Dawn, but if she wanted to stay at a hotel that was fine. The option was open," Buffy said, unsure if she meant what she said. Buffy nodded to Dawn and brushed her arm as she walked past, and back out to stand in front of Faith. "If you'd rather, you can stay here," Buffy said, aware that it didn't exactly look good that she had just brought this up after her and Dawn's little trip to the kitchen, but if Faith had a problem with it, she would have said so, and Buffy knew that.
Dawn shook her head as Buffy exited. Listening to her, she rolled
her eyes. The tone was bad, her timing was bad. Buffy had to know
that. Dawn watched Faith for any expression and an answer. She
suddenly remembered Angel. She glanced up at him. She would have
asked what the call was, but she wouldn't get an answer. He'd speak
in riddles, never the giver of simple answers. She crossed her arms
to think. She completely forgot to pay attention to Faith as she
studied Angel's expression.....or lack there of, rather.
Angel stood in the living room, waiting for Connor to arrive. He kept his face expressionless, as always, as to not give anything away. The less everyone knew, the better. He looked up to notice Dawn studying him, but quickly looked away before she could completely try to read him. "That's a good idea Buffy. Faith would be closer in case of an emergency," Angel piped in, approving of Buffy's suggestion of Faith staying at her house.
Faith had kind of watched everyone walking around their words and
all, it was rather funny, but she wouldn't show it. She was walking a
fine line. She looked at Angel, "Well I hope there's no danger or
anything, but maybe it would be a good idea?" She nodded to
Buffy, "Thanks, B, I appreciate it." She smiled at Dawn, she knew she
didn't like her, but she also guessed it was probably the reason
Buffy offered it.
"I can go get my bag and that can leave you three to discuss me and
if I've changed or not." she went to walk out, "But hey I'll knock when
I'm coming so you'll know when to be quiet." Faith smiled, she wanted
them to know she was being sarcastic.
She went to get her bag.
Faith exited and Angel looked at both Buffy and Dawn. "Boy she has changed," Angel said.
"Yea. I was surprised. Maybe its better that she did come, you can't be here forever, right?" Buffy said to Angel.
Outside, Connor's car pulled up. He got out and the driver turned it off. Connor noticed Faith was outside, and gave a brief nod to her as he walked up the walkway. He stopped at the door and knocked twice. He waited for an answer.
Inside, Buffy heard the knock and walked over to open the door. "Faith, you didn't have to knock again. You could've just--" Buffy said, as she opened the door and realized that it wasn't Faith, but a young man she didn't recognize.
"Connor, what are you doing here?" Angel said, from in the living room. He walked over to greet his son and let Buffy know that it was okay. "Dawn, Buffy, this is Connor, my son."
"Hey Dad. Yea, I came to bring you back to L.A. We're having some trouble gettin' George to talk."
"George?" Buffy said.
"Um...yes. It's nothing. Just someone we're trying to get a little information out of, that's all," Angel explained. "Connor, this is Buffy and Dawn," he said, pointing out each one separately.
Dawn laughed a little when Faith walked out. "She's perceptive."
Then there was the knock. Odd, she had thought Faith was kidding.
She stepped toward the door when she noticed the look on the
blonde's face. A young guy? In Sunnydale, at her door...shouldn't
she know him?
Angel introduced him. Dawn had her arms crossed as she made note of
his appearance. She simply nodded to acknowledge him. Son, huh? She
remembered Willow mentioning it. She never paid too much attention
though. Angel's business didn't include her, normally.
As George was mentioned, She smirked, snorting a little. She knew
Angel had been up to something. "Big man of the firm better get back
before the place goes more to Hell." Her tone was light, thick with
sarcasm. Even Connor who didn't know her would pick up on it. "Nice
seein' ya Angel, don't forget to write. Call ya for the next
apocalypse-y prophecy thing." She pushed her hair from her face,
waiting for Faith to come back in. She was the one interesting Dawn
at the moment.
Angel turned to glance at Dawn. "Quick to get rid of me? Damn, I knew it wouldn't last," Angel fired back at her.
"Hey Connor, it's nice to meet you," Buffy said, not extending the hand. In the way he stood, the way he spoke, even the way he looked, Buffy knew that Connor was to much like Angel, and when Angel was brooding, you'd be lucky to get anything out of him.
"Yea," Connor said simply to Buffy. He glared at Dawn. This young girl. Connor was surprised his father didn't just take care of her there, Connor would have. He was back in that pist-off mood again, because he didn't want to leave Wolfram and Hart to come here and get his Dad. He just wanted to beat up on George some more. Damn Cordelia.
Connor looked from Buffy to Dawn and back again, but only with his eyes, and quickly. He could see why his father liked this Buffy, she certainly wasn't ugly. And although her little sister was younger, she possessed some of the good qualities Buffy did.
Angel motioned for Buffy to follow him into the kitchen. Buffy nodded, and followed, leaving the two children alone to be together. That would be interesting.
"I knew I wouldn't be able to stay for long. Something's always going on back there," Angel said.
"It's okay. Faith's here now, and she can help. And if there's anything I need help with, I'll call."
"No you won't, but thanks for saying it." Angel didn't need her to call him, really. He had a team watching everything in Sunnydale, and they would report if there was something she couldn't handle. He hoped that Buffy never found out about that, she would hate him.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye then. Don't let Harmony get on your nerves to much, and tell Cordy I said hey."
"Will do."
Buffy walked over and hugged Angel, and he returned it. He looked down at Buffy when they pulled apart, and said nothing. Turning, he walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and back into the foyer. "Looks like the two of you have had enough time to 'oogle each other's goodies' as Faith put it. Let's go Connor," Angel said. Connor turned and walked out and Angel looked at Dawn. "Glad we had those chats. Call me if you need anything," Angel said. Dawn thought she didn't have his number, but he left it on her dresser just in case.
He walked out of the house, closing the door behind himself. Down the steps and the sidewalk, Angel saw Faith holding her bag and reaching for a few other, smaller items, inside her car. "Be good Faith, or I'll have to come after you again," Angel said, giving a small wave and getting into the car after his son.
Buffy Summers, Angel, and Connor written by.............Brandon Collins
Dawn Summers written by............Christi Weasley
Faith written by........Sami