Author's Notes: Okay, because I had Falling take place after Sleeper, I was a little off, especially bringing the potentials back. So I am using this chapter to get back on track. The events of Never Leave Me happen in this chapter, alongside some D/C cuteness. So hopefully now we will be mostly back on track, because I hope to have this follow the events of Season 7 almost exactly, with the exception of Connor being there. I also borrowed a few lines directly from Never Leave Me. Sorry if the events are a little off, I haven't seen these episodes in a while. Enjoy, and please R&R!
Chapter 2: Welcome to Sunnydale
The ride home to Sunnydale was long and quiet. Dawn just sat there in Connor's arms, perfectly content. As they pulled onto Revello Drive behind Xander, Buffy broke the silence by laughing.
"What is it?" Giles asked.
Buffy stopped laughing. "I just realize that we have 5 extra people that need to stay in my house." Dawn smiled. It was definitely going to be a little cramped.
"Well, maybe I can stay with Xander," Giles said, trying to help.
Buffy didn't seem to have heard him. She sighed. "I guess it's technically 6. Spike isn't getting any...saner, so I think it would be best if he stayed where we could keep an eye on him."
Giles nodded. "I'll stay at your house to help with that."
"I can sleep on the floor," Connor said helpfully, speaking up for the first time since they left LA.
Buffy nodded. "Okay. Thanks." They pulled up in front of the house, where Willow, Spike, and Kennedy were climbing out of Xander's car.
Dawn and Connor got out of the car and stretched. They got the bags from the trunk and headed inside. Once they had all assembled in the living room, Buffy took charge as usual.
"Okay, we have quite a few house guests, so we'll need to do some shifting." She turned to the three potentials, who were standing near the door looking kind of nervous. "Two of you guys can stay in my room. The other one can stay with Dawn. Willow, I'll room with you. Giles can take the couch, Connor can take the floor, and Spike..." she turned to Giles. Spike was standing there, staring off into space and muttering to himself. "Tie him up." She turned to Dawn. "Dawn, you can show the girls upstairs. Willow, get the guest sheets for Giles, and a blanket or something for Connor. Everyone should try to get some sleep, because tomorrow we have some serious research to do. If Giles is right, we're dealing with the First Evil, and they may already be in Sunnydale." She ended her little speech, and everyone just stood there for a moment. Willow moved first, heading down to the basement. Dawn turned to the potentials. "You guys can head upstairs, I'll be up in a minute," she said. Everyone began to scatter. Connor chuckled at the scene.
"Do you always have this many people living in your house?"
"Not usually. We really should call a health inspector. Or the Guinness Book," Dawn suggested. She smiled at Connor. "I'll be right back." She kissed him quickly and followed the girls upstairs.
Connor turned to see Giles tying the blonde vampire to a chair. A minute later Willow came back, and put some blankets and sheets on the couch. She handed one to Connor. "Try and make yourself comfortable," she said kindly. Connor smiled. He definitely liked Willow. She had been nice to him, and he hoped that wouldn't change when she found out who his father was. From what Dawn had said, he gathered that Angel had a few enemies in this town, Spike, Xander, and Giles among them.
"Can you fight?" Giles asked, startling Connor. He blinked.
"Um, yeah. I kind of grew up in a hell dimension. And Angel is my father." He stopped at the sudden alarmed expressions on their faces. "Long story."
Willow frowned slightly. "Sounds like."
Giles slowly began cleaning his glasses. "Well, it's good that you have knowledge of the supernatural, because I suspect that things will be getting somewhat crazy around here very soon," he said.
Dawn interrupted by coming back downstairs. "The girls are all settled in. I'm gonna turn in too. We had a long day."
Connor nodded. "We sure did. Get some sleep, and then tomorrow you can come help me look for an apartment."
Dawn smiled. "Will do." They kissed softly, oblivious to the presence of Giles, Willow, and Spike in the room. "Night," she said, heading for the stairs.
"Sweet dreams." Connor watched her go before turning back to the others. Avoiding their eyes, he found a spot on the floor and spread out his blanket.
"Good night guys," Willow said, before heading upstairs herself. Now only the three men remained, and Spike was still completely out of it. Giles began settling in on the couch, and Connor lied down on the floor. Soon Giles was snoring lightly. Connor smiled to himself as he thought of the great time he had with Dawn today. She was so special. He settled in to go to sleep, with images of his girlfriend dancing in his mind.
Friday, Sunnydale
The next morning, Connor got up early in hopes of snagging a shower before the house was overrun with cranky teenage girls. He headed upstairs carrying his bag and was surprised to hear the water just being turned off. He obviously wasn't the only one with the same idea.
He stood outside the bathroom waiting. A moment later the door opened and Dawn emerged, clad only in a towel. She blushed when she saw him. "Connor! Hey. Good morning," she said nervously as she wrapped the towel around herself more tightly.
He smiled at her, inwardly gulping at the sight of her half naked and dripping wet. "Sleep well?"
Dawn nodded. "Considering I was sharing the bed with a snoring, cover-hogging potential slayer, not bad."
"Well I'm gonna shower," he said, gesturing towards the bathroom. She smiled and ran off to her own bedroom, still bright red.
He entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Now that was the sort of thing he hadn't thought about happening. I really need to get out of here, he thought. Today he would go apartment hunting with Dawn, and hopefully find a place of his own.
When Connor came downstairs, Dawn was sitting in the kitchen, now fully clothed. She was eating cereal and flipping through the newspaper. She looked up when she saw him. "Hey! There you are. We should be quiet, everyone is still asleep. Look," she said, pushing the paper towards him. "It's the real estate listings. I circled a few places we should go look at."
Connor smiled. "You're amazing." He kissed her cheek. "And the best part is, Angel is paying for the whole thing." His father had told him before he left that he would pay for his apartment, which was a relief considering Connor had next to no money of his own.
At that moment Buffy came downstairs, already showered and dressed. She smiled thinly at them. "Good morning."
"Good morning," Connor and Dawn echoed back.
"Whatcha looking at?" Buffy said.
"Real estate listings. We're going apartment hunting today," Connor said. He was choosing his words carefully because he was determined to make a good impression.
Buffy nodded, inwardly very relieved that he was getting out of her house. "Okay. Just be careful out there."
Dawn raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry, I'll beware the evil landlords."
Buffy half frowned at her sister. "I'm serious. If what Giles thinks is right, the First is already in Sunnydale. I'm sure it won't be long before we run into some trouble."
"But you have the potentials now, they can help with the fighting," Dawn said in between bites of cereal.
"But they need to be trained. They don't have the natural abilities that I have."
"Connor can help train them. He did a great job training me last week." She realized after she spoke that she had just busted them both.
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "You taught my sister how to fight?"
"For her own protection," Connor said quickly. "Don't you want her to be able to defend herself, especially now?"
Buffy hesitated. "Well I suppose it's okay." Dawn breathed a sigh of relief.
A minute later Dawn hopped off her chair, placing her empty bowl in the sink. "Ready Connor?" he nodded and followed her to the door. They waved goodbye to Buffy and then they were on their way.
"Oh my God, sorry about the third degree. She's pretty protective," Dawn said.
Connor smiled. "It's okay. I actually think she's pretty amazing. Like the way she took charge last night. I can't wait to see her in battle."
Dawn glanced down at the newspaper she had brought along. "There are at least 5 apartments in here that look pretty good. Let's go to this one first," she said, pointing to one nearby.
Connor nodded. He took her hand, and they strolled down the streets of Sunnydale together.
A few hours later, the couple was feeling pretty discouraged. The first apartment had been really run down, the previous tenants had really trashed it. The second and third were in the really bad part of town. The landlord of the fourth had been really jerky, asking for way more than the place was worth. And the fifth still had the police tape on the door.
"Well that was a bust," Dawn said, as they headed home slowly.
Connor sighed. "At least you got to show me around Sunnydale."
Dawn laughed. "Isn't it lovely?"
Connor looked at her. "Wherever you are is beautiful to me." Dawn smiled, and they kissed.
"Wonder what's going on at Slayer Central," Dawn said, as they turned onto a street a few blocks away from Revello Drive. Suddenly Connor stopped. "What?" she asked.
He pointed to a sign in the upstairs window of a two family house. It said "For Rent." He looked at her. "Can it get any worse?"
"Worth a try," Dawn said. They climbed the steps of the house and rang the doorbell. A kind looking woman of about 45 answered the door.
"Hi, can we see the apartment that's for rent?" Connor asked.
The woman looked them up and down. "Aren't you a little young to be living together?"
"Oh, it's just for me," Connor said. "I'm Connor, and this is my girlfriend Dawn. She lives with her sister nearby."
The woman smiled, looking more relaxed. "Isn't that nice. I'm Mrs. Brady, my son was living upstairs, but he just moved out. He got a job in Los Angeles," she said proudly. She pulled out a key and unlocked the other door. The three of them began to climb the steps. "The apartment is in excellent condition. It's small, but cozy." She turned on the light and they found themselves in a small living room. "It's furnished, too." Sure enough there was a couch, a chair, and a coffee table. "This is the kitchen, and that's the bathroom over there," she said as they walked through a narrow hallway towards the back of the house. "There is the bedroom." They peeked inside to see a nice bedroom with several basic pieces of furniture inside. Dawn already loved the place.
"This is perfect," Connor said, slightly surprised.
Mrs. Brady looked pleased. "Well I think we can make you a good offer. My husband and I would love to have you."
"This is so great!" Dawn said as they entered the Summers home later. "You will be really close, and she said you can move in tomorrow!"
Connor nodded. "It's really great." Things were fairly quiet inside the house, and Dawn wondered where everyone was. She peeked out into the backyard, and saw Giles and Willow training the three potentials. "The others must be upstairs," she said, climbing upstairs. She heard a ruckus in her own bedroom, and began to run, Connor close behind her. She stopped when she reached the door. There was a large hole punched in her wall, and Xander and Anya were standing there gaping at it.
"What happened?" Dawn asked.
"Looong story," Xander said, running past her into Buffy's room. Dawn was shocked to see Spike lying unconscious on the floor, while Buffy was attending to that blonde kid that used to hang out with Warren and Jonathan. He was bleeding from the neck.
"Dawn, go downstairs," Buffy demanded.
"But-"
"Just go!" Not wanting to protest anymore, Dawn and Connor headed downstairs.
"Are things always this exciting around here?" Connor asked.
"Pretty much," Dawn said with a sigh.
Later everyone sat in the living room, researching. Buffy had explained what had happened, and she was down in the basement with Spike, while the others researched what was making him act this way. "It has to be the First," Dawn said. "Why are we even bothering the research?"
Willow started to answer but they were interrupted when the lights flickered off. Connor immediately jumped to his feet, ready for battle. Dawn looked around nervously. She started to speak but was interrupted by a loud crash. She turned around and saw a bunch of hooded things with wooden staffs coming through the windows. She ducked as one of the things ran towards her. "What the hell?" she yelled.
"It's Harbingers of the First," Giles said, wrestling the staff away from one of them.
Meanwhile Connor was fighting off three of the harbingers. Dawn wasn't doing so bad herself, putting her new fighting skills to the test. Throughout the fight Connor stuck close to her.
Midway through the fight Buffy came out of the basement, panting. She immediately looked around for Dawn, and saw her fighting off Bringers with Connor near the couch. She was amazed at how well her sister was handling herself. She watched as the two worked together, fighting almost as if they were one. She felt a little pang as she realized how much they reminded her of the way she and Angel used to be together. They seemed to read each other's minds. At one point Dawn jumped into Connor arms, and he spun her around while she kicked, knocking three Bringers over. Buffy looked around, dismayed by the immense damage the battle was doing to her home. She sighed and entered the fray.
"Ow!" Dawn yelped as Willow applied peroxide to a cut on her forehead. The fight was over. Buffy and Xander had gone down to the basement to check on Spike, Connor and Giles were moving the dead Bringers out to the yard to be burned, and Willow was giving Anya, Dawn and the potentials first aid. Dawn had come off a lot worse, because she had been right in the fight while the other girls had spent most of it hiding in the kitchen.
"Sorry sweetie," Willow said.
Buffy and Xander came up from the basement. "He's gone. That's what they wanted. Spike," Buffy said, sounding frustrated.
"And we were just in the way," Xander said.
Buffy shook her head, examining one of the dead Bringers. "They are definitely from the First. I faced them before, back in high school." She looked up at everyone. "It's all been the same thing. Spike's ghosts, the people you guys saw, from beneath us, it's all been the First."
Connor reentered the living room and hurried over to check on Dawn. "Are you okay? You were great," he said, really meaning it.
Dawn smiled. "So were you."
Buffy glanced away from the little exchange. It was still beyond weird, seeing her sister make googly eyes at of all people, Angel's son. Angel's son with another woman. She pushed the thought out of her mind. The battle was just beginning, and she had much more important things to think about.
