Author's Notes: It's Christmas in July! lol. I just love this chapter, so please R&R!

Chapter 3: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Almost a month later

December 18th, 2003

Connor moved around his apartment, getting ready for the day. Dawn had convinced Buffy to take a day off from research and slayage to decorate the house for Christmas, which was coming in a week. Connor didn't know much about Christmas, because he had never experienced one before. But it sounded important to Dawn, so he was heading over to the Summers home to help. He also understood that Christmas involved gift giving of some kind, and he hoped to talk to Willow or someone about what he might get for Dawn. But the only problem was that he didn't have very much money. Angel had sent money to pay for rent and food, and he had a little left over but not enough to buy something nice.

The apartment was much more homey now. Cordelia had come to Sunnydale for a weekend a couple weeks back, and she had taken him shopping for some little things for the space. She had great taste, and although he was skeptical at first Connor had to admit that the place looked much nicer now, and Dawn seemed to agree. She had been spending a lot of time there, because her own home was very crowded and often a war zone. They had been continuing their training as well. Most of the time they ended up on the floor making out, but she was still learning something. Connor smiled. She was amazing, and he had no doubt in his mind now that he was completely in love with her. He wanted to tell her, and he hoped that the holidays would bring him a good opportunity.

He headed outside, putting on the winter coat that Cordy had made him buy. Even though they were in southern California, it still got chilly in the winters. He began to head down the steps but was interrupted when Mrs. Brady came outside. "Hello Connor. Where are you headed?"

"I'm going to Dawn's. We're decorating for Christmas," he said.

She smiled kindly. "Isn't that nice. Oh, a letter came for you dear." She handed him an envelope. "Have a nice day!"

"You too." He opened the letter. The return address was the Hyperion Hotel. He wondered briefly what it was. Rent wasn't due again for another two weeks, and it was too early for a Christmas gift. He opened it to see a check and a note. He read the note first.

Connor-

I wanted to send you some extra money so that you could get

Dawn a nice Christmas gift. I hope you are well. Merry Christmas.

-Angel

He glanced at the check and his eyes widened. What did he expect him to get for her? And where did he even get this money from? But Connor supposed that when you'd been "alive" for 200 years you accumulate some savings. He pocketed the check, pleased that he could now get something really nice for Dawn.

He walked the few short blocks to 1630 Revello Drive and knocked on the door. Dawn opened it a moment later, greeting him with a big smile and a kiss. "Connor! Come in, we just got started!"

He followed her inside, leaving his coat near the steps. He waved to Kennedy and Molly, who were stringing popcorn in the kitchen. They smiled and waved back. He had gotten to know them pretty well, as he was now a regular at the Summers home. They had been much quieter in the past few days since Annabelle's death. He supposed it had given them all a bit of a wakeup call.

Christmas music was playing in the living room. Xander was standing on a chair, stringing lights on the tree. Buffy was helping, while Anya, Andrew and Giles unpacked a box of ornaments. "Connor's here," Dawn said cheerily. Everyone looked up and waved hello. Buffy even smiled at him. She seemed to be warming to his presence in Sunnydale.

"You're just in time to help with ornaments! And I think Willow's making cookies," Dawn said. Sure enough, Willow came in from the kitchen, carrying a fresh tray of gingerbread men.

"Hi Connor," she said kindly. "Cookie?"

"Thanks," he said, taking one. He was hungry. He had no cooking skills whatsoever, so most meals were either takeout or...takeout eaten at the Summers home. A few times Mr. and Mrs. Brady had invited him down for a proper meal, but that was about it. He realized that this was his opportunity to ask Willow for her advice on a Christmas gift for Dawn. "Willow, can I talk to you for a minute?" Dawn was busy helping with the lights, and hopefully wouldn't even notice his absence.

"Sure." They headed back to the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Well, I need to get a Christmas present for Dawn. But I don't know what I should get. My father sent me money," he said quickly.

Willow smiled. "I'm sure she'd love anything that you gave her. But girls always love jewelry. You should go Christmas shopping with her, and see if she seems to like anything. Then you can surprise her with it later."

Connor smiled. He liked that idea. "Thanks. I'll do that." Willow patted him on the shoulder and he headed back to the living room. They were starting to hang ornaments on the tree. Dawn bounced over and kissed him again. He smiled. "You're in a good mood."

She grinned. "It's the holiday spirit. You should get some."

He laughed. "I'm trying. But this whole Christmas thing is still fairly new to me."

She dragged him over to the tree. "Well you can help us decorate, then you can come Christmas shopping with me."

He smiled. It would be the perfect opportunity to make good of Willow's suggestion. "That would be nice."

Dawn smiled happily. "Great! Now come help us put the ornaments on the tree!" Connor smiled. It was great to see her so happy.

"Oh Dawnie look," Buffy said, lifting an ornament out of the box.

Dawn smiled sadly. "It's mom's favorite."

Buffy put her arm around her sister. "Let's put this in a special place." They headed to the tree together and hung the ornament, a little angel girl, in the front of the tree. Connor watched the moment between the sisters. Dawn hadn't told him much about her mother's death. But he knew it must have been really hard on her and Buffy.

About an hour later they finished the tree. It looked really beautiful. Everyone stood back and admired it for a moment. "Okay, let's go shopping!" Dawn said, not wasting a moment. Connor laughed. He didn't really get what it was with girls and shopping, but whatever made Dawn happy.

A while later they were entering the Sunnydale Mall, hand in hand. The others had remained behind, so it was just the two of them. "Okay, I already did most of my shopping, but I need to find something for Buffy." They walked together past the stores. The mall was pretty busy with Christmas shoppers. It was also decorated for Christmas, with signs everywhere reminding shoppers that there was only one week left.

"Ooh, let's go in here," Dawn said, dragging Connor into a junior's boutique. She began to look through the racks, sometimes exclaiming "oh, this is cute," or "do you think Buffy would like this?" Connor was keeping his eyes open for potential gifts, but wanted to get her something nicer than this. 40 minutes later they left the store. Dawn was carrying a big bag from the store, but everything inside was for herself. Connor laughed and shook his head.

"What?" Dawn said defensively. "They were having a sale, and I totally paid for everything. See, I'm much improved."

Connor smiled. "I know."

"You know, a year ago I couldn't even come here. But now most of the employees don't remember me anymore," she said. Her eyes widened as they passed a jewelry store. Pay attention, Connor said, Willow's words repeating in his mind.

"Ooh, that's beautiful," Dawn said, pointing to a necklace. It had a small heart shaped pendant that was completely covered with diamonds on the one side. It was pretty.

"That is nice," Connor said.

Dawn stared at it longingly. "Yeah. Looks expensive though." Connor didn't say anything. His dilemma had solved itself rather nicely. He smiled to himself. He would come back to the store tomorrow and buy the necklace for her. He couldn't wait to see her face when she opened it. Maybe this Christmas thing wasn't so bad after all.

December 19th, 2003

The next day Connor entered the jewelry store. He had kind of dreaded coming to the mall after yesterday. Dawn had shopped for four hours before finally finding a present for Buffy.

"Can I help you?" asked the woman behind the counter.

"Yeah, I want to buy the necklace in the window for my girlfriend. The heart shaped one," he said.

The woman smiled. "Ah, that's a popular one. But it's pricey." She eyed him as if unsure that he could afford it.

"It's okay," he said. She nodded and came back a moment later with the necklace. She showed Connor the price tag. His eyes widened. But it was okay, the check Angel had sent covered it. Just barely though. "It's okay, I have the money."

She nodded and smiled. "Would you like to have anything engraved on the back? That's been popular," she said.

He thought for a moment. "Like what?"

"Well, you could get something like this." She showed him a sample paper. It had two names joined by a little heart with the date underneath.

"That's nice," he said.

"Okay, you can write your names down here, and fill out this other information. It should be ready to pick up in 2-3 days. How will you be paying?"

"I have a check," he said.

"Oh, well we will have to wait for the check to clear. We don't even normally except them, it's a Christmas special," she said.

"Well as long as I have it for Christmas," he said. He smiled. He was happy to be able to do something nice for Dawn. She definitely deserved it.

December 24th, 2003

On Christmas Eve Connor walked back into the jewelry store. He had decided to wait until today to pick up the necklace so that he didn't have to worry about not losing it for so long. The same woman who had sold it to him was there. "Hi Connor. Your necklace is ready, I'll go grab it." He thanked her and sat down to wait.

A moment later she came back, carrying the necklace. She showed it to him for his approval on the engraving. "It looks great," he said.

"Would you like me to gift wrap it for you?"

Connor nodded. "Yes please." He was grateful, because he had no idea how to wrap a present.

A few minutes later she presented it to him, wrapped in gold paper. "Here you go. And here is the cash back from your check," she said, handing him an envelope. She smiled at him. "I hope she likes it. Merry Christmas."

He smiled. "You too."

Night was falling as he climbed the stairs of his home. It was funny, he was actually thinking of it as his home now. Tomorrow he was going to the Summers home, and he hoped to find a private moment to give Dawn her gift. He climbed the stairs and was surprised to hear faint music playing. He frowned. Was Dawn here?

He opened the door, and his mouth fell open. The place was completely decorated for Christmas. There was a small Christmas tree decorated with lights, and tinsel framing the windows. Faint Christmas music played from a boom box, and Dawn was standing in the middle of the room, wearing a Santa hat and a big smile.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on our troubles will be out of sight

"Dawn, you didn't have to do all this," he said.

She grinned. "I thought it would help you get into the Christmas spirit. Besides, I love decorating."

He walked over to her and gave her a big hug. "You are amazing."

She grinned at him. "Look, mistletoe." She pointed towards the ceiling. "Wonder how that got there." They laughed, and then he kissed her gently.

"Dance with me?" she asked. She put her hands around his neck, and he put his around her waist. She relaxed against him and they swayed back and forth to the music.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on our troubles will be miles away

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of Yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

"Dawn, I've been wanting to tell you something," Connor said softly.

She looked at him, curious. "What? You can tell me anything."

He paused. "I...I love you." Dawn stopped swaying and stared at him.

"R-really?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes. "I love you too. I think I have ever since I met you."

He kissed her again. "You're just the best thing that ever happened to me. And I love you." It felt so good to say it. They kissed again.

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

When they stopped kissing Connor noticed that there were two presents under the little tree. "What is this?" he said, walking over to them.

"Well one is from me, and the other is from Angel and Cordelia. It was on the porch when I got here to decorate, and I took it out of the box and put it where it belongs. It's big," she said. The box was big, and Connor wondered what it was.

"I have a present for you too. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but you can have it now," he said.

Dawn's eyes brightened. "Okay! But you go first." They sat down on the floor near the tree. Connor reached for the big one from LA first. He tore off the paper. It was a TV. There was a note with it.

"Dear Connor," he read aloud. "The TV was Cordelia's idea. She says every teenage boy needs one. Say hello to everyone for me, and Merry Christmas. Love, Angel," he said. He felt mixed emotions at reading the note. He still didn't love his father. But he did appreciate all he had done for him.

"That's awesome! I'll get Xander to come over and hook it up for you," Dawn said. "Do mine now!"

He reached for Dawn's present. There was a big, long box with a smaller one on top of it. "Open the big one first," she said.

He tore off the paper and was surprised to find an awesome battle ax. "Cool!" he said, getting a feel for it.

"You like it? Good. I wasn't sure what to get, so I ordered that from this guy Giles knows," she said, relieved.

"It's great. I can't wait to kill something with it," he said enthusiastically.

Dawn laughed. "Open the other one now."

Connor opened the smaller present. It was a picture of him and Dawn in a silver frame. The picture had been taken a few weeks back at Buffy's house. They were both smiling, and his arms were around her. "I realized you didn't have a picture of us," she said. "I have the same one in my room now."

"I love it. Thank you so much," he said, giving her a kiss. "Okay, yours now." He handed her the small gold box.

Dawn opened it, curious as to what was inside. She opened the box and gasped. "Oh my God, Connor..." she fingered the necklace. "You didn't have to do this. How did you ever-"

"My dad sent me some money," he said. "And you deserve it. I know that you liked it. Look at the back."

Dawn turned it over and stared at the engraving. "Connor, I love it. This is the nicest gift anyone has ever given me. Help me put it on?" she asked, wiping her eyes. He fastened the clasp around her neck.

"It looks even more beautiful on you," he said. They kissed. Dawn nestled herself into his arms.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Then they just sat there against the couch, staring at the lights of the Christmas tree and feeling safe in each others' arms.

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now