Title: The First Seconded

Author: Falcon-Rider falcon_rider@hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13 for Angst and ect. And CD

Disclaimer: I own nothing 'cept the plot and Nich. Oh and hey, at least one of the scenes in this chappy are based on a scene from Angel 4x01 cause I thought it fit in here. Anyway, Kris and Echo are mine as well! HEHEHE! I wish I owned Spike though…

Authors note: My lowest grade currently is a C+ everyone be happy for me, cause that's in Science. Amazingly I have a B- in English since that teacher HATES me. I mean she really does! Everyone thanks for the great reviews! I love you all! Plus I almost have 100! Yippie! ^_^ Thanks guys! Also, last weekend I went to Seattle and found the invader Zim socks I had been wanting! Hehehe, and I now have digital cable and can watch it that much more often on TV. I love Digital Cable! Oh and the whole shirt thing below, my friend Maggie told me to put that in. So if your name is Maggie blame my friend Maggie, and PLEASE don't be offended. Also Good Will rules, so does Hot Topic I am not dissing either since most of my wardrobe comes from those two stores or Wal/K/Bi-Mart. I just have so much fun going to thrift stores… its what my friends and I do on the weekend. Seeing how we either hangout at YG or Coffee Perk, or Smokey blues and the only club in town that lets teenagers in is the Under Ground…What can I say, my home town is dinky… kind of like Sunnydale only without the 42 cemeteries, we only have about oh… six. Did I mention there's an elementary school AND a high school across from the largest? Am I rambling? Yes. Amazingly without the help of Code red.

 

Shutting up now.

It is…The STORY deal with it. ^_^

(Also: no offence to any foster parents out there, I'm sure your great!)

****

Part Twenty-Two

Life's Tough… Get over it.

42 days

Spike laughed, he laughed so hard he had to brace himself against the wall. "Peaches has a kid?!"

"Am I the only one who doesn't get what's so funny?" Nich mumbled rolling her eyes as her surrogate brother tried to calm himself down.

"This isn't a trick. Connors real, and very upset about Angels disappearance." Fred shook her head slowly. "He didn't get to spend much time with Angel since he was stuck in a hell dimension with Holtz for so long."

"A hell dimension?" Spike raised his eyebrow. "The kid grew up in a hell dimension."

 The young seer shook her head sadly. "And I thought I was messed up growing up in a shitty house with two crappy foster parents… hells got to be… well hell."

"Maybe you two would have something in common then, having grown up in bad situations." Fred said suddenly. "Maybe you could get him to make some friends his own age."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Gunn asked glancing at his girlfriend. "I know he's gotten better at this but what if he accidentally attacks her?"

"Don't worry about me, I am 80 percent able to defend myself and the other 20 percent is me knowing how to run away… fast." Nich turned and headed toward the grand staircase, looking over her shoulder she called back over her shoulder. "Which room is Connors?"

*

"Look sorry about my cousin, she thinks she's the center of the Universe." Echo smiled at the guy as Dawn caught up with them outside of the shop. "I'm Echo and this is Dawn."

"Hi, and thanks I guess… I'm Kris." He adjusted his glasses so he could see clearly through them. Kris was not much taller then Echo at Five feet seven inches. He adjusted his blue Hawaiian print shirt over a green shirt with blue writing that announced 'Maggie is a retard.'

Dawn frowned as she read his shirt, "Whose Maggie?"

"I don't know," Kris shrugged. "I got this at Goodwill."

"Oh I love shopping there!" Echo smiled brushing a strand of purple hair behind her ear. "When I'm not shopping at Hot Topic of course."

"You shop at Goodwill?" Dawn frowned.

Echo raised her eyebrow, "You don't shop at Goodwill? Boy am I going to have to shun you."

Kris looked back and forth between them, "Do we have to talk about clothes?" He asked awkwardly.

"What would you prefer us to talk about?" Echo asked.

"Anything but clothes?"

*

"Two rooms on the left…" Nich mumbled to herself coming across a door that was slightly ajar. She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she reached out to knock lightly on the wooden door. The door moved in slightly at her touch and creaked a bit.

"Hello? Connor, are you in there?" Nich bit her lip and tilted her head as she pushed the door slightly open. "Hello?"

Slipping through the doorway she glanced around the room. Everything seemed normal, if a bit clean for a teenager's room. Nich frowned and walked over to the open window.

Dark Green curtains moved gently in the breeze that was sliding through Las Angeles. She leaned forward a bit glancing out the window to the streets below. "Geez, long jump." The teen muttered under her breath. "I'd hate to have to jump that far."

Turning Nich yawned deciding to look for the mystery teen some more. She didn't have to look far for a kick landed straight into her stomach pushing her backwards.

*

"This is the bronze." Echo stated simply as she glanced around the busy club. It wasn't as crowded as the only club in Sunnydale (for humans anyway) could get but it wasn't near empty either.

"Yep," Dawn smiled, "The only place in Sunnydale you can go to party."

"Other than the coffee shop and the mall," Kris put in. "This is really the only other place to hang out on a Friday, or Saturday night."

Dawn tilted her head toward him and added on to his insightful thought, "Or any other night for the matter."

"True," Kris shrugged.

"So," Echo glanced around. "Should we snag some seats or something?"

"Depends on if you want a table or a coach," Kris answered.

"How about a table, so we can get drinks," Dawn rolled her eyes when Kris frowned. "Non-alchoholicy type drinks."  

*

Nich slammed backwards through the window. Reaching out her hands quickly and twisting in the air she latched on to the window cell and let out a shriek, hoping Spike would hear.

*

"I still can't believe it, peaches and Darla have a kid." Spike shook his head. "Angel sure does get himself…" Spike snapped his head to the side and glanced up before taking off toward and up the stares.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Gunn asked before swearing under his birth and following the male slayer up the stairs.

*

"Oh shit, oh shii-It!" Nich shrieked repeatedly as her fingers grasped the wood edge tightly her knuckles turning white with the strain.

Connor leaned out the window briefly wondering how he should make the girl lose her grasp before his door was slammed open. The teen barely had enough time to turn around before he was slammed up against the wall.

Nich heard Spike growl from inside the room as she attempted to find a foothold but failed miserably. An itch in the back of her mind broke her train of thought and she cursed the bad timing. "Oh bloody hell."

*

Opening her eyes Buffy realized that she had fallen asleep curled up on the coach. Yawning she rolled her neck around to get the kinks out of it as she stretched. Turning her head she glanced at the clock realizing it was after sunset.

 "Well, Might as well get in a few hours of slay-time before Dawn gets home," Buffy said aloud as she stood. Walking over to the wooden chest Xander had made her for her Birthday she unlocked it and lifted the lid.

Inside the chest was a multitude of different weapons. Long thing stakes, a few shorter ones, a broad sword and a couple of daggers… a battle axe even lay at the bottom of the chest next to a cross and several bottles of holy water. Buffy snagged a stake and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans beneath Spikes duster. Grabbing a sword she stood and closed the lid to the wooden chest and smiled grimly.

"Well, if there's one thing I'm good at its beating people up." Buffy said quietly as she stared at her reflection in the clean edge of the sword. "So I guess I better get to it."

A few seconds later she had locked the house and continued her walk toward a cemetery for patrol. Spikes coat swirled gently around her feet as she walked, a reminder of things past, and perhaps, a foretelling of the future.

****

Author Note: You know what? School takes to much time. They should have computers that can download anything you need to know straight into you mind. Either that or add more hours to the day. That's work to.

To be continued in: Pain and Life… SURPRISE!

REVIEW! PLEASE! OR e-mail me!

Please? Review? Love it? Loathe it? Have no clue as to what it was about?

I would really love to hear your comment!