Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.
Chapter 5: Indications
Dawn yawned widely as she sat up in bed. Even with all the problems that waking up in an alternate time line had caused her, she had to admit, it was nice that her house and Sunnydale remained intact. She really liked her bed. Glancing at the clock, she quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to see what was for breakfast. According to Connor, Angel could cook, and Dawn was itching to see the former vampire in action. That and she had a bet with Connor on how long Angel would go before burning something.
At the thought of Connor, Dawn's face flushed to a bright red. The scene from last night replayed in her mind. She and Connor tangled up on the training mats, a whisper away from kissing. Buffy had to go and faint, and ruin the perfect moment, Dawn thought. Checking her appearance in the full length mirror on her closet door, she allowed herself to think about Connor some more. She still loved him. Hell, they'd Romeo and Juliet'd themselves by declaring their love and then jumping to what they imagined was death. If only he remembered. If only...Dawn shook her head. It didn't do her any good to dwell on it. She could only do her best to rectify the situation. Meaning, she had to get Connor to fall in love with her again.
Dawn paused in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at Connor and Angel as they interacted.
"You're taking Dawn out driving tonight?" Angel repeated what his son had just told him. Connor nodded; stealing a piece of the ham his father had just finished chopping. Angel gave him a look before adding the ham to the omelet he was making, and Connor popped the piece in his mouth with a grin.
"Yeah. She's really itching to get started." Connor said.
"Remind me to call the insurance agent and get you a life insurance policy." Angel teased.
"Gee, thanks, Angel." Dawn commented from the doorway, startling the former vampire, and causing him to burn himself on the frying pan.
"Dawn, I..." Angel began, flustered. He walked quickly to the sink, and put his burned fingers in cold water. Dawn waved off his apology. He'd seen her sister drive, after all. It was only right that he had some concerns. Connor looked at her, and the pair exchanged an awkward smile. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk after leaving the Magic Box last night. Dawn grabbed a couple of plates, while Connor finished flipping the omelet Angel had been working on. Plus, he now owed her ten bucks, she thought, grinning wickedly.
Connor felt his pulse race when she smiled. He was glad his father was no longer a vampire, because if Angel knew how he really felt about Dawn, Connor would never hear the end of it. As he dished out the omelet onto plates, a thought struck him. Crap, he owed her ten bucks.
"How's Buffy doing?" Dawn asked, getting Angel's attention.
"She's feeling a little better, but Principal Wood and I convinced her to take the day off." Angel informed them.
"I never thought I'd see the day when my sister would faint." Dawn commented, referring to the previous night while taking a big bite of her omelet. Connor was right, she thought to herself. Angel could cook.
"Me either." Angel agreed, his face lined with worry.
"It's just not like her." Dawn went on. It was clear that Angel knew something more than he was telling either her or Connor, by the expression on his face, but whatever it was; he didn't seem inclined to spill. Dawn figured she'd let it go for now, but promised herself that she'd get some answers from Angel later. Popping the last bite of her toast in her mouth, she excused herself from the table and headed upstairs. Connor stared after her. Angel noticed his son's thousand- yard stare and commented.
"Dawn's been different around you the last couple of days." He said. Connor turned and looked at him sharply.
"So?" Connor replied. Angel struck a defensive pose.
"Hey, I'm just commenting." He told his son.
"Is it such a bad thing?" Connor wanted to know.
"No, I guess not." Angel admitted. "It just seems really sudden."
"Well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, Dad." Connor was angry. "If she's finally decided to accept me into her life, then I'm not going to screw it up by not trusting her. That's what you would do." He stormed out the front door. "Tell Dawn I'll be in the jeep." Connor called before slamming the door behind him. Angel sighed.
Dawn paused on the steps, unable to keep from hearing the argument between father and son. Tears came to her eyes. The other Dawn who'd lived in this time line must have been one grade- A bitch. She squared her shoulders and fought off the urge to cry. She would make it up to Connor. Resolved, she continued out to the jeep, calling a good-bye to Angel.
*
Willow knocked on Buffy's front door before letting herself inside.
"Hello?" She called. Angel appeared out of the kitchen.
"Willow, thanks for coming." Angel greeted her.
"No problem." Willow replied, hugging him hello. She glanced up at the stairs. "How is she?" She asked.
"Better, but still shaky." Angel answered, talking about Buffy. "She refuses to go and get checked out." He sounded frustrated.
"Well, I'd imagine she's embarrassed. I don't think she's ever fainted before." Willow offered.
"Which is all the more reason she should be looked at." Angel sighed, and slipped on his duster. They may live in California, but it was November after all.
"You know Buffy." Willow reminded him. Angel nodded.
"I know Buffy." He said. "Thanks for staying with her. Anya wouldn't let me off the hook. We've got inventory tomorrow." Angel told the redhead as she set her stuff down on the couch.
"You know I don't mind." Willow replied. "We'll watch girl-y movies and eat more ice cream than humanly possible." Angel grinned at her before heading out the front door. Willow took another look at the staircase and sighed.
*
When the last school bell rang, Dawn heaved a sigh of relief. Kirstie hadn't come near her all day, and for that she was immensely grateful. She said a quick good-bye to Kit, shoved her books into her backpack, and made a beeline for the parking lot. She paused in the doorway of the school, looking for his blue jeep. She spotted it, with Connor leaning against the hood. Her breathe caught in her throat as she stared at him. He hadn't seen her yet, so she was free to look.
The sunlight made him glow. Son of two vampires or not, he belonged right there in the light. Her heart seemed to have taken on a mind of its own, beating wildly. She loved this man. He finally spotted her, and met her gaze. Dry mouth set in as Dawn made her way out toward his jeep.
"Hey." She said, stopping front of him.
"Hey." He smiled. "You ready?" Connor jingled the keys.
"Sure." Dawn replied, a little breathless. Her hand reached out for the keys, and set them gently in her palm, cupping her hand between both of his. The look he gave her was intense and Dawn felt herself melting inside. In a minute, she'd be a puddle on the ground.
"Ah, look." A snotty voice spoke up behind them. No, please. Not now. Dawn begged internally. "The Freak has a crush." Kirstie announced to her friends, the most popular girls in school. Dawn froze, afraid to turn around. Kirstie moved to Connor's side and grabbed his arm, causing that hand to slip from Dawn's grasp. "So, Connor, is it?" He nodded to Kirstie's question, desperately thinking of a way to get rid of her. "I feel it's my solemn duty to inform you that you could do so much better than this freak here." Kirstie said, gesturing to Dawn. Connor's jaw tightened. No one insulted Dawn.
"Is that so?" Connor asked the popular girl. Dawn's eyes welled up with unshed tears. I won't let them see me cry. She thought stubbornly.
"You'd be much better off with, well, someone like me." Kirstie went on, batting her eyelashes seductively.
"Well, in that case." Connor replied. He and Dawn were still holding hands, and he used that advantage to tug her toward him. The movement practically shoved Kirstie out of the way, as Connor planted a kiss right on Dawn's shocked lips. They didn't hear Kirstie leave or the catcalls of Dawn's classmates as they checked out the kissing couple. All Dawn knew was that she was in Connor's arms, and it was the most right feeling in the whole world. Connor wasn't sure what was more shocking about the situation; the fact that he had initiated a kiss with Dawn or the fact that she was now kissing him back.
Gasping heavily, the pair broke apart. Connor let go of her hand, leaving the key ring resting gently in her palm.
"Let's get out here." He said climbing up into the passenger's seat. She took a second to pull herself together, and then climbed inside. After a second of letting Connor tell her what she needed to do, Dawn started the jeep and they drove off.
*
"Dawn should've been home by now." Buffy fretted. Angel, Willow and Lindsey turned to look at her. The two couples were sharing a relatively civil night in front of the television.
"I'm sure she's fine, Buffy." Willow said, idly playing with Lindsey's fingers.
"Dawn's a big girl." Lindsey chimed in. Buffy rolled her eyes. She was never sure what to make of the southern lawyer, but Wills loved him.
"She's out with Connor." Angel reminded her.
"What's up with that anyway?" Buffy worried on. "Three days ago she wanted nothing to do with him. It was all we could do to get her to acknowledge his presence at the dinner table. Now he's teaching her to drive?" She pointed out.
"It's what we wanted, Buffy." Angel reminded her. "It's good that they're getting along." He smoothed back her hair she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You shouldn't be worrying about this stuff, Buffy. It's not good for the baby." Willow said, her concern for her friend showing.
"I know." Buffy sighed. "I just can't stop myself." She paused. "By the way, Will. Did you ever figure out what you forgot?" Buffy asked, wanting to redirect focus off of her.
"No." Willow answered, frowning. The feelings of something being wrong had only intensified.
The two couples settled back into relative silence as the tv droned on.
*
Dawn maneuvered the jeep through the streets of Sunnydale with ease. It was hard to see everything and not get teary. The last time Dawn had seen this section of the town, it had been just before Spike had sacrificed himself and caused the destruction of Sunnydale. The sun had set moments ago, and Dawn took off her sunglasses.
"Could you put these in my bag for me?" She asked Connor, holding them out. Neither of them had said much since leaving the school parking lot, save for Connor giving her driving instructions. She didn't really need his instructions, but he didn't need to know that. He took the glasses from her, and opened her pack to drop them in. As he did, he caught sight of her school books.
"When did you start taking Italian?" He wanted to know. The Dawn he knew couldn't translate a sentence in any language, even the required ones for school.
"Yesterday." Dawn answered, trying to be nonchalant.
"You don't speak Italian." Connor told her, sounding funny. He was again reminded of the Dawn he'd portal jumped with. She'd spoken Italian. Some anyway, because she and Buffy had lived in Rome.
"I thought I'd try something new." Dawn was nervous. It wasn't like this Connor to give her the third degree. She made a right, and pulled up into a grassy field. The edge of a forest was several yards away.
"Where are we?" He asked Dawn, accepting her answer for now.
"You've never been here?" Dawn seemed surprised when Connor shook his head. "It's Lookout Point." She told him.
"The make out spot?" Dawn nodded in reply.
"How come you've never been here?" She asked.
"I've never had a girlfriend to take up here." Connor answered.
"Oh." Dawn replied. The car was silent, save for the radio. "I got my first kiss here." She told him, resting her hands on the wheel.
"You remember that, but you can't remember other stuff?" Connor wanted to know, avoiding commenting on their earlier lip lock. He still had no idea what had come over him – he just couldn't stand for the girl to insult Dawn anymore. Dawn was unsure of how to reply.
"I remember that you owe me ten bucks." She finally said with a smile. He groaned. A slow melodic song came on the radio, and Dawn got an idea. Flipping on the headlights, she opened her car door.
"What are you doing?" Connor was confused.
"Come on." She grinned wickedly at him, and that was all it took. He got out of jeep too, and followed her to where she stood in the headlights. "Dance with me?" She asked, looking up at him. He didn't say anything, just pulled her into his arms. The notes of the song drifted out of the jeep windows as they danced in the night.