Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

Chapter 7: Forever Part of Me

Connor barely managed to shoot Dawn a worrisome glare before one of the vamps rose up and charged at them. The other vamp remained crouched over the meal that Dawn had interrupted. Connor tussled with the first vamp, whom he had dubbed vampire number one, for lack of better punning. Vampire number two was staring at Dawn, who was armed with only a stake. Before Dawn could blink, the second vamp charged her.

Exhausted and emotionally spent, Dawn was not much of a fight. She struggled valiantly against her foe, but he managed to subdue her by grasping her arms behind her back. This gave him prime access to her neck, which the vamp leaned in and took prime advantage of.

Time slowed down for Connor. His mind flashed back to another night, in another place, where he'd been forced to watch another girl he'd cared about get killed by a vampire. He clenched his jaw in anger.

Not this time.

Not again.

Connor punched his attacker several feet away, and jerked a stake out of his back pocket. In one smooth motion he whipped across the graveyard and into the back of the vamp that had his teeth in Dawn. The stake found its mark, and the vamp exploded. Dawn collapsed to the ground amid a cloud of dust. Connor was tackled and knocked sideways by vamp number one, now fully recovered, before he reached her.

As they rolled through the dewy grass, Connor managed to snag a stick. When the roll came to a stop, Connor was ready. He jammed his makeshift stake into the vamp's chest before the vamp had a chance to move. Connor got up and headed for Dawn.

She was laying face down on her stomach, and while he could still hear her heartbeat, panic shot through him. He rolled her over gently, causing her to moan. He took it as a good sign. Connor examined her neck, as Dawn's eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, and breathed his name.

"Connor..." She said, sounding every ounce of the disorientation she was feeling.

"I'm here.'' He gasped. Dawn raised a trembling hand to her neck and squinted at it when it came away coated in blood. She sighed. "We should get you to a hospital." Connor suggested, slipping his arms under her, and lifting her up. Cradled in his arms, Dawn managed to shake her head, groaning against the pain in her neck.

"Please, no." Dawn pleaded.

"Dawn, you could need a transfusion or stitches..." Connor protested.

"Buffy and Angel have enough to worry about with the baby. They don't need this on their shoulders too." Dawn cajoled.

"But..." Connor started to argue. Dawn placed a hand against his cheek.

"Just take me home." She urged, and he nodded after a few minutes.

"If you feel sick at all or anything out of the ordinary, I'm taking you to the hospital." Connor maintained.

"Deal." Dawn whispered, her head resting gently on his shoulder.

*

Angel dialed the familiar number a third time. He was getting a little anxious. Connor wasn't picking up, and he was worried that his son hadn't found Dawn yet. With Dawn's penchant for getting into trouble, Angel had every right to be concerned. The phone rang a second time, and an out-of-of breath male voice answered.

"Hello?" Connor said into the phone.

"Connor." Angel replied, relief in his voice. This night had already brought tumultuous news, so he was extremely glad that his son and Dawn had made it home all right.

"Hey, Dad." Connor greeted. "How's Buffy?" His son asked. It was all Angel could do to keep from letting everything spill out.

"As well as can be expected." Angel answered, the somber tone of his voice impossible to miss. "Is Dawn ok?'

"She'll be fine." Connor reassured his dad. Angel was glad that Dawn had someone to talk to in his son, even if their relationship had seemingly sprung from nowhere. He hung up after another minute, and stared at the wall with a blank expression.

The sound of a throat clearing got his attention. Angel looked up to see Buffy's doctor standing above him.

"Mr. Angel, you can see your wife now."

*

Connor dabbed at Dawn's neck wound gently, but when the peroxide drenched cotton ball touched her neck, she inhaled sharply.

"That stings." She hissed. He dabbed a couple more times, before grabbing a wet cloth and wiping the last of her spilled blood away.

"I'm sorry." Connor apologized. He blew gently on her neck, and Dawn's mouth went dry. "Better?" He asked when he was done. She managed a nod, unable to control her shiver.

"Cold?" Connor questioned, noticing her shiver.

"Not exactly." She replied, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I'll get you a blanket." Connor offered, starting to get up. Dawn put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'm not cold." She told him.

"Maybe you're in shock." He suggested, starting to get up for the second time. Dawn moved her hand from his arm to his face, and he met her gaze.

"Connor..." Dawn whispered. "I'm fine." She said with feeling. He nodded and began to carefully tape down gauze over her wound.

"There." He commented, patting the last of the tape gently into place. She smiled.

"Thanks." Dawn told him. As he started cleaning up, she spoke again. "Connor?" She got his attention. "How's Buffy?" Dawn started at her fingers, almost dreading his answer.

"They aren't saying much; just that it doesn't look too good for the baby right now." Connor answered.

"Oh." Dawn replied.

"Dawn, look at me." Connor urged. She looked up, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "It'll work out, ok?" He reassured. "It has to. The Powers That Be owe my dad this one."

*

Buffy's petite frame looked abnormally frail against the backdrop of her hospital bed. Angel stared at her, unable to fathom why this was happening to them. Wasn't it enough that they had suffered all those years ago? That this baby could be taken from them seemed almost cruel, he could only hope that this would be one test the Powers That Be not require him to take. He had learned long ago that to fight them was futile. They would do what they would do, what they considered to be the greater good. Angel never understood why that meant he had to pay for it. Sometimes in bloodshed, and sometimes, as in the case of Doyle, a life.

"Hey you."

The sound of his wife's voice spurred him out of his thoughts, and over to her bedside. He settled next to her on the bed, and took her hand in his.

"How are you?" Angel asked, his voice full of concern. Buffy smiled wanly.

"Pregnant." Buffy told him. He smiled back, but he knew that both of them were thinking the same thing. For how much longer?

He laid his head against her slightly swollen belly, and wrapped his arms around her middle. Buffy's arms snaked around his head. The two of them stayed that way, a desperate plea for them to be able to keep what was theirs, as if holding it there would help it remain.

*

Dawn settled back against her pillow. Connor had insisted that she move from the couch up to her room, even though she felt pretty good. She guessed she had more of her sister in her than she'd thought. Connor lay next to her, and she angled her head so that it rested against his chest. She inhaled deeply, enjoying his scent. He smelled of cologne and whatever one called the smell that men just seemed to exude. It was a good combination, and she sighed. He tightened his grip on her, his one arm wrapped around her shoulder.

She'd been nervous when he'd settled himself on the bed next to her, but realized seconds later that she shouldn't have been. She was injured and Connor was a perfect gentlemen. Case in point: While she was laying tucked under the covers in her nightgown, he was laying on top of the coves, fully clothed. He seemed hesitant to let her out of his sight, and given the fact that she'd actually run from him earlier this evening, she understood completely. Connor's voice startled her.

"What was so important about that crypt?" He asked randomly. He'd been curious about her reaction ever since he'd gotten her home. What would have possessed her to go there in the first place?

"It's where Spike used to live." Dawn answered quietly. Connor got it, sort of.

"When you asked about him, I told you that he'd left town. Why would you go there?" Connor wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. Habit, I guess." Dawn replied. She looked up at him. His expression indicated she should keep talking. Inhaling, she started to explain about her relationship with Spike. "When I was younger, Spike became kind of a role model for me." She began.

"A vampire?" Connor interrupted, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Sure, Angel was one thing with the soul and all, but a soulless vamp as a role model? He'd heard everything now.

"Yes." Dawn said, sounding testy. He shrugged, and gestured for her to continue. "When Mom was sick, and then after when she was gone...I would go and talk to him. He didn't treat me like a kid. He told me the truth about stuff, didn't sugar coat it because I was too young or I couldn't handle it." She continued. "Spike was with me when I found out what I am." Dawn whispered, briefly flashing back to that night.

"That's right, he was." Connor agreed. Dawn looked at him.

"How did you know that?" She questioned. Connor shrugged.

"Buffy or Angel must have told me." She nodded, accepting the answer. Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, explaining how he'd relieved her memories in another life through a spell that had led him to this life was complicated enough. Gee, thinking about it that way really made his head hurt.

"Anyway, whenever there was trouble, with Mom or Buffy, I'd go and see hi and he'd always find away to make me feel better." Dawn continued with her story. "I guess I just needed him to make me feel better tonight."

*

When Buffy tensed up and hissed in pain, Angel lifted his head from her stomach and met her gaze.

They both knew.

The time had come.

A lone tear slid down his cheek as he locked his fingers with hers. Her cheeks were also wet as together they traced a pattern over her slightly swollen belly, each saying a reverent good-bye to a child they would never know.