~*Chapter Three*~
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dawn took the familiar path from her room to the lobby, having walked this path for what seemed like forever, even if it hadn't been that long. She'd been there, in LA, at the hotel for a little over two months now. She couldn't seem to get out of her depressed funk she'd been in since the moment she woke up that first night there.
Buffy hadn't even bothered to stay around to make sure she'd be ok before leaving, she had just dumped her there and left, taking away Spike and Xander too. And she hadn't bothered to call since then. Of course she got calls from Spike all the time, but never Buffy. She figured her big sis was enjoying not having to deal with her.
She shook those thoughts off and forced a smile to her lips as she walked into the lobby and saw Cordelia and Angel leaning against the front desk, chatting. She had long since found out that Cordelia and Angel were an item, whether it be the kisses they snuck all the time, or the loud sounds coming from their room a floor over her own...late at night. She had been freaked out at first, terrified that she'd wake up with Angelus sneering down at her. But Fred had calmed her fears, informing her that Angel's soul was attached to Cordelia, so the only way it would be released would be IF Cordelia ever died, and that wouldn't happen considering Cordelia's immortal demon status.
"Hey Dawnie..." Cordelia said, turning towards her with that beaming smile of hers. "Fred's in the kitchen making pancakes, but I think Gunn went out to buy them just in case." She said with a wink when Dawn's face filled with horror. She had tasted Fred's cooking, not the best in the world, it was ok, better than Spikes, but still...not something she wanted to eat, especially when she was battling with morning sickness all the time now.
"That's ok...I'm not really hungry.." Dawn said with a quick look towards the kitchen when Fred called that breakfast was ready. Her eyes quickly darted back to Angel and Cordelia.
"Run..." Angel said dryly, but with amusement in his eyes, "Basement, Connor's training, you can keep him company."
"Thanks...I owe you BIG TIME." Dawn gave Angel a quick half hug, then darted towards the basement. Anything to escape Fred's cooking. She didn't want to hurt the young woman's feelings, but another day of her famous...or in-famous pancakes, and she was gonna die.
Connor was, sure enough, down in the basement, shirt shed, pair of loose draw-string black pants hanging low on his hips, chest glistening with sweat, eyes closed, as he took out his frustrations of the blue punching bag. Dawn moved down the stairs quietly, out of habit, and sat on the last step, watching him beat on the bag. The awe that was there the first time she saw him, was still raging within her eyes.
"Demon talk?" Connor asked, never stopping, or turning towards her.
"Fred's cooking." Dawn answered easily.
"Ahh..." Connor slowly stopped, opening his eyes and holding the bag to keep it from swinging. As he turned towards Dawn, he was greeted with an image he got every mid-morning. She sat there, on the last step, her elbows resting on her knee's, her chin resting in the palms of her hands. Her dark hair flowing past her shoulders, mused, not yet brushed, and wearing a pair of pj's that he'd seen a couple times before. "Didn't bother to dress this morning." He commented casually.
"When do I ever?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She'd been intrigued by him from day one and had set about making good with him, after their first...encounter. She had started a shaky friendship with him, trying to get him to talk, to do anything. But she had soon realized that he was alot like Angel, atleast the Angel she knew from Sunnydale. He didn't like to talk alot, he didn't like to speak feelings, he liked silence, and for once in her life, she was willing to be quiet.
Fred and Angel had begun teaching them, instead of them attending school, it was much easier with those three teaching school things. Gunn and Cordelia eventually helped out, but from Gunn it was all street smarts and from Cordelia...it was fashion. Most of her free time was spent down in the lobby or basement with Connor, studying, doing homework, work assignments, or helping research some big bad.
Words weren't needed between the two. They had easily fallen into a familiar pattern, they were a unit, even if they refused to admit that to anyone else but themselves.
"Right." Connor said simply as he gestured for her to bring him his shirt. He watched her stand, pluck his shirt off the end of the stairs, then come to him with it. "Your getting big." He blurted, then frowned when he watched those blue eyes look at him with forming tears, and her bottom lip began to quiver. She wasn't really big, but she was about 3 months along and her stomach was starting to round some, poke out from beneath her little tank-tops. "No wait...I mean...that's not what I meant..." He said quickly. Tears frightened him for some reason. That meant he did something wrong.
"You think I'm fat?" She questioned in a shaky voice. He thought she was fat and unattractive...disgusting.
"NO! That's not what I said! I just..." Okay, he was offically panicking, what did his dad do when Cordelia got like this? "I just commented that your getting big....to fit the baby... I mean...it's completely normal for you to be gaining weight for the baby..to...fit..and..." He trailed off, frustrated that he couldn't fix this. He set his hands on her upper arms gently, "Look...I didn't mean you look fat, because your not. Your body is molding to fit a life in you, and I just commented that you could tell...in a completely good way. You look beautiful, your not fat, just pregnant." He got ready for the tears to come, but oddly enough, they were gone.
"Really? You think I'm beautiful?" Dawn questioned quietly. She had never heard him talk so much at one time. Suddenly there was a smile lighting up her face, that only faltered when she met Connor's intense gaze. Her heart always seemed to skip a beat when he looked at her that way. She was never sure whether she should run, or throw herself into his arms.
Connor opened his mouth to speak, say something, but closed it again quickly. He wasn't good with words. He never would be he guessed. But something about Dawn made him want to tell her everything, to be able to talk about everything..anything. "Yes.." He answered simply, his hand coming up to brush her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. His hand came down slightly, his thumb sweeping across her bottom lip.
Dawn's heart sped up. This was it. They were gonna kiss... FINALLY. Her eyes fluttered shut and she could feel him leaning in, their lips were only millimeters apart, brushing slightly and --
"DAWN! CONNOR!" They both jumped apart, looking flustered and blushy. "Gunn brought breakfast!" Cordelia called from the top of the stairs. She could be heard walking down the stairs, "What are you doing?" She questioned suspicously as she looked at the two teens.
"I was giving Connor his shirt." Dawn said quickly, throwing the shirt at him and stepping back more.
"Oh...well come on up." Cordelia eyed them a bit more before wrapping an arm around Dawn and leading her towards the stairs, "You look flushed, was he teasing you again?" She questioned, her voice getting quiet as they left the basement.
Connor look around, wide-eyed. They had almost kissed.
TBC
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dawn took the familiar path from her room to the lobby, having walked this path for what seemed like forever, even if it hadn't been that long. She'd been there, in LA, at the hotel for a little over two months now. She couldn't seem to get out of her depressed funk she'd been in since the moment she woke up that first night there.
Buffy hadn't even bothered to stay around to make sure she'd be ok before leaving, she had just dumped her there and left, taking away Spike and Xander too. And she hadn't bothered to call since then. Of course she got calls from Spike all the time, but never Buffy. She figured her big sis was enjoying not having to deal with her.
She shook those thoughts off and forced a smile to her lips as she walked into the lobby and saw Cordelia and Angel leaning against the front desk, chatting. She had long since found out that Cordelia and Angel were an item, whether it be the kisses they snuck all the time, or the loud sounds coming from their room a floor over her own...late at night. She had been freaked out at first, terrified that she'd wake up with Angelus sneering down at her. But Fred had calmed her fears, informing her that Angel's soul was attached to Cordelia, so the only way it would be released would be IF Cordelia ever died, and that wouldn't happen considering Cordelia's immortal demon status.
"Hey Dawnie..." Cordelia said, turning towards her with that beaming smile of hers. "Fred's in the kitchen making pancakes, but I think Gunn went out to buy them just in case." She said with a wink when Dawn's face filled with horror. She had tasted Fred's cooking, not the best in the world, it was ok, better than Spikes, but still...not something she wanted to eat, especially when she was battling with morning sickness all the time now.
"That's ok...I'm not really hungry.." Dawn said with a quick look towards the kitchen when Fred called that breakfast was ready. Her eyes quickly darted back to Angel and Cordelia.
"Run..." Angel said dryly, but with amusement in his eyes, "Basement, Connor's training, you can keep him company."
"Thanks...I owe you BIG TIME." Dawn gave Angel a quick half hug, then darted towards the basement. Anything to escape Fred's cooking. She didn't want to hurt the young woman's feelings, but another day of her famous...or in-famous pancakes, and she was gonna die.
Connor was, sure enough, down in the basement, shirt shed, pair of loose draw-string black pants hanging low on his hips, chest glistening with sweat, eyes closed, as he took out his frustrations of the blue punching bag. Dawn moved down the stairs quietly, out of habit, and sat on the last step, watching him beat on the bag. The awe that was there the first time she saw him, was still raging within her eyes.
"Demon talk?" Connor asked, never stopping, or turning towards her.
"Fred's cooking." Dawn answered easily.
"Ahh..." Connor slowly stopped, opening his eyes and holding the bag to keep it from swinging. As he turned towards Dawn, he was greeted with an image he got every mid-morning. She sat there, on the last step, her elbows resting on her knee's, her chin resting in the palms of her hands. Her dark hair flowing past her shoulders, mused, not yet brushed, and wearing a pair of pj's that he'd seen a couple times before. "Didn't bother to dress this morning." He commented casually.
"When do I ever?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She'd been intrigued by him from day one and had set about making good with him, after their first...encounter. She had started a shaky friendship with him, trying to get him to talk, to do anything. But she had soon realized that he was alot like Angel, atleast the Angel she knew from Sunnydale. He didn't like to talk alot, he didn't like to speak feelings, he liked silence, and for once in her life, she was willing to be quiet.
Fred and Angel had begun teaching them, instead of them attending school, it was much easier with those three teaching school things. Gunn and Cordelia eventually helped out, but from Gunn it was all street smarts and from Cordelia...it was fashion. Most of her free time was spent down in the lobby or basement with Connor, studying, doing homework, work assignments, or helping research some big bad.
Words weren't needed between the two. They had easily fallen into a familiar pattern, they were a unit, even if they refused to admit that to anyone else but themselves.
"Right." Connor said simply as he gestured for her to bring him his shirt. He watched her stand, pluck his shirt off the end of the stairs, then come to him with it. "Your getting big." He blurted, then frowned when he watched those blue eyes look at him with forming tears, and her bottom lip began to quiver. She wasn't really big, but she was about 3 months along and her stomach was starting to round some, poke out from beneath her little tank-tops. "No wait...I mean...that's not what I meant..." He said quickly. Tears frightened him for some reason. That meant he did something wrong.
"You think I'm fat?" She questioned in a shaky voice. He thought she was fat and unattractive...disgusting.
"NO! That's not what I said! I just..." Okay, he was offically panicking, what did his dad do when Cordelia got like this? "I just commented that your getting big....to fit the baby... I mean...it's completely normal for you to be gaining weight for the baby..to...fit..and..." He trailed off, frustrated that he couldn't fix this. He set his hands on her upper arms gently, "Look...I didn't mean you look fat, because your not. Your body is molding to fit a life in you, and I just commented that you could tell...in a completely good way. You look beautiful, your not fat, just pregnant." He got ready for the tears to come, but oddly enough, they were gone.
"Really? You think I'm beautiful?" Dawn questioned quietly. She had never heard him talk so much at one time. Suddenly there was a smile lighting up her face, that only faltered when she met Connor's intense gaze. Her heart always seemed to skip a beat when he looked at her that way. She was never sure whether she should run, or throw herself into his arms.
Connor opened his mouth to speak, say something, but closed it again quickly. He wasn't good with words. He never would be he guessed. But something about Dawn made him want to tell her everything, to be able to talk about everything..anything. "Yes.." He answered simply, his hand coming up to brush her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. His hand came down slightly, his thumb sweeping across her bottom lip.
Dawn's heart sped up. This was it. They were gonna kiss... FINALLY. Her eyes fluttered shut and she could feel him leaning in, their lips were only millimeters apart, brushing slightly and --
"DAWN! CONNOR!" They both jumped apart, looking flustered and blushy. "Gunn brought breakfast!" Cordelia called from the top of the stairs. She could be heard walking down the stairs, "What are you doing?" She questioned suspicously as she looked at the two teens.
"I was giving Connor his shirt." Dawn said quickly, throwing the shirt at him and stepping back more.
"Oh...well come on up." Cordelia eyed them a bit more before wrapping an arm around Dawn and leading her towards the stairs, "You look flushed, was he teasing you again?" She questioned, her voice getting quiet as they left the basement.
Connor look around, wide-eyed. They had almost kissed.
TBC