Chapter Ten

"WHAT?" The room exploded and Dawn wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't mean to make everyone fly into a rampage, but she couldn't let them believe a lie, especially if it meant putting herself or her children in danger.

"I don't believe it..." Xander shook his head as he began to pace the room. "There's no way she'd do that." He denied and Dawn just gave him a disbelieving look. He had witnessed first hand what had been going on in the Summers' household and here he was, trying to deny what she was saying... what she had experienced for herself.

"Well, Buffy has been acting very strange lately, maybe her slayer duty has brought her down more than any of us knew." Anya said thoughtfully, nodding her head.

"N-no... what are we saying.. Buffy couldn't do this." Willow was right up there with Xander, denying what was happening and Dawn began to feel tears leaking from her eyes.

No one was going to believe her, they were all going to call her a loony, lock her up, and raise her children themselves. She just knew it.

"What happened Dawn?" Conner asked quietly and the new mother's head shot up, staring straight into her lovers eyes. She saw no denial there, just trust and love... in her. She cleared her throat and sniffled looking around the room. She almost forgot that Conner and Spike were there. Niether of them had said a word as the others argued, maybe she did have someone on her side.

"Umm..." She sniffled again and tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing at the iv still sticking from her arm, to her children and then to her family littered around the room. "Xander and Anya, you guys had just left and I was trying to get upstairs.."

"We should have stayed and helped you go to bed, you were far too fat to get upstairs by yourself." Anya muttered, mostly to herself, making Dawn smile a little.

"Anyways, Buffy was waiting at the top of the landing... she just started yelling.. She had obviously found out about Spike and Willow, even though no one was supposed to know. She accused me of helping you guys sneak around, accused Willow of stealing Spike from her... and I don't know how, but we started arguing about Angel and Connor. And then I smacked her." She paused to see if anyone was going to but in, if anyone had anything to say. She slowly glanced up and she was met with angry faces. Not at her, she was sure of it, but at Buffy. She shook her head again and quickly finished telling the story about the push and then landing there.

Spike shot up from the bed, startling everyone in the room and he began to mutter to himself, even though he was angry, he was also trying not to upset the babies by being loud. Connor stayed with Dawn as Spike gathered the others and went outside to talk, he could still hear them because of his vampire traits so he could stay and comfort the brunnette girl at his side.

"They really are very beautiful." He turned his head and looked directly at Dawn as she muttered these few words, staring at her children.

"Yes they are."

"I don't want Buffy to hurt them like she did me." She murmured and he could tell she was starting to dose off. He kissed the top of her head and tried to stop the rage that was boiling inside.

"She won't touch them." He promised in a whisper staring at the twins in there cribs. He would die before anyone touched his children... My children?

When Dawn awoke again, she was by herself in her room back home. She freaked. Her babies were no where to be seen and as far as she knew, Buffy had kidnapped them and herself and were holding them all hostage in the house. She was wobbly, but she made it to her door and tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. For a moment, she gave up. She began to cry.

This is what it came down to? Her giving the world two special children that were supposed to save the world, and then her sister taking them? Possibly harming them, or worse?

"No.." She muttered, trying to calm herself down, trying to stop crying. "I won't lose them." She pulled and began to bang on the door, but she had no real strength in her. The fall and then the labor, it had drained her. "Help... somebody help!" She screamed. No one answered at first and she started crying again, falling against the wall, giving up.

She jumped when the door was suddenly flung open and in came a half dressed teenage boy with an axe, ready to kill anything and everything. She was so surprised by the memories it brought back that she started laughing, which quickly turned into sobs.

"Dawn." Connor muttered, he tossed his axe down and was at her side in an instant. "Are you harmed. What's wrong." He checked her over and couldn't find a sore of injury, it worried him more than if there had been a wound. It meant there was something on the inside hurting her, and he didn't know what to do.

"You don't have a shirt." She whispered quietly, still crying, but no longer sobbing, sobering up a bit at seeing Connor.

"Mac and Mikey do not know how to miss." He murmured quietly to her. "You feed them the formula you have here, and then they throw up... on you, always on you."

"They're here? My babies?" Dawn asked anxiously, perking up at the sound of crying downstairs. "How did we get here... I don't understand, I thought Buffy had us.."

"You were in and out of in the hospital and most of today until now. You were in pain, Willow made you sleep so you wouldn't feel it. Buffy is gone, no one is able to find her, not that she would want to be found with Spike on her trail. You just got home today, slept through everything, we were taking care of the babies." He explained everything, "You scared me, screaming. I thought your sister had come back, I can't lose you again." He murmured, caressing her face so that she'd look at him.

"You won't lose me, you know that...Your stuck with me, now." She smiled slightly, at peace knowing her children were safe. She leaned up and kissed Connor, her 'thank you', 'I love you', and 'never leave me all' in one.

"Look who's come down, its your mommy." Willow whispered to the infant she held as she watched Connor help Dawn down the stairs. She knew there had been no danger in the house, she would have known, she set up so many spells to protect everyone inside... and there were alot of people inside.

"Oh my goddess.." Dawn murmured. There were balloons and party stuff everywhere, There was a sign that read 'Congradulations on your twins, Mommy' hanging in the doorway and it made her eyes water up. Everyone that she loved and thought of as family was here. She laughed as Cordelia came over with one of the babies snuggled in her arms, a beaming smile on her face.

"Here you go little momma." Cordy murmured, handing the baby to Dawn, "I hope you have enough time for me to snatch a kid every other weekend. I'm gonna need practice." Dawn's eyes widened and Cordy nodded, a delighted look on her face. "I didn't think it was possible, but hey, you and Connor know all about things that shouldn't happen. This is good news." She winked and went back to Angel's side.

Everyone was there. Angel and Cordy, Gunn and Fred, Wes. And then of course the scooby gang, with Willow handing off little Mikey to Giles. She didn't need just one measley sister when she had a full house of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers... She smiled, she could be happy, and she could feel safe.

Buffy scowled as she watched everyone laughing and joking around, pampering Dawn and those bastard children. Dawn had everything that belonged to her. Her home, her friends, her fatherly watcher, the love... the normal life and the children. She hated her. How she had come to hate her little sister.. she didn't know, but all she knew now was the Dawn was going to pay.

She'd pay dearly.

THE END