Disclaimer: Well now, if I owned them the show never would've ended. Nor would've Angel. –sigh- Alright. So Joss owns them and does with them as he sees fit. I can't really argue with that now can I? At least he lets me borrow them for some fun fanfiction. I hope he enjoys keeping them though, although I really wouldn't mind him giving them up. –puts in an application for Spike- First dibs? Lol
A/N: Alright. Wow, An update! YEY! Everyone be happy and rejoice? LOL. Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, but be forewarned there is not so much happiness in this chappy because well when you have a sister with leukemia it's not the best scenario in your house. So enjoy, please review and all that good stuff. One last note...
...I can't believe its over!!! Buffy was gone, and now Angel?! What was the WB thinking?! And to leave it like that!! Joss!! How could you!?....
...Rant is officially over. For those who haven't seen the series finale (which was EXCELLENT!) I didn't ruin it for you and for those that did see it, I hope you will all share a box of tissues and chocolates with me. So again, enjoy!
"Dawnie?" Buffy cracked the door open just a little bit to peek into the room. Dawn was lying down, as she usually did. Thankfully today was a day where she felt she could get up and walk. Dawn pushed herself up into bed and smiled.
"Hey Buffy, what's up?" Dawn looked forward to the time where Buffy and she would spend time together. That was until Buffy pushed the door open to reveal Conner standing right behind her. Inside, she felt the butterflies and inside she was rejoicing. On the outside, she frowned and turned to Buffy. "I thought I told you I didn't want to see him?"
"Daw-"
"No! I asked you not to let him come upstairs and you totally went against what I wanted! I don't want to see him!" She yelled, Dawn got up out of bed and walked towards her window, watching the snowfall. She heard the door close and figured Buffy had just walked in and closed it, to talk. She did that a lot now. "Look I don't want to talk to you Buf-"
"It's not Buffy." Conner replied as he walked up behind her. Turning around, Dawn looked at him through watery eyes.
"What are you doing here? I don't want you to be here." Dawn tried pushing him away as Conner wrapped his arms around her. "Get out of here!" She demanded, hitting him lightly on the chest. But Conner refused to move. He kept his arms around her tightly and kissed her forehead gently.
"Why?" Dawn looked up towards him confusion showing through her watery eyes. She wiped the tears away. He smiled at her and cupped her face lightly. "Why do you think you could ever push me away?"
"Because, I didn't want to put you through this. The last thing I wanted was for you to see me sick." Conner shook his head.
"You're crazy." He wiped away her tears with his thumb.
"No I'm not." Dawn argued. She sighed and fought back a small yawn. Conner slowly picked her up and carried her back to her bed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm making sure the girl I care about the most," He laid her down, sitting next to her with his arm around her, "The girl I love, is taken care of. You're not going to get ride of me Dawn, and I would really hope that you don't want to get rid of me." Dawn shook her head and smiled as Conner pulled the covers over the two of them.
"I don't want to get rid of you. I just wanted to try and make your life better. I can't give you that."
"Don't talk like that. You're going to get better Dawn. Believe me. There's no other way besides getting better. Your sister needs you. Your mom needs you, and more importantly, I need you." He leaned down, kissing her softly. When they pulled away, his lips touched the tip of her nose lightly and she smiled.
"Do you really love me?" Conner nodded and she looked down.
"Then why won't you just leave me be?"
"Because. You need me right now, just like your sister needs someone too." Dawn shook her head.
"I have my family."
"You're not going to get me to leave, I will be here for you not matter what happens. No matter what you go through. I'll be there." Dawn bit her lower lip and looked up towards him.
"Why won't you just stay away?"
"Because, I could never go a day without being at your side. And I would hope that the same goes."
"Of course it does." She sighed and shook her head, "I never thought I'd feel like this." Conner raised an eyebrow and looked down to her.
"What do you mean?"
"I never thought I would care for someone so much, that I'd want to push them away so I didn't have to see the sadness in their eyes. I didn't want a reason to get mad at the doctors, I didn't want a reason to be mad at God." Conner nodded, running his fingers down the side of her face.
"Will you ever be mad at God?"
"Never. I just didn't want you to seem me like this."
"Like what?"
"Weak, powerless." Dawn looked down, toying with Conner's necklace between her fingers. He sighed and kissed her forehead lightly.
"Are you scared?" She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to tear up again.
"To death."
Spike sat in the living room of the Summer's home. Buffy still hadn't come downstairs and by now he had heard enough shouting to know that Conner had gotten into the niblet's room. He could only hope now that everything Conner had told him in the car on the way over, Conner was now telling Dawn. It's what the girl needed to hear. Looking outside he frowned. The snow was coming down harder. It never snowed in Sunnydale and now there was some freak storm? Leave it to that bloody El Niño.
"So, William, can I get you anything?" Joyce asked from the foyer that led into the Summer's dining room. Spike sat up straight and smiled.
"Well, what do you have?" Joyce smiled.
"Oh a whole bunch of things, but seeing the whether out there, I'd suggest hot chocolate." Spike's face lit up and he quickly stood up, walking towards Joyce he put an arm around her and grinned.
"You've just made me want to marry you." Joyce laughed softly and shook her head.
"It's only a cup of hot chocolate William, or, would you prefer to be called Spike?"
"Will's fine. But let it be known you're the only one who can call me that. 'sides my father that is. Hey, do you happen to have any of those little marshmallows?"
Buffy sat outside of her sisters room, crying. Even though the door to Dawn's room was closed, she could still hear really well. She listened quietly as Conner talked to her, told her there was no way he was going to leave her side. Then, he asked her if she was scared. And she replied, 'to death'. How could she say something like that? Buffy shook her head as she pulled her legs up and curled her body into a tiny ball. Her sister was only fifteen! Fifteen and she already had what Buffy had yearned to have since she herself had been fifteen. And now she was turning nineteen and she still hadn't known true love. She wanted to be jealous of Dawn. She wanted to hate Dawn, but she couldn't. Not with Dawnie being so sick. Buffy didn't hear the steps creak as someone walked up them. She felt the light touch of leather against her bare legs and as she looked up through tear flowing eyes, she saw Spike. She immediately looked away but he cupped her chin and forced her to look up.
"Now, I may not be the best of people but isn't eavesdropping a bit rude?" Buffy tore her face away from his hand.
"Just leave me alone."
"I'm afraid I can't do that luv. You see, now that my little brother is in there making with the nice to the girl that he's in love with, it seems only fair that the big brother makes nice with the niblet's big sis'." She frowned and looked up to him.
"What are you talking about?" He slowly grinned.
"C'mon, you and me, we're going out." He took ahold of her hand, which Buffy yanked away quickly.
"I can't leave. My sister needs me." Spike knelt back down in front of her and grabbed the sides of her face, forcing her to look at him.
"You, are going to sit right here and listen to me. Now what your sister needs is someone who's strong, who believes in her and is just as willing to fight for her as she is for herself and right now you can't bloody well do that."
"You bas-"
"Uh-uh, lets make with the honesty here pet. You've been crying your eyes out for weeks now and what goods it done? Nothing. Now, you look at your sister and tell me she's not better off right now with just your Mum and Conner. You need rest, you need to live your life. It's what Dawn wants, what she needs."
"How the hell would you know?"
"Because, my Grandmum died of leukemia." Buffy's eyes widened as Spike let go of her and backed towards the door. It took her a few moments before she could gather her words, before she could figure out what to say.
"Oh, Spike, I-I," He shot her a look.
"Don't say that you're sorry. My Grandmum lived her life to the fullest she wanted and when I was just a kid she took me out to the woods, showed me what life was really about. She showed me there's a fight worth going after. She didn't give up. And when she died, it wasn't because of the leukemia. It was because she had lived her life out the way she was supposed to. Now you're going to sit there and tell me that your sister's life isn't worth fighting for?"
"That's not what I'm saying and you damn well know it!" Buffy argued.
"Well then, Why don't you live your life? Show her that you're not willing to wilt away with her. That she needs to fight." Buffy sniffed, and looked towards the ground.
"Because I can't." Spike shook his head.
"Don't say that, you can't bloody well say that and then expect her to fight. The Buffy I know would have never said the words you just spoke. She doesn't believe in the word can't."
"You don't even know me Spike." He laughed.
"Oh really? You don't think I know you? How many times have you actually seen me Buffy? How many times have you actually noticed me watching you?" Buffy looked up at him, shocked.
"Y-you've watched me?"
"Of course I have. You're bloody hard to get out of a guys system. I've sat there and watched you with those kids, you have a light in your eyes when you're around them and now when one of them needs you the most you go off and you're letting that light die." He lifted her chin up as he walked closer to her. "Don't let it."
"How am I supposed to stop it? I don't know how."
"Then let me show you." For the second time since she'd known Spike, he took her breath away as his lips took hers. Feeling the need, the want and the care behind his touch and his kiss, she let herself wrap her arms around his neck, let her fingers find her way through his hair that he hadn't gelled back. As one hand traveled through his hair, she felt her other make her way down against his chest, around his waist, pulling him closer. She let her lips open to accept his probing tongue into hers. His warm hand caressed her neck and his fingers ran through her hair. As he pulled away, she had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling into his arms. Not that it would've been a bad thing right now. Slowly she looked up to him, her lips now swollen from his kiss. Looking down to his extended hand, she shakily extended hers and let it be enveloped into his. Quickly the two of them went down the stairs and through the front door as Joyce smiled from the living room, a cup of warm hot chocolate with the little marshmallows in her hands.
Reviewing right?
