Chapter 19.
Dawn carried the last of the dirty plates out into the kitchen after telling her guests to remain where they were because she wasn't going to do the washing up until after they had their coffee. As she scrapped the plates, she heard Spike wheedling Adanar into telling them the story of Dawn's marathon swearing bout. She smiled to herself and dawdled over the coffee making, knowing he'd let himself be persuaded if she stayed out of sight long enough.
"Come on, Big Guy. Red and Giles are leaving in the morning and Buffy and the Bit fly out tomorrow night. This could be the only time we're all together to hear it."
The blond vamp's request was echoed by the others but it was Giles adding his voice to the throng that seemed to persuade the Ganaru. Softly, in case Dawn might overhear and come in to stop him, he began.
"It was after we escaped during the sandstorm. We had a hard time finding food and water but we discovered a certain fleshy plant covered in hundreds of hooked spines could keep us alive. But they were bland and unsatisfying and the spines were very painful to remove because of their barbs. They were abundant in the foothills and we found a good sized cave to live in. There was a farm not so far away but the Kridjatori never ventured into a cactus forest so that it was reasonably secure as well."
He lowered his wonderful voice to conspiratorial near whisper,
"Now Dawn, as we all know, has an enormous appetite and she would go on about food for hours on end. Most annoying, I must say, especially when I was always so hungry myself. Then one day she decided she wanted .. , what was it? Eggs cooked with milk stirred in?"
Spike provided the name,
"Scrambled eggs."
"That's it. So she set off through the cactus forest to the farm to steal a goat and some geese. The stealing part went quite well, until the goat took it into its head to begin bleating because of the thorns. Dawn had tied the goat about her neck and the animal made enough noise to alert the farmer and even I heard it back in the cave; I hadn't known she'd gone out to make a raid. He set his dogs on her and she had to run through the forest to escape them. The thorns ripped her to pieces and Dawn began to swear, extremely loudly, in several different languages and without repeating a single word. And all the time she had the bleating goat around her neck and a squawking goose in either hand! Then I saw that the farmer and his workers were laughing and they began to cheer her on. It took her fifteen minutes to outrun the dogs and get through the forest."
Buffy asked,
"But I thought you said she swore for something like twenty five minutes?"
Adanar began laughing hard,
"So I did. You see, she didn't realise that the goat was a male until she got back to the cave! That's when the swearing really became picturesque! You should have seen her face! I could not believe that her skin could change colour like that; red, purple, white."
They laughed along with him. Dawn stood in the kitchen doorway holding a tray of coffee and tea cups and reminded him sternly,
"Don't forget to tell them how good that damn beast tasted spit-roasted! Or that you laughed for the three days it took to dig all those thorns out of my hide."
Setting the tray down carefully, she gave the Ganaru a disgusted glance and muttered,
"I notice nothing has been mentioned of the time you almost got me killed in the Ring because of your insane sense of humour. Or have you forgotten the fat woman and the Natte sandworm?"
Adanar had the grace to blush a little before launching into that story also; a tale of how during one very dangerous match the sight of an extraordinarily obese Kridjatori woman wedged into a broken seat had distracted him from the attack of a huge sabre toothed worm and his laughter threatened to topple both he and Dawn from the precarious safety of a rock barely two foot square. This story led into a slew of remembrances from everyone present and they laughed and talked for hours in an atmosphere of cheerful good humour.
"I hope Dawn's decision to return to L.A and become one of the team hasn't hurt you too much Buffy?"
Angel had followed her into the kitchen in hopes of a private conversation. She added water to the coffee peculator before answering.
"Just a little. But I was kinda expecting it; she seems so comfortable here. The main thing is that she's here in this dimension where I can see her sometimes."
"You know we'll do our best to look after her?"
"She doesn't need looking after anymore. Besides; Spike's here."
That surprised him. It must have shown in his expression because the blond Slayer added,
"It's the one doubt I'll never have about Spike. He'd walk through fire without a moment's hesitation to save Dawnie from hurt of any kind. He was the same with mom. Both of them genuinely liked Spike; they enjoyed being around him. They never saw him as evil; he was just .. Spike, a friend who watched tv with them, loved mom's hot chocolate, told them hair raising stories they couldn't get enough of and kept them laughing. He's a good man, Angel. You should get to know him better."
Angel found himself with little to say and a lot to think about. He took the tray Buffy held out and carried it through to the living room. Had he been so busy feeling jealous of Spike that he hadn't noticed how the blond vamp had changed? He watched as Spike joked with Gunn, laughingly tormented Giles and Dawn and exchanged insults with Buffy. What was it about Spike that had Joyce accept him as a friend, un-souled, where she had only ever grudgingly accepted the souled Angel? Buffy had come close to loving him; had loved him on some level. Fred had seen, Buffy thought he was worth it! Maybe a new 'Angel Investigations' called for a new attitude towards Spike.
"Hey Red? 'Ave I grown an extra head or somethin'? The bloody Poof can't seem to take his eyes off me. Downright worryin' it is!"
Spike nudged Willow in the ribs as he complained. What was the bleeder's problem now? Was Angel all out of joint because of Buffy's ringing, if unexpected, praise? The praise he'd overheard and found so .. gratifying? The little witch studied Angel for a moment before leaning in to whisper into the blond vamp's ear. Angel missed hearing whatever she said but since it made Spike choke on his blood so that he laughed, coughed and sprayed it over the coffee table, he wondered if he really wanted to know.
A drowsy Dawn snuggled contentedly between Buffy and Giles, not wanting these moments to end but knowing she would need to go to bed soon. Happily, she knew that for tonight at least, there would be no nightmares to wake her. She was home, going to spend weeks with her sister and coming back to a new life; perhaps as dangerous as the one she had survived on a hell world, but one which would give her as many good memories as bad. As she drifted off, her head on Buffy's shoulder she decided, not as many but more.
A/N:
This was my first long fanfic and a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. I'm hoping to do another 'new' A.I. fic to follow on. I don't know if I would have finished this one without the great reviews I received. Thanks to everyone.
Especially for Katie, who kindly sent me a kind word after every chapter. Thanks a million, it made me want to keep going. I hope the ending doesn't disappoint and that the next one will be an improvement.
Janekle.
