A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I wasn't sure where I was taking this chapter so I have been working on it for a while. Another fairly long one. Many thanks to Kitty and Broken-Sunrise for reviewing...I was disappointed that I didn't get more though. I know there are people reading this that don't bother reviewing coughFREDcough so I would really appreciate it. This chapter is mostly fluff. Fluff is fun. So please review and just let me know what you think of this story so far. Thanks so much! And I'll try to update again soon.

Chapter 2: Destination: Rome

"Seriously, it was like this entire hotel was in on a conspiracy to stop me from getting to your room," Dawn complained as she and Connor descended the hotel stairs the next morning.

Connor smiled, trying not to laugh. "Well maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Don't worry, we'll have our night." They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and he kissed her softly.

"You might not want to do that. I have morning breath and no toothbrush," Dawn said, wrinkling her nose.

This time he couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay. You still look beautiful."

"Well if Cordy hadn't brought over some shampoo, that would be a much different story," she insisted.

"Good morning," Buffy said, coming down the stairs just behind them. "Is everyone up? I'm calling a meeting."

"I think just about," Connor said. "Faith went to the hospital to check everyone out."

Buffy nodded. "Good. We need to make a plan."

"Good morning," Angel said, emerging from his office. "Everyone sleep well?"

Oh my God. Am I being paranoid, or did he just look right at me and Connor? "Yeah, fine," Dawn asked suspiciously. Did Buffy tell him?

"What's the plan for today?" Angel said to Buffy.

"I'm hoping to figure that out. Hey guys," Buffy said as Willow and Kennedy came down the stairs, followed by some more potentials. Err, slayers.

"Morning. Xander went out for donuts. He'll be back," Willow said.

"Okay. Where's Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Present," he chirped, entering the front door with a newspaper in his hand.

"So what are they saying about good old Sunnydale?" Buffy said, on the same wavelength.

"Massive earthquake, apparently," Giles said. He held up the cover. EARTHQUAKE DESTROYS CALIFORNIA TOWN read the headline. Below was a picture of the crater.

"As usual, they come up with a perfectly normal explanation for everything," Willow chimed in. "Remember all the excuses the police used to come up with back in high school?"

"Oh yeah. Gas leak, sewer backup," Buffy said with a smile. "But we knew what was really going on."

"I come bearing food," Xander said, entering the hotel holding a box from Krispy Kreme.

"Ooh, yum," Dawn said, rushing over to grab a donut, Connor close behind.

"Okay, everyone, I'd like to talk about what we're going to do today," Buffy said, speaking loudly. Everyone pretty much stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

Angel watched with a smile as the room fell under Buffy's spell. She was such a natural leader.

"Well I know that everyone wants new stuff, so I guess we can go shopping. But keep in mind that the only money we have is whatever you had with you. We can take the bus for now. And then tonight when Faith and everyone are here we can discuss where we are going to go from here. Okay?" Buffy asked.

Willow nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Buffy smiled at her. "Okay. Well then, everyone get something to eat, and we'll meet outside on the bus in fifteen."

"Buffy, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone," Angel said quietly.

"Sure," Buffy said, following him to his office. She closed the door behind them as he went over to his desk and opened a drawer.

"I want you to take this, with no questions asked," Angel said, handing her an envelope.

Buffy looked up at him quizzically. She opened it and her mouth fell open. "Oh, Angel, I can't accept this," she said, closing it up.

"No, I insist. You guys were left with practically nothing, and I want to help. Believe me, I can afford it," Angel said quietly.

"But Angel, there must be..."

"Please, just take it. I want you, Dawn, and Connor to have a new life. Without any worries," Angel insisted.

Buffy looked at him. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

"You don't have to."

Against her better judgement, she took a step closer to him. "Angel...thank you."

He felt his body tense as she moved closer. "Don't mention it..." Before they realized what was happening their lips were only inches apart...

They broke apart at the sound of a loud crash from the lobby. Buffy closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it was mutual," Angel said, forcing himself to move away. "What happened?" he said, entering the lobby.

Vi looked up at him, her eyes very wide. Two of the other potentials were staring at colored glass fragments on the floor. "I-I'm sorry, we bumped into it-"

"Please tell me that's not..." Angel moved to get a closer look and sighed. "That vase is...was from 18th century China." He closed his eyes and leaned over to whisper to Buffy. "What was that you said earlier? About where you are going from here?" he said, trying to remain calm. He had really liked that vase.

Buffy smiled sympathetically, her mind still on their near-kiss. "Soon. I promise."

Dawn smiled contentedly as she and Connor lugged their shopping bags to a bench in the mall. "I feel much better now," she said. "Your dad is so awesome. Giving Buffy that money..."

"Yeah, that was pretty nice," Connor said, not quite ready to call his father 'awesome' just yet.

"Connor, just think about it! We have all new stuff. We can go wherever we want and find a nice place to live. This is going to be another new beginning for us!" she said excitedly.

"I know baby," he said, kissing her. "Well, it's almost time to meet everyone. Here's the drug store, we need to get some stuff there."

Dawn smiled, an idea coming to her. "Yeah...you know what? I'll meet you there. I just have to make one more stop." She picked up her bags.

"I can come," Connor offered.

"No. It's a surprise. I won't be long, just get started in the drug store and I'll meet you." She gave him a quick peck before running off.

Connor smiled after her, wondering what the surprise could be.

Dawn was grinning as she hurried down the mall, back to the store that had caught her eye earlier. She knew that it might be a while before she and Connor got some alone time, but she wanted to be ready when they did. Still smiling, she entered Victoria's Secret.

Connor moved around the drug store, picking up the essentials: toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shampoo. He knew there was one other thing he had to get, but honestly, he was a little embarrassed. The store was pretty crowded, and he had spotted some of the potentials in here. What if one of them saw him buying condoms?

He finally decided to just go for it. He hurried down the aisle and grabbed the first box he saw, looking furtively around to make sure no one had seen him.

"You do realize that the cashier is going to see those, don't you?" came a voice from behind him. He jumped a mile, and spun around to see Dawn grinning back at him.

"Don't do that," he said quietly.

Dawn laughed. "Sorry. I saw how nervous you looked and I just couldn't help myself."

"Don't you have stuff to buy?" Connor said.

"Yeah. Meet you outside?" she said, giving him a kiss.

"Okay," he said. "Wait! Aren't you going to come check out with me?" He looked down at the box in his hand and back at her.

She laughed. "Sorry, you're on your own." Then she sauntered down the aisle, leaving him to chuckle and shake his head.

"So, was it that bad?" Dawn asked him teasingly as they boarded the Sunnydale High School bus outside the mall a little later.

"No. The cashier didn't say anything," Connor said, feeling quite silly for how he had acted before.

"See? It's not like you're the first guy to ever buy condoms in there," Dawn whispered.

They had taken their same seat at the back of the bus. Buffy was the last to board, carrying her own shopping bags and nodding to Giles to start driving. She made her way to the back of the bus as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"So how did you do?" Buffy asked, taking the seat across from them.

"Excellent. Great sales," Dawn commented.

Buffy nodded. "I have to show you something." She rummaged through her bag, finally pulling out...a book. An English to Italian dictionary to be exact.

"Well I have to say, not exactly what I expected. Boots, maybe. Cute bag, maybe. A book? Never," Dawn teased.

Buffy gave her a Look. "But this is going to be the key to our new future."

"You want to move to Italy?" Connor questioned.

Buffy smiled. "I don't know. I've always wanted to go there. And in a big city like Rome there are bound to be lots of new slayers."

Dawn considered the idea. "Rome...it does sound pretty exciting. Cept for the fact that none of us speaks a word of Italian."

"Hence the bookage," Buffy explained. "How hard can it be? Guys, I want a fresh start. For the first time in my life I have the chance to do pretty much whatever I want. And I don't want to waste it. If we are going to move, I say we don't do it halfway. We deserve to go somewhere beautiful and exotic like Rome. Settle down, visit all the cheesy tourist traps. And train slayers to boot. So what do you say?"

Dawn looked at Connor. "I say you make it sound pretty good. Hey, maybe you could get a job as a travel agent!"

Buffy laughed. "Well I'm glad you're in. Connor, what about you?"

He squeezed Dawn's hand. "Wherever Dawn is is where I want to be."

"Aww," Dawn said, leaning over to give him a kiss.

Buffy couldn't help but smile at the very romantic if a little cheesy comment. Her thoughts uncontrollably drifted back to the near-kiss between herself and Angel this morning...She shook the thoughts from her head. "You can't go there," she hissed to herself.

"Buffy? Did you say something?" Dawn said, breaking away from the kiss.

She forced herself to smile. "No."

"So I guess what I am trying to say is that everyone gets to make a choice. Again," Buffy said with a wry smile. Everyone laughed. It had been proven that Buffy's motivational speeches weren't confined to Sunnydale.

"Anyone that wants to come to Rome with Dawn, Connor, and I is welcome. If you want to go home? I suppose you can. But we have to know where to reach you in case of emergency. You girls are trained, and you proved that yesterday. But now there are more girls out there that are just like you, and they need our help," she concluded. "So I guess we can stay here for a couple more days until everyone figures out where they're going. Then it's a new beginning."

Dawn and Connor stood off to the side as all of the slayers looked at each other, probably all trying to figure out where they were going now. She noticed a sad look on Xander's face. He was probably sad that they seemed to be preparing to split up, especially after the death of Anya less than 48 hours ago. She made a mental note to herself to talk to Buffy about inviting Xander personally to join them in Rome.

"So, Rome huh," Angel said, approaching the couple as the little meeting started to dissipate.

"Yeah," Dawn said. "It's exciting. A little nerve-wracking, but exciting."

"For what it's worth, I'll miss you. All three of you," Angel said quietly, his gaze focused on Buffy, who was talking to Giles across the lobby. He peeled his eyes away and tried to focus on his son. "But you know that you're always welcome here."

"I know," Connor replied.

Angel nodded at him. There was a brief awkward silence.

"Well I'm going to go up to my room and admire all my new stuff," Dawn said with a laugh, breaking the silence.

Angel smiled at her. "That's good."

Dawn looked at Connor, wanting to say something about him coming up to her room with her, but Angel's comment earlier that day about 'sleeping well' repeated in her brain and she decided against it. "I'll see you later," she said, squeezing his hand before picking up her shopping bags.

Connor watched her go with a smile on his face. "So, everything's good with you and Dawn," Angel said, attempting to make conversation.

Connor looked at him suspiciously. "Of course it is. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just nice to see you so happy," Angel said sincerely.

"We are. Happy," he said awkwardly.

"That's all I want," Angel replied simply. "That's all I've ever wanted, was for you to be happy."

"I know," Connor said, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

Angel nodded. "Well, good night. Let me know if you need anything." He turned and walked back to his office.

Connor stood there, looking around at everyone. Months ago, when he had moved to Sunnydale with Dawn, he had thought that would be a fresh start. In some ways it had been, but in others they had just been swept into a whirlwind of evil and chaos. Hopefully things would really be changing for the better now. "Rome, here we come," he said under his breath.

TBC...PLEASE REVIEW!