Title: A Whitelighter's Priority
Author: rachelAbendstern
Summary: Dawn meets Phoebe
Spoilers: Season 6 Charmed; I forgot to mention BtVS last chapter, 'The Gift'
Disclaimer: Neither Buffy nor Charmed is mine, and I don't make any money with it. Lily though belongs to me XP
5. Encounters of the... Strange Kind
Schlägt Gefahr aus der Dunkelheit,
Bin ich zum ersten Schlag bereit.
Ich bin der erste, der dich befreit,
Und einer der letzten, der um dich weint.
Phoebe Halliwell was pacing to and fro in the hallway of the manor, impatiently waiting for her overdue Whitelighter.
The last three weeks had been incredibly strange and annoying for the witch and her sisters. Not only because their precious new Whitelighter found it unnecessary to appear when they called for him – oh, he did appear after a while and if they were really lucky he even managed to come in less than ten minutes – but her brother-in-law re-discovered his distrust to his junior angel and had begun to chase after him whereever Chris went.
It was quite frustrating to say the least for all sides involved, especially since the only thing Leo had managed so far was to catch Chris in the company of a demonic potions master. At least that episode had had its advantages. Apparently, their young Whitelighter had ordered some kind of empathy blocking potion which Leo begrudgingly distributed to Phoebe's sisters as soon as they got wind of it.
In all honesty, Phoebe didn't even care if Chris might had ordered the potion for his own use in the first place. Whatever secret he was keeping, they would find out eventually without her new gift. But if she had been able to read her siblings' emotions one more day, someone would certainly have been killed – and most likely it would have been her...
She simply wasn't made for keeping secrets and she couldn't just get not involved if she felt something was wrong.
As for today, actually she just needed a babysitter.
A few weeks ago she would never have even considered Chris as a possible babysitter for Wyatt, but – although she still had her doubts – she trusted her nephew's instinct and Wyatt hadn't had his shield up around Chris for some time now.
And since Piper and Paige were at the P3, Leo was currently unavailable for whatever reason he had to put his job once again before his family and Jason had phoned just a couple of minutes ago he was going to take her on another of his suprise trips, that left Wyatt without babysitter for the rest of the night. She dearly loved Jason but sometimes she wished he would tell her when he had planned something like this a bit more in advance.
"CHRIS!" She yelled in irritation one more time. If he didn't orb his skinny ass in there soon, Jason might catch him in the act so to speak. And they really didn't need that kind of attention.
She was just about ready to curse him into next week – literally – when she heard the familiar sound of orbs behind her.
"I'm here!" Chris' exasperated voice sounded even before he had fully materialized.
Turning around she caught sight not only of her rogue Whitelighter but also of a small teenage girl who stood partly behind Chris.
"Uh..." Phoebe pointed her fingers surprised at the girl who curiously raised her eyebrows in return. "Who's that?"
"Huh?" The young man who had looked at his charge expectantly turned around to where the woman was pointing. "Oh. That's Dawn. Dawn, Phoebe Halliwell; Phoebe, Dawn Summers."
The witch smiled uneasily at this introduction. Chris wasn't seriously taking a stranger to the manor, was he? Or perhaps... no, no way.
"Don't you think, she's a little young, Chris?" She stage-whispered through her strained smile, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"What?" Alternately looking at Dawn and Phoebe the Charmed One saw realization dawning on him. That reaction alone dissipated any ideas she had had about their relationship, but it still didn't explain exactly why Chris had brought her along.
"No!" The young man vehemently objected as her implications hit him. "God no! No offence Dawn."
The girl behind him snickered and stepped forward. "Non taken," she assured him amusedly. "His charges live with me in my sister's house." She explained to Phoebe while sticking her hand out for the witch to shake. "And since they are off having fun slaying, Chris was stuck with me."
Just then, the bell chimed and they could see the outline of a huge man standing outside through the colourful glass of the frontdoor.
"Oh, that's great," Phoebe waved her hands distractedly, her thoughts already with Jason as she was on her way to the door. "Then you can look after Wyatt, too. Baby food's in the kitchen, diapers in the nursery, baby asleep right now. Thanks."
"Whoa!" Chris stopped her from further advancing to the door after she already slipped on her jacket, his face contorted in an expression of obvious horror. "No, no, no. No way I'll babysit Wyatt!"
"Well, you babysit her!" The empath vigorously motioned to Dawn who looked on, rather enjoying herself.
"Yeah, that's because I have a crazy overprotective vampire on my tail if I don't!" Vampire! As soon as Phoebe was back, they'd really have to have a word with their young Whitelighter on his choice of friends!
She heard a light smack and looked back to see the teen draw her hand away from Chris' head, scolding him good naturedly. "Spike's not crazy!"
That statement however only earned her a glare from the boy and confusion on the witch's part.
Again, the bell rang so Phoebe decided to leave all issues for future dealing and finally opened the door.
"Hi, Jason!" She threw her love an unresistably sweet smile which quickly made the man focus his attention on her instead of the bewildering scene in front of him.
"We'll talk about this later!" The Charmed One promised darkly before linking her arm with Jason's and closing the door from behind, intend on enjoying herself, wherever it was they were headed to.
666
With noise of the lock snapping shut still ringing in the silence Chris threw his hands in the air in a mixture of anger, exasperation and disbelief.
"What is it with people today?" He asked no one in particular. "Why do I always get stuck babysitting? And where the hell is Leo!"
He was officially pissed now. And Dawn's gleeful snickering next to him didn't exactly help him calm down, either.
666
It was well past midnight when Spike barged his way into the Summers' house, still riled up from the fights of the night, yelling for the two he had left behind a few hours ago.
If a vampire could be giddy with joy then Spike was the happiest person alive... well undead, as a matter of fact, in this moment. But they couldn't. So, no, he wasn't almost bouncing on his feet with pent up energy. This house might have done a number on him already, but he hadn't sunken that deep – yet.
The kids had decided on a late night visit of the Bronze after they were done figthing for the night and since the vampire honestly didn't need to watch the two couples snogging their way into oblivion, he had opted for fetching the nibblet and future-boy and get them to play a few games of pool with him. It was the weekend after all and none of them had to get up early tomorrow.
His high spirits however sank when he realized that nobody was at home. Even with his vampire senses he couldn't pick up anything moving or breathing and although the lingering smell of all six youths permeated the air, it was at best one hour old. Looking into the living room he saw a mountain of books piling on the table with scraps of paper scattered around. Although he had no doubt that the boy watched out for the little bit, it didn't look like there had been a fight going on. So what the hell had happened?
Where were the two of them?
666
Loud and pitiful wailing disrupted the peace of the night and Dawn winced sympathatically for Chris, who currently held the source of the racket on his hip, trying to soothe the crying boy until his baby-milk was warm enough for him. It was a wonder her friend hadn't gone deaf yet, seeing as Wyatt all but yelled in his left ear.
She'd fallen asleep on a couch in the attic where Chris had been studying yet another tome he called 'Book of Shadows'. As far as the girl understood, it was a reference book on demons as well as charms, spells and potions written over generations by the family itself. Every new generation of Halliwell witches added their own experiences so to speak, it even had a mind of its own sometimes. Or so Chris had claimed.
It had been quiet and peaceful until the baby boy had decided to make his presence known and started crying so loud Dawn assumed the whole neighbourhood was able to hear him.
Finally though, the hollering came to an end when the halfbreed offered his big – well not so big right now – brother his bottle. Watching the child happily suckling his milk, the teen couldn't imagine that this adorable, helpless little fellow would grow up to be the Source of all Evil.
"He's so cute!" Dawn smiled at the boy who was now leaning his blonde head sleepily on Chris' shoulder, exhausted and still a bit red in his face from all his insistant crying, all the while never letting go of his bottle.
"Yeah," Chris agreed with a sad smile on his face, watching the little boy as well. "Do you know how strange this is, seeing him like that when he was always the older one; when the last thing I remember of him is... never mind."
Curious as she was, Dawn knew better than to push him. It was obviously a painful memory. The smile had vanished completely and Chris was staring off into space, propably replaying what he remembered inside his head.
"I have to find out what happened to him." His head was downcast now, face obscured by strands of brown hair and his voice was so quiet the girl could barely him. "I have to save him, Dawn. I couldn't bear..."
He didn't finish his thought but Dawn knew what he had wanted to say anyway. Her heart reaching out for him, she walked over to his dejected form and hugged him impulsively, mindful to not crush Wyatt in the process.
"You will do this, Chris!" She tried to comfort him. "I know you will. And we'll all help you, Spike, me and the others. I promise."
When she let go of him again, the witch looked up at her, a more cheerful smile grazing his lips this time.
"Thanks, Dawn."
And once more he was back to normal, none of the vulnerabilty he displayed only moments ago shining through now. If he didn't lower his masks around her once in a while, the girl wouldn't even know he had them.
Silently watching the two brothers, she noticed another thing.
"You handle the babysitting part quite well, you know. You don't seem to do this for the first time."
"Well," Chris began but then suddenly his eyes were going almost comically wide in shock at a realization Dawn couldn't even begin to fathom.
"Oh damn!" He swore loudly already standing up in haste and handing the infant over to the teen.
Wyatt as well as Dawn blinked up at him in confusion and he explained quickly. "I didn't leave Spike a message, he's propably going in circles right now! I'll be right back!"
Leaving no time for an argument the young man orbed out as soon as he stopped talking.
666
He was alarmingly right with his assumption.
Chris had about a second to witness Spike pacing in distress before the vampire rounded on him, agitation clearly visible.
"Where the bloody hell have you been! And where's the little bit!"
Holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender, the witch tried to pacify the raging vampire. So much for Spike not being crazy or overprotective...
"Calm down, Spike! Dawn's fine. I took her to the manor, when Phoebe called. She's babysitting Wyatt at this moment."
"You left her alone in another city!" And so much for his attempts at assuaging his undead companion.
"Spike!" He tried once more to reason with him, but the vampire interrupted him at once, grabbing his shoulders in a vice-like grip, his eyes flickering a dangerous yellow at his effort to reign in that demon part of his.
"You take me to her this instance!"
Heaving a loud sigh in defeat, Chris rubbed at his tired eyes. It was over time for this day to end.
666
It was over time for this day to end, Piper decided as she arrived home.
First there had been a problem with the electricity at the club which she barely managed to take care of before the P3 opened, and then the band for the night had canceled for whatever reason so she had to organize something different in less than four frigging hours. And to tip it all off, now there was a stranger standing in the middle of her hallway with her baby boy in her arms, staring at her like a deer caught in headlights. Granted, the girl didn't look dangerous, but what other explanation was there for her to even be in the house if she wasn't some kind of demon. And where in heaven's name was her middle sister!
The combination of an already crappy day and this new surprise at – what time was it again? - half past one in the morning didn't go well with her temper so she exploded: "Who the hell are you! And what are you doing with my son!"
The eldest Halliwell wouldn't have trusted herself to not use her powers if the girl didn't hold onto Wyatt. To her surprise though, the brunette stranger got over her shock pretty quickly and moved towards her, handing the infant over to his mother without resistance.
"You're his mom, Piper, aren't you?" She asked a bit hesitantly. "I'm a friend of Chris'."
"Ah, she's right, Piper!" An equally hesitant and slightly apologetic voice behind her sounded just then. So there was Poebe. "Don't blow her up."
Turning around, she caught sight not only of Paige, who had closed the car for her and was now curiously watching the whole scene from the doorway, but also their other sister, who was supposedly looking after Wyatt while they were at the club.
Cringing at Piper's stern glare, Phoebe was quick to give an explanation: "Well, Jason called and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I only had a few minutes left, so I called for Chris..."
"And where exactly is Chris now?" Her older sister asked, doing her best at trying to keep her calm. When the empath didn't answer, she turned back to the girl who was looking at her kind of guiltily. Not wasting another minute Piper called for her aggravating Whitelighter. "CHRIS!"
Not even a second after her yell white blue orbs appeared next to the strange girl.
"Wow, that was fast!" She heard her youngest sister commenting in amazement.
But Chris didn't come alone. There was another stranger standing beside him. A tall stranger, clad in black clothes and a black duster, with bleached blonde hair, yellow eyes and fangs.
Tbc
A/N: I'm evil, I know lol
Actually I didn't plan to end the chapter here, but I didn't find more time, so deal with it XD At least, exams are finally over!
Do you know what it's like to have a scene in your head and are not able to write it yet, because it doesn't fit in? That's the problem I have at the moment. I know how the story will go on but I don't know yet how to get there. But don't worry, I'll find a way ;)
Actually this story was supposed to be a lot darker than it is right now. Must be the weather shrug Spring's in the air, just in time for easter as well. But it will get darker, so beware.
Enough babbling for now.
Here's the translation for the beginning (another part of 'Und wenn ein Lied' by Soehne Mannheims):
If there's danger ahead in the darkness,
I'm willing to make the first strike.
I'm the first one to set you free
And one of the last to mourn for you.
Reviews:
Lonnie: I know, hehehe. Just like now, I guess ;)
phoebe turner: Thanks a lot. I updated :)
Leigh 1986: I didn't mean I won't update, only that the chapters are going to be shorter fora while. I do need the distraction when my head steams from all this medicine and maths ;) And about Spike, of course I don't mind refreshing your memory (but I'm not as firm as some others, I haven't watched the show for ages): Spike is a bad guy in the beginning. Somewhere along the way he's been caught by some government group called the initiative, which catches demons, studies them and other evil government stuff... So, they put this chip in Spike's head that zips him with electric jolts whenever he hurts a human but not demons. He's able to flee, seeks refuge at the Slayer's - though I can't imagine why he did that - and ends up helping them. He grows to like Dawn and love Buffy. In later seasons, he even regains his soul, thoughI didn't see those episodes. And yes, I do know that he is totally out of character, but this is fanfiction after all ;) I just thought that Chris had so much darkness in him that he would get along quite well with Spike -I did say that the story didn't turn out as dark as it was supposed to ; Anyway, thanks.
Mae: Well here's more :) Thanks for the rev, hope you like it.
Oh, Stony Angel pointed something out to me: I didn't explicitly say that Chris told Dawn and co. which family he comes from in 3. chapter, so please just pretend he did it anyway :)
If I forgot anyone, let me know, please.
The same goes for questions, remarks and if I explained anything wrong.
See ya next week ;)