Chapter 13

Source of Lies

"Buffy!" I can't believe you're here! I thought you were headed strait back to Rome after Xander's party."

"I decided I wanted to spend more time with my baby sister. Well, are you going to invite me in?" Buffy looked around the cluttered yet neat room and smiled at its reflection of who her sister was. Complicated, yet together. She had grown up a lot over this last year.

Buffy hated being here under false pretenses. After Willow had finally told her about what she gathered through her 'connection to all things' dealy - that she sensed an evil of some sort, coming from the area of the school. However, Willow also said it wasn't necessarily any more evil than other parts of the world - evil was everywhere. However, being her neurotic self, she had become concerned once again, and decided to check up on Dawn, and perhaps scope out this Connor guy some more.

"So, what do you think? You like?" Buffy walked over and picked up a framed picture by her bed of the two of them together with her mother. They both new the picture wasn't real except in their memories, but it didn't matter. It was the only picture of them that had survived the destruction of Sunnydale, and that was only because this copy had been at their father's. Next to it sat a picture of the family; Dawn, Xander, Willow, Giles, and herself, taken after the averted apocalypse that had destroyed the town of Sunnydale and closed the Hellmouth below it. The picture beside that one was of Dawn and Connor. It was a candid shot they obviously took themselves that radiated of a shared love.

"This is a great picture of the two of you. You both look really happy."

Dawn pulled Buffy down to sit next to her on the bed, and put her arms around her. "You know, you're not dead. Well, this time anyway. You can still have that life if you just let yourself. I mean, sure you're all old and stuff, but there's still some life left in you. I know it."

"Thanks a lot, I'm definitely feeling better now." Buffy dabbed at a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. "So, do you and Connor have plans tonight?"

"Nothing that can't include you."

"Promise I won't be the third wheel? 'Cause I didn't much like being the fifth wheel and I figure it's not much better being the third."

"You won't. Come out with us tonight, please…I know he'd like to see you again."

Buffy considered this proposal. She had intended on breaking into Connor's room to search for incriminating information on him. Knowing Dawn and he would be out together would certainly help her in this endeavor. But she also hated letting Dawn down and figured there would be another window of opportunity, as Buffy wasn't leaving Dawn until she was certain Connor was on the up and up. So she would just have to look at this outing as another chance to interrogate him face to face and put the fear of God into him that if he hurt her she would have to kill him. So all in all it seemed a win.

"Alright, just tell me what to wear."