Chapter 7

A/N: I know, I know. It took me forever to write this. Lack of inspiration, tons of work, illness, and the like have taken a toll on my creativity. I was suffering from severe writer's block. I hope you guys aren't giving up on me because I'm still working on this. Please send reviews!

Chapter 7

After Dawn began to sing, the income of the coffee shop nearly tripled. Dawn's belly began to expand over the weeks. It was clear that Blaze knew she was with child, yet they were still dating. Blackheart and Dawn had entered an uneasy truce for the moment. They did spend some time outside of work together, but they always carefully chose their topics of discussion. Dawn was getting increasingly anxious about her baby, however, and it was through that anxiety that the wall between them finally broke down. The first incident was when Dawn fainted at work.

She'd been getting ready to retrieve a tray of coffee cups when she suddenly turned gray and fell over. Blackheart stopped right in the middle of filling one of the coffee cups and ran over to her. Carefully, he turned her over. Dawn's eyelids fluttered.

"What happened?" she choked out.

"You passed out," he said, carefully easing her into a sitting position, "maybe you should go home."

"I can't," she sighed, "I can't afford it."

"You have to," he insisted.

"You don't understand," Dawn protested, "I haven't had enough to pay the rent this month because my landlord raised it. Pam can't let me stay with her because she's got things going on."

"Then you can stay with me."

Dawn stared at him, open-mouthed.

"I couldn't-"

He cut her off with a raised hand.

"I mean it."

Dawn slowly eased herself to her feet and went to sit down and recover her strength. Blackheart knew the crap was about to hit the fan when Yorke approached her.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that? We're losing male customers because of your big belly!"

"I can't help that," Dawn snarled.

Squishie stepped between Dawn and Yorke, snarling defensively.

"You know what? It will be a blessing to not work under you anymore," Dawn said, scooping Squishie up, "I've hated your guts from the minute I applied here. I'm tired of you always making passes at me. I'm out of here."

She turned to Blackheart.

"I need some help packing up."

Then, she left.

Yorke stared Blackheart down, daring him to say something. Ordinarily, Blackheart would have punched the man across the room. If he'd had his demonic powers, he'd have frozen him.

I need this lousy job. I have to support Dawn now. Wait-how in the Hell did I get into this mess?

He simply went back to filling orders and knew he'd have to get a better job if he wanted to help Dawn.

He sighed. It was hard enough to get this job.

As if that weren't bad enough, a note from his father appeared on the counter when Yorke went back to his office.

Congratulations. You learned to care for somebody other than yourself. When your shift is over, go and help Dawn pack. Then, when you get her moved in, there will be an application for a job that even you couldn't mess up.

PS.

Watch out for Blaze. I think he's beginning to suspect something.

Blackheart crammed the note into his pocket just as none other than Johnny Blaze himself approached the counter. The two locked eyes for a moment.

"I could swear I know you," Blaze muttered, "you look so familiar."

Blackheart chuckled nervously.

"I get that a lot," he said uneasily.

"Daemon. That's a really unusual name."

Blackheart busied himself with straightening a stack of cups. He wished Blaze would leave him alone.

"You're good friends with Dawn, right?"

Blackheart resisted the urge to smack his forehead.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Nothing more?"

Blackheart felt a strange pang in his gut.

"Why?" he asked, his voice hardening slightly.

"Because you know her better than I probably do. Who's baby is she carrying?"

Yikes! Where did that come from?

"Why don't you ask her?"

It was getting harder to control himself. He could tell that Blaze was baiting him, testing him.

Blaze's gaze hardened and Blackheart's stomach went cold as the Arctic. The steely glint of recognition suddenly graced his features.

"Who knew?" He suddenly began to laugh, a rough, maddening laugh.

Blackheart stared, not knowing if he should attack Blaze, run, or play dumb.

"The son of the devil works in a coffee shop!" Blaze held onto the counter now, trying to recompose himself.

"I knew I'd recognized those eyes from somewhere. What happened? Did Daddy cut off your inheritance?"

Blackheart's gaze soured.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

It was too late. The anger had flickered across his features briefly, but Blaze had seen it.

"He did, didn't he? That means I could kill you, you sorry son of a bitch!"

Blackheart backed away out of instinct as Blaze's anger took over.

"You took everything from me! You and your sorry father! I lost my dad, my friends, and the one person I ever loved because of YOU!"

The other customers were beginning to stare.

"It's not my fault that my father sent you after me," Blackheart retorted, "he obviously didn't feel he had the strength to do it himself. Do yourself a favor, Blaze. Get the Hell out of my life and get the Hell out of Dawn's. And just in case you forgot, I had nothing to do with the contract you signed with my father. Blaming me for this crap isn't going to make your life any better."

Blaze could only stare in disbelief. The little runt had matured a lot...he could still see the cool demeanor of the demon there, but he could see a difference in his eyes. They were somehow older. And there was something else.

"No powers, huh? You finally made him that mad?"

Blackheart saw no point in lying. Slowly, the other customers went back to their eating, drinking, and chatting.

"Yes. I've been made human. If you kill me, you'll actually be doing me a favor."

"Not so easy, is it?"

Blaze chuckled uneasily. He and Blackheart sized each other up for a moment. Seeing that he could tear through Blackheart like a wet paper sack, he decided against doing anything. The Ghost Rider in him could sense the lack of demonic power, therefore he was no longer a threat.

"Who's kid?" he asked again.

The last of the customers meandered out and Blackheart turned the "OPEN" sign to "CLOSED".

"I don't know. She was raped in an alley. She didn't want to hurt the kid. I don't know if she plans on keeping it or not."

Something in Blaze's hardened, suspicious features softened slightly.

"You care about her."

Blackheart was putting the chairs upside down on the tables so that Linda could mop the floor. His back was turned to Blaze, so the Ghost Rider didn't see Blackheart's face twitch violently.

Yes. He did. In his own twisted way, he admitted deep down that he was attracted to Dawn.

"That's what I thought."

Blaze left.

Blackheart watched his retreating leather jacket, the bile rising in his throat. What on earth had just happened? His legs felt like water and the coffee shop suddenly seemed too small and too stuffy. He gratefully left, embracing the fresh cool air. He'd thought for sure he was going to be road kill when Blaze had finally figured out who he was. The realization of just how close he'd come made him break out into a sweat. Slightly dizzy, he made his way to Dawn's apartment. Maybe helping her would make him forget. He couldn't believe how quickly things had changed.

Images he never thought he'd see danced in his head. He suddenly had the desire to take Dawn into his arms and...

And what?

The question was quickly answered when he saw a young couple sitting on a bench. The man had taken the woman's hand in his and was kissing her rather passionately. There was a flush on both of their cheeks. He continued to walk, feeling a little guilty and not knowing why. The image of Dawn pressed close to his body in a tight embrace was enough to bring a slight sheen of color to his pale cheeks. The thought of her rosy red lips against his own stirred a strange heat in his abdomen. Emotions he didn't know he possessed flickered to life at the base of his brain. Desires, both good and sinful, rose with them. By the time he entered the familiar building, he was feeling decidedly strange. Shoving all that to the back of his mind, he drew a deep breath and knocked on the door. Squishie's noisy bark followed by footsteps confirmed that Dawn was home and she was on her way.

"Hey."

Dawn looked worse than he'd ever seen her. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked very disheveled and exhausted.

"What happened?"

Before Blackheart had even quite formed the second word, she'd buried her face in his shoulder.

"Johnny broke up with me. He said he just didn't think he was the right one for me."

Blackheart's strong arms wrapped around her waist. He could feel her swollen abdomen against his own stomach and a fluttering sensation got his attention. Dawn smiled faintly at his surprise.

"The baby kicked."

She took his hand and placed it over the curve of her belly. He felt another jiggle beneath her warm skin.

"I haven't asked for the gender of it yet. I'm going to ask tomorrow."

As they moved the last of the boxes out, Blackheart was deep in thought. Really, the thought fascinated him. There were two souls in one body. There would be a tiny life in a couple of months, wiggling, moving, and breathing in its own small body. And right now, Dawn was keeping it safe. He'd never really been around any babies because it was impossible for a baby to be sent to Hell.

"Thanks for helping me," Dawn panted, flopping over on the couch, "I'm so tired."

Squishie jumped up on the couch beside her master and gave her a consoling lick. Dawn rubbed behind her ears and kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you, Squishie," she mumbled, "at least I know you don't blame me for anything that's happened."

The radio was on. Blackheart was trying to figure out sleeping arrangements when a love song began to play. Dawn picked Squishie up and started dancing in little circles with her. After Squishie had decided that she'd had enough, Dawn put her down.

How she ended up dancing with him, she did not know. She wasn't even aware of it until his face inched closer and closer to hers. She could feel his breath mingling with hers. The air between them felt charged with electricity.

Slowly, his mouth descended upon hers. Instinctively, her arms tightened around him. He returned the pressure. His actions questioned her and she gave him permission to deepen the kiss. Squishie jealously scratched at both their legs, nipping at them to try and get their attention. Ignoring the dog, they broke the kiss. Dark earthen brown eyes met cool, icy blue.

"I think we just ruined our friendship," Dawn commented breathlessly.

"You think too much anyway."

He kissed her again, the curiosity and the passion growing.