They had finally made it past the awkward silence stage after Caddie innocently asked Hank what Buffy had been like as a child. That set off a nostalgic monologue that had Buffy and Dawn rolling their eyes and Caddie and Micah giggling in disbelief.
"You know, it really is a shame Angel couldn't make it," Hank said as they sat at the outdoor table on his back porch. "I'm sure he could tell some stories about when you were dating, huh?"
Buffy looked away. "Yeah. Well, we had a…interesting relationship."
"Like, they tried to stay away from each other and then he broke up with her 'for her own good,' but obviously that didn't work," Dawn said around a full mouth.
"Dawnie!" Buffy hissed, kicking her under the table. She looked up at her father. "Angel decided to stay with Spike."
"Your friend who got hit by a car," Hank said, nodding. "How is he doing?"
Buffy sighed. "Not much better, I'm afraid."
Suddenly Micah sat up, sniffing curiously. Caddie, noticing her sister's interest, scented the air. "Is someone else coming, too?" she asked naively.
"Uh, no. No… what are they talking about?" Hank asked, suddenly looking nervous.
Buffy was on her feet in a flash when the first black-clad assailant entered the yard. She jumped up onto the table, scattering condiments, and launched herself into an impressive spinning kick that connected with enough force to bowl the attacker over.
"Dawn! Get them out of here!" Buffy yelled. Caddie fled to Dawn's side, aware that she would be useless in a fight. Micah, however, bared her fangs and moved to help her mother.
Dawn grabbed Caddie's arm and ran around the side of the house, her mind racing. She needed a phone. She needed to call Angel. She skidded to a halt when she caught sight of more SWAT look-alikes. They ducked behind a bush, trying to make themselves as small as possible.
"Dawnie! Over here!" Dawn cast around and saw Hank waving at her. "Come on, hurry!"
Dawn tensed in preparation to dash over to her father.
"No! Dawn, wait!" She looked over her shoulder and saw Spike standing on the sidewalk looking like death warmed over. "Over here, with me!"
"Dawn, hurry!" Hank called again.
"Don't go with him, bit," Spike said. He held his side and winced. "He's trying to take the girls away!"
Dawn turned horrified eyes to her father, who shook his head. "He's lying, Dawnie! I'd never do anything to hurt you!"
"Dawn, trust me," Spike pleaded.
That did it. Dawn, still gripping Caddie's arm, raced across the lawn towards Spike. She screamed as two of Wolfram & Hart's retrieval team converged on them, but Giles appeared wielding a long wooden stick. He swung it with all his strength, and when it connected with the first henchman, the man screamed and fell to the ground, twitching. Giles lashed out at the second, easily felling him.
"I believe we should vacate the premises," he said, handing Dawn another of the magical shock sticks.
Buffy had felt more relief than surprise when Angel barreled into the fray, snarling like Angelus unchained. When she saw the fury in his eyes, she realized that just might be the truth. She ducked under a punch and couldn't spare her husband any more attention.
Micah moved like smoke and water. She had been bred to kill and from birth that's all she had been trained for. But she was young and small, and a single blow, if it landed, was enough to knock her off her feet. She rolled across the grass, ignoring her split lip, and launched herself back at the one who had struck her. She kicked his leg out from under him, forcing him to go down on one knee, and dragged her knife across his throat. Blood sprayed across her face, a horrible contrast to her pale skin and purple bruises.
The smell of blood overwhelmed her, awakening a feral instinct she didn't know she had. With a scream like an angry cougar, she leapt at the next attacker, her knife swinging in a deadly arc. The henchman lifted his weapon almost casually and discharged a jolt of electricity enough to knock a grown man off his feet. Micah dropped to the ground, temporarily stunned. The henchman knelt, pulling restraints from his belt, only to have his skull crushed when Buffy kicked his helmet in.
The Fey child scrambled to her feet, nodding to assure her mother she was okay. Then she caught sight of the traitor; the man who lured them into this trap. Micah screamed again, this time in rage, and bounded across the yard. Hank saw her coming and tried to ward her off, but her momentum knocked them both to the ground.
"How could you do this?" she hissed as they struggled. "How could you betray Mother?"
Hank managed to toss her away and got to her feet. "You wouldn't understand," he snapped at her.
"I don't need to," Micah replied. Her hand flashed out, and Hank's expression twisted into confusion. He reached up with both hands to grip the knife handle protruding from under his collarbone. He gave a strange squeak and coughed, blood pouring down his chin. He sank first to his knees, and then he toppled forward onto the grass.
Micah stood panting, staring at the body of her grandfather. She noticed that the sounds of struggle had faded and she looked up to see her parents watching her with mixed expressions. Buffy was shocked, unable to accept the fact that her daughter had just killed her father. Angel's expression was harder to read, but Micah thought she saw approval in those dark eyes. Then Angel turned and walked away.
*****
Dawn had cried herself to sleep in Spike's arms and Caddie wouldn't let Buffy out of her sight. Micah refused to speak to anyone and remained curled up on the couch until long past midnight. Then she crept up the stairs and peeked into the room she shared with her sister.
Buffy lay on the bed next to Caddie, who was sleeping fitfully, whimpering in her dreams. Micah pushed the door open and Buffy glanced up, their eyes meeting. They looked at each other in silence until Micah finally spoke.
"Do you hate me?" she asked simply.
Buffy shook her head. "I could never hate you, Micah."
"I killed your father," she said bluntly.
"He was trying to take you and Caddie away from me," Buffy replied with a cold glint in her eye. "No one does that and survives."
"Does Father hate me?" Micah asked, approaching the bed. Buffy sat up, her brow furrowed.
"Why do you ask?" she demanded.
"He left," Micah said, putting her head on Buffy's shoulder. "He hasn't come back."
Buffy sighed. She wasn't sure where Angel had gone, or how long he would be. He had said nothing to her before walking away from the battlefield, but the demon in his eyes made her worry. Not, of course, that she would tell Micah that.
"Your dad has things he needs to take care of," Buffy said softly, hugging Micah close to her. "He'll be back soon. What you did has nothing to do with it."
"Sometimes I think I frighten him," Micah whispered. "Sometimes I think he doesn't love me as much as he loves Caddie."
"That's not true," Buffy said fiercely. "He loves you both very much. He just doesn't understand you as well as I do. Give him time."
Micah blinked against the tears pooling in her pale eyes. "Did I do the right thing?" she asked plaintively. Buffy rested her cheek against Micah's black hair.
"You did what you had to do," she replied, knowing the hollow comfort of her words.
*****
Angelus stood on the sidewalk, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. Across the street, the skyscraper windows were aglow, showing people moving back and forth, going about their business. Angelus's eyes moved across the building and down to the sign in front.
"Wolfram & Hart. Attorneys at Law."