DISCLAIMER: My surname is not Whedon, if it were there would be a most excellent monster crossover in the works in which the Fang Gang, Scoobies, Browncoats and Evil League of Evil all meet- hilarity would ensue. Coincidentally Kennedy would also not exist.

Chapter Seven- You WHAT?

***

The scenery out the window moulded together to form some kind of abstract painting before her eyes. It may be making her nauseous but it was better than staring at the dank interior of the taxi. Her eyes trailed over to her sister for the tenth time in as many minutes, her posture was perfect as always, her face firm, unemotional, her eyes cold, her hair pulled back in a pony tail. The only sign that she was not as cool and collected as she seemed were the bitten down nails on her hands, a stress habit she had never truly kicked. Dawn's gaze lingered, staring at her temple wondering just what exactly was going through her mind. Her mouth started to open, a question forming in her mind.

"Don't"

Dawn's mouth snapped shut; she didn't want to insult her sister's intelligence by feigning ignorance as to what she meant. Instead she turned her head and once again stared out the window, the imagery no longer blurring as the car came to a stop outside the building that currently housed the fang gang. She paid the driver with a mumbled thanks, joining Buffy on the sidewalk, her arms were wrapped around herself and her eyes were closed.

"He's nervous"

Her eyes opened, arms dropping to her sides.

"Buffy? Go easy on him, please?"

A shadow of a smile crossed the slayer's face.

"Dawnie, it's been almost two years, I'm fine."

Following after her sister, Dawn sighed, grumbling under her breath.

"I know that, I'm just not sure he'll be."

***

Dawn stared at her sister who was leaning against the door jamb with ease, despite the fact Illyria was standing in front of her and staring, her head cocked to the left.

"Oh yeah, you're the epitome of fine, last time I checked people that are fine don't greet each other with fists!" She snapped, holding the icepack against Angel's jaw which had swelled slightly from the force of the punch. Buffy shrugged, her knuckles aching slightly from colliding with bone. Gunn had opened the door surprised to find two females instead of the ordered one and before Angel had even whispered her name her fist had been in his face, her leg spinning around to take out Spike. Illyria had jumped to his defence; apparently she didn't like other people playing with her things. Gunn had found all of this highly amusing, still did judging by the sniggers that could be heard from the lounge where he was reading.

"Not even a kiss hello?"

Her heel had caught his nose breaking it, his accent even heavier because of it.

"What's the big; demons, vamps, ritualistic killers, hell gods, evil guinea pigs?"

Dawn scowled at her sister, always on the defensive, Angel pulled away from the ice, stretching his jaw tenderly trying not to show his discomfort.

"Evil minion from hell trying to end the world by Tuesday; just need to know if it's all talk and no fire. Gunn's got the specs of the demon, Dawnie?" Angel asked this hopefully, the slight begging in his eyes probing at her. She had seen that look before, had lived with it her whole life actually. She shook her hair back from her face and pulled on her vest, one eye brow raised.

"Just call me Giles junior." She sighed quietly pausing before she moved further "Just, try not to kill, maim, torture or physically abuse each other." She bit her lip gazing at her sister. "Please?"

"Don't worry about us Little Bit, there's a fine line between pleasure and pain." Spike looked over Buffy appreciatively, something that did not go by unnoticed by Angel or Dawn whose face tightened, her fingers reflexively feeling for the stake stashed in her jacket sleeve.

"Dawn, go."

Buffy still had her commander voice and was not afraid to use it. With a final glare towards Spike, the younger Summers disappeared into the lounge behind a pile of books, making sure to give Spike a wide berth. The only sound to be heard in the apartment, the flitting of pages and cracking of binders. Illyria moved backwards from her, hissing, her face wrinkled.

"Power warms her blood, power and darkness. It bubbles, burning her core."

Buffy's left hand twitched slightly, coming up to scratch her shoulder while she studied the blue demon.

"That's right blue, this here's the Slayer, and all that power comes from being all chosen and stuff."

He leered at her once more and Buffy felt her skin crawl slightly, she may have told him she loved him but that didn't mean she wanted him to look at her like she was something to eat. That thought held too many unsettling possibilities in this company. It had taken a long time for Buffy to come to term with Spike's death. Of all the things to put it into perspective for her it had been a re-run of Dawson's Creek. She had never watched the show the first time around, somehow the angst filled lives of Dawson and the gang were shoved aside by hyena people and giant snake demons. She and Dawn had become addicted catching the re-runs during their first few months in Rome. It was nice to find something to bond with her sister over that didn't involve violence and mayhem. She had thought she loved Spike, and in a way she did, as a friend, as a confidant, he understood her on a level her friends could not. But she was never in love with him that was not what their relationship was about. He was comfort; like cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream, only human sized. Some part of her felt a stab of guilt at this, he loved her and she used him, at first for sex and then for reassurance when she felt alone. She had told him she loved him, but he knew it was a lie, he told her so. Still, leaving Andrew to tell her he was alive pissed her off, hence the broken nose. Stepping forward she embraced the still platinum blonde vampire warmly, pretending not to feel Angel tensing up beside to her. His hands slid down as they always had and Buffy broke away before they could reach where he desired. She could sense his hurt and averted her eyes quickly, despite facing demons and Gods she still couldn't face the hurt of someone she cared about.

"I'm going to do a sweep; someone needs to be out there helping the helpless."

"Spike, I…" She didn't know how to finish the sentence, didn't know why she had even started it, so there it hung, awkward in the air. The sounds of pages being flipped had ceased and Buffy felt exposed, maybe she wasn't as fine as she had thought. The fact that her little sister was quite obviously listening didn't really help matters.

"It's okay pet" He said it so low, Buffy could barely hear it, made her wonder if she really had at all, he was gone before she could reply, Illyria following behind him. She felt sick, guilt stabbing into her, pooling in her stomach. Cold fingers brushed her own, entwining, melding to become one. The feelings of guilt subsided as the sweet warmth of Angel began to calm her, like only he could.

"Don't think this means I'm not kicking your ass later about Dawn."

It wasn't in Angel to smile, his shoulders relaxed slightly and his fingers tightened against hers slightly a low chuckle tumbling from his throat.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

***

Gunn was not made for research that had always been Wes' gig. He had spent many afternoons polishing weapons, eating or hitting the very old and very beat up boxing bag while waiting for that Eureka moment. Reading through these books always made him sad, like he was invading someone's privacy, it was all they had left of Wes but that didn't make it right, every time he saw Wes' distinctive scrawl on those yellow post it notes stuck to the pages he felt a tightening in his stomach; right where he had been stabbed. Perhaps this is why it didn't take very long for them to identify the new demon; a Profferhnnnadyl, he wasn't even going to attempt to say it.

"Bad news; it's powerful, good news it needs purified grounds and something called the lightness of Bast. Either of you know what that is?"

Angel shook his head leaving Buffy's side to reach for the book; the demon in the picture had a crown of intestines around its head. Buffy peered over his shoulder wrinkling her nose.

"Ew, it wears the intestines? What's wrong with a hat?"

"Should I call Giles about this Bath light thingie? If I have to flick through one more book I'm going to have nightmares about bleeding to death from paper cuts." Dawn asked, holding her hands out to Buffy showing the thins cuts across her fingers tips, Buffy arched her neck her fingers tracing across Angel's bite on her neck, the only scar from her years as a slayer, it was cool to touch.

"Well I'd prefer you to have a few paper cuts than having your stomach ripped open so this guy can wear your insides as a party hat."

Dawn shuddered, folding her hands under her arms at the thought. Buffy chuckled softly resting her hand on Dawn's shoulder. Angel looked over at the two, the corners of his eyes softening.

"No need to call Giles. The lightness of Bast." He read aloud from the book "Also known as the dimensional key, is a centuries old ball of energy hidden from the world. Whereabouts unknown."

Dawn bit her lip and Buffy's hand clamped down on her shoulder where her head had been moments earlier. Gunn looked up from where he was shuffling day old noodles into his mouth, the noodles hanging out of his mouth like tentacles as he took in the heightened tension in the room.

"Did I miss something?"

Dawn smiled apprehensively at him her thoughts going so fast she was a little dizzy. Buffy's face was whiter than Angel's who had moved to stand in front of her.

"I swear to you, she won't be hurt."

Buffy had tried to smile up at him a little to show her appreciation, completely missing the pissed off expression blooming on her sister's face.

"She is standing right here and damn Skippy she won't be hurt, she'll be too busy kicking it's ass."

Gunn continued to stare at three for once grateful when the door to the apartment was kicked open to reveal a slime covered Connor, sneer firmly planted on his face. The other three in the room turned to stare, Angel's face darkening while Buffy's looked on in interest.

"What?"

***

"If your heart could beat it would break your chest."

Illyria did not know of tact unlike Cordelia who would just ignore it. She said whatever thought passed through her mind however fleeting. Spike looked up shaking his head as the dust from the impaled vampire dissipated over his head.

"What's that?"

Illyria stood over him, not exactly intimidating even if she did hit like a Mac truck.

"The slayer, you lust for her, but she does not lust for you. Her body warms for Angel, her heart beat out of its rhythm-"

Spike growled at her cutting off her diatribe into Buffy and Angel and their twisted love affair. He was there, he had seen it, heard it bloody hell he'd smelt it, he didn't need it rehashed.

"Shut it before you scare the rest of the vamps away, I need to get a good slaying in tonight."

She was silent for but a few precious moments as they continued through the warehouse district frequented by the vampire population of Los Angeles.

"It won't change things. It's written in the stars and the moons. The slayer will love the vampire with a soul, strength by two together, dying when apart."

His vampiric hearing amplified everything she said. He knew Buffy never loved him, had known it for years.

"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, its blood...blood screaming inside you to work its will."

It's funny; he never thought he would be the one that Buffy would shag. He felt a pang where his cold, dead heart lay as the realization sunk in. He never had her, he was always just a substitute. Hell he'd know it for a while; she had allowed him to wear the amulet but wouldn't let Angel, she needed him to survive, trusted him with her legacy. Kissed him with all her love as soon as he arrived. He was right about another thing; he was love's bitch, he was still waiting for a bitch to love him back.

"Come on, let's hurt something."

The smile that spread across Illyria's face was eerie, her voice chilling him.

"Yes, I wish to do more violence."

Spike matched her with his own feral grin, pulling a stake from his jacket.

"Well, I wouldn't want to get in the way of that now would I?"

***

Dawn had felt the heat rise to her cheeks when Connor entered the room, she prayed to all of her favourite Goddesses that Buffy would take pity on her and not do or say something that would embarrass her. She hadn't counted on Angel.

"Dawn you look flushed are you okay?"

Her cheeks burned a darker colour which did not go unnoticed by her sister who stifled a giggle behind her hand. Dawn closed her eyes praying for a hellmouth to appear beneath her to swallow her whole.

"I'm Buffy and you must be Connor."

His eyes shifted with interest taking in Buffy, she was slight, smaller than Faith. But he had underestimated her; he wouldn't do the same with the blonde slayer.

"Slayer comma the. Faith never did tell me why it's always girls."

Buffy shrugged, still eying up Angel's son, more than the sneer was genetic, that's for sure.

"Well we kick ass, says so on the t shirt. Uh if I'm right you're wearing Glakfor guts, you might want to wash that off before it turns your skin blue. I really don't want to have to break into the zoo to get feathers for the spell to change it back."

He sneered at the mention of magic and Buffy shuddered lightly, he really was his father's son. Brushing past them Connor slammed the door to the bathroom behind him, the sound of the shower soon filling the apartment. Angel stared at the door wistfully while Dawn disappeared in the bedroom coming out moments later with an armful of clothes which she dumped in front of the closed door.

"He doesn't look like much, he really almost killed you?"

Angel paused, he didn't know whether to be proud of his son's strength or embarrassed at being bested by him, he settled on clearing his throat and turning to Gunn who was watching them all with keen eyes. Buffy raised her eyebrow towards the smirking hunter.

"Oh yeah, boy wonder got some skills but he aint got nothing on the slayer, he couldn't get the drop on Faith and from what I've heard you got game."

Buffy laughed turning a sideways glance at Angel who was staring up at the ceiling; all he had wanted for tonight was a simple demon slaying, was that too much to ask for?