The Dawn Chronicles
by tenshinrtaiga
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, Angel or Supernatural.
Pairing/Characters: Dawn Summers, Connor Angel-Reilly, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester. Mild Dean/Dawn.
Warnings: Spoilers for Buffy S7, Angel S5 and Supernatural S1.
Summary: When Buffy dies and Dawn inherits her sister's Slayer powers, Dawn doesn't know what to do. She only knows one thing: she can't stay at the International Watchers Council anymore. An unlikely friend in the shape of Angel's son Connor comes to the rescue, training her and teaching her how to handle her powers and just when she thinks she has everything under control, a new Slayer is murdered. Now Dawn's left trying to figure out what happened and how exactly the Winchester boys fit in.

May 26, 2004

Breaking the news of Buffy's death to Spike was harder than she thought it would be. To be fair, she hadn't thought about it at all. Calling Spike had been a spur of the moment decision fueled by the need to learn how to fight.

Dawn winced as she heard something large crash into something equally large and break. After a few moments, Spike returned to the phone, his breath ragged for someone who didn't need the oxygen.

"The Poofter has a son," he finally said after he took a moment to collect his thoughts. "It's a long, convoluted story that I don't even know entirely, but from what I do know, the two of you have a lot in common. He goes to school up north at Stanford. Tell him… I dunno, tell him something. Tell him Angel sent you. If he calls down here, I'll make something up with the Ponce. His name is Connor Reilly and he can take care of you."

Dawn scowled in response. "I don't need to be taken care of, Spike. I need to be trained."

Spike sighed and Dawn could hear him puffing on a cigarette. "I know. And he can be the one to do it. I wish I could do it myself, but this is the first place Giles and the others will look." Dawn nibbled on her lower lip in thought, but agreed with his words. "He's a good kid, or so they say," Spike continued. "He's got a lot in common with you and he's in school. Speaking of, shouldn't you be getting ready to start one of those right around now?"

A wobbly smile made its way across Dawn's lips. "I got into Oxford's Linguistic program."

"Bloody hell, Nibs. That's great!" Spike sounded genuinely excited for her.

"I… didn't get a chance to tell Buffy," Dawn whispered, bringing the mood right back down to solemn. "I ended up having to defer anyway. What with the Slayer training and all."

Spike let out a small sigh. "She wouldn't have wanted this for you," he stated simply.

"I know," she answered, her voice small. "But this is what I've got."

The two shared a solemn moment before Spike spoke again. "I'll break the news to Peaches. I'll tell him Andrew told me or something; I won't even mention your name. He can't say a word to the Watcher if he doesn't know himself."

"Thanks," Dawn muttered gratefully. "I'll head to Palo Alto. I'll call you when I get there, okay? Do you have a cell number I can reach you?"

Spike rattled off a list of numbers that Dawn quickly scratched into the phone book in front of her before ripping the page out and tucking it into her pocket. She was about ready to hang up when Spike called out to her.

"I just have to know," he admitted painfully. "How…?"

Dawn hesitated to answer knowing that he deserved the truth but that it would only make him angrier. "Dana," she finally replied.

A loud string of curses rattled over the phone for several minutes before Spike was once again calm enough to speak. "I knew I should have killed that psycho Slayer when I had the chance," he spat angrily, his teeth gnashing in frustration.

"Buffy had hope," Dawn whispered. "She always had hope."

It was on that note that Dawn hung up and climbed into her car. She drove to a nearby hotel to rest for the night and was out the door early the next morning. It was a long drive to Palo Alto.

By mid-afternoon, Dawn was cursing the hot California sun, her car's broken air conditioner and all of the National Parks that made driving directly to Stanford impossible. Instead of going straight across, Dawn was forced to take the I-15 south toward LA before getting on the I-5 north, thereby maneuvering around all of the National Parks, Forests and other Preserves. To say these were some of the worst ten hours of her life was putting it mildly.

She finally made it to Palo Alto a little before seven at night. Opting to get a hotel room instead of tracking down 'Connor Reilly' immediately, she headed straight to the nearest restaurant, starving after spending all day on the road. She let out a sigh of satisfaction as she ate. Now that she had a minute to herself where she wasn't all 'go go go' she could admit to herself that she had really missed America. After leaving Sunnydale, she (and Buffy) had jumped at the chance to travel the world. And settling in Rome was definitely a great choice, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn't home. It wasn't the hot California heat or the multi-cultural food or the American accents. Rome just couldn't compare.

Dawn's lower lip began to tremble. She couldn't help but wonder if Buffy would have felt the same way about returning to California. After Spike had told her to see Connor, she was hesitant. She hadn't really planned on returning to the Golden State; not for a long time. Not when it reminded her of Buffy. It was the same reason she left Rome, left the Slayer school and the International Watchers Council.

But she couldn't afford to be picky. She needed training and she needed it from someone with no connection to Giles or the others. And Palo Alto was far enough away from where Sunnydale used to be that Dawn had felt confident in going. Of course that was in Las Vegas. Now that she was actually in California, she was beginning to feel differently.

"Your check," the waiter spoke, inadvertently interrupting Dawn's thoughts.

Dawn smiled, thankful for the interruption. Her thoughts had started to lead her down a depressing road and she didn't want to make a scene by bursting into tears in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

The next morning, she headed into the heart of Stanford and went to the main office in search of Connor's address. Unfortunately, this proved more difficult than she anticipated. Since Dawn wasn't family, they couldn't release that information, but if Dawn had been family, she wouldn't need their help to begin with since she could have just called Connor herself.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Dawn cried out in frustration. "Can't you just call him and tell him I'm here?" she asked.

"Oh!" the older woman behind the desk gave a smile. "Yes. That we can do."

Dawn gave a sigh of relief despite the slight irritation she felt. The woman could have offered that solution ten minutes ago instead of continuing to roadblock Dawn. Dawn looked up and realized that the lady had Connor on the phone already. "Tell him Angel sent me," she spoke.

The woman relayed the message before nodding at whatever Connor said. "Okay," the woman agreed before hanging up. She turned to face Dawn before speaking. "He says he's on his way."

Nodding, Dawn turned around and sat in one of the chairs to wait for the boy's arrival. She vaguely wondered what he looked like. She pictured a tall, brooding brunette with a frown on his face. What walked in was a short boy with dirty blond hair. Well, at least she got the brooding frown right.

"Connor?" she asked as she stood up. When he nodded, she gave a relieved smile. "I'm Dawn." She gave a furtive look around at the many people in the office. "Wanna take a walk?" she asked, nodding at the door. Connor hesitated, clearly unsure of going anywhere alone with someone he didn't know. "We can keep to the main campus," Dawn smiled, trying to compromise. "We'll just walk around and I can explain everything."

This seemed to satisfy Connor and the duo made their way outside to the crisp California air. "So, I guess I should start by saying Angel didn't actually send me," Dawn reluctantly started. Connor immediately stopped in his tracks, body tense as if waiting for a fight. "Spike did," she grinned, holding her hands up in surrender. "I… really don't know much about you. Anything, really. I just know that you're Angel's son, that you and I have a lot in common – though I have no idea what – and that you can help me."

Connor paused as he tried to remember who Spike was. "The blond English vampire?" he finally asked.

"That's Spike," Dawn nodded.

"And what kind of help?" Connor questioned.

"Ah," Dawn sighed. "Well, I guess I should start by asking how much has Angel told you about Slayers and about his ex-girlfriend Buffy?"

Connor paused in thought. "Slayers are girls whose destiny is to kill vampires and demons. Buffy is a Slayer," he summarized.

"Okay, well, there used to only be one Slayer, but Willow – our witch – did a spell and now every girl who had the potential to be a Slayer is one. My sister founded a school for them and was their leader, but she died. When Buffy died, somehow her Slayer power transferred to me. I can't go to the Slayer school." Dawn's eyes grew dark in sadness. "There are too many memories there. But I need to be trained. Spike said you could help."

Connor looked at her oddly. "You want me to train you?"

Dawn nodded. "Please."

He let out a small sigh. "My dad gave up everything so that I wouldn't be a part of that anymore. No more demons, no more vampires, no more killing. I'm just a student now."

"And you don't have to be anything more!" Dawn hurried to reassure. "You just have to train me. You don't need to hunt."

Connor looked at her skeptically. He didn't think he could start fighting again and not continue even after he finished helping her. But at the same time, he couldn't just turn her down. Mostly because his dad also taught him to always help those that needed it. "Okay," he agreed. Connor choked on brown hair as Dawn squealed in happiness and jumped into his arms for a hug. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and quickly let go. "Alright already," he blushed, pushing her away. "I don't have class until this afternoon. You wanna start now?"

September 26, 2004

"Hey, Con!" Dawn smiled widely as she gave a large wave to her best friend. "How was LA?" she asked with a grin as she bound over to him, calling over her shoulder that she was going on break.

Despite having access to her old and rather extensive bank account that she had shared with Buffy, she had wanted to do more with her life than just train. That's how she ended up with a job at a bookstore in town. It wasn't much, but it allowed her to keep her old account usage to a minimum. She had used the money to pay the rent on a small apartment near the Stanford campus, but this semester, she and Connor had decided to move in together since Connor had finally decided to leave the dorms now that he was a sophomore. Between his wealthy parents and Angel's allowance, Connor had more than enough money to pay rent on a large two bedroom apartment. Dawn protested, she had more than enough money to pay half the rent, but Connor compromised saying that he'd pay rent and she'd pay for everything else. Given the sheer amount of food the two consumed, she felt that was more than fair.

"How was your first day back?" she asked excitedly, joining him at one of the tables in the front of the store.

"Good," Connor smiled. "Boring." Dawn laughed, but Connor eyed her in speculation. "You know, you should be starting school this year." And just like that, Dawn's laughter faded away.

She looked to the side sadly. "I know," she replied. "I was supposed to start Oxford."

"You could have gone back," Connor leaned back in his chair, relaxing as he pondered on his friend.

Dawn shook her head. Even five months later, the slightest reminder of Buffy still made her sad. "I… can't go back."

"So, what? You're just never going to return to Europe again? Or go farther south into California that Palo Alto?" he asked, his tone cold, but not cruel.

Dawn hesitated, before nodding resolutely. "Yep. That's the plan," she smiled, trying to lift the heavy mood.

Connor gave a sigh, but let the subject go. "I have to get back. I have one more class," he grinned, standing up. Dawn stood up as well and gave him a quick hug. Dawn was a very tactile person and Connor was not. Or at least he wasn't before his memories were changed. It had been hard on him when he first remembered everything. He hadn't known how to act. One set of memories had him as a happy-go-lucky kid and another had him as a lean, mean, demon killing machine. Dawn had helped him balance out his personality and while he still wasn't a very touchy person, he had long grown used to her spontaneous need to hug.

Before she left to return to work, Connor handed her a Stanford folder. "What's this?" she asked in curiosity. Connor just shrugged with a small smirk on his lips and walked out. Opening the folder, Dawn blinked in surprise. Inside was an application for Stanford's winter quarter.

November 19, 2004

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! You look like a Brachen! And you act like one too!" Dawn sang happily ignoring their friends' odd looks at the word Brachen. It's not like they had a clue what the spiked faced demons looked like.

Connor, however, did and gave a good laugh at the imagery before blowing out the candles on his cake. He sliced the cake into pieces and handed the slices out. It was as they were digging in that Dawn spoke up. "So, how does it feel to be four?" she asked with a smile on her face. One of those things that she and Connor had in common was that they looked older than they technically were.

"A lot like three and two," Connor admitted easily, once again ignoring their friends' odd looks. By now, they should all have gotten used to Connor and Dawn's weird inside 'jokes'. "Not like one at all."

Dawn nodded agreeably. "We like to forget that year." Connor had spent his first 'year' in a hell dimension and Dawn had spent it being chased by Glory. "On a better note," Dawn grinned and handed him a letter.

Opening it, Connor read through the contents, a smile appearing on his face. "You're coming to Stanford next quarter?" he asked excitedly causing the small group around them to squeal in congratulations.

"Well, someone kept pushing me," Dawn rolled her eyes but smiled at him fondly.

Connor grinned back before a serious look appeared on his face. "This is not a birthday present," he made sure to clarify causing Dawn to let out a loud peal of laughter.

January 2, 2005

"Happy birthday," Connor whispered softly at the passed out girl in his bed. He had come home earlier to celebrate the occasion with his best friend, but had instead found her half drunk sobbing into her bottle.

It had taken several hours and two Kleenex boxes before she admitted that this was her first birthday without her sister.

"My dad couldn't care less, my mom's gone, Buffy's gone. I have no one!" she had sobbed into Connor shirt. "No family. They're all gone."

Almost a year later and Buffy's absence still hurt Dawn terribly, but Connor suspected it might always be like that. He wouldn't really know since the only family member he had that died was his mom and that was when he was born so he didn't actually know Darla like Dawn knew Buffy and her mom.

January 9, 2005

"I'm so excited!" Dawn sang, "And I just can't hide it!"

Connor gave a laugh as he watched her skip – yes, skip – past him on her way to her first class. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone this excited for school."

Dawn shrugged. "I wasn't a big school person either, but this is linguistics," she emphasized. "As in my forte. As in what I love."

Connor shrugged. "You might find that an actual linguistics class is different than what you expect it to be," he warned. Dawn gave a knowing smile, but said nothing. "So, what's your first class, anyway?"

"Language of Food," Dawn shrugged easily, but the growing smirk on her face said she knew exactly what she was saying.

"Wait, what?" Connor asked in surprise. "The Language of Food? There's a Language of Food class? How could I not have known about this?" he asked himself in wonder, ignoring Dawn's laughter. "Hey, do you think it's too late to sign up…"

June 13, 2005

"Are you sure you want to spend the summer in school?" Connor asked as he packed the last of his things into his bag.

"I finally got approval to double major in Anthropology. I want to take some classes." Dawn smiled. "Plus, where else would I go?" she asked in a blasé tone, but Connor could hear the underlying pain.

"I told you, you can come home with me," Connor leaned over to put a hand on her shoulder. "My parents are dying to finally meet you. It's been over a year."

Dawn gave him a weary grin. "You know I can't. If Angel sees me or if any of the Scoobies are there…" she doesn't mention the memories of her family, but he knows that's what she's thinking about.

"Alright. If you're sure," he sighed as he heaved the bag onto his shoulder. "So, wait. You're a double major?" Connor asked incredulously.

"Well, if I want to go into a Linguistic Anthropology PhD program, I'm going to need both Linguistics and Anthropology," Dawn replied with sass.

Connor shook his head, muttering about crazy best friends with crazy work loads.

"Besides, they've also approved my minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures," Dawn grinned brightly, pretending not to hear his complaints. "I've missed learning new languages. I'm taking both Chinese and Japanese which my advisor says is suicide but when I pointed out the sheer amount of languages I already…"

October 27, 2005

Dawn laughed into her phone hard as she listened to Spike retell a story about a prank he pulled on Angel. "Why orange?" she asked incredulously.

"I was feeling festive," Spike replied as he took a drag of his cigarette. "How's school?"

"Good. I've been studying- Oh!" She gasped as she accidentally slammed into someone. "Sorry!"

"No, I'm sorry," the blonde replied with a smile. She tossed the words, "I wasn't looking," over her shoulder as she rushed down the hall towards a classroom.

It wasn't until Dawn was out of the building that she realized her shoulder hurt. It wasn't until she was at her apartment that she realized that anything that could make a Slayer hurt wasn't just a normal college girl.