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Mother Is The Name By Echo notes:
The quote is from "The Crow". The song "Mandy"
is by Barry Manilow.
"Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children..." There was nothing. That's what she remembered first. The nothing. A great black nothing that was neither cold nor hot. Just there, just void. Then there was pain and memories. Voices. Scents. Images. Like waves on the shore in a hurricane. Crashing, killing, breaking on the beach. It was all a jumble until one memory, one voice sounded louder and brighter than all the rest. This child... Angel, it's the one good thing we ever did together. The only good thing. You make sure to tell him that. "The child." She whispered in pain. "Wh-who's there?" Darla blinked. She could make out the silhouette of something a bit off from wherever she was. Her eyes wouldn't focus. The voice had been that of a child. Her vision began to clear slowly, and she became aware she was sprawled out in a dirty alley. How typical. What was it with her and alleys? If Angel was here, she'd ask him because there was something about him and alleys as well. But there was no Angel. No Angel to try and rescue her from herself this time. How hard had he fought for her only to have the ending they'd had? After all she had done to him, after all the times she'd ditched him to save her own hide, he'd stuck by her side 'til the end of her. Yet here she was again. At a beginning. "Who's there, you say? Wish I knew." "Are you all right ma'am?" "I think... not." "Oh." "When am I?" "What? Do you mean where? I couldn't tell you. I'm not sure of it myself." "No, I mean when." "When?" "The last time. The last time there was nothing, then I was again, and it had been four years." "I wouldn't know, ma'am." "Oh?" "I just got here myself. Right before you. I was here on the cement then you fell from above in all white lights and the smell of fire. You fell like an angel from heaven." "Yanked out of hell more like." She whispered. "Like Angel." "What?" "Come closer, boy. Let's look at you." He didn't move. "I don't bite." Anymore. The child walked out. Skinny and dirty. His clothes were tattered and filthy. His head was down. Darla could see a mass of dark hair sticking out in all directions resting on top of it. He couldn't be more than six. "Well?" He looked up, and her breath caught. "Are you ok, ma'am?" He blinked his large blue eyes at her. All Darla could do was stare. She was looking at a child-sized version of Angel. With HER eyes. Her child. THE child. Hers and Angel's. She knew it, felt it. That knowledge made tears shine in her eyes. "Ma'am?" "I'm sorry. I don't mean to frighten you. You just have the prettiest blue eyes." "So do you." Darla smiled. Flatterer. An Angelus trait. Or perhaps a Liam one. "I suppose I do. What's your name, sweetheart?" "Stephen Franklin Thomas. But Father called me Connor. Strange, isn't it?" "Not in the least... Connor." Her heart was pounding in her chest. "What's your name?" Darla considered for a long time. Should she tell him? Her own name, her given name, was long forgotten to her. "Darla." "Father knew a Darla. He hated her." "H-hated?" "She killed his family. His wife, his daughter, his son." "What?" "He wasn't my real father. He told me. Just before.... I came to find my real father." Darla wondered what had happened. Who had raised her son? Why had Angel abandoned their child? "I guess I should help you then." "I'm perfectly capable." "Do you even know where to start looking?" "Los Angeles." She almost beamed with pride. He was smart and brave. "Well. Then maybe I could tag along?" "Well..." "I wouldn't be any trouble. I hate to be alone. I could use someone to take care of me." "I would like some company. I haven't had much since Father died. I suppose I could take you. I'd hate to leave a lady without anyone to help her." Connor held out his hand to help her to her feet. All gentleman, her boy. Darla smiled. "Why do you smile?" "I'll tell you one day, darling boy." "Promise?" "Cross my heart and hope to... well..." Connor grinned up at the blonde woman and took her hand. He liked her already. He could hear her heart beating, and her hand was warm, so he knew there was no danger there. His father had told him that evil wore many faces. That he should trust no one, but somehow he just knew he could trust this woman who looked at him as if he were precious. And he knew her somehow. She was familiar to him. He felt this need to curl up against her. He knew why. He was just afraid to say it. He'd waited so long. She didn't seem like the monster his father had told him about. But there was no doubt in his mind. She was THE Darla. Darla threaded her hand through his tiny one and they began to walk. First order of business needed to be clothing. They both looked like homeless people. Second, was to figure out how far they were from Los Angeles. Connor stiffened slightly. Darla looked around. By the time she realized exactly where she was, and what was going on, the vampire already had a good grip on her neck. Darla screamed in rage. "Leave her alone!" Connor screamed. They was the sound of a struggle. Darla was thrown into the side of a building. "Darla!" Things went fuzzy. Stupid human body. Why'd she have to come back as human? Couldn't she have been Mrs. Soul-having? Like Angel. Vampire strength and a heart of pure gold to go with it. She was fading out as she heard the vampires screaming in pain. She felt hands on her face. Soothing hands. "Help her. She didn't know. It's all my fault." Darla reached up. "Connor, luv, shh. Not your fault." Another voice sounded. "She'll be ok. I'll help her." "What's all this then?" Another voice. Darla stiffened. She knew THAT voice. She was about to call out to him when Connor's screaming drowned her out. "Keep away from us, you beast!" "Shh." The woman cooed to Connor. "He won't hurt us. Not physically." "But he's... he's a..." "Vampire?" The woman questioned. "I know." "BACK, YOU DEVIL!" "Devil?" He chuckled. "Spike help me!" The woman with the delicate touch hissed. "Why should I, witch?" "Spike." Darla whispered. "Darla?" She passed out then. *~*~*~*~*~* Spike was having what Buffy would call issues. Darla was here. She was human. She had a little boy with her. One that looked far too much like Angel for his tastes. And the little mite had HER eyes. It was too freakish. "What are you thinking about?" Spike looked up. The child in question was peering at him with those huge blue eyes. "None a'your beeswax." The child had the audacity to smile at him. "You're the first vampire I ever met who didn't try to suck my blood." Spike eyed him. "Know a bit about it, do you?" "I know if I put a wood stick in your heart you go poof to dust." "So what's keeping you from it?" "The lady witch with the sad eyes said you wouldn't hurt us, and Darla called you by name." "Why do you call her Darla?" "That's her name." "But isn't she your mum?" "My what?" "Your mother." Connor looked down. "My mother's name was Justine." "What was your father's name?" "It was... my real father or the man I called father?" "Your real father." Connor paused for a long time. This would be the first time he said this name out loud. He'd thought it so many times, but never spoken it. "Angel." "Bloody hell." *~*~*~*~* "You can go now. I can handle this." Tara said as she walked into the living room of her apartment. Connor was wearing one of her t shirts. He had fallen asleep on the couch with a blanket. Spike was standing on her balcony/porch smoking a cigarette like he hadn't had one in months. "I said you could go if you want." "I'm not moving." "Are you ok, Spike?" Tara stepped outside with him. "No." "What happened?" "That thing, that child, whatever he is, is NOT possible." "What? I don't-" "That's Angel and Darla's son!" "Shh." Tara glanced at Connor. "You'll wake him. What do you mean? Make some sense." "Angel is a vampire. Darla was one." "Wait. Are you saying that's THE Angel's son?" "Yes." "That's not possible." "I know." "Angel's a vampire." "I know." "Vampires can't have children." "No shit, witch." "How is this even possible?" "And now we come to the portion of the conversation that holds the reason to my not leaving. I'm going to find out." "How?" "That's THE Darla, pet." "Wait, that woman is his mother and Angel's the father." "Appears so." "But she's human." "She didn't used to be." "Oh?" "Pet, don't the Scoobies tell you anything? Darla was the vampire that turned Angel." *~*~*~*~* Darla opened her eyes. It took her a minute to recall where she was. "Connor?" She tried to sit up, but her head was killing her. "CONNOR!" Hands soothed her back into the bed. "Shh. He's fine. Spike's been watching him. He fell asleep not too long ago." "Spike's been watching him? Oh great." Tara smiled. "He's a bit concerned." "Oh really." "He seems to think Connor belongs to you and Angel." "He does." "But that's not possible." "Tell me about it. Try being undead and pregnant." "You were a vampire when you had him?" "I didn't have him." Darla noticed Spike standing in the doorway. "Huh?" "My body was killing him. I staked myself so that Connor wouldn't die." All Spike could do was stare. This was not the Darla he remembered. The three of them were jarred by a loud crash and a child's scream. "CONNOR!" Darla shot out of the bed like a mad woman. Spike was the first to get back into the living room. What he saw made him skid to a stop. There was a portal opened in Tara's living room. Wind was whipping through. Connor was holding on to the back of the couch trying not to be sucked in. It eerily reminded Spike of the scene in Poltergeist when the little blonde chit got sucked into the closet. "CONNOR!" Tara was trying to hold Darla back. Both women had hair whipping about their faces due to the strong winds. Connor's head turned to look at them. "MOMMY!" Darla screamed and lunged to her feet drunkenly. Her head wound was keeping her from seeing straight. The boy's grip was finally taken from him. He went flying towards the portal. In an uncharacteristic display of heroics, Spike dove for him. The force still sent both the boy and the vampire into the portal, but Spike's arms were firmly wrapped around Connor. Darla screamed again and grabbed for them. Her hand latched on to the edge of Spike's duster as she toppled into the portal after them. Tara made a grab for them, but all she ended up doing was falling in the hole after Darla. Her hand managed to find the other woman's arm as the wind still swirled in the small living room apartment. Then the portal closed abruptly, and everything went into an eerie silence. *~*~* Buffy and Willow were patrolling the too quiet streets on Sunnydale.... with Dawn. Buffy was thinking about what all she had done to all of them. Dawn, Xander, Willow.... Tara. God, if Tara hadn't shown when she did, Buffy shuddered to think what might have transpired. She felt so guilty. She really wanted to apologize to Tara. Willow was just thinking about Tara. Dawn was thinking about how cool it was to finally get to patrol with the others. Even though Buffy had said she could only go with her and not every night. It was still cool. Dawn knew she was only getting to go because Buffy felt guilty. Dawn didn't blame her though. Not really. Yeah, she had been hurt and scared for a while, but Buffy had been under the influence of demon stinger poison. You had to make weird allowances for sibling fall outs when your sister was that one chosen in the generation. There was a flash of light as a portal opened in the air near them and four bodies tumbled out. Dawn jumped. She was quite proud of herself for not screaming. Willow shoved the younger Summers behind her. Right into the waiting arms of a hungry vampire. Dawn did scream then. Buffy and Willow whipped around to the sound of Dawn's scream. Buffy was about to move when she heard a voice from behind her. "Let the girl go." Buffy turned as a guy stepped up next to her. He was tall and thin. His long brown hair was hanging down a bit. It was wavy and made him look more dangerous than he probably was. His eyes were a clear, bright blue. He had on worn black muslin pants and a baggy beige muslin shirt that should have been tied at the throat, but was gaping open in a wide V. There was a thin braid tucked behind his ear that had red thread or something woven into it. He had a serious-looking bow in his arms and a quiver of arrows on his back. He was aiming in the general direction of the vampire and Dawn. The vampire snarled in response to his demand. Buffy noticed his jaw ticked slightly. He reminded her of someone. She just couldn't place it. "B-Buffy." Dawn whimpered. "It's ok, Dawn." "Again." The stranger said. "Release her." Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw something moving in the bushes to the right of Dawn. She had to distract the vampire and get Dawn. Now. "Do you know what a slayer is?" The vampire stiffened. "Yes." "Well, you're holding the sister of one." He was about to move when a body came flying out of the bushes and tackled Dawn from the vampire. In the next instant the vampire was turning to dust from the arrow the stranger had placed in his heart from the firing of his bow. Buffy looked at him for second before rushing to where Dawn was. "Dawn!" Dawn couldn't stop shaking. There was someone completely covering her. Whoever it was had rescued her. She sucked in deep breaths as the scent of worn leather hit her. The person on her pulled back, and Dawn gasped. "Hello, Niblet." It was Spike. But not like she'd ever seen him. His hair was long. Down past his shoulders. It was also honey blonde instead of platinum. "Spike?" He stood and helped her to her feet. "You all right, luv?" "Yeah." He was still holding her hands. He pulled them out from her sides and looked his fill. "You are a sight for sore eyes." "Spike?" Buffy was looking at him in shock. She couldn't believe it. His hair was long. He wore his duster, but it looked more worn than usual. His pants and shirt were of worn black muslin. His black boots looked slightly worse for the wear. "You know these girls, Spike?" The stranger had joined them. Willow was staring at him. "It's not polite to stare, Red." Willow jumped. "Sorry, I... you just look so familiar. I didn't mean to be rude." "Quite all right." He smiled. Willow felt her pulse speed up. Goddess above, he was gorgeous as sin. The stranger looked at Spike. "You know them?" "Of course he does, Connor. As do I." A female voice said. Everyone turned in that direction as two women stepped out of the shadows. They were both in pale blue muslin. Buffy stared at them. They looked familiar, but she couldn't place them. One had blonde hair. The other had honey colored hair. "Tara?" Willow asked. The woman with the honey colored hair stepped forward. "Willow." She walked to the redhead and embraced her. "Goddess, I have missed you." "What's going on here?" Buffy asked in confusion. "We're home." Spike said. "Bloody hell, Tara, you did it!" She let go of Willow and rushed into Spike's arms hugging him tightly. "We're home?" Connor asked. "If Sunnydale is your home." The other woman said. It was then that Buffy knew her. That voice. "Darla." She hissed. She threw her stake in the blonde's direction. Connor caught it. He gave her a deadly look. "Don't do that." "Whoa." Willow was gaping. "He gets a little protective sometimes." Spike said. "Ain't that right, mama's boy?" "Don't start." Tara hissed as she swatted Spike in the chest. Buffy was so confused. "Could someone explain? Please." Connor smiled at her. "Be glad to. Once we kill the vampires that think they're sneaking up on us." Buffy jumped. It exploded. Everyone was suddenly deep in the fight. Connor was already doing serious damage with his bow. Willow kept getting distracted by Tara fighting. She was actually fighting. Connor noticed the instant the vampire grabbed the girl Spike had been calling Dawn. He rushed for her. The vampire never knew what hit him. Connor wrenched Dawn from his grasp. She stumbled as he threw her out of the way. Connor proceeded to beat the hell out of the vampire. A foot to the vampire's chest sent him careening into a tree with a broken branch. He exploded into dust. That was the last. Connor smiled before he remembered Dawn. He whipped around. She was laying on the ground propped up on her elbows with her mouth hanging open. He held out his hand to help her up. Dawn could do nothing but stare. He was just the cutest guy she'd ever seen. And he was a badass. She'd never seen anyone shoot that fast in real life. She was completely over her Orlando Bloom thing now. Legolas didn't have anything on this guy as far as she was concerned. "You all right?" He asked. "Did he hurt you? I can't stake him again, but I could say a few choice words in reference to his undead person." Dawn blinked. She was struck speechless. The closer she got to him, the better he looked. Connor was a little concerned. The girl was just staring at him. He wasn't used to other people. Is this what they were like? Maybe he'd just stare back at her. That was his mistake. She was pretty. Her hair was straight and brown. She was tiny too. Like she might break. All her features were too large for her tiny face. She had huge blue eyes, a nice set of pink lips, and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. The eyes were what had him though. There was something different about her. Buffy cleared her throat. Creepy stranger guy was holding her little sister's hand and staring at her. Connor dropped Dawn's hand and swallowed hard. It could not be possible that he'd waited his whole life to see human girls, and he falls smitten with the first one close to his age that he comes across. But those eyes. "Explanation. Any time. Really." Buffy said. "Let's get indoors, slayer." She looked warily at Darla. "All of us?" "All of us." Spike said. *~*~*~*~*~* Buffy and Willow were just staring at the four people assembled in the Summers living room. Dawn was just staring at Connor. If Buffy hadn't been so stunned, she would have asked her sister if she could be any more obvious. But she couldn't. She couldn't seem to make her voice work. It was too wild. Ten years. Spike and Tara had been gone from Sunnydale for ten years. It had been like a blink. But that she understood. Time moved differently in other places. What she couldn't grasp was how Connor was Angel's son. Angel and Darla's son. And Darla was human now. She's been staked twice. Angels' son. His sixteen year old son. No wonder Connor had looked familiar to her. He looked a little like Angel. He was tall like him anyway. "Well." Spike clapped his hands together. "I am so ready for a haircut and a bleach. And jeans. Bloody hell I have missed wearing jeans." Tara sighed. "Bubble bath." "MTV." Darla grinned. Spike started laughing. "Tired of my singing?" "No, honey. Of course not. You and Tara both sing beautifully. But I long for something other than punk rock acapella. There's only so many renditions of an unaccompanied 'I Wanna Be Sedated' a girl can hear before she really does want to be sedated." Dawn giggled. Connor's eyes widened as they shot to her. That sound. She just wasn't getting any less pretty to him. He'd always thought his mother and Tara were the loveliest creatures he would ever lay eyes on, but Dawn Summers was moving up into that short list. "When do we go to Los Angeles?" Everyone looked at him. "I want to find him." Spike nodded. He felt a slight sense of loss. The boy had always come to him. Now Angel would take that away, just like he had everything else in Spike's existence. He looked over at Darla. She was looking at him so tenderly. That damned woman had him so figured out. She knew what he was thinking. "He's different, William." Everyone looked at Darla as she put her hand to her mouth and looked away, so they wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. Connor sat next to her. "Mom?" "It wasn't supposed to be like this. He's probably dying without you." Connor felt a moment of uncertainty. "Do you... think... he'll like me?" "He bloody well better." Spike got up and started pacing. "How could he not. You're beautiful." Dawn whispered. Buffy elbowed her. Connor grinned. Spike stopped and looked at Dawn, then he looked at Connor, then back at Dawn, then finally at Buffy before he broke down laughing. Buffy rolled her eyes. She was well aware of the irony here. There was no need for him to take amusement in it. Her concern was Angel's reaction when the fab four showed up on his doorstep. Because she knew Darla would go where Connor went. But somehow she got the feeling that Tara and Spike were now very much a part of that. She almost wished she could go with them, but Sunnydale was her town. Not LA. It was never more obvious than when she looked at Angel's son. Their worlds were so different now she didn't even know if they could exist in the same room anymore. And that thought made her heart hurt.
"I wish you wouldn't go." Tara looked at Willow and smiled. It was so weird to look at her now, after being away so long. She was exactly the same. Tara was sure Spike was having the same thoughts on seeing Buffy again. The two of them had decided long ago that Willow and Buffy were very much a part of their past. They had thought that they might never get back, so they had left many things behind. Said good-bye to them. Yet, here they were, as if no time had passed. But Tara was different now. As Spike was. She had to smile about him. What a change the vampire had made in the last decade. He was her best friend now. There wasn't a thing that Spike didn't know about her, not a thing she didn't know about him. She never thought that had been a fair trade, but she got the better end of the deal. He'd lived much longer than her and had done much more. He had more tales to tell. Spike would often tell tales of Sunnydale around their fire in the small cottage that had been their home for those years. At first he had not been very nice when speaking of Angel, but Darla had berated him harshly for it. She had told Spike that if could not tell the Angel portions of the story without the insults he would not tell them. She would. When it had come to light that a man named Holtz had reared Connor until his sixth year, Darla had seemed to wilt. She was determined that Angel no longer be painted as the monster Holtz thought him to be to his son any longer. So Spike had learned to speak a little kindly of the man he once called the poof. *~*~*~*~*~*~* It was Anya that had given them the most help before they set off for Los Angeles. She'd gotten them clothing. Actually taken all of them shopping. Spike's hair had been cut and bleached. Connor's had been cut. It was still a bit unruly, but above his collar now. Tara had left hers long, just getting a shampoo and a trim. Darla had hers cut to her shoulder. Something about being tired of breaking hair combs that made Spike laugh out loud. Anya had been a little shocked to discover that she liked Darla. As much as Buffy had said about her, one thing was sure, the woman loved her son deeply. And Spike, Anya was a little saddened that Spike would never have the chance to have children, but a bit glad that he'd gotten sucked into the portal with the others. He actually made a decent father. She hated to see them go. Xander had helped get the DeSoto running better. Darla had seemed to smooth the tension between Anya and Xander a bit. They hadn't worked so well together in a long while. They packed them up, and set them off. Anya was only certain of one thing. She missed the little family already. *~*~*~*~*~* They were there. Finally. Los Angeles. They had just entered the city limits when Tara looked at Darla. "Did you hear that?" "No." There was a knocking sound from the truck. "Yes!" Spike swerved his DeSoto off the road. All four doors opened, and the group made their way to the truck. Connor had extracted a baseball bat from under the seat. "Stand back." Spike whispered. Darla and Tara stood slightly back, ready to face whatever. Connor had the bat held high. Spike opened the truck and stepped back. Connor swung down with the bat then stopped suddenly. It stopped about two inches from the flinching girl's head. "Dawn?" "Hi." "Bloody hell. I could kill you, little bit." Connor glared at Spike and tossed him the baseball bat. He held out his hand to the girl and helped her out of the trunk. Dawn stumbled a bit, and Connor had to catch her. But not before her face smacked against his t shirted chest. "Oh. Are you ok?" Darla and Tara exchanged a look. "We'll have to call Buffy. She'll be so worried." Spike was still glaring at Dawn. "Get in the car." He growled. Connor leaned over to Spike. "What's your problem?" "She knows better." "Well, maybe she had a reason." "Yeah, some school girl crush." Connor stared at him blankly. "What?" Spike gave them a look, and Tara and Darla pulled Dawn into the car. "But-" "Shh, Dawn." Tara slammed the door. Connor looked at Spike. "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about little bit digging you, and you loving it. That's Buffy's little sister, boy." "And I'm not good enough for Dawn the angel." "So you do fancy her." "I don't even know her, but what I know leads me to believe she's trouble." Connor smiled. "And you know I love trouble." "I just don't want-" "Hey, who taught me how to be a gentleman?" "Tara." "That's right. So have a little faith in me, ok?" "You've never even kissed a girl." "Oh really?" "Well yeah. The only women we've been around for the last decade have been your mother and..." "Tara." Connor said smugly. "You little son of a bitch!" Spike lunged at Connor. The two of them crashed on top of the hood of the DeSoto. Tara, Dawn and Darla sprang out of the car. "Oh my God! Stop it!" They rolled across the hood and into the dirt. "Spike! Steven! Connor! William!" Darla was trying to get at them, but they were rolling all over the ground. "Separate." Tara said in a low tone. Spike and Connor flew apart. "What's the matter with the two of you?" Tara asked as she stalked in between them. Spike pointed at her. "You kissed HIM?!" "Kissed who?" Connor died laughing. Tara turned slowly and looked at him with an exasperated look on her face. "You didn't kiss him?" Spike asked. Tara turned and glared at Spike like he was a moron. Darla put her hand over her mouth and turned away, so they wouldn't see her laughing. Connor was forever baiting Spike about Tara. It was quite obvious at some point during the last decade the blonde vampire had fallen for the witch. But would he admit it? Nooooooo. Stubborn. Always had been. Had weird ideas about who he should and should not be attracted to. Tara was apparently on the 'not' list. So Spike was fighting hard. Darla couldn't wait until he lost that battle. Dawn wasn't sure exactly what was going on. Tara started laughing. "You thought... you thought that I had... that I had..." She laughed loudly. "Bugger this." Spike started walking away. "Spike!" Tara chased after him. "Spike!" She grabbed his arm. "Spike." He jerked away. "Leave me alone." "Don't pout." "I'm not pouting." "You are." "No... I'm.... I'm sulking. There's a difference." He kept walking. Tara wrapped her arms around his waist and dug her heels into the ground. "Tara." "What?" "Stop that." "Stop what?" "Human anchor?" He was still walking and dragging her behind him. Back at the car Connor, Darla, and Dawn just watched. "What is she doing?" Dawn asked. "Human anchor. Spike HATES that." Connor said with a smirk. "They certainly have gotten close." Dawn mumbled. "Does it bother you?" "Bother me? No. Why should it? I'm glad he has a friend." "Friend. Right. He's in love with her." Dawn looked at Connor. "When did THAT happen?" "Mmm. I noticed it about five years ago." *~*~*~*~*~* They crept into the hotel slowly. No one was around. There was a huge pentagram painted on the floor. Darla regarded it with a sense of trepidation. "Cute. Who's been doing the decorating up in this place since I've been gone? Obviously not Cordelia. She never would have stood for such tacky finger-painting." Spike chuckled. "Ok, this is weird." It came from the darkness of the stairs. Darla was the only one who seemed to know the voice. "Lorne? Is that you? Where's Angel?" The demon walked into the muted light. "How are you standing there? You're supposed to be a bit dusty, aren't you, honeybutt? And why I am getting the weirdest mojo off of everyone in this group?" He blinked. "Wow. That is some serious stuff on you guys." Darla sighed. "It's a long story. Can you just get Angel and tell him I brought our son to see him." Lorne scanned the group until his eyes fell on the boy of about sixteen who was standing next to a teenage girl. Standing awfully close to a teenage girl. "Connor?" "Hi. I don't remember you. I'm sorry. I know that you're Lorne. Mom told me about you a little. You had the club. Caritas." Darla beamed. "Isn't he smart?" "I wish I could remember and not just know because someone told me it was so." Lorne sighed. "Well, you were shorter when I saw you a few weeks ago." "Weeks?" "Yeah, Angel's out looking you right now." Darla's hand flew to her mouth. They were all older. Angel was looking for a baby, but the boy was grown. It was even too much for Spike. He had to take a seat. "Bloody hell." Darla stumbled a bit. Connor grabbed for her. "Mom." "He's going to be so hurt. So hurt that he missed so much of you." Lorne just stared. Apparently dying a few times and being vamped twice then giving birth by staking did a little something to bring your softer side out. There was a quiet gentleness to Darla, a sense of peace, that had not been there before. She seemed very motherly, and that was kind of freaking Lorne out. "We couldn't find any..." Cordelia's words fell as she and Groo walked into the lobby. The first thing she saw was Darla. Cordelia screamed and lunged at the former vampire with the ax in her hand. Spike jumped to his feet, but Connor was fast. He grabbed her wrist tightly and squeezed until she dropped the ax. "Please don't hurt my mom." She stared at him. "I would ask that you unhand my princess." Groo said through his teeth. "Tell her not to try to hurt my mother again, and I won't have to 'hand' her." "Connor..." Spike said slowly. "Drop Cordelia's wrist before you accidentally snap it." His eyes widened. "You're Cordelia." He said with awe. He didn't release her, but he did loosen his grip considerably. She smiled as her eyes watered up. "You have your dad's forehead." Spike laughed out loud. Cordelia looked at him. "What are you doing here, Spike?" "Really?" Came another voice from the shadows surrounding the entryway. "Angel." Darla whispered. "Well, hello to you too, Peaches." "Dad?" Angel walked in slowly. "Connor?" Then he looked slightly next to the boy. "Dawn?" "OH!" Tara yelled startling everyone. "The phone! We need to call Buffy and tell her Dawn was in the trunk." Angel blinked. He was really confused. "It'll all make sense later, darling boy." Darla said. Angel stared at her. She looked like she had... aged. But that wasn't possible. Then again she was standing there before him. That wasn't possible either. She was supposed to be dust. "Someone could start explaining." Cordelia said. "Anytime. Really." Darla took a deep breath. She guessed it was up to her. Again. *~*~*~*~*~* Buffy had been furious. Absolutely furious. She was coming to LA to get Dawn as soon as possible. Dawn was bummed. She liked the older wiser Spike who was in love with the now regal Tara. She liked Darla the mother figure. She adored Lorne. She liked the Angel who knew how to smile. She liked Fred and Gunn. She thought Groo was sort of funny. She even liked Cordelia this time around. Not that she'd actually been in Cordelia's presence before, being actually only about two and a half years old in her human form. What she caught whispers of, but wanted to know more about was Wesley. He'd done something, something involving Connor, something no one seemed to be able to forgive. "What are you thinking about?" Dawn jumped as Connor sat down next to her. "Didn't mean to frighten you." "No. I mean, I was just..." "Thinking, and I disturbed you." He moved to get up. "No!" She grabbed his wrist. It was weird. They were both just frozen, staring at where her hand was closed over his skin. Connor looked at her. "There's something different about you. As different as I am." She looked up slowly. "I'm not supposed to exist." "Neither am I." He sat back down slowly. "Explain yourself." Dawn stared at him. She'd never told anyone about being the key. Sure, the Scoobies knew, but they were the Slayerettes. They didn't wig about stuff like that. Not much anyway. "Trust me." Dawn stared at him. Boy, did he remind her of Angel sometimes, but those weren't actual memories of Angel. They were created. And she wanted to trust him. He'd managed to maneuver his hand to be holding hers without her notice. Dawn suddenly found herself very interested in his almost too pink lips. He wasn't a vampire, and she'd only ever kissed a vampire. What would it be like to kiss someone with warm breath? "Dawn?" "What? Oh. Sorry." She'd been staring at his mouth for what seemed like forever, and it was starting to get hot in the room. Connor shifted a bit uncomfortably. "So it all started with these monks, and, uh, some energy..." *~*~*~*~* Tara was standing in the shadows watching Dawn tell Connor about the key. "I didn't know humans lurked." About ten years ago, Tara would have jumped out of her skin at Angel's voice being so close to her without her knowledge of him being there, but living with Spike had gotten her over her little ticks and twitches. "Some of us do." She said playfully. "What... what's he like?" "Connor?" Tara smiled. "He's very smart. Very brave, to the point of being suicidal sometimes. He's kind. He's funny. He's a lot like Spike, actually." Angel stiffened. "Don't." "What?" "Go thinking that way." "What way?" "Don't try that either." "What?" "Shying away from the subject, making it seem less important that it really is. Spike does that all the time. It doesn't work with me. My saying Connor is like Spike should not offend you. It would not offend you if you knew Spike as I know Spike. He is not who Drusilla had. He's not who you had. He's not even who Buffy had in Sunnydale. Just as I'm sure you've noticed Darla isn't any of the Darla you knew, at any of her previous times here." "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" "Shh. It's all right, Angel. It's confusing. I know. How do you think it is for us? All these things that are so far in the past to the four of us are still very much in the present for all of you. How would you feel, as changed as you are now, if you were suddenly set back in Sunnydale, right as Buffy was starting to fall for you? When all her feelings were newborn and you had long since only thought of her infrequently and as a cherished friend. Would it be strange?" He hadn't thought of it that way. *~*~*~*~*~* Dawn couldn't sleep. She was thinking about the information exchange from earlier. Everyone had filled in the blanks for Connor. But there was still the matter of Wesley. Something was troubling Dawn about it. It just didn't fit. And Buffy would be there to collect her tomorrow. She didn't have time to figure it all out. Or did she? Dawn headed downstairs to get some water. She needed to think. She very nearly tripped over Connor sitting on the stairs. "Oh!" He managed to grab her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even see you. What are you doing sitting in the dark anyway?" Dawn narrowed her eyes. "That's such an Angel thing to do." Connor grinned. "Really?" "Uh. So very. You should ask Cordelia about it. Your dad was king of hiding out in dark places." "Doing what?" "Lurking, brooding, moping, being depressing. Wearing all black and being all 'Woe is me. I have a soul and I'm in love with a vampire slayer.'" She sighed dramatically and threw the back of her hand against her forehead. She pretended to swoon. Connor started laughing. He just up and pretended to catch her swoon. "I know this one. Spike told me." "Spike told you about Buffy and Angel?" "Spike told me everything." "He told you about me?" "Most of it." "But he told you about Buffy and Angel? That's weird." Connor laughed. "How's this... Oh, Buffy, I know you are the slayer of my kind and I in no way should be attracted to your lithe little frame, but I was a glorious manwhore as a human, and vampires carry over certain traits..." Dawn died laughing. She couldn't believe he'd just called his dad a manwhore. "Ah, Angel, you time bomb of evil that can be set free by nookie, I know that I am a slayer, but I could never slay you for you have slayed my heart, my undead ravisher." Connor was laughing out loud now. He knew they were both making fun of people and circumstances they probably should not have been, but it was so much, well, fun. He had never had fun with someone his age. He'd never even been around someone his age. "Oh Buffy, Let me kiss you. Just once to know those lips on that smartassed mouth." Dawn tuned her head quickly as he lunged for her, letting him get a mouthful of hair. "No, Angel, we mustn't." "Oh, Buffy, I'm DYING without you." "You're already dead." "Oh right. Please, my darling, kiss me." "Bite me, deadboy." "Well, all right." He grabbed her and started blowing raspberries on her throat. Dawn began to struggle. She was screeching and laughing. It tickled so bad. She couldn't get free. He was sort of strong, but she guessed being Angels' son he would be. Dawn tripped and took Connor with her. He managed to twist them, so he took all of the fall. They rolled across the lobby floor. Dawn was trying to get the upper hand, so Connor allowed her to do so. He was a bit curious. This was much more interesting that wrestling Spike. She sat on him and held his hands above his head by his wrists. "Ha." Connor rolled them and sat on her instead. "Ha yourself." "Get off of me." Dawn started squirming. Connor jumped up and pulled her to her feet. Dawn was laughing still and dusting herself off. That had lightened the load on her heart considerably. Dawn started to walk off. Connor grabbed her arm and swung her back around. He was being as gentle as possible, but the girl was as light as a feather. Dawn gasped. "You still owe me a kiss... Buffy." She stared at him. It was pretend. It was just pretend. "Ok... Angel." They stood there staring, neither sure exactly what to do. "Close your eyes." Dawn whispered. He did. Dawn leaned up and pressed he lips to his lightly. It was like kissing a statue. She leaned back. "Open your mouth." He opened one eye instead. "Why?" "Just trust me." He opened his mouth wide. Like he was at the dentist. Dawn made a face. He had a rather large and scary mouth. "A little less." He closed his mouth some, and she leaned up and kissed him again. He still just stood there. "You can kiss me back, you know." So he did. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing exactly, but she didn't seem to mind. They were just leaned towards each other. The only parts of them touching were their mouths. Connor decided he liked the kissing thing. Tara had tried to talk about it once, but she'd gotten all embarrassed, and Spike's description had always reminded him of eating soup. There was all this sucking nonsense with Spike. He was jarred back into the kiss by this lovely little sigh of content Dawn made. "What in the bloody hell is going on here?" The lights came on in the lobby. Spike was at one end. Angel was at the other. Dawn and Connor pulled apart unaware that a long strand of drool was still connecting them. Angel walked towards them. "What were you two doing?" Dawn was fastly turning bright red. "Angel, I can't find Connor. He's not..." Darla stopped in her ramble and her rushing down the stairs when her eyes landed on Connor and dawn. "What's going on?" Angel folded his arms across his chest. "That's what I'd like to know." Connor folded his arms across his. "What if I said that it was between me and Dawn?" "It still is, mate." Spike said with a chuckle. "One of you is drooling." Dawn gasped and wiped her face. Connor looked at her. She was so embarrassed that she couldn't even look at him. He sighed. Why could nothing with him ever be normal? Just once. Just once he'd like to do something average. Tara came down the stairs tying her robe followed by Lorne completing the humiliation. Connor sighed again. "We were just... talking about stuff. And then... we just..." He shifted from one foot to the other. Dawn looked at him suddenly. In that moment she realized this was making him just as uncomfortable as it was her. "We talked and there was this little game we played. And it kind of got out of hand. I didn't mean for it to, and we were having fun. And we just... we just..." "Kissed." Connor looked down at her in shock. She was smiling her dashingly pretty Dawn smile at him. He just stared at her as the corner of his mouth slid up slowly into a sly grin. Spike made a gagging sound. "Are you two quite finished making googly eyes at one another? What game? Wasn't hide the sausage, was it?" "Spike!" Darla snapped. Dawn got a wicked little look on her face. She looked at Connor. He looked confused. "What?" "Once more with feeling?" She turned away and struck a tragic pose. He so got it. He puffed up then hunched a bit and sighed loudly. "Buffy?" Dawn spun around quickly and threw her arms out behind her and her chest forward. "Yes, Angel?" She said breathlessly. "Kiss me, you goddess." She stepped close to him with a flare. "Bite me, you demon." Connor grabbed her roughly and pulled her against him. He spun them, dipped her back and assaulted her neck. It sounded suspiciously like the Cookie Monster eating cookies. Everyone was just staring. Spike was the first to go. His laughter rang out through the lobby like a gunshot. Tara had her hands over her mouth as she started to giggle. Lorne was hunched over gripping the banister as his shoulders shook in mirth. Angel looked at Darla. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement. Angel tightened his folded arms and rolled his eyes as Darla started giggling. Then he started snickering a bit. He supposed it was a little funny, looking back. They were awfully dramatic, he and Buffy. Everything had been so life and death with the two of them. He was a bit sad that he didn't have that in his day to day, or night to night, anymore, but at the same time happy. But not too happy. He just needed to figure out how to balance all of it now. Four people had been inserted into his life. He needed to figure out how to deal with them. Especially Connor and Darla.
"Connor?" Someone was shaking his shoulder. "Connor." They were attempting to shake him awake. "Connor." But he'd been awake from the moment the door cracked open. He breathed in. Dawn. What was she doing in his room? Connor opened one eye. He was still a bit sleepy, and maybe this was a dream. So he reached under her hair and placed his fingers on the back of her neck. He pulled her forward and lightly brushed his lips across hers. It seemed like the most natural thing in this world to do. Dawn pulled back slightly dazed. What had possessed him to do that? Not that she had really minded so much, but now she couldn't remember why she'd crept into his room. "Dawn?" "What? Oh. Hey." "Is something wrong?" "What?" She was just staring at his mouth. She needed to focus. And not on him. "Oh. Wrong. No. I mean, not really." "Explain." "Well, I was thinking.... that we could... um... find out what the deal with Wesley was before I go." "Wesley?" "He was close to your dad, and something happened. I mean, really close. But something bad happened. And I have this hunch, I mean, think it had to do with you. No, I'm fairly certain it has to do with you. And maybe I'm being nosy, but maybe you and I can fix it, you know? I mean, the way everyone tiptoes around saying his name aloud, you'd think he was Voldemort or something. He's SO not. He can't be. Wesley was a good guy, and I know people change, but NO ONE changes that much. Especially not a watcher. And I know he's an ex watcher, and God knows there are watchers who have dark sides. Hello Giles. But I really think this should be fixed before it spins way out of control.... And I just talked a really lot just then. Very Willow. Sorry." He stared at her. He knew something was up concerning the ex watcher as well. The way everyone had deliberately NOT said his name was a little disturbing. Dawn had just talked a lot and fast, but that didn't matter. He'd absorbed it all and had but one question. "Who's Voldemort?" "Oh sorry. Pop culture reference. Pretty much lost on you, huh? He's the bad guy in the Harry Potter books. And that probably didn't clear it up either. You'll just have to read the books. I'll loan you mine. You can read them. They're really good." He smiled. She was going to loan him books. "But do you want to?" "Want to what?" "Get to the bottom of the Wesley thing?" "Now?" "All we have is now. My sister's on her way here to take me back to Sunnydale. My time is fastly running out. I figured we'd sneak off before she got here." She wanted to sneak off with him. Oh this was getting good. This was trouble. She was definitely his type. He had never been able to resist a bit of trouble. Connor threw the blanket off of himself and hurried across the room to his jeans. Dawn was sure she stopped breathing for a moment. Didn't he know to warn her before he bounded out of bed almost completely naked? Probably not. Especially if he had spent the past ten years with Spike. The boy-man only had on a pair of boxers. Dawn stared at him as long as she could before she turned away breathless and red-faced. He really was cute. Very, very cute. A bit skinny, but at the same time 'just so male'. She'd heard Anya say that once. Just so male. It hadn't made sense to her until this very moment. Connor noticed Dawn was deliberately not looking at him. He looked down. Spike was always telling him he was too thin. Making fun of the fact that he was almost weightless, he was so skinny. One of Spike nicknames for him when he got annoyed with Connor was Twiggy. Connor hated that. He hated being mostly arms and legs. Apparently Dawn was horrified by the fact. "D-Dawn?" "Y-y-yes?" She would not turn. He'd see her face. She wouldn't look at him. "Could you look at me please?" "Uh.... no?" "Oh." He looked down. She was completely disgusted. She didn't like that voice. Dawn turned slowly. "Ok." She knew she was still red. She reddened even more when she saw that he had on his jeans, but they weren't buttoned and were hanging on his hips. He looked up at her. She was blushing brighter than Tara had any day. Why was she embarrassed? He was the one who was skinny and ugly. Then he noticed her duck her head shyly before looking up at him again. She didn't LOOK repulsed. He wasn't exactly sure, but it was definitely not repulsion. "Dawn?" "Uh huh?" "I'm ok, right?" "Huh?" "I'm not too skinny? Too bony? Ugly?" "Who told you that you were ugly?!" She jumped to her feet and began stalking over to him. "Was it Spike?! I'll bet it was! Bleached idiot! He wouldn't know pretty if it bit him on his pale ass! I mean, he was in love with Buffy, and I love my sister to death, literally at times, but she's got that weird dippy thing going on with her nose." "Dawn?" Connor was confused. How had she managed to connect Spike's ass to Buffy's nose in one breath? Then he thought about what he had just thought. That was not a pleasant image. "You are very NOT ugly, ok." Connor grinned. Dawn realized what she'd just done and turned bright red again. "I th-think you should finished getting dressed." She turned away so quickly she lost her balance a bit. Connor grabbed her arm to steady her. She sucked in air through flared nostrils. He so got it now. He didn't disgust her. Oh no. All signs pointed to her being attracted to him. She averted her eyes because he affected her. Connor's grin widened. He really liked the idea that she thought he was 'pretty'. *~*~*~*~*~* "ANGEL!" Angel and Cordelia jumped away from each other at the sound of Darla's voice. They'd been having a serious talk about Connor, and Angel hadn't realized how close he and the seer had moved towards each other. "ANGEL!" He walked out to the middle of the lobby where he could see Darla running down the stairs in her robe and nightgown. She looked frantic. He didn't want to examine why that disturbed him so much. "What's wrong?" Spike, Tara, and Lorne had appeared from various rooms at her yelling. All three were still dressed for bed as well. Groo, Gunn, and Fred walked back inside from the atrium. "It's Connor! He's gone!" Spike's eyes widened before he rushed off. He was back in matter of seconds. "Dawn's not in her room either." "Maybe they went for some breakfast tacos or something." Fred offered. Angel sighed heavily. "We need to find them before Buffy gets here. Spike and I will hit the sewers. Gunn, you and Fred hit the docks. Groo, take Darla. You guys check the parks. Cordy, take Tara. You two try downtown. Lorne, you stay here in case they come back. Everybody check in every hour or so." Darla turned and went back upstairs to get dressed. It was nice to know Angel could still delegate like that. Cordelia looked at Angel. "I don't like the idea of you sending Groo off with psycho killer." "She's human now, Cordelia. She's no longer a psycho killer." "And I seem to remember her doing a lot of her serious bad to you AS A HUMAN when Wolfram and Hart brought her back." "She wouldn't do that now." "Oh?" "Connor." "You aren't telling me she went and grew motherly instincts." "You said it not me." "Angel-" "Just give her a chance, Cordelia." "I gave her a chance not so very long ago. She bit me!" "Please, Cordelia. She's Connor's mother, and I want the two of you to at least be able to be around one another." Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "Ok." She looked at Groo. "You take Tara. I'm taking Darla." "Now, Cordy-" "No." Her eyes snapped back to Angel's. "You want us to be around one another, well I say let's do it." Her eyes flashed before she turned and stomped off. Angel sighed. He hated it when Cordelia got all pissy. *~*~*~*~*~* They were on a city bus. Connor had never been on a bus before. He was holding a cup of coffee that had lethal amounts of sugar and creme in it. But he'd drink it because Dawn had fixed it for him. There was also a bag of donut holes on the seat between them. She kept popping them in his mouth every few minutes. "Pretty cool, huh?" She asked with a smile. He looked at her. Tara's advice swirled in his head. "Just pretty." He said looking only at her. Dawn's skin flushed. They just stared at one another. Connor would have to tell Tara her less is more approach still worked well. "Oh! This is our stop." Dawn jerked him to his feet. *~*~*~*~*~* "Why?" Darla was looking at Cordelia as they walked the sidewalk of the strip mall. "Why what?" "Why did you switch?" "Angel wants us to get along, so I'm going to try." "Oh." Darla said with a smile. "What?" "I didn't know it was like that." "Like what?" "You and Angel." "What are you babbling about? There is no me and Angel." "But you want there to be, right?" Cordelia stopped walking and glared at the former vampire. "No." Darla raised her eyebrow. "Not really." The eyebrow got higher. "Maybe a little." *~*~*~*~*~* Dawn continued banging on the door. "Maybe you shouldn't-" Connor was cut off by the door being flung open. Dawn gaped. Her jaw actually dropped. It was mountain man Wesley. He looked like crap. Hairy crap. When was the last time the guy had shaved? His clothes were all wrinkly and dirty too. She'd always seen him in a suit in Sunnydale, with not a hair out of place. Now his hair looked a bit like electrocution had occurred at some point. It was all wild, and not cute wild either. It was scary, I-haven't-been-brushed-in-weeks, wild. Dawn peered around him to his apartment. It was a disaster. Empty take-out and fast food bags littered the floor. Empty liquor bottles as well, thus explaining the odd scent she was smelling. She thought watchers were supposed to be tidy, and you know, all about the hygiene. "What?" He snapped. Connor stiffened. He did like the man's tone. And something was off about him. He smelled weird. "Wesley?" Dawn asked cautiously. His eyes narrowed. "Dawn?" "Hey." She smiled brightly. He was drunk. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. Or possibly on his clothes. Either way she could smell it. "What are you doing here?" "We're here to help." "We?" Wesley's eyes darted to Connor. "Who's we?" "Oh sorry. You might not recognize him. He looked a little different the last time you probably saw him. Wesley, this is Connor." Wesley stared at them for a long time before his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell in a heap at Dawn's feet. Connor yanked her behind him. "Oh fabulous." "What was the matter with him. His breath smelled strangely." "It's called inebriation. You can ask Spike all about that. Poor Wesley. He'll be sorry later." She stepped back around Connor and leaned down to the watcher. Connor's eyes narrowed as she stroked back the hair on the man's forehead. "Here. Help me get him inside." *~*~*~*~* "Hello?" Buffy stepped into the seemingly deserted lobby of the Hyperion. "Hey there.. can I... whoa, hello to that slayer aura. You must be Buffy." She turned. There was a tall, green demon with horns and red eyes regarding her. "That's right. I'm Buffy, and you are?" "Oh sorry." He held out his hand. "I'm Lorne." Buffy shook his hand. He seemed nice enough. She was a bit on edge because he was a demon, but if he was in Angel's home, he couldn't be all bad. "You don't have to worry about me, sister soldier. I have no desire to get a stake to the butt. I'm quite harmless." Buffy looked confused. "To the butt?" "Don't slayers usually aim for the heart?" Her eyes went wide. "You're heart's in your ass?" "My left butt cheek to be exact." Buffy looked at him for a long time. "Freaky." "Hey! Don't make me start on the odd shape of your nose." "Hey!" Then she started giggling. "I'm sorry... I'm just a little.... I don't know, you know? I've never met anyone who could sit on their heartbeat before. And Dawn's pissed me off with the taking off. And there's all this other stuff, you know?" "I don't know." He smiled sympathetically. He was getting some weird, wrong vibes off of her. Like she felt something inside her wasn't quite right. "But you could tell me about it. Maybe I can help you sort it all out." "Sort what out?" "Why you still don't feel alive even after living again for several months." Buffy gasped. How did he know? "I do the empathy thing every so often. Especially when the feelings on people are way strong. Yours are kinda choking me right now, honey. Tell good old Lorne what's bugging you. Maybe I can help." "I was in heaven." "And they yanked you out." Lorne sighed. Poor girl. No wonder she seemed so lost. *~*~*~*~*~* Connor watched as Dawn started picking up the trash that littered Wesley's apartment after the two of them had managed to maneuver the man to his sofa. "What are you doing?" "Tidying up. This place reeks." Connor got up and decided to help her. Not that he knew much about what needed to be saved and what needed to go. It took him several times to figure out that Wesley's dusty old books weren't trash. *~*~*~*~*~* Spike sighed again. Angel glared at him. They'd been walking through the sewers for almost an hour now, and Spike kept making noises. "What?" "Look, Peaches, I know you don't want your precious to be mad at you, but Connor ain't gonna be found 'til he's ready to be found. And he's kind taken a liking to the bit which means she ain't gonna be found either. Connor's like that." "And you'd know all about it." Angel snapped. "Actually I would! That boy's been mine for the last decade, and now you've come to take him away just like you bloody well take everything else!" Angel stopped and stared. Spike had turned away. The muscle in his jaw was ticking. It was not possible that Spike cared about something other than himself. "He IS my son, Spike." Spike glared at him. "Who soddin' helped raise him, you pathetic git?! Not you! I was one of the ones he came to! I was the one who taught him to fight! I was the one who taught him how to read and write proper! I was the one who told him about YOU! He'd hate your soddin' guts if it weren't for me, you rag!" Spike turned away. "Why are you so angry with me?" "You gonna leave him like you did me and Dru?" "What?" Spike whirled back around. "Don't you hurt him by running off. Because I got to tell you, Peaches, you are spectacular at the walking away." He paused to glare. "Just ask Buffy." "I'm not going anywhere." Angel was confused. Spike actually cared that he'd left him with Dru a century ago? It bothered him that Angel had walked away from Buffy for her own good almost three years ago? That was unexpected. Didn't he see that the slayer was better off? He was worried that Angel might abandon Connor? That was not possible. Hello, been tearing the city apart trying to open a portal to get the boy back. "Spike..." "Look, poof, just you be there for him. Or will kill you. Slow." He hissed before he stomped ahead, kicking at the rancid murky water with his boots. Angel sighed and started following Spike. Why did everything have to be so complicated with him? With the two of them? *~*~*~*~*~* Wesley blinked. He felt awful. The watcher swore he was never drinking so much ever again. He'd had the strangest dream about Connor being grown up and here with Dawn Summers of all people. "You're awake." Wesley blinked. Dawn was standing above him. Connor walked up next to her. Ok, so maybe it hadn't been a dream. "Dawn? Connor?" Dawn sat next to him on the sofa. "Do you need anything? Water? A razor?" Wesley chuckled slightly, but it turned into a hacking cough. He leaned over the side of the sofa as Dawn patted his back. She looked at Connor in alarm. Wesley was sick. She nearly gagged when whatever had been lodged in his throat came up and he spit it into an empty Chinese food container she and Connor had yet to put in the trash bag 'o' filth. "Eww." "Sorry." Wesley said and cleared his throat. He laid back on the sofa and closed his eyes. His head was pounding now. "You wanna tell us what happened?" "What?" He looked at Dawn. Connor had dragged a chair from the kitchen up to the side of the sofa. He straddled it and leaned his arms on the back. "What she means is why no one at my father's house will say your name. As if you were moldy wart or something." "As if I were what?" "Voldemort." Dawn corrected. "Ah, so I've been restricted to He-who-must-not-be-named." Wesley sighed. His eyes seemed to lose a bit more life. Dawn placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's what we're here to fix. Tell us what happened."
"Hello?" Angel snapped into his cell. He listened for several minutes while Spike tapped his boot. Rather annoyingly. "We're closer." Spike looked at him as he hung up the phone. "Well?" "Gunn said someone spotted Connor and Dawn going into Wesley's apartment building." "And that's bad because..." "Wesley's the one who took Connor." "I thought he was supposed to be one of your best mates." "He was." "So what happened?" "I don't want to talk about it." "Right. Because you can handle everything all by yourself. Always could." Spike snapped sarcastically. "Maybe it's more than you think. Ever had that thought in that great noggin of yours? Maybe the bloke was just following your bad example. Clamming up and trying to handle all the big bad by his lonesome." "Shut up, Spike." "Never even considered it, did you?" "This isn't about that. This is about Connor and Dawn running off." "I know. What are they thinking?" Spike shook his head sarcastically. "They went to the watcher. Maybe they're trying to fix your mess. Ever thought of that one? "They? Spike, you know this is Dawn's fault. And why would they care about anything that happened with Wesley and I?" "Oh, Peaches, I know both of them. Quite well. And it may have been Dawn's idea, but I can tell you Connor never gets talked into anything he doesn't already want to do. And do you even hear yourself? Why would they care? This is your son, and Dawn, the niblet cares for just about everyone she meets. Likes me quite a lot, actually. That tell you anything about why?" Angel started walking faster. "Keep up." "You hear me, but you don't listen." Spike muttered as he jogged to catch up. *~*~*~*~* Wesley stared at the two of them as they acted like typical teens in the diner the three of them were eating in. They'd insisted Wesley be taken out for breakfast/lunch... brunch. He was just picking at his pancakes. They were making him want to retch again. "So you were the one who took Connor?" Dawn asked. "Yes." "But you did it because you thought Angel was gonna hurt him." "Angel would have never hurt his son. I don't know how I ever could have thought such a thing." "People make mistakes." Dawn had an odd look on her face. "And sometimes the fallout is so mighty that you think you're gonna die or explode from it, but if the people around you really love you, it can be overcame." "I guess I wasn't so lucky." Dawn placed her hand over his. "Don't say that." He looked at her. "I'm here. I'll help you." Wesley was oddly touched. He looked at Connor. "And you?" "I'm not sorry. I don't hate you or anything. How could I? The chain of events started by your taking of me led me to my mother. I'll never be sorry that happened. I love my mother very much." "You mother?" "Darla." Wesley's fork clanked on his plate as he dropped it. "What?" "She's alive?" "Well... yeah." "How?" "I don't know. She doesn't even know. She's just very thankful. I was transferred back to this reality after my fath- after Holtz was killed. I was here, but for a few minutes when she fell from thin air. Right near me. She's very sweet, my mother is. And smart. She loves me. It's always me first. I hate to think of who I'd be without her. Or Tara. Or Spike." Wesley had just taken a sip of juice. He spit it everywhere. "Spike?!" "Shh." Dawn squeezed his hand. "Spike's semi-good now." "Semi-good?" Connor asked. As he wiped the juice off of his face. "He'd bust a vein if he knew I said he was good. So the semi." Wesley laughed. Connor and Dawn looked at him in alarm. His laugh sounded a bit hysterical. Dawn tossed some money down on the table. "Come on. Let's get out of here." *~*~*~*~* Angel stared at the apartment in horror. He was looking for anything. What he was finding was that Wesley had turned into a slob. And a slob who drank a lot at that. "They were here." Spike said from the doorway. "How do you know?" "I can smell the bit. Her perfume. She uses all that Bath and Bodyworks crap, you know they have the shampoo and body wash and lotion and body spray. She always smells like a little apple. It's a good thing I don't fancy apple so much. I might have tried to eat her by now." Angel glared at Spike. "Right then. So I wonder where they went?" *~*~*~*~* They were sitting in a park talking. Wesley was feeling less and less like he was going to vomit. Dawn had been telling about Sunnydale. Connor had explained about the two different dimensions he'd lived in. He'd talked of Holtz and Darla. Wesley was amazed. The Darla Connor described was not the Darla he remembered. He was so busy enjoying their company, he almost missed her. Dawn jumped when Wesley suddenly stood abruptly in the middle of her sentence. "Wesley?" He started stalking off, following the person he'd just caught a glimpse of. Dawn jumped up and grabbed Connor's hand. "Dawn?" "We have to follow him." "I know, but..." "But what?" "Your sister.... won't she be worried?" "Wesley first." The two ran after the former watcher. *~*~*~*~*~* Darla and Cordelia entered the lobby slowly. They were finished chatting. They had been for several hours. The two woman had come to an understanding. It was like the movie Step Mom, but without all the sad depressing death crap. Cordelia was going to learn all there was to learn about Connor. Darla wanted to share him. She wanted everyone at Angel Investigations to know her son. But especially Cordelia. Darla had explained. She wanted Cordelia to know everything there was to know about Connor because Cordelia would always be with Angel. Connor would always be in Angel's life now. So Cordelia needed to know. The former cheerleader was only sure of one thing after spending most of the day with Darla. They had sort of the same taste in shoes, and Angel was right. Darla had changed. Both woman stopped when the saw Buffy collapsed in Lorne's arms balling her head off. "Buffy?" Cordelia ran. "Buffy? What happened? What is it?" "Did something h-happen to them? Is my son ok? Dawn? It's not Dawn, is it?" Lorne looked up. "Oh honey, I'm sure he's fine. Dawn too. No, she... she just had a big old breakdown. She just needed to get it all out." Darla sighed in relief. She started to sink to the floor, her hand on her heart when hands grabbed her. Two sets, to be exact. Gunn and Fred had managed to catch her. They led her over to the sofa that Lorne, Buffy, and Cordelia were on. Even though it was getting a bit crowded. "What happened?" Fred asked almost hysterically. "No, sweetie." Lorne patted her arm. "No word on the kids. This is Buffy. She's just having some issues. Has nothing to do with Dawny or Connor" *~*~*~*~* Tara was listening to Groo talk about 'his princess' and his home of Pylea. It had been fascinating for about the first hour. Now, not so much. The problem was he was just too darn adorable to tell him to shut up. His speech pattern was fascinating. Groo slowed down. "Wesley?" He said in conclusion. Tara stopped walking and grabbed Groo's arm. "Look." Groo turned. Connor and Dawn were rushing after Wesley. He grabbed Tara's hand and jerked her after the two teens. "Cell phone?" She asked. Groo reached into his pants and handed it to her. Tara tried to open the cell and dial with one hand. At the same time she was trying not to fall on her face because Groo was running a bit faster than her skirt could carry her. She needed to call Angel and let him know where they were. She needed to tell him that they had found Connor and Dawn, so Spike wouldn't piss him off causing Angel to then kill Spike. They'd been alone together far too long. "Angel?" She stumbled then and cried out shrilly. Groo managed to steady her. "Not so fast! M-my legs are much shorter than yours!" She paused. "No, Sorry, Angel. We found them." She paused again and tugged at Groo's arm. "Where ARE we?" *~*~*~*~* "Wesley!" Dawn was calling after the watcher. He had followed some woman into an abandoned building. That wasn't so abandoned once they got inside. There was a group of people in there that looked like the Scooby Gang about to take out a vamp nest. Weapons everywhere. She watched in horror as Wesley tackled the woman to the ground with a growl. "No!" Several guys rushed at Wesley to pry him off the redheaded woman. He was snarling like an animal when they pulled him back. Part of the group was also closing in on Dawn and Connor. She saw her chance. There was a sword on the ground near Wesley's feet. The redhead was closing in, and she didn't look too happy. Dawn pushed through the opening, dove to the ground when one of the guys grabbed for her, rolled, grabbed the fallen sword, and popped up right next to Wesley. She pointed the tip at the woman. "Back off." She nearly grinned, but that would have ruined the effect. "Or what? You gonna kill me, little girl?" "I don't kill people." The woman took a step forward. Dawn leaned in with the sword. "But I have been known to maim occasionally." "Dawn..." Connor said. "Tell them to step away from him." "Which him?" The woman asked. "How about we do both?" "How about not." She snapped. "Do you know what a slayer is, Justine?" Wesley said in a haughty tone. "You keep pissing her off, and she'll give you a small demonstration." "I'm not a slayer, Wesley." "But you came from one. You live with one." "A slayer?" Justine asked. "One girl in every generation chosen to kill vampires... blah blah blah... anyway, she's my one sister chosen to annoy me for the rest of my life." "Vampire slayer? But you're working for Angel, right?" "Not technically." "But you help him?" "Well, yeah. Duh. He's good. All soul-y." Justine snorted. "He's a vampire. A pretty famous one. How come this vampire slayer sister of yours didn't do her job and slay him?" Dawn laughed loudly. "Are you kidding? She could never kill Angel. She did, however send him to hell, but kill him? No." "She must not be very good at what she does then." "I'd advise you not to say such things about my sister. She may be a pain in the butt, but she's still my sister. They made me from her." Justine looked confused. "I wasn't always human. Not gonna explain that to you. But anyway, the reason she never dusted Angel is because she loves him. They were the Romeo and Juliet of the vampire/slayer world. They had serious forbidden love. He was her first true love. Now, I'm not saying he's the great love of her life, but he's definitely in the top five." "She was in love with her enemy?" "Tragic, isn't it?" "Dawn.." Connor was sounding a little more anxious. He didn't like her facing off with this Justine woman. Dawn leaned in with the sword. Justine felt the tip almost break the skin. "Now let them go." Justine nodded to her crew. They backed off. Wesley jerked his arm out of the last's grip. Connor was at Dawn's side instantly. "May I have that?" She looked up at him. "You don't think I did well just then?" "I think you did wonderful." He caressed her cheek. "I just like weapons. Besides, how will you ask questions and watch your back at the same time?" "Good point." She handed him the sword with a light kiss to his cheek. Connor instantly started circling. "Let me assure everyone here that I know how to use this." Dawn looked at Wesley. "Isn't he neat?" Wesley was still glaring at Justine. He was also rubbing the scar on his neck. Dawn spun to look at Justine. "You did this to him." She whispered. "I-" "Don't even bother to deny it." Dawn looked at Wesley. "She did, didn't she?" "Yes." He hissed glaring at Justine. "You can't kill her, you realize." His eyes shot to Dawn's. "What?" "You kill her, and you become what you fought against once. Don't allow the darkness to take you." "I don't remember you being quite so clever." "Probably because we never REALLY met." Wesley laughed a bit hollowly. Dawn hugged him. "We'll sort this out." When she pulled back, she saw two familiar people standing just inside the shadows. "Oh crap." Tara and Groo didn't look very happy. Well, Groo did, but he always looked kinda happy with that grin he always had on his face. "What?" Connor and Wesley asked at the same time. "We've been discovered." "I'll say." "What?" Connor nodded in the opposite direction of where Tara and Groo were. Angel and Spike were coming out of the shadows slowly. Neither looked pleased. Connor and Dawn moved to flank Wesley. Connor still had the sword raised. "It looks like we're in trouble." Connor whispered. "Yeah. Quite a lot of it." "And it was worth every minute of my time with you." Dawn stared with eyes that widened a bit. Her mouth opened slightly. "Oh." He leaned around Wesley. She met him half way. Someone said "Oh bloody everlasting hell." as soon as their lips met. It did nothing to stop them. They were not every interrupted when Justine swung a sword at them. Connor blocked her without even looking. Because to look he would have had to stop with the kissing, and he was so about the kissing now. He pulled away and licked his lips. She had tasted sugary. Like the glaze from the donut holes. It was very nice. Connor
looked at Justine. "Told you I knew how to use this." |