DestinyBy PSUBrat
Morning After
Anya and Xander arrived at the Magic Box about an hour before it was to open. They hadn't heard from Buffy or William since they had left them the night before.
"They did say to meet here first thing in the morning, right?" Xander questioned with a perplexed look. All was quiet.
"Maybe they left a message on the machine," Anya said optimistically. "I'll go check. In the meantime Xander, while you're here, go bring up a box of crystal balls from the basement. For some reason, they're selling like hotcakes!" She patted his shoulder and smiled broadly as she made her way over to the answering machine.
Xander stood staring at her. She never ceased to amaze him. No 'please'. No 'thank you'. Nothing. He shook his head and made his way to the basement door. The voice on the machine snapped him out of his seething.
Turning quickly to go to where his girlfriend was standing, he asked, "Is that who I think it is?"
"It's Angel all right," she said nodding her head. "He says Dawn is with him in L.A."
"How did Dawnster get there?"
"Angel said something about a portal. We should call Buffy."
"I'll call her," he said, as he picked up the phone. He dialed Buffy's number and waited for her to pick up. Nothing. "That's odd. There's no answer. She did say she was gonna go home, right?"
"I thought so. Are you sure you dialed the right number, sweetie?"
"An, I've known Buffy for over six years now. I think I'd know her home phone number by heart."
"Better try again," she patronized. "Just in case." She flashed him a bright smile and walked into the office to get the morning receipts ready.
As he started to redial Buffy's number, Cecily arrived at the shop.
"Good morning, Xander. Is Anya in the office?" She knew that Xander didn't like her, but by being sweet and kind to him, she knew she'd get on his nerves even more.
"Yeah." He continued with the phone call and then swore under his breath.
"What's wrong? The next victim you're getting ready to jilt not answering?"
He glared at her. "You know something...? I though that it was just being a demon that made you ugly as hell... all those veins..."
Her face reddened. "If I was still a demon you'd never be saying these things…"
"Well you're not a demon anymore, lucky for the world." Trying to keep his anger in check, he said, "If you must know, I'm trying to get a hold of Buffy to let her know that Dawn's okay…"
"What do you mean Dawn's okay? There was a problem? What's wrong? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Calm down Child Avenger. Dawn's fine. She went through a portal and got stuck there. She's with Angel in L.A. and I just wanted to make sure Buffy knew so that she wasn't going out of her mind with worry. She's probably been up all night looking for her."
"Does William know?" Cecily asked growing more concerned.
"Yes. He was out helping us last night."
"Give me the phone. I'll call him and let him know. I'm sure he's really upset, he loves that girl like his own."
Xander handed the phone to the ex-demon and rolled his eyes. "A bit obsessed with the scourge of Europe are you?"
"Former, and yes I am. Not that it's any of your business. William and I are in love. Now bugger off while I give him the news."
Xander threw his hands in the air and walked away. Women.
***
After their shared dream, Buffy and William lay on the bed holding one another. They both drifted off into a deep sleep knowing that Dawn was safe. William was the first to wake when the buzzer on the alarm began its chant.
"Bloody hell! Sodding alarm clock." He turned the alarm off and pushed it off his nightstand with a loud crash. If there was one thing he truly hated as a human, it was the bleeding alarm clock…oh, and maybe having to live by the laws of man. He hadn't noticed that the phone had gone crashing to the floor as well.
Buffy stretched and rolled over. "What time is it?" She asked sighing contentedly.
He snuggled up next to her and pulled her close. "Time enough for a bit more shagging."
"We should get to the Magic Box, let the others know that Dawn's okay."
"There's plenty of time for that later. Right now, you and me are gonna make up for some lost time of our own." He smiled mischievously at her.
She tousled his already messed sandy brown curls and then kissed him passionately. He's right, she thought, there's always plenty of time for this.
***
Dawn woke up in a room she neither recognized nor felt completely comfortable in. At first she was groggy and couldn't remember where she was, then it all started coming back to her. She was in L.A., with Angel. As she sat up in bed taking in her surroundings, she heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," Dawn called out. Dawn recognized the girl instantly. Her hair was a lot shorter and a lot blonder than she remembered, but there was no doubt about it. It was Cordelia Chase.
"Good morning sleepyhead," Cordelia said, as she sat down on the edge of Dawn's bed. "I hear you've had quite a night."
"Uh…hi Cordelia. Yeah, I guess you could say that." Dawn considered the young woman in front of her. There was something different about her, something that she just couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Wow! You've really grown up! Last time I saw you, you were…oh wait, I've never seen you before, have I?"
Dawn shook her head and pulled the covers tighter to her chest.
"It's okay, Dawn. No one's going to hurt you. I have to apologize for Angel's behavior last night. When it comes to Connor," she said lowering her voice, "he goes a little crazy sometimes."
Dawn stared at Cordelia. What is it with this Connor guy? "Uhm…Cordelia? Who's Connor?"
"Oh! You don't know?"
Dawn shook her head in response. "I keep hearing his name, but I have no idea who it is."
Cordelia studied the teen closely. She could tell that Dawn was telling the truth. "I think I'll let Angel have the pleasure of telling you that one. In the meantime, is there anything you need? I think you and Fred might be the same height and stuff, I'm sure she'd let you borrow some clothes if you want."
"Sure. I guess I can't go walking around in my pajamas all day."
"Great. I'll get you some breakfast and then we can catch up on girl talk. I can't wait to hear about Sunnydale!" She eased herself off the bed and walked to the door. Angel was going to have a lot of explaining to do!
***
"What's wrong Cecily?" Anya asked, noticing the frown on her friend's face.
"William's line is busy. I thought he had call waiting. Oh well. I'll try back in a few minutes." She then began to busy herself with morning chores.
"He's probably on the phone with the Council or something."
"Either that or he's running as fast and as far away from you as possible," Xander said under his breath. He had to admit, he didn't like the guy, but he hoped that Spike knew what he was getting himself into by dating a former vengeance demon.
Anya paused giving her boyfriend a harsh glare, then added, "Being a watcher is a big thing, you know."
"Yes it is. I'm so proud of my William." Cecily beamed.
"Oh Cecily, I'm so happy for you!" Anya ran over to her friend and gave her a hug. "So, has he asked you to marry him yet?"
Cecily was shocked. "My heavens! No! We've only been dating for two weeks Anyanka. That's hardly enough time for a proper courtship!"
"Yes but you've been in love for over a century!"
"I have been, yes, but William has had other loves in the meantime. There was Drusilla…and Buffy." Her eyes lowered and she glowered as she mentioned Buffy's name.
"Drusilla was his sire. There's some kind of icky bond there, and as for Buffy, that was just sex. Although, come to think of it, maybe he did have feelings for her. He did come here looking for a spell to make his pain go away the night that he and I had sex."
Xander groaned. He had been trying, unsuccessfully, to rid his mind of the sex image for months. Now he was going to have to deal with a whole bout of fresh imagery. "Anya. Please. Can we just not talk about that?"
Anya rolled her eyes. "If you hadn't left me at the altar, Spike and I wouldn't have had sex. It happened. Get over it."
During the lovers' exchange, Cecily had gone back over to the phone to try William again. "The line is still busy."
"Don't worry. He'll be here soon enough. Why don't you help me with unpacking some of the new inventory?"
Cecily smiled slightly and followed Anya into the back while Xander left for coffee and donuts.
***
"Angel," Cordelia started, "that girl up there doesn't know anything about a guy named Connor, and until you get up there and explain the whole situation to her, you're not going to get any answers!"
"You want me to tell her everything?" Angel asked incredulously.
Cordelia bit her bottom lip. He had a point. "Well, maybe not everything, but you definitely have to tell her about Connor."
He sighed heavily. This was not going to be easy. Dawn was just as emotional as her sister, maybe even more so. She had hated him for leaving Buffy and now she was going to hate him even more after their talk. "Think I should wear some armor?"
Cordelia scowled at him, raised her arm and pointed up the stairs. "Don't be such a baby. Go. Now."
"Hey everyone," Gunn said, as he entered the hotel. "Hey baby." He walked over and put his arm around Fred and gave her a quick kiss. "What's up?"
"We have a house guest," Fred said with a hint of concern.
"Oh yeah, who?" Gunn asked with a frown.
Fred turned to Gunn and asked, "Remember that girl that was with Connor the other night?"
"Yeah? Oh! She's the guest? How? Who is she?"
"She's Buffy's sister," Cordelia stated, as she walked over to the computer to check e-mail.
Gunn's eyes widened. "The Buffy?"
"Yes," Angel said with a sigh. What was it with these people? They made Buffy sound like some bigger than life myth or something. "Dawn is upstairs right now in the room next to Fred's."
"So she told you about Connor then?" Gunn questioned.
Fred replied. "No. She doesn't know a Connor…"
"But that was him in that portal thing, right? Wasn't just my eyes playing tricks on me."
"Chances are he might be going by Steven," Angel stated. "I was just going to head up and tell her who Connor was."
Gunn noted the quick look of hesitation on Angel's face. No way he would trade places with him at this moment in time. "Good luck, dude. Think you might need back up?"
"He'll be fine," Cordelia chastised. "Now get moving Angel."
***
"Come on luv," William called from the front door. "Let's get a move on shall we?"
"Hey," Buffy replied with a stern look. "You're the one that wanted to try something new in the shower."
William wiggled his eyebrows and grinned mischievously. "You look better in that sweatshirt than I do. I think you should keep it, or…" he said eyeing her nervously, "you could start keeping some of your things here?"
Buffy paused as they walked down the street towards the Magic Box. "Don't take this the wrong way Spike, but this staying the night at your place, probably a one time only deal. Remember? Me of the guardian position?"
He winced. "Oh, yeah. Sorry luv almost forgot. All that late night activity must have gone to my brain."
She swatted him on the arm playfully. This was nice. Walking. Bantering. Holding hands. In the daylight no less! She most definitely could get used to this. Nothing could ruin this day.
William held open the door to the shop for her. They walked in giggling like two school children.
"Hey Buff," Xander called from the table. Then nodded towards the watcher. "William."
"Harris."
Anya waved from behind the cash register. "Good morning Buffy. You look happy today!"
Buffy looked at William, who nodded his head. She turned back to her friends and said, "There's something I want to tell you…"
At the sound of William's voice, Cecily came running out of the back room and threw her arms around the man. "William! Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour!" She planted a kiss on his lips and smiled brightly.
William and Buffy were both stunned. Neither one of them had even given a second thought to Cecily.