Destiny

By PSUBrat

The Exchange

Dawn lowered her hand. Her eyes widened. "Angel?"

Angel frowned as he recognized Buffy's not-so-little sister; at least he was fairly certain that the thin, tall brunette was Dawn. "Dawn? What are you doing here?"

She limped over to him as fast as she could considering her injured ankle and threw her arms around him. "Oh my god, Angel! I'm so happy it's you and not some psycho-demon stalker!" She was extremely relieved that her attacker turned out to be a familiar face.

Dawn's embrace had taken Angel by surprise. Instead of trying to extricate himself from the overly happy girl, he returned her affections. He really couldn't remember the last time he had seen Dawn, maybe it had been after her mother died, he wasn't sure, but she had grown up a lot since then. He noted that she was much taller now and quite a bit stronger. He noticed her wince in pain when she finally released him from the hug.

"Are you hurt? Let me help you to the couch." He slipped his arm around her back to support her.

"I'm fine, nothing I can't fix. I guess I shouldn't try swinging axes that are bigger than me yet."

"Yeah. I was going to ask you where you learned to do that. I guess I already know the answer."

"Buffy's been teaching me. I started getting Slayer-like powers around my sixteenth birthday, along with a few other ones, so Giles thought I should learn how to use them." By this point, she had lifted her injured ankle and placed it on the couch. It looked bruised and swollen.

"Dawn you better let me get some ice for that, it looks pretty bad."

"No," she said, grabbing his arm before he could walk away. "It'll be fine, really. I have this really cool power that let's me heal stuff. Watch!" Slowly, she traced her ankle with her finger and concentrated all of her energy on the injury. In seconds, the swelling went down and the bruise disappeared.

"How'd you do that?" Angel asked incredulously.

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "No clue. Isn't it neat though?"

The only reaction Angel could give her was raising his eyebrows. Then he gave her a crooked smile. "So Dawn, wanna tell me how you got here? I'm pretty sure Buffy didn't just drive up here and drop you off for a weekend with me."

***

Willow and Tara happily walked hand in hand on their way back to their flat. It was a beautiful day in Devon, in more ways than one. The sun was shining and Willow had just received word from the Coven that if she passed her next trial successfully, she could return home. That had been the best news she had heard in the last few months. She was feeling better and doing well with magic, she no longer felt the need to have power. That was a step in the right direction for sure! Willow glanced over at Tara. The young woman had really come out of her shell over here in England. She sensed that Tara was more confident and definitely much more powerful than before. Everything was really coming together for the two of them.

"So, do you think Buffy will tell Sp…uhm, William how she feels about him?" Tara asked as she slowed their pace and led Willow to a bench by the pond.

Willow frowned and thought for a second. "I'm not sure. I'm still trying to get over the whole fact that Spike is human and that Buffy loves him!"

"Yeah. It's all so strange, but not really I guess. Buffy's the light and Spike's the dark. It's balance, or at least it was before Spike became human."

"I guess. Why does Buffy always have to go for a vampire? I mean, first there was Angel, which was understandable cause, well, soul…good. Then there was Spike…not so good. I don't get it. Why can't Buffy just have a normal boyfriend, like she did with Riley?"

"Willow, Buffy is who she is. Who better understands what she needs? A normal human guy isn't going to be enough for her. Riley wasn't. He wanted to protect her from her calling instead of just letting her be who she was."

Willow sighed. "You're right. But still…Spike? Ick factor plus twenty."

"Not really, not when you think about it in terms of how Spike was while Buffy was gone. He protected Dawn when he had nothing to gain and he loved Buffy without conditions. He's not really as bad as all of you make him sound."

"I guess you're right, but he did try to kill us…"

"So did Buffy. Does that mean we should hate her too?"

Willow frowned when she realized her lover was right on the mark. "No. I guess it's just going to take some getting used to."

"Come on," Tara said with a seductive smile. "Let's go back to the room and get used to some other…things."

Willow grinned and let her lover lead the way.

***

"Where do you want me to start," Dawn asked.

"Is it that long of a story?" Angel wasn't sure why the girl just couldn't tell him how she had gotten there. Was it that difficult to explain?

"Well…it could be."

"Alright then…Start from the beginning."

Dawn told him in detail, about their confrontation with Warren and how her powers started to surface around that time. She noticed the pained look on Angel's face when she got to the part about Buffy being buried alive in the rubble.

"She got out okay. She saved the world, again. I think that's what she needed, especially after how she handled coming back from…you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly herself when the gang brought her back. At first we thought it was cause she had been trapped in hell and it would take a while. But then we found out she had been in heaven..."

"She was in heaven?" Angel asked incredulously.

Dawn sighed and lowered her eyes. "Yeah. She was really happy there. After they brought her back, it was just too much for her to deal with and I didn't help things any."

Angel looked down at his feet. Buffy had needed someone and he hadn't been there for her. Why did he always feel like he let her down? "I'm sorry she had to go through that alone."

"She really didn't go through it alone, she had Spike…"

"Spike? What does Spike have to do with this?"

She had forgotten that Spike and Angel didn't get along. There was no need for her to tell him about the relationship, or about what happened between Spike and Buffy before Spike left the country. "Nothing really…he just protected me and helped Buffy out as much as he could."

"I see. But what does any of this have to do with you being here?"

She then explained that her latest power included the opening and closing of portals. "Giles says it has something to do with some prophecy, that my powers were foretold or something like that. I am the key after all."

"Right." The key? Did he know about this? There was so much about Buffy's life that he didn't share in anymore.

They continued their discussion about her powers and then moved to all things Sunnydale. Before they both realized it, a couple of hours had passed.

"Oh my gosh!" Dawn exclaimed, as she looked at the clock above the desk. "Buffy's probably worried sick. I'm sure she heard me scream. I should call her!"

"You can use the phone over on the front desk. Let her know you're okay and that I'll bring you home later in the evening."

Dawn smiled brightly and hurried over to the phone. She heard the phone in Sunnydale ring…and ring some more. Why wasn't the answering machine picking up? "That's weird. The machine isn't picking up and there's no answer. I bet Buffy's out looking for me right now. What should I do?"

"Why don't you get some sleep and I'll keep trying to get through. If not, I'll leave a message at the Magic Box. How does that sound?"

"I guess that's okay. She's gonna be so pissed off at me, Giles too for that matter. They yelled at me about going through the portals. Guess I should listen, huh?"

Angel smiled. "Guess you should."

***

They sat on the bed, facing one another. William looked longingly into Buffy's eyes. Everything about this night had been unbelievable and now he was about to make love to the woman of his dreams. This wasn't going to be like that night they had brought a house down. That had just been about her needing to feel alive again. No, this was going to be him making love to her without any fears of her bolting from the room the minute they were done.

He leaned over to her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She shuddered in response. He pulled her onto his lap and began kissing her passionately. "I want you so much luv," he said breathlessly.

Buffy pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes, they were tender and full of love for her. She let her hands roam over his back and under his shirt, needing to touch his skin. How different it felt now, it was warm and full of life. She felt his hands explore her body and whimpered slightly when he cupped her breast in his hand. The need for flesh to touch more flesh became overwhelming. She pulled his shirt over his head and quickly discarded it. He was still as fit as he was before, maybe even more so.

William closed his eyes as Buffy ran her hands over his chest. When she began softly kissing his collarbone, he thought he was going to pass out. Her touch drove him crazy. Quickly, he undid the buttons of her shirt and slipped it off her shoulders as he had done earlier that night at her place. This time there would be no interruptions. In one smooth motion, he unhooked her bra and pulled it down her arms.

They laid back down on the bed so that their skin was touching, hot flesh against hot flesh. He kissed her neck and then moved down her body, gently taking her hard nipple in his hot mouth. He felt her body quiver.

Colors were exploding behind her eyes as she let him relish her body. She couldn't help but grind her hips against his thighs. "Spike I need you now," she said between gasps of ecstasy.

In response to her request, he kissed her fervently on the lips and began removing her jeans. She could feel his need for her as well. Reaching down, she undid his belt, then the button and then finally the zipper. She pushed his pants down over his buttocks. Happily, she noticed that he hadn't changed all that much from vampire to human, he still didn't wear any under garments.

He broke the kiss only long enough to remove her jeans and then his. Slowly, he lowered himself to her. "I love you so much, Buffy."

Buffy could see the tears well up in his eyes. She could tell that this act of love meant more to him than just hearing her say the words. She placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him tenderly.

He returned the kiss as he slowly entered her. They both shuddered at the sensation of their joining. Soon their need for one another became overwhelming. Buffy grabbed onto the mattress on both sides of her and screamed in pleasure as their pace quickened.

She was certain she was going to pass out as her orgasm washed over her. William held her tightly and matched his pace with her's until he could feel her starting to relax.

William felt his release draw closer. Buffy closed her eyes and he gently brushed his hand across her cheek, willing them open. She was so beautiful. She was looking at him, almost in awe. That was all it took to send him over the edge into pure bliss, consummating their love and passion for one another. He held her gently as their breathing calmed, and when their eyes met, she smiled. The tears that had threatened to fall subsided as she pulled him closer to her and stroked his hair. Through their lovemaking, they had exchanged silent promises of never ending love and devotion.

Buffy closed her eyes and smiled softly to herself. She had finally found what had been missing from her life.

***

Angel motioned for Dawn to follow him up the stairs. "Nice thing about this being an old hotel, I have plenty of space for guests."

"This seems like a pretty nice place, but isn't it lonely living here all by yourself?" She looked down the empty hallway and saw door after door. The place was huge!

As Angel was about to explain that he didn't live alone, a dark haired girl with a southern accent interrupted them as she popped her head out of one of the doors. "Angel? Is everything okay? I thought I heard voices…"

"Everything is fine Fred. Fred, I'd like you to meet Buffy's sister."

"The Buffy? As in 'love of your life' Buffy? She has a sister?"

Angel looked embarrassed as he nodded and stepped over to the side so that Fred could meet Dawn.

Fred's eyes widened as she recognized the girl.

Dawn's mouth dropped open. The portal: Fred was the woman she had seen through the portal when she was with Steven…

Angel watched their reaction with curiosity. "Something wrong?"

"Angel. She's the one I saw with Connor!"

 

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