Here We Come To Save The Day

By Karen

Chapter Two

Dawn looked up as she heard the screech of metal against metal and walked outside the Magic Box to see Connor peering over the steering wheel of Gunn's truck at the metal litterbin he'd just taken out. Dawn watched the newly liberated garbage throw itself enthusiastically over the street with the help of the chill wind that had sprung up and then switched her attention to her boyfriend as he jumped from the cab with a sheepish _expression

"Is it a clod? Is it a total spaz? No, it's my boyfriend. Ladies and gentlemen I give you…The Destroyer."
"Oh ha ha, very funny."

Connor came to a halt before the smiling girl and scowled, then allowed the frown to melt away and give her the wide, loving smile he reserved just for her

"Hey."

Dawn reached out and tucked a strand of his unruly hair behind his ears and then trailed her hand across his cheek

"Hey."

Connor slipped an arm around her waist and brought her in close until they were pressed together tightly from knees to chest

"You done laughing at me now?"

Dawn nodded and ran her tongue around her suddenly dry lips

"Uh-huh."
"Good."

Connor bent his head and claimed the mouth he had been dreaming about ever since his return to LA from the wilderness camp he had first met Dawn at. He wrapped both arms around her and used one hand to cradle the back of her head as he deepened the angle of the kiss and gave himself willingly up to the flood of emotions the kiss released.

Dawn closed her eyes the minute his lips touched hers and, just for a moment, revelled in the luxury of someone else being strong. The last two hours had been hard on her and she had resorted in the end to tidying the shop in a bid to quiet the images in her head that showed her loved ones being repeatedly tortured and killed as they screamed for her to come and save them. She sank willingly into his embrace and wound her arms around his neck playing with tiny locks of his hair and caressing the soft skin on his neck as she sighed into his kiss.

Finally they pulled away from each other and Connor smiled into her eyes

"You ok?"

Dawn returned the smile

"Yeah. Better now I have you here. You ready to get to work?"

Connor nodded and reluctantly released her

"Ok. Where did you want to start?"

Dawn led him back into the shop to wait as she loaded up with weapons

"The only place we can."

She winced and raised her shirt at the back to slip a dagger in a leather sheath in the back of her pants

"Unfortunately."

Twenty minutes later found Dawn bug eyed with horror as she watched a brick wall race up to meet them and Connor apparently unaware of the danger

"Brake Connor! BRAKE!"

The dark haired boy jumped and stamped down on the pedal beneath his foot only for the truck to leap forward with a roar

"The OTHER brake!"

She screamed as he found the correct pedal and the truck fishtailed round to stop and inch away from the wall. There was a silence of a few seconds in the cab and then the flushed and furious Key held out her hand

"Give. Me. The. Keys."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as he opened his mouth and she spat

"Don't say anything, just give me the damn keys."

Connor studied her for a moment and then wisely decided discretion was the better part of valour and handed over the little bunch of silver keys. Dawn folded her fingers around them and then shoved them deep in the pocket of Spike's duster that she had retrieved from the house on the way. She flung open her door and threw herself out and then stuck her head back in to yell

"You are never, EVER, driving me anywhere EVER again. You LUNATIC!"

Connor blinked and went to open his own door and realised he had ended up so close to the wall it had maybe an inch between the door and the bricks. His last ounce of manly pride got left behind as he crawled over the seats and swung out of Dawn's door

"Oh like you're so great behind a wheel. Spike, taught you for gods sake."

Dawn gasped in outrage

"Don't you say a word against him, at least he doesn't drive like Druscilla on acid."
"Who?"

Dawn swept on as she pushed him out of the way and began to sort weapons

"How hard is it anyway? Press the gas for go and the brake for stop. Duh! And Gunn is so going to kick your ass when he sees his baby."

She looked over her shoulder suspiciously

"Why are you driving Gunn's truck anyway? Where's the Angelmobile?"

Connor felt the red blush stain his cheeks and hoped against hope it was too dark for her to see

"I thought this would be more practical."

Considering its not sitting by the side of the freeway in LA and minus two tyres and on fire

Dawn's eyes narrowed suspiciously

"Hmm."

Connor cleared his throat and reached for his sword and a handheld crossbow

"So what is this place?"

Dawn hefted her favourite axe in one hand and Buffy's Mr Pointy in the other and wrinkled her nose at the shabby looking doorway opposite

"Truly heinous and the best place for demon info in California. Welcome to Willies."

She crossed the street with Spike's duster flowing out behind her and disappeared into the doorway calling behind her

"Stay close and don't touch anything. Especially Willie."

Willie looked up from spreading the dirt and grime more evenly on the bar with a grey cloth as the level in the bar dropped and his clientele fell silent

"Oh no, get out! You can't come in here, you're underage."

Dawn nodded in agreement

"Yes I am."

She walked calmly to the bar and hitched up onto a bar stool and grinned

"I need some information."

Willie backed away shaking his head and looked panicked

"Get out, your sister finds out you were in here and I'm toast."

Again Dawn nodded

"Yep."

She propped her elbows on the bar top and smiled at a group of three vampires as they walked towards her

"And it's a school night too. Fellas, you might wanna just walk away. I'm really not in the mood tonight."

She raised her eyebrows as they snarled and then sighed as they coiled to spring at her

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The three demons howled and threw themselves at her only to go sailing past as she ducked and then find a small human boy blocking their path back to the girl

"Who the hell are you?"

Connor grinned at the vamps tone and then exchanged a quick look with Dawn. She smiled at him

"Go on. Just try not to wreck the bar too badly."

She turned back to Willie and gave him another big smile

"Now about this information I need."

He blinked at her casual tone and winced as the boy stood behind her and without any apparent effort threw one of the vampires against the wall and then hurled a stake with pinpoint accuracy to slam into the demon's heart

"Wh…wh…who is that?"

Dawn cocked her head to one side

"What? Who's who?"

Willie pointed a shaking hand at Connor as he jumped into the air flipping down behind vamp number two and neatly sliced his head off his shoulders

"Th…that."

Dawn glanced over her shoulder as Connor rolled over the floor and came up in a crouch to dust the last vamp with a quick jab of his stake

"Oh him. That's my boyfriend."

Willie blinked in horror at the girl

"Your boyfriend? You have a boyfriend?"

Dawn looked offended

"Hey!"

Willie held up placating hands

"Hey no biggie, it's just we all know how Spike and the Slayer are."

He went pale as another thought occurred to him and backed up hard against the spirit shelves behind him

"Oh god they don't know and you want to meet here and have all the illicit passions and stuff here and then they're gonna find out and they're gonna kill me."

The last few words trailed off in a pitiful wail and Dawn rolled her eyes as Connor came up and put his arm round her shoulder and dropped a casual kiss on her forehead

"Is he ok?"

Dawn sighed in irritation

"Yes, he's just being a big git as Spike would say. Willie! Willie!"

She waited until his fear glazed eyes focused on her and then said

"Buff and Spike know, calm down. It's not like I can't not tell them. This is Connor, Angel's son. Remember him?"

They both watched with interest as the little bartender went even paler and began to froth at the mouth, gibbering terrified nonsense. Connor put his head on one side and remarked

"Guess so."

"Daddy? Daddy's boy?"

Dawn froze and stared past Willie into the long mirror behind the bar, even though she knew it would do no good. Slowly she turned on the bar stool until she found herself staring into a pair of very familiar crazed black eyes.

"Druscilla."

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