Dawn
Dawn had called Lorne ahead of time, and he had agreed to read her if she came to visit. She got off the plane at LAX, to be greeted by Lorne and Fred.
"It feels good to be in California again," Dawn said suddenly. "It's too cold in New York. Too much snow." Dawn shuddered, and then looked down at her feet. So much was going through her head as of late. Something had happened when she vanquished Glory. She had memories that she'd never had before.
Dawn was quiet as they drove to the hotel, but Fred made up for it by chattering on and on about nothing in particular. When they got to the hotel, Fred ran inside, but Dawn stayed there in the backseat of the SUV, holding her legs against her chest, her arms wrapped tight around her knees.
"I. . .I don't know if I can go in there, Lorne. I'm scared to e anybody. I'm afraid to be around anybody." Dawn felt the tears well up. "What's happening to me?"
"Oh Sugarplum, please cheer up. Pick a little ditty, and we'll see what's going on in that noggin of yours," Lorne said, overly cheerful. He walked around to the backseat and climbed in next to her, facing her as she thought. She sang the first thing that popped into her head.
"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. brown-paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favourite things.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Silver-white winters that melt into spring, these are a few of my favourite things.
When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feel so bad," Dawn sang, smiling slightly. She immediately looked down at her lap again.
"Oh Gumdrop!" Lorne exclaimed, wrapping his armsaround her and rocking her.
"Okay, these memories and feelings your having that you can't identify? They come from two sources. For one, now that the Beast is gone, you're remembering being the Key. Everything you've witnessed or experienced since the world began, is slowly coming back. But the dark memories, the ones of pleasure and pain? Those are Glory's. Somehow, in the vanquish, you took in her thoughts and memories. Those will dissipate, I just can't tell you how long it will take." Dawn laid her head on Lorne's shoulder.
"I deserve it. I deserve anything I ever get, I deserve it all. I'm such a horrible thing."
"Oh no, darling, not at all. You are anything but horrible, trust me, I come from a hell dimension, I know horrible. You're beautiful and wonderful, and deserving of a lot of love. I will tell you this, though. Lover-boy? THe super-southern farmboy is gonna ask you someting, or offer, and I think you should say yes."
"Okay," Dawn said quietly. She still hadn't spoken much since the vanquish. After a few moments, Dawn allowed Lorne to take her hand and lead her into the hotel.
Wesley
Wesley was once more attempting to teach Serafina.
So far, the session had resulted in one of his texts nearly being destroyed and his notes on it being shredded.
She smiled at him innocently and he sighed, taking his glasses off to clean them.
"You are..."
"CUTE!"
Angel
Angel rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Sera..." he said warningly.
Dawn and Fred
Fred bounced inside. "Sparkly-girl's here, but she's sad." Fred smiled at how cute Sera was. The front doors opened, and Lorne led the silent Dawn in by her hand.
"HEy gumdrops, we've got a welcomed guest," Lorne announced happily. Dawn stared at her feet silently.
Wesley
"Hello, Dawn," Wesley said politely.
He got up.
"I need a cup of tea...and some headache tablets."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly and went to the kitchen.
Serafina beamed.
Fred
"Freddo, why don't you take Dawn up to a spare room so she can get settled in for the night," Lorne suggested.
"ALrighty," Fred said bouncing, she led Dawn upstairs, and Lorned sighed and collapsed onto the circle-sofa.
"That poor girl," he breathed. "It's going to take her a long time to heal. I just hope she sees it through and doesn't give up."
Angel
Angel smiled weakly and followed Wesley into the kitchen, his scowl morew scowly than usual.
Wesley
Wesley poured water into the electric jug, then flipped the switch. He glanced at Angel and then busied himself with the soothing routine of making tea.
"So. Dawn is here. How did she get here? I don't think any of the teleporters at the mansion would have taken her..."
Lorne
Lorne wandered in. "The professor put her on a plane. He wanted me to read her. That little girl needs a lot of help. And apparently Xavier thought that we could help start the healing process, so he sent her here for a couple of days. That girl is vibing," Lorne shuddered. Lorne looked at Angel. "Imagine all of the pain you've ever inflicted during your entire lifespan as a vampire all bundled together in one person."
Angel
"Don't turn this on me. I don't care."
Angel stood up.
"Sera and I are going for a walk."
Lorne
Lorne glared at Angel. "She's your one true love's kid sister. At least show some compassion. I thought we were in the business of saving souls," he said with a pointed look, as he went over and made himself a Seabreeze. He smiled at Wesley.
"Dawn always looked up to you in Sunnydale, Wes, despite the fact that Buffy called you 'Wimpy-Spice.' I'm asking you to help her heal, you know what it feels like to be abandoned." Lorne downed his drink and poured himself another one.
Angel
Angel raised an eyebrow and held himself back from saying what he was going to say, then turned and left, stopping to pick up Serafina.
Sure she was Buffy's sister.
But she wasn't Buffy.
Wesley
Wesley fiddled with his cup of tea, looking briefly after Angel and wishing he could somehow escape as well.
"Nevertheless, Dawn isn't abandoned. She has a good support network at the mansion...and we really don't have the time to help her heal. We don't have enough time so any of us can heal," he said dryly.
"This isn't really the best place for Dawn. But she can sleep here for tonight."
Serafina cuddled up to Angel, blinking slowly.
"Why does she have to stay here?" she whispered to Angel.
"She smells...wrong."
Lorne
Lorne sighed. Why did he have to be empathic? There was just too much pain, everywhere.
He poured himself another drink.
Lorne looked at them and scoffed. "Am I the only one who sees all this? Dawn doesn't have a support system, everybody's abandoned her. All the students there, nobody likes her much, and they all go out of their way to torment her. She just got out of a coma, and now she has all of a Hell-god's memories. She's also getting back all of the memories of being the Key. Her cousin and his wife are preoccupied with the new baby, Giles is mourning the loss of yet another Slayer, and Spike doesn't even look at her anymore. SHe might be surrounded by people, but she's completely alone. She's going back on the 12th, to some camp or something. She's just a little kid, and at the same time she's almost as old as the world." Lorne sighed. He downed teh Seabreeze, but instead of making another, he just picked up a bottle of vodka and started chugging.
Wesley
Wesley cupped his hands around his cup of tea.
"Yet I fail to see what we can do for her."
He lifted an eyebrow at Lorne's excessive alcohol drinking.
"And I fail to see how *you* can help her if you're nine sheets to the wind."
Angel
Angel patted Serafina's hair softly.
"I don't know, Lorne invited her, baby girl."
He kissed her forehead.
"Let's go for a walk, ok? So stay in human form, ok?"
Lorne
"I just wish I COULD get drunk," Lorne said, sighing. "She sings from the Sound of Music -- she has a beautiful voice, by the way-- and all I can see is her aura. It was so dark. I am so frightened for her. I just wish I knew how to help her."
Wesley
Wesley sipped from his tea.
"We can only help those we can."
Serafina sighed and looked around.
"I wish...she makes my claws twitch. He shouldn't have brought her."
Angel
Angel kissed Serafina's head again.
"It's ok, little one. I'll make sure she's gone soon."
He hugged the little girl.
"I don't like her being around either."
Serafina
"Why do they come?" Serafina asked.
"It's not fair!"
Angel
"I don't know, Sera," Angel replied honestly, sighing. "But it's ok... she'll be gone soon."
Or at least she better be.
Even if he had to go up to her room and throw her out the window, Dawn would go soon.
Angel would not have anyone upset his children.
Serafina
"Can we let Connor shoot her and say it was an accident?" Serafina asked in a serious voice.
Angel
Angel chuckled slightly.
"Why don't we put that as a last resort?"
Serafina
"Alright."
Serafina shrugged slightly.
"She smells off. And she doesn't...fit right."
She waved a hand slightly.
"Like, in everything. She isn't meant to be here."
Angel
Angel nodded.
"She smells off too, but you can probably smell that too."
He hoisted Serafina up on his hip.
Serafina
"Why? What is she?" Serafina asked him.
"She stinks like the golden lady who killed Nan."
Angel
"She's..."
Angel frowned slightly.
"She's a thing called The Key. She's meant to be just a swirling ball of green energy, that opens the gates to Hell... but she was turned into a person and sent to Buffy."
Angel closed his eyes at the mention of Buffy.
"And she had to protect her. But yes, she belonged to the golden lady."
Serafina
Serafina hissed.
"She's gone now. Dead, dead, dead!"
Angel
Angel nodded.
"She is."
He pointed across to a park.
"Do you want to go and play?"
Serafina
"Yes, please!"
Serafina nodded.
"Fun, fun, fun..."
ANgel
Angel watched for the road to clear, then took her across to the park.
"Want to go on the swings?"
Serafina
"Please."
Serafina waited for Angel to let her down, then ran across to the swings. She clambered into one and looked at Angel.
"Push me, please?"
Angel
"Of course," Angel replied, and walked over.
He stood behind the swing, and lifted it up high and let her go, pushing her gently every few moments.
Serafina
"Wheee!" Serafina shouted happily.
"Higher! Higher!"
Angel
Angel chuckled.
There probably wasn't a way for her to go higher.
He pushed her again, allowing her to go about a half inch higher.
Serafina
Serafina cheered, kicking her legs.
"YES!"
Angel
Angel chuckled again and kept pushing her higher.
They'd have to go back to the hotel eventually.
Serafina
Serafina giggled almost non-stop.
"High, high to touch the sky!"
Angel
Angel pushed her a few more times, then let the swing slow down.
He glanced at his watch.
They could stand to be gone for a bit longer.
"Hey, Sera... how about we go get you some dinner?"
Serafina
"Food, yes , please," Serafina said.
"Aunty Cordy isn't a very good cook."
Angel
Angel chuckled and walked round the front and caught her off the swing, as it came up again.
"I know, but don't let her hear you say that."
He put her down onto the ground.
"So, what did you feel like?"
Serafina
"Food! Fish!" Serafina said.
"And course I'm not going to tell her. I'm not *stupid*."
Angel
"I know you're not, sorry."
Angel took her hand and looked around, heading for a small sidewalk cafe.
"They have fish here," he said, going in and getting a table.
Serafina
"Fish. Yummers."
Serafina smiled.
Angel
Angel made an order of fish for Serafina, and chicken for himself.
Their food and drinks came shortly.
Serafina
Serafina started to eat, somewhat messily.
She hummed tunelessly as she chased pieces of fish around her plate with her fork.
Angel
Angel watched in amusement as she ate, pausing occasionally to wipe her face gently with the napkin.
Seragfina
Serafina huffed quietly and then drank thirstily from her drink.
"S'good."
She continued to eat.
Angel
Angel smiled and continued to eat his meal.
They finished shortly and Angel paid, then led Serafina back to Hyperion.
Serafina
Serafina skipped along, humming happily.
She'd managed to push to the back of her mind what was waiting for them at home.
Angel
Angel smiled slightly at his daughter, then scowled as Hyperion came into his line of vision.
Now or never.
Serafina
"Whoa, whoa-ah," Serafina sang.
"Something, something...I forget."
Angel
Angel chuckled.
"I'll buy you a radio, shall I, Sera?"
Serafina
"Music, music, all the time," Serafina said happily.
"I like to sing. Mmmhmmmm."
Angel
"Raido it is."
Angel thought for a second as he led them back into the hotel.
Serafina
Serafina held onto Angel's hand as they entered.
"Dad!"
Connor appeared at the balcony, scowling.
"Did you know about this...girl who's apparently staying the night?"
Angel
Angel nodded.
"Yes, it's Buffy's sister."
He sighed.
"Lorne invited her to stay."
Connor
"And she's still here why? All she's done so far is cry," Connor said in disgust.
"You'd think if she was related to the mighty Slayer, she could do more then that. Weak."
Angel
"Connor," Angel warned. "Like it or not, she is still a guest."
Serafina
"God!"
Connor whirled on his heel and stormed off to his room.
"Why do all these people just SHOW UP?!"
Serafina hid her face in Angel's leg, shoulders shaking slightly.
Angel
Angel sighed and bent to pick up Serafina.
"Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?" he asked softly.
Serafina
"Mmmhmmm."
Serafina nodded and buried her face in his neck.
Angel
"Alright."
Angel carried her up to his room, rocking her gently, and set her down on the floor.
"Cat form, human?"
Serafina
Quickly Serafina sank down into her cat form and padded over to his bed. She jumped up onto it, circled a few times, then lay down. She huffed quietly, eyes closing.
Angel
Angel pulled his shoes off, and his coat, and lay on his bed, foot rubbing Serafina's tiny form every few seconds.
Lorne
Lorne walked it. "Well, probably because since I don't have my club anymore, I still read people professionally. SHe needed my services, so I complied. She's a sweet little thing, a good soul, and if this whole place doesn't start treating people better, I'll invite my mother over, and thenI'll skedaddle." Lorne said loudly, with a pointed look.
Dawn
Dawn was sleeping, for the first time in days. She suspected that it was being surrounded by death. However, like she had for all the other nights that she managed to fall asleep, she began to sleepwalk. What nobody had realized yet was that when Dawn had vanquished Glory, a bit of Glory's blood had crept into her own bloodstream, changing her, attacking her. During the coma, Glory's essence tried to be reborn through Dawn. It didn't work, so now it was trying to kill her. She was a strong force of good in the universe, and nothing was worse to the Beast, even when she was nonexistent.
Asleep, Dawn walked in her nightgown out of the hotel. Barefoot, she sleepwalked to the nearest train tracks, and laid down on them.
Wesley
Gunn shrugged slightly.
"We all have our problems. Look, Wes, I found a nest of vampires down by 24."
Wesley came to the door of the kitchen, sipping from his cup of tea.
"And there was some kid already killing them. Did a good job too. Only had to stake a few of them. He disappeared before I could talk to him."
"Well, we know that there are other people who fight the good fight," Wesley said.
"Yeah."
Gunn nodded tightly.
"Well, I'll get going. See you people later."
Gunn left and Wesley stared into his cup of tea.
"It's not that we don't want to help her. It's that we can't."
Connor
Connor watched her go, and then silently followed her.
Despite his father's ill will towards the girl, or maybe even because of it, he didn't want to see any harm come to her. When she laid down on the traintracks, he started forward, only to reblend into the shadows when a train guard came down to shake her arm.
"Miss? Are you alright? You need to get off here now."
Dawn
Dawn was shaken awake, and she looked around. /How did I get here?/ she thought. Her eyes opening wide with fright, she jumped up and and ran as hard as she could, as far as she coul. But now she was in downtown LA, in the middle of the night. And not a nice neighborhood like when she lived there as a child, but a nasty neighborhood. The kind that druggies and demons shared.
"NO!" she screamed at voices nobody could hear but her. She ran down an alley, cutting her bare foot on a piece of broken glass, but not stopping. Finally she dropped to the ground, curling her arms around her knees tightly, rocking back and forth, quietly whispering to herself.
Heath
Connor rolled his eyes.
For the sister of the Slayer, she sure had no survival instincts. If this was Qour'Toth, she'd be dead already.
He followed her through her panicstriken run, dusting a vampire along the way.
Heath glanced back over his shoulder and ran faster. Many vampires.
Shit.
And can we say yet again, shit?
Alright, alleyway!
He skidded into it, unslinging his ax from his shoulder. Least the alleyway would force them to come at him two at a time. That, he could handle.
Connor could have cursed as the guy ran into the alley with Dawn. Then did when the vampires appeared.
Dawn
Dawn didn't understand why she was so scared. She heared something and looked up. vampires, a lot of them.
Maybe I should just let them take me. she thought. She stood up slowly, and picked up a lead pipe off the ground. A vampire came at her and she swung at him, knocking him back about four feet and onto his butt. another lunged at her, but instead of fighting him, she tilted her head, exposing her neck.
Heath
The hell?!
Heath lunged, dragged the vampire back onto his stake.
Connor landed, dusting vampires with ease.
"Hey!" Heath said, nodding slightly before turning and decapitating another vampire.
"Don't let het die. My Dad would get angry, I think."
"Well, wasn't planning on it, mate," Heath drawled.
Dawn
Dawn smiled as the fangs slipped into her skin. She felt the blood leave her, when suddenly, she was covered in dust.
"NO!" She cried. "It was going to be over! I wasn't going to cause any more pain to everyone around me anymore! Don't you see? I have to die!" she screamed at Heath after he'd cut the vamp's head off.
"Everyone hates me, because I hurt them. Everything I touch withers and dies! Connor barely even knows me and he doesn't want me here. The little one has never met me before in her life, and she's freaking out, and I don't get it, I mean, her mother liked me, she even used to flirt with me," Dawn was rambling, everything suddenly spilling out. "And now I have all these thoughts in my head that aren't mine, and I'm remembering a million years of memories and I don't know how they're all going to fit in my head! I never deserved to be the Slayer's sister, she was always the special one!" Dawn turned around and started poundng the brick wall with her fists, beating on it mercilessly. "NONONONONONOOOOO!!" she screamed before collapsing on the floor in a mess of sobs.
Heath
"Right."
Heath raised his eyebrows slightly as he and Connor sent the vampires back to hell in explosions of dust.
"So, where do we need to take miss psychotic?"
"Hotel Hyperion," Connor said.
"Oh, you're one of them?" Heath said, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"One of what?"
"Eh, me and Soph met some people from there when we came up to LA last time. C'mon, miss."
Heath bent and curled Dawn into his arms.
"Which way from here?"
"This way."
Connor struck out and Heath followed, glancing down at Dawn's face. She was pretty. So what was she doing out here alone in a nightdress and blood running down her leg?
Dawn
Dawn was shivering as she laid her head on Heath's shoulder. "Xander?" she asked, not recognizing the man who was holding her.
Heath
Heath frowned slightly.
Xander? He'd heard that name before. Met the guy. Right before Sam was...god, don't go there.
"Sorry but no. My name's Heath," he told her, then looked up at Connor.
"How far to the hotel?"
"Far bit."
"Great. My mum is going to freak."
Dawn
Dawn looked at Connor. "What happened?"
Heath
"You ran out," Connor said tersely.
"I followed you. He just turned up."
"I'd been patrolling."
Heath shrugged slightly.
"Some vampires took offence to me blowing up their home."
Dawn
Dawn was confused. "Was I sleepwalking? remember waking up on the train tracks, don't know how I got there. Connor, I'm scared. I don't know what's happening to me!"
Heath
"You walked out, I followed you."
Connor shrugged.
"Well, you're alright now," Heath soothed.
"What's your name, anyway?"
Dawn
"Um, Dawn. Dawn Summers."
Heath
"Well, I'm Heath Black, nice to meet you," Heath said.
"Connor," Connor said as Heath raised an eyebrow at him.
"How do you know about all this?"
"One of my best friend's is a Slayer."
Dawn
"Did she live in my house?" Dawn asked. "We had a lot of Potentials staying with us. 30 girls sharing one bathroom? Not fun."
Heath
"Nah, sheila, I'm from Oz, can't ya tell?" Heath drawled in an exagerated Ocker accent.
"We lived on the Aussie Hellmouth."
"A Hellmouth?"
Connor looked briefly interested.
"Closed now. Her dad got a job in London, and my parents moved out here."
Dawn
"Hellmouths are yucky. I grew up on one. Everything goes kerplooey-- mirrors telling you you're fat, shy girls going invisible, people turning into Halloween costumes, I think I' had a strange upbringing." Dawn yawned.
Heath
"Yeah."
Heath shrugged slightly.
"And everyone pretends that it doesn't happen. There was me, Sophs, Sam and Gab. We knew what was going on. Gabriella got us holy water from her uncle, he was a priest and let us hang out at Angel's."
Dawn
"Angel. That's my sister's ex-boyfriend's name. I remember once Xander said it was a sissy name, and Willow was all pouty 'cause he's rather date Buffy than her," Dawn rambled sleepily. Her eyes snapped open as she looked over Heath's shoulder.
"Um, Mohra demon, behind you!" she yelled, pointing at the big green demon with the red jewel in its forehead.
Heath
"I'll kill it. Run," Connor said tersely.
"Just don't chip my ax!"
Heath took off as Connor moved forward to attack the demon.
"Well, Angel's back at Damarum, that was the name of our town, was a coffee shop. Had our own gaurdian angels in the door and everything. Micheal, and Remiel."
He ran faster as Connor fought.
"Good luck charms, you see. Didn't work for Sam though..."
A flicker of pain ran over his face.
Dawn
"Smash the jewel!" Dawn cried, "That's what kills it!"
Heath
"Oh man, my axe..." Heath moaned.
"You sound like Gunn," Connor grunted, then slammed the axe down onto the jewel in the demon's head.
The jewel cracked and the demon collapsed in a heap.
Connor jogged up to Heath's side as he slowed into a walk again, still holding Dawn to his chest.
Dawn
"Bah humbug," Dawn declared. "Why am I not walking?" she asked Heath.
Heath
"Because you're bleeding," Heath said.
"That and the fact that you're far too pretty to be walking around barefoot in LA at night. Dirty nasty place."
Connor snorted.
"And you're here why?"
"Because my father got a job here. Hey, this day and age, you go where the money is."
Heath
"Because you're bleeding," Heath said.
"And you're not wearing any shoes. You're not that heavy."
Dawn
Dawn looked at her foot to see that sure enough, her feet were quite cut up.
"Huh. I wonder how I managed that. I've been a little out of my mind lately."
Heath
Connor rolled his eyes and moved ahead.
"Come on."
"Well, he's a wowser and no mistake," Heath murmured.
Dawn
"Connor doesn't like me, but I don't take it personally, 'cause Nyx said he's mentally defective, and he doesn't like anybody. he's Brood-boy, Jr.: Not content unless he's sulking." Dawn said. "You're strong," she told Heath. "I like you. You're easy to talk to."
Heath
"That's good," Heath said, smiling slightly.
"Hanging out with a Slayer, you learn to keep up. Or try to, really, really hard."
Dawn
Dawn smiled, laying her head on Heath's shoulder. "Um, maybe it's the blood loss, but I think I'm going to pass out soon," she said, weakly. After a few moments, she drifted into unconsciousness.
Heath
Connor rolled his eyes.
"Hey, don't be like that!" Heath said angrily as they came up to the hotel.
"*Obviously* you haven't been taking very good care of her. No way she should be as light as she is."
"It's not my problem," Connor said.
"She doesn't live here. She lives in New York."
Fred
Fred saw the two guys bring Dawn into the hotel.
"Uh-oh, what happened?" she asked.
Heath
Connor went to get the first aid kit.
"She ran out of here, I followed her, this guy turned up."
"Yeah well, bugger you too, mate," Heath said.
"Screw you."
"Wanker."
Dawn
Dawn stirred. The bits of Glory in her mind were taking hold.
"You saved her, you little shit. You should have let her die, now you will too." Dawn said to Connor in her sleep.
Heath
Heath looked at her thoughtfully and brushed her hair out of her face. Connor made a face of contempt.
"You're sweet on her."
"Maybe I am. What's your point?"
"She's trouble. All she is. A major pain in the ass."
"I'm best friends with a *Slayer*. She can't be that bad."
"No, she's worse," Connor said darkly.