For the record, I like the Dawn of Season Seven, (sorry for those who haven’t seen it) so that’s how I’ma write her. No spoilers, just a way of acting. She’s more mature. It’s nice.
Chapter Six - The Anti-Harvest - Part Three
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"Ok, where to?"
Buffy frowned. "I don’t know. I don’t really have a lot of money."
On the other side of Willow, Dawn rolled her eyes. "There’s news."
Cordelia stepped forward and started walking in front of them backwards. "That is not an issue, is that clear? I’m buying. I’m using this money now while I have it. It all goes on credit cards.
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "All of it?" She looked around. Besides Buffy and Cordy it was Willow, Xander, Giles, Dawn, Tara. Jenny hadn’t come, but they were shopping for Fred and Connor too, so it evened out.
"Yes. Even you, Giles. Don’t shake your head at me." She pulled out an American Express. "We’re gonna put it all on here. Daddy won’t even notice. He never did. It was his way of giving love. He won’t even be back in town by the time the bill comes, if I remember correctly. It’ll get paid automatically. So, we’re gonna charge everything in this mall."
Dawn chuckled. "Who are we to turn that down?"
Buffy shrugged. "I’m the Slayer, but I don’t think that entails turning down free clothing. Bring it on, Queen C!"
**
Jesse glanced up at the clock, then looked outside. He could be at the Bronze right now. It was a good night for it. He would have gotten up, but the fact that Cordelia had hugged him kept him effectively in his seat in front of the TV.
Dying wasn’t on his list of things to do.
On the other hand, he could go hang at the mall. No one had said anything about him dying *there*...
**
"Oh. Look. Vampire."
Buffy glanced at her sister, then out the store window into the mall. "Where are we looking?"
Dawn nodded towards the dressing rooms. Buffy twisted to see and nodded. "Yep. Ok, I’m goin’." She tossed the blouse she’d been holding at Cordelia. "For Fred."
The brunette took the blouse and nodded. "She’ll love it."
Buffy headed towards the dressing rooms, slipping a stake out of her sleeve. She tapped the girl on the shoulder.
"Hi! Where’d you find that shirt? It’s great."
The female vamp smiled and pointed at the back of the store, turning to indicate the rack. Buffy shoved the stake in, carefully avoiding going through the peasant blouse. The vamp dusted, along with her pants, which she must have owned. But the blouse fell and Buffy caught it.
She walked back and handed it to Willow. "This is *so* you."
Willow glanced at it and shook her head. "Not my size." Buffy motioned towards the rack the vamp had pointed to and Willow took the blouse and headed over.
Jesse stared through the window. He looked at the other people in the store and realized that not one of them had seen. Or, if they had, it didn’t register.
Wow.
He turned back to the group of friends...his friends? Were they, still? They weren’t really high schoolers anymore. They were adults. And he didn’t really know them all anymore.
On the other hand, they seemed like a lot of fun. And, they’d saved his life tonight, right? Right.
On the first hand, he might still die just by being around them.
Jesse watched them joke with each other for a while, Cordelia forcing Mr. Giles to put his money away when they went to the counter to pay.
After a few minutes, he backed away from the window and walked away.
**
Under the high school library, the Master rose.
Spike watched from a discreet distance and scowled. He watched Darla and Luke bow, listened to them talking.
Then he grabbed his duffel bag and headed back up, making for Angel’s apartment.
**
Joyce Summers glanced up at the clock. Buffy hadn’t come home yet, though she had called and said that a few new friends had invited her to go shopping. Someone had even offered to pay for her, which made Joyce more than a little nervous.
And very suspicious.
**
"Why can’t we kill the Master tonight?"
"What do you mean?"
Giles shifted the bag in his hands and glanced at Willow. "I second that. There’s no indication that he’s even risen."
"Yes, there is. Remember, Angel warned Buffy her first night here. And Luke attacked for the first time that night. They were looking for an offering, remember?"
Buffy frowned. "You think? That would be nice. I could change, kill, and be home in time for dinner."
"Hey!" Dawn looked at Buffy panicked. "Where do I stay?"
Buffy pointed at Giles who nodded.
"Oh. What about Tara? And Faith?"
"Faith will be staying with Wesley. He’ll be staying in LA in the hotel, and Faith is going to patrol LA. Tara will stay with Jenny. They worked that out this afternoon."
"Ms. Calendar?" She turned to Tara who nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! She’s a powerful witch. I want to learn." She shot a look at Willow who bit her lip. "I’d *like* to be able to keep up with my girlfriend."
Willow looked away and Dawn giggled.
Buffy shook her head and turned back to Giles. "So, I should be able to kill him tonight, right?"
Giles shrugged. "You can certainly try. After everything you’ve faced, I wouldn’t worry about him too much."
Buffy nodded. "And maybe we’ll be able to figure out what my power is."
"And mine?"
"No, Dawn. Not tonight, ok?" Buffy shook her head, her face taking on a set expression. "This is my fight."
Dawn took one look at her sister and nodded. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be there anyway.
**
Gunn stared at Lindsay. "Do I want to know how you got sucked into that spell?"
The lawyer sighed. "I have no idea. But according to the watcher, I was. Which means I’m immortal, just like you. We’re stuck together."
Gunn shrugged. "Fine with me. We could definitely use a lawyer. So..." he nodded towards the hotel they were standing in front of. "How soon can we own it?"
Lindsay held up a folder. "Pretty much now. We can move in anytime."
"Well, not really. More like in five or six hours."
Lindsay frowned at Wesley. "Why then?"
Gunn made a face. "It’s haunted. We have to get the demon out first."
"Ah."
Alanna stared at her brother as if he had two heads. "Shouldn’t that be a big deal?"
"Nah."
Wesley cocked his head. "We just need the electrical cord."
"There’s some in the basement. Will that work?"
Gunn nodded. Alanna closed her eyes. She was getting one serious headache.
**
"The Harvest is tomorrow."
"Oh good! I was hoping I was early." Buffy bounded down the steps and smiled at the Master who stared at her in shock. Darla growled.
"Quiet, Darla. You’re annoying." Buffy pulled a stake. "Ok, so, we can do this the hard way or...actually, there’s just the hard way."
The Master growled. "Well? Kill her!"
Darla lunged for the Slayer and Buffy sidestepped her. She swung around and lifted her leg in an arching kick, bringing the vampiress down. She shoved the stake under her arm, getting the same vamp she’d gotten that way last time, then swung around and stabbed Luke. He burst into dust.
She heard Darla stand behind her and turned. Motioning to the door, Buffy gave a wry smile. "I don’t want to kill you. Don’t ask why. Just go."
Darla stared for a minute before running up the stairs. Buffy turned to the Master. "Just us."
"It appears so."
"I really want to kill you. You have no idea how much."
He made a grand gesture into his invisible prison. "Please."
**
A half hour later Buffy was standing, very bloody, over the bones of the Master. She heard someone come down the stairs behind her but didn’t turn.
"Wow. Nice job pet." Spike sniffed the air. "But that’s a lot of *his* blood, isn’t it?"
"I beat him until he couldn’t stand anymore. He didn’t understand why I wasn’t hypnotized. But I know."
"Why?"
"I was hypnotizing *him*." She looked up at Spike with a scared look in her eyes. "That’s my power. Because he was trying to entrance me, they were both canceled out. But that’s my power."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "Did you know you were doing it, pet?"
Buffy nodded.
"So, you can control it."
Another nod.
"So, why ya scared of it?"
Buffy shook her head. "Don’t you get it? It makes it too easy. I can hypnotize them. It’s not a fight. It’s not even a struggle. I could get a fledgling to fall at my feet and wait for the stake, or even wait for the sunlight. And what if it isn’t just vamps? This afternoon, I looked at the principal, and he did what I wanted. What if I did that? I don’t want this power, Spike. I don’t *want* it!" She started to shake. "And think of what must be coming, if this is the power I’ve been given? How strong will it be? That this won’t make it too easy?"
She was shaking violently, and Spike made it to her side in time to keep her from collapsing. "Ok, it’s ok. It’ll be fine." He glanced at the bones and made a mental note to come back and smash them. "Let’s get you to Angel’s, ok? You don’t want to stay here." He picked up the now-sobbing slayer and started for the stairs, hoping Angel would be able to calm her. His soul couldn’t take this.
And if this was *her* power, what was Dawn’s?
Chapter Seven - Witch? What witch? - Part One
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"Buffy?" Giles knocked on Angel’s apartment door and peeked in. Buffy was sitting in the middle of the floor watching Connor trying to sit up with an odd look on her face.
"Buffy?"
"What?" She looked up and grinned. "Hey."
"Hey." He sat down cross-legged next to her and focused on Connor as he talked. "How are you?"
Buffy chuckled. "You mean with my new power, or with my suddenly not-dead mom who doesn’t remember my sister?"
Giles cocked his head. "Yes."
"Eh. I got the whole power thing down. I didn’t use it on Flootie, by the way. There’s a pressure I get when I use it on the back of my eyes. I didn’t have it Thursday."
"Good, good." Giles sighed. "You went home the other night, didn’t you?"
Buffy nodded. "And was there all day yesterday after school. Sorry I didn’t come into the library..." Giles nodded. "I just needed some time. But when I went home, mom wasn’t there. She didn’t come back until I was asleep...but she was there this morning...and I’m fine. I am. I’m just...I’m ok." She took a deep breath. "Still getting used to seeing her, but didn’t have a lot of time with her this morning, so I’m dealing better than I thought. Maybe when I *do* see her, really, I won’t be totally transparent in how happy I am she’s alive." Buffy grinned. "That might give something away."
"It might."
They watched as Connor managed to pull himself up a tiny bit before falling. He started to cry. Buffy reached for him, but Angel came in and beat her to it. Buffy glared.
"Vampire speed isn’t fair."
He grinned. "I’ve heard."
"Yes, well...you know that tomorrow is cheerleading tryouts?"
Buffy stood up and nodded. "I know. How’s the LA contingency?"
Giles smiled. "Other than Fred’s broken leg, they’re alright. Lindsay and Gunn got his gang moved into the hotel, and Wesley picked up Faith from LAX late last night. They’re all there now."
Buffy smiled. "Cool. We’re a group again...albeit split down the middle."
"Quite."
Buffy smiled at Connor and tickled his tummy. "Hey, mommy has to go to a girl’s house now and stop a witch from casting a spell. Then she has to go home and see *her* mommy. Be a good boy, ok?"
Connor gurgled.
**
The door to the apartment closed and Buffy sighed deeply. Giles frowned at her and Buffy smiled.
"It’s just....it’s hard to be around him and not...I mean, we haven’t yet, and I..."
The watcher stopped and turned to her, a
questioning look in his eyes. "I thought, when you went upstairs...before, when
the lawyer came..." he broke off as Buffy shook her head.
"No. We fought. A lot. About the lost day, and not telling me about Connor, and about Darla, and about Spike....we just fought. We needed to. It got everything out, so we could kinda clear the air."
"So...you haven’t..."
"No. There wasn’t a chance. We came back and then we had to find Dawn, and the other night when I came back here with Spike I was just so messed up..."
Giles nodded. "You will."
"I know. It’s just...*will* isn’t *have*. I’m antsy."
"Perfectly understandable." Giles looped an arm around her shoulders and Buffy giggled as they climbed the stairs.
"So...Ms. Calendar?"
Giles scowled playfully. "Later."
"Hey!"
**
"Look. It’s Amy’s house. I was only here the once." Buffy tilted her head and scrunched up her face. "Ok, looks different when I’m not dying. Kinda creepy."
"Quite."
They went up to the door and knocked. What looked like Amy’s mom answered the door. "Hi. Can...can I help you?"
Buffy nodded. "Amy, where does you mother keep her witchy stuff?"
Amy’s eyes got wide. "How...how did you..."
"It’s...a story we can’t tell you. But there’s a friend meeting us here soon who can reverse the spell with a lot less trouble than I can."
"You mean...I can have my body back?"
Buffy smiled. "Yup! Oh, but first we need into the attic so Giles can stop her from casting something to do with spontaneous combustion..." she turned to Giles. "You can stop it, right?"
He nodded. "Or at least reverse it if it’s been cast already."
Amy stepped back to let them in.
**
Faith bounced into the Hyperion lobby and smiled at Alanna who just nodded back. She was cleaning simply to keep her mind off everything her brother had told her two days ago.
Vamps she could handle. They’d been real a long time. The rest of it...
"Hey, how’s Fred?"
Gunn came out from behind the counter and smiled at the slayer. "She’s good. In the office now, on the phone with Cordy. Wesley went for some books, I’m working on getting the computers hooked up..."
"Who bought them?"
Gunn grinned. "Cordy. She seems set on spending every cent her daddy has now, while she can. She gave me her credit card number, the card limit, and told me that whatever was left on the card better not be more than fifty dollars."
Faith rolled her eyes. "From what I hear, her dad’ll never notice."
"I know."
"Where’s lawyer man?"
"Lindsay?" Faith nodded. "Upstairs, helping Trent out with some court dates."
"Cool." Faith grinned. "It’s gonna be nice, having an in-house lawyer."
Gunn nodded absently, staring at a paper on the counter. "Yeah. It’ll be great."
Chapter Eight - Witch? What witch? - Part Two
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"Ok." Buffy frowned at Amy’s mom and wagged a finger at her. "So, you gonna try anything funny here?"
The woman was backed up to a wall in her living room. She’d been there since her return to her body when she’d found a very angry, and very powerful witch and sorcerer both staring down at her, black eyes to the fore, sparkling electricity coming straight from the fingers.
She shook her head.
"Good girl." Buffy nodded. "So, you just be a good witch and let these two strip you of your power, ok?"
Amy’s mom seemed to hesitate there, shooting a glance at the door, measuring if she could get there. She seemed to decide she couldn’t, and nodded.
Buffy smiled as Giles and Willow started to chant.
**
Gunn stopped and looked out the back glass doors on his way upstairs and smiled. Fred was sitting on a stone bench outside, reading one of Wesley’s musty old tomes. He went out and sat down next to her. Fred didn’t look up.
When he reached out and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, she jumped a mile.
"Gunn!" She slapped him lightly. "Don’t do that!"
He grinned. "Sorry. Whatcha reading?"
She held up the book and Gunn raised an eyebrow. "You mean we had a copy of that prophecy all this time, and we didn’t know it?"
Fred shrugged. "Why would we notice if we weren’t looking for it? We have a lot of prophecies."
"Good point. Learn anything interesting?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yep. I know what *all* the powers are supposed to be!"
**
Buffy and Willow looped arms around each other’s waists as the door to Amy’s house closed behind them. They started down the path, following Giles to his car...a ‘two door tramp’ he’d bought almost the second they were back.
"You think Amy’s still gonna get addicted?"
Buffy shrugged. "I don’t know. But if she does, you can work with her on it. I have total faith in you."
Willow grinned, then her eyes brightened. "I’m staying with Tara tonight."
The Slayer raised her eyebrows. "And where will Jenny be?"
Willow giggled and angled her chin towards Giles. Buffy’s face lit up. "Really?" Her eyes widened. "What about Dawn?"
**
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "You know that I’m not staying here tonight, right?"
Giles smiled. "I had not planned on it. Spike has cleaned out the mansion and taken a room there. I assumed you would be fine there for a few nights?"
Dawn smiled. "A few nights in a big mansion with a fun friend? Gee, that’s a terrible idea. I hate it a lot. Note the sarcasm."
"Quite. So why don’t you go pack?"
**
Buffy looked down at her hand on the doorknob. Her mother was on the other side. In the house. She might be reading, or cooking...or something else. But she was in there.
Taking a deep breath she opened the door and went in. Closing it behind her, Buffy hear a voice in the kitchen. Joyce was on the phone.
"I don’t know, Hank. Have you talked to her? Well, it’s only been a week. I know. But she seems...different. Yes. I haven’t seen her that much...twice, I think. Well, this morning, she was very quiet. And she wouldn’t meet my eyes, like she was afraid of something....I’m hoping not. Is it the eyes get dilated on drugs, or...I don’t want to think so. I’m just preparing myself for the worst. I know. I know."
Buffy backed away from the door and turned, heading up to her room.
Now she had a whole new problem.
**
Lindsay raised an eyebrow at the door before calling for Gunn’s sister to come in.
She stood in the doorway nervously.
"You gonna come inside the room at any point?"
Alana bit her lip and nodded, stepping inside. "I need to talk to you about something."
Lindsay took a look at her face and nodded. He stood and pulled up a chair. "Why don’t you sit down."
She did and took a deep breath. "I’m pregnant."
"Oh."
**
Dawn walked into the mansion and glanced around. She rolled her eyes at the now completely unnecessary window coverings and shifted her bag on her shoulder.
"Spike!!?"
He came around a corner and grinned at her. She smirked. "Windows covered...why?"
He frowned at the windows for a minute. "You know, I have no idea. Habit, I guess."
Dawn shook her head and dropped her bag, going over to the large glass doors and tearing down the heavy curtains, letting the sun stream in. "You’re allowed the sun now, and you’re gonna have it."
The blond vampire came over and watched as she uncovered every single window, flooding the room with light. "Nibblet, why do you care?"
She didn’t look at him and Spike frowned. He was at her side in two steps, cupping her chin, forcing her to meet hi gaze.
After a second, his eyes widened.
"Oh."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
NOTE: Dawn is 16 now. She’d have to be. 14 in season five, so 15 in season six. She started her sophomore year of high school this year season. I’ve decided. The new school is just in her district, ok? Good. I mean, no one was ever clear on that. So, all we know is that she started at the new school. We’ve had no indications that it’s her Freshman year.
Anyway, my point is that she’s 16 and Buffy was dating Angel at 16. I want this clear. And Angel is older than Spike. So, I don’t wanna hear no comments from no one. :p So there!!
Chapter Nine - NonCannon Ep #1, "Drama Queens" - Part One
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Buffy waited until she heard her mother hang up the phone. Then she waited another hour. When she was sure her mom was thinking about something else, she went downstairs, stealing herself to meet Joyce's eyes and not reveal how thrilled she was to have mom back.
And pushed down the guilt that Dawn couldn't be here for it.
"Mom?"
She leaned against the doorjamb to the living room and waited. A minute later Joyce looked up and their eyes met.
It took all of Buffy's self control not to throw herself into her mother's arms right there and start crying.
**
"Bit...you know...you know I'm in love with Buffy."
Dawn nodded and backed away from him a step. "I know. But I also know that technically, I'm made from her. So...I'll wait. I think I have a pretty good shot. And I'm stubborn. So don't even say whatever it was you were about to say."
Spike snapped his mouth shut and grinned. "Yes, ma'am. Hungry?"
Dawn giggled. "Only if you're cooking."
**
"Does Gunn know?"
Alana shrugged. "I think so. Well, he knows something's wrong. There was a report from the doctor on the counter, and I forgot it was there. He probably saw it."
Lindsay nodded. "Ok. And you don't know who the father is?"
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
The lawyer raised his eyebrows.
"I was raped."
**
Joyce blinked at her daughter in the doorway. "Honey? You coming in the room?"
Buffy nodded and came in, sitting down on the couch. She swallowed and then managed a smile. How she wasn't crying she wouldn't be able to say. "Hi, mom."
"Hi." Joyce gave her an odd look, but Buffy was careful to hold her eyes. She didn't want any questions of drugs. That would just cause problems later.
Joyce took full advantage of this and searched her daughter's eyes, giving a quiet sigh of relief when they were normal. Maybe this was just simply Buffy's way of adjusting to the move?
"What are your plans for the night?"
Buffy shrugged. "I was gonna Bronze it. That's that club on the other side of town...remember?" Joyce nodded. "Then I was gonna spend the night with Willow."
Joyce frowned. "Willow?"
"She's this girl from school. Red hair. Kinda shy-ish, but she's really nice. She and Xander, her best friend, have been really nice to me. A few others too, actually. But Willow asked me over for tonight. Is that ok?"
Buffy waited. If Joyce said no, she'd just sneak out, but she needed to know if her mother was buying this.
Joyce nodded. "That sounds fine, honey. Have fun."
Buffy grinned. "I will."
**
Across town, Darla met Drusilla as she came into the factory she was staying in. She held the insane vampire as she cried over Spike leaving her and led her into a room she could stay in.
She left the vampiress with her dolls and on the way to her own room, Darla staked a fledgling she passed out of pure anger.
This girl, this...SLAYER, was breaking up her family. Dru was sure that's who Spike had gone after, and Darla knew that that was who Angel was with.
And she'd killed the Master.
There, really, was no good reason to let this girl live.
TBC...
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