My Little Town, part 5
Title: My Little Town
Probable rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I so don't own any of the Buffyverse. Sigh.
Post -"Not Fade Away"
One night in Rome, Dawn has a dream about Angel and Spike in the alley outside of the Hyperion. She wakes determined to tell Buffy, but soon realizes that there's much more to her dream than meets the eye...
previous parts here
Dawn sat slumped down on her spine on the pouf in the middle of the hotel lobby, waiting for Willow to bring Xander back from the airport. Almost everyone else was waiting there, too - Faith had gone to spell Spike and Illyria at Gunn's bedside in the hospital, and Giles was on the phone with someone back at the New Council, but everyone else was there. Even Angel, slouching against the reception desk. Even Spike, sitting on the staircase leading to the rest of the hotel and examining his fingernails or something. Dawn watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what he was thinking. Both he and Angel were studiously ignoring Buffy, who sat next to Dawn on the pouf, buffing her own nails. She'd taken the time to have her hair cut and colored in addition to shopping - a shorter, slightly darker blonde look than the one she'd had in Rome - and she presented the picture of one wholly engrossed in her manicure. Dawn wasn't taken in - Buffy had winked at her as she'd sat down, and though she wasn't sure if the act was for Angel and Spike, or for Kennedy, seething as she trained alone on one side of the lobby, she didn't doubt it was an act. Buffy was in one of her dangerous moods, when she could say or do anything, and Dawn just hoped Willow and Xander got there before she exploded.
It was odd, though, everyone being there. She couldn't imagine either Angel or Spike - or Kennedy, for that matter - would be that happy to see Xander. She also couldn't imagine that Illyria was looking forward to it, seeing as she didn't know Xander; but then, it hadn't taken Dawn long to realize that she couldn't imagine why Illyria did anything. When she'd first came face to face with her, Illyria had studied her for a moment, and then inclined her head, not as to an equal, but as to one not too far below her. And while that might have answered one question Dawn had - apparently, she wasn't completely human - it had also been quite disconcerting. Buffy hadn't liked it, either, since Illyria hadn't accorded her the same honor.
All the same, they all seemed to be waiting for Xander, as though they couldn't continue without him. Of course, Dawn had stated that she needed Xander to help her cope with her visions and her new status as Angel's link to the Powers That Be, so that could be what Angel was waiting for. Kennedy was waiting for Willow; for someone as avowedly independent as Kennedy, she sure seemed to stop existing when Willow wasn't with her. Who knew what Illyria was doing; well, she seemed to be counting dust motes in the air or listening to traffic sounds from three blocks over - that's how Dawn interpreted her face and attitude - but that couldn't be right. And whatever Spike was doing, she knew he wouldn't tell them.
Which left Buffy, since Dawn knew she herself was waiting for Xander. In some ways, Buffy was an enigma to her - always had been - and yet, sometimes she felt like she could read her mind. Right now, Buffy was feeling lost, after her time with the Immortal Wanker, and she needed to recharge her mental batteries. Which meant hanging out with her lifelines - Willow and Xander. Which she couldn't do until Xander got there. And which might be difficult, anyway, since Xander's expressed reason for coming was to help Dawn.
Dawn studied her sister out of the corner of her eye, looking for signs of resentment. She didn't see any; in fact, when Buffy looked up from her nails and met her eye, she winked again, then looked over at Kennedy, an expression of almost unholy glee on her face. She then shook her hair behind her shoulders and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the door opened, and Xander and Willow walked into the lobby.
"Where's my Dawnie?" Xander said, but Dawn had already thrown herself into his arms. He pretended to be bowled over by that, but he was already stroking Dawn's hair and murmuring that everything was going to be all right.
"Think of it as being a Watcher," he said. "You get to tell Angel where to go and what to fight. You get to be Angel's Watcher." Dawn looked up at the wonder in his voice and saw a beautific look on his face. She giggled, and he came back down to earth. "And you get to live in this place," he added, looking around. "And who wouldn't want to do that?"
"Very funny," Angel growled.
"Hey, man," Xander said. "Glad you're not evil again - and you'll be paying for Dawn's college, right? It's the least you can do, since she'll have to stay in L.A. for it."
"Xander!" Dawn, Buffy, and Willow said, but Angel looked thoughtful.
"Good point," he said, and studied Dawn. Dawn would have squirmed if Xander didn't still have an arm around her - she'd rarely been on the receiving end of such an intent look from Angel. "Are you still interested in languages?"
"Uh, yeah," Dawn said, surprised he knew she ever had been. She looked over at Buffy, who was still studying her manicure, but Dawn could tell it was now to keep herself from throwing herself at Xander the way Dawn had done. She felt a swell of love for her sister - she was trying very, very hard to keep all of this about Dawn, not herself.
"I know a professor of linguistics near here," Angel went on. "We'll get an interview for you with him. Have you applied to any schools yet?"
Dawn shook her head slowly. "That's this year...but I was hoping Oxford."
"And you'll get in," Willow said, though Dawn wasn't sure she agreed with her.
Angel looked down at the floor. "I'm afraid that's not possible anymore," he said. "But this guy is really good, and -"
Giles burst into the lobby from the inner office.
"Is Xander here yet? Oh, good - where's Faith?"
"With Gunn at the hospital," Buffy said, standing up. "What's wrong?"
"It's the Hellmouth," Giles said, and everyone looked at him, varying degrees of hope on their faces. "It's finally coming back up."
"Where?" Dawn said, really hoping he wouldn't say Rome. She didn't trust that Immortal Doofus farther than Jonathan could throw him.
"A small city called Bethlehem in the state of Pennsylvania," Giles said.
Dawn gasped, and Willow giggled, but it was Xander who said what they were all thinking.
"The Hellmouth's in a little town called Bethlehem? Sweet."
part 6
Probable rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I so don't own any of the Buffyverse. Sigh.
Post -"Not Fade Away"
One night in Rome, Dawn has a dream about Angel and Spike in the alley outside of the Hyperion. She wakes determined to tell Buffy, but soon realizes that there's much more to her dream than meets the eye...
previous parts here
Dawn sat slumped down on her spine on the pouf in the middle of the hotel lobby, waiting for Willow to bring Xander back from the airport. Almost everyone else was waiting there, too - Faith had gone to spell Spike and Illyria at Gunn's bedside in the hospital, and Giles was on the phone with someone back at the New Council, but everyone else was there. Even Angel, slouching against the reception desk. Even Spike, sitting on the staircase leading to the rest of the hotel and examining his fingernails or something. Dawn watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what he was thinking. Both he and Angel were studiously ignoring Buffy, who sat next to Dawn on the pouf, buffing her own nails. She'd taken the time to have her hair cut and colored in addition to shopping - a shorter, slightly darker blonde look than the one she'd had in Rome - and she presented the picture of one wholly engrossed in her manicure. Dawn wasn't taken in - Buffy had winked at her as she'd sat down, and though she wasn't sure if the act was for Angel and Spike, or for Kennedy, seething as she trained alone on one side of the lobby, she didn't doubt it was an act. Buffy was in one of her dangerous moods, when she could say or do anything, and Dawn just hoped Willow and Xander got there before she exploded.
It was odd, though, everyone being there. She couldn't imagine either Angel or Spike - or Kennedy, for that matter - would be that happy to see Xander. She also couldn't imagine that Illyria was looking forward to it, seeing as she didn't know Xander; but then, it hadn't taken Dawn long to realize that she couldn't imagine why Illyria did anything. When she'd first came face to face with her, Illyria had studied her for a moment, and then inclined her head, not as to an equal, but as to one not too far below her. And while that might have answered one question Dawn had - apparently, she wasn't completely human - it had also been quite disconcerting. Buffy hadn't liked it, either, since Illyria hadn't accorded her the same honor.
All the same, they all seemed to be waiting for Xander, as though they couldn't continue without him. Of course, Dawn had stated that she needed Xander to help her cope with her visions and her new status as Angel's link to the Powers That Be, so that could be what Angel was waiting for. Kennedy was waiting for Willow; for someone as avowedly independent as Kennedy, she sure seemed to stop existing when Willow wasn't with her. Who knew what Illyria was doing; well, she seemed to be counting dust motes in the air or listening to traffic sounds from three blocks over - that's how Dawn interpreted her face and attitude - but that couldn't be right. And whatever Spike was doing, she knew he wouldn't tell them.
Which left Buffy, since Dawn knew she herself was waiting for Xander. In some ways, Buffy was an enigma to her - always had been - and yet, sometimes she felt like she could read her mind. Right now, Buffy was feeling lost, after her time with the Immortal Wanker, and she needed to recharge her mental batteries. Which meant hanging out with her lifelines - Willow and Xander. Which she couldn't do until Xander got there. And which might be difficult, anyway, since Xander's expressed reason for coming was to help Dawn.
Dawn studied her sister out of the corner of her eye, looking for signs of resentment. She didn't see any; in fact, when Buffy looked up from her nails and met her eye, she winked again, then looked over at Kennedy, an expression of almost unholy glee on her face. She then shook her hair behind her shoulders and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the door opened, and Xander and Willow walked into the lobby.
"Where's my Dawnie?" Xander said, but Dawn had already thrown herself into his arms. He pretended to be bowled over by that, but he was already stroking Dawn's hair and murmuring that everything was going to be all right.
"Think of it as being a Watcher," he said. "You get to tell Angel where to go and what to fight. You get to be Angel's Watcher." Dawn looked up at the wonder in his voice and saw a beautific look on his face. She giggled, and he came back down to earth. "And you get to live in this place," he added, looking around. "And who wouldn't want to do that?"
"Very funny," Angel growled.
"Hey, man," Xander said. "Glad you're not evil again - and you'll be paying for Dawn's college, right? It's the least you can do, since she'll have to stay in L.A. for it."
"Xander!" Dawn, Buffy, and Willow said, but Angel looked thoughtful.
"Good point," he said, and studied Dawn. Dawn would have squirmed if Xander didn't still have an arm around her - she'd rarely been on the receiving end of such an intent look from Angel. "Are you still interested in languages?"
"Uh, yeah," Dawn said, surprised he knew she ever had been. She looked over at Buffy, who was still studying her manicure, but Dawn could tell it was now to keep herself from throwing herself at Xander the way Dawn had done. She felt a swell of love for her sister - she was trying very, very hard to keep all of this about Dawn, not herself.
"I know a professor of linguistics near here," Angel went on. "We'll get an interview for you with him. Have you applied to any schools yet?"
Dawn shook her head slowly. "That's this year...but I was hoping Oxford."
"And you'll get in," Willow said, though Dawn wasn't sure she agreed with her.
Angel looked down at the floor. "I'm afraid that's not possible anymore," he said. "But this guy is really good, and -"
Giles burst into the lobby from the inner office.
"Is Xander here yet? Oh, good - where's Faith?"
"With Gunn at the hospital," Buffy said, standing up. "What's wrong?"
"It's the Hellmouth," Giles said, and everyone looked at him, varying degrees of hope on their faces. "It's finally coming back up."
"Where?" Dawn said, really hoping he wouldn't say Rome. She didn't trust that Immortal Doofus farther than Jonathan could throw him.
"A small city called Bethlehem in the state of Pennsylvania," Giles said.
Dawn gasped, and Willow giggled, but it was Xander who said what they were all thinking.
"The Hellmouth's in a little town called Bethlehem? Sweet."
part 6