Chapter Four

“We’re going to go.” Wesley states standing up as Angel follows him, “we’ll let you guys talk.”

“Cowards.” Spike murmurs as they rush out of the room.

Dawn’s eyes are the only things that give away any of her emotions and they seem torn between anger and relieved tears. “How could you?” Dawn asks standing slowly to face Spike and he realizes for the first time that she’s grown, she was now standing eye level with him and her training with Buffy showed; Dawn had grown up and Spike hadn’t been around to watch her.

“I didn’t...I couldn’t...” Spike is suddenly struck without words.

“You couldn’t take some time away from all of this to drop us a letter that you were alive. You just let us keep on thinking that you were dead...” Dawn’s tears seem to win over as she sinks back into the chair she had been sitting in and buries her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry, it just never seemed like an appropriate time to do it, and then so much time had passed that I wanted you guys to be able to just live your lives.” Spike kneels down in front of Dawn .

“We mourned for you, we go back every year and all this time...” By this time is bawling.

“Shh lil’ bit.” Spike wraps his arms around Dawn and lets her cry.

“I didn’t realize Spike and Dawn were so close.” Fred comments, she had walked in to witness the moment between the two.

“Neither did I,” Angel comments, “I know she never liked me.”

“So everything seemed to be all right in there? Dawn’s not too upset at Spike for not letting them know that he was alive and well?” Wesley asks.

“She’s seems pretty upset,” Fred responds, “crying, but not angry.”

“Oh she was plenty angry, she gets that same expression that Buffy does, I can’t explain it but she gets it.” Angel responds, “but so long as Spike isn’t a big pile of dust then I guess everything’s all right.”

“I have to tell Buffy.” Dawn states pulling away from Spike, “I can’t keep this from her, it would be lying and I can’t lie to my sister.”

Spike nods, “I understand that you can’t lie to her, but you need to tell me tell her.”

“When?” Dawn prods.

Spike sighs, “I guess now?”

Dawn grins at Spike and wipes at the tears on her cheeks, “good answer.”

“The lil’ bit is composing herself.” Spike says coming out of the dining room. “Fred can I speak to you for a bit?”

“What’s going on Spike?” Fred asks once they leave the group.

“I have to go to Cleveland for awhile, to let Buffy know I’m alive.”

Fred nods, “if that’s what you have to do.”

“I think lil’ bit will stake me if I don’t come clean with her and all the Scoobies.” Spike responds

Fred nods, “I understand Spike, I really do, it’s something you have to do.”

Spike kisses Fred holding her to im, “I will leave at sun down and I will be back as soon as I can, I love you.”

Fred kisses Spike again, “I love you too, be careful all right?”

“Dawn?” Angel calls gently as he walks into the dining room, Dawn has her back to him and Angel doesn’t want to startle her.

“Angel.” Dawn turns to face him and the remnants of her tears are nearly gone, “I should get going.”

“Where are you staying?” Angel asks.

Dawn makes a face and then smiles, “with my Dad, but it’s only temporary, until I can find an apartment. No biggie.”

“Well you are welcome to stay here, we have plenty of room. And the busier the house is the more the girls like it.”

“Angel, thanks for the offer, but I’ll be all right on my own.” Dawn responds, not wanting to impose upon her sister’s ex.

“Well you’d actually be helping us out,” Angel tries a different approach, “if you could baby-sit every one in awhile it would balance everything out.”

Dawn things for a minute, “you really need a baby-sitter?”

“Not full time, but it would be a load off knowing that we have one extra person around to help.”

“You sure?”

“Very.”

“Good, I wasn’t looking forward to living with my Dad and his blonde bombshell girlfriend.”

“Um, Miss Summers?” One of the younger slayers-in-training, also known as SITs, about Dawn’s age interrupts Buffy’s personal work-out a couple days later.

“What is it Clarissa?”

“There’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it?” Buffy asks, it had been a long day and she really didn’t feel like dealing with anyone.

“A guy, British I think.”

“Probably a watcher Giles sent over.”

“He doesn’t look like a watcher.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“He said he just needed to see Buffy ‘right bloody now’ when I asked him.”

Buffy sighs, they had recently brought in a SIT from England, this was probably an angry father, “all right, thank you Clarissa.”

“Walking up the stairs Buffy walks into her office, “how can I...” Immediately taking in the appearance Buffy takes a fighting stance, “who the hell are you?”

“Buffy it’s me.”

“No, Spike died three years ago, in Sunnydale.”

One Week Later

“Next time why don’t we just fill the entire bathroom with water?” The twins had convinced Dawn to get into her bathing suit and get a bath with them.

“All right!”

“Fun!”

“No.” Dawn laughs.

“When’s Uncle Spike getting back?” Alisa questions.

“I don’t know, soon I hope.” Dawn bites her lip, she hadn’t heard from anyone in Cleveland since Spike had left.

Suddenly from the hallway Dawn can hear the raised voices and above all she can hear Gunn asks, “what the hell happened you Spike?”

“All right, that’s it for bath time, I think Uncle Spike’s home.”

Dawn gets out of the tub first rapping her terry-cloth rob around her. Then she wraps the girls in their own towels and grabbing them around the waist she walks into the hall with them. Spike is standing all right outside the door, but that seems to be all he is able to do. He’d obviously been involved in some sort of battle.

Dawn shifts the girls weight and taking a guess she asks, “she wasn’t happy was she?” With her words Dawn sets the squirming girls down and continues down the hall.

Dawn was lying on her bed 15 minutes later, she’d changed into pj’s and intended to work on the Latin homework she had all ready been assigned. “Dawnie can I come in?” Spike calls after knocking.

“Yeah, come in.” Dawn sits up cross-legged on her bed.

“You’re not still angry with me are you?”

Dawn shakes her head, “no, was Buffy?”

“She didn’t believe me when I said I was really the Spike she knew.”

“Is that when she did that?” Dawn gestures at Spike’s face, “part of it, when Red could [rove that I was who I am she finished the job. I guess it’s needless to say she was angry.”

“She’s okay though?” Dawn asks.

“She seems different from the last time I saw her.”

“It has been three years.” Dawn points out.

Spike nods, “that school of hers is amazing. So many slayers.”

Dawn nods, “I always loved when I was able to spend time at the school. The slayers are all so different, it’s cool getting to know them.”

“I promised your sister we’d go back for Christmas, she misses you.”

“I miss her too.” Dawn nods, “you should get some sleep.”

Spike cringes as she moves, “yeah, maybe you’re right, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Probably not, I have an early class.” Dawn responds.

“Believe me, those kids have me and Fred up by now later than 7.”

Dawn smiles, “all right, in the morning then.”

“Excuse me.” When someone runs into Dawn her books go flying out of her hands, glad for her training that allowed her to keep her balance.

Dawn glares at the guy, who is probably a couple years older than her, “pay attention to where you’re going.”

The guys glares back, “well sorry.” He bends over to hand her the books she had dropped. “Ancient Egyptian History.” The stranger comments handing Dawn the book back, “who signs up for that?”

“I do.” Dawn grasps at the rest of her notebooks and straightens.

“Then I wasn’t the only person to sign up for the class.”

Dawn stares suspiciously at the person standing in front of her. He was attractive, bright blue eyes and brown hair that he had to brush out of his eyes. “You signed up for Ancient Egyptian History?”

He nods, “one of the many classes that pisses my father off. I’m a senior and he still seems to think I’ll change my major to pre-law.”

Dawn nods, “my sister wants me to go into anything but the major I want.”

“What’s that?”

“Well I haven’t declared it, I’m only a freshman, but I want to major in ancient cultures with a minor in ancient and dead languages.”

“You’re in my Latin class.”

Dawn stares at him, “I am?”

“I thought I recognized you. You’re a freshman in a senior Latin class? But you seemed almost fluent.”

Dawn nods, “yeah.”

“Most seniors who take senior Latin struggle, I know I am, but you seemed to know more anyone else in class.”

Dawn smiles, “I grew up with an interesting life and most people in my family speak various dead or unusual languages.”

“My family is monolingual.”

Dawn smiles and nods, “my sister and Xander are too. I’m Dawn by the way.”

“Oh, right, I’m Conner.”

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