Guardian Angel


A Buffy/Dawson Crossover


Authors note: This is my first attempt at a Buffy/Dawson crossover. Please keep in mind I have seen only two episodes of Buffy, and am getting most of my information from my sister, ERANA4568@aol.com. Feel free to E-Mail her if the Buffy facts are incorrect.

SPOILERS: None really for Dawson's Creek. Only that this takes place after Jenn dumped Dawson (and if you don't know that yet, you're not really a fan now are you). As far as Buffy, the setting is right after Angel gets his soul (Which hasn't happened yet at the writing of this story).

~*~*~*~*~*~
CAPESIDE

Joey and Dawson sat in his room watching Interview With the Vampire. "Dawson, why do you like to watch this stuff?"
"What do you mean Joey? You don't think that vampires are real?"
"If vampires were real, I don't think they'd look like that."
"You know, you're right. They're a lot uglier." He made a face and Joey laughed. "Besides, they do exist."
"And you know this for a fact?"
"Why would there be so many movies out about them if they didn't exist? Everyone has the same sick imagination? There's been hundreds of vampire movies, vampire books, old vampire stories. It's highly possible that they do exist."
"Well I don't think they exist in Capeside. Can we watch something else?"
"Why? Afraid a vampire's gonna bite you on the way home?"
"I don't think so Dawson. I'd just like to get some intellectual stimulation before I leave."
"Not staying the night?"
"Did you forget it's Sunday? School tomorrow. Besides, Bessie would have my head if I slept over on a weekday."
"This is true. I don't want to get stuck babysitting as a punishment."
"When have you ever had to babysit Alex? I think never?"
"So, she'll think of it eventually. And I don't want to be around for it!"
"Fine Dawson. Just finish youur horror flick so I can go home."
"I thought you didn't want to watch it anymore?"
"Well, I can't pass up Brad Pitt, even if he is a vampire."

~*~*~*~*~*~
SUNNYDALE

Willow was reading in bed when she heard a knock on the sliding glass door in her bedroom. She stood up and opened the blinds. "Angel?"
"Am I still allowed in?"
"Yeah, you can come in I guess."
Angel walked into the room. Willow looked afraid. "I need to ask you for favor. I know Giles is angry with me, and I can imagine what Buffy thinks. So could you help me?"
"What do you want?"
"I'm going away for a while. I'm going to tell you where I am so you can reach me if Buffy's in danger. But don't tell her where I am. Can you do that?"
"Why don't you just tell her?"
"I can't face her right now. And I'm probably the last person she wants to see."
"Well where are you going?"
"Probably east. I'll call you when I find a place far enough."
"How are you going to get there?"
"I'll drive at night. Might take me longer, but it's the safest way. So you'll keep this between us?"
"Sure, I guess. Are you coming back?"
Angel just looked away. "I'll call you." He was out the door before Willow could say anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~
CAPESIDE

"Now just because the weekend is here doesn't mean you don't have homework. Read chapters twelve through twenty and write a ten page essay. I'll see you Monday."
Joey and the rest of the class bolted out of English when the bell rang. She went to her locker when she heard Dawson.
"Hey Jo, wait up!" Dawson came jogging down the hall. "Coming over tongight?"
"As much as I'd love to come over and watch more vampire flicks, I have a lot of English homework that I'd like to get done before the weekend. Count me out Dawson."
"Joey, come on! You can do your homework tomorrow or Sunday."
"I really can't Dawson. If I get done early I'll stop by."
"Okay, good enough. See you later!" And he jogged back down the hall.

Later that night, Joey was reading her English assignment when the baby started crying. Bessie came into the livingroom and picked up Alex. "I can't get any homework done with that kid screaming all the time."
"Sorry Jo, I can't exactly tell him when to cry and when not to."
Joey closed her books and got up. "Fine. I'm going for a walk."
Joey left the house and took off down the road towards town. She needed to get some air anyway. Why is it I can't get a moments peace around here? She continued to walk when she noticed someone following her. She looked over her shoulder and noticed a man, about thirty years old, picking up his pace as she did. Joey walked into the nearest store. She watched as the man walked by. What a creep. Unless I'm spooking myself because of Dawson's horror movies. That's probably it. She left the store and headed towards home. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and dragged into an alley. She started to kick and scream at the guy, who continued to pull her. Joey was suddenly thrown towards the ground. The man was being attacked by someone else. Joey hit her head on the fall. She tried to open her eyes and see what happened. All she saw was the attacker struggling with someone. Then the attacker got thrown across the alley and landed in a dumpster. The unknown hero approached Joey. "Hey, you okay?"
Joey tried to speak. Before passing out, she asked "Who are you?"
He began to pick her up. "Angel."

"Joey, can you hear me? Wake up."
Joey woke up in the hospital. Dawson and Bessie were there. "Dawson? Where am I?"
"You got hit in the head Jo. What happened?"
She started to sit up. "I'm not sure. I got jumped in town, someone helped me though."
"The guy that brought you here. He said he found you."
"No. He got the attacker off of me. That's all I remember."
"Do you know his name?"
"He's not here?"
"No. The nurse said he dropped you off, told them your name and what happened, and then left. He didn't leave his name or anything."
Joey whispered. "Angel."
Dawson looked at her. "Angel? Are you saying he's an angel?"
"I didn't hit my head that hard Dawson. That's his name. Angel."
Bessie spoke. "Well whoever he is, he's a real nice guy for helping you."
"Can I go home now?"
"I'll check." Bessie left the room.
"So Dawson, what are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Bessie picked me up on the way here."
"Who else knows about this?"
"My parents, Bodie, that's it. And this Angel guy. No one else."
"Good. Can we keep it that way? I feel kinda dumb about the whole thing."
"Yeah, if that's what you want. Do you know who this guy Angel is? Have you seen him before?"
"I've never seen him. I think he's our age though, maybe a little older. He's strong too, I know that."
"What do you mean?"
"The guy that grabbed me? Angel picked him up and through him across the alley. It was kind of amazing."
"I think you're imagining things. The guy that grabbed you was downstairs in emergency. Angel must have brought him in too. The guy was like three hundred pounds."
"I'm telling you what I saw Dawson."
"If you say so."
Bessie walked back into the room. "The doctor says we can take you home. You ready?"
"Definately. Let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~
SUNNYDALE

Buffy sighed heavily as she sat down in a chair in the library across from Willow. "What's wrong?" Willow asked her friend in concern.
"What else?" Buffy retorted, laying her head down on her hands.
"Angel?" Willow guessed, sounding wary all of the sudden.
"Yup, that'd be the one," Buffy answered. "You know he's kinda been avoiding me lately, and I've been avoiding him,though he was avoiding me so it wasn't hard to avoid him . .. " she shook her head, exasperated with herself. "Anyway, I finally got up the guts to go to his place last night, you know, try to work some things out, and what do I find?"
Willow shrugged slightly. "What?" she asked.
"He left town!" Buffy replied angrily. "I just want to know how long he's been gone. Since the night he got his soul back? No wonder he hasn't been around. And I love how he was so eager to tell me he was leaving. I think I had a right to know, don't you?"
"Yeah," Willow replied weakly.
Buffy sighed. "I mean . . . I knew this was going to be tough. I knew that. But it's rather hard for us to work anything out when he's gone to god knows where and I'm here clueless. I just . . . I need to at least talk to him, try to make him understand that I don't blame him, that I know it wasn't his fault, and that's rather impossible to do when he's probably as far away from me as he can get."
Willow bit her lip nervously and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, wondering why the only things she'd ever kept from Buffy always started with Angel. "I'm sure he'll be back, Buffy," Willow answered after a moment of silence.
"I'm not." Buffy looked up towards Giles' office, then back towards her friend. "He should know me better than this. He should know us ALL better than this. How long have I been the Slayer now, four years? I've had people I know turned into vamps, it's kinda the same thing. I don't hold it aganist him."
Willow closed her eyes and swallowed nervously. "I think I need to go now," she said, picking up her backpack and starting towards the door.
Buffy was on her feet in an instant, blocking her path. "Do you know where he is?" she demanded.
Willow swallowed again. "W-why would I know that?" she stammered.
"Because you're acting really weird," Buffy replied. "Now spill it, where is he?"
Willow sighed. "He asked me not to tell you," she answered."I - it wouldn't be right for me to -- "
"I don't care if it's right," Buffy interrupted. "I know Angel well enough to know that he's absolutely one hundred percent blaming himself for everything, and I'm sure he thinks Giles hates him, and I hate him, and you hate him,blah, blah, blah. Well, we don't. And SOMEONE has to tell him that, so he can get his butt back in Sunnydale and we can work out some things."
Willow sat back down with a soft sigh. "He's in Massachusetts. Capeside, to be exact."
"Massachusetts?" Buffy echoed. "What's in Massachusetts, did he say? Oh, never mind, dumb question, it's more what's NOT in Massachusetts, like me, Spike, Dru, and certain issues he's avoiding."
"What are you going to do?" Willow asked worriedly.
"I'm going to Massachusetts," Buffy answered. "And I'd like to see Giles, or my mother, or anyone else try and stop me."

~*~*~*~*~*~
CAPESIDE

Joey went back to town the following night. She was hoping to find Angel, to thank him for everything. She had to sneak out of the house. Bessie told her not to go anywhere, but Joey had to find him.
She walked around town for several hours. Finally, around midnight, she gave up. She walked towards the park and sat on one of the swings. She kept reliving last night in her head, trying to remember anything else that had happened. Most of all she tried to remember more about Angel. How he looked, his voice, his presence. Finally the most amazing guy comes into my life and I get knocked out!
Joey stood up to leave when she saw him. He moved slowly towards her, and for a minute Joey couldn't move. She was completely absorbed into his looks, his walk, everything about him. As he approached her, she felt herself go numb. "Didn't think you'd be out tonight."
"Yeah, well I had to find you. To thank you for last night."
"Don't mention it. It was nothing." He continued to walk past her.
Joey walked after him. "Hey, wait a minute."
He turned around. "Was there something else?"
"Yeah. How about who are you? Why you did that for me? Why did you come out here tonight? Fight more evil?"
"I told you who I am. I just wanted to help. I needed the fresh air. I don't usually fight evil."
"That's good Angel. Stick to the facts. It would be terrible if you offered anything extra."
"Look. What happened is done. You're welcome. It's getting late, you should go home."
"I'm not going home yet. I'll walk you home so I know your safe."
"Really, that's not necessary."
"But what if I want to? Want to learn more about you?"
"There isn't much to know. My life's pretty simple."
"Somehow I doubt that. Come on, can I walk you home?"
"More like a hotel. I'm just visiting."
"For how long?" Joey didn't like the sound of this. For some reason, she felt sad.
"Until I can clear my head. Figure out what I'm doing with my life."
"Well maybe I can help? It's amazing the way total strangers have a different outlook on life. Tell me all about it, and I'll help you."
"Trust me. You don't want to know."
Joey sighed. "Listen. This is the only way I feel I can pay you back. You've already done enough for me. At least let me do this. And don't feel you need to lie to me either. I can handle anything."
Angel looked at her. "You're a tough one to figure out Joey."
"That's another thing! How did you know who I was...am?"
"Let's just say I have a way of knowing things."
"And so do I. I bet I can tell you all your problems just by looking at you."
"I don't think so." They arrived at the hotel. They walked in and sat on the couch in the hotel lobby. "What makes you so sure you can read me?"
"Well how about this. I'll start off telling you all about yourself and what's going on. If I'm wrong, I'll leave youalone. If I'm right, then I just get the satisfaction of knowing I was right."
"And you want to do this because..."
"Because in a sick and twisted way of Joey's mind I kinda like you." She bit at her lower lip. "Besides, I owe you. You ready?"
"I guess. Go ahead."
Joey thought for a moment. "Well, you're not in Capeside on a social visit. If you were, you wouldn't be in a hotel.You're here more or less to get a way for a while. Maybe from family?" She hesitated. "Or a girl. You think you've wronged somebody and you took off for a while. Trying to let things cool down. So you probably really live far from here. Capeside's not exactly somewhere you stick out. You could hide here for a while. I do know that you have a good soul."
He cut her off. "That's where you're wrong. Not recently anyway."
"Fine. You made some mistakes. But you know that now. And I'm sure the people around you understand that. Whatever the circumstances, the people that care about you never hold anything against you. So if that's why you're here, you should go home."
Angel stood up and walked away. Joey followed. "What, am I wrong? This would be easier if I didn't have to guess. AllI can tell you Angel is you're the most incredible person I've ever met. I hardly know you."
He turned around and looked at her. "You're close. But there are some things you don't know. Those are the things that are hard to live with."
"But the people around you know?"
He nodded.
"And they accept you anyway, don't they. So why is it so hard to believe that I see you as a good person?"
"I've done some things I'm not proud of. Some things that may not be forgiveable."
"If the people you love know this...the people that care about you, it doesn't really matter. They will forgive you.I'm sure of it."
"You're a positive thinker."
"Maybe. I'm not the most perfect person in the world either. All that matters is you try to change things now. Work on the mistakes you've made."
Angel moved closer to her. "You wouldn't say these things if you knew the truth. Knew the truth about who I am."
Joey sighed. "Maybe. But I don't care. I know enough to know you are a good person. And if I can see it, I'm sure your friends know too."
"Why? Why do you care so much what I feel?"
Joey turned away from him. "It's weird. I can't explain it. All I know is I'm already missing you when you leave."

~*~*~*~*~*~
CAPESIDE

Buffy looked down at the piece of paper in her hands that had Angel's telephone number written down, then back up towards the abandoned Capeside streets. After some investigative work, actually more like Willow using the internet for illegal activities, she'd managed to get the address of the hotel where he was staying. Unfortunately her knowledge of Capeside locations wasn't all it should be, she had no clue if she was even heading in the right direction or not.
She looked up from the piece of paper again and then grinned to herself in triumph. After roaming around aimlessly for two hours straight she'd finally managed to find the place. Buffy opened the large double doors to the hotel and immediately froze in place, her mouth hanging open in shock.
She'd found Angel alright, only he appeared to be rather busy kissing a brown-haired girl, whose body appeared to be closer to him than his clothing.

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