Wild Horses
Part 11
By Jeconais
Buffy attempted to towel dry her hair, but wasn’t very successful. She left it hanging wet around her shoulders as she added some store bought casserole mix to the chicken, and placed it in the oven.
"Hey, ducks." Spike’s voice, caring and loving, did more to warm her than his body did. "What’s the matter?"
Buffy sighed. "I met Dawn in the supermarket. She had Xander’s bank card and was getting something for them to eat, and she said she wanted to cook as he had been cooking since she moved in."
Spike nodded.
"I wanted to ask her to come home, but I couldn’t get the words out. It all came out wrong. I tried to tell her how much I missed her, but I couldn’t."
Spike wrapped an arm around her, and held her to him. She snuggled into him, pressing her face against his shoulder.
Unseen by the Slayer, Spike smirked, unable to resist the opportunity to further isolate her from any possible support system. "You wanted to ask her to come home?"
Buffy nodded, thinking that she just said that.
"That’s not how you do it, luv. Remember how you beat the First?"
The blonde Slayer lent back and stared at her partner. "What?"
"You didn’t ask anyone to do anything while you were running the successful campaign to defeat the First, you told everyone what to do, and they did it. Thanks to you, the First was defeated. You can’t ask Dawn nicely to come home, that doesn’t work. You have to be the general again, and order her home, and not accept any mutiny."
"But…" Buffy tried to interrupt.
"No," Spike insisted. "You were the one who saw what the First was doing and put together the plan to stop him. It worked, you won. Remember?"
She nodded slowly.
"People respect victorious leaders, darlin’. You just have to remind Dawn that you are one, and she’ll recognize that you know best."
"What would I do without you?" Buffy asked, accepting his words at face value.
"Let’s hope you never have to find out."
Friday
Kennedy awoke with a slight smile. It felt really good to be back in her own bed. She looked around her large room and smiled again. She had spent too much time with the other SIT’s in that crowded house. 'I really should have gotten Daddy to pay for some decent accommodation for us.’
She crawled out of the four poster bed, and spent half an hour getting ready for the day. After arriving home yesterday, on her birthday, her father had taken her out of a meal at the country club, and promised to buy her a present at the weekend. What she wanted was a new Mercedes SLK coupe; sadly, her father had something a little less pricey in mind.
Dressed in some expensive, fashionable clothes once more, and feeling rich again for the first time in several months, she wandered into her father’s study and sat down opposite him as he finished up the telephone call he was on.
"Damn it!" Her father slammed the phone down as hard as he could, and leant back. With his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling, he swore loudly and fulsomely.
"Problem, Daddy?"
He fixed his daughter with a baleful eye, then slowly smiled as she winked at him.
"I’ve just lost another contract to renovate a chain of hotels to PJH Construction. It’s the fourth contract this month, and it’s starting to cost me money."
"Who are they?"
"They are one of the biggest contractors on the west coast, and my biggest rivals. I was killing them last year, undercutting them pretty much everywhere. We cut corners and came out ahead in the end."
The statement might have landed him in trouble in a court of law, but he had always had a peculiar relationship with his daughter. He had never been a true father, and had pretty much left his wife to bring Kennedy up when she was younger. When she had died, a few years before, he had made the effort to get to know her, but his parental skills had been…lacking.
For the first few years, they had been virtual strangers living in the same house. She asked for something, he gave it to her, and that was it. After a while, he had started to warm to her as she grew up, and had started to teach her some of his business, realizing that one day he would need an heir, one who could understand the need to sometimes bend the law.
When that Watcher had shown up, to take her away, he had simply left the decision up to her. She was more his friend than his daughter, and as such, deserved the right to make her own decisions, he felt.
He was completely unaware that he *did* have some fatherly feelings for her, such as his total inability to see that Kennedy was very spoilt, very used to getting her own way.
"Now, they’ve got some new hotshot VP who’s worked his way up from their construction crews and who has a reputation for security systems that is amazing, to say the least."
"So who are they?"
"They’re a good sized firm that’s starting to grow fast, based in Sunnydale," he looked down through his paperwork. "Their new VP is one…Alexander Harris, a former carpenter who they found on one of their shift teams."
"Xander?" Kennedy asked, shocked at hearing that name coming from her father’s mouth. "You have a picture?" She wanted to make sure it was actually him, not just some weird coincidence.
"Sure," her father said, rummaging again. He passed a photo over to her; it was a black and white, taken from a distance as the young man had been stepping from a car. "You know him?"
"Yeah, he was a good friend of the Slayers, but we all thought that he was just a carpenter. All he did when not at work was hang around the house, help out and fix the damages the vamps and demons did. He was kinda, sweet though. He always looked out for all of us, gave us a pep talk when we needed it, and it was him that came up with the weapon that defeated the First."
"You still gay?" The question was a little blunt, but honest all the same.
"Don’t know," she replied. Kennedy had often thought that he knew more about her than he had ever let on, that maybe he was her father after all.
He smiled at her. "So, you still want that Merc?"
Kennedy frowned at him, tilting her head.
"Cards, dad!"
The short hand was something they had developed sometime ago.
"I want Mr. Harris to work for me, and I want you to go get him. I’ve sent some of my people, but he seems to be the loyal sort, wouldn’t even listen to them." His voice was calm and considerate, as if asking his underage daughter to go and 'get’ a man was the most normal thing in the world for a father to do.
Kennedy was shocked. She had started to fancy men, and sure, Xander was attractive, but did she really want to just go 'get’ someone? First off, there was the whole Willow situation; she had chickened out of the relationship with the Witch by email, despite the fact that she knew it was for the best. Did she really want to be back in the same town as her former lover? But, she started to consider the whole situation; Xander was obviously richer than she had realized, he was unattached, she would get that Mercedes she wanted, and could probably wheedle more out of her father, and who better to test out her newly discovered heterosexuality with, than someone she already knew.
"It will need to be more than a Mercedes."
Her father smiled, back on familiar territory. The negotiation took most of the day.
Xander sat in his office, doing more paperwork; it was becoming a routine that he really liked. Breakfast with Dawn, followed by a light conversation and a coffee, before they both went their separate paths for the day, knowing they would meet up again later.
He wondered if this is what marriage was like.
The carpenter froze. Dead still. Although, considering where they lived, he really should come up with a better comparison.
Marriage? What the hell?
Xander sighed, dropping the report he was reading. It wasn’t the most interesting at the best of times, and this certainly wasn’t those times.
He had to think about Dawn, properly. Since this had blown up last Saturday, he’d been happily running through the week, dealing and reacting to everything, and not giving much extra thought to anything that was happening. He was aware that things had been changing between him and the Slayer’s younger sister, but he was happy to just let things go on as they were.
Xander leant back into his chair and looked at the ceiling.
He was starting to find a girl who wasn’t even eighteen yet attractive. It was strange, he reflected to himself, she was nothing like any of his previous partners. She didn’t wear trashy clothes, and not want to be seen with him. She didn’t flirt openly, or make off color remarks; hell, she seemed more mature than he was half the time. She certainly wasn’t like Anya, her behavior with Molly and Kyle had shown that. Both of them talked about her more than they talked about him, which was something he was more than happy to join in with.
But that still left the main problem. Dawn was not even eighteen yet. It wouldn’t have mattered if he was her age, but he wasn’t. He was four and a half years older than she was, and if you didn’t count the implanted memories, he was nearly eighteen years older than her.
She had been, well, not his sister, but more like his niece for all these years. It had been a little strange, how he’d never thought of her like family, but he had put it down to that fact that, while he had been good friends with Buffy, it had never been anything more. It was as if the potential to have Dawn as a sister had always been there. All it would have needed was for Buffy to have agreed to date him, and he would have pushed her into that category for life.
But Buffy never had, and he had never mentally pushed her into that hole. It was almost as if his subconscious was saying, "Why push away someone who might be worthwhile in the very distant future."
But even that didn’t change the age difference, and the fact that he still wasn’t sure if he could change the family feelings of love for her into something else. And more importantly, he didn’t know if he wanted to.
Dawn was making it very easy for him to fall in love with her, even if she didn’t know it. She listened to him, she reassured and encouraged him, she wanted to know about him. All the things he had never had in a home life, she had just waltzed in and started doing, and it was addictive.
She had even cooked for him last night, and he hadn’t even known that she knew how to cook.
Dawn was also beautiful. It had been a hell of a shock to realize that. He remembered the cute teenager who had a crush on him, the innocent flirtation. That had been blown out of the water the other night when she had flounced past him in one of his t-shirts, and he was pretty damn sure she had been naked underneath it. It had taken every ounce of his Anya created willpower not to stare at her chest.
Dawn had a chest. That was another uncomfortable thought. Especially after a dream that same night that showed him the possibilities attached to that chest.
Regardless of anything else, Dawn was under age. So this kind of thinking was pointless at the moment. He knew he was denying the possibility to himself, but her age gave him a buffer he could use for now.
"Got a sec, boss?"
Xander looked up, a little startled. "Take a seat, Andrew," he gestured lazily.
"Thanks. I got the field results for the new guns."
Xander looked balefully at the large report his friend was holding. "Want to give me the gist of it?"
Andrew grinned, he’d expected that. "The new G36 passed every test we put it through, and the guys love it."
"I’m going to regret asking this, but what is the G36?"
"A new assault rifle we’ve been checking out. We’ve been testing two versions, the K and C. The K is a short assault rifle with a shortened forearm and barrel. It comes with a flash suppressor, making it great for night work. It can take up to a hundred round magazine drum, and can have a 40mm grenade launcher attached to it. The guys have come up with some really good ideas for anti-demon and anti-vampire grenades.
"The C is the commando compact version, and is quite a bit smaller, and will mainly be used as our entry weapon for taking out nests. We chose this over a sub machine gun because it’s got superior terminal ballistics and will go straight through body armor, so it should pierce most demon hides, also.
"We fired over ten thousand rounds through these babies; we even went out to the desert to test it under extreme conditions. They recommend that you clean it every thousand rounds, but it’s got a cool exhaust system, that meant it didn’t freeze, even with all the sand and dust around."
"Andrew. You’re still a geek."
The geek in question grinned. "You say that like it’s a bad thing."
Xander laughed.
"How come you’re not more into this, what with being possessed by that soldier spirit in your junior year?"
Xander looked at him sharply. "How did you know about that?"
Andrew shrugged, "Part of our research on the Scooby gang brought it up. The image of Buffy as a helpless socialite seemed somehow apt."
"The memory started failing pretty quickly, so about the only thing I have left is the ability to shoot. It seems that the ability was automatic, and sunk into my mind, the rest was training and didn’t."
Andrew nodded, leaning back in to his seat.
"What are you going to do about Ian?"
"What do you mean?" Xander frowned.
"Your idea of him joining after college isn’t working. He’s here most nights, and all weekend. He puts in almost as many hours as you do. Add to that he has better fighting skills than most of the people here and more actual experience with vampires and you have a person we need on a more official basis."
"What are you suggesting?"
"We pay him for weekends and two nights a week, which is pretty much all we can get away with legally."
Xander sighed. "This is going to cause a problem. I can’t see Dawn sitting on the sidelines, either, once we start patrolling. She is not going to sit by at home while I’m out at night and we’re going to need every advantage we have."
"And I’ve got an interview tomorrow for someone Ian picked out, a friend of his named Daryl," Andrew added with a smile. "The guy found out about Vampires after hacking into somewhere he shouldn’t have." He held up his hand, forestalling the obvious question. "No, I don’t know where or what he did, but I’ll find out tomorrow. I have a couple of tests for him, but if he’s as good as Ian thinks, we’re going to need him."
"How old is he?"
"Don’t know."
"God, I hope he’s at least eighteen. The last thing I need is California Child Welfare department on my back."
Andrew grinned. "That’s why you’re the boss, and I have," he checked his watch, "twenty minutes to get to class." He stood and walked out.
"Andrew," Xander called after him. "You’re doing a really good job here. Thank you."
It was an extremely happy Andrew who aced his psychology test later that day. Xander’s final words were playing over and over in his mind, positive reinforcement for someone who had lacked anything like it all his life.
Xander looked at his watch, and realized that is was lunch time. He held a quick internal debate with himself, but in the end couldn’t resist the lure. He phoned one number, held a quick conversation, then phoned another.
"Dawn, you got any plans for tonight?" he asked, after exchanging a greeting with the brunette girl.
"Nope," Dawn said cheerfully.
"How do you fancy eating out?"
It was with great willpower that Dawn resisted the urge to squeal with delight. "That would be great. What should I wear?"
"Something smart, I’ll be wearing one of the suits you chose for me. I’ll pick you up at six?"
"Ok," Dawn’s smile was almost visible down the phone. "See ya then, Xan."
Dawn looked over at Ian, Chrissy and Daryl. "Xander’s taking me out tonight, to a restaurant." She beamed, her smile incredibly wide, before it suddenly fell. "Oh my god, what am I going to wear?"
Chrissy laughed, "Don’t worry. I’ll come round after school, and help you get ready."
"But you haven’t got a car," Dawn pointed out with a pout. "And there’s no way in hell that you’re walking home in the dark alone."
Ian leant forward with a suggestion. "I’ll come home with you, and then take Chrissy home later, before I drop the car back off at XTech. You coming, Daryl?"
Daryl looked shocked for a brief second, his eyes flicking to Dawn’s, who was smiling and nodding.
"Sure," he said weakly, still not quite able to believe that he was being accepted as he was by the school queen.
"Excellent," Ian said with a grin. "Daryl and I can use the Playstation, while you two girl it up."
Chrissy responded with a sweet smile and a not so sweet elbow to his stomach.
The bell rung for afternoon classes, and they walked out of the canteen. The eyes of the school population were on the group again, only this time the split was a lot more even. The new clothes had achieved a similar effect on Ian. All of a sudden, he was being noticed by girls who had avoided him before. The psycho attitude was known to have vanished, leaving a dark haired bad boy, who had proved several times he was good in a fight. Teenage hormones had suddenly made a lot of girls very aware of him.
After school, Ian and Daryl had joined the two girls at Dawn’s car, and traveled together back to the apartment.
The guard smiled at Dawn, and nodded to Ian. As the foursome walked past, he immediately sent photo’s of the other two to headquarters. Unofficially, of course.
"Whoa!" Darryl and Chrissy looked extremely impressed as Dawn opened the door to the apartment she shared with Xander.
Daryl immediately walked over to the TV, as Chrissy turned to the huge windows and looked out at Sunnydale.
Ian and Dawn shared a grin; their friends’ reactions were somewhat predictable.
Chrissy shook herself, then remembered why she was here. "You, shower," she ordered Dawn. "You, couch. You, kitchen, drinks," she issued orders to Daryl and Ian respectively.
With an amused expression, the others silently followed her orders. Daryl sat on the couch, then grinned as he spotted a laptop laying on the floor.
"You mind?" he asked Dawn, nodding towards the laptop.
"Use the one on the table, that’s Xander’s. He’s hardly touched it, so he won’t mind it getting some real use."
"Thanks," he grinned at her, making Dawn realize that he wasn’t at all bad looking when he smiled.
Dawn smiled back and wandered into her room, Chrissy joining her as she relieved the returning Ian of a couple of cans of coke. "See you later, boys."
The blonde grinned impishly at them, then danced into the bedroom.
Daryl booted the laptop, going immediately into the BIOS. A few keystrokes later, he smiled widely as he found that it could boot from an USB device. He pulled out his house keys and unhooked a small cigarette sized box. After snapping the cap off, he plugged it into the back and let the computer boot into his custom Linux distribution.
Without looking up, he said quietly, "So, you like Chrissy, huh?"
"What?" Ian asked, shocked and almost blushing.
"Chrissy, the cute blonde you hang around with. You like her."
"First off, it’s we who hang around her, not I. And secondly, what the hell are you talking about?"
Daryl logged in, and typed "startx twm" at the prompt, his bespoke .Xinitrc taking the argument and starting his favorite window manager. He ignored the mangled mess that Ian’s last statement had been, and responded absently. "Your eyes never leave her when she’s in the same room."
"…" Ian said, in a feat of superior linguistics, before standing and turning the Playstation on. He sat next to Daryl, and quickly lost himself in the game.
Daryl smiled, using his nightly build of the new Firebird browser to check his email.
They talked quietly, neither of them ever actually having had a male or, well, any, friends before, so not quite sure how to act. All they knew was that they liked each other.
Inside the bedroom, Dawn stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel.
"So, what look are we going for here? The 'I want to jump your bones’, the 'I’m a big girl, I want you to jump my bones?’ or the 'I’m boring but classy, I’ll wait for the bone jumping’ look?" Chrissy asked.
Dawn blinked at her for several seconds, then laughed. "The third I think. Slow and steady wins the race, and all that."
The blonde rolled her eyes and walked over to Dawn’s wardrobe. "Well, it’s a good thing you want the 'boring but classy’. That’s all you’ve got." She sounded a little disgusted.
"Hey," Dawn complained. "I think I look good in those clothes."
"You do, sugar," Chrissy admitted. "But how are you going to catch him without showing some skin?"
Dawn sat on the bed, folding her legs under her. "Xander’s not a normal guy, Chrissy. Buffy once called him one of the girls. He seems to have an endless amount of love to give, but in the past, he has had trouble drawing the line between platonic and sexual love." She placed her elbows on her knees and held her chin up. "He was dating a girl named Cordelia, while in love with my sister and also having a very close relationship with Willow. Cordelia dumped him after she and Oz, Willow’s boyfriend, found them kissing together."
Chrissy leant back against the dresser. "I didn’t think Xander would be the type to cheat."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "I think he learnt his lesson, as he never even looked like cheating on Anya. He is starting to change, though, drawing the line a lot more firmly between platonic and sexual. I didn’t realize at the time, but when he refused to sleep with Anya just before the final battle, that was one of the first steps towards him growing up like that.
"We had a talk about Faith, another girl from his past, the other night. It showed again that he is trying to move on from his past. That he didn’t want the same things he wanted as a teenager. I’m pretty sure he’s made his peace with Cordy as well.
"All of this means that I don’t want to try and get him by showing some skin. Believe me, I tried that between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. He must have thought that my entire wardrobe consisted of tank tops and boxer shorts. It didn’t work; he just thought it was cute Dawnie with her adorable little crush." Her voice was mocking as she delivered the last line. "Xander is moving towards an adult relationship, and I want to be the one he turns to. I can’t be that by flashing skin at him. I’m not even sure how I can be that. I just hope that being myself, and being as mature as I can be, means that when he is ready, he will look at me first, and like what he sees."
"So you don’t think Xander is perfect, then?" The young blonde asked softly, not ever having seen her friend so open. She guessed it was a once in a life time opportunity and wanted to take advantage of it.
Dawn shook her head. "Uh-uh! Xander’s got an amazing ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. He’ll hide his feelings behind jokes and flip remarks, and as I said, in the past, has shown an inability to differentiate between the types of love that he feels. And he can hold a grudge till the next ice age without breaking a sweat. But I see him trying to change, to get over his jokes and remarks, and I think that Molly and Kyle are really helping him there. He still holds a grudge, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever change that, and it’s actually kinda reassuring in a way. Predictable, you know?
"I’m in love with him, with Alexander Harris. I think that I see his good points and his bad points, and I hope I can accept both. I had him on a pedestal while I was crushing on him, but this is much more than that."
"You seem a lot older than your age, Dawn. Sometimes, at least."
Dawn sighed softly, "Sometimes, Chrissy, I feel as old as the universe."
There was a brief silence, before the blonde grinned impishly. "So, we still need to decide what you’re wearing." She reached into the closet and pulled something out.
"This will do perfectly."
Dawn looked at the dress and slowly smiled. "If this doesn’t show him that I’m grown up, nothing will."
It was the first time she had ever had a 'little black dress’ and she was looking forward to his reaction to it.
"Ok," Chrissy started to go through her drawers, rating each piece as she picked it up. "Underwear, underwear. Childish, yeuch, what the hell were you thinking? Ahh, perfect." The discarded items to one side, she turned to her friend, holding up the garments. "You’ve never even worn these, have you?"
Dawn shook her head, looking nervous. "I don’t know if I like the idea of being on my first unofficial date with Xander with a permanent wedgie."
"It’s either this, or commando, sugar," the blonde advised with a grin.
The long haired brunette girl frowned at her friend; she thought that the blonde was taking way too much pleasure in all of this.
"Bra?" Dawn sighed.
"Not with this dress, Honey."
Dawn paled. "I don’t know if I can do this. What if he doesn’t think I look good?"
Chrissy laughed, and wondered if Dawn was a Gemini, she certainly seemed to have two aspects to her personality. One, that of someone totally in love with a guy she had known all her life, and knew better than she knew herself, and another, who was a normal teenage girl, crushing on an older man.
"You’ll knock his socks off, sugar."
There was a companionable silence in the main room, as Daryl took advantage of the building's T-1 line and Ian played on the Playstation.
Chrissy entered the room first, and for the first time since she had left the room, Ian looked up. Casually, he nudged Daryl, hoping it would wipe the smirk of his face. It didn’t.
Dawn came out next, to low wolf whistles from the two boys. She smiled at them and twirled lightly. Her black dress started below her shoulders and finished just above her knees. It had a heart shaped area of fabric that hinted at the valley between her breasts.
"You think he will like it?"
"He’d have to be brain dead not to," Daryl said honestly. Seeing how much Dawn was in love with a guy he had never met had forced him to realize that she would never look at him like that. She was a one man woman, and she had chosen. He just hoped that Xander was worthy of her.
Ian looked at his watch, then saved his game. "Come on, we need to get out of here. Xander will be picking Dawn up in five minutes." He turned and looked at the brunette. "Make sure you wait inside the building, Dawn, we don’t want you snatched away."
Dawn rolled her eyes at him, and answered in a droll voice, "Yes, dad."
He smirked back, and lead the other two out, only stopping to make sure the guard kept an eye on Dawn when she came down.
Xander looked at his watch, then dialed Kyle’s mobile.
"What’s up, Xander?" Kyle asked, his Caller-ID having identified Xander’s office number.
"Erm, I haven’t asked this since I was sixteen, but, err… Can I borrow your car tonight? I’m taking Dawn to a restaurant and would rather take her in style."
"Of course you can." Kyle didn’t hesitate a moment in his reply.
"Great," Xander smile was almost visible down the phone. "I’ll be around in fifteen minutes."
Kyle hung up and grinned at Molly. "Guess who’s taking Dawn out on a date and wants to borrow my car?"
Molly grinned in excitement. "Did he call it a date?"
Her husband shook his head. "Nope."
"Oh well, getting them together in a romantic restaurant is a start."
Kyle nodded, then made his way to the garage. He didn’t think that Xander knew just how many cars he and Molly had between them. Eleven at last count, ranging from a Ferrari F60 to a small BMW Z3. He wandered around slowly, running his hands over the cars, trying to decide which one would be best to lend to his adopted son. He wasn’t concerned about the car being damaged, just what would make the right impression and allow the two of them to enjoy it the most.
He contemplated the standard Rolls Royce, but decided it was to austere for such an occasion. He suddenly grinned as he came across the perfect car. A Bentley Continental GT, a six liter twin turbo charged twelve cylinder engine. It could do 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds, and would stop again in half that time. It cornered like a train and was fitted to the brim with the latest technology. He had only driven it a few times himself, so he enjoyed it as he drove out of the garage and around the front of the house.
Kyle smiled and waited by the car as Xander drove up. He smiled as he saw the Carpenter smile at him, then do a classic double take as he looked at the car Kyle was sat next to.
"That’s not your BMW," Xander said softly, almost reverently, unable to drag his eyes away from the sleek lines of the car in front of him.
Kyle struggled to stop from laughing; the naked want on Xander’s face was a joy to behold. "My BMW’s being washed," he lied. "So I thought I’d lend you one of my other cars."
Xander nodded absently, walking around the Bentley.
"Friend cabbages are an excellent source of fuel for hovercrafts," The older man stated calmly.
"Oh yeah," Xander agreed absently, peering through the driver’s side window at the driver’s console.
"Molly ran away to join the circus this morning, she’s going to be an elephant trainer."
"Good for her," the carpenter replied as he opened the door and knelt to look in.
He suddenly stood up and looked at Kyle, blushing furiously. "Could you repeat those last two statements?"
Kyle laughed loudly. "No, I don’t think so. Here," he threw Xander a card shaped piece of plastic. "Keep it for the weekend, bring it back on Monday."
Xander caught the card, recognizing it as a keyless entry system similar to a Mercedes’. With a smile, he walked over and hugged the older man. "Thank you," he said simply.
"Any time, Son. Any time."
A lopsided grin later and Xander was in the car. The ignition button, combined with the proximity of the plastic card caused the engine to roar into life. The dashboard illuminated, high lighting the dark stained Walnut interior. He depressed the clutch, thankful he had learnt to drive shift, pushed the gear stick into first, and slowly let up the clutch, feeling for the bite as the gears engaged.
Xander pulled away carefully, getting used to the powerful car. He opened the window to wave a final thanks at Kyle, before pulling out of the estate and onto the open road. He turned the stereo up loud, and floored the accelerator.
The shock of the power that pushed him hard back into the seat, caused him to release the accelerator pedal, as he realized he would have to take it a lot slower till he understood how the car worked.
By the time he had arrived at the apartment building, he was very confident in his ability to handle the gorgeous car.
He pulled up outside the entrance door, and got out, the car switching itself off and locking itself as it sensed its plastic key move out of range.
"Wow," Xander said softly, as he came face to face with Dawn, who was waiting for him in the lobby. "You look amazing."
Dawn smiled, instinctively realizing that he hadn’t meant to say that the way it came out. "You’re not looking bad yourself. That suit really looks good on you."
He smiled at her, and only the faint hint of confusion in his eyes showed the effect that this very grown up Dawn was having on him.
The long haired girl kept her smirk under wraps. She had a very unfair advantage in knowing exactly what Xander was thinking, and fully intended to use it.
"Shall we go?"
"We shall," Dawn smiled regally, holding his arm. Dawn was unaware, and Xander had forgotten, about the security camera installed above the door. The guard hadn’t, though, and it only took several seconds for the video to be showing on most of the XTech monitors, to some cheering from the people who had bet on an early get together, and some groans from those who had thought it would take longer.
"What is this?" Dawn’s voice was awestruck as she looked at the car.
"Bentley Continental GT. Kyle leant it to me, thought it was more appropriate than my SUV."
Dawn’s already wide eyes went even wider, and then started to shine with excitement. "Can I drive it?" she asked with an impish smile on her face.
Xander shook his head slowly, as they climbed in to the car.
Dawn decided to pull out the big guns. She leant forwards, placing a hand lightly on his thigh, leaning her head back, allowing her hair to brush his shoulder. She made her eyes as wide as possible, and put enough emotion in them to break the hardest of hearts. "Please, Xan," she whispered with a husky little voice.
Xander folded faster than a card shark at a police convention. His eyes desperately leaped around the car, as he tried as hard as he could to avoid staring down the front of her dress. She kept the ultra innocent expression on her face, while internally her mind was throwing a huge celebration party.
Dawn *knew* that Xander was not seeing her as a little girl. It was making him uncomfortable, and he didn’t know how to deal with it, but he was definitely seeing her as a woman. She needed every advantage she could get, she knew, especially with Faith arriving soon.
She settled back into the seat, her palm instantly demanding that it be put back on his warm thigh. With a slight sigh of regret, the girl promised her palm she would do so later, and perhaps find other places as well.
Xander cleared his throat, and started the car, driving off in silence, his thigh still burning from the short time her hand had rested so innocently on it. He shot a glance at her, and found that she was wearing a smile that looked remarkably like the Mona Lisa.
Five years ago, Xander would not have understood that smile, maybe even a year ago, he wouldn’t have. He had learnt a lot from Anya, and from the other girls in his life, and for once, he found himself understanding what she was doing. She wanted him to see her as an adult, and she had succeeded. First, seeing how elegant she looked, then how easily she had manipulated him, forced him to realize that little Dawnie was all grown up now, and more than capable of deciding for herself what she wanted.
He was not sure what he felt for her, apart from an unquestionable attraction, but he slowly started to realize that he most definitely wanted to find out. For now, he decided that the best thing to do was carry on as normal.
Xander parked the car himself, unwilling to let the concierge service drive a car worth more than the restaurant. He got out first, then opened the door for Dawn, a slight smile on his face.
They walked in together, to be greeted by the owner warmly. "This way, Mr. Harris. Your table is ready." The elderly Italian led them to a secluded corner on a balcony, where they had a perfect view of the night sky and the rest of the restaurant.
Dawn was too young, and Xander too insecure for them to notice the reaction they got. Half of the eyes in the building were watching Dawn, (well, her legs and ass, at least) as she walked up the stairs, and the other half was watching similar things. They wondered who the beautiful girl and powerfully dressed young man were.
Ian dropped Daryl off first; the geek lived with his mother in a nice modern townhouse in a good residential area of Summerville.
Ian placed the car in gear again, and drove off slowly, not really wanting to reach his destination.
"So, how long have you known Dawn?" he asked.
Chrissy smiled in the darkness. She could see that he was taking the long route back to her place, and didn’t mind in the least. "About three years. She was failing Math, and Mrs. Jenkins asked me to help her out. I did, got to know her, and we’ve been friends since."
Ian smiled.
"What happened in the Gym the other day?"
"You heard about that?" Ian asked, a little uncomfortably.
"Yeah," the blonde grinned. "A lot of people talk to me, especially now, letting me know what is going on in the school. Yesterday, I heard about a former school psycho swearing his allegiance to the new Queen."
Ian nodded, not allowing himself to be embarrassed. "Xander saved my life. He told me most of his life story, so when Adam asked for some backup, I felt that I owed him enough to help someone he obviously cares about. It was pretty much the old guard trying to get back in charge, so I threw a few facts at them, neutralized Porsche and knocked Lance out. All in all, a good five minutes of work. I’d wanted to hit him for ages, anyway." He admitted with a small grin. "This way, it was for a good cause."
Chrissy laughed softly, flicking her hair absently over her shoulder.
"I didn’t actually meet Dawn till the next day, and hey, I was impressed. She seemed to accept me instantly."
"Yeah, she’s started to do that, make instant judgments about people. She’s pretty accurate, too."
Ian slowed the car, reluctantly, pulling to a stop outside her house. It being dark, he got out first, and opened the door for her.
She climbed out and smiled warmly at him, thinking that he was not that bad looking, especially with those intense eyes. Chrissy leant back against the car, and decided to continue the conversation for a few minutes.
In Sunnydale, that was a mistake.
"Ahh, young love, it always makes the blood taste better." A mocking voice interrupted them, as three denim clad young looking men appeared out of the darkness.
"Chrissy, get your ass inside, now!" Ian’s voice was insistently commanding, and the blonde found herself running before she realized it.
The lead vampire looked pissed as one of his meals escaped. "Well, you’ll just have to do for the three of us."
"You really picked the wrong night to fuck with me," Ian growled. "Do you have any idea how long it has been since I got to talk to a girl like that? It was before puberty. You fucking vampires ruined the first four years of my being a teenager, and now you come and ruin this? I’m definitely going to make you go down on your knees and fucking beg to be staked."
The three vampires exchanged looks; this was not how it was supposed to go. Human were supposed to be paralyzed with fear, not extremely pissed off that their evening had been interrupted. Their keen vampiric sense of smell showed them all that Ian was not even slightly intimidated by them, and that he was preparing himself for violence.
"Get him!"
The vampire to the left, a long-haired blond man, took three quick steps forward, his arms out to grab the boy. He didn’t even see the boy shift slightly, but he did feel the pain in his chest, as the stake that Ian kept in the back of his pants was retrieved and shoved into his chest with a satisfying thud.
"You bastard, you killed Kenny!"
Ian stopped, and looked at the vampire suspiciously. "You’re kidding, right?" he asked.
"What?" The vampires asked, looking really confused.
"You’ve never seen South Park?"
"What the hell is that?"
"Ok," Ian looked relieved. "Let’s go, then."
The two vampires looked at each other, puzzled, then shrugged their shoulders and decided to work together.
Ian’s expression didn’t change, but he felt slightly nervous. One on one, he could take a vampire, two on one, would be a lot more difficult. Still, there was no way in hell he was allowing these scum buckets past to get to Chrissy.
A sharp whistle caught the vampire’s attention, they looked up, to find Chrissy pointing a gun at them.
"Bullets don’t hurt us, Girlie," the one on the left smirked.
"No," Ian agreed, having started to move as soon as he heard Chrissy whistle. The vampire never heard him finish his statement with, "But my stake will."
The remaining vampire growled, and leapt at Ian, his claws out, determined to take the boy with him.
A sharp crack sounded, and the vampire disintegrated, the dust landing over the teenager.
He looked up, and saw Chrissy standing there, a determined look on her face. Ian walked over to her slowly, and gently took the gun from her hands, thumbing the safety on. He wrapped his arms around her, as she began to shake.
"You did good, Chrissy," he whispered, holding her tightly, stroking her back. "Thanks."
"I’ve never shot at anyone before," she hiccupped, tears starting to roll down her face.
"And you still haven’t. They were vampires; they were already dead, you just put their bodies to rest." He felt her nodding against him, and smiled as he could almost feel her pulling herself together.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" she asked.
"Going into work, I’ll need to give a report about what just happened."
"Pick me up before you go in, it’s about time I found out exactly what Dad does for a living." She paused, and remembered the shouted words he had exchanged with the vampires. "And you can buy me lunch."
Ian blinked, then grinned at her. He threw a salute, and carefully handed her the gun back. "I’ll tell Brad what happened when I hand the car in."
She nodded, and gave him another chaste hug, before stepping in and shutting the door. Out of sight, she fell back against the wall and started to smile.
In the car, Ian picked up his mobile and dialed.
"Brad, where are you?"
"Guard duty at Fortress 2."
"I’ll be there in five," he hung up, knowing that the mystery would irritate the older man.
True to his word, Ian pulled the car into a parking slot next to a tall apartment block that was similar to the one Xander lived in.
He walked in and stood next to the counter, "I’m here to relieve you," he said with a smile.
"What? Why?" Brad growled.
"Chrissy needs you," Ian replied, then told him what had happened, including the fact she had shot one of the vampires.
"The bullets work then?"
"Yep, one blessed bullet, one dusty vampire. She’s a good shot."
"She is," fatherly pride dominated the ex-soldier’s face as he nodded his agreement. He picked up his coat and car keys, and walked from behind the counter. "Thank you," he said simply, dropping a hand on Ian’s shoulder.
The teen blushed faintly. "Not a problem, sir" he replied, walking around and standing behind the counter. He reached into his bag and pulled out an XTech jacket. It wasn’t a full uniform, but as long as he stayed behind the desk, it would be fine.
"Your replacement will arrive at ten."
"K, now get going."
Brad walked out to his car, smiling. Saving his daughter’s life was a sure way of ensuring he would give his permission when they started dating. He was pretty sure that the boy liked his girl; he just needed to find out if she liked him now.
Xander and Dawn talked quietly all night, enjoying the food and the unobtrusive music playing in the background.
After paying, they left walking to the borrowed car. With a smile, and praying that he wouldn’t regret it, Xander walked to the passenger side and started to get in.
Dawn, realizing what he was doing, moved forwards fast and hugged him hard, dropping a kiss on his cheek.
Buffy and Willow, on their way to a graveyard for patrol, came around the corner just at that moment. They saw Dawn hug Xander, then the back of his head as he climbed in.
Dawn looked up, and smirked, recognizing them easily. There were not many blonde and redheaded girls who would walk alone at night through Sunnydale.
She walked around the back of the car, as it was near a street lamp, so that she could be sure they could see exactly what she was wearing. She climbed in the driver’s seat, and started the engine, which growled eagerly into life. Dawn reversed it slowly, hoping that the two girls would see the badge on the car, before she stepped on the gas, placing it in first and drove off. Unlike when she had driven the Focus, there was no showboating this time. The car might be capable of nearly two hundred miles an hour, but she knew she wasn’t, and the last thing she wanted to do was betray the insane amount of trust Xander had placed on her.
"Do you have any idea how much that car is worth?" Willow decided that it would be best to ignore most of the issues that little display had thrown up, at least for the minute.
"No. How much?"
"The standard model is over three hundred thousand dollars."
"And he let Dawn drive it?"
"It looked that way, yes."
"Why would he do that?"
Willow took a deep breath. "Probably because Xander only has one eye now."