Categories > TV > Angel > Never Will You Be Alone
Never Will You Be Alone
*]
[*Chapter Twenty Two-Personal Demons
Dawn jumped as presistant knocks came from Connor and her bedroom door.
"What is that noise?" Connor groaned as he burrowed deeper into the covers. Dawn let out a small 'umph' as his arm became heavier.
"I believe that would be someone knocking," Dawn clarified.
"Kill them.." He groaned. Dawn laughed and rolled underneath the heavy arm so that she faced her boyfriend. She poked him in the side.
"It's our training coach." She whispered secretly. A still sleepy Connor couldn't help but smile softly at his girlfriend's childish antic. "If you don't wake up, he's going to come in here with cold water."
"We're not decent!" Connor hollered. "Give us a second." They waited for a moment. Where Dawn's ears failed her, Connor could hear his father spluttering. The only thing Dawn could hear were the sounds of a swift retreat.
"Well, you gave us long enough to get dressed." Dawn pipped as she slipped from underneath his arm. Connor propped up on one elbow and watched as she hurried threw on the discarded panties.
"Come back to bed," he half heartedly pleaded as he watched her dig through her drawer for a pair of sweat pants. He smiled slightly when a pair of his own slapped him on the chest. She looked back at him over her shoulder.
"He'll send Cordelia up if you don't hurry." Dawn said, spoke as she tossed him a T-shirt before slipped on the grey sweat pants she had found. She looked around the room for her fallen bra while Connor relunctantly slipped from bed and slipped the sweat pants over his bare legs. Dawn stopped herself from ogling and grabbed her bra from the lamp. A small blush touched her cheeks. "Why does it always end up in the weirdest of places..." She mumbled as she slipped it back on. "The first time we had sex, I found my bra on the atlers of some poor deer like thing in the inn..." Connor grinned as he slipped his own T-shirt over his chest. She returned to the dresser and pulled out one of his T-shirts. She tugged it over her head easily and grabbed the brush from the dresser just as Cordelia pushed open the door with a manicured hand over her eyes. Dawn and Connor couldn't help but laugh.
"We're decent, Ma. Don't worry," both women fell silent at the endearment that had slipped from Connor's lips so easily. Cordelia's face split into a blinding smile before the much taller teenager was engulfed in surprisingly strong arms. Dawn smiled softly at her boyfriend's shocked expression as he wrapped his arms around Cordelia's waist in an awkward hug. He squeezed lightly before Cordelia pulled away.
"Be in the training room in five..." She demanded lightly. As she turned to walk out, Dawn was certain she saw beads of moisture building in Cordelia's brown eyes. 'High school Cordelia would have complained about being called a mom at such a young age.' Dawn thought as she watched the door shut behind her. 'Thank God this Cordelia grew up.'
"What just happened?" Connor turned to his girlfriend. Dawn smiled at the adorable look on her boyfriend's face before wrapping her own arms around his waist.
"You just called Cordelia mom." She spoke against his chest. Connor's arms wrapped around her waist and his cheek pressed against the top of her head.
"Think I should apologize?" He asked. Dawn shook her head.
"Not at all. It made her very happy," Dawn assured. She squeezed his waist one more time before letting go. In parting, she slapped him on his rear. "Let's get some shoes on and get down there before they sent the calvary to see why Mama Bear's crying." A small yelp escaped her as a sharp sting made itself known on her rear. She turned and glared at her attempting-to-look-innoncent boyfriend. "Watch it, buster."
"Believe me, I am." He smirked. Despite her small blush, a smile rose to her cheeks.
Never Will You Be Alone
"Umph!" Willow gasped as Buffy knocked her feet out from underneath her again. The Chosen One had insisted that every one be trained. "Because you never knew if your magic is going to fail you." The Slayer had told the small redhead when she had protested. Tara, who was training with Giles, understood the severity of the situation and had not complained. Briefly, the red head wondered her aggravation steamed from her inexperience in the field of fighting as she narrowly missed Buffy's fist and drove her knee into the unexpecting Slayer's stomach.
"Good," Buffy smiled. Willow's knee screamed in protest.
Never Will You Be Alone
Angel and Connor were sparing together. Dawn and Cordelia were taking a break from their own training session. Cordelia's stomach and face hurt. The Seer looked over at the much younger girl. 'For someone so young, she's just as experience as Connor.'
"Connor was the one who trained me." Dawn said suddenly. Cordelia looked over at her in surprise. "You kind of said that aloud."
"He trained you?" Cordelia's eyes were slightly wide as she caught the admission. Dawn nodded before taking a long swig of water.
"Quor'Toth wasn't as bad as he had made it out to be when we were in the woods, but...I think that he was protecting me from the worst of it by keeping me in the market place." Dawn's green eyes wandered to her boyfriend. The young warrior was holding his own fairly well against his father. A small swell of pride made her smile. "I'm sure he protected me from more than just the outside."
"But when you came here you were injured.." Cordelia murmured.
"We were attacked by a large amount of tunneller demons. Connor turned to check on me and gave the demon he had knocked away an opening." Dawn shuddered lightly at the memory.
"You jumped in the way." Dawn nodded at Cordelia's spot on assessment. The younger woman capped her water and set it on the table top while Cordelia looked at her with something similar to awe and garitude on her pretty face.
"Let's get back to work." Dawn said as she jumped down. Cordelia nodded and followed in the younger girl's footsteps. As they faced one another, Cordelia couldn't help but see the resemblance between the Slayer Angel loved and the young girl in front of her. 'Right now, she looks so much like Buffy in game face.'
Never Will You Be Alone
Dawn was easily fending off Cordelia's punches and kicks. Their fight looked more like a dance to the distracted Gunn and Fred. The two stopped for a moment to watch as the ex-cheerleader and their newest friend went head to head. With an easy twist of her body, Dawn had Cordelia on the ground. The younger girl held the older in place with her foot.
"This is starting to be a little unfair..." Cordelia complained. Dawn pulled the older woman up. The comment seemed to spark a hidden anger within Dawn.
"Then get better." Angel stopped and looked toward the younger girl. The vampire was momentarily shocked to hear such a blunt statement come from her. Angel opened his mouth to scold the younger woman when a fist caught him in the side of the jaw. He staggered back and looked toward his son, who shrugged with a sheepish smile. Angel smiled slightly and shoved him lightly. Cordelia's mouth fell open slightly. "This thing isn't going to hold back on a weaker opponent. The Oracles sure didn't hold anything back when training me. This thing is going to force us to face the things we've been running from." She looked out at all of them. "Maybe that's why they forced me to face my own demons during the first meeting."
The waters slid over her running over her curves like a lover's carress. Dawn's eyes widened in horror as an image started to take shape: herself. The watery Dawn stared at the original.
*]
[* "You're nothing." It hissed. "Your own sister doesn't love you, only tolerates you. Who could ever love you?"
'Connor loves me..' Dawn promised herself as she attempted to tune out the cruel words. A playback of all the things she thought about herself. A cold laugh tore from the water-Dawn's lips. "Connor only loves you because he doesn't know of any other woman better. You think he would actually be with you if he had a choice?! You're not even human! Just a fake imitation! You're worthless. Expendable. Why do you think Buffy didn't make it to the tower until it was too late? She wants you to die. You're nothing but a waste of space."
"Dawn? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked softly, her slender hand touched the younger girl's shoulder. The younger girl was clutching her shirt as if it were a lifeline. Her knuckles white. Connor crossed the room swiftly.
"Connor only loves you because he doesn't know of any other woman better. You think he would actually be with you if he had a choice?!" Dawn shook her head roughly as if too shake a bad memory. 'The others about me and Buffy don't hurt anymore. Because I know they're wrong.'
"Fine," she croaked. 'But Connor...it was the only demon I couldn't come to grips with. The doubt I feel when it comes to his love for me.' Her voice rough and she still hadn't opened her eyes. She could sense Connor close to her. Her body burned with the need to reach out to him, to unload all of her doubts onto him. 'So many women out there he hasn't met, he many that are better. More pretty. More adventurous. More like Buffy.' Her green eyes shot open at that last thought. Wide with momentary horror, she didn't see Connor at first. When the blur finally settled, she saw his brown eyes staring worriedly back at her. Dawn took a ragged breath. "I'm not invincible against them for all the training the Oracles gave me. This new evil is going to pull out all the stops. Try to break us." Dawn looked around the room. Connor and Angel were still staring at her. Both brown eyes alight with worry. Gunn and Fred were listening. Cordelia was still gripping Dawn's shoulder as if afraid the young girl were suddenly going to break. "We can't let them. Come to grips with your personal demons. Talk to someone. Let it out and get help." 'Filthy little hypocrite.' Her mind snarled.
"Who says we have personal demons?" Gunn asked, defensively. The stocky black man suddenly didn't like the look in the dark headed beauty's green eyes. She smiled softly.
"Everyone has their personal demons. Even you, Charles Gunn. Personal demons could be guilt for something you could have done differently or doubts in yourself. It doesn't have to be a murder or something heinous." Dawn said, her eyes staring into the darker ones of Gunn. He fell silent underneath it. Everyone was quiet. "Maybe it would be best to deal with those first..."
The room had slowly cleared out after Dawn's speech. Angel had lingered back. His mind filled with all of his own personal demons. The very same ones he had been running from for centuries. 'How do you face so many demons without going insane?' Angel wondered as he sank down into one of the hard chairs. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to see Cordelia still in the room. Her amber colored eyes taking in the remorse that surrounded her friend.
'Can't stand it anymore...' She thought as she stepped forward.
"Angel?" She almost gasped at the look on his handsome face: pain. All of her restraint did nothing to stop her as she crossed the room and took the man into her arms. Angel's brown eyes widened at the embrace, but he was thankful. Dawn had said that they needed to talk it out with someone. He was grateful for the embrace, because now, he wouldn't have to look at Cordelia's face as he confessed of his crimes. He wouldn't have to look at her face when she realized that he was a monster.
Never Will You Be Alone
Connor was watching his girlfriend carefully. The small dark headed love of his life had been staring at him since they entered their room. She would open her mouth as if to speak then close it quickly. It didn't take the young man long to realize that one of her personal demons involved him.
"Baby..." Connor spoke, his hands falling to her shoulders. He rubbed up and down her strengthing arms as he placed his forehead on hers. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
Never Will You Be Alone
Fred stared as Gunn paced the length of the library. Even though they had went their separate ways once they left the training room, Gunn had found his way back to the southern woman. His dark eyes kept darting toward her then back toward the wall. She was patiently waiting for the fighter to make up his mind.
Gunn was struggling with admitting his personal demons to the one woman he trusted most. He was struggling because up until the squirt's powerful words, he hadn't even considered the fact that he still had his own demons. It was unsettling.
"You know," came the sweet southern drawl of his best friend, "I made my personal demons when I was trapped in Plyea." Gunn turned away from his angry pacing. The sweet southerner was going to own up to her own demons in order to soothe Gunn's fears about his. "The things I did to survive still haunt me. The men I seduced into caves, then killed for the packs they carried. I still see their surprised and horrified faces in my mind. Still hear their voices. Some were be angry at the trickery, others afraid. None of them ever got away.." Gunn shuddered as he listened. It wasn't the story that frightened him; it was the detached way in wich Fred was delievering the inner demon as she faced it.
Fred was reliving it.
Never Will You Be Alone
"If you had the chance to be with another woman, would you be?" Dawn's voice was soft and afraid. It tore at Connor's heart. "If you had the chance to find someone better? Someone more-"
"Stop right there," Connor commanded gently. His nose brushed hers as his lips touched hers. It was a gentle chaiste kiss. "No one in this world, in my mind, could be better than you." He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist creating, what he was sure to be, an awkward position.
"Maybe because you don't know of any woman better..." She whispered. Connor's brown eyes widened. Dawn turned her own green eyes away. It took a moment for Connor to quell the anger growing inside of him. Someone had hurt his girl so much that she didn't think herself worthy. He guided Dawn's head back upward with his forefinger.
"I don't want to know of anyone better. You are all I need." Dawn stared into his gentle brown eyes before they flicked downward to their wrists. Connor cut off her protest. "I don't care about these.." He lifted their wrists to show the initials carved there. "I would love you anyway. I loved you before them and I love you now." He kissed the inside of her wrist. "In my mind, it simply says we belong to one another." He moved one hand to rest on the back on her neck. His lips brushed hers briefly, leaving the sixteen year old wanting more. "So no more worrying okay? Cause no matter what woman walks by me tomorrow, you're the only one I want." A small sigh escaped his lips as the doubt still lingered in Dawn's eyes.
"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. Connor shook his head and pulled her from the bed and into his lap. She curled up against his chest and continued talking as if he hadn't even moved her. "I'm so used to having to compete with Buffy. Being in her shadow..."
"Dawn, look at me." It was a quiet command, but held so much power. Dawn looked up at him from her position in his lap. Connor touched his forehead to hers and declared, "when you're with me, there is no shadow. Only light."
Never Will You Be Alone
Fred stared at her friend as he processed all that she had told him. Her life in Plyea was her main personal demon. The only one that could cripple her. She waited patiently for Charles Gunn to lay down judgement. Her brown eyes widened as the larger man pulled her into his arms. Instantly, she wrapped her own arms around the strong muscles of his back. They sat in silence, in one another's arms, before Gunn broke the silence.
"My personal demons are the people I have failed to save. My sister and my aunt were both murdered by vampires while my brother and I watched from the staircase." Fred gasped. Her grip on her friend became tighter.
Never Will You Be Alone
Angel's crimes were laid down at Cordelia's feet. His eyes were closed as if he could shut out her looks of accusation and disgust. His self-hating thoughts were stopped when Cordelia slipped her slender hand underneath his chin and kissed his lips gently. The dark vampire's eyes shot wide open. Cordelia pulled away and smiled down at him.
"The crimes are awful. Yes. But they made you into the man you are today. Without Angelus' evil, you wouldn't have became who you are. You wouldn't have wanted to become something better." Cordelia's voice spoke of truth. Angel stared up at the ex-cheerleader. His lips still tingled from her kiss, but somewhere in him his heart was still screaming at him in Buffy's voice. "But that's not your largest personal demon. We all know it. Your largest personal demon is Buffy Summers. And I'm okay with that. But they will use her against you."
"I can tell the difference." Angel swore. "Now. Maybe not when the First-" He cut off suddenly. Cordelia tilted her head.
"Angel?"
"I know why this war is going to be so bad. Whatever demon is going to rise, the First will be with it."
*]
[*Chapter Twenty Two-Personal Demons
Dawn jumped as presistant knocks came from Connor and her bedroom door.
"What is that noise?" Connor groaned as he burrowed deeper into the covers. Dawn let out a small 'umph' as his arm became heavier.
"I believe that would be someone knocking," Dawn clarified.
"Kill them.." He groaned. Dawn laughed and rolled underneath the heavy arm so that she faced her boyfriend. She poked him in the side.
"It's our training coach." She whispered secretly. A still sleepy Connor couldn't help but smile softly at his girlfriend's childish antic. "If you don't wake up, he's going to come in here with cold water."
"We're not decent!" Connor hollered. "Give us a second." They waited for a moment. Where Dawn's ears failed her, Connor could hear his father spluttering. The only thing Dawn could hear were the sounds of a swift retreat.
"Well, you gave us long enough to get dressed." Dawn pipped as she slipped from underneath his arm. Connor propped up on one elbow and watched as she hurried threw on the discarded panties.
"Come back to bed," he half heartedly pleaded as he watched her dig through her drawer for a pair of sweat pants. He smiled slightly when a pair of his own slapped him on the chest. She looked back at him over her shoulder.
"He'll send Cordelia up if you don't hurry." Dawn said, spoke as she tossed him a T-shirt before slipped on the grey sweat pants she had found. She looked around the room for her fallen bra while Connor relunctantly slipped from bed and slipped the sweat pants over his bare legs. Dawn stopped herself from ogling and grabbed her bra from the lamp. A small blush touched her cheeks. "Why does it always end up in the weirdest of places..." She mumbled as she slipped it back on. "The first time we had sex, I found my bra on the atlers of some poor deer like thing in the inn..." Connor grinned as he slipped his own T-shirt over his chest. She returned to the dresser and pulled out one of his T-shirts. She tugged it over her head easily and grabbed the brush from the dresser just as Cordelia pushed open the door with a manicured hand over her eyes. Dawn and Connor couldn't help but laugh.
"We're decent, Ma. Don't worry," both women fell silent at the endearment that had slipped from Connor's lips so easily. Cordelia's face split into a blinding smile before the much taller teenager was engulfed in surprisingly strong arms. Dawn smiled softly at her boyfriend's shocked expression as he wrapped his arms around Cordelia's waist in an awkward hug. He squeezed lightly before Cordelia pulled away.
"Be in the training room in five..." She demanded lightly. As she turned to walk out, Dawn was certain she saw beads of moisture building in Cordelia's brown eyes. 'High school Cordelia would have complained about being called a mom at such a young age.' Dawn thought as she watched the door shut behind her. 'Thank God this Cordelia grew up.'
"What just happened?" Connor turned to his girlfriend. Dawn smiled at the adorable look on her boyfriend's face before wrapping her own arms around his waist.
"You just called Cordelia mom." She spoke against his chest. Connor's arms wrapped around her waist and his cheek pressed against the top of her head.
"Think I should apologize?" He asked. Dawn shook her head.
"Not at all. It made her very happy," Dawn assured. She squeezed his waist one more time before letting go. In parting, she slapped him on his rear. "Let's get some shoes on and get down there before they sent the calvary to see why Mama Bear's crying." A small yelp escaped her as a sharp sting made itself known on her rear. She turned and glared at her attempting-to-look-innoncent boyfriend. "Watch it, buster."
"Believe me, I am." He smirked. Despite her small blush, a smile rose to her cheeks.
Never Will You Be Alone
"Umph!" Willow gasped as Buffy knocked her feet out from underneath her again. The Chosen One had insisted that every one be trained. "Because you never knew if your magic is going to fail you." The Slayer had told the small redhead when she had protested. Tara, who was training with Giles, understood the severity of the situation and had not complained. Briefly, the red head wondered her aggravation steamed from her inexperience in the field of fighting as she narrowly missed Buffy's fist and drove her knee into the unexpecting Slayer's stomach.
"Good," Buffy smiled. Willow's knee screamed in protest.
Never Will You Be Alone
Angel and Connor were sparing together. Dawn and Cordelia were taking a break from their own training session. Cordelia's stomach and face hurt. The Seer looked over at the much younger girl. 'For someone so young, she's just as experience as Connor.'
"Connor was the one who trained me." Dawn said suddenly. Cordelia looked over at her in surprise. "You kind of said that aloud."
"He trained you?" Cordelia's eyes were slightly wide as she caught the admission. Dawn nodded before taking a long swig of water.
"Quor'Toth wasn't as bad as he had made it out to be when we were in the woods, but...I think that he was protecting me from the worst of it by keeping me in the market place." Dawn's green eyes wandered to her boyfriend. The young warrior was holding his own fairly well against his father. A small swell of pride made her smile. "I'm sure he protected me from more than just the outside."
"But when you came here you were injured.." Cordelia murmured.
"We were attacked by a large amount of tunneller demons. Connor turned to check on me and gave the demon he had knocked away an opening." Dawn shuddered lightly at the memory.
"You jumped in the way." Dawn nodded at Cordelia's spot on assessment. The younger woman capped her water and set it on the table top while Cordelia looked at her with something similar to awe and garitude on her pretty face.
"Let's get back to work." Dawn said as she jumped down. Cordelia nodded and followed in the younger girl's footsteps. As they faced one another, Cordelia couldn't help but see the resemblance between the Slayer Angel loved and the young girl in front of her. 'Right now, she looks so much like Buffy in game face.'
Never Will You Be Alone
Dawn was easily fending off Cordelia's punches and kicks. Their fight looked more like a dance to the distracted Gunn and Fred. The two stopped for a moment to watch as the ex-cheerleader and their newest friend went head to head. With an easy twist of her body, Dawn had Cordelia on the ground. The younger girl held the older in place with her foot.
"This is starting to be a little unfair..." Cordelia complained. Dawn pulled the older woman up. The comment seemed to spark a hidden anger within Dawn.
"Then get better." Angel stopped and looked toward the younger girl. The vampire was momentarily shocked to hear such a blunt statement come from her. Angel opened his mouth to scold the younger woman when a fist caught him in the side of the jaw. He staggered back and looked toward his son, who shrugged with a sheepish smile. Angel smiled slightly and shoved him lightly. Cordelia's mouth fell open slightly. "This thing isn't going to hold back on a weaker opponent. The Oracles sure didn't hold anything back when training me. This thing is going to force us to face the things we've been running from." She looked out at all of them. "Maybe that's why they forced me to face my own demons during the first meeting."
The waters slid over her running over her curves like a lover's carress. Dawn's eyes widened in horror as an image started to take shape: herself. The watery Dawn stared at the original.
*]
[* "You're nothing." It hissed. "Your own sister doesn't love you, only tolerates you. Who could ever love you?"
'Connor loves me..' Dawn promised herself as she attempted to tune out the cruel words. A playback of all the things she thought about herself. A cold laugh tore from the water-Dawn's lips. "Connor only loves you because he doesn't know of any other woman better. You think he would actually be with you if he had a choice?! You're not even human! Just a fake imitation! You're worthless. Expendable. Why do you think Buffy didn't make it to the tower until it was too late? She wants you to die. You're nothing but a waste of space."
"Dawn? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked softly, her slender hand touched the younger girl's shoulder. The younger girl was clutching her shirt as if it were a lifeline. Her knuckles white. Connor crossed the room swiftly.
"Connor only loves you because he doesn't know of any other woman better. You think he would actually be with you if he had a choice?!" Dawn shook her head roughly as if too shake a bad memory. 'The others about me and Buffy don't hurt anymore. Because I know they're wrong.'
"Fine," she croaked. 'But Connor...it was the only demon I couldn't come to grips with. The doubt I feel when it comes to his love for me.' Her voice rough and she still hadn't opened her eyes. She could sense Connor close to her. Her body burned with the need to reach out to him, to unload all of her doubts onto him. 'So many women out there he hasn't met, he many that are better. More pretty. More adventurous. More like Buffy.' Her green eyes shot open at that last thought. Wide with momentary horror, she didn't see Connor at first. When the blur finally settled, she saw his brown eyes staring worriedly back at her. Dawn took a ragged breath. "I'm not invincible against them for all the training the Oracles gave me. This new evil is going to pull out all the stops. Try to break us." Dawn looked around the room. Connor and Angel were still staring at her. Both brown eyes alight with worry. Gunn and Fred were listening. Cordelia was still gripping Dawn's shoulder as if afraid the young girl were suddenly going to break. "We can't let them. Come to grips with your personal demons. Talk to someone. Let it out and get help." 'Filthy little hypocrite.' Her mind snarled.
"Who says we have personal demons?" Gunn asked, defensively. The stocky black man suddenly didn't like the look in the dark headed beauty's green eyes. She smiled softly.
"Everyone has their personal demons. Even you, Charles Gunn. Personal demons could be guilt for something you could have done differently or doubts in yourself. It doesn't have to be a murder or something heinous." Dawn said, her eyes staring into the darker ones of Gunn. He fell silent underneath it. Everyone was quiet. "Maybe it would be best to deal with those first..."
The room had slowly cleared out after Dawn's speech. Angel had lingered back. His mind filled with all of his own personal demons. The very same ones he had been running from for centuries. 'How do you face so many demons without going insane?' Angel wondered as he sank down into one of the hard chairs. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to see Cordelia still in the room. Her amber colored eyes taking in the remorse that surrounded her friend.
'Can't stand it anymore...' She thought as she stepped forward.
"Angel?" She almost gasped at the look on his handsome face: pain. All of her restraint did nothing to stop her as she crossed the room and took the man into her arms. Angel's brown eyes widened at the embrace, but he was thankful. Dawn had said that they needed to talk it out with someone. He was grateful for the embrace, because now, he wouldn't have to look at Cordelia's face as he confessed of his crimes. He wouldn't have to look at her face when she realized that he was a monster.
Never Will You Be Alone
Connor was watching his girlfriend carefully. The small dark headed love of his life had been staring at him since they entered their room. She would open her mouth as if to speak then close it quickly. It didn't take the young man long to realize that one of her personal demons involved him.
"Baby..." Connor spoke, his hands falling to her shoulders. He rubbed up and down her strengthing arms as he placed his forehead on hers. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
Never Will You Be Alone
Fred stared as Gunn paced the length of the library. Even though they had went their separate ways once they left the training room, Gunn had found his way back to the southern woman. His dark eyes kept darting toward her then back toward the wall. She was patiently waiting for the fighter to make up his mind.
Gunn was struggling with admitting his personal demons to the one woman he trusted most. He was struggling because up until the squirt's powerful words, he hadn't even considered the fact that he still had his own demons. It was unsettling.
"You know," came the sweet southern drawl of his best friend, "I made my personal demons when I was trapped in Plyea." Gunn turned away from his angry pacing. The sweet southerner was going to own up to her own demons in order to soothe Gunn's fears about his. "The things I did to survive still haunt me. The men I seduced into caves, then killed for the packs they carried. I still see their surprised and horrified faces in my mind. Still hear their voices. Some were be angry at the trickery, others afraid. None of them ever got away.." Gunn shuddered as he listened. It wasn't the story that frightened him; it was the detached way in wich Fred was delievering the inner demon as she faced it.
Fred was reliving it.
Never Will You Be Alone
"If you had the chance to be with another woman, would you be?" Dawn's voice was soft and afraid. It tore at Connor's heart. "If you had the chance to find someone better? Someone more-"
"Stop right there," Connor commanded gently. His nose brushed hers as his lips touched hers. It was a gentle chaiste kiss. "No one in this world, in my mind, could be better than you." He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist creating, what he was sure to be, an awkward position.
"Maybe because you don't know of any woman better..." She whispered. Connor's brown eyes widened. Dawn turned her own green eyes away. It took a moment for Connor to quell the anger growing inside of him. Someone had hurt his girl so much that she didn't think herself worthy. He guided Dawn's head back upward with his forefinger.
"I don't want to know of anyone better. You are all I need." Dawn stared into his gentle brown eyes before they flicked downward to their wrists. Connor cut off her protest. "I don't care about these.." He lifted their wrists to show the initials carved there. "I would love you anyway. I loved you before them and I love you now." He kissed the inside of her wrist. "In my mind, it simply says we belong to one another." He moved one hand to rest on the back on her neck. His lips brushed hers briefly, leaving the sixteen year old wanting more. "So no more worrying okay? Cause no matter what woman walks by me tomorrow, you're the only one I want." A small sigh escaped his lips as the doubt still lingered in Dawn's eyes.
"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. Connor shook his head and pulled her from the bed and into his lap. She curled up against his chest and continued talking as if he hadn't even moved her. "I'm so used to having to compete with Buffy. Being in her shadow..."
"Dawn, look at me." It was a quiet command, but held so much power. Dawn looked up at him from her position in his lap. Connor touched his forehead to hers and declared, "when you're with me, there is no shadow. Only light."
Never Will You Be Alone
Fred stared at her friend as he processed all that she had told him. Her life in Plyea was her main personal demon. The only one that could cripple her. She waited patiently for Charles Gunn to lay down judgement. Her brown eyes widened as the larger man pulled her into his arms. Instantly, she wrapped her own arms around the strong muscles of his back. They sat in silence, in one another's arms, before Gunn broke the silence.
"My personal demons are the people I have failed to save. My sister and my aunt were both murdered by vampires while my brother and I watched from the staircase." Fred gasped. Her grip on her friend became tighter.
Never Will You Be Alone
Angel's crimes were laid down at Cordelia's feet. His eyes were closed as if he could shut out her looks of accusation and disgust. His self-hating thoughts were stopped when Cordelia slipped her slender hand underneath his chin and kissed his lips gently. The dark vampire's eyes shot wide open. Cordelia pulled away and smiled down at him.
"The crimes are awful. Yes. But they made you into the man you are today. Without Angelus' evil, you wouldn't have became who you are. You wouldn't have wanted to become something better." Cordelia's voice spoke of truth. Angel stared up at the ex-cheerleader. His lips still tingled from her kiss, but somewhere in him his heart was still screaming at him in Buffy's voice. "But that's not your largest personal demon. We all know it. Your largest personal demon is Buffy Summers. And I'm okay with that. But they will use her against you."
"I can tell the difference." Angel swore. "Now. Maybe not when the First-" He cut off suddenly. Cordelia tilted her head.
"Angel?"
"I know why this war is going to be so bad. Whatever demon is going to rise, the First will be with it."
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