Life in L.A.: Wolfram and Hart
by Melissa Summers
***Okay, this is at Wolfram in Hart, after Spike arrives and before all the Illyria/Black Thorn Stuff happens.***

Buffy gripped her stake tight under her jacket, so hard her muscles were white. Her eyes darted all around her as if something was going to leap out of the shadows and attack her at any moment. Her shiny blonde hair was dull in the darkness. She cautiously made her way through the mysterious building she was in and clicked the ‘up’ button for the elevator. It opened and she slowly went inside, unsure of anything she was doing.

“Wait up!” She heard a voice say. She whirled around in surprise.

“Dawnie, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” Buffy whispered loudly to her younger sister, who was now approaching. She held the elevator door open as Dawn jogged over, her long brown hair slightly bouncing against her.

“I know! You should have seen the look on your face.” Dawn smirked.

Buffy let the door close after Dawn was in. “How did you get here? No, never mind, I don’t want to know. But don’t sneak up on me like that, do you have any idea where we are?”

“A law firm.” Dawn replied. She pretended to yawn.

“An EVIL law firm.” Buffy corrected. Dawn raised an eyebrow and laughed. Buffy was suppressing a smile of her own, but gave Dawn the I’m-not-kidding look. “Dawnie, I’m being serious. This place is dangerous.”

“But Angel runs it now, right?” Dawn asked, as Buffy tried to decide what floor to go to. She decided to try the very top, because that’s probably where all the important offices were.

“That’s true, but I don’t think he knows what he’s gotten himself into.” Buffy said.

“Is that why we’re here?” Dawn questioned quietly.

“Yeah.” Buffy replied absent mindedly, wondering what they would find when they reached the top. She turned to look at Dawn. “Well, yes and no.” She fiddled with the end of her tan jacket nervously.

Dawn noticed and dropped the subject. They both watched in silence as the light behind the floor numbers shifted until it reached the very end. The door opened. Or more precisely, the doors.

“Which one do you think we should go through?” Dawn asked, looking behind her, then in front of her again.

“Let’s try the front one.” Buffy decided. She stepped forward only to come face to face with glass. “Ouch!” She rubbed her forehead. “Okay, how about the one behind?”


Dawn giggled, but Buffy glared, making her fall silent, with just a small smile playing on her lips.

“I thought you had Slayer senses or something...” She muttered, following Buffy out the door behind them. This one, thankfully, was not glass.

“Yeah well, that glass was spotless!” Buffy said defensively. She walked out into a large main room. There was a large set of stairs in one corner, and open hallways above them with railings. A few doors were along the walls probably leading to offices. Buffy would have expected there to be a bunch of men in suits milling around with papers and leather brief cases, but none could be seen. The place was empty.

Or so they thought.

“Oh my god, Buffy!” They heard a perky voice say in excitement. Buffy turned around to a large desk off to one side of the room, where a blonde girl stood up in a pink dress and white pumps.

“Harmony?!” Buffy asked in both confusion and disgust.

Harmony came rushing over. “I can’t believe it’s you! And Dawnie, wow you’ve grown so much. You’re really pretty!”

“Thanks.” Dawn said cheerfully. “Hey, you’re that vamp who kidnaped me! How did things work out with your gang?”

Harmony sighed. “Well, your sister killed most of them, but I don’t really talk to the rest anymore. I wasn’t really cut out for the whole ‘evil’ thing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Dawn said comfortingly. Buffy looked over at her sister, who merely shrugged in response. “What?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Harmony, what are you doing here?”

“I work here.” Harmony said excitedly. “I’m a workin’ gal in the big city, isn’t it great? Plus, I’ve been off the human blood for months.”

“That’s great.” Dawn said supportively.

“Yeah.” Harmony agreed. “People don’t know how hard it really is when you don’t have a soul...”

“I’m sure.” Buffy muttered sarcastically. “Look, Harmony, where is everybody?”

“Home, it’s like 9 o’clock or something. Everyone with a life has left work by now!” Harmony laughed.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. “You’re still here.”

“That’s because I’m secretary to someone with no life, namely Angel.” Harmony said, flipping her hair out of her face. “We’re on a tough case right now, and the whole gang is working up into the early hours of the morning! I’ve been missing my beauty sleep!”

“I can tell...” Buffy said quietly. “...I mean, is Angel here? I need to talk to him.”

“No, he and Blondie Bear are out on a mission, interrogating some demon.” Harmony replied. “He should be back any time now, if you wanna wait.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble.” Buffy said. “Wait, who the hell is Blondie Bear?”

“Spike! So I heard you stole him from me after I left, and I just wanted to let you know I’m okay with that. I’m an independent woman...vampire now, and I don’t need a man to complete me.” Harmony said, puffing out her chest slightly and raising herself to full height.

It took all Buffy had not to laugh. “Gee, thanks for your consolation. I really needed it.”

Dawn meanwhile was holding back giggles herself, and began to walk around.

“Dawn, stay close, I don’t want you getting hurt or something.” Buffy said, noticing her sister wandering about.

“Oh, don’t worry, the only people still here are good guys.” Harmony said. “It sucks, nobody cool ever sticks around...Hey, do you want me to show you Angel’s room? He lives here, above his office.”

“He wouldn’t mind?” Buffy asked curiously.

“Who cares? I like invading privacy. Vampire, remember?” Harmony said, leading her towards Angel’s office.

“Okay, fine.” Buffy agreed. “Dawn, don’t go too far, and don’t touch anything!” She called back to her sister.

“I won’t.” Dawn replied annoyed.

“And don’t---”

“I won't.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Oh wait, remember not to---”

“I won't!”

Buffy sighed and followed Harmony into Angel’s office. Dawn seized this chance to have a peek around. She walked over to a door and opened it, wondering in excitement what it could be. Maybe it was a magic library, or a room with a portal to another dimension!

An office. An empty office room, with a desk and a chair. How exciting.

“Can I help you?” Came a male voice behind her.

Dawn whirled around terrified, only to find a lawyer. Actually, a pretty hot lawyer. He had dark skin, and a muscular looking body which was hidden away under a snappy suit.

“N-No, I’m fine.” She stuttered, her heat racing from the sudden intrusion.

“Are you sure, because that’s my office.” He said smiling.

“Oh, it is? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—I should’ve knocked or something—I was just looking around and I...” Dawn started babbling. She trailed off and looked up in embarrassment, but to her surprise he was laughing.

“That’s okay.” He said. “I’m Gunn. Well, Charles Gunn, but everyone calls me Gunn.” He held out his hand. Dawn smiled back and took it.

“Dawn.” She said. “Hey, you don’t seem very...well, evil. Are you friends with Angel?”

“Yeah, I’m friends with Angel. Do you have an appointment with him?” Gunn asked politely.

“Yes. Well, no. I mean, I don’t know!” Dawn said exasperated. “My sister’s here to see him.”

“Oh, okay.” Gunn nodded. “Well, can I get you anything while you’re waiting? We have drinks and snacks and stuff in the cafeteria.”

“Do you have hot chocolate?” Dawn blurted. She blushed. “I’ve been having a mad craving all day.” She explained.

“How about we go and see.” Gunn said. “After you.”

Dawn stepped out of the doorway, and he shut it behind her. Then, leading the way toward the cafeteria, he stopped short when he heard a ringing on his cell phone.

“Hello?” He answered. Someone spoke on the other end, but Dawn couldn’t hear it. “Hey Lorne.” Gunn continued as he walked. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I’ll see you later. Okay, bye.” He shut the cell just as they arrived at the cafeteria.

“Here we are.” He said. They walked in, and a startled girl turned around to greet them. She had straggly brown hair that was loosely tied in a bun, and was wearing a lab coat. She looked exhausted.

“Hey Gunn!” She said brightly.

“Hey Fred, what’s up? This is Dawn.” Gunn said with a wave.

“Hiya Dawn, nice to meet you.” Fred greeted her as well.

“So, what brings you to the Wolfram and Hart Café?” Gunn asked, looking for cocoa in the line of drinks.

“Coffee.” Fred replied, holding up her cup so he could see. “I’ve been working this case for hours.”

“Fred.” Gunn said concerned. “You need to take a break. Eat. Shower. Sleep! When’s the last time you slept?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter, I have to finish this.” Fred said, waving it off.

“Sanely would be preferable.” Gunn joked, snagging the cocoa pitcher and pouring some into a cup for Dawn. “Hey, do we have any of those little marshmallows?”

“Cabinet.” Fred pointed at the cabinet just above him. He pulled out a bag of them and dumped a few in the cocoa.

“Here you go. Careful, it’s hot.” He said, handing the cup to Dawn.

“Hence the name ‘hot’ chocolate.” Dawn laughed, taking a small sip. The flavor was warm on her tongue. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He said, pouring a cup of the coffee Fred had just used. “This any good?” He asked.

“If it keeps me awake, I’ll take it.” Fred replied, taking a sip. “Flavor wise, you could do better.”

Just then they heard two voices outside the cafeteria.

“Everyone agreed a caveman would beat an astronaut, why can’t you except it?”

“Because an astronaut could kick a caveman’s ass if he had weapons. The caveman gets fire AND a club, the astronaut should get something!”


Two men, or in this case vampires, emerged through the doorway. It was Angel and Spike. Angel was now choosing to ignore Spike.

“Fred, Gunn, where’s Harmony? I needed an ice-pack and had to come all the way here to get one myself. If she’s not useful as a secretary, what good is she?” Angel questioned.

“She’s pretty good in the sack.” Spike said. “I bet she could even beat an astronaut.”

“No way! Come on! Dawn, if a caveman and an astronaut got into a fight, who would win assuming they BOTH had weapons?” Angel asked, turning to Dawn. “Wait, Dawn? What are you doing here?”

“Little Bit?” Spike asked as well. “Is that you?”

“How did you know her name was Dawn?” Gunn asked confused. “Do you know her?”

“Of course I know her.” Angel said. “That’s Buffy’s sister.”

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