*Sorry for the brief wait, but it was Christmas Break and we had relatives over.*
“What are these?” Dawn asked Wesley, indicating a cabinet of vials among the shelves of books.
“Those are potions.” Wesley explained simply. “They came with the office. Pretty standard magic.”
Dawn however was fascinated. She hadn’t seen anything magic since Willow had left. She opened the small cramped cabinet and was immediately drawn to a medium sized vial filled with an intensely bold purple liquid inside. She picked it up. “What does this one do?” She asked, turning around to show it to Wes.
Wes examined it. “Ah, yes. That there is a truth potion. Very short term, though. Only lasts about two minutes.”
Dawn filled with excitement. “Can I try it?”
Wesley looked mildly surprised. “Really? I would think one would want their personal thoughts to stay inside their head.”
Gunn nodded. “What he said.”
“Oh come on, just don’t ask me anything personal and there should be no problem. It’ll be fun. I haven’t experienced magic in a while, and I kind of miss it.” Dawn said.
“Miss it? Dawn, you’re not...” Wes started before being abruptly cut off by Dawn.
“Addicted to magic? No. I just think it’s cool!” She interrupted.
“Even involuntarily speaking the truth and not being able to help spilling any secret that may be exposed?” Gunn questioned. “Sure, very cool.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Just the feeling of it, you know? Feeling the magic going through you, taking action.” A small smile filled her face. What Gunn had just said seemed to completely pass her thoughts without absorbing. “So?”
Wes smirked at her enthusiasm. “Sure. One small sip should do.”
Dawn carefully unscrewed the vial and took a little sip before replacing the cap. She could feel the magic filling her, making her tingle warm and cold all over for a brief moment that only lasted a second or so. “Okay.” She said. “Ask me something.”
Wes seemed stumped on what to say. “Uh, how did you get to L.A.?”
“I called up Willow to hack into the data base of the plane Buffy was taking from Rome to see where she was sitting, so I could avoid her. I used Buffy’s credit card to buy a ticket on the same flight and arrived to the airport at the last minute so she wouldn’t see me in the waiting area. It was tricky, but I timed it just right.” Dawn explained.
“Crafty.” Wesley admitted.
“We’ve got a troublemaker on our hands.” Gunn grinned.
Dawn blushed a bit. “Looks like.”
“So how are you liking things over here in L.A.?” Gunn asked.
“Great!” Dawn replied happily.
“Great? You’ve only been here one night.” Wes said surprised. “What did you do? I thought Spike took you to his apartment to stay the night.”
“He did. We both got drunk and had a great time, then pretty much passed out. When we woke up, there was this really cute boy named Connor making blue berry pancakes in the kitchen. I was really hung over, but it was awesome! The pancakes were great.” Dawn said still with a smile on her face. It quickly faded as a look of horror set in.
Gunn and Wes merely stood in shock, mouths agape as they stared on at Dawn, who looked completely helpless as she brought her hands up to her mouth. She was beginning to suspect that taking a truth potion was not such a good idea. What the hell was she thinking?!
A sort of angry look set in on Wesley’s face. “He got you drunk?! I can’t believe Spike would let you have beer! Has he gone completely insane?!”
“No. It was my idea.” Dawn blurted before she could stop herself. She recovered her mouth.
Wesley’s eyes widened. “Your idea?!”
“Wes, chill out for a second. We’re talking to a teen, remember? We all did some pretty reckless things when we were that age. Cut her some slack.” Gunn said calmly.
Wes calmed down a bit, but a little fury still remained in his eyes. “Spike knew exactly what he was doing!” He said, more to Gunn than Dawn.
“Hey, you don’t have to cut him any slack at all.” Gunn shrugged. “Need to borrow a stake?”
Dawn felt the magic of the potion drain out of her system. “No! It wasn’t his fault. Please don’t say anything to anyone!”
“Dawn, we can’t just overlook this.” Wes argued.
“Please.” Dawn pleaded. “Can’t we?”
Wes and Gunn exchanged looks.
“Fine.” Wes agreed. “But under one condition.”
“What?” Dawn asked.
“I don’t want you staying at Spike’s tonight. You need to stay here with Buffy at Angel’s, okay?” Wes told her.
Dawn looked positively crestfallen, but nodded. “Okay.” She agreed.
“And I don’t have to tell you not to do it again, do I?” He asked.
Dawn looked at the floor. “No.” She glanced up, placing the potion back into the cabinet and quickly shutting the door. “No more potions for me!”
Wes scowled. “That’s not what I meant Dawn.”
“I know what you meant.” Dawn replied, slightly irritable knowing that she would be spending the night with Angel.
There was a strained silence that filled the air in the room, making it stiff and uncomfortable. Dawn shifted her gaze to the door.
“I think I’m gonna go get a bite to eat at the Wolfram and Hart Café. I’m suddenly really hungry.” Dawn told them, heading to the door.
“Do you want me to come? We could finish the tour afterwards, I saved the best stuff for last.” Gunn asked.
Dawn had already opened the door and was stepping out. “Whatever.” She muttered passively.
“Ah teenagers, god’s gift to the world.” Wes smiled sarcastically.
“You think I should go after her?” Gunn asked.
“I think it would be wise to leave her alone for a while. She’s probably very hung over and upset that we found out.” Wes advised.
“You got that right.” Gunn agreed. “I’m gonna go get some paperwork done, I’ll catch you later.”
“See you later.” Wes watched him go.
Dawn was already down the hall and around the corner when Gunn came out. She was mentally slapping herself the whole way. How could she have been so stupid? A truth potion, honestly! Secretly, though, she believed the amazing feeling, for however brief a time it was, had made it worth it.
Magic, to her, was incredible. To think that there was a power existing that could do the impossible, and that she could experience it and be a part of it...the feeling was just larger than life lately. Was this how Willow felt when she was addicted to magic? Did this mean Dawn was too?
Dawn chuckled softly. No, that couldn’t be it. Dawn had barely even experienced magic! Willow was a full fledged witch.
She swung around another corner and walked down a flight of stairs, confident that she was almost there. But suddenly the hallway she was in didn’t look familiar. Was she lost? A cute young intern waved at her and she waved back, smiling.
“Hey there, beautiful.” He said, walking up to her. He had jet black hair, that was gelled to spike up in all directions, reminding Dawn of a surfer she’d seen on TV. His eyes were an intense bright blue that sparkled in the light. Even under his crisp suit and tie, she could tell he was well built. “You looking for someone?”
“Not exactly.” Dawn replied, suddenly aware that he was eyeing her up and down. She shifted uncomfortably, but tried not to let it show. “I think I’m lost, actually. I must have taken a wrong turn or something.”
“I’ll help you find your way, sweetheart.” He smiled, leading her further down the hallway she was in.
Dawn looked back behind her. “Um, I think I need to be going back that way, sir.” She told him, not sure what to call him.
He answered that right away. “I’m Charles Banks. Call me Charlie, babe.” He put out his hand and Dawn shook it, a bit nervous now. ‘Beautiful’? ‘Sweetheart’? ‘Babe’? What was this guy playing at?
“Actually, you know what? I think I just remembered where I made that wrong turn. But thanks so much for your help!” Dawn flashed him a brief fake smile before turning around. She took a step but felt him grab her arm.
“Not so fast, babe. Why don’t you stick around a while?” He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “We could go to my private office just down the hall...”
“I don’t think so.” Dawn said, trying to maintain her composure. She yanked her arm away and began to walk faster.
Charlie grabbed her arm again, more rough this time. “Oh come on, gorgeous. What’s the matter? Scared?” He once again leaned into her ear and continued to whisper. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He softly kissed her ear, nibbling at it seductively. Dawn pulled away and used his own arm against him, twisting it around his back and pushing him against the wall.
But Charlie was fast. He countered her attack and swiftly switched her arm’s position so that she was now the one pinned. “That wasn’t very nice.” He said.
“Hey!” An voice from the other end of the hall called down.
Dawn and Charlie both looked up to see Angel striding down the hallway towards them. Charlie quickly let go of Dawn, who winced and rubbed her arm.
“Mr. Angel, sir.” Charlie greeted.
“Save it, I saw that whole thing.” Angel told him.
“Sir, I’m sorry. I promise it’ll never happen again.” Charlie replied.
“What’s your name?” Angel asked.
“Charles Banks. I was an intern for the Department of Ritual Sacrifices, but since it was shutdown I’ve been transferred to Research until they can put me somewhere my skills can be put to use.” Charlie answered.
“Charles, you’re fired. Take your stuff and get the hell out. If I see your face around here again, I’ll have my secretary suck you dry. She’s been off human blood for months, so I’m sure she’s just dying for an excuse to have some.” Angel said, calm as ever.
Charlie’s eyes widened, and he scurried away down the hall and around the corner where he had been leading Dawn.
Dawn stepped over toward Angel. “Thanks.” She said gratefully.
“No problem.” Angel nodded. “What are you doing down here by yourself?” He seemed genuinely concerned.
“Gunn was giving me the tour, and I decided to go get some food from the Café. I thought I knew the way, but I guess I didn’t.” Dawn explained.
“We’d better get you back. C’mon.” Angel offered.
They walked in silence for a moment.
“Um, I was actually thinking I would stay here with you and Buffy tonight. I don’t think Buffy much likes me staying so far away from her.” Dawn said quietly.
“Yeah. She was worried at first last night, but I guess Spike has a history of keeping you safe, because she assured herself you would be safe with him indefinitely.” Angel said.
“I’m always safe with him indefinitely.” Dawn nodded.
Angel stared awkwardly at the passing wall. “Y-you know I would always keep you safe, too, right?”
Dawn looked at him to find that he was now looking directly at her. “Of course.” She replied sincerely. Before adding a sarcastic, “Unless of course you go soulless on me and try to kill us all.”
Surprisingly, Angel smiled. “Yeah, there is that. But I’m sure you can take care of yourself, too. That arm pin you used on Charles was great.”
“And then he pinned me right back.” Dawn sighed.
“You could have taken him.” Angel assured her.
Just then they arrived back into a cluster of familiar offices, including Angel’s own.
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