Author's Chapter Notes:
First fic. Be gentle, but criticism is welcome.
Buffy turned the car off with a sigh. The trip from LA had been nerve racking. She felt the need to fall to her knees and kiss the sidewalk. Moving had been a good decision, with her mother gone Dawn was the only family that she had left. She hoped that Sunnydale would be the beginning of a new life for her. Dawn had started her freshman year at UC Sunnydale a few months ago, after much prodding from Buffy.

Dawn had been hesitant to leave her with all of the legalities that had stemmed from their mother’s passing. Who would have thought that their mom had known of her sickness for years, and prepared for it, so that her daughters would not suffer needlessly.

After talking with the lawyers regarding both Dawn’s and her inheritance Buffy decided that majority of the money should be placed into an account to further Dawn’s education.

At her choice of UC Sunnydale Buffy had a few concerns. Everyone knew that Sunnydale was on one of the hellmouths, but no concerns could sway Dawn’s decision.
So with what was left of the inheritance Buffy decided to relocate to Sunnydale to help watch over Dawn. She bought a little house in a nice ‘burb that was not to far from the school.

At 1630 Revello Drive she hoped to start a new life.

Buffy began unloading the SUV when her cell phone began to ring.

“Hello, yes I made it here in one piece Dawn” her sister knew her too well.

“OK I’m unpacking as we speak, I’ll see you in a few” Buffy smiled, it already felt like home.
Taking more boxes inside, she just stood inside the door of her new home and marveled at the changes the past year had brought. Feeling a hand grab her should she quickly dropped the box and turned. “Dawnie!!” “I missed you so much” “How is school?” “How are your grades?” “Buffy! Slow down, take a breath” she said, hugging me tightly. So taking her advice, I step back and begin to notice how grown up she looks. It seems as if she has grown from a gangly teen to a graceful woman in just a few months. “Dawn, you look terrific! Whatever you’ve been doing here definitely agrees with you.”

“Thanks, sis. Could we move into the house a little? I need to introduce you to someone.”
As requested I move inside and start to push the many boxes aside so that Dawn can bring her guest inside.

As I turn back to Dawn I notice a young man who appears to be Dawn’s age standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Looking at him with a smile I wait for the introduction.

“Buffy, this is Conner” “Conner my sister Buffy”, I raise my hand to shake his as Dawn makes her introductions. I notice that he keeps his one hand on her shoulder while shaking my hand, as though he wanted to keep Dawn between us. For what reason I could not even guess until Dawn said “Conner is a hybrid”.

“Excuse me?” I ask. I looked at Conner and back to Dawn in askance.

“Buffy Conner’s father is a vampire - Before you start with the questions can we get comfortable?” asks Dawn So I lead them to them living area that is filled with boxes, and take my seat. Dawn begins with her explanation without further delay. “I will let Conner explain, but I ask that you have an open mind while listening. I know that some things will come as a surprise, but please hear us out”. With that said she looks to Conner, who looks decidedly nervous. “As Dawn said I am a vampire hybrid”

Conner begins. “My father was one of the first vampires with a soul. When he was sired he awoke with his soul still intact, and made it his goal to acclimate humans and vampires. He set out to teach all vampires that they no longer needed to hide in the shadows and feed in secret. He encouraged those who did not have a soul to work hard to acquire one, and become members of society again. He new that with a little work vampires and humans could coexist”. Conner paused in his explanation to look at Buffy, and was a little surprised by the way she was taking things. Though Buffy was thinking along similar lines, she couldn’t help but be a little surprised by the story so far. She was definitely interested in the subject of the vampire/human treaties and how they came about, for reasons of her own that she had not shared with anyone. When the silence became noticeable Buffy realized that she had drifted off into her little world and could see Dawn and Conner looking at her puzzled. “Please continue” she told Conner.

“Ok, my father after laying the ground work for the treaties decided to move here, along with his GrandChilde, to Sunnydale to help guard the hellmouth. He knew that the hellmouth would always attract evil, and wanted to help keep the peace. He met my mother one night while patrolling, he saved her from a demon set to open the hellmouth. He says that it was love at first sight. And they spent years together, and both were very surprised to find that she was pregnant” Conner pauses and takes a deep breath. “My mother died during child birth, dad says that she had internal bleeding that could not be stopped. I never got to meet her, but my father has many pictures”. Buffy looks at Dawn and she could see the tears in her sister’s eyes. Then she closes the distance between her and the young couple and puts her arms around both of them. “Conner, I am so sorry. I know the pain of losing your mother” she says. “We don’t have to continue this right now. I have a feeling that there is a lot more to this story, and we don’t have to finish this all in one day”. Dawn gave her a grateful smile, and hugged Conner. “I knew she wouldn’t completely freak” whispered Dawn to him. “Wait a minute” says Buffy “I still have hundreds of questions, but they can wait for now”. She looks to Conner and says “I would like to meet your father”. Buffy had questions for the man that had helped make it possible for the two species to live together amicably, and also she wanted to know his feelings on the young couple’s relationship.

Buffy cleared her throat and said, “I have a lot of unpacking to do, and I know that you two have to get back to school. Conner could you please call your father and see if he would like to come to dinner one day next week, so that all four of us can speak together?”

“Yes ma’am. I already told him that you were moving here to be closer to Dawn, and he said that he would like to meet you as well. Just let me know what time he needs to be here”. Buffy hugged her sister and Conner as well and told them that she would call them to set up the dinner time. Buffy waved as they walked out the door. Once the door was closed she rested her head against it and could not help but think ‘Dawnie what have you gotten us into’. With a sigh she started unpacking, her mind on the most important task. Finding a job. She knew that she could live off her savings for a while, but she wanted to keep busy.

Tomorrow she would start the hunt for employment.





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