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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for reading this and for the reviews from the last chapters.

There will be one more chapter and then perhaps an epilogue.
I'm going to finish this one, La Cosa Nostra and maybe Heavenly Dreams; then it's a new story to start.
Chapter 19: ‘All’s You Have To Do…..’


Summary: The party is still going on, but someone, uninvited shows up and causes problems.

Angst warning here…


Buffy cut Dawn’s cake, careful not to destroy the beautiful pink roses that adorned the middle. William had gone to collect The Charger, so Dawnie could have a ride around the track for her birthday.

Everything had gone so well and Buffy felt like things were really going to be all right, for once.

“I wonder why Officer Wilkens and his wife, Cordelia, aren’t here yet.” Dawn vocalized Buffy’s very thoughts.

“They’ll be along, Doll. Cordy loves to be fashionably late, you know?” Buffy laughed glibly as she served Dawn the first piece of cake.

Lancelot, the puppy, had grown weary immediately after being ‘unwrapped’ and he lay at his new owner’s feet, blissfully asleep.

“Can Lancelot have a piece of cake?” Connor asked innocently as he eyed the pooped pup.

“Yeah, Buffy, can my puppy have some cake?” Dawn asked with wide blue eyes.

Buffy would always remember the look in her Dawnie’s blue eyes, right at that moment. Dawn was so happy and full of hope, in her pretty pink dress, the wreath of flowers in her dark hair. She would take that picture of the lovely child’s wide blue eyes to her grave; Buffy just knew it.

“I don’t see why not,” Buffy chatted amicably as she sliced enough pieces of cake for all the present guests.

“I want to ride The Charger before I have my cake,” Dawn stated matter-of-factly. “Then I want Connor to have a turn,” she added firmly. “It’s my party and I want my ‘date’ to have a turn on the Charger!”

Connor blushed a bright red at the ‘date’ remark. He then gallantly offered Dawn his right arm as he led her to where The Charger stood waiting for her.

“It’s okay, Bit,” Spike replied from the door of the café. “I’ve got your steed right over there,” he added proudly, pointing to the huge horse that was tied onto the picket fence.

Dawn tossed the uneaten cake onto the table and scurried out to the horse that awaited her. She never looked back as she allowed Tito, the jockey, to lift her onto the great steed’s large back.

“Be careful, Dawnie,” Buffy cried in warning as she nibbled gingerly on her own piece of cake and watched the young girl be led to the track. “And don’t be too long,” Spike added firmly.

Dawn, Tito and The Charger had not been gone long at all when they showed up at the fence again. Spike and Buffy had waited, rather impatiently, for the trio to return to their starting point.

“Thank God,” Buffy sighed in relief when Tito led the horse and rider up to the fence.

“She’s a natural,” Tito gushed happily, beaming up at the little girl. “I bet she could be a professional horsewoman and…..”

The jockey’s praises were cut off by the loud yelling from inside the café. A loud commotion seemed to be coming from the café, where the party guests still lingered.

“What’s that about?” Spike asked out loud with a frown. He began to walk towards the small building when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Angel O’Connor came storming out of the café and towards Spike and Buffy. The huge Irishman had a look of murder in his dark, angry eyes.

“What the fuck is this!” Angel screamed at Spike when he took in the medieval scene before him.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Spike screamed his question at the top of lungs.


“I own that fucking piece of horsemeat,” Angel bellowed in reply as he tried to push past Spike and get to The Charger. “It and half this lousy track!” the big man added viciously.

“Let me guess,” Angel bellowed at the top of his lungs. “This is another harebrained idea of Buffy’s, right?” He pointed an accusing meaty finger at his ex-lover.

“It’s Dawn’s birthday, Angel,” Buffy hissed protectively. “We’re having a party for her. What’s wrong? Can’t stand to see a little girl happy?”


“Get that little brat off ‘my’ horse!” Angel commanded in a state of blind rage. “That horse is due to run in the race, tomorrow, and I’ll be God damned if that little bitch is going to…..”

“Watch your mouth Angelus,” Spike roared, leaping to stop Angel from getting any closer to Dawn and her horse.

Xander and Riley held Spike back as they watched the unfolding drama around them.

“This is ‘my’ horse, Dark Prince,” Dawn snarled at the lumbering Angel. “You stay away from my horse and my friends!” She nearly growled as her blue eyes darted from Angel, to Buffy then to Mr. Spike.

“This is your doing you stupid bitch!” Angel screamed at Buffy, who had somehow come to stand in between him and the horse and rider.

Tito, to his credit, tried to lead the poor horse and little Dawn away from the chaos, as discreetly as possible. However, before Spike could get to Buffy’s side, to help her stop Angel?

“Back off you little piece of shit!” Angel screamed at Spike. “You got my girl, now you want my horse? Not likely!”

“Buffy was never your girl, Peaches,” Spike growled possessively, wrapping his left arm around Buffy’s waist. “She was always mine!”

“Whatever,” Angel hissed. “But the fucking horse ‘is’ mine and I want that little brat off of it! That nag is going to make me some real money, come tomorrow. The Charger’s worth more to me dead; just like the little dame’s father was! I’m not going to lose thousands of bucks because some little no-named brat comes along and…..”

“Angel, no!” Buffy gasped in disbelief. She turned to look up at Dawn, who had no doubt heard the whole ugly poison that her ex had spewed.

Buffy glanced at William, who looked as if he was about to throttle Angel with his bare hands. She then looked back at Dawn who had suddenly become eerily quiet and as pale as a ghost.

“My daddy is dead?” Dawn whispered in horror as the total truth finally became perfectly clear to the child.

“I’ll fucking tear your throat out you bloody bastard!” Spike exclaimed, just before he leapt at Angel and toppled him to the ground.

As Buffy stood, helplessly watching her lover beat the crap out of her ex-lover? Xander, Riley, Giles and the others, even the ladies, stood about and shouted Spike on, to kick Angel’s ass.

“Kick his ass, Spike!” Xander yelped gleefully as he encouraged his boss to win the fight.

Mitch and Lars were already taking bets from the other onlookers as to how quickly Spike would beat the shit out of Angel.

“I’ve got ten bucks on the wiry blond!” A distinguished looking older man grunted as he handed Mitch some bills.

“Twenty on the big fella!” A random jockey who had happened by squealed in excitement.

“A hundred on the boss!” Riley screeched, loyal to the end to Spike.


After about two minutes of Spike smacking down Angel, the larger man turned the tables. Angel flipped Spike over and landed on top of him. His huge hands clenched around Spike’s neck, Angel began to squeeze the life out of his former employee.

“No!” Buffy screamed in terror just before she flung herself onto Angel’s back. “Get the hell off my man!” She screeched as she began to pummel the back of Angel’s head and shoulders with her small fists.

In all of the mayhem; none of the onlookers or participants in the battle paid much heed to Dawn. By this time, the young girl had slipped off of her beloved Charger and watched in horror as the only two people she had left in the world fought the Dark Prince.



Spike began to beat on Angel’s head and chest with fists, mercilessly. It looked as if Spike was winning, when Connor cried out….. “Dawn! She’s headed off Miss Buffy!”

Buffy tore her eyes from her the two tousling men to search the café and patio for her precious Dawnie. She caught sight of the child, just as she ran out of the patio fence and headed to the road that led up to the race track.

“Dawn!” Buffy screamed in terror, momentarily forgetting William, Angel and the grudge match that was going on, on the floor of the café.

Spike swerved his blond head around and watched as Buffy sped out of the café, desperately trying to stop Dawn from running. He punched Angel one more time, just for good measure, then jumped up and followed Buffy out into the street.

When Spike got out to the open street, he heard a screech of car tires and a loud, piercing scream from Buffy, just yards in front of him.

“Oh Jesus!” Spike cried, fearfully, at the horrible sight that met his eyes.

A car, obviously sitting sideways on the street, was stopped dead in its tracks. Larry Wilkens and his wife, Cordelia were scurrying from the inside of the car to join Buffy who was huddled on her knees on the street.

Buffy was rocking to and fro on her knees; cradling Dawn’s still little form in her slim arms. By the time Spike got to his lover and the child, Buffy was wailing mournfully.

Spike dropped to his own knees and wrapped his arms about Buffy, pulling her trembling little body to his. He could see the stream of bright red blood that had begun to pool under Dawn’s neck and head.

“Oh, Will,” Buffy sobbed as she tried to brush Dawn’s dark hair from her bloodied little face. “Make her wake up, Will, please…make her wake up.”

“Oh Holy Jesus,” Larry Wilkens whispered, in a harsh, horrified voice. “The poor little thing ran out of nowhere. She didn’t even look at us, or…..”

“We’ve got to get her to a hospital, Larry,” Cordelia Wilkens mumbled desperately. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilkens were as pale as corpses by now.

“Will!” Buffy screamed again, “all’s you have to do is make the Little Doll wake up! Please, Will!”


A/N: That’s the real start of the angst. I hope it wasn’t too sappy or anything. The next chapter will probably be the last one; maybe an epilogue.

Thank you for reading this and please review, spufette.





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