Chapter Text
Sanctuary
calikocat
Word count: 4464
XXX
He heard her footsteps as he hung up, and knew she meant for him to hear her; otherwise she wouldn't have made any sound. “So who was that?”
Xander sighed and pocketed his phone. “Horatio.”
“Problems in Miami?”
“You know how he found out his brother was still alive, but deep, deep undercover?”
She finally stepped into his field of vision. “Yep.”
“Well Horatio just helped Raymond fake his death a second time to keep him away from the Feds that were using him.”
“Two fake deaths? Really?”
“Yeah. So he wants Raymond and his family safe in Sunnyhell.”
Buffy blinked and made a face. “Seriously?”
“I know; it’s a heck of a place to take sanctuary huh?”
“I'll say.” She bit her lip and her eyes drifted toward Gibbs' front porch where Chris was on his cell phone.
He followed her line of sight. “Something wrong?”
“Call from Denver.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Vin changed.”
It was Xander's turn to blink. “Isn't that a good thing?”
“He changed for Dawn.”
Xander frowned. “I stand by what I said, good thing right?”
She shook her head, eyes sad. “He's having a freak out.”
“Why?”
“The age difference Xan.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
He smiled a little and shrugged. “Considering the how much older Spike is than me I wasn't really thinking about the age difference between them...and Dawn's eighteen now. Your mom gonna give him the shovel talk?”
Buffy scoffed. “Please, like Vin would ever hurt Dawnie; and if he did he'd probably smack himself with a shovel. Mom's ecstatic.”
“Cool...maybe someone should remind him that he's not the scum of the earth for falling in love with someone younger than him.”
“Dawn probably will.”
He nodded in agreement, if anyone could set Vin straight it would be their Dawn. “You headed back to Denver?”
“That depends; you want company when you go talk to George?”
Xander thought about that for a moment and decided it couldn't hurt. “I wouldn't mind it.”
Buffy moved to loop her arm through his and started to walk him back to the house. “Did you really get Faith out of prison?”
“Yes. She can't fight the good fight from behind bars...five years is enough.”
“She tried to kill us Xan.”
“Buff, we left her living in a roach motel where the vamps could walk in whenever they wanted.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “We sucked huh.”
“Majorly.”
Chris had hung up his call from Denver and was waiting for them as they climbed the steps. “Now what?”
Xander released Buffy's arm and ran a hand through his hair. “Now I call Cordy...then we go to the White House.”
“Cool.”
xxx
“Dad!”
Yelina seemed frozen as they watched Ray Jr. run up the steps of the small jet and into Ray's arms. She turned to Horatio with a question on her lips. “How?”
“Faking his death was the only way.”
“Will we really be safe in California?”
Horatio smiled at her and nodded. “Sunnydale is the safest place for you. You'll understand after the debriefing.”
She frowned at his word choice; then asked another question. “Should I tell him about Madison?”
“That's up to you.”
“Ray Jr. was just getting used to the idea of being a big brother.” She smiled brief and bright. “I was getting used to being Aunt Yelina.”
He couldn't help the laugh that escaped. “Break it to him slowly and maybe Susie can bring her to visit.”
She nodded and gave him one last smile before she turned toward the jet where Ray was waiting. They stared at one another as she made her ascent and when she got to him they almost seemed to meld together. Ray held her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go...it was the first time they'd seen each other, much less held one another, in years.
A strong hand distracted Horatio from the reunion when it slid into his, the touch was familiar, and he smiled at Ryan beside him. “Thank you.”
Ryan gave his hand a gentle squeeze and returned the smile. “Speed and Wally are already on the plane.”
“A little excessive.”
“I don't think so, with a dragon escort the Feds won't get a chance to interfere. Besides you promised her a debriefing.”
He nodded in agreement. “Very true.” They stood there, hand in hand as they watched the plane take off, then Horatio pulled his soulmate into a kiss. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“We need a vacation; I'm thinking a long weekend.”
xxx
The trip to L.A. took six hours, more or less, and there was a very thorough debriefing. Ray Jr. started it off, not surprisingly, by telling his dad about Madison, her cancer; and how he, along with three other people, had been a match. Speed and Wally told all of them just how Horatio had found those people. Yelina stared at them as did Ray Jr.
“Dragons? You can't be serious.”
Ray, however, was smiling. “They are. Our mom told us about them when we were kids. She even knew Horatio was one.”
“Not you Dad?”
“Nah, but that's okay.” Ray's smile got bigger and he eyed Speed and Wally. “So you two huh?”
Speed nodded. “For about a year.”
Yelina seemed to make an important connection. “That's why there haven't been repercussions from what Wally did?”
Wally shrugged. “None that would get me arrested anyway.”
Ray changed the subject since both dragon and mate looked uncomfortable and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what Wally had done. “So, will we really be safe in this town we're going to? The Feds that had me had a lot of clout.”
Speedle leaned back a little with a smirk. “The Alpha Dragon of Sunnydale has more; he won't be meeting us at the airport because he's in D.C. talking to the president.”
Ray Jr.'s eyes got wide. “About my dad?”
“He's debriefing the President about a foiled terrorist attack in D.C...and about your dad.”
“What's Sunnydale like?” He asked next.
“We've never been there...it’s not a large city though...you'll have to get used to a few things.”
“Small town life?” Ray guessed.
Speed and Wally shared a look and Wally shook his head. “Demons.” That got them another long stare from the family and the pair had to explain everything they knew about Sunnydale, even though it was second hand knowledge. It made for an interesting flight.
xxx
“So...what do we do with him?” Faith asked the question they were all wondering the answer to.
They stared at the young man, their prisoner, currently gagged and tied to a chair in the middle of the training room of the Magic Box. No one seemed to know the answer to the question.
Tara was the first to respond. “Too bad we can't give him to the police.”
Oz nodded. “I don't think they'd buy the evil scientist story.”
“Even if it’s true.” Jonathan added, and then he turned to their newest addition who sat on the sofa huddled around a cup of hot tea. “Thanks for helping, Andrew.”
“Yeah.” Andrew Wells nodded and sniffled a bit. “I always fall for the wrong guy.”
Willow gave his shoulder a consoling pat. “On the bright side you have new witchy friends.” That got a smile from him and he nodded.
Giles cleared his throat. “May I suggest we call Xander and tell him about Mr. Mears' return to Sunnydale?”
Willow looked a little worried at the suggestion. “What if he can't answer his phone because he's being shot at? Or he's being sneaky and quiet so he won't get shot at?”
Oz smiled a little. “Or he could be riding in a car that Buffy's driving.” They all shuddered at that thought; and then jumped when Willow's cell phone rang.
She laughed a little as she pulled it out and answered it. “Hey Xander! How's D.C.?” She paused and listened, a smile on her face. “Really? Tell them congratulations. Hey-oh. Okay...that's interesting. Tell Horatio we're glad to help...um...the Dale?” Her eyes landed on their unwanted guest. “You remember Warren?” She rolled her eyes. “Warren Mears. Yeah. Crazy Pervert Guy who made the sexbot. Well...we have him tied up and gagged at the Magic Box. No it’s not a sex thing. He tried to start his own Apocalypse, he failed though. Faith was great and we have a new witch. Andrew Wells. Tucker Wells’ younger brother. Yeah. Hellhound Guy. Andrew helped us with Warren.” She paused and looked at their captive again. “Speaking of Warren...what do we do with him?” Willow's eyes got a little wide at whatever Xander was saying. “Um...I'm sure Amy is lonely but this guy is a genius. He'd probably escape and start a rat revolt. Oh. Okay. Tell George for us. Love you too Xan.” She hung up and put her phone away.
Giles raised a brow. “Well?”
Before she could answer, Willow's phone rang again. “Xander. Oh. Hi Buffy! Really? I'll call Dawn later to congratulate her. Okay. Bye!” She hung up again; but kept her phone in her hand, just in case.
“What on earth?” Giles asked.
“Buffy grabbed Xan's phone for a quick call back.”
Tara moved closer and took Willow's free hand in both of her's. “What's happened?”
“Gibbs changed for his lover Tim. Horatio is sending family here for safe keeping...and Vin changed to save Dawn.”
“And him?” Faith asked, thumb pointed at the ever glaring Warren.
“Um...Xander suggested turning him into a rat so Amy would have company.”
They were all silent for a moment, except Warren who looked pale and was shaking his head. Jonathan, however, snickered. “Anyone else picturing Pinky and the Brain antics if we did that?” Everyone nodded, including Giles.
Willow sighed. “Yeah...so he's going to go where all the Initiative supporters ended up.”
Oz gave a small smile of approval. “Maximum lock and key.”
Giles grinned and it was extremely satisfied. “I'll call Captain Reynolds and let him know we have a prisoner for transport.”
“Cool...” Faith looked around at all of them. “Now what?”
Tara smiled at her warmly. “Well...usually we party after a near apocalypse.”
Faith smiled back. “I'm all for that.”
xxx
They were sitting in the back of a limo on their way back to Gibbs' house. The limo was the president's and he'd insisted on them taking it instead of a cab. Which wasn't a bad idea considering what they were talking about; and the back of the limo was sound proof. Buffy took a sip of her decaf latte. “That went well.”
He nodded, taking a moment to savor his own hot chocolate. “Better than I thought.”
“We're lucky.”
“How so?”
She fiddled with the lid of her drink. “George gets it. He gets that dragons aren't weapons of war. Our people weren't meant to seek out battle.”
Xander smiled. “Just protect the home front. That's what it means to be a Guardian. You never go looking for trouble; just respond when it finds you.”
“Like I said, we're lucky he gets that.”
“Yeah, and we're lucky that he gave us a heads up.”
“I know.” She shuddered. “How icky is it that a bunch of politicians want us overseas to burn down entire cities just because the people are Muslim?”
“It’s very icky and scary and I hate adults.”
Buffy gave him a look. “Xan. We are adults.”
He blinked and wanted to smack himself. “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting that.” Then he shook his head. “They hate us because we're different.”
“The same sex soulmate thing really bothers them huh?”
“Yeah. They want us to be the monsters they call us and kill a bunch of people just because of their religion.”
“Humans can really suck huh?” She asked him, agreement in voice. “Demon's are more straightforward.”
Xander nodded. “I can't wait to get back to the Hellmouth.”
“No mini-vacation then?”
“No. Everything's taken care of here...besides I have new community members to get settled.”
Buffy nudged him a bit. “Chris and I can stick around for a few days, just in case. Greg and Nick might be up for it too.”
“Thanks for being awesome.”
xxx
Vin didn't move when Chanu joined him on the back porch, but his skin itched in reaction to the other man's presence. When he had first showed up at the reservation no one had been home...but then Chanu arrived, with company.
“You have questions.”
Vin shrugged. “What happens between you and Rafe Mosley is your business.”
Chanu smiled and nodded. “True.”
True or not, Vin was curious. “How's your father feel about that?”
The other man copied Vin's earlier shrug. “He was fond of Claire. He is fond of Rafe, which is good.”
“Because his place in your life is permanent?”
Chanu kept up his smile. “How would you know that?”
Vin finally turned to look at him fully. “Because you're a dragon, which means Rafe is your soulmate.”
“And now you're a dragon, who did you change for?” Vin said nothing and Chanu's smile became softer. “Your Morning Sun?” Vin grit his teeth. “Why are you here instead of with her?”
“She's just a kid, she just graduated high school.”
Chanu leaned against the porch railing, voice still conversational. “Is that what's stopping you?”
“Yeah...maybe...”
“If my father and my tribe can accept Rafe in my life, I see no reason why your friends wouldn't accept her in yours.”
“It ain't right-” Vin started to say, but stopped because there was a sudden rush of wind that didn't feel natural. It reeked of magic and was followed by a charge in the air, like static. Then a circle of green light appeared in Chanu's backyard. Dawn tumbled out of it, bloody hand held up.
“Found you!” The green light disappeared and she stomped up the steps and glared at Vin. “We need to talk.”
“You're bleedin'.”
She blushed a little. “I wasn't sure how much blood I'd need to make a portal.”
“A portal...”
“What? Did you just conveniently forget that I haven't always been human?”
That made Chanu stand up straight. “Truly?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He smiled at her. “I think he was more worried about your youth.”
“I'm eighteen.”
“That is young.”
“I've only been human for a few years.”
“Dawn-”
She whirled on Vin. “And if anyone has a right to feel yucky about the age diff it’s me...because technically I'm almost as old as the universe. Which means you don't get to feel yucky about it.”
He smiled a little. “Yes Ma'am.” Then Vin gestured to her injured hand. “You think we can patch up your hand now before you pass out from blood loss?”
“Please, I bled more than this when a demon cult used me as a blood sacrifice...” Her eyes grew wide and she glanced at Chanu. “I just blabbed about not normal things to a civilian. Buffy is gonna kill me.”
Vin laughed and shook his head. “Relax, Chanu is a dragon.”
She blinked at Vin, then turned to study Chanu. “How?”
Chanu shrugged. “My friend was thrown from his horse, I caught him before he hit the ground, then we flew.”
“No, I meant why didn't we know about you? Our witches did a spell to locate all dragons in this country eighteen or older. Changed or not.”
Chanu gave a snort and shook his head. “White's magic. We have no use for it.”
“The tribe's holy man might be able to answer that question Dawn.”
“Okay...but first...you and I need to talk.”
“Okay.”
Chanu stepped away from them. “I'll let you know when dinner is ready; Rafe should have started it at the very least.” With a nod he left them alone on the porch.
Dawn took a deep breath and met Vin's eyes. “Please don't run away again.”
“I won't...how'd you do all that?”
“I used some of your hair to get a lock on you. I wasn't actually sure the portal thing would work because I've never done that before.”
Vin's face grew pale, the color all but disappearing. “You did something that dangerous...just to find me.”
“I...you ran. You saved me from a bus and then you were gone! I didn't know if it was the age difference or the not human thing or...”
Vin moved to cup her face. “I was scared.”
“And now?”
“You as scared as me?” He asked her.
“Yep.”
“Then we'll figure it out together.”
“Good.” She grinned at him suddenly. “You know we match now.”
“How's that?”
“Your dragon form?”
“Yeah?”
“You look like a giant shiny emerald statue. We're both green.”
Vin grinned back. “It ain't easy bein' green.”
“Kermit was a very wise frog.”
xxx
They were met at L.A. by a young couple in their twenties, the pair stepped onto the plane before they had even left their seats. It was unusual, but apparently dragons got a different set of airline rules. Speed waved at them in greeting.
“Cordelia, Doyle.”
Cordelia nodded at him. “Hey Speedle, nice flight?”
“Not bad, one heck of a debriefing though.”
Ray Jr. was staring at Doyle, transfixed. “Are you really a demon?”
Doyle grinned and shifted, causing those who'd never seen a Brachen demon to jump a bit. “Me Da was full blooded. Never met him.” He shifted back, grin still in place.
“We're taking you to the Hyperion Hotel.” Cordelia informed them. “It’s owned by a friend, you'll be safe there until Xander and Spike get here.”
“Thank you.”
“You staying Speedle?” Doyle asked.
Speed looked at Wally, head tilted. “What do you think?”
“Can we stay for a little while? I don't know if I can handle another six hour flight just yet.”
“Thought you might say that.” Cordelia laughed and started to move toward the exit. “You can rent a motorcycle here at the airport and there are rooms ready at the Hyperion for all of you in case you stay.”
“Awesome!” Wally was the first to follow her off the plane.
xxx
They had just entered the lobby of the Hyperion when Yelina stopped in her tracks. Ray's hand was in hers and his eyes were questioning and worried. “Yelina?”
“I want a little more proof.”
Cordelia raised a brow at the older woman. “Of?”
“Dragons.”
Doyle took a few steps back from them without a word and began to shift. His form blurred and grew larger as his skin turned to scales, his color turning a bit darker. More of a peach than a flesh tone. Black stripes marked the back of his head, long neck and back. His body just filled the lobby. He looked down at them with the same blue eyes. “Proof enough?”
Yelina nodded. “I'm sorry, I just...”
“Its fine, no worries.” He shifted back.
Ray Jr. turned to look at Speed. “Are you that big?”
Speed shook his head. “A little bigger, I don't think I'd be able to fit.”
“What color are you?”
“He's orange.” Wally answered.
Now Ray was curious. “And my brother?”
“Red.” Speed told him.
“And shiny.” Wally added.
That got a few smiles from them and Yelina ventured another question. “Officer Wolfe is his soulmate?”
“Yep.”
She nodded and really looked around the large room. “Now what?”
Cordelia headed toward the reception desk and phone. “We order in and relax until Xander and Spike get here.”
“We can make it a thing.” Doyle suggested.
“A thing?” She asked her dragon, wondering where he was going with that thought.
“Invite some of the community, so they'll know a few more friendly faces.”
“I like that idea.” Wally bounced a bit, excited. “That way I'll know more of you before the Summit in October.”
Cordelia nodded, seeing wisdom in that. “I'll make some calls. Ian and Charlie are out of town though, so you won't get to meet them.”
xxx
There had been a lot of remodeling to various places in the dale since they'd discovered dragons to be a real thing. Xander and Spike's house for one had needed a lot of repairs and Spike had paid for them personally. The mansion that the Aurelius clan had once inhabited was another. Third was the house that Xander had grown up in. Most recently, however, was the Magic Box.
They had managed to convert the basement into a containment area, conference room, and second base of operations. One part of the basement had holding cells; another part was walled off with a round table and a map of Sunnydale on the wall. The last part held a couple of desks with brand new computers and a surveillance system against the wall complete with monitors that showed views from inside and outside the store.
It had seemed a bit much at first, but now that they actually had a fugitive type person in one of the cells no one felt silly about the remodeling.
Jonathan was on guard duty, dividing his attention between keeping an eye on Warren and occasionally looking at the monitors. Oz was on a food run; Faith and Willow were on patrol, Giles was in his office upstairs while Tara and Clem were actually running the shop.
Warren was being quiet and not by choice, he'd started taunting Jonathan as soon as he'd came down the basement stairs and a guy could only be taunted for so long before he snapped. Admittedly it wasn't his proudest moment...but the look on Warren's face when Jonathan took away his voice with a spell was more than satisfying and totally worth it. So now Warren was sulking on the cot in his cell and Jonathan was going over their budget. They'd had a few anonymous donations and were thinking about upgrading the security at all the residences.
He happened to look up when a black SUV pulled up in front of the shop and two men got out. The driver was white while his passenger was black; and they both looked toward the security camera and waved. John Kennex and Dorian Alleyne. He'd never met them but he'd gone over their files after they'd been busted out of an Initiative base a few years ago. They were now part of Malcolm Reynolds' team/community which meant they were here to pick up Warren.
They let themselves in the store, which wasn't locked and Jonathan watched them greet Tara first with a wave and then a hug each before shaking hands with Clem. Jonathan glanced at Warren. “You're ride to hell is here.” Warren frowned at that and sat up, Jonathan pushed his chair away from the monitors and stretched.
A moment later the door opened and their guests tromped down the stairs, John in the lead and Dorian a few steps behind. When they reached the bottom of the stairs they took a moment to appreciate the set up and then Dorian approached with his hand out.
“You must be Jonathan, I'm Dorian.”
Jonathan shook his hand, and then John's when it was offered. “Glad you guys could make it...we weren't sure what to do with Warren here.”
All eyes flicked to Warren, John raised a brow. “Prisoners usually make more noise than that.”
“He was, until I did a spell.”
“Nice.”
“It'll wear off in a couple of days.”
John grinned. “We'll have him signed for and delivered before that.”
“Cool, you guys made good time.”
“We were in the area.” Dorian said.
His partner scoffed. “We were two states away.”
“We were still closer than Mal and the others.”
“You got me there.”
Jonathan laughed at their banter. “You staying in town long? We have a few good restaurants...and a few spare rooms.”
Dorian shook his head. “Appreciate the offer, but your community is about to expand, maybe another time.”
xxx
When Xander and Spike arrived a couple of hours later it was full dark and the three refugees from Miami were asleep on the sofa in the lobby. Xander stared at them for a moment before saying to Spike; “They have the right idea.”
“Fancy a nap then?”
“Yep.”
“Xander.”
They turned to see Speed and another man, younger and shorter than the dragon, with blond hair. “Hey Speed, and that must be Wally.”
Wally gave a little wave. “Hi.”
“Hey yourself, how did it go?”
“Smooth.” Speed said. “The Feds after Ray think he's dead and we're keeping it that way. You?”
“We did alright.”
“Alright?” Xander snorted. “We helped stop a terrorist attack and took out a Mossad agent that turned traitor...” He frowned. “I'm beginning to think May is Apocalypse season all over the country and not just Sunnydale.”
Speed offered a smile. “It seems like it sometimes.”
“You two headed out?” Spike asked.
“Not yet.” Speed said. “We're going to check out a few L.A. clubs first. You?”
Xander shook his head. “I need a nap. Then we'll see about getting home.”
Speed took Wally's hand and waved them goodbye as they headed toward the exit. “Have fun. See you in October.”
Xander and Spike managed to get a couple hours sleep before Raymond, Yelina and Ray Jr. woke. After that Cordy and Doyle drove them to the desert outside the city...and Xander flew them the rest of the way to Sunnydale.
XXX