Title: Innocence Lost

Author: Settiai

Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and other related characters are all properties of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and other related corporations. No infringement is intended. This story, such as it is, was written as a sign of respect and love for the characters, the show, and their creator. I claim no ownership of the aforementioned show and characters.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: There might be a few for the Sixth Season, up to "Older and Farther Away."

Explanation: Everything up to the very end of "Hell's Bells" has happened, except that Xander didn't leave Anya at the alter. (What!? I'm a fan of X/A...) Also, just imagine that during Riley's return and the wedding, Dawn was grounded. Got it? Anyway, let's just pretend that "Normal Again" and everything after it never happened, okay? Now that you understand what is going on (or are truly, completely confused...) on with the story!

Summary: Dawn makes a mistake that will change her life - and the lives of all those around her - forever.

Feedback: Comments and helpful criticisms are always appreciated.

E-mail: settiai@teenmag.com

Okay guys, let me explain why it's taking so long for me to update the story. You see, at the moment I'm still in high school - and it's getting close to the end of the first grading period. Because of this, all of my teachers are assigning tons of homework and projects. (And when you're taking advanced classes, that's really something to be afraid of...)

I already have a large part of this story (and its sequel) planned in my mind. I'm just having trouble finding the time to get it typed up. For some strange reason, my parents seem to think that passing high school is more important that posting fanfictions. *shrugs* Go figure.

I want to apologize that it's taking me so long to get each new chapter up, but I promise that I will try and post more often. One thing: Thanks to all of you who've stuck with me since the beginning! I know that I'm taking forever to get the whole story up, but it's definitely going to be worth it in the end. All I can do is ask for you guys to stick with me.

Oz took two steps out of the door before turning to look back at the group of people still in the kitchen. For a moment he stood there, neither inside nor out, looking from face to face. A look of deep tiredness slowly appeared in his eyes as he stared at the angry looks on most of the faces. "It's not my idea. Blame the Powers That Be."

He let his eyes focus on Buffy's, an almost pleading look shining in them. The angry look on her face slowly started to be replaced with one of understanding. After a few moments, she gently nodded her head. "We know that, Oz. I think they're who... or what, I guess, we're really ticked off at."

Most of the other people in the room seemed to pause for a moment before carefully letting their faces show that Buffy was right. Xander's face, however, didn't change a bit. "Well, I think..."

He was cut off when Anya quickly placed her hands over his mouth and glared at him. "Thinking is usually not a very smart thing for you to do."

Xander stared at her for a moment, a shocked look on his face, before slowly reaching up and pulling her hands away from his mouth. Then he looked back at the young man standing in the door and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I guess that she's probably right about that."

Willow gave a little snort of laughter, earning a reproachful look from both Xander and Anya. She merely grinned and shrugged her shoulders. After a moment though, she turned her attention back to her ex-boyfriend. By the time that she had turned to face him, the cheerful look had left her face. "We'll see you in a few days then, I guess."

Oz let his eyes linger on his face for a second before he slowly looked away. "Yeah, I guess that's right."

After a moment, he let his eyes wander around the room once again. Then, without saying a word, Oz quickly turned and walked out the door, shutting it carefully behind him. A loud click echoed throughout the kitchen as the rest of the Scoobies stared at the closed door.

For several minutes, no one said a word. Their minds were all obviously somewhere else at the moment, and no one wanted to be the one to bring everyone else back to the present. Needless to say, every person in the room jumped when Dawn's voice suddenly came from behind them. "What's going on?"

Fred's eyes sprang open as the phone in the lobby suddenly started ringing. Fighting back a yawn, she looked at the clock hanging on the wall nearby. Her eyes opened a little wider as she caught sight of the time, and she quickly pulled herself to her feet. "Damn!"

Without stopping to think, the young woman practically dashed towards the lobby. By the time she was halfway there, however, she realized that the ringing had stopped. "God, please let Charles have answered it."

A few seconds later, Fred dashed into the open lobby, a slightly panicked look on her face. It quickly faded into relief, however, as soon as she saw her boyfriend talking on the phone. Breathing a little heavily, she slowly walked towards him. She wanted to do nothing more than to run up to him and grab the phone, just in case it was Angel or Cordelia. Or Lorne. Or Wesley. Or Conn... Stephen.

Gunn glanced at her for a moment and slowly shook his head. The hopeful look on Fred's face faded away, and she quietly let out the breath that she had been holding in. He shot her a sympathetic before turning his attention back to the phone. Trying to keep the disappointment she felt from showing on her face, Fred slowly walked across the room and dropped down into one of the chairs.

After a few minutes, Gunn carefully hung up the phone and looked over at his girlfriend. Fred had pulled her legs up into the seat and was sitting there with her arms wrapped around them. Her eyes were focused on the ground, and there was a look in them that looked as if she was trying not to burst into sobs.

Gunn stood there for a minute or two, doing nothing but stare at the disappointed look on her face. Then, very quietly, he started walking towards her. By the time that he was standing over her shoulder, Fred had hurried wiped away the tears from her eyes.

The young man smiled gently at her as he tenderly laid his hands on her shoulders. She turned her head towards him and smiled weakly. "I guess that it wasn't Ang... anyone that we know."

Gunn suddenly coughed and let go of her shoulders. Then, oblivious to the concerned look on Fred's face, he walked around her and dropped down into a nearby chair. For a moment he sat there silently, carefully making sure to keep his eyes focused anywhere but on his girlfriend.

After several minutes of silence, Fred cleared her throat loudly. At the sound, Gunn quickly moved his gaze back to her, grimacing slightly when he saw the look on her face. With a slightly accusatory tone in her voice, she looked him straight in the eyes. "Charles, what's going on?"

Dawn let out a quiet yawn as she slowly sat up in her bed and stretched her arms just a little. A peaceful smile appeared on her face, and she couldn't help but think that everything that had happened over the last few days must have just been a dream. God, maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe...

The teenager looked down at her stomach and let out a quiet sigh. Well, maybe not all of it. The small bulge of her stomach was still there, meaning that she hadn't been dreaming about her pregnancy. "Oh, well."

She froze as she finally looked down at her hand. There were several faded scratches on it, looking very much like fingernail marks. Within moments, the cheerfulness that she had felt had trickled away. It had all been real - every single bit of it. Meaning...

What had happened the night before suddenly burst into Dawn's mind, and she quickly glanced over at her alarm clock. Her eyes widened considerably when she saw the time, and she quickly pulled herself out of bed. As soon as she stood up, however, a wave of dizziness seemed to pass through her. Quickly grabbing the bed for support, she sank back down onto it. Silently praying that her morning sickness would hold off until later, she slowly pulled herself back to her feet.

For a minute she stood there, uncertain whether she was going to be sick or not. After several minutes of no dizziness or nausea, however, she let out a quiet sigh and headed towards her closet. According to Oz, she probably should start packing. He would be back in just a few days, and then...

Dawn let out another tired sigh as she peered into her closet, the contents of which looking as if they were going to topple over and crush her underneath them at any give moment. "Oh God, this is going to be a long day."

She peered into the crammed closet, trying to catch sight of the suitcases that she knew had to be there somewhere. After a moment, she let out a loud moan and bit back a curse that had came to her lips. There were the suitcases - buried under a mountain of junk. "Better make that a long summer."

Buffy let out a yawn as she poured herself yet another cup of coffee. As the Slayer, she was used to not getting much sleep - but less than eight hours of sleep over the last three days wasn't enough for even her. Fighting back another yawn, she quickly put the coffee up to her lips and forced some of the scalding liquid down her throat.

After several large gulps of the coffee, she was awake enough to think about what Oz had told them the night before. According to him, he had gotten another message from the Powers - this one had been more that a little cryptic though. They had told him to go run his 'errand' in Los Vegas, whatever the hell that meant, and while he was gone she, Dawn, and any of their friends who were coming with them, were supposed to get ready to leave for Los Angeles. Of course, he hadn't had a clue why they were suddenly supposed to leave for LA.

Buffy shook her head and took another long sip of coffee. Xander and Anya had left soon after Oz, claiming to have to start packing right then if they were expected to be ready to leave in just a few days. Spike had helped her get Dawn back to sleep before leaving for his crypt. She didn't know what he would need to pack for... Buffy paused a second and almost laughed out loud. God, what was she doing? For all she knew, Spike didn't even plan on going with them. "Well, I guess that we'll find out later."

Since all of Giles's belongings were still packed, he had left to go help Tara pack up a few things that were left in her dorm room - right after he had called Angel's friends in Los Angeles. Willow was upstairs, trying to shove both her and Tara's belongings into three large suitcases. Buffy paused, mid sip, as she thought about that. Considering that it might be impossible for Willow to finish that task without using magic, and since she was trying to keep from using any...

The Slayer slowly pulled herself to her feet and heading for the door. Maybe it would be smart for her to go upstairs and try to help Willow pack. And, now that she thought about it, maybe she should go ahead and pack herself. Of course...

Buffy's thoughts were cut off by the sound of a loud crash coming from what sounded like Dawn's room. She quickly dashed up the stairs, almost crashing into Willow, who was heading the same way she was. The two of them shared a look before rushing into Dawn's room - and freezing in surprise.

Dawn was sitting on the floor, surrounded by what appeared to be enough clothes to fill an entire mall. Laying beside her was a suitcase - or, more precisely, two piece of a suitcase. Buffy gaped in shock for a moment before finally turning to her sister. "What in the..."

She didn't even finish her sentence before Dawn had started her explanation. "It really isn't my fault, you know. I mean, I don't have a clue who put my suitcase at the bottom of my closet. And, now that I think about it, you really should be more worried about me, shouldn't you? I could have been grievously injured when all of that stuff fell, and you're just standing there..."

Buffy cleared her throat and shot her sister a look. Dawn rolled her eyes, but she stopped rambling for a minute. "Trust me, Dawn, I really don't want to know. How about I just buy you a new suitcase." The Slayer looked around the room for a moment and grimaced. "Or three."

He watched her from the shadows, grimacing every few minutes at how sloppily she was staking some of the vampires. Justine had told him that she was the Slayer, the one girl in the world who had the power to fight against the forces of evil. At times like this, however, he wondered if she was telling him the truth about that. From what he could see, she didn't seem to be that adept at killing vampires. True, she was able to stake them - she just didn't seem to have the natural talent at doing so that he would have thought a Slayer would possess.

There was a sudden cry from the alley, and he quickly turned his attention back to Justine. When the fight had begun, there had been four vampires against her. Now, there were only two vamps left. Suddenly one of the vampires let out a pained moan before bursting into dust. A smirk appeared on the boy's face as he quickly corrected himself - make that one vamp left.

The remaining vamp, a female, took one look at Justine before turning and dashing away. Clearly, she didn't plan on meeting the same fate as her friends. Of course, it wasn't like she had much of a say in the whole matter.

Before the vampire had a chance to get out of the alley, he stepped out from the shadows, a stake ready in his hand. The vamp didn't even see him until the stake was already through her heart. She lifted her head towards him, a fearful look on her no-longer vamped out face, just as she burst into dust.

He stood still for a moment, letting the dust blow around him as he slowly became lost in his memories. Why couldn't his father be there with him now, watching proudly as his son rid the world of its demons? It just wasn't fair.

But was what he had done to the vampire fair? Every night for the last three weeks, that thought had came to his mind. Yes, according to Justine that monster had killed his father. Now that he had thought about that some, however, he couldn't help but be a little doubtful. There had been something wrong about the marks on his father's neck. He didn't know what it was, or how he knew, but there had definitely been something wrong. Justine had sworn that it had been Angel though...

He started just a little as he felt someplace their arm around his shoulder. His eyes widened as he spun around to find himself facing - Justine. She looked at him curiously for a moment, obviously wondering why he hadn't noticed her come up to him. After only a few weeks, however, she had learned not to pry into his thoughts. Instead, she merely gave him a tender smile. "Good job, Stephen. Come on now, let's go on home."

Dawn let out a sigh as she grabbed two cheap-looking suitcases from the bargain rack. Buffy had volunteered to drive her, but - since she enjoyed living - she had declined her sister's offer. Dawn had expected Buffy to sigh and then call Xander or someone to come and pick her up. Needless to say, that hadn't happened. So, that had left her with two options - walk, or wait until night so that... "What the bloody hell is taking you so long?"
She jumped as Spike came up behind her, an annoyed look on his face. "I said that I'd drive you here, and the take you home. You didn't mention that it would take all night for you to..."

Dawn quickly held up the two suitcases. He let out a loud sigh before turning and heading towards the front of the store. "Fine, go pay for those things so that I can get you home already."

After he had taken less than half-a-dozen steps, Spike stopped and looked back at her. "On second thought, maybe I should go with you and make sure that you don't just walk out without paying for the..."

He cut off when he caught sight of the look on Dawn's face. "Right then. I'll just go and wait for you outside."

Dawn couldn't help but grin as he hurried away from her. After a moment though, she started for the checkout counter. There was still a wide smile on her face as she carefully lifted the two suitcases onto the counter. The smile faded, however, as the cashier turned his face towards her.

She stared for a moment, startled by how familiar the young man standing there seemed. It was almost like she had met him before, but she knew that it was impossible. If she had ever met this guys she would have remembered. He was, for lack of a better word, a hottie - tall, muscular, raven black hair that was cut short on his head...

Dawn froze as she looked into his eyes, which just happened to be bright green. There was recognition shining in his eyes... She let out a quiet gasp as a memory suddenly shot back into her mind, almost like a bolt of lightning. Bright lights, loud noises, a handsome face... And a name. "Kyle. Kyle Hutchins."