|
The New Pet
Author: Skylar (Nichiren2am@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Joss and company own everything Buffy-related; Disney owns
everything Lilo & Stitch-related.
AN: Fifth story in my Reasoning series. Just a short little piece based on
a funny dream I had after seeing Lilo & Stitch.
Summary: Dawn receives a very interesting pet from Spike for her birthday.
Spoilers: My first series (you?d really have to read those three stories to
understand these) and the other four stories of this series.
Rating: I'm gonna go with PG-13, just to be safe.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where it?s going.
Dedication: This one's for Ashleigh for just being so sweet :)
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.
Typical of every well-balanced teen, Friday afternoons were always
Dawn's favorite part of the week. This particular Friday held even more
significance to her, as she came speeding home from school with the summer
breeze wafting behind her, blowing a few wisps of hair away from her face.
Finally arriving at her home on Revello Drive, the sound of her 'parental
unit' brought her perpetual birthday-crazed high to a screeching halt.
"Take off my shoes now, you little pain!" Cordelia didn't even bother
glancing up at her from her phone call, knowing from the moment that she
went looking for her missing red shoes that Dawn was the one who had already
stolen them. Dawn complied, shedding the shoes and tossing them into her
lap before racing into the kitchen. The pastel room, decorated to flatter
her late mother's fair beauty, was where she was expecting to find a
surprise party waiting for her, but to no avail. She decided to check
upstairs, racing towards her bedroom, hoping to find at least one present
waiting for her, but her expectations were quickly shattered.
"Well??"
"Well what?" Cordy answers her angry glare, telling whoever was on the phone
to hold on for a minute. "Dawn- I'm a little busy with a client- what's
wrong?"
"Where's the party? Where are the gifts, the guests, the cake? There' s
not even one lousy streamer in this house!"
"Since when does my job description include 'party organizer'? Look- go
grab Willow and Tara from outside. Tell them that we're heading over to the
mansion to discuss a client with Angel." Dawn storms off towards the back
door, only halting once she hears Cordy's voice call out to her again. "Oh
Dawn? Tell them to bring whatever information they have on Wairu demons,
okay?"
Dawn turns with a heavy sigh again, muttering to herself as she heads
out into the garden to fetch the two wiccans.
"And don't think I don't hear what you're saying!" Cordy yells after her,
hearing the door slam in response as she returns to her phone call.
"We?re on our way."
"Do you think she suspects anything?" Angel asked on the other end.
"Nah- you guys have everything ready?"
"All set," he smiles. Since eight that morning, he and Buffy, along with
the visiting LA gang, had been busy decorating the mansion for Dawn's
surprise party. Streamers and balloons adorned the walls, and a huge pile
of presents were just waiting to be opened on the dining room table. "We'll
see you in a little bit, Cordy."
As he sets the phone down, he spins around to see Buffy walking slowly
down the stairs, carrying Quinn in a soft towel. "And how did my little
girl enjoy her bath?" Angel smiles at his daughter, his face lighting up as
he sees her smile and gurgle in return, stretching out her tiny arms for
him.
"She had fun," Buffy smiles, "but mommy got all wet, didn't she?" she
giggles, brushing her hands across her drenched shirt for emphasis.
"I'll get her dressed then set her down for her nap," Angel offers. "You go
get changed- Cordy and the others are going to be here any minute." After
quickly drawing him in for a kiss, Buffy turns to head back upstairs and
slip into some dryer clothes.
Angel rushes to get Quinn dressed, softly laying her down in the crib
in the library. "Here you go, sweetie," he whispers, handing her her
mother's stuffed pig to take a nap with. "You and Mr. Gordo take a nice
little nap." The infant's brown eyes open widely, startled and excited by
the pink fluff, then close sleepily as he father places a gentle kiss on her
head before heading back out into the great hall.
"Let's see..." Angel begins going through a final checklist of everything to
be had at the party. "Cake...balloons...decorations..." as he turns towards
the table to eye the presents, one particular box grabs his attention- party
because of its size, but mostly due to the fact that it had air holes and
was moving. "...presents...?" He cautiously walks over, reaching out a
tentative hand to grab the box but decides against it once it begins shaking
again. Recognizing the writing on the accompanying tag, he grumbles as he
marches into the mansion's spacious gym room. <Now how did I guess it
would've been from...>
"Spike!" The slayer's yell throws the blonde vamp off-guard, allowing
Xander to land a solid punch to his jaw. "What the hell is in that box you
brought?" Holding his jaw, eyeing Xander angrily, Spike walks over to his
sire.
"What're you talkin' about?"
"Your present for Dawn...what is it?"
"Oh...that..." He grabs his t-shirt from off the mats, slipping it back on
as he walks out of the room with Angel, Xander following closely behind,
gulping down his bottle of water. "Just a lil' pet, that's all."
"What kind of pet?" Angel warily asks.
"Relax, Peaches- nothing demonic?at least I don't *think* it's demonic."
"Where did you get it?"
"Clem got it for me. I told him that the lil' bit's been wanting a pet for
the longest time, so he picked one up for me. What's the big deal anyway?"
"The big deal is that it's out on the table, bouncing around in it's box,
and it sounds like it's just a tad angry! Go keep an eye on it, will ya?
Dawn will be here any minute." Spike rolls his eyes as he brushes past
Angel to check on his present, anxious to see Dawn's reaction to her new
pet.
The mansion was pitch dark as Cordy led the others through the front
doors. "So where is everybody?" Dawn pipes up, still angered by the fact
that she wasn't welcomed home from school with a party by her so-called
family and friends. Reaching out instinctively for the light switch, the
load cheer that comes from the dining room takes her by surprise.
"Happy birthday!!" The more than shocked teen bounces over to her sister
and Angel, wrapping them up in a big hug filled with laughter. "I knew you
wouldn't forget!"
"How could we, brat?" Buffy gives her a kiss on the forehead, running a hand
through her hair. "You've only been going on about it for the past two
weeks."
After enjoying a wonderful dinner and cake, Dawn began ripping through
her pile of presents. Receiving mostly cds, some movies, clothes, and
books, from Angel of course, the only box she had left to open was from
Spike. "Here ya go, Dawn," he smiles in spite of himself, handing her the
box. "Something you've been wanting for awhile now."
Curious as to what could be inside, she begins shaking the heavy box,
hearing a string of snarls and growls from inside. Dawn's eyes widened as
she quickly deduced what Spike had bought her. "Spike!" she cheers, ripping
through the paper, tossing aside the lid, "I can't believe you got me
a...a..." Words escape her as she makes a careful study of the small
creature staring at her from inside the box.
"A really ugly dog?!" Gunn finally shouts above the silence, flinching back
as the creature sticks his tongue out at him.
"What is it?" Dawn finally breathes out, reaching in a hand to pet it,
surprised to have it snap at her and continue it's shouting in what seemed
to actually be some sort of language.
"It's a dog," Spike says matter-of-factly, taking a seat ontop of the table
beside the box. "Don't you like it?"
"That's not a dog," Angel speaks up, pulling Buffy onto his lap as he sits
back in his chair.
"What do you mean it's not a dog?" With floppy ears, a short pug tail, a
cold wet nose and four paws, the creature somewhat resembled any ordinary
canine. There was however the blue fur, large mashing teeth, unruly temper,
and the ability to speak, in its own way, that gave Angel his doubts.
"Spike- have you ever seen a blue dog before!"
"So what?"
"So what?!" Buffy chimes in. "Spike, look at it- it looks like a killer
koala smurf!!"
"I think he's cool!" Turning to see her sister, eyes wide in amazement and
curiosity of her new pet, Buffy's jaw drops to the floor.
"You can't be serious!"
"Dawn," Angel smiles at her sweetly, praying he would be able to change her
mind, "wouldn't you like a different dog? This one seems a little..." he
pauses as his eyes avert to the sight of the creature climbing out of the
box, crawling over to the wall, beginning to make it's way up to the
ceiling, easily hanging upside down overtop of them, "...abnormal..."
Moving herself so that she was standing directly below him, Dawn calls
up to her pet. "Here! Come here!" The blue ball of fuzz drops to the
ground, rolling itself out of a ball and stands before her. "Hi..." Dawn
calmly greets him.
"Hiiiii," it shrieks out in response, racing over to her and wrapping itself
around her small frame in a hug.
"Wow..." Already having fallen in love with him, she turns back around to
face Angel, a proud smile across her face. "Angel, I'm sure. He's
perfect!" Seeing the distraught and angered face that was staring at him,
the newly adopted pet reaches out for Angel's face, patting his paws against
the slayer's cheeks.
"I guess he's not so bad," Angel finally concedes, only to have the creature
punch him square across the side of his head. "Ouch!! Did you see that?!
He's vicious!! That little thing just-" Holding his hand across his
hurting jaw, Angel's eyes squint in anger as his attacker yells something at
him in his own language. "Why I oughta-"
"Calm down, Peaches!" Spike hops off of the counter to grab his gift by the
arm, pulling him up into his shoulders. "This is my kind of pet!" he
boasts, giving him a quick pat on the head.
"Where did you say Clem found him?" Giles tries returning their conversation
to some sort of sanity.
"He didn't say. All he said was that he found him in some alleyway and
thought that he could use a good home. All he needs is a lil' lovin'-"
"And a little morphine," Angel adds, sliding out from underneath of Buffy to
head into the kitchen for some ice. Before he even reaches the fridge, his
latest advesary hops out of Spike's arms, races over to him, and hops onto
his shoulders, proceeding to bang out a very painful drum beat ontop of his
head. "What the- get off of me!! Spike!!"
"Cool," Dawn gasps in amazement as she watches Spike pry her pet off of her
brother-in-law, "he even knows how to play the drums! Come here, boy!"
Hearing his new master call, the hyperactive bundle rolls over to her,
allowing himself to be wrapped up into her arms once more.
"So Dawnie..." Willow nervously begins, trying to shut her ears off to
Angel's not-so-soft cursing spilling out from the kitchen, "what're you
gonna name your new dog?"
"It's not a dog!" Angel insists with a shout over his shoulder, leaning into
the freezer for his ice.
"Stitch!"
"Stitch?" Xander eyes her curiously. "What kind of a name is that?"
"It's *his* name!" Dawn snaps back at him, snuggling with her pet. "I can't
wait to get him home and show him his room!" Hearing her plans, Cordy
passes the others a panicked look, already seeing everything that she owns
being torn apart by the destructive 'dog'. WIth a helpless stare, she
flashes Buffy her best, most convincing smile. "Remember when you two said
I could always move in here with you? Does that offer still stand?"
"It's not a dog!"
******
After their guests had left a few hours later, Buffy and Angel had been
quite successful in getting their daughter to sleep almost as soon as her
head hit the pillow. Now the couple found themselves snuggling in bed,
Buffy slowly and deeply kissing along Angel's neck. "Honey...did you check
on Quinn in the nursery?"
"It's not a dog."
"Well, I would like to think that you don't consider our daughter to be a
dog," she giggles against his skin, pulling herself ontop of him, straddling
his waist.
"That thing isn't a dog." Finally ceasing in her assault to his neck, Buffy
pulls away to face him.
"You know, usually when I'm kissing you you're a little more interested..."
"Sorry..." he whispers, capturing her lips in an apology. "But I'm telling
you, that thing isn't a dog! It's some sort of demon, or a koala bear, or-"
"A koala bear? In California??"
"This coming from the girl who's been fighting vampires since she was 15,"
Angel chuckles back at her.
"All I'm saying is, don't you think you're obsessing over this thing?"
"Exactly!" he gently taps the tip of her nose. "*Thing*- it's not a dog!
I'm just glad that we were finally able to get it into it's cage for Dawn to
take home."
"After, of course, you just had to go a few rounds with it," Buffy laughs at
him, burying her face into his chest.
"Wait a minute- *I* was the one that was attacked, remember? And don't
think I didn't see you laughing your head off when it threw that piece of
cake in my face." His mood quickly shifting, Angel tips up her chin to meet
his lips. "You're just lucky I love you so much."
Wrapping her arms around his neck, meeting his lips in a heated kiss,
Buffy giggles as she whispers, "I knew you'd forgive me..." She continues
to brush her lips against him, playfully lapping at his neck as Angel pulls
the covers up over them. Pulling her body flush against his, Angel wraps a
hand up behind her hair, gently running his fingers through her dangling
strands. His lips seek out her creamy skin, resting against the warm
surface as he works down her neck, eliciting a gentle moan from her.
It was Buffy's sudden moan of protest that took him by surprise.
"Angel, ohhh, uh...did, uh...did you hear that??" she tries to say.
"What ? No- I?m kind of busy," he says as he continues to trail down her
skin.
"No- I'm serious. I just heard something," Buffy insists, rolling off of
him as her eyes begin to dart around their room. Finally hearing the noise
himself, Angel takes notice of a large lump underneath their sheets at the
foot of the bed. "I never knew Mr. Gordo made noise," he jokes, reaching
for her again.
"He doesn't," Buffy smiles. "At least, I hope he doesn't, because I left
him in Quinn's crib." His suspicions deterred, Angel warily lifts the sheet
to reveal a small, blue ball of fur staring back at him. Buffy nearly
shrieks in surprise, jumping out of the bed as Stitch crawls over to Angel.
"Hiiii," the new pet waves a paw at them, a huge grin plastered across his
face.
"What is it with us and unwanted houseguests?" Angel tosses his hands up in
the air, angered and confused by the creature's presence. "How did you get
here!" He half-expected the creature to reply, but the overgrown hairball
simply crawled to the floor and began taunting an already infuriated Angel.
"Okay- that's it! I've had it with Spike's little gift!" The ex-vampire
takes after Stitch in a chase, racing after him downstairs.
Buffy, still dazed and bewildered at having realized that she and Angel
had company, reached over for the cordless, dialing the familiar number.
"Mmm?" a sleepy voice answered.
"Cordy- get up!"
"Buffy?" The brunette sits up in her bed, letting out a loud yawn. "It's
past midnight. Shouldn't you be asleep or whatever you and Angel do- and
don't think that's an invitation to go into all the lusty details."
"Stitch is over here." Buffy begins walking downstairs, letting out a sound
that was halfway between a laugh and a gasp as Stitch comes pouncing back up
the stairs, brushing past her with Angel close behind carrying one of his
swords.
"Who?"
"Stitch! Dawn's dog, er...pet...whatever it is, it's here!"
"Buffy..." Cordelia sighs, getting out of bed to go check in Dawn's room.
"Are you sure you didn't eat too much of Anya's cake? That blue menace has
been sleeping in it's little box since...since..." On the other end, Buffy
can hear Cordy's loud sigh as the seer sees that the small box resting
beside Dawn's bed was empty.
"Oh boy. Dawn-" Cordelia calls over to the sleeping teen. "Dawn! Where
did Stick go?"
"His name's Stitch," Dawn mumbles as she rouses. "And he's right..." she
looks over the side of the bed, only to find the same sight Cordy had found.
"He was right here. Where did he go?" As she rolls her eyes, Cordy can
distinctly hear Angel's yell over the phone.
"Buffy!! He just ate my sword! He just ate my favorite sword!!"
"Geez- Buffy, just watch him," Cordy pleads, knowing she'd be the one to
suffer if anything happened to Dawn's pet. "Try and calm down Angel. We'll
be over in a little bit to get him."
******
Five minutes after hanging up with her friend, Buffy was holding a pack
of ice against her husband's head, running a hand through his slightly
mussed hair as the two sat across from the kitchen table staring at a
finally calmed down Stitch.
"Okay- so he's finally taking a breather," Angel sighs, the throbbing in his
head after being whacked with one of the numerous broken chairs beginning to
subside. "But how do we keep him quiet?"
"Coooookiiiee."
"Did he just-"
"What did he-"
"Stitch...want...cookie."
"I knew it could talk!" Angel boasts, passing a glance up at Buffy. "Where
did it learn how to say cookie?" Buffy thought back to the party,
remembering fondly how Xander was trying to teach both Quinn and the
creature to say the word.
"He must've picked it up from Xand." Shaking his head enthusiastically,
Stitch opens his mouth, pointing a finger in.
"Ah, ah, ah!"
"No, no, no," Angel mocks back at Stitch. "No cookie. You don't need any
extra sugar!"
"Stitch want cookie! Now!!"
"Angel, just give him a cookie," Buffy pleads with him, removing the bag of
ice from his head as she heads back into the kitchen.
"Buffy...I am *not* giving a cookie to some annoying, destructive,
hyperactive...thing!"
"You let Xander eat all of my Oreos last week!" Buffy yells out to him from
behind the counter.
"Well...at least he isn't blue!" he throws a pointed glare at the creature
sitting across from him.
"You forgot cute and fluffy!" Stitch squeaks out, easily hopping up from
it's seat, picking up the chair it was sitting in, and tossing it at Angel.
"Not again..." Buffy sighs, watching as Angel makes a lunge for the
creature. "You couldn't have just given him a cookie, could you?"
Carefully stepping her way around the two, struggling in a surprisingly
even wrestling match on the floor, Buffy heads over to answer the sudden
knock at the front doors. "Thank god you two are here," she smiles, seeing
her sister and Cordy step past her into the mansion.
"Where's Stitch?" Dawn demands.
"Take a look for yourself." Buffy steps aside, pointing at the pet, hopping
up and down on Angel's back as the poor slayer lay on his stomach on the
floor, gently tapping his fingers in an annoyed and frustrated fashion.
"Angel!" Dawn races over to them, "what did you do to him?!" As Stitch
begins dancing on Angel's back, laughing and cheering the whole time, Angel
can only pass Dawn an extremely annoyed glare.
"I wouldn't give him a cookie."
|
