| CHAPTER 4 |
| �Might as well get comfortable guys, this could take a while. Plus,
I don�t want to go saying anything without Joyce being completely coherent,
as this does involve her too,� Buffy said with a sigh. Suddenly the door burst open and a rather disheveled gentleman stumbled into the house. �Is she here? Oh please tell me she�s here. That pillock on the front lawn wouldn�t say much other than mumble something about being threatened.� Spike chuckled wickedly and asked �He�s still out there? One would think b eing told he�s in danger of losing his unused parts would make him scarper off like the poof he is.� Spike headed for the dining room, �Anyone care for a drink? I�m thinkin� we are gonna need somethin� in the way of liquid fortification before the night�s over.� Dawn bounced up from where she was sitting beside her mother. �Giles! Guess who showed up at the cemetery?� Pointing excitedly to Buffy she continued, �This ugly purple demon attacked us and Buffy swooped in and lopped off his parts with her sword. It was way cool!� Giles yanked off his glasses and started polishing them furiously. �Demon you say? And purple? And what were you doing in the cemetery this time of night?� Buffy remarked quietly to herself, �That�s what I wanted to know.� Turning to Buffy, Giles speared her with an inquisitive glare. �Did Dawn just call you �Buffy�? �Yeah, odd name I know, but it IS all Dawn�s fault. I was going by the name Beth when she first started learning to talk, and Buffy is what she came out with. Unfortunately, it stuck� Buffy replied with a small shrug. �I see. And what is your name then? Beth? Short for Elizabeth I presume?� Giles inquired. Just then Xander inserted his two cents. �She was saying just as you showed up that she was gonna explain everything to us as soon as Joyce wakes up. She fainted when she saw Buffy.� �Joyce fainted? Where is she? Is she okay?� Giles frantically asked while he scanned the room. His eyes fell on Joyce, lying supine on the couch. �Oh my dear Joyce� Giles murmured as he fell to his knees beside the couch. Xander leaned over and whispered to Buffy, �Giles has a major thing for Joyce.� Buffy smiled indulgently and whispered back, �I can tell.� Spike handed Giles a glass of scotch. �Here mate. You look a little faint yourself.� �Thanks Spike� Giles muttered, never taking his eyes off of Joyce. �Is she�� �Her heart is beating strong, regular breathing rhythm.� Spike said as he sat on the arm of Buffy�s chair. �She should come round soon. Unless you scare her back into unconsciousness with that morose look on your face, Watcher.� Buffy looked over at Dawn. �Isn�t this a school night, kiddo? Shouldn�t you be at least pretending to be asleep?� Dawn groaned loudly. �C�mon Buffy, I haven�t seen you in ages. Don�t be such a spoilsport.� �I�ll still be here in the morning sweetie. In fact I may just stick around for a while. Haven�t really had a vacation in ages.� Buffy smiled and motioned towards the stairs. �Go on, off to bed with you. If you go now, I�ll pick you up after school on my bike.� Dawn jumped up and squealed quietly with excitement. �YES!� She raced up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. At that moment, the door swung open again and three women raced into the house, slamming the door shut behind them. �Giles, why is Angel pacing back and forth on the lawn? He�s muttering to himself and looks like he�s gonna implode from brooding. You really need to ask him to leave. He makes the neighbors look nervous. XANDER, where have you been! I needed orgasms over an hour ago! Why do you smell like a brewery? Did you go to the bar? You PROMISED me no more drinking!� Anya stormed into the room and proceeded to smack Xander on the shoulder. �HEY! Lay off Ahn. I wasn�t drinking! I was carrying a couple of bottles of wine and they got broken! Ask Spike if you don�t believe me!� Xander yelped. �He�s telling ya the truth Demon Girl. He broke the bottles over at Restfield.� Spike stated with a smirk. Anya looked over at Spike, �Oh, okay then. But that doesn�t explain why he wasn�t home to give me my orgasms.� At that moment she spotted the blonde sitting in the chair. �Elizabeth !� Buffy stood up and caught the flying bundle of bubbly delight that was Anya as she was tackled. �Hey Anyanka, long time no see. What are you doing in this hellhole?� Xander and Spike blinked at each other. �You two know each other? How? Where? WHEN?� �Oh I met Elizabeth in Russia during the revolution. She has a real knack for destructive vengeance,� Anya replied. Willow and Tara stood by the door listening and watching the goings on. After Anya finished, Willow asked, �So who is she, and why is she here?� At that moment Willow caught sight of Joyce lying on the couch. �And why is Joyce passed out on the couch? Did she do something to her?� �Easy Red,� Spike said as he got up and walked over to stand protectively behind Buffy. �She saved Dawn, Xander and myself tonight from one ugly-ass demon. She�s okay. Joyce just fainted when she saw her. That�s all.� Tara asked softly, �Is Joyce okay? Can I do anything to help?� Spike looked down at Buffy and said �Glinda over there is a witch. She knows a bunch of healing spells and stuff. Do you think she should take a look at Joyce?� Buffy looked at Tara , then over to Joyce and then up at Spike. �I don�t know. She should have woken up by now. It�s not like we have been super quiet and everything. Dawn�s door slamming alone could wake the dead.� She looked over at Tara . �If you would take a look I�d be appreciative.� It was at this juncture that Joyce moaned softly and began to rouse from her faint. �Mother?� she asked weakly, �Is that really you?� |
| CHAPTER 5 |
| �Mother? What is she talking about?� Giles asked, looking bewildered. �Well G-man it�s like this�� Xander started to say, but was cut off as Willow started talking over top of him. �Whose mother? Her mother? Did Mrs. Summers hit her head or something?� Willow asked in a babbling manner. �I�m here baby, everything is gonna be okay,� Buffy said soothingly as she darted to Joyce�s side, brushing Giles aside. �Mother is here, you aren�t imagining things.� �Oh Mother, you are here. I�m so glad to see you.� Joyce sobbed as she collapsed into the arms of the woman she had called Mother all her life. Buffy cradled Joyce in her arms, murmuring softly in her ear, as she gently stroked her hair. Everyone looked on with mixed emotions. Giles was completely flabbergasted. Anya was amused and a little teary-eyed. Xander was grinning from ear to ear at Giles� expression. And Willow and Tara looked on in astonishment. The only one who wasn�t watching Buffy and Joyce was Spike. His supernatural hearing had picked up a noise from outside and he was trying to determine what had made the sound. Suddenly from upstairs a piercing scream was heard. Spike, Buffy and Joyce all looked up at the same time and in unison said one word �Dawn.� Before anyone else could react, both Spike and Buffy were up the stairs and into Dawn�s room. What they saw made their respective tempers flare. Reaching out with one slender hand, Buffy grabbed Angel around the throat and dragged him through the window where he had been peering into Dawn�s room. �I thought I told you to leave,� she growled. Spike wrapped his arms around Dawn and shifted into game face, growling loudly. �Stupid wanker. What in hell do you think you were doin�?� A gurgling sound issued from Angel�s throat, but no words could be heard. Buffy simply tightened her grip on Angel and dragged him out of the room and down the stairs, not caring if he walked, slid or thumped down. �Seems we have ourselves a peeping tom. Anyone want to field the question as to WHY he was peeping on Dawn?� Buffy asked with a high amount of irritation in her voice. Joyce rose from the couch, her face an angry mask. �I thought I told you to never show your face near my daughter again, Angel,� she said, then slapped him hard across the face. �Again?� Buffy queried. �He�s done this before then?� Spike came down the stairs with Dawn following close behind him. �He has a thing for young girls. Always has, and always will. Its one of the reason�s Joyce doesn�t like him.� Turning her gaze on Angel, she arched one finely curved eyebrow. �So, you like to spy on little girls in the privacy of their bedrooms. There is a word for that.� Buffy stated. Anya piped up, �Yes there is. It�s pedophile. I used to get a lot of vengeance wishes from young girls against their abusers.� Tossing Anya a slight grin, Buffy remarked, �Well I think I can safely say that he won�t be getting any enjoyment from his activities tonight.� She looked over at Dawn. �Sweetie, can you bring my sword? Time to show the moron what happens to those who try and hurt what�s mine.� �What is she going to do, Joyce?� Giles asked quietly. Joyce turned to Giles with a tight smile and said, �Teach him a lesson he won�t ever forget.� �Xander, if you would be so kind as to open the door for me. I don�t want this thing to bleed all over Joyce�s floor.� Buffy asked as she pulled Angel towards the door. As Xander opened the door, Dawn hurried over with Buffy�s sheathed sword clenched in her hands. �Hurt him real good, Buffy. He gives me the creeps.� �Don�t worry Dawnie. He will know great pain before I�m through with him,� Buffy reassured the young girl. Anya skipped over to Buffy�s side. �Need any help?� Buffy looked at Anya and grinned. �I see you haven�t lost your taste for vengeance Anyanka, but I think perhaps if you helped Joyce keep the others from interfering�� her voice trailed off as she glanced at the two young witches. Spike stood off to one side, his vivid blue eyes intent on the scene being played out before him, a smirk twisting his lips as he took note of his grandsire�s wide eyes. �I think you�re about to get your comeuppance, Peaches.� Buffy shifted her grip on Angel�s throat without letting go and reached for the hilt of her sword with her right hand. �Hold tight to the sheath Dawn, I don�t want to accidentally cut you.� As she slid the ebon-bladed sword from its sheath, she turned her gaze on Angel. Giles drew in a sharp breath when he caught sight of the sword and fixed his gaze onto the young woman known as Buffy. His mind raced with numerous questions and unfettered curiosity. Roughly maneuvering Angel backwards out the open door, Buffy placed the tip of her sword exactly 3 inches above his groin. �I�d tell you that this was going to hurt me worse than it hurts you, but I�d be lying.� The tip sliced easily through his pants and pricked his skin. �This is for Dawn. And if I EVER catch you near her again, I WILL show you the true meaning of the word pain.� As soon as the words had left her mouth, Buffy let go of Angel�s throat and simultaneously shoved the sword into his body. He let out a hoarse scream and staggered backwards, falling off the porch steps. This had the effect of removing the blade from his flesh. Joyce stepped forward and ordered him off her property. �Get lost Angel. Don�t EVER come here again. I�m having Willow and Tara revoke your invitation to my house. You have proven you can�t be trusted.� She turned and went back into the house. Spike grinned at the sight of Angel lying on the sidewalk, bleeding profusely from his wound. �If it were up to me, Peaches, I woulda castrated you and made you eat it.� Angel climbed painfully to his feet and staggered out of sight, muttering to himself about getting even with the blond bitch. As Buffy turned back into the house, she smirked to herself. Xander darted behind Anya and peered out at Buffy. �Don�t take this the wrong way, but do you have a thing for damaging men�s parts?� �Only those men who find it amusing or arousing to harm children,� Buffy stated as she calmly took the sheath from Dawn and slid the sword inside. �Especially when the one they are hurting belongs to me.� Joyce and Giles were standing off to one side, whispering together, and glancing over at Buffy every couple of seconds. Spike said with a laugh, �I think its time you explained who and what you are, Luv, before the watcher�s curiosity makes him explode.� With a grin, Buffy walked over to the high-backed armchair in the corner, and leaning her sword against the wall, took her seat as regally as any monarch. �I think you are right, Spike. Time to tell the tale of how Joyce became mine, and thus making Dawn mine as well. Gather �round children, make yourselves comfortable, this will take a while.� |
| CHAPTER 6 |
| As everyone took their places, Dawn curled up at Buffy�s feet, trying not
to be noticed. Buffy however, saw her and just smiled. �Joycie, I think Dawn
should hear this too; she can miss one day of school right?� Joyce laughed and said, �Yes, she can stay up and listen. I�ll call her off sick tomorrow.� Spike, being more than a little interested in the golden girl sitting so regally, took up a position slightly to one side, but close enough to touch, if he dared. Once everyone was comfortably seated, Buffy began her story. �I won�t go into detail about my life prior to finding Joyce. If it�s relevant at some point I will indulge your curiosity, but the story of my life would take more years than any of you have to spare. So I�ll just keep to how Joyce became mine.� Buffy�s eyes took on a distant look, as she revisited her memories of that time. �I was in New York on business; fortunately for all concerned, someone took care of the situation for me, leaving me free to discover someone who would change my life. It was roughly midnight ; the moon was high in the sky, providing enough light to see by. I had decided to take a walk through Central Park and think on events. The path wandered in and out amongst the trees, providing some deep shadows in which those who prefer the darkness could hide. �I was just approaching a large copse of trees, when I heard a gunshot, and a woman�s scream. Never being one to think before I act�� and at this Buffy gave a quiet chuckle, �I darted into the shadows under the trees and saw a young man, in his late twenties, lying in a pool of blood, a bullet hole between his eyes. The killer had his left arm wrapped around a struggling girl who looked about six years of age, His gun was pointed at the woman who had issued the scream, and was telling her in quite vulgar language, and in great detail, what he was gonna do with the girl. �Just as I prepared to step out of the shadows, he shot the woman in the upper chest, fatally wounding her, but not killing her instantly. He began to touch the little girl, in places I won�t mention�� As she said this, Spike gave a deep growl, his eyes flickering from their deep blue to a fiery gold. Everyone had looks of horror and disgust on their faces and Tara was weeping softly, being the sensitive person that she was. Buffy reached over and touched Spike gently on the cheek, �Easy there sport, don�t be getting all fangy on me now, okay?� Spike nodded and settled for glaring at a spot on the floor. Buffy took a deep breath and continued, �As you�ve seen, I carry a sword. And I carry it everywhere. One of the perks of being me, I guess. At any rate, I unsheathed my sword and placed it on the back of the man�s neck. I told him in no uncertain terms to let the girl go, and step away. He told me to go fuck myself.� Buffy snorted and laughed darkly. �He should have listened� I looked into the terrified eyes of that little girl, and made my decision. I squeezed my eyes almost shut, trying to get her to close her eyes. She understood and closed her beautiful green eyes.� Buffy looked over at Joyce and smiled gently. �In less than 2 seconds his head had been removed from his shoulders, and I kicked at his corpse as it fell, so it wouldn�t land on the little girl. She lay there, trembling; her eyes screwed up tight and seemed to be also holding her breath. I told her that she could open her eyes and that she was safe. �Suddenly my arms were full of a trembling and crying six year old girl. As I held her, trying to comfort her, I looked over to where the young woman was laying. She was dying, fast. And I didn�t know if I could get her to help in time. She smiled at me, and thanked me for stopping the guy. Then she asked me to do something that changed my life. She asked me to watch out for her daughter, to take her, and keep her safe. She told me the little girl�s name was Joyce Anne McLeod, and that she had no living blood relatives.� Buffy looked over at Joyce and smiled softly. �We found out later that she had an uncle of sorts who was at the time living in London . But I promised her mother that I would look after her, raise her and keep her safe.� Joyce smiled sadly. �I can still see her face sometimes, in my dreams. Mother found someone who could paint fantastic portraits, and had the lady paint pictures for me of my blood parents.� Giles wrapped his arms around Joyce and just held her. �It must have been a terrible thing to have happen, my dear. And I am so sorry it happened to you.� Joyce smiled tenderly at Giles. �I had nightmares for months, but Mother helped me. Lord the places we went. She used to show me a map, and tell me to point anywhere I wanted to go. By the time I was eighteen, I had seen the pyramids of Egypt , walked through the ruins of the Parthenon, ridden a camel across the deserts of Saudi Arabia and danced beneath the moon on midsummer�s eve at Stonehenge .� Buffy giggled, �You should have seen her, racing around at the age of 12, driving her Uncle Duncan insane when we visited him in Chicago that year. Remember Joyce? I had never seen that man laugh so much as he did when you were there.� Xander interrupted, �So this guy, Duncan, is like her real uncle? You could have handed her over and the courts would have made him take her or something?� Buffy sighed softly, �No Xander, for many reasons. The main one being that I had had the courts declare Joyce my adopted daughter. Well that, and Duncan ? Raising a kid? No way in hell could I see that happening. The man was too stuck on his martial arts and being all enigmatic. Scotsmen� I swear, they look good in kilts, but have one track minds�� Giles interrupted, �Forgive me, but�� He took a deep breath and continued, �How old were you when you saved Joyce? Because you don�t look much older than sixteen.� Buffy laughed, her green eyes sparkling with mirth. �Mr. Giles, you wouldn�t believe me if I told you my true age. Let�s just say that I witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire and leave it at that.� Willow piped up. �So you are like what... over 2000 thousand years old? WOW! You could so help with our ancient history class at college, couldn�t she Tara? The things you must know, must have seen, and must have done! And the people you must have known and talked to�� Her voice trailed off, her mind on overload with the possibilities. Spike watched Buffy, his eyes roaming over her leather-encased figure, his mind racing. Now that he knew she wasn�t as young as she looked, he allowed his eyes and his mind to linger in places and on thoughts that were guaranteed to get him in trouble. Dawn crawled across the room to her mother, and wrapped her arms around her waist, burying her face in her lap. �Oh Mom, that was soooo awful.� Dawn started to cry softly. Joyce stroked Dawn�s hair gently and whispered to her, �It�s okay pumpkin, its okay. It was a long time ago, and I�m fine. And hey, we both have Buffy in our lives, looking out for us, so we are fine.� Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them, almost impatiently. �I�m sorry to be so forward, but that sword of yours. I�ve seen drawings of one identical to it, and couldn�t help but wonder�� Buffy broke in, �Yes Mr. Giles, it is the sword you are thinking of, and no, I didn�t steal it. It was made for me, and has never left my hands since my father gave it to me.� |
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