Title: Hidden Secrets
Summary: AU Joyce, Buffy and Dawn move to California to escape their past. They won't tell anyone their secret. The scoobies and Spike come in later. All human.
This is my very first fanfiction story and constructive criticism appreciated!
Please read and review!
!!! I re-did the first three chapters. Please re-read if you haven't already seen the changes !!!
Buffy Summers stared at a modest yellow house from the driveway as a silent tear glided down her cheek. Her mother, Joyce and 12 year old sister, Dawn, stood inches away. Joyce finished putting the remaining boxes and suitcases in the trunk of a beat up red Honda Civic.
Joyce gently shut the trunk door and rubbed her aging hands together. "Well, this is it. Do you have everything?"
Dawn nodded her head while Buffy stood stiffly with her arms folded across her chest. She glared at her mother from the corner of her eye. "Why are we doing this again?"
Joyce sighed and gave her a stern look. "I'm not going over this with you again, Buffy. I am the parent, you are the child. Until you're 18 you are going along with everything I decide is best for this family."
Buffy scoffed. "No, not what's best for this family. What's best for you! You think it's healthy to drag us around the country? Moving from State to State…always starting a new life. Constantly in a new town. People ask me where I live and I honestly can't even remember the address!"
Joyce slammed her hand on the trunk of the red 1993 Honda Civic. Buffy jumped while Dawn stared at her mother in shock.
"Get in the car Dawn." Dawn slowly nodded her head and crawled into the backseat.
Joyce focused her attention on Buffy. "I am tired of the over dramatization. Two more years, Buffy. That's it. You'll be 18 and free to live in one small, simple town for the rest of your life. Until then, get your boney butt in the front seat."
Buffy didn't say another word as she slid into the passenger seat and unwillingly prepared herself for another long car trip to another strange town.
By one o'clock in the morning Joyce grew tired of driving and decided to stop at the nearest motel.
Buffy opened her eyes and looked around.
"Where are we?" She asked sheepishly.
"Colorado."
She looked toward the backseat and saw Dawn sound asleep. Her head rested against the cold window and a slight purring sound escaped her partially open lips. Buffy extended her arm lightly shook Dawn.
"Dawn, wake up."
Dawn moaned and opened her eyes but quickly shut them and drifted back to sleep. Buffy sighed and attempted to wake her again. Joyce stepped out of the car and opened the backseat door.
"Dawn, honey. Come on. We're at a motel."
As soon as Joyce opened the door to the motel room Buffy and Dawn walked over to the first bed and collapsed on it and immediately fell asleep.
Joyce headed toward the bathroom to freshen up before going to bed. She stared at the reflection in the mirror and couldn't believe how many years of her life she wasted. Days, months and years blended together and passed too quickly. She could've sworn it was only yesterday when she brought Dawn home from the hospital and little Buffy sat in the corner sulking because she believed her parents replaced her with a baby. Joyce would give anything to take back the years and relive it all, she would fix the heartbreaks and wounds that turned her would completely upside down.
She lifted up her shirt to reveal a large dark bruise across her back and neck. A few more bruises scattered around her upper arm.
"Never again." She whispered to her reflection.
Joyce tried unsuccessfully to sleep. She rolled over and kicked the blanket off of her in frustration. She hated nights. Bedtime was the worst part of her day. She'd often stare at the alarm clock as time crept by. No matter how tired she was, she could never convince herself to drift to sleep. Instead, she counted down the hours and minutes until she had to get up for work. The only nights when she had actually been able been to sleep were when she was completely exhausted from a busy day. Although her eyes grew heavy and her body craved sleep, she was fully awake. She'd never admit it but sleepless nights gave her slight comfort. They were the few times when he wasn't able to interrupt her dreams. He was always there. Lurking underneath her sleepy eyes. Waiting for her. He will never left her go. She is no longer safe. No matter where she ran to or how fast her legs moved, he would be there. Waiting. Wanting revenge. Her only inspiration for her willingness to live is lying on the bed beside hers. Her girls: beautiful and outspoken Buffy; bubbly and talkative Dawn. She would've given up long ago if it weren't for her children. She was ready to die until the image of her little girls flashed in her mind.
Joyce managed to get 40 minutes of sleep before it was time to check out of the motel. The girls awoke, fully rested and ready to take on another day.
"I call shotgun!" Dawn said as she ran passed Buffy to the car.
"I don't think so! You're the youngest and smallest. You get the backseat."
"Mom!" Dawn whined. "It's my turn up front! Buffy got to ride all the way here."
Buffy rolled her eyes and lightly shoved her sister. "Stop being such a brat! You're so immature, grow up!"
Dawn shoved her back. "You grow up! You're almost an adult. You shouldn't even be here. Go get a job."
"Hey!" Joyce shouted loud enough to wake all of the guests. "Enough! You –" She pointed at Buffy. "Backseat. And you –" She pointed at Dawn. "Up front."
Dawn smirked while Buffy groaned. "What? That's not fair! I'm older."
Dawn laughed, "Physically…not mentally."
"Shut up!" Buffy fired back.
"Stop it!" Joyce stepped in between her daughters. "Can you act civilized for two minutes? Buffy, you sat up front on the way here. You can take turns. Now, get in the car and I don't want to hear another word."
Dawn stuck her tongue out at Buffy and smugly rested into the front seat. Buffy angrily slid into the backseat and jammed her knee into the back of the front passenger seat.
Dawn gasped. "Stop it, you bi…" She caught herself as Joyce opened the door and stuck the key in the ignition. "Hi mommy."
By 9pm they arrived in Utah and pulled into a gas station.
Dawn tapped her mother on the arm before she was able to get out of the car. "Hey, mom. Can we get some drinks and a couple snacks? I'm starving."
"You're hungry already? We just ate 2 hours ago."
"Hey, I'm a growing woman!"
"Yeah, I'm hungry too." Buffy chimed in.
Joyce opened her purse and pulled out 10 dollars. "You girls eat like a bunch of teenage boys. I'm surprised you're so tiny!"
Buffy smiled. "We get our fabulous looking bodies from our wonderful genes."
Joyce smiled back, "Aw, there's my sweet girl."
"Yeah, you'll have to thank dad for us."
Joyce playfully tapped Buffy's hand. "Ha ha. You're hilarious."
Dawn yanked the 10 dollars from her mom's hands and jumped out of the car. "Come on, Buffy!"
Buffy and Dawn hopped along side each other as Joyce filled the gas tank. The wonderful thing about Buffy and Dawn's arguments is that it never lasts long. One minute they're threatening to kill each other and the next they're giggly maniacally and brushing each other's hair. They had a typical sibling love-hate relationship. They often picked on each other but became defensive and protective of one another when someone else dared to insult them.
Buffy grabbed a small box of slim jims and a two littler bottle of root beer while Dawn headed straight for the chips and grabbed two small bags and a mountain dew.
Dawn nudged her sister in the rib after glancing at a guy smoking outside. He just stood there. Glaring at the girls through the window. It was quite apparent he was looking at them and only them.
"What the hell, Dawn?"
Dawn pointed at the man standing outside the window. "That guy is checking us out. Creepy psycho."
"Do you think it's wise to openly stare and point at him? We're at a gas station! Do you have any idea how many times these places get robbed?"
"Please. He's probably just checking out the teen girls. I can see 'sex offender' written all over his face."
"Well, that's a great reason to piss him off!"
"Wanna go talk to him?"
Buffy gave her sister the 'are you crazy' look. "Dude, you don't need that mountain dew. You're weird enough as it is. You don't need anything to fuel it."
Dawn blew a kiss at her sister and giggled. "I'm so excited! Aren't you?"
"You need help."
"Oh, come on! We're just a day away from walking into our brand new house! A new town…a brand new life. I think I'm gonna tell everyone my name is Berta and my parents are CIA agents and the entire town is secretly in trouble. And you're not really my sister…you're the psychic lady helping us solve the mystery."
"How do you come up with this stuff?"
"Honey, we just spent 10 hours in a car…doing nothing. Staring at the trees. A girl has to think about something to keep her mind occupied! Besides, no one would know if it were actually true. We move like every 4 months."
"Don't remind me. Don't you get stick of it?"
Dawn shrugged. "Eh. At least we get to see the country and meet a bunch of new people."
"Whoopie."
The girls paid for their items and joined Joyce in the car for another long drive to another crappy motel.
A day passed and the three women were just hours away from their new residence. Dawn was anticipated with excitement. She loved traveling and being surrounded by new people. She craved adventure and mystery. She often made up bizarre stories in her head about secret missions and convinced herself that she would have her own mystery to solve one day.
Buffy on the other hand was the complete opposite. She always dreamt of living in one town and having the same friends. She wanted to live in the same town she was born until the day she dies. She had traditional dreams and goals. Go to college, meet a wonderful man, fall in love, have children and grow old. That's all she wanted out of life. Unlike her sister, she is a lot less open about her true feelings and often wears a figurative mask in public. She's outspoken about public discussions and has very strong and firm opinions. But when it comes to anything personal, she builds large steel walls around her. She has her secrets. Secrets she plans on keeping buried until the end of time.
Joyce is similar to Buffy. They both hide their emotional problems and put on a façade around others. But she doesn't have the strength that Buffy has or that passion that Dawn has. For that, she admires her daughters. They inspire her. She's made many mistakes and her daughters paid for it. However, instead of running away like a scared little girl, she has decided to make it right. She wants to protect them from everything evil and only way she can accomplish that is by moving every time she receives new of a certain man getting close to tracking her down.
The countdown ended. They finally arrived in Sunnydale. A small California town. Joyce had her old friend, Giles, set everything up. He got the house ready for her and her daughters. He even managed to get Joyce a great job.
Dawn sat straight up and eagerly waited for her mother to pull into a driveway. "So, which one is ours?"
"I don't know. Look for Rivelo Drive." Joyce replied.
Buffy and Dawn read each street sign they saw and within a couple of minutes they finally found it.
"Oh! Right there!" Dawn squealed excitedly.
"Great. Okay, guys, you ready to finally unpack these bags and move into our new house?"
Dawn could barely remain seated. "Yes!"
"The house number is 1630. Do you see it?"
Buffy was the first to spot it. "Yeah. It's right there."
Joyce smiled. "Home sweet home!"
Dawn chuckled. "Wow, it's a lot bigger than the last one! Can I pick my room?"
"Why don't you and your sister look together and decide who gets which room. And that's not including the master bedroom! That's momma's room."
As soon as Joyce pulled in the driveway, Dawn threw the door open and bounced out. Joyce was quick to follow and Buffy took her sweet time. She was in no hurry. She knew she'd only be here for a few months. Why even leave the car? Why not wait until it's time to go again?
"Any final words before we make our grand entrance?" Joyce asked as she and Dawn stood outside the front door.
"Yeah. Move outta my way, woman! I wanna go in!"
"Hang on, hang on. Wait for your sister."
"Buffy!" Dawn screamed across the yard. "Get over here, chica!"
Buffy slowly approached her mother and sister. She took her time and it irritated Dawn.
"Today, please! Some of us would actually like to step inside the house we've been driving to for two days!"
The moment Buffy took her final step toward the front door Joyce unlocked the door and pushed it wide open.
"You smell that girls? It smells like a fresh start." Joyce said as she breathed deeply.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "It smells like dust and dirt. When was the last time someone stepped in this place?"
Joyce patted her eldest daughter on the back. "It'll be fine. It's just that no one has lived here since the murders."
Dawn nervously looked at her mother. "Murders?"
Joyce sighed. "Yeah, poor family. They all died in this very house. In fact, rumor has it that you can hear a little girl screaming in the upstairs hallway late at night."
"That is so….awesome!" Dawn beamed. "I've always wanted to go to a haunted house!"
"No one died here Dawn. She's just messing with us." Buffy said.
"Of course I am. That story isn't real." Joyce said before winking at Dawn.
"Who is the friend that helped us out with this house, mom?" Dawn asked while examining the living room.
"Oh, just an old friend from college. He's from England."
"Does he still have the accent?"
"He sure does."
Dawn smiled. "That's so sexy."
"When did you start saying sexy?" Joyce asked. "You're 12 years old!"
"Mom, come on. Get with the times. It's not the 50's anymore! Kids say a lot these days. I even know how babies are made!"
"Oh, so you know about that site orderababy?" Buffy asked.
"Eh?" Dawn replied.
"You said you knew how babies are made. You get to check all of your preferences, hair color, eye color…that kinda stuff. Then you choose the gender and boom! You just ordered your very own baby!"
"Hey, that might be how you wanna have children but I'm totally doing the old fashioned S-E-X!"
"Dawn!" Joyce said shocked. "Are you having sex?"
"No, mom! Not until I'm 14!"
Joyce's mouth dropped open. "I…"
Dawn laughed. "Ma, I'm kidding! Relax."
Joyce still didn't feel relieved. "You better be kidding. Buffy, we need to keep an eye on this one."
"What makes you think Buffy's not having sex?" Dawn asked.
"Because she'd be dead by now! No sex until you're married or 30 years old…which ever comes first." Joyce replied.
The subject began to severely affect Buffy and she grew extremely uncomfortable.
"Uh…can we pick our rooms now?" Buffy asked as a diversion.
"Ohh! Yeah! I'll race ya!" Dawn said before running toward the stairs.
The girls picked out their own rooms. It only took two hours for them to agree. The final decision was made when Buffy promised to let Dawn have the bigger room the next time they move. She agreed, of course, knowing that they wouldn't last very long in this house.
Joyce had the master bedroom, Buffy had the second biggest room and Dawn got the smallest room.