A/N : Why is it that I can't just have one fic idea at a time? Oh well, this is something that's been bouncing round in my head for a while and I've finally decided I can actually make it work, so here it is!
Title : My Girl
Rating : PG-13
Summary : FantasyAU (All-Human) When Spike and Dru discovered she was unable to have kids they adopted a baby girl and named her Dawn. Sadly, Dru passed away when Dawn was just nine years old. Five years later and Spike is forced to juggle his job at his Dad's electronics company, with the task of bringing up a teenage daughter alone, constantly haunted by memories of his deceased wife. Will a new arrival in town mean the end to all his problems, or just the beginnings of new ones?
Disclaimer : All recognisable BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon & Mutant Enemy - not me.
Chapter 1 - Old and New
"Dawn!" he yelled up the stairs, "Get yourself down here, Bit, don't want you being late for your first day!"
"Coming, Dad" the young girl called back as she stood in front of her full length mirror and checked herself over one last time. Trying to find the perfect balance between cool, sexy, and acceptable school-wear was a nightmare, especially when she also had to contend with her father's belief that she was far too young to be interested in boys and dating. She was almost fifteen years old for God sakes, and this was her first day at Sunnydale High School. In her own mind she was a woman, okay so a young woman, but not the child her Dad seemed to think she was. Still, she knew it was all because he cared and she loved him so much. It really didn't matter to her that she was adopted.
"Ready to go" she announced as she reached the bottom of the stairs pulling her bag onto her shoulder.
Her father looked her over and smiled. His little girl was growing up, but at least she seemed to be sensibly dressed for school. He'd seen too many of her friends in their skimpy scraps of material that passed for clothing. His Little Bit was not some trollop, he wouldn't allow it. She was going to be a proper young lady, it's how he'd raised her.
It hadn't been easy being a single parent these past six years, it certainly hadn't been easy for Dawn, Spike let his thoughts wander as he drove her to school. The girl knew she was adopted, she'd been told at a young age as her new parents were determined never to lie to her. She'd taken it surprisingly well, that her real mother had given her up. They'd made sure she understood that they loved her dearly and that her birth mother had loved her too, and only handed her over because she loved her so much and wanted her to have a better life than she could give.
Truth was, neither Spike nor Dru knew much about Dawn's true mother, only that she'd had her child at the age of barely sixteen, and had little support. Dawn didn't even know the woman's name and never really asked about her. Spike was Dad and Dru was Mum, it had always been that way and so it would remain, even when Drusilla had passed away.
"Dad?" Dawn said for the third time. Her father had driven her all the way to school and parked up outside without incident, but he had a dazed kind of look and the young brunette knew why.
"You were thinking about Mom again, weren't you?" she guessed.
Spike smiled slightly. His little girl, she knew him better than anyone, and she could read him like a book.
"I was" he admitted, "she'd be so proud of you" he continued to smile sadly as he took her chin in his hand "she'd have loved to have seen you grow up..." his voice cracked with emotion and Dawn moved to hug him briefly.
"I love you, Daddy" she told him as he hugged her back.
"I love you too, Dawnie" he promised, desperate not to be a ponce and cry, "Now get away with you" he urged, pushing her gently away, "Time you were learnin' things"
She smiled as she kissed her fathers cheek and hopped out of the car.
"Have a good day, luv" he called through the wound-down window.
"You too" she called back before joining a group of her friends and walking into the building.
Spike sighed as he revved the engine and went right back to thinking about Dru. She was never far from his thoughts, even after all these years.
They'd always known that Drusilla was incapable of having children, so as soon as the time came when they were ready to start a family they looked into adoption. Drusilla loved the idea of bringing up a child that would otherwise have had a terrible time. She wanted to give love to the unloved, Spike knew that, it was the way she had been with him.
He was somewhat unpopular in his youth, in what he called his William days he was a little geeky and sensitive, and often the butt of other peoples jokes. Drusilla saw something in him, something different. She was a little older and more experienced and somehow she managed to bring the wild-side out of him and they had some times. He was sixteen when he met her and she was nineteen. She'd shown him what it meant to have fun and more importantly what it meant to be in love. It was her that had come up with the nickname Spike and that had really stuck. She completely changed his life, and he loved her so much for that. The first thing he did on graduating High School was ask her to marry him and he blew off college to get a job so they could arrange a wedding and set up home together.
Everyone said they were crazy but they only knew how much they loved each other, it was all that mattered to them. They'd calmed down a little, after their marriage but their love was strong as ever. It was a year later that Rupert Giles, Spike's father, had announced he planned to emigrate to America and offered his son and daughter-in-law the chance to go with him. They'd declined at first but followed just a few months later and they'd never looked back...
Spike pulled the car up outside of Giles Electronics and turned off the engine. Unbuckling the seat-belt, he leant over to the back to retrieve his coat, causing his wallet to fall out of the pocket.
"Bugger" he cursed as he reached for it. It had come open and inside he caught sight of the photographs he always carried. There they were, his two girls - Drusilla, the wife he was so surprised and yet elated to have won, and Dawnie, the daughter that was as much his as any child he might have spawned himself.
"Knock, knock" a female voice called through the open car window and Spike turned his head to see a familiar and friendly face beside him.
"Hello, pet" he smiled, "How's life?"
"Much the same as yesterday" Willow giggled, pushing her red hair over her shoulder, "It's just another work day. You remember how they start at eight thirty?" she said with slight sarcasm, showing him her watch that said 8:28am.
"Oh bloody hell" Spike cursed, shoving his wallet into his jeans and jumping fom the car, Willow barely getting a chance to move before the door hit her. He threw on his coat, locked the car and encouraged his red-haired friend to 'move her ass'.
He'd been late three days this week for one reason and another and despite the fact his boss was dear old Dad, he knew he was in for trouble if he continued in his tardiness. Clearly Willow had seen the car from the window and come down to the street to fetch him. She'd probably got in a half hour early at least, along with her husband Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne that worked along side her.
Spike made it to his desk with seconds to spare, breathing erratically as Oz stifled a grin.
"Hey Spike, impeccable timing as always"
"Shut your trap, Osbourne" the bleached blond shot back good naturedly, "You try dealing with a fifteen year old daughter in the mornings and see how impeccable your bloody timing is" he complained.
"The twins can be just as tough to deal with" he promised, thinking of his and Willows two little girls.
His wife smiled across from her own desk.
"Let me enjoy them being ten and deal-able for a while" she begged, "I don't wanna know how complicated it's gonna get when they're in their teens!"
Spike laughed at that.
"Double trouble" he commented, "Let's see how punctual you are when you have two teenage sized bits to cope with, I have enough to deal with and there's only one of Dawnie"
"Dawn's a good girl" Willow defended the child she'd helped out with since Drusilla passed away, Spike had needed a lot of support to start off with, now his friends were stunned at how well he coped, for a while it had seemed he never would.
"She is at that" Spike nodded once, still looking at Willow and Oz and not noticing the man standing behind him.
"Yes, indeed, my grand-daughter is a very fine girl" Rupert Giles spoke finally, making Spike physically jump in his seat, "but I do rather think now should be a time when we're working and not idly gossiping, do you not agree William?" he deliberately used his son's given name to annoy him in this instance.
"Yes, father" he replied like a dutiful school boy, but with a smirk on his lips as he switched on the computer in front of him. Just another day in the life.
"So, this is Sunnydale" a young looking blonde woman looked around the area just beyond the bus station, a suitcase in one hand and sunglasses on her head.
"It's what the sign says" the man behind her replied as he struggled with several more cases and bags - there was simply no way he was going to be able to carry them all by himself.
"Well, they were right about the Sunny part" she smiled, looking up at the sky. She was pretty sure she was going to learn to love California, and it was worth all the hassle of getting here if she could find what she was looking for.
"Hey Buff" the man behind her called, "A hand with the bags, possibly?" he suggested as she turned to look back at him.
"Sorry Xan" she smiled as she saw him struggling and walked back to try and help.
"S'okay sweetie, you've got a lot on your mind, I get that" he assured her as they tried to work out how they were going to get all this luggage to where they were going without some serious assistance.
"We need a cab" Buffy decided after a while and Xander nodded, breathing heavily from the exertion of trying to shift all the bags and cases.
"Something we can't really make a habit of though" he warned, seating himself on the end of the biggest suitcase, "Money's tight and we have to find a place to stay yet"
Buffy joined him on the suitcase and sighed.
"I'm sorry Xan, for dragging you out here with me" she looked down at her hands as they fiddled with the strap of her purse.
"Hey, what are cousins for?" he smiled, putting an arm around her and squeezing, "Besides it'll be worth it if we find her, right?"
"I hope so" Buffy agreed, so glad Xander had agreed to come with her on this trip. She couldn't have done it alone.
To Be Continued...
A/N2 : Well, that's the intro chapter done. Opinions so far? Please review!