AN: This is the second story in my AU verse. It is set directly after Choices. While it's not essential to read Choices, one of the main reasons I wrote that was to set up this tangent. I would highly recommend you read it. This one does go a little dark, though it's mostly implied. This story is finished. I will post one chapter a day until it is complete. Reviews and Constructive Criticism are greatly appreciated. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything is owned by the very talented Joss Whedon. I'm just taking his toys out and playing with them. I promise to put them back, relatively unscathed. Also I don't consider this a crossover, but I do think Angel and his group, and Buffy and her group would help each other out whenever they were needed. Enough talking. I hope you enjoy reading.
Warnings: Violence, language, adult situations but nothing to graphic. Also the aftereffect of torture and drug use, but again nothing overly graphic. AN: I am in no way an expert or even semi-knowledgeable in medical or psychological fields. Everything medical I'm writing about I either made up or learned from watching ER. Take everything with a grain of salt.
"I thought you were beyond pizza delivery guy," Willow joked as Xander entered the small house carrying several square boxes.
"Can a man every really stop that most important job of caring and feeding his family?" he joked as he lay the boxes down on the overstuffed table.
"Xander!" Anya admonished as she grabbed the papers Xander was about to put the pizza on before turning back to her conversation with Giles. Xander frowned, looking around the room.
"Joyce isn't back yet?" he asked, looking for their adopted mother.
"It was a dinner meeting," Tara reminded him, looking up from the textbook she was reading. "What's the worst that can happen?" Everyone groaned at that simple statement.
"Tara," Willow admonished her girlfriend. "We never say that around here. That's like inviting bad stuff to happen." Tara immediately looked panicked.
"But, but it usually takes longer than this to get the next apocalypse right?" she asked, nervously looking around. Giles sighed and went back to the paperwork he and Anya were working through. Everyone grabbed some pizza and ate quietly as they thought of the last few weeks.
They had defeated the insane Hellgod Glory, but the cost had been high. Thankfully no one had died, despite several close calls from the Summers women, but everything they owned was destroyed. After the battle, and once they were sure Joyce wasn't going to die from her brain aneurysm, the reality of their situation finally hit them. The main Scoobies indulged in a bit of denial, ignoring their situation and simply focusing on being alive for the moment.
Two weeks later Joyce was released from the hospital, after double and triple checking her health, and reality couldn't be ignored any longer. They returned to Sunnydale and found the normally ignorant town in a still in a state of shock. The destruction was just so overwhelming. Joyce and Dawn were astounded by the damage Glory had managed to cause. Even the Scoobies, who had a front row seat for most of the destruction, were shocked by the extent of carnage the Hellgod ordered. Fortunately for the young adults they did still have parental figures looking out for them.
With help from the Council, Giles was able to rent a small five bedroom house for them to share once they returned to Sunnydale until more final arrangements could be made. It was a tight fit for all of them, but to everyone's surprise they didn't find it all that uncomfortable. They had all started looking for their own place, nobody having much luck, when Giles sarcastically commented that they couldn't stay together in the small house forever. They all looked at each other sheepishly when they realized that was exactly what they were doing. They were a family after all and not quite ready to split up yet.
That's when Willow got an idea for communal housing, like the dorms, which Giles quickly countered with an idea for an extremely exclusive gated community. That idea quickly took hold and the group spent the next few days debating and refining the concept. They decided to pool resources and see if they could get a community working.
One big problem with that thought was the finances. Xander was the only one who still had a steady job. Joyce and Giles both had their businesses destroyed, and while they had insurance money, it would be a while before either one was back up and running. Joyce had her house insurance money, and Giles had his apartment insured, but the money wouldn't last long.
To everyone's surprise the Council once again stepped up to the plate. They agreed to fund this social experiment, and help get both businesses up and running until everyone was back on their feet. Buffy was immediately on guard, her experiences with the Council telling her they must want something in return. Giles was equally weary, but a few phone calls later he was reassuring everyone that it was a genuine offer with no strings.
The group might not trust the Council, but they did trust Giles and quickly looked for a space that would serve their needs. They needed a large open space that they could build up however they wanted. It needed to be close enough to guard the Hellmouth, but they also wanted it isolated so they wouldn't endanger any neighbors. It was Anya who suggested the clearing the Knights had been using. A few days later the clearing was theirs. Now the group simply were trying to figure out how to build it.
They decided on a large central house, which would be the Summers residence, with smaller individual houses built surrounding it. Everyone agreed and now they were drawing up plans for the main house, everyone pitching in ideas as the house was slowly taking shape. Joyce let this happen. The house might officially be hers, but she knew it would soon evolve into Scooby Central.
The housing situation was not the only changes the group had going though. Both The Magic Box and The Gallery were destroyed, unfortunately taking most of the buildings with them. The owners of each building decided the best option was to sell. Joyce and Giles recognized the opportunity and took it. They pooled resources and soon found themselves co-owners of the larger building, which housed The Magic Box. They decided to tear it down completely and start from scratch, splitting the building evenly for both stores. Everyone was okay with this. The Magic Box got a little more space while The Gallery had much more room. Joyce was especially happy about that. The Gallery was so popular it had outgrown its old location and desperately needed the extra space
They gave the construction jobs to the company Xander worked for, and he was promoted to foreman, directly supervising both The Magic Box/The Gallery commercial site and the strange new housing development. Here again the Council came through for them, cutting through the red tape needed for building permits like it was nothing so what would normally take months they were able to complete in days and weeks. They had already started tearing down The Magic Box/ The Gallery building and once the plans were finalized they were ready to start preparing the foundations and ground work for the homes. After weeks of uncertainty everything was starting to come together again.
"What are you thinking Xan?" Willow asked, breaking through his thoughts. He shook his head and refocused his thoughts. He noticed he had eaten his pizza without realizing it.
"I was thinking of adding a second floor," he told the group.
"Why would we need a second floor?" Giles asked. They were already planning a full basement for the large house. They already had enough space for everything they needed. The majority of the main floor would be common areas; kitchen, dining room, front room, bathroom, with a small office for Joyce. The rest of the house was divided up into bedrooms, the master bedroom for Joyce and smaller ones for Buffy and Dawn. The main floor looked completely normal. The basement was another matter.
The basement had the normal areas, like the laundry room and the storage room, but there were some areas that were more unusual, like Buffy's training room and a room set aside for the witches. Then there were a few things they would never be able to explain, like a small spare room with absolutely no windows and a holding cell complete with an impossible to escape cage.
"I was thinking of moving all the bedrooms upstairs," Xander explained.
"That will be the biggest bedroom I've ever had," Dawn said, not looking up from the report she was writing but obviously paying attention to the conversation around her. Xander shook his head.
"Not just the three," he admitted. "I was thinking of adding rooms on the second floor for all of us, maybe even a couple extra."
"So we're back to the dorm idea?" Willow asked.
"I'm going to veto that idea," Giles said, but Xander held up his hands.
"Hold on. Just hear me out. I'm not giving up the idea of our own places, but whenever we get a Big Bad and go into research and survival mode, we all tend to group together. I'm just thinking it would be nice to actually have a room with a bed when that time comes, instead of falling asleep at the research table like we normally do. Plus, since were building that house first, it will give us all a place to stay while our own homes are being built."
"That does kinda make sense," Tara agreed.
"What makes sense?" Joyce asked as she entered the room.
"Adding a second floor with bedrooms for everybody," Giles answered. "What would you do with the space earmarked for bedrooms now?"
"I was thinking a library for you," Xander said. Giles face immediately brightened. "Get some space for a homework/study/research area. Maybe throw a couple of computers in there. Whether we're researching the latest apocalypse or just finishing a history paper on the Great Wall of China. Everything we'd ever need will be at our fingertips."
"That actually sounds good," Willow admitted. Dawn looked excited at the prospect, and Joyce frowned but didn't say anything. Their time in L.A. had been good for the mother and daughter. Joyce knew Dawn wanted to help out more with the Slaying and Dawn knew her mother wanted to keep her away from it. They eventually agreed to disagree on this point, but managed to compromise with Dawn's level of involvement. Joyce would allow Dawn to help research once all her chores and homework was done as long as she kept up good grades. Dawn readily agreed to this and the only thing they couldn't agree on was what constituted good grades. Joyce of course wanted A's, while Dawn thought C's should suffice. In the end they compromised again with B's.
"Then I was thinking we could turn one of the rooms into a small hospital room," Xander finished. "You know, where we can get patched up without all that pesky paperwork they always make us fill out."
"I don't think we'll be able to forego the use of hospitals Xander," Joyce told him. "I'm living proof of that."
"Not for the big stuff," he agreed, "but the little self service jobs that we've all come to know and hate."
"Like a first aid tent," Willow piped up. Giles shared a look with Joyce. It was ultimately her decision. She shrugged.
"It doesn't hurt to see what they can come up with," she said. Xander beamed.
"Great. I'll talk to Wayne in the morning." Wayne was the architect the construction company worked with. He was designing both the businesses and the homes. Xander was working closely with him, both because he knew what they needed and he found the designing part of construction as interesting as the building part.
Joyce smiled at his enthusiasm. He was really getting into the construction business and he was really good at it too. She thought he might have finally found his niche in life and was very happy for him.
"So how was your date?" Dawn asked as she finished her paper and joined them at the table. She absently reached for another slice of pizza even though she already had two and wasn't really hungry.
"It was not a date Dawn," Joyce rolled her eyes. "We were having a business meeting."
"With dinner," Dawn added. "Sounds like a date to me."
"It was purely professional," Joyce told them, knowing it wouldn't make any difference, at least not for her daughters. Brian was the publicist for The Gallery and very excited about the Grand Reopening of the new and improved Gallery. This was their second dinner meeting, where they were trying to figure out how they wanted this Grand Reopening to go, but all her daughters could see was she was going out with a nice looking man. She was upfront with him about her intentions, not really interested in anything romantic at the moment, but she was still constantly teased by her girls. "Is Buffy not back yet?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Don't you girls have your literature finals tomorrow?"
"We've been studying," Willow protested, pointing to the books spread over the side table as proof. With the carnage at both the High School and the college, the carefully regimented curriculums where thrown into chaos. The girls were able to take full advantage of the chaos, integrating themselves back into their classes without much trouble even though they missed several classes. Even Dawn was able to get back into her school without too much trouble from the principal. Apparently she had other things to worry about than a fourteen year old girl acting out because her mother was sick. But like everything else in this town, everything was starting to get back to normal.
"She said she needed to do a quick patrol," Tara continued, "so we decided to take a break."
"A quick patrol huh," Joyce said sarcastically just as Buffy came in the door. "How was your patrol honey? Did you have much opportunity to slay down by the restaurant?" Buffy's shoulders slumped as she hung up her coat. She didn't mean for her mother to see her spying on her date, but since Glory she seemed to have an innate knowledge of where everybody was at all times.
"I have serious doubts about that bus boy," Buffy told her, rejoining her friends at the table. Joyce sighed.
"You were spying on me?" she asked, torn between amusement and annoyance.
"No," Buffy quickly disagreed. "I was patrolling." Joyce raised an eyebrow and Buffy sighed. "I was just patrolling near the restaurant."
"Right," she said, just as the door opened again and Spike entered.
"You made it home alright then?" he asked, looking Joyce up and down to make sure she was fine. She rolled her eyes.
"I take it you weren't spying on me either?" she asked the vampire.
"Hell yeah I was," he told her. "I heard what happened with that last bloke you dated. A bleedin robot with homicidal tendencies. You think I'm gonna let you go out with just anybody? At least let me scare some respect into him."
"For the last time," Joyce said, starting to get a little angry now, "it wasn't a date. It was a business meeting. And it has been a long day and I am going to bed." She didn't quite storm out of the room, but it was close. Dawn looked to her sister.
"Maybe we should lay off a bit?" she asked, unsure if that was what she really wanted but not wanting to hurt their mother. Buffy agreed and the girls went back to studying. After the recent scare, nobody was willing to upset Joyce.
The weeks passed quickly. The college girls took their final exams while Dawn and her classmates were finally getting back to a routine. It had taken some time to arrange a location for the temporary school and they found their summer vacation was going to be about three weeks shorter than normal, but Dawn was just happy to be getting a summer vacation at all. Xander's crew had The Magic Box and The Gallery nearly complete. Giles still had a training room for Buffy, but they decided to put the study table in The Gallery on the premise it would be much quieter. They also decided to join the shops in the backroom and leave a small portion of the dividing wall open so the Scoobies could move from shop to shop as needed.
Xander's crew had also been busy at the homestead. They had hooked the clearing up to the city's sewer and water lines, got the power and gas feeds going, had dug out the basement, and were just about to lay the foundation for the largest house. Xander and Wayne had drawn up new plans, with everybody getting a room on the second floor, which actually worked out pretty well. They even had a few guest rooms for the occasional visitor. Once the foundation had set, they would begin work on the main house in earnest, hopefully having it complete within a month.
Everyone was looking forward to decorating their room, the girls constantly looking through the various magazines for ideas. Anya was especially excited about this. This was the first time she would be able to decorate from scratch. She was using this as a test run to see how her decision making skills would play out before she started planning her wedding. Xander and Anya both decided to wait a bit before setting a date, letting everyone get their feet back underneath them before subjecting everyone to the chaos of a wedding.
Another month passed in peace. The stores were finished and getting ready for their grand re-opening. The house was nearly ready, just one or two more things before the group could start painting and decorating. Dawn had finally started her summer vacation, and for once it seemed that the vampire population was content to stay low. Buffy had been patrolling every night, of course, but she was getting back in the habit of letting others come with her. Usually it was just one or two of the Scoobies, with Spike trailing discretely behind. This night, though, her mother decided she wanted some quality patrolling time with her daughter.
"So what do you think of Brian?" Joyce asked casually as they strolled through one of the many cemeteries. Buffy looked over at her amusedly.
"Is this the same 'it's only business with my publicist' Brian?" she asked slyly.
"He's starting to grow on me," she admitted with a little contented sigh. "He was such a gentleman. He knew I wasn't interested in anything romantic so he never pushed. It's just, now I think maybe I am ready for something a little romantic."
"I like him mom," Buffy told her. He had met all the Scoobies when they were helping set up the two stores. He had made a good impression with everybody, including Anya and Dawn which was pretty hard to do. "Plus he's not a killer robot."
"There is that," she agreed. The walked in silence. "So it would be okay with you if he asked me out on a date and I accepted?"
"You mean like the dates that you haven't been going on these last couple of months?" Buffy asked wryly.
"Buffy," Joyce scoffed, before something behind her caught her eye. "Buffy!" Joyce warned. She turned, immediately ready for action, when something caught her across the head. She went down hard, dazed, as the world erupted into chaos around her.