author: Lucinda
rating: pg
main character: Joyce
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from BtVS.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL/QPC, Paula, anyone else ask
note: this is a continuation of the Messed Up Family AU, now moving into season 1 Buffy. Dawn exists, but is not the Key, just the younger daughter of Joyce and Hank.
Joyce had been setting up her art gallery, including a room in the basement where she could try to practice. She'd cut back so much of her workouts during her marriage to Hank, it had left her feeling dreadfully out of shape. It had been an effort to save her marriage, based on a comment he'd made once about not wanting a valkyrie wife. It hadn't worked, and she felt so annoyed with herself over the whole disastrous mess.
But after some long hours moving things and trying to get things together, she'd decided that enough was enough. She wanted a shower very badly, horribly aware of the smell of her own sweat. She went home, stepping into the door and catching a scent that didn't belong. Some man... not the mail carrier, but somebody... and he'd come into her house. Who had been in her house, and where was he now? She frowned, and began following the scent.
Gradually, it occurred to her that Buffy's scent was with the man's, so... Buffy had brought this man into the house. And sure enough, the scent lead to Buffy's room. She felt like growling and screaming. Her daughter was only sixteen, she shouldn't be sneaking strange men into the house! For God's sake, they'd only been in this town for a few weeks, and she hadn't even heard so much as a word from her daughter about a new boyfriend! So, what was he doing... She slipped into the room, frowning.
Well, the good news was that there wasn't any scent of sex in the room. But... he was still here, currently hiding in Buffy's closet! It was almost surprising that there would be room, considering the number of shoes that her daughter had. Joyce glanced at the closet, debating the merits of opening the door and demanding to know what in the hell some man was doing hiding in her daughter's closet. Pausing, she sniffed again. Correction, some injured man in her daughter's closet. Had her daughter decided to help some stranger? But then why not tell her about it?
Glancing over at the table, she saw a denim blue book. Buffy's diary. Maybe the answers would be in there... She actually had the book in her hand before she paused to consider - how would she have felt if her mother had been reading her diary? With a small sigh, she put it down, shaking her head.
What was she going to do? She had a sixteen year old daughter who was hiding men... alright, a man, in her room. The same daughter that had been getting into fights all the time, refusing to speak about it, sneaking out of her room at night. Not only that, but... The scents never smelled quite normal. As if... could her daughter be sneaking out to try to beat up mutants? Had she produced a daughter who was a bigot? Someone following in her brother's footsteps? Oh dear lord, she hoped not. She'd tried so hard, tried to raise her children better than that. Although Hank hadn't helped, being so distrustful of mutants, of foreigners.
Maybe it was better that Hank wouldn't be part of their daily life. Maybe she could try to make sure they grew up to be responsible, to be able to take care of themselves. And she could try to make sure they hadn't picked up any irrational prejudices.
Had it been a mistake not to tell Buffy about her family? Nothing more than that her father had been in the military, killed in action? That she had an older brother, that they weren't close anymore? Should she have explained that she was related to Graydon Creed? No, perhaps that would only have made them more likely to listen to his hateful words. Her brother tried to blame mutants for the high crime rates, for the problems in the economy, for rampant drug use... Graydon would probably try to blame them for the hole in the ozone layer and the annoying tendency of hot dogs to come in packages of eight and buns in packages of ten if he thought it would help his position. For a smart man, her brother could be such a... well, blind, arrogant, prejudiced ass came to mind. Such a disappointment.
Part of her wanted to stalk right back into that room, to yank open the closet door and demand to know what that man intended to do with her daughter. To threaten him with very specific painful things to treasured portions of his anatomy if he made her daughter cry. To demand answers.
Instead, she decided to take a quick shower. Joyce locked the door behind her as she went into the bathroom, knowing that while that might not stop someone, it would certainly let her know that someone was trying to come in. She would feel better, more reasonable, less cranky after a shower.
Maybe this was the reason why her mother had left. The difficulties of dealing with teenage children who wanted so badly to be grown up, to be counted responsible. But she didn't think her daughters were ready yet. Buffy most definitely wasn't ready for that coveted Driver's license, and as for Dawn? Dawn was only twelve, and not ready at all to be an adult. Things had only become harder now, knowing that she was a single parent, that all the financial responsibilities fell on her. That it as her responsibility to make sure things went smoothly at the house, to pay the bills, to make sure her children were healthy. To try to make sure they had ethics and integrity.
Why had she thought children were a good idea again?
If she ever found out where her mother had gone to, she would have a few choice words for her. Starting with 'how could you?' and moving on to hopes of an excruciatingly painful and lonely old age. To have just... vanished like that. It had hurt so badly, not just for her, but for Graydon and their father as well. That was one of the reasons why she hadn't fought Hank's request for summer custody. She didn't want to deprive her daughters of one of their parents like she'd been deprived of her mother.
How different would things be if her father hadn't died? If she could talk to him about problems? Well, probably if he hadn't died, she would never have spent those years wasting time playing the irresponsible hippy bum. She wouldn't have ended up married to Hank, with Buffy and Dawn. Her life would have been completely different. Maybe not better, but it would definitely be different. Of course, if she'd married someone right out of school, she could have grandchildren now. The idea made her shudder. She wasn't ready for grandchildren. Although, on the subject of grandchildren, maybe she should have that talk with Buffy again.
Just to make sure.
end Boy in Her Room.
rating: pg
main character: Joyce
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from BtVS.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL/QPC, Paula, anyone else ask
note: this is a continuation of the Messed Up Family AU, now moving into season 1 Buffy. Dawn exists, but is not the Key, just the younger daughter of Joyce and Hank.
Joyce had been setting up her art gallery, including a room in the basement where she could try to practice. She'd cut back so much of her workouts during her marriage to Hank, it had left her feeling dreadfully out of shape. It had been an effort to save her marriage, based on a comment he'd made once about not wanting a valkyrie wife. It hadn't worked, and she felt so annoyed with herself over the whole disastrous mess.
But after some long hours moving things and trying to get things together, she'd decided that enough was enough. She wanted a shower very badly, horribly aware of the smell of her own sweat. She went home, stepping into the door and catching a scent that didn't belong. Some man... not the mail carrier, but somebody... and he'd come into her house. Who had been in her house, and where was he now? She frowned, and began following the scent.
Gradually, it occurred to her that Buffy's scent was with the man's, so... Buffy had brought this man into the house. And sure enough, the scent lead to Buffy's room. She felt like growling and screaming. Her daughter was only sixteen, she shouldn't be sneaking strange men into the house! For God's sake, they'd only been in this town for a few weeks, and she hadn't even heard so much as a word from her daughter about a new boyfriend! So, what was he doing... She slipped into the room, frowning.
Well, the good news was that there wasn't any scent of sex in the room. But... he was still here, currently hiding in Buffy's closet! It was almost surprising that there would be room, considering the number of shoes that her daughter had. Joyce glanced at the closet, debating the merits of opening the door and demanding to know what in the hell some man was doing hiding in her daughter's closet. Pausing, she sniffed again. Correction, some injured man in her daughter's closet. Had her daughter decided to help some stranger? But then why not tell her about it?
Glancing over at the table, she saw a denim blue book. Buffy's diary. Maybe the answers would be in there... She actually had the book in her hand before she paused to consider - how would she have felt if her mother had been reading her diary? With a small sigh, she put it down, shaking her head.
What was she going to do? She had a sixteen year old daughter who was hiding men... alright, a man, in her room. The same daughter that had been getting into fights all the time, refusing to speak about it, sneaking out of her room at night. Not only that, but... The scents never smelled quite normal. As if... could her daughter be sneaking out to try to beat up mutants? Had she produced a daughter who was a bigot? Someone following in her brother's footsteps? Oh dear lord, she hoped not. She'd tried so hard, tried to raise her children better than that. Although Hank hadn't helped, being so distrustful of mutants, of foreigners.
Maybe it was better that Hank wouldn't be part of their daily life. Maybe she could try to make sure they grew up to be responsible, to be able to take care of themselves. And she could try to make sure they hadn't picked up any irrational prejudices.
Had it been a mistake not to tell Buffy about her family? Nothing more than that her father had been in the military, killed in action? That she had an older brother, that they weren't close anymore? Should she have explained that she was related to Graydon Creed? No, perhaps that would only have made them more likely to listen to his hateful words. Her brother tried to blame mutants for the high crime rates, for the problems in the economy, for rampant drug use... Graydon would probably try to blame them for the hole in the ozone layer and the annoying tendency of hot dogs to come in packages of eight and buns in packages of ten if he thought it would help his position. For a smart man, her brother could be such a... well, blind, arrogant, prejudiced ass came to mind. Such a disappointment.
Part of her wanted to stalk right back into that room, to yank open the closet door and demand to know what that man intended to do with her daughter. To threaten him with very specific painful things to treasured portions of his anatomy if he made her daughter cry. To demand answers.
Instead, she decided to take a quick shower. Joyce locked the door behind her as she went into the bathroom, knowing that while that might not stop someone, it would certainly let her know that someone was trying to come in. She would feel better, more reasonable, less cranky after a shower.
Maybe this was the reason why her mother had left. The difficulties of dealing with teenage children who wanted so badly to be grown up, to be counted responsible. But she didn't think her daughters were ready yet. Buffy most definitely wasn't ready for that coveted Driver's license, and as for Dawn? Dawn was only twelve, and not ready at all to be an adult. Things had only become harder now, knowing that she was a single parent, that all the financial responsibilities fell on her. That it as her responsibility to make sure things went smoothly at the house, to pay the bills, to make sure her children were healthy. To try to make sure they had ethics and integrity.
Why had she thought children were a good idea again?
If she ever found out where her mother had gone to, she would have a few choice words for her. Starting with 'how could you?' and moving on to hopes of an excruciatingly painful and lonely old age. To have just... vanished like that. It had hurt so badly, not just for her, but for Graydon and their father as well. That was one of the reasons why she hadn't fought Hank's request for summer custody. She didn't want to deprive her daughters of one of their parents like she'd been deprived of her mother.
How different would things be if her father hadn't died? If she could talk to him about problems? Well, probably if he hadn't died, she would never have spent those years wasting time playing the irresponsible hippy bum. She wouldn't have ended up married to Hank, with Buffy and Dawn. Her life would have been completely different. Maybe not better, but it would definitely be different. Of course, if she'd married someone right out of school, she could have grandchildren now. The idea made her shudder. She wasn't ready for grandchildren. Although, on the subject of grandchildren, maybe she should have that talk with Buffy again.
Just to make sure.
end Boy in Her Room.
