Slowly, the shadow proceeded down the brightly lit hallway. The man casting it was walking down the hall with a clipboard, scratching a few notes with his left hand as he examined the strange and inhuman looking beings held captive in the depths of the Initiative base. Creatures with scales or leathery hides, and some with fur. Muscular shapes with fangs, claws, and horns.
Some of them snarled at the figure, a few of them stupid enough to lunge at him, trying to attack through the electrified barrier, only to be jolted by the electricity. The man in the camouflage didn't seem to notice. He likewise ignored threats snarled by several of the vampires held prisoner, although he did pause and take a long look at the one identified as Hostile Seventeen, who sat there, glaring at the wall with cold blue eyes.
Looking at the angry form of Hostile Seventeen, the man spoke. "This won't do at all."
Then, he continued along the brightly lit corridor, the pen scratching angrily against the paper. He paused once more, staring at the still sedated bulk of an unidentified creature with a reddish mane of hair and sharp talons that had been brought in by a pair of teams the day before. They'd had to stun the large humanoid heavily, and the creature had still fought them, leaving all seven men currently under medical treatment for deep claw wounds and bruising. One of them still hadn't woke up.
Slowly, a cold smile formed on the face, an expression that would have shocked anybody who saw him. "Sabertooth. I'd wondered where you went."
Still holding the clipboard, he walked out of the containment area, mind busily working on a plan. He passed several other men in the same sort of camouflage, absently nodding in response to their greetings of "Finn."
He paid no attention to the quiet soldier with the blue eyes who just watched him go past. After all, most people paid little attention to Graham Miller until he spoke up. Unfortunately, Riley Finn wasn't usually one of that majority.
* * * * * *
As they sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee and eating pancakes, Joyce made her way into the kitchen, blinking at the gathered people. "Willow, Oz. And… umm, I don't think I've been introduced to you. What brings everyone here so early?"
Willow smiled, pushing her plate away from her. "Hi Mrs. Summers. This is Tara, she's a friend of mine from college. We…. Had a bit of a problem that we needed to talk about."
"Nothing too serious, I hope?" Joyce looked a bit worried.
"It has to do with family, and college." Tara murmured. "And I wanted to ask Scott and Jean a couple questions about the school that they work at."
"Ahh." Joyce nodded, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Just remember that even if your parents tell you otherwise, there are always scholarships, grants, and as a last resort, student loans. You don't really have to depend on your family putting you through college."
"I'll remember." Tara smiled a little, looking down as she made strange swirls in the syrup on her plate.
"Well, if you don't have any other plans, Why don't Scott, Buffy and I go to lunch, and spend some time catching up, and Jean can try to help Tara sort out those college questions?" Joyce smiled, looking around the table.
"That sounds pretty good, aunt Joyce." Scott smiled, and then started to gather up some of the plates. "There's a lot of stuff to catch up on."
Buffy rinsed her mug in the sink, and looked over at her mom. "I thought you were supposed to have a lunch meeting with one of your artists? Did that fall through?"
"I tried to call him back and set up a time, but he didn't pick up. And he didn't call back." Joyce shook her head, apparently studying the peach polish on her thumbnail. "I suppose something must have come up."
"This is Sunnydale. The odds of 'something coming up' that isn't bad… They're pretty small. Is there any other way that you can get in touch with this guy?" Buffy was frowning, her fingers tapping along the counter.
"Buffy." Joyce sighed, rubbing at her temple. "I'm sure that Mr. Creed can take care of himself. It's probably something silly, like dropping his cell phone behind a dresser."
Buffy's eyebrow raised, and she shook her head. "Mom… Never mind. Where are we going for lunch?"
"Well, why don't we figure that out on the way?" Joyce picked up her car keys, pausing at the door.
"Works for me." Buffy grabbed Scott's hand, tugging him towards the door. "I'll see the rest of you later."
End part 14.
Tara watched as Buffy left with her mom and her cousin. She tried not to feel jealous that Buffy had family that she wanted to spend time with, that her family had nice, decent safe people in it, instead of people that… No, don't think about it. Don't think about the attic and the endless lectures and the shame…
"So, you can see other places?"
"Wha…" Tara blinked, startled by Jean's question. "Yes. It's sort of like… well, have you ever read any fantasy books, or things on magic? Where a person looks into a bowl of water or a fire and sees someplace else? That's sort of how it works, if I'm trying to see something. Sometimes, if I focus on a specific place, I can see there, or on a person. Sometimes it just… I can't always control it."
"I thought Raindrop or whatever her name is this week was just putting you to sleep." Willow's soft smile showed her opinion of that particular attendee at the Wicca group.
Tara giggled, looking gratefully at Willow. "She is sort of boring. And there are all those comparisons between mythology and politics…"
Oz leaned over, giving Willow a kiss on the cheek. "I have to go to practice. Take care of things?"
"Sure." Willow smiled at him, her eyes getting this soft happy glow as he headed towards the door. "We'll be just fine, and I promise to tell you all about it later."
Jean had a small frown, and rubbed her head. "Where did I put that headache medicine anyhow? It's interesting that you've figured out how to control them at all. Most of the students don't really have an idea when we find them, although a lot of them are younger."
"My grandmother tried to teach me a little about how to see when I wanted, not just whenever. I never really thought about where she learned. Mom tried to teach me to not see. She said that it would make my father angry…" Tara let the words go as the memories tried to drown her, angry bellows and snarls of demon blood and evil ways. "He didn't like anything that wasn't normal."
"Tara…" Jean looked worried, and reached her hand part of the way across the table. "You can go with us to Xavier's. It sounds like you could really use a place where your abilities aren't considered strange."
Willow fidgeted in her seat, and then looked over at Jean. "umm… when you said that there were three mutants in Sunnydale, how recent was that information? I mean, could they have gone away on a trip, or maybe just been visiting the area, or… maybe died?"
"The information was a couple weeks old. As near as… It was presumed that the mutants lived around here." Jean sighed, and pulled a small prescription bottle from her purse. "I don't think they would have moved, I'd hope they hadn't… In any other town, I'd think you were being paranoid asking if they could be dead. It's also possible, though unlikely, that another mutant could have come into the area."
"Sunnydale has some scary things." Tara whispered. Her vision blurred, and there was this feeling of being trapped, sitting in a tiny room that was almost like a cell, separated from a bright hallway by a shimmer of glass, facing another cell that seemed held a green scaled fish man with webbed hands and sharp teeth. There were no windows anywhere. No! This wasn't the time for a vision, she didn't want to see, didn't want to look at some place holding a captive monster. Rubbing at her arms as she tried to blink away the vision, Tara repeated. "Scary things."
"So, what are you studying at collage? We might have similar classes at Xavier's. They tend to be smaller, and we have quite the age range, but some people are ready for a certain class earlier than others." Jean looked at Tara, making a transparently clear effort to change the subject from death and monsters.
"Life." Tara smiled, her hands clasped in front of her. "I don't have a major yet, or really much of an idea about one, I just… I really wanted to get away. And most of the interesting ones have prerequisites anyhow."
"We can cover life. We can cover psychology, and biology, and we've got an unparalleled expert on weather patterns." Jean snickered a little, and then looked up. "So, do you have any suggestions for finding the other two mutants?"
Tara leaned back in her chair, giggling a bit. "You really don't get sent looking for people too often, do you? How old are they?"
Willow was also smiling. "You said the guy had a Sunnydale Razorbacks letter jacket. So, he's probably either an upper-classman in high school or a freshmen at college, like we are. He's probably going to be at the Bronze, unless he's out at lover's lane with someone. I can show you where the high school students are going right now. Umm… will you be able to recognize these people if you see them?"
"Yes. I was given a telepathic image of them, and while it was fuzzy, that should be enough. If I listen, there's a slightly different feel to a mutant mind. Like…" Jean frowned, clearly searching for a description. "Like they think on a different musical chord from normal humans. If I find a dark haired guy in a Razorbacks coat, then if I listen and he's got the feel of a mutant, I know I've found him."
"A different feel?" Tara blinked, wondering if there would be a difference in a mutant aura.
"Yes. You have that different feel, Willow doesn't. Buffy… Buffy has a different chord, something that I've never encountered before. Maybe it's because she's a Slayer." Jean shuddered. "The things that she's been through…"
"So, it would work best to look in the places where they would be. The Bronze is about the only club in town, it could be embarrassing to check lover's lane, you could look at the schools, but you might attract a bit of attention at the high school." Willow had a thoughtful look as she poured herself more coffee. "You might check the Espresso Pump, it's the local coffee house. Some of the poetry people hang out there. So, unless your sources could give a description and their favorite pastimes, you either hunt for them or hope that something brings them to your attention."
"I think it would probably be safer to just bump into them." Jean had a small smile as she considered the options.
End part 15.
Buffy tried to relax as she walked through a park with Scott and her mom. It looked so different during the day, filled with pretty colors and… well, people. Living people that she didn't need to slay. Gradually, the smells of the flowers and the chirping birds and the laughing children soothed her Slayer senses, and she started to calm down and enjoy the morning.
Until something occurred to her. "Mom, why were you going to have lunch with this artist anyhow?"
"Buffy, your father and I are not getting back together."
"I know that, you've been telling me since you got divorced. But that still doesn't explain why you and this… what, Creed? Why were you going to have lunch with him anyhow?" Buffy knew that she was being nosy. But if her mom was thinking about dating, there could be problems.
"He asked me, and I thought that it would be nice." There was this oddly sweet smile on her face. "It's been a while since… Well, I thought it might be nice to try dating again. I don't want to be single and alone for the rest of my life."
"Are you at least planning to be careful? What if he's another Ted?" Buffy had all sorts of horrible scenarios dancing through her mind. Another crazy robot, or a stalker like Moloch, or a complete basket case like Angelus… Or someone entirely dull and boring. "Dating in Sunnydale is never safe and easy."
"Isn't it normally the mother lecturing her daughter about dating carefully instead of the other way around?" Scott was trying not to laugh.
"Slim… this is Sunnydale, remember? My first boyfriend here turned out to be a homicidal vampire, there was the demon that became Willow's personal stalker… You don't even want to get into the dating history of… well, it's a mess. The freaky people outnumber the human ones, and even the humans weren't that normal." Buffy sighed, not really wanting to get into everything in the park.
"I've seen him in the sunshine, and reflecting in a mirror, so he isn't a vampire. I don't have a handy metal detector, so he could still be a robot, but I doubt it." With a small snort, her mom continued. "What are the odds of me dating two robots anyhow? He asked me to have lunch, that's not the same as getting married or asking me to be the mother of his children."
"And what if he wants you to be the mother of his demon spawn?" Buffy caught her mother's hand, panicking at the idea of a stepfather, any stepfather.
Scott was trying not to laugh, and failed utterly. The chortles and gasps were rather infectious, and soon all of them were chuckling. Half collapsing onto a park bench, Scott gasped out "And what if he's just a mostly normal guy who… wait, is this the same guy who did those abstract splashy pictures?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" She looked at Scott, eyes full of questions. "Yes, he is the one who made those abstract splashy pictures."
"Do you really want to get involved with someone who makes things like that? There's this strong psychological theory that a person's art is a direct reflection of the state of their mind, so those abstract splashy things… What if he has a history of mental problems? What if he's a complete jerk?" Scott's voice was nervous, and his words came faster.
"And what are you trying so hard not to say?" Joyce Summers had a small quirk at the corner of her mouth, one that said she knew something that they didn't.
"How did you… Mom, you aren't a telepath, are you?" Buffy felt a tendril of unease, remembering that horrible episode, or what if her mom found out about Parker? Ohhh, she'd be horribly disappointed.
"No, dear. I'm the mother of a teenage daughter who tried to hide things, and I was married to a man who didn't believe in telling me what he was thinking. I don't need to be a telepath to know that there's something else bothering Scott, and that you're worried sick that he'll be some dreadful thing that you have to Slay."
"If you get involved with someone else…" Scott hesitated, and the words tugged themselves out reluctantly. "You were my aunt because you were married to Uncle Hank. If you find someone else, does that…"
"Scott… You're family now. I can divorce Hank and keep my in-laws. You're still my nephew, even if I end up with a new husband and a couple little babies."
"That's good to know." Scott was looking at his feet, as if embarrassed by his fears. "But I'm still not sure if I like the idea of you dating some guy named Creed that makes abstract swooshes."
"His name is Vic." Joyce smiled, her eyes unfocused. "And… well, I was just hoping to see how things might go."
"Vic Creed? There's something about that name." Scott shook his head, and pushed himself off of the bench. "So, what were we going to do for lunch?"
"I suppose that depends on what the two of you feel like. There's a nice seafood restaurant near the beach, or a little Chinese place."
"Seafood." Scott grinned. "And even better, I won't have too cook."
"Or do the dishes." Buffy chimed in, excited by the idea. Even if her mom was maybe considering getting involved with some weird artist. Probably some sort of underfed guy with a ponytail and wire rimmed glasses. Or maybe a former football player? She might be able to deal with that. Maybe.
"Fine, seafood it is."
Smiling, Joyce took them to the little place that overlooked the beach. The interior was hung with torn nets and shells, and a couple sets of what Buffy assumed were shark jaws hung on the walls. The lighting was a bit dim, but the smells made her mouth water and stomach rumble.
End part 16.
Some of them snarled at the figure, a few of them stupid enough to lunge at him, trying to attack through the electrified barrier, only to be jolted by the electricity. The man in the camouflage didn't seem to notice. He likewise ignored threats snarled by several of the vampires held prisoner, although he did pause and take a long look at the one identified as Hostile Seventeen, who sat there, glaring at the wall with cold blue eyes.
Looking at the angry form of Hostile Seventeen, the man spoke. "This won't do at all."
Then, he continued along the brightly lit corridor, the pen scratching angrily against the paper. He paused once more, staring at the still sedated bulk of an unidentified creature with a reddish mane of hair and sharp talons that had been brought in by a pair of teams the day before. They'd had to stun the large humanoid heavily, and the creature had still fought them, leaving all seven men currently under medical treatment for deep claw wounds and bruising. One of them still hadn't woke up.
Slowly, a cold smile formed on the face, an expression that would have shocked anybody who saw him. "Sabertooth. I'd wondered where you went."
Still holding the clipboard, he walked out of the containment area, mind busily working on a plan. He passed several other men in the same sort of camouflage, absently nodding in response to their greetings of "Finn."
He paid no attention to the quiet soldier with the blue eyes who just watched him go past. After all, most people paid little attention to Graham Miller until he spoke up. Unfortunately, Riley Finn wasn't usually one of that majority.
* * * * * *
As they sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee and eating pancakes, Joyce made her way into the kitchen, blinking at the gathered people. "Willow, Oz. And… umm, I don't think I've been introduced to you. What brings everyone here so early?"
Willow smiled, pushing her plate away from her. "Hi Mrs. Summers. This is Tara, she's a friend of mine from college. We…. Had a bit of a problem that we needed to talk about."
"Nothing too serious, I hope?" Joyce looked a bit worried.
"It has to do with family, and college." Tara murmured. "And I wanted to ask Scott and Jean a couple questions about the school that they work at."
"Ahh." Joyce nodded, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Just remember that even if your parents tell you otherwise, there are always scholarships, grants, and as a last resort, student loans. You don't really have to depend on your family putting you through college."
"I'll remember." Tara smiled a little, looking down as she made strange swirls in the syrup on her plate.
"Well, if you don't have any other plans, Why don't Scott, Buffy and I go to lunch, and spend some time catching up, and Jean can try to help Tara sort out those college questions?" Joyce smiled, looking around the table.
"That sounds pretty good, aunt Joyce." Scott smiled, and then started to gather up some of the plates. "There's a lot of stuff to catch up on."
Buffy rinsed her mug in the sink, and looked over at her mom. "I thought you were supposed to have a lunch meeting with one of your artists? Did that fall through?"
"I tried to call him back and set up a time, but he didn't pick up. And he didn't call back." Joyce shook her head, apparently studying the peach polish on her thumbnail. "I suppose something must have come up."
"This is Sunnydale. The odds of 'something coming up' that isn't bad… They're pretty small. Is there any other way that you can get in touch with this guy?" Buffy was frowning, her fingers tapping along the counter.
"Buffy." Joyce sighed, rubbing at her temple. "I'm sure that Mr. Creed can take care of himself. It's probably something silly, like dropping his cell phone behind a dresser."
Buffy's eyebrow raised, and she shook her head. "Mom… Never mind. Where are we going for lunch?"
"Well, why don't we figure that out on the way?" Joyce picked up her car keys, pausing at the door.
"Works for me." Buffy grabbed Scott's hand, tugging him towards the door. "I'll see the rest of you later."
End part 14.
Tara watched as Buffy left with her mom and her cousin. She tried not to feel jealous that Buffy had family that she wanted to spend time with, that her family had nice, decent safe people in it, instead of people that… No, don't think about it. Don't think about the attic and the endless lectures and the shame…
"So, you can see other places?"
"Wha…" Tara blinked, startled by Jean's question. "Yes. It's sort of like… well, have you ever read any fantasy books, or things on magic? Where a person looks into a bowl of water or a fire and sees someplace else? That's sort of how it works, if I'm trying to see something. Sometimes, if I focus on a specific place, I can see there, or on a person. Sometimes it just… I can't always control it."
"I thought Raindrop or whatever her name is this week was just putting you to sleep." Willow's soft smile showed her opinion of that particular attendee at the Wicca group.
Tara giggled, looking gratefully at Willow. "She is sort of boring. And there are all those comparisons between mythology and politics…"
Oz leaned over, giving Willow a kiss on the cheek. "I have to go to practice. Take care of things?"
"Sure." Willow smiled at him, her eyes getting this soft happy glow as he headed towards the door. "We'll be just fine, and I promise to tell you all about it later."
Jean had a small frown, and rubbed her head. "Where did I put that headache medicine anyhow? It's interesting that you've figured out how to control them at all. Most of the students don't really have an idea when we find them, although a lot of them are younger."
"My grandmother tried to teach me a little about how to see when I wanted, not just whenever. I never really thought about where she learned. Mom tried to teach me to not see. She said that it would make my father angry…" Tara let the words go as the memories tried to drown her, angry bellows and snarls of demon blood and evil ways. "He didn't like anything that wasn't normal."
"Tara…" Jean looked worried, and reached her hand part of the way across the table. "You can go with us to Xavier's. It sounds like you could really use a place where your abilities aren't considered strange."
Willow fidgeted in her seat, and then looked over at Jean. "umm… when you said that there were three mutants in Sunnydale, how recent was that information? I mean, could they have gone away on a trip, or maybe just been visiting the area, or… maybe died?"
"The information was a couple weeks old. As near as… It was presumed that the mutants lived around here." Jean sighed, and pulled a small prescription bottle from her purse. "I don't think they would have moved, I'd hope they hadn't… In any other town, I'd think you were being paranoid asking if they could be dead. It's also possible, though unlikely, that another mutant could have come into the area."
"Sunnydale has some scary things." Tara whispered. Her vision blurred, and there was this feeling of being trapped, sitting in a tiny room that was almost like a cell, separated from a bright hallway by a shimmer of glass, facing another cell that seemed held a green scaled fish man with webbed hands and sharp teeth. There were no windows anywhere. No! This wasn't the time for a vision, she didn't want to see, didn't want to look at some place holding a captive monster. Rubbing at her arms as she tried to blink away the vision, Tara repeated. "Scary things."
"So, what are you studying at collage? We might have similar classes at Xavier's. They tend to be smaller, and we have quite the age range, but some people are ready for a certain class earlier than others." Jean looked at Tara, making a transparently clear effort to change the subject from death and monsters.
"Life." Tara smiled, her hands clasped in front of her. "I don't have a major yet, or really much of an idea about one, I just… I really wanted to get away. And most of the interesting ones have prerequisites anyhow."
"We can cover life. We can cover psychology, and biology, and we've got an unparalleled expert on weather patterns." Jean snickered a little, and then looked up. "So, do you have any suggestions for finding the other two mutants?"
Tara leaned back in her chair, giggling a bit. "You really don't get sent looking for people too often, do you? How old are they?"
Willow was also smiling. "You said the guy had a Sunnydale Razorbacks letter jacket. So, he's probably either an upper-classman in high school or a freshmen at college, like we are. He's probably going to be at the Bronze, unless he's out at lover's lane with someone. I can show you where the high school students are going right now. Umm… will you be able to recognize these people if you see them?"
"Yes. I was given a telepathic image of them, and while it was fuzzy, that should be enough. If I listen, there's a slightly different feel to a mutant mind. Like…" Jean frowned, clearly searching for a description. "Like they think on a different musical chord from normal humans. If I find a dark haired guy in a Razorbacks coat, then if I listen and he's got the feel of a mutant, I know I've found him."
"A different feel?" Tara blinked, wondering if there would be a difference in a mutant aura.
"Yes. You have that different feel, Willow doesn't. Buffy… Buffy has a different chord, something that I've never encountered before. Maybe it's because she's a Slayer." Jean shuddered. "The things that she's been through…"
"So, it would work best to look in the places where they would be. The Bronze is about the only club in town, it could be embarrassing to check lover's lane, you could look at the schools, but you might attract a bit of attention at the high school." Willow had a thoughtful look as she poured herself more coffee. "You might check the Espresso Pump, it's the local coffee house. Some of the poetry people hang out there. So, unless your sources could give a description and their favorite pastimes, you either hunt for them or hope that something brings them to your attention."
"I think it would probably be safer to just bump into them." Jean had a small smile as she considered the options.
End part 15.
Buffy tried to relax as she walked through a park with Scott and her mom. It looked so different during the day, filled with pretty colors and… well, people. Living people that she didn't need to slay. Gradually, the smells of the flowers and the chirping birds and the laughing children soothed her Slayer senses, and she started to calm down and enjoy the morning.
Until something occurred to her. "Mom, why were you going to have lunch with this artist anyhow?"
"Buffy, your father and I are not getting back together."
"I know that, you've been telling me since you got divorced. But that still doesn't explain why you and this… what, Creed? Why were you going to have lunch with him anyhow?" Buffy knew that she was being nosy. But if her mom was thinking about dating, there could be problems.
"He asked me, and I thought that it would be nice." There was this oddly sweet smile on her face. "It's been a while since… Well, I thought it might be nice to try dating again. I don't want to be single and alone for the rest of my life."
"Are you at least planning to be careful? What if he's another Ted?" Buffy had all sorts of horrible scenarios dancing through her mind. Another crazy robot, or a stalker like Moloch, or a complete basket case like Angelus… Or someone entirely dull and boring. "Dating in Sunnydale is never safe and easy."
"Isn't it normally the mother lecturing her daughter about dating carefully instead of the other way around?" Scott was trying not to laugh.
"Slim… this is Sunnydale, remember? My first boyfriend here turned out to be a homicidal vampire, there was the demon that became Willow's personal stalker… You don't even want to get into the dating history of… well, it's a mess. The freaky people outnumber the human ones, and even the humans weren't that normal." Buffy sighed, not really wanting to get into everything in the park.
"I've seen him in the sunshine, and reflecting in a mirror, so he isn't a vampire. I don't have a handy metal detector, so he could still be a robot, but I doubt it." With a small snort, her mom continued. "What are the odds of me dating two robots anyhow? He asked me to have lunch, that's not the same as getting married or asking me to be the mother of his children."
"And what if he wants you to be the mother of his demon spawn?" Buffy caught her mother's hand, panicking at the idea of a stepfather, any stepfather.
Scott was trying not to laugh, and failed utterly. The chortles and gasps were rather infectious, and soon all of them were chuckling. Half collapsing onto a park bench, Scott gasped out "And what if he's just a mostly normal guy who… wait, is this the same guy who did those abstract splashy pictures?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" She looked at Scott, eyes full of questions. "Yes, he is the one who made those abstract splashy pictures."
"Do you really want to get involved with someone who makes things like that? There's this strong psychological theory that a person's art is a direct reflection of the state of their mind, so those abstract splashy things… What if he has a history of mental problems? What if he's a complete jerk?" Scott's voice was nervous, and his words came faster.
"And what are you trying so hard not to say?" Joyce Summers had a small quirk at the corner of her mouth, one that said she knew something that they didn't.
"How did you… Mom, you aren't a telepath, are you?" Buffy felt a tendril of unease, remembering that horrible episode, or what if her mom found out about Parker? Ohhh, she'd be horribly disappointed.
"No, dear. I'm the mother of a teenage daughter who tried to hide things, and I was married to a man who didn't believe in telling me what he was thinking. I don't need to be a telepath to know that there's something else bothering Scott, and that you're worried sick that he'll be some dreadful thing that you have to Slay."
"If you get involved with someone else…" Scott hesitated, and the words tugged themselves out reluctantly. "You were my aunt because you were married to Uncle Hank. If you find someone else, does that…"
"Scott… You're family now. I can divorce Hank and keep my in-laws. You're still my nephew, even if I end up with a new husband and a couple little babies."
"That's good to know." Scott was looking at his feet, as if embarrassed by his fears. "But I'm still not sure if I like the idea of you dating some guy named Creed that makes abstract swooshes."
"His name is Vic." Joyce smiled, her eyes unfocused. "And… well, I was just hoping to see how things might go."
"Vic Creed? There's something about that name." Scott shook his head, and pushed himself off of the bench. "So, what were we going to do for lunch?"
"I suppose that depends on what the two of you feel like. There's a nice seafood restaurant near the beach, or a little Chinese place."
"Seafood." Scott grinned. "And even better, I won't have too cook."
"Or do the dishes." Buffy chimed in, excited by the idea. Even if her mom was maybe considering getting involved with some weird artist. Probably some sort of underfed guy with a ponytail and wire rimmed glasses. Or maybe a former football player? She might be able to deal with that. Maybe.
"Fine, seafood it is."
Smiling, Joyce took them to the little place that overlooked the beach. The interior was hung with torn nets and shells, and a couple sets of what Buffy assumed were shark jaws hung on the walls. The lighting was a bit dim, but the smells made her mouth water and stomach rumble.
End part 16.