author: Lucinda
rating: pg13
main characters: Joyce, Dawn, Buffy
number thirteen in the 'Messed Up Family' universe
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from BtVS or from any incarnation of the X-Men comics or Movie.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL/QPC, Paula, anyone else ask
note: this is a continuation of the Messed Up Family AU, now into season 1 Buffy. Dawn exists, but is just the younger daughter of Joyce and Hank, not the Key.
"Mom?" Buffy's voice carried easily, not too loud, but full of worry. "Mom, are you here?"
"Yes, Buffy. In the living room." Joyce called, not quite wanting to move. She'd returned home, showering to get all the blood off of her. Honestly, she'd also hoped that it would help clear her mind, help deal with all the emotions that had been brought up by that news clip, but... well, she was clean. Now, she was curled up on the couch in her flannel pajamas, a cup of cocoa getting cold in her hand.
"I'm glad that you're okay, mom. Something was out there tonight... At first, I just thought things were being pretty slow, and then... there were a couple demons in some of the cemeteries. Demon remains, more like. Something just... They were just ripped apart. Practically shredded in one case... I couldn't even figure out what one of them had been." Buffy sat down, all nervous and tense. "Do you think..."
"You didn't get hurt on patrol?" Joyce looked over, noting the way Buffy was sitting, so stiff and tense. Was that nervousness or bruises?
"No, no... I'm fine. But there was something out there... I don't want you to get hurt. I've been doing this since... well, a couple months before I burned down the gym, and you... haven't." Buffy paused, as if trying to calm herself. "I'd feel better if you didn't go out patrolling until we've figured out what's out there shredding demons."
Joyce made a noise, half way between a snort and a chuckle. "Buffy dear... You don't need to be so worried about me."
"Yes I do. You're the only mom that I've got." Buffy looked at her, fidgeting her fingers a little.
For the first time since that clip, Joyce felt a flicker of warm happiness. Maybe things with her daughter weren't so bad, maybe they were much better than she'd thought. "Oh, Buffy... sweetie. You don't have to worry about some new danger, and you don't have to worry about me being in danger. I went out tonight after... well, did Dawn tell you about this project she has to do?"
"Something about a mutant paper? And there was supposed to be a disk full of news clips. I've heard a few things about that teacher... well, I shouldn't repeat them. What does that have to do with anything?" Buffy looked at her, brows drawn closer in puzzlement.
"A disk full of news clips, yes. Including a good number from out of state. Including New York." Joyce felt her throat going tight, and her eyes had that itchy feeling of impending tears. "My father... he was in one of the clips. Alive. Alive as of a few months ago. And I'd been told... we were told... they said he was dead. He always told us that only death would keep him from coming home, and he didn't come home, didn't come home for so many years..."
"Your dad... Grandpa Creed isn't dead?" Buffy blinked, the words coming slowly. "But... you said... the military... oh. No wonder that... You sound pretty upset about it. Wait, didn't that one family councilor say that it was bad to bottle everything up inside?"
Joyce chuckled, looking at Buffy. "I didn't bottle things up. That's why I went out patrolling. There's no new super menace, just your mom trying to deal with uncovering the biggest lie..."
"No new... that was you?" Buffy sounded as if she was utterly shocked, and balanced between horror and relief. "You can... oh my God. whoa."
With a small sigh, Joyce began listing the ones that she assumed were disturbing Buffy the most. "That was me. Something green with scales and four arms in Eternal Hope, that pair of inept vampires and the gray thing at Our Lady, and... Well, I have no idea what the purple thing was. It almost looked like Barney, with sharp teeth, and it just wouldn't stop moving until it was almost paste. And there was that vampire in... what's the cemetery with that big statue in the middle? The one laid out like a geometry excersice?"
"Pack of vampires wiped out near the old folks home?" Buffy's voice sounded a bit weak, as if she was trying not to collapse. Maybe stunned was a better word for it?
"They were talking about the people there being easy prey. Just tell them that it's their dear little boy come to visit and they'd just invite you right in..." Joyce shrugged. "They couldn't fight worth beans. That cat you had in junior high put up more of a fight than those idiots."
"Suddenly, the whole idea of pushing for the limits of Mom's boundaries sounds so much less appealing..." Buffy murmured. "Good that it's not some new big evil. Umm... I think I'll just go to bed now..."
"Buffy? You should take a shower first. It's hard to get the bloodstains out if they set into sheets." She looked at her daughter as she started towards the bathroom.
Absently, Buffy nodded, moving slowly, as if she were half asleep. "yeah mom."
Joyce just sighed, shaking her head as she looked back at her cocoa. All that sharing, and she didn't really feel better about the discovery. She had to deal with this. Her father wasn't as dead as she'd believed. He was working with someone called Magneto… Maybe she should do a bit of research.
end That Was Me.
rating: pg13
main characters: Joyce, Dawn, Buffy
number thirteen in the 'Messed Up Family' universe
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from BtVS or from any incarnation of the X-Men comics or Movie.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL/QPC, Paula, anyone else ask
note: this is a continuation of the Messed Up Family AU, now into season 1 Buffy. Dawn exists, but is just the younger daughter of Joyce and Hank, not the Key.
"Mom?" Buffy's voice carried easily, not too loud, but full of worry. "Mom, are you here?"
"Yes, Buffy. In the living room." Joyce called, not quite wanting to move. She'd returned home, showering to get all the blood off of her. Honestly, she'd also hoped that it would help clear her mind, help deal with all the emotions that had been brought up by that news clip, but... well, she was clean. Now, she was curled up on the couch in her flannel pajamas, a cup of cocoa getting cold in her hand.
"I'm glad that you're okay, mom. Something was out there tonight... At first, I just thought things were being pretty slow, and then... there were a couple demons in some of the cemeteries. Demon remains, more like. Something just... They were just ripped apart. Practically shredded in one case... I couldn't even figure out what one of them had been." Buffy sat down, all nervous and tense. "Do you think..."
"You didn't get hurt on patrol?" Joyce looked over, noting the way Buffy was sitting, so stiff and tense. Was that nervousness or bruises?
"No, no... I'm fine. But there was something out there... I don't want you to get hurt. I've been doing this since... well, a couple months before I burned down the gym, and you... haven't." Buffy paused, as if trying to calm herself. "I'd feel better if you didn't go out patrolling until we've figured out what's out there shredding demons."
Joyce made a noise, half way between a snort and a chuckle. "Buffy dear... You don't need to be so worried about me."
"Yes I do. You're the only mom that I've got." Buffy looked at her, fidgeting her fingers a little.
For the first time since that clip, Joyce felt a flicker of warm happiness. Maybe things with her daughter weren't so bad, maybe they were much better than she'd thought. "Oh, Buffy... sweetie. You don't have to worry about some new danger, and you don't have to worry about me being in danger. I went out tonight after... well, did Dawn tell you about this project she has to do?"
"Something about a mutant paper? And there was supposed to be a disk full of news clips. I've heard a few things about that teacher... well, I shouldn't repeat them. What does that have to do with anything?" Buffy looked at her, brows drawn closer in puzzlement.
"A disk full of news clips, yes. Including a good number from out of state. Including New York." Joyce felt her throat going tight, and her eyes had that itchy feeling of impending tears. "My father... he was in one of the clips. Alive. Alive as of a few months ago. And I'd been told... we were told... they said he was dead. He always told us that only death would keep him from coming home, and he didn't come home, didn't come home for so many years..."
"Your dad... Grandpa Creed isn't dead?" Buffy blinked, the words coming slowly. "But... you said... the military... oh. No wonder that... You sound pretty upset about it. Wait, didn't that one family councilor say that it was bad to bottle everything up inside?"
Joyce chuckled, looking at Buffy. "I didn't bottle things up. That's why I went out patrolling. There's no new super menace, just your mom trying to deal with uncovering the biggest lie..."
"No new... that was you?" Buffy sounded as if she was utterly shocked, and balanced between horror and relief. "You can... oh my God. whoa."
With a small sigh, Joyce began listing the ones that she assumed were disturbing Buffy the most. "That was me. Something green with scales and four arms in Eternal Hope, that pair of inept vampires and the gray thing at Our Lady, and... Well, I have no idea what the purple thing was. It almost looked like Barney, with sharp teeth, and it just wouldn't stop moving until it was almost paste. And there was that vampire in... what's the cemetery with that big statue in the middle? The one laid out like a geometry excersice?"
"Pack of vampires wiped out near the old folks home?" Buffy's voice sounded a bit weak, as if she was trying not to collapse. Maybe stunned was a better word for it?
"They were talking about the people there being easy prey. Just tell them that it's their dear little boy come to visit and they'd just invite you right in..." Joyce shrugged. "They couldn't fight worth beans. That cat you had in junior high put up more of a fight than those idiots."
"Suddenly, the whole idea of pushing for the limits of Mom's boundaries sounds so much less appealing..." Buffy murmured. "Good that it's not some new big evil. Umm... I think I'll just go to bed now..."
"Buffy? You should take a shower first. It's hard to get the bloodstains out if they set into sheets." She looked at her daughter as she started towards the bathroom.
Absently, Buffy nodded, moving slowly, as if she were half asleep. "yeah mom."
Joyce just sighed, shaking her head as she looked back at her cocoa. All that sharing, and she didn't really feel better about the discovery. She had to deal with this. Her father wasn't as dead as she'd believed. He was working with someone called Magneto… Maybe she should do a bit of research.
end That Was Me.