Beautiful image created by the very talented sarbear
AN – Wow. Six long months since I last updated this story :s All I can do is apologize for keeping you guys waiting, and hope that you're still with me. In that time I've managed to break two laptops, move house twice and grow into a big pregnant pumpkin – my due date was three days ago but she's showing no signs of appearance yet. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the long overdue chapter :D
Scarecrow – Part One
"Yuh huh," Buffy spoke into her cell phone as Willow relayed all the goings on back at the school. "She did that all by herself? That's great!...Really? Wow!...Oh, you do?...Okay...Yeah, I know. You too, okay?...Uh, sure. Maybe I'll see you soon...Bye, Will."
After ending the conversation, she threw down the phone onto her bed with a sigh. She usually checked in at the school at least once a week to make sure that everything was running smoothly in her absence.
Of course, it was.
Running a hand through her hair frustratedly, she circled the dingy motel room for the hundredth time, wondering what else there was she could possibly do to pass the time. She checked her watch – the phone call with Willow hadn't even taken up ten minutes!
Blowing out a puff of air, she flopped down onto her bed and threw her arms over her face.
God, she was so damned frustrated!
Sam, Dean and Faith had left over half an hour ago to grab a bite to eat somewhere but Buffy, desperate to avoid spending any extra time with Dean and Faith out of shame and guilt, had pretended to be coming down with a cold.
She hated lying, but everything was just so damned complicated!
What she really needed was to get out of the motel room and get some good slaying in, but now that was out of the question because of her stupid 'I'm so ill' lie. If the others got back and found her gone, they'd be more than suspicious. Especially Dean.
"Gah!" she cried, rolling over and climbing back off the bed.
She needed to do something...anything! There was an itchiness in her bones and a boatload of tormenting angst in her blood.
The longer she was cooped up in this room alone, the more time she had to think about him...about Dean. About every little thing they'd done together.
And it was driving her crazy.
She stomped over to the window and pulled back the blinds so that she could stare up at the sky. It was a clear night. Clear enough to see the blanket of stars that covered the inky blackness.
Perfect for slaying.
Before she could ponder this thought any more, the motel room door banged open behind her, startling her heart into a quick leap. She swiveled around and placed her hand over her nearest concealed weapon.
"Oh," she said with a relieved sigh, once she'd realized that the enemy was actually just Dean. The relief she felt, however, lasted a few mere seconds before she was back to the mind racking guilt. "I...uhm...I thought you were getting some food with Faith and Sam?"
She prayed to God that they were right behind him because boy did she not want to be alone with him right now.
He glared at her, clearly very pissed off. "Yeah, well, that's the thing. I told them that I thought I might be coming down with your cold." He forced out a pitiful, sarcastic sounding cough, as if to stick the fact that he knew she'd been blatantly lying in even further in her face.
Buffy folded her arms over chest in an unconscious act of defense. "Why?"
"Because you and I need to have a little chat, beautiful. Alone."
She glanced down at the floor, unable to keep looking into his fire filled eyes. "About what?"
He threw his hands up into the air in frustration, before spinning around and running his fingers through his hair. "You know damned well what about! We need to talk about what happened between us last week! You've been avoiding the hell out of me and Faith ever since it happened, and I've just about had enough!"
"I haven't been avoi-"
"Oh, come on! You didn't say a single thing to me while we were on that freaky ass asylum case. It's time to start talking, buttercup. And I mean it."
"What do you want me to say, Dean? Because I really have no idea."
"Well, I want you to start by admitting the fact that something happened between us. Something amazing. And admitting that it mean something. That it-"
"The only thing that it was, Dean, was wrong! And you know it."
He huffed in disbelief. "Yeah, I really don't. In fact, what I know is that what we did was about the furthestfrom wrong as you could possibly get!"
Buffy dropped her arms to her sides, her fists curled up into tight balls. "What planet are you on? What we did was betrayal!"
"To who?!"
"Are you kidding me? To Faith! We went behind her back in just the worst kind of way!"
He frowned, not seeing her point. "Buffy...me and Faith aren't even together! We never even really were. It was just...fun."
"That's not how she'll see it. She'll see that you were her guy and I slept with you behind her back. Pure and simple."
"I don't remember much sleeping being involved, cupcake."
Buffy blushed and turned her head away. "Don't."
Dean sighed in aggravation. "So that's it then, huh? You're just gonna go on pretending that nothing happened between us. That there is nothing between us? That you don't feel this mind boggling connection we have?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't feel anything," she lied. "It's all in your head."
"Then maybe you'll feel this," he ground out, before stomping towards her.
Buffy barely had time to gasp before she was pushed up hard against the motel wall and kissed, furiously.
After only a couple of seconds – not nearly enough for either one of them – he pulled away, just a couple of inches so that he could look her in the eye. "Now tell me you don't feel anything," he dared, his voice low and dangerous.
She couldn't. Couldn't lie to him, couldn't keep pretending. Not when his body was warm and hard against hers and not when her heart was beating so loud and fast in her chest.
Breathlessly, she grabbed a hold of his cheeks between her two hands and fused his lips back onto hers, silence being the only other thing she could offer him.
And then she was kissing him as if her very life depended on it.
"I knew it," Dean breathed out around kisses. "God, I knew it."
He pushed her impossibly harder against the wall with the weight of his body and slipped a knee between her legs, wrapping one hand around her waist and grasping a hold of her hair with the other. Ripping his mouth away from hers, he began to nip along the side of her throat, sending delicious tingles right through her body.
"Oh God, I can't..." Buffy gasped out, banging her head back against the wall.
"Can't what?"
"Can't get enough...of you..."
He lifted his head up and rested his forehead against hers. "Baby, I know the feeling."
A loud chuckle came from outside of the motel room door, and they sprung apart as if they'd been electrocuted, recognizing the laughter as Sam's.
They were just in time for not a second later, the door was being opened and an amused looking Faith and Sam were entering.
The two paused as they spotted a flustered looking Buffy and Dean, their eyes flitting from one of the shifty looking pair to the other.
"Uh...are you guys okay?" Sam asked. "What have you been doing?"
Dean, trying hard not to breathe too heavily, glanced over at Buffy for helpful suggestions, but she looked just as blank as he felt. He cursed silently when he saw how ruffled she looked. "We were...uhm...sparring," he settled on eventually. He nodded to himself, pleased with his own quick thinking.
Sam pulled a confused face. "But I thought you were both ill?"
Dammit. Dean had forgotten about his earlier lie.
Buffy, finally making her first sound since Sam and Faith had entered the room, let out a shrill, high pitched bubble of uncomfortable laughter. "You know me. There's nothing in the world that can't be cured with a good spot of old fashioned violence."
"Still, you probably shouldn't strain yourselves," Sam pointed out, thankfully accepting their excuses. "You should get some sleep. Rest up before we head out tomorrow."
"You're right," Buffy agreed, moving over to the bed and sitting down. "Totally right. Resting is good. I like to rest."
Faith rolled her eyes at Buffy's weird behavior and crossed her arms impatiently. "Whatever. This is all very boring." She waved a dismissive hand in the air and then shot Dean a sultry glance. "Now, I'm feeling all antsy and there ain't no bad guys in this crap hole of a town to get my fighting on with 'cause me and Sammy boy already did a sweep. So I've got a little problem."
Dean glanced around the room, uncomfortable with the way that she was undressing him with her eyes in front of Buffy. When he looked back in her direction, however, she was still watching him. "Uh...and what's that?"
"Well, honey, I've got all this extra energy just swishing around inside me, and no way to fight it out. Think I'm gonna need a big strong man to help me out. Know what I'm saying?"
"Uhm...no?" he lied.
"Then let me make it simple for you. I just spoke to the motel manager. He had a last minute cancellation so there's a room going spare after all. You fancy sharing it with me tonight, lover?"
Oh crap.
Dean looked over at Buffy with wide, alarmed eyes, but she was staring determinedly at a crack in the motel room door. He turned to face Faith once more, aware that he was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish and unable to do anything to stop it.
Where in the hell had this come from? Faith hadn't tried anything with him – not really – since the other week at the bar, and even that had been a halfhearted attempt that they'd both known would come to nothing. He thought they had been done?!
"Oh...uh...I can't," he answered finally, when he realized that God wasn't about to send down a miracle to save him from the awkwardness of the situation. "I'm...ill, remember? Wouldn't want you to catch it. That would be...bad."
"You don't look all that ill."
"Well I am." He coughed weakly to prove his point.
Faith narrowed her eyes and her lips thinned into a barely visible white line. "Dean, mind if we talk for a minute?" she bit out. "In private?"
This didn't look good. "Oh...sure..."
With his head down, Dean followed Faith past Sam and Buffy and into the corridor outside of their room. He flinched when Faith slammed the door shut behind them.
"What's up?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound jovial and carefree.
Faith glared at him in disgust. "Like you don't know. I want to know what's going on. Between me and you."
With her and him? What her and him? He hadn't been aware that a her and him even existed! Maybe months ago. But even that hadn't been a thing! It had just been...Oh Jesus, was he in trouble. "I don't understand."
She huffed impatiently and began tapping her toe on the floor. "Well...we haven't had sex in months! And for people like you and me that's like...forever! I mean, come on, it's not like I'm looking for a relationship or nothing. Hell, that's the last thing I want! But we had something going on so I'd appreciate a bit of honesty, that's all I'm saying. Okay? I just wanna know where I stand. That so hard?"
Dean rubbed the back of his head, wishing he could be any place but in that corridor.
Man, where had it all come from? He'd assumed that Faith had let the idea of the two of them go a long time ago. He was sure she'd gone home with a guy or two, so why was she bringing it up now? Damn, this was awkward. "Look," he started. "Do we really have to talk about this right now? I'm kind of tired, and I told you I'm ill-"
"Oh, like hell you're ill! Don't kid a kidder, Dean! Just man up and tell the truth for once in your damned life!"
"About what? I had no idea you were even thinking of me and you like that anymore."
"Jeez! Way to make a girl feel two feet tall! I told you I'm not looking for a wedding ring here, buddy! Just a bit of fun, like we were having. At least until you went all weird and sex free, anyway. What's wrong with wanting a bit of fun, man?"
"Nothing, I guess. And I never said there was."
"Right then." Faith seemed to lose all of her steam. "So, you in?"
"For fun?"
"Yeah."
Dean sighed and closed his eyes. "No."
"You know something, Dean," Faith bit out. "I'm so over this. You don't wanna piece of this, that's your loss. But don't ever expect to get the chance again. Whatever we might have had is over. Done."
He nodded. "Okay then."
Looking decidedly pissed off, Faith wound her fists into tight balls. "Fine, you asshole! That's all you had to say. There was no need to string me along like some little groupy, ya know? You never had to lie about it! It's not like I'm some kind of kid, I can handle being knocked back!" And with those final words she stormed past him and back into the bedroom.
As she slammed the door – yet again – Dean closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted, and sagged back against the wall.
Buffy had been right the whole time. This whole thing was a damn lot more complicated than he'd naively thought.
But one thing was for sure – he'd never lied. Not intentionally, anyway. He'd though that whatever it was he'd had going on with Faith was over. Thought it had been for a while.
Screw that, it had been over!
But it looked like somewhere along the way they'd all gotten their wires crossed.
Oh hell.
When Dean finally re-entered the room some minutes later, he found that Faith had already changed and climbed into bed with Buffy. She was turned on her side and facing the wall, clearly pretending to be asleep.
He locked eyes with Buffy, who gave him an inquisitive yet sympathetic smile. He simply shrugged at her before kicking off his jeans and dropping down onto the other bed.
"Hey!" a wet haired Sam protested as he exited the bathroom. "It's my night to take the bed, remember?"
Dean ignored him pointedly and pulled the bed covers up, switching off his bed side lamp and turning away. He'd had a hard night, and Sam could just go and screw himself.
"Guess I'm taking the floor then," Sam muttered under his breath, knowing now was not the time to press his brother. "Again."
Buffy watched as, still mumbling to himself in annoyance, Sam arranged the spare bedding on the floor and switched off the other lamp, filling the room up with complete darkness.
Before long, she knew that she was the only person left in the room still awake, and not for the first time that night, she blamed it all on frustration.
There was just no way to get the events of the night out of her mind, no way at all. Not of the kiss, not of the conversation that she and Sam had tried desperately to pretend they couldn't overhear between Faith and Dean, not of the way her heart was still beating and her lips were still burning and her skin was still tingling, as if it had only been mere seconds since she and Dean had kissed.
Faith shifted in her sleep next to her, and Buffy cringed, guilt still heating up the blood in her veins.
But this was a different kind of guilt, because she was sure about something now. She was sure about Dean, and about the way she felt about him. He was inside her heart, her body, her blood. There was no ignoring that they had something special, he'd made her see that with his irresistible kisses and his electrifying touches, and she knew now that it was time she stopped trying.
She also knew that there would be a whole lot of chaos when everybody finally found out.
Buffy wasn't sure what time it was when she finally managed to drift off to sleep, and she also wasn't sure what time it was when she was awoken not long later by the sound of heated voices.
"Wuz goin' on?" she asked drowsily, pushing herself up into a sitting position and rubbing her tired eyes.
"Dad! Where are you?" she heard what sounded suspiciously like Sam demand desperately. And then, "What? Why the hell not?"
She shook her head to try and clear the confusion a little. In the next bed, she saw Dean sit up and question Sam whether or not the person he was speaking to on the phone was their father.
His words immediately dispersed her of any tiredness and it was with wide eyes that she watched Sam heatedly inquire about the demon – their demon – before getting into what was clearly an argument.
Finally, and thankfully because he was getting more and more frustrated as he received no answers to his questions, the cellphone was snatched out of his hands by an impatient looking Dean, and all Buffy could do was watch as Sam slumped helplessly against the side of her bed.
"How did you even manage to get a hold of him?" Buffy asked Sam quietly as Dean wrote down the orders that their father was giving him.
"I didn't," Sam replied dully. "He's the one that called us, the asshole. All this time worrying out of our minds about him and he's perfectly fine. You think he might have picked up the phone to let us know that before now."
Buffy wanted to say something reassuring, to rid him of the helpless look that marred his face, but it seemed that words completely eluded her.
Thankfully she was saved by an alert Dean whipping his sheets off and jumping out of bed. "Wake up Faith and pack your stuff," he ordered, barely even sparing Buffy a glance. "We've got a job to do."
"I'm telling you, the guy is just...a genius!" Dean gushed admiringly about his father as he studied the case notes in the car not long later. He'd been rifling through them ever since they'd left the motel, and in his eagerness, he'd even let Sam drive.
Buffy flinched in the backseat when Sam cursed and swerved suddenly to a stop at the side of the road.
"Jesus, Sammy!" Faith yelled. "Give a gal a warning next time, would ya?"
Sam didn't even seem to hear what she'd said. Instead he turned to his brother and announced that they would be dropping the case and heading out to California to find their dad.
Buffy, feeling very awkward to be sat so close to their heated family argument, leaned over and snagged the map off of Dean's lap so that she could study it and pretend she couldn't hear them.
"Don't be stupid, Dad doesn't even want out help," Dean protested.
"I don't care," Sam answered back petulantly. "If he's looking for the demon, I want in!"
"Are you an idiot? He gave us an order, Sam! He gives us an order, we follow it. That's the way things go!"
"Did you not just hear me say I don't care?"
Buffy frowned down at the map she was studying, looking closer at the place Dean had circled. "Oh, hey!" she spoke up. "What a coincidence! My aunt and uncle actually live in this town. Maybe they could help us out."
Of course, nobody listened to a word she'd said. Not that she'd really expected it.
Back in the front, the conversation was getting angrier and less rational by the second, and Buffy shrank down in her seat, wishing to God that she could be any place but there.
Faith, on the other hand, was leaning forwards and watching the debate obviously and without any signs of embarrassment.
Buffy closed her eyes and bit her lip as she overheard Sam tell Dean that he couldn't possibly have any idea how it felt to lose someone, because he'd been so young when their mother had died. Right then she decided that Sam had taken it too far. Jess may have died recently, but it really didn't give him any excuse to treat his brother this way.
Things were quickly sliding out of control, but she had no idea how on earth she was supposed to stop it without getting involved in what was clearly a 'family only' kind of thing.
She was yanked out of her internal debate when Sam, followed quickly by Dean, slammed out of the car and moved around to the trunk. She felt bad for even thinking it, but she was kind of glad they'd chosen to take it someplace else – even if she could still hear every word that was being said.
Her eyes widened in alarm when she spotted Sam remove his bags from the trunk of the car, and they widened even further when he announced that he was leaving for California whether Dean wanted to come with him or not.
"Come on, B," Faith commanded, sliding over to the door so that she could climb out. "Time to roll."
Faith wanted them to break up the fight? This wouldn't go down well.
Buffy groaned, but had no choice but to scramble out of the car after Faith.
"Faith, wait!" she called. "What are you-" She paused mid sentence when she realized that Faith was not breaking up the argument, but retrieving her own bags from the trunk instead. "Faith, what are you doing? Seriously?"
Ignoring her, Faith turned to Dean as she heaved the bags up onto her shoulder. "You're being totally unreasonable."
"What?" Dean frowned. "What the hell are you even talking about? This has nothing to do with you."
"I'm talking about the fact that you go on and on about how the whole reason you live your life the way you do is so you can hunt and kill that demon, right? So this is your big chance! Why aren't you taking it? You gonna screw over your own brother just to follow one of Daddy's stupid orders?"
"Uh...Faith?" Buffy intervened awkwardly. "I really don't think this is any of our business. We should just stay out of it and let Sam and Dean work it out for themselves-"
"Sam is leaving, Buffy!" Faith yelled. "And we're going with him. Hurry up and get your stuff."
"What? What do you mean we're going with him? Faith, we can't leave. We can't split up. Sam will come around-"
"No I won't," Sam interjected harshly.
"Sam's right about this," Faith commented. "and Dean's wrong. And Dean's the one being a jerk about the whole thing. Sam's going, and I don't blame him. Hell, I intend to join him."
It pained her, but Buffy couldn't help but think that Faith was reacting so harshly towards Dean because of what had occurred between them earlier on in the night. She'd never really been rejected by a guy before, and it was stinging her pride. On any other day, she would have slapped Sam over the head and told him to stop being an ass and to get him teeny tiny butt back into the car so that they could discuss the situation properly.
Now there was just...this.
"You know what," Dean exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "Screw this. And screw you, Sam. I'm going. Now. And I will leave without you, I mean it."
"Good!" Sam shouted. "That's what I've been trying to get you to do this whole time." And with those final words, he hoisted his bag higher up on his shoulder and turned and began to walk away, determination in his every step.
Dean watched him go for a moment, before shaking his head in disgust and slamming his way back into the car.
"So?" Faith asked Buffy.
"So what?"
"So are you coming or what?"
Buffy felt like someone was tearing at her insides, and all she wanted to do was cry. How had this happened so quickly? How had it gotten to this? "I can't," she replied quietly. "I need to stay with Dean."
Faith looked gobsmacked by her answer, and honestly, Buffy didn't blame her. "Are you actually kidding me? I'm telling you right now, Buffy, this is a choice. Okay? A real choice. You pick me and Sam, or Dean. What's it gonna be?"
"I'm so sorry," Buffy expressed, backing away and blinking the tears out of her eyes. "I just...he needs me."
Faith nodded once. "Fine." And then she turned and headed after Sam's retreating back, her body stiff and unyielding.
Buffy watched her go until she could no longer see anything of Faith and Sam, and it was with a very heavy heart that she climbed back into the car besides Dean.
He turned to her as she closed the door, looking more than surprised to see her there. He said nothing, however, and it was only a moment later that he turned back to the wheel and started up the car.
Buffy rested her head against the cold window as they drove away, a silent tear making it's tracks down her flushed cheek.
They drove in silence for well over an hour, both too troubled over what had just happened to take part in any kind of conversation.
Their family had just separated, and neither had been able to stop it.
Finally, Dean huffed and pulled over to the side of the road, unable to drive any further with his blurred vision. "Mother fucker!" he cursed loudly, punching at the steering wheel in fury at himself.
Buffy immediately moved over closer to him and wrapped him up in her arms, providing the comfort that both of them needed. Dean tucked his head into her neck and stroked one of her arms.
The moment, however, was over within seconds. Dean pulled away and shrugged Buffy off without even a word to explain why.
She sat back in her seat, hurt by his attitude and blatant dismissal. She hadn't just ditched her best friend on the side of the road to be treated like she didn't even matter.
Taking a deep, calming breath, she shook her head at herself. He was just upset over Sam. Of course he was going to act differently. He needed time to cool down and honestly, so did she.
"So...what are we gonna do now?" he asked him, her voice quiet and cautious.
Dean was silent for a moment more, before sitting up straight and arranging his face into a businesslike expression. "Now we're gonna do our job,"he announced stiffly. "Just like we're supposed to."
Buffy nodded. "Right. Where do we start?"
"Am I being crazy, or do I remember you mentioning something about an aunt an uncle earlier?"
"Uncle Harley is my dad's older brother," Buffy was busy explaining to Dean as they drove into town early the next morning, after getting only two and a half hours of uncomfortable sleep in the car. "He and Aunt Stacey lived practically next door to us back in LA. But then when Celia – she was their daughter – when Celia died they moved away and came here. Wanted to be somewhere quieter, I guess."
"Was it a normal death? Not...supernatural...I mean," Dean asked.
"No, it was supernatural alright." She looked out of the car window, her mind heavy with bad memories. "Except I didn't find that out 'till I was seventeen and almost killed by the same ugly bastard myself."
He looked over at her for the first time that morning, sympathy shining from his eyes. "Man, that just sucks. I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's okay. I man, when I was a kid I never really got over seeing Celia die, but killing the hell out of the thing that murdered her – big help. Kind of like therapy, but with the butt kicking and the ick factor."
"They should doctor recommend it."
"When my aunt and uncle left, they really just left. They didn't keep in touch with anyone, apart from the occasional Christmas card. When my mom and dad divorced, we stopped hearing from them altogether. I left them a message when my mom died but they never called."
"Then how do you know they're even still here? They could have moved years ago."
"I still talk to my dad like, once a year. He's a real stand up guy." She snorted at her own sarcastic words. "I know he still gets the occasional card from them and he would have mentioned that they'd moved in our last annual phone call."
Dean seemed satisfied with her explanation, and pulled up in town only minutes later.
As Buffy gathered up her jacket from the backseat, she spied Dean checking out his cellphone from the corner of her eye.
She and Faith had already shared apologetic texts this morning, but she knew that Dean had hard nothing from Sam. She also knew that he was just bursting to call him. Check up on him, update him, call him an ass. Anything.
If only he'd get over his stupid pride.
"Why don't you just give him a call?" she suggested gently. Perhaps all he needed was a little encouragement?
Dean responded by slapping his cellphone shut and tossing her an annoyed glare. "Back off," he warned. "This is family stuff. Nothing to do with you so just leave it."
Buffy, taken aback by his harsh manner, shrank back in her seat, feeling incredibly stupid for ever thinking that he considered her and Faith to be family, even if only in an odd, unconventional kind of way.
But within seconds she went from hurt to mad. How dare he treat her this way?! How dare he act like such a gigantic ass towards her when she was the only one ho had stuck by him, which had almost resulted in her losing one of her best friends in the process?
With a sigh of utter frustration, she opened the car door and climbed out, muttering 'Fine.' under her breath. As she stalked away, she heard him exiting after her.
"Where are you going?" he called.
"To find my aunt and uncle," she replied sharply, without even looking back in his direction.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Do whatever you want, I don't care. Talk to some of the other residents living in town. Ask if they've seen anything of the missing people."
She was pretty sure she might have heard him mutter something sarcastic in response, but she was too far away to hear him clearly and quite frankly, she didn't really care. He could just go on being a big arrogant douchebag for as long as he wanted.
Jerk.
Shoving her hands into her pockets in indignation, she paused for a moment when she realized her pockets weren't empty as she'd left him. She pulled out one of her hands, watching in fascination as tiny grains of salt ran through her fingers and dropped onto the floor.
Stupid frikkin' Dean and his stupid frikkin' sweet as hell habits!
Just when she was all righteously pissed at him he had to go and do something totally adorable. Even when he was being a dick he was still thinking about protecting her. And okay, maybe adorable was stretching it just alittle – after all, the salt would be a total bitch to clean out – but it at least showed he cared. Kind of.
After the way he'd been acting with her since Faith and Sam had left, she'd been having serious doubts.
Dammit.
"I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with...R." Faith smirked triumphantly, sure that Sam wouldn't get this one.
"Road," he replied dryly, rolling his eyes.
Faith was impressed. "Wow, Sammy boy! You're really good at this! Did you and Dean play a lot when you were kids?"
"Nope, not really. But the road is the only thing around here. For miles. It's been the only thing around for hours."
Faith sighed at the sound of his irritated voice. They'd walked right through the night, despite her suggestions that they stop off and use the sleeping bags somewhere. She was doing perfectly fine, if a little hungry – slayer stamina and all – but Sam was beyond tired. He was exhausted and frustrated but refused to stop, determined as he was to get to his father as soon as humanely possible.
They both paused mid stride as they turned a corner in the road.
"Not the only thing around..." she trailed off as they spied a blonde girl lounging on the grass, not too far away.
Sam visibly perked up at the prospect of something – anything – different happening to brighten up the morning. "Hey there!" he called out to her.
The girl didn't acknowledge that she'd seen or heard him in any way.
"Hello?" Sam's voice was louder this time, and a little confused.
"She has earphones in, Sam," Faith pointed out, trying hard not to laugh when the girl once again failed to respond.
Sam blushed slightly and then shrugged, before making a move towards the girl.
"Wait!" Faith hissed, holding a halting arm out in front of his chest. "Maybe we shouldn't. Let's just ignore her and keep on going."
"What? Why? She's just a traveler. Like us."
Faith rolled hey eyes. For a smart guy he was awfully naive. Oh yeah, 'cause we're just your normal, everyday travelers. Nothing weird about us at all."
"You know what I mean."
"So do you. Me and you might look like a normal guy and girl, but we ain't. And she might not be ether. You gotta learn to be cautious, kiddo. Thought your daddy taught you all this?"
Sam bristled at the mention of his father, and for a small, stubborn moment, he felt just like that awkward teenager sulking in the backseat of the car because John had denied him something every other normalteenager took for granted.
He suddenly became all the more determined to speak to the girl.
"Come on, Faith. Look at her. She's just a girl. What if she needs our help or something?"
And before Faith could make any further protests, he had pushed past her arm and leaned down to tap the girl on the shoulder.
Faith watched, her eyes growing narrower by the second, as Sam and the blonde girl shared flirtatious words. The girl spoke to him through hooded eyes an pouty lips and Faith had to physically restrain herself from gagging as Sam practically drooled all over her. She almost thanked God out loud when the first truck they had seen that morning pulled up besides them and the greasy looking man inside rolled down the window and offered them a ride.
"Not you, though," the driver warned Sam with a shrug. "Just the girls. I ain't taking you nowhere."
Pulling a nonchalant face, Faith stepped back next to Sam. "Sorry, man. I'm sticking with Stretch."
"Whatever," the driver replied. "Your loss, little lady." He glanced over at the blonde girl, giving her an obvious leer. "Hows about you, blossom? You getting in or are you gonna keep walking like these two knuckleheads?"
"I'm in," she chirped, grabbing up her bags and heaving them into the door he ad just opened for her.
Sam widened his eyes in shock at her actions. "Wait. Are you sure you should go with him? He might not be safe."
The truck driver scoffed and folded his arms, and the blonde girl merely chuckled as she climbed into the passenger seat. "Trust me, cutie. I can take care of myself."
"But-"
Sam's next words were drowned out as the driver started up the truck. Within seconds they were gone, leaving him open mouthed in a cloud of dust.
Faith sighed with relief, glad that the girl was gone. There had been something about her that just hadn't felt right, and she was glad that for once, trouble had easily been averted.
Buffy let herself into the little store attached to the town garage, guessing that it belonged to her uncle due to the big, bright sign with his name on it sitting on top of the roof. She looked up as she heard the bell on the door jingle.
"Sweet merciful Mary!" she heard a soft voice exclaim. She looked over towards the counter to see her Aunt Stacey – looking much older than she remembered but still most definitely her aunt – staring at her with wide eyes and a hand placed directly over her heart. "Buffy? Little Buffy? Is that really you? Why, I haven't seen you since you were just a wee little thing!"
Buffy nodded slowly, forcing a smile onto her face. "Well I'm not so little anymore, but yeah...it's me. Buffy. Your niece."
Stacey rushed out from behind the counter and swept up a surprised Buffy into a tight embrace. "My dear, it's been so long! So long. And you've grown into such a beautiful young thing!" She released her hold on Buffy and turned towards another door Buffy could only assume led into a back room. "Hey, Harley! Harley! Come on out here and see who just turned up outta the blue!"
Buffy was amazed to be receiving such a warm welcome after all the years without contact. To be honest, she'd expected nothing more than hostility and mild politeness. And as much as she wanted to act mad and hurt that they had abandoned her and Dawn for all this time, being hugged by such a familiar, motherly figure was just too nice. If Dean didn't want her to be a part of his family, then she could easily just be a part of her own.
Besides, she'd always liked Stacey and Harley when she had been younger, and had missed them when they'd stopped coming around.
Harley chose that moment to bustle out of the back room, startling Buffy out of her contemplative thoughts. He paused in a pleased kind of shock as he saw who was standing next to his wife. "Bless my soul," he gasped. "If it's not out sweet, little niece!"
Buffy laughed and moved into his outstretched arms. "Enough with the little already! I may be small but I pack a surprisingly spiffy punch."
He pulled back and grasped at her shoulders, moisture in his happy eyes. "Exactly like we left you. The same cheerful little girl."
She coughed awkwardly an averted her eyes. "Hmm. Not exactly the same..."
"Oh, I know. You're all grown up now."
"Uh...sure." She frowned and stepped back, glancing between her aunt and uncle with a furrowed brow. "Not that I'm not happy to see you guys or anything, because I really, really am, but I just wasn't expecting you to be as pleased to see...well, me. I mean, you haven't exactly been keepintoucho guys for the last...two decades."
Stacey an Harley shared a glance full of shame and doubt.
"You're right. Of course you're right," Stacey acknowledged, hanging her head. "We've been the worst kind of family to you and poor Dawn. We just...please understand, Buffy. After we...after we lost Celia we had to get away. Away from Los Angeles – so full of reminders. Even you, honey. You two girls were so close, and it was just so heartbreaking to see her in your little face. By the time we could come to terms with what had happened you'd gone and moved away to Sunnydale and we didn't have your address. I know we could have gotten it of your father but...we were just so ashamed."
Harley shook his head pitifully. "And one day we turn on the television and the reporter is telling us all about a little town called Sunydale turning into some kind of crater! I tell you, the day your father told us that you and Dawn had gotten out in time was one of the happiest we'd had in a long while."
Buffy felt awful. Awful for judging them and bringing up Celia when even now it was clearly still hard for them to talk about. And it couldn't be easy, either, seeing her. She and Celia had been almost the same age, and her presence must have brought up a lot of 'what ifs' in their minds. "It's okay, really," she hastened to assure them.
Although truthfully, it still kind of wasn't. She and Dawn could have really used their comfort after their mother had died, especially with their father going awol.
But they were family, and family forgave family.
She drifted away as her aunt and uncle exclaimed some more over how beautiful she'd grown and how oh so proud they were of her. She zoned back in just in time to answer question after question about Dawn and to show them the photograph she kept of her sister in her purse.
"Oh!" Stacey gasped excitedly, clapping her hands and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You should meet Joshua! I can't believe we haven't introduced you to Joshua!"
"Why? Who's he?"
"He works for us here at the garage. Such a treasure! And his daughter, too. Little Ella her name is. Joshua and Ella used to live here with us, but they moved into their own house just last year."
"Did I hear someone mention my name?"
Buffy raised her eyebrows appreciatively when a young, very attractive man popped his head around the doorway Harley had appeared from not too long before.
Stacey smiled and gestured for him to come in.
"What's up, Stace?" he asked.
"Come over here. I want you to meet our niece."
His eyes, which had swept quickly – yet approvingly – past Buffy just seconds before, swiveled back around to study her more deeply once he realized that she wasn't just the customer he'd assumed. Judging by the small smile and the shine in his eyes, he liked what he saw. "Right," he said, holding out his hand to her. "Stacey and Harley have actually mentioned you once or twice. Buffy or Dawn?"
"Buffy," she informed him, smiling and taking a hold of his hand. It was large and warm, and rough due to to the physical nature of his job. Perfect hands.
"That's a real pretty name, Buffy. I'm Josh."
It was a short ten minutes later when Dean finally sauntered into the garage, only to find Buffy and some guy chuckling together like old friends. He narrowed his eyes as he studied this new intruder.
He didn't like him. Not one bit.
Especially seeing as Dean knew that he was probably considered a 'babe' to most girls. With his stupid blonde hair and stupid tall tallness. Stupid good looking freak.
Hearing the bell above the door chime, they both turned at the same time to glance in his direction.
"Oh," Buffy droned. "It's you. Fun."
"This a friend of yours, honey?" an older man – who Dean assumed must be the uncle Buffy had been talking about – questioned.
She shrugged. "We kind of...travel together. Sort of."
She groaned internally when Stacey and Harley's faces dissolved into horrified, disgraced expressions, and remembered too late just how old fashioned they could be. The fact that she and Dean traveled alone together unmarried and unsupervised would practically be a sin in their eyes.
"Just the two of you?" Stacey inquired, her voice high. "A young man and a woman? On their own? Together?"
Dean was easily able to see where this was going, and though he'd have loved to watch it pan out, because hey, he needed a good laugh, he also knew they just didn't have the time. With that in mind, he moved over to Buffy's side and slid and arm around her little waist, kissing the top of her head lovingly. "Actually, we're engaged. Ain't that right, Buffyboo?" He looked over at the others with a sickening smile. "That's my little nickname for her. Cute, right?"
Her aunt and uncle smiled delightedly, and the new guy just looked kind of grossed out.
Ha!
Buffy tutted in irritation for his annoying – yet perfectly timed – involvement.
"Buffy, you never mentioned anything about being engaged," a delighted looking Stacey pointed out.
"I wanted to wait until Deany got here," Buffy replied, forcing herself to play along with a voice full of faux sweetness. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pinched him hard, so that no one else could notice, and grinned sneakily when she noticed him trying not to wince. "Dean, this is my Aunt Stacey and Uncle Harley, and this is Josh."
"Yeah, and who's he when he's at home?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at Dean's blatant rudeness. "He works here."
"Hm." Dean dismissed Josh easily with an upturned nose, and turned to Stacey and Harley. "It's so nice to meet you both," he charmed. "Any day I get to meet an extension of my bubbywubby is a good day for me."
"Aren't you just the sweetest thing!" Stacey frowned as she looked down at Buffy's hand. "Oh, but where's your engagement ring?"
"I don't have one," Buffy replied with a sad little sigh. "Dean said he'd rather spend the money on his car. He's cheap that way."
Ha freakin' ha! She'd soon show Dean he wasn't the only one who could act like a total asshole. Two could play at that game.
Dean coughed in embarrassment as the others in the room all turned to stare at him like he was some kind of movie villain. "Uhm...so anyway...there was actually a reason we stopped by..."
"Other than to catch up with my family, of course," Buffy put in.
Harley stepped forwards, concern etched onto his features. "Is everything okay? You're not in some kind of trouble, are you?"
"Not us, no." Dean removed his arm from around Buffy, instantly becoming more businesslike as they finally got down to the job at hand. He dug around inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a picture of the latest couple to have gone missing, just last year. Holding it up for them to see, he said, "They're friends of ours, but we haven't heard from them in a year. No one has. They just completely disappeared. Apparently they came through this way. You remember them at all?"
Harley took the picture to study is closer. He squinted his eyes in concentration but eventually shook his head. "Nope. Sorry, kiddo. Stacey, you remember these guys?"
"No, and I'm usually quite good with faces. Are you definitely sure it was here they passed through? There are a couple of other towns nearby."
"Pretty sure, yeah."
"Hey," Josh, who had been peering at the photo over Harley's shoulder, suddenly exclaimed. "Can I take a closer look at that?"
"Why?" Dean replied, his tone laced with hostility. "You think you've got a better memory than these two nice folks here?"
Huffing at Dean's immaturity, Buffy took the picture from her uncle and passed it to Josh, smiling an apology.
Josh studied the picture closely, and after a moment or two began to nod his head, a shine of recognition flaring in his eyes. "Yeah! Yeah, I remember them! Or I remember that guy's tattoo, anyway. It was pretty awesome. I even considered getting one myself, for a while – until I remembered that I'm a total wimp, anyway."
Dean snorted, his face filling with disgust when Buffy giggled prettily.
"Don't you remember them?" Josh continued, pointedly ignoring Dean and turning to Harley and Stacey. "They'd only just gotten married. A real nice couple."
Harley scrunched up his forehead as he tried to remember, and then began to nod, awareness dawning on his face. "That's right," he said, changing his mind far too quickly in Dean's opinion. "Yeah. They stopped by here to top up on some gas. Couldn't have hung around longer than ten, twenty minutes though."
"Do you remember anything else?" Dean questioned. "Did they mention any plans? Where they were heading to? That kind of thing."
"Not really. I mean, they asked me how to bet back onto the interstate so I pointed them in that direction. And then they just left."
"Hmm. Could you give me those same directions?"
"I sure could."