Hi everyone!
Special thanks to bwburke94, momnesia and HarriettWithTea for their reviews, I love to read them and they motivate me to keep writing. I think I should warn that while I'll try to update several times during this weekend, I'm going back to class on Monday, so updates will be a bit slower from then on. I will still try to update as often as possible, just hope that my muse doesn't leave me for a while!
Enjoy!
Lee out.
"The Slayer doesn't like you, love." Spike told her, the night the Council interviewed them, a couple hours after they left. They were both sitting on the armchair, Ally on the armrest, watching TV and eating some snacks. For Ally, it was apple purée, for Spike, a mug of pig's blood.
"Why is that? She doesn't even know me." She frowned, setting her jar on her thigh to look at the vampire.
"She saw you slaying the other night. She thinks you are a demon or something like that. Won't even listen to anyone. Think it pissed her off that you could do her job without the powers, she's territorial." He smirked and she could detect a hint of pride in his voice. Was he proud of her? It made her cheeks get warm and rosy.
"Should I talk to her?" She shifted, her arm brushing against the bleach blond, slightly leaning against him.
"I'd avoid her like the pest, if I were you. Goldilocks has a problem controlling her temper." He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was glad Ally felt safe with him. He was turning quite protective of her, thinking back to his reactions when the Slayer got anywhere close to threatening her. Maybe it was because he was lonely, what with killing demons and vampires, while the humans treated him like filth.
"But... is she going to try to kill me or something?"
"Not yet, at least. They have bigger things to worry about. Some kind of big demon looking for something the Slayer has. That's what the Council is here for. They have info on the demon, but they won't give it to Little Miss Tiny until she passes their... test." He took a gulp of his blood, almost done with the mug, and glanced at his friend. "I think she's the only one who wants you out so I wouldn't worry too much."
"Thanks for the heads up, anyways." She smiled at him, happy to have him around.
She had fallen asleep watching Passions. Honestly, Spike thought that was an outrage, but had let her sleep, moving her to the seat when the show was over, knowing that her back would hurt like hell if he put her on top of the tomb. Humans were just not meant to sleep there. He was OK there, though.
And that's where he was when he was woken up by the door opening and letting the sun in, screaming and jumping to his feet to find the Slayer in front of him. Ally stood up from the armchair, pulling a stake out in the blink of an eye at his yelling. There was a blonde girl standing in front of him, almost hidden beneath a heavy cream coloured coat.
"Oh, it's the Slayer. For a second there I was worried." Rubbing the sleep out of them, his eyes moved to Ally to make sure she was fine, and found the other two Summers women standing on the door. "So, what's with the family outing?"
At this, Ally looked at the door to see her new young friend next to a blonde woman, both looking quite uncomfortable. "Dawn?" She was related to the Slayer? What was going on?
"Hey, Ally." The teen managed to smile lightly at her, her eyes fleeting back to the vampire and the young woman next to the tomb.
"I need your help." Buffy said quietly, trying to have a somewhat private conversation.
"Great. I need your cash." He replied in a carefree way, only to be cut by the blonde girl.
"I'm serious. You have to look after them." By this point, Ally was sure something really bad was happening. If the Slayer thought she was a threat, yet didn't even look at her or care about her at the moment, it surely meant something was wrong. Like, ask-a-vampire-to-look-after-your-family wrong.
"Well, that's a boatload of manly responsibility to come flying out of nowhere. What's the matter, Slayer? You're not feeling a hundred percent?" He mocked, making Ally want to smack him. He did that quite a lot, actually.
"No."
"They didn't put a chip in your head, did they?" Chip? Where the hell was that coming from? Ally knew there was more to it than she knew, yet she let it slide at the moment.
"No!"
"Be funny if they did." He continued teasing, almost like he was asking for a kick in the gut.
"Spike." She called to him, shooting him a serious look to make sure he paid attention. "Listen to her. Something's wrong." Buffy glanced at her for a second before focusing back on the vampire.
"Spike, I need an answer. Now. In or out?" She paused and her voice dropped down a notch. "You're the only one strong enough to protect them."
Ally was sure now. Something terrible had happened. Something was after them. Something was after Dawn. Her friend. She put her stake back on the waistband of her jeans and shot the teen a reassuring smile. She wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"All right then." Spike gave in, Ally holding back a smile. He definitely wasn't evil. No matter how much he insisted he was. Big softie. "Ladies..." He walked towards the front door, where the women stood, Buffy following him. "Come on in. There's plenty of blood in the fridge."
Both women got further into the crypt, Dawn approaching her friend instantly while glancing at the fridge. "Do you mean like, real blood?" Her face scrunched up and Ally tried not to laugh. Oh, dear, the kid was so naive.
"What do you think?" Spike replied, not six feet away from them.
"Mostly, I think 'eww'." The wannabe slayer outright laughed at this, covering her mouth with her hand while leaning against the wall, soon joined by the teen.
Buffy, meanwhile, was telling her mom to stay there with Dawn, that she would be back soon, before turning her head towards the new girl, way too close to her sister to feel safe.
"If someone finds out they're here, I'll assumed it was you, and I'll hunt you down." She threatened, making Dawn tense next to them, shouting 'hey!' at her sister.
"What's your problem with me, Slayer? We hadn't even met before now. You don't know me so you assume I'm a demon? I fight the same things you do. I just do it with less equipment and more bruises." She defended herself, standing straight and crossing her arms over her chest, towering over the Slayer, a good five inches shorter than her. "If something is after them, I'll help you. I won't let anything hurt her." She gestured towards Dawn with her head, holding the blondie's stare.
"You better." She hissed before turning around and leaving.
Both young girls sighed when the Slayer was out of sight, Ally turning to look at the brunette warmly.
"Uh... Sorry for... my daughter's attitude, I'm Joyce Summers." The other woman approached her, holding her hand out for her.
"Ally Finn. Pleased to meet you. So you're Dawn's mom, huh? You have a lovely daughter." She smiled, shaking the woman's hand. She was definitely a mother, she had that warm look, even when they were hiding in a vampire's crypt.
"Yeah, at least one of them." Dawn quipped before leaving to sit on top of the tomb.
"I... Are you... Are you two...?" She looked from Spike to her several times, but the vampire was oblivious, occupied with turning his dear telly on. "Are you two together?"
"No! No, no. We're friends. I just... fell asleep here last night and... yeah, I just woke up, in case it wasn't obvious." Ally smiled sheepishly, moving her hand through her hair to try to tame it a bit.
"You fell asleep during Passions. I still can't believe you did that. I was this far from throwing you out for the 'evil crawlies' to eat you for that." Spike growled, shooting her a playful glare and making her huff.
"Passions? Oh, do you think Timmy's really dead?" The woman immediately inched closer to the armchair, lost in the conversation even before it started.
Ally left them to argue about the characters of the cheesy soap opera to go back to Dawn, sitting cross-legged on top of the tomb with a notebook on top of her legs and an addled expression.
"Homework?" She sat next to the teen, looking at the notebook over her shoulder and seeing her nod. "Need some help?"
"Please." She whined, battling her eyelashes at her pleadingly.
