Start Chapter 5.
I own nothing. Joss is all, altho, it is blatantly evident he doesn't love them as we do. Poor Scoobies...*pats Buffy and Spike on the head, then Dawn, Tara, and Willow* *swats Anya* Baaaaad Anya. NO SEX FOR YOU! Sorry.... Ummm.... the date ends, the future arrives in a less than attractive package to some.
The clock in the living room chimed ten times, and the vampire sat next to the slayer, both seemingly watching "The Practice".
Spike sprang from the couch, pacing. "How are you so *callllm*?" He spat at her. "Your baby sister is sitting in a restaurant, or a theater, or a car with some... hormonal little -teenager-" he spat the word like an obscenity, "with nothing on his mind but dating OUR Niblet."
Buffy looked up from where she REALLY had been watching "The Practice", and said easily, "Dawn is smart. And I like that kid. He's nice. Normal. Good." She laughed a tiny bit. "I think I kissed his brother on a dare, once."
Spike kicked the wall. "I hate this. I hate this. I want to kill him. I want to string his heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver like popcorn at Christmas and present it to other little perverts with designs on my Niblet as incentive to keep their disgusting mitts off what's mine."
She glanced at him mildly. "Hey. Then we could cut off their hands at the wrists and stick them on poles in the front yard." What scared her was that he gave her ludicrous proposition a moments sincere thought.
"Mmm... No," he dismissed the idea.
Buffy sighed in relief.
"That would alert the police. Besides. To really make a statement, you'd need at least ten hands. We only need one boy for all those organs. People go missing all the time in Sunnydale, one wouldn't be too noticed. But five guys at one time? That's a red flag," he mused.
Buffy rolled her eyes, strolled into the kitchen for more popcorn. And some marshmallows and cocoa for Spike. She laughed silently. His nerves were so shot. Granted hers were a bit frayed.... But she still remembered her first date. She had fun. And was good.
They both heard a car pull into the driveway, but only Spike reacted to it. Scrambling over the couch to peek discreetly out the window, he smiled, and reported, "He's opening the door for her."
"That's a gentlemanly thing to do." Buffy sat down his cocoa.
"Yeah, damn right, little whelp... HEY! HEY!! He's caging her in!! What the hell!? I TAUGHT her self-defense! Damnit! Knee him, Niblet!! Knee him!"
Buffy glanced out the window, trying not be as 'secret-agent' about it as Spike was. "Aww... Billy JoHansen did that to me our first date. Smelled my hair, said something really sweet, and moved in."
"She's! She's... HEY!!" He protested as Buffy removed him forcibly from the window. "I don't know if they kissed or not!! What the hell are you doing? I need to watch-"
"Spike. Big girl. Can take care of herself. Leave her be. I'd have killed anyone who watched my first kiss. Now sit on the couch like a normal demon, and drink your cocoa."
Grumbling, doing as he was told, he was surprised to hear the door opening and Dawn mumbling, "No... Andrew... You *really* don't wanna do that."
"Yes, I do. Dawn... I respect him and-"
"You're scared of him."
"Well, hell yes, I was. He's one scary son of a bitch."
Spike almost growled at that language around Dawn. Then remembered everything HE had said around her.
She sighed. "Fine."
Andrew walked in, motioning for Dawn to precede him into the room.
"Buffy, William, I wanted you to know that Dawn got home all right, and if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak to you, sir."
"Of course. Why don't we go out on the porch." He rose, grabbed his duster with his cigarettes. As the boys went outside, the girls glanced at each other and took off running for their mother's bedroom. As soon as they entered the room, they opened the window, having no hope of *seeing* what was happening, but knowing they'd at least hear.
"Those are really bad," Andrew commented as Spike drew off the cigarette.
He snorted. "I promise, I won't die from 'em."
"Maybe not, but it's bad for Dawn. She misses a lot of school already. I mean, she explained."
"Explained what?" Spike questioned carefully.
"That her immune system is weak. She was a preemie, so it was never fully developed, so she misses a lot of school. But the cigarettes can't help her any."
"I don't smoke around my Niblet, punk."
The girls could hear his rising ire.
"Good. I mean... thank you. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Dawn and I were talking about you, and she's been telling me how much you mean to her. And if someone as great as she is likes you, respects you, then I want to do this correctly."
"You can't marry her. Piss off. Try again in five years. Then I can kill you."
Andrew chuckled. "Good. I don't want to marry anyone till I can support them. Probably not till after college. But... I want you to know that I won't... do anything with Dawn unless she's ready. And I want to ask you if it would be all right if I took Dawn out again on Saturday. I'm..." he chuckled, blushed, ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not allowed to date during the week. I wouldn't anyway."
"Why not?" He hated to admit it, but the kid was winning him over.
"Mom. She works. My dad left about ten years ago, but I've still got two little siblings at home that need care and help. So I have to be home so Mom can work."
"How old are the 'bits?"
"Um... Casey's nine, and he always needs help with spelling. And Lily is six. She's just getting the addition and subtraction thing." He smiled proudly. "She's really smart. Both of them are."
"Hmm... But they still need help with things. Must be a regular pain in the arse. Cramp your style. No one likes someone with that kind of baggage."
Buffy had to restrain Dawn from going downstairs and beating Spike.
"They aren't -baggage-," Andrew stated coldly. "They're family. The only difference is that complete assholes see family as things that can't take care of themselves and as hinderances. Real people who love their families seem them as the future, and things to love. So think twice before insulting my family."
Spike hid a grin behind his hand as he took another drag off his cigarette.
The boy clearly wasn't finished. "Besides. I don't want anyone who doesn't like them. And Dawn does. She really likes them, even when *I* get impatient with them, Dawn just sits and works through the problem."
The older man smiled fondly. "Tha's my Niblet."
Andrew laughed. "I asked her how she got that patient, and she said it was the only way to keep some people from running out and killing things before they thought it through."
"Mmm..." Spike mumbled, non-committal, then, "My sister's name was Lily. Long blond hair, big eyes."
"So does mine," Andrew said.
Spike half smiled. "Her eyes weren't blue. They were too... pretty to be plain blue. When she laughed, they were almost violet, and when she got mad and started throwing punches, they were cerulean."
"She beats up on you?"
Laughing, he remembered picking her up in one of her fits, brassed off because she wasn't allowed to play with big brother's book, and twirling her in circles till she was dizzy, setting her down, and getting a hug, kiss and a "I lohv you, Will-um". "I used to let her pretend."
"Where is she?"
Startled by the question, he said sharply, "In England... Somewhere in England." 'A cemetery... At least I didn't kill them... Let them live, never knew I was watching them... that I was the man that they bumped into on the streets... At least I didn't kill them like Angelus. Got to watch my baby sis get married. Had to dip my hand in the holy water... Gah, did it burn. But I slipped in. She was beautiful...'
"Cool."
"Yeah.... Cool... Well, Andrew. I don't like you. You're not good enough for the Bit. Not by half. But you can pick her up on Saturday. I want her in by midnight."
Andrew tried to repress his smile. "Yes sir."
"Yeah... get on home then... The tots might want a story. Don't get it too gruesome, though. Might cry."
He tried again, failed, and grinned. "Right, sir. Have a good night. Tell Dawn... Tell Dawn... I'll see her tomorrow."
"Mmm..." Spike stood and swirled into the house.
The girls upstairs grinned at one another, and hugged.
"Damnit," Spike mumbled through the last drag of his cigarette, "they're noticing how beautiful my Bit is... high alert from now on... High alert. Better call the Whelp."
End, Chapter 5
More to come... homecoming, Spike and Buffy hookin up. yadadada... Ya know, would it be so friggin hard to leave a couple notes? I mean... really. Please? It's discouraging to not have a lot for my story. *sniffle*
Always. Tequila Sunrise
I own nothing. Joss is all, altho, it is blatantly evident he doesn't love them as we do. Poor Scoobies...*pats Buffy and Spike on the head, then Dawn, Tara, and Willow* *swats Anya* Baaaaad Anya. NO SEX FOR YOU! Sorry.... Ummm.... the date ends, the future arrives in a less than attractive package to some.
The clock in the living room chimed ten times, and the vampire sat next to the slayer, both seemingly watching "The Practice".
Spike sprang from the couch, pacing. "How are you so *callllm*?" He spat at her. "Your baby sister is sitting in a restaurant, or a theater, or a car with some... hormonal little -teenager-" he spat the word like an obscenity, "with nothing on his mind but dating OUR Niblet."
Buffy looked up from where she REALLY had been watching "The Practice", and said easily, "Dawn is smart. And I like that kid. He's nice. Normal. Good." She laughed a tiny bit. "I think I kissed his brother on a dare, once."
Spike kicked the wall. "I hate this. I hate this. I want to kill him. I want to string his heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver like popcorn at Christmas and present it to other little perverts with designs on my Niblet as incentive to keep their disgusting mitts off what's mine."
She glanced at him mildly. "Hey. Then we could cut off their hands at the wrists and stick them on poles in the front yard." What scared her was that he gave her ludicrous proposition a moments sincere thought.
"Mmm... No," he dismissed the idea.
Buffy sighed in relief.
"That would alert the police. Besides. To really make a statement, you'd need at least ten hands. We only need one boy for all those organs. People go missing all the time in Sunnydale, one wouldn't be too noticed. But five guys at one time? That's a red flag," he mused.
Buffy rolled her eyes, strolled into the kitchen for more popcorn. And some marshmallows and cocoa for Spike. She laughed silently. His nerves were so shot. Granted hers were a bit frayed.... But she still remembered her first date. She had fun. And was good.
They both heard a car pull into the driveway, but only Spike reacted to it. Scrambling over the couch to peek discreetly out the window, he smiled, and reported, "He's opening the door for her."
"That's a gentlemanly thing to do." Buffy sat down his cocoa.
"Yeah, damn right, little whelp... HEY! HEY!! He's caging her in!! What the hell!? I TAUGHT her self-defense! Damnit! Knee him, Niblet!! Knee him!"
Buffy glanced out the window, trying not be as 'secret-agent' about it as Spike was. "Aww... Billy JoHansen did that to me our first date. Smelled my hair, said something really sweet, and moved in."
"She's! She's... HEY!!" He protested as Buffy removed him forcibly from the window. "I don't know if they kissed or not!! What the hell are you doing? I need to watch-"
"Spike. Big girl. Can take care of herself. Leave her be. I'd have killed anyone who watched my first kiss. Now sit on the couch like a normal demon, and drink your cocoa."
Grumbling, doing as he was told, he was surprised to hear the door opening and Dawn mumbling, "No... Andrew... You *really* don't wanna do that."
"Yes, I do. Dawn... I respect him and-"
"You're scared of him."
"Well, hell yes, I was. He's one scary son of a bitch."
Spike almost growled at that language around Dawn. Then remembered everything HE had said around her.
She sighed. "Fine."
Andrew walked in, motioning for Dawn to precede him into the room.
"Buffy, William, I wanted you to know that Dawn got home all right, and if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak to you, sir."
"Of course. Why don't we go out on the porch." He rose, grabbed his duster with his cigarettes. As the boys went outside, the girls glanced at each other and took off running for their mother's bedroom. As soon as they entered the room, they opened the window, having no hope of *seeing* what was happening, but knowing they'd at least hear.
"Those are really bad," Andrew commented as Spike drew off the cigarette.
He snorted. "I promise, I won't die from 'em."
"Maybe not, but it's bad for Dawn. She misses a lot of school already. I mean, she explained."
"Explained what?" Spike questioned carefully.
"That her immune system is weak. She was a preemie, so it was never fully developed, so she misses a lot of school. But the cigarettes can't help her any."
"I don't smoke around my Niblet, punk."
The girls could hear his rising ire.
"Good. I mean... thank you. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Dawn and I were talking about you, and she's been telling me how much you mean to her. And if someone as great as she is likes you, respects you, then I want to do this correctly."
"You can't marry her. Piss off. Try again in five years. Then I can kill you."
Andrew chuckled. "Good. I don't want to marry anyone till I can support them. Probably not till after college. But... I want you to know that I won't... do anything with Dawn unless she's ready. And I want to ask you if it would be all right if I took Dawn out again on Saturday. I'm..." he chuckled, blushed, ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not allowed to date during the week. I wouldn't anyway."
"Why not?" He hated to admit it, but the kid was winning him over.
"Mom. She works. My dad left about ten years ago, but I've still got two little siblings at home that need care and help. So I have to be home so Mom can work."
"How old are the 'bits?"
"Um... Casey's nine, and he always needs help with spelling. And Lily is six. She's just getting the addition and subtraction thing." He smiled proudly. "She's really smart. Both of them are."
"Hmm... But they still need help with things. Must be a regular pain in the arse. Cramp your style. No one likes someone with that kind of baggage."
Buffy had to restrain Dawn from going downstairs and beating Spike.
"They aren't -baggage-," Andrew stated coldly. "They're family. The only difference is that complete assholes see family as things that can't take care of themselves and as hinderances. Real people who love their families seem them as the future, and things to love. So think twice before insulting my family."
Spike hid a grin behind his hand as he took another drag off his cigarette.
The boy clearly wasn't finished. "Besides. I don't want anyone who doesn't like them. And Dawn does. She really likes them, even when *I* get impatient with them, Dawn just sits and works through the problem."
The older man smiled fondly. "Tha's my Niblet."
Andrew laughed. "I asked her how she got that patient, and she said it was the only way to keep some people from running out and killing things before they thought it through."
"Mmm..." Spike mumbled, non-committal, then, "My sister's name was Lily. Long blond hair, big eyes."
"So does mine," Andrew said.
Spike half smiled. "Her eyes weren't blue. They were too... pretty to be plain blue. When she laughed, they were almost violet, and when she got mad and started throwing punches, they were cerulean."
"She beats up on you?"
Laughing, he remembered picking her up in one of her fits, brassed off because she wasn't allowed to play with big brother's book, and twirling her in circles till she was dizzy, setting her down, and getting a hug, kiss and a "I lohv you, Will-um". "I used to let her pretend."
"Where is she?"
Startled by the question, he said sharply, "In England... Somewhere in England." 'A cemetery... At least I didn't kill them... Let them live, never knew I was watching them... that I was the man that they bumped into on the streets... At least I didn't kill them like Angelus. Got to watch my baby sis get married. Had to dip my hand in the holy water... Gah, did it burn. But I slipped in. She was beautiful...'
"Cool."
"Yeah.... Cool... Well, Andrew. I don't like you. You're not good enough for the Bit. Not by half. But you can pick her up on Saturday. I want her in by midnight."
Andrew tried to repress his smile. "Yes sir."
"Yeah... get on home then... The tots might want a story. Don't get it too gruesome, though. Might cry."
He tried again, failed, and grinned. "Right, sir. Have a good night. Tell Dawn... Tell Dawn... I'll see her tomorrow."
"Mmm..." Spike stood and swirled into the house.
The girls upstairs grinned at one another, and hugged.
"Damnit," Spike mumbled through the last drag of his cigarette, "they're noticing how beautiful my Bit is... high alert from now on... High alert. Better call the Whelp."
End, Chapter 5
More to come... homecoming, Spike and Buffy hookin up. yadadada... Ya know, would it be so friggin hard to leave a couple notes? I mean... really. Please? It's discouraging to not have a lot for my story. *sniffle*
Always. Tequila Sunrise