If Not Wisely
Chapter 18: The Planning
Spoilers: Begins immediately post-Wrecked, becomes AU after that.
Rating: R for swearing and some sexual situations.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Feedback: Would be highly appreciated. This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I would like to know how I am doing. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Distribution: So far, just here. If anyone wants it, just let me know.
Summary: Buffy continues to struggle with her feelings for Spike, and the whole gang tries to help Willow with her abuse of magic.
A/N: Here's part one of the next chapter! Bet you guys didn't think I could do it this fast! I had to break it in two because it's gonna be a monster. Next up, Buffy finds out what Spike and Xander talked about at the Bronze. Thanks so much for all the great reviews. I'm really glad that more people seem to be finding this story. Keep 'em coming guys!
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Dawn rushed into Spike's crypt all smiles and bursting with energy. "Spike!" She looked around the dimly lit room, but did not see him anywhere. "Spike! Where are you?" She heard a distant rumbling from the chamber below and went to investigate. It was even darker down there, but she could just barely make out his form lying on the bed. "Spike, get your lazy butt outta bed!" More rumbling was all she got as a reply. "Don't make me come down there!"
Spike sat up with a groan, running his hands through his sleep-mussed hair. "Hold your bleedin' horses, Bit! I'll be up in a minute."
"Hurry up! I've got big news," Dawn called back and giggled when she heard him rumble again in reply. She went over to the old refrigerator and took out her very last Mountain Dew. Sadly, she had finished off all of the chips on her last visit, so there would be no snackage for her today. Her stomach was growling loudly. There hadn't been much to eat for breakfast that morning, and she'd really had to stretch what was
left of her lunch money to get a decent lunch that day. She really hoped that Buffy would go grocery shopping soon.
"So, what's the big news, Bit?"
Spike's voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and Dawn almost dropped her can of soda from the suddenness of it. She whirled around to look at him and almost dropped her can a second time. Spike was standing in front of her shirtless and barefoot. The top button on his jeans was undone, and they were riding perilously low on his slim hips. His hair stood up in wild disarray, and his eyes were still heavy with sleep. In short, he looked drop dead gorgeous. Dawn could feel her mouth hanging open and found herself wondering if this silly teenage crush would ever end. Spike was way too old for her, totally in love with her sister, and a vampire to boot. It was time she stopped thinking of him as a total hottie and started thinking of him as what he was—a surrogate big brother and potential boyfriend for her sister.
With supreme effort, Dawn closed her mouth and tried to summon up an expression of disgust. "Seriously, Spike, if you don't stop walking around half-naked, then I'm gonna have to stop coming over here. Don't you think I'm a little too young for a vampire strip tease? It'll probably scar me for life."
Spike gave her an embarrassed grin, which quickly turned to a scowl as he stalked over to grab a discarded tee-shirt from the floor next to his couch. "You're the one who told me to hurry, pet," he grumbled as he pulled the shirt over his head.
"Yeah, but I didn't say that clothing was optional." She gave him her own version of his patented smirk.
"Well, you were going on about big news, and all. Thought maybe there was gonna be another apocalypse." He saw Dawn roll her eyes at him. "So, what's the big news, then? That wanker you fancy decide to dump the cheerleader?"
Dawn gave a dramatic sigh in the way that only teenagers can. "I wish! Although, Tammy did slip and fall on her butt in the cafeteria today. Oh, it was so funny! She ended up with chocolate pudding all over her cute little outfit!"
Spike gave a sigh of his own and collapsed onto the couch, head in his hands. He definitely had not gotten enough sleep to deal with teenage babbling. Dawn, for her part, was still rambling on.
"She was totally mortified! The whole room burst out laughing, even Brenden. Tammy was so pissed! Oh, I wish I could've gotten it on tape. I watch it over, and over, and—"
"Bit!" Spike broke into her ramble. "The news. You said you had big news. For the love of Satan, tell me what it is!"
"Oh, right. I guess I got a little carried away there." Dawn gave him a goofy grin. "Wait till you hear! This is even better! You'll never believe it!"
Spike's already short supply of patience was running dangerously low. "You're right. I'll never believe you if you never bloody tell me."
"Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died? You're sure in a bad mood today." Dawn caught Spike's glare of death and decided that she had pushed her luck about as far as it was going to go. "Okay, I'll tell you." She could resist adding a big, dramatic pause. "Willow moved out!" Spike just looked at her, the expression on his face never changing. "Spike, she's gone! Isn't that great?"
"That's your big news, Nibblet? That Willow moved out?"
"Yes!" shrieked Dawn. "I am so happy!" She began dancing around the crypt singing, "Ding, dong, the witch is dead!"
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The bells on the door jangled loudly as Buffy walked into the Magic Box. The shop was deserted, and Anya was sitting at the counter leafing through a bridal magazine. "Hey, Anya," she called brightly.
Anya looked up from her magazine. "Oh. Hi, Buffy. Are you here to buy something?"
"Nope." Buffy couldn't help but smile. It was so like Anya to say something like that. "I'm here to train. Sorry to disappoint."
Anya made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Whatever." She went back to her magazine.
Buffy looked around the empty shop, and an idea began to form. It looked like the store might be going through a dry spell. Surely, someone with Anya's love of capitalism must be bothered by the lack of business. Perhaps, she might even be open to a money-making proposition.
She walked over to the counter and sidled up next to Anya. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
"I'm just looking for bridesmaids' dresses. I mean, if burlap and blood larva are out…"
Buffy grimaced. "Definitely out."
"Well, then I have to find something else." She pointed at a particularly ugly green dress with ruffles at the bottom. "What do you think of this one?" She looked up at Buffy with hopeful eyes.
"Um." Buffy fidgeted, a little uncomfortable with stating her opinion. "I'm thinking, no on that one."
Anya gave a dejected sigh. "This is hopeless! If it's not burlap and blood larva, then I don't know what I'm doing."
Buffy patted her on the back soothingly. "Don't worry, we'll find something. Something maybe not quite so green…or ruffley." She bent over to look at the magazine as Anya continued to turn pages. "How 'bout something like that?" Buffy pointed out a tasteful, spaghetti-strapped, A- line dress in a very pale shade of lavender.
Anya furrowed her brow and peered at the picture. "Hmm, that's not bad, but I was hoping for something a little…bolder. You know, make a statement."
Buffy bit her lip. She was already starting to dread the nightmare dress that Anya would end up putting her in. Still, she was planning on asking a favor, so there was no sense in pissing her off. "Yeah, well, I guess your wedding should be a reflection of who you are as a person. You just need to find your own personal style. Maybe you could just mark that one and come back to it later?" She tried not to sound too hopeful.
"My own personal style. I like that." She smiled. "Thanks, Buffy. My own personal style. I have to find something that just screams 'Anya'."
Buffy moaned internally. Anything that screamed "Anya" would not end up looking good on Buffy. Quickly, she leaned over and dog-eared the page before Anya could turn it. Anya gave her another smile, and Buffy decided to make her move. "So, business is pretty slow, huh?"
Anya just shrugged. "Oh, it's just the usual lull between Halloween and the winter solstice. Things will pick up in another couple of weeks or so."
"Yeah, but I'll bet you're not making as much money as you'd like to." Buffy tried to keep her tone as casual as possible. She didn't want to risk scaring Anya off.
"Oh, Buffy." Anya sounded like she was talking to a small child. "No one ever makes as much money as they'd like to. Our on-line store is doing a pretty good business, though. Honestly, with all the wedding plans, I'm grateful for a little down time here and there."
Buffy decided to switch tactics. "It's probably pretty hard to run this place all by yourself, huh? I mean, with Giles gone and everything."
Anya made a face. "Sometimes. Thank God he was here for the Halloween rush. I couldn't have done it without him." She suddenly looked up at Buffy guiltily. "Oh, and you too. You were, uh, a big help."
"Um, thanks." Buffy looked down at her feet. Okay, so she hadn't been the model employee, but she hadn't been that bad.
"Well, you know, everyone pitched in, and it really was a great help." Anya turned another page in her magazine. "I've actually been thinking about hiring someone on part-time. But, at times like this," she looked around the empty shop again, "it hardly seems necessary."
"I could, uh, help out sometimes. I mean, uh, if you needed it. It's not like I'm doing anything else, and I could use the money."
Anya looked at her suspiciously. "I don't know, Buffy, things didn't turn out so well the last time you tried to work here. Remember, you forgot to charge that lady for home delivery? No, I don't think it's a good idea. You're just not suited for a career in retail. It's in the blood, you know."
"Look, Anya," Buffy decided to lay her cards on the table, "I'm broke. And I have a plan."
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Dawn was still twirling around the crypt, singing her little song, when she realized that Spike was not sharing in her joy. He continued to sit there with the same stony expression on his face. She stopped mid-twirl. "Spike, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy that the witch is gone. Think about it, no more dangerous magic, no more freeloading off of Buffy. Where's the happy?"
"No, Dawn, I'm not happy. And you are being unkind." Spike's voice was stern, the expression in his eyes deadly.
"What?" Dawn's mouth gaped open. "Spike, how can you say that? You know what she did to me. I thought you were on my side!"
Spike's expression softened a little. "I am on your side, Bit." His voice was much gentler now. "That's why I hate to see you being like this. You're better than that."
"But, Spike," Dawn's eyes began to fill with tears. "I don't understand…I thought that…" she broke off as the tears began to fall. "I…I didn't mean…"
"Come here, Bit." Dawn walked forlornly over to him, and he pulled her into his lap. He took the soda can from her and sat in on the ground.
"Listen, I know you're mad, and you do have a right to be. What she did to you was inexcusable, but you're old enough now to try to understand these things." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a little kiss on the top of her head. "Now, Red's your friend, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
Spike held up a finger to quiet her. "And she took care of you last summer when Buffy was gone, right?"
"Yeah." Dawn sniffed and wiped her runny nose with the back of her hand.
"So, don't you think that after all she's done for you, after all the good times you've had in the past, that maybe you shouldn't be so quick to give up on her?"
"You don't understand."
"Yes, I do understand. Look at who you're talking to here. I know what it's like to be angry. But anger's not going to solve anything, Dawn. It's not going to make you feel any better, and it's certainly not going to help Red get any better."
Dawn sniffed again, but said nothing.
Spike decided to take that sniff as agreement, and continued. "Now, Red's going through a real tough time right now, and she need her friends to help her get through it. You wouldn't be a very good friend if you abandoned her just when she needed you most, would you?"
"I guess not," mumbled Dawn.
"No, you wouldn't." Spike gave her a pointed look. "Did she abandon you last summer when you needed her? No, she didn't. Where's that loyalty that Summers women are famous for?"
"But Spike, I trusted her to take care of me, to protect me, and she ruined that. I don't know if I can just forgive her."
"Yes, you can. Nibblet, you have to understand that people make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. I reckon you've made some mistakes in your life. What about lying to your sister and running off with that vamp on Halloween? Didn't you deserve to be forgiven?"
Dawn had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I guess, but that was just a stupid teenage rebellion thing. Willow almost got me killed."
"And you almost got yourself killed, didn't you? How do you think your sister would've felt if you'd up and died on her? Or me, for that matter? What would I do without my Nibblet? You're the only one who likes me." He gave her a teasing smile.
Dawn smiled back. "Oh, Spike." She gave him a little squeeze. "Okay, so everyone makes mistakes. Maybe I can forgive, but how am I supposed to forget? What if she does something like that again? What if she actually does kill someone next time? How can I ever trust her again?"
"Well, trust needs to be earned. You just need to give Willow a chance to earn it back, that's all. How hard can that be?"
"I dunno." Dawn looked wary. "It's the magic, Spike. It's scary, and it's dangerous. It's like she's addicted or something. I mean, why doesn't she just stop? She has to see how bad she's gotten."
"She does know how bad she'd gotten, Bit. That's why she left. Yes, she's using too much magic, but she'd not addicted to it. Magic's not the real problem here, it's the reasons why she using it, the way she uses it."
Dawn frowned up at him. "You think so?"
"Yes, I do. Look, Red just needs to learn a little impulse control, and maybe take a closer look at why she's doing what she's doing. I think that she's probably got a lot of issues, and she needs to work through them before she can start using magic responsibly again."
Dawn giggled. "Spike, you sound like my counselor at school."
"Think so, do ya?" He gave a little sigh. "You know, your sister said almost the exact same thing to me this morning."
"You saw Buffy?" Dawn looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
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Anya eyed her skeptically. "What kind of plan?"
"A plan to make money," Buffy told her seriously. "For both of us."
The mention of making money immediately perked Anya up. "Now you're speaking my language. What's the plan?"
Buffy smiled. Time to reel her in. Carefully, she explained her plan about holding self-defense classes in the back of the shop. She added as much detail as she could think of, the flyers, a nice chunk of the profits for Anya, networking the college campus, and ended up with her idea about working at the shop until business picked up. "What do you think?"
Anya looked thoughtful. "Hmm, it might work. There are a lot of details that you haven't considered, though."
"Like what?" Buffy was slightly miffed. She thought her plan was pretty damned good.
"Well, for starters, can anyone just set up shop and start charging for lessons? Wouldn't you need some sort of permit, or license, or something? I'm guessing that you'd probably need to be registered with some bureau or other. Plus, I'd have to check and see if the store's insurance would cover that sort of thing. What if someone got hurt? We might not have the right kind of coverage. Also, there're taxes. If you're making money, then you'll have to give some of it to the government. How would you do that? Set yourself up as a corporation?"
Buffy felt herself deflate little by little as Anya rambled on. She really hadn't stopped to consider all the problems that might be involved. Still, she was determined to make it work. "Well, we could check into that stuff, right? I mean, at least let's take a closer look and see if it might be possible."
"Oh, yes." Anya looked surprised. "Buffy, I'm not dismissing your idea out of hand. I think it could be a real moneymaker. God, with the mortality rate in this town, all those 'gangs on PCP,' we'd be sure to make a killing. How much of the money am I going to get?"
Buffy's smile was slowly coming back. "Um, I dunno. Maybe ten per-cent?"
Anya gave her a disgusted look. "No way! Fifty-fifty."
"What? Eighty-twenty."
"Buffy, you're forgetting that you'd have absolutely no overhead." Anya had gone back to her, "I'm-talking-to-an-idiot," voice. "I'll be the one who pays the rent on the building, and for utilities, and insurance. I have a right to recoup some of those investments."
"Anya! I'm the one who's about to be homeless and starving on the street. You don't need the money as much as I do. You have Xander's income and the profits from the store. I have to take care of Dawn!"
Anya's expression softened, and she actually looked a little sympathetic, which was probably a first for her. "Seventy-thirty?"
"Deal!" Buffy stuck out her hand, and Anya shook it. "God, this is so exciting! What do we do first?"
"A list. We need a list." Anya dug in a drawer and came up with a pad of paper. She grabbed a pen and immediately started writing. "Okay, I can talk to my insurance agent and my accountant. I'll find out if we'll need extra coverage and how you can deal with that pesky tax problem." She chewed on the end of her pen. "Hmm, maybe you can look into licenses and stuff? You should go talk to that guy that runs the karate school. Find out how he has everything set up."
Buffy looked uncertain. "Do you really think he'd want to help someone who could potentially be competition?"
Anya waved away her concern. "Oh, just make something up. Tell him that you're doing a project for school on small businesses or something. It's shouldn't be a problem."
"Um, I guess so." Buffy was a terrible liar, and she wasn't sure if she could pull it off.
"Also, maybe you could call the Better Business Bureau, or the Chamber of Commerce. They should be able to point you in the right direction."
"Okay, I can do that."
Where Buffy was quickly becoming overwhelmed, Anya's eyes were gleaming with excitement. She was definitely in her element. "You know, maybe we could contact the area schools and get you in there to lecture. That would drum up business! Oh, and we could contact women's groups and stuff. You could drop in on their meetings and give a talk, maybe even a little demonstration. Oh! You could take puffy Xander, and they could watch you beat him up! This is going to be great!"
Buffy wondered what the hell she'd gotten herself into. Speaking in front of large groups of people? She wasn't sure if she had it in her. She'd always hated giving speeches in high school. "It sounds like an awful lot of work," she said hesitantly.
"Of course it's a lot of work!" scoffed Anya. "Making money always is. It will be worth it though, you'll see."
"So, it might take a while, huh?"
"A couple of months at least, to get everything up and running." Anya was still looking over her list, and she didn't appear to notice Buffy's growing worry.
"So, is it okay, then, if I work in the store until we can get this thing off the ground?" She knew that she needed money right now. There was no way should could wait two months until the profits started rolling in.
"Oh, sure, I guess so. I'll just look at it as an investment toward future earnings. Plus, I could use the help. The stock room downstairs is a total mess, you could clean that out. Also, we're going to be getting in a lot of shipments in the next couple of days in preparation for the winter solstice. You could unpack it all, take inventory, and put in on the shelves." Anya suddenly looked concerned. "I don't want you waiting on customers, though. You don't get to handle the money either."
"That's no problem. I'll just stick to the behind-the-scenes stuff." Buffy was relieved. She actually had a job, and she didn't have to deal with the customers. Things were really looking up. "I can start on Monday, if you want."
"Sounds good." Anya furrowed her brow in concentration. "You'll need a name, for your business. Something catchy."
"I think about it." Buffy smiled again. She had definitely picked the right person to share her idea with.
The bells over the door jingled, and they both turned to see Xander walking in.
"Buffster! Just the person I wanted to see!"
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Chapter 18: The Planning
Spoilers: Begins immediately post-Wrecked, becomes AU after that.
Rating: R for swearing and some sexual situations.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Feedback: Would be highly appreciated. This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I would like to know how I am doing. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Distribution: So far, just here. If anyone wants it, just let me know.
Summary: Buffy continues to struggle with her feelings for Spike, and the whole gang tries to help Willow with her abuse of magic.
A/N: Here's part one of the next chapter! Bet you guys didn't think I could do it this fast! I had to break it in two because it's gonna be a monster. Next up, Buffy finds out what Spike and Xander talked about at the Bronze. Thanks so much for all the great reviews. I'm really glad that more people seem to be finding this story. Keep 'em coming guys!
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Dawn rushed into Spike's crypt all smiles and bursting with energy. "Spike!" She looked around the dimly lit room, but did not see him anywhere. "Spike! Where are you?" She heard a distant rumbling from the chamber below and went to investigate. It was even darker down there, but she could just barely make out his form lying on the bed. "Spike, get your lazy butt outta bed!" More rumbling was all she got as a reply. "Don't make me come down there!"
Spike sat up with a groan, running his hands through his sleep-mussed hair. "Hold your bleedin' horses, Bit! I'll be up in a minute."
"Hurry up! I've got big news," Dawn called back and giggled when she heard him rumble again in reply. She went over to the old refrigerator and took out her very last Mountain Dew. Sadly, she had finished off all of the chips on her last visit, so there would be no snackage for her today. Her stomach was growling loudly. There hadn't been much to eat for breakfast that morning, and she'd really had to stretch what was
left of her lunch money to get a decent lunch that day. She really hoped that Buffy would go grocery shopping soon.
"So, what's the big news, Bit?"
Spike's voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and Dawn almost dropped her can of soda from the suddenness of it. She whirled around to look at him and almost dropped her can a second time. Spike was standing in front of her shirtless and barefoot. The top button on his jeans was undone, and they were riding perilously low on his slim hips. His hair stood up in wild disarray, and his eyes were still heavy with sleep. In short, he looked drop dead gorgeous. Dawn could feel her mouth hanging open and found herself wondering if this silly teenage crush would ever end. Spike was way too old for her, totally in love with her sister, and a vampire to boot. It was time she stopped thinking of him as a total hottie and started thinking of him as what he was—a surrogate big brother and potential boyfriend for her sister.
With supreme effort, Dawn closed her mouth and tried to summon up an expression of disgust. "Seriously, Spike, if you don't stop walking around half-naked, then I'm gonna have to stop coming over here. Don't you think I'm a little too young for a vampire strip tease? It'll probably scar me for life."
Spike gave her an embarrassed grin, which quickly turned to a scowl as he stalked over to grab a discarded tee-shirt from the floor next to his couch. "You're the one who told me to hurry, pet," he grumbled as he pulled the shirt over his head.
"Yeah, but I didn't say that clothing was optional." She gave him her own version of his patented smirk.
"Well, you were going on about big news, and all. Thought maybe there was gonna be another apocalypse." He saw Dawn roll her eyes at him. "So, what's the big news, then? That wanker you fancy decide to dump the cheerleader?"
Dawn gave a dramatic sigh in the way that only teenagers can. "I wish! Although, Tammy did slip and fall on her butt in the cafeteria today. Oh, it was so funny! She ended up with chocolate pudding all over her cute little outfit!"
Spike gave a sigh of his own and collapsed onto the couch, head in his hands. He definitely had not gotten enough sleep to deal with teenage babbling. Dawn, for her part, was still rambling on.
"She was totally mortified! The whole room burst out laughing, even Brenden. Tammy was so pissed! Oh, I wish I could've gotten it on tape. I watch it over, and over, and—"
"Bit!" Spike broke into her ramble. "The news. You said you had big news. For the love of Satan, tell me what it is!"
"Oh, right. I guess I got a little carried away there." Dawn gave him a goofy grin. "Wait till you hear! This is even better! You'll never believe it!"
Spike's already short supply of patience was running dangerously low. "You're right. I'll never believe you if you never bloody tell me."
"Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died? You're sure in a bad mood today." Dawn caught Spike's glare of death and decided that she had pushed her luck about as far as it was going to go. "Okay, I'll tell you." She could resist adding a big, dramatic pause. "Willow moved out!" Spike just looked at her, the expression on his face never changing. "Spike, she's gone! Isn't that great?"
"That's your big news, Nibblet? That Willow moved out?"
"Yes!" shrieked Dawn. "I am so happy!" She began dancing around the crypt singing, "Ding, dong, the witch is dead!"
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The bells on the door jangled loudly as Buffy walked into the Magic Box. The shop was deserted, and Anya was sitting at the counter leafing through a bridal magazine. "Hey, Anya," she called brightly.
Anya looked up from her magazine. "Oh. Hi, Buffy. Are you here to buy something?"
"Nope." Buffy couldn't help but smile. It was so like Anya to say something like that. "I'm here to train. Sorry to disappoint."
Anya made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Whatever." She went back to her magazine.
Buffy looked around the empty shop, and an idea began to form. It looked like the store might be going through a dry spell. Surely, someone with Anya's love of capitalism must be bothered by the lack of business. Perhaps, she might even be open to a money-making proposition.
She walked over to the counter and sidled up next to Anya. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
"I'm just looking for bridesmaids' dresses. I mean, if burlap and blood larva are out…"
Buffy grimaced. "Definitely out."
"Well, then I have to find something else." She pointed at a particularly ugly green dress with ruffles at the bottom. "What do you think of this one?" She looked up at Buffy with hopeful eyes.
"Um." Buffy fidgeted, a little uncomfortable with stating her opinion. "I'm thinking, no on that one."
Anya gave a dejected sigh. "This is hopeless! If it's not burlap and blood larva, then I don't know what I'm doing."
Buffy patted her on the back soothingly. "Don't worry, we'll find something. Something maybe not quite so green…or ruffley." She bent over to look at the magazine as Anya continued to turn pages. "How 'bout something like that?" Buffy pointed out a tasteful, spaghetti-strapped, A- line dress in a very pale shade of lavender.
Anya furrowed her brow and peered at the picture. "Hmm, that's not bad, but I was hoping for something a little…bolder. You know, make a statement."
Buffy bit her lip. She was already starting to dread the nightmare dress that Anya would end up putting her in. Still, she was planning on asking a favor, so there was no sense in pissing her off. "Yeah, well, I guess your wedding should be a reflection of who you are as a person. You just need to find your own personal style. Maybe you could just mark that one and come back to it later?" She tried not to sound too hopeful.
"My own personal style. I like that." She smiled. "Thanks, Buffy. My own personal style. I have to find something that just screams 'Anya'."
Buffy moaned internally. Anything that screamed "Anya" would not end up looking good on Buffy. Quickly, she leaned over and dog-eared the page before Anya could turn it. Anya gave her another smile, and Buffy decided to make her move. "So, business is pretty slow, huh?"
Anya just shrugged. "Oh, it's just the usual lull between Halloween and the winter solstice. Things will pick up in another couple of weeks or so."
"Yeah, but I'll bet you're not making as much money as you'd like to." Buffy tried to keep her tone as casual as possible. She didn't want to risk scaring Anya off.
"Oh, Buffy." Anya sounded like she was talking to a small child. "No one ever makes as much money as they'd like to. Our on-line store is doing a pretty good business, though. Honestly, with all the wedding plans, I'm grateful for a little down time here and there."
Buffy decided to switch tactics. "It's probably pretty hard to run this place all by yourself, huh? I mean, with Giles gone and everything."
Anya made a face. "Sometimes. Thank God he was here for the Halloween rush. I couldn't have done it without him." She suddenly looked up at Buffy guiltily. "Oh, and you too. You were, uh, a big help."
"Um, thanks." Buffy looked down at her feet. Okay, so she hadn't been the model employee, but she hadn't been that bad.
"Well, you know, everyone pitched in, and it really was a great help." Anya turned another page in her magazine. "I've actually been thinking about hiring someone on part-time. But, at times like this," she looked around the empty shop again, "it hardly seems necessary."
"I could, uh, help out sometimes. I mean, uh, if you needed it. It's not like I'm doing anything else, and I could use the money."
Anya looked at her suspiciously. "I don't know, Buffy, things didn't turn out so well the last time you tried to work here. Remember, you forgot to charge that lady for home delivery? No, I don't think it's a good idea. You're just not suited for a career in retail. It's in the blood, you know."
"Look, Anya," Buffy decided to lay her cards on the table, "I'm broke. And I have a plan."
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Dawn was still twirling around the crypt, singing her little song, when she realized that Spike was not sharing in her joy. He continued to sit there with the same stony expression on his face. She stopped mid-twirl. "Spike, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy that the witch is gone. Think about it, no more dangerous magic, no more freeloading off of Buffy. Where's the happy?"
"No, Dawn, I'm not happy. And you are being unkind." Spike's voice was stern, the expression in his eyes deadly.
"What?" Dawn's mouth gaped open. "Spike, how can you say that? You know what she did to me. I thought you were on my side!"
Spike's expression softened a little. "I am on your side, Bit." His voice was much gentler now. "That's why I hate to see you being like this. You're better than that."
"But, Spike," Dawn's eyes began to fill with tears. "I don't understand…I thought that…" she broke off as the tears began to fall. "I…I didn't mean…"
"Come here, Bit." Dawn walked forlornly over to him, and he pulled her into his lap. He took the soda can from her and sat in on the ground.
"Listen, I know you're mad, and you do have a right to be. What she did to you was inexcusable, but you're old enough now to try to understand these things." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a little kiss on the top of her head. "Now, Red's your friend, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
Spike held up a finger to quiet her. "And she took care of you last summer when Buffy was gone, right?"
"Yeah." Dawn sniffed and wiped her runny nose with the back of her hand.
"So, don't you think that after all she's done for you, after all the good times you've had in the past, that maybe you shouldn't be so quick to give up on her?"
"You don't understand."
"Yes, I do understand. Look at who you're talking to here. I know what it's like to be angry. But anger's not going to solve anything, Dawn. It's not going to make you feel any better, and it's certainly not going to help Red get any better."
Dawn sniffed again, but said nothing.
Spike decided to take that sniff as agreement, and continued. "Now, Red's going through a real tough time right now, and she need her friends to help her get through it. You wouldn't be a very good friend if you abandoned her just when she needed you most, would you?"
"I guess not," mumbled Dawn.
"No, you wouldn't." Spike gave her a pointed look. "Did she abandon you last summer when you needed her? No, she didn't. Where's that loyalty that Summers women are famous for?"
"But Spike, I trusted her to take care of me, to protect me, and she ruined that. I don't know if I can just forgive her."
"Yes, you can. Nibblet, you have to understand that people make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. I reckon you've made some mistakes in your life. What about lying to your sister and running off with that vamp on Halloween? Didn't you deserve to be forgiven?"
Dawn had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I guess, but that was just a stupid teenage rebellion thing. Willow almost got me killed."
"And you almost got yourself killed, didn't you? How do you think your sister would've felt if you'd up and died on her? Or me, for that matter? What would I do without my Nibblet? You're the only one who likes me." He gave her a teasing smile.
Dawn smiled back. "Oh, Spike." She gave him a little squeeze. "Okay, so everyone makes mistakes. Maybe I can forgive, but how am I supposed to forget? What if she does something like that again? What if she actually does kill someone next time? How can I ever trust her again?"
"Well, trust needs to be earned. You just need to give Willow a chance to earn it back, that's all. How hard can that be?"
"I dunno." Dawn looked wary. "It's the magic, Spike. It's scary, and it's dangerous. It's like she's addicted or something. I mean, why doesn't she just stop? She has to see how bad she's gotten."
"She does know how bad she'd gotten, Bit. That's why she left. Yes, she's using too much magic, but she'd not addicted to it. Magic's not the real problem here, it's the reasons why she using it, the way she uses it."
Dawn frowned up at him. "You think so?"
"Yes, I do. Look, Red just needs to learn a little impulse control, and maybe take a closer look at why she's doing what she's doing. I think that she's probably got a lot of issues, and she needs to work through them before she can start using magic responsibly again."
Dawn giggled. "Spike, you sound like my counselor at school."
"Think so, do ya?" He gave a little sigh. "You know, your sister said almost the exact same thing to me this morning."
"You saw Buffy?" Dawn looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
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Anya eyed her skeptically. "What kind of plan?"
"A plan to make money," Buffy told her seriously. "For both of us."
The mention of making money immediately perked Anya up. "Now you're speaking my language. What's the plan?"
Buffy smiled. Time to reel her in. Carefully, she explained her plan about holding self-defense classes in the back of the shop. She added as much detail as she could think of, the flyers, a nice chunk of the profits for Anya, networking the college campus, and ended up with her idea about working at the shop until business picked up. "What do you think?"
Anya looked thoughtful. "Hmm, it might work. There are a lot of details that you haven't considered, though."
"Like what?" Buffy was slightly miffed. She thought her plan was pretty damned good.
"Well, for starters, can anyone just set up shop and start charging for lessons? Wouldn't you need some sort of permit, or license, or something? I'm guessing that you'd probably need to be registered with some bureau or other. Plus, I'd have to check and see if the store's insurance would cover that sort of thing. What if someone got hurt? We might not have the right kind of coverage. Also, there're taxes. If you're making money, then you'll have to give some of it to the government. How would you do that? Set yourself up as a corporation?"
Buffy felt herself deflate little by little as Anya rambled on. She really hadn't stopped to consider all the problems that might be involved. Still, she was determined to make it work. "Well, we could check into that stuff, right? I mean, at least let's take a closer look and see if it might be possible."
"Oh, yes." Anya looked surprised. "Buffy, I'm not dismissing your idea out of hand. I think it could be a real moneymaker. God, with the mortality rate in this town, all those 'gangs on PCP,' we'd be sure to make a killing. How much of the money am I going to get?"
Buffy's smile was slowly coming back. "Um, I dunno. Maybe ten per-cent?"
Anya gave her a disgusted look. "No way! Fifty-fifty."
"What? Eighty-twenty."
"Buffy, you're forgetting that you'd have absolutely no overhead." Anya had gone back to her, "I'm-talking-to-an-idiot," voice. "I'll be the one who pays the rent on the building, and for utilities, and insurance. I have a right to recoup some of those investments."
"Anya! I'm the one who's about to be homeless and starving on the street. You don't need the money as much as I do. You have Xander's income and the profits from the store. I have to take care of Dawn!"
Anya's expression softened, and she actually looked a little sympathetic, which was probably a first for her. "Seventy-thirty?"
"Deal!" Buffy stuck out her hand, and Anya shook it. "God, this is so exciting! What do we do first?"
"A list. We need a list." Anya dug in a drawer and came up with a pad of paper. She grabbed a pen and immediately started writing. "Okay, I can talk to my insurance agent and my accountant. I'll find out if we'll need extra coverage and how you can deal with that pesky tax problem." She chewed on the end of her pen. "Hmm, maybe you can look into licenses and stuff? You should go talk to that guy that runs the karate school. Find out how he has everything set up."
Buffy looked uncertain. "Do you really think he'd want to help someone who could potentially be competition?"
Anya waved away her concern. "Oh, just make something up. Tell him that you're doing a project for school on small businesses or something. It's shouldn't be a problem."
"Um, I guess so." Buffy was a terrible liar, and she wasn't sure if she could pull it off.
"Also, maybe you could call the Better Business Bureau, or the Chamber of Commerce. They should be able to point you in the right direction."
"Okay, I can do that."
Where Buffy was quickly becoming overwhelmed, Anya's eyes were gleaming with excitement. She was definitely in her element. "You know, maybe we could contact the area schools and get you in there to lecture. That would drum up business! Oh, and we could contact women's groups and stuff. You could drop in on their meetings and give a talk, maybe even a little demonstration. Oh! You could take puffy Xander, and they could watch you beat him up! This is going to be great!"
Buffy wondered what the hell she'd gotten herself into. Speaking in front of large groups of people? She wasn't sure if she had it in her. She'd always hated giving speeches in high school. "It sounds like an awful lot of work," she said hesitantly.
"Of course it's a lot of work!" scoffed Anya. "Making money always is. It will be worth it though, you'll see."
"So, it might take a while, huh?"
"A couple of months at least, to get everything up and running." Anya was still looking over her list, and she didn't appear to notice Buffy's growing worry.
"So, is it okay, then, if I work in the store until we can get this thing off the ground?" She knew that she needed money right now. There was no way should could wait two months until the profits started rolling in.
"Oh, sure, I guess so. I'll just look at it as an investment toward future earnings. Plus, I could use the help. The stock room downstairs is a total mess, you could clean that out. Also, we're going to be getting in a lot of shipments in the next couple of days in preparation for the winter solstice. You could unpack it all, take inventory, and put in on the shelves." Anya suddenly looked concerned. "I don't want you waiting on customers, though. You don't get to handle the money either."
"That's no problem. I'll just stick to the behind-the-scenes stuff." Buffy was relieved. She actually had a job, and she didn't have to deal with the customers. Things were really looking up. "I can start on Monday, if you want."
"Sounds good." Anya furrowed her brow in concentration. "You'll need a name, for your business. Something catchy."
"I think about it." Buffy smiled again. She had definitely picked the right person to share her idea with.
The bells over the door jingled, and they both turned to see Xander walking in.
"Buffster! Just the person I wanted to see!"
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