Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox,
etc... except of course the ones I make up.
Summary: While Dawn is dealing with balancing school, slaying and dating, Buffy and Spike are dealing with their relation. And all together they are dealing with impending apocalypse.
Spoilers: Well, it takes place about a year and a half after "Normal Again", but it's pretty AU. Xander and Anya are married and Tara is alive.
Continuity: It's the sequel to "The Delegation of Aurelius". However, you don't really need to read it to understand this fic. It sort of just picks up where "TDoA" left off.
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APOCALYPSE NOW... AGAIN
Chapter 4: No Understanding
Janice took another bite of her pizza while listening politely to the relatively lame and boring story that Buffy was telling about her day at work. She looked around a bit her eyes fell on Spike. A vampire? How could he possibly be a vampire? Besides being a bit pale, he seemed perfectly normal. Her eyes traveled from his hair to his sculpted cheekbones to the coffee mug he was drinking from. She furrowed her brow.
"Is that really blood?" Janice asked, rudely interrupting Buffy. Buffy, Dawn, Tara and Willow all looked up from their food and looked at Janice, then at Spike. The vampire smiled and cocked his head.
"What do you think?" He replied softly.
Janice wrinkled her nose. "Mostly I'm thinking gross."
Dawn giggled and Spike shot her a playful look as he remembered the first time Dawn had come to his crypt. He thought of it as the beginning of their friendship. He continued to look at Janice who was obviously a little put off by the idea of real blood on the table she was eating at.
"It's not human blood, is it?"
"Not anymore," he answered bluntly. She tilted her head as if confused by his answer, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly.
"So, you really used to then? You used to kill people?"
Spike smile faded from his face and he nodded plainly. Lying didn't really get him anywhere anymore, and he figured that the plain and simple truth was best. Janice was a big girl, and he didn't fell like it was his responsibility to butter up the world for her. She had been living in Sunnydale all her life and the fact that she didn't truly believe anything strange was going on till that night was bad enough.
"You frightened of me, then?"
Janice considered the question for a moment. "Strangely, no."
Dawn could swear that she heard Spike mumble "damn" under his breath, or lack there of, but she kept herself from laughing. Dawn merely looked at bleach-blonde vamp and smiled widely.
"Uh, Dawn. You're patrolling on Friday, right?" Buffy asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Nope, can't. I got a date."
"A DATE?" Spike and Buffy asked in unison.
"Why do you sound so shocked?" Dawn asked, her tone annoyed and bordering on angry.
"I think it's great, Dawnie," Tara told her supportively, giving a pleading look to Willow who nodded in agreement.
"It isn't great," Buffy insisted. "I mean, I'm happy that you have a date, Dawn, but we already discussed this and I thought we agreed that you would go Friday. What we do is important and-"
"I know Buffy, I really get how important it is, I do. But I thought you could maybe go in Friday and I'll take an extra day."
"It doesn't work like that Dawn. Dating has to come second."
"Oh, like it did with you. Like when you could take your vampire boyfriend on patrol with you. I'm sorry, maybe I should go find Angel and see if he'd like to go out with me so I can date on patrol!"
"Dawn, do what your sister says. If she says no date, then no date. Besides-"
"Besides what Spike?" Dawn asked angrily, her voice rising angrily. "You can't tell me what to do."
"Bloody right I can! If Buffy says that YOU are patrolling then YOU are patrolling. Deal with it. Sacred duty and all that, sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to."
Dawn stood up from the table and motioned for Janice to follow. Janice stood up shyly and walked to the stairs. Dawn stayed at the table and she narrowed her eyes at Spike.
"Fine. Take her side. But you are not my parent in ANY way so just butt out of my life!"
Dawn turned around angrily and stormed up the stairs, Janice on her heel. When they reached her room Dawn slammed the door angrily behind her. Janice walked over to her bed and sat down heavily on it.
"Does that usually happen?"
"God, ever since he started dating Buffy... he used to side with me when I was right."
"Maybe he just doesn't want you to date, if he's anything like my dad-"
"But he's not MY father Janice. He has no right to tell me what to do. He's so fucking over protective I can't take it! They drive me crazy."
"I get that," Janice told her friend sympathetically.
"No, you couldn't possibly. My guardians are my slayer sister, her best friend and her girlfriend who are witches. And then, I don't even know how Spike fits into my life. I just want to be normal, sometimes."
"You still seem pretty normal to me," Janice added comfortingly.
Dawn smiled. "Thanks. You know, I have all this frustration bubbling over the top I need to... hey Janice, you wanna come on a patrol?"
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Spike stood up from the table after he heard Dawn's door slam upstairs. He walked over to the coat rack by the door and put on his trademark leather duster.
"She doesn't want me in her life? Fine, I won't be," he mumbled angrily.
Buffy heard and tried to argue. "Spike, she's a seventeen year old girl, don't take it too personally."
Spike merely waved his hand at her and stormed out the front door. He turned toward the cemetery and felt for the stake in his pocket. He smiled ruefully and began to walk towards to graveyard.
"How's about it beasties," he mumbled to no one in particular. "Step on up." e
Summary: While Dawn is dealing with balancing school, slaying and dating, Buffy and Spike are dealing with their relation. And all together they are dealing with impending apocalypse.
Spoilers: Well, it takes place about a year and a half after "Normal Again", but it's pretty AU. Xander and Anya are married and Tara is alive.
Continuity: It's the sequel to "The Delegation of Aurelius". However, you don't really need to read it to understand this fic. It sort of just picks up where "TDoA" left off.
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APOCALYPSE NOW... AGAIN
Chapter 4: No Understanding
Janice took another bite of her pizza while listening politely to the relatively lame and boring story that Buffy was telling about her day at work. She looked around a bit her eyes fell on Spike. A vampire? How could he possibly be a vampire? Besides being a bit pale, he seemed perfectly normal. Her eyes traveled from his hair to his sculpted cheekbones to the coffee mug he was drinking from. She furrowed her brow.
"Is that really blood?" Janice asked, rudely interrupting Buffy. Buffy, Dawn, Tara and Willow all looked up from their food and looked at Janice, then at Spike. The vampire smiled and cocked his head.
"What do you think?" He replied softly.
Janice wrinkled her nose. "Mostly I'm thinking gross."
Dawn giggled and Spike shot her a playful look as he remembered the first time Dawn had come to his crypt. He thought of it as the beginning of their friendship. He continued to look at Janice who was obviously a little put off by the idea of real blood on the table she was eating at.
"It's not human blood, is it?"
"Not anymore," he answered bluntly. She tilted her head as if confused by his answer, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly.
"So, you really used to then? You used to kill people?"
Spike smile faded from his face and he nodded plainly. Lying didn't really get him anywhere anymore, and he figured that the plain and simple truth was best. Janice was a big girl, and he didn't fell like it was his responsibility to butter up the world for her. She had been living in Sunnydale all her life and the fact that she didn't truly believe anything strange was going on till that night was bad enough.
"You frightened of me, then?"
Janice considered the question for a moment. "Strangely, no."
Dawn could swear that she heard Spike mumble "damn" under his breath, or lack there of, but she kept herself from laughing. Dawn merely looked at bleach-blonde vamp and smiled widely.
"Uh, Dawn. You're patrolling on Friday, right?" Buffy asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Nope, can't. I got a date."
"A DATE?" Spike and Buffy asked in unison.
"Why do you sound so shocked?" Dawn asked, her tone annoyed and bordering on angry.
"I think it's great, Dawnie," Tara told her supportively, giving a pleading look to Willow who nodded in agreement.
"It isn't great," Buffy insisted. "I mean, I'm happy that you have a date, Dawn, but we already discussed this and I thought we agreed that you would go Friday. What we do is important and-"
"I know Buffy, I really get how important it is, I do. But I thought you could maybe go in Friday and I'll take an extra day."
"It doesn't work like that Dawn. Dating has to come second."
"Oh, like it did with you. Like when you could take your vampire boyfriend on patrol with you. I'm sorry, maybe I should go find Angel and see if he'd like to go out with me so I can date on patrol!"
"Dawn, do what your sister says. If she says no date, then no date. Besides-"
"Besides what Spike?" Dawn asked angrily, her voice rising angrily. "You can't tell me what to do."
"Bloody right I can! If Buffy says that YOU are patrolling then YOU are patrolling. Deal with it. Sacred duty and all that, sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to."
Dawn stood up from the table and motioned for Janice to follow. Janice stood up shyly and walked to the stairs. Dawn stayed at the table and she narrowed her eyes at Spike.
"Fine. Take her side. But you are not my parent in ANY way so just butt out of my life!"
Dawn turned around angrily and stormed up the stairs, Janice on her heel. When they reached her room Dawn slammed the door angrily behind her. Janice walked over to her bed and sat down heavily on it.
"Does that usually happen?"
"God, ever since he started dating Buffy... he used to side with me when I was right."
"Maybe he just doesn't want you to date, if he's anything like my dad-"
"But he's not MY father Janice. He has no right to tell me what to do. He's so fucking over protective I can't take it! They drive me crazy."
"I get that," Janice told her friend sympathetically.
"No, you couldn't possibly. My guardians are my slayer sister, her best friend and her girlfriend who are witches. And then, I don't even know how Spike fits into my life. I just want to be normal, sometimes."
"You still seem pretty normal to me," Janice added comfortingly.
Dawn smiled. "Thanks. You know, I have all this frustration bubbling over the top I need to... hey Janice, you wanna come on a patrol?"
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Spike stood up from the table after he heard Dawn's door slam upstairs. He walked over to the coat rack by the door and put on his trademark leather duster.
"She doesn't want me in her life? Fine, I won't be," he mumbled angrily.
Buffy heard and tried to argue. "Spike, she's a seventeen year old girl, don't take it too personally."
Spike merely waved his hand at her and stormed out the front door. He turned toward the cemetery and felt for the stake in his pocket. He smiled ruefully and began to walk towards to graveyard.
"How's about it beasties," he mumbled to no one in particular. "Step on up." e