Disclaimer in Part 1
~Part 17~
"Where's Buffy?" Dawn walked in, already fully dressed, which was odd for a Saturday morning, the most important word in that being morning, to find Spike making some pancakes at the stove. "And would it kill you to wear a shirt?"
"She's still sleeping, she had kind of a rough night last night, and not all of us feel the need to prep for breakfast. I think the sweatpants your sister made me buy work quite fine by themselves." He took a sip from a mug next to the batter. Hey, he was entitled to some breakfast too.
"She alright?" Dawn grabbed one of the ones that were already done, flipping it back and forth between her palms. "Ooh, hot!" She blew on it a little, before taking a bite.
"Yea, I think so, little bug's all. Why are you all in a rush this morning?"
"Janice and I are going to the mall, there's supposed to be a band signing CDs at the music store."
"And when were you planning on filling the rest of us in on this?"
"I guess right now."
"Alright, who's driving, what mall, what store in the mall, what band is this, when will you be back, and when did I turn into the annoying inquisitive parent?"
"Janice's mom, the one right by IKEA, CD World, 724, before dinner and I'd say right after you moved in with my sister."
"Alright, call if your plans change. You need cash?"
"If you're offering, of course," He glared at her a little. "but honestly, not so much." The front doorbell rang, and Dawn went running in completely the opposite direction. "Ah! They're early, where are my shoes?"
"Look by the sofa, I think you took them off there last night. How you getting home? You need a pickup?"
"Janice's mom will drive us home too, I checked." The bell rang again. "Can you get the door?"
"Already on it." He flung it open and answered "Hey and you're not Janice." Instead of the teenager in her boyfriend's lettermen's jacket that she just thought was so dreamy he was face-to-face with a middle-aged woman in business attire.
"No, sorry. I'm Melissa Redgrave from Social Services." He instantly wished he'd listened to Dawn and put on that T-shirt.
"So this is one of those surprise visits then?"
"You'd be right, may I come in?"
"Oh, I'm sorry of course, please." He stepped out of her way, and headed straight for the laundry basket at the bottom of the steps, slipping on one of his black T's.
"Spike, can you tell her to wait for just a couple more seconds, now my purse is MIA."
"Don't worry Bit, you got some time, it's not Janice yet, and you left your bag on the counter when you came downstairs. Why don't you sit next to it and have some of your breakfast on a dish like a civilized person, which would also mean chewing it." He smiled at the woman, whispering more quietly to her "She's in a little hurry this morning."
Dawn ran into the foyer. "Yea well."
"And Dawn, I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Redgrave, she's one of the social workers on our case."
"Hi Dawn."
"Hello Ms. Redgrave. I think I'll go have that breakfast now, I have to get my vitamins, listen to my elders, and well he went through all the trouble." She bolted out of the room as quickly as she had entered it, and he snickered.
"I don't suppose you'd be interested in some pancakes, but there's plenty if you are. Coffee, tea, anything you'd like?"
"No, I'm fine thank you. If it would be alright, I'd just like to take a look around, and maybe talk to you and Buffy for a little while. Is she home?"
"She's here, but not doing that great. She was up most of the night, a little under the weather."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
"She'll be fine soon, she bounces back pretty fast." He heard the telephone ringing from the kitchen. "Please have a look around. If you'd excuse me." He was putting on his best manners, and he'd forgotten how difficult it was to keep up with. Dawn had already answered when he got there and was scribbling a barely legible note down onto a pad of paper.
"Mmhmm, got it. Yep, I'll let her know. She'll call you back, I promise. You're good? Alright, I love you too, I'll talk to you soon."
"Who was that?"
"Giles, he wants Buffy to call him."
"Anything wrong?"
"No, I just think Saturday's going to be his check-in with Sunnydale day."
"Does he know, about, about me and Buffy?"
"I don't think so, and by the way, please tell me you didn't open the door all ab flashing." He reached over, dumping the rest of his mug's contents down the drain and rinsing it out. He didn't think pig's blood sitting right next to a plate of flapjacks was considered normal.
"I did."
"You didn't?" A horn honked outside. "Alright, that's them, I'm sure. I'll be back later."
"And you'll remember to do what?"
She ran towards the hallway, picking her bag up off the counter and shoving one more bite of pancake into her mouth. "I know, I know, I'll call. Bye Spike!" She slammed the door loudly as she left.
Spike walked out into the living room again. "I apologize, it's not usually this chaotic around here. Well actually let me rephrase that. It's not usually this chaotic around here this early in the morning."
"It's fine Mr. Thompson, we're expecting things to function in an unprofessional way, that's why we come unexpectedly."
"I also figured it had to do with people hiding things, we wouldn't want that." He was really happy the phone had rung. "Was there anything you wanted to ask, or that I'm supposed to show you? I'm not really sure how these things are supposed to work."
"Well, it appears as though the house is in order, I'd like to see the rest of it before I go, but we can do the interview portion now if you'd like."
"That's fine. What would you like to know?"
"At the meeting at the office, Buffy was in a temporary position and you were unemployed. What are the conditions of employment at this time?"
"Buffy got a job as a secretary in an office, and I've been working as a bouncer down at Willy's, which is a bar. We're trying to work it out so that Buffy can take some courses for college credit, or that I can get a good enough paying job so that she can go back to being a regular student, but one thing at a time."
"And the mortgage company let us know that payments have lapsed, what is being done about that?"
"We're actually going to try to sell the house, or have the bank repossess it, I'm not exactly clear on how that's being handled yet, but there's an apartment that we're supposed to go and look at. It's still in Dawn's school district, and it would just be a lot less maintenance."
"Those were the two pressing questions, if I have anymore, I'll contact you. If I can just see upstairs, I'll be getting out of your hair."
"Sure, I'll give you the tour." He headed up the staircase, and she followed. "We've got Dawn's room over here, which I hope is no longer a toxic waste zone." He opened the door and leaned in. "I think it's safe. Her sister must've finally gotten through with the cleanliness being good message." She walked around, writing some things down on her clipboard and then heading out of the room.
"I know there are three bedrooms in the house, is one of them empty now?"
"Well, the room was Joyce's before, and until we got married, two of Buffy's friends were using it. All of the furniture is still in there, and if we were staying, I figure we'd be moving out of Buffy's room and into there."
"So you too use Buffy's old bedroom?"
"Yes, she's got a queen-size in there, and we also have a cot set-up. Sometimes Dawn has some trouble sleeping and it's just easier if someone's in the room with her."
"Spike? Is that you?" So she was up then.
"Yea luv, it's me. Did we wake you up?"
"Not so much as the doorbell, phone and horn did."
"I'm sorry." He walked into the bedroom and kissed her forehead. "I don't think you have that fever anymore. So that's good. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better. Who are you talking to out there?"
"Melissa Redgrave, one of our case workers."
"Oh my God, she's here? Why didn't you come and get me? Where's Dawn, and please tell me she cleaned her room."
"You're sick, and it's under control. Dawn went to the mall with Janice."
"Is the room clean?"
"Yes, the room is clean. Do you want anything, some crackers or soup?"
"Maybe some crackers. And apologize for me."
"I already did, and she said none was necessary. Giles called while you were sleeping, Dawn took the message."
"I have to call him."
"No, you have to rest. I'm taking care of things, don't worry. It was just a call to check-in."
"So everything's fine? You promise?"
"Well I did welcome the woman half-dressed."
"So than things are better than fine."
He kissed her head again. "I'm going to let her out, and then I'll bring something up for you."
"Thank you, for everything."
"It's no problem."
"Remember, to apologize."
"I will."
He exited, quietly closing the door behind him. "She asked me to apologize again."
"You can tell her that it's not a problem. If you have nothing else to share, I'll be on my way. I'm sorry we have to just barge in like this. I'll have the office call on Monday to set-up a few scheduled appointments and an interview for Dawn. I'll let you get back to your wife, I can let myself out."
"Thank you for coming."
"We'll be in touch soon."
"I'm sure you will. Good-bye."
"Have a nice day Mr. Thompson."
"Where's Buffy?" Dawn walked in, already fully dressed, which was odd for a Saturday morning, the most important word in that being morning, to find Spike making some pancakes at the stove. "And would it kill you to wear a shirt?"
"She's still sleeping, she had kind of a rough night last night, and not all of us feel the need to prep for breakfast. I think the sweatpants your sister made me buy work quite fine by themselves." He took a sip from a mug next to the batter. Hey, he was entitled to some breakfast too.
"She alright?" Dawn grabbed one of the ones that were already done, flipping it back and forth between her palms. "Ooh, hot!" She blew on it a little, before taking a bite.
"Yea, I think so, little bug's all. Why are you all in a rush this morning?"
"Janice and I are going to the mall, there's supposed to be a band signing CDs at the music store."
"And when were you planning on filling the rest of us in on this?"
"I guess right now."
"Alright, who's driving, what mall, what store in the mall, what band is this, when will you be back, and when did I turn into the annoying inquisitive parent?"
"Janice's mom, the one right by IKEA, CD World, 724, before dinner and I'd say right after you moved in with my sister."
"Alright, call if your plans change. You need cash?"
"If you're offering, of course," He glared at her a little. "but honestly, not so much." The front doorbell rang, and Dawn went running in completely the opposite direction. "Ah! They're early, where are my shoes?"
"Look by the sofa, I think you took them off there last night. How you getting home? You need a pickup?"
"Janice's mom will drive us home too, I checked." The bell rang again. "Can you get the door?"
"Already on it." He flung it open and answered "Hey and you're not Janice." Instead of the teenager in her boyfriend's lettermen's jacket that she just thought was so dreamy he was face-to-face with a middle-aged woman in business attire.
"No, sorry. I'm Melissa Redgrave from Social Services." He instantly wished he'd listened to Dawn and put on that T-shirt.
"So this is one of those surprise visits then?"
"You'd be right, may I come in?"
"Oh, I'm sorry of course, please." He stepped out of her way, and headed straight for the laundry basket at the bottom of the steps, slipping on one of his black T's.
"Spike, can you tell her to wait for just a couple more seconds, now my purse is MIA."
"Don't worry Bit, you got some time, it's not Janice yet, and you left your bag on the counter when you came downstairs. Why don't you sit next to it and have some of your breakfast on a dish like a civilized person, which would also mean chewing it." He smiled at the woman, whispering more quietly to her "She's in a little hurry this morning."
Dawn ran into the foyer. "Yea well."
"And Dawn, I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Redgrave, she's one of the social workers on our case."
"Hi Dawn."
"Hello Ms. Redgrave. I think I'll go have that breakfast now, I have to get my vitamins, listen to my elders, and well he went through all the trouble." She bolted out of the room as quickly as she had entered it, and he snickered.
"I don't suppose you'd be interested in some pancakes, but there's plenty if you are. Coffee, tea, anything you'd like?"
"No, I'm fine thank you. If it would be alright, I'd just like to take a look around, and maybe talk to you and Buffy for a little while. Is she home?"
"She's here, but not doing that great. She was up most of the night, a little under the weather."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
"She'll be fine soon, she bounces back pretty fast." He heard the telephone ringing from the kitchen. "Please have a look around. If you'd excuse me." He was putting on his best manners, and he'd forgotten how difficult it was to keep up with. Dawn had already answered when he got there and was scribbling a barely legible note down onto a pad of paper.
"Mmhmm, got it. Yep, I'll let her know. She'll call you back, I promise. You're good? Alright, I love you too, I'll talk to you soon."
"Who was that?"
"Giles, he wants Buffy to call him."
"Anything wrong?"
"No, I just think Saturday's going to be his check-in with Sunnydale day."
"Does he know, about, about me and Buffy?"
"I don't think so, and by the way, please tell me you didn't open the door all ab flashing." He reached over, dumping the rest of his mug's contents down the drain and rinsing it out. He didn't think pig's blood sitting right next to a plate of flapjacks was considered normal.
"I did."
"You didn't?" A horn honked outside. "Alright, that's them, I'm sure. I'll be back later."
"And you'll remember to do what?"
She ran towards the hallway, picking her bag up off the counter and shoving one more bite of pancake into her mouth. "I know, I know, I'll call. Bye Spike!" She slammed the door loudly as she left.
Spike walked out into the living room again. "I apologize, it's not usually this chaotic around here. Well actually let me rephrase that. It's not usually this chaotic around here this early in the morning."
"It's fine Mr. Thompson, we're expecting things to function in an unprofessional way, that's why we come unexpectedly."
"I also figured it had to do with people hiding things, we wouldn't want that." He was really happy the phone had rung. "Was there anything you wanted to ask, or that I'm supposed to show you? I'm not really sure how these things are supposed to work."
"Well, it appears as though the house is in order, I'd like to see the rest of it before I go, but we can do the interview portion now if you'd like."
"That's fine. What would you like to know?"
"At the meeting at the office, Buffy was in a temporary position and you were unemployed. What are the conditions of employment at this time?"
"Buffy got a job as a secretary in an office, and I've been working as a bouncer down at Willy's, which is a bar. We're trying to work it out so that Buffy can take some courses for college credit, or that I can get a good enough paying job so that she can go back to being a regular student, but one thing at a time."
"And the mortgage company let us know that payments have lapsed, what is being done about that?"
"We're actually going to try to sell the house, or have the bank repossess it, I'm not exactly clear on how that's being handled yet, but there's an apartment that we're supposed to go and look at. It's still in Dawn's school district, and it would just be a lot less maintenance."
"Those were the two pressing questions, if I have anymore, I'll contact you. If I can just see upstairs, I'll be getting out of your hair."
"Sure, I'll give you the tour." He headed up the staircase, and she followed. "We've got Dawn's room over here, which I hope is no longer a toxic waste zone." He opened the door and leaned in. "I think it's safe. Her sister must've finally gotten through with the cleanliness being good message." She walked around, writing some things down on her clipboard and then heading out of the room.
"I know there are three bedrooms in the house, is one of them empty now?"
"Well, the room was Joyce's before, and until we got married, two of Buffy's friends were using it. All of the furniture is still in there, and if we were staying, I figure we'd be moving out of Buffy's room and into there."
"So you too use Buffy's old bedroom?"
"Yes, she's got a queen-size in there, and we also have a cot set-up. Sometimes Dawn has some trouble sleeping and it's just easier if someone's in the room with her."
"Spike? Is that you?" So she was up then.
"Yea luv, it's me. Did we wake you up?"
"Not so much as the doorbell, phone and horn did."
"I'm sorry." He walked into the bedroom and kissed her forehead. "I don't think you have that fever anymore. So that's good. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better. Who are you talking to out there?"
"Melissa Redgrave, one of our case workers."
"Oh my God, she's here? Why didn't you come and get me? Where's Dawn, and please tell me she cleaned her room."
"You're sick, and it's under control. Dawn went to the mall with Janice."
"Is the room clean?"
"Yes, the room is clean. Do you want anything, some crackers or soup?"
"Maybe some crackers. And apologize for me."
"I already did, and she said none was necessary. Giles called while you were sleeping, Dawn took the message."
"I have to call him."
"No, you have to rest. I'm taking care of things, don't worry. It was just a call to check-in."
"So everything's fine? You promise?"
"Well I did welcome the woman half-dressed."
"So than things are better than fine."
He kissed her head again. "I'm going to let her out, and then I'll bring something up for you."
"Thank you, for everything."
"It's no problem."
"Remember, to apologize."
"I will."
He exited, quietly closing the door behind him. "She asked me to apologize again."
"You can tell her that it's not a problem. If you have nothing else to share, I'll be on my way. I'm sorry we have to just barge in like this. I'll have the office call on Monday to set-up a few scheduled appointments and an interview for Dawn. I'll let you get back to your wife, I can let myself out."
"Thank you for coming."
"We'll be in touch soon."
"I'm sure you will. Good-bye."
"Have a nice day Mr. Thompson."