CHAPTER FOUR
Will hugged his mom and then moved on to Dawn, he knew that no matter how angry they were about the whole marriage thing they were still happy to see him. Both of them wouldn't take their eyes of Joy, almost mesmerized by her. It was making Will nervous.
"So then mom this is Joy and if you want to start screaming and shouting then lets just get in over with." Will said breaking the silence in the room.
Buffy looked up at her son angry that he had spoken to her in that way, but at the same time proud that he was standing up for himself and his girl like she'd always taught him to.
"Yes I am mad, mad that you are rushing into this because I think that you are both too young and it's too quick." Buffy explained.
"I understand but we are going a head anyway. We came here to make sure that you would be there with us."
Dawn was just watching trying to bite her tongue. It was a big task, her nephew was sitting in their lounge telling them how it was going to be. Buffy nodded her head letting her son know that she didn't except it yet but that she would try.
"Well then Joyce tell us about yourself." Buffy asked making Joy feel like she was at an interview, the feeling wasn't helped by the way Buffy and Dawn were sat straight in front of her.
"Ok then first I prefer Joy, I'm a writer I do newspaper stuff but I had my first novel published about six months ago. I love it so much."
Will watched as Joy's face lit up as she talked about her work, it made him so happy to see her like that. It made him proud to see that his mom and Dawn seemed impressed with Joy and her job.
The tension in the room seemed to be easing away, but Joy noticed that Dawn had still not said anything. Joy decided that she should try to make her talk.
"I can understand that you're weary of me and this situation, but I do love Will and nothing would make me happier than to be his wife." She took a deep breath, "And to be part of this family if you'll let me." Joy let the words fall out of her mouth keeping her tone calm, not wanting to offend them. All the time she kept her eyes on Dawn.
It seemed to make break the ice, Dawn didn't know how to respond she still wasn't too sure of the situation. But give the girl something she had guts, she had come into this strange home and stood up for her love. She hadn't seen passion for love like that since before Spike had left.
"Well that's good enough for me Joy." Dawn said holding her hand out towards Joy. Then she got up and walked towards the kitchen, Will couldn't quite gauge her response.
~*~
Dawn bent down on the kitchen floor searching for a bottle of wine, Will and Joy were going to get married and Dawn was going to make it good for them. Joy had something about her that Dawn liked, a spirit that commanded respect.
She headed back into the lounge to find her sister, her nephew and Joy smiling. They all looked happy and it made her happy to think that Will had been able to build a normal life. It couldn't have been hard for him when his father walked out and his mom was a Slayer. Yet he had grown from being a normal little boy into a normal young man.
"Celebration time I think." Dawn said handing them all a glass each.
"See they love you." Will whispered to joy.
"Well we've got so much to plan and not a lot of time but I'm sure we can do it, it's not as if it's an apocalypses or anything." Dawn said laughing noting the confused look of Joy's face.
Will was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
"We should get Anya to help, she's done it twice now." Buffy said to Dawn.
"Oh has your Aunty Anya been married before?" Joy asked not remembering Will saying anything about that.
Will shuck his head, "No it was just that the first time they tried to get married Xander walked out then three years later they gave it another try. That time he managed to stay until the end of the ceremony."
"Oh." Joy said worried that she had really put her foot in it.
Buffy could sense the young woman's discomfort and decided to change the subject.
"So what about your parents how do they feel about all this?" She asked wondering what they were like.
Will smiled at his mother she was trying and that pleased him but he just wished that she hadn't asked about Joy's parents.
"Well my mom is dead so I don't really know what she thinks." Joy told them.
"Oh bad me I'm sorry I didn't mean to." Buffy rambled trying to make up for the mistake.
"Don't feel bad it happened a long time ago now, I was only little." Joy said wanting to let Buffy know that it really was ok.
"What about your dad?" Buffy asked hoping that he wasn't dead as well.
"My dad, he's a bit upset about it really. He's a bit over the top with me, I think he'll come round."
Buffy looked at Dawn, Joy's dad wasn't the only one who was over protective, yes Dawn had brought the wine in but Buffy still wasn't convinced.
"I'm sure that he's just worried." Buffy said.
"So when are we going to meet him?" Dawn asked.
"We thought we'd let him calm down at the motel tonight and then maybe bring him here in the morning." Will explained, Buffy smiled she understood.
~*~
Spike had decided to find a bar after sitting in the motel room for a while, he needed a drink after the day he'd had.
He'd walked out of the room and just walked, his feet controlling him, it wasn't long before he was stood outside Willy's bar.
"What the bloody hell?!" Spike shouted when he looked up at the sign above the door.
He threw his arms up into the arm and let out an almighty scream, he was back in the one place in the world he never wanted to go again, Sunny D.
His mind reeled he head telling him to go back to his motel room and then leave in the morning. But he couldn't do that Joy wouldn't understand, she shouldn't have to. His heart was telling him to go Revello Drive and see if Buffy was still there. If she was still alive.
What about Dawn, he loved that girl nearly as much as he loved Joy. He had to know what had happened to them. All these years he had managed to block them out of his thoughts but now he was back here he couldn't just walk away and forget. Not again.
He started to walk in the direction of the Summers house.
~*~
"That was Anya, she wants to know if you two have decided on a colour scheme." Buffy said putting the phone down.
Will started laughing, that was Aunty Anya alright. Dawn joined him.
"Not yet no." Joy said wondering what sort of mad family she was marring into. Colour schemes were the last thing on her mind, and Dawn had made four jokes already that involved apocalypses.
She wasn't sure her dad would get on too well with these people, she liked them but her dad wasn't too big on people in general never mind quirky people. Tomorrow was going to be a whole new challenge and Joy just wanted to get it out of the way. A harsh banging noise came from the other side of the front Buffy stood up to answer it. She pulled the door open.
For a second she was confused, there was a man standing looking at her, he looked like Spike but he wasn't because Spike was forever twenty-five. But those eyes, and they were staring right at her.
He stalked past her, "Slayer."
At that second Buffy knew without a doubt that it was Spike she didn't know how it could be but nobody else ever called her Slayer like he did.
"Spike?" Dawn questioned from the hall looking at the man who had just barged into her home.
The two woman and the man just stood staring at each other examining the way time had treated them all, none of them knowing what to say.
The silence was broken by a surprised voice coming from the lounge, "Dad?"
"Joy?"
"Dad!" Both Buffy and Dawn said in unison.
TBC.
Will hugged his mom and then moved on to Dawn, he knew that no matter how angry they were about the whole marriage thing they were still happy to see him. Both of them wouldn't take their eyes of Joy, almost mesmerized by her. It was making Will nervous.
"So then mom this is Joy and if you want to start screaming and shouting then lets just get in over with." Will said breaking the silence in the room.
Buffy looked up at her son angry that he had spoken to her in that way, but at the same time proud that he was standing up for himself and his girl like she'd always taught him to.
"Yes I am mad, mad that you are rushing into this because I think that you are both too young and it's too quick." Buffy explained.
"I understand but we are going a head anyway. We came here to make sure that you would be there with us."
Dawn was just watching trying to bite her tongue. It was a big task, her nephew was sitting in their lounge telling them how it was going to be. Buffy nodded her head letting her son know that she didn't except it yet but that she would try.
"Well then Joyce tell us about yourself." Buffy asked making Joy feel like she was at an interview, the feeling wasn't helped by the way Buffy and Dawn were sat straight in front of her.
"Ok then first I prefer Joy, I'm a writer I do newspaper stuff but I had my first novel published about six months ago. I love it so much."
Will watched as Joy's face lit up as she talked about her work, it made him so happy to see her like that. It made him proud to see that his mom and Dawn seemed impressed with Joy and her job.
The tension in the room seemed to be easing away, but Joy noticed that Dawn had still not said anything. Joy decided that she should try to make her talk.
"I can understand that you're weary of me and this situation, but I do love Will and nothing would make me happier than to be his wife." She took a deep breath, "And to be part of this family if you'll let me." Joy let the words fall out of her mouth keeping her tone calm, not wanting to offend them. All the time she kept her eyes on Dawn.
It seemed to make break the ice, Dawn didn't know how to respond she still wasn't too sure of the situation. But give the girl something she had guts, she had come into this strange home and stood up for her love. She hadn't seen passion for love like that since before Spike had left.
"Well that's good enough for me Joy." Dawn said holding her hand out towards Joy. Then she got up and walked towards the kitchen, Will couldn't quite gauge her response.
~*~
Dawn bent down on the kitchen floor searching for a bottle of wine, Will and Joy were going to get married and Dawn was going to make it good for them. Joy had something about her that Dawn liked, a spirit that commanded respect.
She headed back into the lounge to find her sister, her nephew and Joy smiling. They all looked happy and it made her happy to think that Will had been able to build a normal life. It couldn't have been hard for him when his father walked out and his mom was a Slayer. Yet he had grown from being a normal little boy into a normal young man.
"Celebration time I think." Dawn said handing them all a glass each.
"See they love you." Will whispered to joy.
"Well we've got so much to plan and not a lot of time but I'm sure we can do it, it's not as if it's an apocalypses or anything." Dawn said laughing noting the confused look of Joy's face.
Will was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
"We should get Anya to help, she's done it twice now." Buffy said to Dawn.
"Oh has your Aunty Anya been married before?" Joy asked not remembering Will saying anything about that.
Will shuck his head, "No it was just that the first time they tried to get married Xander walked out then three years later they gave it another try. That time he managed to stay until the end of the ceremony."
"Oh." Joy said worried that she had really put her foot in it.
Buffy could sense the young woman's discomfort and decided to change the subject.
"So what about your parents how do they feel about all this?" She asked wondering what they were like.
Will smiled at his mother she was trying and that pleased him but he just wished that she hadn't asked about Joy's parents.
"Well my mom is dead so I don't really know what she thinks." Joy told them.
"Oh bad me I'm sorry I didn't mean to." Buffy rambled trying to make up for the mistake.
"Don't feel bad it happened a long time ago now, I was only little." Joy said wanting to let Buffy know that it really was ok.
"What about your dad?" Buffy asked hoping that he wasn't dead as well.
"My dad, he's a bit upset about it really. He's a bit over the top with me, I think he'll come round."
Buffy looked at Dawn, Joy's dad wasn't the only one who was over protective, yes Dawn had brought the wine in but Buffy still wasn't convinced.
"I'm sure that he's just worried." Buffy said.
"So when are we going to meet him?" Dawn asked.
"We thought we'd let him calm down at the motel tonight and then maybe bring him here in the morning." Will explained, Buffy smiled she understood.
~*~
Spike had decided to find a bar after sitting in the motel room for a while, he needed a drink after the day he'd had.
He'd walked out of the room and just walked, his feet controlling him, it wasn't long before he was stood outside Willy's bar.
"What the bloody hell?!" Spike shouted when he looked up at the sign above the door.
He threw his arms up into the arm and let out an almighty scream, he was back in the one place in the world he never wanted to go again, Sunny D.
His mind reeled he head telling him to go back to his motel room and then leave in the morning. But he couldn't do that Joy wouldn't understand, she shouldn't have to. His heart was telling him to go Revello Drive and see if Buffy was still there. If she was still alive.
What about Dawn, he loved that girl nearly as much as he loved Joy. He had to know what had happened to them. All these years he had managed to block them out of his thoughts but now he was back here he couldn't just walk away and forget. Not again.
He started to walk in the direction of the Summers house.
~*~
"That was Anya, she wants to know if you two have decided on a colour scheme." Buffy said putting the phone down.
Will started laughing, that was Aunty Anya alright. Dawn joined him.
"Not yet no." Joy said wondering what sort of mad family she was marring into. Colour schemes were the last thing on her mind, and Dawn had made four jokes already that involved apocalypses.
She wasn't sure her dad would get on too well with these people, she liked them but her dad wasn't too big on people in general never mind quirky people. Tomorrow was going to be a whole new challenge and Joy just wanted to get it out of the way. A harsh banging noise came from the other side of the front Buffy stood up to answer it. She pulled the door open.
For a second she was confused, there was a man standing looking at her, he looked like Spike but he wasn't because Spike was forever twenty-five. But those eyes, and they were staring right at her.
He stalked past her, "Slayer."
At that second Buffy knew without a doubt that it was Spike she didn't know how it could be but nobody else ever called her Slayer like he did.
"Spike?" Dawn questioned from the hall looking at the man who had just barged into her home.
The two woman and the man just stood staring at each other examining the way time had treated them all, none of them knowing what to say.
The silence was broken by a surprised voice coming from the lounge, "Dad?"
"Joy?"
"Dad!" Both Buffy and Dawn said in unison.
TBC.