CHAPTER SIXTEEN: TIMOTHY
Sunday: 7am11th January 1998
California: Sunnydale
Tim Stanton groaned as he rolled over in his bed, hitting the alarm clock blindly in hopes of getting the blasted thing to stop beeping. He heard his wife give a small giggle at his early morning routine. He opened one eye and tried to glare, even though a hint of smile came to his face.
"Something you find funny Mrs Stanton?" he asked.
She leant over and gave him a small kiss. "Just you Mr Stanton."
He smiled and stretch out on the bed. "Wanna play hooky?" he asked mischievously.
Joyce hesitated before giving him the lightest of slaps to his bare feet, making him twitch a little.
"I have to be at the gallery to make sure my new employee learns the ropes," Joyce said. "And you, Mr hot-shot lawyer, have to be at work in an hour."
"But it's Sunday," he groaned. Reluctantly, he got up, padding over to the cupboard and pulling out a clean shirt, tie and suit combination. He was interrupted by a small voice calling out to him.
"Daddy," came the voice. He looked down to see his ten-year-old daughter staring up at him.
"What's wrong princess?" he asked.
"I can't find my red sneakers," she complained.
Tim chuckled and took Dawn by the hand.
"When did you last have them?" he asked.
"Last night after I got home from Melissa's," she replied. "But I can't remember where I took 'em off."
Tim grinned and lifted his daughter up and took her down the stairs. He went into the living room and immediately spotted them by the couch. He set her down and pointed to the two shoes.
"There you go hun," he said.
She grinned up at him and he leant down to receive a kiss on his cheek. He went back up the stairs and changed quickly.
"Do you want toast or cereal?" Joyce asked him as he went into the kitchen. He kissed her gently and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard.
"I don't think I can stomach anymore than half a bowl of cereal this morning," he replied. He quickly organised his breakfast and sat at the island counter in the home on Revello Drive.
"So, what was that about a new employee?" Tim asked curiously.
"Oh, there's a new girl in Sunnydale. She seemed to know a lot about art actually. It was strange. She only looked like she was seventeen," Joyce said. "I've hired her for the Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays."
"Ah, Joyce…those are school days. Why would she be working then if she's only seventeen?" he asked.
"That was even stranger. She said she'd finished her studies already. That she had gone to school in England," Joyce explained. "I didn't think their schooling system was that different to ours."
"Maybe she skipped a couple of grades," Tim suggested.
Joyce made a murmur of agreement and turned to look at Dawn. A small part of Joyce had hated that Dawn had dark brown hair. Joyce had wanted to have a little girl with blonde hair like her Buffy had had, but Dawn had taken after Tim's family with their dark locks. There was very little resemblance between Dawn and her first child, something that Joyce had secretly wept over.
Tim had heard all about her first marriage and about the car accident that had changed her life. He had heard bout Joyce's first alcoholic husband who had died in a car crash. He had heard the tragic tale of how Joyce's first daughter had disappeared from the hospital after the same car accident, never to be found again.
When Tim had first met Joyce, she was still deeply depressed about her daughter's disappearance and the death of her husband. Tim had been a friend and nothing more until six months later. He had asked her for coffee and things had escalated from there. They'd been married in late December of 1987, almost two years after Buffy had gone missing. Dawn had been born a year later.
Tim knew that his wife still thought about the missing girl, and he couldn't fault her for that. He couldn't ever imagine getting over Dawn if anything had ever happened to her.
With a quick kiss to his wife and his daughter, Tim was out the door and on his way to work.
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Beth was up and dressed by the time Giles had just got out of the shower. She favoured him a grin as he rubbed his face tiredly.
"I'm starting work soon," she informed him happily. She did a small twirl in front of him. "How do I look?"
He smiled at her, thankful that he had agreed to let her begin working. He had noticed the way she seemed to be far happier today than she had been the day before. It was a nice change.
"You look lovely," he complimented.
They had had to go on another shopping spree for the Californian weather, and Beth had bought an entirely new wardrobe consisting of skirts and blouses, shirts, shorts and slacks. She had been spending a lot of time in the sun developing a tan, something she hadn't been able to do as well in the other countries.
Giles had to admit that Beth truly was a Californian girl. He'd been told by Travers that Beth had originally lived in Los Angeles, and that they specifically weren't to visit there, just in case. As an extra safeguard, Travers had told Giles to make Beth use Giles' last name, rather than her own.
"Oh, Beth, when you fill out the forms for your job, will you use my last name instead of your own," he said. "Just as a precaution."
She nodded, used to taking orders like that. She had used his last name when they were in Russia and in Romania, so it wasn't an unusual request. That and using his last name limited the questions about them. It was far easier to explain that they were related if they had the same family name.
"I'll see you this afternoon," she called as she raced out the door. "Don't have too much fun without me."
Giles just smiled and settled back to document his Slayer's progress in the journal he had been given. With a smile, he recounted the previous nights slayage.
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Beth walked into the gallery, feeling a little nervous. She was dressed professionally in a knee length skirt and a white blouse, her hair hanging around her shoulders. She liked wearing her hair out during the day because of the restrictions the slaying put on her. Giles made her way her hair up on patrol, saying that it would always get in her way. He hadn't been wrong about that.
Joyce smiled when she saw her newest staff member enter the gallery.
"Good morning," she greeted cheerfully.
"Morning Joyce," Beth replied.
Joyce ushered her into her office and sat behind her desk, motioning for Beth to take a seat in front of her. Joyce handed her several forms for her to fill in, hoping that she could merely read the girls' name off the sheet rather than admit that she had completely forgotten to ask for it the previous day.
When Beth handed the forms back to Joyce, she quickly read the name. Beth Giles. Pain flashed over her face, but she covered it quickly. She always had trouble meeting people named Beth. It was easier because she had never called her little daughter Beth. It had always been Buffy.
Joyce looked over the forms while Beth curiously picked up the photo frame on Joyce's desk. The picture showed Joyce with a man and a young brown haired girl.
"This is your family?" she asked.
Joyce looked up and saw what Beth was talking about.
"Oh yes. Tim and Dawn. Dawn just turned ten two months ago," Joyce said.
"She's pretty. He's a bit of a spunk as well," Beth said.
Joyce went a little red, laughing at the young girl in front of her. "I've always thought so."
Beth grinned and replaced the picture frame. She noticed another frame showing a different man and a different girl with blonde hair and familiar eyes. She was about to ask who was in the photo when Joyce's phone rang. Joyce shot her an apologetic look and answered the phone.
"Stanton Gallery, this is Joyce. Oh, Tim! Hi. I was just talking about you," she said. She laughed at whatever Tim said and looked at Beth. "My newest employee thinks you're a spunk."
Beth went a little red and hoped that she would never have to meet Joyce's husband. She decided that she liked Joyce Stanton a lot, enjoying the wicked sense of humour that Joyce was displaying. After a few more seconds of conversation, Joyce hung up the phone.
"Okay honey…alright. Love you too. See you tonight."
She looked at Beth and gave a sheepish smile. "He said that at least I was hiring people with good taste."
Beth grinned a little. "He sounds like a character."
"Oh, he is," Joyce agreed. "I have trouble keeping up with he and Dawn sometimes. But, it's definitely fun. Challenging, but fun."
Beth smiled, wishing that she could have been part of a family. She wondered whether she would have given up her life with Ethan and Faith for a normal life like Xander's or Joyce's. She was a little shocked when she realised that she wouldn't want to give up Faith and Ethan for anyone or anything.
"Alright, so, we'll get you started," Joyce said, breaking her out of her reverie. "I'll give you the grand tour, and then I'll get you settled."
Beth smiled politely. "Sounds good."
~*~