Title: Dedicated to the One I Love
Author: AnastasiaMarsters
Summary: Buffy Summers is sent to live with her Uncle Giles, agent to various recording artists. Dingoes Ate My Baby wants a contract, and Buffy wants to help. But when she meets lead singer, Spike, will her feelings change? AU, B/S (and others).
Rating: PG at the moment, but subject to change as I see fit.
Feedback: Is nice.
Distribution: Ditto, but please give credit to AnastasiaMarsters.
Disclaimers: This is my first fanfic. The situations are mine, the characters are not. Buffy, Spike, etc. are intellectual property of people luckier than me. I do not intend to quote material from Buffy, but so much of it is in my daily vocabulary that there might be some, and I recognize that it wasn't written by me. The title is from "Dedicated to the One I Love," by the Shirelles. Watch out, that song may also appear somewhere in this fic. :) (Eventually! I'm getting there, trust me!)
Chapter 2: Wild Horses
Buffy pushed open the stable door, nearly hitting the man who was on his way out.
"Whoa, watch out, babe! You could put someone's eye out," the tall man leaving the stable said with a smirk. He turned to walk around Buffy, but paused, looking her up and down. "Hey, wait a sec. You're. ah, Buffy, right? One of those chicks moving in with Rupes?" His eyes continued to work their way over Buffy's body, pausing long enough to make his intentions clear.
Buffy bristled. At first glance, this guy was a total hunk of salty goodness. Unfortunately, though, he was one of those boys who became much less attractive after they opened their mouths.
The combination of depression over her mother, surprise at seeing someone in the stables, and indignance about being mentally undressed pushed Buffy to the edge. "First, I'm not a babe or a chick: this is a stable, not a farm. Second, who the hell is 'Rupes'? And who the hell are you?"
The man smiled, his expression amused and dangerous at the same time. He leaned against the stable wall, raising his eyebrow as he introduced himself, "Angel."
Buffy's eyebrows shot up at his introduction; she would have been less surprised to find out that this guy was a thief or mass murderer instead of her uncle's assistant. Hell, for all she knew, he could be all three. Buffy smiled at this thought, which caused Angel to widen his grin. As soon as Buffy noticed Angel's response, she grimaced and stepped back.
"Angel, huh? Nice name. Yeah, I'm Buffy, and I think I'll just be going inside now."
Wishing to widen the distance between herself and Angel, who was giving her total bad vibes, Buffy turned sharply on her heel and headed back towards Giles's house.
"Whoa, babe! I mean, Buff!" Angel dashed ahead of Buffy, cutting her off. "Don't run away, I don't bite. Usually," he smiled. "Listen, ah, you like horses? I could show you around, introduce you to the good ones."
Buffy hesitated. She was sure she didn't like this guy, but putting up with his attitude would be worth it if he really did know the horses' attitudes. Buffy sighed, "Okay, show me around."
Buffy turned her back to Angel and began to walk into the stables. Angel took advantage of his new viewpoint, smirked, and followed Buffy inside.
***
Dawn burst out of Giles's car as he pulled into his garage. She ran to the house door, but stopped in her tracks as she noticed her surroundings.
"Um, Uncle Giles? I don't mean to sound rude. but why on earth would you drive this old rust box when you have 3 shiny, attractive, and generally perfect other cars?"
Giles laughed out loud at the expression on his niece's face. "Take a closer look, Dawn, those are all two-door, two-seaters. I felt that the, ah, 'old rust box' would be a better fit."
Still chuckling, Giles guided Dawn into his home. As he opened the door, Dawn took in the marble flooring that made even a coat room look opulent. Giles took off his raincoat and set it on a wrought-iron bench, gesturing for Dawn to do the same. The sky had been gray and rainy most of the day, rarely offering patches of sunlight to their trip. Dawn's first impression of her new house, however, made up for the miserable car trip.
As Giles led Dawn into the massive hall and foyer of his home, he called out, "Angel! Bella! We're home!"
Dawn stopped, confused. "Bella? Who's that? Please tell me that at least that one is female."
Giles laughed again, these girls had certainly not lost their voices and independence in their grief. "Yes, she is. Isabelle - Bella - is my housekeeper, I suppose. More like a friend. I don't use much of the house, so there's not much cleaning, but she does occasionally do cooking, washing, whatever is needed. She's been a constant here, and I'm sure you'll like her. If you need anything at all and you can't find me, ask Bella. She's sure to spoil you, of course."
Dawn smiled at first, but was worried that Isabelle might expect her to open up and talk about Joyce. Dawn bit her lip, and decided to put off meeting new people for as long as possible.
"So, where are the bedrooms? Maybe I could pick out mine. I have to unpack my bathroom stuff right away, otherwise Buffy hogs all of the space."
A voice came from beside her, "Oh honey, Mr. Giles has bathrooms all over the place, I'm sure you could even have two of your own if you asked nicely."
Dawn hadn't noticed the beautiful woman who had entered the foyer. She was older than Joyce had been, probably nearly fifty, but without any gray hair or obvious wrinkles. Her age was only revealed by her wise eyes and obvious air of domesticity, and a gentle smile that added a spark of mischief to her serious face.
Giles smiled back at the woman, obviously glad to see her. "Bella, dear, this is Dawn. Dawn, Isabelle."
Dawn tried to mask her disappointment at having to make introductions and offered her hand politely to Isabelle. Isabelle, however, immediately wrapped Dawn into a hug.
"If there's anything at all you need, I'm nearly always around. And you can always ask me for things that Mr. Giles says no to," Bella added with a wink.
"Bella!" Giles attempted to reprimand his housekeeper, but instead broke into a smile. "Speaking of always around, where is that-"
Giles was cut off by the slam of the french doors separating the back yard from the sitting room off of the foyer. Buffy stormed into the house, Angel slinking in behind her.
"Speak of the devil," Giles muttered. Louder, "Buffy, dear, I see you've met Angel."
Buffy snorted in reply, and Angel gave his standard smirk. 'Angelic face, maybe,' Buffy thought, 'but he sure is an asshole.' After the second "accidental" grope in the stable, Buffy had slapped Angel, who kissed her in return. Enraged, Buffy had marched from the barn into the house, and was in no mood to socialize any more.
Isabelle took in the situation with one glance, and grabbed Angel by the wrist, leading him into the kitchen. She called over her shoulder, "We'll surely get acquainted soon, Buffy, but at the moment, I'm sure I need to scold my son."
Bella disappeared into a connecting hallway before her words could register with Buffy and Dawn.
Dawn was the first to react, asking, "Son? Was that Angel? He sure is hot."
Buffy cringed, "Stay away from him, he's pretty much disgusting. And who was that woman?"
Giles sighed, the first moments at his home didn't appear to be agreeing with his nieces. "Yes, that was Angel, he is my assistant. That was his mother, Isabelle, she is my housekeeper." He took off his glasses to clean them, muttering, "and one of them is worthless."
The stress of the last few weeks had been wearing on Buffy's nerves, and she didn't feel like putting up with any more for the time being. "So, Giles, do you have a phone anywhere in this place? I need to call Willow."
Trying his best to be patient and accommodating, Giles nodded his head. "There's a private line to the studio, if you'd prefer to use that one. Here, it's to the left and down the stairs."
Giles started towards the side of his home, heading in the opposite direction from where Isabelle had pulled Angel away. Dawn and Buffy had both raised their eyebrows when Giles had mentioned a studio, and they glanced at each other before following him.
"Studio, Uncle Giles? What kind of studio? Do you like art, like mom? I mean, art, like, an art studio?" Dawn quickly backtracked over her mention of Joyce, knowing that it would only hurt everyone in the room.
Giles sighed, knowing that the girls hurt deeply, and decided to continue the conversation in what would hopefully be a happy direction. "It's a recording studio, Dawn, but just a small one. Just enough to improve terrible demos that might stand a chance with a label."
With that, Buffy and Dawn stopped in their tracks. "A recording studio?" Buffy shrieked. "Demos? Like, for bands? Do they come here?"
Giles nearly jumped for joy at this obvious connection with the girls. "Yes, they do come here occasionally, but we mostly see new artists, so don't expect Justin Timberlake to be staying in a guest suite by the pool," he added with a smile.
Buffy could hardly stand still; she loved new, unique music. In Sunnydale, her favorite passion was to hang out a local clubs with live bands hoping to someday make it big in Los Angeles. Thrilled at this connection between her old life and this new one, Buffy could hardly wait to get her best friend, Willow, on the phone.
***
A/N: Again with the Garth Brooks chapter title. What can I say, I love that guy! And also, thank you to my first reviewer; I'm so glad that my first one was positive!
Author: AnastasiaMarsters
Summary: Buffy Summers is sent to live with her Uncle Giles, agent to various recording artists. Dingoes Ate My Baby wants a contract, and Buffy wants to help. But when she meets lead singer, Spike, will her feelings change? AU, B/S (and others).
Rating: PG at the moment, but subject to change as I see fit.
Feedback: Is nice.
Distribution: Ditto, but please give credit to AnastasiaMarsters.
Disclaimers: This is my first fanfic. The situations are mine, the characters are not. Buffy, Spike, etc. are intellectual property of people luckier than me. I do not intend to quote material from Buffy, but so much of it is in my daily vocabulary that there might be some, and I recognize that it wasn't written by me. The title is from "Dedicated to the One I Love," by the Shirelles. Watch out, that song may also appear somewhere in this fic. :) (Eventually! I'm getting there, trust me!)
Chapter 2: Wild Horses
Buffy pushed open the stable door, nearly hitting the man who was on his way out.
"Whoa, watch out, babe! You could put someone's eye out," the tall man leaving the stable said with a smirk. He turned to walk around Buffy, but paused, looking her up and down. "Hey, wait a sec. You're. ah, Buffy, right? One of those chicks moving in with Rupes?" His eyes continued to work their way over Buffy's body, pausing long enough to make his intentions clear.
Buffy bristled. At first glance, this guy was a total hunk of salty goodness. Unfortunately, though, he was one of those boys who became much less attractive after they opened their mouths.
The combination of depression over her mother, surprise at seeing someone in the stables, and indignance about being mentally undressed pushed Buffy to the edge. "First, I'm not a babe or a chick: this is a stable, not a farm. Second, who the hell is 'Rupes'? And who the hell are you?"
The man smiled, his expression amused and dangerous at the same time. He leaned against the stable wall, raising his eyebrow as he introduced himself, "Angel."
Buffy's eyebrows shot up at his introduction; she would have been less surprised to find out that this guy was a thief or mass murderer instead of her uncle's assistant. Hell, for all she knew, he could be all three. Buffy smiled at this thought, which caused Angel to widen his grin. As soon as Buffy noticed Angel's response, she grimaced and stepped back.
"Angel, huh? Nice name. Yeah, I'm Buffy, and I think I'll just be going inside now."
Wishing to widen the distance between herself and Angel, who was giving her total bad vibes, Buffy turned sharply on her heel and headed back towards Giles's house.
"Whoa, babe! I mean, Buff!" Angel dashed ahead of Buffy, cutting her off. "Don't run away, I don't bite. Usually," he smiled. "Listen, ah, you like horses? I could show you around, introduce you to the good ones."
Buffy hesitated. She was sure she didn't like this guy, but putting up with his attitude would be worth it if he really did know the horses' attitudes. Buffy sighed, "Okay, show me around."
Buffy turned her back to Angel and began to walk into the stables. Angel took advantage of his new viewpoint, smirked, and followed Buffy inside.
***
Dawn burst out of Giles's car as he pulled into his garage. She ran to the house door, but stopped in her tracks as she noticed her surroundings.
"Um, Uncle Giles? I don't mean to sound rude. but why on earth would you drive this old rust box when you have 3 shiny, attractive, and generally perfect other cars?"
Giles laughed out loud at the expression on his niece's face. "Take a closer look, Dawn, those are all two-door, two-seaters. I felt that the, ah, 'old rust box' would be a better fit."
Still chuckling, Giles guided Dawn into his home. As he opened the door, Dawn took in the marble flooring that made even a coat room look opulent. Giles took off his raincoat and set it on a wrought-iron bench, gesturing for Dawn to do the same. The sky had been gray and rainy most of the day, rarely offering patches of sunlight to their trip. Dawn's first impression of her new house, however, made up for the miserable car trip.
As Giles led Dawn into the massive hall and foyer of his home, he called out, "Angel! Bella! We're home!"
Dawn stopped, confused. "Bella? Who's that? Please tell me that at least that one is female."
Giles laughed again, these girls had certainly not lost their voices and independence in their grief. "Yes, she is. Isabelle - Bella - is my housekeeper, I suppose. More like a friend. I don't use much of the house, so there's not much cleaning, but she does occasionally do cooking, washing, whatever is needed. She's been a constant here, and I'm sure you'll like her. If you need anything at all and you can't find me, ask Bella. She's sure to spoil you, of course."
Dawn smiled at first, but was worried that Isabelle might expect her to open up and talk about Joyce. Dawn bit her lip, and decided to put off meeting new people for as long as possible.
"So, where are the bedrooms? Maybe I could pick out mine. I have to unpack my bathroom stuff right away, otherwise Buffy hogs all of the space."
A voice came from beside her, "Oh honey, Mr. Giles has bathrooms all over the place, I'm sure you could even have two of your own if you asked nicely."
Dawn hadn't noticed the beautiful woman who had entered the foyer. She was older than Joyce had been, probably nearly fifty, but without any gray hair or obvious wrinkles. Her age was only revealed by her wise eyes and obvious air of domesticity, and a gentle smile that added a spark of mischief to her serious face.
Giles smiled back at the woman, obviously glad to see her. "Bella, dear, this is Dawn. Dawn, Isabelle."
Dawn tried to mask her disappointment at having to make introductions and offered her hand politely to Isabelle. Isabelle, however, immediately wrapped Dawn into a hug.
"If there's anything at all you need, I'm nearly always around. And you can always ask me for things that Mr. Giles says no to," Bella added with a wink.
"Bella!" Giles attempted to reprimand his housekeeper, but instead broke into a smile. "Speaking of always around, where is that-"
Giles was cut off by the slam of the french doors separating the back yard from the sitting room off of the foyer. Buffy stormed into the house, Angel slinking in behind her.
"Speak of the devil," Giles muttered. Louder, "Buffy, dear, I see you've met Angel."
Buffy snorted in reply, and Angel gave his standard smirk. 'Angelic face, maybe,' Buffy thought, 'but he sure is an asshole.' After the second "accidental" grope in the stable, Buffy had slapped Angel, who kissed her in return. Enraged, Buffy had marched from the barn into the house, and was in no mood to socialize any more.
Isabelle took in the situation with one glance, and grabbed Angel by the wrist, leading him into the kitchen. She called over her shoulder, "We'll surely get acquainted soon, Buffy, but at the moment, I'm sure I need to scold my son."
Bella disappeared into a connecting hallway before her words could register with Buffy and Dawn.
Dawn was the first to react, asking, "Son? Was that Angel? He sure is hot."
Buffy cringed, "Stay away from him, he's pretty much disgusting. And who was that woman?"
Giles sighed, the first moments at his home didn't appear to be agreeing with his nieces. "Yes, that was Angel, he is my assistant. That was his mother, Isabelle, she is my housekeeper." He took off his glasses to clean them, muttering, "and one of them is worthless."
The stress of the last few weeks had been wearing on Buffy's nerves, and she didn't feel like putting up with any more for the time being. "So, Giles, do you have a phone anywhere in this place? I need to call Willow."
Trying his best to be patient and accommodating, Giles nodded his head. "There's a private line to the studio, if you'd prefer to use that one. Here, it's to the left and down the stairs."
Giles started towards the side of his home, heading in the opposite direction from where Isabelle had pulled Angel away. Dawn and Buffy had both raised their eyebrows when Giles had mentioned a studio, and they glanced at each other before following him.
"Studio, Uncle Giles? What kind of studio? Do you like art, like mom? I mean, art, like, an art studio?" Dawn quickly backtracked over her mention of Joyce, knowing that it would only hurt everyone in the room.
Giles sighed, knowing that the girls hurt deeply, and decided to continue the conversation in what would hopefully be a happy direction. "It's a recording studio, Dawn, but just a small one. Just enough to improve terrible demos that might stand a chance with a label."
With that, Buffy and Dawn stopped in their tracks. "A recording studio?" Buffy shrieked. "Demos? Like, for bands? Do they come here?"
Giles nearly jumped for joy at this obvious connection with the girls. "Yes, they do come here occasionally, but we mostly see new artists, so don't expect Justin Timberlake to be staying in a guest suite by the pool," he added with a smile.
Buffy could hardly stand still; she loved new, unique music. In Sunnydale, her favorite passion was to hang out a local clubs with live bands hoping to someday make it big in Los Angeles. Thrilled at this connection between her old life and this new one, Buffy could hardly wait to get her best friend, Willow, on the phone.
***
A/N: Again with the Garth Brooks chapter title. What can I say, I love that guy! And also, thank you to my first reviewer; I'm so glad that my first one was positive!