The Best in Me – Chapter 3
Sometime between "Intervention" and "Tough Love"
Dawn padded downstairs from her room, where she had been having a conversation with her friend, Melissa, and made her way into the kitchen. "Buffy, can I go to Melissa's house?" she asked. "She invited me for dinner and we're going to study for this big geography test that's coming up on Thursday."
Buffy was frowning over a recipe book. Her hair was tied back in a no-nonsense fashion and she was wearing an apron. On the kitchen bench in front of her were gathered a set of small kitchen scales and the ingredients for an Indian butter chicken stir fry and herb potatoes.
"Dawn," began Buffy, and Dawn could tell by the sound of her voice she wasn't pleased, "I was going to cook dinner tonight, remember? For the two of us. I even measured out the ingredients with a measuring thingy!"
Since their mother had died, the girls were still getting used to cooking for only two Summers women instead of three. It was painful making these practical adjustments and Buffy wasn't sure whether her bad mood stemmed from Dawn's request or the pain of knowing they would never have dinner with their mom again.
"I'm sorry, Buffy, but she only just called me or I would have told you sooner, I promise! Please let me go, I just know I'll flunk geography without Melissa's help," Dawn pleaded.
Buffy opened her mouth to reply but she was interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door. Buffy rolled her eyes. She could see through the window in the door that it was Spike. She dusted spices off her hands and opened the door.
"This better be important Spike, 'cause I'm in no mood to—"
"Hi, Spike," interrupted Dawn, waving to him.
Spike nodded back. "Niblet," he acknowledged.
Buffy faltered, noting their exchange. She didn't know exactly how, when or why her little sister and the platinum blond vampire seemed to regard each other as buds but there they were.
The bruises that Glory had inflicted on Spike were still visible on his face. Buffy remembered what he had said to her that night she had posed as the Buffybot. He'd said he couldn't watch Buffy to go through the pain of losing Dawn. He'd said he'd sooner let Glory kill him. When he realized she was the real Buffy, she'd told him what he'd done was real and she wouldn't forget it. It was true. She hadn't forgotten.
"Why are you here?" she asked Spike, tiredly.
Spike remained behind the threshold. Willow had revoked his invitation to the house when Drusilla had come to town seeking him. That had been during a failed attempt to prove his love to Buffy. Since then he had only come to the house to drop off flowers for Joyce.
"I just came to invite you to dinner." He regarded her apron and the ingredients on the kitchen bench. "But I can see you've got plans." He didn't want to piss her off so soon after the kind of truce they'd achieved so he turned to leave.
Buffy shrugged and returned to measuring spices.
"No, wait!" called out Dawn.
Spike stopped and turned back.
"Buffy, why don't you go with him?" asked Dawn.
"Apart from the obvious?" was Buffy's dry rejoinder. But she felt a small twinge of guilt as she saw Spike's bruised face watching her. She had no doubt that Spike had been telling the truth to her that night she'd posed as the Buffybot. He would rather die than inflict real pain on her. Still, she didn't necessarily owe him anything.
"You could take it easy tonight instead of cooking, and I'll have dinner at Melissa's place. Her mom said she'd pick me up and bring me home after," continued Dawn. "You should go with Spike."
Spike pointed and raised his eyebrows hopefully. "Yeah. Wot she said."
Buffy crossed her arms over her apron. She knew she had no good reason to prevent Dawn from studying with her friend. She also knew that she dreaded eating dinner alone in the house so soon after their mother had died. It had been Joyce who had first invited Spike into their home. She remembered how Willow had brought her a bunch of flowers, saying Spike had left them to pay his respects to her mother. She also remembered that it had been both Joyce and Willow who had advised her to shut Spike out. But that was before he'd protected Dawn from Glory.
Buffy untied the apron from around her waist and pulled its halter up over her head, then laid it on the bench beside the spices.
"Alright. You can go," she told Dawn.
"Great!" enthused Dawn, and she ran out and up the stairs to pass the good news onto Melissa who still waited on the phone.
There was a long moment of silence during which Buffy could hear the kitchen clock ticking.
"So...How are you and the Niblet getting on?" Spike finally asked from his side of the threshold.
Buffy turned to him. Spike had to be the strangest vampire she'd ever met. Normally, she wouldn't entertain his desire to be around her, but now that he'd stood up to Glory she was starting to think maybe he would be useful to have around. Why not accept dinner? "So, how does this work? You take me to some demon dive where they serve hard liquor and I listen to you rate the flowering onion?"
"No. I was thinking my place and some quality cuisine."
"The crypt?" asked Buffy, incredulously. Her look said she had serious doubts.
"Just dinner. No strings," Spike urged. He gave her a pleading look with a hint of hunger in it.
"No strings," Buffy parroted, warily.
She agreed to go with him, figuring it would be a fair exchange for any help she might ask him for in the future protecting Dawn.
"If you'd like to change your clothes, I'll be happy to wait," Spike informed her, while they waited for Melissa's mother to pick up Dawn.
Buffy wore blue jeans and a white turtle-necked sweater. "I'm not going to change for you, Spike," said Buffy, matter-of-factly. "But I will go get my jacket."
Buffy went upstairs and put on the black leather jacket Angel had given her when she was sixteen, then she tucked Mr. Pointy up her sleeve and went back downstairs.
After Dawn left, she and Spike headed for the cemetery. When they got there, Buffy noticed a black SUV parked outside the gates. She let the wooden stake up her sleeve slide down into her palm and moved towards the vehicle.
"Uh...I don't think that's anything to worry about, luv," said Spike.
Buffy ignored him and peered into one of the front windows with a hand on either side of her face to block out any reflecting light. The windows seemed to be tinted black and the interior also seemed to be black. The only thing Buffy could see was...well...black.
Buffy straightened up and made a mental note to check if the car was still there when she left the cemetery. Leaving it for the time being, she followed Spike through the gates and slid the stake back up her sleeve with her fingers.
Eric and Hugh watched Buffy walk away from the SUV in which they sat.
"She sure is a curious little critter, isn't she?" remarked Eric to Hugh.
"You know what? I'm really nervous for him!" replied Hugh. "She's not even one of our people."
"Why would he want her to be one of our peeps? Wouldn't that be counter productive?"
"No, not the gay kind of 'our people'. The demon kind of 'our people'."
"Oh! Our people! She's human? Oh, God. Now I'm kinda edgy, too."
Please review.
Sometime between "Intervention" and "Tough Love"
Dawn padded downstairs from her room, where she had been having a conversation with her friend, Melissa, and made her way into the kitchen. "Buffy, can I go to Melissa's house?" she asked. "She invited me for dinner and we're going to study for this big geography test that's coming up on Thursday."
Buffy was frowning over a recipe book. Her hair was tied back in a no-nonsense fashion and she was wearing an apron. On the kitchen bench in front of her were gathered a set of small kitchen scales and the ingredients for an Indian butter chicken stir fry and herb potatoes.
"Dawn," began Buffy, and Dawn could tell by the sound of her voice she wasn't pleased, "I was going to cook dinner tonight, remember? For the two of us. I even measured out the ingredients with a measuring thingy!"
Since their mother had died, the girls were still getting used to cooking for only two Summers women instead of three. It was painful making these practical adjustments and Buffy wasn't sure whether her bad mood stemmed from Dawn's request or the pain of knowing they would never have dinner with their mom again.
"I'm sorry, Buffy, but she only just called me or I would have told you sooner, I promise! Please let me go, I just know I'll flunk geography without Melissa's help," Dawn pleaded.
Buffy opened her mouth to reply but she was interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door. Buffy rolled her eyes. She could see through the window in the door that it was Spike. She dusted spices off her hands and opened the door.
"This better be important Spike, 'cause I'm in no mood to—"
"Hi, Spike," interrupted Dawn, waving to him.
Spike nodded back. "Niblet," he acknowledged.
Buffy faltered, noting their exchange. She didn't know exactly how, when or why her little sister and the platinum blond vampire seemed to regard each other as buds but there they were.
The bruises that Glory had inflicted on Spike were still visible on his face. Buffy remembered what he had said to her that night she had posed as the Buffybot. He'd said he couldn't watch Buffy to go through the pain of losing Dawn. He'd said he'd sooner let Glory kill him. When he realized she was the real Buffy, she'd told him what he'd done was real and she wouldn't forget it. It was true. She hadn't forgotten.
"Why are you here?" she asked Spike, tiredly.
Spike remained behind the threshold. Willow had revoked his invitation to the house when Drusilla had come to town seeking him. That had been during a failed attempt to prove his love to Buffy. Since then he had only come to the house to drop off flowers for Joyce.
"I just came to invite you to dinner." He regarded her apron and the ingredients on the kitchen bench. "But I can see you've got plans." He didn't want to piss her off so soon after the kind of truce they'd achieved so he turned to leave.
Buffy shrugged and returned to measuring spices.
"No, wait!" called out Dawn.
Spike stopped and turned back.
"Buffy, why don't you go with him?" asked Dawn.
"Apart from the obvious?" was Buffy's dry rejoinder. But she felt a small twinge of guilt as she saw Spike's bruised face watching her. She had no doubt that Spike had been telling the truth to her that night she'd posed as the Buffybot. He would rather die than inflict real pain on her. Still, she didn't necessarily owe him anything.
"You could take it easy tonight instead of cooking, and I'll have dinner at Melissa's place. Her mom said she'd pick me up and bring me home after," continued Dawn. "You should go with Spike."
Spike pointed and raised his eyebrows hopefully. "Yeah. Wot she said."
Buffy crossed her arms over her apron. She knew she had no good reason to prevent Dawn from studying with her friend. She also knew that she dreaded eating dinner alone in the house so soon after their mother had died. It had been Joyce who had first invited Spike into their home. She remembered how Willow had brought her a bunch of flowers, saying Spike had left them to pay his respects to her mother. She also remembered that it had been both Joyce and Willow who had advised her to shut Spike out. But that was before he'd protected Dawn from Glory.
Buffy untied the apron from around her waist and pulled its halter up over her head, then laid it on the bench beside the spices.
"Alright. You can go," she told Dawn.
"Great!" enthused Dawn, and she ran out and up the stairs to pass the good news onto Melissa who still waited on the phone.
There was a long moment of silence during which Buffy could hear the kitchen clock ticking.
"So...How are you and the Niblet getting on?" Spike finally asked from his side of the threshold.
Buffy turned to him. Spike had to be the strangest vampire she'd ever met. Normally, she wouldn't entertain his desire to be around her, but now that he'd stood up to Glory she was starting to think maybe he would be useful to have around. Why not accept dinner? "So, how does this work? You take me to some demon dive where they serve hard liquor and I listen to you rate the flowering onion?"
"No. I was thinking my place and some quality cuisine."
"The crypt?" asked Buffy, incredulously. Her look said she had serious doubts.
"Just dinner. No strings," Spike urged. He gave her a pleading look with a hint of hunger in it.
"No strings," Buffy parroted, warily.
She agreed to go with him, figuring it would be a fair exchange for any help she might ask him for in the future protecting Dawn.
"If you'd like to change your clothes, I'll be happy to wait," Spike informed her, while they waited for Melissa's mother to pick up Dawn.
Buffy wore blue jeans and a white turtle-necked sweater. "I'm not going to change for you, Spike," said Buffy, matter-of-factly. "But I will go get my jacket."
Buffy went upstairs and put on the black leather jacket Angel had given her when she was sixteen, then she tucked Mr. Pointy up her sleeve and went back downstairs.
After Dawn left, she and Spike headed for the cemetery. When they got there, Buffy noticed a black SUV parked outside the gates. She let the wooden stake up her sleeve slide down into her palm and moved towards the vehicle.
"Uh...I don't think that's anything to worry about, luv," said Spike.
Buffy ignored him and peered into one of the front windows with a hand on either side of her face to block out any reflecting light. The windows seemed to be tinted black and the interior also seemed to be black. The only thing Buffy could see was...well...black.
Buffy straightened up and made a mental note to check if the car was still there when she left the cemetery. Leaving it for the time being, she followed Spike through the gates and slid the stake back up her sleeve with her fingers.
Eric and Hugh watched Buffy walk away from the SUV in which they sat.
"She sure is a curious little critter, isn't she?" remarked Eric to Hugh.
"You know what? I'm really nervous for him!" replied Hugh. "She's not even one of our people."
"Why would he want her to be one of our peeps? Wouldn't that be counter productive?"
"No, not the gay kind of 'our people'. The demon kind of 'our people'."
"Oh! Our people! She's human? Oh, God. Now I'm kinda edgy, too."
Please review.