***
Last chapter of SiT #3! It's shorter than recent chapters...there just wasn't much left to tell for this fic. But there is much more to come. I know this fic has been a little...dull?...at times, but this one was about setting up Buffy's life. Believe me when I tell you the action kicks into full gear in the next fic (A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow) which I will begin posting starting next week.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sent feedback to me through this fic and series. I greatly appreciate all the support, feedback, and comments that you've given me!
~Isis
***
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Part 10
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~almost two months later~
Buffy groaned and looked down at the pale pink baby-tee she was wearing that was now the proud owner of a lovely spit-up stain from Ashlynn. "I swear you do that on purpose," she looked her smiling daughter in the eyes.
It almost never failed that whenever she was wearing something nice, Ashlynn would find some way to stain it. She laid her daughter down in her crib and set about changing shirts. If she had any hope of getting rid of the stain, Buffy knew she better go soak it in cold water immediately. So she changed into an old sweatshirt and walked toward the bathroom.
The last two months had been full of new experiences not just for Buffy, but for all those around her. At one point or another, all of them had had the experience of changing dirty diapers, even Cordelia, although she'd complained non-stop the whole time. Then there were the late night feedings, the crying fits, the constant responsibility to a helpless child, and various other aspects of having a baby around. Buffy didn't mind it all, though. Sure her sleep had suffered somewhat, but when it got to be too much; one of her friends would watch Ashlynn for a while, letting her catch up on some much needed dream time.
There were moments when it became overwhelming, but they usually passed quickly. The hardest were often the late night feedings, when she would be sitting on the couch, alone, feeding Ashlynn. It wasn't difficult because she was tired, or because she'd been woken up by a crying baby. No, it was difficult because she was alone. Something in her heart told her that if Angel had been there, he would have gotten up with her each night and sat by her side.
Buffy shook off the maudlin thoughts. Angel wasn't there. He was gone, and she'd promised herself after the birth that she wouldn't let him consume her. Still, it was hard not having him near her. Every time Ashlynn did something new, she longed to share it with her Angel. What would Angel look like holding their daughter? She could only guess. He was gone from her life, never even knowing she was pregnant.
Every so often, the fleeting thought entered her mind that she should try to find him, but she somehow knew that he'd probably hidden himself away somewhere. And even if she did want to try and locate him, she had no idea where to start. He could be anywhere. The world was a large place, and looking for a single person was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. So she'd basically resigned herself to never seeing him again, and for her daughter to never meet her father. Maybe someday he'd return, and maybe not. Whichever was the case, she would live out her promise of not dwelling on the past, and being the best mother she could be.
"Hey, you almost ready?" spoke Cordy as she walking into Buffy's room, interrupting her silent brooding.
"Yeah, just let me change into something less slackerish," Buffy answered sheepishly, looking down at her ragged sweatshirt. She, Cordy and Willow were heading out to do a little shopping. The club's opening was the following night, and the three friends decided that nothing in their current wardrobe was sufficient for such an event.
"Ok. Doyle and Oz are here, ready for babysitting duty," Cordy gave a wry smile, finding it amusing that the two of them would watch Ashlynn.
"Cool, I'll be out in a minute," stated Buffy, returning the smile. She hated leaving her daughter, but it would only be for a little while, and truth be told, a tiny break every so often was a bit refreshing.
A few hours later, the three returned from their shopping trip, laden down with packages. The sight that greeted them brought forth chuckles from each. Doyle was sitting in a chair, holding a crying and red-faced Ashlynn as Oz sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, waggling a stuff monkey around.
"What did you do to my daughter?" Buffy laughed and walked over to the two. She picked up her little girl who ceased crying the moment she was in her mother's arms.
Doyle frowned and stared at the baby menacingly. "How do you do that?"
"I'm her mother," answered Buffy simply, rubbing noses with her now happy child.
"Uh huh, sure. I think it's a conspiracy ta drive us nuts," Doyle replied in all seriousness. "She started screamin' the second ya left."
"And I see you had fun trying to get her to stop," she looked amusingly at the monkey in Oz's hand before turning her gaze to her daughter. "Did you give them a hard time, Ash?"
Scowling at the baby's cooing gurgle in response to the question, Doyle turned his attention to the many, many bags now littering the floor. "Did you guys leave anything in the stores?"
"No," Cordy answered with a grin. "What fun would it be if we did?"
"Well, we did leave that horrible yellow dress there," Buffy mused lightly.
"Oh! And those really ugly shoes!" Willow chirped in, sharing looks with her two fellow shoppers.
Doyle leaned closer to Oz, shaking his head at the three. "This is why they shouldn't be allowed to shop."
"Whatever makes them happy," Oz shrugged indifferently.
"Have I thanked Lorne lately for the fact that we can go shopping again?" Cordy stated with a sigh, happy that she was no longer broke. She wasn't as wealthy as she once was, but their new jobs had afforded them the ability to spend more freely than when they first arrived in Seattle.
Buffy thought for a moment. "I don't think you've thanked him this week."
"We get it, ya like shopping," Doyle rolled his eyes. "Why don't ya three go put yer stuff away and then we'll go meet Lorne downstairs. He wants to go over some last minute stuff."
"Oh fine! Ruin our fun!" Buffy grumbled unhappily.
"Work, work, work," groaned Cordy as they each picked up their bags and headed to their rooms.
"You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Oz asked Doyle in mild curiosity.
"No idear what yer talkin' about," Doyle held back a grin. "Anyways, everything ready music wise for tomorrow?"
"Should be," Oz answered, hoping that everything was prepared.
Not long after Ashlynn's birth, he and Willow had returned to Sunnydale to pack up the rest of their stuff and then driven back to Seattle. Lorne had offered them a room in Doyle's apartment on the fourth floor of the building. The layout was identical to Buffy and Cordy's place, so there was plenty of room. They had readily accepted the room, and the low rent. Both were also now employed at 'Black Destiny', Lorne's club.
The green demon had been more than happy to hire Oz to handle the music and DJ'ing considering all the trouble they'd been having finding someone to do that. He also told Oz that if he ever joined another band that he'd be welcome to play at the club during live band nights. Willow was now in the process of computerizing the club, telling Lorne it was wiser and faster. She also took on the task of helping make sure the club followed the abundance of liquor laws for the state of Washington.
Buffy had been ecstatic that her two friends from Sunnydale were going to be a constant part of her life. There was still some lingering hurt over what had happened there, but she was learning to get past it. Willow's reasons for her actions were understandable, if not acceptable. Bottom line, Buffy was happy to have her best friend back, and happy to have her and Oz as part of her and her baby's life.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~the next night~
"He's pretty good," Willow nodded her head toward the stage where a guy in his twenties was singing.
The club was jam packed on its opening night. There was barely room to walk let alone dance, but people seemed to be enjoying themselves which was an incredibly good thing, happy people meant more revenue. Lorne had decided that for the grand opening they would have both live performers, and also Oz DJ'ing. So at the moment, Buffy and Willow were sitting at one end of the bar watching the current guy up on the stage singing.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, shouting over the noise all around them while swirling her straw in her Sprite. "He's got a nice voice."
"Uh huh, and he's quite a hottie!" Willow yelled back.
"Willow!" chastised Buffy with a look. "Don't let Oz hear you say that."
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with saying he's cute! I wouldn't trade my Oz in for anybody," the redhead corrected her previous statement.
"Okay, just checking," Buffy chuckled and then glanced at her watch.
Willow frowned at the action. Buffy had been checked her watch every half hour or so. "What's up? Got somewhere to go?"
"Huh?" Buffy wondered what Willow meant and then saw her friend nod to Buffy's watch. "Oh...no. I just miss Ash. I hope she's doing okay."
She hated being away from her daughter for so long, but she knew it was necessary. It wasn't plausible to bring her to the club, and Buffy had to be there since it was opening night. So she'd begrudgingly admitted that she needed a babysitter. The problem was who. Having been in Seattle for less than a year, she really didn't know many people, especially ones she would trust to watch her daughter.
The answer had literally appeared at her door one day when Tara, her former boss from the occult store, had stopped by to bring a gift for the baby. Ashlynn had taken well to the shy blonde, and Tara had been wonderful with the baby. Plus Buffy trusted Tara, and she knew that if there were to be trouble that the Wiccan would be able to use magic to protect both of them. So at the moment, Tara was upstairs watching Ashlynn, and even though Buffy knew she was fine, she missed her daughter.
"She probably misses you, too, but I'm sure she's doing okay. She seemed to like your friend Tara," Willow smiled sympathetically at Buffy, knowing it must be hard for her to be away from her daughter at such a young age.
"I know," Buffy sighed sadly. She knew she was worrying too much. It was just hard not too.
Willow patted her leg. "We're only open for another hour so you'll be able to leave soon."
"Thank God! I mean, not that I'm not having fun, or glad it's going so well, but I'm exhausted!" Buffy explained looking slightly sheepish.
"I can imagine! I don't know how you're managing to do all this...the club and Ashlynn." Willow was truly amazed that Buffy had the energy to do anything at all considering how time consuming a baby is.
"Trust me, I don't know how I do it either!" Buffy yawned as if indicating her point.
Nearly an hour later, things were finally winding down. Most of the guests had already left, but a few were still lingering, trying to extend the night. Buffy was standing by the bar, talking to the bartender about a few issues that had come up that night that needed to be resolved. There was always something that needed fixing, Buffy thought as she made notes on the problems that had been told to her.
"Hi," an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind her.
Buffy turned to face whoever was talking to her and saw it was the guy who had been singing earlier. "Hey."
"Good night, huh?" the stranger smiled at her.
"Yeah. You're, uh, performance was great," Buffy chatted awkwardly.
"Well, thank you," he gave a slight nod of his head.
"You're welcome," she set down her clipboard and tried to think of something to say.
"I'm Lindsey. Lindsey McDonald," he introduced himself, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Buffy Summers," she returned and held out her hand, giving a small smile to the handsome stranger.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
Later the night, after getting the club closed down, Lorne stood in the doorway to Buffy's room watching as she rocked Ashlynn in her arms and hummed softly to her. It was a beautiful sight. He couldn't help but be amazed by the tiny blonde's inner strength. She'd been through so much and survived. A lesser person would have crumbled if they'd had to face half of what she did. Somehow, though, she'd pulled through and gotten herself back on her feet. She was truly something to marvel at, and he was proud to call her a friend. He only hoped that what was to come wouldn't break her.
"Yer reading her. Aren't ya?" a voice whispered softly to his right causing Lorne to jump.
He turned to find Doyle staring at him intently. "I...I...yes," the green demon finally admitted.
"Thought so," Doyle shifted his focus to the still humming Buffy who was oblivious to their presence.
They stood there for a long minute, just watching their friend until Doyle spoke up again. "That bad, huh?" He could tell by that look on Lorne's face that whatever he saw wasn't pleasant.
"Yeah," Lorne turned, pausing for a moment. His last words were spoken softly over his shoulder as he walked away. "Poor girl's got a long, painful road ahead of her."
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
THE END!
Coming soon:
'A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow' - #4 in the Shadows in Time series:
Buffy's made a life for herself when a face from her past suddenly reappears, and there's evil lurking in the shadows.
Last chapter of SiT #3! It's shorter than recent chapters...there just wasn't much left to tell for this fic. But there is much more to come. I know this fic has been a little...dull?...at times, but this one was about setting up Buffy's life. Believe me when I tell you the action kicks into full gear in the next fic (A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow) which I will begin posting starting next week.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sent feedback to me through this fic and series. I greatly appreciate all the support, feedback, and comments that you've given me!
~Isis
***
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Part 10
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~almost two months later~
Buffy groaned and looked down at the pale pink baby-tee she was wearing that was now the proud owner of a lovely spit-up stain from Ashlynn. "I swear you do that on purpose," she looked her smiling daughter in the eyes.
It almost never failed that whenever she was wearing something nice, Ashlynn would find some way to stain it. She laid her daughter down in her crib and set about changing shirts. If she had any hope of getting rid of the stain, Buffy knew she better go soak it in cold water immediately. So she changed into an old sweatshirt and walked toward the bathroom.
The last two months had been full of new experiences not just for Buffy, but for all those around her. At one point or another, all of them had had the experience of changing dirty diapers, even Cordelia, although she'd complained non-stop the whole time. Then there were the late night feedings, the crying fits, the constant responsibility to a helpless child, and various other aspects of having a baby around. Buffy didn't mind it all, though. Sure her sleep had suffered somewhat, but when it got to be too much; one of her friends would watch Ashlynn for a while, letting her catch up on some much needed dream time.
There were moments when it became overwhelming, but they usually passed quickly. The hardest were often the late night feedings, when she would be sitting on the couch, alone, feeding Ashlynn. It wasn't difficult because she was tired, or because she'd been woken up by a crying baby. No, it was difficult because she was alone. Something in her heart told her that if Angel had been there, he would have gotten up with her each night and sat by her side.
Buffy shook off the maudlin thoughts. Angel wasn't there. He was gone, and she'd promised herself after the birth that she wouldn't let him consume her. Still, it was hard not having him near her. Every time Ashlynn did something new, she longed to share it with her Angel. What would Angel look like holding their daughter? She could only guess. He was gone from her life, never even knowing she was pregnant.
Every so often, the fleeting thought entered her mind that she should try to find him, but she somehow knew that he'd probably hidden himself away somewhere. And even if she did want to try and locate him, she had no idea where to start. He could be anywhere. The world was a large place, and looking for a single person was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. So she'd basically resigned herself to never seeing him again, and for her daughter to never meet her father. Maybe someday he'd return, and maybe not. Whichever was the case, she would live out her promise of not dwelling on the past, and being the best mother she could be.
"Hey, you almost ready?" spoke Cordy as she walking into Buffy's room, interrupting her silent brooding.
"Yeah, just let me change into something less slackerish," Buffy answered sheepishly, looking down at her ragged sweatshirt. She, Cordy and Willow were heading out to do a little shopping. The club's opening was the following night, and the three friends decided that nothing in their current wardrobe was sufficient for such an event.
"Ok. Doyle and Oz are here, ready for babysitting duty," Cordy gave a wry smile, finding it amusing that the two of them would watch Ashlynn.
"Cool, I'll be out in a minute," stated Buffy, returning the smile. She hated leaving her daughter, but it would only be for a little while, and truth be told, a tiny break every so often was a bit refreshing.
A few hours later, the three returned from their shopping trip, laden down with packages. The sight that greeted them brought forth chuckles from each. Doyle was sitting in a chair, holding a crying and red-faced Ashlynn as Oz sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, waggling a stuff monkey around.
"What did you do to my daughter?" Buffy laughed and walked over to the two. She picked up her little girl who ceased crying the moment she was in her mother's arms.
Doyle frowned and stared at the baby menacingly. "How do you do that?"
"I'm her mother," answered Buffy simply, rubbing noses with her now happy child.
"Uh huh, sure. I think it's a conspiracy ta drive us nuts," Doyle replied in all seriousness. "She started screamin' the second ya left."
"And I see you had fun trying to get her to stop," she looked amusingly at the monkey in Oz's hand before turning her gaze to her daughter. "Did you give them a hard time, Ash?"
Scowling at the baby's cooing gurgle in response to the question, Doyle turned his attention to the many, many bags now littering the floor. "Did you guys leave anything in the stores?"
"No," Cordy answered with a grin. "What fun would it be if we did?"
"Well, we did leave that horrible yellow dress there," Buffy mused lightly.
"Oh! And those really ugly shoes!" Willow chirped in, sharing looks with her two fellow shoppers.
Doyle leaned closer to Oz, shaking his head at the three. "This is why they shouldn't be allowed to shop."
"Whatever makes them happy," Oz shrugged indifferently.
"Have I thanked Lorne lately for the fact that we can go shopping again?" Cordy stated with a sigh, happy that she was no longer broke. She wasn't as wealthy as she once was, but their new jobs had afforded them the ability to spend more freely than when they first arrived in Seattle.
Buffy thought for a moment. "I don't think you've thanked him this week."
"We get it, ya like shopping," Doyle rolled his eyes. "Why don't ya three go put yer stuff away and then we'll go meet Lorne downstairs. He wants to go over some last minute stuff."
"Oh fine! Ruin our fun!" Buffy grumbled unhappily.
"Work, work, work," groaned Cordy as they each picked up their bags and headed to their rooms.
"You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Oz asked Doyle in mild curiosity.
"No idear what yer talkin' about," Doyle held back a grin. "Anyways, everything ready music wise for tomorrow?"
"Should be," Oz answered, hoping that everything was prepared.
Not long after Ashlynn's birth, he and Willow had returned to Sunnydale to pack up the rest of their stuff and then driven back to Seattle. Lorne had offered them a room in Doyle's apartment on the fourth floor of the building. The layout was identical to Buffy and Cordy's place, so there was plenty of room. They had readily accepted the room, and the low rent. Both were also now employed at 'Black Destiny', Lorne's club.
The green demon had been more than happy to hire Oz to handle the music and DJ'ing considering all the trouble they'd been having finding someone to do that. He also told Oz that if he ever joined another band that he'd be welcome to play at the club during live band nights. Willow was now in the process of computerizing the club, telling Lorne it was wiser and faster. She also took on the task of helping make sure the club followed the abundance of liquor laws for the state of Washington.
Buffy had been ecstatic that her two friends from Sunnydale were going to be a constant part of her life. There was still some lingering hurt over what had happened there, but she was learning to get past it. Willow's reasons for her actions were understandable, if not acceptable. Bottom line, Buffy was happy to have her best friend back, and happy to have her and Oz as part of her and her baby's life.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~the next night~
"He's pretty good," Willow nodded her head toward the stage where a guy in his twenties was singing.
The club was jam packed on its opening night. There was barely room to walk let alone dance, but people seemed to be enjoying themselves which was an incredibly good thing, happy people meant more revenue. Lorne had decided that for the grand opening they would have both live performers, and also Oz DJ'ing. So at the moment, Buffy and Willow were sitting at one end of the bar watching the current guy up on the stage singing.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, shouting over the noise all around them while swirling her straw in her Sprite. "He's got a nice voice."
"Uh huh, and he's quite a hottie!" Willow yelled back.
"Willow!" chastised Buffy with a look. "Don't let Oz hear you say that."
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with saying he's cute! I wouldn't trade my Oz in for anybody," the redhead corrected her previous statement.
"Okay, just checking," Buffy chuckled and then glanced at her watch.
Willow frowned at the action. Buffy had been checked her watch every half hour or so. "What's up? Got somewhere to go?"
"Huh?" Buffy wondered what Willow meant and then saw her friend nod to Buffy's watch. "Oh...no. I just miss Ash. I hope she's doing okay."
She hated being away from her daughter for so long, but she knew it was necessary. It wasn't plausible to bring her to the club, and Buffy had to be there since it was opening night. So she'd begrudgingly admitted that she needed a babysitter. The problem was who. Having been in Seattle for less than a year, she really didn't know many people, especially ones she would trust to watch her daughter.
The answer had literally appeared at her door one day when Tara, her former boss from the occult store, had stopped by to bring a gift for the baby. Ashlynn had taken well to the shy blonde, and Tara had been wonderful with the baby. Plus Buffy trusted Tara, and she knew that if there were to be trouble that the Wiccan would be able to use magic to protect both of them. So at the moment, Tara was upstairs watching Ashlynn, and even though Buffy knew she was fine, she missed her daughter.
"She probably misses you, too, but I'm sure she's doing okay. She seemed to like your friend Tara," Willow smiled sympathetically at Buffy, knowing it must be hard for her to be away from her daughter at such a young age.
"I know," Buffy sighed sadly. She knew she was worrying too much. It was just hard not too.
Willow patted her leg. "We're only open for another hour so you'll be able to leave soon."
"Thank God! I mean, not that I'm not having fun, or glad it's going so well, but I'm exhausted!" Buffy explained looking slightly sheepish.
"I can imagine! I don't know how you're managing to do all this...the club and Ashlynn." Willow was truly amazed that Buffy had the energy to do anything at all considering how time consuming a baby is.
"Trust me, I don't know how I do it either!" Buffy yawned as if indicating her point.
Nearly an hour later, things were finally winding down. Most of the guests had already left, but a few were still lingering, trying to extend the night. Buffy was standing by the bar, talking to the bartender about a few issues that had come up that night that needed to be resolved. There was always something that needed fixing, Buffy thought as she made notes on the problems that had been told to her.
"Hi," an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind her.
Buffy turned to face whoever was talking to her and saw it was the guy who had been singing earlier. "Hey."
"Good night, huh?" the stranger smiled at her.
"Yeah. You're, uh, performance was great," Buffy chatted awkwardly.
"Well, thank you," he gave a slight nod of his head.
"You're welcome," she set down her clipboard and tried to think of something to say.
"I'm Lindsey. Lindsey McDonald," he introduced himself, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Buffy Summers," she returned and held out her hand, giving a small smile to the handsome stranger.
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
Later the night, after getting the club closed down, Lorne stood in the doorway to Buffy's room watching as she rocked Ashlynn in her arms and hummed softly to her. It was a beautiful sight. He couldn't help but be amazed by the tiny blonde's inner strength. She'd been through so much and survived. A lesser person would have crumbled if they'd had to face half of what she did. Somehow, though, she'd pulled through and gotten herself back on her feet. She was truly something to marvel at, and he was proud to call her a friend. He only hoped that what was to come wouldn't break her.
"Yer reading her. Aren't ya?" a voice whispered softly to his right causing Lorne to jump.
He turned to find Doyle staring at him intently. "I...I...yes," the green demon finally admitted.
"Thought so," Doyle shifted his focus to the still humming Buffy who was oblivious to their presence.
They stood there for a long minute, just watching their friend until Doyle spoke up again. "That bad, huh?" He could tell by that look on Lorne's face that whatever he saw wasn't pleasant.
"Yeah," Lorne turned, pausing for a moment. His last words were spoken softly over his shoulder as he walked away. "Poor girl's got a long, painful road ahead of her."
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
THE END!
Coming soon:
'A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow' - #4 in the Shadows in Time series:
Buffy's made a life for herself when a face from her past suddenly reappears, and there's evil lurking in the shadows.