Away From It All
Chapter 3: Blood Is Thicker Then Water
By: Rogue-Slayer13
Summary: See pervious chapter.
Disclaimer: The characters of Btvs and Ats belong to Joss Whedon. Spike's family members and other character you've never heard of before are mine.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Liam! Get up!"
Angel woke up to the sound of a ten-year-old barging into his room.
"Huh?" Angel sat up in bed and looked at the girl in front of him. She looked a lot like him, same hair, same nose and lips, but with someone else's eyes and forehead.
"We've got to go to church. Mum wanted me to get you up."
You've got to be kidding me. Thought Angel.
"Do you know anything about what's happened lately?"
"You mean you coming back? Yeah I know all about it," replied the girl proudly.
"Why don't you fill me in."
"Well, we live in Dublin, you're dating Cordy and Spike's our cousin."
"Wait a second! Did you say Spike?"
"Yeah, William, his da and our mum our brother and sister. Anyway, Gunn, Wesley, Faith, Xander, and Anya live in London with William. Willow and Fred are moving up here soon and maybe Lorne."
"What about Buffy?"
"She lives a few blocks away from Cordy in Sunnydale, her mom's married to Giles, which is way weird if you ask me."
"Liam! Kathryn! You two bloody well better be ready for mass!" came a woman's voice from downstairs.
"Since when has mom been English?" asked Angel.
"The PTB had her and Spike's dad related so they wouldn't screw up your vampire family tree too much. She moved here when she was eighteen and lived with her grandparents while she went to school and then she met dad."
"We should get ready," said Angel as another warning was shouted up the stairs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"All of the genuflecting is going to ruin our knees mum."
"Well if it does, then God will fix them because you went to church."
Bridget rolled her eyes as she followed the group to the cars.
"Thomas, will you take your brothers and sisters back to the house?" asked Spike's father, James.
"Sure thing Da, get in the car you lot," replied Thomas as he turned toward the others.
"See you back at home," called James as he got in his car.
"Do they have no respect for us? There going to give us early arthritis," said Bridget.
"I bloody well doubt it," said Mary, the youngest of the group. "In their eyes we're just serving God."
"Well can't we serve him while sitting down?" asked Samuel.
"It could be worse," said Thomas.
"How?" asked Eryn.
"We could be Catholic."
"And there such a huge difference," said Spike dryly.
"There is, Angel goes to church way more then we do," said Eryn.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Whoever came up with genuflecting was a madman," commented Kathryn as she and the others left the church.
"Don't be that way," scolded her mother, Sarah.
"I don't know why you get mad at me, Aunt Anne's kids do it too."
"I'm sure your aunt doesn't allow them to get away with that and I think you should mention this conversation at confession."
"Father O'Malley will agree with me, he's like sixty-seven, I doubt he's found of the idea either."
"Stop while your ahead," whispered Angel.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Who's picking us up from the airport?" asked Fred.
"I think Spike, I'm not sure," replied Willow as she taped up one of the many boxes that we're going with them to England.
"I wonder how he's adjusting to life as a human."
"I dunno, he's in his last year of school, which is weird, cause I can't imagine him in school."
"Neither can I. Do they have uniforms?"
"I think he has to wear one, who knows how he's changed it."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Ugh! I hate this bloody thing!" exclaimed Mary.
"Me too," replied Eryn as she tugged at her skirt.
"Why on Earth do we have to wear uniforms?"
"They're afraid we'll develop an identity."
"What's wrong with you too?" Spike walked into his sisters' room to find them poking and prodding at their uniforms.
"We hate these things," said Mary.
"They're not in the least bit cool," added Eryn.
Spike looked at the uniforms and he had to agree with them, they were rather plain. They consisted of a gray pleated skirt, gray knee high socks, black Mary-Jane type shoes, a white button up top, a black tie, and a gray sweater with the school crest on the left breast.
"St. Mary's has red plaid, right?" asked Spike after a moment of thinking.
"Yeah, why?"
"Do you have a plaid skirt?"
"I think mum bought us each one," said Mary as she went over to the closet and dug around.
"What are you planning?" asked Eryn.
"I found them!" called Mary as she reappeared with the skirts.
"Give me a minute," replied Spike.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mary and Eryn walked into St. Mary's where they were in year nine and year ten respectively. Bridget also went to St. Mary's, but she was in year thirteen, so she didn't have to wear a uniform anymore.
"What are you two wearing?" asked the headmistress as she walked up to the two girls.
"Our uniforms," replied Eryn.
The headmistress looked over the outfit that now consisted of a red plaid skirt, black Mary-Janes, black knee high socks, and a top. Eryn's top was a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up with a black tie that Spike had so graciously cut the school's crest off of one of Eryn's old sweaters and safety pinned onto the tie. Mary had on a white dress shirt and a black sweater with the sleeves of a gray sweater safety pinned on and a red tie.
"This is not the school uniform."
"Everything on 'ere is school issued."
The headmistress starred at the two for awhile before continuing on her way.
"That was priceless!" said Mary with a smile.
"Remind me to thank Will when we get home," added Eryn.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Spike had done a similar update on his uniform as had Angel all the way in Dublin.
"William! What have you done to your uniform?" asked Anne as she saw her son walk in the front door.
"I just made it a bit more to my liking, s'all," replied Spike.
"You've fiddled with the sleeves and the buttons."
"I put 'em back on, sides, I didn't get in trouble for it."
Anne sighed.
"Well as long as the headmaster doesn't mind."
"He didn't, he was too busy yelling at some silly eleventh years who were wearing purple and yellow plaid pants."
"Don't sound that way, your brother's an eleventh year."
"Exactly." Spike winked at his mother before heading upstairs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I hate uniforms," whined Kathryn.
"Oh stop it, everyone has to wear them," replied Sarah as she went about fixing dinner.
"Eryn and Mary had Spike fix theirs."
"How would you know?" called Sarah from the kitchen.
"They emailed me today," replied Kathryn.
"And they didn't get into trouble"
"No, everything they used was part of the uniform."
"I still don't think you should do it."
"I'll help you," whispered Angel.
"Thanks," replied Kathryn with a smile.
"And don't you be helping 'er either Liam!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To Be Continued . . .
This fic is weird, I've had a bad case of writer's block and then I finally came up with a couple of ideas (I didn't say they were good) and I thought I'd just go with them until I overcame my handicap.