Disclaimer: I will not claim to own anything of this story. Joss Whedon
created the characters, Billie Letts wrote "Where the Heart Is", which this
is based on.
Rating: This will be rated R! Sorry kiddies, but I like using inappropriate language.
Author's Notes: Yah! New chapter! Good for all! Ok, this is a continuation of chapter seven, and we get to re-meet some characters, as well as some new, but important people. And, I know that some people must be wondering about Buffy's condition. Yes, I know that pregnancy requires a lot of pre- natal care, but I am asking my precious readers to suspend reality. It will be addressed in a few chapters. I hope you find this chapter amusing, fun, and very important to the plot. Or, I at least hope you like it. Remember, I am a review whore, and love it when you say good things about my shitty dribblings. Kisses to all.
PS: I have no pride, and I am not ashamed to admit that I took a bit of the Magic Box conversation from the first two episodes of Buffy, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest". ____________________________________________________________________________
* *
*
Chapter Eight- Part Of Something
Spike had finally slowed down once the two turned the corner away from Main Street.
"Sorry 'bout that, luv," he sighed. "Every once in a while, Joyce like to play martyr. Hope you don't mind a change in plans."
"As long as the little one and I get some food, it'll all be fine," replied Buffy, glad Joyce had gotten to do what she wanted.
"Little one?" Spike frowned, trying to assess what that meant.
Shocked, Buffy pointed to her round belly. "You didn't think this was all ME, did you!?!"
"Oh god, sorry," he quickly tried to reassure her. "Think I'm the one having an attack of the dumb blond today."
Not replying, Buffy punched him on the shoulder. She grinned when he cried out in pain.
Walking down the sunny streets for a bit in silence, Spike finally came to a stop outside of a store called the Magic Box.
"If you're through with playing Beat the Spike, do you wanna have lunch?" he inquired, opening the swinging door.
Surprising the man by sticking her tongue at him, Buffy entered through the door he held open.
The Magic Box was unlike anything Buffy had ever seen before. Knick-knacks from around the world were displayed on tables covered with shimmering cloth, and ornate glass cases. Large jars were filled with herbs, spices, potent flowers, and other things she couldn't identify. Cases lined the walls, stocked with books of various shapes, sizes and colors. There were stairs at the back, leading up to a loft, which also had bookshelves and other items.
Spike walked through the store as if it were the library, taking no real notice at the unusual array of things crowding in the space. He also ignored a sign in the back, clearly proclaiming "Please Wait To Be Seated".
The back of the shop opened up to a large courtyard with brick-lined ground. Wrought iron tables and chairs were perfectly placed in the cozy area, as if someone measured out the distance with a ruler. This restaurant was nestled between the back of the Magic Box, two other shops, while the remaining side opened up to the street.
"Hey, Anya," yelled Spike, ignoring the party of four quietly sipping on their drinks, "Gotta get some service here, or we're walking!"
Buffy stared at him questioningly. When he saw her expression, he burst out laughing.
"Don't worry pet, I do this all the time," he explained, leading her to a table in the corner partially shaded by a potted tree. She had her back to the street, while he sat across from her.
Before anything else could be said, a woman burst out from the Magic Box back exit, carrying four plates of food, her brown hair bouncing as she went to the other tables.
"There you go, made professionally and efficiently by Hallie. Make sure to give her a good tip, seeing how I don't like to pay her." Then, leaving the customers speechless, she went over to Buffy and Spike's table. "What do you want William?" she sighed, very annoyed.
"Just wanted to bathe in your radiance as always, my dear woman," he responded.
Rolling her eyes, she turned to the young blonde girl. "Who's this?" she bluntly asked.
"This is my new friend, Buffy Summers." Spike then introduced the woman as Anya Jenkins.
Anya was at least ten years older than Spike, nearly fifteen more than Buffy. Her style was reminiscent of the 30's and 40's, wearing a white flowered-print dress that fell to her knees, her hair done in a current take on the bob. And she was very pretty, her large brown eyes radiating out from her face.
She examined Buffy carefully, scrunching up her forehead when her eyes came to rest on her protruding stomach.
"Would Spike happen to be the father of your child?"
Buffy felt her mouth drop open at the statement, as did Spike's.
"Anya-"
"I told you for years, 'This is what happens when you follow your penis around!'" interrupted the brunette. "Rupert is going to be very disappointed in you. But we have enough time to plan a wedding before the birth. It'll have to be a Justice of the Peace, and we don't have enough time to get a dress. And what are we going to do about the flowers . . ."
"ANYA!" bellowed Spike, once again interrupting the other party's dining.
"Spike isn't my baby's father," Buffy explained quietly.
Considering the statement, Anya finally nodded. "Then who is the father?"
"Anya," Spike once again interjected, "Why don't you go get some menus for my guest and I?"
"That depends," she replied, "Are you going to pay this time?"
Taking his wallet out of his back pocket, he waved it around her face. Anya ran to the back, grinning like a crazy person.
"Is she always like that?" asked Buffy, watching the woman hurry away.
Spike nodded. "Long as I've known her. She's kinda my aunt."
"You're kidding! You mean, she and Mr. Giles are married."
"No. The preferred term in this neighborhood is, 'Living in sin.' Big scandal for all the blue-haired ninnies to gossip about while they play canasta. She's 'bout 15 years younger than Rupes. They were going through the awkward courtship phase when I moved here, then she moved in when I was fourteen. But, they love each other, and she's nice enough, so I didn't care. Great bird, just as long as she keeps quiet."
Then his face fell as he glanced to the street. "Great. Just the way I wanted my afternoon to go," he moaned.
Buffy turned in the direction where he looked, immediately recognizing Xander Harris run across the street, a pregnant woman following slowly behind him.
"Captain Peroxide!" he exclaimed, hopping the iron fence that separated the restaurant from the sidewalk and street. "And Buffy Summers!" he added, at once remembering her.
Looking between them, Spike asked, "You know each other?"
"We go way back," explained Buffy with a laugh.
Xander added, "Yeah, there was that time where we grew apart, became our own people, but now, it's like no time has passed."
Both laughed at their private joke, until Buffy noticed Xander's clothes. Instead of the shorts and Hawaiian shirt he wore the first time they met, he was dressed in tan pants and shirt, the uniform of-
"YOU'RE A POLICE OFFICER?!" Buffy blurted out, her eyes wide when she saw the badge pinned to his shirt pocket.
"Actually," Xander replied, trying hard to keep a straight face, "this is just my costume. I'm a male stripper."
If this were a cartoon world, Buffy's mouth would have flopped open.
"You'll have to forgive Xander's unique brand of humor." Spike was shaking his head, sighing heavily. "It's a style I like to call 'Not Very Funny'."
Xander made a face. "I am extremely funny!"
"Sure, mate." Spike reached up and patted his head. "You're *very* amusing."
"I'm funnier than you are!"
"'M a bleeding riot!"
"Xander!" A voice interrupted the arguing friends, high-pitched with a demanding air.
The three turned to the voice. It was the pregnant woman who had been behind Xander. Her arms were crossed, and she glared evilly at him, then motioned to the swinging gate of the fence.
In a robotic manner, Xander hurried over, then held open the gate for the woman. Smoothing out her light blue maternity sundress, which stood out against her olive-colored skin and dark brown hair, she gracefully waddled through the gate, and approached the table.
As she came over, Spike stood up. The two embraced, and the woman gave him a friendly peck on the cheek.
"Afternoon, princess," he said cheerfully, while Xander pulled two chairs from a nearby table over to theirs.
"You too," she replied, sitting in the chair that Xander, ever much the whipped husband, held open for her. After seating herself, she turned to Buffy. "Since these two morons don't have manners, I'll introduce myself. Cordelia Chase-Harris." She held out a well-manicured hand.
When Buffy gave her name, Cordelia's eyes grew wide.
"So, you're the famous Buffy Summers! Xander's fallen completely in love with you. He's amazed that a pregnant lady can even get off the couch, much less go shopping by herself."
Her husband looked offended. "Cordy, I never said-"
"Xander!" she interrupted, "Could I talk without you interrupting me all the time?"
"But Cordy-"
"Shhh. My time to talk is now."
Before a fight could erupt between the married couple, Anya came back, a tray of water glasses and a pitcher in one hand, menus tucked under her free arm.
"Awn, why didn't you tell me that Mr. and Mrs. Whelp were coming here today," asked Spike harshly while the woman passed out glasses.
"Because I knew you and your guest would leave, therefore eliminating my chances of retaining your payment for food and services rendered."
"What's a matter, Spiky? Don't like us anymore?" teased Xander as he flipped through the menu.
"Just didn't want Buffy to have the misfortune of meeting my good friends," answered Spike, slyly winking at Buffy.
"Will there be anyone else joining you today?" asked Anya, pulling out a small notepad.
"Nope."
"You mean, Rupert won't be coming?"
Shaking his head, Spike set down his menu. "Sorry, but Joyce is trying to seduce him today by pouring over manuscripts."
Pausing, Anya considered the statement.
"That won't work," the woman huffily responded. "You see, Rupert and Joyce bond over boring things, like books and music. But I am the one that gives him his nightly orgasms, so the chances of him leaving me are slim."
The sound of a pin dropping could be heard as the patrons stared at Anya, shocked at her lack of tact.
Smiling, Anya pulled a pencil out from her hair, and positioned the tip right above her notepad.
"Who's hungry?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was nearly nine at night when Buffy made her way back to her pseudo-home at Wal-Mart. The entire day had been a blur. She was surprised how easily she fit in with her new friends.
Throughout the meal, the Spike, Xander and Cordelia teased each other mercilessly, and Buffy soon found herself joining in, helping Cordelia make fun of the two men.
During the lunch, which, for her, was a bleu cheese and steak salad, she received an invitation to have dinner with the Harris' the next evening. Then Cordelia asked, before she headed off to her doctor's appointment, if Buffy wanted to have lunch with her in two days.
"I get so bored since I started maternity leave," she sighed. "Everyone's at work in the afternoon! I can't get even Xander to play hooky. So you will have to keep me entertained!"
They paid the check, even though Buffy secretly felt bad for not chipping in, and said their good-byes. But Anya stopped Buffy and Spike before they could leave, and handed them four plastic bags stuffed with food for Giles and Joyce, who were still engrossed in the manuscript.
Buffy had planned to leave after distributing the To-Go bags, but she threw whatever notion she had of sneaking away when Joyce announced she was having an impromptu dinner party at her home. Clem was going to make lasagna, and Anya had already called Giles to say she had no desire to cook that evening.
"All we need to make sure the dinner is complete," Joyce explained as she opened a box of French fries, "Is that Buffy comes."
It was a long time before Buffy could successfully pull herself away from the party, long after the group had second helpings of Clem's fabulous lasagna, and a dessert of Anya's cherry cheesecake. Everyone begged the blonde to stay, and when she couldn't be persuaded, offers for a ride home flew at her.
"I don't live far away," she explained, swinging her purse strap over her shoulder while managing to give Giles a kiss on the cheek.
She was starting to hate the whole lying aspect of her new life. Now that she was starting to fit in, she remembered that she was secretly living in a store.
Street lights shining behind her, she cautiously creeped through the back alleyway behind the Wal-Mart, hoping not to run into an employee on a smoke break or hauling the garbage away.
Finally convinced she was safe as she snuck in the back door, her thoughts drifted to the afternoon and the friends she made. Not once in her 17 years had she met a group of people so warm, so welcoming, that she felt an instant connection with all of them.
Wrapped up in her musings, she took no notice of when the bird, who had been previously resting on the chain link fence facing the ally, was startled and took off in flight.
She also didn't notice the person that had accidentally scared the bird. The person who was still there, leaning up against the fence, watching her every move while taking a slow drag off a cigarette, the orange tip glowing in the evening darkness.
Once the heavy metal door closed behind Buffy, the figure dropped the cigarette, crushing it under the left heel of a shit-kicker boot. Waiting a few more moments, just to make sure she didn't come out, the figure finally turned around and cut across the overgrown field he had been standing in, black duster trailing behind him. ____________________________________________________________________________
Leann2- I really hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reviewing.
Azrielle- God, your name is so awesome, I can't get over it! Glad you think this story's good.
FirstAidKid- I accept the fact that you do not like fluffy Spuffy. Everyone has his or her faults (but I still love you!). No, Dawn is not related to Joyce. As some of my "followers" know, Dawn is my least favorite of the BTVS and ATS characters, next to fucking bratty Kennedy and mondo-slut Eve, who I will not even stoop to write about. So, whenever Dawn is in one of my stories, she has either a small part, a bit cameo, or she is dead. In this particular one, she is just some random slut who we will never see again.
Kdavid323- I enjoy happy endings, so I promise that everything will resolve itself in the end. And, I try to update as much as possible. I won't promise I will, but I will try.
Slytherin's Silver Dragon- I'm so glad you love my story. I will try to update sooner, hon!
Imzadi- So, we meet again. Just kidding. I hope your cool with the Giles- Anya pairing. Jenny will be mentioned later in the story, as I explain Giles's past, but she will not make an appearance. As for "Most Rare Vision", as soon as I get home tonight, I'm going to start writing a new chapter. I cannot deprive you of Lindsey; I learned that lesson the hard way. I do a happy dance for you, and hope you like where the story goes.
Rating: This will be rated R! Sorry kiddies, but I like using inappropriate language.
Author's Notes: Yah! New chapter! Good for all! Ok, this is a continuation of chapter seven, and we get to re-meet some characters, as well as some new, but important people. And, I know that some people must be wondering about Buffy's condition. Yes, I know that pregnancy requires a lot of pre- natal care, but I am asking my precious readers to suspend reality. It will be addressed in a few chapters. I hope you find this chapter amusing, fun, and very important to the plot. Or, I at least hope you like it. Remember, I am a review whore, and love it when you say good things about my shitty dribblings. Kisses to all.
PS: I have no pride, and I am not ashamed to admit that I took a bit of the Magic Box conversation from the first two episodes of Buffy, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest". ____________________________________________________________________________
* *
*
Chapter Eight- Part Of Something
Spike had finally slowed down once the two turned the corner away from Main Street.
"Sorry 'bout that, luv," he sighed. "Every once in a while, Joyce like to play martyr. Hope you don't mind a change in plans."
"As long as the little one and I get some food, it'll all be fine," replied Buffy, glad Joyce had gotten to do what she wanted.
"Little one?" Spike frowned, trying to assess what that meant.
Shocked, Buffy pointed to her round belly. "You didn't think this was all ME, did you!?!"
"Oh god, sorry," he quickly tried to reassure her. "Think I'm the one having an attack of the dumb blond today."
Not replying, Buffy punched him on the shoulder. She grinned when he cried out in pain.
Walking down the sunny streets for a bit in silence, Spike finally came to a stop outside of a store called the Magic Box.
"If you're through with playing Beat the Spike, do you wanna have lunch?" he inquired, opening the swinging door.
Surprising the man by sticking her tongue at him, Buffy entered through the door he held open.
The Magic Box was unlike anything Buffy had ever seen before. Knick-knacks from around the world were displayed on tables covered with shimmering cloth, and ornate glass cases. Large jars were filled with herbs, spices, potent flowers, and other things she couldn't identify. Cases lined the walls, stocked with books of various shapes, sizes and colors. There were stairs at the back, leading up to a loft, which also had bookshelves and other items.
Spike walked through the store as if it were the library, taking no real notice at the unusual array of things crowding in the space. He also ignored a sign in the back, clearly proclaiming "Please Wait To Be Seated".
The back of the shop opened up to a large courtyard with brick-lined ground. Wrought iron tables and chairs were perfectly placed in the cozy area, as if someone measured out the distance with a ruler. This restaurant was nestled between the back of the Magic Box, two other shops, while the remaining side opened up to the street.
"Hey, Anya," yelled Spike, ignoring the party of four quietly sipping on their drinks, "Gotta get some service here, or we're walking!"
Buffy stared at him questioningly. When he saw her expression, he burst out laughing.
"Don't worry pet, I do this all the time," he explained, leading her to a table in the corner partially shaded by a potted tree. She had her back to the street, while he sat across from her.
Before anything else could be said, a woman burst out from the Magic Box back exit, carrying four plates of food, her brown hair bouncing as she went to the other tables.
"There you go, made professionally and efficiently by Hallie. Make sure to give her a good tip, seeing how I don't like to pay her." Then, leaving the customers speechless, she went over to Buffy and Spike's table. "What do you want William?" she sighed, very annoyed.
"Just wanted to bathe in your radiance as always, my dear woman," he responded.
Rolling her eyes, she turned to the young blonde girl. "Who's this?" she bluntly asked.
"This is my new friend, Buffy Summers." Spike then introduced the woman as Anya Jenkins.
Anya was at least ten years older than Spike, nearly fifteen more than Buffy. Her style was reminiscent of the 30's and 40's, wearing a white flowered-print dress that fell to her knees, her hair done in a current take on the bob. And she was very pretty, her large brown eyes radiating out from her face.
She examined Buffy carefully, scrunching up her forehead when her eyes came to rest on her protruding stomach.
"Would Spike happen to be the father of your child?"
Buffy felt her mouth drop open at the statement, as did Spike's.
"Anya-"
"I told you for years, 'This is what happens when you follow your penis around!'" interrupted the brunette. "Rupert is going to be very disappointed in you. But we have enough time to plan a wedding before the birth. It'll have to be a Justice of the Peace, and we don't have enough time to get a dress. And what are we going to do about the flowers . . ."
"ANYA!" bellowed Spike, once again interrupting the other party's dining.
"Spike isn't my baby's father," Buffy explained quietly.
Considering the statement, Anya finally nodded. "Then who is the father?"
"Anya," Spike once again interjected, "Why don't you go get some menus for my guest and I?"
"That depends," she replied, "Are you going to pay this time?"
Taking his wallet out of his back pocket, he waved it around her face. Anya ran to the back, grinning like a crazy person.
"Is she always like that?" asked Buffy, watching the woman hurry away.
Spike nodded. "Long as I've known her. She's kinda my aunt."
"You're kidding! You mean, she and Mr. Giles are married."
"No. The preferred term in this neighborhood is, 'Living in sin.' Big scandal for all the blue-haired ninnies to gossip about while they play canasta. She's 'bout 15 years younger than Rupes. They were going through the awkward courtship phase when I moved here, then she moved in when I was fourteen. But, they love each other, and she's nice enough, so I didn't care. Great bird, just as long as she keeps quiet."
Then his face fell as he glanced to the street. "Great. Just the way I wanted my afternoon to go," he moaned.
Buffy turned in the direction where he looked, immediately recognizing Xander Harris run across the street, a pregnant woman following slowly behind him.
"Captain Peroxide!" he exclaimed, hopping the iron fence that separated the restaurant from the sidewalk and street. "And Buffy Summers!" he added, at once remembering her.
Looking between them, Spike asked, "You know each other?"
"We go way back," explained Buffy with a laugh.
Xander added, "Yeah, there was that time where we grew apart, became our own people, but now, it's like no time has passed."
Both laughed at their private joke, until Buffy noticed Xander's clothes. Instead of the shorts and Hawaiian shirt he wore the first time they met, he was dressed in tan pants and shirt, the uniform of-
"YOU'RE A POLICE OFFICER?!" Buffy blurted out, her eyes wide when she saw the badge pinned to his shirt pocket.
"Actually," Xander replied, trying hard to keep a straight face, "this is just my costume. I'm a male stripper."
If this were a cartoon world, Buffy's mouth would have flopped open.
"You'll have to forgive Xander's unique brand of humor." Spike was shaking his head, sighing heavily. "It's a style I like to call 'Not Very Funny'."
Xander made a face. "I am extremely funny!"
"Sure, mate." Spike reached up and patted his head. "You're *very* amusing."
"I'm funnier than you are!"
"'M a bleeding riot!"
"Xander!" A voice interrupted the arguing friends, high-pitched with a demanding air.
The three turned to the voice. It was the pregnant woman who had been behind Xander. Her arms were crossed, and she glared evilly at him, then motioned to the swinging gate of the fence.
In a robotic manner, Xander hurried over, then held open the gate for the woman. Smoothing out her light blue maternity sundress, which stood out against her olive-colored skin and dark brown hair, she gracefully waddled through the gate, and approached the table.
As she came over, Spike stood up. The two embraced, and the woman gave him a friendly peck on the cheek.
"Afternoon, princess," he said cheerfully, while Xander pulled two chairs from a nearby table over to theirs.
"You too," she replied, sitting in the chair that Xander, ever much the whipped husband, held open for her. After seating herself, she turned to Buffy. "Since these two morons don't have manners, I'll introduce myself. Cordelia Chase-Harris." She held out a well-manicured hand.
When Buffy gave her name, Cordelia's eyes grew wide.
"So, you're the famous Buffy Summers! Xander's fallen completely in love with you. He's amazed that a pregnant lady can even get off the couch, much less go shopping by herself."
Her husband looked offended. "Cordy, I never said-"
"Xander!" she interrupted, "Could I talk without you interrupting me all the time?"
"But Cordy-"
"Shhh. My time to talk is now."
Before a fight could erupt between the married couple, Anya came back, a tray of water glasses and a pitcher in one hand, menus tucked under her free arm.
"Awn, why didn't you tell me that Mr. and Mrs. Whelp were coming here today," asked Spike harshly while the woman passed out glasses.
"Because I knew you and your guest would leave, therefore eliminating my chances of retaining your payment for food and services rendered."
"What's a matter, Spiky? Don't like us anymore?" teased Xander as he flipped through the menu.
"Just didn't want Buffy to have the misfortune of meeting my good friends," answered Spike, slyly winking at Buffy.
"Will there be anyone else joining you today?" asked Anya, pulling out a small notepad.
"Nope."
"You mean, Rupert won't be coming?"
Shaking his head, Spike set down his menu. "Sorry, but Joyce is trying to seduce him today by pouring over manuscripts."
Pausing, Anya considered the statement.
"That won't work," the woman huffily responded. "You see, Rupert and Joyce bond over boring things, like books and music. But I am the one that gives him his nightly orgasms, so the chances of him leaving me are slim."
The sound of a pin dropping could be heard as the patrons stared at Anya, shocked at her lack of tact.
Smiling, Anya pulled a pencil out from her hair, and positioned the tip right above her notepad.
"Who's hungry?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was nearly nine at night when Buffy made her way back to her pseudo-home at Wal-Mart. The entire day had been a blur. She was surprised how easily she fit in with her new friends.
Throughout the meal, the Spike, Xander and Cordelia teased each other mercilessly, and Buffy soon found herself joining in, helping Cordelia make fun of the two men.
During the lunch, which, for her, was a bleu cheese and steak salad, she received an invitation to have dinner with the Harris' the next evening. Then Cordelia asked, before she headed off to her doctor's appointment, if Buffy wanted to have lunch with her in two days.
"I get so bored since I started maternity leave," she sighed. "Everyone's at work in the afternoon! I can't get even Xander to play hooky. So you will have to keep me entertained!"
They paid the check, even though Buffy secretly felt bad for not chipping in, and said their good-byes. But Anya stopped Buffy and Spike before they could leave, and handed them four plastic bags stuffed with food for Giles and Joyce, who were still engrossed in the manuscript.
Buffy had planned to leave after distributing the To-Go bags, but she threw whatever notion she had of sneaking away when Joyce announced she was having an impromptu dinner party at her home. Clem was going to make lasagna, and Anya had already called Giles to say she had no desire to cook that evening.
"All we need to make sure the dinner is complete," Joyce explained as she opened a box of French fries, "Is that Buffy comes."
It was a long time before Buffy could successfully pull herself away from the party, long after the group had second helpings of Clem's fabulous lasagna, and a dessert of Anya's cherry cheesecake. Everyone begged the blonde to stay, and when she couldn't be persuaded, offers for a ride home flew at her.
"I don't live far away," she explained, swinging her purse strap over her shoulder while managing to give Giles a kiss on the cheek.
She was starting to hate the whole lying aspect of her new life. Now that she was starting to fit in, she remembered that she was secretly living in a store.
Street lights shining behind her, she cautiously creeped through the back alleyway behind the Wal-Mart, hoping not to run into an employee on a smoke break or hauling the garbage away.
Finally convinced she was safe as she snuck in the back door, her thoughts drifted to the afternoon and the friends she made. Not once in her 17 years had she met a group of people so warm, so welcoming, that she felt an instant connection with all of them.
Wrapped up in her musings, she took no notice of when the bird, who had been previously resting on the chain link fence facing the ally, was startled and took off in flight.
She also didn't notice the person that had accidentally scared the bird. The person who was still there, leaning up against the fence, watching her every move while taking a slow drag off a cigarette, the orange tip glowing in the evening darkness.
Once the heavy metal door closed behind Buffy, the figure dropped the cigarette, crushing it under the left heel of a shit-kicker boot. Waiting a few more moments, just to make sure she didn't come out, the figure finally turned around and cut across the overgrown field he had been standing in, black duster trailing behind him. ____________________________________________________________________________
Leann2- I really hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reviewing.
Azrielle- God, your name is so awesome, I can't get over it! Glad you think this story's good.
FirstAidKid- I accept the fact that you do not like fluffy Spuffy. Everyone has his or her faults (but I still love you!). No, Dawn is not related to Joyce. As some of my "followers" know, Dawn is my least favorite of the BTVS and ATS characters, next to fucking bratty Kennedy and mondo-slut Eve, who I will not even stoop to write about. So, whenever Dawn is in one of my stories, she has either a small part, a bit cameo, or she is dead. In this particular one, she is just some random slut who we will never see again.
Kdavid323- I enjoy happy endings, so I promise that everything will resolve itself in the end. And, I try to update as much as possible. I won't promise I will, but I will try.
Slytherin's Silver Dragon- I'm so glad you love my story. I will try to update sooner, hon!
Imzadi- So, we meet again. Just kidding. I hope your cool with the Giles- Anya pairing. Jenny will be mentioned later in the story, as I explain Giles's past, but she will not make an appearance. As for "Most Rare Vision", as soon as I get home tonight, I'm going to start writing a new chapter. I cannot deprive you of Lindsey; I learned that lesson the hard way. I do a happy dance for you, and hope you like where the story goes.
