BtVS || Spuffy || BtVS || Spuffy || Keeping Up With the Scoobies || Spuffy || BtVS || Spuffy || BtVS
Title: Keeping Up With the Scoobies – The Long Way Home
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Joss Whedon. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/f, f/f, hurt/comfort, survivor's guilt, fluff, found family
Main Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Side Pairings: Tara/Willow, Xander/Renee, Robin/Faith, Connor/Dawn, Dowling/Dylan, Angel/Cordelia, Wesley/Fred, Gunn/Anne, Oz/Bay, Buffy/Satsu (briefly), Willow/Kennedy (briefly)
Buffy Characters: William 'Spike' Pratt, Buffy Summers, Dawn Summers, Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, Alexander 'Xander' Harris, Andrew Wells, Tara Maclay, Renee, Faith Lehane, Robin Wood, Robert Dowling, Dylan Turner, Satsu, Kennedy, Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne, Bayarmaa 'Bay'
Angel Characters: Angel, Cordelia Chase, Connor Angel, Harmony Kendall, Winifred 'Fred' Burkle, Wesley Wyndam Pryce, Charles Gunn, Lorne, Anne Steele
Summary: Buffy shared her powers with all potential Slayers. But that was only the beginning. Now, she has to deal with all the new Slayers, with the aftermath of LA going to hell – and coming back. The world knows about the supernatural, there's no going back.
Keeping Up With the Scoobies
The Long Way Home
20. All Grown-Up
"I'm sorry for how I... ran away from our conversation."
Buffy didn't look impressed at all. She'd pretended to be asleep last night when Spike had returned, because she was too tired and also too frustrated to have any conversation then. But he did look properly apologetic right now, so that soothed her at least a little.
"I know it's hard to talk about your feelings sometimes," Buffy sighed. "But... you can't just run off like that. It's childish and ridiculous. I just want to help you."
"I know," Spike reached out for her, cupping her face. "I know. I just... there are demons in my past that I don't want to talk about. Least of all with you."
She couldn't help but flinch at that and he sighed. He looked so screwed up.
"It's not that I don't trust you, love," Spike's voice was gentle. "It's that... I'm ashamed of the things I did. And I know you know that I did... things... but you don't know the extend of these things and I don't want you to know. I don't want you to look at me and think of them."
Buffy didn't know what to say to that, really. Hearing it like that, she could understand where he was coming from. It still stung. And she thought that not talking at all wasn't a solution.
"Will you promise me to talk to someone else then?" Buffy linked their fingers, giving a little squeeze. "I don't know how well Victorian men take to therapy, but... it's really been helping me? Talk to someone on the outside. It's... I know it's not for everyone, but would you consider giving it a try, at least? I never thought about just how much you have been through too."
"I try not to think about that either," Spike grunted. "I don't... Okay. Fine. Yeah."
When she gave him the big, sad eyes, he just couldn't say no. Therapy, huh? Guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot maybe. He had to admit that talking things out with Dowling last night had made him feel better, but he also knew it wasn't a permanent solution. He definitely couldn't dump all his misdeeds on the man, it might actually chase him off and Spike liked having a guy friend (who didn't live under the same roof as him and was first and foremost a Scooby).
"Okay, thank you," Buffy smiled pleased and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "And don't forget that I got this thing at Artemis' school tonight, so I'll be late. Unless you want to tag along."
Spike huffed out a laugh. "I like the kid alright and I'm happy to help teaching her stuff but I am definitely not gonna go to parent-teacher meetings any time soon."
"Any time soon, mh?" Buffy's eyes sparkled with mischief. "But in the future?"
All Spike could do was shrug. "You're the one who started about kids the other night. Kids imply they'll grow up at one point and force us to go to parent-teacher nights too."
For a moment, Buffy said nothing, but then she burst into laughter. "Oh, I kind of feel bad for any potential kids of ours in the future. 'What's your parents' names?' - 'Spike and Buffy'. Come on, they're in for a hazing for sure there."
"We just gotta give them names that fit," Spike smirked.
"No," Buffy shook her head violently. "My children are going to have normal names."
"Which would make them the outsiders in this family," Spike argued. "Buffy, Spike, Artemis and... John? Come on, you can't do that to a kid either."
She hummed, a smile still playing on her lips. There'd always been a sense of dread when thinking about her future, because she was never sure about having a future. Now? All she felt was warmth.
/break\
Buffy was frustrated when she returned from her parent-teacher meeting. She had to attend parent-teacher meetings again. Something she had already disliked when she'd had to do it for Dawnie. And now, once again, she found herself the guardian of a teenager. It seemed that Artemis had gotten into an... alteration. Because some of the jocks had felt insecure because a girl had bested them at sports and Artemis? Well, Artemis didn't take mockery and insults laying down.
Which was a problem when one had actual super-strength. So Buffy had to have a serious talk with her teen charge. That was going to be fun. She still remembered having these talks with her mom. And now she was in the other position. Urgh, this sucked. Couldn't parenting just be the fun part of hanging out with your teenager? Baking pie or whatever. Not being strict and stuff.
"You are so—o cool."
Buffy furrowed her brows as she heard Artemis' excited voice, followed by very familiar laughter. Her steps picked up as she headed toward the kitchen. On the kitchen counter sat Artemis, on the chairs around the table were Ann-Marie, Priya, Tess and Noelani. And... at the center of their attention stood none other than Dawn. Buffy made a squealing noise before hugging her sister tightly, lifting her up a few inches off the ground. At first, Dawn gasped surprised, but when she realized what was going on, she started laughing and wrapped her arms around Buffy too.
"Dawnie! What are you doing here? Did I know you were coming?"
"Nope," Dawn laughed softly. "Surprise visit. Got a long weekend and Con and I figured we'd drive over to visit family. He dropped me off and continued on to LA."
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you. You have to tell me everything about how college is going."
"Ye—eah. And you have to tell me everything about how parenting is going," Dawn raised her eyebrows. "Really? You can't make a phone-call to tell me that I'm now an aunt."
Buffy winced at that and put her sister down. "Ri—ight. Things were kind of hectic and I had a lot to deal with, aside from the newly acquired teenager? I meant to tall you. I really did. I just..."
Dawn heaved a sigh but the look on her face was more fondness than irritation. "I know. Still."
"Dawn said we'll go and have dinner together. Her treat," Artemis grinned broadly.
That made Buffy frown. "But I meant to ground you when I got home."
"Wait what? I didn't do anything!"
"...You hit three boys. One of whom is currently wearing a brace on his arm."
Artemis pouted at that, crossing her arms over her chest, not looking apologetic in the least. "It's just sprained. Not broken. He's just a baby about it."
The Slayers at the table exchanged looks with each other before quietly getting up and leaving the kitchen. Very reasonable. If it were an option, Buffy would also prefer to leave the room.
"Ho—ow about Artemis' punishment is suspended until Monday when I leave, so I can get to know her outside this very, very overcrowded house?" Dawn suggested.
That felt like giving up. But then Artemis hadn't gotten to know Dawn yet at all and who knew when Dawn would next be able to come over like this? When Buffy looked at them, Dawn and Artemis had matching pouts on their faces., whatever.
"Okay. Yeah. Fine," Buffy heaved a sigh and waved her hand. "But you will only leave the house with Dawn! And starting Monday, it will be going to school and getting straight home! No fun, no shopping, no nothing. And we're going to work on your anger issues. Understood?"
Artemis tilted her head down, at the very least looking apologetic. "Oka—ay."
/break\
It was just the four of them at dinner – Buffy, Spike, Dawn and Artemis – and it felt... it felt like a family dinner. Honestly, Dawn had always liked Spike. Even back when he used to live in Giles' bathtub. Sometimes, she'd just sit on the toilet seat, kick her legs back and forth and talk to him. Nowhere he could go anyway and he hadn't been threatening at all. And he'd always watched out for her too. Dawn had been so happy when Spike and Buffy had finally gotten together.
Part of her had honestly been just a tiny bit afraid. She wasn't stupid, she knew about their back and forth back in the day. As gross as it was to think about her sister having sex, Dawn was adult enough to acknowledge that that had been happening. And it was passion. So part of Dawn had been afraid that passion and adrenaline were what drew them together.
Seeing them now though, how they were holding hands under the table when nothing was happening, the little glances between them, with just how much love Spike would look at Buffy. No, Dawn thought they had more than adrenaline rushes and fighting side by side. They did also have that, but what they had went so much deeper. And Dawn was... she was so happy for her sister. After everything she'd been through, Buffy deserved to be happy.
"So—o, you and this Con guy like a couple?" Artemis asked while they were waiting for their meals. "Because the way you keep saying 'Con' makes that guy sound super like a boyfriend."
Dawn's eyes widened horrified and she could feel her cheeks heat up. "W... Wha—at. No. No."
Buffy choked on her wine. "Hold on wait what. You... Con? Like, Conner? Like, Angel's son?"
"You gotta be kidding me," Spike muttered beneath his breath. "I mean, Conner's a good kid. Nothing like his old man. But you do know who his old man is, right?"
And the more they spoke, the more Dawn blushed. With a groan did she hide her face in her hands.
"It's not like that. We're not dating or anything. He's just... a really good friend. We do a lot together, spend a lot of time together. I have other friends too, you know. I just... we're close."
"Mh-mh," Buffy furrowed her brows in disbelief. "Really close. Huh?"
Okay so perhaps Dawn had the tiniest crush on Conner, but that was so not any of their business. She didn't know how to approach the topic with Conner anyway. And even if she did, he was so popular at school, he probably already had someone else.
"What about you?" Dawn asked quickly, turning to Artemis. "There anyone you like?"
"What. No. I'm too busy becoming the best Slayer in history, I can't afford to get distracted like that," Artemis huffed and puffed up her chest a little. "I see everyone in the house getting distracted by being too lovey-dovey. Not me. I will make history."
"How about you first pass history?" Buffy raised one eyebrow. "Aside from bringing up your little spat, there were also certain concerns about your grades."
"I'm good in the subjects that are important!" Artemis threw her hands up. "But who needs history when the internet exists? You know that I can nowadays just look stuff up. Like, what do I need to memorize the dates of some long dead dude's reign when I could just look it up."
Dawn smiled to herself as she watched the bickering continue for a bit. It was nice seeing Buffy like this. Normal. The thing that Buffy had always wanted. Here she was, with her boyfriend and with her daughter, arguing about grades. The fact that she was no longer the only Slayer had changed Buffy's life so much, had given her the kind of backup she'd always needed and allowed her to lead a more regular life. Even with the fighting and patrol, she was now much more secure in where she was in her life and who she had to rely on.
/break\
Angel looked like a deer caught in the headlights, which alone made the trip worth it. Rattling the old man was rare and fun. Connor grinned at his father, waving. Before Angel had any form of reaction, Cordelia pushed past him and went straight for a hug.
"Connor! You're here! Oh, it's so good to see you! How long are you staying?"
"Hey, Cordy. I'm just here for the weekend. Drove Dawn over to San Francisco and decided to... keep going and pay you guys a visit. See how you're holding up with most people gone."
Cordelia let go of him and then ushered him into the hotel. Back to basics. Starting over. Connor didn't know what that was like for them, but he had started over in his own way, two times now. Three? Maybe more. He'd lost track of the phases of his own life at this point...
"How's business going?"
"Could be better," Cordelia offered. "But we've started working with the local Slayers. Which... is the part that could go better. Most are very wary of Angel."
"Because he's a vampire?" Connor frowned, turning toward his dad.
"No. Because his brooding and angsty aura is putting them off, actually. They find him a downer and thus hard to work with," Cordelia smirked. "But we did hire Nina – you know, the werewolf girl we helped out with controlling her inner beast? Now that she has it under control, she thinks she can out it to good use. And so far, she's been quite useful."
"What... What about you?" Angel finally found his voice. "How is... college?"
"It's good, dad," Connor smiled, even just a little. "Classes are good. Living at campus is... It's a good change of pace, really. And I've made some good connections."
"That's great," Cordelia squeezed his shoulder lightly. "We're going to get so caught up later, right now we are dealing with an abduction case though, so a bit time-pressure."
"Okay," Connor nodded slowly. "Can I... help you?"
That kicked Angel back into gear, because working? That was something he could do. Going out to hunt a kidnapper seemed like very usual father-son bonding for them. Connor could live with that.
/break\
"Dawnie!" Tara's face lit up when she walked into the house to see Dawn on the couch with some of the younger Slayers and Buffy. "Oh, you look so grown-up!"
Dawn got up and ran over to Tara to give her the tightest hug possible. She'd missed Tara so much. After all, she'd barely returned and then Dawn went to college. And Tara... She wasn't Joyce, of course. But she had been a mother to Dawn. When they'd been dead, Joyce and Buffy, and Hank couldn't be bothered to care for her, it had been Willow and Tara. For months, they had been a family. Had helped her with her homework, teased her about the boy she'd had a crush on back then, ate dinner together, made breakfast together, worked through their grief together. Losing Tara had been devastating, even more so because Dawn had been the one to find her body.
"I haven't been gone that long," Dawn laughed to herself.
"No, but Tara's right," Buffy's smile was warm. "You do look more grown-up."
Dawn turned a little, to catch her reflection in the large mirror at the wall. She wore her hair short now, not fully reaching down to her shoulders. Her clothes were just maybe a tad more mature than they used to? Or at least more her own style. She was really finding herself these days.
"Are we doing anything to celebrate your return?" Willow asked when she came following Tara.
"We were already out, having dinner," replied Buffy. "Sorry. Didn't know when you'd get home, I know your coven meetings tend to run very late on account of the moon and stuff."
"Aw," Willow deflated some. "But tomorrow, we're going to do something fun! Okay?"
"Yeah, that sounds good," Dawn smiled at her. "I'd like that."
/break\
"You have to let me go, Buffy," Dawn laughed a little.
"But if I let you go, you're going to leave," Buffy clung onto her even tighter. "I don't want that."
Buffy's eyes found Spike, who stood at the car talking to Connor, getting caught up. Dawn's eyes however were on Xander and Willow. Things had changed so much since her and Buffy had moved to Sunnydale, back then they had all seemed so much more mature than her. The older Dawn got, the smaller the age-gap between them felt. The more she felt like she belonged too.
"Call me when you get back, okay?" Buffy requested. "That you got there safely."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom, I promise."
"No jibes," Buffy glared. "Especially not the ones that make me feel old."
As soon as Buffy let go of Dawn did Artemis step up to hug her too. "It was great meeting you, come back soon, okay? There are still plenty of childhood stories about Buffy that I wanna hear."
"Oh, I got some real embarrassing ones saved for next time."
"Gee, thanks," Buffy glared at her sister. "Now it's time to go for you, I think."
She could hear the others laughing in the background. One last time did she cup Dawn's face.
"We need to talk more," declared Buffy. "And keep me up on you and Angel Junior."
"Don't call him that," Dawn made a face. "Not everything I do, I do to copy you, you know? And Connor is nothing like his father. He's actually cool, unlike Angel."
Dawn made a face that very much reminded Buffy of the eleven year old girl with the pigtails who had always stuck her tongue out at Angel. Dawn had never warmed up to him, which had infuriated Buffy back in the day oh-so much. Smiling, she leaned in to kiss Dawn's forehead.
"Be safe," Buffy whispered. "And I'm so proud of you."
"Yeah, time to go. You're getting sappy."
Dawn smiled, a teasing glint, before she headed over to the car. She gave Spike one last hug and then got into the car with Connor, driving off. And even as the house grew smaller in the distance, Dawn felt good. She'd been so worried about Buffy, how she was holding up. Both in her relationship but also with all of the responsibility she now had. Dawn knew that Buffy wasn't a fan of that, of being responsible for others. Protecting? Yes. But leading? Not so much. She was good at it, but that didn't mean she liked it. After seeing her though, Dawn felt reassured.
"You look... lighter," Connor gave her a sideways glance. "I take it the visit was good?"
"Yeah," Dawn smiled at him. "Makes me feel a little better about being so far away. Thanks for taking me, I know it wasn't exactly in your plans."
"No problem," Connor shook his head. "Anything for you. And it was good seeing dad again. I think I needed that too. Seeing him when the world isn't on the verge of ending."
Dawn couldn't help the small flutter of her heart at his words.
/break\
"She's so grown up," Buffy looked strangely sad as she said that.
"That's what happens when they get to survive the apocalypse. Multiple times. They get to grow up," Spike tilted his head at her. "What is it, Slayer?"
They were getting ready for bed together. When they were changed, they laid down together. Buffy snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes closed slowly.
"It's silly," Buffy sighed. "I'm glad she's getting this normal life. But it also... It makes me remember of how that normal life didn't work out for me? I went to college, trying. And it... it had backfired horrendously, I mean you know that, you saw it."
"Hey, at least you didn't spend it sleeping in a librarian's bathtub, you know."
That made Buffy laugh and slap his chest ever so gently. "Okay, yeah, you definitely were more pathetic than me back there. Thank you, that was very motivational."
"I live to serve," Spike's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
For a while they just laid together in silence. "I'm thinking about signing Artemis up for boxing classes. I know she's getting training here. But even the youngest Slayers already graduated high school and I think that what she needs is... a bigger connection to others her own age? I heard some of the teen Slayers talk about this boxing class they're taking on top of our weekend training."
Spike offered a small smile at that. "That sounds like a great idea, pet."
Author's note: Next chapter, let's check in on Giles' new watcher academy ;)
