Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Summary: After her parents divorce, when she is only seven, Buffy’s father becomes abusive… The only other person she is willing to entrust with this information is her childhood best friend, William Giles… Can he save her before it’s too late? (***WARNING*** Deals w/ issues of child abuse).

Spoilers: None… It’s Fantasy/AU…

Rating: R

Author’s Notes: Well, here’s the next chapter… Hope it’s okay… I kinda had to rush it. It would have been out sooner, but we found out last night that my third cousin was killed in a car accident…

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, ‘cause I don’t… lol… But I did what I could with what little time I’ve had over the past few days (I’ve been redoing the look of my website). Also, Dru? Yeah… Not so much with the crazy. I don’t write crazy well… Also, I knew someone would ask why Buffy wasn’t living w/ her mom… I had hoped to get this chapter out a lot sooner, so it would all be explained… Buffy does live with her mom, but she’s with her dad every other weekend…

And finally, thanks for all the reviews everybody! They’re greatly appreciated.

Distribution: If ya want it, take it, just give me credit… And, if ya could, let me know where it’s going.

Feedback: You can send it to brock3005@aol.com or otownfan1520@yahoo.com.

~*~*~*~

Buffy Summers.

Shining beauty with hair made of golden sunshine, and eyes that reflected emerald when she smiled and darkened to deep mahogany when she cried. She had a perfect angel’s face… Which was covered with sickening purple bruises that she tried to hide with pretty makeup and stylish sunglasses.

It didn’t work.

It never worked.

She had fallen down the stairs. She had taken a hard hit in her martial arts class; in gymnastics; in cheerleading. One day, she had taken a softball to the cheek. The next, she’d tripped in her bedroom and connected with the edge of the dresser…

Lies. All of them.

The truth? It was her father. A man meant only to protect and love, who chose to hurt and abuse. Why? Because he craved power. He wanted only that overwhelming rush that came with the knowledge that only he had control over the situation… A feeling William “Spike” Giles knew all too well. But he had certainly never opted to take it out on a sweet, innocent child… Especially not one as loving, caring, and forgiving as Buffy Anne Summers…

And Hank Summers took advantage of that… Took advantage of her. In more horrible ways than any decent person would ever be able to think up. And for no reason aside from the fact that he could… And she let him… Because he terrified her…

~*~*~*~

Startled, Buffy jumped, a small shriek escaping her as her locker door was suddenly slammed shut before her; the clash of metal on metal echoing through the empty hallway. Immediately, her mind registered who exactly it was standing beside her. Neglecting to so much as glance his way, she went back to reopening her locker; furiously spinning away the combination. Her annoyance with him was nearly tangible as she let out an irate sigh.

“What the hell is your problem?!” she exclaimed heatedly as she threw open the locker door once again; frustration written across her pretty features.

“What did he do to you this time?” His voice was louder than he had initially intended, and he automatically flinched at the nasty look she shot his way. He hated it when she was angry with him, but something needed to be said.

“Will you shut the fuck up!” she hissed angrily, though her voice remained quiet as she grabbed the lapel of his leather jacket and dragged him around the corner, while slamming shut her locker door. After glancing around to be sure that they were alone, she let him go; pushing him away slightly as she did. “Somebody’s gonna hear you! You swore to me you would never tell a soul, so shut up!”

As he let out a bitter laugh, he tilted his head slightly, giving her a patented Spike look that had annoyance written all over it. “Bloody hell, Buffy! You just got out of the goddamn hospital! You’ve got three stitches in your head, a black eye, a three inch gash on your cheek, and dozens of bruises! What happened?!”

“I fell down the stairs.” Her mouth was set in a hard line as she stared him down; her eyes daring him to challenge her. “Happy?”

That look didn’t work on him. It never had. “Or he threw you down the stairs…”

She was silent as she turned her head away from him, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. It was her way of shutting him out. This was something she did often… Tried to lock him out of her life… But he wouldn’t let her. Couldn’t let her. And that was exactly why she was willing to open up to him… Because he cared enough about her to make sure she let him in…

And this time was no different. He wasn’t letting her off that easily. “Buffy…” His voice was hard, yet gentle as he took a step closer to her. There were tears sparkling in her eyes, and he couldn’t stand seeing her in so much pain. Gently, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before letting his hand rest on her cheek. “Sweetheart, just tell me… Please…”

A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and she turned her face away from him just a bit in order to hide it. When he carefully gripped her chin and gently forced her to face him, she gave in. “He probably threw me down the stairs at some point, yeah…” She let out a heavy sigh, as she raised a hand to her hair; running it through her golden locks in exasperation. “I don’t know… I just… Look, he threw me on the bed, I hit the headboard hard, and I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital…”

“He threw you on the bed?”

Spike’s voice was full of concern and fear as he asked the question, and she smiled sadly in silent reassurance as she shook her head. “No… It wasn’t like that… I don’t think… Spike, I don’t know, okay? And honestly, I don’t really wanna know. It’s bad enough when I wake up like this… I don’t need to remember how I got this way.”

By the time she had finished, her tears were rolling freely from her eyes, and she could barely force the words from her lips. The pain he saw in her eyes had Spike himself on the verge of tears as he reached out and took her into his arms. “Buffy, you’ve got to tell someone, Luv…”

“I can’t…” she insisted weakly, as she yielded to his comforting embrace; letting herself melt against him as her tears poured from her eyes, soaking into the soft material of the black t-shirt he wore. “I can’t… Spike, he’ll come after me. And he’ll come after mom, and you, and everyone who means anything to me… He’s too powerful. He’s got money, he’s got incredible lawyers… Spike, nobody would believe me. You know that… It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I’ve only got a year and a half before I leave for college. Then I’m out, alright? He won’t be able to hurt me anymore…”

“Yeah, if you live that long!” He pulled away just a bit, so that he could look into her eyes and when he did so, she could see the fear and intensity that his own eyes held there as he stared back at her.

“Spike, listen to me…” she said gently, taking his hand in hers. “I will be fine… I’m only there every other weekend. The rest of the time, I’m with mom. You know that. I can make it for another year or so… It’ll all work out…”

“Buffy, it doesn’t matter if you’re only with him every other weekend! These beatings keep getting worse and worse! It’s only gonna take one time for him to…” He stopped, unable to finish the thought as he blinked away a few tears. “Buffy, that man is destroying you. You can’t keep going on like this… I am not willing to lose you because of him.”

Shaking her head slightly as she pulled herself from his arms, she wiped away the last of her tears. “Spike, I’ve gotta go… Willow’s waiting for me. She’s worried.” He nodded, sighing in resignation, as she wiped away the single tear he had let fall from the corner of his eye. “Come over for dinner later?”

The hopeful edge to her voice made him smile, and he nodded again, this time in affirmation. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world…”

For the first time in weeks, she smiled. A real, genuine smile. “Good. Mom can’t wait to see you again… She’s got the little marshmallows waiting…”

Laughing lightly, he rolled his eyes at the comment. Then, he pulled her into one last hug before kissing her forehead softly and watching as she wandered off in the direction of the courtyard in search of Willow.

“You gonna need a ride home?!” Spike called after her, before she could disappear from sight.

“Nope!” she called back; never bothering to glance his way or slow her pace. “Gonna walk home with Willow!”

He shrugged, threw his bag over his shoulder, and turned to leave…

~*~*~*~

“So meeting up with little Buffy is more important than our date, is it?”

Spike started a bit as the voice cut through his thoughts, and he quickly swiveled around to see Drusilla standing before him. The girl always managed to sneak up at the worst times… Everything he did, he had to worry that she was waiting in the shadows for the best moment to strike. The couple had been together since before his father had made the final decision that the permanent move to Sunnydale from London would be best for the two of them… Then, not long after the move, Drusilla also managed to find her way to Sunnydale… And Dru hated Buffy.

“Dru, could we not?”

“I just don’t see why she’s more important than me, William.” Dru began, giving him a hard glare. “Just because the two of you spent the summer together a few times doesn’t mean…”

“Dru!” He cut her off. “It wasn’t a few times! It was every bloody summer from the time we were two, up until I moved here when I was fifteen! We’re close, alright? Brother/sister close. Nothing more… But if she’s got a problem that needs to be dealt with, then yeah, I’ll blow off a date or two.”

“So she is more important to you than I am?”

He rolled his eyes, annoyed with her. It was terrible when she got this way… And she got like this a lot. The girl had been jealous of Buffy from the moment he had met her, and she could never quite seem to get over it. “No.” he denied firmly, as he turned to walk away from her. “But her problems are…”

“Oh, poor little lost warrior… So lonely and scared…” Nothing but sarcasm dripped from her lips as she said the words, and it cut through him like venom. He stopped dead in his tracks, but didn’t turn around. Instead, he simply waited for what he knew was coming. “Tell me, William, exactly how bad could her problem’s be? The girl has everything; we all know that… She’s pretty, she’s popular… So, what could be so wrong with her life that you’re willing to ditch me to be with her?”

“You know nothing about her!” His emotions got the better of him and he turned on her, invading his personal space; his eyes reflecting nothing but anger. “Don’t you dare pretend like you know a thing about her, ‘cause you don’t know the half of it, you got me?! Buffy is the closest friend I have ever had, and if you care at all about me, you’ll stop with all this jealousy shit and get over yourself!”

Dru simply glared at his retreating back as he stormed away from her; the anger emanating from him in waves as he stalked toward the parking lot.

~*~*~*~

“Hey Wills! Wait up!” Buffy called, as she jogged toward Willow, who was now moving through the courtyard, probably believing Buffy wasn’t going to show.

“Hey, Buffy.” Willow Rosenberg greeted; smiling brightly and giving a little wave as Buffy approached. “You feeling okay?”

Suddenly, Buffy noticed the concern that danced in the redhead’s eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to slip away into the shadows. Once again, she crossed her arms protectively over her chest and averted her eyes, suddenly intent on studying the grass at her feet. This wasn’t something she wanted to discuss with anyone who wasn’t Spike… Because no one else knew, and she hated lying. Especially to her friends, but she couldn’t tell them… They could never understand. Not the way Spike understood, anyway…

“I’m fine…” Buffy mumbled quietly, never once making eye contact with Willow.

For a moment, Willow simply stared at her, tilting her head slightly as she studied Buffy; her concern evident. The girl had just gotten out of the hospital after falling down a flight of stairs… Why was she pretending like nothing had happened? And why was she so nervous? It didn’t make sense… There were a lot of things that didn’t seem to add up when it came to Buffy. And yet, there was nothing she could do about it until her suspicions were confirmed. She couldn’t very well go around making false accusations… Not without substantial evidence.

“Are you sure, Buffy?” she asked gently; her voice soothing but insistent. “I mean, you just got out of the hospital after being stuck there for three days. That must have been one hell of a fall…”

“Yeah, well, you know me…” Buffy laughed nervously as she tucked her hair behind her ear with a shaky hand. “I’m just clumsy that way…”

“Clumsy…” Willow said the word slowly, still studying the girl before her. “Yeah…”

“Well, um, I should probably go…” Buffy couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to get out of there. It wasn’t often that she got the feeling Willow suspected something, but today she was pretty certain she did. The way Willow was looking at her… She had to know something… Something Buffy wasn’t willing to discuss.

“Go?” Willow asked, confusion marring her brow. “Go where? Aren’t you gonna walk home with me?”

“Nah, I think I’ll catch a ride home with Spike. I’m still a little sore from that fall and walking probably wouldn’t help much. I’ll see you tomorrow.” she insisted, as she began to move away nervously.

“Yeah…” Willow said slowly as she watched Buffy walk off in the direction of the parking lot. Then, sighing loudly, she started on her way home; Buffy on her mind the whole way. She needed to find out what exactly was going on with Buffy, and she planned to do just that… Even if she had to beat it out of Spike…

~*~*~*~

“Bloody hell, woman!” Spike exclaimed, startled, when the door of his DeSoto was yanked open and Buffy hopped in, making herself comfortable in the passenger’s seat.

She simply shot him a light smile as she went about fastening her seatbelt. “Hey.”

“Thought you were gonna walk home with Red?” he questioned as he turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life, suddenly blaring the loud sounds of some hard rock song she didn’t recognize.

Reaching forward, she adjusted the volume to a decent level, and then began scanning through stations; searching for anything that wasn’t loud and obnoxious… His music gave her a major headache. “Too many questions.” she replied with a shrug as she finally settled on a country station and sat back to listen; content with her choice.

After hearing her choice of music, Spike sent a glare her way. “You’re lucky I love you.” he told her flatly as he tore out the school parking lot and onto the road.