”Mommy, can I help? Please, please, pretty please? Can I chop the vegetables? Or stir the sauce? Please?” Hannah was practically bouncing up and down, and Buffy had to smile at her daughter’s enthusiasm. When she’d told the girl that Spike was coming for dinner, Hannah had let out a squeal loud enough to wake the dead.
And to tell the truth, Buffy was kind of excited as well, even though she, unlike Hannah, didn’t act like a little kid on a sugar rush. They didn’t have much company, and dinner guests were highly rare. Buffy loved to cook, but somehow it seemed kind of meaningless to prepare a five-course dinner when it was just her and Hannah, who refused to eat anything she didn’t know exactly what it was.
“No chopping, you’re way too young for handling sharp knives. And the sauce is already cooking, there’s no need to…” Buffy stopped when she saw the disappointed look on Hannah’s face, and realized how negative and grown-up she sounded. What could be the harm in letting the girl help a little? Honestly, when was the last time her daughter had been this thrilled about anything?
“Actually, the table still needs setting, but I need someone strong enough to carry all those plates and glasses…” Buffy did her best to look serious, silently counting to five…
“Oh! Oh! Me! Me! I’m strong, I can do it! Can I, can I?!”
Buffy pretended to be thinking hard. “You’re really sure you can carry all those heavy plates without dropping them?” The girl nodded eagerly. “Okay, go ahead.” Hannah rushed over to the kitchen cabinet, a huge grin on her face. Her face fell a little when she realized that she couldn’t reach the shelf where the glasses were, she usually just grabbed one from the dish stand.
Holding her breath, Buffy waited to see how the girl was going to solve her little dilemma. Hannah seemed to be thinking for a moment, then the smile was back and she hurried over to the kitchen table, grabbing one of the chairs, and dragged it after her back to the cabinet. After climbing it, she had no trouble reaching the items in there.
Buffy shook her head in amusement. If helping around the house made her daughter so happy, how come it was nearly impossible to get the girl to clean her own room, or make her bed? But of course, this was different. She smiled to herself. It was nice to see Hannah this excited. And all because of a stranger.
Buffy had never done something like this before; inviting a complete stranger home for dinner. But it was the least she could do, after all, not only had the guy made sure her daughter got home safely yesterday, he had also saved her from falling flat on her ass in the grocery store this morning. Yeah, right, she thought, and those eyes and the fact that he looks like a greek god has nothing to do with it?
He was gorgeous, alright. But Buffy couldn’t help but thinking that there was something… gloomy about him. Even though he’d smiled a lot, he still seemed sad, and Buffy wondered why. Getting lost in her pondering, Hannah had to call three times to catch her mother’s attention.
“Mommy!”
Shaking her head, as if to clear it, Buffy looked down at her daughter. “Sorry, honey. What did you say?”
Hannah smiled brightly. “I’ve finished setting the table. And I didn’t drop anything. Well, except for the butter knife, but it didn’t break because it’s made of plastic. And look mommy, I folded the napkins so they look like flowers, like I learned in school!”
The girl was beaming, and Buffy smiled at her, following her into the living room. “Very good, sweetie!” Hannah smiled back, very pleased with the praise.
“What time is it now, mommy?” Hannah had been asking that question every five minutes since they started with the dinner preparations, and even though Buffy was more than tired of it, she didn’t tell the girl off.
“It’s six thirty.” She knew what was coming next.
“How long ‘til Spike gets here?”
Buffy had to suppress a laugh. The girl was just so predictable. But who could blame her for being excited? “Still about half an hour.” Then, an idea popped up. “Why don’t you go upstairs and make your bed, and maybe pick up some of your toys from the floor?”
The girl looked like Buffy had just suggested that she’d go to the dentist and have all of her teeth pulled out. “But mommy…”
“What if Spike wants to see your room? Do you really want him to see what a mess it is?” Buffy gave her a firm look, trying not to smile. Hannah’s eyes widened in horror at the mere thought, and she hurried out of the kitchen. The next thing Buffy heard was the sound of her daughter’s footsteps as she ran upstairs.
Suddenly the phone rang, and for a moment Buffy feared that it would be Spike, calling to cancel. Then she had to roll her eyes at herself as she remembered that she hadn’t given him her phone number. “Hello?”
The voice in the other end of the line was loud, and not at all friendly. “Kathy says that your daughter got her in trouble with the teacher yesterday. What do you have to say about that?”
Buffy closed her eyes, silently cursing. She was so not in a mood for this. “Cordelia, I can assure you that whatever happened, it was your daughter who started it, not Hannah.”
A moment of silence. Then… “How dare you accuse my Kathy of lying? I’ve raised my daughter better than that, which is more than I can say about you. Now, I want an apology from you. And I expect Hannah to do the same, Kathy was crushed when she came home, saying that Miss Burkle shouted at her for something Hannah did.”
Buffy felt tears of fury welling up in her eyes. Cordelia Chase had once been one of her best friends, but that was a long time ago. “Well, you’re not getting one, neither from me, nor from Hannah. Whatever your daughter got was nothing more than she deserved, maybe that’ll teach her to stop being mean to my girl. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than listening to your accusations. Good bye.” With that Buffy hang up, angrily throwing the cordless phone away from her.
Her good mood had flown right out the window, and it was all Cordelia’s fault, hers and her little brat for a daughter. Buffy blinked a couple of times, refusing to let the tears fall. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. Hannah would be down soon, and she didn’t want the girl to see how upset she was. She walked over to the stove, deciding to forget about the phone call and concentrating on the food.
Everything looked perfect, and after a few minutes she relaxed. She was still furious, but she would deal with that later. Right now, she had a dinner to focus on. As soon as she’d finished that thought, the door bell rang, causing her to jump. Spike had arrived.
TBC
Saving You by Pet
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow, but then I changed my mind, after writing another chapter earlier today, so here you go - enjoy! :)