Chapter 1
Buffy gathered her purse and keys in one hand and Dawn’s little hand in her other. Armed and ready to face the fiercest creatures in the world: last-week-before-Christmas shoppers.
“Now Dawnie, you have to stay with me the whole time we’re inside ok? There’s going to be many people around doing their Christmas shopping and I really don’t want you getting lost. You have to stay where I can see you the whole time if you’re not holding my hand. Is that a deal?” Buffy looked at Dawn’s innocent little five-year old face and hoped she would follow instruction.
“Ok Buffy. I know I hafta stay where you can see me,” she smiled up at her sister with a wide gap-toothed grin.
“Alright pumpkin! Let’s go then,” Buffy tugged lightly on her sister’s hand as she led her through the doors of the mall. And ‘many people’ was certainly an understatement. The entire mall was full of families, teens, and adults busy in a last minute Christmas shopping spree.
“Are we gonna get somethin’ nice for mommy?” Dawn asked her sister.
“I’m sure we can find her something real nice for her. How about we go to the flower shop and see what they have?” Buffy felt her heart constricting as she contemplating getting a gift for her mother. The last few months had been a blur, first her father was killed by a drunk driver, then her mother’s illness. She wouldn’t think about that, today was for friends’ gifts and keeping Dawn in good spirits.
The sisters made their way into the department store on a quest for the perfect presents for her best friends Willow and Xander. Buffy hadn’t had much time to see her friends lately, but they were coming over on Christmas Eve and she wanted it to be perfect. Dawn was already fidgeting beside her five minutes later while Buffy was contemplating a pretty beaded necklace she thought would be perfect for Willow. The jade beads would go perfect with her complexion.
Dawn was bored. Buffy had promised her that they could go to the toy department to look at the new stuffies and dolls that she so badly wanted Santa to deliver to her this year. She started wandering off in the direction of the toy department, making sure to keep in Buffy’s line of sight. Dawn looked towards the perfumes where Buffy was currently standing smelling the stuff the lady at the counter was telling her about when she thought she spotted a familiar blonde head.
“Mommy?” Dawn mumbled and started after the woman.
“Dawnie, do you want to go to the toy department and show me what you want Santa to bring you this year?” Buffy had just purchased a small vial of Willow’s favorite perfume which she knew Oz loved as well.
“Dawnie? Dawn?” Buffy started feeling the all too familiar panic building. Her sister had taken to wandering off lately and today of all days… When she found that little brat, she’s making sure Dawn knew Santa was watching.
Sighing, Buffy made her way toward the toy department calling out for her sister every couple of minutes. When she hadn’t found her ten minutes later after having scoured every corner of the toy department, Buffy was truly in a state of panic.
She grabbed the nearest sales clerk and asked if he’d seen a little brown haired girl around.
“Nah, do you know how many kids are around this place miss? I couldn’t tell ya anything.”
Cursing the stupid sales clerk and his snobby attitude, she continued her frantic search through the store. She’d asked the clerk to page Dawn, but if she’d wandered into the rest of the mall, Buffy wouldn’t know what to do.
Dawn had followed the woman out of the store and into the food court. She had been so convinced it was her mommy, but when the lady had turned around after she tugged insistently at her hand, a strange lady faced her. Dawn almost cried when it turned out to be a stranger. Looking around she realized that she had no idea where she was, there were so many people running around not paying any attention to a lost little girl.
She knew Buffy would be furious at her when she found her. But Dawn didn’t know what to do. The ranger that had come to class before Christmas break had told them all what to do if you were ever lost in the woods, but try as she might, Dawn was too scared to remember what the nice man had said. Dawn felt tears start to fall down her cheeks, she was frustrated and scared, and buried her face in her hands, desperately wishing Buffy was here.
“What’s wrong nibblet? Are you lost sweetheart?” a deep voice asked her. Dawn raised her blue eyes to find the source of the voice.
“Who are you?” she asked the strange blonde man kneeling in front of her.
“My name’s William. But people call me Spike. What’s your name?” He smiled at her, blue eyes gentle and caring.
“’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” Dawn knew she shouldn’t but the man seemed to be so nice.
“I know. And that’s very good, you shouldn’t talk to strangers, but I’m here to help you see?” The man pointed to his shirt which read Security in bold yellow letters.
Dawn smiled, “You talk funny!”
“I don’t talk funny bit, you’re the one who talks funny,” Spike was warming quickly to the free spirited little lost girl in front of him. “But I need to know your name so I can make sure your mum finds ya.”
Dawn’s face fell at the comment, “My mum’s not here. Buffy ‘n I was shopping for presents for her though. She’s my sister.”
“Buffy? That’s your sister’s name? Huh. Can’t say I’ve heard that one before,” Spike straightened and extended a hand toward the little girl. “Come with me now bit, we’ll go to my office and I’ll call your sister so she can come find you.”
“Ok. My name is Dawn, and I’m not a bit! I’m a girl!” she smiled up at Spike as they started making their way through the crowds of people toward the mall security office.
“Well then Dawn, tell me, what are you asking Santa for Christmas this year?” Spike found the girl charming and wondered who her sister with the strange name was.
“Paging Buffy Summers to the security desk! Buffy Summers to the security desk!” The message blared over the loud speakers just as Buffy collapsed on one of the many benches lining the interior of the shopping center.
“Oh thank God!” Buffy grabbed her belongings off the bench and raced toward the corner where the office was located.
“Buffy, Buffy Summers. You paged me. Have you found my sister?” Buffy rushed out, gasping for breath, to the man fronting the security desk.
“Yes ma’m. She’s in there with Mr. Giles. Quite a spirited little thing she is. Demanded we get her ice cream so she wouldn’t cry,” the older gentleman replied.
“Oh no, she didn’t!” Buffy was horrified that her sister would ask such a thing. But it was so like her, and she couldn’t be mad at her when she was so relieved to finally find her again. “I’m so sorry sir, I’ll make sure to have a chat with her about her manners when we get home. Where can I get her from?”
“Right in that door over there,” the man pointed toward a closed door behind him. “Go on through.”
When Buffy reached the door, she heard Dawn’s loud giggles and couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t heard her laugh like that in a long time. Knocking softly on the door, she opened it to see her sister’s beaming smile.
“Buffy!” Dawn launched herself into her
sister’s arms. “I’m sorry I thought I saw mommy an’ I followed her but it wasn’t her an’ then I didn’t know where I was anymore an’ I was scared an’ crying an’ I couldn’t remember what the ranger told me at school about gettin’ lost an’ if I had you would have found me!” Dawn nearly strangled Buffy with the fierceness of her hug, hot tears smearing against her throat.
“It’s ok Dawnie,” Buffy cooed reassuringly stroking her sister’s hair. “Just don’t wander away and scare me like that again. You know better than that.”
Dawn didn’t reply, she just buried her head in Buffy’s neck. At the sound of a man clearing his throat, Buffy found herself looking up into a set of the bluest eyes she had ever seen.
“So you must be Buffy then,” Spike extended his hand to the beautiful young woman before him. “Name’s Spike.”
“B-Buffy,” she replied taking his hand, before straightening and holding Dawn in her arms. Finding her voice again she said, “Thank you for finding my sister. And I’m sorry, I heard about her demands for ice cream, she should know better.”
A muffled giggle came from Buffy’s shoulder causing a smile to spread across Spike’s face. Buffy didn’t think she’d ever seen such a handsome man. Aside from the most stunning pair of eyes, he had a set of razor sharp cheekbones, shocking blonde hair and a scarred eyebrow which gave him that bad-boy edge. But seeing him smile was something else, his eyes lit up and it softened his modelesque features.
“’s no problem. My job really, and I still owe your sister that ice cream for being so brave,” he hadn’t really planned on following through with the promise of ice cream, but that all changed when the petite blonde had burst in through the door. She looked like the typical Californian girl, salon-blonde but sun-kissed hair, golden tan, and had the type of physique you knew she had to work hard to achieve. But her green eyes were so expressive it had stopped him in his tracks, all other manner of thought or speech rendered useless.
“Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to do that. It would impose too much on you and I’m sure you’re very busy,” Buffy didn’t know why she was being so insistent on this, she should be happy to oblige.
“’m about to finish anyway. Just let me get out o’ this polyester ‘n I’ll take the two of you with me. Ok?” He was determined not to take no for an answer. When all Buffy did was smile softly at him, he hastened out the door.
Buffy took the opportunity to speak to Dawn in private.
“You demanded ice cream? You little sneak,” she couldn’t help not being ‘angry mom’ Buffy after such a scare.
“Yeah, and I get it too!” Dawn smiled
triumphantly. “Buffy, I really thought it was mommy,” she continued in a small voice, her little pixie features closing off with grief.
“I’m sure you did sweetie, but you know she’s not here,” Buffy’s heart broke at her sister’s admission. This Christmas was going to be hard; she couldn’t blame Dawn for seeing their mom around every corner. She did too sometimes. Dawn crawled onto Buffy’s lap and started playing with a lock of her hair; she hadn’t done this for a couple of years, but had started again recently. It must be comforting.
Buffy wondered about the man that had found her sister. Suddenly a thought struck her.
“Dawnie, you know you’re not supposed to talk to strangers don’t you?” She honestly didn’t know if this was an appropriate situation to bring it up, and considering she did talk to a sort-of police officer, Dawn had done the right thing.
“I know. I told him I wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers. But then he told me it was his job to help me find you. He showed me his badge an’ everything,” Dawn replied.
“Well that’s good sweetheart, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Just be careful, and don’t ever, EVER, wander away again,” Buffy used her best impression of Willow’s resolve-face on her sister.
“m’kay,” Dawn laid her head back on Buffy’s shoulder to wait for Spike and the promised ice cream goodness.
Spike hastened toward the employee locker room to change out of his hated polyester uniform. Mall security was certainly a far cry from anything he wanted to with his life, but seeing as it paid well, especially over Christmas, it was an easy opportunity to make some quick dosh. And saving a lady in distress was just an added bonus. As he unbuttoned his shirt and hung it onto the hook in his locker, he thought about the past hour.
First, an adorable little girl, an unspeakably sad little girl, manages to get under his armor in a matter of seconds when she stood lost and crying in the middle of a bustling food court. He was amazed that no one even took the slightest notice of her, but he supposed Christmas lacked for good intentions these days. He couldn’t forget the bright blue eyes swimming with tears when she first looked up at him.
And let’s not forget about the sister. A vision of beauty she was. But there seemed to be something off about her. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Like she was bearing all the sadness of the world on her slender shoulders.
With a quick look around the corner, he stripped off his pants and slipped into his usual black jeans. After slipping on socks and tying up his beloved docks, he grabbed his leather duster and scoured the top shelf for the usual contents of its pockets. Satisfied he had everything, Spike locked up and headed back to the interview room where Buffy and Dawn were waiting for him. The thought put a smile on his face.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I started this story a few years ago with different characters but decided to convert it to a fluffy, not too angsty, Spuffy story. I'm a bit nervous about this story because I've never written an all human au before, let me know if I should keep it up! Oh and this is really only the first half of the first chapter, but it was so freakin' long I decided to split it in two.