Buffy sat in the empty arena, drinking in the seldom witnessed silence in Locklin Arena.
Her fingers traced the outline of her father's face in the weathered photo, cupped gently in her hand. She had carried this photo with her for the past 19 years. The wrinkled photo was of Buffy and her dad, her first time on skates at 4 years old. She was a natural and didn't need to hang onto his large hands, but she held on tightly anyway....daddy's little girl to the extreme! He was there to catch her in case she fell and had done so her entire life.
Now, she sat alone, her father gone, buried on a rainy and gray day in August, leaving her without a family. But, somewhere between the funeral and the reading of his will she found out she had inherited 28 brothers. In a strange flash of delusion, Hank had left her his managing stock in his hockey team franchise. His losing, broken down, lame assed excuse for a Hockey team. What the hell had he been thinking? What did she know about creating a winning season or managing a payroll? Sure, she ran her own PR company, but she didn't know diddly about buying and selling free agents and keeping a coaching staff on retainer. Buffy couldn't fathom her father's logic, any more than she could imagine having to figure out what to do with their family home, his car, his bank accounts....the list went on.
When her mother died she had been so young, barely three years old, she had no memory of what the process was like. As an adult, she became acutely aware that the "business" of dying was exhausting.
She heard a cough behind her and she jumped in her seat dropping the photo. A large hand reached down and picked up the photo, and Buffy looked up to see her "Uncle Giles" smiling down at her. He handed her back the memento of father and daughter as he sat next to her in one of the creaky, old, folding stadium chairs.
"You know, he had that same photo in his office, framed on his desk?" Giles smiled at the image.
"Proud papa, that was Dad." Buffy choked up as the word Dad passed her lips.
Giles wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight.
"We'll get through this Buffy, I promise you that. I'm not going to leave you to handle this alone."
"Giles, what was he thinking? I have a job, I have a life, what am I going to do with a Hockey team, use them for party favors at events?"
Giles choked out a laugh and paused, choosing his words carefully.
"Buffy, I've known you your entire life and I've always been one hundred percent honest with you. You may have a job darling, but you do not have a life. You go to work, work that you don't seem to greatly enjoy, you come home, you eat dinner and you go to bed. During the season, you come to each home game, have dinner with your dad when he's not traveling with the team and that's it!" he took a deep breath, gathering more steam, "I apologize for dumping all of this on you, right now, but personally, I believe this could be very good for you my dear."
Buffy's mouth was hanging open as she tried to absorb Gile's speech. She couldn't remember him ever stringing together more than two sentences at any one given time.
"Giles, are you saying I should seriously, I mean, seriously consider running a hockey team?"
"That's just it my dear, with you at the helm, I believe we actually could turn things around. Your dad had great vision about the game, but he didn't understand that you have to market and sell and bring in new blood to make a franchise profitable. Take a look around you ducks. This place used to be brilliant, sparking and full of life. She's looking a little sad these days. When is the last time you saw more people than the two of us at a Demon's game? You have your own business, you could combine the two and take over. Your dad and I talked about this Buffy, he wanted you to live, not just be alive. Couldn't you at least try it for one season?"
"Giles, my head is pounding, I feel completely exhausted and this is way too much to take in today. Can we meet for coffee tomorrow?"
"Sure sweetie, but I need for you to know this. The other owners are planning on approaching you to suggest buying out your shares. They don't think you can handle the responsibility handed to you. This is the ole' boys club we're talking about....women don't belong in Hockey. They want to shake up the roster, bring in some muscle, and as you would say blah-blah-blah."
Buffy jumped out of her seat.
"Women don't belong in Hockey? Did they ever see the Women's Olympic Hockey Team? Do they have any clue that the best trainers and team physicians are women? What do you mean "Women don't belong in hockey." Buffy's voice reached a frantic and high pitch.
"I didn't say that Buffy, the other stock holders said that. Your dad thought you could do it, I think you can do it and apparently, with the thrasher you seem to be having, all signs indicate you're not altogether ambivalent about it."
Buffy sat back down, with a thud. She had to sleep on this, get some perspective. She needed to round up her "posse" and talk this through. She already knew Cordelia would be all "Rah-Rah" with the idea, but she was counting on Willow to be the voice of reason.
Knowing Xander, all he would be concerned with is whether or not he would get free hot dogs and beer for the season. Anya would be the typical "Hockey Bunny" and hit on anything in skates and a jock strap. Fred, well, Fred would say it's what her Dad had wanted and she owed it to him to at least think about it. She knew her friends backwards and forwards and yet she hoped they surprised her with some overwhelming expert advice.
As she and Giles made their way to the parking lot he handed her a thick, heavy manila folder.
"I know you've got a lot on your mind, but these are the free agents up for signing that your Dad was already scouting. If you decide and I mean, only if YOU decide, you can at least brush up on the stats and fees so you go in with your eyes wide open."
Buffy took the folder, tossed it into her duffle bag and gave Giles a fierce hug.
"I'll think about it Giles, I really will and I'll call you tomorrow night at the latest. I love you."
"I love you too Frosty."
"You haven't called me that in years." Buffy laughed and smiled from ear to ear.
"Doesn't mean I can't. You have my number, call me no matter the hour. Jenny will hear the phone, even if I sleep through a tornado."
Buffy hopped into her Jeep and headed for home. Home she thought.......home used to mean going to visit Dad. Now home would have to mean her apartment, where no one was waiting for her. Tears sliding down her face, she pulled out of the parking lot and found herself headed for Willow's house. She couldn't stand to think of being alone tonight.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Will not involve Angel Buffy. Will eventually be R to NC-17, but beginning chapters will be very Angsty and fun.