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Author's Chapter Notes:
Loved this chapter, and I felt the song fit both men. One is protecting and the other is the complete opposite of the song, so it's like mocking her. (Get it, MOCKINGbird?)
Life 9 – Mockingbird

I can see you’re sad
Even when you smile
Even when you laugh
I can see it in your eyes
Deep inside you want to cry
Cause you’re scared I ain’t there
Daddy’s with you in your prayers
No more crying Wipe them tears
Daddy’s here No more nightmares

Now no more worries
Rest your head and go to sleep
Maybe one day we’ll wake up
And this all just be a dream

Now hush little baby don’t you cry
Everything’s gonna be alright
Stiffen that upper lip up, little lady
I told you, daddy’s here to hold you through the night

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

On Wednesday of the next week, something amazingly odd happened to Dawn and me: we got a call from our Dad. We hadn’t had one in about 6 months, so this was a huge surprise. Usually he sent a little scribbled note on a postcard when he remembered, or it was one of our birthdays. Hell, he usually forgot those anyway. So, hearing his voice on the other end when I picked it up was definitely not of the norm.

“Hello, is Buffy there?” came the all-too-formal tone of voice my father used when he suspected it was Ted on the line. They didn’t get along well, but they used to be best friends. Something about your wife cheating on with another man to make the husband hate the other man.

“Daddy, it’s me,” I answered, wondering why in the world he was calling. Even more shocking was that a local payphone had come up on the caller ID.

“Hey, pumpkin! I was wondering what you were doing for oh... the next two or three hours?”

“Not much, just homework.” My curiosity, usually an asset was failing me, “Daddy, are you in town?”

“How did you guess?”

“Payphone, local. Should’ve used the cell, better chance of disguising your in townness. But, oh my god, you’re in town! This hasn’t happened since... well, a really long time. What are you doing here?”

“Came to see you and Dawn. She around?”

“Nah, she’s at Janice’s. I could call her if you want, though.”

“No, for this afternoon it’ll just be me and my eldest hanging out, how’s that sound?”

“Is there some form of shopping *cough* clothes *cough* involved here?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t arrive in town without enough money to shower my daughters with whatever they wanted, would I? What am I, insensitive?”

I laughed, and went to get changed. I was supposed to meet Dad at the mall in an hour, but mom and Ted weren’t home and I wasn’t supposed to leave without their permission. A classic Ted rule, of course. Tapping my foot impatiently as to what I was supposed to do, I finally threw my arms in the air, wrote a note, and left quickly.

I was at the meeting site a good 15 minutes before Dad, and as I was watching people go by me, I noticed Spike in a gift shop. The shop specialized in girlie items, mostly perfumes and teddy bears and the like, but nothing I’d figure Drusilla to be really into. Getting curious, I strolled over and noticed in his hand a purple box with the letter B engraved on top in gold lettering. The detailing was all gold, and the fabric looked silky, with tiny flowers embroidered into it. It had a little ballerina, my first lifelong dream, inside that twirled and the music for Hush Little Baby was playing. It had compartments for rings, and necklaces, and opened on top, and a little drawer that pulled out. Essentially, it was the absolute perfect gift for me.

As I watched from the corner, behind a rack of boas and hats, I seen him pay for the box and have it specially wrapped. Then he wrote a card, which was pink and after he left I went to investigate to find out it said, ‘With all my love’ and had a picture of a two teddy bears hugging. Confused beyond belief, especially at the ‘B’ that was on the box.

“It’s not nice to snoop, pumpkin.” My dad’s voice, so close to my ear, made me jump and I whirled around to see him watching me with an amused expression.

“Daddy!” I yelled, running to give him a big hug. “What do you mean, snooping?” I asked as we broke away, “I was just looking at the card.”

“I saw you watching Spike as he bought whatever he was buying. Still in love with him are you?”

I grinned, and ducked my head shyly as I answered in a small voice, “always and forever.”

“That’s my girl.”

We walked around, talking about everything, and even met up with Spike outside Baskin Robbins where we all bought a cone. I couldn’t help noticing however that whenever I would look down he shifted the Arena’s bag out of my line of sight. Hope was welling within me to the point of internal explosion. I knew that I must’ve had the dorkiest grin on my face the entire time we were talking to Spike.

It wasn’t until we were headed to his hotel room, laden with an enormous amount of shopping, that he brought up home. “It’s fine,” I replied, rather quickly.

“Really?” His skepticism made me cringe a little, and I walked ahead of him to the door, waited for him to open it, and then went to sit on the bed, flipping the TV on. “Buffy, what’s with the bruises?”

“What bruises?”

“The ones you tried desperately to hide with make-up and long sleeves and everything imaginable ever since I left.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t even been here forever, you wouldn’t be able to tell what’s going here.”

“Maybe I have been gone a lot,” he said, as he sat down beside me on the bed, shut the TV off, and turned me to face him. “But I am still your father, and I have my sources.”

“Stupid Giles,” I muttered, knowing full well that the librarian was the culprit.

“Yes, Giles called and told me what was going on. He has been keeping me updated for the last two years, Buffy, and I want...”

I cut him off there, as I burst into tears. “Two years, huh? Then why didn’t you come rescue me sooner? Were you punishing us for choosing mom over you? Is that why you let him molest Dawnie, and beat me till I’m black and blue? Is that why you let him bite a chunk out of my neck as a prelude to the violent rape that he says is going to follow? Is that why you stayed away, Dad?” I was practically shouting at him, and I saw the tears flood his eyes long before he realized they were even there.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry. I never knew it was that bad. I only knew that he was hitting you. Giles only told me the bare minimum, always saying that you had it under control.”

“I didn’t,” I finally admitted that, even to myself. “I don’t. God, Daddy, everything is so screwed up. Ted hasn’t beaten us in awhile, but I’m dating this jock at school so as to break Spike and his hoe up, because Angel wants to date Drusilla, and I want Spike, and I’m scared to death to go home so more and more often I’m going over to Willow’s and Dawn to Janice’s. And I’ve wanted you here for so long, and you weren’t, and all this time I thought you were punishing me and Dawnie for being bad daughters.” I broke down then, finally in the comforting embrace of my Dad, the one man I could truly count on, other than Giles of course.

Late that night Dad dropped me and my parcels off at my house, with a kiss and a hug and a promise that he would pick Dawn and me up after school tomorrow and take us somewhere. Anywhere we wanted to go. I told him anywhere but 1630 Revello Drive would work best for us.

I walked into the house and the first thing I came in contact with was Ted’s fist. I cried out, but Dad was already halfway down the street and nobody was around to me hear me. “What the hell was that for?”

“You broke the rules. You left without asking first. So now, you face the consequences.”

“Jesus Christ, Ted, I left a note. It was my dad, not some random guy, so I didn’t think anyone would mind.”

“You thought wrong, princess. I mind, I mind very very much.” With that he slapped me hard across the face, and I glared at him, pushing past him to go to my room. He smirked and slammed me on the floor, a jack knife appearing in his hand, the blade glaring at me angrily and punishingly. “Now you face the consequences,” he repeated, saying each word with a step towards me.

Pushing off the floor, I was up the stairs in a second, fumbling with the lock on my door, but too scared to really do anything about it. As I heard his footfalls hitting the top stair, I grabbed my cordless and lunged for my window, getting it thrown open and a foot out, before feeling strong hands pull me back in, shut and lock the window, and throw me on the bed. “Ain’t going anywhere, princess. Fun’s only starting, wouldn’t want to miss the action, would you?”

He was twisted into a mask of grotesque hatred and anger, his entire body humming with the lust and rage fueling his actions. I knew that my leaving wasn’t his reason for such an anger, but I really didn’t care what spurred him on that time. The only thing I cared about was getting him off me, especially when he tied my flailing arms to my headboards. My legs soon followed, until I was tied in a spread eagle shape, completely vulnerable to this monster.

The metal blade of his knife was cold and uncaring as he cut my clothes off me, leaving me in my black bra and matching panties, which he had always liked, since they were sexy. I knew the fact that I was wearing them was making him more excited, because he clucked his tongue, and leered at me until I gagged. “Get away from me you sick freak!” I yelled, but he slapped him with the hand holding the knife, so it sliced my cheek, and then he tied one of my scarves around my mouth so I couldn’t talk.

Tears were flowing out of my closed eyes as I heard him undress. I choked a little on a sob that couldn’t escape and then he was completely naked on top of him, and the knife was slicing silently into my skin, as easily as butter. I shuddered, crying out behind the gag, as I was tortured. As he cut and raped me, I gave up my struggle, the amount of blood seeping out of me making my movements sluggish and futile.

When he finally got up, got dressed and left without a word, he left me on the bed, bleeding, gagged, crying, naked, and tied up. I could hear him packing a bag and then the front door open and close, and I knew he was gone. Somehow I managed to not cry at all, and by means of an impossible amount of struggling, ripped one of my hands free. Then I untied the other one, and my feet. Quickly, even though something in the back of my head told me not to, I ripped the sheets off my bed, and then threw then in a garbage bag, and tied it up. I didn’t want anyone to know. Moving a little slower now, I went up to the shower, and sat in the bottom of the tub, the sobs wracking my body as the water beat down overhead punishingly. My arms wrapped around myself and I rocked back and forth on my knees praying it was all a dream. All I had to do was look like my arms and stomach and legs to know it wasn’t, the angry red gashes left from the knife were screaming angrily in protest.

When it finally occurred to me that the shower overhead was freezing cold, I dragged myself out, and put on my ugliest nightgown. It was long with flannel ducks, and lace up the throat. It irritated the knife wounds, but I took it as needed.

Blindly I grabbed a set of sheets, and made my bed without even noticing I was. Then I crawled in and cried myself to sleep.





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