Bursts of dust surrounded Buffy as she tried to slay the fear and confusion from her mind. A loud helicopter above helped the dust to disperse quickly throughout the cemetery.
Weird. Since when do we get nighttime helicopter rides?
When a fledgling cowered behind a gravestone in front of her, Buffy sighed.
“C’mon out. I won’t hurt you…or…I will. But…yeah…I’m not so good at this.”
Jumping to the other side of the gravestone, Buffy gasped in horror at the fledgling trying to hide from her sight and stake. She was young; five-years-old at the most when she was turned, and her shining blue eyes filled with desperation and pain. Buffy kneeled down next to her and helped her to sit up. The dirt-encrusted girl sniffled and stared into Buffy’s eyes.
“Are you going to make me all dustidy now too?”
Buffy gulped down a sob and fought to keep her composure.
“No…honey…no. When were you tur…when did you wake up like this?”
The girl’s vampiric features faded into her human visage as tears rolled down her face.
“I just woked up…they…a few days ago those men…I…I was walkin’ home with my Mommy an’ Daddy an’ the men hurt us…I…one of them bit my neck while the rest of them made Mommy an’ Daddy watch. Then they…they…Mommy and Daddy fell down…an’…there was a snappy noise…the men said they were dead an’ that they were going to be my new parents,” she trailed off as she broke into a sob. She took a deep breath and looked back up to Buffy, “The man who bit me said he wanted to help me…so he…he put me in a big hole an’ covered me with dirt after I fell asleep an’ I had to dig myself out. I was real scared, an’ I didn’t have my teddy to help me feel brave. I miss him too…but not as much as I miss my Mommy and Daddy. I feel diff’nt now. Why do I feel diff’nt?”
Streams of tears were now falling from Buffy’s eyes.
“Sweetie…I…let me help you, okay?”
“M’kay.”
“I’m Buffy, by the way. What’s your name?”
“My name is Joy…but I…I can’t ‘member my last name. Is that bad?”
Buffy shook her head and sighed.
“No, sweetie…no…it isn’t bad.”
Joy smiled.
“Good. I like your name…it’s nice.”
“Joy, you…you can’t stay here.”
“I know. You killded those guys that said they were gonna teach me to get around,” she said, before her stomach growled loudly. “Sorry…that’s icky. I’m real hungry, Buffy…can we get some McDonald’s?”
Buffy shuddered as she realized what Joy really needed.
“No, honey, we can’t get McDonald’s right now…but one of my friends lives right around here…and he…he’ll have some food that’ll hit the spot, okay?”
“M’kay.”
Hand-in-hand, they walked to Spike’s crypt. Joy pulled back slightly when Buffy opened the door.
“You aren’t gonna lock me in there, are you? Please don’t…I’ll be good…I promise…I….”
Buffy drew Joy in close and hugged her tightly.
“No, sweetie…he…my friend, Spike, lives here. He’s a lot like you…I know he’ll have something for you to eat. Okay?”
Joy smiled.
“M’kay. Thanks, Buffy. Is he your husband?”
“No…Spike? No…he’s just….”
“Your boyfriend? My Auntie Clara has a boyfriend like that…Mommy used to say she’d never get married at the weight she was going.”
Buffy was confused for a moment, but realized what Joy had meant.
“You mean the rate she was going?”
“Mmhmm. I think. I don’t know….”
“But...Spike...he...I guess he is sort of my boyfriend...I don't know...he,” Buffy sighed and shook her head. “He's a very good friend right now that I want to be my boyfriend. Does that make sense?”
“Yup. Like Auntie Clara wants her boyfriend to be her husband.”
“Right...that's Spike for you.”
“Is he nice like you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Will he like me?”
“I’m sure he will, honey. C’mon,” she said as they entered the crypt. “Spike? Hello? Spike?”
Silence answered her, and she shrugged. Moving to his refrigerator, Buffy grabbed a small bag of blood and stuffed it in her coat pocket. When she turned to Joy, she gasped. Joy’s feet were dangling out of the sarcophagus, and Joy was intently looking through its inner contents.
“Wow! Buffy, lookit! Your friend is really rich! There must be twenty dollars here,” she said in awe, climbing down and grasping a massive roll of bills in her hand. “Do you think he’d buy me a pony if he likes me? Mommy read me a bedtime story once about a pony…I really want one! I’d name him PJ an’ I’d feed him carrots an’ sugar all day!”
Buffy nodded her head, and stood, dumbstruck, staring at the roll of money she now held. When Joy tugged on her coat pocket, she jumped slightly.
“Oh, right…pony…sure, sweetie. We’ll get you a pony. But…let’s go home now, okay? Spike will come find us later, and you can have something to eat when we get there.”
“I don’t have a home, though….”
“You can stay with me until we figure something out, okay?”
“M’kay.”
Walking with a miniature vampire holding her hand, a bag of blood in her coat, and a huge roll of cash in her pocket, all Buffy could think of was Spike.
--
Spike sat next to a sleepy, yet beautiful and put-together, Julie in Frank’s helicopter. After clearing his throat, Spike spoke in his Americanized accent.
“I want to ask the two of you something…because I feel like I can trust you more than any other employees of mine…well, aside from Clemency.”
Julie’s smile fell when she noticed the sad expression in Spike’s face.
“Mr. Gates, what do you mean?”
“Well, Julie, I…it’s about my will…without Melinda and the kids,” he said, suppressing a smirk when he thought of how he had ‘destroyed’ his robo-family with the push of a button, “I want to leave my legacy…my work…to people I can trust. And I can’t imagine anyone taking care of my property than the two of you.”
“Mr. Gates…sir,” Frank said in a shaking voice, “Are you all right? I mean…nothing is wrong physically with you is there?”
“No, Frank,” Spike said with a smile, “I’m fine…for now…I just wanted to make sure I had your permission to include you in my will. I’ll understand if you don’t want the publicity of it, though…the press can really be insane.”
Julie grabbed Spike’s hand and held back tears.
“Of course, sir…whatever you want…just…just please tell me what’s troubling you! I…I want to help you…I,” Julie trailed off and tried to fight back the urge to tell him her thoughts.
I love you!
“Really, Julie, I’m all right. Melinda…I know it didn’t seem like we saw each other much, but…she…she meant quite a bit to me.”
The helicopter touched down on top of a tall office building and Frank turned back to Spike and Julie.
“We’re here, sir…do you want me to wait here for you…or?”
“No, Frank, please come in with us. I want to make sure everything is in order,” Spike grabbed a leather travel bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. “Frank? Do you know how to work a camera?”
Frank nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’m going to do something a little…unorthodox within my will, and I want you to help me film it. Is that all right by you?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Good. Well folks, let’s go.”
Spike, Julie, and Frank walked into the small entryway that housed the building’s elevator through the deep night. Spike sighed as he patted the leather bag.
Thank God I’ve retained some of this computer nonsense. This program will make sure I take care of what’s mine.
--
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Italics=internal monologue.