[Reviews - 111]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1664 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
Now we get to see how Dawn reacts.
Chapter 23 – Yes or No?

Backyard

Buffy sat down in the backyard by Dawn and watched Will run around. He was fun to watch as he flitted from flower to flower. It was nice that he could play by himself, but Buffy still hoped that one day he would have a little brother or sister. She’d been so much happier as a child after Dawn had come. Of course they’d had their differences and they’d certainly had their fights, but they’d always been sisters, connected by the Summers’ blood. Nothing could change that. Now, as Buffy had Spike’s proposal to think about, she knew that their relationship was moving forward and she knew that something had to be done about Dawn. They were both feeling the loss of their mother. Buffy understood what Dawn was feeling better than anyone else because she was feeling it too. All she wanted to do right now was somehow help Dawn to cope. That’s what Spike was helping Buffy to do and Buffy’s natural instinct was to help her little sister with the same grief she was feeling.


After finally having ‘the’ talk with Buffy, Spike watched as she walked out to the backyard to talk to Dawn. He waited a few minutes before following her out and joining Will in his game of chasing a butterfly around the yard. It was easier for Spike to smile and play now that he had gotten his question out in the open. Asking Buffy to movie in with him was a big step, especially considering she was responsible for both Dawn and Will now. None of that deterred him though. If anything Dawn and Will solidified his desire to live with Buffy. The time they’d spent together rover the last several weeks had brought them so much closer, closer than he had expected in such a short time. In truth though, he’d been waiting for Buffy ever since graduation. He’d never forgotten her, but he’d been stupid enough to think that she had moved on with her life. He’d been stupid to think that making love with her that first time was nothing more than the sweetest goodbye. It had meant more to him and he should have known it had meant more to her too.

Now, as he watched Buffy and Dawn out of the corner of his eye, he felt as if a weight had been lifted. The next thing he knew his attention was quickly drawn back to Will as he squirted him with a small water pistol. Will laughed and Spike heard the girls stifled laughter follow suit. He couldn’t help but laugh along with them even as he scrunched up his face when the colder water hit him. He dodged Will’s next shot though and grabbed him from behind so he couldn’t hit him any more.

“Gotcha!” he said, quickly turning them both so that the next stream of water would hit the girls. “Now who’s gonna get it?” he called.

Buffy and Dawn squealed as they were squirted with the cold water. “Spike! Stop!” Buffy shrieked amidst giggles.

He immediately stopped and said, “Alright, love. You two birds go dry off while I take Will out for some ice cream, yeah?”

There was silence as Buffy stood and kissed him softly on the lips before taking Dawn’s hand and leading her inside. They went to find towels and dry off just like Spike had suggested. Buffy was still chuckling at the situation and when she looked at Dawn she saw a smile on her face too. That made Buffy pause momentarily. Dawn hadn’t smiled since their mother had died. It hadn’t been long, but Dawn used to be such a happy kid that Buffy knew she was taking it hard.

As well she should too. It wasn’t easy to lose your mother. Buffy had lost her too, and it was shaking the very foundation of her world to lose someone you never imagined wouldn’t be around. Having Spike around helped immensely and Buffy was incredibly grateful to him. They still had a lot to work through. Buffy knew there were things she hadn’t yet told him, hadn’t told anyone. Right now it looked like they had all the time in the world.

She wanted to move in with him but the terror was just as great as the want. She’d told him she would talk to Dawn about it and make sure that she was ok with it. The way Dawn had been acting lately though Buffy didn’t see her really reacting to this news. Buffy sighed and brought Dawn into her room, sitting down on the bed.

“Dawnie,” she began softly. “I know this is hard. I miss her too.” She watched as Dawn just looked at her. There was some recognition but it appeared that Dawn was becoming adept at turning off her emotions on the subject. Buffy reached out and caressed Dawn’s cheek. “Honey, she’s gone and we have to lean on each other. I need you and I know you need me, but I need you to talk to me. I want to know what’s going on up there in that head of yours. I want to help you with this.” She brushed a strand of Dawn’s hair behind her ear and gave her a small smile.

“I know you’re here Buffy,” Dawn said quietly. Her eyes shifted down briefly before coming back to Buffy’s. “I just need some time to sort through my own feelings before I can talk about them. Ok?”

Buffy nodded. “Ok Dawnie. Just promise me that you’ll talk to me when you’re ready.”

“I will,” Dawn said with a small smile of hers in return.

“Well, now that we have that settled,” Buffy braved a brighter smile. “I have something else I want to ask you.”

“Shoot,” Dawn said, adding a bit of cheer into her voice.

“Well…” Buffy said hesitantly. “This morning Spike and I were talking and…” Buffy was slightly nervous about this for some reason.

“Spit it out Buffy,” Dawn told her with a smirk.

“Alright, alright,” Buffy said, swatting at Dawn’s leg playfully. “He asked me, or us, to move in with him. In LA.” Buffy looked at Dawn, watching for her reaction.

Dawn was quiet for a minute. She looked at Buffy seriously and replied, “Well, it’s your decision whether you want to move in with him or not, and he is Will’s dad.”

“Yes, but I’m asking you whether or not you want to move to LA, because you’re a part of this family too. You get a say in this too.” Buffy brushed a piece of hair behind Dawn’s ear as she waited for Dawn to speak again.

For a moment Dawn averted Buffy’s gaze. She knew that she was having a harder time dealing with the recent death of their mother than anyone else. She wasn’t letting them in to help her with the loss. She wasn’t talking about it, and she was hurting. “I know,” Dawn whispered.

“So, is this something you’d be ok with?” Buffy asked slowly.

“Yeah, I’d be ok with moving to LA,” Dawn answered softly, meeting Buffy’s gaze again.

“Are you sure? Because we don’t have to move, well, it’s either LA or San Francisco, but we don’t have to move to LA if you don’t want to Dawnie.”

“No, really, it’s ok. I’d love to move to LA and live with you and Spike. Hey…” Dawn said slowly, catching on to something. “Is this why Spike took Will out for ice cream or whatever?”

Buffy smiled sheepishly. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I wanted them to have a father-son outing to talk about the move. Think it was a good idea?”

“After the squirt guns?” Dawn said, smiling. “Yeah, I think it was a good idea. Spike’s missed out on so much. The move should be good for all of us.” Dawn nudged Buffy lightly with the ‘all of us’ remark.

“Haha, very subtle,” Buffy nudged back.

They walked downstairs and decided to make some snacks for when the guys got back. It was more domestic than Buffy had felt in a while, making food for Spike. It made her feel like a housewife. For the last 5 years she’d felt like a mom, she’d been a mom, doing all the mom stuff. Doing things for Spike was going to be a little bit of a new feeling for her to experience.

“Are you sure about it?” Dawn asked a moment later.

Buffy looked at Dawn for a moment. “Getting insightful?”

Dawn blushed, but pressed on. “I’m serious. This is a big step for you guys. I want you to be sure about it too.”

“Thanks,” Buffy said quietly. Her thoughts were already going over that very question. Was she ready to move in with Spike? They’d only been back together for a month and she was seriously thinking about moving in with him. It seemed kind of crazy, but then again, they’d always been a little crazy about each other. She smiled at the thought. This was definitely something she wanted to do.

“I’m sure,” Buffy said with a wistful smile just as she heard the front door open. “Shhh. I’ll tell him later, okay?”

Dawn just nodded in response and smiled as Spike and Will entered the kitchen.

“How was the ice cream?” Buffy asked. With a glance at Will she got her answer. “Ah, I see it was so good it ended up on someone’s face.” Dawn giggled behind her and Spike sighed while Buffy wet a paper towel and proceeded to wipe down Will’s face.


Later that night Buffy and Spike were alone in her room. They’d just finished tucking Will into bed and saying goodnight to Dawn. Spike didn’t want to push her for an answer but he was insanely curious about how her talk had gone with Dawn. Instead of asking her outright he just watched her flit around the room as she got ready for bed.

Buffy knew he was watching her too. She didn’t say anything. She liked the quiet. It let things settle in her mind for a moment longer, and she needed that. There was so much going on in her head that she didn’t feel she could talk to Spike about yet. They’d been friends for so long, but there were still things that he didn’t know about her.

“How was the father-son outing?” she asked as she changed into her tank top and panties ensemble.

His eyes were still on her, her body, her face, the way she moved. She was captivating. “Hmm?” he said before her words registered in his brain. “Oh, it was nice. Will is a good kid Buffy. I see that you’ve done a great job with him.”

“Uh huh.” She moved to straddle him where he sat on the bed. “Did you talk to him about the move?” she asked, pulling his hands from her hips and holding them above his head as she pushed him so that he was flat on his back.

“Oh, yeah…” he said distractedly. “He seemed to take it well. He likes the idea of us all living together. He’s still young Buffy. He’ll adjust.”

“Mhmm,” she mumbled, ghosting her lips along his neck, moving upward along his jaw line.

“God, Buffy!” The words whooshed out of his mouth. He was trying to focus on what he wanted to know, but he couldn’t concentrate with her on top of him like she was.

She smiled and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. “Want to know how my talk with Dawn went?”

He was quiet, waiting for her to continue. When she did he was grateful that he didn’t have to speak at the moment.

“She took it quite well too, perhaps a little indifferent, but she’s ok with it as long as it’s what I really want.”

“And is this what you really want, Buffy?” Spike asked seriously.

“Yes.”


Chapter End Notes:
Well, tell me what you think. I'm not sure how I'm going to close this one off right now. I'm thinking of ending it with fluff at Ch. 26, and possibly carrying out a sequel or two. Or I could just carry this one longer. Ideas? Input? Reviews please!



You must login (register) to review.