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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to PaganBaby and CallMeKitten for beta'ing this chapter! You ladies are awesome!! *huggles*

I know it has been a bit since I posted last, but RL and stuff have been crappy and my muse took a little vacation. But the muse is back and I am hoping to finish this story soon! I also am working on two other fics that I hope to get posted soon! Thanks for reading and I hope you review! = )
 
Joyce and Buffy stood there for a moment, saying and doing nothing as they watched each other. Joyce was totally confused as to why Buffy had just shown up like this. She didn't want Buffy knowing what had become of her parents. Since Buffy left, things had gotten much worse. She had slipped further into her alcohol habit and Hank had stopped cheating on her with his secretaries, only he switched to prostitutes and picked up a gambling problem instead. He had met the wrong people and gambled away everything they had within two months.

The abuse had never stopped either. She had gotten good at covering the bruises with expensive make-up and airbrushes, but since Hank had gambled everything away, she didn't have the money to cover it anymore. He seemed to be miserable about everything lately, and took it out on her. She wanted to leave him, but he is all she has. He is all she has ever had, aside from Buffy. Buffy... She lost her too. She had never been there for her and she was paying for it now. She never meant to push her away, but Joyce wasn't ready to be a mother when Buffy was born, so she never tried to be one. Now that Joyce needed someone to help her through these hard times, she had no one.

Joyce reacted on instinct. She wrapped her hand around Buffy's wrist and pulled her to the car she had driven up in. She shoved Buffy into the side of the car and pointed toward the man Buffy had shown up with. "Take him, and leave. Now." She said sternly, but on the inside begging Buffy to listen to her.

"Why? Too afraid I will see what you both have become? Afraid that I might have turned out better than you?" Buffy spat and walked over toward Spike. "We are staying. I want to talk to you and dad." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Buffy, I am telling you this to protect you. Go. Leave and don't look back."

Buffy let out a very unwomanly snort. "Protect me? Are you serious? Do you even know what that word means? You have never protected me or even cared what was happening to me, why start now?"

Joyce looked down at her feet in shame. Her daughter was right. She never protected Buffy from anything. She left that up to the nannies and the maids. But even though she hadn't said it very often to Buffy, she still felt it. "Because I love you, and I don't want to see you go through this." Joyce said pleadingly as she looked at her feet. It was one of the few times she had ever said it to Buffy, but this time she actually let the feeling show in her words.

Buffy stiffened up a bit, but relaxed when Spike placed a hand on her lower back. "Could have fooled me." She laughed and shrugged Spike’s hand off of her, not wanting to be touched. “You never did anything that wouldn't benefit you, Mother. Why would you protect me, when it does nothing for you? Why would you love me if it does nothing for you?”

Before Joyce had a chance to answer her, the front door was open and Hank came out onto the steps. “What the hell is going on...?” He looked over at Buffy and an evil smile crept across his face. “Well, well what do we got here?” He asked and took a step closer to her. “What did you come back for? I figured you and Angel would be living the high life by now.” He laughed and took another step toward her.

Buffy just stood there, refusing to let him know that she was nervous. “Hi, Dad. I just came back to you know... talk.” She put her hands on her hips and nodded toward the door. “You going to invite me in?”

“Sure, come on in. Have a drink with your father.” He turned to go inside the house and everyone else followed.

Joyce placed her hand on Spike's shoulder and turned him toward her. “If you care about Buffy at all, take her away from here and don't ever let her come back.”

Spike wanted to do just that, he did not like Hank at all. He seemed so cold. Like he didn't care about anyone or anything beside himself. He just gave out this predator vibe to Spike. He was not a good person and Spike wanted Buffy out. Knowing it was too late to get Buffy to leave, he placed his hand on top of Joyce's and smiled. “Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her.”

“That's not good enough!” She issued a quiet but stern warning and brushed passed him. She went to the top of the steps and turned around. “If she stays too long, he will hurt her. Not just emotionally.”

Spike knew she was right. He knew that Hank would do something to hurt Buffy, and if not Buffy it would be Joyce later on. Judging by the bruises on Joyce's neck and under her eye, it didn't take much to set him off. Now extremely worried about what was to come, he sighed and walked into the trailer.

~~**~~**

“So, how did you guys meet?” Hank asked as he poured some beer into an obviously reused plastic cup, then handed it to Spike.

“In a park. I was singing... Spike saw me and took me out to dinner.” She lied. Spike gave her a disapproving look but she just wanted to prove to her parents that she could live without them, even if it meant lying to them about how she got to where she was today.

“That's about the gist of it, mate.” Spike smiled and took a sip of the cheap beer he had been served.

“Well that’s nice. I'm glad you could stop by, Buffy. It was nice catching up!” Joyce smiled and tried to pull Buffy up and out of the door.

“Now, now, Joyce. She can stay longer. I don't mind my little girl over for a visit.” He sent Joyce an evil smile and she sighed and sat down.

Buffy inwardly cringed and reached for Spike's hand, giving it a little squeeze. “I wanted to talk to you actually.” She turned and looked toward Spike. “Can you give us a minute, hun? Wait outside for me, till I call you back in?” She noticed Spike's eyes widen and she kissed him quietly and gave him a hug. “I will be fine, if I need you I will call.” She whispered in his ear.

“Alright, I will be just outside. Nice to meet you two.” He said with a smile and set his beer down on the table, not wanting anymore of it and left.

“So what’s with the back up, Buff? Think I can't take him?” Hank said and went into the kitchen, looking for a chunk of ice to put in his beer.

“You touch him, and I will never forgive you,” She tilted her head to the ceiling and thought for a moment. “Not that I forgave you for anything before.”

“Oh come on, do you seriously think that I wanted you around anyway? You were an inconvenience to us... nothing more than something I could show off at corporate parties. Now that I no longer work there, there is really no reason for you to be here.” Hank told her and sat down beside Joyce, placing his hand on her leg in a sexual manner. “I have better things to do.”

“Ugh, Dad! That is so wrong, on so many different levels.” She said and stood up. “But back to the point. Did you ever stop and think that I never wanted you guys for parents? Maybe I was the one that was inconvenienced?” She stopped in front of her parents and pointed to both of them. “You both suck at being parents. I resent you both! You never did anything for me and you never will. I don't need you, either of you.” She said and took a step back from them.

“How dare you disrespect your mother like that? She gave birth to you!” Hank said and stood up, coming face to face with his daughter.

“Yeah, she may have given birth to me... but she was never my mother. And how can you say that I disrespect her with my words, when you disrespect her with your fists?” Buffy screamed at her father.

That was enough to do it; Joyce was terrified for her daughter’s life now. She was frozen, watching Hank put his hands around Buffy's neck and lift her up off the ground. She watched as her daughter struggled for breath as his hand continually constricted around her neck.

“Now I don't have only her to hit, now do I?” He spat, an evil smile spreading across his face. “Now that I have both of you in the same house, why not just end you both? Then that little boy you have out there.” He said and punched Buffy, causing a bruise to form almost immediately around her eye.

“Sp—Spike!” She breathed, trying her hardest to call out for him.

Hank threw Buffy onto the couch, stalking over to her and lifted her back up and shaking her. “You think he really loves you? You think he will come save you now? You can’t even call for him.” He laughed, loving the fear and pain he was inflicting on her. He slapped her across the face and watched as the tears began to fill her eyes.

Buffy's tears spilled down her face and Joyce was pulled out of her daze. She quickly got up, dodging Hank's arm that shot out to stop her. She burst through the door and waved her arms at Spike. “Help! He is... Buffy!” She called out to him, frantically trying to get his attention.

Spike opened his car door, staring at Joyce. When she said Buffy needed him, he was on his way. He instantly dropped his smoke, jumped out of the car and ran toward the door. He swore if Buffy was hurt, someone was going to hurt twice as much. No one was allowed to hurt his girl and get away with it. He ran up the steps and threw open the door, running into the trailer and saw the thing he most feared about coming here.

“Buffy!” He called out and tackled her father around the middle. Successfully getting him to drop Buffy from his grasp.

He was seeing red.

Hank was going to pay.


Chapter End Notes:
Be a sweetheart and leave me something pretty to read!



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