STAKE YOUR CLAIM
Chapter 10: Part II ‘A Lot To Be Thankful For’
“All right, then class,” Buffy smiled benevolently on her twenty-five students, “I am going to read some of the reports you wrote on the people you admire, your heros.”
It was Monday morning, closer to Thanksgiving then ever and Buffy wanted to get the lessons out of the way for the week and move on to the Pageant she and Dawnie had planned for the class.
“I am going to start with Andrew Snyder’s report,” grinning at the young man, the oldest student in her class as he blushed bright red. “Andrew’s ‘Hero’ report is based on…..” Buffy paused wide-eyed, then giggled, “Spike Giles, My Hero.”
She went on to read the report, which was really quite good and explained why Andrew felt that Spike was a man to be admired.
“He, Spike,” Andrew had finished up, “helped this town to become civilized and a safer place for everyone. My Dad and Mother say so and I believe them.”
Buffy grinned at Andrew, “that gets an ‘A’ for sure, Andrew,” she smiled at the beaming boy.
“Okay, next report, ‘Why Spike Giles is my Hero’ by Tommy Jenkins. Oh,” Buffy paused, her brows scrunched up, “hmmm.”
She read the next report out loud and had to chuckle again, “I guess a lot of you like Spike, huh?”
The class answered in unison, “yes Miss Summers.”
Taking the next piece of writing paper from the stack, Buffy wasn’t real surprised to see the title read, ‘Spike Giles; My Hero,’ by Ethan Rayne Jr. “Next to my Dad,” Ethan’s report began, “I like Spike Giles most. Of course my Dad is the biggest man in town, but Spike comes next. He helped my Dad……”
Buffy sighed and set the finished report down on her desk, “I see a definite pattern here.”
Dawn giggled from the chair in the corner she sat in, smirking at her older sister.
“Here’s something different!” Buffy crowed as she picked up and started reading Sandra Jenkins report… “I like my Mom and Dad most!” It began well enough, “next, I admire Connor and Angel Giles. They are so handsome!”
Buffy paused and glanced at Dawn who was shooting murderous glances of jealousy at Sandra.
“Well,” Buffy stammered, “it’s nice to see someone admire their folks the most, right?”
The classroom broke out into murmers of agreement, apparently aware that Miss Dawn was less then pleased with the comely Sandra’s opinion of Connor, especially.
Buffy grinned at Dawn and gave her a warning look, ‘I don’t think you need to worry,’ she tried to communicate to her little sister, ‘you’ve got Connor pretty well sewn up!’
Then, Buffy frowned again, ‘we, the Giles and me, we’ve got to keep an eye on those two kids.’
Buffy had sent Dawn back home early that day as she wanted to finish up some things in the school house herself. She had Connor and Spike accompany her little sister to their door and of course Cordelia was always close by to keep an eye out for trouble where Dawn was concerned. Andrew, as usual, helped with the chalk erasers and then bade a cheery good night as he scurried home to help with the family chores.
Spike would rather have stayed close at hand in the school house, Buffy knew that, but she insisted he keep an eye on Connor and Dawnie. So, she was alone in the one room building when someone entered the school, her back was turned to the door.
“Andrew,” she sighed, “we’re all finished up here, you don’t need to….”
When Buffy turned to face her company, she was shocked to see Holden Webster standing there, an unsavory smile on his face.
“Hello little one,” Holden purred as he stepped closer to Buffy, his brown eyes ran up and down her tiny form.
“You are not welcome here, Mr. Webster,” she scolded him harshly, “not after that nonsense with poor Ford. You’re a rude, crude man and I don’t want you anywhere near my students or myself.”
She flounced over to the school house door, suddenly miffed at herself for leaving her rifle at home that day.
“Oh, please, Miss Summers,” Holden chuckled, “I mean you no harm. Just wanted to drop by, while in town, to offer more apologies for that day a while back. I, I mean we, my brother and Devon, behaved like fools and I wanted to make sure you realized that we are all very, very sorry.”
The dark haired man towered over Buffy, and at this close range, she felt quite intimidated by him and his sarcastic expression.
“Fine,” she humphed simply, “I accept. Now please, I must get home, my…..” she stopped short of saying her sister to this monster, something about his eyes frightened her. The last thing she needed was for someone like Holden Webster to know about Dawnie being here, she didn’t know why, just knew deep down inside of her.
“Time to move on, Webster,” Angel Gile’s deep voice boomed out from the front door, “I don’t think the lady cares much for your company.”
Buffy looked at Angel in relief as Holden gave him a sour smirk, “you playing watchdog for your big brother’s property now, Angel?” Holden growled.
“No,” Angel replied honestly, “just goin’ by, saw your ugly horse outside and thought I’d stop and say hello to Miss Summers. We, all of us Gile’s think very highly of Miss Summers here. Like I said, I think it’s time for you to move on out of here. Why not stop over at Maggies and visit Faith for a while, she’s your favorite, isn’t she?”
Buffy blushed at the mention of one of the whores employed at Maggies, but brushed it off, Angel had come at the best time and anything to make this horrible Holden leave was all right by her.
“I’ll go on then,” Holden hissed as he strode past Angel in a huff of bravado, “but remember this, Giles,” he warned. “Your brother, big man that he thinks he is, took something from my family. Websters don’t forget that too easily, watch your back, Angel boy. Your’s and your whole fucking familys’.”
With that threat, Holden left the school house.
“I’m sorry, Buffy,” Angel offerred quietly, “he’s such an…..”
Buffy shook her head, “I’m just glad you came by Angel,” she assured him, “he’s real scary, that one. There’s something about him, something dark, sinister. I don’t know, I guess I’m just spooked by his visit.”
She smiled at Spike’s younger brother kindly, “you are quite a young man Angel,” she chuckled, breaking the tension around them.
“Thank you, Buffy,” he responded warmly, “if I was a little older and you weren’t perfect for my brother, I’d….”
Angel gave Buffy a wink and a smirk, offering his arm to her, “may I?” he asked politely offering an escort home.
“Yes, you may, Angel,” she answered, grabbing her coat and hat. “I want you to tell Spike how you came to my ‘rescue’ if you would, I think he’d appreciate it.”
Spike and Connor Giles hung around the Summer’s front porch impatiently. Connor was waiting for Dawn to come out with the lemonade she had offerred earlier, and for her of course, and Spike was staring off down the dusty Main Street road waiting for Buffy to come into sight.
‘Damn stubborn bint!’ he thought a bit miffed, ‘Buffy worries more about Connor and Dawn being alone together then her own safety.’
It wasn’t long however, after Dawn had brought out the lemonade and giggling handed it to Connor who blushed like a school boy when he took it, that Buffy appeared in the distance. Riding of all things, Angel’s own horse, Blue, his little brother leading them on foot.
“What the fuck!” Spike roared jealously, causing Dawn to almost drop her lemonade and Connor to flush in embarrassment.
“Spike,” Connor scolded harshly, “that’s no way to talk in front of Dawn.”
By the time Angel and Buffy had arrived at the Summer’s house, Spike was standing out in front of the yard, leaning against the white picket fence. A cigarette dangled from his mouth and he was pissed beyond pissed, but he decided to, for once, to hold his temper and hot words until his darling little brother, Angel, could explain. Explain why his, Spike’s, girl was riding that grey steed of his and he was prancing along beside it, polite as you please, grinning like a bloody idiot up at Buffy.
“Hello, little brother,” Spike growled through clenched teeth when the couple arrived at the house.
“Oh, Spike!” Buffy crowed excitedly, “you should have seen Angel stand up to Holden Webster! Such a brave young man!”
Spike tensed and dropped his jealous stance immediately, “Holden Webster!” he hissed, “what the bloody hell was that moron doing around you Buffy?”
Buffy clasped Spike’s arm and led him back into the yard, to the front porch, “He came into the school house, after you all left. Tried to tell me he was stopping by to make amends, still, for that awful day with Ford. You are right, by the way, he is a moron! Anyway, Angel was so brave, he stopped in, sent Holden packing! It was breathtaking! And….”
Spike looked down at the wooden steps upto Buffy’s porch, kicking the bottom one sheepishly, “I should have been there, Princess,” he whispered.
Buffy broke out into laughter, “Spike,” she patted his strong arm and assured him tactfully, “it’s enough that I have the whole Gile’s posse looking out for me and Dawnie. I know Holden would have run like the coward he is, first sign of ‘you’ around.”
Spike grinned at her and took her little hand in his, “Smart man, that Holden, sometimes that is.”
Buffy watched from the sidelines, or at least at the side of the altar, as her twenty-five students fumbled through their lines and cues for the Thanksgiving Pageant. Reverend Caleb Montgomery, at the urging of his Mother Alice, no doubt, agreed to let Buffy put the Pageant on in the Baptist Church on that last Sunday evening before the big day itself.
Buffy, Dawn and Connor, with Ford in tow had transformed the Altar of the Church into a make shift Pilgrimy type atomosphere. At this very moment, John Smith and Pocahontas, the Indian maiden were stumbling around on on the stage, trying to bring all Indians and Pilgrims together over the roasted Turkey that the Gile’s family had donated for the play.
Peering out into the audience, Buffy had to chuckle at the proud, beaming parents and townspeople that had showed up to watch her students try and replay the first Thanksgiving feast. Even though, of course, the characters in the play were way out of their element and areas.
The Pilgrims were up in the Northern Territories, while the Indian tribe that Pocahontas belonged to, The Powhatans, were situated down by Jamestown, Virginia. All in all, though, the whole Pageant was coming off beautifully, even if Captain John Smith was rather reluctant to kiss the young Pocahontas’s (played by Sandra Jenkins) cheek in the name of brotherly love and such.
Buffy smiled, a shiver of happiness shot through her tiny body, Spike had showed up. Spike sat in the back of the pews, trying not to laugh out loud as John Smith, played by Andrew Snyder, broke bread with Chief Powhatan (played by Tommy Jenkins) Pocahontas’s Father.
As twenty-three Pilgrims and Indians, boys and girls, all ages and sizes, watched on the stage, eagerly. It didn’t seem to matter that the whole historical aspect of the Pageant was way off, the parents and townspeople in the audience just loved the Thanksgiving play.
Of course, Riley Finn had not attended the performance, his job coming first and foremost, or so he said anyway. Buffy knew, deep down, that Riley was less then appreciative of anything displaying comradeship between Pilgrims or other Whites and the Indians of the Americas. Riley was a bitter man where this was concerned and Buffy realized that nothing would change that.
After the last chapter of the Pageant, Buffy and Dawn both were dragged onto the make shift stage to take their bows along with the amateur actors. Everyone in the Church stood up and clapped wildly for the little troupe, including Reverend Montgomery who smiled like a Saint at Buffy. Buffy curtsied and glanced around to find Spike who was hovering about the back door of the Church, a dazzling smile that she could see from the stage, on his handsome face.
At that point, it would not have mattered to Buffy if the whole student body had forgotten their cues and lines or stumbled off the stage itself in the process, Spike was glowing with pride for her, Buffy Summers. It would prove to be one of the most wonderful memories she ever had in her life.
‘Thanksgiving Day’
Buffy and Dawn had been invited to the Gile’s Ranch for the Thanksgiving Feast. Jennifer, being the grand lady she was had extended the invitation to the Raynes, Osbournes and Rosenbergs, even Riley Finn was on the guest list. Everyone, everyone that is but Riley accepted the gracious invite and it was quite the parade that, led by Ethan in his buckboard, made their way out to the Gile’s Ranch for supper.
Dawn couldn’t sit still in the Osbourne buckboard that she and Buffy rode along in. Between the young girl’s anxiousness to see Connor and her adoration of the new Osbourne baby, Daniel Saul, Dawnie was running on a lightening bolt of energy that Buffy wished she could possess.
“I am not sure, Daniel,” Willow fussed, cuddling the baby boy to her tightly, “he’s so young. Should we be dragging him out anywhere this early?"”
Daniel chuckled as he spurred the two beautiful horses that he drove on, “of course, honey,” he assured her, “it’s good for the boy. Get him out and about in this clean good air. Make his lungs strong and healthy! Yeowww!” he cried joyfully as he pushed the team to pass his Uncle’s family in their own wagon.
Dawn giggled and urged Daniel to hurry even more, she was so impatient to see Connor again.
‘Hmmm,’ Buffy sighed, eyeing her young sister anxiously, ‘it’s nice for Dawn to care for Connor, but this is something a bit more then that. I need to talk to Jennifer, or maybe Spike about this,’ she reasoned.
Once the caravan of buckboards had reached the Gile’s home, the entire family came out to greet them. Spike hurried over to help Buffy down from the Osbourne buckboard, making sure he didn’t let go of her tiny hand too soon.
Connor slipped up behind to help Dawn down, placing his young, strong hands about the girl’s waist to aid her.
Buffy raised her eyebrow and glanced at Spike, her returned her look with a slight frown, “we need to talk,” he whispered as he offerred his arm to her.
“Yes, I believe we do indeed,” she confirmed, keeping a watch on the two young people who now walked arm and arm ahead of them.
A/N: I quick chapter, for fun, so set up some future events in the story. I included the Thanksgiving Pageant part because every parent should recognize themselves in it. We are always eager to overlook the little inconsistencies in the plays and all because we’re so damn proud of our kids! Thanks for reading, please review! Luv, Spuf
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