Chapter
1.01
Thursday, May 16th, 2002
Spike looked up from his seat in the waiting
room when Buffy emerged from the curtained space to come over
and sit by him, shaking her head as she made her way over. He
had purportedly been helping Brandon back to his room after his
chat with Dawn. In reality, he'd been clearing the area of his
potentially embarrassing presence in order that Buffy could discuss
what had happened with her sister. Anyone unfamiliar with the
vampire might have been surprised by how keen he was for the teenager
to receive professional counselling. Buffy knew that he simply
wanted the best of all possible treatment for her.
"No go?" he asked.
"It's not just our men that are stubborn."
Buffy shrugged. "She says she doesn't want to talk to a stranger
about it." Buffy took Spike's hand in her own, making his
heart swell at the simple gesture, even as he felt her own uncertainty.
"It's not going to do her any good to bottle
all this up."
"I know. I know." Buffy turned her
head to look at the vampire eye to eye. "She says she's not
ready to talk about it, yet. She says when she is, she'll talk
to you."
"Bloody hell. What does she think I know
about the subject? It's a woman... thing."
Buffy ran her fingers through his hair, a seemingly
random caress, yet her fingertips played precisely over the scar
tissue where his chip had recently been removed. "Everything.
She thinks you know exactly how she feels about it. And I agree
with her."
Spike winced, but didn't disagree.
"So what happens now?"
"Well, she won't let the doctors here examine
her to see if there's any damage. She said that would be like
the same thing all over again. Said it doesn't hurt as such, maybe
a little bit of discomfort, but that's it and she's got no desire
to relive the experience.
The army doctor says she's stayed... What did he
call it?"
"Cognitive?" the platinum blond suggested.
"Yeah, he says she's been cognitive for
long enough now that he thinks a relapse would be 'highly improbable',
so if she won't submit to any other tests, he said we might as
well take her home and let her rest up there for a couple of days."
"So what do we do about school?" Spike
asked. "How much trouble are we in if she doesn't show?"
"I really don't know," Buffy admitted.
"I mean they basically told me if she missed any more classes
then they would have to take her away, but that was a few months
back and she hasn't been missing any more classes since then.
I mean it was because she was playing truant... well, mostly. I
just don't know."
"What if we got Brandon's dad to go along
with the story that they were mugged? It's close enough to the
truth without going into embarrassing detail or saying anything
that'll set off alarm bells with social services. I mean they're
not going to doubt the word of one of their own teachers, and
you could pick up her assignments. Surely that would keep them
quiet at least until Monday?"
"Maybe." Buffy shrugged. "Maybe
I should just ring the social services office when it gets to
office hours and ask to speak to her case worker. The new one's
not so bad and maybe if I explain, rather than them hearing from
the school... and I've been thinking I should probably inform them
of my changed status anyway."
"Changed status?"
Buffy wiggled her ring finger in front of him.
"Kept woman. Unemployed. Returning to college. Those are
all the kinds of things they like to keep pretty close tabs on."
"Bollocks. I guess I better chase up those
passports and stuff, then."
"Guess so. Is this going to start a whole
Green Card issue, as well?"
"Shouldn't. It'll just mean the old toe-rag'll
probably want payin' extra for hurryin' them up. I've told him
to set it up as if I'm eligible for dual nationality. Born in
Washington to British parents, theoretically, anyway."
"And that'll work?"
"It better. Otherwise they could end up
deporting a pile of dust."
"Will you not joke about that? It wasn't
funny the first time we got engaged and it's not funny now."
"I'm sorry, pet. I'm confident it'll be
okay."
"That makes me feel so much better, given
how your plans normally work out."
Spike deliberately didn't rise to the bait, knowing
it was Buffy's fatigue and concern for her sister that were making
her snappish. Instead, he changed the subject. "So, what've
we got to do before we can take Bitty home, then?"
"Just some bits and pieces of paperwork,
and I might need to give her a hand getting dressed."
"It'll be okay, you know, love. No one can
take her away from us. If they try, we'll tie them up in so much
red tape, she'll be twenty-one before they can find a way round
it."
Buffy's voice sounded eternally tired as she
responded, rising to her feet once more, "I wish I could
believe that. I really do."
However, when she went to the reception desk
to get the necessary documentation for her insurance company,
she was informed that the account had already been settled in
full. She looked across at Spike, who shook his head, denying
responsibility, which only left the army.
As office hours rolled around Buffy decided to
make the more difficult call first. She allowed ten minutes to
let Dawn's case-worker settle in and make a start on her first
cup of coffee and then dialled the direct line to her office.
"Ms. Siembeda?" Buffy was so anxious
she didn't even wait for the social worker to give her name.
"Speaking. How can I help?"
"Ms. Siembeda, this is Buffy Summers."
"Buffy, hi. I've told you, you should just
call me Kathy. I gather there's been some sort of an upset with
Dawn?"
"Well, yes. It's just I'm going to have
to keep Dawn off school for a couple of days on doctor's orders."
"Buffy, it's okay. Agent Miller was here
first thing to explain. He was waiting here when my supervisor
came to open up the office. In fact, he's sitting here having
a coffee as we speak, and I believe one of the other agents was
going to clear things with the school.
Mr Miller has made it very clear that Dawn's
injuries in no way reflect on you, and that you have shown the
proper concern for her welfare throughout the whole affair, even
if he is unable to provide any specifics about what happened."
"So, you won't be taking Dawn away?"
The case worker chuckled. "No, Buffy. Even
us cruel, unforgiving social services types understand that just
because something bad happens, that doesn't necessarily mean a
child's guardian is to blame... especially not in this town. Besides,
considering he hasn't actually told us anything, Mr Miller makes
an exceedingly good case on your behalf."
Buffy gulped down a huge gasp of air as she suddenly
realised she had been holding her breath. "So would now be
a good time to tell you I got engaged, we're planning the wedding
for July, I quit my job at DMP and my fiancé's going to
provide for me and Dawn, while I go back to college after the
summer?"
This earned Buffy another laugh from the other
end of the phone line. "For news like that, any time's a
good time. I'll have to arrange a visit so that I can meet him
and get some details for the file. And this may sound rather forward,
but it would probably be no bad thing to invite someone from the
department, which would most likely be me, to the wedding itself,
if not to the reception. It helps make everything look official
on the file.
Is your fiancé currently living with you
and Dawn?"
Buffy hesitated, unsure if this was a trick question,
but decided the truth was probably her best option. "Not
normally, though he has occasionally stayed overnight, but right
now a friend of the family is visiting for a couple of weeks,
well maybe not really visiting because he might be going to stay,
but then he'd get his own apartment, but for now he's staying
at Sp- Will's so Will's been staying with us. You see?"
"I see." The woman's amusement was
evident in her voice. "And how's Dawn taken the news?"
"Really well, Spi- I mean Will's always
been like the big brother she never had, though she can get a
bit snippy if he tries to forbid her doing something. Mostly,
she's pleased for us both and pretty much making the most of having
him and his cooking around more often."
This earned Buffy another chuckle. "Sounds
perfect. He doesn't have any eligible brothers under fifty, does
he?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Look, if Dawn's going to be off school
tomorrow, anyway, is there any chance I could make an appointment
to see the three of you together? Maybe Will could get away from
work early or something?"
"Well, actually, Will isn't really employed
as such. His primary income is from investments." Buffy sounded
hesitant, not wanting to make Spike sound like some sort of slacker,
but then, basically he was, so there wasn't really a way around
it. "What I mean is, it isn't a problem, if you just want
to pick a time."
"Buffy, stop worrying. It isn't a problem.
It's providing Dawn with a more stable environment. It's a good
thing that there will be another strong parental figure there
for her... unless of course we find out that he's really a psychopathic
child murderer or a serial bigamist or something."
Buffy's laugh at the social worker's witticism
was slightly forced, but the other woman apparently didn't notice.
"What say I come over tomorrow at about half past two?"
"No, Wesley! You're supposed to smile pleasantly
at the customers - like this, not scowl at them. And, if we don't
have the book they want, you should offer them an alternative,
not tell them the book of prophecies they asked for was written
by a madman in the final stages of syphilis and nothing he's predicted
has ever come true. You English people always go all sarcastic
when you're grumpy. And we could have ordered that for them in
any case."
"Yes, well, maybe you can manage to be pleasant
to uncouth imbeciles on two hours sleep, but I'm afraid it's beyond
me. And I do think it's rather a sweeping generalisation to say
that all English people are sarcastic."
"Well, in a survey of you, Giles and Spike— Ooh! And that Travers guy. All sarcastic. I think my point is
made."
"I hardly think that classes as a random
sample of the entire English population—" Wesley paused
as his cell phone began to ring. When he recognised the voice
that replied to his greeting, his scowl turned to a smile at the
prospect of finding alternative employment.
"Marie. Hi."
"Hi. Lily told me that she'd said I would
call you last night, but we figured you would have been a little
busy."
Wesley's smile cranked up a notch at the understatement.
"You could say that," he responded.
"See," Anya pointed. "Sarcastic."
"Anyway, I was wondering, since I've got
appointments booked for most of the day, if you would mind having
that chat over lunch," Marie continued.
Wesley glanced over toward the counter where
Anya was busy tidying the impulse-buys section. "I don't
think that will be a problem. What time?"
"Well, my last appointment before lunch
is at twelve-thirty. I should be clear by about one and then I'm
free until two-thirty."
"Your office is by the courthouse? Why don't
I wait outside for you? Say ten past one? We can work out where
we want to go when we meet up."
"See you then."
Wesley put away his phone, looking rather less
down in the dumps than he had five minutes earlier.
"So? You and Marie?" The former vengeance
demon gave the ex-watcher an appraising look. "Quite the
family package for a watcher, what with Rosa and Lily and Clem."
"Marie and I are meeting for a business
lunch. That's all. We're simply going to discuss whether she thinks
the D.A.'s office could throw enough work my way to make it viable
for me to set up as a Private Investigator."
"What's to discuss? Either they can or they
can't. Yes or no. Not exactly something you need to take a whole
lunch hour for.
I think you've got a date."
Wesley returned to his self-appointed task of
trying to memorise the locations of different items of merchandise,
but his attention was on assessing the likelihood that Anya was
correct... and trying to decide how he felt about it if she was.
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