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Domestic Shadows By Heather Martin Summary- AU Set in the future after season 7. When Spike saves a little girl’s life, Buffy and his life are turned upside-down. But who could resist a five-year-old’s sweet smile and innocent eyes? They just couldn’t help but bring the little girl into their hearts. But when she turns out to be more than a regular little girl, how far will they go to protect the child from evil? Spoilers- I mention Caleb from Dirty Girls in this part.
Chapter 8 Dawn came home from school in a bad mood. Janice had driven her home, showing off her new car. The whole way she wouldn’t shut up about how bad her birthday was. It was really annoying. Janice had received a car, what else had she wanted? Besides that, Dawn had a five-page report due in two days, which she hadn’t even started on yet. The teen slipped off her shoes and threw her weighted book bag aside. She was on her way to the kitchen when she spotted Rebecca. The five-year-old was sitting on the floor. An assortment of colored crayons was scattered around her. She had a book on her lap as a hard surface, with a piece of paper on top of it. She was scribbling away with a green crayon, not a care in the world. Dawn crouched down to the girl’s level. “What are you drawing?” she asked. Rebecca looked up. A bright smile flashed on her face. “My family,” she stated with pride. She held up the picture for Dawn to see. “That’s very nice,” Dawn commented. Pointing to a stick-figure, Rebecca informed, “That’s Daddy.” She moved her finger to a slightly smaller person next to him. “This is Mommy. And I’m the small pink one in middle.” Sympathy came over Dawn. It must be hard for her to lose her parents, she thought. It was horrible when Joyce had died, and she was much older. How awful for a little girl to be an orphan. “This picture is good. You’ll remember them better this way, “ Dawn said. Puzzlement spread over Rebecca. “Why do I need to member them? I’m going to see them everyday.” Confused, Dawn went, “Huh?” Just then Spike came into the room. He held a plate of chocolate-chip cookies. “Only two. Can’t spoil your dinner,” he said. Rebecca jumped up with excitement. “Mmm! Thank-you, Daddy!” Dawn blinked, trying to comprehend what was going on. “Am I missing something?” The vampire glanced at Dawn, noticing her for the first time. “Hey, nibblet,” he greeted. “How was school?” “Spike, does Buffy know Rebecca’s been calling you ‘Daddy‘?” As far as she knew her sister wasn’t even sure she agreed to Rebecca permanently living with them. It was Rebecca who answered. “Buffy is my new Mommy now. Spike is my Daddy. You must be my aunt.” “What?” Dawn said in shock. Rebecca gazed up at Spike. “Can I add Aunt Dawn to my picture?” “Sure, itty bitty,” he approved. Then he turned to Dawn. “If it is okay with her, that is.” Everything suddenly fell into place. Buffy and Spike had decided to adopt Rebecca. Glee filled her at the thought. She had given up the possibility of having a niece or nephew. But now, with the offer being shoved at her, she discovered that it was something she greatly wanted. “Go ahead, Becca, I’d be honored to be your auntie,” she told the girl. Rebecca grabbed a crayon. “You can be blue,” she declared. “I like blue.” The little girl drew a stick-figure next to her parents. “There you are, Aunt Dawnie.” Dawn laughed. “Why don’t you add Willow? She can be your aunt too,” Spike suggested. Rebecca nodded. “Willow is nice. She bakes good cookies.” With that, she took a bite of the cookie on her plate before her. Crumbs went flying. Spike reminded himself never to let her eat out in the living room again. Buffy was big on keeping the house clean. Rebecca grabbed the red. “She’s going to be red because of her hair.” “Good choice, luv,” complimented Spike. A giggle came from Dawn. “Did Spike tell you to make him black?” she questioned Rebecca. “I was going to make Daddy yellow but he didn’t like that. He said yellow was a nancy-boy color.” Rebecca raised her eyes, looking very curious. “What does nancy-boy mean, Aunt Dawn?” Dawn’s giggling turned into a fit. Spike glared at Dawn in irritation. “I will not be some bright yellow. I am a vampire, a creature of the night.” He observed the sun Rebecca had placed at the top of the piece of paper. “Bloody hell. I give up.” Dawn tried to silence her laughter while wiping the tears from her face. She noticed an orange blob in the grass on the picture. “What’s that supposed to be?” “The kitty we’re gonna get,” she answered. Spike lifted his left eyebrow. “Is that right?” “He will be striped and I’ll call him Tiger.” “I dunno, bitty. Don’t know if your mum would approve.” His words brought delight. Buffy and he had a daughter. Together. They were both parents. It was too much to take in. It was more than he ever imagined. And Buffy seemed to want to try having a relationship with him. Things were going too well. Which meant they wouldn’t stay that way for long. ************************ Sleeping arrangements were the same that night as last. Rebecca was cocooned between Buffy and Spike, their arms around her. The two adults awoke in the middle of the night to hear her screaming. She sat up in bed, her eyes wide with fright. “Honey, what is it?” Buffy asked in a concerned voice. Spike held the girl to him in attempts to calm her. “Sssh, bits. Tell ol’ Spike what we can do to help.” Rebecca was shaking. The screaming had quieted, to be replaced by tears. “They’re here,” she whispered. “They’ve come to take me away.” “No, baby, no one is . . .” Buffy began. The sound of something breaking came from downstairs. Rebecca jumped, clinging to her father. “Did I speak too soon?” Buffy questioned. Spike gave Buffy a look that asked what they should do. He held Rebecca, scared that she might get taken from him. He loved her so much, and in a way he never thought could be possible. Throughout his entire existence he had wanted love. Finally he had it, without effort or sacrifice. Rebecca’s affection was pure and complete. She gave it out to anyone who accepted it. To lose this would be heart-wrenching. Hadn’t he lost enough? And Buffy for that matter? “Hide,” Buffy told Rebecca. The little girl scrambled off the bed. She went over to the closet and opened the door. She crawled inside the dark space, huddling in the corner. Buffy came over and closed the door. She felt bad having to confine her in such a small place. “Buffy!” the blonds heard Dawn yell. The vampire and slayer fled the room. They hurried down the stairs. On their way down, they saw that the front door had been ripped from its hinges. The couple went further to find Dawn on the living room floor. She lay motionless, clearly unconscious. The coffee table had been overturned. A lamp had been knocked over, broken. Willow stood in front of a vampire. He wore the classic Dracula attire, cloak and all. His hair was dark, and reached his shoulders. Spike would have snorted and made a smart remark if he wasn’t so worried about his nibblet. The witch stared the vamp down, expression darkening. “Elelenectra!” the red-head shouted. The vamp’s eyes flashed red. He grinned in amusement. “Your magic won’t work on me, honey, but nice try.” With that, he flung Willow across the room. Her head hit the wall, getting knocked out. That was Buffy’s cue. She came forward, starting a fight. “Get a stake,” she ordered Spike. He rushed over to the weapons chest. He rummaged through, gathering two stakes. He rose up, throwing one to Buffy. She caught it with no trouble. She kept throwing punches, but they seemed to have little impact on the vampire. He was strong, and Buffy felt as helpless as when she had been fighting Caleb. This was no ordinary creature of the undead. “Getting tired yet, sweetheart?” the vampire said snidely. Buffy smirked. “I still have enough energy to do this.” The slayer took her open opportunity and thrust the stake out, aiming for his heart. She stepped back, waiting for him to turn into dust. After a few seconds she realized that it wasn’t going to happen. The vampire wagged a finger at her. “That wasn’t very nice.” He gripped the wood and shoved it out of his chest. Buffy blinked. This wasn’t good. She was dealing with another adversary with unnatural ability. ************************ Clorinda entered the home. She glanced into the living room to see her lover throw the slayer into the wall. Satisfied that he was all right, she moved on undetected. She went up the stairs and into the master bedroom. It looked empty, but she knew it wasn’t because she could smell a human in the vicinity. She sniffed, following the odor to the closet. She opened the door to see a little girl pressed into the corner. She knelt, smiling. “Hello there, we’ve been looking for you for quite some time,” Clorinda stated. The vampire reached in and snatched Rebecca up. The girl squirmed in protest. “You’re not going to get away with this.” Clorinda carried Rebecca downstairs. They stopped at the entrance of the living room. Rebecca could see her parents struggling to fight a vampire in black. They weren’t doing too good. “Mommy! Daddy!” she shouted. “Rebecca? Baby?” Buffy addressed her daughter. She turned toward the vampire in anger. “Ethan?” Clorinda spoke up. “I got the kid. Come on, let’s go.” Buffy kicked at the vampire. He grabbed her leg and flung her away. In a rage, Spike rammed into Ethan. He got a couple fists into the vampire before he was tossed away as well. Ethan went to his mate’s side. They began to walk away, with Rebecca in their custody. The little girl struggled to get away, screaming. “Mommy! Daddy! Help me, please!” Buffy struggled to get up. She hissed in pain, her leg shooting with fire. She managed to get to her feet, but her attempts to get to her daughter were futile. She limped forward, tears streaming down her face. The vampires fled into the night. She fell to her knees. “No!” Buffy yelled. She pounded the floor. “No, this is not fair! How dare they take her from me!” Spike came over to her. He pulled her to him, folding his arms around her. “We’ll get her back, luv. We’ll get her back.” She buried her face in his chest. “How could I have let them take her?” she cried. “I should have never agreed to be her mother.” “No, pet. This isn’t your fault,” Spike told her. She didn’t seem to hear him. “I let them take her,” she repeated, her sobs intensifying. ___________________________________________________ Thanks for reading. Just to let you all know I will continue to write fanfic after Buffy ends as long as you all still want me to. |
