June 15, 2007 8:12 AM
The morning scene being played out in front of Raven almost made her feel like she was back home. The tantalizing smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing made her stomach growl in response. The radio on the counter announced the local news by a peppy DJ. It was only the room itself and the woman bustling about that was different. But no matter how many times Raven looked it would never be the same woman again. Mommy was never going to come back no matter how much she wished for it.
Raven leaned against the doorframe and slowly ran her bare toes back and forth on the cold tile while she tried to figure out how to apologize to Buffy. Last night when she had woken from her nightmare that was actually more of a memory of when her parents had died, all she had wanted was for someone else to hurt as much as she was. But in this house there were only two people who wanted to help her and Elijah and no one to blame for their circumstances. The only thing she could find to attach her anger too was the Slayer, the one chosen to fight demons. Emotionally it didn’t seem to matter that her mother wasn’t really a demon but rather a supernatural being.
After she had calmed down last night, comforted by the strength in Spike's arms, she had been mortified by what she had done. Her parents would have been disappointed that she had used Lankasha magic in a dark way. Raven had always been taught that magic was to be used only for the side of good. Her mother was always so gentle and caring and their world insulated that there wasn’t a need for the dark magic.
It was only after everything she had known had been taken from her that Raven learned that the world was a cold and cruel place. If it hadn't been for her love and sense of responsibility for Elijah she would wish to be able to join her parents in the haven beyond this realm.
Raven sighed as she looked up from her feet to stare at Buffy who was pointedly ignoring her. Buffy had to have known that she was there but was refusing to be the first to say anything. Couldn't Buffy see how much she was hurting? Why couldn’t Buffy come to her? Misplaced anger slowly started to take hold as Raven contemplated that it seemed like only Spike understood their pain. Raven didn’t see any reason for Buffy to have any problems or be unhappy. She was beautiful, had lots of friends, lived in this huge house and had a gorgeous boyfriend. What more could she possibly want?
“Would you like to sit down and talk?” Buffy asked Raven over her shoulder as she started to pour two cups of coffee.
Surprised at Buffy’s gesture but not wanting to appear eager Raven nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and headed for the table. Neither spoke as they sat across from each other and added sugar and cream into their beverages.
When Raven couldn’t put it off anymore she slowly lifted her mug toward her lips and from behind the rim she muttered, “I’msorrythatIusedmagiconyoulastnight.Iwon’tdoitagain.” Then she quickly took a drink to hide her flushed face.
A smile crossed Buffy’s face at Raven’s apology but not wanting to hurt the girl she hid behind the premise of taking a drink of her own coffee until she could answer with a straight face.
“I understand that it was in response to your dream but I can’t tolerate magic in this house to be used against anyone else.” Buffy tried to be firm to the teen but still showed that she cared in the tone she used. “Just as I wouldn’t allow any physical force to be used either.”
Buffy waited until Raven at least acknowledged her words with a nod before proceeding.
“Elijah said that you don’t have any powers of your own but that you can borrow his. How does that work?”
“Yeah, I got everything from my mom’s fairy background including the eyes but no power. Elijah looks just like Poppie but he gets all the magic.” Raven whined a little at something she had been protesting since Elijah had first levitated his bottle toward him when he was only nine months.
“But how can you use his magic?” Buffy asked again.
“I just have to touch him. It’s the blood relation thing and the force of the emotion. If I’m calm and stuff, it usually won’t work. But like last night when I’m all pissed or something then I can channel it. When he’s older and has more control over it then he could stop me from doing it.”
“How much control does he have? I mean is it possible if he’s upset or hurt then could he do some damage to someone or something?” Buffy knew that she would probably have to go to Willow and Tara to fully understand but wanted what information she could get from Raven.
“Mom had him meditating and doing focusing exercises to start giving him control. He’s never hurt anyone yet but, yeah, I think if he was really frightened he could do what I did last night. Most of his talent is in his empathy abilities. Like knowing when people are hurt and stuff.”
“Can he help people who are hurt or just know they are?” Buffy’s curiosity was growing about the young child she had in her house.
“Naw, he can’t heal. I mean like the laying on of hands and stuff but he sure can tell you some things about yourself that you didn’t even know.” Raven laughed a little at her brother’s unique way of announcing some embarrassing things when you least expected it.
Buffy flushed a little as she remembered Elijah’s knowledge that Spike had bitten her and wondered what else he could pick up on. She stood as she heard the two males of the house moving around upstairs. It was time to finish making breakfast. As she moved to the refrigerator she looked back at Raven still sitting at the table.
“Are we clear on the no using of magic against anyone?”
“I guess.” Raven rolled her eyes.
After putting the eggs on the counter Buffy turned to go back over to the table. Raven stared suspiciously at her as Buffy sat across from her again.
“Forgot to do the lecture?”
“Raven, I just want to make sure we are clear on this. If you use magic against anyone I will have Willow bind you from using any magic. Okay?” Buffy made sure that she was looking into the girl’s eyes as she told her of the consequences if she chose to do it again.
Raven eyes flew open at her words because Spike hadn’t said anything like that last night when he had told her she had to apology first thing this morning.
“Spike didn’t say anything like that.” Raven said defiantly hoping that this would make Buffy retract her statement.
“Raven, if you are going to be living here then you are going to have to learn to listen to me instead of constantly threatening to run to Spike every time I tell you something you don’t like.”
“And if I hit someone, are you going to have my hands cut off?” Raven retorted feeling uncomfortable as Buffy became more authoritative with her. Why did she have to keep hammering it in? She already knew she shouldn’t have used magic like that and apologized for it. What else was she supposed to do?
“No. That would be a little extreme.” Buffy answered her with a smile. “Magic is a little different and is harder to fight when you don’t have any access to it.”
“Okay. I get the message. Anything else?” Raven stood sending her chair sliding back across the floor.
Buffy sighed as she stood to face the girl. A few minutes ago it seemed that the two were connecting a little, now it seemed they were back to square one with Raven being angry with her. With a sinking feeling Buffy realized that it would probably be a relationship of one step forward and two steps back for a while anyway. She decided to let Raven’s attitude go this time knowing that if she said anything else it would lead to an ugly scene and as long as the girl realized that they wouldn’t tolerate her using magic to hurt people that was the important thing.
“Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes. Will you go up and tell Spike and your brother?”
“Sure. What ever you want.” Raven threw out sarcastically as she stomped toward the hall.
“Thank you, Raven.” Buffy called out to the girl’s back wondering if she would ever reach her but knowing she wouldn’t be satisfied until she did.
June 15, 2007 11:24 AM
“I get it. I get it.” Elijah screamed as he took off running toward
the front of the house. Spike scooped him up as the boy ran pass him in the
hall then carried him in a football hold toward the entrance hall. Buffy and
Raven followed them so they could peek over Spike’s shoulders as he opened
the front door.
“Hi, well, I guess this is the whole family, huh?” The woman standing on the front porch smiled broadly as she took in everyone with one sweeping assessment. “I’m Morgana. And I guess this would be Elijah.” Her hand briefly touched the boy’s cheek. Then she looked over Spike’s shoulder to Raven. “You must be Raven. And you must be Buffy.” She reached a hand out to shake Buffy’s hand then turned her smile to Spike. “And finally this must be Spike.”
Morgana reached a hand out to shake Spike’s hand but since he still held Elijah she let it drop to her side.
“Come in, please.” Buffy said gesturing everybody back so the woman could enter.
Morgana stepped into the house giving it the same assessing look she had given to their family.
“You have a beautiful home.” She turned to look back at the couple she had come to help.
Spike put Elijah back on his feet while he watched this woman that Donna had sent to them. Her hair was definitely the first thing you noticed about her. It was bright carrot red that hung just below her shoulders in a perfectly coiffed ringlets. Her petite body was clothed in a white power suit with a short skirt. She was almost as tall as he was in her 3-inch heels. Spike cocked an eyebrow at the potential fireball in front of him wondering if she was any good at what she did. Then she turned to him sweeping him over with a flash of her hazel eyes. When they moved back up to meet his blue ones he could see the calculating intelligence in them and knew that her looks were a tool to her. A way to throw her opponents off and he relaxed in this knowledge.
“Raven, will you watch Elijah while we talk to Morgana?” Spike asked the girl putting a hand on her shoulder trying to keep contact with her as much as possible. So she wouldn’t feel like she was alone. He remembered when he was first chipped if someone would have just touched him it would have made feel more connected to something. As bad as it seemed now losing the feel of his victims against him had left him feeling more alone.
After Raven had taken Elijah into the living room, Spike and Buffy led Morgana into his study so they could talk privately. Spike was leading the way into the room when he looked over his shoulder at Buffy with a smirk on his face then quickly kicked something under the couch.
Buffy realized with horror that it was her panties from last night. They had been completely forgotten as the morning had been filled with other things.
“Ummm, would you like a cup of coffee or tea?” Buffy asked refusing to look at Spike who was now sprawled out in his chair. If she looked at him even for a moment she was afraid that she would break down into a fit of giggles.
“I’m fine. Already reached my quota for the day but thank you.”
Morgana sat on the couch near Spike’s chair while Buffy took a seat next to her. Her briefcase was put on the table and opened. Then she sat back looking at one then the other.
“So, you two are ready to get married and adopt those children?” She asked them ready to gauge their sincerity.
“Yes.” Buffy and Spike said simultaneously and exchanged a quick smile at their agreement.
Morgana watched the couple in their brief moment of intimacy and felt satisfied that everything would work out. She relaxed as she began to discuss what they would need to do to make their decision a reality. Over the next hour they went over the legalities of what they would need to do. The paperwork that would have to be filled out and the documents they would need to take with them. They were to meet in the judge’s chambers in one week. They would be married first then the adoption would go through.
All the paperwork would be put into the system without going through the usual route but would be entered by a Guardian that worked in the court system. It would all be legal; it just wouldn’t pass through several hands on the way and wouldn’t end up in Legal Notices in the newspaper.
After all that was settled, Morgana asked if they had any further questions.
“I do. I guess I need a will or something, so the children and Buffy are taken care of if something happens to me.” Spike ventured as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his legs. Making a will so Buffy would be protected was something that Giles had brought up when he had given the vampire the lecture on growing up. It was just one of those things that Buffy and he hadn’t gotten around to discussing yet.
Buffy stared in amazement at him. Not once in all the time they had been together had he ever showed any sign of wanting to make sure she was taken care of. Once the books had started to sell the money had followed but other then the one bank account she was on, the rest of it had remained in his name. The house was only in his name also and if something had happened to him, she would have been homeless and without anything to live on.
Once again it seemed like all it took was for Donna to show up and he was eager to do the ‘right thing’. It should be Buffy that gave him this nudge to being responsible or giving not some woman he barely knew. Her anger started to build as he sat there and discussed wills and trust funds with Morgana while her mind went through a hundred different scenarios of Spike with Donna.
His eyes flickered over to her as he noticed her settling back against the couch with arms and legs crossed. Her foot slowly swung back and forth as she glared at him. He wondered briefly what he had done wrong this time before turning his attention back to Morgana.
“Buffy, do you have a will?” Morgana asked breaking through Buffy’s murderous thoughts.
“No, I don’t have any…” Buffy started to answer hesitantly because it suddenly seemed embarrassing that she had no purpose in life except to be the Slayer and Spike’s girlfriend.
“I support her so she can concentrate on Slaying. And now the children.” Spike answered for her.
“Well, she is going to need one. If something happens to both of you then the children will still need to be provided for. I’ll have a basic one drawn up and then we’ll meet to have everything signed. Okay?” Morgana looked from one to the other catching their responses of approval before she rose.
“Thanks for all your help. We’ll see you next Friday.” Buffy told her as she started to lead the way toward the front door.
“No problem. These kinds of things are a joy to handle.” Morgana responded as she turned to shake their hands again. Then, after a reminder to call her if they needed anything or had any questions, she left.
“Buffy, what’s wrong?” Spike asked as soon as the door closed
behind their lawyer. Although no one else would probably notice, he knew that
Buffy was upset about something, just as he knew that he was the one who had
upset her.
Buffy turned to look at him slowly unsure of how to proceed. Everything had
been going smooth between them since last night and she didn’t want to
fight. But she also knew that until she knew what was going on with him she
wouldn’t be able to let it go.
“Why didn’t you ever make a will so that I would be protected?” She moved toward him putting her hand on his waist hoping that he wouldn’t become angry again or the demon wouldn’t emerge.
Spike looked down at her noting the unease and insecurity in her eyes. Unbidden his hand came out to cup her face running his thumb gently across her cheek in an effort to comfort her. She leaned into his hand like a kitten seeking the warmth of its mother. Her eyes closed as she tried to prolong the protective feeling she was receiving from him.
As he tried to formulate the words so that she would understand an ear piercing shriek resounded through the upstairs hall.
“Elijah, I told you to stay out of my stuff. Get out of here.” Raven shrieked as something either hit a wall or a floor.
Then footsteps pounded down the hall and Elijah started down the stairs running. He didn’t even slow down as he passed Buffy and Spike with something still clutched in his hand. A door slammed from the upstairs jarring the pictures on the walls.
Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike as they both realized that things were never going to be the same between them and in their home again.
“I’ll take Raven. You find Eli.” Spike said as he turned toward the stairs.
Buffy nodded and started off after Elijah.
“We talk tonight, Spike.” Buffy called out over her shoulder as she rounded the corner into the living room.
