Victims
by Salix
Feeling The Fight
[reviews]
The little girl is going to be talking a lot more in the new one. She's three years old and I haven't really been around a lot of three year olds so I'm basing her mostly on my oldest niece who is very advanaced for her age at least when it comes to talking. I don't really know how much or how well the average three year old can speak so if you find yourself questioning the dialogue of the little girl just remember that she's above average language wise.
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As much as she hated to admit it, Buffy needed help. She knew that she wouldn't be able to have another encounter with that demon and come back alive. She needed help fighting him, even though she would rather take care of it herself. But she had other people to worry about, not just herself. If she died it would devastate Willow more so then if she had died a couple of years ago or even just before they were dating. Now that they were in a relationship and they loved each other so much, the death of one could cause the death of the other. So, as Buffy laid up in her bedroom, her slayer healing working away at the wounds the demon left on her body as Willow took care of the young child downstairs, she picked up the phone and she made a call.
"Hi, it's Buffy......I'm fine, how are you doing?......That's great to hear. Listen, I'm having a little problem, ok a big problem. There's this demon, at least I think it's a demon. He was strong, super strong. He was able to kick my ass without me leaving much of a mark on him. I need your guys' help......How soon can you get here?......That's great. Thank you so much. I'll see you in a couple of days," she said and then she hung up the phone. She was starting to feel a lot better. She was able to sit up without her ribs screaming at her in pain, and it was a lot easier to breathe. She walked down the stairs, only wincing slightly at the pain in her legs.
She stopped when she got to the living room doorway. She watched the sight before her in silence, not wanting to be detected. She smiled, although it hurt her face a little bit. She saw Willow, and little Amber sitting on the couch. Amber was sitting in Willow's lap, her back leaning up against the redhead's chest, and Willow was reading her a story. The little brunette had her rabbit doll pulled up really close to her face, while she looked at the pages as Willow read the words. The little girl was starting to fall asleep. Her eyes were getting heavy, and Buffy's smile grew when she saw the big yawn and then she closed her eyes and drifted off as Willow finished the story.
"'Perhaps,' she said slowly 'the city's too lowly for a cat of my stature and stance.' The end. Asleep at last," Willow whispered softly and she gently and very carefully moved the little girl so that she was lying on the empty couch cushion and then she quietly closed the book and stood up. She stretched her stiff limbs and she yawned widely and was surprised to see Buffy standing in the doorway watching her. She smiled and made her way over to the blonde. They kissed softly and then Willow pulled back and they went into the kitchen so that their voices wouldn't wake the little one.
"You're feeling better I see. You're looking better too, I can see your eyes again. Not that I couldn't see them before, but they were so swollen you couldn't tell if they were open or closed, and I'm going to just shut up now," she said in two long breaths. She sounded tired, and Buffy couldn't blame her. Willow had taken care of Buffy and a little three-year-old all day. The redhead should get a metal, or a plaque saying a great she is, or at least Buffy thinks so.
"It's alright Will, I know I look bad. As long as I don't run into that demon again I'll stay alive. Maybe I should have let Anya's friend take Amber to...wherever it is they were going to take her. No, what am I saying? Anywhere is better then with that demon. Anyway, I called in some help. There's no way I'm going to be able to fight that demon and win or come out of it alive. They'll be here in a couple of days. I'm saving the 'Angel team' for last, but I'm sure the others will be able to figure it out.
"In the meantime we just have to make sure that the demon doesn't find Amber, and with her powers bound I don't think he's going to be able to. I don't know how he tracked me down, but Will, I need you to put up a, I don't know, like an alarm system or something. If he finds me here then we won't have a choice but to give Amber over to Halfreck. Either that or leave Sunnydale." They were quiet as they thought about it. Something would definitely have to be done if the demon found Buffy before the help arrived. But neither of them knew which they should choose. Should they give the little girl over to Halfreck, or should they just leave Sunnydale?
"Yeah, I'll go ahead and do that now. Unless you wanted me to make you something to eat? She hasn't had any lunch yet. I was going to wait until she had her nap because she told me she doesn't have lunch until after. She's really quite the chatterbox once she gets used to you. I can heat you up some soup if your jaw is still too sore for solid stuff." Buffy sighed, feeling helpless and useless, just like she did when she had to go through that stupid test on her eighteenth birthday. She's a slayer for God sakes. She should at least be able to eat solid foods.
"It's fine. I'm not very hungry. I can wait that way you don't have to cook twice. Why don't you start on that spell? I think I'm gonna go get a shower, I'm feeling very gross right now." She hobbled out of the room and up the stairs, she heard Willow say something about her helping but Buffy ignored it. She wasn't going to be humiliated in front of her girlfriend by needing help taking a shower. Even if she did the help, which it would probably be wise, she didn't want to make herself feel any worst. The shower didn't go over so well. By the time she pulled off all of her bandages she was tired and when she stepped onto the slick surface of the bathtub she almost slipped a couple of times. It was hard for her to wash her hair because it hurt when she lifted her arms up, and it pulled on the large cut on her back. She had to stop a couple of times to rest, but she was able to finish washing without falling or causing anymore harm to herself, so she's rating the shower a success.
It had taken her a lot longer then she had originally thought and when she went downstairs, dressed in sweats and a tank top, she saw that Amber was already awake from her nap. She was sitting on one of the dining room chairs that Willow had taken into the kitchen so that the little girl could sit down and be out of her way while she fixes them all some lunch. The bar stools are too high for a toddler to sit on, at least they are in Willow's opinion. She was making them chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (a personal favorite, anyone else like that?). She was praying that Buffy would be able to eat the sandwich because if she couldn't it would be a very large hit to her pride, and Willow knows just how prideful Buffy is sometimes. Buffy walked into the room and sat down at the breakfast bar, Amber stopped talking and looked up at her.
"Hi, I'm Amber, what's your name?" she asked and it surprised Buffy. Never being around little kids, other then Dawn, Buffy isn't really quite sure how old they are when they start talking in full sentences. This morning Amber was only saying a couple of words at a time. /Maybe she was just in shock?/ Buffy thought to herself, not really expecting an answer from the still recovering slayer half, and looked over at the little girl who was sitting there, patiently waiting for an answer to the question she had asked.
"My name's Buffy. This is my..." She wasn't so sure how to say this next part. Do you tell a little kid that you're dating another girl? Would she start to ask a lot of questions about it? Had the girl's mother taught her that same sex relationships are bad? She doesn't know and she isn't really willing to take the risk right now. After that painful shower she isn't in the mood to answer and million questions or be looked down upon by a three year old. "This is my friend Willow. It's nice to meet you Amber." The girl looked over at Willow and watched as the redhead opened up another can of soup and poured it into the pot.
"Oh I know that, she told me when you were taking your nap. You take really long naps. Buffy's a funny name. Willow iza funny name too but I like it. She's making us lunch. Are you hungry? How come you're hurt? Do you always look like that?" /So much for not having to answer a million questions/, she thought and ran a hand through her damp hair. She shifted her weight in the stool, trying to make herself a little more comfortable, but she was still sore from that shower. /Maybe I should have taken a bath. I wouldn't have felt so embarrassed if Willow helped with that. Mmmm, sexy Willow-bath is something that's going to have to occur in the very near future. Oh, she's still looking at me, maybe I should answer some of her questions./
"Um, yeah I'm starving, can't wait to have some of the yummy food Willow's making. And no, I don't always look like this. This is just what happens when I get into a fight with a very strong de...man, with a very strong, very bad man. But don't worry, you're safe here." She wanted to make sure that the girl didn't panic. She seemed calm, almost as if it didn't matter. Buffy wasn't sure if Amber's mom and told her about demons and magic or the fact that the little girl is a witch, and from what the demon said a very powerful witch. And Buffy really doesn't want to be the one to explain it. That's a conversation she'd rather not have until she has all of her strength back and she isn't looking like a circus freak.
"I'm hungry too. I didn't have my snack today and I'm estra hungry. My mommy always gives me a snack but she isn't here. When is she coming back?" /Oh shit./ she thought and rubbed her face. How the hell was she supposed to answer this? She looked over at Willow, hoping for some help. The redhead had stopped what she was doing and turned around to look at the girl. She looked over at Buffy. The two had no idea what to say. How do you tell a little girl that her mommy isn't going to be coming back? How do you explain something like death to a little kid?
"Amber, you're mommy had to go away," Willow said walked over to her and crouched in front of the chair. "She isn't coming back. Me and Buffy are going to take care of you now." You could see the confusion and the hurt in those big brown eyes with just a simple glance, and Buffy could see that Willow was struggling to keep eye contact. Buffy had to look away from the scene. It was just too much to watch.
"Where'd she go?" She almost started to cry when she heard how much sadness was in the little girl's voice. She had no idea that talking to her about this, which she knew she would have to do eventually, would be so hard, and she isn't even the one talking. She heard Willow take in a deep breath, and then let it out very slowly.
"I don't know. But she isn't going to come back. I'm sorry, but she's not." Willow sounded so sad and Buffy thought that Amber was probably going to start crying. She knew she would have to leave the room if that happened. There's no way in hell she'll be able to watch a little girl cry for her mother and not break down herself, there's just no way. "Hey, how about after lunch we go out in the backyard and play? How does that sound?" Buffy looked over in time to see the little girl nod her head yes. She was still really sad, and was no longer talkative. If she had had the energy or the strength Buffy would have done something to cheer her up, but she didn't so she couldn't.
"Ok, who's ready for lunch?" Willow asked, sounding false enthusiastic. She was trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't really working very well. Amber climbed down from the chair and followed Willow into the dining room. Buffy stayed where she was, however. She was too busy thinking to really acknowledge the fact that the others had left the room. She had seen it happen but it still hadn't registered in her brain. Deep thoughts replaced everything else in her mind. /Are we really going to take care of her now? I mean, of course while the demon is after her, but what happens after I kill it? Are we going to keep her? According to the letter nobody knows about her. They lived in an alternate dimension so how could anyone here know of her existence? Willow could always do a spell to make some fake papers about where Amber came from, fake birth records and stuff like that. But are we going to do that? Are we really going to be her new mothers?/
"Buffy, aren't you gonna come eat?" she was snapped out of her thinking by Willow. She looked over at the redhead and nodded her head yes before sliding off of the stool and making her way into the dinning room. She was still a little distant. The thought of raising a small child was a very scary one. She's never really been around little kids before, how is she supposed to figure this out? As a slayer she has a very strong need to protect Amber, and comfort but the other stuff is lost on Buffy. Like teaching her stuff, and playing with her, what do little kids like? And what happens when she starts school? How is she supposed to help her learn how to read and all of that other educational stuff? It's scary, and thinking about it is making her want to bolt. So, she just won't think about it. She'll just wait until it comes up and then deal with it.
"Do you like your soup? Mine's yummy. My sanmitch (sandwich) is black on the bottom. Is your sanmitch black on the bottom?" Amber asked and Buffy smiled at her. She was feeling very self conscious at the moment because she was so beat up, but she could feel her slayer healing taking affect and she was sure that it would only be one or two more days before almost all of the external injuries are healed.
"No it isn't, wanna trade?" she asked and Amber nodded her head and then handed Buffy her plate. Buffy exchanged with the little girl and she seemed pleased. /Well, at least I did one thing right. And I even made Willow smile, bonus points for Buffy. A smiling-Willow is a happy-Willow, and at night a happy-Willow is a very, very frisky-Willow. Is it wrong having dirty thoughts when there's a little kid in the room?/
*Yes.* Was all she got from her slayer half. She rolled her eyes and continued to eat her lunch. She noticed that Amber seemed a little distracted, but not as sad as before. They ate their lunch in relative silence. Every once in a while Amber would spout out some type of knowledge that she's gained in her three short years. Willow would comment on it, saying something like 'oh really?' or 'that's interesting'. But an actual conversation was never started.
After the dishes were put in the sink and Willow washed Amber up a little bit the redhead and the kid went outside and started to play. Willow was very unsure of what to do at first but then Amber suggested that they play a game of 'tag' and now they're having a lot of fun together. Buffy tried to sit out on the back porch but just watching them made her tired. So she went back into the house to rest on the couch. She's still feeling sorry for herself. Still asking herself 'why me?' but she'll get over it as soon as her face is recognizable. She isn't stupid by far and she knows that if this demon is strong enough to take her down then it's going to take a lot of power to kill it.
She stood up when she heard the doorbell ring and started to make her way towards the door. /It's probably Xander or Giles coming over to try and talk me into giving Amber over to that demon. Well I only have two words for them: fuck off!/ She opened the door and was surprised by who was on the other side. It wasn't Giles. It wasn't Xander. It wasn't Anya or Halfreck or the Gingerbread Man (sorry, I couldn't help myself). Nope, instead it was three people who she hasn't seen in a very long time. And she was greeted with:
"Oh my God, what happened to your face?!" Oh yeah, she feels very loved.