Victims
by Salix
Bonding And Tattletales
[reviews]
It's nighttime in Sunnydale now. Buffy decided not to patrol since she couldn't take Amber with her and she doesn't want to leave the little girl alone, even if she is in good hands. The Halliwells gave her the number to the hotel they would be staying in. They told her that they wanted to be close just in case something happened and Buffy needed their help. They drove Willow back to the dorms in the car they had rented. Both Willow and Buffy thought that it would be best if Buffy stays at the Summers' house with Amber because little kids aren't allowed in the dorms. Buffy planned on putting Amber in her bedroom once she was asleep, and then she was going to sleep in Dawn's bed with the teenager. Dawn grumbled and groaned when she first heard the plan but then Buffy showed her the little puppy (who was named Cooper) and Dawn stopped complaining.
Buffy doesn't know what she's doing wrong. Amber won't go to sleep, and it's almost ten o' clock. She has her rabbit doll, she isn't hungry, she doesn't need to use the bathroom, and she's had a bath. She was fine up until Buffy announced that it was bedtime. Then she started to get a little fussy. It started out small at first. She didn't want to sit down on the couch with Buffy. The blonde was hoping that maybe the little girl would fall asleep on her own if they were watching T.V. together. Then she started to get a little whiny. She wanted the Rory doll, which was given to her. She didn't want to be picked up or touched. And now she's walking around the living room, crying her eyes out and Buffy doesn't know what to do. She's starting to stress out, and it wasn't helping the situation at all. If anything it was making it worst.
Just when she thought she was just about ready to fall to her knees and have a mental break down, her mom came rushing down the stairs. Clearly she had already been in bed since she was wearing a nightgown and a robe over it. She walked into the living room and tried to talk to Buffy but the baby was crying too loudly. She slowly walked up to her and held out her hands, silently asking to pick Amber up. The little girl held her arms up towards Joyce and started to cry a little harder. It only took her five minutes to calm down, another ten and she was asleep.
"How? Tell me how you did that," she said, shock dripping from her voice, as she watched her mother softly rock from side to side, lulling the little girl into a deeper sleep. Joyce walked over to Buffy and oh so carefully handed the sleeping child to her daughter. Buffy mimicked Joyce's movements and rocked very gently from side to side while she softly rubbed the little girl's back.
"You were stressed. When you stress, they stress. Little kids pick up on our emotions very easily. If you're going to calm them down then you have to stay calm no matter what. And I don't really expect her to be calm for a while. She cried herself out tonight and she'll probably keep doing it until she...sadly...forgets about her mother. Until she gets used to being here she'll probably be a little depressed and upset. And it's going to get a lot worst before it gets better. Why don't you go on up to bed, honey? I'll get the lights." Buffy kissed her mom goodnight and then headed upstairs. She carefully put Amber under the covers of the large bed and then changed into her pajamas. She snuck out of the room quieter then a mouse and went into Dawn's room. She found that her little sister was still awake, the desk lamp turned on and she was flipping through a magazine.
"What are you still doing up?" she asked, turning into the overprotective, overly bossy big sister, yet again. Dawn rolled her eyes and tossed the magazine to the floor. She rolled over onto her side, getting comfortable and she waited until the light was off and Buffy was under the covers before she answered.
"Like I could have slept with Amber crying like that. Besides, I didn't want you to wake me up when you plop into bed." /I so do now plop./ She ignored Dawn, wanting nothing more then to go to sleep. Well, falling asleep with Willow wouldn't have been bad, but there wasn't any room for her here at the house, except for the couch and that's not a very comfortable thing to sleep on, except for a nap, but definitely not for overnight use. Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was: /If Dawn kicks me in her sleep I'm going to lock her in the basement for a day./
She woke up when the door slowly opened. Her slayer senses are on alert even when she's sleeping. She let some of those senses roam and not only could she feel that Willow's spell was still up and running, but the creature opening the door was not evil. Well, depending on how you look at it. Is it considered evil to wake someone up at two in the morning? With a displeased groan, Buffy decided that it is. As Amber neared the bed, very, very slowly, Buffy saw that she was crying. She waited until the little girl was standing right next to her, quietly breathing in erratic breaths as she tried to calm down.
"What's the matter, baby?" Buffy asked and gently reached over and wiped away a tear that was trailing down the girl's cheek. She waited patiently as Amber sucked in a couple more deep breaths. Buffy started run her fingers through the dark silky hair, hoping that would help calm her down.
"I...I don't wanna...sleep alone," she was finally able to gasp out. Buffy let out a little 'aw' noise and carefully got out of the bed so she wouldn't wake Dawn. She bent down and picked Amber up. The little brunette rested her head against Buffy's shoulder as she tried to calm down, but her breathing was still irregular. Buffy quietly wondered down the hall into her bedroom and shut the door. She crawled onto the bed and gently laid Amber down under the covers before lying down and making herself comfortable. She watched as Amber scooted closer to her and wrapped her tiny little arms around her neck, holding on for dear life, and if Buffy weren't the slayer she wouldn't have been able to breath. She wrapped her arms around the little toddler and rubbed her back as they both fell back to sleep.
When her eyes fluttered open the next morning the first thought that came to mind was: /I can't feel my ass. Is it possible for an ass to go numb?/ But once she started to wake up a little more she finally realized that she was in the bed alone. At first she didn't know the significance of that. She knew that something was wrong, she usually doesn't sleep alone, and it took her five whole minutes to remember that she had fallen asleep with Amber. She sat up and looked around the room, and the little girl was nowhere in sight.
She jumped out of the bed and made her way downstairs. She was a little frantic, but trying to stay calm as she made her way into the kitchen. She didn't see anyone in there but she did notice that the backdoor was open a little. She rushed out onto the porch and sighed a large breath of relief. Once she got over the scare, she was able to sit back and enjoy what she was seeing. Amber was still in her nightshirt, which was just a large dark blue t-shirt about three sizes too big. Her hair was a mess, and sticking out in all directions. She was still barefoot, and running around the yard being chased by the little puppy. It was barking and running after her and she was laughing and putting her arms up like airplane wings and making little sputtering sounds. Dawn was sitting down in the middle of the yard watching, she was also still in her pajamas. Buffy assumed that her mother was either at the store or at work considering she hadn't seen her on the way down the stairs.
She went back into the house when she heard the knock at the front door. She was expecting to see Willow, or even the Halliwell sisters, possibly even Giles or Xander. She wasn't expecting to see Anya standing at her doorstep looking a little sheepish. It was odd seeing her like that. Anya doesn't get embarrassed about anything, so why now? She folded her arms over her chest and waited for the ex-demon's reason for being here.
"Look, I'm sorry that I said your mothering capabilities are less then adequate, we were all just concerned. You couldn't fight the demon and they've been hunting down those witches for so long and nobody has ever tried to stop them. We were all just afraid that she would get hurt. And then you come into the shop looking like normal, and buy out my entire stock of wolfsbane without saying a word to any of us and we've been researching all night but we still don't know what demon that is or how to fight it. I'm just...can I see her?" Buffy considered what Anya said. They made some bad calls but they did them for the right reasons, so they get points for intent.
"I accept your apology, I do know what type of demon that is and how to kill it. I got some help yesterday and they know a lot about demon fighting. The wolfsbane will kill the demons. I have it stored all over the house so no matter what room I'm in I can get some and quick. It's called a demonic power trader. They kill Callahan witches and steal their magic. Apparently Amber is supposed to grow up to be some sort of super-witch or something and the demons are pretty desperate for her. But they're not going to get her. And yes, you may see her." She stepped aside and let in a very surprised Anya. She was also a little pissed because she, Giles and Xander just spent an entire night trying to find the demon and Buffy — Buffy of all people — was able to figure it out.
Buffy led the other blonde to the backyard and they watched Amber continue to run and spin and then tumble to the ground. They both chuckled as she dramatically fell to the ground and then started to roll around when the little puppy tried to lick her face. Buffy asked Anya to keep an eye on the kid while she went upstairs to get dressed. When she went back downstairs about fifteen minutes later, she saw Anya sitting on the steps watching as Dawn held the puppy in her lap and Amber calmly pet him.
"When did you get a puppy?" Anya asked and scrunched up her face a little. Buffy just sighed. She didn't want to talk about that right now. Willow still hasn't shown up, and it's a Saturday she should be here by now.
"Willow got it, and then Amber suckered me into keeping it." She continued to watch the little girl as a fresh wave of energy hit and she started running around the yard, squealing in delight as Dawn and the little puppy chased after her. "Dawn! Has she had any breakfast?" The teen stopped and looked over at the two. She was a little surprised to see Anya sitting there. Dawn walked over to them and sat down next to Buffy and watched the little ball of energy run around.
"No she hasn't. I asked her earlier and she said she wasn't hungry. Mom had to go into work early and I wasn't sure if I should try to make her eat and I didn't want to wake you up because you're always grumpy in the mornings. She hasn't said anything about being hungry. Maybe you should ask her." She paused for a few seconds when they saw Amber trip on something and fall down. She stood up and brushed herself off and continued to run around as if nothing happened. "Amber, look who's up." The little girl stopped running and looked over at the porch. She had noticed Buffy when she called out to Dawn a couple minutes ago but she was too busy playing. Now that everyone else was sitting down she figured she could at least go over and say hi. She walked up cautiously, however, when she saw the stranger. The woman looked familiar but she couldn't really remember from where.
"What's your name?" she asked and Buffy smiled. She glanced over at Anya and the ex-demon seemed a little hurt that the girl didn't remember her. But she got over it.
"I'm Anya. Are you getting hungry? Do you want me to make you some breakfast?" she asked and Amber looked over at Buffy, as if she didn't know what to do. Buffy picked up on this and smiled a warm smile. Well, at least as warm as it was gonna get considering she was a little grumpy. She just isn't a morning person.
"Breakfast would be great Anya. Thank you. Why don't we go on upstairs and get you dressed?" she asked and Amber grumbled a little bit. Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes. She held out her hand and Amber took it and followed her into the house with no resistance. Since it was a little chilly out today she dressed Amber up in some blue jeans, a long sleeved shirt and her sneakers. Amber had tried to convince Buffy to let her wear a dress but Buffy told her that it might be too cold. The little girl didn't protest after that, simply going along with what Buffy said. /Shouldn't she be fighting me about this? Don't little kids always fight when they want to do something different?/ The girl's willingness to cooperate was starting to worry her a little bit so she decided to talk to her mom about it later.
She was just about to sit down at the table when there was a knock at the front door. She knew that it probably wasn't Willow, because the redhead knows by now that whenever Buffy is at the Summers' house Willow is just as welcome and was given strict orders by Joyce not to knock and just to walk right in, unless the door is locked of course. But it was Willow standing on the other side of the door. Normally she would have just walked into the house and called out for Buffy or Dawn. But this morning her arms were full of bags so she couldn't open the door. She had to kick it just to announce her presence.
"I think I went a little overboard," she said as she walked into the living room. She set the bags down on the couch and started to take out the contents. "I wasn't sure what to get, so I got a little bit of everything. I got the puppy food for little dogs, 'cause his mouth is really small. And I got a water dish and a food dish. A leash and a collar. Ok, I got like three each. I wasn't sure what color would look good on him so I picked the more boyish ones. I got dark blue, sky blue, and green. I bought a couple books on dog training, and I got some squeaky toys, 'cause dogs usually go crazy for those. And I got some chew toys so he won't chew up your mom's coffee table. And I got some treats, and a stuffed zebra looking thing, I'm not too sure what it is, but the lady behind the counter said that the dogs really like it. And I got a couple of tennis balls, but then I thought that maybe those'll be too big for his mouth, so I got some smaller rubber bouncy balls for him to play with."
She was starting to turn blue at this point and Buffy was putting in an effort to shut her up but there was only one thing that would quiet a babble this long and loud. Buffy grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. She planted a very wet kiss on Willow's lips and it took a couple of seconds for Willow to respond, but once she did the kiss started to grow in intensity. That is, until they were interrupted.
"Oh my God, you're bedroom is right upstairs. Do you have to do that when people can see you?" Dawn sounded a little peeved and Buffy heard Amber giggle a little bit. /Glad to know I'm a source of entertainment./ She started to look through all of the stuff that Willow had purchased at the pet store that morning. There must be at least two or three hundred dollars worth of stuff there.
"Jeez Will, I think you did go a little overboard. But hey, the chew toys are gonna get chewed up so it's good that we have plenty of those, same with the food and the treats. I think he would look cute in the sky blue. I think he's outside right now. Dawn was the last to see him." As if on cue the sounds of the little puppy whiny could be heard coming from the backdoor. Dawn let him in and carried him into the living room and then went back to her breakfast.
"You should wash your hands before you eat 'cause you just touched the doggy and doggies are dirty," Amber said very matter-of-factly. Buffy smiled and listened for her sister's response.
"Oh well. I'm using a fork, it's not like I'm eating with my hands." Good point, but dogs are still dirty.
"So? You should always wash your hands after playing with a doggy." /Did I wash her hands after I got her dressed?.......Yeah, I did. I think, did I?/
*Yes.* Was all she got in response.
/You've been really quiet these last couple of days. Anything wrong that I should know about?/
*Me want Willow. Been away from Willow too long. Take Willow upstairs, now!* Buffy rolled her eyes and started to drag out the rest of the stuff from the bags.
/I can't just take her upstairs and ravish her. Although that does sound nice. I have to look after Amber. One of those demons could come here at any minute, and I don't want her to get hurt because I was too busy trying to get my pants back on./
*Take Willow NOW!* Buffy was starting to get a headache. Why does her slayer half have to be so demanding and selfish?
/God, just shut up all ready. Go back to being all pouty and quiet. When we kill those demons, and I mean all of those demons, then we'll have my mom or Dawn or even Anya look after Amber for a night and then we can have Willow. Does that sound fair?/
*No. Me want Willow now!* Buffy rolled her eyes again and Willow noticed this time and gave her a questioning look.
/Well too bad, you're not getting Willow now, ok? So be quiet so I can decide which color looks best on the dog./ Now that she wasn't fighting with her other self she was able to focus and listen in on the argument that was still going on in the dinning room.
"It don't matter. Doggies are dirty. So go wash your hands," Amber told Dawn as if she were the teenager's age. Dawn took in a deep breath and let it out very slowly and then calmly told Amber no. Amber got a little upset and did the thing that little kids do best. "I'm telling. Buffy! Dawnie won't wash her hands!" Buffy could almost hear Dawn's jaw drop.
"Oh my God, you little brat, I can't believe you just told on me." And how did little Amber respond to this?
"Buffy! Dawnie called me a brat!" Buffy smiled and tried not to giggle when she heard Dawn drop her fork onto the plate. She just couldn't believe how Amber was acting. She went from all sweet and nice and doing things to make Dawn laugh, and now she's telling on the teen just because Dawn didn't wash her hands. At least now Dawn knows how little kids are.
"Now you know how it feels Dawn. Remember when you used to tell me when I wouldn't play Barbies with you?" She could practically hear Dawn roll her eyes. She laughed a little bit and then turned her attention to Willow. Her slayer half was right, she had been away from Willow for too long. They haven't had sex in what, three or four days? That's a long time when you're used to sex almost every night. Now that Buffy was finally aware of how sex deprived her body is, she's starting to notice the little things about Willow. How her shirt is revealing a lot of her shoulders. Her hair is pulled back so her soft, nippable neck is exposed. She's wearing jeans and Buffy really wants to slip her hands into the back pockets. She groaned when she realized how wet she was getting just by looking at the redhead. She stood up and walked to the door when someone rang the doorbell. She opened it to reveal the three Halliwells sisters, looking a little urgent.
"We may have a small problem," Prue said, and Buffy could tell by her voice that by 'small' she meant 'huge'. She looked over their shoulders and she saw Giles and Xander walking up the walkway, looking a little distressed.
"Great, 'cause this is just what I need right now."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two updates in one day, I think I should get reviews.