Oh, Deena, how lovely.

Thank you, Deb. I'm really proud of it. I wish I could write poetry like that all the time.

This is the first fic that I've written that's not a drabble. I wrote it while taking a break from the Faith/Wood I'm trying to write. It was hard. I don't know how y'all do it.

Happy Family

Joyce traced the outline of her daughters in the picture. She knew that she didn’t have a lot of time. The doctors and nurses could run a million tests and tell her everything she ever wanted to know about a black and white x-ray of the inside of her head, but they couldn’t tell her how dying felt. They hadn’t seen anything. They all thought she’d be fine. “Go home. Rest.” That’s what they’d told her. But she couldn’t rest. Her fingers trailed across picture after picture. Dawn and Buffy at Sea World. Buffy’s thirteenth birthday party. Dawn was standing behind her making devil horns as she blew out her candles. Joyce remembered when these pictures used to make her smile.

She might be dying, but she wasn’t crazy. Something gnawed at the back of her mind. Something was off about these pictures. Maybe if she could figure out what it was. . . what? It probably didn’t matter anyway. She had more important things to do than look through old photos. She should be preparing, making sure that the girls would be ok after.

She turned the next page of the album absentmindedly. She’d seen these shots a thousand times. There she was in maternity clothes with Buffy’s hand on her belly. And here, sharing a kiss with Hank. She stopped and stared at the picture of the man she had thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. Was he really that tall? She couldn’t remember. How had his lips felt, his hands? She couldn’t remember little things like what kind of soap had been his favorite, but she could remember exactly how they had met. Homecoming 1979. She’d been a freshman at her first big college dance. He had made her laugh about how lame the theme was, “Catch the Fever!” It was love at first sight. After that, they had been inseparable. They talked for hours and they had so much in common. They both wanted a simple life, good jobs, a house, only one child. The world was overpopulated enough as it was. And with just one child, you could make sure that he’d have all the advantages you never did. That had been...

“Aaah! Buffy, Dawn!” The pain hit her like a sledgehammer. It left her gasping for breath. She couldn’t see. She tried to stand up, but her legs gave out. As she slid to the floor, the photo album hit the carpet with a muffled thump. It landed face up, the pages open on her favorite picture. She and Dawn and Buffy on vacation about a year before they’d moved to Sunnydale. Hank had taken that shot. It was the last time they’d been together as a happy family. Mom, Dad, and daughters.

“Mom? Mom?” Buffy came tearing into the room. “Dawn, call 911. Now!” Her two girls were there taking care of her. But there was only supposed to be one.

Wow. Kat, that - damn. Goodgoodgood.

Hullo, everyone. I am in desperate need of a quick-n-dirty beta for this story. It's long, so it continues in the next lj entry. It's from one of my anime fandoms, but I'd really like a Buffista review of the language, structure, etc.

Once I take care of some house stuff, I plan to spend the day writing. Whee!

Wow, Kat, that's painful and really well done.

Anne, quick-n-dirty posted to your LJ.

Thanks, Deena! I'll zip over there and check it out.

Kat, that's a really nice portrait of Joyce.

My one quibble would be with the date. There's an episode where Buffy says something to Joyce that implies that Joyce had gotten married and pregnant, possibly not in that order, before she finished college. I can't remember if we saw her headstone in "Forever"...

Edit: Here it is, from Angel --

BUFFY Okay, so slower than you and Dad took it.

JOYCE Touche'. Do you want to hear the lecture or do you know it by heart?

BUFFY You were young, you were in love, what you weren't was through with college, focused on a career and . . . no help from the audience, please, in possession of your own identity.

Lyra Jane, I was a little worried about the dates too. It was late and I was too tired (and lazy) to really research it well, so I just guesstimated going back from Buffy's DOB (1981). I will get around to making the dates match up eventually. Glad y'all liked it.

a bizarre crossover drabble inspired by my difficulty finishing an Anita Blake book without thinking "someone hit her, please." Oh, S7, post-chip, S/X cause I'm that way

Spike squinted through the trees of the cemetery. "Who the hell is that?"

Buffy turned. "Where?"

Willow and Xander turned as well. "Oh, her?"

A woman came into view, wearing a black shirt tucked into black pants, a windbreaker over everything, plus black Nikes with a blue swoop on the side.

"Cute shoes," Buffy commented.

Xander looked at her. "What do her shoes have to do with anything, Buff?"

"I don't know, they just seemed--significant somehow."

"Personally, I think the Browning Hi-Power pistol she's holding is more significant."

Willow looked at him. "I thought you forgot all that soldier stuff."

"Men, guns, it's a thing."

The woman stopped and glared at them. "Who are you people and what are you doing here?"

Buffy blinked. "Who are you?"

"I asked first."

"I asked second. Hey!" The woman had leveled the pistol at her.

"I want to know who you people are, and I want to know now!"

"I'm Buffy Summers. Does that help?"

"You're not as funny as you think you are." The gun swung around as the others stepped forward. The cross at her throat began to glow faintly. "Vampire. Which one of you is the vampire?"

Willow looked at Xander, who looked back at Willow, then they both looked at Spike, who was averting his eyes from the glow but still managing his best cooler-than-thou sneer and slouch.

"Let her guess," he said.

Buffy stepped forward again, staring at the cross. "Yours glows? Mine doesn't glow." She pulled her cross from under her shirt. "How is this fair?"

The woman barely glanced at her. "You need faith."

"You do? Since when?"

"Why are you bothering me?"

Buffy bounced on her toes. "Well, see, I told you my name, but you didn't tell me yours."

"Anita Blake."

The Scoobies and Spike looked at each other and shrugged.

Blake blinked in surprise. "Vampires call me the Executioner."

Spike snickered. "No vampire I know, love."

Willow sidled over to Buffy. "Wanna be Slayer?"

"Maybe. Maybe more like Wes' rogue demon hunter shtick."

Blake stared at Spike. "You're a vampire?"

Xander snickered. "Oh, she's good."

The gun started to track towards Xander, but snapped back at Spike's growl. "You do not point guns at Xander."

"I'll point this gun where I like, not where a vampire tells me."

Buffy and Willow both shook their heads. "Mis-ta-ake," they chorused.

"You don't threaten his nummy," Willow said.

"Bad idea," Buffy added.

Spiked glared at Xander. "You told them about the nummy?"

"It may have slipped out."

"You can be replaced by a blow-up doll, you know." He winced at the pout Xander gave him.

Xander turned to Buffy. "I've changed my mind. You can take him back."

"Nuh uh! You said, and I quote, 'Look what followed me home, can I keep him?'"

Willow nodded solemnly. "And then you swore to feed him and clean up after him and take care of him. Pets are a big responsibility, Xander."

"Yeah, but now he's sleeping on the bed and shedding, and he eats everything and he chews on stuff."

Spike smirked. "I only chew on the stuff you want me to chew on, whelp."

Xander grinned. "Oh, yeah, right."

Spike nodded towards Buffy and Willow. "Those two are doing the 'aren't they cute' look again, aren't they."

"'Fraid so."

He looked over his shoulder. "You know, if either of you--or both--wanted to come over some night, I bet we could have some fun."

Willow blushed. "Oh, no, no, thanks, but no. Girls, I like the girls now."

"The more the merrier, if you wanted to bring a guest."

"No, no, no."

Spike turned to Buffy. "Slayer? I don't think the boy here would mind a threesome."

Xander made a strangled noise.

Buffy blinked. "Three--threesome?"

"Sure, though sometimes you have to hold Xander's hands down, because he tickles."

The strangled noise modulated into an odd sort of reminiscent chuckle. Buffy gaped at Xander, speculation all over her face. Willow stared in disbelief that wasn't at all upset.

"Hey!" Blake yelled. "Arrange your orgies later! I want answers!"

Buffy sighed. "Answers to what? All you've done is come here and wave your guns and attitude around. What do you want?"

"Who are you?"

"The Vampire Slayer. Not as impressive as the Executioner, but more people have heard of me."

"You kill vampires."