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halfamoonTitle: Safe
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Joyce, Buffy
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: Joyce finally understands, and is grateful for the woman her daughter has become.
Word Count: 1,094
Written For: Half A Moon Day 10: Leaders
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
She used to worry about her baby girl so much. She used to worry when she was sick and even when she had nightmares. She'd be the first in line to buy medicine whenever flu season came around or the weather changed, and the first to check for monsters under her baby girl's bed or inside her closet. Yet now she's fighting monsters on a nightly basis, and there's nothing she can do about it.
She tried so hard to raise her daughter to be a good, innocent girl, but there is no innocence possible in the life of a Slayer. There were years while Joyce bemoaned why her daughter, out of all the millions of girls across the world, had to have been called to be the Slayer. There was only supposed to be one Chosen One after all -- why did it have to be her child? And why hadn't see seen it earlier, perhaps moved somewhere where there were no Vampires or Demons or Watchers, for that matter? She could have home schooled Buffy, buried her underneath a proverbial rock where she couldn't possibly find by creeps with bumpy heads or old men who wanted her daughter to fight for them until she was killed.
But Mister Giles had been right, and he hadn't been one who had just wanted to protect her daughter so that she could keep being a weapon of mass destruction for his cause. And wasn't his cause, really and truly, every parents' cause? He had wanted to protect Buffy as best he could, but since she'd been called, the only way he had been able to do so had been through proper training to fulfill her duty and by being there for her whenever she'd needed him. It hadn't taken Joyce long to learn that he had gone into far more fights with their Slayer, his Slayer and her daughter, than any other Watcher in history, and that their relationship had been far beyond any that her predated it.
Still, it hadn't been enough. She had tried to punish Buffy, tried to terrorize her to save her, and in the end, Joyce had almost lost her daughter. She had almost lost her child completely while she'd still been alive, all through her own foolishness and naivety. Now, she understood. Now, she stocked their refrigerator with meats and other proteins, and she got up earlier not to fuss at Buffy for not having gone to bed all night but rather just to check on her and to make sure she had made it home -- just as she stayed up each and every night, waiting and praying for her daughter's safe return, until she could no longer keep her eyes open.
There were nights when she woke up in her bed when she knew she had not managed to walk there, and she had to wonder if her daughter had been the one to carry her to bed, to tuck her in, to watch over her carefully and fearfully. There had been a few times when Joyce had awakened in Buffy's arms, and others when she had awakened in Spike's, Angel's, and even Mister Giles'. It had taken her a very long time -- after all, her daughter's life was on the line every single night --, but eventually, moments like these, conversations with Mister Giles, visits with hot cocoa and Passions episodes with Spike, and even just watching Angel watching her precious, little girl when Buffy had not even seemed to know he was around -- and of course, all those moments when Buffy herself had come through the seemingly impossible battles she had to face -- Joyce had come around.
Now she understood. Her daughter was cursed to be the Slayer. She was cursed to have to lay her life on the line every night, because she was the only one who could do so to protect herself, to protect Joyce, to protect all her family and friends, to protect the whole world... But she was not alone. She was very, very far from being alone. Unlike all the other girls who had held the title and been killed so early in their lives, her daughter had become not just the Slayer but a true leader, and she was blessed with amazing friends who were more like the families of which other people could only dream, of which even Joyce herself had only ever been able to dream, families who stood beside each other no matter what, families who sacrificed and gave until it hurt and would even die for each other.
Her daughter was their leader, but they surrounded her. They lifted her up. They were what really stood between her and the monsters of the world who would have otherwise, years ago, ensured her daughter's death. But her daughter wasn't alone, and she was going to be just fine. Because she had friends. Because all of Joyce's efforts to teach her something while she'd been growing up had not been for naught. Because she did care for others, and those people responded to her kindness, to her sacrifices, to her love.
Her baby girl was going to be just fine, Joyce thought, actually smiling as she watched Buffy head off into the dangerous night with her baby sister and her friends. They'd meet with Mister Giles somewhere down the line, Joyce knew, and probably Spike too. She was glad he'd stuck around while the other one had gone sulking off to LA. There was something kinder, almost gentler, about Spike, and Joyce knew that he would stand beside her baby girl no matter what came, regardless of whether Buffy could ever actually love him or not.
She watched until they were almost out of sight before finding her voice and calling after them, "Come home safe. I'll make pancakes in the morning." Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant, if Buffy wasn't too tired, they could actually spend some time together around the breakfast table before she passed out and slept for the rest of the day. Joyce remembered all the days she had bemoaned Buffy staying in bed all day on the weekend, but now, she understood. She understood, and she was ever so grateful. Her daughter was not just the savior of humanity against the darkness. She was a genuine leader, and she would be safe. She would come home safe.
Buffy turned in the rising twilight and answered her mother with a grin, "I will, Mom."
"I know," Joyce whispered, and went inside and locked the door.
The End
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Joyce, Buffy
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: Joyce finally understands, and is grateful for the woman her daughter has become.
Word Count: 1,094
Written For: Half A Moon Day 10: Leaders
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
She used to worry about her baby girl so much. She used to worry when she was sick and even when she had nightmares. She'd be the first in line to buy medicine whenever flu season came around or the weather changed, and the first to check for monsters under her baby girl's bed or inside her closet. Yet now she's fighting monsters on a nightly basis, and there's nothing she can do about it.
She tried so hard to raise her daughter to be a good, innocent girl, but there is no innocence possible in the life of a Slayer. There were years while Joyce bemoaned why her daughter, out of all the millions of girls across the world, had to have been called to be the Slayer. There was only supposed to be one Chosen One after all -- why did it have to be her child? And why hadn't see seen it earlier, perhaps moved somewhere where there were no Vampires or Demons or Watchers, for that matter? She could have home schooled Buffy, buried her underneath a proverbial rock where she couldn't possibly find by creeps with bumpy heads or old men who wanted her daughter to fight for them until she was killed.
But Mister Giles had been right, and he hadn't been one who had just wanted to protect her daughter so that she could keep being a weapon of mass destruction for his cause. And wasn't his cause, really and truly, every parents' cause? He had wanted to protect Buffy as best he could, but since she'd been called, the only way he had been able to do so had been through proper training to fulfill her duty and by being there for her whenever she'd needed him. It hadn't taken Joyce long to learn that he had gone into far more fights with their Slayer, his Slayer and her daughter, than any other Watcher in history, and that their relationship had been far beyond any that her predated it.
Still, it hadn't been enough. She had tried to punish Buffy, tried to terrorize her to save her, and in the end, Joyce had almost lost her daughter. She had almost lost her child completely while she'd still been alive, all through her own foolishness and naivety. Now, she understood. Now, she stocked their refrigerator with meats and other proteins, and she got up earlier not to fuss at Buffy for not having gone to bed all night but rather just to check on her and to make sure she had made it home -- just as she stayed up each and every night, waiting and praying for her daughter's safe return, until she could no longer keep her eyes open.
There were nights when she woke up in her bed when she knew she had not managed to walk there, and she had to wonder if her daughter had been the one to carry her to bed, to tuck her in, to watch over her carefully and fearfully. There had been a few times when Joyce had awakened in Buffy's arms, and others when she had awakened in Spike's, Angel's, and even Mister Giles'. It had taken her a very long time -- after all, her daughter's life was on the line every single night --, but eventually, moments like these, conversations with Mister Giles, visits with hot cocoa and Passions episodes with Spike, and even just watching Angel watching her precious, little girl when Buffy had not even seemed to know he was around -- and of course, all those moments when Buffy herself had come through the seemingly impossible battles she had to face -- Joyce had come around.
Now she understood. Her daughter was cursed to be the Slayer. She was cursed to have to lay her life on the line every night, because she was the only one who could do so to protect herself, to protect Joyce, to protect all her family and friends, to protect the whole world... But she was not alone. She was very, very far from being alone. Unlike all the other girls who had held the title and been killed so early in their lives, her daughter had become not just the Slayer but a true leader, and she was blessed with amazing friends who were more like the families of which other people could only dream, of which even Joyce herself had only ever been able to dream, families who stood beside each other no matter what, families who sacrificed and gave until it hurt and would even die for each other.
Her daughter was their leader, but they surrounded her. They lifted her up. They were what really stood between her and the monsters of the world who would have otherwise, years ago, ensured her daughter's death. But her daughter wasn't alone, and she was going to be just fine. Because she had friends. Because all of Joyce's efforts to teach her something while she'd been growing up had not been for naught. Because she did care for others, and those people responded to her kindness, to her sacrifices, to her love.
Her baby girl was going to be just fine, Joyce thought, actually smiling as she watched Buffy head off into the dangerous night with her baby sister and her friends. They'd meet with Mister Giles somewhere down the line, Joyce knew, and probably Spike too. She was glad he'd stuck around while the other one had gone sulking off to LA. There was something kinder, almost gentler, about Spike, and Joyce knew that he would stand beside her baby girl no matter what came, regardless of whether Buffy could ever actually love him or not.
She watched until they were almost out of sight before finding her voice and calling after them, "Come home safe. I'll make pancakes in the morning." Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant, if Buffy wasn't too tired, they could actually spend some time together around the breakfast table before she passed out and slept for the rest of the day. Joyce remembered all the days she had bemoaned Buffy staying in bed all day on the weekend, but now, she understood. She understood, and she was ever so grateful. Her daughter was not just the savior of humanity against the darkness. She was a genuine leader, and she would be safe. She would come home safe.
Buffy turned in the rising twilight and answered her mother with a grin, "I will, Mom."
"I know," Joyce whispered, and went inside and locked the door.
The End
no subject
Date: 2023-02-27 03:09 am (UTC)