Happy Birthday Buffy!
These days, Buffy didn't stake vampires. She worked for them. Morton and Morton: Market analysts; soulless, energy draining leeches who didn't pay her enough and were constantly making demands for overtime.
At least Kon enjoyed his work although pulling double shifts as a barrista during the day and a bouncer at night was hard on anyone, super-powers or not. It was hard on Buffy. Between her over time and Kon's two jobs they hardly saw each other.
Communication was limited to notes stuck on fridges.
Soulless bastards handed the Peterson file to me. I'll still be doing overtime when I'm retired. Can you get milk? Love you. B.
The cafe was like a war-zone today. Coffee machine wouldn't turn on. Customers made the Joker look sane. Remind me why we saved the world? xx Kon.
PS. Girls need new school uniforms. Form on the table.
Buffy snorted as she read Kon's note. The real world was harder than any super-villain. Super-villains didn't chip away at your energy and peace of mind and then send you a bill for it. Saved world because couldn't afford to replace it. Buffy wrote back. Can't Wendy wear Tana's old uniform? It fits. She sighed as she put the car keys on the bench and got her dinner out of the microwave. Kon had already left for his night job and the girls were getting ready for work. She might not need as much sleep as other people, but that was no advantage when the people you most wanted to spend time with did.
AUGH! MOM, I HATE YOU! HAND-ME-DOWNS ARE SO UNCOOL. DO YOU WANT ME TO LOOK LIKE A LOSER? MY LIFE IS OVER.
Told Wendy the less money spent on new school uniforms the more money for our vacation. She wants to know if we can go to the beach. Hey, I always said I'd take you to Hawaii, right?
It is a scientifically proven fact that people work better if they have holidays and travel broadens the mind. Love, Tana.
PS. Accidentally broke a desk at school today. The bill is in the mail.
Another day, another collection of notes. Buffy looked wistfully at them all.
Holiday sounds great she wrote back. How soon can we go?
It seemed like her head had just hit the pillow when the alarm went off. Buffy crawled over Kon to hit the alarm. Most morning he was awake enough to notice, but Thursday was his longest shift and Friday morning he was dead to the world. Buffy spent a few moments thinking fond thoughts about his sleep spiked hair and morning stubble before remembering that if she didn't get a move on, she and the girls would be late.
"Tana! Wendy!" she thumped on the girls bedroom door. "Time to get up!" She went into the nursery and scooped up a grizzling Martha -- not one of the family was a morning person it seemed. Neither of the older girls had left their room by the time Buffy returned and she thumped the door again. "Girls! It's time to go!"
"All right already! Stop yelling! Geez!" Wendy stomped out a few minutes later, uniform slung over one arm, making straight for the bathroom.
"No more than twenty minutes!" Buffy told her. "Tops!" She stuck her head into the bedroom. "Tana?"
"One more chapter," Tana said automatically, not looking up from the book she was pouring over.
"You can read in the kitchen," Buffy said. "Come on."
Martha was usually the only manageable one because she usually sat still and let herself be dressed but today she pitched a fit, throwing her shoe across the kitchen and pushing her formula aside.
"What has got into you all today?" Buffy wondered, fetching the shoe.
"Maybe we're going through a difficult phase," Tana suggested.
"Maybe we wouldn't be so difficult," Wendy said. "If you weren't so mean."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Into the car, everyone."
"But I haven't finished my toast --"
"You can finish it on the way." Like Buffy did, every morning.
Wendy grumbled but shouldered her schoolbag. "My turn for front seat --" she announced throwing open the door. "Woah."
"Is something wrong --" Buffy started but Wendy had started out the door. Wendy was never keen on getting to school. Buffy and Tana shared a glance and then followed her.
"Woah," Tana echoed. "This is --"
"This is so much better than school!" Wendy cheered.
Buffy could only agree. Instead of the tired patch of grass that was slowly dying of neglect, and the asphalt path, they were looking at lush tropical vegetation and bleached white sand that spread slowly down to a beach, the brightness of which they'd only seen in travel brochures. Buffy put a hand up to shade her eyes as she stared up at the clear sky and warm sun and then look back at their house.
Still there.
"Not the window," she said, trying to work out what had happened.
"Not the window," Tana agreed. "If you look at the vegetation, you'll note the absence of any tracks which would suggest that the house was lifted here and set down from the air --"
"Kon!" Buffy headed for the bedroom.
Tana caught her arm. "Do you really want to wake him?"
"I'm going to be late for work."
Tana kept hold of her. "Didn't you say you wanted a vacation?"
"Yes, but not like this! There's got to be leave and travel agents and bookings and --"
"You guys! The water's awesome! What are you waiting for?"
"And most people pack the car before going on vacation," Buffy said firmly. "They don't pack the house."
"All right," Tana said. "So Daddy might fail at ordinary. But he's been wanting to bring us here for years, and if he'd done it the sensible way and planned and budgeted --"
"We wouldn't be here now," Buffy finished. "Maybe never." The scent of tropical flowers had begun to drift towards them and she sighed, stepped out of her business like heels. "Okay," she said. "I guess we can let your Dad sleep in. He did work late after all."
She tried to ignore the look that Tana was giving her. After all, she deserved the holiday as much as any of them.