Summers Blood (Joyce, Giles, Dawn, PG)tiny_white_hatsMay 21 2013, 13:12:10 UTC
“Joyce,” Rupert announced his presence quietly, slipping away from Buffy’s side to join Joyce against the wall. “May I speak with you for a moment?”
“Of course,” Joyce smiled graciously, leading the taller man from her living room into her kitchen. In truth, she didn’t want to talk to him, not now when his voice sounded funereal and his eyes were dark and heavy like rainclouds, but Joyce didn’t have the luxury of refusing him. In this world she still barely understood, the one which was Buffy’s far more than it would ever be hers, there wasn’t time to be afraid and it wasn’t safe to be uninformed.
“It’s about Dawn,” Rupert began with a sigh. “Joyce, there are some things you need to be made aware of.”
“I already know that she’s a key; Buffy explained all of that. Is there anything else?” she asked politely.
“It’s precisely that, Joyce. Dawn is the Key and I’m not entirely confident that you fully comprehend what that entails.”
“I think I understand just fine,” Joyce responded cooly, the barest hint of warning in her words. “Dawn has power she never asked for, just like Buffy. Both of my daughters are…different from other girls, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be treated differently.”
“Joyce,” Giles sighed, rubbing his temples slowly. “Please understand me when I say this. I care about Dawn, truly. But all the same, she is not what we believed she was. She is the Key, not…”
“Don’t!” Joyce snapped, her glare as fierce as her daughter’s. Joyce may not have been a slayer but she was still a fighter and she would fight for Dawn until she bled. All her memories of Dawn may have been lies, blinking away like fireflies if she looked too closely at them for too long, but they were still hers. Dawn was her daughter, no matter how she’d come to be, and that was the only thing that really mattered. “Never tell me that she’s not my daughter!”
“Joyce, please,” Giles pled, stress visible in his features.
“You’re a very intelligent man, Rupert, but you and your books can only know so much. Dawn is mine, just as much as Buffy is, and I would very much appreciate it if you could stop trying to tell me otherwise. You may know everything about the Key and about your magic and your monsters, but I know other things. I know what it means to be a mother and what it means to have a child, just as much as I know that Dawn is mine.
“Please don’t suggest otherwise to me again.”
Without another word, Joyce turned from the taller man, holding her spine straight like a wall, shoulders tall as a hill. He had other things to say, but Joyce didn’t want to hear any of them. Maybe it was better to know and maybe ignorance was selfish, but the only things Giles had to tell her were things she didn’t need to know. Silently, Joyce pulled her youngest daughter into an embrace from behind, one hand wrapping around Dawn’s thin shoulders as she stroked back her long sepia hair. Dawn was warm like any other human being, Summers blood running through her veins and pumping through her heart; built from flesh and bones, solid and real.
“Mom?” Dawn asked, trying to mask the trace of fear that had lingered since Joyce had come home from the hospital. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course, Dawn,” Joyce smiled, pressing a kiss to the crown of her daughter’s head. “Everything is just fine.”
This is so so good, I love every bit of this - this scene should have been canon. I love Joyce so much, she's tender and fierce and the show really didn't use her to best advantage most of the time, but I'm surprised she doesn't get more love in fandom (aside from Spike, Joyce fics.) She's so important to Buffy and that is THE central relationship in her life. I'm surprised there aren't more fics exploring Joyce, and the mother/daughter bonds.
I have no trouble imagining that if the timing had been different, Joyce might have been called, but even if she wasn't a Potential? That combination of love and fierceness we see in Buffy and Dawn? That's all Joyce, kids. Can you tell I love the Summers women?
Very emotional and I think that you portrayed just right both Giles and Joyce. She's really brave and determined with Dawn, as she was in the series and as Buffy was for her little sister.
“Of course,” Joyce smiled graciously, leading the taller man from her living room into her kitchen. In truth, she didn’t want to talk to him, not now when his voice sounded funereal and his eyes were dark and heavy like rainclouds, but Joyce didn’t have the luxury of refusing him. In this world she still barely understood, the one which was Buffy’s far more than it would ever be hers, there wasn’t time to be afraid and it wasn’t safe to be uninformed.
“It’s about Dawn,” Rupert began with a sigh. “Joyce, there are some things you need to be made aware of.”
“I already know that she’s a key; Buffy explained all of that. Is there anything else?” she asked politely.
“It’s precisely that, Joyce. Dawn is the Key and I’m not entirely confident that you fully comprehend what that entails.”
“I think I understand just fine,” Joyce responded cooly, the barest hint of warning in her words. “Dawn has power she never asked for, just like Buffy. Both of my daughters are…different from other girls, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be treated differently.”
“Joyce,” Giles sighed, rubbing his temples slowly. “Please understand me when I say this. I care about Dawn, truly. But all the same, she is not what we believed she was. She is the Key, not…”
“Don’t!” Joyce snapped, her glare as fierce as her daughter’s. Joyce may not have been a slayer but she was still a fighter and she would fight for Dawn until she bled. All her memories of Dawn may have been lies, blinking away like fireflies if she looked too closely at them for too long, but they were still hers. Dawn was her daughter, no matter how she’d come to be, and that was the only thing that really mattered. “Never tell me that she’s not my daughter!”
“Joyce, please,” Giles pled, stress visible in his features.
“You’re a very intelligent man, Rupert, but you and your books can only know so much. Dawn is mine, just as much as Buffy is, and I would very much appreciate it if you could stop trying to tell me otherwise. You may know everything about the Key and about your magic and your monsters, but I know other things. I know what it means to be a mother and what it means to have a child, just as much as I know that Dawn is mine.
“Please don’t suggest otherwise to me again.”
Without another word, Joyce turned from the taller man, holding her spine straight like a wall, shoulders tall as a hill. He had other things to say, but Joyce didn’t want to hear any of them. Maybe it was better to know and maybe ignorance was selfish, but the only things Giles had to tell her were things she didn’t need to know. Silently, Joyce pulled her youngest daughter into an embrace from behind, one hand wrapping around Dawn’s thin shoulders as she stroked back her long sepia hair. Dawn was warm like any other human being, Summers blood running through her veins and pumping through her heart; built from flesh and bones, solid and real.
“Mom?” Dawn asked, trying to mask the trace of fear that had lingered since Joyce had come home from the hospital. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course, Dawn,” Joyce smiled, pressing a kiss to the crown of her daughter’s head. “Everything is just fine.”
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All her memories of Dawn may have been lies, blinking away like fireflies if she looked too closely at them for too long
This is lovely and scary. Poor Joyce and her brain issues. I love how you show her fierceness. Buffy gets it from her.
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THIS. YES.
This is so so good, I love every bit of this - this scene should have been canon. I love Joyce so much, she's tender and fierce and the show really didn't use her to best advantage most of the time, but I'm surprised she doesn't get more love in fandom (aside from Spike, Joyce fics.) She's so important to Buffy and that is THE central relationship in her life. I'm surprised there aren't more fics exploring Joyce, and the mother/daughter bonds.
I have no trouble imagining that if the timing had been different, Joyce might have been called, but even if she wasn't a Potential? That combination of love and fierceness we see in Buffy and Dawn? That's all Joyce, kids. Can you tell I love the Summers women?
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EXACTLY. Great prompt btw - the Summers women deserve more fandom love and Joyce deserves RESPECT.
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