Rivals by Rainne

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon et al own everyone in this story except Lexie, Gab and Tara, because those three are mine all mine.

Summary: Willow decides to let Lexie stay in Sunnydale.

The summit meeting around the table in the dining room at 1630 Revello Drive was one unlike any that had been held there before. Rather than dealing with monsters, demons or the forces of Darkness, this conference was a meeting of adult minds attempting to decide what should be done about one very intractable twelve-year-old girl.

The children were absent. Under Dawn's guidance and with strict orders to be home before dark, they had been sent downtown with a small amount of cash and instructions to have fun, leaving Buffy, Willow and Gab free to discuss what might best be done about Lexie.

"I really don't know what to do," Willow confessed, a tired look on her face. "I'm at the end of my very frayed rope."

Gab sighed, patting Willow's leg comfortingly. "I don't either," she agreed, her Southern drawl more accentuated by her exhaustion and frustration. She looked up at Buffy, and the Slayer could see the pain on her face. "They're constantly at each other's throats. Have been since Tara started high school."

Willow nodded. "Tara just graduated high school. She took a bunch of top honors and was valedictorian of her class, and she's got a letter of acceptance from almost every accredited university on the planet. She's really gifted."

Buffy smirked. "Sounds familiar," she teased, and delighted in Willow's blush and answering grin.

"Yeah, she takes after her mama," Gab agreed, also smiling. Then the smile slowly faded. "Too bad the little 'un takes after me. Didn't stand a chance, poor thing. Struggles in everything except sports and the magic. Tara doesn't play sports at all, but she knows more about the magic than Lexie does. But I think that's only because Lexie's younger. I think in time she'll pass Tara. But she can't right now and it eats at her."

"She also plays guitar and was in a little garage band last summer," Willow added. At Buffy's laugh, she grinned. "And no, thankfully, they did not call themselves Dingoes Ate My Baby. They called themselves Dead Suburban Chicks. I have no idea why. But they broke up when school started again and the drummer moved away."

Gab picked up the thread of the conversation again. "Well, school ended last week and Tara had to rub her honors into Lexie's face. Not that Lexie's grades are bad or nothin', although she did repeat second grade; but Lexie's got some pretty severe learnin' disabilities and she's in special classes because of that. We've gotta work with her a lot at home. She's also got a problem with anger management. So here comes Tara, honors and all, askin' Lexie if she's gonna be repeating the fifth grade." Gab shook her head and rubbed her temples. "And of course Lexie comes completely unglued."

Willow stood up, nervous energy rolling off her in waves. "She's run away over things like this before, but usually only to her friend Kelly's house. We have a sort of tag-team arrangement with her family, in that each house is a safe place for the other child to run if they feel the need to get out before their anger gets out of control. So Lexie goes to Kelly's for a couple of days until she can calm down enough to come home."

"But of course, bein' witchy, Willow knew as soon as she came in the house that magic had been done. Lexie was kind enough to leave us a note telling us she was goin' an' didn't think she'd be coming back. So we got Tara, since it was her fault, and made her come with us to get her back."

Buffy looked at Willow, and Willow could see wheels turning in the Slayer's head. She wondered what plan Buffy would come up with. "So..." the Slayer said slowly, "what she really needs is a place where she can be herself, instead of being in the constant shadow of her sister."

"They're awesome. Really, they are." The dark-haired woman smiled at her partner. "From the very first time you feel 'em kick, until they come screamin' into the world, you wonder: what are they gonna be like? What color is her hair gonna be; is she gonna have blue eyes or green eyes? And then, all of a sudden, you've got her in your arms and she's lookin' up at you with this trusting face, because you're her mama and you're gonna protect her, and somehow she knows it.

"And she starts to grow. She learns how to crawl and walk and talk, and she learns her name and your name, and she calls you Mama and she runs to you for a hug and a kiss every time you come in the house. And the first time she says she loves you, ya just wanna cry.

"And you watch her grow. You celebrate her successes with her, and you cry over her failures. You try to teach her what it really means to love and to live. But there's some things you can't do anything about, like whether or not she gets along with her sister. You make allowances for some things, but other things you have to cut off at the base, like a weed in a cotton patch.

"But sometimes you gotta let go. You gotta understand that you're dealin' with somethin' that you can't fix, somethin' that she's gotta fix for herself. And sometimes you gotta ask for help."

Willow understood suddenly what Gab was getting at. She nodded and looked at Buffy. "We need your help, Buffy."

"I'll do what I can," Buffy replied. She smiled slightly. "I'm assuming you're about to ask if she can stay here for awhile."

Gab nodded. "I really think it would be best. Tara's graduated, and come the fall she's going to Oxford on a full four-year scholarship."

The two friends laughed at the old memory, and then Gab continued. "I'm thinkin' if Lexie were to spend, say, the summer here, then by the time she got back for school in the fall, Tara'd be gone and she could be kind of an only child. Nobody behind her back makin' her feel bad for strugglin'. You know?"

Buffy nodded, thinking. "Yeah, I don't honestly think that's such a bad idea. Here there's no Tara for her to feel compared with, she'll have Dawn to hang out with and there are also some younger kids, closer to her age, down the block. She can go up to the Y to swim or, well, really, whatever she wants to do. And come August, she can come home." Buffy stopped for a moment. "Are you sure she can do it? I mean, I know she got here and all, but are you sure it wasn't just dumb luck?"

Willow shook her head. "No. I don't know where you found that spell, Buffy, but it's incredibly simple. It doesn't require skill, only power. Or desperation," she added, almost as an afterthought.

"So that's settled, then. Lexie'll stay with y'all 'til summer's over, and then come home." Gabs sighed. "That's one load off our minds."

"Yes. Thank you so much, Buffy. You have no idea, really." Willow slumped in her chair.

The girls came strolling into the house about 4:30, chattering excitedly about the movie they'd seen, to find five adults waiting for them in the living room. Xander, Buffy, Anya and Willow were regaling Gabs with tales of some of their adventures on the Hellmouth. As they entered the room, they heard Willow telling the tale of Glory and how they found out that Dawn was the Key. "...And Glory says, 'any last words?' and Buffy says, 'Just one. Truck.' And BOOM! Glory's hit by a truck, slung way up in the air, and we all run like the wind."

There was laughter all around at the hand gesture that accompanied Glory's flight into the air, followed by broad smiles as the girls entered the living room. Lexie went immediately to sit at Willow's feet, while Dawn and Tara grabbed floor space near Buffy and Gab, who sat on the couch. "We're so glad you're back," Willow began, glancing at the window where dusk was just beginning to descend upon Sunnydale. "We have something to tell you."

Willow laid her hand on Lexie's shoulder. "A treat for you, sweetie. Because you did so well on your report card, and because Miss Dennison said your behavior had so drastically improved." At the accompanying smile, the child's face glowed.

Gab nudged Tara none too gently in the side with her foot. "You shut your mouth. You're the cause of everything that's happened over the last three days, Miss Thing, so you just zip it. We don't have to let you go to Oxford, you know; you can just as easily get a scholarship to West Florida and stay right at home where I can keep an eye on you."

Tara glared angrily at her younger sister, who simply stuck her tongue out in return and looked back up at her mother. "Mama?"

Willow smiled gently. "Well, you know how you wanted to go to sleep-away camp? We have something better for you. It's like sleep-away camp without the bugs. How would you like to stay here for the summer?"

Tara's mouth dropped open in ugly shock at these words, and at the ecstatic expression on Lexie's face. "Really, Mama? You mean it?"

On the heels of Lexie's words, almost overriding them, Tara burst out: "How come she gets to stay here? She hasn't done anything special!"

"For exactly that reason," Gab said. There was anger in her voice. "For the last four years, all you've done is nag your sister until she's prob'ly ready to pistol-whip you, and I don't blame her. I'm about ready to do the same thing. She deserves a break from you, because all you're gonna do all summer is rag her about her grades and her dyslexia, which she can't help. So we're giving her the break she deserves. You, on the other hand, deserve nothing except maybe the back of my hand against the side of your head. Now, you shut your mouth."

Tara stood up angrily. "Fine! I'm going home!" And with a showy display of power and foolishness, she vanished in a blinding flash of light.

Willow sighed. "Oh well. She'll get over it." She ran her hand through Lexie's hair, so like her own. "Your sister's having a hard time, Lex, you know? She's put herself under a tremendous amount of pressure. That doesn't excuse how she's treated you, by any means, but maybe it will help you understand why, when you get older."

"It's okay, Mom. I understand. Go ahead and go. I'll be fine." Lexie's face was remarkably mature in that moment, and the adults looking at her thought that yes, perhaps she did understand, after all. Willow stood. "We should go. Gab needs to deal with Tara and I want to bring Lexie back some of her things." She grinned lopsidedly at Buffy. "Too bad I couldn't figure out how to aim this thing twenty years ago, huh?"

Buffy nodded, a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes. "But it's not too late, Will. You know how to do it now, right?"

Willow nodded and smiled. "Of course. We'll come as much as we can. I'll be back soon with Lexie's things."

Lexie jumped up and hugged Gab fiercely. "I'll miss you, Mom," she whispered. "I love you."

"I will." The child then went and hugged her mother. "I'll see you in a little while?"

Lexie nodded and stepped away as her parents joined hands. Gab looked over at Buffy. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Buffy simply nodded, and put her hand on Lexie's shoulder as the girl backed up in front of her. Together, they watched as Willow and Gab disappeared in a flash of light.

Almost before they had a chance to move, Willow flashed back with a bag packed for Lexie. Buffy blinked in startlement. "That was fast," she commented.

Willow shook her head, a bit dizzy. "I've got to learn how to pinpoint that thing better. I almost popped back while I was still here." She set the bag down and took Lexie in a huge hug. "Be good for Buffy?"

"Always." The red-haired woman turned to Dawn, hugging her as well. "Take care of my girl, Dawnie?"

Xander stepped forward for his hug as well. "I miss you," she whispered to him. "You're my best, always."

"I love you, Will," he said simply, reminding her of his declaration of love when she had tried to destroy the world. "No matter what. I'll always love you."

They embraced fiercely and tearfully for a long moment, and then Willow even hugged Anya before stepping back. She grinned at Buffy then, impishly, and she was still the same old Willow when she said, "If she gives you any trouble at all, Buffy, you have my full permission to pull her ears off and put them back on wrong way up."

"Mom!" Lexie screeched, outraged, but the adults all laughed. Then there was a final flash of light, and Willow was gone.

Main What's New Fiction by Author Fiction by Pairing eBooks

Subject Index Submissions Gallery Forums Links Awards Contact Us

If you find problems on these pages please email your host.

Rivals

By Rainne

Djgirl1978@bellsouth.net