Subject: [SpikesSalvation] Phoenix Dreams- Chapter 17 Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:02:09 -0800 (PST) From: Jerusha Hancock Reply-To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com Chapter 17 Ty was slurping his promised Orange Julius, as well as looking forward to dinner at McDonald's, as he and Buffy waited to see the dresses Emmie was trying on. Along with the bribes, Buffy had managed to get him to agree almost graciously to the shopping trip by pointing out that they would need a man's opinion, and he was elected. While he was fully aware of the fact that she was manipulating him, that didn't change the fact that one of his childhood heroes wanted him to come along. It made the whole shopping trip very cool. Emmie had refused to leave him unattended in the store, even with both of them within earshot, so Buffy was waiting with him while Emmie tried on her choices, and then they'd switch places. "Okay, what do you think?" the younger Slayer asked as she came out in dress number three. "That's the one," Buffy said immediately, grinning from ear to ear. "It's incredible." Ty nodded sagely. "You look really pretty in that one, Emmie." The dress itself was a deep crimson color, with a loose neck and low-cut back that hugged every curve of her body. The slit up the leg left both everything and nothing to the imagination, and the color matched the red tips in her hair. She smiled in return. "I thought so. I love it. Give me a second, Buffy, and then it's your turn." Buffy had a much harder time. By the sixth dress, she was beginning to get frustrated. They didn't fit, or they weren't the right color, or it was the color of the dress she wore to prom, or it was too much like the dress that she'd worn when she'd (briefly) died at the hands of the Master. Nothing seemed to be working. "I don't know," she finally sighed, frustrated. "Maybe I should go somewhere else on a different day. This is getting old, and I know Ty's probably bored out of his mind." She gave the boy a sympathetic smile. "It's okay," he said, hating to see his hero upset. "I don't mind waiting." "How many more do you have in there with you, Buffy?" Emmie asked. She shrugged. "Two more." "So try on the other two," the girl suggested. "If neither of those work, we can go again tomorrow." Emmie gave her an evil grin. "In fact, we could make Wes crazy by skipping training in order to go shopping." Buffy smiled in reply and went back into the dressing room. When she re-emerged, Emmie's eyes widened, and Ty's jaw dropped dramatically. "That's it, Buffy," Emmie breathed. Buffy's dress was also form-fitting, but in a green so dark as to be almost black, with something embedded in the fabric to make it shimmer. It was low-cut enough to show an appetizing amount of cleavage and bare in the back except for criss-crossing strips of fabric. And the slit up the leg would be enough to jump-start a rock's imagination. "That'll make Dad's eyes pop," Ty said matter-of-factly. Both women stared at him. "What are you talking about, kiddo?" Emmie asked. "You know I'm going with your dad." "Please," he replied. "You're going with Uncle Angel." "And how do you know that?" Buffy demanded. He gave her a smirk that reminded her so much of Spike, it was scary. "I'm psychic, remember?" he asked. And then his grin broadened. "He fancies you, y'know." "How do you know that?" Buffy asked, suddenly realizing that she had a fount of information on the new Spike sitting right in front of her. "He dreams about you, and he talks in his sleep," Ty said. "And he's told me stories about you since I was born, practically." "What kind of stories?" Buffy asked, suspicious. The boy hesitated. "I don't know if I should talk about it. It's kind of private." "Name your price." Ty's face lit up, and Buffy could see that she'd been manipulated by a master. "Two—no, three stories about my dad from before, when you knew him." The Slayer hesitated, well aware that William may not like his son hearing about his days as Spike, and also knowing that few of those adventures were G-rated. "All right," she agreed. "You're on." Emmie groaned. "I should have asked for stories. I'll bet some of those are even better than a date with Angel." ~~~~ Later that night, when William went to pick his son up from Emmie's, he was somewhat disconcerted to find that Buffy was just leaving. And for some strange reason, Emmie kept looking at him thoughtfully and murmuring something about a black leather coat. There was just no understanding women at times. "But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed." 2 Cor 4:7-9 ---------------------------------