The Rest Of Us

[deird_lj]

And, just in time for mothers day, a fanfic. Or actually, ten drabbles with one underlying theme.

The Rest Of Us

The story of one mother who thought she was a hero, two who actually were, three who never got a chance to be, and four who weren’t really mothers at all.

Effort

“Well, no, but before this year she was never really-”
“I think you’ll find her grades-”
“If I could-”
“There were some extenuating-”
“If you’d please just consider-”
Dial tone. Yet another person opting for the hanging-up-on-crazy-mother-with-psychotic-child idea.
She sighed, and slumped in the chair.

It was hopeless.

“None of that, Joyce Summers,” she said firmly. “You’re not going to give up on your daughter’s future. Instead, you’re going to get back on that phone, and STAY on it until you find a school that will take her.”
She pulled the phone book towards her, and once again started dialling.

Babysit

Years later, he couldn’t remember her.
The memories from those early years are sketchy at best, and all of his were saved for those precious hours he’d had with Nikki.

But although she’d never claim that top spot, at the time Rita was his second favourite person in the world.

Picture books, building blocks, toast with honey, a soft-toy dog… her apartment had it all, and no mistake.
Every time Mommy went patrolling that year, she’d take him across the hall, and Rita would call him “the little gentleman” and smile.

But she died the next year, and he forgot.

Best Laid Plans

It was in the bag she’d packed. The just-in-case-we-have-to-leave bag of Things That Mattered.
He pulled it out – just a crumpled old bit of paper – and unfolded it.
“Things To Do.
1-get apartment
2-get puppy
3-get boat…”
He knew she’d had a list. He hadn’t known she’d kept it.

He was already moving on to the rest of the bag when he noticed a second page, right behind the first.
“Addendum To Item Number Five”, it said. Then there were twelve names – six for boys, six for girls.

He sat there staring at it, but the tears wouldn’t come anymore.

The Talk

It was about that time again.

Living on the streets stripped away most of your naivety pretty quickly, but there could still be some significant gaps in your knowledge. You’d either get no information, which would leave you blindsided, or get jumbled up misinformation, which would be worse.
So, every few months the eleven and twelve year old girls would be herded into the room next to the kitchen, and one of the Center volunteers would talk them through it.

Anne filled the cardboard box with pads, tampons, and some very informative booklets, and once again headed into the fray.

Forget Me Not

The dust turned to mud, and the mud slowly washed into the gutters. It mixed in with the grime of a million people’s feet walking the city.
And mud is mud, after all. Soon enough you couldn’t tell one type from another. It was all just dirt, slowly drying in the sun.

A few specks stuck to his leg, just above the right knee.
They lingered there, until a nurse, unthinking, wiped him clean at the start of his examination.
And then there was nothing to show that she had died for him at all.

But it really did happen.

Replacement

It wasn’t the same – she knew that. A substitute will never be anything but a poor imitation of the real thing.
But Tara did her best.

She packed lunches, did laundry, helped with homework, assigned chores, established a curfew, grounded her for ignoring the curfew and climbing out of her bedroom window to go visit Spike, arranged a weekly Girls Video Night, made sure she ate vegetables, and hugged her as often as possible.

And no, it wasn’t the same.
It never would be.

But substitute or not, Dawn deserved a mother. And it was the least she could do.

So Much Potential

In another world, maybe she would have gone to high school.
She would have been a yearbook nerd, been best friends with the school band’s sax player, and never gotten her homework in on time.
She would have met a guy, her first year of college, with too-long hair and a lopsided smile.
They would have married senior year, and had a son shortly afterwards.

But this world is not that world.

So instead, she’ll die, tonight, right here on the floor, with a cut throat leaking the life out of her.
And that other life will just fade away.

Utah Bride

He was so pretty. And so very little.

Justine dropped the knife on the back seat, uncaring, and returned to the bundle in her arms.
A fuzzy blanket (slightly bloodstained, but that didn’t matter) and underneath…
Five fingers on the right hand, five fingers on the left. All with the tiniest fingernails she’d ever seen.

Bending closer, Justine closed her eyes and breathed in the nice-baby smells. “We are going to have such a beautiful life, little one,” she whispered.

She kissed him, once, softly on his forehead. Then she started the car.
“Time for us to collect your daddy.”

Giving Birth

It had all gone wrong.
Slayers had come and exploded it all, and now the family was scattered.

Men in uniforms were messing about with computer pieces and chaining up the darkness.
Daddy was still weeping, mourning, and would not be Daddy anymore.
No more violence, terror, pain, or people screaming in the streets.

But she would fix it all.

One bite, one drink, one mouthful of blood in return, and then everything would unbreak itself, and the way it should be would be the way it was.

She would be a mummy again, and Darla would be so proud.

Making Up For It

One day she figured it out. Sat down, thought about it, and realised that her daughter’s first meal would have been leftover pizza because she couldn’t be bothered cooking that night.
Her first family event was probably Holding A Bucket While Mom Throws Up Again.
And the closest she’d ever gotten to being tucked in with kisses and bedtime stories was a tired smile and “night, sweetie”.

When Dawn got home, there was a three-course dinner, cool movies, and a long cuddle waiting for her.

She might have wondered why, but she didn’t ask, and Joyce wouldn’t have answered anyway.

Comments

[snowpuppies]

Oh, Joyce! and Tara! *weeps*

Lovely set...and 'Best Laid Plans'? Fred??

Very lovely, and a great thing to post today! :P

[deird1]

Thanks!

Actually "Best Laid Plans" is about Anya. If you remember, in The Replacement Xander gets an apartment, and she promptly starts running through the other items on her 'list' because she's dying (in about fifty years) and she needs to get lots of stuff done first...

I'm glad you enjoyed these!

[snowpuppies]

Ah. I didn't remember that. MAkes sense, though...

I just figured Fred for a list-y person, too. ;)

[dreamincolor.livejournal.com]

I distinctly remember commenting on this before my scarce week..but I guess the comment didn't go through? I was poking around, reading it again, and I really like this piece..

'Replacement' and 'Making Up For It' were sad in a very perfect way, but of course 'So Much Potential' was my favorite. I'm not sure I know who 'Forget Me Not' is about though..can I have a hint?

Anyway, beautiful set. Sorry it took me so long to get a comment through!

[deird1]

Replacement is my favourite, too. Mostly because I'm absolutely nuts about Tara...
Forget Me Not is a bit obscure... it's actually about Darla.

I'm glad you liked these!

[dreamincolor.livejournal.com]

Ooo, gotcha. That makes sense now.