Days in the Sun
Sitting in front of her dresser, Lisa was staring at her reflection
in the mirror. The light brown curls were the same, but the rest was changed.
Her eyes were glowing with gold, strangely calm and dangerous looking at
the same time. Her forehead was ridged, and she touched it gingerly, tracing
the hard bones just below her skin. Next she bared her teeth and ran her
tongue on her fangs. She pricked herself on the sharp end of one and the
taste of her own blood filled her mouth. It tasted strangely familiar,
like a half forgotten memory, and weirdly enough almost good too. Experimenting,
she shifted between her demon and human features several times, slipping
easily into both.
“What are you doing luv?”
She jumped at the quiet question and turned to her father. He was by the door, a hard to read look on his face. She was usually pretty good at knowing when he was around, but she had been so caught up in her study of herself that she hadn’t noticed him until he entered the room.
“I knocked,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving her.
She realized she was still wearing her demon mask and shifted instantly, feeling her cheeks grow hot, unable to meet his gaze.
Spike watched his child return to her normal features, her blue again eyes dropping to the floor. It had been a shock to find her in game mask, however hard he had tried to hide it. He had not seen her like that since he and Buffy had explained her at four that she would scare people if she let her mask come out and so she mustn’t ever do it. He had almost forgotten that she could shift, and thought that she had forgotten too. Apparently not. She seemed very adept in changing from one appearance to the other, and he could only wonder if this was the first time she had practiced so.
“So, what were you doing?” he asked softly.
As much as he hated keeping things from Buffy, he wasn’t going to tell her about this. He knew she hated all reminders that their children were not completely normal. No reason to upset her.
“I was just…” she started, her eyes rising to him shyly.
She took a deep breath, and asked suddenly:
“Daddy, what am I?”
The words froze him and he could only repeat her question.
“What are you?”
“I mean, I’m not a vampire, ‘cause I don’t burn in the sun and drinking blood, eww. But I still have the funny face, so I can’t be completely human. So what am I?”
Spike came to her bed and sat on it, as much to give himself time as to think of his answer.
“You are a beautiful young lady. Who happens to be the prophesized daughter of the Slayer and a vampire.”
She frowned at that, and he could see her hesitation. After a few seconds, she decided herself, and asked in a whisper:
“Am I a demon?”
Spike shook his head, trying to smile despite the knot that was forming in his throat.
“You’re not a demon, luv. Demons don’t have souls, and you do.”
“The poof has a soul. And yet he is a demon, isn’t he?”
Even if the talk was serious, Spike was always amused to hear Lisa call Angel ‘the poof’ or ‘peaches’. She only did so where Buffy couldn’t hear, though.
“He is a demon. His soul is a curse. You were born with yours.”
She had a deep sigh.
“So, back to square one. What am I, Dad?”
‘My daughter. My first born. The child I thought I would never have. The child of the woman I love with my whole being. A miracle announced by a prophecy. Someone who certainly has a greater destiny than I can imagine. My baby.’
As true as all of this was, Spike doubted that it was what Lisa wanted and needed to hear. He searched in her baby blue eyes for a moment, and finally said, his voice quiet and filled with all his conviction:
“You are only who you decide to be, Lisa. ”
Her head tilted slightly as she pondered his words, and slowly a smile appeared on her lips.
“I love you Daddy,” she said quietly.
Repressing a relieved sigh that his answer was enough for the teenager, Spike mentally cheered. One more apocalypse avoided on the Hellmouth.
“Love you too, baby.”