Ch.48: You are the one that I desire

                                    

                                          

    "I know they're so cute you could die, but it's all I got." Buffy said as we were setting up the couch for Pops to sleep on.
  "Think nothing of it. It's, um, whimsical." He said while taking the pillow covered in brightly colored butterflies.
  "They were mine when I was little. Couldn't find the guest sheets." She unfolded the matching sheets to the pillowcase. "Mom always did this stuff." She sighed. "They don't actually fit. I blame the sofa. We need one of those pull-out kinds. The kind with no payments til 2000-infinity?"
  "What?"
  "Oh, it's just money stuff." Buffy sat on the coffee table. "It turns out Mom left me some, and while we were dead, it got squandered on luxuries like food and clothing."
  "I'm able to pay off some of the bills with what I had in my stash, but there's still some that I can't cover." I ran a hand through my hair as Pops sat on the couch.
  "How....How bad is it?"
  "Anya says pretty bad." Buffy replied.
  "We're kind of taking her word for it." I added.
  "Actually, I'm kind of trying not to think about it."
  "Sound policy. At least for tonight." Pops pointed.
  "Figured I'd put it out of my mind. You know, take a break. Get some perspective. And then wake up at 4:00 a.m. terrified." Buffy sighed. She stood up and plopped down on the couch.
  "Buffy, Aud, perhaps you're putting too much pressure on yourselves." Pops looked at us. "I mean, to return from some unknown level of Hell, it's only natural that coming back would be a process."
  "In the meantime, we're scaring people." I sighed.
  "Well, that can take time, too." Pops reached for the pillow. "Well, if it's any consolation, life can be pretty overwhelming, even for people who haven't been where you two have."
  "I guess." We both said.
  "Look, tomorrow morning, you two and I will sit down together, and we'll go through everything, every bill, one by one. We'll pay off the more important ones with-"
  "My stash." I pointed.
  "Yes. We'll work it out together."
  "I'm glad you're back." Buffy looked at Pops.
  "Well, I'm glad you are, too." The little blonde woman got up and went up to bed.
  "She's right, Pops." I smiled. "Everyone's glad to have you back." Giving him a hug, I wished him a good night and left the living room. Going to the kitchen, I grabbed a pack of Twizzlers and headed to the back porch. Sighing, I sat on the back steps and just looked out over the yard and night sky. Eating the Twizzlers, I couldn't stop thinking about everything. "Hey, Spike." I looked up at the vampire when I caught his faint scent. He smirked and looked at the back door.
  "You hear all that noise?" He asked.
  "Kinda hard not to." I replied. A while after I had come outside, Pops and Willow had started arguing in the kitchen. "Got ears of a demon."
  "You know Papa Bear doesn't mean anything by it." Spike said while taking a step toward the porch.
  "I guess, but he is right." Holding a Twizzler up and looking at it, I took a bite. "Everyone....they all care. They all care so much. It....makes it all harder." I shook my head.