Title: Everyone Has A Secret In Sunnydale - Part 5
Author: Femvamp
Email: femvamp000@y...
Feedback: Yes Please.
Disclaimer: You all know the drill. I don't own the show. I don't
own the characters. I don't own anything of any value except my sick
and twisted mind.
Spoilers: Season 4 I know I said Season 5 but I think its Season
4....or 5. Oh man. Well for those who aren't sure (Buffy and Willow
are in their first year of college and Joyce has a secret that could
destroy her daughter.)
Author's notes: I thought it would be fun to write Dawn into the
plot.
Further note: *** denotes thought.

Chapter 5: No Strings Attached.

Joyce had every intention of confronting Maggie when she saw her, but
all that went out the window when Maggie pulled her into a deep kiss.
Then again everything else went out the window as well. If they
weren't in a crowded bar then Joyce might have ended up naked, Hell
she was seriously considering it anyway.

"How have you been?" Maggie smiled at Joyce as they sat down at the
bar.

"Great now." Joyce wasn't sure why she couldn't feel her legs, "How
about you?"

Maggie frowned for a second, "Basically good. My work is going great.
Making major breakthroughs on a project I'm working on. But...."

"But what?"

"Oh nothing. I just had high hopes for one of my....students and
things just didn't work out well. That's all."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Joyce hoped that this student wasn't Buffy.

Joyce seriously considered telling Maggie about Buffy being in her
class but she thought better of it. Joyce didn't want Maggie to treat
Buffy any different just because of her mother happened to be having
sex with her. It just wasn't a cool thing to do.

Joyce spent the rest of the night watching Maggie with a new eye. At
first when she heard Buffy and Willow talking about Maggie she hadn't
believed what she heard. Joyce knew she was still the reigning queen
of denial but her thrown was seriously threatened. Her knack for
denial was slowly changing into a strange sort of acceptance.

Now when she looked at things she saw them as they are, not as they
appear to be. She knew that things, especially in Sunnydale were very
rarely what the seemed, including her. Professor Maggie Walsh seemed
to be your typical hard as nails college professor but Joyce knew that
there was something more to her.

She was in the Initiative.

*** Hell from what Buffy and Willow said, she's their leader. ***

Joyce still had no clue what the Initiative was, but they sounded
important and that was enough for Joyce. She had gotten used to half-
truths and had accepted that in most cases that half the truth was
better then knowing it all. It kept her from believing what people
said about the ones she cared about but kept her from the true evil
that she knew existed in the world.

"You look deep in thought."

Joyce smiled at Maggie, "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Life mostly."

"What about life."

Joyce took a sip of her wine, "Just that it's funny sometimes."

"Funny?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah funny." Joyce paused, "Yeah, I had given up on being happy. I
was resigned to the fact that I would spend the rest of my life alone.
Now I have you. Yeah I know we have a 'no strings attached' thing
going, but I am happy."

Maggie paused for a moment, "You know.....we can change that."

"What?" Joyce wasn't sure she heard correctly.

Maggie smiled, "I think its time for some strings."

Joyce just smiled and kissed Maggie when she came up for air she
smiled again, "Strings would be nice."

Continued in part 6