One Daughter to Another
One Daughter to Another
by WhenNightFallsDisclaimer: All the characters belong to their respective owners.
FFA Pairing: Dawn Summers / Lindsey Willows (CSI)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dawn hummed along with the upbeat sing that came from her radio as she drummed her fingers on her steering wheel. For an eternally busy city there was almost no traffic, which Dawn was grateful for, on her way to her lovely but geeky lover. In the beginning her sister and friends had joked about how much Greg reminded them of Xander but after a while they saw what Dawn saw, that they were alike and yet entirely different.
The twenty-six year old frowned when she saw a young girl standing by the side of the road with her thumb up. The girl didn’t look much older than fourteen and yet here she was trying to hitch a ride. Her frown turned into a scowl when she recognized the girl. She slowed her car down a few feet further from the girl and waited until the girl was at the passenger side window.
“Hey, thanks, I-” The blonde breathed out relieved before recognizing the brunette behind the wheel. “Oh, it’s you.” Her blue eyes showed a mix of agitation and nervousness. Dawn rolled her eyes and motioned for Lindsey to get in the car. When Lindsey didn’t act right away Dawn gave her a pointed look at which Lindsey rolled her eyes and opened the back door, tossing her bag in before getting in the passenger seat.
“Running away? That’s original.” Dawn scoffed when Lindsey was seated. “Seatbelt on.” She added. Seeing Lindsey’s scowl and jaded look Dawn wondered if she was like that. She felt sorry for Buffy and her mother all of a sudden. “So, do you want Catherine to yell at you or do you wanna tell me what you were thinking so maybe I can help you with your mother?” Dawn questioned casually as she manoeuvred her car back into traffic.
“Why bother, she doesn’t care.” Lindsey replied in that typical teenager way they all seemed to possess. “All she wants to do is ruin my life.” The blonde let out an aggravated sigh and leaned into her seat, staring at the ceiling of the car.
“You don’t realise how lucky you are.” Dawn said with a heavy sigh. She didn’t exactly know why but around second year of her relationship with Greg Catherine seemed to trust her with her daughter. Maybe it was a woman-thing because other than Catherine and Nancy there really wasn’t a female influence for the girl. Sara wasn’t the best female example to begin with, but she did have her doubts about Greg from time to time. It only made him that much more loveable.
“You’re going to tell me that my mom loves me and that I’ll understand when I get older why she works so hard all the time?” Lindsey chuckled bitterly and closed her eyes momentarily. “Save it, heard it a million times before.” Her statement was accompanied by a tired sigh when Lindsey opened her eyes and realized they were on their way to the Crime Lab. Of course, Dawn was on her way to ‘uncle’ Greg.
“Maybe it could mean it’s time for you to believe it.” Dawn smiled faintly keeping her eyes on the road in front of her. It wasn’t too far from the Crime Lab anymore and she was sure Lindsey knew this but so far the blonde hadn’t commented on it. Maybe she wanted to get caught? Get some attention from her mother? That she could understand, Dawn had pulled enough stunts herself as a teenager just for some attention.
“Please.” Lindsey replied dismissively and stared out the window. She went quiet for a few moments then spoke up with a distinct sound of sadness to her voice. “Sometimes I wish my dad was still alive and I was living with him.” She admitted not looking away from the scenery of buildings. “He understood me.” She added quietly.
“You were six, Linds.” Dawn replied trying not to sound condescending but matter-of-factly. “Of course you think he understood you.” She was a little startled that Lindsey didn’t respond to that. Dawn was anticipating a fit about how she knew for sure her father did understand her but it didn’t come.
Dawn pondered her choice of words. She wanted to say something, she had to say something. Just because Lindsey was a teenager didn’t mean she couldn’t treat her like an adult, right? Maybe if she chose her words carefully, it would seep in that stubborn little brain of the blonde. Finding a place to park in the Crime Lab parking lot she turned her ignition of and turned to face Lindsey.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it but your mom does love you.” She tried as Lindsey turned to face her as well. Instantly she knew those words were not the ones Lindsey wanted to hear and yet expected to hear them nonetheless. Dawn had to suppress a glare at blue eyes rolling in annoyance.
“She’s never home, shows how much she loves me.” Lindsey crossed her arms defiantly and gave Dawn a glare that would make Catherine proud, under other circumstances. “I see her maybe two hours a day. She’s either working or sleeping.” An aggravated sigh escaped both their lips but for both it was another reason.
“She works to take care of you, don’t you see that?” Dawn said in her most gentle voice she could muster at the moment. “My mom died when I wasn’t much older than you are and I would give anything to see her just for two minutes.” It still made her sad to think about Joyce. Other than Greg no one in Vegas knew about that little fact. It wasn’t that she tried to hide or deny it; it just made her skin crawl when people would look at her with pity in their eyes.
“Your mom died?” Lindsey was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Dawn to tell her that. She knew a boy whose mother had died and he was always surly but Dawn wasn’t. The brunette gave her a small nod accompanied by a faint but real smile.
“The point is, cut your mom some slack for working so much. She does it all for you.” Dawn watched Lindsey’s mind reel into overtime. Whatever did the trick, it sure as hell did it good because Lindsey seemed to smile to herself and then nodded at Dawn. “Alright then, let’s go and hide the coffee from the grumpy CSI’s before your mom can drop you off at school or your aunt’s.” She winked and exited her car followed by a soft laughter from the passenger side.
