A/N: So, I watched Anne, and I was completely thrown by how everyone acted, especially Willow and Xander. While it's admirable that they wanted to make sure that the vampire population was kept down in Buffy's absence, I just can't get how laid back they seem about her being gone. Especially Xander. The same guy who has proven time and time again that he will risk life and limb to help Buffy is suddenly okay with her coming back whenever she's ready? When he hasn't heard from her in months? Really? I don't buy it. So this is me fixing that.

Summer's Residence-9 am

"Buffy! Buffy!" Xander yelled as he walked into the house. Buffy hadn't shown up for school, and no one had seen her since she stopped Angel. At first, he had thought that maybe she just wanted time to herself, time to grieve. But then one day had turned into three, and he still hadn't heard from her. In his gut, Xander knew something was wrong.

"She's not here Xander."

The young man turned at the sound of the woman's voice, seeing Joyce Summer's standing in the doorway to Buffy's room.

"Ms. Summer's I was…"

"Looking for Buffy?" She asked, and he nodded. She walked into the room, walking over to the now empty dresser. Joyce picked up a note and handed it to Xander without a word.

The note only had three words.

Job's done. Goodbye.

Xander read over the note three different times, his mind spinning as he tried to figure out what the words meant. The job being done had to be in reference to Buffy stopping Angel from unleashing hell on earth. The goodbye was pretty self-explanatory, but what could have pushed Buffy to leave Sunnydale? To leave her family, her friends...to leave him?

Oh I don't know...Maybe she found out that you never told her there was a chance to save Angel's soul you jackass.

Xander glared down at the words on the note, wondering if his fears were correct. Had Buffy discovered that he had not told her what Willow was going to attempt? Did she leave because she hated Xander, hated him for denying her this final chance to save the man she loved?

"It was my fault. It's my fault she left." Joyce said, and Xander raised his eyes from Buffy's note.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, and she sighed as a tear fell down her cheek.

"I….I saw her with this guy uh Spike and-"

"Spike was here?! Did he hurt her?" Xander asked, his mind racing at Joyce's words. He felt the air leave his lungs. If Spike had Buffy, then she was probably already dead.

"Wait you know him? You know that she's-"

"The Slayer. Yeah, I know. Now what were you saying about Spike?" He asked, trying to keep Joyce focused. His mind flashed back to what his father's old friend had once told him. Keep your suspect on topic, especially if you're pressed for time. Now Xander wasn't an investigator, and Joyce wasn't technically a suspect. Buffy's bedroom wasn't some crime scene. She had run away from home. Teenagers did it all the time.

But Buffy wasn't just a teenager. She was the Slayer. More importantly, she was the girl Xander Harris was head over heels in love with. Regardless of how she may feel about him, he needed to know that she was okay.

"He said he was going to help her stop Angel, but only if she let him and uh Dru he called her, leave Sunnydale. He said they'd never come back. She told him to go make sure that Giles was alive and she said that if Giles died...Did he die?" She asked, and Xander shook his head.

"He's fine. Now let me guess...Buffy told Spike that if Giles died, she would dust Drusilla." He said calmly.

"Buffy said she would kill her." Joyce said, and Xander rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I gathered that. Vampires turn into dust when you stake em. What happened after Spike left?"

"I told her to go to the police, that she could get herself off of this murder charge for-"

"She didn't kill Kendra." Xander said, and Joyce glared.

"I know that now, I-"

"You know that now?! What do you mean you know that now? You mean you actually thought that she could kill a human?" He asked, and Joyce glared.

"I didn't know what to think! My daughter has lied to me for years! For goodness sake, she burned down the gym at her old school."

"There were vampires!" He yelled back, remembering what Buffy had told them after they found out she was the Slayer.

"Like that explains anything! In fact, I'm sick of this! I'm sick of no one explaining to me just what the hell is going on! I want answers!" She yelled, and he glared.

"Yeah? Well I can't give them to you. That's Buffy's choice."

"Just like it was her choice to walk out that door after I told her that if she did-"

Joyce's voice broke as her eyes filled with tears again. Xander didn't need her to finish. It all clicked. Joyce had given Buffy an impossible choice. Stay and let the world go to hell, in this case literally, or go and lose her home.

He clenched his fist around the note held in his grip.

"Dammit. Do you have any idea what you've done?" He asked as he walked past her.

"Yes. Where are you going?" Joyce asked, and he stopped.

"I'm going to bring her home."

A/N: So here's the first chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please read and review, and more will be coming soon!