Title: Never To Be Seen Or Heard From Again
Author: mispel
E-mail:
Rating: G
Summary: Whatever happened to Hank Summers
Spoilers: season 3
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing
Feedback: Any comments would be welcome
"Do I need to tell Dad not to come?" Buffy asked her Mom.
Joyce was packing and she stopped. Maybe she had hoped it wouldn't come up or something. Like with everything going on Buffy would forget that a father should come to his daughter's graduation. Buffy didn't, of course.
"He couldn't make it. He is sending something very special, though," Joyce said without the enthusiasm she used to fake when Buffy was younger. Joyce had wisely stopped expecting any kind of eager anticipation of a cold gift.
"Just as well, right? Now I don't have to come up with some lame excuse," Buffy said with a shrug.
Joyce didn't bother pretending to agree with her. She just packed.
"Mom, you're overpacking," Buffy told her and Joyce took a few things out of the bag.
"Have a little faith. I won't let a big, giant snake eat all your stuff." Buffy paused. "Maybe that fluffy, blue sweater."
"I thought you liked it," Joyce said as she held up the sweater and frowned at it.
"It looks like someone skinned Papa Smurf."
"Fine, I'll put it in the 'to donate' box," Joyce said with a sigh and set it aside.
"You are cruel to the underprivileged, Mom."
They couldn't have been busier in the library but Buffy still took the time to rant. At first she had been grim-faced and silent. It seemed appropriate for the occasion, preparing for war and all that. But Willow had noticed Buffy's mood and now Buffy was bitching about her Dad.
"You can't abdicate from Dadhood. Maybe I wasn't the prefect kid, but who is? I only have one Dad. What am I supposed to do about that? It's not like they'll send in a replacement. There's no one else in line waiting to be Dad to Buffy. It's him or no one and that's not fair. I want to disown him. Or maybe I just want to want to disown him. Willow?"
"I'm sorry Buffy," Willow said with a sad smile. She had been standing there with books in her hands, big, heavy books, and she obviously wanted to go put them down. Well, it wasn't like Willow could say that Buffy's Dad sucked. Though she was probably thinking it. Or maybe she was just sick of Buffy's abandonment issues with Angel and everything. Willow gave her another of her sympathetic smiles and left.
"That sucks," a girl said.
Buffy hadn't seen her standing there but she had obviously overheard. It was hard to believe that Buffy hadn't noticed her disastrously frizzy hair.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she apologized without sounding very apologetic.
"Well it wasn't like I was ranting in low tones," Buffy said not sure if she should be letting the eavesdropper off the hook.
"It's good to let these things out. Go ahead, vent," the girl encouraged her.
"I might be done," Buffy demurred.
"Oh, no, honey. You're not done." She seemed very sure of that. Buffy gave her a look.
"You've been hurt. And you probably feel like you can't even hurt him back. You can't reject someone who has already rejected you. What can you do?" the girl asked.
"Get on with my life. I just wish..." Buffy started to say, then she broke off.
"Yes," the girl prompted her eagerly.
"He obviously wants to disappear from my life. But he keeps up this dribbling. Like a Christmas card or phone call. The crumbs just make it harder. I always think, maybe it's the start of something more, but it never is. If he wants to disappear, I wish he just would."
Buffy turned away as she heard a big pile of books crash to the floor and she missed it when the girl said, "Done."
"Willow?" Buffy asked with concern.
"I'm OK. The stack was too high," Willow said as she picked up the books.
"Have the books finally taken their revenge?" Buffy asked her.
"They tried. It was a valiant attempt doomed to failure. Willow one, books zero. When faced with inanimate objects, I will prevail," Willow said as she raised a fist in the air.
"Try not to get maimed."
"Will do," Willow said crisply and saluted.
As the Mayor droned on Buffy's mind wandered. It was such an interesting weakness. Especially for a guy - not a guy, a politician - who turned himself into a demon and was going to turn himself into an even bigger demon. Here he was leaving behind the last shreds of what once made him human, the guy is one step away from giant reptile and one of the last things he does is get attached to Faith. Play daddy to her, and not even pretend. Angel was very clear - the Mayor was pissed that Buffy stabbed her. She didn't feel too good about that herself. But she couldn't dwell. It was the Mayor she had to focus on.
Even when he slithered out of his human skin, that was still left. He still cared about Faith enough to do something seriously stupid and get himself blown up. Faith was so lucky. Except for her daddy substitute being an evil demon, now dead. And her being in a coma.
D'Hoffryn and Halfreck stood in the back row behind the students in gowns and their families, waiting for the Ascension.
"I've never been to one," Halfreck admitted.
"They are not to be missed. The carnage alone is worth the price of admission. But they are far from a sure thing," D'Hoffryn told her.
They watched as the demon emerged trough the skin of Mayor Wilkins. And it looked like a sure thing.
"I can't believe Anyanka is missing this," Halfreck said to D'Hoffryn without taking her eyes off the spectacle.
"She is human now. I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to enjoy it," D'Hoffryn said as the Mayor devoured the school principal.
Hank Summers was handing over his check and ID to the salesclerk. The salesclerk looked at the ID and looked up to compare the picture to the face and ended up staring at two elderly women who wanted to know if the scarves were still on sale. Wondering where the guy went, the salesclerk set his ID in the lost and found.
The end