Disclaimer: I own nothing, 'cept for any OC's I may create. Props and kudos go to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the cast and crew of BtVS.

Timeline: Four years post-Chosen. All else will follow.

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The dusty windows of the roadside restaurant provided little more than a smudged view of the empty road that passed by it. The owner, a man by the name of Frank, had been watching people drive by his restaurant for more than 30 years. He could pick out who would stop for a rest, from half a mile away. He could tell you stories for weeks about the types of people and vehicles that had come in and out of this restaurant.

Today was a slow day for Frank and his fellow workers. A family of seven had grumbled in around nine in the morning, and aside from a couple of people stopping for the rest room or coffee, nothing interesting had happened. Frank was cutting the grill, preparing to shut it down to keep the heat in the already sweltering restaurant down until it was needed when Lydia, the waitress from behind the counter, called for him to come to the front.

"What's up girl?" Frank asked as he wiped his hands off on his apron.

Lydia nodded towards the windows, "Motorcycle, Northbound. You think it's a Suzuki?"

Frank moved next to Lydia, squinting at the image of a motorcycle coming upon them rapidly, "Naw. Ducati, 2003-ish probably. They'll stop."

"Are we betting on this?" Lydia quirked her eyebrow at her longtime boss, a hint of a smile playing at the edges of her lips.

"Do you want to?" Frank smirked back before flicking his gaze to the window again, "See? They're stopping."

Lydia turned to look back out the window as the motorcycle pulled in and slowed to a stop next to the door, "Damn."

"Paul, turn on the grill," Frank called out, hearing a soft 'shit' out back before Paul scrambled inside the restaurant.

All three turned towards the sound of the jingle above the door as it opened. A tall woman in a dark denim jacket and dark blue jeans walked in, unbuttoning her jacket to reveal a red shirt beneath. Dark brown banana curls fell upon her shoulders, framing her face- softening it- in a slight innocence. Her eyes aged her beyond her youthful looks, as if she had been through more in five years than most people saw in their lifetime, and to anyone who knew her, this was true.

The woman sauntered slowly up to the counter and took a seat on the stool, eyeing the people watching her.

"Coffee please, black." The woman's voice was thick, with a gravelly scratch to it that could be seen as either sexy, or just someone who smokes too much.

"Comin' right up ma'am." Lydia turned quickly, glad to have something to do.

Frank leaned on the doorframe that led to the grill and kitchen, his eyes locking on the woman sitting at his counter, "You from around here ma'am?"

"No, just passing through. Actually, do you have a map or anything I might be able to look at?" Came the gravelly drawl as she cocked her head to one side, allowing a smile to flash across her face for a brief moment.

Frank shook his head, "'Fraid not ma'am, the only map around is up here," Frank tapped his head, smirking slightly.

"Well then, do you know how I could get to Ohio from here?" the woman asked before thanking Lydia for the coffee.

"Ah, Ohio," Frank leaned back slightly, scratching his stubbly chin, "Well, continue on North, this is the main highway that'll take you up there. Plenty of road signs and exits as you go up further. As long as you follow the main routes up through Kentucky, you'll be fine."

"Thanks," the woman nodded, sipping her coffee.

"Mind if I ask ya a question?" Frank cocked his head to one side, his tone serious.

"Shoot," the woman replied.

"If ya are just passing through, why you all the way down here, trying to get up to Ohio?"

The woman was silent for a moment, her gaze ticked to a menu long since faded on the wall. Turning her deep brown eyes back on Frank, a flash of tiredness skipped through them- a flash that was not lost upon Frank.

"Well, I know people up there. Haven't seen them in quite a few years, planning on dropping in and seeing what happens," the woman smirked again before finishing her coffee and standing.

Frank watched as she pulled a few bills out of her pocket before saying, "On the house ma'am. You've got a long way to go before you're home."

The woman leveled her gaze at him for a moment, and Lydia could see something pass between them before the woman nodded in thanks and turned to leave.

"Frank…"

"That woman has seen things I can't even imagine, and I've seen things I wish I hadn't in 'Nam. Whatever she's going back to, she'll need all the kindness she can get." Frank cut off any comment from Lydia before finally turning back into the kitchen, muttering at Paul, "Turn the damn grill off you goof, she didn't want food, why'd you leave it on?"

Lydia shook her head at her boss, all the while her gaze watching the brunette pull her black helmet on and kick start her motorcycle before driving out, leaving a dust trail behind her.

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First chapter, new story, first time in the Buffy fiction area, but hey, long time fan, long time fan fiction writer.