Part 14

Buffy just sat there on the hill overlooking Sunnydale. She didn't know why she was there, just that she wasn't quite ready yet to go back to reality or her nice counterfeit version of it. All she wanted was some breathing space and a moment in time to figure out what was not right with her and why she couldn't just do the damn job quickly and then leave this town and forget that it ever existed. Regrettably that was one thing that she'd never actually been able to do. Even when she'd persuaded herself that she'd put it all behind her, it had still been there in the back of her mind influencing her every move.

If only she hadn't run into Joyce. She could happily deal with everyone else, with maybe one or two exceptions, but her mother was somebody she'd never wanted to even look at yet again. Neither she nor Dawn had been at their most stable after the move and their mother's choice to take no notice of their existence hadn't helped. Both of them had spent nearly a decade in psychotherapy and Dawn was obsessed with the idea that she'd never marry or have children in case she turned out like Joyce.

Sighing, she stood up and took a quick look over the entire town, with any luck this would be the last time she would have to see it. With a bit of luck Giles and Willow had come up with the damn answers to this case and she could get the hell out of there and back to her life in Washington, far away from anything or anyone that had ever caused her pain.

She simply turned away from the town and headed off on the long walk back to the college.

Angel hung round his office for awhile, trying to do a little of the paperwork that had been piling up ever since Buffy's appearance. He knew it was crazy - hell it had been crazy a decade ago - but he knew she was the one born for him and nothing was ever going to change his mind about that, even her. Giving up on the work he got up and paced his tiny office, he knew he just couldn't go tearing off to the student dorms and kick her door down (no matter how much he wanted too), he was going to have to wait for her to turn up. If she did - after all there was a killer out there butchering girls who looked exactly as Buffy did now. Panicking himself he decided to go out and patrol the campus, maybe he'd get lucky and find Buffy while he was at it and finally be able to calm himself down.

Buffy had barely made it back onto the campus grounds before she heard a scream and took off towards it. Part of her was hoping it was the killer so she could end it once and for all, but when she got there she found that it was just a random vampire and that someone - namely Angel - was already dealing with it.

When he was done, she spoke, "Don't you have papers to grade, or something?"

At the sound of her voice Angel spun around, "Bu... Beth."

"Nice catch," she told him. "What are you doing?"

"Patrol."

"Isn't that your *girlfriend's* job?"

Angel sighed, it appeared she was still pissed at him. "You know I don't have a girlfriend," he muttered.

"If you say so."

Angel knew he was close to losing his temper with her. He had been so worried about her all day and when he finally found her, she gave him attitude. How ungrateful could she get?

"Where were you?" he asked changing the topic.

"Having a charming chat with my so-called mother," Buffy responded her eyes flashing with repressed anger. Angel just stared and she continued, "It's all your fault.

"How?" Angel asked her.

"If you hadn't of picked that stupid fight..."

"You picked the fight," he replied.

Buffy shook her head, "It was you."

"What are you in the fifth grade? Take some responsibility for your own actions."

Buffy looked at him the anger burning out of her eyes, "You're right."

"I am?" Angel asked wondering what twisted thing she was up to now.

"Sure... I mean it's absolutely *my* fault that my mom is a giant bitca and that I was stupid enough to actually return to this hell-hole."

"Buf..."

"And it's totally *my* fault that I was stupid enough to ever fall for you... you know you're like a big jerk, right?"

Angel would've been offended by her statements if he hadn't spotted the tears welling up her eyes. On impulse he reached out and pulled her into his arms and was shocked when she came willingly. He didn't try anything, he simply let her get it out of her system and while he was doing that he suddenly realised that there was still a hell of a lot of the old Buffy still there beneath the surface - and it was starting to come on out.