Part 21

In the early hours of the next morning the Sunnydale police department detained a transient for the Sunnydale campus murders. It took the FBI approximately twenty-eight minutes after the arrest was established for them to call Buffy and order her back to Washington without delay. Without any motivation or want to stay in the undersized California town, Buffy merely began to pack up her disguise's private items.

Fifteen minutes later, the belongings and equipment had been packed efficiently into two intermediate sized suitcases and a laptop bag. She still had a few hours before Dave was to be released from Sunnydale General hospital, so she decided it was time to stop by and say goodbye to the gang... after she made one little stop.

She had just completed loading up her rental car when somebody tapped her on the shoulder, turning around she saw it was Jemmie. The two women stood there in silence for a moment staring at each other, until Buffy decided to speak.

"I'm not gonna call you, Your Majesty."

"I don't even want to call myself that. I never did," Jemmie retorted barely even looking at Buffy. Unexpectedly she looked up, her pale blue eyes boring into Buffy's hazel ones, "I know you had to kill her because she gave you no other choice, but she was my mother and I just can't forgive you for it. Maybe someday..."

"Maybe," Buffy responded softly. Looking at the young blond in front of her she couldn't help but ask, "I am curious about one thing though."

"What?" Jemmie asked still staring at Buffy.

Buffy sighed, "Why *couldn't* you marry Angel?"

"He's not my type."

"Huh? Why not?" Buffy said slightly offended that this girl/demon didn't find her ex-boyfriend the slightest bit attractive.

Jemmie smiled, "He's not a girl."

Buffy's mouth dropped open, that hadn't been the explanation she had been expecting. "Oh."

Jemmie laughed, "Don't worry you're safe. It was fairly obvious that you and Angel were together."

"No! Not for years," Buffy practically yelled. "We're just... uh... friends now."

"I hate to break this to you, but friends don't look at friends the way you two were looking at each other." Jemmie looked at her once more, "Goodbye Beth. Have a nice a life."

As Jemmie walked away Buffy sighed, "You too." Then she climbed into the small compact the rental agency had sent over and drove away from the college campus towards the suburban part of Sunnydale.

Ten minutes later she pulled the rental car to a stop by the curb and sighed as she stared long and hard at the building. Did she really have the nerve to just go up to the door, barge in and talk all of their tribulations through? It seemed like a demoralizing task to say the least. Forcing herself to get out of the car and to walk up the cracked sidewalk towards the door, she fruitlessly endeavored to be in command of the fluttering of her stomach from the nervousness she was feeling. Once she reached the front door, she raised her tiny fist and knocked.

A moment later the door was answered, "Buffy?"

"Mother," she said coolly trying not to show her nerves. "I think it's about time we really talked."

Joyce nodded reluctantly and stepped back away from the doorway, "Come in."

Buffy anxiously crossed over the threshold and once again entered into her mother's house, the one she had ever so briefly called home. Once she was inside she stood motionless in the foyer wondering what to do next, since she hadn't actually expected her mother to let her past the door after the other day. As Joyce pushed past her and headed towards the kitchen, Buffy followed close behind.

She sat down at the kitchen bench and absently watched her mother fiddle with the makings for coffee. However Buffy knew that coffee was a convenient excuse for the procrastination they both wanted to exercise to avoid the coming conversation. After a few minutes grace Joyce placed a cup in front of her and took a seat across from her.

Still watching as Joyce took a sip of her drink, Buffy posed a question that had hung in silence for slightly over a decade. "Why did you let daddy take us?"

Joyce closed her eyes as she lowered her full mug to the bench top. "There's no easy answer to that question."

"Try and find one."

"Your father wanted both you and Dawn..."

"To further his stagnating career," Buffy rudely interrupted. "I was there, I lived through it. That still doesn't tell me why you didn't fight for us."

Joyce banged her fist on the bench in frustration. "What do you know about it? I tried for months to keep custody of you and Dawn, but your father had better lawyers and money from his employers behind him. Not to mention he had a solid income and I was struggling with the gallery, he made a good case to the judge." She got up from the bench and wondered over to the small kitchen window, staring out over the quiet neighborhood.

Buffy was shocked into silence. Why had her father lied to both her and Dawn? Why hadn't Joyce at least tried to keep in touch with them? Everything kept on whirling through her mind so rapidly she had trouble keeping track of what was going on.

"Why didn't you..."

Joyce didn't turn around, "The court ordered me not to contact either of you. After a year I'd almost convinced myself it was for the best, you and Dawn didn't need me around. Your father had money and connections..."

"And absolutely no time for two teenage girls," Buffy said cutting her mother off. "Dawnie and I were lucky if we managed to see him once a week."

"What are you saying?" Joyce questioned as she turned around to face her.

"What I'm saying is that dad might have had money and connections, but in no way did he raise us," Buffy yelled at her mother harshly, breaking down the barrier she had built against her simmering anger. "I gave up every moment of free time I had to make sure Dawnie wasn't deprived. I didn't get to have friends or go to dances or even the fucking prom. I spent all my time raising a teenage girl because I didn't want her to miss out on what I was."

"Buffy..." Joyce said making a move towards her.

Buffy backed quickly away. "I shouldn't have come here. In the last twenty minutes, I've ruined a good eight years worth of therapy."

Joyce grabbed Buffy by the arms and forced her to face her. "Don't say that, we really did need to air this out."

Buffy knew deep down that her mother was correct, now that she had finally vented she did feel as though a small part of the anger and hurt that had been weighing her down had dissipated. "So what now?" she asked looking at her mother.

"Hopefully we can keep in touch... maybe one day we can be friends," Joyce suggested.

"Stranger things have happened."

Buffy arrived at Willow and Oz's residence a lot later than she had formerly estimated, but the gang - well at least nearly all of them - were still there. Entering the living room Buffy found that Giles, Jenny - plus their kids-, Willow and Oz, plus Xander, Anya and Faith were there waiting. Angel was as expected missing, but she hadn't anticipated that he would show up - she surreptitiously had hoped he would, but she hadn't expected him.

Buffy spent an hour and half with the old gang just catching up on all she had missed out on. It made her realize just how much she had missed them all and missed just being around them and their kooky ways. As you would expect it worked both ways and Buffy was required to share several of the things she had done in Washington. Regaling her tales she left out most of the painful stuff and talked about demons she had hunted, her watcher, Dawn and a few of her non-classified assignments with the FBI.

Time flew by so hastily that sooner than any of them were inclined to say goodbye - at least in the short term - it was time to do so. Exchanging phone numbers, home addresses and email took a long time because everyone was blubbering - with a few significant exceptions - and then there was the hugging. Ultimately Buffy was about to set off on her way when she did something surprising to them all, including herself; she offered Faith a ride home.

They had been on the road for less than a minute when Faith spoke. "Okay, Mary Sunshine. What the fuck is going on?"

Buffy sighed, "I'm not sure. I guess I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why? Want to rub it in about stealing Angel from me?"

"I didn't steal Angel from you, Faith. In fact I don't want him," Buffy told the slayer sitting beside her. Inside she kept telling herself she wasn't lying, she was simply trying to rectify a mistake she had caused. There was absolutely *no* way that she could want to be with Angel. she got over him years ago.

Faith looked surprised, "You don't?"

"No, he's all yours," Buffy answered smiling - somewhat forcefully - at Faith. Both women sat in silence for a few minutes before Buffy asked ruefully, "So where do you live? I sort of need to know where to drop you off."

They had just started down Sunnydale's main street and Faith said, "You know what? Just drop me off here and I'll make my own way home."

Buffy pulled over into the first empty space she found and stopped the rental car. "Here you go."

Faith got out of the car and leaned back in through the open passenger window, "I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I'd be lying. You have been nothing but a pain my ass since I first heard your name. Have a rotten life."

Buffy watched the brunette slayer walk away from her and heaved a sigh, "Right back at you." Buffy pulled out of the spot and headed towards her next destination, the hospital. Once she had her partner securely in the car she was going to simply head to Sunnydale's small airport and head home where she belonged.

TBC...