Chapter 2: You Look Familiar

*****A Few Hours Later*****

Buffy wore her new two piece under her new sundress in case she wanted to swim. She grabbed two beach towels and two cold drinks and shoved them in the bag with a few stakes—old habits die hard.

"Mom, are you ready?" she asked. Her mother had agreed that a walk on the beach was a great way to end her evening.

"Are you sure you want me there?" Joyce asked. "I don't want to cramp your style."

"It's a big beach, Mom. Take a walk, bring a book, watch the sun set," Buffy suggested. "Your summer class starts tomorrow."

"I still can't believe you convinced me that I could teach art to adults," Joyce said.

"You have a graduate degree," Buffy said. "You've ran your own art gallery. They're lucky to have you as an adjunct."

Joyce smiled at her daughter. "Well, if any of your classmates complain about me to you, I don't want to know about it," she said.

"I might have to kick someone's ass if they do," Buffy said with a glint in her eye. Her mom got the job to help supplement their income while her new gallery took off. The cost of living in Neptune was a bit higher than Sunnydale—no hellmouth to drop property rates. Now that Buffy was an adult, her dad only paid for school tuition, so there wasn't any child support coming in either.

Joyce laughed. "Well, let's hope you won't have to," she said. "I'll come for a bit, but you can get Willow to drive you home, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Sure," she said.

They drove to the beach because her mother wasn't going to walk places the way Buffy always chose to, and her mother got out the two beach chairs she brought. Buffy found them a good spot and put down her bag and then helped position the chairs.

"Let's take a walk while we wait for Willow and Tara," Buffy suggested.

The beach wasn't crowded as many students were gone for the summer. A few surfers were on the water.

"This is nice," Joyce remarked as they walked at a leisure pace. "I can't recall the last time we were at the beach."

"We went once in Sunnydale," Buffy said. "I went once with the gang, but that's it."

"Well, we'll need to make more time," Joyce said as the peace of the water and waves seeped into her mind. A man with a dog was walking toward them.

They grinned as they watched the Pit Bull chase a seagull into the water. "That dog is having a blast," Buffy said as she watched in amusement.

As they got closer, the dog came out of the water and spotted Buffy. He then bounded toward her.

"Back Up, no!" the man called out. However, the dog still ran to Buffy, looking very happy to see her. He sniffed at her feet.

"Sorry," the man said as he approached. "He's mostly harmless."

Buffy reached down to pet him. "Mostly?" she asked.

"Well, he'd defend me or someone else he knew if we were in danger," the man said.

"I guess that's why you named him Back up," Buffy said with a grin.

The man gave a sheepish smile and didn't deny that.

"Maybe, we should get one of these," Joyce said thoughtfully. Owning a dog was a normal thing, and things felt really normal in Neptune.

"A dog? You want a dog now?" Buffy asked in surprise. "You told me a half a dozen times growing up we couldn't have a dog."

"That's because your Dad was allergic," Joyce said.

"You've been divorced for years, and we still don't have a dog," Buffy pointed out.

"You never asked again," Joyce said with a smug smile.

The man grinned, enjoying the parent-daughter interaction. "I'm Keith Mars," he said, holding out his hand to Joyce.

"Joyce Summers. This is my only child, Buffy," she introduced. "She's incorrigible."

"The best ones are. Nice to meet you both," he said with a friendly smile. "You've already met Back Up."

"So why did you name your dog Back Up?" Buffy asked.

"I got him for my daughter Veronica," he said. "She attracts trouble."

Joyce laughed. "So he's her Back up?" she asked, amused.

Keith grinned. "Exactly. Him and her tazer," he said.

"Tazer?" Joyce asked intrigued. "That's an idea."

Buffy frowned, not sure she liked the idea of her mom being armed with a weapon of any kind.

"Veronica's about the size of your daughter but talks like she's much bigger and stronger," he said. "I think Back Up might've thought Buffy was her for a minute."

"I thought I sensed some disappointment," Buffy said. Then the dog took off again to greet a surfer carrying a board out of the water.

"Looks like he sees someone else he knows," Joyce observed.

"Probably Logan. A friend of my daughter's. She's gone for the summer, and Back Up really misses her," Keith explained.

"Oh, there's my new friend," Buffy said, waving to get Mac's attention.

Keith grinned as he saw Mac approach. "It's a small world. That's Mac, my daughter's best friend," Keith said.

Mac stopped to speak to Logan, so Buffy waited with her mom and Keith.

Logan greeted Mac. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Good. Leaving tomorrow for the annual McKenzie family camping excursion," she said with a sigh.

"Sounds fun," Logan said.

"It totally does not," she said.

"At least you have family that wants to spend time with you," Logan reminded her.

Mac nodded. "True," she said. "And I love them a lot, but I am so not a camping girl."

Logan grinned. "Embrace the pain," he advised. He hated himself for asking, but he couldn't help it. "Have you heard from Veronica?" After his fight with Goya, she'd said little, but her eyes had spoke volumes. Instead of coming to him, however, she'd left town two weeks ago to do her FBI internship. The sting of that still hurt—Logan was a sucker for punishment.

"Yes, she's having fun," Mac said. She held up a finger to indicate one minute to Buffy, who was standing nearby talking to Keith Mars. "That's my new friend Buffy. She's new to town."

Logan looked. "She knows Keith?" he asked as he petted Back Up.

"I don't know. Let's go find out," Mac said as they moved toward the trio. "Hello."

"Glad you could make it," Buffy said.

"Logan, how are you?" Keith asked.

"Fine, sir," he said. "Mac told me Veronica's having fun at the FBI."

Keith nodded and glanced at Joyce. "My daughter wants to join the FBI. She caught two murderers before she graduated from high school," he boasted with a proud smile.

"That's impressive," Joyce said.

Mac saw no reason to alarm the newcomers by mentioning the campus rapists she'd also caught. "Logan, this is Buffy Summers. She's going to be attending Hearst as a transfer student."

Buffy eyed the very cute surfer with interest. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Same here," Logan said with a grin. He held out his hand. "What year are you?"

"Sophomore," she said.

"Same," Logan said.

"You, Logan! What are you doing?" a guy asked as he approached.

"What's it look like, Dick?" Logan asked.

"Don't mind Dick," Mac said. "He was aptly named."

Buffy grinned while Joyce tried not to. Keith shook his head and sighed. "Sadly, she's not wrong," he said.

"That's my best friend you're insulting," Logan said, unoffended.

"So?" Mac said with a grin. Logan shrugged, causing Buffy to laugh.

"I'm Joyce, Buffy's mom," Joyce said, giving Buffy a look of censor for her lapse in manners.

"Sorry," Buffy said. "Mac, that's my mom."

"I'm Mac. That's Logan Echolls and Dick Casablancas," Mac introduced.

When neither woman seemed to recognize the names, the two young men relaxed.

"Buffy and her friends are transfers from USC Sunnydale," Mac explained.

"More hot babes are always welcome," Dick said with a wink.

Buffy giggled, amused at the big lug.

"Joyce, I'm going to walk a little further if you want to join me," Keith asked.

Joyce looked at Buffy, who nodded. "Go, have fun," she encouraged.

Keith looked at the boys. "Do you boys think you can stay out of trouble while my daughter's out of town?" he asked them.

"What?" Logan asked with wide-eyed innocence. "I know no trouble. I'm pretty sure that the trouble left town for the summer."

Keith laughed. "Well, you might have a point," he said. "Come on, Back Up." The two adults strolled away with the dog racing ahead.

"So what's the Macster doing at the beach?" Dick asked.

"I met Buffy earlier today, and she said her best friend is a computer science major like me. I wanted to meet her before I go on vacation," Mac explained.

"That's her and Tara now," Buffy said, waving as she saw them approach.

Dick whistled. "Damn, a redhead and another blonde? That's awesome!" he said excitedly.

"Cool your jets, Romeo," Buffy said. "I'm afraid they have eyes only for each other."

Dick's eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. "They're lesbians? Seriously? I've always wanted to befriend some lesbians," he said.

"Don't be an ass," Logan warned, giving his friend a look of warning.

Dick rolled his eyes but didn't say more as the two girls approached.

Buffy greeted her friends. "Willow, this is Mac, the girl I was telling you about. Mac, this is Willow and Tara," Buffy introduced.

Dick and Mac looked at Willow and then back at Logan. Logan had a look of shock on his face. "Is this a joke? What kind of game are you guys playing at?" Logan asked harshly.

Willow frowned and looked at Buffy for answers.

"Excuse me?" Buffy asked, not appreciating the guy's tone.

"Logan, don't jump to conclusions," Mac said quickly.

The girl was wearing an outfit that his sister Trina would never wear. Her hair wasn't curled and was slightly longer than Trina's. However, there was no denying that Willow looked too much like his sister.

"Mac, your friend Logan better stop glaring at Willow before I break his nose," Buffy threatened, moving to stand in front of Willow. Tara looked frightened at the rising tension. Harsh angry words from a man reminded her too much of the family she'd left behind.

"Dude, does Trina have a sister you didn't know about?" Dick asked, stating what the three were thinking.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked. "Why are you guys staring? Why is he angry with me? I've never met you guys before."

"Logan has an adopted older sister named Trina who looks a lot like you," Mac explained.

"Like you didn't know that," Logan said with disdain.

Buffy gave him a hard shove. "You better watch your tone," she said, getting pissed.

Willow's eyes widened in concern for Buffy's anger—a pissed off slayer was nobody's friend.

"It's okay, Buffy. He's just in shock," Willow said. "I think I am, too."

"Willow, are you adopted?" Mac asked.

Willow shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "My parents are Jewish child psychologists. Ira and Sheila Rosenberg. They never said I was adopted."

Mac winced, thinking of her own discovery that she had been switched at birth—her parents still didn't know she knew.

"Are you sure you're not?" Logan said. "You look way too much alike." He pulled out his phone and scrolled for a picture. He held it up.

The girls looked at the photo and understood his shock.

"That does look like me!" Willow exclaimed in surprise.

"You might want to talk to your parents," Logan said.

Buffy and Tara exchanged a look—something wasn't right.

Logan looked from the girl to Buffy to Tara, trying to figure out what their angle was. "So you guys really don't know who I am?" Logan asked. "You have no idea who I am?"

"Watch the accusing tone, bucko!" Buffy said, getting worked up again. It was just her luck that the hottest guy she meets was a total ass.

"I'm sorry," Logan said. "I just find it very surprising. My dad is Aaron Echolls, a Hollywood star."

"I recognize the name," Buffy said. She glanced at Willow and Tara, so they could explain why the name was familiar.

"He's a movie star," Tara said. "My mom was a big fan of his."

"That's all you know?" Logan asked when nothing else was said.

"We have lives, you know," Buffy said in annoyance. "We don't spend time watching the latest movies or keeping up with gossip." He, of course, had no idea how busy they were with other things.

"Do you live under a rock?" Dick asked surprised they were so clueless. "How could you not know why Logan's a bit suspicious?"

"Butt out, Dick," Mac said. "Not everyone lives in your 09er bubble. The real world has other things to focus on."

"My father was having an affair with my girlfriend when I was a sophomore in high school," Logan began. "He murdered her and went on trial after trying to kill my new girlfriend at the time, Veronica Mars. Keith save her life and captured him—he used to be the sheriff. Somehow, my dad was found not guilty. But you know nothing of any of that?"

"Willow, let's go," Tara said, not liking the anger radiating from the man, who looked stronger than her and Willow.

Dick frowned at Logan, nothing that Tara looked frightened. "Dude, calm down. You're scaring them," he said.

"I'm sorry," he said, not sounding contrite. "I just have a hard time believing they know nothing of this, and this girl looks exactly like my sister—my sister, the heiress."

"I don't know why I look like your sister, and I'm sorry your dad was a monster," Willow said, feeling a bit ill at the guy's words. "But I really don't keep up with gossip. I'm usually too busy with other things."

"Neither do I," Buffy said. "Sunnydale had its own set of issues. For example, there was an explosion during our high school graduation, killing our principal, the mayor, and several of our classmates. The year before that, my ex-boyfriend turned into a stalker and tried to kill all my friends, and he managed to kill Willow's favorite teacher and my mentor's girlfriend. I'm sorry, your life is of the major suckage, but you haven't cornered the market on bad luck. And if you don't stop looking at my best friend like she killed your puppy, you're gonna regret it."

"Dude, let's go eat," Dick said, not oblivious to the fact that these girls had undergone their own trials. Logan was out of line. "Everyone has a twin out there, right?"

"So they say," Mac said. Buffy's words intrigued her, and she felt a stronger sense of kinship with the girl, who now reminded her very strongly of Veronica, protecting someone weaker. "This is just a coincidence."

"There's no such thing," Logan said. He looked at Willow. "I'd be talking to your parents if I were you."

"Okay, I will," Willow said simply. He wasn't wrong. The resemblance was a bit too strong to be a coincidence. She glanced at her girlfriend. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry about this," Mac said. "I hope to see you again after my vacation."

"Sure," Willow said, giving her a small smile. She glanced at Buffy.

"I'll catch up," Buffy said. "I need to go talk to Mom."

"Just come to our room when you can," Willow said, turning to walk away.

"Sorry, Buffy," Mac said. "We just didn't expect your friend to look so much like Logan's sister."

"Well, I didn't expect your friend to be such an ass," Buffy said, glaring at Logan.

"You must not read the tabloids then," Dick said with a snicker.

"Nope, I don't," she said. "I've been too busy living." And fighting to live. . .

"Look, I'm sorry," Logan said. "It's just I had some guy several months ago pretend to be my half-brother, but he was a reporter trying to get close to me."

"Sucks to be you," Buffy said without much sympathy. "If you expect people to always be out to get you, you're always going to find the betrayal you're looking for. The next time you see Willow, you better be super nice, or I'll show you what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a girl."

Then she ran down to the beach to talk to her mom.

"You really know how to make friends, don't you?" Mac said, shaking her head in disgust. "I bet now Willow won't want to be friends with me."

"Sorry," Logan said with a sigh. "I'm suspicious of newcomers. What can I say?"

"Buffy may look like an 09er, but she's totally not," Mac said. "I met her at a clothing boutique, and she went out of her way to be nice to me. Do you know how rare that is in this town?"

"Yea," Logan acknowledged. "She didn't seem that nice to me, though."

"Dude, she said she was going to kick your ass," Dick said, laughing. "It's like you both repel and attract tiny blondes, who lead to your doom."

"Unlike Veronica, Buffy might actually kick your ass," Mac said with a smirk. "She mentioned to me that she liked to spar. Walking five miles into town doesn't even make her tired."

"Stamina!" Dick remarked, his eyes excited.

Mac rolled her eyes and gave him a disgusted look. "You might want to call your sister," Mac said. "Just in case Willow finds out she is adopted, then that might mean Trina has a blood sibling."

Logan considered that ramification. "I'm not sure how she'd take that," he said. "She seemed okay with finding her birth mom, though."

"I can't believe that you managed to alienate the new hot lesbian couple within two minutes of meeting them," Dick said in disgust.

Mac shook her head. "I gotta go. Try not to piss anyone else off," she said as she turned to head back to her car.

"I just have trouble believe that the girl isn't working an angle," Logan said to Dick as they, too, walked to their cars.

"I get it, dude," Dick said. "But it sounds like those girls have dealt with their own messed up shit. And that Buffy girl seemed exactly your type."

"I'm not looking to hook up, Dick," Logan said.

"Veronica didn't even say goodbye," Dick pointed out. "Face it, dude. She and you are over."

Logan knew his friend was probably right, but it was hard to let her go.

*****Chapter End*****

So I chose not to ignore the fact that Allyson Hannigan played Trina on the show. I hope you want to read more. Reviews are welcome. FYI: There will be no Dick/Mac pairing in this story. I have other plans for Mac. If you want Dick/Mac pairing, read my Veronica Mars stories! Thanks for reading.