Sunday Night

"Hi, Will. Hi, Oz." Buffy kissed Willow's cheek.

"Buffy. Feeling better?" asked Oz.

"Fine, Oz. Slayers heal fast. I think I pulled a muscle though."
She turned to the bartender. "A mocha blast, please." The three
turned and listened to the music for a bit. The bartender came
back with her drink, and Buffy handed him a couple of dollar
bills.

"Your money's not any good tonight."

"Excuse me?"

The bartender pointed to the end of the bar. "The boss says that
without you, we wouldn't have any customers left. You didn't know
his nephew just graduated from High School here, did you?"

"No."

"So, it's all on the house tonight."

"Oh. Thanks." Buffy turned to Willow. "I'm not used to this."

"Well, you're the hero. Enjoy it tonight. Don't get a stuffed
head, though."

"I can't. It's always 'So what have you slain lately?'"

"Well, bask in your glory tonight, but just tonight."

At that moment, a boy none of them recognized came up to
them. "Hello."

"Hello."

"I was wondering--may I have the next dance?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, go ahead, Buff. It's just a dance."

"Okay."

Brad and Buffy enjoyed their turn on the dance floor. They
couldn't talk much, as Bronze bands stressed volume instead of
lyrical quality, but they did get a few words in. When the song
ended, Brad dropped her off with her friends, kissed her on the
cheek, said goodbye, and went off to another section of the club.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Willow. Oz shrugged. Buffy got a refill of
her mocha; when she had finished it, another boy came by and
asked for a dance. Buffy rolled her eyes, Willow giggled, and Oz
shrugged, and Buffy went off to the dance floor.

This was the pattern for the rest of the evening. At least every
other song, someone Buffy barely recognized would come to her and
ask for a dance. Buffy would go with him, they'd dance, and the
boy would return her to her friends.

Finally, late in the evening, Willow noticed a girl watching
Buffy and her new dance partner with interest. Willow approached
the girl; her left arm was in a sling.

"Excuse me."

"Yes."

"Have we met before?"

"Oh, you're Willow. Buffy's friend, right?"

"That's right. What's going on?"

"Oh, I'm Joan Doherty. We weren't in many of the same classes."

"You were at graduation."

"Yeah. One of those goons slammed me into a wall. Sprained my
elbow. Then, Cordelia stabbed him, and he vanished. I got one
myself later."

"Thanks."

"Vampires. Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"It was for me at first. I'm sort of used to it now. Though, I
still wake up screaming sometimes. So, what's going on with
Buffy?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly the most popular girl on campus--"

"Neither was I," interrupted Willow.

"But, we figured it out. Then, there was dark guy."

"What?"

"Dark guy. You know. Tall, Dark, and Handsome Guy. The one she
danced with here. Her boyfriend."

"Angel."

"Odd name for a guy. Well, we all saw them dance at the Prom. I
saw him lead the charge at graduation, and then I saw him walk
away afterwards. It's over between them, right? Otherwise he'd be
with her now."

"It is. He left town."

"He's nuts."

"Special circumstances."

"Sunnydale circumstances? No, don't tell me. I don't want to
know. But, we all saw her face down the Mayor--she's the general,
right?"

"That's about it. The general, the hero."

"And now, she's alone. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. You could say that Buffy's life sucks."

"So, she's been protecting us, and we've been treating her like
dirt. And you too. What's your job, by the way? You're on her
team, right?"

"I do research, mostly. And--" Willow felt a little devilish. She
reached out with her mind, focused on one of the coffee stirrers
in its container, and levitated it toward her. Joan's eyes
widened for a moment.

"So, we've been treating her badly, she's saved our lives, and
now she's alone. So, a bunch of us suggested to the guys we know
that they try to keep her occupied tonight. She broods, doesn't
she? Not good. That's my boyfriend with her now."

"Huh?"

"I'm not jealous--he's not hitting on her. No one's pushing. If
she wants to talk, they'll talk. But, if she can protect us, we
can comfort her too."

Willow was left speechless. The song ended, Buffy was returned to
her friends, the boy kissed her on the cheek, Joan patted Buffy's
shoulder, and Joan and her boyfriend went off.

"What's going on?" asked Buffy.

"Later."

The evening was coming to a close; groups of teenagers headed for
the exit. Invariably, they stopped by Buffy, Willow, and Oz,
shook Buffy's hand or tapped her on the shoulder, and said
goodbye.

The club was mostly empty when Buffy heard a familiar voice.

"We never had a chance to dance at the Prom; I'd like to rectify
my mistake."

"Giles, when did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. Hello, Willow, Oz. Nice to see you tonight."
Willow and Oz nodded.

"Is anything wrong?"

"No, Buffy. For the first time in months I can say that
everything and everyone are fine. Shall we?"

"We shall."

They moved onto the dance floor; Buffy slipped her hands into
Giles' larger ones, and they swayed together to the song.

"After the picture fades, and darkness has turned to gray,"
boomed a Queens-accented voice from the jukebox.

"Your choice, Giles?"

"I do know some American music, Buffy."

"But you prefer Clapton, right. Not Led Zepplin, I hope."

"No, dear. Too loud. And too stupidly mystical."

"No Bay City Rollers, I hope."

"It wasn't on the jukebox. Besides, I like the sentiment." Giles
cocked an ear at the music.

"If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me. Time after
time," continued Cyndi Lauper. "If you fall, I will catch you, I
will be waiting. Time after time."

Buffy lost herself in Giles' green eyes. "He's always there, no
matter how I treat him," she thought. "I hurt him so much, and
still, he's there. We're bound together. More than Mom and Dad,
at least." Her thoughts drifted off, and she returned to his
eyes.

Giles looked at Buffy's hair and her expressive face. "They
wanted me to make her into a machine, an unfeeling brute. My
damnable and damned teachers. They nearly made me lose her. Never
again. I look at her, and I feel young."

They closed into a hug. He looked down at her and saw a single
tear move down her face, and she looked up at him and gave a
nervous laugh. "Time after time. Time after time."

The song ended, and they held each other tightly. Willow and Oz
joined them on the dance floor, and the two extended their hug to
include their friends. They stood there for a moment, Willow
leaning into Giles' side, Oz gripping Willow's free hand, and
Buffy curling her arm around Giles' waist, when an electric
guitar clanged from the sound system. Giles and Buffy fell back
in astonishment when they heard a voice call out "I remember
every little thing as if it happened only yesterday." Oz looked
at the jukebox and shouted out, "Devon!" Devon just grinned, as
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" played out to the thinned
crowd. Still, most of the crowd started singing along, even
couples that had dated and more for years.

"On that note," said Buffy.

"Let's go home." finished Oz.

"Can you drop her off?" asked Willow.

"Certainly. Get your rest," replied Giles.

The four walked out, and Oz and Willow got into Oz's van. They
drove off.

Giles and Buffy walked to Giles' Citroen. "They won't," said
Buffy.

"Won't?"

"Get any rest."

"Oh. They're a good couple," Giles said. "Are you envious?"

"No. It's not my turn, I guess. Really, I'm happy for them. How
could I not?"

"Do you miss him, Buffy?"

"Not now, Giles. Anything but that."

"Where is Xander, by the way?"

"Out of town. He and Cordelia went away for a few days." Giles
reached over to her and lightly touched her arm. "It's all right,
Giles. It's one of the things I fought for."

"I hate to see you be such a martyr. They should be giving you a
parade. The Queen should be giving you a bloody knighthood."

"Wrong country, Giles."

"I say."

"I have friends who love me. I have Mom. And--" She stopped for
a moment. "I have you. Always."

"Always."

"But, I'm about to fall down again. Could you get me home?"

"Time after time." He supported her as she got into his car, and
he drove her home in silence. He half-carried her to her front
door; Mrs. Summers was waiting. He placed Buffy on their couch,
and she fell asleep immediately.

"Is she?"

"Just tired. I stopped by the club they go to. Nothing unnatural
tonight."

"I'd ask you to stay for tea, but I should get her into her own
bed. I'm never sure what to say to you."

"Good night, Mrs. Summers."

"Sleep well, Rupert."

"Joyce."

---

"Cordy."

"Can't sleep, huh."

"Nah. You?"

"No. It's 2:30. The bags under my eyes will have kids of their
own, and I still can't sleep. What'll we do? What do we go back
to?"

"Don't know. And, I'm not up for anything other than talking."

"Which you don't do very well."

"Everyone knows that."

"You do the other thing very well, though."

"Hmm. So, what do we do?"

"I can't stay in Sunnydale. You know that. There's nothing left."

"Not even with me?"

"Not even. No job, no money, no hope. And, our families?" Cordy
let out a bitter laugh.

"Um. Where's yours going?"

"Dad escaped jail. He's going North. Mom--relatives in Chicago,
I think. I'm not going with them. But, I'm not staying in
Sunnydale."

"You're leaving me." Xander's voice was flatter than it had been
when she was in the hospital. It showed no enthusiasm, no
heartfelt apologies, no tone, just a flat acknowledegement of an
ending.

"I can't stay. I'm not wanted here. You, you're bound to it. Even
without Slay-girl, or SuperBrit, once you knew about the
Hellmouth, you'd stay to fight. Forever."

"You're not wanted there? I want you with me."

"I can't stay. How would I live? Where would I live? I am not
going back to that dress shop. And, I've been Queen Bitch for so
long that no one would cross the street to say hello."

"Buffy. Giles."

"Do you think I'd accept their charity? Not that they have that
much to give. Not that they'd want to give any to the bitch
queen."

"Cordy, no. I know your masks. Why do you think I play the clown?
They know too. They saw what you did when the demons came down."

"I can't stay. You know that. I'm not going to cheat to make my
way in the world. I'm not going to be my father. I will earn my
place. Not like those stupid self-esteem lectures at school. I
will achieve something that I can be proud of." Her voice fell to
a whisper. "That you can be proud of."

"But, I'm proud of you already." They embraced, and fell asleep
for a time.