Chapter 9

The next morning, Buffy rose before dawn, dressing quietly as not to wake up her family and their guests. She tiptoed down the hall and the stairs, holding her boots in her hand. She entered the kitchen, stopping when she saw Spike sitting at the kitchen table holding a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette. She dropped her boots by the door and poured herself a cup of coffee and stared at Spike. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Aren't we up early?" he said, taking another drag of his cigarette, flicking the ashes into a ashtray he had found on the kitchen counter.

Buffy shrugged, "Wanted to have Sunset ready for when everyone woke up. What about you, why are you up early?"

Spike finished his coffee and replied, "I'm always up this early for morning workouts."

"Oh." was Buffy's only remark as she quickly drank her coffee before sitting down to pull on her boots. Spike didn't say anything after that, he just figured she wasn't a morning person like him and didn't want to talk.

They both stood up and left, heading to the barn. While Spike headed to the stalls, Buffy headed over to the tack room to get the bandages to wrap Sunset's legs for the trip. When she came out, Spike was in the stall giving the stallion his morning feed. He patted the horse on the neck before moving to the stall door, looking at Buffy.

"You want me to do that for you?" he asked.

She sneered at him, "No thanks, I think I can handle wrapping his legs."

Spike held up his hands and slipped out of the stall making room for her to enter, "I never said you couldn't. I just was being nice."

Buffy shook her head and moved closer to Sunset, kneeled and began to wrap one of his legs and muttered, "So be nice somewhere else."

Spike stared at her, "You say something?"

She shook her head and she moved to the next leg, "No but why don't you go on back to the house. Mom should be up fixing breakfast and I'll be done in a minute."

Spike nodded, "If that's what you want."

"It is." was her short reply as she moved to the back legs. Spike shook his head and left, leaving Buffy alone with her horse. Sunset had finished eating by the time she wrapped his hind legs and nickered softly. Buffy smiled and moved next to his head, rubbing between his eyes, "Oh Sunset, I hope this all works out for us. I just want what is best for you. Next to Glory, you mean the most to me. And now Glory is gone and all I have is you."

A tear trickled out of her eyes as she rested her head on Sunset's, breathing deeply, taking in the musky scent of her horse. Sunset nickered and rubbed her shoulder with his nose as if to say, "Its ok, I'll be there for you."

She sniffed and leaned away, "I love you Sunset." She kissed his nose and left the stall, wiping the tears away as she headed back to the house. When she entered the door to the kitchen, her mother was hovering over the stove, making pancakes. Her father and Mr. Giles were in the dining room, drinking coffee. Spike was with Dawn, looking over some old racing forums. Buffy walked over and hugged her mom, "I'm going to go and change. Be back down in a few."

Joyce nodded and turned back to the stove, Dawn would kill her if she burned the pancakes. Buffy ducked through the dining room, headed to the stairs. Spike looked up and nodded at her briefly before turning back to the racing forums, telling Dawn which horse would do the best. As Buffy entered her room, her phone rang. Picking it up, she carried it over to her closet.

"Hello?" she answered. Expecting it to be Willow or Cordy, she nearly dropped it when she heard who it was.

"Hey Buffy." replied Riley.

She stopped in the middle of riffling through her clothes and stared at a beige top in shock. Riley was calling her, was on the phone. That could only mean one thing, he wanted to get back together. She figured her would have had enough sense to wait a few days. To give her space. It was only now she was beginning to realize her friends were right, Riley just wasn't the one for her. Plucking out the beige top and a pair of newer jeans, the blonde turned towards her bed, tossing the clothes on it.

"Riley, what are you doing calling me?" she asked, her voice flat. She wanted no pleasantries, only to get to the point.

On the other end, Riley coughed, not expecting her to act like this, "I thought that maybe we could meet in Lexington, for coffee. Talk about what happened yesterday. I think we both can agree that we acted rashly. We just need to talk things over."

Buffy let out a irritated sigh, the man just did not get the point. She had to take several calming breathes before she could speak. And when she did, her voice was light with a hard edge to it, "Look, you might feel that we acted rashly. I, however, do not think that. I meant what I said, I think we shouldn't be together. It wouldn't work out. Now with you overseas for three months and me in New York."

"What do you mean, you in New York? When are you going to New York? The Madison Square Garden show isn't for another couple of months." was Riley's dumb reply.

"I'm going to New York with Mr. Giles, to stay with him while he trains Sunset. I'm leaving in a hour." she explained as she pulled on her jeans.

Riley sputtered over the phone and Buffy figured he had spat out whatever it was he had been drinking, "You cant go to New York, you belong here." Here with me…words he left unsaid but Buffy got the gist of it.

"No I don't." her words were muffled as she changed shirts while still holding onto the phone and talking, a art she had mastered long ago, "I belong where ever I choose to belong, and right now that's with Sunset. Deal with it Riley, because we aren't going to get back together. I don't want to marry you and I don't want to sit around for months while your away and let my life waste away. I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

Those were harsh words for Riley, who thought that Buffy would always love him, to swallow. But before he could say anything, in the distant background he could hear Buffy's mom calling her and she said, "Look, mom's calling me down for breakfast. I have to go. Good luck with your shows and with Zeus."

Buffy didn't give him time to protest and clicked the phone off and tossed it on her bed. Grabbing a old pair of boots, the blonde pulled those on and grabbed her two suitcases that she was bringing with her. Carrying them down the stairs, Buffy left them in the hallway and went into the dining room. The table was set with a huge plate of pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast, and eggs. Joyce had prepared them a meal that would keep them until they reached New York it looked like. With a smile, Buffy slid into a seat next to her sister.

Dawn, on a impulsive move, leaned over and wrapped her arms around her older sister in a tight embrace. Taken by surprise, Buffy hugged her back and whispered in her ear, "Hey its not like I'm leaving for good. I'll be back for a visit. No need to cry on me."

Dawn pulled back, huffing and wiping a few tears from her eyes, "I'm not crying because I'll miss you, I'm crying because finally, I get to have all the attention." What a sorry way to cover her real emotions.

Buffy laughed and filled her plate, sipping some orange juice, "Yeah you say that now, but just wait until your having trouble with Catch Me and need my advice, then you'll miss me."

Dawn, despite her sadness, giggled into her plate of food. Joyce and Hank smiled, continuing their talk with Giles about what sort of training Sunset would go through. Buffy thought she would listen, but figured she would learn first hand since she would be there and concentrated on eating as fast as she could so she could go back to the stables and be with Sunset one last time in their home.

Spike kept silent through the meal, speaking only when asked a question. To the adults, it looked like he was just staring at his plate, like the food would grow legs and walk off it. But Dawn caught the looks he was giving his sister out the corner of his eye and felt her schoolgirl crush on him break. And the bleached blonde jockey was shooting the eldest Summers daughter looks. He couldn't help himself but to watch the way she ate, the way she would laugh at something her mother said. The way she interacted with her family with a ease Spike only thought he and his father had. He was infatuated with this girl, no woman, and could feel himself falling in love with her.

That would be a problem itself, he thought. Buffy hated him, or at least wanted to. There was no way she could actually hate him with the way she reacted to his kiss yesterday. A tiny smile teased his lips as he thought about that moment, the way her lips parted beneath his, the way her legs wrapped around him and….he had to stop thinking like this. If he kept this up, over one kiss, he might end up throwing down his fork and grabbing Buffy, having his way with her on the table in front of everyone and in the eggs.

Finally breakfast was over. After excusing herself, Buffy raced out to the stables, letting Dawn and her mother carry the dishes to the kitchen. For once, Dawn didn't complain about being stuck with all the chores, she understood that her sister wanted to say one last good bye to her horse friends. Spike, fighting the urge to follow Buffy, gallantly helped the two other Summers women clean up. Hank and Giles carried Buffy's things out to the Giles' truck and to hook up the trailer.

Out in the stable, Buffy fed a carrot to all her favorite horses. Galia, Moondust, Emerald, Demon, Catch Me. Her parents mounts, Honored Realm and Mist of the Moon. Several of the broodmares, including Sunset's dam, got carrots as well. All the horses, including the borders got pats on the forehead or a little kiss. She paused outside of one stall, it was empty and had a nameplate that read, Buffy's Glory on it.

Her hazel eyes stared at the empty stall, void of all bedding and hay net. Tears gathered as Buffy whispered, "Glory, I'll always miss you. You'll always be my favorite and I'm sorry for killing you." Buffy closed her eyes and drifted back to that dreaded day.

It was the second day in a three day event. Glory and Buffy were racing over the cross country course, flying over the jumps. They were almost to the finish and making perfect time when they approached the one jump that had been giving everyone trouble. It was a set of three heavy logs with a water filled ditch on the other side. The ditch was wide and deep. The approach and the horse's lift off had to be just right to make it. Several had refused the jump entirely. It was meant to intimidate and it worked.

However it wasn't going to work on Glory and Buffy. The approach and speed were perfect, the jump was perfect. The one that that could have gone wrong did. The horse before them had slipped and fell into the water, making the ground slippery and Buffy hadn't counted on that factor. Glory nailed the jump only to slide around on the slick ground. Buffy had done everything to keep the horse from falling, only it didn't work. They hand gone down, Buffy landing hard on her wrist. Glory in all his thrashing, had slipped into the ditch of water, catching his back leg on the edge and breaking it. By the time Buffy had made it out of the hospital, they had to put the horse down.

Sunset's snort broke Buffy from her trance. Walking over to her horse, the girl lifted a hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen. She didn't even get a chance to say good by to her beloved mount, but she knew in her heart, that her parents had done the right thing. Glory didn't deserve to sit in pain while she got patched up, it was for the best, even if it did hurt. Sighing, Buffy smoothed out the mane of the stallion as she whispered, "Glory may be gone, but I still have you. And despite how I feel on racing, I know that your going to blow the world away. I can just feel it."

Her father called from outside to her, "Buffy, bring Sunset out. Its time to load him up."

Smiling, Buffy reached for a lead and attached it to the halter and opened the stall. Carefully, she led the tall stallion outside and to the trailer. Her whole family was there, standing beside the trailer. Someone, probably Spike, had layered the bottom with hay and filled a net. A bucket of water hung in once corner, braced so it would shake around during the trip.

One by one, the Summers gathered around their prized horse to say good bye. Then stepping back, they gave Buffy room to lead Sunset up the ramp. The minute his front legs touched the ramp, Sunset snorted and planted his feet. The look on his face plainly told Buffy that he wasn't going anywhere. Buffy shook the lead gently and clucked toward him, talking softly under her breath, "Come on, boy. You've been up a ramp before. Same as last time, one foot in front of the other. Come on and you'll get a carrot."

The white horse's ears pricked up at the mention of carrot. Buffy backed into the trailer so that the lead was taunt between her and horse and showed him a carrot in the palm of her hand. Then like he was innocent as the day he was born, Sunset walked peacefully up into the trailer. Feeding him the carrot in one hand, Buffy watched as her father and Giles closed the door. Giving the horse one last pat and unclipping the lead, Buffy exited through the side door where her family and the Giles waited.

Joyce stepped forward and gave her daughter a tight hug and muttered, "If you don't call every day and write once a week, I'll kill you. Oh baby, I love you." She was weeping as she clung to Buffy and Buffy clung to her. The blonde was going to miss her mother greatly.

Dawn was hugged next, their good byes exchanged. Sniffling, Buffy watched as her father approached her and wagged a finger in her face, "Now don't go giving Rupert a hard time and listen to what he says. Trust his judgment with your safety and Sunset's." The male Summers wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her tightly, fighting back his own tears as he whispered, "And watch out for Spike, I don't like the look in his eyes when it comes to my little angel."

Buffy laughed as she pulled away, the sound watery through her tears, "Oh I'm going to miss you guys. I'll call as soon as we get there and get Sunset settled. I promise."

"You better" was the chorused reply of her family as she climbed into the truck, sitting next to Spike. Rupert started up the truck and Buffy leaned out the window to get one last look of the farm, saying a mental goodbye. Her family was waving as the truck rolled past the white fence and she waved back at them, tears gone now and a big smile on her face instead. As they rolled under the sign that announced the school, Buffy pulled her head back into the car and looked at trainer and jockey, still smiling, "Heres to a new beginning for Sunset." And for me, she added to herself.

Author's Notes: Yes, you did read correctly. The next chapter. Even I'm shocked. I thought I would never get it done. So I'm happy that you are happy. And hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up this time next week. I get two days off in the middle of the week to work on it. YAY! Anyways, hope you like and review like always.