Joyce called Janice's mother and told her to send Dawn home. Dawn and I sat in the living room, and she insisted that Joyce leave, since she had to leave when I talked with Joyce. Fair was fair. Joyce went into the kitchen, and Dawn and I talked.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
"OK."
"How's your Mom doing?"
"She cries a lot, when she doesn't think I'm around. But I hear her sometimes."
I nodded.
"What happened the night before Buffy ran away?"
"I don't know," Dawn said. "As soon as that Stein asshole left…" Dawn covered her mouth and looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Don't tell Mom I said asshole, OK?"
"Sure. And for your information I share your assessment of Detective Stein."
"Thanks!" Dawn smiled at me conspiratorially. "Anyway, as soon as Stein left Mom called Janice's mom and told her she needed to look for my sister, and could I stay with Janice. Then she told me to stay in the house with Janice, and make sure Janice and her family stayed in the house as well. Like I needed to be reminded of that! The last thing I wanted to run into was Angelus again."
"So you didn't see anything that night."
"No, but the next morning I got up and went home early. I was worried, you know, about Buffy, about my Mom. Anyway, I'm walking home and I see Buffy climbing out of the window to her room. She's got her overnight bag, the one she used to take when we would visit Dad. She looks at me, waves, jumps to the ground, then turns around and runs away. I called out to her, but she didn't answer. I then went into the house and found Mom crying. She had a note from Buffy. When I went into my room I found my note from Buffy."
"Could I see your note?"
"Sure."
Dawn looked at me.
"Mr. Spenser? Do you think that you can find Buffy? Maybe get her back for my birthday? It's in three days."
Spenser. Toughest detective in Boston. Way too tough to admit to the big lump a 12 year old girl put in his throat.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I sat in the Summers' living room and read the notes Buffy wrote to Joyce and Dawn, who were both sitting on the couch watching me read.
DEAR MOM,
I'M SORRY. I KNOW I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO COME BACK, BUT I HAD TO GET SOME OF MY CLOTHES, MAKEUP, AND OTHER THINGS. I'M OK. I WON. ANGELUS IS GONE, AND SPIKE AND DRUSILLA HAVE LEFT TOWN.
I AM SO SORRY FOR WHAT I HAVE PUT YOU THROUGH. I KNOW HAVING A SLAYER FOR A DAUGHTER HAS TO BE REALLY HARD. I KNOW ME GOING OUT AND FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE EVERY NIGHT IS REALLY HARD. AND I KNOW THAT THE IDEA OF ME GOING OUT AND KILLING THINGS THAT LOOK SO HUMAN HAS TO HARD FOR YOU TOO. IT IS FOR ME. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO BE A SLAYER. BUT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE A DAUGHTER AND A STUDENT AND A SLAYER ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I KNOW THAT NOW.
I WISH I COULD MAKE IT ALL STOP. I WISH WE COULD BE A FAMILY AGAIN.
LOVE,
BUFFY
P.S.:
I DIDN'T MEAN IT ABOUT THE DRINK.
DEAR DAWN,
THE TWENTY DOLLAR BILL ATTACHED IS FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY. I'M SORRY I WON'T BE HERE FOR IT. I HAVE TO GO. TELL WILLOW, XANDER, GILES AND THE REST OF THE SCOOBIES THAT I WILL MISS THEM. EVEN CORDELIA.
LOVE,
BUFFY
I looked up at Dawn.
"Scoobies?"
"From Scooby Doo," Dawn said. "It's what Buffy and her friends call themselves, particularly Willow and Xander."
"Except that old man Wilkins really is a monster," I said.
"Something like that," Joyce said.
"Sorry about the drink?" I said.
"I was drinking bourbon on ice when I was arguing with Buffy," Joyce said. "When the discussion got particularly heated, she suggested that I just 'have another drink'."
"Patronizing," I said.
"It was, but it clearly bothered her in retrospect."
"Insightful."
"I'm sorry?"
"It was insightful of her to recognize the thing she said that probably hurt you the most."
"I suppose it was."