Through The Years
Buffy drove down the familiar road that had been home to her so many years ago. She had finally graduated high school and would be attending the University of Sunnydale along with her friends. As promised they kept in touch and Buffy came home on week-ends and holidays. She missed everyone, but the person she missed most was Cordelia, when they were ten, Cordelia and her family moved to the East Coast. They still kept in touch but not as much. Coming to her mother's house Buffy noticed a lot of cars in the driveway. Pulling her car behind her mother's jeep, she stopped the car and got out. No lights were on; she walked up to the door and unlocked it with her key. She flipped on the lights and everyone jumped out and yelled, 'Surprise!' Buffy nearly had a heart attack, until she saw the 'Welcome Home' banner going across the living room.
Willow was the first one to hug her, "Welcome home Buff, we missed you." She whispered to her friend.
The blonde was surprised; her shy friend has turned into a more confident social butterfly. Xander came up next and gave her a big bear hug, "We missed you Buff!" He told her sincerely.
"Oxygen becoming an issue here." She told her friend. Xander let her go, and she was hugged by her mother.
"I'm so glad you're home, the house was empty without you." She told her daughter.
Her step father Rupert Giles came up to hug her next, even though he's seen her every now and again, he loved her just like she was his own.
"Welcome home Buffy." He whispered in her ear.
"Thanks Giles." She told him affectionately.
Once everyone got their hugs in and Buffy got settled dinner was had, but Buffy wasn't all that happy, her best friend wasn't there. It broke her heart a little knowing that her friend wasn't going to be there. She put a fake smile on her face and listened as her friends indulged her with their life stories. She's honestly missed a big portion of their lives, but hopefully could make up for it. Buffy was telling them about how she won Prom Queen when the doorbell rung. Giles was about to go get it, but Joyce gave a simple shake of her head and he sat back down. The blonde got up and opened the door, standing there was her long time friend.
"Well, are you going to just stand there with your mouth open or are you going to let me in?" She said
Buffy let her friend in and they immediately hugged. They haven't seen each other in over three years, built up emotions were starting to pour out. They finally let each other go, but never let their hands drop. It was a familiarity for them, something that brought them comfort. Cordelia joined the party, once it stared to wind down, everyone left with promises of hanging out tomorrow. The only ones left were Buffy and Cordelia.
"I missed you so much you know. When I came home and you weren't here, it was like, I can't explain it." Buffy tried to tell her friend.
"I missed you more, I wanted so much to come home, but with school and all it wouldn't permit me. I thought about you everyday, and when you stopped writing, I thought I lost you." Cordelia told the other girl.
"Well, I'm here now. Tell me everything, that's happened to you. I mean are you seeing anyone special? What school are you attending? How are mom and dad? I have so many questions I don't know where to begin." Buffy babbled out.
"Let's start with your first question. There was someone special, but he couldn't compare to the person who captured my heart. We separated and now he's engaged to be married to Darla." She told her.
Realization finally hit Buffy, "You and Angel dated? How was that possible he lived here in Sunnydale?" She questioned.
"A few years later he his family moved to New York and we attended the same school. We started dating in High School, then we separated and now he's with Darla. It was for the best anyway, our relationship wasn't anything, but sex anyways. As for school, I will be attending USD right along with you, Xander, and Willow. Mom and dad will be here tomorrow. They can't wait to see you, they missed you so much, mom would talk to your mom and she would tell her all about your accomplishments. So tell me about yourself Miss Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, captain of the cheerleader squad." She asked her friend.
"There really isn't much to say, I dated this guy named William, but everyone called him Spike. I'm pretty sure you would remember him if you saw him. He came back from England and boy was he hot. Anyways we dated, for a few years, but then we broke up, because his darling Dru came back to him. There hasn't been anyone since him, sure I've dated, but that was pretty much the extent of it." She said softly.
Buffy looked down at their clasped hands, and noticed the bracelet she gave Cordelia for her birthday.
"You still have it?" Buffy asked her friend.
The brunette looked down at her arm, "Yeah, I do. I had extra links put in, so I could wear it. I looked at it and it reminded me of you. Daddy told me how he went with you to the jewelers in Puerto Rico, and you picked it out. It was the best present ever, not that the other ones aren't as great, but this one was special." She told the girl.
They spent the rest of the night talking, until they fell into an exhaustive sleep. Joyce came downstairs and saw the picture before her, one that she's seen many times before. They were both stretched out on the couch Buffy in the front and Cordelia in the back. She pulled a blanket over them, and then searched for a camera. Once she located it, she took off the flash and snapped the picture, she had a picture of then, and she had a picture for now. She quietly walked up the stairs leaving the two girls alone.
Buffy was the first one to take up, and she noticed that she was covered, and that someone was behind her. Coming out of her fog, she realized that it was Cordelia, everything came back to her. She smiled and got up off the couch, not wanting to wake her friend. First stop for her was the bathroom, and then the kitchen; she smelled breakfast cooking and decided to see who it was. Living with her dad, she was used to having Angela cook all of the meals. Walking into the kitchen she saw her mom and Giles cooking together. It reminded her of the times her dad and mom would cook together in the kitchen.
"Good morning mom and Giles." She greeted the couple.
They both turned around startled, "Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep?" Joyce asked her daughter.
"I slept well, considering the couch is not a good place to sleep. No matter how comfortable I thought it was when I was little." She joked.
"We didn't mean to wake you Buffy, but we wanted to have breakfast ready for you and Cordelia. Coffee?" Giles asked.
The blonde gave him a small smile, "Sure, no Coffee Buffy is a cranky Buffy."
"And we so don't want to have to deal with that." Cordelia's voice broke the silence.
Buffy stuck her tongue out at her friend, and she did it in turn. "Mom, Buffy stuck her tongue out at me." Cordelia whined.
"Uh uh, you stuck yours out at me first." She told her mom.
Joyce just rolled her eyes, something's never change. "Were they always like this?" Giles asked the elder Summers.
"They were a whole lot worse growing up." She smiled.
"Hey! I resent that!" The two girls said at the same time, and began laughing.
Joyce and Giles took the plates into the dining room, "Come on you two, breakfast is ready." She told the two.
Breakfast was made with conversations, bits and pieces were told about the girls lives. Joyce realized that she missed this. She missed having her daughter and her friends around. She agonized many of times to bring Buffy home, but she seemed genuinely happy. Her dad was a real staple in her life; he and his wife attended everything that Buffy did. Whether it was school related or anything else, he was there when she couldn't be.
"Cordelia how is Elizabeth?" Joyce asked.
The brunettes stopped eating mid chew, "Lisa is fine mom, getting bigger everyday. She'll be here in a little bit. I wanted to spend a little time with her before school actually starts." She told Joyce
Buffy looked confused, who was Elizabeth; she filed that bit of information away for a rainy day.
"I can't wait to see her, is she staying with your parents?" She questioned.
Buffy pushed her plate aside, "Yes, they are bringing her down with them." She replied in a voice that clearly mean drop it.
"I am out of the loop here, but who is Elizabeth? Is she your little sister Cordelia?" Buffy asked her friend.
"No, Buffy Elizabeth is not my sister, she's my daughter, and she's two." She told her friend.
"Cool." Was all Buffy could say, she was hurt that no one told her that Cordelia had a child. That was huge news, and she wanted to be there for her.
"Buffy have you picked your major yet?" Giles asked, breaking the tension that seemed to form.
'Thank God for Giles.' Buffy thought, "Yeah, I'm majoring in child psychology, my minor is art history. Daddy wanted me to take business and work at his firm, but I told him that's not my thing. He totally understood, he just wanted to groom me, you know because if anything was to happen to him I inherit it all." She gave a smile.
"What about you Cordelia? Have you chosen your major?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, I have Early Childhood Development. I love kids, and it gives me a chance to work closely with Lisa." She replied.
Breakfast was finished and Buffy and Cordelia volunteered to do the dishes. It gave them some time to actually talk some more. Buffy was rinsing and Cordelia was putting them in the dishwasher.
"How come no one told me that you had a daughter?" She asked her friend.
The brunette put the plate back in the sink, and faced her friend, "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I had everything good going for me, until I got pregnant." She said honestly.
Buffy put her hand up to Cordelia's face and tilted it up, "I could never be disappointed in you. I love you too much for that." She told her softly.
'I love you too Buffy, you just don't know how much.' Cordelia thought. "I know it's stupid, once you meet her you can't help but to fall in love with her. Remember how we used to talk about having kids? You said you wanted five of them, is that still the case?" She asked her friend.
Buffy put the last dish in the dishwasher, "I may not want five but I at least want two, a boy and a girl or maybe two girls, the possibilities are endless." She replied. "What time are your parents arriving, I can't wait to see them. It's been so long." Buffy decided to change the subject.
"Their plane lands at eleven, but I have to be at the airport at about 10:30. You want to come with?" Cordelia asked.
"Well duh, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean after all they are my surrogate parents." She told her matter of factly.
"Okay, Cinderella whatever you say." She teased.
"I'm not Cinderella, Snow White." Buffy called back as she headed up the stairs to shower and change.
All of Cordelia stuff was still at Chase Manor; they needed to stop there before they headed to the airport. She couldn't believe at how gorgeous Buffy turned out to be. Everyone knew that she was a beautiful little girl, but had no idea that she was going to be a knock out. She couldn't stop thinking about the blonde who turned her life upside down. When her parents moved them to the East Coast she hoped that any feelings she had towards the blonde would disappear, but it didn't happen when five years later, she saw her at her grandmother's funeral. Now here she was back in her life, hopefully for good.
Buffy was in the shower and she thought about everything she found out. Cordelia had a baby, with Angel to be exact. They used to down each other's throats in school, opposites attracted she guess. Being near her child hood friend again sparked all of these emotions within her. She tried to suppress the feelings, but the connection is still there clear as ever. She didn't know what it meant; of course she loves her friend deeply. It was her who taught her the true meaning of friendship and love. The last time they seen each other was at Cordelia's grandmother's funeral, they spent the whole time talking and they shared a sweet, but chaste kiss. That was something she didn't ever want to forget. Turning off the water, she got out of the shower and walked to her room. Luckily Giles was no where to be found.
Cordelia was still lost in thought when Joyce came and sat down beside her.
"Deep thoughts?" She asked her second daughter.
"Deep and meaningful, I feel so stupid for keeping Lisa away from Buffy. I just thought that she would be disappointed in me, you know, but it was the direct opposite." She sighed.
"That's Buffy, full of surprises, but it goes deeper than that doesn't it. You love my daughter don't you, and I'm not talking about in the sisterly way either. I see the way you look at her, you look at her like Rupert looks at me, or how I used to look at Hank." She told the girl.
"Are you a mind reader or something? I do love her, I don't know when or how it happened it just did. God, pathetic much? Somehow I knew in my heart of hearts that she is the one. I just wish I knew how she felt about me."
Buffy walked down the steps and caught the end of the conversation. Cordelia was in love with someone that was not her. The thought was running rampant through her head, putting that away, she walked down the steps.
Joyce got up and went to her daughter, "You look lovely honey. Make sure your parent's come by and see me now." Joyce called back, as she was walking up the stairs.
"Where are your clothes?" Buffy asked.
"They are at home; I was going to run by there before I went to the airport. I need to leave now, if we are going to make it on time." Cordelia stood up and walked to the door.
Buffy followed behind her, she just had to grab her purse. "How did your parents react when they found out you were pregnant?" She asked.
"Mom was in a state of denial, and dad didn't want to believe it, but they stood by me. I'm grateful for that." She shrugged.
Cordelia turned the car down her street, and pulled up to the house.
"It still looks the same. How come mom and dad didn't sell it when you moved?" Buff wondered.
"It would make a great summer house." Cordelia replied as she opened the door. Immediately they were met with Vincienzo.
"My word, if it isn't Miss Buffy. You've grown up mighty fine, wait until Amelia sees you." He gave her a hug.
"It's good to see you to Vinny." She used his nickname.
Amelia the cook walked in and nearly had a heart attack, "Miss Buff is that you? My wee one, you've grown up." She gave the girl a hug. "We've missed ya much; you have to tell me everything." She dragged Buffy to the kitchen.
Cordelia was already upstairs showered and now she was getting dressed. She didn't understand why she was on pins and needles around Buffy. They've been friends since forever, this was no different. She just needed to keep everything together, and reveal how she feels a little later. Right now she was content with being friends, and she wanted Buffy to really like her daughter. She was dressed and ready to go; she had less than thirty minutes to get to the airport.
Buffy was already standing in the hallway talking to Vincienzo. Buffy told him politely that she would talk to him later. Cordelia practically dragged her out the door.