For the next two days Buffy spent her the day with her father who had taken time off to spend with her. At night she would go to the Bronze to hang out with her friends. She was happy that she had come back to Sunnydale instead of just calling. The more time she spent with the people she had left behind the more she regreted ever leaving in the first place.
On Friday morning the phone had rang just as Buffy was coming downstairs from her shower. Hank answered the phone before she got to it. "Hello Summers' residence...Yes...Yes that's true...Oh really? That's wonderful to hear...No. No, I won't...I think I can manage that...Okay. I'll see you soon...Goodbye."
"Who was that Daddy?" Buffy asked. Her father's phone conversation had been a good one apparently, judging by the smile on his face and she wanted to know what was going on.
"Oh, that was just the office. I have something I have to go and take care of. I'll only be gone a few hours. Why don't you go out and take a walk, explore the old neighborhood. The only thing you have done since you've been here is spend time with your old man at home and with your friends at the Bronze. Some things have changed. Why don't you take a look around?"
Buffy couldn't help but feel as though her father was trying to get her out of the house and to go and see something that was important. She just wasn't sure exactly what it was that she was supposed to be seeing. "Is there something in particular that I should be looking for while I am out?"
"No, not really. Just follow your heart dear. It will tell you what is important."
Buffy couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at her father's choice of words. "What's the deal Dad? There is something going on. What is it that I am supposed to be seeing while I am out?"
"Just go take a walk and get some air. I will be back in about three hours. When I get back what do you say about taking a trip to the mall?"
"That sounds great. I'll see you in a few." Buffy said giving Hank a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun at the office. Oh, and I'll be sure to take that walk."
"Okay honey."
'My dad must be crazy.' She thought to herself as she turned and walked back up to her room.
After pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and slipping on her sneakers she walked out the front door to go on her walk. Buffy stood on the front porch for a minute as she contemplated which direction she should head in. There was obviously something that she was supposed to look for, the only problem was that she didn't know where to go to see it. As she stood on the porch she remembered the day that little William had come to tell her that he was leaving. She remembered watching him as he walked away. After that day she wouldn't even walk past his house, it was just too painful. 'Maybe it's time that I face everything that I have been afraid of, everything that has caused me pain. I came back and faced my family and friends after I left them all. Now, maybe it is time to face the fact that he is actually gone and for good this time.' Buffy thought as she ventured off the porch and down the sidewalk towards where William had once lived.
As she walked by the playground where their parents had taken her and William she decided to stop. Buffy sat on one of the swings and thought back to the days when she used to chase William around threatening to beat him up because he had made a funny face at her or had pulled her hair. She remembered the picture that she had found in Spike's room, the same one that she had held on to, the one that told her the truth about who he was. She regreted going through his photo album that day. If she hadn't been so nosey things probably would have gone differently. It was too late to change that now. Her mother had offered to bring her to the playground several times after William had moved away, but she had always declined. The place held too many heartbreaking memories for. Now as she thought about them, they weren't heartbreaking any more. They were good, solid, happy memories. The type of memories that people would hold on to all their lives. Buffy smiled as she got up from the swing and continued her journey to where her best friend had lived.
Buffy was only two houses away from her destination when she began to feel as though she wasn't going to be able to go any further. She could see the sign in the front yard saying that the house was for sale. As she neared the yard she noticed that it actually wasn't for sale anymore. There was a magnetic sign attatched to it announcing that it had been sold. A look at the empty windows told her that no one was living in the there yet, so she decided to walk around the back of the house. She took in the sight before her as more memories flooded her mind, like the corner of the yard where William's parents would let him set up his small tent and she would come over and spend the night with him. They never slept on those nights. Instead they would stay up all night and try to scare each other with stories about ghosts and vampires.
She walked up on to the back the porch and peeked through the kitchen window. Memories of her and William helping Jenny bake cookies for the holidays filled her thoughts along with the dinners the two families would have together. She remembered the time she had run away from home because her parents had been arguing. Jenny had let her stay the night and promised that she wouldn't tell her parents that she was there. She knew that after she had left the room Jenny had called them right away to tell them that she was there and had asked to let her spend the night. She and William had camped out on his bedroom floor. It was that night when she knew that no one could ever make her feel the way William had. He had found every way possible to make her laugh and when that wasn't enough he had held her while she cried. He did everything for her and she had done everything she could for him. The kids at school used to pick on him because he wore glasses and his dad made him wear funny clothes. Elizabeth hadn't cared. She would stand up to them every time they would call him names or trip him in the halls. Eventually they started to call her names and make fun of her for hanging out with a geek, but it didn't bother her. All that mattered to her was that William was still her friend after it was all over.
Then Buffy remembered something else and walked down the sidewalk to the back of the yard. On the last block of cement was another fond memory from when she was little. She knelt down in the grass and traced the etching in the cement with her finger as she smiled. 'Lizzie & Willy Always' A tear rolled down Buffy's cheek at the memory of that day. After the concrete had been poured they had begged Jenny to let them write something in the wet cement. She hadn't been able to resist them. "This is a promise that we will always be together." William had told her as he wrote their names in the cement with a small stick. "Always." Elizabeth agreed. It was only two weeks before William had knocked on her door to tell her that he was moving.
"Maybe we aren't together anymore William, but you are still here. You will always be here." Buffy said to the cement then stood up. With one last look at the house she sighed heavily. "I'll miss you always. I love you. Goodbye William." And then she made her way home. She had faced the one place that she hadn't been able to go near in thirteen years. All though her heart hurt she felt better that she was able to come here and finally say goodbye.
"Elizabeth, are you home yet?" Hank called out to her as he walked through the front door.
"I'm in the living room Daddy." She called back.
"Did you have a nice walk this morning?"
"It was okay. I did something I needed to do while I was out."
"What was that?" Hank asked as he walked into the living room.
"I said goodbye to an old friend."
"Really? And who was that?"
"I think you know." Buffy said giving her father an accusing glance. "What exactly did you want me to see while I was out for a walk?"
"I didn't want you to see anything. I just wanted you to understand that just because some one is not here physically doesn't mean that you have lost them. They will always be there. You and William had an amazing friendship. The only ones that can destroy that are the two of you and only if you let it."
"But I already did destroy it."
"No, you didn't destroy it. Maybe gave it a blemish, but you haven't destroyed it, not completely. In order for that to happen you both have to destroy it. Trust me Elizabeth, William isn't gone forever. If he came back after all this time I don't think he is about to give up so easily."
"Daddy he went back to England. He's not here. I chased him away and I will never see him again."
"Fate brought you together this time and if it was meant to be then it will happen again. When I saw William a week ago he had been devastated that you weren't here. When I talked to him on the phone a few days ago and he told me that he had found you he was so happy. He never mentioned that things hadn't gone well with the two of you. Maybe he has gone back to England, but I don't think he will stay away. He just needs some time to sort things out, just like you. You realised what you have done. You know that you didn't treat him well and you know why you didn't. Give him some time and he will be back. He doesn't want to let you go any more then you did him. You may have said your goodbyes, but you still hold on to him. Now he just needs time to say his good byes to who you were and see that the person you are now is just as good if not better. He'll figure it out. I promise."
"I wish I could believe that, Daddy, but I don't think he is going to be back." Buffy looked up at her father a confused look on her face. "Wait. Do you know something that I don't know?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know you tell me. You're the one that told me to go on that walk. You knew the house was for sale didn't you?"
Hank sat down beside his daughter. "Yes, I knew it had been for sale. I was hoping that you were going to go there and see that."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to know that even though things change, even though things don't always go the way we want them to, good things can still come out of it."
"But what good has come out of me chasing him away."
"You came here didn't you?"
Buffy smiled at her father. "Yeah, I guess I did. It was because of him that I came here. I messed up, with both you and with him. He left before I had a chance to make things right, I didn't want that to happen with you."
"And it didn't. So what do you say about that shopping trip to the mall? I would like you to pick up something nice for tomorrow night to wear to dinner. You and I are going to be going out to eat with someone who is very imortant." Hank said changing the subject.
"Dinner? Someone imortant? Who?" Buffy asked excitedly.
"Well there will be quite a few of us actually. You, me, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and a surprise guest."
"Can't you tell me who?" Buffy whined.
"No. I'm sorry that I can't. I want it to be a surprise, not even your friends know so don't go asking them."
"Is it someone from work?"
"I'm not going to answer any of your questions. Just go and get changed and we can go to the mall."
"Fine." Buffy pouted and got up from the sofa to do as her father had told her.
Later that day, after dragging her father through every store in the mall to find a dress that she really liked and everything to go with it, Buffy decided to call Los Angeles and check in with Faith and Angel. "Hey Faith." She greeted her friend when she answered the phone.
"Hey, B. How's Sunnydale?"
"It's good. I've been meeting the gang at the Bronze every night and hanging out with my dad during the day."
"How are things with your dad?"
"Things are good. He took the week off from work so he could spend time with me. Dad even took me on a shopping trip to the mall."
"So he hasn't been pushing you to do anything?"
"Nothing."
"So you'll still be coming home on Sunday?"
"Yeah, I'll be home then."
"I'll be sure to let Angel and the others know. But, Buffy, I have to run. We are all going out tonight to celebrate making it through a tough week."
"Okay Faith. Give everyone my love. I'll see you all on Sunday."
"Okay. Bye B."
"Bye." Buffy said then hung up the phone.
Buffy and her friends sat at their usual table at the Bronze that night. The club was packed to capacity. There were so many people that Buffy didn't even try to pay attention to anyone else in the club. The current topic of conversation was the dinner that was planned for the next night. "So are there any guesses as to who might be joining us tomorrow night?" Tara asked the group. They all shook their heads in response.
"Dad won't tell me anything. I even tried to get him to let some hints slip and he wouldn't do it. Today, at the mall when he took me to get a dress, I asked him if I should get something that said 'wild night out on the town' or 'conservative and profesional' he told me that it was my choice and I could wear whatever I want. I thought that if he had said profeesional then it would have been someone from work. Since he didn't I don't know if that is still an option."
"Maybe he has a girlfriend and he wants to introduce us to her." Xander suggested.
"Xander, why would he have all of us there if it was a girlfriend? I could see why he would want Buffy there, but not the rest of us." Willow objected.
"Do we even know if this person is male or female, young or old?" Anya asked. "Because if it is a female then I would have to agree with Xander that it is probably a girlfriend."
"We don't know." Buffy replied.
"Well we are all meeting at your house Buffy. Did your dad say that our guest would be as well?"
"He didn't say, Anya. He won't tell me anything."
"Oh, cause if they were coming to the house then I would say that it would definitely be a girlfriend."
"Hey! I have an idea." Xander claimed. "Why don't we go dance instead of wasting our time here trying to figure out the impossible?"
Everyone in the group agreed except for Buffy. "I think I'll stay here and keep our table company. Besides with all the people here we might lose our seats if we all go." It was a lame excuse, but Buffy didn't feel like dancing. The truth was that she was feeling like a fifth wheel in the group. Her friends protested, but after several failed attempts at talking her into joining them, Buffy watched them as they headed to the dance floor. 'If Spike were here I wouldn't feel like this.' She thought to herself. She sighed as she gave her brain a mental slap. Spike had been on her mind most of the day, thanks to her father telling her to take a walk that morning. She hadn't told her friends about what had happened, and had kept the fact that she was depressed hidden from them. There was no point in talking about it, there wasn't anything she could do. By now he was probably on his way back to England if not already there.
"There was this rumor going around that Buffy Summers was back in Sunnydale. Thought I would check it out for myself. From the way it looks, it wasn't a rumor." A voice came from behind Buffy, breaking her out of her thoughts. She smiled as she recognized the voice.
Buffy turned to face the man standing behind her. She hadn't expected to run into him, she didn't even know that he was in town. "Yeah, that's not a rumor, I'm really here. How have you been Riley?" She gestured for him to take a seat at the table with her so they could talk. He had been her only serious boyfriend, and even though things didn't work out between them, they had still been friends afterwards.
Riley sat down beside her and smiled, glad that she was still willing to talk to him. "I've been good. How about you? Are you okay? I heard about how you had taken off, did something happen?"
"I'm okay. I got a little stressed out and couldn't handle the pressure of my father so I skipped town and went to L.A. with Faith and Angel. After a year of being gone I finally got some sense knocked into me and I came back to see my dad and my friends. What about you? Why are you back in Sunnydale? I thought you were off on some mission for the government that last time that I had talked to you."
"I got some time off while an injury is healing so I thought I would swing through and say hi to a few people. Lucky for me it was while you were here."
"Yeah, well I'm only here until Sunday then it's back to L.A."
"What have you been doing there? You said Faith and Angel are there too?" Riley asked, obviously interested in what Buffy had been doing since the last time he had seen her. She could tell he was interested, he always was when it came to her, so she gave him the very broad version of the last year of her life. She left out the part about Spike and why she had actually come back to Sunnydale, but all the other big things she shared with him.