Buffy couldn't wait for university to start – it really wouldn't matter if she came home at night or not. She would be free to spend the evenings patrolling or with Angel, and no one would think twice about it; no one would be there to care except willow, and she wouldn't mind the way her mum did. She was going to live on campus for the first year at least, just to calm her mother, but after that, who knew that would happen!

She didn't think that angel could ever legally marry her, not being a real person and all, but the ring he gave her was a traditional wedding band for the lower class of Ireland. Buffy would have loved to make that sentiment legal and binding, but vampires don't tend to have any form of ID.

"I have to speak to mum about you – us – at some point."

"Mmm."

"Angel, are you even listening?"

"Mmm"

"Oh for God's sake!" She removed her boyfriend's hand from her hair, held both of them by his sides and turned around so she could face him.

They had been dancing again, in the mansion this time, with her back pressed up against his front. One of his hands was idly playing with her hair; the other snaked around her middle protectively as they swayed slowly to some random music playing on the radio. She was holding the arm holding her, and trying to have a conversation, something that was proving rather difficult to do with a vampire enthralled by her hair and neck. If it was any other vampire captivated by/with her neck, she would be very worried, or would have staked it already. This one was different; this one was hers.

"I have to talk to mum about us and"

He kissed her and all other thoughts were lost.

What was she talking about again?

Buffy was going out of her way to avoid her mother lately, and it wasn't all that difficult. Joyce summers was having a busy time at the gallery, and her oldest child was throwing herself back into her old life. She was out with friends or dawn most of the time, and the rest was spent on slayer duties, with Angel, or both (patrolling was so much more fun when there was a handsome vampire to kiss behind the headstones in between kills). So Joyce and Buffy managed to avoid each other for ten days after Angel got back, and then all hell broke lose.

"Hi, mum. Good day at the gallery?"

"Dawn, upstairs please; Buffy, sit down – we need to have a little talk."

Dawn grumbled, but went upstairs, leaving her only sister to her dreadful fate. She had a lot to write about in her diary anyway, and it wasn't like anything good was showing on TV. They really needed to get cable – you can only watch the same re-runs so many times before so want to hit yourself with a shovel (except for cartoons – they just never get old!).

Buffy sat down rather heavily in one of the lounge chair, leaving her mother no choice but to leave a coffee table sized space between them (unless she wanted to sit in the lumpy chair with donkey's years of mouldy popcorn stuffed down the sides – that was Xander's chair when he came over, and before that, her dad used it). Joyce sat on the sofa and looked intently at her daughter.

"Angel."

"Angel?" Buffy did her best to look innocent, but failed miserably, as her mother gave her the 'I raised you' look.

"He's not good for you! He can't be anything that a normal girl needs, and then there's the added 'he's a vampire' factor. I know you think you're in love with him, but you're just a child your self. I was only a bit older than you when I met your father, and we all know how well that turned out. He's old enough (by a long way) to know that love can blind you, and as I said to him, he needs to make those hard choices which you clearly cant!"

"Mum, I love him. I know you went to see him, and I've thought about it – I was furious to start with, but I know you were only trying to protect me. The thing is, I will never be a normal girl. I've tried dating normal kids my age when I was the slayer. They either died, dumped me 'coz I could commit, dumped me 'coz I'm too weird, or were sorta psycho. We live on a Hellmouth, mum – it's never going to be normal.

"I know you hate the whole slayer gig – you don't fully understand, and you don't want to – but you know that I'm in danger a lot. Well, sorry mum, but NEWSFLASH: I've died once already, two years ago. Then it was Xander who saved me, but Angel told him what to do. Angel has saved me countless other times; he makes it safer for me. And he loves me."

Joyce sat very still. There was a long silence while Buffy prayed to every and any god up there, before her mother spoke again.

"Alright." And Buffy suddenly hated the coffee table, because it was just another obstacle between herself and her mother, who was clearly in desperate need of hugging.

"I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!"

"Dawnie, did I ever thank you for making Angel come back to me?"

"No. But you did yell at me for being outside after dark, and for not having a stake, cross or any holy water with me; it isn't like it was on purpose or anything!"

"Well, thank you, but I wont take it back – you're so lucky that Angel was there!"

"So were you. On more than one occasion, I think you said. And lets not forget that without me being in trouble and Angel rescuing me he wouldn't be here."

"Fine. C'mere!" Dawn was pulled into a tight hug. "Thank you, and don't ever scare me like that. Knowing you, you'd come back and haunt me after you died!"

"Ha ha very funny."

"I thought so."

All was right again in the Summers household – the sisters were fighting, the mother was working, and the father was completely absent. Everything was normal – for a slayer anyway!

THE END

And that's a wrap. The next story will probably be up in three or four weeks, because I'm going on holiday for a week, then I have two weeks of summer school (it's a voluntary thing and should actually be fun) then a week's singing course. I'm at home for the last week, but I'm out singing for up to 15 hours on some of the days … what have I got myself into? And then it's back to school, and I'm not going to have as much time left to write. I might get a lot done while I'm away though, it'll just take ages to write up!

Cya in a month or so!