Chapter 1
She stepped out of the plane, landing in Los Angeles after eight years of running away. It felt strange to be coming home. She doesn't even know it familiar enough to be called home now; though it still has some strange pull calling her. She never regretted running, it was the only thing she could have done. She couldn't confront him, not only would that make him too aware of her intents, but she knew that in the end, she would be persuaded to stay, against her wishes. And she had enjoyed traveling around, even if they had to move very frequently, it was something she'd always wanted to do before she met him and stayed for him. The only regret she had was leaving Faith, and now Faith is the reason why she returned once again. Throughout the years, the chase had also become less frequent, she still moved irregularly, but his search became less persistent. Compared to the first three years when she's constantly on the move and sometimes could almost felt him breathing down her neck, the last time she heard anything about anyone looking for her was 6 months ago. She can't tell if she's relieved or disappointed. Both perhaps, she knows that she still loves him, but it had come to the point that it was killing her, and love wasn't enough.
She looked down at the little boy holding her hand who's rubbing his eyes, looking very sleepy. "Sorry Sweetie, tired? We'll be in the inn soon." The little boy nodded, giving her a small sleepy grin.
They head toward the airport to go through the custom and finally settled into a cab which drove them to a small homey inn around the outskirt of LA.
Buffy hadn't wanted to stay with Faith. She knew that she would never tell Angelus or do anything to alert him of her return to the States. But she knew that eventually, he would know and she'd wanted to delay it as much as possible. Besides, she'd gotten into the habit of staying in little inns and B&Bs when she traveled. The owner of this inn had been recommended by the owner of the Swedish inn where she stayed 3 years ago.
As they exited the cab, dawn had just broke but Rupert and Jenny Giles have already been up and now stands in front of their inn waiting to welcome another friend into their home. She had been referred to them by Theresa, a dear correspondent/friend who was in the same business in Sweden, which made her feel closer than normal to them. Knowing that Miss Summer and her son had just gotten off the plane, they quietly and quickly exchanged pleasantries while sipping warm milk and some filling sponge cake and then the couple insisted on sending them directly to bed with a promise of a nice filling meal whenever they should awake.
After Buffy woke up, she took a long hot shower and got dressed. Alex was still asleep and she decided to let him sleep while she called Faith.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Faith Morgan, who's calling?" The voice on the other end of the phone was both weary and excited.
"Hi Faith, it's me."
"B? Buffy?! Hey! Are you back? Where are you now?"
"I'm back; I'm staying at a little inn, just got back this morning."
"You're not staying with me? Oh, you think he's still looking for you? The last time he came to drill me for more info was nearly 7 months ago."
"Not wanting to sound egotistic, but I'm not jumping into anything too quickly. Caution has become my middle name."
"Yeah, I guess that's safer. So, when can I see you? Where're we gonna meet? Am I gonna recognize you?"
Buffy laughed, Faith hasn't changed much. "What about meeting tonight for dinner? Find a nice and incredibly small restaurant and chat? There's also someone I want you to meet. And you will recognize me; I haven't been so crazy that I went through plastic surgery or anything."
"Okay. What about that little Italian restaurant in Irvine we used to go?"
"We both frequented that place, we risk being recognized."
"After eight years? I stopped going about a year after you left, wasn't the same without you. Okay, there is this new place that Lindsey took me to, Chinese, they might know me but they won't know you. New immigrants."
"Alright, when and where is it?"
"Is seven thirty okay? And it's two streets above the old Bronze, next to the old travel shop that is now a sporting goods store. The name of the place is Bubbles. It's casual but really good."
"Wow, the place's really changed."
"Yes it has, but you shouldn't have problem finding it."
"Okay, see you at seven thirty then! I can't wait."
"Me neither, prepare to tell me about everything that has happened these years. I want posters and sound effects."
"See you later, Faith."
"See ya B, it's nice to have you home."
