Title: Missing

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not mine

AN: Thanks for the reviews and please keep them coming:)

"I'm so sorry you guys, I completely over slept. You ready to go, we can take my car." Said Buffy as she gave her mom a quick kiss before leaving with Willow and Tara.
"It's okay Buffy, we'll take our car, you've already drove enough for today. Where do you want to go first?" asked Tara as they all got into her small red Nova, they pulled away from the kerb and waved to Joyce as they drove off up the street towards the shopping Mall.
"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm starved, let's go get something to eat first and then we'll shop after." She replied.
The girls chatted on the way to Sunnydale Mall about the studio and Buffy's new job; she told them about the set she would be working on and the people that Wesley had introduced her to on her tour. When they arrived at the Mall they all went into the food court, grabbed themselves some food and drinks and made their way to a vacant table.
"So Buffy, what did you think of Liam when you met him? I remember having a big crush on him at one time, he's quite well known you know." asked Willow in between bites from her sandwich. Buffy turned red and got a huge smile on her face, but then quickly tried to hide it and act all neutral on the subject.
"Yeah, he seemed nice, nothing special though. You know, it's so strange, you meet someone like that and just forget that they're famous, they just seem so regular." she said with mock innocence and at the knowing look on both Willow and Tara's face. "Okay, so he's a total honey, drop dead gorgeous even!" Buffy said and then continued to tell them about meeting him and gave them a sketchy version of her dream about him last night.
"Wow, one day in the big city and you already found your ideal man, and to top it all off he's gorgeous and stinking rich! You work fast." Said Willow with a cheeky grin.
"It's not like that; I don't even know anything about him, other than the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with him! God, I can't get him out of my head." Buffy said in frustration.
Tara had kept mostly quiet during the conversation finding it amusing to hear Willow teasing Buffy and Buffy trying to deny everything, she would really miss it when Buffy left. She loved seeing them together like this and she knew that Willow would be lost when it was time for Buffy to leave for L.A. Tara had caught Willow crying earlier that morning in the bathroom after they had mentioned Buffy leaving in a conversation they'd had at breakfast. She made a note to herself to try and take Willow's mind off Buffy leaving and try to cheer her up as much as possible. Maybe they could take a trip out to Buffy sometime in a couple of weeks to see how she was doing. Tara spoke up now trying to give Buffy some advice that might allow her to think more clearly.
"Maybe I'm not the right person to be giving out advice about men Buffy, but have you ever thought that maybe instead of trying to forget him and get him out of your head, you could try to get to know him, maybe he's not your kind and you'll realise it and won't have to worry if he likes you back."
"Well yeah, but what if he is my type. I mean, what if I fall completely head over heals for him." She said and gave an exasperated sigh.
"There's nothing wrong with falling in love Buffy. Is this going to all come down to the Parker thing again? You can't keep your heart closed forever, I get it – that you don't want to get hurt again, but love is about taking risks to find the right person. If you don't take the risk then…I'm afraid you're gonna be one of those old ladies's living alone with fifty cats." Willow poured out to Buffy and Buffy noticed that Willow had taken Tara's hand half way through her speech. It made her glad to see her friend so happy; she had been so upset after Oz had left her that Buffy never thought she would find someone else. Now that Tara was with her, Buffy had never seen Willow glow the way she did when the two shared a look or a smile and she hoped she could someday find someone to be like that with.

Buffy had met a guy in their first year of college, his name was Parker Abrahams. She had fallen hard for his sweet talk and charm and had slept with him, thinking that they would be a couple and that she had found someone who cared for her. When Buffy woke in the morning Parker was gone, she had grabbed her clothes and gone back to her own dorm room expecting to have a message from him on her answer machine explaining why he hadn't been there when she woke. Parker had left no message and didn't bother to contact Buffy until he accidentally ran into her on the quad a week later. He had told Buffy that it was just a bit of fun and he was sorry if she thought it might have meant more to him. Buffy was devastated, and if this wasn't enough humiliation for her, Parker then went about the campus telling all the guys what an easy lay she was. The whole campus had been talking about it for weeks and Buffy had gone to class then simply hidden in her dorm room for the rest of the semester. It was only after she met Riley Finn, a T.A. in one of her classes, that Buffy ventured outside her dorm room after class hours. Riley was an old fashioned boy, sweet, kind and a true gentleman. He and Buffy had clicked but Buffy's heart was still too wounded by what Parker had done to let Riley get too close. After a month of dating Riley had been walking Buffy home when they got side tracked. They ended up making out and when Riley went further thinking it was okay and his hand went up Buffy's top, she had instantly pulled away and told Riley she was sorry but it was over. Of course, Riley cared for Buffy and wouldn't except it. He had sent Buffy flowers and left countless messages telling her that he was sorry and he still cared about her. Buffy returned none of his messages and no amount of pushing on Willows behalf had managed to change her mind. One night she had broken down in Willows arms telling her that she couldn't handle being touched and that she didn't feel like she was ready for a relationship at that time. Willow had tried to explain to Riley that Buffy wasn't ready for a relationship and in the end had managed to convince him to give Buffy a little space. After a couple of months Riley had tried again with Buffy but to no success. He finally got together with a transfer student and they had stayed together for the remainder of college, Willow assumed that they were still together now.
Since then Buffy had dated a few guys but it never lasted longer than two or three dates, Willow had thought that after a few months Buffy would have gotten over it but obviously it was still fresh in her mind.
"Yeah I know you're right Will." Buffy said, snapping Willow out of her thoughts. "But the thing is, I'm not sure I'm ready yet."
Tara reached across the table and lightly patted Buffy's hand as a gesture of comfort.
"Don't worry; you'll know when the time is right." She said with a small smile. Buffy smiled back as a way of thanks then stood up from the table and grabbed her bag.
"Okay. Let's shop!" Said Buffy as the three friends headed out of the food court and in to the first women's clothes shop they reached.

The girls spent the whole afternoon getting bag after bag of shopping until Buffy ran out of funds. Most of the outfits she had brought were for work, sensible clothes and shoes that would be comfy, stylish and sophisticated. Of course, when shopping she never could pass up the chance to buy a new going out dress with shoes to match. She brought a beautiful satin long white dress that reached her ankles. The dress had a large spilt up the left leg that came to her mid thigh, a square cut neck line with halter ties that were made from sparkling faux diamonds and trailed from the clasp behind her neck down her bare back to the back of the dress which rested level with her hip bone. Buffy didn't know whether she would get a chance to wear it but she knew she had to have it after trying it on and seeing the look on everyone's face in the store when she walked out of the changing room. She had looked stunning, and so she had splashed out and spent the last of her cash on the dress, matching earrings, bracelet and shoes to go with it.
All three girls were completely exhausted, even though Willow and Tara had spent no money; a shopping trip with Buffy always meant they were ready to collapse at the end of it. They all headed back to the car and Willow and Tara dropped Buffy off at her house so that she could get ready for her farewell meal. They were all going to meet at Laities Restaurant for an Italian meal. It was Buffy's favourite restaurant in town and she and her family and friends were well known there by the staff.

9:00pm and everyone had ordered their food and they all enjoyed possibly the most delicious meal that they had ever had. At the end of the evening, the staff gathered around and brought out a large Good Luck cake for Buffy which her parents had had made for her. She blew out the candles and they all had cake before going home for the night.
Buffy settled down in her bed for the last night in who knew how long, she lay awake for hours too excited to go to sleep. Everything was packed and ready for her trip tomorrow, when she had gotten home from shopping Buffy had called the studios to let them know which property she was interested in. They had arranged for someone to meet her there at 12pm so she was driving up there and her mother and Rupert were driving up in their car. They would meet with Mr Wyndam-Pryce's assistant and assuming that everything was okay with the property, he would leave Buffy with the keys and she would start moving in her belongings. It took Buffy until ten past three to finally drop off to sleep and she knew as she was drifting off that she would be lucky to make it through the day tomorrow with the small amount of sleep she was going to get.

"This is Sunnydale Radio Station, and good morning to all of you who have just tuned in" Buffy quickly reached over and switched off her alarm clock. The sound coming from it rang through her head, it was 6am and it was time to get ready and load up the car.
By the time they were all packed up and ready to go it was 9:30, they decided to have a nice steady drive (Rupert's exact words) to the house.
They arrived in L.A. 20 minutes early and headed straight for the house, Buffy had said that they could always have a look around the outside of the property if there wasn't anyone there waiting for them already. However, when they arrived a blue convertible was parked in the driveway signalling that Wesley's assistant was already waiting for them to arrive. As Buffy parked outside the house on the street and got out of her car she admired the small but beautiful detached house. It was just as beautiful as in the pictures and she knew straight away that she had made the right choice.

"Buffy, it's stunning!" exclaimed her mom as she looked at the beautiful little house. Joyce had seen the pictures but they just hadn't done the house the justice it deserved.
The outside of the house looked completely new from the brickwork to the white door with the stained glass window, to the white door of the garage on the left hand side of the house. The property had a small garden at the front with a cobblestone pathway leading up to the front door. The windows were very large plain glass, half covered on the inside by blinds and curtains at each window. There was a honeysuckle shrub on the left hand side of the garden that was in full bloom with light pink flowers giving off a fresh sweet aroma. There were also a small row of white and pink flowers in front of the house, Buffy was unsure what type they were but they were beautiful. As she, her mom and Rupert approached the front door a small man in a business suit opened the door and greeted them, introducing himself as Wesley's assistant Jonathon. He reminded Buffy of a mouse, she couldn't believe how small he was and she felt strange looking down at him. She wasn't the tallest person around and it was very rare that she found someone smaller than herself, the fact that it was a male that was smaller just made it plain weird.
It took Jonathon twenty minutes to show Buffy and her parents around the house and gardens. Every room they went into made them fall in love even more with house and Joyce envied her daughter for getting such a perfect little home.
The living room was decorated with hardwood floors and matching light wood furniture. The top of the walls were painted cream with a dado rail in the centre and the bottom of the wall was covered in light cream and gold stripped wallpaper. The sofa was a large three seater and there was a matching love chair and foot rest, all made from cream leather. There were a few cupboards in the room to store her belongings and a large music centre opposite the sofa with a TV set and DVD player on the shelf above it. In front of the sofa there was a large cream sheepskin rug with a small glass coffee table on top of it and to the side of the sofa was a small table with a phone on it.
At the back of the living room was a set of patio doors which lead out into the small back garden. The back garden was pretty much the same as the front but the cobblestone path lead to a small pond. There was a picnic bench on the left hand side of the garden and another small honeysuckle shrub opposite it. The garden had a small wooden panel fence around it to separate it from the neighbours and a gate at the bottom which lead to the street behind the house.
Leading back into the house was the large kitchen to the right of the living room. It too was decorated in the same way as the living room with light wood kitchen cupboards, and leading from the kitchen was a small utility room with a washer, dryer and dish washer.
The hall way, and stairs were decorated in light lilac wallpaper and the floors again were all hardwood. At the top of the stairs was a small room painted in soft yellow which had been made into a study.
The next room was the bathroom which Buffy was particularly pleased about, it was twice the size of their bathroom at home. The room was decorated in black and white tiles and had thick white carpet and a thin horizontal window on the far wall. It had a large shower cubicle in the left hand corner, which would be large for three people with room to spare! A small distance away from the shower was a built in corner Jacuzzi. Following around the room was the toilet and then two sinks built into cupboards with large mirrors adorning the walls above them, which stretched along the right hand wall of the room.
The next room was a small bedroom with a single bed painted in soft pastel blue, with wardrobes and beside cabinet.
The last room was the main bedroom complete with fire place, extra large king-size bed, built in wardrobes covered in long mirrors from floor to ceiling. An oriental changing screen was placed on the right side of the room next to the window and in the opposite corner was a cupboard with a standard TV and DVD player.
"So, is everything to your liking Miss Summers? I must say that this property is the best choice but if you're not happy I could…" Wesley's assistant was cut off by Buffy.
"No, No, I think it's great. I'll take it, let Mr Wyndam-Pryce know that I am very grateful and will see him first thing tomorrow." Buffy said with a smile as he passed her the keys.
He then excused himself and left Buffy and her parents alone. They headed back out to the cars and began bringing in Buffy's belongings. Whilst Buffy and her mom started to put her clothes away, Rupert went out to get them all some lunch. By the time he got back half of her things had been put away and so they all headed out into the back garden and sat on the picnic bench to eat their lunch.
By 6pm everything was put away and Buffy was exhausted, she bid farewell to her parents, which took about an hour because her mom kept fusing over whether Buffy would be alright on her own. She kept suggesting that she move back home and drive every day to work but Buffy and Rupert soon made her realise how ridiculous she was being.
"Now honey, if you need anything, and I mean anything, you call us and we'll come straight away." Joyce said just before they left. The house had a working phone line and Buffy had given the number to them so they could call her whenever they wanted.
She hugged both her parents and then went inside after waving them off. She was so exhausted she decided to head straight on up to bed and watch some TV before going to sleep, that way she could get an early start tomorrow.
It was 9:05pm when Buffy dropped off to sleep, the TV still playing to itself quietly in the bedroom. As she drifted off to sleep she fell into the welcoming arms of Liam, and in those arms she stayed all night long dreaming of what might be to come.

TBC...