Thanks to BewitchingRedhead for beta'ing this!

Chapter 4: The New Family

******Sunnydale******

Giles was making himself a cup of herbal tea before relaxing for the night. He'd spent another fruitless day searching for his slayer's whereabouts. When his phone rang, he hoped it was one of his contacts with a lead. To say he was surprised to hear the familiar voice was an understatement.

"Giles? It's me," Buffy said.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Where are you? Why did you leave without letting anyone know you weren't dead?" he asked, unable to keep the accusation out of his voice.

"I'm sorry, Giles. I went to your office to leave you a note, and that's when I found the papers on me," Buffy said.

"Papers?" he asked, puzzled.

"The papers that stated I was adopted. You knew about my real family, and you never said a word," she said, accusingly.

Giles was taken aback by her words. "Oh, dear," he muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I didn't think you'd want to know. You were very close to your father it seemed," he said. "I was waiting for a time when I thought you might welcome the news."

Buffy was silent, not knowing what to say.

"Where are you?" Giles asked.

"I went to Montana. The Yellowstone Ranch, and I met my biological family," Buffy said. "They did a DNA test, and the results came in today."

"Have you called your mother?" he asked.

"No, I was hoping you would talk to her first and let her know that I want to stay the summer here," Buffy said.

"I suppose I can do that," he said. "She's very upset, however. I gather you and she exchanged harsh words before you faced Angelus."

"She told me if I left not to come back," Buffy said. "I simply did what I was told to do."

"You know that she didn't mean it," he said.

"I don't know anything, Giles," Buffy said. She looked at her grandfather, who stood in the doorway but wasn't actively trying to overhear. She lowered her voice. "The first time I told them the truth about me back in Los Angeles, they had me committed. Did she tell you that?"

"Oh, dear," he said, shocked. "She did not."

"I'm going to give you the number of my grandfather, John Dutton, and she can call and speak to him," Buffy said. "I'm not ready to talk to her."

"I understand," Giles said.

"How is Willow?" Buffy asked. "I hope she knows how much she means to me. Tell her that I'm sorry I couldn't protect her."

"She doesn't blame you," Giles said. "She's fine now. Upset that you missed your finals, of course."

Buffy grinned. "That's so Willow," she said.

"She tried to do the spell to bring Angel back. I guess she didn't get it done in time," Giles said.

Buffy didn't answer, unsure of what to do or say. How would knowing the truth help anyone?

"Buffy? Are you there?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"The spell didn't work, did it?" he asked.

"Does it matter? He's gone, and the world is fine," she said.

"All right," Giles said. "I will call your mother. What is the Dutton's phone number?"

Buffy turned to her grandfather and asked for his number to give to her mother, and he told her.

Giles diligently wrote down the numbers and said goodbye.

He dreaded his call to Joyce.

*****Kaycee and Monica's*****

The drive back to the reservation was spent listening to Tate go on and on about his grandfather, his dad's siblings, and most importantly, his new cousin, Buffy.

"She's so blonde and pretty but even smaller than Mom," Tate said.

"Well, your Aunt Beth is blonde," Kaycee pointed out.

"Aunt Beth's tall as you, though," Tate said.

"She always wears heels, so who knows?" Kaycee said, amused at his son. He glanced his wife. It was clear that she was not at all happy with the evening. Sighing, he parked the truck. The small trailer didn't allow for much privacy, but he knew they needed to talk.

"Tate, go in and tell your grandpa all about the visit to the ranch while I talk to your mother," he said.

Monica opened her door to allow him to climb down and watched her son climb out of the truck and go into the house before getting back in.

"Say whatever it is you want to say," Kaycee said. She was stewing, and he found living with a stewing woman exhausting.

"It's nothing new, Kaycee," Monica said. "Your family just pisses me off. Until you married me, you were chained to that place, like a cult."

"You're really exaggerating," he said. "That's my home. My mother lived and died on that ranch. It's not hell, Monica."

"They branded you, Kaycee," she said. "What kind of sick father brands his child?"

"First of all, Lee did it, not my dad," he said. "It's tradition like getting a tattoo." He was referring to the Y brand that they stamped on all their livestock. Certain longtime hands that were completely loyal to his family were branded on their chest to prove their loyalty.

"It's sick," Monica said.

"One, it's forced on no one. Two, I got a Seal tattoo that's tradition. It's on my skin. It's no different," he said.

"A branding iron is what you use for animals, Kaycee, not people," she said. "I don't want Tate ever getting that close to the Duttons."

"You know I'm a Dutton, and so is he. You knew that when we married," he said.

Monica loved her husband, but she feared his family. The Duttons didn't just have too much land, but they had too much power. Rumors of people disappearing from the ranch or critics silenced over the past six years since she'd known Kaycee could not be ignored.

"I love you in spite of your family," she said. "I don't want you spending time with them."

"Tate was really excited to meet his cousin, and I liked her," he said. "She's not had it easy. I could see it in her eyes when she wasn't busy being cute."

"She called me a racist, Kaycee," Monica said grimly. "In front of my son."

"Don't you mean our son?" Kaycee pointed out. "You were the one who made a point of insulting them. Buffy had a good point. We can't live in the past, Monica. My family has owned this land for generations, and it wasn't stolen. Dad says that it was given to my great-grandfather by the chief he met. Once he even saved the tribe from starving by giving them cattle."

"Like there's any proof of that," Monica said with derision. "A convenient white man history that makes him the hero of his story."

"I think you should spend more time getting to know my dad before you ban him from Tate's life," Kaycee said, not wanting to debate history with his highly educated wife. "He's not so bad, and Buffy was really nice to Tate."

"She's a teenage runaway," Monica said stubbornly.

Kaycee laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "Now you're just being childish," he said, cajoling her with his lips.

Monica sighed in resignation, returning his kiss.

*****The Next Day*****

Joyce waited until the next morning to call the Duttons. Hearing that Buffy found out she was adopted the same day that she told her not to come back shook her. She was losing her daughter, and the thought horrified her.

What was her life without Buffy? Being a mother had given her a purpose and a drive for the past seventeen years. Joyce loved her daughter more than anything, and she did not want to lose her.

After taking a deep breath, she called the number Giles gave her.

"Mr. Dutton, this is Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother," she said.

"It is good to talk to you, Mrs. Summers," John said. "You've raised an amazing daughter."

"Thank you," Joyce said. "Raising a teenager isn't easy."

"I have three sons, and only my daughter, Beth, ever gave me gray hair," he said. "I know exactly what you mean."

Joyce relaxed. The man seemed reasonable. "I said things to her that I didn't mean, and I never got to apologize. She just left," Joyce said.

"We had no idea Beth had a daughter," he said. "Beth and my son Jamie, who drove her, were convinced that she had an abortion. Discovering that Buffy is her daughter has been extremely difficult for my daughter."

"I can imagine," Joyce said.

"We are at a loss to explain it," John said.

"I spoke to Mr. Giles," she said. "He told me about this group in the UK that looks for girls with certain genetic markers. They often will take them from their families at young ages, if the family seems like they might have a problem with them using the girls' talents for their organization as they get older." This was the explanation that Giles told her would make the most sense to the Duttons.

"That's insane," John said.

"I know," Joyce said. "Hank and I, of course, had no idea."

"We know," John said. "If you want to come to Montana and see where Buffy is, I will be happy to make the arrangements. We just wanted to spend some time with her. Rip, my foreman, is her biological father. Beth is not very motherly or warm, but Buffy doesn't seem to mind. She says you were the ideal mother, so she doesn't need Beth to be."

"That's nice to hear," Joyce said. "I would like to speak to her, if that's okay."

"Yes, I will go find her. It will take me a few minutes as she's watching her father and uncle train horses," he said.

"That's hard for me to picture," she admitted.

"Your daughter is a natural," John said, a note of pride in his voice.

"Buffy is gifted in ways I didn't realize until recently," Joyce said. "Just have her call me."

John agreed and went to find Buffy.

Buffy wasn't surprised when her grandfather handed her the phone and told her to call her mother. She walked away from the corral and dialed her mother's number.

"Buffy?" Joyce said, recognizing the out of area number on the caller ID.

"It's me," Buffy said.

"I am glad you called," Joyce said.

"I don't understand why you never told me that I was adopted," Buffy said.

"Your father and I decided we would tell you when you turned eighteen because we didn't want you to ever feel insecure," Joyce said. "I didn't mean for you to find out like you did. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Buffy said. "I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment."

"You're not, Buffy," Joyce said. "I am the one who wasn't there for you when you needed me to be. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you back in Los Angeles."

"It's a lot to take," Buffy said. "My life has been very difficult. I really want to stay in Montana for the summer and get to know my bio family."

"Okay," Joyce said. "Will you call me? I miss you and want to hear from you. The house is so empty without you."

"I will call," Buffy said. "Give my love to my friends. Tell them not to do anything that might get them hurt while I'm gone."

"I will," Joyce said. "Maybe you should call them sometime. They've been very concerned."

"Okay," Buffy said.

"So, how's Montana?" Joyce said.

Buffy spent several minutes telling her mother all about the ranch and her new life as a budding cowgirl.

"It sounds amazing," Joyce said. "Do you need money? Give me your address, so I can send you some money."

"My Uncle Lee made me check out of the hotel I was in and move into their house. I used the credit card Dad gave me," Buffy said.

"Well, that was resourceful of you. I'll call and let him know," she said.

"Tell him it will be in place of my back-to-school shopping," Buffy said. She was now sitting on the front porch, unaware that Beth was in the doorway listening.

"I'm going to send you money anyway, so you can buy a disposable camara and take some pictures at the very least," Joyce said.

"Okay," she said.

"You know, Buffy, I didn't mean what I said. I was just scared," Joyce said. "You have been living this entire scary life that I knew nothing about. It was a lot to process. Giles said that Angelus was going to do a ritual that would destroy the world, but you stopped him."

"Saving the world is kind of in my job description," Buffy said. "It was just too bad that Willow didn't put his soul back before Angelus started his destruction. I had to kill Angel to close the portal because his blood opened it. Only his blood would close it."

"That must have been very difficult," Joyce said. Talking on the phone seemed to be easier than talking face-to-face.

"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do," Buffy said. "He was himself. He didn't remember anything that Angelus had done. I kissed him and told him that I loved him. Then I stabbed him with the sword. He was sucked into whatever hell dimension that was opening."

"I am so sorry, sweetheart," Joyce said.

"Me, too," Buffy said. "I just need a break from the hellmouth. Things in Montana are so simple and beautiful, Mom. My family here seems really great. I have a little cousin who is four and part Native American."

"That's great," Joyce said. "Just remember that you have people here who love you and miss you, too. Let me speak to your grandfather, and I'll get the mailing address."

"Okay," Buffy said. She got up and went back toward the corral where her grandfather was talking to Lee and Rip, never noticing Beth in the doorway behind her.

Beth stared after her in confusion. What the fuck is going on with this girl? Is she a total basket case?

After dinner, she walked with Rip back to his bunk and shared the conversation that she overheard.

"Hmm," Rip said.

"Is that all you can say? The girl needs some real psychiatric help," Beth said.

"She's a teenager. They exaggerate," Rip said, unconcerned.

"She confessed to killing her boyfriend," Beth said. "We're harboring a murderer."

"You need to calm down," Rip said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm telling Dad," Beth said.

"You are not going to repeat gossip, or a conversation taken out of context, to your father," Rip said. "He adores our daughter. Kayce rarely brings Tate around, and he has a grandchild who is eager to be around him. You can't spoil that for him."

Beth glared, not wanting to concede that Rip had a point. "I'm watching her," she said.

Rip smiled and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close. "You do that," he said. "I, though, can't help but watch you, the most frustrating, ball-busting, sexy woman on the planet."

Beth tried to hold onto her annoyance, but then he kissed her, and she became a teenager again, lost in his embrace.

******The Next Day******

Buffy didn't mind the early hours of the ranch since she didn't need as much sleep as most people, and the physical activity on the ranch helped the slayer side of her that craved action. Her sleep came easy, and the memories of her home in Sunnydale were easily pushed to the background of her mind.

At breakfast, Beth kept giving her weird looks. It was odd as she looked both hostile and suspicious. Finally, Buffy got sick of the looks and said, "What the hell is your problem today? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rip wasn't at the table to give Beth a warning look, but Jamie was there.

"She's got resting bitch face, sometimes. Don't take it personally," Jamie said.

"Jamie, that's not necessary," John said, frowning in disapproval.

"I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the insane things I heard Buffy say when she was talking to her mother on the phone," Beth revealed.

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Gee, I thought adults knew better than to eavesdrop on a private conversation as you only get half of the contents," she said. "If you want to know more about me or my life on the hellmouth, then you will have to be a lot nicer to find out."

"Hellmouth? That's really what you called it?" Lee asked.

"My pet name for Sunnydale, often called Sunnyhell or the mouth of hell or the hellmouth," Buffy said. "It's got a real gang problem, and I'm ashamed to admit my ex-boyfriend fooled me. I didn't know he was involved. As I'm an expert in martial arts, we had a bit of a throw down before I left town. He had his guys attack my friends. Kendra was murdered, Xander injured, and Willow hospitalized."

"That's horrible, sweetheart," John said, reaching out and patting her hand. "Beth, you need to stop jumping to conclusions."

"You didn't hear what she said, Dad. She said she killed her boyfriend with a sword," Beth said.

"I didn't find any records of that," Jamie said.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, now glaring at him.

"I did a background check on you," Jamie said. "It was just routine. We wanted to make sure you weren't trying to con my dad."

"I'm sorry, Buffy," John said. "It was just a precaution."

Buffy knew she really couldn't be mad about that, so she shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "But Angelus tried to kill me, so we had a sword fight as he'd been teaching me how to use a sword. He disarmed me, and I managed to grab his sword and turn it against him."

"Gee, Buffy. You sure you want to go back home?" Lee asked. "That place sounds like a nightmare. You're nearly an adult. You could probably stay here."

"How about we not pressure Buffy? There's still plenty of summer left," John said.

Beth stayed silent, her mind trying to reconcile what Buffy said now with what she had overheard. She still felt she was missing something.

*****A Few Hours Later*****

Kayce did show up with Tate. He worked with Lee for about an hour on the best way to handle a particularly ornery horse.

Buffy stood with Tate and her granddad watching.

"Your dad seems to know horses really well," Buffy said to Tate.

"Mom calls him the horse whisperer," Tate said. "He's got an Indian name, but I can't remember what she says. Don't tell her, though. She gets mad about that kind of thing."

Buffy grinned, enjoying her little cousin. She could tell he was a bit precocious.

After they'd finished working with the mischievous horse, Lee suggested that Kayce spar with Buffy.

"I don't think that's appropriate," John said, frowning. "He's a highly trained Navy Seal."

"I don't mind," Buffy said. "I will try not to embarrass him too bad."

Buffy knew this probably wasn't a great idea as there was no reason to make the family suspicious. However, she hadn't been in a fight since Angel and couldn't resist.

Kayce really didn't expect much from his newly found niece. The teenager seemed to fit every stereotype he had ever heard about California teenagers. She was blonde and perky. Of course, enjoying ranching was not stereotypical, so he was happy to humor her.

However, he soon learned that the girl was insanely quick on her feet.

Buffy had decided to just avoid getting hit for several minutes as she knew that would not be too weird. Kaycee kept trying to hit her, and she kept dodging. Tate clapped each time, thrilled at his new cousin.

"Okay, at some point, you have to engage," Kayce said, smiling at her.

"She is definitely light on her feet," Lee said, impressed.

"You're doing great, sweetheart!" her grandfather called out in encouragement. Her quickness was impressive and made him very proud.

Several ranch hands found their way around the pen they were sparring in.

Finally, Buffy blocked a few hits instead of dodging. Then she decided to pick it up a bit, and she pressed Kayce, who clearly looked surprised at her skill level. Of course, she was pulling back her hits and slowing down her speed like she did when she worked with Giles. Then she used a roundhouse kick, hitting him a bit hard in the chest.

The audience clapped and whistled, and John decided that was a perfect stopping point. Eventually, Kayce would stop holding back and might hurt Buffy.

The various workers and Lee congratulated Buffy on her impressive skill.

John slapped Kayce on the back. "Thanks for taking it easy on her, son," he said.

"That's the thing, Dad," Kayce said. "I wasn't."

John looked at him in surprise. "You're joking," he said.

Kayce shook his head. "Maybe at first, but then when she engaged, I couldn't penetrate her defense at all," he said. "She may actually be telling the truth."

"You mean about being an expert in martial arts?" John asked.

Kayce nodded. "The girl is full of surprises," he said.

John smiled, feeling both proud and conflicted. Does this mean she wasn't exaggerating about the problems she had in Sunnydale?

Maybe by the end of the summer, he could convince her to spend her senior year away from such a dangerous place.

*****Chapter End******

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