The Summers' household was in a state of controlled chaos.
Bridal magazines were strewn across the dining room table as Cordelia and Willow poured over catalogues. Angel and Doyle were attempting to assemble the bunk beds in the girls' room while Oz moved the old furniture out. Buffy was making sandwiches for lunch and Dawn was in the basement, trying to cajole Spike into eating something. Giles was in the living room with Caddie and Micah, lecturing them on demonology. The girls listened with avid interest, though Micah's questions tended to be "And how do you kill it?"
When the doorbell rang, no one noticed at first. It wasn't until the third ring that Giles realized someone was at the door. He excused himself from his pupils and opened the door.
A man around Giles' age, though a few inches shorter, stood on the doorstep, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Is this the Summers' residence?" he asked nervously.
"Yes," Giles replied. "How can I help you?"
"My name is Hank Summers," the man said. "Buffy and Dawn—I'm their father."
Giles's eyebrows shot up and he blinked at Mr. Summers for several moments. "Wait here," he said, and closed the door. "Buffy!" he called, crossing into the dining room. She emerged from the kitchen, a cutting knife in one hand.
"What is it, Giles?" she asked.
"Erm, it's your father," he said, removing his glasses. "He's at the door."
Buffy's mouth dropped open and Willow squeaked. Even Cordy looked shocked.
"No!" Buffy said finally. "He can't be here. Now is not good. Micah still attacks anyone she doesn't know and Caddie will freak and I have crazy Spike in my basement! Tell him to go away!"
Giles was taken aback. "Buffy, this is your father," he said. "He appears to be making an effort to repair your relationship. You could at least talk to him."
The Slayer hesitated for a long minute and sighed. "Fine," she said, putting the knife down on the dining room table. When she opened the front door, Hank was looking extremely confused.
"Buffy!" he said, trying to sound cheerful. "Wow. You look good."
"Hi, Dad," she said quietly. He hadn't seen her in two years. For her, though, it had been a lot longer. "What do you want?"
Hank blinked and looked away. "Can't I want to see how my girls are doing?" he asked.
"'Your girls' have been surviving without their mother," Buffy said acerbically. She crossed her arms. "You didn't even come to the funeral, Hank."
He still wouldn't meet Buffy's gaze. "I know, Buffy, and I'm sorry. It's just, there were…things I was dealing with. Issues."
She continued to glare at him, not saying a word. He sighed and gestured toward the door. "Can I come in?" he asked. She stepped aside, giving him room to move past her into the house. He looked around almost apprehensively. "Nice place," he said lamely.
"Thank you," she replied, even though she knew he only said it to fill the silence. Oz began to descend, lugging most of the crib with him. "Where are you taking that?" Buffy asked him.
"Basement," he told her. "Angel thinks you may need it again."
"He does, does he?" Buffy said, cocking an eyebrow. "I think you're going to need it before we do."
Oz colored slightly as he always did whenever anyone mentioned his upcoming wedding. They now only had three weeks to go. The werewolf paused upon noticing Hank. "We have a guest," he said neutrally.
"Oh, yeah." Buffy gestured toward Hank. "Oz, Hank, Hank, Oz." At Oz's questioning eyebrow, she sighed and elaborated, "He's my dad."
"Good to meet you, Hank," Oz said with his characteristic smile. "I'd shake hands but they're a little full."
"No, no, that's fine," Hank said hurriedly. "Good to meet you, too."
As Oz continued toward the basement, Buffy called after him, "Tell Dawn to come up here, please!" She turned and smiled tightly at Hank. "I guess you'd better meet the rest of the gang." She headed into the dining room. "This is Willow, Cordelia, and Giles. Doyle and Angel are still upstairs. Guys, this is my dad, Hank Summers."
"A pleasure," Giles said politely, shaking Hank's hand.
"Same here," Hank replied. He caught sight of the magazines. "Buffy? You getting married?"
Cordelia snorted, not bothering to hide her amused contempt. Buffy glared at her for a second.
"No, Hank. I've been married for five months. Those are Willow's."
Footsteps thudded on the stairs and Dawn appeared from the basement. She took one look at the visitor, burst into tears, and fled back the way she came. At that minute, Doyle and Angel walked into the dining room.
"I'm not sayin' never," Doyle protested. "I mean, sure I'd like to, but I don't think it would be for the best what with my background and all."
"Oh, come on, Doyle," Angel countered. "You know that's not it. Cordelia doesn't care that you're half…English," he finished lamely when he saw the stranger. "Um, hi?" He shot a questioning look at Buffy.
"This is Doyle, and my husband Angel," Buffy said. "Guys, this is my dad."
Angel resisted the urge to snarl at the man that had caused Buffy so much hurt, who had abandoned his children to survive the loss of their mother on their own. Doyle, ignorant of the past, cheerfully greeted Hank.
"I didn't mean to intrude on a party or anything," Hank said, looking around at the group. "I just wanted to stop in and say hi." He looked guilty. "I think I have some kissing up to do with Dawnie, though."
"Don't call her that," Buffy snapped. When everyone looked at her, she glared at Hank. "You don't get to call her that."
Hank ducked his head apologetically. "Right, sorry." He looked up at Buffy. "Could we, um, talk in private?"
Buffy nearly said no, but then she realized that the sooner she gave Hank what he wanted, the sooner he would get back out of her life. "Fine." She turned and walked back through the kitchen onto the back porch. She faced Hank and crossed her arms, waiting.
"Wow," he said at length. "A lot's happened in two years. You're married. Did my, uh, invitation get lost in the mail?"
"It was a small ceremony," Buffy replied sharply. "Private. Family and friends only."
He winced at the not-so-subtle barb but pressed on. "Looks like you have nice friends. That's…good."
"What do you want, Hank?" Buffy asked bluntly. "Why did you come here?"
"I got a job in Sunnydale," Hanks said with a sigh. "And I thought that maybe you, me, and Dawn could, I don't know, get to know each other again."