Thanks for bearing with me. Sorry again for the long delay. Please read and review! Thanks!

Disclaimer- Joss owns everything, I own nothing.

Chapter 4- Memories

Buffy:: After what seemed like hours to her, she opened the door to Hank Summers' cozy Los Angeles home. Letting her jacket slip

off her back, she then placed it over top of the railing and walked into the kitchen. Her eyes would fall upon the sight of fresh

pasta, resting in the center of the kitchen table. "Dad, what's this?" She pointed over towards the pasta.::

Hank:: He was standing behind the island in the middle of the kitchen floor. A casual smile would form. "I just thought I would fix up

my specialty."

Buffy:: "I remember. We always used to have pasta Fridays. You would make the pasta, and then we would watch movies until we fell asleep."

Hank:: "Those were the good old days."

Buffy:: "Yeah..." She glanced away, as any memory back then just brought back the pain associated with being in this house again.

::All of a sudden Dawn would skip into the room. "Dinner ready?"

Hank:: "Ready when you are kid." He grabbed Dawn and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Dawn:: She quickly pulled away and sat down at the kitchen table. "I'm not a kid. I don't know why I have to keep telling everyone that."

Buffy:: She sits down and rolls her eyes at Dawn's comment. "Stop complaining Dawn and eat your dinner." Picking up her fork, she

placed it on top of the pasta and slowly drifted into a daze.::

::Flashback:: Outside Sunnydale High School, 1997.::

Hank::"I've needed to tell you. About your mother and I. Why we split up. You're old enough to know the truth."

Buffy:: "Was there...someone else?"

Hank:: "No, it was nothing like that."

Buffy:: "Well then what was it?"

Hank:: "It was you."

::Back to the present::

Buffy:: She comes out of her daze and sets her fork down on her plate. "You know what? I'm kinda full."

Hank:: "You barely touched your dinner."

Buffy:: "I ate earlier." She stood up from her chair, picked up her plate, and walked over to the sink and placed her dish down. "I'm kinda beat. I'll see you two in the morning?"

Hank:: "Sure thing."

Dawn:: "OK Buffy."

Buffy:: She walked out of the kitchen and then made her way towards the stairwell, then slowly proceeded to make her way up the steps. As she opened the door to her old bedroom, tons of old memories flooded her mind. It was like a whole other person

lived there. There was her Fiesta Queen crown, among other 'prized possessions'. And there were pictures. Pictures of her

old friends from Hemery, pictures of the life of a normal teenager. She fell back onto her bed and stared up at her ceiling.

As she shut her eyes, she felt the memory of her and her father outside of Sunnydale High resurfacing.

:: Flashback::

Hank:: "Do you have any idea what it was like raising you?"

Buffy:: "What?"

Hank:: "All you do is think about yourself. You get in trouble, and you embarass us with all of the crazy stunts you've pulled.

Should I continue?"

Buffy:: "Please don't."

Hank:: "You're rude, and not nearly as bright as I had hoped."

Buffy:: "Why are you saying these things to me?"

Hank:: "Because they're true."

:: As Buffy was laying in her bed, tears began to stream down her cheeks. Within minutes of built up emotion she began sobbing, despite the fact that it was a horrible nightmare.::