What Are Friends For?

Chapter 2

Part 1

The next morning when Buffy came down to breakfast, Hank was not in his usual seat at the breakfast table.

"Good morning, Buffy," her mother greeted her; "did you sleep well last night?"

"Morning, Mom, I slept really well last night. I didn't wake up once all night."

"Good, good, you look well rested. I'm glad to see you're over that vampire nonsense. For a while there, I was afraid you were really getting sick."

"I'm not sick, Mom; everything I told you about vampires is true and I'm the slayer. You have to accept that."

Before Joyce could answer, Hank walked slowly into the kitchen and eased himself into a chair. "Let's not talk anymore about that, Joyce. Let's just have a nice quiet family breakfast so Buffy can get to school on time."

With that Joyce served breakfast and the two adults discussed their plans for the day, leaving Buffy completely out of their conversation.

Within Buffy's mind Elizabeth whispered, "He's up to something, Buffy; I know he is. I just don't know what it is. We'll have to watch him carefully."

Buffy agreed and for the rest of their time at breakfast, Hank would not look at his daughter. He and Joyce spoke in riddles of topics that they had started either the day before or earlier and neither Buffy nor Elizabeth knew what they were talking about.

"I'm getting nervous, Elizabeth. I can't figure out what they are talking about, but I do know it has something to do with my being the slayer."

"I agree. We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open around them."

Things went very well at school that day. Buffy was sure that she had aced her Biology mid-term exam even though she had had very little time to study for it. Instead of going home after school, she went to the library. Ordinarily she would go to Merrick's house for training ... just the thought of her dead watcher's name brought tears to her eyes. She blamed herself; she had not been strong enough to save him. She had run away just as he told her to do and he had paid for her safety with his life. The fact that she had avenged his death by killing the vampire that killed him didn't make her feel any better.

'I shouldn't have left him,' she berated herself. 'I should have stayed. Between Merrick and me maybe we could have killed him without either of us dying.'

"Buffy, Merrick was right," Elizabeth interrupted her thoughts. "You were not ready to face him then. You had to prepare yourself and when you were ready, you faced him and destroyed him. You. By yourself. Don't you see what a formidable slayer you can be? And you will only improve with time."

"Thank you, you're right; I wasn't ready. I just miss him so much." She sighed inwardly. "I'd better patrol before I go home. If I don't, I know I won't be allowed out of the house anymore tonight. They watch me like a hawk."

Part 2

After a long night of slaying, Buffy arrived home one night to find her parents fighting. Again. She didn't have to ask what was wrong; she knew that the fights were always about her. Since the night that Elizabeth reappeared, it seemed that all of their fights centered around her, involving something she did or something she didn't do. Her mother tried to defend her, but Hank was always the more vocal and more critical of her parents. She couldn't stand it anymore. She slipped into the downstairs bathroom and wept - wept over the loss of her happy family, loss of her father's love and the fact that her parents seemed to be headed for divorce.

"You agreed with me that this was our last resort, Joyce, and it is time. Things are not getting better, they are getting worse. And now she has been expelled from school for arson. What else are we supposed to do? I am at the end of my rope and I can't, I won't, take this kind of behavior from my own daughter anymore."

He stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Mid-day the next day Buffy headed to the kitchen to get lunch for herself. As she did she heard her father's voice call to her. "Buffy, come into the living room; there is someone that your mother and I want you to meet."

"Be careful, Buffy," Elizabeth cautioned; "he is up to something, I don't trust him."

When Buffy stepped into the living room, she saw her parents and another man that she did not recognize. She assumed this was the person her parents wanted her to meet.

"Buffy, this is Dr. ..."

Before Joyce could finish the introduction, Hank yelled, "NOW!"

Buffy turned around quickly just as she felt a needle in her right shoulder. "What are you..." was all she could get out before she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Buffy...," her mother yelled as she tried to reach her daughter.

"It had to be this way, Joyce. I knew you wouldn't let them take her otherwise."

"Hank, what are you talking about? What have you done to my daughter?"

Before Joyce could reach Buffy, one of the orderlies that accompanied the doctor picked Buffy up, threw her over his shoulder and headed for the front door. Joyce yelled for him to stopped, but Hank grabbed her arm.

"They are from the local asylum. I have signed the papers to have her committed. They are familiar with cases like this. They will be able to handle Buffy. There is nothing you can do about it."

"The hell there isn't," Joyce yelled as she jerked her arm away from her husband; "if anything happens to my daughter in that place, I will kill you. Now get out of my way; I'm going with her."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Summers, that will not be allowed. She will have to be with us for a brief while before she can have visitors," the doctor told Joyce as he followed the orderly out the door.

Joyce was almost hysterical. "Why did you do this?" She punched Hank in the face as hard as she could, breaking his nose in the process. "You'd better pray that nothing happens to her."