I own no character with the last name Summers. If I did, Dawn would have been called Autumn.
Buffy rolled her shoulders as she got off the Greyhound. The ride from L.A. to Sunnydale wasn't that long, but it wasn't a five minute hop either. She was apprehensive of returning, not sure what was waiting for her here, what with the being wanted for murder and all, but it was time. She'd been gone for the summer, three whole months without a single thought of vampires or demons or…Angel.
Buffy shuddered and hugged her arms to herself, shivering despite the California heat, as she tried to push those thoughts from her mind. She tried to distract herself by looking around and figuring out how to get…could she still call it home? After her confrontation with her mother, and subsequent flight from Sunnydale, Buffy wasn't sure if she was still welcome there.
"Only back here for five minutes and already with the depressing thoughts." Buffy shook her head to clear it. Even if she was kicked out right away, she owed it to her mom to see her, to try and explain. Pulling her determination together, she made her way towards the taxi stand.
Ten minutes later, she was standing in front of 1630 Revello drive as the taxi pulled away, awkwardly holding her bag in front of her. She could see lights on in the living room, but she couldn't see her mom inside.
"Come on Buffy, just walk up to the door and knock, and say 'Hi mom, am I still kicked out of the house?' No, that would be awkward. I should just, well, I should just stop talking to myself."
With a deep sigh, Buffy walked up to the door. Screwing up her courage, she hesitated only once before knocking on the door. As she heard someone moving around inside the house, she almost chickened out and ran, but managed to stay there as the door opened, and she was looking at her mother for the first time since their argument in May.
"Um, hi moooomph!" Buffy's greeting was muffled as Joyce swept her into a hug that could have done considerable internal damage had she not been the Slayer. As her mother held her and rocked her back and forth, Buffy felt the cold that had wrapped itself around her soul after she sent Angel to Hell begin to melt. A Californian summer may be hot, but it takes a mother's love to make you feel warm inside.
Buffy sat on the couch with her mother, sipping hot chocolate with a drawn smile on her face. They had exchanged light pleasantries, and it was obvious that her mother was glad to have her back, but the younger Summers was still nervous about everything that had happened before she'd run away to L.A.
"So, mom, I guess I've got a lot to explain." Buffy stared down at her lap as she started to gather her thoughts on how to start.
"Actually, Rupert and your friends were very helpful with explaining things. I can't say I'm happy that you've been fighting monsters for the past three years and felt the need to keep it from me, but I am proud of you and what you've accomplished." Buffy raised her head and stared at her mother in shock. "We've managed to get the murder investigation on you dropped and struck from the record because you're still a minor, and you've been un-expelled as well, so really, what I want to talk about it you." Buffy's look of shock had become resigned at the mention of returning to school, and back to nervous as her mother brought the focus of the conversation back to her.
Joyce looked deeply into her daughter's eyes, noting the telltale signs of fear. Smiling reassuringly, she took her daughter's hand in hers. "I'm not angry Buffy. Worried, yes. Proud, certainly. But most of all, I want to know how you feel about everything. Your summer, your slaying, your friends, I just want to know where your life is going and how I can help. I'm your mother, Buffy, I'm supposed to be supportive. But I can't do that if I don't know what I'm supporting."
Looking back at her mother, Buffy let a small smile cross her face. "Honestly? I'm still kindof confused over everything and feelings and things. I needed to run, to get some space this summer and try and figure out who I was, and what I wanted to do. I'm still not sure about everything, but I can't run from who I am anymore. I am the Slayer, but sometimes it's so hard. I'm trying to balance school, and slaying, and have some time for some kind of social life, and it was just exhausting. Studying for finals is nothing compared to planning to stop an apocalypse."
Joyce paused, thinking of how much she should reveal to her daughter right away. She was so happy to have her back after the summer away that she didn't want to burden her with all of the plans and details that had been worked out by the rest of the Scoobies, but she also didn't want Buffy to get overstressed and panic again. She decided to give it a start, but to let the big details wait for another day. "Well, it may be easier now. Your little group of friends came up with some plans to help you out, not only with school and…slaying, but also to give you more time to relax." Buffy gave her mother a look suggesting that she'd just grown another head, causing Joyce to laugh. "I'm serious. When Willow gets into her planning mode she's quite impressive. I'll let them share the details with you tomorrow, but tonight I'm feeling selfish, and I want to keep my daughter to myself now that she's back. Tomorrow you can go and see Rupert and your friends, but tonight you're not the Slayer, or a student, you're my daughter that I haven't seen in a long time and I missed terribly much."
Buffy finally gave her mom a real smile "I think I like that mom. Thanks."
A.N. I know that this takes place at the beginning of season 3, and that some may complain that Buffy has only been slaying for 2 years, but the movie is canonical, so it's closer to 3.
I'm also looking for a beta reader. I can spell and use grammar well enough, but I occasionally have problems writing in a given character's voice. I'm not sure how well I can reproduce Buffy's way of speaking, for example. I can probably manage most of the rest of the cast, so I find it somewhat amusing that the title character is the one I have the most issue with. Any volunteers are welcome to PM me.
Next update should be in a few days. I just wanted to get the story rolling