Joyce's Point of View
Oh, what a long day – much too long. My eyes are becoming unfocused as I drive. I'm almost home. I passed the Sunnydale sign a couple of miles back, so now it'll just be a few minutes before I get home. I hope that Buffy got Dawn into bed on time. Maybe she stayed over at Janice's. I can't remember what my girls are doing any more. Work is wearing me down.
I finally pulled into the driveway. I decided to unload the car tomorrow; it could sit out overnight and still be ok. It was almost midnight by now anyway, so I wouldn't be leaving it out that long.
I got out of the car and headed for the house. Thanks to Buffy's many warnings, I looked around for vampires before I did so.
I walked to the door and glanced around again before unlocking it and quickly going inside and relocking the door. I leaned back against the door and sighed. Walking around at night always made me nervous, especially after learning what lurks in Sunnydale after dark.
I put my purse on the kitchen counter and hung my jacket over a kitchen chair. I noticed that the extra front door key was sitting on the counter so I knew that Buffy was home, but next to the spare key were Faith's keys. I could tell that they were hers because one of the keychains had her motel room logo emblazoned on it. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but I was too tired to really wonder about it. At least she was here tonight, somewhere safe, and not out with some troublemakers.
I walked zombie-like up the stairs, but I started when I saw that Dawn's door was ajar. She usually kept it closed tight. I peeked in the door and became even more surprised when I saw that Dawn's covers were turned back and she was nowhere to be seen. I looked back into the hall, but the bathroom door was open, so my little girl wasn't in there.
I walked down the hall, ready to burst in on Buffy's room, and ask her where Dawn could have gone or gotten taken to, but in a moment of clarity, I decided to open Buffy's door slowly so I didn't startle her. When I did so, I looked in on a surprising scene.
Faith was half sitting, half lying down on the bed, propped up on a few pillows and Buffy's stuffed pig. She had one arm around Buffy, who had her head on Faith's stomach, and one arm around her leg, and Faith's other arm – to my immediate relief – was wrapped around Dawn, who was lying with her head propped on Faith's shoulder.
Dawn stirred slightly in her sleep, wrapping her arm tighter around Faith. After a moment, Buffy did the same, snuggling further into the blankets around Faith's hip. Before any of them woke up, I decided to leave. I closed the door quietly behind me and went into my own room. I was so tired that I didn't even have the energy to change clothes. I took off my jacket and shoes and lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
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How'd I do with Mom's point of view?