Buffy hangs up the phone to the school after informing them that Dawn is going to need to have a few days off, due to the stress of being taken from the school by a stranger, along with a fuller explanation to Principle Stevens. As she's about to go upstairs to check on Dawn after the cleansing ritual they needed to perform on her after they got back, the doorbell goes off.
Frowning, Buffy makes her way to the front door and opens it. Standing there is a middle aged lady that has obviously enjoyed the finer things in life, combined with a chronic lack of exercise. She's wearing a beige cardigan over a plaid red blouse, and carrying a clipboard. As Buffy is taking all of this in, the woman looks her up and down in turn, before sniffing.
Being unfamiliar with strangers just turning up, Buffy ventures, "Yes?"
The woman draws herself up, "Good morning, I'm Doris Kroeger from Social Services. Are you Miss Buffy Summers?"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry, but what are Social Services?"
Doris looks down at Buffy, "Young lady, do not take me for an idiot. I have records here of you having spoken to Social Services representatives on more than one occasion over the last year."
Buffy frowns slightly, "I'm just going to get someone who can help me, as I'm not very good at dealing with civilians."
As Doris starts to make a note, Buffy swings the door closed and makes her way upstairs to Tara's room. Knocking on the door, she calls, "Tara, there's a civilian at the door, and she says she's from something called social services. How do I deal with her?"
A moment later, a frazzled Tara opens the door in her PJ's, "What was that Buffy?"
"There's a civilian at the door, and she says she's from social services. I don't remember what that's supposed to be. How do I help?" Buffy looks over her shoulder at the state of the room behind Tara, "Void energies playing up?"
Tara nods, "They are. Um. Invite her in, and answer her questions honestly. Also make notes of what you talk about." Tara closes the door, then opens it again, "Oh, and most people don't know about the supernatural, so try not to talk about things like vampires and succubae."
Buffy nods before making her way back downstairs. Opening the door, Buffy looks at the woman, "Sorry about that. Do you want to come through to the study? Well, it's now the study, it was my mother's sitting room."
Doris shakes her head, "No, no, this shouldn't take too long. I just need to ask a few questions."
Buffy nods, "Then if you'll come this way the desk I do my paper work at, and help Dawn with her homework every morning after our exercises and sister time."
Doris nods as she follows behind and sits at the desk, noting the paperwork that's scattered around it, "Do you live here alone?"
Buffy shakes her head, "No, Tara is using my mother's old bedroom."
"I see, and who is the woman on the couch?"
Buffy pulls a sheet of paper out and starts to make notes on the conversation, "Oh, that's Willow, a friend."
"I see, does she live here too?"
Buffy shakes her head, "Not since she made everyone forget themselves."
Doris nods, "Did everyone include Dawn?"
Buffy nods sadly, "Unfortunately yes, I almost killed her for that. Fortunately, my boss at work has taken her under his wing. She's been doing much better since then."
"Uh huh. What sort of friends is she? Your girlfriend perhaps?"
Buffy shakes her head, "No, she was Tara's girlfriend. Mine's asleep upstairs, she was up most of the night looking after Dawn."
"Are you a lesbian?"
Buffy shakes her head, "I have no idea what that is, all I know is she makes me happy."
"I see. And the bag on the table over there?"
"I think that's mushrooms, Willow and Tara were talking about a gentler cleansing ritual last night when I went to bed."
"I see, and do you use a lot of that sort of mushroom in this house?"
Buffy shakes her head, "Not so much, I sometimes use them for cooking when I can't get any at the store."
Doris nods, and flicks over a couple of pages on her clipboard, "Now, Miss Summers, we were called in today because your neighbours reported screaming coming from your yard during the night the day before yesterday. And again, last night, and an anonymous caller identified last nights screams as coming from a young girl, probably Dawn. Do you have any explanation for that?"
Buffy nods, "Willow's old friend Amy came back from her… extended stay in a cage Sunday, and they went out for the night on Sunday. Amy took her to a person that dealt with… heavy stuff, the sort of stuff my boss is helping Willow get away from. She turned up early Monday morning asking for help, so we did a cleansing ritual to help clean her out. When she came round in the afternoon, we found out the person she'd been taken to see had a thing for… girls like Dawn. By the time I got to her school to pick her up, that person had already removed her from the school. So we tracked him down, and dealt with him while getting Dawn back. Unfortunately, Dawn needed to go through the same cleansing ritual."
Doris writes for some time before looking up again, "I see, and what about her schooling?"
"I'm keeping her home today and tomorrow so that she can recover from last night, but since I've been able to give Dawn my full attention, her grades and attention have all been improving."
After making a few more notes, Doris looks up, "Thank you for being so candid with me Miss Summers. I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to put you on probation."
Buffy tilts her head, "What does that mean?"
"It means I will be keeping a closer eye on you, and if I judge that this is an unfit environment for Dawn. She will be removed, and placed into foster care until you meet our standards."
Buffy frowns, "You can do that? And what does keeping a closer eye mean exactly?"
Doris nods, "We can, and I only have Dawns best interests in mind. Being on probation means that we will stop by randomly to check up on Dawn and her living situation."
Buffy nods, "You are aware that I work from 4pm till 10pm, and Dawn comes to work with me when there's nobody else to supervise her, or she hasn't arranged plans with friends?"
Doris makes another note, "Thank you for the information. I need to return to the office to type up the report."
As Buffy shows Doris out, she looks up at the clock before deciding it's too late to go to the supermarket now.
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It's nearing lunchtime when Vhesthine comes downstairs to check on Buffy. Willow and Tara have both left for their respective college courses. Following the smell of cooking, she makes her way into the kitchen and exchanges a quick sharing through a kiss.
"How's Dawn doing?"
Buffy hums, "She was still asleep when I checked in on her 30 minutes ago, so I kissed her and fed a little into her the way you do."
Vhesthine nods, "It could take her a few days to wake up, and we can't afford to give her a large feed until she's awake. As if we give her too much, she'll need to sleep it off for a couple of days."
Buffy nods, "I know. I remember you telling me before you went to bed this morning. Oh, apparently some of our neighbours heard the cleansing rituals, and sent a civilian from something called social services."
Vhesthine nods, "How did that go?"
Buffy shrugs, "I don't know, apparently she's put us on something called probation."
Vhesthine buries her head in Buffy's shoulder and makes an exaggerated sobbing sound before looking up, "Buffy, that's a bad thing."
Defensively Buffy stirs her sauce, "How am I supposed to know that?"
Vhesthine steps back and looks at Buffy seriously, "Buffy, how much have you spoken to normal people since you were brought here?"
Buffy smiles, "Oh plenty, there's the guys at work, Principle Stevens, and I also say hi to the cashiers when I go shopping in the mornings."
Vhesthine sighs, "Ok Buffy, when was the last time you were around more than 3 humans, that you don't live or work with, for more than an hour?"
"Halloween. That's far more regularly than I did before I got here."
Vhesthine sighs, "Buffy, you need to spend time with the Human population, as you live in their world. You can't base all of your expectations on how the people and your friends react."
Buffy shakes her head, "But I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Buffy, you can't hide away from the world, and expect to be able to live in it. Even I have human friends outside work, and I spend time amongst them not hunting. It's the only way that you'll get used to the way they behave, and learn to temper your own reactions. I saw the quote for the plumber on your desk the other day, is that something that needs dealing with?"
Buffy nods, "It does, and I've got the money for it. But Xander was going to be there, and then I sent him to hell. And now, he's getting back together with Anya, and they're talking wedding plans."
Vhesthine sits at the kitchen table for a couple of minutes, her head in her hands. Eventually she looks up, "Buffy. I'm going to book you an appointment at the salon I go to. I'm also going to book you a place at the spa across the road starting an hour after your salon appointment. From there, you are going to work in a blouse and skirt, and you'll be filling in for me for the evening while I look after Dawn."
Buffy freezes as Vhesthine lists out what she's going to be doing, "Vhesthine, you can't make me do any of that."
Vhesthine shakes her head, "You're right, I can't. However, you're still going to do it because you're becoming as fond of me as I'm becoming of you."
Buffy slumps and gives the sauce a quick stir, "I hate you. Void damn it, I'll do it."
Vhesthine nods, "While you're out, I'll also give social services a call to ensure that they send someone out for a follow-up interview before confirming Dawn's probation status."
Buffy lets out a deep nervous sigh, "Thank you Vhesti, I appreciate your help."
Vhesthine stands up and gives Buffy another quick exchange, "Hey, I still remember what it was like when I was first exiled and came to live in the human world. It's barely even the middle of November, so I can't expect you to understand their customs. Hell, I still don't understand a lot of them, and I've been here for over a century."
Buffy smiles and pulls her in for another brief exchange, "Thank you again."
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Buffy walks down Mane Street towards Continental Hair Design. Every parked car she passes causes her to tense, and equally staying away from the doors on the other side of the sidewalk. Eventually she arrives at the salon, and stops outside as she peers through the posters and adverts to the inside. After she's been looking for a few minutes, her breathing calms down slightly as she can only see four people inside, one of which is sitting in a chair being tended to by one of the others.
Taking a deep, deliberate breath, she walks through the door, and only jumps a little when the bells jingle above the door. One of the two women that weren't busy walks over to her with sure steps.
"Hello Miss, can I help you?"
Buffy's eyes dart around the store, "Um, yes. My girlfriend booked an appointment for me?"
The woman gives her a look that says, 'you're one of those are you?', "What name would that be under?"
Buffy flashes a brief, nervous smile, "Buffy Summers maybe? I'm not sure, I haven't been to a salon for a long time."
The woman walks over to a desk, "Oh, yes. You used to be one of our regulars. Jeanine will be looking after you." She indicates the woman in the back, who walks forward.
Jeanine has a wide, friendly smile, and she gently guides Buffy to one of the chairs in front of a large mirror. Not really noticing the way Buffy flinches when she touches her arm. As she's standing behind Buffy, Buffy's attention is riveted on the mirror, and the hairdresser behind her.
Jeanine fluffs Buffy's hair a couple of times so that it settles neatly around her head, dividing over her shoulders naturally, "So, what will we be doing for you today?"
Buffy stares at the unexpected question, before eventually answering, "I don't know. My girlfriend booked this for me. Uh, though it is getting a little long, and keeps getting caught on things, so above my shoulders?"
Jeanine smiles brightly, and puts her hands about an inch above Buffy's shoulders, "So, about this long?"
Buffy nods minutely, "Sure."
"Ok honey, I just need you to follow me to the wash basins so we can give your hair a good wash, and then a touch of conditioner."
Buffy tries to relax, but every touch, every tug, and even the unexpected feel of the warm water causes her to flinch. The entire time, Jeanine babbles about everything from boyfriends, to property values, to the theft of the diamond from the museum. When Buffy accidentally mentions Doris and social services, Jeanine suddenly has dozens of stories of other women who had been bothered by her, and it was only when they had someone else look at the case that a more reasonable solution was found. She also talks about all the children that Doris has genuinely helped too.
Eventually, back like a steel rod, and shoulder so taut you could bend steel over them, Buffy escapes the Salon. Looking around to check her surroundings, she quickly spots the spa and cautiously checks through the windows of the parked cars outside the salon. Reasonably happy that they're empty, she cautiously walks between the cars to the road she needs to cross. Looking around for hidden attackers or on coming vehicles, Buffy quickly starts to cross the road. As she's doing so, a scuffle in the alleyway beside the spa catches her eye. Stepping back to move out of sight, she double checks her surroundings before proceeding across the road, keeping an eye on the squabble.
Even so, when whatever they're squabbling about discharges, she's not able to react to the beam of charged particles that hits her and a few other things. As she belatedly pulls herself into the void, Buffy complains once more about the lack of implants, even as a black van pulls out of the alleyway and peels off down the street.