"Welcome Home"

Based on the Episode "Dead Man's Party" Written by Marti Noxon

The following story is copyright © 2022 by Mark Moore.

In her room, Buffy took the last of her things out of her bag, walked over to her closet, and dumped them in. She turned around and looked at the room that she'd missed so much for the last few months. It all seemed so familiar - and yet not. She realized it was too neat and clean. She grabbed her wallet and keys off her dresser and headed over to her mother's room.

Joyce was hammering a nail into the wall by the window to hang an ancient tribal mask.

Buffy stepped into the room. "Mom-"

Joyce was very startled and jumped, accidentally slamming the hammer through the drywall. "Oh! Buffy."

Buffy cringed at the sight of the hole in the wall.

Her mother pulled the hammer out and turned to face her, smiling while still holding the hammer in one hand, the mask in the other. "Um..."

"Sorry."

"No, no! Don't worry about it. I-I guess I just got used to all the quiet while you were gone." Joyce smiled. "But it's no problem."

She looked down at the mask in her hand and turned around to hang it on the wall over the hole. It was carved from a reddish wood with cutouts for eyes, which were slanted inward to appear very evil. There was a series of long, pointed teeth with extra-long fangs for incisors set into the upper lip. There was no lower-jaw portion.

"Uh, look!" Joyce hung the mask on its hook. "It's, uh, Nigerian." She faced Buffy again. "We got a very exciting shipment in at the gallery." She glanced around the room. "I, um, thought I'd hang a few pieces in here. It cheers up the room."

Buffy looked at the mask. "It's angry at the room, Mom. It wants the room to suffer."

Joyce nodded. "You have no appreciation of primitive art." She saw Buffy was holding her wallet and keys. "You going out?"

Buffy nodded. "I'd like to find Tara and the others. Tara said they'd be out on patrol."

"Uh, can I make you a sandwich or something before you go? You must be starving."

"I was un-until that four-course snack you served me after dinner." Buffy paused. "Do you not want me to go?"

"No, no. I-I just want to put this whole thing behind us, get back to normal." Joyce inhaled deeply. "You go. Have a good time."

"Okay." Buffy smiled and gave her mom a little wave, then left the room.

Buffy walked along behind a truck near an alley, looking around. She heard something fall to the ground and break and stopped to look in the direction of the sound. Slowly, she started to walk in that direction.

Buffy walked around the corner and looked down the adjoining way. There, she saw a woman dressed in black, walking suspiciously as though looking for something. She began to follow silently but didn't notice an empty aluminum can on the pavement and stepped on it. The woman reacted instantly to the noise, spun around, and swung at her with a stake. Buffy threw up her arms and cross-blocked the swing, then deftly took the stake from the woman's hands and raised it to counter-attack. The woman stepped back, and the silver cross hanging from her neck swung around, standing out in marked contrast to the rest of her attire. Buffy saw it was Katrina and stayed her attack. Katrina was taken completely by surprise and just stared back at her.

Buffy lowered the stake. "Didn't anyone ever warn you about playing with pointy sticks?" She shook it at her. "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye."

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" Katrina breathed hard, trying to catch her breath. She looked at her, trying to convince herself that it was really her, and finally managed a weak smile. "God damn it, Buff!"

Suddenly, a vampire smashed his way out of a crate leaning against a wall. He lunged at Katrina and Buffy, knocking them and himself to the pavement. Katrina quickly tried to grab the vampire as he got up, but the demon grabbed Katrina instead and pulled her up. He drew his fist back for a punch, but Buffy jumped in and hit the vampire in the stomach with a powerful side kick, making him fall backwards into a pile of trashcans and bags.

"Come in, Trina! Everything okay?" Amy asked over the walkie-talkie on Katrina's belt.

The vampire was back on his feet and came at them.

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed.

He tackled Katrina and sent her reeling backwards into a chain-link fence. Buffy tried to stake him, but he sidestepped her and shoved her into the fence as well. Katrina tried to go up behind him, but the vampire swung out with a backhand fist to Katrina's face, knocking her to the ground. Buffy got to her feet and sweep-blocked two punches from the demon. She high-clocked his third punch and got a hand under his chin to hold him at bay. He pushed her back into the fence as the two struggled for control. Now, Tara, Amy, and Harmony arrived, running. Tara and Harmony grabbed the vampire by the arms and dragged him off Buffy and across the alley, slamming him hard into a steel roll-up door. Buffy caught her breath as she looked on in astonishment. The vampire growled at the girls as Amy tried to move in with a stake, but the vampire roundhouse-kicked Amy, sending her to the pavement next to Katrina. He then shoved Harmony away, and Buffy quickly moved to catch her, so she wouldn't get hurt. The vampire then threw Tara aside, and she fell onto Katrina and Amy.

Harmony recognized her savior and smiled. "Oh, hey, Buffy."

Buffy pushed her aside and wielded back her stake when she saw the vampire come after them. Harmony lost her balance and fell to the pavement next to Tara. Buffy plunged her stake cleanly into the vampire, and he died and fell to the pavement. Buffy looked over at her friends staring up at her from the ground. They were all breathing hard.

Buffy gave them a little wave and a weak smile. "Hey, guys."

She reached out her hands and helped her friends to their feet: first Tara and Harmony, then Amy and Katrina.

Tara pulled Buffy into a hug and kissed her passionately on the lips. When she finished the kiss, she grinned. "Welcome home, sweetie."

Buffy smiled. "Goddamn, it's good to be home."

They all went to Giles' apartment building. Buffy reached for the knocker and tapped it a few times. Giles opened the door and saw Buffy standing there, flanked by the others. His face remained expressionless for a long moment.

Giles smiled. "Welcome home, Buffy."

Buffy smiled at him. He pulled the door open further and stepped back, so they could all walk in.

Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina went and sat on the couch. Harmony sat in a facing chair. Giles closed and locked the door and leaned on the backrest of another chair.

"I got in a few hours ago, but I wanted to go see my mom first."

"Yes. Yes, of course. How - How did you find her?"

Buffy was confused. "Well, I pretty much remembered the address."

"Ah, eh, I mean, uh-"

The tea kettle in his kitchen began to whistle.

"How are things between you?" Giles noticed the whistling. "Ah. Excuse me. Would anyone like any tea? Cookies?" He went into the kitchen.

They all answered in the affirmative and then waited in silence for a while.

"So were you, like, living in a box or what?" Harmony finally asked Buffy.

"Got an apartment in a shitty neighborhood in downtown L.A.; got a waitress job at a shitty diner; met that girl that was in that vampire cult with Ford. Remember her?" Buffy asked.

Tara smiled. "Oh, yeah. How is she?"

Buffy nodded. "She's doing okay. We had a little adventure together. Got thrown into a hell dimension and rescued a bunch of teens that had been kidnapped by a demon for forced labor."

Amy nodded. "Ah. Cool."

The others stared at her.

Amy was a bit embarrassed. "Well, not cool, but, y'know, cool that you rescued them."

Buffy laughed. "What about you guys? What's up with you?"

Katrina shrugged. "Oh, you know, same old, same old."

Buffy grew somber. "How's Cordy?"

Harmony sighed. "Cordelia's parents dragged her onto a luxury vacation. She fucking hated it."

Buffy made a face. "I feel for her."

Giles walked back into the living room, carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups on it. "Here we are then." He set the tray on the coffee table. "Cheer us up."

He sat down in his chair and took the teapot. The five girls each took a cookie from the tray.

"So, Giles, any news on the new Slayer?" Buffy asked, munching on her cookie.

"No luck, just a bunch of false leads. I've had to rely on my personal contacts, because the Watchers Council is being tight-lipped on the matter."

"Well, y'know, if you need me to get back in the field, I-I can."

Giles poured tea into six cups. "Perhaps you could use a little time to adjust before you throw yourself back into your Slayer activities."

Buffy thought about it. "Um..."

Tara smiled at her. "You can leave the slaying to us while you settle in. We got you covered."

Buffy smiled. "I noticed. You guys seem down with the slayage, all tricked out with your walkies and everything."

Harmony made a face. "Yeah, but the outfits suck. This whole Rambo thing is so over. I'm thinking more sporty, like Hilfiger maybe."

Amy nodded. "Still, we're getting good. We killed...nine out of ten."

Katrina looked at Amy. "Six out of ten."

Amy nodded at Buffy. "Six out of ten."

Harmony rolled her eyes. "Whatever, we were kicking a little undead ass."

Buffy smiled. "Well, thank you for the offer, but I think I just wanna get back to my normal routine. You know, school, slaying...kid's stuff. In fact, I'm jonesing for a little brainless fun." She looked at Tara and smiled seductively. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I had some schoolwork, but...I can change my plans." Tara smiled at her.

Buffy briefly kissed Tara on the lips.

Giles raised his cup. "As for school, Buffy, uh, you know you'll have to talk to Principal Snyder before-"

"On it. Mom is making an appointment with His Ugliness. I know she can break him."

Giles looked up from his tea and gave her an unsure little grin.

Buffy and Tara had been making love for an hour in Tara's bedroom. Tara was currently lying on her chest, and Buffy was licking Tara's pussy and anus repeatedly.

Buffy stopped and smiled. "Your turn."

Tara sat up and smiled. "You're insatiable."

Buffy grinned. "So are you!" She lay on her chest.

Tara lowered her head and gently licked the entire length of Buffy's pussy and then licked Buffy's anus as well.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Tara, are you-"

Tara and Buffy looked in panic. Tara's mother was standing in the doorway.

Aine Maclay blushed. "Oh, dear!"

Tara and Buffy futilely tried to get under Tara's bed sheet.

"I didn't know you were home, Mom!" Tara exclaimed.

Aine looked away. "Obviously. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to do anything special for your birthday."

Tara shrugged. "I dunno. Checkers? Uh, the - the restaurant, n-not the board game."

"Okay. Anything else?"

Tara thought about it. "Um, maybe we could do a spell together. Peace on Earth or something?"

"Sure, sure, that sounds good." Aine paused awkwardly. "Well, carry on."

She quickly left the room and closed the door behind her.

Buffy and Tara looked at each other, uncertain.

"Sixty-nine?" Buffy eventually suggested.

Tara shrugged, smiled, and nodded. "Okay. Gotta love the classics."

The next morning, Joyce and Buffy went to Principal Snyder's office at Sunnydale High and met with him.

Snyder looked at Joyce and Buffy intently from behind his desk. "Absolutely not. Under no circumstances."

"But you can't keep her out of school. You don't have the right."

"I have not only the right but also a nearly physical sensation of pleasure at the thought of keeping her out of school. I'd describe myself as tingly."

"Buffy was never charged."

"Yes. And while she may live up to the not-a-convicted-murderer requirement for enrollment, she is a troublemaker, destructive to school property and the occasional student. And her grade point average is enough to..." Snyder's eyes glazed over for an instant. "I'm sorry. Another tingle moment." He smiled smugly.

"I don't see how you can be so cavalier about a young girl's entire future!" Joyce replied with controlled anger in her voice.

"I'm quite sure that a girl with the talents and abilities of Buffy will land on her feet." Snyder leaned toward Buffy. "In fact, I noticed as I came in this morning that Hot Dog on a Stick is hiring."

Buffy gave him an angry stare and flipped him off.

"You will look so cute in that hat."

"Let's go, Mom." Buffy got up and walked toward the door.

Her mother stood up and faced Snyder. "This isn't over. If I have to, I'll go all the way to the mayor." She followed Buffy out.

Joyce took Buffy for lunch at Wok Like An Egyptian in the mall. The two of them set down their trays at a table in the food court, sat down, picked up their plastic forks, and started eating.

Joyce swirled a pork dumpling around in sauce. "What's this called?"

"Fatwa dumplings in Firdaus sauce with a side of mashallah potatoes." Buffy smiled. "It tastes heavenly but will still damn you to Hell."

Joyce took a bite of her dumpling and nodded her approval. "Don't worry about school, honey. If we can't get you back into Sunnydale, maybe we can swing private school."

"Private school? You mean like jackets and kilts? You want me to get field hockey knees?" Buffy asked her.

Joyce smiled. "It's not that bad."

"What about home schooling?" Buffy suggested. "You know, it's not just for scary religious people anymore."

"We'll work something out. Okay?"

Buffy nodded.

Much later, Buffy returned home from grocery shopping and walked up the path toward the house. The front door opened, and Buffy saw a woman come out and pull the door closed behind her. She looked at her, confused.

The woman saw her and smiled. "Oh, my word! Oh, you must be Buffy!" She stepped down from the porch. "Look at you. Aren't you a picture?"

Buffy was unsure. "Thank you?"

"Oh, I'm Pat, from your mom's book club." She offered her hand.

They shook hands.

"I'm sure she mentioned me."

"Actually-"

"I, um, I sort of took it upon myself to look after her while you were, you know, off and away or what have you, and..."

Buffy looked aside, not believing this conversation.

Pat inhaled and exhaled. "Well, between, uh, your situation and reading The Deep End of the Ocean, she was, uh, she was just a wreck. You can imagine."

Buffy gave her a thin smile and a weak nod.

"Anyway, I'm off. We're making empanadas in my Spanish class tonight." Pat giggled. "You go be with your mom. You two need to rebond." She smiled and went on her way.

Buffy walked up to the porch, opened the door, walked into the house, closed the door, and walked through the dining room and into the kitchen.

Buffy set the two bags on the island. Joyce was taking some notes from a book.

"Pat wishes us quality time." Buffy went to the cupboard.

"Oh. I met her in a-"

"Book club." Buffy got out a glass.

"Yeah."

"Got it." Buffy stepped over to the fridge and got out a pitcher of Tang.

Joyce looked up. "I had a thought. What if I invited Tara and Mr. Giles and everybody over for dinner tomorrow night?" She smiled. "Don't you think that would be nice?"

Buffy opened the pitcher and poured herself a drink. She looked up at her mom and gives her a little smile and a nod. "It'll be fun."

"Great. Oh. What about Cordelia?"

Buffy thought about it as she drank her drink. "Extend the invitation but don't get upset if she declines."

"Right. Uh, do me a favor? Run down and get the company plates."

"Mom, Tara and everybody aren't company-plate people. They're normal-plate people."

"We never have guests for dinner. Indulge your mother?"

Buffy just sighed and headed for the basement door, recognizing this as just busy work. She opened the door, turned on the light, and headed down. She looked around for a while.

Buffy grabbed a step stool and set it down in front of an old bookcase full of stuff. She stepped up on it and looked up where the good china was. She reached for the box and started to pull it down, when a dead and rotting cat suddenly fell off it.

"Oh!" Buffy jerked her head forward.

The cat fell behind her to the floor.

Buffy looked down at it squeamishly. "Eww."

In the backyard, Buffy grunted as she shoveled out a bunch of dirt among some bushes to make a shallow grave for the cat. "Next time, I get to pick the mother-daughter bonding activity."

Joyce lifted a bag with the cat over the hole and dropped it in. "Do you wanna say something?"

Buffy paused in thought, wishing Tara was here. She looked down at the bag. "Goodbye, stray cat who lost its way. We hope you find it."

Joyce nodded. Buffy filled the hole back in, feeling sad for the cat.

In Cordelia's room, at 11:34 that night, she reached over to the lamp on her night stand and turned it off. She lay back in her bed and hugged the covers to herself. She looked around in the dark, lonely room and waited to fall asleep.

Cordelia walked into the hall at Sunnydale High from outside. The door closed behind her with an echoing clang, startling her. She looked back at it but then continued walking. The school was deserted. She walked past the empty lounge, toward the library. The doors were wide open, and she looked in for a moment. It was just as deserted as the rest of the school.

The sun shone brightly down on the quad. Cordelia slowly walked down the outside stairs, all the while looking around for any indication that anyone else was there. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned out into the quad. She stopped when she saw Angel coming toward her but then kept walking as he got behind her and followed her across the quad.

Cordelia looked at him. "Am I dreaming?"

Angel smiled and chuckled. "I'm probably the wrong person to ask."

Cordelia looked ahead again.

"You'd better go."

Cordelia looked at him. "I'm afraid."

Angel shrugged and looked at her. "You should be."

He stopped walking. She turned and walked away. The school bell rang.

The school bell blended into the sound of Cordelia's alarm buzzer going off. Cordelia woke from her dream. She turned over and looked at her alarm clock. 7:00 AM. She reached over and turned it off.

In the Summers' kitchen, Buffy stared into the refrigerator, trying to decide what she wanted to drink, while she listened to her mother talking.

"I've been on the phone with the, uh, Superintendent of Schools. At least, he seems more reasonable than that nasty little horrid, bigoted rodent-man. Anyway, um, I'm going in to speak with him this afternoon. Uh, as for private schools, uh, Miss Porter's accepts late admissions."

Buffy took out a can of regular Pepsi, closed the fridge, and turned to give her mom a look.

"I, uh, I wrote the information down for you."

"A girls' school?" Buffy went to the island to read the slip of paper. "So now it's jackets and kilts?" She looked back at her mom. "Care to throw in a little foot-binding?"

Joyce set down her coffee mug and stepped over to her daughter. "Buffy, you made some bad choices. You just might have to live with some consequences."

Buffy looked down at the island, knowing her mom was right.

"Nothing's settled yet." Joyce looked for something to do and spied the trash. "I just wish they didn't punish you for doing your job." She tied off the trash bag. "I mean...it's not your fault you have a special circumstance. They should make allowances for you."

"Mom, I'm a Slayer. It's not like I need to ride a little bus to school."

Joyce walked to the door with the trash. "I mean...I would think they would be happy to have a...a superhero. Is that the right term? I mean...it's not offensive, is it?"

She opened the door to take out the trash and gasped in fright when she saw the dead cat run in. It stopped and meowed at them menacingly.

Buffy opened the front door to admit Giles, who was holding a cage.

"Welcome to the Hellmouth Petting Zoo." Buffy indicated upstairs.

Giles looked up and started to climb the stairs while Buffy closed the door behind him. She followed him up.

The cat was hiding under the bed in Joyce's bedroom. Giles grabbed it by the back of its neck and pulled it out.

"Oh, my God, what a stench!" Giles took the cat over to the cage, put it in, and closed the latch.

Buffy smiled. "You know, I wanted Forest Pine or April Fresh, but Mom wanted Dead Cat."

Joyce looked at the cat, grossed out by its appearance and smell.

"I'll, uh..." Giles stepped back for a moment, overcome by the stench. "Ugh! I'll get it back to the library, see if we can determine its exact origins." He lifted the cage and turned to face Joyce.

She looked at it, then up at Giles.

Giles noticed the mask on the wall behind her. "It's, uh...striking and...Nigerian."

"Oh. Yes. I-I-I have this wonderful dealer who specializes in ancient artifacts. I don't know if you-"

"You know, I love art talk as much as the next very dull person, but we have work to do, Giles. Research mode." Buffy headed for the door.

"Sh-Sh-Shouldn't you stay with your mother, perhaps, Buffy? I mean...you must have-"

"Please, no. I-It's fine. She can go with you."

"A-Actually, she can't. Um..." Giles looked at Buffy. "You're not allowed on school property."

"Oh." Buffy smiled ironically.

"I'm sorry. Um, uh...I'll - I'll call as - as soon as I know something." Giles reached for the doorknob.

The cat growled and hissed.

"Oh, we'll see you tonight?" Joyce asked him.

"Tonight, then. Yes." Giles opened the door and left.

Later, in the library, the caged cat was on the table. Katrina was inspecting it closely. Tara and Amy were engrossed in research. Cordelia kept her distance. Harmony shared Katrina's fascination - but from a bit further off.

"It looks dead." Katrina looked at Harmony. "It smells dead."

Harmony nodded in agreement.

Katrina looked back at the cat. "Yet it's movin' around. That's interesting."

"Nice pet, Giles. Don't you like anything regular? Golf, USA Today, or anything?" Cordelia sat opposite Tara to help research.

Giles walked down from the stacks. "I'm trying to find out how and why it rose from the grave. It's not as if I'm going to take it home and offer it a saucer of warm milk."

Harmony looked at him. "You shouldn't, anyway, Giles. Milk isn't good for cats. You might kill it."

Giles stared at her.

Harmony thought for a long moment. "Oh, right."

"What about Buffy's welcome-home dinner tonight?" Tara asked. "I had told her mom we'd help out. Bring stuff. I'm bringing burgers and fries."

Amy looked at her. "I'm baking some brownies."

Harmony smiled. "Cake."

Katrina smiled. "Chips."

"I'm the dip."

Everyone looked at Cordelia. She didn't notice and continued reading.

"Uh, you gotta admire the purity of it." Amy chuckled.

Cordelia looked up at everyone. "What? Onion dip. Stirring, not cooking. It's what I bring."

Harmony smiled at her friend. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not cooking either. The cake's from a deli."

Cordelia made a face. "Giles, your cat stinks."

"It's not my-"

The cat meowed again. Giles continued to page through a book. He flipped a page but looked over at the cat instead. He flipped another page before turning his attention back to it.

At the Summers' house, the dining room table was beautifully set with Joyce's best china, crystal, and silverware. Buffy was dressed up for the occasion. She was putting the last setting into place when the doorbell rang. She looked over the table one last time and then went to open the door. Through the window, she saw Pat waiting there, holding a large plastic food container. Buffy opened the door.

"Hey, there you are!" Pat came in. "Not thinking about any more flights of fancy, I hope."

Buffy couldn't believe her comments and just closed the door.

"Joyce said there was room for one more, so I said forget facial night and let's party!" Pat smiled. "I bet you like empanadas." She held out the container to Buffy.

Buffy took it and gave her a fake smile. "Do you wanna see my mom?"

"Please."

"Mom!" Buffy whined loudly and frantically.

Pat looked up the stairs and saw Joyce arrive at the top.

Joyce walked downstairs. "Oh, Pat! Good. Buffy, I hope you don't mind."

The two women embraced.

"Hi! You look great!" Pat complimented.

The doorbell rang again, and, taking the empanadas under one arm, Buffy turned around to answer it.

Tara was standing outside, holding some paper bags. She smiled. "Hi." She kissed Buffy on the lips.

Buffy smiled. "Hi." She stepped aside.

Tara walked inside. "The others should be here soon."

Eventually, most of the guests had arrived. Buffy, Tara, Amy, Katrina, Cordelia, Harmony, and Jenny sat down to dinner at the dining room table. Joyce and Pat didn't.

"Did Giles say he was going to be late?" Buffy asked.

Jenny looked at her. "Uh, he was at the library last time I saw him. But he'll be here. He wants to celebrate your homecoming." She smiled.

Buffy stood up. "I'm gonna get some more ice." She headed toward the kitchen.

When she was near the door, she overheard the sound of drinks being poured into glasses and then the sound of the glasses clinking together. Buffy stopped and listened.

"Whew!" Joyce exclaimed.

"Now, how you holding up, Joyce, hmm?" Pat asked. "Really."

"Really? I'm...I don't know. While Buffy was gone, all I could think about was getting her home. I just knew that, if I could put my arms around her and tell her how much I loved her, everything would be okay."

"But?"

"Having Buffy home, I-I thought it was gonna make it all better, but, in some ways, it's almost worse."

Buffy took it hard and went back to the table. She sat down.

"Where's the ice?" Katrina asked her.

"Fuck the ice." Buffy popped open a warm can of regular Pepsi and took a swig. She looked down and sniffled.

"What's wrong?" Tara asked her in concern.

"Apparently, my coming home has made things 'almost worse' for my mom."

Tara put her hand on top of Buffy's hand.

In the library, the cat meowed acridly in its cage.

Giles was looking through his books yet again. This time, he found what he needed and quickly read. "Oh, Lord!"

He went into his office and set the book down on his desk. He turned the page and saw a picture of the mask that he'd missed before.

He grabbed the phone and quickly dialed Buffy's number. He got a busy signal.

He slammed the phone down and quickly gathered up his things. The cat snarled and hissed.

Giles was speeding along to Buffy's house as best as he could in his decrepit car. He looked left and right in anger and fear. "Unbelievable. 'Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead!' Americans." He looked ahead in time to see he was about to hit someone. "Jesus!"

He slammed on the brakes and began to skid. He hit the man, who fell onto the hood of the car, bounced off the windshield, and slid off as the car came to a stop. The man rolled a few times on the pavement before coming to rest.

Giles stared in shock at the man lying in the road. "My God!"

He quickly got out of his car.

"Are you all right?" Giles rushed over to the man and felt for a pulse on his neck. "Are you hurt?"

The man rolled over, and Giles saw he was in an advanced state of decay.

"Good God!"

The zombie grabbed Giles by the coat and lifted him up as it got to its feet. Other zombies started approaching from an alley.

Joyce walked back into the dining room, clearly drunk. Buffy and her friends looked at her.

"What is this?" Joyce asked. "What the fuck are you looking at?"

"Mom, please, could you - could you just-"

"No, I can't just! Buffy, what is this?"

"I overheard you. Talking to Pam. You don't really want me here, do you?" Buffy asked her. "I make life too difficult for you, don't I?"

"Oh, Buffy..."

Buffy thought for a moment. "Would it be better, if I move out?"

Joyce stared stoned-faced at Buffy.

Buffy looked at Jenny. Jenny nodded. Buffy stood up and headed for the stairs.

"If you think you can just take off any time you feel like-"

Buffy turned on her mother. "Stop it! Please! Just shut your fucking mouth!"

"Don't you leave this house, young lady!" Joyce warned her.

Buffy turned and resumed her determined walk.

"You know what? That's it." Joyce ran up behind Buffy, grabbed her arm, and turned her around to face her. "You and I are going to have a talk."

Buffy looked at her friends staring at them. "Mom, please-"

"You know what? I don't care. I don't care what your friends think of me, or you for that matter, because you put me through the wringer, Buffy." Joyce inhaled. "I mean it." She exhaled and inhaled. "And I've had schnapps." She exhaled. "Do you have any idea what it's been like?"

"Mom, this isn't the time-"

"You can't imagine months of not knowing. Not knowing whether you're lying dead in a ditch somewhere or, I don't know, living it up-"

"But you told me! You're the one who said I should go. You said, if I leave this house, don't come back. You couldn't deal. Don't you remember?"

"Buffy, you didn't give me time. You just dumped this thing about the end of the world on me, and you expected me to get it. Well, guess what? Mom's not perfect, okay? I handled it badly. But that doesn't give you the right to punish me by running away."

"Punish you? I didn't do this to punish you!"

"Well, you did. You should've seen what you put me through."

"Great. Thanks."

"You know, maybe you don't want to hear it, Buffy, but taking off like you did was incredibly selfish and stupid."

"Fuck you!" Buffy screamed at her mother. "We know what this is really about, so let's not pretend, okay?! I fucked up! I know this! But you have no idea! You have - You have no idea what I was feeling!"

"Did you even try talking to anybody?" Joyce asked her.

"I have. There was nothing that anybody could do. Okay? I just had to deal with this on my own."

"Yeah, and you see how well that one worked out. You can't just bury shit, Buffy. It'll come right back up to get you."

The zombie had Giles bent back on the hood of his car. Giles got his foot underneath him and push-kicked him off. He rolled off the hood and scrambled back into the car, locking the door. The zombies started pounding on the car. Giles reached for the ignition and discovered the keys missing. He searched his pockets. Nothing. He looked out onto the street, and there they were.

"Oh, good show, Giles."

He thought for a moment what to do, then reached underneath the dash and pulled out some wires. Quickly, he unraveled and stripped the appropriate ones. A zombie punched through the window and reached in for him. Giles touched the wires together. They sparked, and the engine started up.

"Like riding a bloody bicycle!" Giles put the car in gear and drove off, leaving the zombies behind.

Buffy was silent for a long time, thinking. She finally turned around and timidly looked at her friends. "I'm a murderer. Some of you already know, and some others of you might have had your suspicions. That's primarily what our fight was about."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Joyce smiled in satisfaction. "Here comes your comeuppance."

Cordelia didn't think this was fair and stood up. "Time out, bitch! Put yourself in Buffy's shoes for just a minute. Okay? 'I'm Buffy, freak of nature, right? Naturally, I use my freaky strength to punish evil in all its forms.'" She shrugged. "'So I killed your asshole boyfriend. Big whoop! Get over it!'"

"Cordy! Get outta my shoes!" Buffy snapped.

Cordelia was hurt. "I'm just trying to help, Buffy."

Buffy managed to control herself a bit, but she was near the breaking point. "I know. I'm sorry."

A zombie suddenly smashed through the living room window and came in. Others followed right behind.

"What the fuck?!" Amy exclaimed.

A zombie grabbed Cordelia, and they started to wrestle. Cordelia got the upper hand on the slow-moving zombie and threw him back out of the window. Tara, Amy, Katrina, Harmony, and Jenny scrambled to help out. A zombie dove through the kitchen door window. The Slayerettes and Jenny all tried to drive the zombies out but weren't very organized about it. Katrina broke away from the crowd.

"Trina, kitchen!" Buffy called.

"I got your back!" Katrina told her.

Buffy tossed her an andiron from the fireplace, and Katrina ran into the kitchen with Cordelia close behind. A zombie attacked Buffy, and she launched herself into a hopping side kick to his gut. She sidestepped a punch and swung under his arm with an uppercut to his jaw, but he wasn't fazed. He swung at her with both arms, knocking her aside. Joyce watched Buffy fight, cringing at every blow. Buffy punched the zombie twice in the face and then ducked past him as he lunged at her with his arm, trying to grab her. He turned around and tried to make a grab for her, but Joyce came up behind him with a vase and smashed it over his head. The rest of them were having limited success keeping the zombies out of the house. Buffy leg-sweeped the zombie and knocked him down.

"Are these vampires?" Joyce asked her.

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Buffy, heads up!" Tara tossed Buffy a piece of the broken window frame.

Buffy caught it out of the air and tried staking the zombie. He just looked up at her as though she pinched him.

"No, not vampires."

The zombie started to get back to his feet.

In the kitchen, Katrina swung the andiron at one of them, making him stagger a bit. Cordelia looked around and found a stake on the counter. She jammed it into the zombie's gut. He staggered back again. The zombie came at Katrina again. Another one was trying to crawl in through the window over the sink.

"Damn, this fucker wobbles, but he won't fall down!" Katrina swung the andiron at the zombie's legs and knocked him to the floor.

In the living room, Joyce hit the zombie repeatedly over the head with a broken piece of wood. Jenny was holding a vase and smashed it over the zombie.

"We got to get 'em back outside!" Buffy told them.

"On three!" Joyce told them.

Harmony grabbed the zombie by the back. Amy and Joyce each grabbed an arm.

"One...two...three!" Joyce counted.

Together, they dragged him to the front door, where Buffy was waiting to slam it shut. The three of them threw the ghoul out and barricaded themselves against the door. The zombie slammed himself against it, trying to get back in.

"Okay! We're gonna have to barricade this door!" Buffy realized.

In the kitchen, Katrina and Cordelia had their zombie pinned face down to the floor with his arms behind him.

"We need some help out here!" Buffy called.

Katrina looked at Cordelia. "I got him. Go help Buffy."

Cordelia rushed into the living room to help while Katrina tied up the zombie.

In the living room, some of the ladies scrambled to get some things to barricade the front door while others leaned against it to keep it closed.

"Tara, take my place!" Jenny called.

Jenny went to grab a small table. Tara took her place at the door. Jenny dragged the table back and positioned it against the door. She leaned into it while Tara went off to get another one. Katrina showed up to help, too. Suddenly, the zombie punched through the door and made a grab for Amy's shoulder.

"Upstairs!" Buffy called.

Buffy ran up the stairs and into her mother's room. Tara, Katrina, and Joyce followed her.

At the top of the stairs, Joyce saw Pat lying unconscious on the floor further down the hall. "Oh, Pat!"

She rushed over to Pat. Tara and Buffy ran over to help also.

Joyce stared down at her friend. "Oh, God..."

Pat woke, and Tara and Joyce helped her up, each getting under one arm.

"Careful!" Buffy told them.

"Oh..." Pat moaned.

Katrina watched the stairs. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry."

Joyce looked at Pat. "I got you. Okay."

They dragged her toward the bedroom. Katrina ushered them in and followed.

Downstairs, the stand at the door had to be abandoned. Harmony ran out the back, and Amy followed her. Cordelia helped Jenny get away from the zombie outside the door, and they tried to run up the stairs, but another zombie grabbed Jenny from behind and pulled her down to the floor.

"Ms. Calendar!" Cordelia reacted quickly, running back down and holding her hand out to Jenny.

Jenny waved her off. "Go! Go!"

Cordelia started to run toward the back, and Jenny scrambled out of the zombie's reach, running right behind her.

In Joyce's bedroom, she and Tara had to drag Pat the rest of the way in and lay her down on a large, padded wicker chair and footrest while Buffy and Katrina tried to get the door closed to keep a zombie out.

Tara felt for a pulse on Pat's neck. "She's..."

"Oh, God! Pat! She's dead!" Joyce cried.

The zombie gave the door a good bump, knocking Katrina back and into the far wall. The impact vibration knocked the mask from its hook. Buffy managed to shove the zombie back a bit. Tara and Joyce ran to help. Katrina got back up, and now all four of them were pushing against the door to get it closed.

"What do we do if they get in?" Joyce asked.

Katrina shrugged. "I kind of think we die."

Cordelia and Jenny were hiding inside a downstairs closet. It was absolutely dark.

"I don't hear anything. Should we check?" Cordelia asked Jenny.

Jenny exhaled. "Let's go for it."

Jenny opened the door and looked out. No zombies. She looked the other way. The coast appeared to be clear. They could, however, hear noises coming from upstairs. Jenny gave Cordelia a glance and looked around again to be absolutely sure that at least there wasn't anything going on downstairs.

Cordelia saw a pair of ski poles in the closet and handed one of them to Jenny. "Here."

"Thanks."

Together, they started down the hall, toward the stairs. They reached the kitchen door. Cordelia looked in and started when suddenly Giles arrived there, having come in through the back door. She held her ski pole up to his neck. Jenny held her ski pole pointed at Giles' gut.

"Cordelia, Jenny, it's me! It's me!" Giles exclaimed.

"How do we know it's really you and not zombie Giles?" Cordelia asked him.

Giles gave her a look. "Cordelia, do stop being tiresome."

Cordelia was quickly convinced. "It's him."

She and Jenny both drew back their weapons. The noises upstairs seemed to get louder. They started moving toward the stairs again.

Jenny looked up. "I think the party's moved upstairs."

"That makes sense. It's the mask in Joyce's bedroom they're after."

"Mask?" Cordelia asked Giles.

"The mask holds the power of a...zombie demon called Ovu Mobani - Evil Eye. I don't think we can get past them."

They crouched by the stairs and tried to look upstairs.

"Well, what happens if they get the mask?" Jenny asked him.

"If one of them puts it on, they become the demon incarnate."

Cordelia sighed. "Worse than a zombie."

"Yes, worse."

In Joyce's bedroom, the zombie at the door overpowered Buffy and the others, pushing the door in violently. Joyce and Katrina fell to the floor. The zombie came in and backhand-punched Buffy, sending her into the wall. Katrina tried to grab the zombie from behind, but it threw a backhand punch and hit her in the jaw. Katrina went flying in a high arc onto the bed and rolled off the far side onto the floor. Joyce saw Pat stand up and looked at her, amazed.

Joyce got up from the floor and went over to Pat. "Oh, God! We thought you were..."

She tried to hug Pat, but Pat grabbed her outstretched arms and pushed her hard onto the bed. Joyce rolled off next to Katrina. Pat bent down to pick up the mask and held it to her face as she stood back up. The eyes suddenly glowed a very bright red, and the mask integrated itself into Pat's face. The zombie immediately stopped fighting Tara and fell to his knees, screaming and cowering before Ovu Mobani incarnate. Tara looked at Mobani, transfixed by its stare.

"I live, you die."

Buffy tried to get between them. Ovu Mobani turned to her, and its eyes flashed, mesmerizing Buffy. It backhand-punched her and sent her flying in a high arc against the closet door. Buffy was only slightly dazed and quickly raised herself up on her hands. She saw Tara back away from Mobani fearfully.

"Tara, don't look!" Buffy told her.

Mobani's eyes flashed again at Tara, and she froze. The demon strode over to her and grabbed her by the jaw and the back of her head. Buffy lunged at Mobani, grabbed it, and dove out of the bedroom window.

The two of them fell onto the roof and rolled down and off. They hit the railing of the back porch and broke it, fell over some bushes, and rolled into the backyard.

Giles, Jenny, and Cordelia were on the stairs. They heard the crash through the window.

"Out back!" Giles told them.

They rushed back down the stairs, but a zombie arrived from the dining room and took Giles by the neck.

Outside, Buffy and Ovu Mobani got to their feet.

Buffy looked away and quickly put some distance between herself and the demon, shading her eyes as she went. "Not looking."

She could hear Mobani make tracks after her.

"Not looking!" Buffy insisted.

With Ovu Mobani no longer in Joyce's bedroom, the zombie had quit its cowering and begun attacking the mortals. Katrina and Tara each had the zombie by an arm, and Joyce swung a baseball bat hard into his back. The zombie screamed and flailed its arms, shaking Katrina and Tara loose. He turned to face Joyce, who kept swinging the bat. The zombie blocked the blows with its arm, but Joyce didn't stop.

Outside, Mobani tackled Buffy to the ground and turned her over. Buffy immediately covered her eyes with her arm, and the demon's eye flashes had no effect on her. Buffy snap-kicked Mobani off her, and the demon flew across the yard and landed hard on its back.

On the stairs, Jenny and Giles tried to use a ski pole to hold the zombie at bay, but it wasn't working very well.

"Tell Buffy Mobani's power lies in his eyes!" Giles told Jenny.

Jenny kicked the zombie twice in the shoulder, trying to force him back, so she could get down the stairs. The zombie wasn't fazed, so Jenny just hopped over the stair railing instead.

"She has to go for the eyes to defeat him!" Giles added.

Outside, Buffy got to her hands and knees and scrambled over to the shovel. Behind her, Mobani was coming for her again. Buffy turned around with the shovel raised, but the demon flashed its eyes at her again, this time making her freeze.

Behind them, Jenny ran out of the kitchen door. "Buffy!"

This distracted Ovu Mobani and brought Buffy out of her trance. Mobani flashed its eyes at Jenny, making her freeze on the porch.

Buffy stood back up and raised the shovel. "Hey, Pat!"

Ovu Mobani snapped its head around to look at Buffy again, who jammed the shovel into the demon's eyes, embedding it in its head. Mobani grabbed the shovel handle and tried to pull it out but couldn't.

Buffy smiled. "Made you look."

In a flash of brilliant white light, Ovu Mobani disappeared.

In Joyce's bedroom, she was still beating on the zombie. In a flash of light, he disappeared. Joyce's next swing went wild, and she stopped.

On the stairs, Cordelia was helping Giles hold the zombie at bay with the ski poles when he disappeared in a flash of light, making her fall forward. She reacted quickly and steadied herself against the wall.

Outside, Buffy just stared where Mobani was.

On the porch, Jenny shrugged. "Never mind."

Inside, Cordelia and Giles walked down the stairs. Behind them, Joyce ran down and into the living room, looking for Buffy. She saw her and Jenny walk in through the kitchen.

"Honey!" Joyce embraced her daughter tightly.

Buffy hugged her mom back.

"Oh!" Joyce exclaimed.

They released their embrace. Tara and Katrina walked downstairs.

"Are you all right?" Joyce asked Buffy.

"Yeah."

Joyce panted. "So...is this a typical day at the office?"

"No. This was nothing."

Buffy and Tara held hands, and then Buffy kissed Tara on the lips. Jenny and Giles hugged each other, and Jenny passionately kissed Giles on the lips. Joyce looked around at the mess in the house.

Suddenly, Amy and Harmony ran in through the kitchen. Amy was holding a can of hairspray, and Harmony was holding a lighter.

"All right, where are they?!" Amy demanded.

"I'm gonna barbecue every motherfucking last one of them!" Harmony declared.

Cordelia smiled smugly. "We took care of them, geniuses."

Harmony frowned, disappointed. "Oh. Really?"

"All of them?" Amy asked.

Katrina smiled. "Yeah, babe. We appreciate your enthusiasm, though." She smiled. "You're hot when you're pissed."

"How were you two gonna kill the zombies?" Jenny asked.

Amy raised the can of hairspray. "With our keen fashion sense!"

Harmony raised the lighter. "And my convenient love of pot!"

Katrina smiled and went to hug her girlfriend. Amy kissed Katrina on the lips. They held each other close for a long time.

Buffy sighed. "Well, I guess I better call the police and inform them of what happened." She walked over to the phone, picked up the handset, and pressed the Phone button. She listened. "There's no dial tone."

Joyce looked at her. "Oh, I turned on the handset in the kitchen to block the line and give us a peaceful evening. Go and turn it off."

Tara's pager started beeping.

Tara looked at it and then headed for the kitchen. "I'll get it. I need to see what my family wants." She looked at Buffy. "That okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, sure, the police can wait."

Tara walked through the dining room and into the kitchen. She picked up the handset, turned it off, and turned it back on. She called home.

"Tara?!" her father asked.

"Yeah, Dad. What's up?" Tara asked him.

"Get to the hospital! It's your mom!"

Tara was suddenly very scared. "What happened?!"

"What do you think?! Just hurry up, child!"

"On my way!" Tara turned off the handset and set it on the charger. She went back to the living room. "Something's happened to my mom! I gotta get to the hospital!"

"What happened?!" Buffy asked her.

"I don't know!" Tara replied. "Dad told me to get there!"

Buffy followed her. "I'll drive you." She looked at her mother. "Mom, would you please handle things here?"

Joyce nodded. "Of course."

Tara walked to the front door without thinking and tripped over the fallen furniture. "Fuck!"

Buffy quickly cleared it for her and opened the door for her. Tara walked outside, and Buffy followed.

So did the rest of them.

Tara walked up to the nurse's station in the emergency room's waiting room at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital.

"Excuse me. My name is Tara Maclay. My mother, Aine, was admitted here."

The nurse checked. "Um, she's in surgery right now. If you'll have a seat, Miss."

"If I'll have a seat, what?" Tara asked her. "Is someone gonna tell me anything?"

"When there's something to tell. Please have a seat."

"Are any of my relatives here yet?" Tara asked her.

"I don't know, ma'am. No one else has asked about your mother."

Buffy put a hand on Tara's shoulder. "C'mon, Tara, let's sit."

The two girls went over to the chairs. Tara sat down.

"Do you want something to drink?" Buffy asked her.

Tara shrugged helplessly.

"Okay." Buffy walked over to the vending machine.

Tara lowered her head and nervously rubbed her knees.

Buffy came back with two cans of regular Pepsi. She offered one to Tara.

Tara took the can. "Thanks."

Buffy sat to Tara's right.

They held hands and waited.

The others eventually all arrived. Joyce arrived last. Everyone sat and waited. There was still no sign of Tara's family.

Eventually, Steve Maclay, Tara's father, walked into the waiting room. He was followed by Donald Maclay, Tara's brother, and Beth Maclay, Tara's maternal first cousin.

Tara looked at them, not particularly happy to see them. "She's in surgery. No word yet."

"I know that, dummy!" Steve snapped at his daughter.

Tara's friends stared at him in shock.

"What is this, a whole hootenanny?" Donald asked.

Tara looked at him. "They're my friends, Donny. Do you know what it's like to have friends?"

"Say that again, and I'll beat you down!" Donny threatened her.

"Shut up, asshole!" Cordelia yelled in anger.

Before anyone could say anything else, the doctor arrived and walked over to them. "Maclay family?"

Steve walked over to him. "That's me. And my son, Donny. How is she?"

Tara stood up and walked over to the doctor. "How's my mom?!"

Steve gave her a sharp look. "He was just getting to that. Let the man talk."

Tara recoiled. "Yes - Yes, sir."

The doctor looked at her. "Are you Aine's daughter?"

Tara nodded. "Yes. T-Tara."

"I'm Dr. Aaron Kriegel. I operated on your mother. She suffered hemorrhaging caused by a ruptured artery in her brain. She's out of surgery, but, quite honestly, it did not go well. There was too much bleeding." He paused for a moment. "It would be best if you said your goodbyes now."

Tara started crying in shock.

"I'm so sorry. I'll take you to her. Follow me, please."

Tara looked at Buffy in despair. Buffy mouthed "Go" to her. Tara and her family followed Dr. Kriegel out of the waiting room.

"Can you believe those guys?!" Joyce asked in anger.

"What assholes!" Amy exclaimed.

"Who's that girl that was with them?" Harmony asked.

Buffy looked at her. "That was Tara's cousin, Beth. I've met her a few times, but I really don't know much about her."

Katrina sighed. "That family seems very fucked up."

Buffy nodded. "They are. It's a broken home. Tara tries to not have me over when the men are home."

"And did you notice Beth never spoke?" Katrina asked. "It's like she has no agency in the presence of men."

Jenny nodded. "I noticed that."

"So what do we do now?" Joyce asked.

Giles shrugged. "Nothing we can do but wait for the inevitable, I suppose."

That came sooner than anyone could have guessed. Tara burst into the waiting room in tears. Buffy immediately stood up, ran over to her, and hugged her.

"She was dead by the time that we got to the room!" Tara wailed. "I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

Buffy hugged Tara tightly. "I'm so sorry."

Tara sobbed into Buffy's shoulder.

Everyone else waited their turn, and then they each offered Tara a hug and condolence.

Tara's family had stayed with Dr. Kriegel to discuss things, not that Tara or any of the others missed them.

Finally, they came back into the waiting room.

"Stupid kike doesn't know what he's talking about!" Steve yelled in anger.

Joyce, Giles, Jenny, and Katrina stared at him in shock. Most of the teenagers were confused.

"What's a kike?" Cordelia asked quietly.

Katrina looked at her. "It's an ethnic slur for Jews. My dad told me that his dad and granddad used to be call that."

Amy was surprised. "I didn't know you were Jewish."

Katrina shook her head. "Oh, I'm not. My grandpa converted to Catholicism after the war, after a nun had lied about her identity and was taken to the gas chamber in place of his sister."

"And your great-grandpa?" Amy asked her.

Katrina shook her head. "He died in the death march west from Auschwitz as the Red Army approached."

Amy gulped.

"But enough about me and my family." Katrina focused her attention on Tara.

Steve looked at his daughter. "Get in the RV. We're taking you home."

Buffy got between them and stared at him. "You're not taking her anywhere."

"Oh, yes, I am. She's my daughter."

Buffy crossed her arms. "Funny how you forgot to mention that earlier."

"Why you little-"

"Pillock!" Giles exclaimed in anger. "You're abusing this poor girl!"

Donny pointed at him angrily. "Shut up! You ain't even an American citizen!"

"And that makes you special?!" Tara asked him, crying. "Everyone's from somewhere!"

"Don't talk to your brother that way!" Steve told her.

Buffy looked at her mother. "Mom."

Joyce looked at her.

"Please."

Buffy didn't have to say anything else. Joyce immediately knew. She could see it in Buffy's eyes.

Joyce stood up and walked over to Tara. "Tara?"

Tara looked at her.

"Would you like to live with us?" Joyce offered.

Tara nodded, unable to say anything.

Joyce put an arm around Tara's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go home." She looked at Buffy. "Buffy will pack up your things and bring them."

Buffy nodded.

Joyce and Tara started walking away.

"Fine! Go with them, you demon!" Steve yelled. "See if we care! But you'll come back to us!"

Cordelia stood up, walked over to Steve, and punched him in the face. He stared at her, enraged.

Cordelia shrugged. "Have your lawyer call my dad's lawyer."

Buffy took Tara's belongings and loaded them into her van, not bothering to pack them in boxes. She was assisted by Beth and, surprisingly, Steve and Donald, who seemed eager to erase all traces of Tara from the house.

As Buffy was loading the last few items into her van, Beth approached her.

"Buffy?" Beth asked.

Buffy looked at her. "Yeah?"

"My aunt had gotten something for Tara and was going to give it to her on her birthday next month." Beth held up a tartan. "It's the tartan of the Clan MacLea."

Buffy took it. "It's beautiful."

"Beth! Let the interloper go and get in the house!" Steve called.

Beth felt scared and awkward.

Buffy nodded. "Good night. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Buffy got in her van and quickly put distance between herself and that house.

Buffy helped Tara move into her room, although Buffy did most of the work. Tara mostly sat on their bed, clutching the tartan to her chest and crying.

The two of them showered and then settled into bed for the night.

Tara was still sniffling. "Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you and your mom gonna be all right?"

"I don't know."

"Well, p-please try to w-work it out. At least, you still have a mom."

Buffy thought about that. "I'll try."

"Good."

Buffy kissed Tara on the lips. "Try to get some sleep, sweetie."

"Thank you, Buffy, for everything."

Buffy lovingly stroked Tara's hair. "Welcome home, Tara."

The next day, Giles went to Principal Snyder's office and knocked on his door. He opened the door and walked in.

Snyder was getting some files from his cabinet. He glanced over to see who it was and went to his desk. "Do we have an appointment?"

"I'd like to have a word with you."

Snyder dropped the files on his desk and turned to face Giles. "If that word is 'Buffy', then I have two words for you: 'good' and 'riddance'. Now, if you don't mind, I have an appointment with the mayor."

"You can't keep her out of this school."

Snyder pulled on his jacket. "I think you'll find I can."

"You had no grounds for expelling her."

"I have grounds, I have precedent, and a tingly kind of feeling."

"Buffy Summers is a minor and is entitled to a public education. Your personal dislike of the girl does not legally entitle you to-"

"Why don't you take it up with the city council?" Snyder grabbed the files and his briefcase and headed for the door.

"I thought I'd start with the Supreme Court of California."

Snyder stopped and faced him.

"You're powerful in local circles, but I believe I can make life very difficult for you, professionally speaking. And Buffy will be allowed back in."

"Sorry. I'm not convinced." Snyder tried to go again.

Giles moved to stop him, but he was interrupted by a knock on the open door. He looked. Jenny was standing there, holding some forms.

"Jenny? What are you doing here?" Giles asked her.

"Dropping off some paperwork...but also apparently stopping you from doing something stupid." Jenny walked into the office and gave Snyder a smile. "I couldn't help overhearing. Did I understand you correctly? Were you denying Buffy Summers readmittance to this school, despite the fact that she saved our asses during Parent-Teacher Night last year?"

Snyder frowned and hesitated. "You're exaggerating her contribution."

"Bullshit. She saved a lot of lives that night, and she continues to save lives. It seems to me that this school is better off with Buffy than without her. Don't you agree?" Jenny asked him.

Snyder was silent for a long moment. "I'll consider it."

Jenny smiled. "Great." She tossed the forms onto his desk. "Enjoy your good-old-boys power lunch."

Jenny turned and left the office, and Giles quickly followed.

"Thank you for the assistance, Jenny, but I had the situation handled."

Jenny laughed. "You would have gotten your ass fired, Rupert."

"I seriously doubt it."

"Oh, please. In what universe does a physical confrontation with your boss not get you fired?" Jenny asked him.

After school let out, Buffy met with Cordelia at a local coffee shop called Espresso Pump on Maple Court. Cordelia got an espresso, and Buffy got an unsweetened green tea.

"How's Tara doing?" Cordelia asked her.

"She's...dealing. She's settling in. The other girls are collecting her assignments from her teachers and bringing them to her. But I wanted to see how you were doing. We didn't really get to reconnect last night, what with everything that happened."

Cordelia took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I'm managing. The others have been here for me, if I...need someone."

Buffy nodded.

"Do you think...?" Cordelia paused. "Do you think whatever...powers are in charge of the afterlife separated Angel's soul from his body, so he wouldn't suffer in Hell?"

Buffy thought about it. "I...don't know." She offered Cordelia a faint smile. "I hope so."

Cordelia nodded, having to be content with that. The two girls sat in awkward silence for a while.

"I don't suppose you could insult me, huh?" Buffy asked her. "Cheer me up?"

Cordelia thought about it for a moment. "Runaway."

Buffy smiled. "Moper."

Cordelia smiled and giggled. "Quitter."

"Whiner."

"Bailer."

"Harpy."

"Delinquent."

"Tramp."

"Bad seed."

"Floozie."

"Freak."

Buffy grinned. "Bitch."

Cordelia grinned. "Cunt."

Buffy was on the verge of laughing. "Cocksucker."

Cordelia took mock offense. "Carpetmuncher."

Buffy flipped Cordelia off. "Dickfucker."

Cordelia flipped Buffy off. "Asslicker."

Buffy couldn't think of another insult and burst out laughing. Cordelia did as well.

After a while, Buffy got her laughter under control. "Thanks. I really needed that."

Cordelia got her laughter under control as well. "Me, too."

The bus stopped at the bus stop near the Bronze. Faith picked up her bag, stood up, and got off the bus. She took in her surroundings as the bus pulled away.

"Welcome home, Faith."