"My Way - Chapter Forty-Four"

Author: Sydnie
Email: sydniep@hotmail.com

Dawn sat in the waiting room of the mental facility that was now home to her grandmother. Hank was with her. He'd insisted on going with her because he knew first hand the mind games that Virginia Summers was capible of using to make it look like she was the victim.

"You okay?" He asked his youngest daughter.

She nodded. "I'm just a little anxious to get this over with. I'm helping Buffy shop for stuff for the baby's room. If I'm lucky, I might convince her that she owes me presents for thirteen missed birthdays." She smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"You and Buffy really are sisters. If there's a present involved, all is good." Hank laughed.

Dawn put her head on her father's shoulder. "Is it true that you weren't around for Buffy much?"

He nodded. "Regretfully, yes. See, in one respect you're lucky that Mother ignored you from thousdands of miles away. I wasn't so lucky. I was told on a daily basis that I wasn't good enough, that I was weak, that I would amount to nothing. She never showed any affection towards me. Naturally when I met your mother and she was completely opposite of her, I fell for her immediately. Four months later, we were pregnant with Buffy. I was beyond excited. We eloped and eight months later she was born. Things were good then. My mother interfered occasionally, but we were happy. Five years later, you were born. You looked exactly like Buffy did when she was a baby. You were such a happy baby too. Our lives were perfect. Then one day, you were gone. I blamed Joyce. She was the last one to go to bed the night before and I just figured that she hadn't turned on the alarm. Mother blamed me." He shook his head. "I threw myself into my work. Buffy and your mother became second in my life. As the years wore on, bitterness set in, Buffy started getting into trouble and your mom and I got divorced."

Dawn was about to say something when a doctor asked them to follow her.

She led them into an office where her grandmother was sitting on a plush brown leather couch.

Virginia jumped to her feet. "My Ginny." She attempted to hug the girl.

"No. Don't touch me."

"This is your doing I suppose." Virginia snapped at her son.

"No Mother, this one's all on you."

Dawn sat down and glared at the woman who had kidnapped her. "I'm going to ask you one question and I want an honest answer. Why did you take me from a happy home to only isolate me?"

The older woman took a deep breath. "After meeting Buffy, do you really have to ask? There was no discipline in that household. I could see that Buffy was going to be a problem child when she was a toddler. But you, I could control you and your environment."

"By throwing me away?! You didn't discipline me, you ignored me!" She yelled.

"You will not speak to me that way, Ginny Winters!"

"My name is not Ginny Winters! My name is Dawn Summers. My parents are Hank and Joyce Summers and if it wasn't for you, they'd probably still be married. My sister is NOT a problem child. She is a wonderful, caring, loving woman who adores her husband and daughter. You are a selfish, horrible witch. You told me that my parents were dead! For thirteen years you lied to me! I hate you! I never want to see you again." She stood and ran out of the office.

Virginia was seething. "She's been with you for two weeks and you've already screwed up. Well, when she's pregnant within a year, don't come running to me!"

Hank shook his head. "No Mother. You can count on that. I won't come running to you. In fact, you won't have to worry about seeing me ever again." Tears filled his eyes and his voice became shaky. "You stole my child from me. Joyce and I were frantic. Our daughter was gone and you were blaming us. You are a selfish, overbearing, bitter woman. Have a nice life." He too left the room.

"I love shopping!" Dawn smiled at her sister. "Especially since Dad gave me a credit card."

Buffy laughed. "How not fair is it that you get the cool Hank Summers." She hugged her. "I'm so glad your here."

"Why didn't Angel come too? Meghan's with Rosie and Ryan what's he up to today?"

"Business. After Daddy brought you back to his house, he took Angel to look at some big old hotel that he's been after him for a year to buy. I don't know what we're going to to with a 50 year old run down hotel, but hey, he invests, I spend." She found the baby store she was looking for. "Come on. This is where we got all of Megg's stuff."

Dawn followed her into the store. "Aw. Look at all the little baby stuff. I'm gonna go look at the stuffed animals."

"Okay. I'll be looking at furniture."

The girls separated.

"Buffy?"

She turned to see who was calling her name (especially since that were in Los Angeles.) "Jenny!" She saw her very pregnant one time friend. "Oh, my God! Look at you!"

"You too. When are you due?"

Buffy beamed. "June 15th. You?"

"About a week later. Are you still married to that hunky, rich guy?"

She nodded. "What about you? Did you and Tyler..."

Jenny bit her bottom lip and her eyes misted with tears. "He left me two weeks after I found out I was pregnant."

"Jen, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." She cleared her throat. "So, what can I help you with today?"

"You work here?"

She nodded. "My parents abandoned too. Working here pays some of the bills plus I'm getting a discount on some returned furniture."

"I know from personal experience that even the cheapest apartment in LA isn't that cheap. Where are you living."

"Here and there. I'm trying to save up enough for first and last months rent, but it's taking longer than I thought."

Buffy was formulating a plan to help her friend. "How married to the idea are you to living here?"

"What do you mean?" She noticed her boss eyeing her. "I'd better start showing you furniture before I get fired."

Nodding, Buffy looked at a price tag on a crib. "It's so expensive to live here. Sunnydale is a lot cheaper. Look, my house has an apartment with a separate entrance that we don't use. You can stay there while your pregnant and when the baby's born, we can figure a way to get you back on your feet."

She was shaking her head. "Buffy, no, I ... I can't. You have your family and a new baby on the way ... It wouldn't be right."

"Jenny, we've known each other since we were babies. Before Tyler came into our lives, we were like sister. He's gone. Let me back in your life."

She nodded. "Okay." She smiled. "This job kinda sucked anyway. I'm not a very good sales person."

Dawn came bounding up to her carrying several stuffed animals. "Buffy look what I found for Meghan." She realized she'd interrupted something. "I'm sorry."

"Dawn, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, Jenny."

"It's nice to meet you." Dawn stuck her hand out.

Jenny looked at Buffy. "This is ... Dawn? How ... when ... huh?"

"Very long story short, my grandmother was the one that kidnapped her and had her hidden away in a boarding school in Connecticut from the time she was five. Angel found her."

Dawn nodded confirming the story. "That's pretty much it. I take it you knew me?"

"Yeah. I'm glad your back with your family."

"Me too." Dawn agreed.

"... Angel, for fifteen years she was my best friend. She doesn't have anything or anyone. I just wanna do this for her."

"Are you asking permission?" He inquired of his wife.

"It does sound like that, doesn't it?" She sighed. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable with this."

He kissed her forehead. "I think it sounds like a great idea. In fact, I'll see what I can do about setting her up with a job. Do you know if she has any qualifications?"

Buffy bit her lip. "Well, I know she's not into sales. Even her boss looked relieved when she quit."

He nodded. "I'm sure there's something we own where she can be employed."

She scooted from where she was sitting on her father's living room couch to her husband's lap. "You're the best. You know that, right?"

He shook his head. "No, you're the incredible one. You're heart is so pure. It's part of why I love you so much."

"I'm gonna go get Jenny." She pushed herself off of his lap.

"It's getting a little late."

Buffy giggled. "She's in the kitchen with Dawn. She's been squating in an abandoned house with no electricity and very little water. I couldn't let her stay there another night."

"I love you."

She winked and rubbed her belly. "I know."

The next day, Jenny looked around the apartment. "This place is amazing. I really can't thank you enough Buffy."

"Believe me, Jen, it's nothing. I'm glad I can help. All we have to do now is figure out what you're good at and then we can set you up with a job after the baby's born."

Jenny broke down and started crying. "I don't deserve any of this. I'm such a joke."

Buffy put her arm around her. "You're not a joke. We just have to get your life back on track."

"There's something I need to tell you."

"You know you can tell me anything."

They both sat on the couch.

Jenny swallowed hard. "My parents and Tyler didn't abandon me. I lied. Two days after I found out I was pregnant, we we're headed to Malibu. Mom and Dad were going to finally buy that beach house that they'd been wanting to. On the way back, a bunch of kids were drunk and drag racing and we were hit head on. My parents were killed on impact. Tyler was in a coma. He died two weeks later."

Buffy had her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God. Were you injured?"

She nodded. "The lining of my heart was torn. The doctors repaired it but there it's still severely damaged." Tears fell faster as she continued. "They told me that if I continued the pregnancy that there's a 95% chance that I won't survive the delivery. They said that my only hope was to abort the baby." She looked devestated at her friend. "I could do it. She's all I have left of Tyler." Her gaze became desperate. "I know this is a lot to ask, but if I don't make it, will you take care of her."

Buffy was stunned.

"I know it's a lot to digest and I know that you're about to have another baby, but I don't have any friends. Not anymore. And Tyler's parents hated him and don't want anything to do with the baby."

"I'll talk to Angel and see what we can do. If not us, I promise that I'll find a really good home for your little girl. I'm also going to find you a really good doctor."

Jenny looked at her hands. "I really don't have any money. My father made some really stupid investments and what was left I had to use to pay his debts."

"Don't worry about it. I'm gonna take care of you."

Angel took in everything that his wife was telling him. "That's really tragic. ... I don't know sweetheart, I don't want to say no, absolutely not, but we're about to have a baby ourselves. Can you really see taking care of two infants?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it would be kind of like raising twins. It's not like we have to take her. Jenny knows that we have our own family. She just wants to make sure that the baby goes to a good family and if not us, then someone that we would trust."

He nodded. "Tell you what, I'll call our attorney and we'll set up an appointment to draw up guardianship papers for the baby IF something happens to Jenny. Okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Thank you."