"Giles, Mrs. Summers, how was your trip?"  Willow asked as she ushered the
couple into the room that the red head was sharing with Angel.  "Sorry we
couldn't meet you at the airport, but Angel and Faith decided to go out and
patrol.  They wanted to make sure that there weren't anymore vampires
hanging around now that Spike and Drusilla are gone.  Pacey took Cordelia
over to meet his friends.  And Xander and I didn't exactly have a way of
getting there."
"That's okay," Giles promised the young girl.  "It was actually a pleasant
little journey to Capeside.  The scenery is quite outstanding this time of
year."
"Yeah, it is pretty cool out there," Willow answered.  "Although I don't
think I can deal with the cold weather all the time.  Definitely different
than Sunnydale."
"SO, is everyone enjoying their vacation so far," Joyce questioned.  "I
mean, other than for what happened at the dance with Spike and Drusilla."
Willow looked away from the two people that had become like parents to her
and the others.  Giles and Joyce both noticed how tense the red head was and
wondered if something else had happened to upset her.  "Willow?  Is
something wrong?"
"Wrong?"  Willow repeated.  "What makes you think that's something's wrong.
  What could be wrong?  We vanquished the evil Spike and Drusilla, saving
Capeside's finest students from becoming living blood donors and completely
upsetting Pacey's friends, who now won't talk to him.  We find out that the
Watcher's Council is still trying to kill Faith, even after all this time.
What could possibly be wrong?"  Giles and Joyce looked at each other,
instantly knowing that there was something up with the young girl.  While it
was quite common for her to babble, she only went on like this when she was
completely nervous about something.  Joyce put her arm around the nervous
girl.
"Willow, honey, tell us what's got you so worked up.  We'll try to help if
we can."
"I can't tell you," Willow blurted.  "I promised that I wouldn't say
anything."
"Say anything about what?"  Giles gently questioned.  "Who did you
promise?"  Willow was saved from answering by Angel and Faith, who chose
that moment to arrive.  She went over to Angel and placed a light kiss on
his lips.
"Hey there," she greeted him, her voice barely above a whisper.  "Any
problems?"  Angel looked between Willow and the two new arrivals to town,
instantly able to see why his girlfriend was so tense.  He knew how
conflicted she was over her promise to not tell Giles and Joyce that Buffy
was alive.  Angel, though, had no problem with that.  He felt that the two
adults had every right to knowing that the blonde Slayer was in town and
apparently living the perfect all American dream life.
"No problems," he answered.  "Looks like word got out already and any
minions that might have been left have taken off for parts unknown."
"Yeah, having two Slayers in town has to be bad for business," Faith
stated, not caring about any promise to Buffy to keep her presence a secret.
"Two Slayers?"  Giles questioned.
"Faith," Willow hissed, although there was no real menace in her voice.
She knew why Faith let it slip the way she did and she was grateful to the
brunette girl that had made a place in her heart.
"Look, Red, I know you promised B that you wouldn't say anything, but the
way I figure it G and Mrs. S deserve to know the truth," Faith explained,
turning from Willow to the two people in question.  "Seems that we found the
long lost prodigal Slayer and she's living happily here in Capeside."
Willow, Angel and Faith watched, as Joyce grew pale as she realized what
Faith was saying.  Giles took her hand in his and she squeezed it,
painfully.
"Buffy?"  She quietly asked, the hope that her daughter was alive and well
apparent in her voice, as was the fear that it was all just another dream.
"Yes, Mrs. Summers, Buffy's here," Willow confirmed.  "Pacey met her the
other day when he ran into some friends of his.  We saw her at the dance
when Spike and Dru showed up.  Apparently she's been in Capeside almost the
entire time she's been gone.  I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about, dear girl," Giles tried to reassure
the red head.  "Whatever are you apologizing for?"
"I should have told you about Buffy being here as soon as I found out,"
Willow explained.  "It was just such a surprise and then she asked me not to
and I told her I wouldn't.  I was wrong."  Joyce stood and took Willow into
her arms.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Joyce told her, silent tears coursing
down her face as she thought of finally knowing her daughter was alive and
well.  "You were only doing what a friend asked you to do.  I understand
that."
"But I should have told you," Willow tried to protest.  "It wasn't right of
me not to."
"No," Giles flatly stated, coming up and standing by Joyce.  "It wasn't
right of Buffy to put you in that position in the first place.  She placed
you in the middle, with no thought of how that would make you feel or how
not knowing that she was here would make her mother feel.  If anyone should
apologize it should be Buffy."
"Why do I so not see that happening anytime in the near future," Faith
muttered.  Joyce and Giles looked over at the brunette Slayer.
"What do you mean, Faith?"
"Look G, I know all about the things that went down in good ole Sunnyhell
before B took off," Faith pointed out.  "You all made sure to tell me, but
I'm telling you, that girl that I met is no Slayer.  In fact, she's more
like Cordelia was when I first met her.  She didn't even put up a fight when
the vampires attacked the dance.  She did nothing while Xander was knocked
to the ground, instead choosing to stand back and watch everything happen.
That doesn't sound like the Buffy that you told me about."  Giles nodded his
head in agreement/
"You are quite correct in that," he agreed.  "Something must have happened
to make her that way."  Giles worked at keeping the hurt and anger he was
feeling out of his voice, not wanting to upset Joyce anymore than she
already was.
"Yeah, something happened," Faith retorted bitterly.  "Little Miss Thing
decided that she could just go off and forget her duty.  Who gives a damn
about what might happen as long as she gets to have a normal life?  She
obviously didn't care who she hurt when she left."  Joyce let out a cry as
she thought of her daughter just leaving without a care in the world.
"Did she say anything about whether or not she was ever going to come
back?"  The distraught mother needed to know.
"I'm sorry, Joyce, she didn't," Angel told her.  "In fact, she didn't even
want us to tell you that she was here.  I don't think she has any plans on
returning to Sunnydale."  This time Joyce didn't even bother trying to
smother her tears and all the others in the room could do was watch and
curse the selfishness of a certain blonde.

"Dawson, I was wondering if I could come in," Buffy said as she stood
outside the home that her boyfriend lived in.  "I think we need to talk."
"Yeah, you could say that," Dawson agreed, opening the door to admit his
girlfriend.  He led her upstairs to his room where she saw Joey, Jenn and
Jack sitting around the floor.  The three teens looked at the blonde, as if
seeing her for the first time which, in a way, they were.
"Okay," Buffy began, not sure what say now that she was facing her new
friends.  She had never thought that she would have to deal with her past as
a Slayer again but here it was, coming back to haunt her when all she had
ever wanted was a normal life.  A life without vampires and demons.  "How
about you guys asking me what it is you most want to know and then we'll go
from there."
"Well, how about we start with an easy one then," Dawson said finally, his
voice tense.  "What is your real name?"
"My real name is Buffy Anne Summers," Buffy answered.  "I came here from
Sunnydale, where apparently your friend Pacey is now living.  And, before
you ask, he was telling the truth the other day.  They were vampires that
have shown up at the dance.  And, yes, like Faith, I am a vampire slayer.
Or was, as the case may be."
"Why did you lie to us," Joey demanded.  "Why not tell us the truth?"
"And you would have believed me?"  Buffy threw back at her then taking a
deep breath trying to regain her control.  She didn't want to hurt her new
friends but knew that the truth had to finally come out.  She sighed as she
realized that the normal life that she had wanted, and had for awhile, was
gone once again.  "The truth is, I didn't want you to know.  I wanted to
forget everything that I had to go through before I came here.  Wanted to
forget about Slayers and vampires and demons and prophecies.  I wanted to
forget that the things that go bump in the night are real.  I wanted to be
normal."
"And Angel," Dawson questioned.  "What do you want with him?"
"Angel was my first real love," Buffy informed them all.  "And that was
even after I knew he was a vampire."
"Wait a minute," Jenn interrupted.  "Your boyfriend was a vampire.  That
makes no sense."
"He's different," Buffy explained.  "Angel was cursed with his soul.  He
helped me when I needed it."
"What happened?"
"Things went bad.  We found out there was a clause to the curse that gave
Angel his soul and he lost it.  He came after us and I had to send him to
hell in order to save the world.  Then I left Sunnydale.  I couldn't look at
any of my friends in the eye again, knowing that I had been responsible for
so much pain because I couldn't bring myself to kill Angel before then.
Then I came here and you know the rest.  I never wanted any of you to know
about my past.  I thought I could let it go."
"But now you're former friends know you're here," Dawson said, going over
to Buffy and putting his arms around her shoulder.
"And Angel is back from wherever you had sent him," Joey added.  "What are
you going to do?"
"I don't know," the blonde answered honestly.  "I never thought about the
possibility that they would come here.  I mean, what are the odds that the
Pacey that you've all told me about would end up in Sunnydale with my former
friends."
"Considering Pacey, pretty good," Jack laughed.  "Look, Anne, Buffy,
whatever, whatever you decide, I want you to know, that I'm still your
friend."
"Yeah," the others agreed.  Buffy smiled at them.
"Thanks guys.  You have no idea of what this means to me."  'Now if only I
can convince the others to keep my presence a secret.  Not to mention,
finding out how Willow and Angel got together and separating them.  Angel is
still mine, whether he knows it or not.'
 

next