No Matter What
by Kevin
Part two
[reviews]
TITLE: No Matter What
AUTHOR: Kevin
DISCLAIMER: All original characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I own Joy and Anne.
SUMMARY: Buffy didn't return to Sunnydale after running away to LA.
DISTRIBUTION: I Kind of Love You.
Part 2
Buffy gently pulled off the highway and stopped the car. Dawn was just breaking on the horizon. She looked over to the girl beside her. When she didn't stir Buffy gently moved a lock of blonde hair off the girls face smiling as she did so, the girl had been like this for most of the journey except when they stopped to eat or find somewhere to sleep. Opening the door she climbed out and stretched, feeling muscles relax. Four days of driving had brought her here, to the last place she thought she would end up coming back to. Standing 10 yards in front of her stood the weather beaten sign. WELCOME TO SUNNYDALE. This made her chuckle, SUNNYHELL more like. At least it had seemed like that while she'd been there.
Turning slowly she looked all around. It seemed strange that nothing seemed to have changed in the time she had been away though inside she knew there must have been changes. Buffy had had plenty of time to think on the journey home. 'HOME', that thought seemed strange when put in perspective with all the places she had called home over the last 4 years. She'd thought about what her family might be doing, what the gang might be doing. Did any of them even still live here. And one thought she'd didn't dwell on for to long, were they all still alive. With these thoughts and more in her head her plans had been made. First stop was to find somewhere to stay though hopefully this would only be short term. Second was to find out if everybody still lived in the same places.
Getting back in the car she again looked at the sleeping girl beside her. 'Almost there sweetie' she thought. Moving slowly back to the road Buffy started looking for somewhere to stay. It couldn't be somewhere to upmarket as her funds were now getting low and she knew she wouldn't be able to get work here, at least not yet. She was thankful that it was still to early in the morning for most people to be about but relieve still showed on her face when she saw the run-down motel in front of her. 'At least I can afford this for a while' she thought. Pulling into the car park Buffy stopped the car and killed the engine. She heard a murmur beside her, "Are we there yet" said the girl. "Almost, though we have to stay here for a little while so I can have a look round" replied Buffy. This seemed to satisfy the girl who started to drift off again. Leaving her there Buffy went in search of the clerk, and very soon she'd got them a room. Going back to the car Buffy gently lifted the sleeping girl out and carried her to the room and placed her on one of the beds. Back outside Buffy retrieved their cases and locking the car returned to the room. Looking at the time she knew she'd soon have think about breakfast.
Remembering that she'd passed a small diner a little way back Buffy looked at the sleeping girl then crept out of the room locking the door behind her. Going back to the car Buffy quickly drove to the diner and was pleased to find it empty of customers. She waited a few minutes until she saw that she knew neither of the people who worked there. Buffy scanned the menu at the door and decided upon coffee and muffins for herself and orange juice and muffins for the other girl. Ten minutes later she was back at the motel. Seeing no one around she quickly left the car and went back inside. Settling herself in the one chair the room had to offer Buffy started on her breakfast while waiting the girl to wake. This didn't take long. Almost as if she had a built in alarm the girl woke at her normal time. Buffy just sat there with a large smile on her face watching as the girl stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Morning sleepyhead" she said. At this the girl sat up in bed and looked over at her with an almost identical smile on her face. Seeing the bag next to Buffy the girl crawled to the end of the bed and sat up. "Breakfast"? was all she said. Buffy nodded and passed the juice and muffins to the girl. Leaving the girl to eat Buffy looked round the sparse room to see if there was a phone directory there. She had her doubts as there wasn't a phone in the room but in one of the draws of the dresser she found one, recent as well. 'The start of a lucky day' she thought-provoking through her purse she found a pen and using the now empty bag her muffins had been in she started to scan the directory.
Working her way through in alphabetical order she started looking for Giles.
Lucky strike number one, he was listed but with and address she didn't recognize as belonging to Giles but which she knew how to find, quickly writing it down she moved on.
Lucky strike number two, there was no listing for A. Harris but a family named Harris still lived at Xander's old address.
Lucky strike number three, Mrs. J. Summers still lived at 1630 Revello Drive. 'No need to write that down' she thought.
Lucky strike number four surprised her, she hadn't found a listing for Willows parents though there was a W. Rosenburg listed. As she looked at it again her eyes went wider than she ever possible, the address was 1630 Revello Drive.
All coherent thought left for a moment as Buffy tried to work that out, in the end she failed to even understand why Willow would be listed at her old house.
Getting her thoughts back together Buffy realised this was going to work easier than she'd first thought. Looking up at the girl on the bed Buffy said "I'm just going to the front desk to see if they have any writing paper". The girl just nodded and went back to her breakfast. Before she left the room Buffy switched on the TV and flicked around till she found a cartoon channel which raised a quiet laugh from the girl. Not wanting to be away too long Buffy ran to the desk and rang the bell. A different clerk appeared from the back office. This time it was a youngish girl who Buffy had never seen round Sunnydale. After politely making her request the girl disappeared back into the office to return a few seconds later with the remains of a writing pad and some envelopes. Thanking the girl Buffy went back to their room. Upon entering she was greeted by loud laughter as the girl perched on the edge of the bed watched the Coyote miss catching the Road Runner yet again.
Buffy smiled at her getting the same warm smile in return. Sitting back down in the chair Buffy started to write. Nothing to give away who she was but enough to perhaps spark their interest.
Very simply, PLEASE BE AT THE MAGIC BOX BY 10.00AM TODAY. That was it, no signature or any other clue, she just hoped she had managed to disguise her handwriting enough. Writing three of these she placed them in envelopes ready to deliver tonight. With nothing to do now but wait for nightfall Buffy decided more sleep was needed. Climbing onto the bed Buffy said to the girl "Wake me when you want lunch". The girl just nodded and carried on watching the TV. Watching the girl Buffy slowly drifted of to sleep.
Lunchtime had been another, very quick this time, visit to the diner. Buffy had decided they should both go so the girl could have a proper meal, at the same time hoping that because the diner was on the edge of town none of the people she wanted to see would see her before she was ready. Getting back to the motel without being seen Buffy again went back to bed to get much need rest leaving the girl to watch TV. A while before nightfall Buffy woke up, feeling better than she had done in a long time. While getting a change of clothes out of her case Buffy told the girl that she'd be back as soon as possible and not to open the door to anybody, no matter who or what they said they were. "I know better than that" replied the girl. "Good" said Buffy as she headed to the bathroom to change. Coming out of the bathroom Buffy grabbed a jacket and a couple of stakes out of the case and the the letters from the side table. As she opened the door she said "Remember". A firm nod was the reply. Closing the door behind her she stopped to mumble something quietly to herself knowing that the girl was now protected as best she could be here.
Knowing she would sense if any of the Scoobies were out patrolling as most live people tended to stay indoors after dark and only the dead-undead walked the streets at night Buffy quickly made her way round the drops for the letters. Getting back to the motel without running into any Scoobies or trouble she again stopped in front of the door and with a quiet mumble unlocked it and let herself in. She was pleased to find that the TV was off and the girl changed and in bed asleep. 'Which is where I'm going' she thought getting changed while watching the other girl in case she disturbed her. Turning out the light Buffy climbed into bed and thinking of what was to come tomorrow drifted off to sleep.
Waking slowly Buffy's first thought was 'How does that girl get into bed with me without waking me up'. Mind you she'd been doing it for two years now, almost every night so had had plenty of practise. Turning to look at the clock Buffy saw that they'd have plenty of time to get breakfast before the time came to make the visit. Slipping out of bed Buffy got dressed without waking the other girl and made the same run to the diner as she had yesterday morning. Buffy again sat in the chair waiting for the girl to wake which she did at almost exactly the same time as yesterday. Even after all this time she wondered how she managed to do that. With breakfast finished Buffy went to the cases and got out clothes for both of them. Motioning to the bathroom Buffy sent the girl to shower while she rethought what she was going to say. 'That's if I'm allowed to even speak' she thought. While the girl got dressed Buffy showered and got dressed in the bathroom. Returning to the main room Buffy saw that the girl was dressed and sitting quietly watching TV. 'How can she be so good with just me around' Buffy thought while doing her hair. Finishing herself Buffy turned to do the other girls hair.
After just sitting watching TV for an hour Buffy decided it was time to go. Getting up and putting on the same jacket as last night Buffy turned to the girl and just nodded. The girl got up and got a jacket from her case while Buffy turned off the TV and picked up the key to the room. "Nice morning, I thought we'd walk" Buffy said as she opened the door. Letting the other girl out first Buffy made sure the door was locked before turning to leave. The girl reached out and took Buffy's hand in hers as they set off. Thirty minutes later they found themselves across the road from The Magic Box. Looking at the sign on the door Buffy could see it said CLOSED. This made her think. What if they hadn't turned up, what if all the addresses were wrong and none of them had got her message. Then she thought again, silly me, if this belongs to Giles and he's expecting a meeting here then its probably to keep customers out. With that in mind she took the girls hand and walked across the road.
Inside the shop sitting in various chairs around a large table sat Giles, Joyce, Dawn Willow and Xander. Anya, the co-owner of the shop stood behind the counter grumbling about the money she was losing because Giles insisted the shop stay closed until the reason for this mysterious meeting had been cleared up. Giles was still very puzzled. He'd been woken at an unearthly hour this morning by Joyce who had rung to ask what was so urgent he had to put an unsigned note through the door. When Giles had explained to her that first, he didn't deliver the note and secondly, he also had one asking him to be at his own shop Joyce had calmed down a little but said she'd be there with Dawn and Willow. At first Giles had tried to stop her bringing the other two but Joyce was adamant. Five minutes after hanging up on Joyce Xander had rung with exactly the panic. Another round of explanation later Xander also said he'd be there no matter how much Giles tried to put him off. All heads turned to the door as the bell signalled someone entering.
If human beings could live without oxygen then the occupants of the table wouldn't be in any trouble. They all stopped breathing and just gazed at the person who had entered. After what seemed like an eternity to Buffy there was a mad scramble for everyone in the shop to head for her at the same time. 'We're not all gonna fit in this space' she thought as they rushed towards her. As this mob of people descended on here she felt the girl let go of her hand and hide behind her. Buffy could feel the fear radiating from her. Suddenly the dash stopped as Giles held up his hand. He had seen the girl dive behind Buffy looking very very frightened. Not wanting to scare her any more he just stood there and looked at Buffy. "Buffy, is it really you" he asked as quiet as he could, but loud enough so that everybody heard it. Buffy looked round her at the people gathered there. Giles looked as if he wanted to clean his glasses till they broke, her Mom looked as if she'd seen a ghost, Dawn, well Dawn just wanted to be Dawn and leap on her and hug her to death, Xander just stood there scratching his head trying to take in what he was seeing for the first time in four years and Willow, if looks could kill Buffy would be very nearly dead. Looking down at the floor she thought about her first words. 'She was not going to say sorry, they didn't have a clue when it came to what she'd felt that day'. Looking back up she started to speak but while her brain said one thing her mouth said "Hi guys, your looking good". Still nobody moved or spoke as if waiting for her to continue, so she did just that. Putting her hand behind her to the other girl she pulled her along side and said "I like you all to meet Joy Danielle Summers, my daughter".
Footnotes:
1)I should have said it in the description. First fic so please go easy.
2)I mentioned Dawn in the first chapter. Writers privilege to mess with the time line.
3)I mentioned the girls name at the end of chap 1. Looking back that was bad, kinda took the edge off the end of this chap.
4)Because it's now gone off at a tangent from the end of season 2 I'm assuming either the rest of the big bads in 4 years never happened or that another slayer(s) took care of them.
5)For the rest you will have to wait and see.
TBC