Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.


Joyce and Buffy got comfortable in the car, while Merrick folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.

“Mom, do you mind dropping me off at my house?”

“Your house?” Joyce asked in confusion.

“Yeah, I bought a house. Well, a warehouse. Do you want to see it? I’m meeting a contractor there at noon. He’s going to renovate it for me so it’s living space.” It was easy to see that Buffy was excited by the thought of her new home.

“I’d love to see it, Buffy,” Joyce told her, sadness evident in her voice.

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll still visit, and once the renovations are done, there’ll be lots of room for you to stay the night.” Buffy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Joyce gave Buffy a small smile, as she reached up to hold her daughter’s hand, sadness still in her eyes. “Everything will be okay, Mom.”

When they arrived at the warehouse, Joyce stayed in the car, both hands on the wheel, looking out the windshield, mouth slightly open.

“Mom?” Buffy tried to get Joyce’s attention. The Light waved a hand in front of her mother, finally snapping her out of her daze.

“Buffy? It’s a warehouse..,” she got out, so quietly that Buffy almost missed her comment. “I didn’t think you were serious. You can’t live here.”

“It won’t be a warehouse for long, Mom. Remember? I’m meeting someone who’s going to renovate it for me. I’ll have an apartment upstairs, and downstairs I’m going to have rooms for training and research, as well as a large kitchen and space for guests to stay.” Buffy tried to reassure her mother.

Buffy turned to her mother, no laughter in her eyes. “In the future, I’ve lived alone for a very long time, not just a year or two.” The serious tone of her voice had Joyce listening carefully. “I like my privacy, and I want a space that will be mine. Well, mine and my partner, if we’re lucky enough to become complete this time.”

Joyce felt something inside her heart break, when she realized the full extent of the sorrow her daughter carried with her. She leaned forward and wrapped Buffy in her arms, just like she had done a hundred times before when Buffy was a young girl and needed comfort. “I understand, Buffy,” she whispered into her daughter’s ear.

Buffy closed her eyes, accepting the support and love her mother was offering. She tried to be strong, but a single tear still managed to escape and run down her cheek.

After a long moment, Joyce let go of Buffy. The women got out of the car, and walked toward the empty building. As they walked, Joyce put her arm through Buffy’s and looked up at the unwelcoming warehouse. Once inside, she began to see the potential that Buffy had found in the old building. “It’s not too bad, Honey. I think with a little work, you could have a nice home here.”

It meant the world to Buffy that her mom was willing to accept her daughter’s choice and support her, even though it was clear that Joyce had reservations about Buffy’s plans.

“Ah-hem,” Clem cleared his throat, trying to gently catch the attention of the women.

Buffy’s head immediately whipped in his direction, her body moving swiftly into an attack position. “Clem,” she breathed out. “You scared us.” Buffy relaxed her posture, and invited the wrinkly demon further into her future home. “Come in, Clem, and welcome.” She walked toward Clem, her hand outstretched.

Just before he connected with her outstretched hand, Clem suddenly scrabbled back a few steps. “Slayer?” Now that he had recognized Buffy, he was clearly debating the wisdom of accepting the renovation job. “Are you sure you’ve asked the right guy to do your reno? As you can see, I’m a demon.”

Buffy was careful to keep her distance from the skittish contractor. “Yes, I’m sure you’re the right one for the job. As for the Slayer title, I’m retired. As long as you and your crew are human-friendly, you have nothing to fear here.”

“I didn’t know Slayers got to retire,” Clem said, rather intrigued with the petite blonde in front of him.

Buffy smiled softly at Clem. “I think I’m the first one to try.” Not wanting to startle Clem, she stepped to the side, and then gestured to her mother. “Come meet my mom, Joyce Summers.”

Clem looked from Buffy to Joyce, reassured by the presence of the Slayer’s mother. After all, who would bring their mother to an attack? He walked forward and greeted Joyce, who liked him immediately.

Again, Buffy spoke up. “And over here, we have Merrick. You met him yesterday.” She motioned for Merrick to step closer. The two men shook hands.

“If you don’t want the job, I’ll understand. Just tell me now please, so I can find someone else to do the work,” Buffy told Clem. “No hard feelings, but time is of the essence here.”

“No...no, I want the job. Um...what should I call you? Slayer?” Clem asked nervously.

“How about just Buffy?” The Light smiled. “So, should we get started?”

“Sure. Why don’t you show me around, and tell me what you want done?” Clem suggested tentatively.

“Sounds great. Do you want the rooms in any particular order?” Buffy watched Clem pull a pad of paper and a pen out of his backpack.

“Nope. Here is fine. Let’s get started.” His pen began to rough in a diagram of the floor.

“Okay, big picture, I want the exterior fixed up, and I need some kind of garage,” she told Clem. “Enough space for at least two cars.”

At that point, Merrick interjected. “Did they give you the car too? I haven’t heard you mention it.”

“Yeah, they did.” Buffy’s smile was full of victory. “It’s in LA, at the dealer’s still. Once I’ve got somewhere to park it, I’ll call Lorne and make a weekend of picking it up. There will be other things I’ll need that I’m only going to find in the city.”

“About the garage...maybe on the port side of the building? I could make a wall with a door, right about here.” Clem drew a line in the dust on the floor, showing where the wall would be.

“Good idea, Clem. That would work perfectly.” Buffy then went on to tell him the other modifications she wanted done to the building. Clem made notes on his pad, and told Buffy he had several friends that would be able to make the special items she was requesting, like floor to ceiling bookshelves for the research room.

“Now that you’ve retired from slaying, you could always start working in my line of business,” Clem teased her.

“Huh?” was Buffy’s intelligent answer.

Clem laughed and indicated his notepad. “Doing stuff like this. Making a warehouse into a home. A very nice home, judging by the plans we’ve just made. You’ve got a knack for it.”

Buffy blushed. “Oh, well. This warehouse is something I’ve thought about for years. You know, things I would change if I had the chance.” She looked around the cavernous old building. “When I dream of a happy life, this place is part of that dream.” Her eyes grew distant for a moment, but then the sparkle returned, even brighter than before. Buffy still had hope. “So, Clem, how quickly can you get the job done?”

“Well, I guess that depends on how big a crew I can get in here. And that’s going to depend on how much you want to pay.” Clem was busy writing figures down on the back of his pad.

“I’m not really worried about the cost; I just want the work done quickly.” Buffy looked at her mother. “Sorry, Mom, but I need my own space.”

Joyce nodded, but turned away to hide her tearing eyes. She had always known that the day would come when he daughter would move out and have her own home, but it was happening much earlier than Joyce had expected.

“How fast can you get it done, and what will it cost?” Buffy waited patiently while Clem wrote down calculations on each page of notes.

“Well, if you don’t mind workers coming in while you live here, we could probably have the basics done in about a week.” Clem kept calculating.

“Is that with a crew working day and night?”

Clem looked up. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. We’d probably disturb the other people in the neighbourhood.”

“What people?” Buffy asked, smiling.

Clem gazed at Buffy for a minute, before breaking out in a big smile. “Hang on.” He kept on smiling as he calculated some new numbers. “Okay. I’m positive that we’d be ready for you to move in after a week, but you have to understand that it’s going to still be noisy around the clock for a while. Really, the longer you wait to move in, the sooner we’re going to be done.” He looked up at Buffy, and then swallowed and took a step back, as if suddenly remembering who he was talking to. He’d forgotten in his excitement, thinking of the work involved with the renovation.

Recognizing that trust takes time, Buffy sent a reassuring smile to Clem. “Sounds good. When can you start?”

“If you’ll give me the keys, I’ll get started as soon as I can round up a crew and some materials.” He seemed to hesitate, and stood shuffling his feet.

“Is there something else you need?” Buffy asked, as she gave him a set of keys.

“It’s just...well...how do you feel about me hiring demons to do the work?”

“As long as they’re peaceful demons, hire away.” Buffy smiled, seeing the colour return to Clem’s cheeks and his body relax again.

“Thanks, Buffy. You won’t regret it.” Clem almost ran from the building, his phone already attached to his ear.

“I think you’ve found yourself a very dedicated worker,” Joyce commented, looking at her daughter. “You look tired, Buffy.”

“I am, a little,” Buffy admitted. “It’s been a busy few days.”

“You need to rest for a bit. Why don’t you come home with me? You can relax, and I’ll order us something to eat.”

Buffy and Merrick looked at each other. Buffy knew she needed some rest. Her body hadn’t been used in months, and she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Giles.

“Thanks, Mom. That sounds great. Can Merrick come with us?”

“Of course, he’s always welcome.” Joyce looked happier than she had in a long time, as she drove Buffy and her Watcher home to Revello Drive.

When they got to the house, it became clear to Buffy that some things had definitely changed in a good way. Before, when Buffy had lived with Joyce, her mom was working all the time. She was always working late, or leaving town on buying trips, and was determined to do most of the work at the gallery herself, not trusting her employees to take care of things. This time, it would seem that Joyce had chosen to make her daughter her priority, even though Buffy was non-responsive in the hospital.

Once everyone was in the house, Joyce locked the front door. “Buffy, you can take the couch. Just a minute, and I’ll grab a quilt for you.” She quickly ran upstairs, and returned to the edge of the couch, wrapping Buffy in a warm blanket. “What do you want to eat? Pizza, Chinese, or something else?”

“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you want is good, Mom.” Buffy yawned and closed her eyes.

“Okay, Honey. You just rest and I’ll wake you when the food gets here.” Joyce lightly brushed the hair away from Buffy’s face, and then retired to the kitchen to discuss food with Merrick. Both of them felt that Buffy needed some rest after her exciting morning, so they dealt with ordering the food, and then enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate while they waited for it to arrive.

-----------------------------------

Buffy came awake to someone violently shaking her shoulders.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here? What have you done to Joyce?” A voice demanded.

“Hey, cut that out. Stop.” Buffy tried to sit up, and suddenly found herself pulled upright by the hands on her shoulders. She tossed her head up quickly, in an effort to clear the hair from her face. It would be easy for her to throw her attacker off, but she didn’t want to hurt anyone so she just relaxed into the other person’s hold.

The voice that was demanding answers was slightly familiar, but Buffy couldn’t quite place it. Frustrated, Buffy’s attacker started to shake the Light, hoping to get answers from her. Finally feeling that she’d taken enough abuse, Buffy reached up and grasped the young woman’s wrists, firmly pushing the girl away. Using an arm to sweep the hair out of her face, Buffy was at last able to see clearly.

“Kendra!” Buffy smiled fondly at the Slayer. “How are you?”

Not really in the mood to answer questions herself, Kendra frantically repeated, “Who are you? What have you done to Joyce?”

“Calm down, Kendra. Look at the pictures on the mantelpiece.” Buffy wondered where Merrick and her mother had disappeared to.

“Huh?” the dark Slayer asked. She’d noticed that the stranger wasn’t attacking, and was instead just holding her at arm’s length.

“Look at the pictures,” Buffy insisted.

Kendra knew the stranger on the couch was strong, so she only dared a quick glance at the pictures. Not long enough to recognize anything.

“I won’t attack you. I promise,” Buffy assured her.

Kendra dared a longer look. “You...you are in the pictures?”

Buffy nodded.

“What’s going on here?” Suddenly, Joyce was standing in the doorway. Merrick was behind her, arms loaded with bags. “Buffy? Kendra?”

Kendra’s head swung back from Joyce to Buffy, then to the pictures on the mantel, and then back to Buffy. She swallowed as she finally turned to Joyce. “This is your daughter? Buffy?” She swallowed nervously.

Buffy chuckled.

Joyce smiled gently at the Slayer. “Yes, My daughter, Buffy.”

Kendra appeared stunned.

“I’m going to let you go now, okay, Kendra?” Buffy asked softly.

“Oh, sorry.” Kendra blushed, embarrassed now that she had attacked the sleeping girl. “How come you’re not in a coma?”

“It’s a...” Buffy’s stomach chose that moment to interrupt her with a loud growling demand for food. “Sorry, I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast this morning at the hospital.” Buffy blushed and placed a hand on her noisy stomach.

“Then it’s a good thing that we’ve got plenty of food.” Merrick placed his bags on the coffee table, and began to take out small boxes of Chinese food.

“I’ll just go upstairs and freshen up.” Buffy took the quilt with her when she went upstairs to use the bathroom.

“Kendra, will you come help me in the kitchen? You can carry the drinks, and I’ll bring in the plates.” Joyce didn’t wait for Kendra to follow.

Soon, everyone was seated comfortably around the coffee table. Joyce, Merrick and Buffy tried to explain Buffy’s return to Kendra. They didn’t share everything, but made sure she understood Buffy’s situation.

“So, I’m still the Slayer?” Kendra asked.

“The one and only, but if you need help, I’m still strong and willing to lend a hand.” Buffy and Kendra smiled at each other. “When my place is ready, we can even train there together, if you want,” Buffy offered.

“I’d like that,” Kendra said with enthusiasm. She blushed a bit. “I train with Giles, but it’s...” she shrugged her shoulders.

Buffy giggled. “I know. He thinks he can handle it, but he’s so...what’s the word?” The Light and the Slayer had a giggle fit. “Breakable...that’s it.” The pair ended up rolling on the floor, gasping and complaining about stomach aches caused by their laughter.

Joyce was happy to see the two young women in her life getting along so well. Buffy was her daughter, and Kendra had assumed a similar place in her heart.

“That’s enough of this silliness, girls,” Joyce said with a smile, as she started picking up empty food cartons. “Kendra, will you help me clean up please?” Together, it didn’t take them long to clear off the table.

Merrick and Buffy settled down on the couch in silence. Merrick noted, as they waited for the return of the other two women, that Buffy began to look less pleased as time went by.

“Is something wrong, Buffy?” he finally asked.

“I’m not looking forward to dealing with Giles again anytime soon. First I think he understands and is onboard with the plan, and then suddenly he turns on a dime and starts trying to control me again.” Buffy peeked out from under her bangs, and pouted at Merrick. “Would you mind if we just rented a hotel room for the next week, instead of going back to his apartment?”

“Certainly, we can do that if you want. My only concern would be whether we have the funds to pay for a hotel.”

Buffy smiled, relieved to have Merrick’s consent. “Don’t worry about the money. I’ve got enough to cover it.”

“You don’t have to stay at a hotel, Buffy. You and Merrick are both welcome to stay here,” Joyce offered. She’d overheard the last part of their conversation, and jumped at the chance to spend more time with her daughter.

“I don’t know, Mom. It will just be for a few days, and then I’ll be moving into my own place.” Buffy didn’t want to raise her mother’s hopes.

“I understand. It’s just for a week, until your own place is habitable.” Joyce took a seat on the couch beside Buffy. “If you like, we can use the time to shop for things for your place. Some mother-daughter bonding time?” Joyce looked at Buffy with hope in her eyes.

It was then that Buffy knew that there was no way she could say no to her mother. She looked at Merrick, who wasn’t at all put off by the idea, judging by his smile. “Okay, Mom. We’ll stay, but only for a week. I’d love to have you help me shop, especially for kitchen supplies. Maybe Kendra could lend a hand too?”

Joyce nodded happily, and hugged Buffy. “I’ll call the gallery and get George to take over for the next week.”

“Who’s George? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”

“No, you wouldn’t know him. I hired him to help out at the gallery, when I found out you were in the hospital.” Joyce’s smile paled a bit, and she couldn’t help the rush of tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m here now, and everything will be fine.” This time it was Buffy who initiated the hug.

An hour later, Merrick was on his way to Giles’ to pick up their possessions. Buffy had convinced him to go alone, saying that she needed some time alone with her mother. Merrick knew the real reason was because Buffy didn’t want to run into Giles. She was afraid that she’d lose control and start screaming at him, doing more harm than good in the long run. Clearly, she didn’t realize that Merrick was suffering from the same frustration. Luckily, Giles wasn’t at home. Merrick wrote him a note, thanking him for his hospitality, placed his key on top of the note, and let the door lock behind him as he left.

Joyce was preparing dinner when the phone rang. “Hello? Joyce here,” she answered cheerfully.

“Yes, it’s Rupert Giles calling. We’re having a gathering tonight, and I wanted to invite you.”

“A gathering? What for?” Joyce’s voice was noticeably cooler than when she first answered the phone.

“Oh, well, I’ve gathered some new information about the Light,” Giles stammered, surprised that Joyce would ask.

“I see,” was all that Joyce said, noncommittally.

Uncertain whether Joyce would be joining them, Giles forced himself to ask, “Will you be attending tonight?”

“Sorry, Giles. I’ve got company.”

“Of course, I understand,” Giles said with regret. He had been looking forward to seeing Joyce again. “Perhaps another time then, Joyce?”

Not bothering to respond to his question, Joyce simply said, “Goodbye, Giles.” And ended the call before he could reply.