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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the delay. School's had me doing the wacky busy life of late & I had trouble adding new chapters the last time I tried, so without further ado...
Chapter 17 – Normalcy

A couple days later

Buffy woke up to the ringing of her cell phone for the 4th day in a row. This morning she was a little happier when she answered the phone though. “Hi there,” she sing-songed.

“Hi yourself.”

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Making coffee. You?”

“Waking up. Gonna get a shower. And…”

“And?”

“Thinking about that weekend coming up soon.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” She smiled to herself and then said a little more seriously, “Mom’s getting a lot better. Things are almost back to normal around here.”

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.”

“It is good, it’s really nice to see my mom happy again and feeling healthier. I think it’s been really good for her to have us here. She really enjoyed seeing you too.”

“I’m glad because I really enjoyed seeing her as well, love.”

“What are you doing today?”

“Working with the band. You?”

“Working with Will on some school stuff, calling the airline to buy tickets… not much.”

“Hmm…”

“Did we just run out of things to say?” she asked with a pout.

“I think we might have, pet.”

“Phooey,” she pouted.

“You’re pouting aren’t you?”

“Yeah… a little.”

“I love that pouty lip of yours.”

“I know. I miss you.”

“Miss you too kitten.”

“I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

“Ok. Love you.”

“I love you too.”


A little while later

Buffy hung up the phone after talking to the airline representative. She had 2 tickets booked for San Francisco. They’d be going back in 2 days and Buffy was grateful that they could. Her mom was out of the woods and things were getting back to normal even though at one time she would have considered the turn her life had now taken to be anything but normal.

In the last 5 years being with Spike was a dream she had given up ever coming true and now it was. They were getting along and talking about their future. It wasn’t anything far off, but they were making plans which was something else Buffy hadn’t done in a long time. During the last 5 years she had felt that anytime she made plans everything went wrong. She didn’t want that now but Spike had a way of making her feel safe. He put her right and did it in a way that made her feel silly and perfectly normal at the same time.

He had a way of getting to her that drove her crazy and put her at ease in the same moment. It was unbelievable and she felt happier than she’d been in a long time. She felt like her dreams were just beginning and there was no end to them. There was this little nagging fear that the rug would be pulled out at any moment, but she pushed it away, not wanting anything to spoil her happiness. Spike did a good job of pushing it to the back of her mind too. He distracted her in ways that were both good and bad. He made her think of only the good which was of the good, but he made her neglect other things that were important to her which was not of the good. She wasn’t neglecting anything like their son though. No, she was just neglecting any work she should be doing or could be doing for that matter. And she was neglecting a few household chores that she was supposed to be doing while her mom was recuperating, but her mom wasn’t complaining.

Joyce didn’t say a word other than to ask about William. She thought it was absolutely perfect that her daughter was getting her happy ending. Her girls deserved the best and she only hoped that Dawn would go to a good college next year and find someone that made her happy. Dawn was a good girl and Joyce knew she would do well too.

Joyce listened as Buffy traipsed down the stairs humming a tune happily ignorant of anything else around her. She was living in the moment and that was a good thing. Joyce believed that Buffy needed some release. The girl worked too hard and never let herself have any time to herself. Buffy put everything she had into her son and while that was a good thing it was also a bad thing in Joyce’s eyes. She was afraid that Buffy would burn out eventually and she didn’t want that for her daughter. Now things were looking up. Buffy was happier now that her mom was feeling better and she had Spike in her life now too. It looked like things were going just right for the Summers’ family.

Buffy danced through the kitchen and continued humming her tune as she absent mindedly washed the dishes in the sink. When she had finished a few minutes later she went into the living room to see her mother and Will. They were working on some of Will’s home-school work. Buffy smiled at the two of them and mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to her mother before asking aloud, “What else needs to be done right now?”

It took her mother a moment to pry herself away from her grandson but she did. She said, “Hmmm” first as she thought about what needed to be done. Then she replied more directly, “There’s some laundry that could be done. I’m sure Dawn needs some of her things washed.”

“Ok, Mom, but you know she just wants some of her things washed, right? It’s not like she really needs them. The girl has more clothes than I did at her age.” Buffy shook her head in disbelief while her mom did the same but for a slightly different reason.

“At least they get along,” Joyce said to Will after Buffy had disappeared.


Buffy continued humming a tune while she did the laundry. Once the wash was started she went outside to see what the weather was like. It was too warm to go for a run right now, but maybe later when it was cooler she would be able to go. For now she decided to give Willow a call and see if they could go to the Bronze tonight. She wouldn’t be able to go another night before she left to go back to San Francisco.

After she got off the phone with Willow she sat in the back yard with the new copy of Vogue, a sketch book, and her ipod. She began flipping through the pages of Vogue. There were lots of nice new fashion statements in there and she got the inspiration she needed to start sketching some ideas of her own. After about 20 minutes of sketching she went back inside to check the laundry. She took the wash out and threw a few things in the dryer. The rest of the clothes she hung out on the line in the backyard.

It was still early so she decided she would go into town to do some people watching from the Espresso Pump. She told her mom where she was going and agreed to pick Dawn up from school if she was still out and about at 3.


Espresso Pump

Buffy was sitting happily with a newspaper in one hand and her cup of coffee in the other was she was surprised to hear the familiar voice of a man behind her. She turned to see none other than Angel and Cordelia Chase was with him. Unsure of whether she really wanted to visit with them she turned back around and glanced at her paper again. They were both nice and she and Angel had made up for what had happened back in high school. As for Cordelia, well, they’d never gotten along, but Buffy wasn’t exactly happy being alone. She missed Spike and some interaction with old friends would be nice.

She turned around again just in time to catch their line of sight and wave to them with a smile. They joined her with their coffees a moment later.

“Hey Buffy,” Angel said.

“Hi,” Buffy said with a soft smile.

Cordelia was a bit quiet at first as the other two passed their pleasantries.

“What are you guys up to today?” Buffy asked.

“I’m on my lunch break and wanted to spend some time with Cordy. What about you?”

“I was bored at home. Did all the house work. So, I came out here to people watch and wait for Dawn to get out of school.”

“I like people watching too,” Cordy said somewhat quietly.

Buffy looked at her and smiled. “It can be interesting sometimes, and since it’s been so long since I’ve been back… it might be a little more interesting to see how some people have changed.”

“Yeah, if you can even tell it’s them,” Cordy said. “Some people have changed so much…”

“I know! I’ve seen some people around town and can’t believe it’s the same people I grew up with and went to school with. It’s only been 5 years.” She sighed.

“But a lot can change in 5 years. You should know that.” The last part was said softly without a hint of disdain.

Buffy smiled. “Yes, a lot has changed in my life in the last 5 years. And yet it feels like it’s changed even more in the last few weeks.” There was a twinkle in her eye as she said that and a blush crept onto her cheeks.

“Ah…” Cordy said delightedly. “It’s true then; you and Spike are back together?”

“Yeah,” she said looking down for a moment. “We are.” Her words were soft if not completely firm.

Angel glanced at Cordy, a look that told her to leave it alone. Then he asked, “How is little Will?”

Buffy smiled. The love and joy that she had because of her son was evident when she spoke about him. “He’s doing fine, doesn’t quite understand what’s going on with grandma, but he likes it here.”

“He seems like a sweet kid.”

“Thank you.”

“How much longer are you in town?” Angel asked.

“Just a few days,” Buffy said resignedly.

“I’m sure it’ll be nice to go back though,” Cordy said with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s good to know Mom’s getting better, and it will be nice to be back in my own place again. But it’s been really… good to come back home too.”

Angel smiled. “It’s been really good to see you too Buffy.”

“Thanks. It’s been great to catch up with you two as well. Anything else going on in Sunnydale that I haven’t heard about?” Buffy asked curiously.

They continued to chat until Angel had to go back to work, but Cordy stayed and caught up with Buffy for a while longer. By the time they looked at their watches again Buffy had to go pick up Dawn and they were asking themselves where the time had gone. Cordy and Buffy said goodbye and expressed hopes of seeing each other again one day not too far in the future. Then Buffy was off to pick up Dawn and take her home.

She waited for Dawn in the parking lot. They chatted about this and that as Buffy drove her home. Dawn’s day at school wasn’t anything eventful and Buffy didn’t have much to say about her day either, other than the fact that she’d run into Angel and Cordy whom Dawn remembered a little from when Buffy was in high school. The only other topic they really ventured was Buffy’s return to San Francisco. Dawn was glad that Buffy was going to be spending more time with Spike, but she wished Buffy could stay longer. It had been nice having her home again especially with everything going on with Mom. So, Buffy made a suggestion.

“Why don’t you come visit me one weekend? Or you and Mom could even come up for Thanksgiving or Christmas or something. I’d really like that.”

Dawn smiled a genuinely happy smile. “That sounds really nice Buffy.” A few seconds later as Buffy parked the jeep in the driveway; Dawn added “I’d love to come up by myself for a weekend too… if Mom will let me that is.”

“I’m sure I can talk to her about it,” Buffy said with a wink.


Chapter End Notes:
I hope you liked it. :) Another fluff chapter. Please review!! They're food for the muse! And Happy Thanksgiving!!! Oh, and if you get a chance check out my other stories: Heart On The Table & So It Seems... and the prequel to So It Seems is The Truth of the Matter Is



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