“So...” Buffy cast a look at Billy, eager to lighten the mood. “Um, how’s school?” He turned to look at her, clearly unimpressed, and she couldn’t really blame him. Surely, she could’ve come up with something a little less lame to talk about. It was just that she suddenly felt a bit uncertain about how to act around the boy.
For some reason, she and Billy had gotten along right from the start, but now, it was just the two of them and she was the one in charge. And that was not a situation she was very familiar with. Also, he had been gloomy ever since Spike had left, and she just didn’t know what to do about it. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about what was bothering him, and she couldn’t exactly force him to talk to her.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” She tried to sound perky. “When your dad gets back, why don’t we all do something real fun? Go away for the whole day, like an outing.”
He looked at her again, a little more interested this time. “Go where?”
“I don’t know.” Buffy thought for a moment, unable to come up with something they would all be interested in. “What would you like to do?”
Billy got a thoughtful expression on his face, and then his eyes lit up. “Can we go to the zoo?”
Buffy smiled, remembering Billy’s fondness for animals. Then her thoughts went to Princess Leia, and her smile faded a little. Over the last couple of days, her mind had been occupied with other things, and she had almost forgotten about her poor cat. Immediately feeling guilty, she swallowed and nodded. “Sure, why not?”
“Cool.” Billy hesitated for a moment. “When do you think Dad’s coming back?”
“I don’t know. Soon.” She tried to keep a bright note in her voice, knowing she didn’t quite succeed.
“Tomorrow?” Billy pressed, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
Buffy let out a sigh. “Seriously, Billy, I don’t know. He’ll call again later tonight, you can ask him yourself.”
Billy slumped back against the couch, his bad mood returning. “Maybe he’ll forget.”
“Of course he won’t forget,” Buffy insisted, a firm look on her face. “Why would he do that?”
The boy shrugged, avoiding her eyes. “Maybe my mum wants them to get back together. If I’m not around...”
“All right, hold it right there.” Buffy took a deep breath and silently counted to five; a trick she had learned from Spike. “That’s not gonna happen. Your dad already talked to you about this. The only reason he’s going to see your mother is so she can...”
“Sign the soddin’ divorce papers, blah, blah, blah...” Billy rolled his eyes. “She’s not gonna do it, you know. Dad might think she will, but she won’t.”
“Billy, that’s not true.” Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling a headache coming up. “Why do you say that?”
“Cause she won’t.” He looked her right in the eyes, a stubborn note in his voice as he continued; “You’re thinking it, too, you just don’t wanna say it. You’re afraid he won’t come back.”
Buffy’s eyes widened in shock. She refused to admit, even to herself, that the thought had briefly crossed her mind. Of course, she had quickly dismissed it. “Not at all. I trust your dad completely. And so should you. In fact...” She stopped as realization hit her. “But that’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t. You’re the one who’s afraid he won’t come back. Isn’t that right?”
Billy got a startled expression on his face. He shook his head. “I’m not afraid.”
“You know what?” Buffy watched him, closely. “I think that’s a lie. Look, Billy...”
“I’m not lying!” He jumped up from the couch, glaring at her.
She immediately realized that she had touched a nerve, and raised her hands in a calming gesture. “I’m sorry. What I meant to say was; it’s okay to be afraid. But in this case, you’re wrong. Your dad loves you more than anything, and he will come back as soon as he can. Don’t ever doubt that.”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything. Buffy sighed and went on; “You know, Billy, he thinks you’re blaming him for what happened back in LA. Because he couldn’t stop your mother from hurting you.” She paused. “But that’s not really true, is it? It’s not your father you’re blaming. It’s yourself.”
Billy snorted. “That’s bollocks!” She just looked at him, and he seemed a little taken aback. “Said a bad word again. Aren’t you gonna yell at me?”
The genuine confusion on his face made her heart ache. She shook her head, giving him a soft smile. “No, Billy, I’m not.”
“Why not?” His bottom lip started trembling. “I’m bad. I’m doing bad things.”
“Now you listen to me.” Buffy crouched next to him, taking both his hands in hers. “You’re not bad. You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s not your fault that your mom’s sick. And it’s certainly not your fault that your parents are getting a divorce. Is that what this is about?”
He shrugged, quickly wiping at his eyes. “I wanted Mum to go away.”
“Well, that’s understandable. She didn’t treat you very well.” Buffy hesitated for a moment. “You know, she hurt your dad as well. Not physically, of course, but there are other ways. The thing is, I believe she did what she did because something in her head makes it hard for her to tell right from wrong. And that has nothing to do with you. You hear me?”
Billy tilted his head to the side, clearly considering her words. Then he nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Buffy let out the breath she had been holding. Then she cast a glance at her watch. “I’m sure your dad will call any minute, hopefully with good news. Either way, he’s coming back to us. We’re going to the zoo, remember?” He actually smiled a little, much to her relief. And she found herself actually believing her own words.
“Hi, Drusilla.” Fred gave the dark-haired woman a warm smile. “You remember me? I’m Dr. Burkle. How are you?”
“I feel good.” Drusilla was sitting in the armchair over by the window. Now she noticed Warren, who had followed Fred into the room. She looked at him, but didn’t say anything.
“That’s great.” Fred glanced at Warren as well, before turning back to Drusilla. “I heard the two of you are friends. That’s very nice.” She paused. “Warren thought maybe you’d like to step outside for a little while. Get some fresh air. He was talking about taking you out into the garden. How would you feel about that?”
Drusilla cocked her head to the side. “Would I be able to see the stars?”
“Um...” Fred hesitated, looking at her watch. “I think it’s still too early for that.”
A cryptic smile spread on Drusilla’s pale face. “The stars are always out there, Doctor. Watching us. Listening to our secrets. You just need to know where to look.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.” Fred let out a nervous little laugh. “So, would you like to go?”
“Yes.” Her smile widened. “I would like that very much.” Warren resisted the urge to jump for joy, extremely happy over the fact that Drusilla was pleased with his suggestion.
“All right, then.” Fred turned to Warren. “I guess it’s okay. You’ve got half an hour. I mean it, Warren. Don’t disappoint me.”
He shook his head, a serious look on his face. “I won’t. Thank you.”
Fred’s face softened a little. “You’re welcome. I’ll be right back with a wheelchair.”
Frowning, Warren cast a look at Drusilla. “Is that really necessary?”
The female doctor nodded. “The medication she’s on sometimes makes her weak and drowsy. It’s just to be on the safe side.”
Warren nodded in understanding. Fred left the room in search for a wheelchair, and he walked over to Drusilla. “I, uh, figured you’d like the idea of leaving the room.” She just smiled, a dreamy expression on her face, and he all but bounced with excitement. Fred returned a moment later, and he hurried to help Drusilla over to the wheelchair.
Rolling her out of the room and through the long corridor, he finally reached the large glass doors, leading out to the garden. Opening one of the doors and carefully pushing the wheelchair outside, he looked at Drusilla in expectation. “Isn’t this great? Looks like we’ve got the whole place to ourselves.”
“Wonderful.” She rose from the chair, taking a few steps before turning to look at him over her shoulder. “We must hurry, puppy. There is not much time.”
“Okay,” Warren agreed, looking around him for a moment. “There are some benches over there, we could...”
She interrupted him. “You have some sort of vehicle here, yes?”
“Um...” He gave her a look of confusion, not understanding where she was going with this. “Sure, a black van. A real beauty. Paid for it all by myself.”
“Excellent.” She took hold of his hand, her fingers cold against his skin. “You are taking me for a ride. Won’t that be nice?”
“A ride?” Warren stared at her in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t do that. Fred would kill me! Not to mention...”
“But I would be ever so grateful...” Drusilla ran her fingers down his cheek, pouting a little. “Just the two of us, and the stars.” A pause. “You will get your reward.”
“Really?” Warren swallowed. “I don’t know... It’s probably not a good idea.”
Drusilla’s eyes darkened, but Warren didn’t notice. “Very well. You do this for me, and I will do whatever you want in return.”
His eyes widened when he considered the possibilities. Surely they could go for a little ride around the block and be back again within half an hour. If it meant that much to her, who was he to refuse? He took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay, you’re on. Where do you wanna go?” She clapped her hands together and let out a squeal. Then she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and his hand immediately went up to touch the spot where her lips had been.
“I know just the place.” She let out an excited giggle. “A nice little town, called Sunnydale.”
TBC