Hank Summers was not a nice man. He was cold and exacting in the courtroom and that attitude often bled over into his personal life. He cared very much about appearances, and as such, he dictated the lives of his family members. Past this, he showed very little real interest in his family. When Buffy was a little girl, she loved going to dinners at his co-worker's houses. At these dinners, Hank would suddenly become the doting father she'd always wished for. Even at such a young age, she knew it was all for show...but she liked to pretend for a little while.
Buffy didn't like to admit that her father still had power over her. She liked to present herself as an independent young woman. Ultimately though, she did as she was told. She'd been falling in line for too many years to venture off too far in a different direction.
Allowing Spike to stay on the Summers' property was one of the rare incidences that she had done something that she knew her father would be completely against. Honestly, she just didn't think she'd get caught. But here she was, standing in the doorway of her family's guest house, staring up at a very angry Hank Summers.
Hank had yet to speak a word and already Buffy was cringing. She could feel Spike's eyes on her, probably waiting for her to give him some indication of what he should do.
She took a breath and met her father's accusing eyes, "Daddy...what...what are you doing here?"
His lips formed a twisted smile. "Well, it's the funniest thing. First, earlier this evening, I got a call from your boyfriend." Buffy felt her stomach turn. She already didn't like where this was going. "Apparently, he took you out to a nice dinner and you just up and ran out on him."
Buffy blinked nervously, "Daddy, I—"
He held up a hand to silence her. "So, he asked me if I would talk to you. Of course, I told him 'yes' and reassured him that you were most likely just having some female problems. He seemed to agree." Hank paused for a moment, but Buffy knew better than to speak this time. "I've been waiting at the house for you to show up, so we could discuss this matter. So, imagine my surprise when instead of my wayward daughter, Riley shows up. I explained to the poor boy that I hadn't seen you yet, and he left to try to track you down himself." He paused once again. "Do you know what happened next?"
"Daddy, if you'll just let me expl—"
"I'm not finished," he stated coldly. "Not half an hour after I saw him, Riley shows up at my door again. This time, he has a busted jaw. A busted jaw, Buffy. He's sitting up at the house right now waiting for my assistant to arrive to take him to the hospital. He explained to me that you were housing a violent delinquent, and when he attempted to speak with you, the man attacked him. Of course, I immediately came down here to check it out for myself. I can't have this type of thing happening on my property. Do you know what this could do to my career?"
Though his voice was controlled, Buffy knew that her father was very close to exploding. "Daddy, that's not exactly what happened. Please, listen to—"
Suddenly, Hank shouldered past her and set his sights on Spike. "Is this him?" he asked sharply. "Are you the man that beat up my little girl's boyfriend?"
Spike swallowed, "With all due respect, sir—"
"Respect?" Hank spat out. "Do you even know what that is? Look at yourself."
Buffy watched the two men anxiously. This was a scene she never wanted to see play out.
Hank continued, "You're just a worthless punk. I should call the cops on you."
Buffy's eyes widened. "Daddy, no! It's not his fault! I invited him here...and-and Riley was mad at me. Riley hit him first! It's not his fault, daddy! Please, don't call the police," she pleaded helplessly.
Eyes still on Spike, Hank shook his head. "Don't tell me you're defending this loser, honey."
Buffy moved to stand in front of her father, attempting to draw his attention from her house guest. "Really, daddy, it's not his fault. Riley was just mad, because I broke up with—"
"No," Hank cut in abruptly, "you didn't break up with anyone, sweetie. Riley told me that he would forgive you for your little indiscretion."
Buffy's mouth dropped open, "Excuse me. He said he'd forgive me? Daddy, he's been cheating on me for our entire relationship! I'm through with him! I let it go on for too long!" She crossed her arms and raised her chin defiantly. This was all too much.
Hank took a step forward, placing himself inches from his daughter. Spike felt his body tense. He didn't know enough about her family dynamic to know if she was safe. There was no way he was going to let this man put his hands on her.
Hank waved his finger in his daughter's face, "No! It's over when I say it's over. Do you know how badly it would reflect on me if you dumped Riley Finn? Do you even care?"
"Daddy," Buffy was embarrassed but not surprised when her voice broke. "Daddy, I do care. I don't want to make you look bad. I don't! But...I want to be happy. I can't be happy if my boyfriend is cheating on me all the time...and I know he won't stop."
"Well, sweetheart, if he's stepping out on you, then you must be doing something wrong." He snorted as he glanced at the blond man behind her, "I can easily tell you one thing you're doing wrong."
"Leave him out of this," Buffy stated as evenly as she could. "This isn't his fault...look...I'll...I'll talk to Riley if you want..."
Hank laughed, "You think that's going to solve everything?" He shook his head. "First things first," he glared at Spike, "you are out of here. Right now. The only reason I'm not calling the cops is because I don't want a scene, but don't think that if you give me any trouble, I won't risk it."
Spike quickly went over his options. At this point, the only thing keeping him standing there with this angry man at his throat was his concern for Buffy. However, he was starting to think that his presence was just making things worse for her. The truth of the matter was...he didn't belong there. Mr. Summers and Riley were both right about that. He wasn't like them. He was never going to be like them, and this attachment that he had formed for Buffy was only going to hurt him in the long run if he allowed it to continue.
"Fine," Spike answered softly, running a shaky hand through his unruly blond locks.
Buffy's head jerked towards him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. She was shocked. This man was a fighter. She should know, he'd been fighting with her since the second they met. She didn't expect for him to give up so easily. There was supposed to be yelling and cursing and scathing remarks. Not a simple murmured agreement. She turned back towards her father.
"Daddy...he doesn't have anywhere to go..." she trailed off, knowing it was pointless to try to argue with Hank Summers.
Hank ignored her and continued to focus on the blond man. Slowly, Spike made his way towards the door. As he brushed past her, Buffy heard him murmur, "It's okay, kitten..."
"Spike," she breathed, "please...you...I..." She didn't know what to say. If her father wanted him gone, then he would have to go. It was as simple as that, and she knew it. She felt her eyes tear up as she watched him quietly open the door and step out into the night. She didn't even want to consider why she was feeling so emotional. Hadn't she told him that he would have to leave the next day anyway? She never had a chance to tell him that she'd changed her mind.
"All right, honey, now that I've taken care of that, let's go see if Riley's still at the house. If he's gone, I expect you to go meet him at the hospital. Understood?"
"Daddy..." She felt so lost at that moment. The last thing she wanted to do was see Riley, but what choice did she have? God, why did her father have to rule her life? She should have moved out when she turned eighteen. Instead, she stayed in her palace with her maids and cooks and expensive clothing. She'd never even held a job. Her home was here. It was where she belonged...
"Okay, daddy," she whispered, accepting her fate.
"That's a good girl." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I knew I could count on you, sweetheart. I'll see you up at the house." He gave her one last self-satisfied grin before heading out the door and back to the main house.
Buffy just stood there for a moment, pondering the direction the evening had taken. Heaving a great sigh, she headed to the bedroom to slip on her heels. She supposed she would change into jeans at the house and make her way to the hospital. Riley hated it when she wore jeans, but she couldn't stand to be in this silk dress any longer. He'd just have to deal.
Spike had been walking in the dark for about half an hour. He had quickly made it to the main road and was hoping to flag down a passing motorist. So far, not even one car had gone by. It was going to be a long walk back into town...and what was he going to do once he got there?
Just as he was reaching for his pack of smokes, he noticed headlights approaching. Forgetting his cigarettes for the moment, he began waving his arms about, hoping the driver would spot him in the dark. He cursed as the vehicle passed him by. Before he had a chance to start lamenting his bad luck, he saw the car pull off the road ahead of him. Thank god.
He quickly jogged up to the passenger side of the silver sports car and opened the door. He was surprised by what he found.
"Buffy! What are you doing here, luv?" He tried to cover up his shock at seeing her.
She smiled wryly, "Well, I'm suppose to be visiting Riley at the hospital."
"Oh," he muttered, starting to back away from the car, "Well, I'll let you get on with it."
"But," she continued, "that's not where I'm going."
He leaned back into the car and tilted his head curiously, "Where are you going then, pet?"
She glanced back the way she had come before meeting his eyes. "I'm going...away from there." It was at that moment that he noticed the pink duffel bag in the back seat. He felt his heart speed up. She waited patiently until his eyes met hers again to continue, "Spike, get in."