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After her talk with William, Buffy felt drained. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able to stay awake for studying, but she had no choice.

She'd wanted to fall in his arms, and at the same time, she'd wanted to
leave whatever they needed to hash out for another day.

When the elevator doors opened, she saw her father leaving and called
out to him. He turned and smiled, "Hi pumpkin. Heading home?"

She blinked. Pumpkin? Oh yes, they were in front of others. Though, that
wasn't completely fair. It was a nickname her father had called her many
times in the past. Just not recently.

"I am, you?"

"I am. Hey, want to have dinner with your old man?"

"Who are you and what have you done to my father?" she couldn't stop
herself from asking.

His smile dropped and his features darkened. "That's not fair, Buffy."

"Oh come on. You've barely been able to stand me."

"Buffy . . . you're my daughter and I love you."

"You been practicing that?"

"You know I love you, Buffy. I know I gave you a hard time when you
wanted to come home and I'm sorry for that."

Buffy sighed, just not up to having a confrontation with her father at the
moment, no matter how many questions she had for him.

"You want to call in dinner and take it home to your mom? How's that
sound?"

He was just full of surprises wasn't he? She stared at him.

"I'm trying Buffy, please." And the thing was, he sounded so sincere and
looked so earnest, she knew he meant it.

"Sure, Dad. I'll call mom and find out what she's in the mood for."


*************************************************************


Buffy opted not to get into anything too deep with her father. Whatever
was happening, she would broach at a later time. Coming on with a barrage
of accusations and questions would do nothing to help the bridge he was
trying to repair. The important thing was that he was trying as he'd said.
Whether he meant with her and their strained relationship or with her
mother—or both—she wasn't sure. She wondered if it had anything to do with her arrival home, but decided not to dwell on that too much either. And as she listened to him as he gave her some tips on her homework, she wondered when the rift between them had happened. Once upon a time she'd been Daddy's little girl.

Thinking back on it, they'd started to butt heads when she'd been planning her future. He had been too demanding and overbearing and she'd completely shut him out for it. He hadn't taken kindly to that. So, in actuality, she was just as much to blame. Instead of trying to work it out with him, she'd just slammed the door on him and in retaliation; he'd pounded on the door until he couldn't pound anymore. Thus, the Great Divide. When she'd started to suspect infidelity that had added to the rift. Maybe if he was acknowledging his mistakes, she could acknowledge her own and they could both work on it. On that same end, maybe her parents had a chance to work on things between them as well.
Of course, these thoughts led to William and her ‘relationship' with him. That was an issue right there. What exactly were they? He'd said she was his girl. But what did being his girl entail? Aside from sounding as if she was property. Or cattle.

"How are things at work?" Hank asked, breaking her out of her
straying thoughts.

Oh great. She hadn't thought of what she was going to tell her dad about
her leaving the firm. Well, it wasn't like she had another job yet anyway, so
until then, she'd downplay it.

"Good, it's going well over there."

"You and William getting along?"

She felt the blush start to creep up and fought it, but to no avail. "Yeah,
we're uh," sleeping together, "Getting along quite well."

"Good," and he ruffled her hair as if she were a child again. "Come see me if
you need any help pumpkin."

"Thanks, Dad," and she watched him go with a slight smile playing on her lips.

Once her parents were in bed and she was snuggled under the covers, Buffy toyed with her cell phone. She flipped it over and over in her hands pondering. Should she call Will or should she not call Will? She didn't want to get into anything with him, she just wanted to call to wish him goodnight. She knew he hadn't been exactly pleased with how they'd left things, and she wanted to call to let him know – just by the simple act of telling him good night—that she wasn't upset with him.

Taking a deep breath, she punched in his number and held her breath until
she heard him answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi," she said, letting out her breath in a rush.

"Buffy?"

"You expecting someone else?" she teased, thinking that he BETTER not
be expecting someone else.

"No, no, of course not. I'm just surprised to hear from you. How did
studying go?"

"Got it all done. My dad even helped out a bit."

"So, how are things with that?"

"Surprising. When I was leaving I met up with him in the foyer and he
asked me if I wanted to go with him and pick dinner up for us and my
mom."

"You did say yes, right?"

"Of course I did."

"So, do you think that he's still cheating on your mum?"

"I don't know. And if he was, he feels guilty about it and is trying to make
amends now. He said he was ‘trying'."

"What did that mean exactly?"

"I think because I gave him a hard time when I saw him and he called me
‘pumpkin', which he hasn't done in a very long time. He said he was trying."

"I think he means it, kitten."

She smiled at his endearment. "I think so too. I'm a pessimist though so
the jury's out until then."

He chuckled and Buffy warmed at the sound. "Sometimes people might
stray from what's right, but I like to think that as long as it's not a
recurring theme and they realize that what they did was wrong and they
feel genuine remorse and not selfish remorse, I think they deserve a second
chance. There's hope in that."

"Selfish remorse?"

"The kind of remorse that happens when they feel bad just enough to get
sympathy or when they want to get back in the good graces of the one they screwed over because the thing they were after didn't turn
out to be so great after all; Then there's the Scarlet O' Hara remorse."

She giggled. "Pray tell."

"You saw the movie right?"

"Who didn't?"

"Okay. So after her second husband dies and Rhett comes to see her and
she says she fears she's going to go to hell for all the wrongs she's done. He
says she's like the thief that isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but terribly
sorry he got caught."

Buffy laughed quietly. "I remember that. Great movie, by the way."

"It appeals to men and women. It's got war, history and romance."

"And I know you're a sucker for romance Will. Don't lie."

He chuckled and she yawned.

"Princess, I think you should get some sleep now."

"I think you're right."

"I'm glad you called. Did you call for anything special?"

"No, just to tell you good night."

"I'm glad you did, luv. I was just thinking of you."

"Good thoughts I hope?"

"Always."

She smiled at that. "Good night William."

"Good night, kitten. See you tomorrow."

Clicking the phone shut, Buffy placed it on her nightstand and smiled.
Closing her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep and dreamt that she was Scarlet
O' Hara and William was Rhett, taking her in his arms and up the stairs to
make passionate love to her.





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