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Home is Where the Heart Is





Home is Where the Heart Is, Part 3
By *~Rachel*~
For disclaimers, summary, notes, etc. please see the first
chapter.
There is some B/A in this part...don't worry, I promise you that
this IS a B/S story! I just want to make sure that I cover everything...it's a
long ride (Both in the present AND past), but it'll be worth it!
Also...since I forgot to do so until now, let me give a big
THANK YOU to Sandy for being such a great beta-reader!

 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
 
"Hello?"
Buffy spoke into her cordless phone as she paced back and forth
around her bedroom. "Angel, hi!" She walked over and dragged her suitcase out of
the closet before throwing it onto her bed. "How are you?"
"I'm pretty good," Angel responded.
"How is the movie going?" Buffy asked him. This was Angel's most
demanding role in a movie yet, and he sometimes spent eighteen hours on the set
at a time. Because of his long hours, Buffy rarely got to see him. Angel told
her that the scenes they were shooting were fairly basic and that everything was
going smoothly. "I was actually hoping to catch you in between filming," Buffy
began to explain.
"You called at a good time, then," Angel replied. "We're taking
a break. I think that Faith is having a bad day. She can't get into character,
and the director keeps having to re-shoot the scenes."
Buffy smiled and snickered softly. "Not like you ever had any
problems with that, right?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her tone as she
thought back to all the times that she had helped Angel run over his lines in
"Life Without Love" when he couldn't understand the main character's motives and
reasons.
Angel chuckled to himself before asking, "So, what's the reason
for the surprise call, baby?"
Buffy stopped proceeding through the room and took a deep
breath. She had mentally prepared herself before calling Angel and had halfway
worked out what she was going to tell him. Obviously, she couldn't just say "I'm
still married to this British, Billy Idol look-a-like named Spike, so I need to
go to Sunnydale and make him sign some divorce papers!" and expect him to be all
right with that.
Unfortunately, as soon as she heard his question, she had
forgotten everything that she had planned out. "Uh...well..." Buffy paused to
clear her throat before continuing. "I figured that since you're busy filming
the movie, I could take some time off and visit some friends and tell them the
good news." Well, her story wasn't exactly a full-out lie; she was hoping to
visit Xander and Mr. Giles while she was in Sunnydale, and she still considered
them to be friends.
"That's a great idea, Buff," Angel immediately agreed, glad that
she had found a way to spend some time since he was concentrating on his role in
the movie. "How long do you think you might be?"
Buffy shrugged her shoulders even though Angel couldn't see her.
"I'm not too sure. A week, maybe? I can stay for a shorter amount of time than
that, or-"
"Take your time, honey," Angel interrupted. "We've still got
plenty to do, here, so it's no rush."
"I figure that the sooner I get down there, the sooner I can get
back," Buffy pointed out. And be able to legally marry you, she silently
added to herself. "So I was planning on leaving this afternoon after I deal with
the gallery."
"That's fine, Buffy," he assured her. "Just call me if you need
anything, okay?"
"You got it."
"And when we get back? Maybe we can at least start looking into
our wedding," Angel added. "You know...where we could have it, what we'd have,
those types of things."
Although Buffy thought she should have been excited by Angel's
plans, all she really felt was a big pit in her stomach. "Great!" she said,
forcing out the enthusiasm.
In the background of her conversation with Angel, she heard
someone yell out, "O'Connor! Your scene is up!" in the background.
"I guess that means that-"
"Yeah, I have to get back to work," Angel said apologetically.
"I'll call you tonight or tomorrow to make sure you get there okay, all right?"
"All right," Buffy affirmed.
"I love you," Angel quickly said.
Buffy repeated the words into the receiver before turning off
the phone. She let the phone rest in her hand a minute or two before turning it
back on again and dialing a different number.
"Hello?" a voice asked three rings later.
"Hi, Willow!!" Buffy greeted her friend on the telephone. "How
are you? Are classes going all right?"
"My classes are going fine, Buffy," Willow replied. "I've got a
few papers to write up and some notes to study for an eventual test, but-"
"But nothing that a computer genius like yourself can't figure
out," Buffy teased.
"Exactly." Buffy didn't need to see Willow to know that her
friend was smiling; she could hear it in her tone of voice.
"Look, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor," Buffy began.
"Depends on what the favor is," Willow immediately answered.
"Well, I was wondering if you could watch over the gallery for a
few days. Maybe you could get Oz and Tara to help you out while you've got
classes or something like that," Buffy suggested. "I'm...uh, going out of town
for a few days."
"I guess I could work that into my schedule," Willow started. "I
don't have any classes tomorrow or Thursday, so I could work full time those two
days at least."
"Willow, you are a savior," Buffy sighed.
"I know, I know," she joked. "But honestly, why do you need me
to watch over the gallery? Where are you going?"
Buffy paused before blurting out, "Sunnydale."
"What?!" Willow cried out loudly. "Why?"
"Uh...it's a long story," Buffy said, hoping that Willow
wouldn't guess.
"Oh, Jesus, he asked you to marry him, didn't he?"

Damn Willow and her insight, Buffy thought. She rolled her
eyes before answering, "Yes, Angel asked me to marry him." She pasued, before
adding, "And I said *yes*."
Now Willow got a turn at rolling her eyes. "So let me
guess...you need to go down to Sunnydale because Spike is there, and you need
him to sign some divorce papers, right?" She didn't even wait for Buffy to
answer before questioning, "Does Angel know about this?"
Again, Buffy paused, wondering just how much she should tell her
friend. "I-kinda-didn't-really-tell-him-about-Spike-and-the-much-needed
divorce," she mumbled, hoping Willow could at least somewhat understand.
"What?!"
"I didn't tell him, okay?! Angel doesn't know, and he's never
*going* to know, unless someone babbles it to him accidentally, okay?" Buffy
reacted, knowing she sounded defensive.
"Okay, okay," Willow replied, backing off the topic from Buffy's
tone of voice. "You know I...I have problems with your relationship with Angel,
but I'll watch over the gallery or get Tara to help me out until you get back,"
she said. I just wonder if you're going to get Spike to actually agree to
this, thMught Willow.
"Thank you, Will-w. You're the best," Buffy said. She glanced up
at her wall clock and jumped back up to her feet. "Look, if I want to make it
down there before sunset, I better get packed and get out of here."
"Okay."
"Call me on my !ell if you run into any problem with the
gallery," Buffy told her. "Although, you probably w-n't since you know how my
computer works better than I do."
illow chuckled over the line. "I promise I'll keep your gallery
in good condition and sell plenty of pieces while you're gone."
"Thank you, Willow. I'll talk to you later."
The women exchanged another good-bye or two beore finally
ending the conversation. Buffy turned off the cordless phone and gently placed
it back on the charger. She then wandered around her bedroom, sl-wly taking out
some shirts, skirts, and pants for her trip from her dresser and closet.
The one thing she vividly remembered about Spike was his
stubbornness. She wasn't sure how long she'd be forced to remain in Sunnydale
trying to convince Spike to sign the divorce forms, so she packed enough clothes
for a week. Hopefully, I won't need to stay any longer than seven days,
Buffy thought to herself as she zipped up her suitcase.
Lastly, she trudged down the hallway with her suitcase trailing
behind her and approached her desk in the workroom. Buffy retrieved the divorce
forms that Spike needed to sign and folded them in half. She stuck them in the
side of her purse before turning on her heel and heading for the stairs.
 
~~~
 
Buffy had driven for almost two hours and was now well out of
the Los Angeles area. The top of her Toyota Solara was down, and her hair freely
whipped around in the air. A pair of brown sunglasses rested on the end of her
nose, and she smiled to herself as she drove down the highway. Trees, bushes,
and fields of grass had eventually replaced the towering skyscrapers and loud
sounds of the city, and the deserted, winding road announced that Buffy was
nearing her hometown.
She continued driving for another twenty minutes before she went
flying by a sign to her right. She didn't read the sign; but then again, she
didn't need to read it since she had memorized the sign years ago. The sign
read:

Welcome to Sunnydale
Home of the Sunnydale Wolverines
Population 845 and Growing
 

~~~
 
After checking in at the new Holiday Inn located in the better
part of town, Buffy parked her car and began exploring the town on foot.
Sunnydale was the complete opposite of Los Angeles. The town was so small that
almost everyone was a pedestrian; hardly anyone who lived and worked in her
hometown actually drove. In contrast, she had been forced to learn how to drive
when she moved to LA.
Immediately, everything familiar sank back in; the Expresso
Pump, the Sun Cinema, and the other stores that lined the streets looked exactly
the same. God, it's been two years, and these places haven't changed a bit,
Buffy thought to herself. She almost felt as if she had never left in the
first place.
She crossed the street and continued down the sidewalk, passing
strangers here and there. The streets were nowhere near as crowded as Los
Angeles' were; no, the rhythm was definitely slower in this small town in
Southern California. Barely aware of what she was doing, Buffy suddenly found
her feet leading her to "The Silver Spoon," Xander and Spike's very popular
restaurant.
 

OK, I'm ready to face him, Buffy told herself. I thought
through things in the car...what I'm going to say, how I'm going to act, and I
can do this. She paused momentarily in her thinking, standing still. Who
am I kidding? He's going to see right through me, she argued with herself.
NO! she thought again, resuming her pace and nearing the entrance to the
restaurant. I'll be fine.

She hesitated for a second longer once she reached the main
entrance to the restaurant. Peering through the glass windows, she could tell
that the restaurant hadn't changed much in two years. The booths, carpet, light
fixtures, and everything else looked the same. "Okay, here goes nothing," Buffy
muttered underneath her breath before pushing the door open and taking a step
inside.
Buffy turned her head from side to side, searching for either
Xander or Spike. As she gazed around the room, a tall, brown-haired man
approached her, menus in hand. "How many, miss?" the voice asked.
"Actually..." she began, craning her neck to gaze around the
booths. "I’m here to see the owners, Xander and Spike?"
"Buffy?!"
Buffy stared in front of her, realizing that she *was* talking
to one of the managers. "Oh, my God, Xander!" she cried, launching herself into
his arms and tightly hugging him. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" She stepped
back and admired how fit he looked since she last saw him. His shoulders had
broadened, chest flattened out, and his hair was cleanly cut.
"How are you, my little LA Princess?" Xander teasingly asked.
"I'm fine, and yourself?"
"I'm doing great...business is doing great," Xander said
proudly. "Not that I mind the surprise or anything, but what are you doing here?
Don't tell me that you came all the way down from LA just to try our new gumbo?"
"Ah...well, I'm actually here to talk with Spike," Buffy said
with only a slight waver in her tone.
"Spike?" Xander asked, a look of confusion appearing on his
face. "Our Spike?"
"Who else around here is named Spike?"
"Good point," Xander agreed. "Here's not here right now, Buff."
Buffy exhaled loudly, a sigh of relief passing through her lips.
"Good. Maybe I was wrong in thinking that I could just come here today and talk
to him."
"Come on over to our office. We can catch up," Xander suggested.
He walked over to the podium placed in the middle of the entrance. "Tracey? Can
you take over here for a while?"
"Sure thing, Mr. Harris," the young employee replied.
"C'mon," Xander ordered, motioning for Buffy to follow him. He
led her through the restaurant and into a back room. He pushed open a door that
read "Managers Only!" on the outside, and after passing through the doorway
herself, Buffy closed the door behind her, leaving it open a crack.
"So...," Xander began as he walked over to his desk and sat
down. "What brings you back to Sunnyhell?"
"Well...," Buffy spoke timidly, wondering whether or not she
should tell Xander everything. She cleared her throat and nervously pushed a
strand of hair behind her ear, flashing Xander a glimpse of her ring.
"Wow...look at the size of that mother," Xander gasped, looking
at Buffy's hand. "So...that's why you're here?"
Buffy groaned before nodding her head. She quickly detailed her
problem of being engaged to Angel while she was still legally bound to Spike in
marriage. Honestly, she was surprised that Xander was even listening to her
instead of siding with Spike and starting an argument. "I came here looking for
him to sign the papers, but I guess I can come back in a day."
"That's...that's fine," Xander replied.
Buffy looked at Xander for a second, her eyebrows raised in
question. "Why are you so calm about this?"
"Easy...it's not any of my business," Xander simplified. "Trust
me, I still know to not get involved in an argument between the two of you."
Buffy laughed. "I think that this is a bit more serious than
just a simple argument." Not wanting to stay too much longer, she stood on her
feet and smiled at her friend. "Thank you for being so understanding, Xander."
"My pleasure, Buffy."
Buffy turned around for the door before spinning back around and
facing him. "Oh and...I hate to ask you to do this for me, but...until I get
things worked out, please don't tell Spike that I'm in Sunnydale yet."
"Oh, I think it's a little bit too late for that," a heartless
tone rang out from behind her.

Oh God... Buffy though, slowly turning around again. Her
hazel eyes met an icy-cold set of blue ones, and she couldn't stop her mouth
from slightly falling open as she faced her ex-husband, Spike Giles.
 
~~~
 
TBC...
WOW! Thank you SO much for all the great reviews! I'm glad you
are enjoying the idea and story. Let me know what you think of the latest part.





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