28

// The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes saying you’ll never leave me \\

There was never a mention made of Riley’s apology. Buffy didn’t want to upset Liam by bringing it up; it would only cause friction between them, and quite possibly another confrontation between him and Riley. And she didn’t have the energy to deal with either outcome. So she kept it to herself.

Things seemed to be going well until graduation. Riley never brought up their conversation to his former friend, but decided he couldn’t keep it in any longer. While the senior class congregated in the gymnasium prior to the graduation ceremony, he approached Liam.

“Do you have a minute, Liam?” Riley questioned, interrupting a conversation between the dark-haired young man and Oz.

Liam lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He and Riley hadn’t shared a civil word to one another since he returned to town. “Barely. Is it important?”

“I would like to talk to you about something.”

“Fine. But make it quick, I have to be on stage with the rest of the National Honor Society in a few minutes,” Liam informed him.

“Me, too, so I promise it won’t take too long.” He waited until Oz left their sides before beginning. “I spoke to Buffy a few weeks ago about my behavior at the Prom.”

It was the first thing brunette had heard of it. “Really? Buffy never mentioned it to me.”

“Not surprising. I apologized to her for being such an ass. I had asked her to give you my apology but she refused; she told me to tell you myself. Which is what I’m doing right now. Liam, I’m sorry.”

He stood expressionless, his arms folded across his chest. “Is that it? You hurl accusations my way and humiliate me in front of a girl I care very deeply about, and all I get is an ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Look, all I can tell you is what I told Buffy. I was jealous, hurt and angry. Now I’m over it. Mostly,” Riley explained. He knew it was going to be a long road to forgiveness with Liam O’Neal.

“Mostly, huh? That’s very comforting. How do I know it won’t happen again?”

“You have my word. Buffy doesn’t want me, I see that now. I couldn’t before. Who did she turn to when her mom got sick? You. Who defended her honor and beat the crap out of Parker Abrams? You. Who has she loved since she was three years old? You. I had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning her heart once you were back in the picture. It’s always been you. It’ll always be you.”

Liam was unimpressed. “That’s quite a turnaround you’ve done, Riley. It’s definitely a far cry from your attitude a month ago. I guess I just don’t believe it.”

“I’m being sincere.”

“Six months ago...hell, two months ago you were accusing me of moving to Sunnydale so I could steal Buffy from you. You made it sound like I had an agenda.”

“At the time that’s what I thought,” Riley admitted. “I was wrong.”

Liam smirked. “You better believe you were wrong. It occurs to me you were never informed of the real reason I came back. But I’ll gladly tell you. My best friend died right before school started. I couldn’t drive anywhere in L.A. without seeing something or passing by a place that reminded me of her. So I decided I had to get out of there. As you can probably imagine, landing Buffy Summers was the last thing on my mind.”

Riley didn’t know what to say. Nobody told him what had happened to Liam to make him want to return to Sunnydale. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, I don’t like to spread it around. Look, I’ll accept your apology, but that’s it. You and I are not friends. Maybe we could have been before, but not anymore. You ruined any chance of that ever happening.”

“Just treat her well, Liam. That’s the only thing I want from you.”

“Then that I can do.”

***

// The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all \\

Following the ceremony, Liam searched for his family in the crowded courtyard of Sunnydale High. It took several minutes of looking before he found them standing off to the side, talking to Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, Oz’s parents. It brought a smile to his face when he spied his father and Buffy carrying on a conversation of their own.

He made his way over, stopping a few times along the way to say hello to some of his friends. As soon as his mother saw him, she ran up to him and gave him a congratulatory hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Liam,” Mrs. Rosenberg stated. “My little boy graduated from high school. I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither. What did you think of the ceremony?” he wanted to know.

“It was longer than mine and your father’s, I can say that. And much more interesting. Mayor Wilkins gave one heck of a speech.”

Mr. O’Neal came up behind his ex-wife. “That he did. Liam, congratulations.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Once Mrs. Rosenberg left to find Willow, Liam’s father looked to the heavens. “She’s watching you.”

He knew exactly who his father was talking about. “Yeah, I know. She’s probably up there laughing her ass off at me in this dumb flat hat.”

“Knowing Paige, she probably is.”

Liam laughed. He could picture it in his mind. But thinking about his best friend not being there to share the happy moment with him made him sad. So he chose to change the subject. “What were you and Buffy talking about?”

“Her parents. And you, of course. I understand the two of you are becoming quite close,” Mr. O’Neal stated.

“Meaning...?”

“You’ve gone out on a few dates, not to mention you took her to the Prom. How serious is it getting between you two?”

The teenager smiled. “Serious enough to be taking her to the Rosenberg family reunion Fourth of July weekend,” he told his father. “Willow’s bringing Oz, so I asked Buffy.”

“Your mother and Ira are actually allowing this?” he asked incredulously. “I’m shocked.”

It was no secret that Patrick O’Neal and Ira Rosenberg didn’t get along. The two had been friends since their early days teaching at UC Sunnydale, but when Ira starting having an affair with Sheila O’Neal, it caused an abrupt end to the friendship, as well as the marriage between the O’Neals. Since then, they avoided each other like the plague.

“Dad, it’s not like we’re going to do anything stupid. Give us some credit for brains,” Liam admonished.

“I wasn’t implying anything of the sort. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” He sighed. “Exactly how serious *are* things getting?”

Liam glanced at Buffy out of the corner of his eye. He still couldn’t believe she was his. “It’s getting serious. I never felt like this before. It must be love.”

“And how does she feel?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t want to put any pressure on her; Buffy’s been burned in the past by guys. She and I will be taking things nice and slow.”

“How do you feel about that?” Mr. O’Neal had the sneaking suspicion his son was ready for more.

“I’m fine with it. For now.”

***

29

// All day long I can hear people talking about
But when you hold me near you drown out the crowd \\

Liam held Buffy close to him while they slow danced at the Bronze later that evening. The club was closed to the public for the night, open only for the graduating seniors and their dates. And even then, the club was still crowded.

“I had a rather interesting conversation before graduation today,” he informed her. “Thought you might want to hear about it.”

“Hmm?”

“Riley made it a point to come up to me before the ceremony and talk to me about his feelings. I guess he’s not too keen on us dating. But then again, you and I already knew that.”

Buffy closed her eyes in preparation for the argument about to ensue. ‘Here it comes.’ “Yeah, we did.”

“He mentioned you two spoke a few weeks ago.”

“That’s true.”

He placed his hand under her chin and lifted it from his shoulder, looking her directly in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me, Buffy?”

She shrugged her shoulders uncertainly. “I didn’t want to start an argument between you two, or between us. The only reason Riley called me was to apologize for acting like a prick after we broke up. He said he was going to apologize to you, but I did not know when he’d do it, so I wasn’t going to mention it. I was afraid you’d be mad.”

“You didn’t have to hide it from me. I hope you know you can tell me anything,” he said to his girlfriend. “I thought we established that when you mom was sick last year.”

“I know,” Buffy replied with a nod of her head. “Did he at least apologize like he told me he was going to?”

“Yes. Blew me away.”

“Not surprising. What did you say to him? Tell me you didn’t give him a hard time.”

Liam smiled down at her, losing himself in her green eyes. Words couldn’t express the love he felt for the sixteen-year-old blonde in his arms. “It was civilized; no punches thrown. And Riley sounded very sincere. Basically, I accepted his apology but made a point of telling him we’d never be friends again.”

“Liam...”

“Well, what was I supposed to say? I can’t be friends with someone if I always have to wonder if he or she has a hidden agenda. Sorry, but I just don’t trust him.”

She shook her head. “It wouldn’t kill you to be friendly. When you see him, say hi or something.”

“He’d be lucky if I even look in his direction.”

“That’s real mature. You two are like little old ladies,” she stated.

He knew they were going to end up fighting. It was the last thing he wanted to do, especially in the middle of the dance floor in front of a hundred people. “What do you say we drop this conversation and finish dancing. No more talk of Riley Finn.”

“Works for me.”

***

// Old Mr. Webster could never define
What’s being said between your heart and mine \\

“Aren’t your parents home?” Liam asked Buffy as they entered the darkened living room of the Summers’ home.

“Nope. They went to dinner and a movie,” she told him. “I’m willing to bet they won’t be home much before ten-thirty.”

He nodded his head and smiled. Alone time with Buffy. It was the best graduation present he’d received so far. “Did you plan this?”

Buffy turned around, flashing him her most innocent facial expression. “Me? Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

All she could do was laugh at him. “Do you want something to drink? I think we have Pepsi and Seven-Up.”

“Seven-Up, if you don’t mind.”

“Coming right up.”

Buffy waltzed into the kitchen as if on air. Their arrival at her house had been meticulously planned out. Her parents went to see a movie that didn’t start until eight forty-five, which gave her and Liam plenty of time to “bond.” She poured them each a glass of Seven-Up and headed back into the living room.

She found Liam seated comfortably on the living room couch. After handing him his glass, she took a seat next to him. Then an awkward silence filled the air for several moments, neither of them sure how to fill it.

“The, um, graduation festivities were nice. The committee really outdid themselves this year,” Buffy commented.

“They sure did. Well, not that I have anything to compare it to,” he said.

“I went to last year’s ceremony. This one was better.” She took a sip of her soda. The wait was driving her up a wall. “Do you want to make out already? ‘Cause I’m getting kinda antsy.”

“Yep. Let’s cut the small talk,” he agreed.

She put her drink on the coffee table next to Liam’s and practically attacked him. It was the first time they’d really been alone, and she fully intended on utilizing every moment. His hands were on either side of her waist, his tongue proving the inside of her mouth. Buffy grabbed clumps of his spiky brown hair in her hands, holding his head in place.

Their kisses were punishing, almost as if they wouldn’t get enough of one another, or were too afraid to stop. Their tongues dueled for dominance, their hands began to wander, and Liam gently pushed her back to the couch. She held him tight while he used his elbows to support his body weight. He didn’t want to crush her small frame with his large one.

“Mmm...” Buffy moaned as his right hand slipped under her silk shirt. He caressed the smooth skin, causing it to break out in gooseflesh.

Slowly he inched his hand upwards, taking his mouth downwards at the same time. Liam suckled on the sensitive area under her ear, causing his girlfriend to moan once again. It was a sound he found himself enjoying. Beneath him, Buffy’s breathing was coming in short pants. A part of him felt proud; no girl had ever had such a reaction to his kisses.

Deciding to take things a step further, he maneuvered his fingers inside the confines of her bra, brushing against her breast. When Buffy didn’t tell him to stop, Liam dipped them even more, cupping the breast and kneading it with his hand. Just touching and kissing her was beginning to get him worked up in ways he’d never experienced.

“Oh god,” Buffy whispered at his ministrations. She’d been felt up by boyfriends before, but it never felt so good as when Liam did it, almost like a dream come true. Waves of pleasure flowed through her body, and all she could do was hold on to him. Her hands clutched at his hips, but eventually found their way inside his shirt, her long fingernails scraping his warm skin.

Things were spiraling out of control, not that either one of them cared enough to stop. Liam moved his lips even lower, kissing along Buffy’s collarbone to the hollow of her throat. Freeing his right hand from the inside of her bra, he brought it to the buttons of her blouse and undid three of them. He kissed a trail down to the valley between her breasts, licking and sucking, as he felt her hips bucking upward slightly for even more contact between their bodies.

Then the front door opened, surprising the couple. They bolted up and straightened out their clothes and hair so her parents wouldn’t suspect anything had been going on. Buffy had just finished buttoning the top button on her blouse when her parents entered the living room.

“You guys are home early,” she nonchalantly noted. ‘Damn you!’

“We decided to skip the movie,” Mr. Summers responded. “Your mother isn’t feeling too well.”

Buffy’s heart pounded nervously. “Are you okay, Mom?”

“I’m fine. I probably ate my dinner too fast. Nothing to be concerned about.” She gazed at the couple, who seemed to be wearing guilty expressions on their faces. “Did we interrupt something?”

Liam shook his head. “We just got here a few minutes ago. Buffy and I were trying to decide what movie to watch.”

“Sorry to interrupt you guys, then. Your father and I are going to go upstairs. Liam, we’d appreciate it if you left at midnight,” Mrs. Summers said.

“No problem. Hope you’re feeling better, Mrs. Summers,” he replied.

Mrs. Summers waited until she and her husband were in the privacy of their bedroom before commenting on the couple downstairs. “Hank, did you believe them?”

He shook his head. “Not a word. You?”

“Me neither. It’s a good thing we skipped the movie.”

“You got that right.”

***

30

// The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes saying you’ll never leave me \\

“Wow,” Liam noted when he laid his eyes on his baby sister for the first time since she’d been born. “She’s so little.”

Amelia O’Neal smiled and nodded. It was the first civilized thing Liam had said to her in the past eighteen months. She and her eighteen-year-old stepson had had their fair share of differences since she married his father. “She certainly is. Would you like to hold her?”

He widened his eyes at the suggestion. It was something he’d never even given thought to. “I-I don’t want to hurt her.”

She picked up her two week-old daughter. “Trust me, Liam. You’re not going to hurt her. Just remember to support her head at all times.”

“Okay,” he agreed, taking his half-sister in his arms. Liam couldn’t believe how fragile and tiny she was. It had been sixteen years since he’d held a newborn baby, and even then he was too young to really remember it.

“You’re a natural,” Amelia commented. “You have a way with babies. You’ll be a good father, I can see it already. Amanda doesn’t take kindly to strangers.”

The teenager glanced up, then back down to look at the baby. “I’m not a stranger, I’m your brother,” he said to Amanda. “Are you and Dad gonna cal her Amanda all the time, or do you you plan on calling her Manda or Mandy?”

“We haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Why? What do you think we should call her?”

“Amanda. No nickname.”

“Works for me. I could never imagine calling her Mandy anyway. Always makes me think of that dreadful Manilow song,” Amelia said.

Liam thought about what his stepmother said. “Now that I think about it, you have a valid point there. Amanda it is.”

The thirty-year-old woman watched carefully as Liam shifted the baby in his arms. Even though she completely trusted him with Amanda, she couldn’t help but be nervous. “Your father says you’ve been seeing someone in Sunnydale.”

“He says right.”

“So spill already! I want the details.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s not much to tell, Amelia. Her name is Buffy, she and Willow are best friends, and she lives next door; we’ve known each other forever. And we’ve been going out for about a month now.”

“Is she the same girl you were hung up on around Christmastime?”

“One in the same.”

“How’s it going?” She noticed the gleam in his eyes. His father sported the same gleam quite often. She’d recognize it anywhere.

“It’s going. She makes me happy.”

“Good for you. You needed someone to take your mind off Paige and everything that happened after she died last year. It was a rough time for you,” she recalled.

Amelia had a point. He hated it when she had a point. “Yeah, it was. I got into a lot of trouble, did a lot of stupid things. But I’m perfectly happy now. In some weird, twisted way, Paige’s death was a good thing for me. It helped me fall in love with Buffy all over again.” He paused. “Does that make me an awful person?”

“Not at all. It makes you human.”

***

// The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all \\

“Mom, have you seen my bathing suit?” Buffy asked her mother a week later. She was packing for the family reunion she was attending with the Rosenbergs.

Mrs. Summers dried her hands on the dish towel hanging from the refrigerator. “No, I’m sorry, honey.”

“Oh, okay.” She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured herself a glass of ice water.

“How’s the packing coming along?” her mother wanted to know.

“All right I guess. Almost done, actually. Just need to find my bathing suit and some sunscreen and I should be good to go.”

Her mother nodded. “What time do you have to be at the Rosenbergs’ house?”

“We’re leaving at eight tomorrow morning,” Buffy informed her. “Far too early, if you ask me. But I’ll probably sleep most of the way there.” ‘Falling asleep on Liam’s shoulder. Now there’s something I could definitely get used to.’

“I think we need to have a talk about this weekend, Buffy. Please sit down.”

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Buffy reluctantly followed her mother to the kitchen table. “Am I about to get lectured?”

“Just a mother-daughter talk, that’s all. Things between you and Liam are getting pretty serious. Your father and I picked up on that the night of Liam’s graduation when we caught you two in the living room. And don’t deny that anything was going on,” Mrs. Summers stated.

Buffy nodded her head slowly. They were busted. “It is getting serious.”

“And while you know I completely trust the two of you to make the right decision, I want you to be careful this weekend.”

The blonde’s jaw dropped from the shock of her mother’s words. “Be careful? You’re giving me a safe sex talk, aren’t you?” she accused.

“I was once a teenager, too.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Buffy, it’s only because I love you that I’m saying this.”

She simply couldn’t comprehend why her mother was having this conversation with her. They’d already had it years earlier. “Okay, let’s get some things straight, Mom. First of all, it’s a little late for the precautions of sex talk. About a year-and-a-half too late. Second of all, Liam and I have only been dating for a month. I’m not going to sleep with him after that short a period of time.” Off her mother’s accusatory expression, Buffy realized what she’d just said. “Parker Abrams not withstanding. Thirdly and lastly, I’m not stupid enough to do it when his mother and stepfather are in the next room.”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

Buffy groaned. “Mom!”

But Mrs. Summers was adamant. She wasn’t about to let her daughter leave the room until she got the answer she wanted. “Buffy, promise me or you’re not going anywhere this weekend.”

“I promise. Nothing was going to happen this weekend anyway.”

“Good. I can sleep easier knowing that.”

***

31

// The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes saying you’ll never leave me \\

“Did you sleep well last night, Buffy?” Mrs. Rosenberg asked the young blonde as she trudged across the Rosenberg’s front lawn the following morning. The girl looked like the walking dead.

Buffy yawned. It was ten minutes to eight and she was still half-asleep. “I’m tired.”

“I never would have guessed. Liam, Willow and Oz are in the kitchen having a cup of coffee. Why don’t you join them,” the older woman suggested.

“Good idea. Thanks, I think I will.”

She left her bags on the ground with the others and walked in the house. Following the sound of laughter, Buffy made her way into the kitchen where she found the three other teenagers sitting at the table, each clutching a steaming cup in their hands.

“Hey, Buffy!” Willow greeted excitedly.

“You are way too cheerful for eight in the morning,” she mumbled in reply. “What’s all the laughing about?”

“Liam and I were telling Oz about the last Rosenberg family reunion we went to. That was the year he and I lost the three-legged race,” the redhead informed her.

Liam sighed heavily. “I still say your cousin Kathryn tripped me,” he complained. “I was washing mud out of my hair for a week.”

“Sounds like a great time,” said Oz.

“Yeah, a fun time had by all but me.”

Willow giggled. “You’re just a sore loser, Liam. And you’ll be a loser this year, too. Oz and I are gonna kick yours and Buffy’s butts.”

“I beg to differ, little lady,” her brother countered.

Oz glanced at Buffy, giving her a knowing look. “I don’t know about you, but I’m staying out of this argument.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Are you willing to put money where your mouth is?” Liam demanded.

“Bring it on.”

‘Those two have been watching too many cheesy teen movies,’ Buffy thought, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She made a mental note to remove all Freddie Prinze Jr and Neve Campbell movies from Willow’s video collection when they returned.

“Fine. Loser does the dishes for two weeks.”

The redhead smirked. “Deal.”

Hoping to change the subject, Buffy held up the coffee pot. “Does anybody want a refill?” she asked them.

They all shook their heads. “No thanks,” Oz responded.

“I’m not a coffee drinker,” Liam explained, bringing the mug to his lips.

“Why not?”

“It makes me jittery. So I went with some hot chocolate instead.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “Hot chocolate? It’s, like, eighty degrees outside. Don’t you think it’s a little bit warm?”

“You’re drinking hot coffee, so I really don’t see the difference. Besides, I don’t like coffee, it has a bad aftertaste. I’ll take hot chocolate any day of the week.”

She shrugged her shoulders as she put the pot back on the burner. “Whatever, Liam. Different strokes and all that. I just never knew you weren’t a coffee drinker. But I guess we all have our faults.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“I guess I’ll just have to force it out of you this weekend,” she teased.

“I guess you will.”

Willow cleared her throat, reminding the couple she and Oz were still in the room. “Um, guys, the incessant flirting is getting kinda icky.”

“Sorry, Wills,” her brother apologized, blushing slightly.

Oz leaned over and whispered in his girlfriend’s ear, “Is it going to be like this all weekend long?”

“I hope not. If it is, it’ll be one long weekend.”

***

// The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all \\

They had been on the road for more than an hour, and Buffy was ready to fall asleep. As Mrs. Rosenberg surmised, she had not slept very much the night before. Between her excitement over the weekend away and the talk with her mother, she’d had a hard time getting to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes and felt herself drifting off, a picture of her mother’s disappointed face popped into her head.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” questioned Liam. He could see his girlfriend struggling to keep her eyes open.

She nodded. “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Bad dream or something?”

“More like a waking nightmare,” she told him. “My mom gave me the talk last night while I was packing.”

He was genuinely confused. “The talk?”

“The talk. You know, *the* talk.”

“Oh.” Then it sunk in. “Oh!”

She laughed at him. The lightbulb practically became visible over his head. “Yep. So you can see why I’m tired.”

“You never had that talk with your mom before?”

“No, we had it when I started junior high. It was worse this time, though, because I actually understood what she was saying because I’d done most of it. Do you get what I mean?” Buffy asked him.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Looking up, she could see the embarrassment and look of discomfort on his handsome face. Obviously, the conversation was making him uncomfortable. “So, um, how was your visit with your father?”

The shift in topic made him relieved. “It was fun. I wish it could have lasted longer than a week, so I might go visit for another week or two before school starts again.”

“That sounds like it’ll be fun.”

“I hope so.”

“How do your father and Amelia like having a new baby around the house?” Buffy wanted to know. “Must be a big adjustment for them after living with a teenager.”

Liam nodded his head. “Big adjustment all right. Buffy, I could not get over how gorgeous my little sister is. She has these tiny little feet and hands, I was so afraid I was going to hurt her or something.”

“You’d never hurt her. You are a terrific big brother. Willow will vouch for you.”

“A vote of confidence. I could use one of those.”

“Amanda is going to look up to you. I wish I had an older brother like you.” She snickered, recalling her childhood. “You know, I used to tell Willow I was going to steal you away and make you my big brother. It always made her cry because she thought I’d really do it. I guess I can’t steal you from her anymore.”

He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “At least not as a brother you can’t. You stole me another way.”

***

32

// The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath \\

“Well, here we are, guys,” Mr. Rosenberg announced to the sleeping teenagers in the back of the minivan. After over two hours on the road, they’d reached their destination.

Liam groaned as he woke up. He’d been in the middle of a wonderful dream in which he and Buffy were making out on her couch, just as they had been doing the week before. Only this time her parents didn’t interrupt them. “Already?” he asked.

“Already?” his mother repeated. “We’ve been on the road for two hours.”

“How long have we been asleep?”

“Since about twenty minutes after we left. Wake up the rest of the crew back there. We have a lot of unpacking to do before lunch,” Mrs. Rosenberg ordered.

While his mother and stepfather climbed out of the vehicle, Liam shook the sleeping girl to his left. She opened her eyes, looking directly into those of her boyfriend. “Are we there yet?”

“Yep. Wake up, Buffy.”

She pouted. “Do I at least get a wake up kiss first?”

He couldn’t deny her the request. Bending his head down, he gave her a soft, lingering kiss. “Better?” he wanted to know, brushing the hair from her face.

“Much.”

In the seat behind them, Willow began to giggle. She, too, had heard her father. “Um, Liam, I think I have bad news for you,” she informed him, seeing her cousin heading in their direction.

“What bad news?” He couldn’t think of anything that could be wrong.

“Faith just saw us. And she’s on her way over.”

Liam whipped his head around to look out the car window. He caught sight of Willow’s cousin Faith walking toward them. Closing his eyes, the eighteen-year-old slumped down in his seat in hopes she would not see him.

Buffy saw the girl as well, and took note of Liam’s reaction. She couldn’t fathom why he was so afraid of the pretty, dark-haired girl. “What am I missing?” she demanded.

“My stalker,” mumbled Liam.

“Huh?” Now she was totally confused. “What are you talking about?”

“My cousin Faith likes Liam,” Willow explained. “I mean *really* likes him. At the last family reunion, she followed him around like an overgrown puppy dog.”

Oz laughed at the visual. “She’s jonesing for Liam.”

He snorted. Unfortunately, he didn’t find the situation nearly as funny as the rest of them. “Like I said. Stalker.”

“So, am I looking at some competition?” Buffy questioned her best friend.

“Hardly. Unless my big brother had a change of heart.”

“Let’s just say if I knew Faith was going to be here, I probably would have stayed home. Scratch that, I *know* I would have stayed home,” Liam responded.

“You’re scared of a teenage girl?” Buffy teased. “That’s just hilarious.”

Liam glared at his girlfriend. “Yeah, it’s freakin’ hilarious, Buffy. Pardon me if I don’t laugh along with the rest of you.”

Mr. Rosenberg walked to the door and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m sorry to interrupt happy hour, guys, but can we get a move on? The sooner everything is unpacked, the sooner we can eat lunch.”

The four teenagers piled out of the minivan just as Faith reached it. “Hello, everyone. How’s it hanging?” she greeted.

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave Liam a shove to get him out of the car. “Hi, Faith. I didn’t think your family would be here so early,” Willow said.

“We left at seven. I wanted to get here early,” the brunette told her cousin. Turning her head to the right, she blatantly ogled Liam. The man just got better looking every time she saw him. One thing that made her happy was the fact that they weren’t blood related. “Hi, Liam.”

His response wasn’t nearly as jovial as hers. “Hello, Faith.”

“You’re looking...ripe.” ‘Like picking fruit off the vine,’ she thought. ‘This is the year, I can feel it.’ “You know, Liam, I’m looking for a partner in the three-legged race. I think you and I could kick some serious Rosenberg ass. Should I sign us up?”

“I already have a partner.”

“Then the egg toss. Or the water balloon toss,” she suggested, not taking the hint Liam was throwing at her. “I’ll have to remember to wear my white t-shirt.”

Liam sighed, hearing Buffy’s stifled laugh behind him. “Faith, I want to introduce you to my *girlfriend*. Buffy, this is Faith.” He took three steps to his right to show Buffy to the seventeen-year-old.

“Nice to meet you,” Buffy said.

The introduction of Liam’s girlfriend did not phase her one bit. If anything, it made her more determined. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll save you a seat at lunch, Liam.” Without so much as a goodbye, Faith walked off.

Buffy looked at him. “Well, she’s pleasant.”

“Uh-huh. See my point?”

“The girl can’t take a hint, can she?” Oz questioned.

“Faith isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the box,” Willow told them. “I usually try to avoid her if at all possible. Plus, her obsession with Liam is kinda icky.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes. “No offense, Willow, I know she’s your cousin and all, but if she goes anywhere near my boyfriend, I will smack her down.”

***

// Emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky
Never revealing their depth \\

Buffy cradled the receiver between her ear and her shoulder. “This place is beautiful, Mom. We should really consider having a party or something down here.”

“You’re trying to sell the wrong parent here, honey,” Mrs. Summers said. “Talk to your father about that one.”

“I guess I’ll have to.”

“What did you guys do all day today?”

The blonde twirled her hair, recalling the day’s events. “Not much. Got here around ten-thirty or so. Unpacked, at lunch, hung out on the beach with Willow and ate again. Oh, and I almost beat the crap out of Willow’s cousin.”

“Buffy Anne Summers...”

“No, Mom, this girl totally deserved it. She was practically throwing herself at Liam. I had to protect what’s mine.”

In the living room of her house, Mrs. Summers shook her head in amazement. Her daughter was one in a million. “That boy doesn’t need much protecting. But what did Liam have to say about all this?”

“Not much. He was ready to kill her with his bare hands. Now, hopefully, she gets the point.”

“That’s good, I suppose. How big is the cabin?” her mother wanted to know. “Does everyone have their own bedroom?”

The implication in the question didn’t go unnoticed by the teenager. “I know what you’re getting at, Mom, and you don’t need to worry. Girls in one bedroom, boys in another. No coed, after dark activities going on.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Yes it is.”

“Fine, it is. When are you coming home?”

“Probably early Monday afternoon. Will you be at home or at the gallery?” Buffy asked.

Mrs. Summers thought for a moment. “Probably the gallery. Be careful and I’ll see you Monday, sweetie.”

“Bye, Mom.”

***

33

// Tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love \\

Buffy climbed out of the shower, wrapping the fluffy white towel she’d carried in with her around her slender body. She felt refreshed after a long, hot shower, thoroughly cleansing herself of any residual salt water and sand. Checking out her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she saw the lines of her tan and was pleased with what she saw. The two hours she’d spent on the beach had its desired effect.

In the midst of drying herself off, she looked around for her nightgown. But it was nowhere to be found. Then she remembered leaving it on the bed she was sharing with Willow for the weekend. ‘Shit,’ she thought. ‘Now what? I’m not gonna walk around the house in a towel for any member of the Rosenberg family to see. Who knows who might see me or what they might think.’

Seeing Mrs. Rosenberg’s robe hanging on the back of the door, Buffy grabbed it and threw it on. ‘She’ll never know the difference.’ Quickly running a brush through her long blonde hair, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

“Hey,” Liam said, emerging from his and Oz’s bedroom at the same time Buffy was exiting the bathroom.

Her blood rushed to her face. There she was, standing before the man she loved in nothing but a cotton robe. It wasn’t an embarrassing situation at all. But did he know it? “Hey,” she replied. “W-What’s up?”

“Not much. How was your shower?”

“Relaxing.”

Liam nodded. “Good.” He looked closely at the garment his girlfriend wore. “Isn’t that my mother’s robe?”

She turned her eyes away in shame. “Yeah. I was in a bit of a bind; I sort of forgot to bring my pajamas in the bathroom with me. Do you think she’ll mind?”

“She’ll never have to know.”

“What do you mean by that?” Buffy wanted to know.

“Just that she’s not here. You and I are the only ones in the cabin.”

“Where is everybody else?”

He held back a smirk. It couldn’t have happened at a better time. “Mom and Ira went to her sister’s cabin. And Willow and Oz decided to take a romantic walk on the beach. The way I figure it, we have at least forty-five minutes of alone time.”

“How nice and convenient,” she responded, entering her bedroom. She purposely left the door open for him to join her.

“I couldn’t agree more. How ever will we while away the dull hours?” Liam asked.

“Gee, I wonder.” Grabbing the collar of Liam’s white t-shirt, Buffy pulled his lips to hers. It was the first time they’d been alone since his graduation, neither one of them was about to let the opportunity pass them by.

Holding her tight, Liam led her to the bed where they’d be much more comfortable. He practically dropped down on top of her, and Buffy used her legs to push her further up the bed. Their previous spot had not been very comfortable. She lost herself in the kiss while her boyfriend took the opportunity to explore.

Liam thanked whatever higher power was listening for granting him his wish for quality time alone with Buffy. Between his visit to Los Angeles and their parents’ constant supervision, they hadn’t had much of a chance to be alone together. He wanted to make the most of it.

But Buffy heard a nagging voice in the back of her mind warning her to stop. She wanted nothing more than to ignore it, to go on her merry way and allow herself to enjoy the things Liam was doing and making her feel. His lips were soft against hers, his tongue erotically probing her mouth, his hands running along her bare skin. It wasn’t until he began to untie the belt at her waist did she finally listen.

She pushed him off of her, hence breaking their kiss. “Liam, we have to stop,” she said.

“Stop?” he questioned incredulously. “We just started.”

“I know. And I know I pushed for it. ” Buffy sat up and fixed the robe so that it covered her in the proper areas. “That’s why we have to stop right now.”

He was perplexed, but did as his girlfriend requested. “I don’t get it, Buffy. Did I do something wrong? Tell me.”

She shook her head. “It has nothing to do with anything you did or didn’t do. I just feel like we’re moving entirely too fast. We need to slow down,” Buffy explained. “I mean, we’ve only been dating a month. We have forever.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t upset, like Buffy thought he’d be. If anything, Liam was relieved. “Thank god.”

Buffy widened her eyes. “What?” She couldn’t believe she’d heard him correctly. “What do you mean ‘Thank god’?”

“Just that this is going too fast for me, too.”

She sat down at the edge of the bed, Liam sitting next to her. “Okay, color me completely confused. If you thought we were moving too fast, why didn’t you say something to me before now?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought this is where we’re supposed to be. Look, Buffy, I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, even to myself, but you have more experience with this stuff than I do. You know that. I have no idea what we’re supposed to be doing.” ‘I’m eighteen years old and I don’t know how to behave in an adult relationship. How pathetic am I?’

“And you think I do? No way. Going as far as I did with Parker was pure stupidity. I’ll never rush into something like that ever again. I’m just as clueless about relationships as you are, Liam.”

“Are you saying you’re more comfortable where we were before? Just holding hands and kissing?” he asked. “Because I know I was.”

“Totally. Groping came much too fast for my liking.” She smiled at him. “Not that it wasn’t fun. I think when we’re ready for more, we’ll both know it.”

“Promise me, Buffy, if things start going too fast again, or even too slow, you’ll tell me.”

Buffy pressed her forehead against his. “Promise.”

***

// I’ll be captivated, I’ll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above \\

Faith MacKenzie was determined to get Liam O’Neal to notice her. She’d spent a good portion of her time at the Rosenberg family reunion doing her best to get him to look at her. But nothing seemed to work, not with his blonde-haired girlfriend attached to his side everywhere he went. It was a pathetic display if she did say so herself.

She finally got her chance following the water balloon toss early Sunday afternoon. Liam’s girlfriend – she couldn’t have cared less what her name was – had gotten soaked and high-tailed it back to the cabin to change. That left the object of Faith’s affection all by his lonesome.

“You know, Liam,” Faith began once she reached his side. “We haven’t had any time to ourselves.”

“Yeah, it’s a real shame,” he replied, uninterested in a conversation with her.

“Maybe we can hang out tonight, go for a dip in the ocean or something. Just the two of us.”

Liam sighed. By now, he thought Faith would have gotten the picture that he wasn’t interested in her. “I’m here with my girlfriend. I believe I’ve mentioned that a few hundred times this weekend.”

“Your point being?”

“My point being that I’m with her, not you. As in we’re exclusive. No amount of throwing yourself at me is going to change that.”

“Yes, but is she giving you what you need? What you want? What you desire?”

He didn’t know what kind of game she was playing. “What exactly are you getting at?”

“Man, am I ever hot.” Faith pulled her tank top over her head and tossed it to the ground, showing off her skimpy blue bikini top. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the desired reaction she was hoping for. “You’re looking a little repressed, Liam. Sexually.”

“Leave me alone,” he shot back at her.

“I’m simply offering my expert opinion. Something in your bottle obviously needs uncorking. Perhaps I can help. It’s not like we’re related or anything.”

Liam leaned his head down, making Faith think he was going to kiss her. “You’re disgusting. I’m only going to tell you this one time, and then I’m going to get testy. In no way, shape or form am I attracted to you. I’ve been nice so far, but I just can’t take it anymore, so you had better listen carefully. Whatever fantasies you have about us...forget them. You and I are never gonna happen. I love my girlfriend. Get it through your thick skull and find someone else to obsess over.”

***

34

// I’ll be your crying shoulder
I’ll be love suicide \\

“Can I ask you a question?” Liam asked his girlfriend Sunday evening after dinner. The two of them were sitting on the beach watching the sun set.

“Shoot.”

He picked up a handful of sand, sifting it between his fingers. “It’s sort of personal. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”

“What’s the question, Liam?” Buffy demanded. “I don’t care how personal it is.”

“Okay. I’d really like to know what happened with Parker. Not every minute detail, but an overall summary. I only know what Willow told me, and that’s not a lot to go on.”

Buffy bit her lip, looking at the ground. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was personal. Wow...”

Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Liam hated himself for even asking. “Forget I even brought it up. I obviously upset you, I’m sorry.”

“I’m okay, don’t apologize. I just didn’t think that would be the question you’d ask. But I’ll answer it; you’ll hear it all eventually. Although I would have preferred later rather than sooner. Here goes.

“You know the whole background on it. You’d left right before your freshman year started and it sent me into a tailspin. Mostly because of what you said to me. The boy I’d had a crush on forever shot me down in the most hurtful of ways. Not exactly an ego booster for a twelve-year-old girl. So I moped around for a while, having no interest whatsoever in dating anyone. I thought all boys were cruel and heartless. That is, until I started high school a few years later.

“I met Parker – I mean *really* met him – the first week of classes. We were in the same Math class. He walked me to class every day, carried my books, the whole nine yards. Finally, he asked me out on a date. Of course I said yes. Why would I say no? I was a freshman, practically a nobody; he was a junior and a big man on campus. He took me to the Bronze for our first date. For our second date he took me someplace more secluded – the woods behind the high school. And...well, suffice it to say, he took me.

“He promised he’d call, but he never did. You don’t know how many hours I spent waiting by the phone for him. But he never called. He. Never. Called. He avoided me in school, stopped walking me to class, stopped looking in my general direction. Willow, who had begged me not to go out with him in the first place, told me to forget about him. I couldn’t, not until I had answers. I needed to know what I did wrong. When I confronted him about it, he had already moved on to his next conquest. He told me it had been fun and that was all it would ever be. He used me.”

His heart went out to the petite blonde. It was partly his fault, and knowing it made his heart hurt. “You’d never heard about his reputation before?” he questioned.

“No, not that it would have mattered to me at the time. I wanted someone to make me feel special. Parker Abrams did that. Momentarily.”

“You took his rejection really hard, didn’t you?” surmised Liam.

“Oh yeah. I started to think there was something wrong with me.”

Liam pulled her into his arms, wishing he could take the pain away. “There’s nothing wrong with you. People who use other people for their own amusement, or for revenge, are the lowest scum on the face of the earth.”

The blonde looked up at him, detecting a note of bitterness in his voice. “You sound like you speak from experience. Do you want to share?”

“Not particularly.”

“Come on, I told you my deep dark secret. Now it’s your turn. Spill it, buddy.”

Frowning, Liam recalled his experience. “It happened my freshman year, too. I was fairly popular, had a lot of friends and some girlfriends. Meaning I’d gone out on a few dates but nothing serious. There was this one girl, Emily Sheridan; god, I had the biggest crush on her. Every freshman guy in school did, but she was dating Brad Buchanan, captain of the football team. Well, they broke up near the end of the school year, and suddenly she was standing in front of my locker. Emily asked me out. I said yes, like any warm-blooded male would do.

“Paige knew I was setting myself up for a huge fall, but I didn’t listen to her. Hell, I didn’t care. All that mattered was the fact that I had a date with her. Little did I know she was only going out with me to make Brad jealous. It worked; they were back together the next day. All I got out of it was a big ‘I told you so’ from my best friend,” he explained.

“Sounds like you and I are a perfect match. A couple of losers at love,” Buffy stated.

“Hopefully not anymore.”

***

// I’ll be better when I’m older
I’ll be the greatest fan of your life \\

Liam walked Buffy to her front door Monday afternoon, holding her hand in his right hand, her bag in his left. He wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet. “Thanks a lot for coming this weekend. I hope you had as good a time as I did.”

“Definitely,” she replied, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. She was as reluctant to say goodbye as Liam was. “I wish it didn’t have to end so soon.”

“Me neither. I don’t know how many times you saved me from Faith’s clutches.”

Buffy dropped her jaw in mock anger, swatting him playfully. “So you didn’t invite me because you wanted to spend time with me? Ugh! It’s nice to know what you think of me.”

“I loved spending time with you, Buffy. You know, I was thinking about it last night, maybe we should do something together this summer. Just you and me.”

She eyed him curiously. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I’m going up to L.A. in August to visit my dad, Amelia and Amanda. I told you about that on the way to the reunion. How would you feel about going with me?” he asked.

“I’d love to. I have to get the okay from Mom and Dad, but as long a there is parental supervision I think they’ll be cool with it.”

He smiled. “I’ll run it by my dad when I talk to him tonight. Do you want to come over later tonight and watch a movie?”

“As tempting as that sounds, I can’t. Tonight is family bonding night. But I’ll call you after they’ve gone to bed.”

“Great. Talk to you later,” he said before leaving.

After watching her boyfriend walk away, Buffy picked up her bag and opened the front door. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of her mother sitting on the living room couch. “Hey, Mom.”

She dropped her bag next to the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Ever since they’d left for home, she’d been dying for a glass of iced tea. Quickly pouring herself a glass, she chugged a couple mouthfuls and headed back towards the living room. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother everything that happened during the trip.

“Mom, I had the greatest weekend. You’ll never–” Looking at her mother, Buffy’s heart stopped and the glass slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor at her feet. Mrs. Summers sat slumped on the couch, her eyes staring lifelessly at the wall.

***

35

// Rain falls angry on the tin roof
As we lie awake in my bed \\

Her lower lip trembled and fear shook through her body uncontrollably. The sight before her was unlike any she’d ever laid eyes upon. Mrs. Summers – her beloved mother – sat motionless on the couch, one arm hung loosely over the side. Buffy had never been so frightened in her sixteen years.

“Mom?” she practically whispered. “Mom?”

She took a tentative stop towards the sofa. ‘Maybe she’s asleep.’ But a voice in the back of her mind told her that people don’t sleep with their eyes open. “Mommy?”

Approaching her mother, Buffy reached out to touch her. Nothing. Then she picked up her hand and let go again, receiving no response. The hand dropped like a dead weight. The teenager shook her head in dismay. It couldn’t possibly be happening.

“No. Wake up, Mom. This isn’t funny anymore. Do you see me? I’m not laughing.”

No response.

***

// You’re my survival, you’re my living proof
My love is alive and not dead \\

Mrs. Rosenberg knocked on her son’s bedroom door, finding him laying on his bed with his eyes closed. “Liam? Are you asleep?”

He opened them and laughed at himself. “I’m awake, really I am. What’s up, Mom?” he wanted to know.

“Tired?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sorry. I just came to ask you if this bag was yours.” She held up a black backpack for him to inspect.

Liam shook his head. “Not mine. Did you ask Willow if it’s hers? It looks more like a girl’s bag.”

“I already checked with her and she said it doesn’t belong to her. Which means it is probably Buffy’s. Will you be seeing her tonight? You can bring it over then.”

“Probably not.” He got off the bed, taking the bag out of his mother’s hand. “Here, I’ll take it over to her house right now. She might have something important in here.”

She smiled knowingly. Liam just wanted an excuse to see their pretty neighbor again. ‘He’s going to treat that little girl like a queen. My boy takes after his father,’ she thought. “Okay. Just don’t stay for too long. Give the poor girl some breathing room.”

“Consider it done, Mom.”

Liam walked out of the house and headed straight to the Summers’ home next door. The thought of seeing Buffy again made his heart skip a beat. For the first time in his life, Liam was in love. And he couldn’t wait to finally say those three words to his girlfriend. Only he wasn’t sure how she would react. So he’d decided over the weekend he would wait until they were both ready before saying it.

He knocked on the front door, knitting his eyebrows together when the door opened on its own. It wasn’t like Buffy to leave it open like that. “Buff?” he called, stepping inside.

The house was eerily quiet considering there were two people inside. When he heard a murmured voice coming from the living room he followed it. What he found stopped him dead in his tracks: Buffy kneeling in front of the couch, holding her mother’s hand to her cheek. It was like a scene out of a bad movie. Only it was reality.

“Buffy?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

“She’s playing around. She’s playing a trick on me,” Buffy replied, her voice cracking.

Bridging the distance between them, Liam took a closer look at his girlfriend’s mother. Taking Mrs. Summers’ hand from Buffy, he felt around for a pulse. He didn’t find one. “This is no trick, Buffy. Do you know CPR?”

She violently shook her head, in complete denial about what was going on. “It’s a joke she’s playing on me.”

Liam pushed her out of the way. Buffy fell to the ground like a rag doll. “It’s not a joke when she doesn’t have a pulse. Call nine-one-one.” She didn’t move. “Now!” he ordered.

Moving on autopilot, Buffy made her way to the kitchen and picked up the cordless phone, then dialed the number for emergency response. She panted heavily, her heart pounding in her chest from her fear. From the kitchen she could hear Liam working on reviving her mother.

Nine-one-one emergency,” someone finally answered. Buffy felt like the phone had been ringing forever.

“Hello?” she choked out.

The man on the other end wasted no time. “Do you have–”

“My mom. She-She’s not breathing,” she explained.

“Is she conscious?”

Buffy walked back into the living room. She saw Liam performing mouth-to-mouth on her mother, and swearing at himself in the process. “No. I-I-I can’t...she’s-she’s not breathing.”

“Okay, I need you to give me your address.”

The question startled her. “What?”

“I’m gonna send an ambulance over.”

Buffy had to think; she couldn’t remember where she’d lived for the last sixteen years of her life. “Si-Sixteen-thirty Revello. It-It’s a house. Revello, near Hadley.” The operator noted the address in his computer. “I’m sending a unit right over. Are you alone in the house?”

“No,” she informed him, shaking her head. “No. My boyfriend is here with me.”

“Do either of you know CPR?”

“He...Liam is doing it right now. I-I don’t know CPR. I’m only sixteen.”

“That’s okay. Has your mother made any sounds? Coughed or moaned, or even moved?”

Buffy bit her lip. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched Liam work feverishly. Unfortunately, her mother was not responding. “No. Not since I got home. That was ten minutes ago. Oh god, she’s turning blue! You have to hurry them up!”

“They’re on their way. Do you hear the sirens?”

She listened, hearing the sounds of sirens about a mile down the road. “Yeah, I hear them.”

“Good. They are driving there as fast as they can. Did you see what happened? Did she fall?”

“No, no. I-I came home and found her on-on the couch. What should I do?” Buffy felt helpless.

“Go open the door for the EMTs,” the operator told her. “Do you have a front porch you can stand on?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Why don’t you wait for them there. If they see you out there they won’t pass by the house accidentally.”

She widened her eyes as she opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. “Pass the house? Does that happen a lot?”

“No, never. Do you see them?”

“Yeah. They just pulled up. Now what should I do?”

“Show them where your mom is. I’ll stay on the phone with you,” he offered.

“No. I don’t need you anymore. Th-Thank you.” She turned the phone off and waited until the EMTs were at her side before going back inside the house. “She’s on the living room couch. You have to wake her up,” she told the two EMTs.

“We’ll do our best,” the younger of the two men promised. “Your boyfriend is in there, right?”

Buffy nodded her head. “Uh-huh. He’s doing CPR.”

They ran inside, making a beeline for Mrs. Summers. Realizing he would only be in the way, Liam made his way to Buffy’s side, pulling her into his arms. “They know what they’re doing, Buffy.”

“I’m scared, Liam.”

“Shh,” he hushed her, kissing the top of her head. “I know you are. Just let them do their job.” He wanted to tell her everything would be fine, but couldn’t bring himself to say it. Not when he didn’t believe it himself.

***

36

// Tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love \\

“I’m getting no pulse,” the older of the two EMTs stated to the other one.

The younger EMT, with his blonde hair falling in his face, shook his head. The nearby couple would later learn his name was Ethan. “Let’s lay her out.”

They lifted Mrs. Summers’ body off the couch, lowering it flat on the floor. Buffy had to close her eyes and turn away from the sight. It was hard for her to comprehend that less than two weeks earlier she and Liam had shared intimate moments on that couch; now her mother laid there struggling for her life.

Liam felt her tighten her arms around his waist. “Maybe we should leave the room,” he suggested.

“No. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Buffy, you shouldn’t be watching this.”

“I’m staying,” she said stubbornly. “She’s my mother, I can’t leave her alone. Not now.”

Ethan looked up at the two. His heart went out to them. “How long’s she been like this?” he wanted to know.

“I found her, a-a few minutes. I just came home and she was like this. Ten, fifteen minutes ago maybe,” answered Buffy.

James, the older EMT, checked her eyes with his flashlight while Ethan attached the wires to her chest. “Was she conscious?” he asked.

Buffy shook her head. “No.”

“I’m bagging her,” James said.

“What?” Buffy didn’t like the way that sounded whatsoever.

“We’re gonna incubate,” Ethan explained. ‘The poor girl looks so frightened. God, she’s not much more than a kid.’ “Just trying to get her to breathe, all right?”

She nodded, dropping her head to Liam’s chest. She wanted so badly to cry but the tears refused to come. So she bit her lip and concentrated on the sound of her boyfriend’s heart beating rather than the EMTs’ attempts at reviving her mother.

“Oh my god, what happened?” Mrs. Rosenberg demanded, running into the house. She’d heard the sirens and came over to investigate.

“Mrs. Summers...she’s unconscious,” Liam informed his mother. “Buffy found her when she got home.”

She immediately walked over and embraced the shell-shocked teenage girl. “Buffy, I’m so sorry you had to come home to that.”

But Buffy didn’t want her neighbor’s sympathy; she wanted her boyfriend. She only felt safe in his embrace. Wrenching herself away from her Mrs. Rosenberg’s arms, she put herself back in Liam’s strong ones.

“Liam, you should take her out of here,” his mother ordered. “Bring her to our house, make her lie down and rest.”

“I already tried that, Mom,” he said. “She won’t leave.”

Ethan had a few more questions for Buffy while James pulled more equipment from his bag. “This your mother?”

“Yes.”

“Does she have any serious health problems? Any history of heart disease?”

“No,” Buffy replied. She watched as the newly-hooked up EKG read a flat line. “I mean, there-there was a tumor - a brain tumor, but she had an operation and she’s fine now. She-she’s been fine.”

As Buffy had been talking, Ethan and James were performing CPR. But Mrs. Summers was not responding. “She’s cold, man. Call it.” Ethan looked sadly at Buffy. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t understand what was going on. Liam, on the other hand, knew exactly what was happening. “Wha-What do we do now?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, but I have to tell you that your mother’s dead. It looks like she did die a good while before you found her. There’s...nothing you could have done.”

“How?”

“I’m guessing it must have been an aneurysm or some clotting. Some complication from surgery. She probably felt very little pain. I’m gonna call it in. We’re gonna bring her to the hospital and the coroner’s office will determine the cause of death conclusively.”

Liam refused to let his girlfriend watch them carry her mother’s dead body out on a stretcher. He put his hand under her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “We have to leave the room now.”

“No,” she argued.

“I’m not going to argue with you about this. The three of us being here is gonna make it hard for them to do their job. We’ll go to my house and lie down,” he told her.

“I have to go to the hospital with her. I can’t leave her alone.”

Mrs. Rosenberg exchanged a knowing glance with her son. “Buffy, honey, there’s nothing more you can do for her here. Just come to our house with us and rest for a little while. I’ll call your father and tell him what happened.”

Buffy watched the two EMTs put a white sheet over her mother’s still body, and Liam led her out of the house. She didn’t have it in her to fight him.

***

// I’ll be your crying shoulder
I’ll be love suicide \\

Buffy and her father followed the doctor into his office. They’d arrived at the hospital an hour earlier, awaiting the preliminary results of Mrs. Summers’ autopsy. Mr. Summers left work as soon as Sheila Rosenberg called him to tell him the dreadful news about his wife. When he got to the Rosenberg home, he found his daughter and hugged her as she were his lifeline.

“Okay, I’ve examined Joyce’s body,” the doctor started.

“Can we see her?” Buffy asked him.

“Not right now,” he answered. “The on-site report seems more or less accurate. She did have what looks like an aneurysm. A sudden hemorrhaging from a ruptured arterial vessel near the, uh, where the tumor was removed.”

The teenager was outraged. “Shouldn’t we have known about that, that...was a danger?”

“Honey...” her father said.

“Sometimes these things are detectable, and sometimes they’re not. Joyce was aware of the possibility of a rupture, and the effects. She didn’t even get on the phone, so clearly this was very sudden. She, uh, might have felt a little nausea, and probably passed out as it happened. I doubt there was much pain, and...even if someone had been by her side, it’s doubtful that this could have been dealt with in time.”

“I don’t get it,” Buffy said. “If-if she knew this could happen, why didn’t she tell us?”

Mr. Summers took his daughter’s hand in his. “We knew there was a possibility of this happening. And your mother and I decided not to tell you about it.”

“Why?”

“Neither one of us wanted to frighten you. Buffy, you were putting on a brave front for us, but we knew how scared you were inside. The last thing we wanted to do was give you something more to worry about,” her father said.

She glared at him. “It’s a little late now, don’t you think?”

“We never imagined this would happen.”

“Well it did. Maybe if I’d known I wouldn’t have thought she was trying to scare me when I found her.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “I have arranged to have Joyce’s body taken to the Sunnydale Funeral Home as per your request.”

“Thank you. Come on, Buffy. I’m taking you home.”

***

37

// I’ll be captivated, I’ll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above \\

“Your Aunt Meredith will be here in an hour or so,” Mr. Summers informed Buffy as they sat in silence over breakfast two days later. “She’s bringing Heidi and Jaycee with her. So please try to be civil when they arrive; I know you don’t get along with them.”

“That’s because she’s too controlling. She’s always bossing people around,” Buffy said. “Besides, I don’t plan on being here. Liam and I are going to spend some time together.”

Her father sipped his coffee. “It would be nice if you were home to see them. They’ve traveled a long way from New York to be here for the memorial service.”

“Why are they even coming? Mom and Aunt Meredith didn’t like each other. Mom always called her a snob.”

“Don’t start, Buffy. It’s a very trying time for everyone. They’ll be leaving in a couple days, can you make an effort until then?”

She sighed. “I suppose I could do my best.” Then she felt bad for her attitude. “Sorry, Dad. I’m still trying to deal with everything. It hasn’t all sunk in yet that Mom is really gone.”

“It is going to take some time to get used to it.”

The doorbell rang and the two jumped at the sound. ‘Dum-dee-dum-dum,’ Buffy thought as she and her father made their way to the front door. As her father opened the door, the Wicked Witch of the West’s theme from The Wizard of Oz played in her head.

“Meredith,” he greeted. “Thank you so much for coming. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

Meredith Chaney stepped inside the front hall and embraced her older brother. “Of course I’d come, Hank. This is a very difficult time for you and Buffy, I have to help out in any way I can. My feelings regarding Joyce are of no importance anymore.” She moved to the side, allowing her two daughters to enter the house. “You remember Heidi and Jaycee.”

The two preteens smiled shyly at their uncle. They hadn’t seen him in three years, so he was a virtual stranger to them. “Hi, Uncle Hank,” Heidi said.

“Hello, girls. Do you remember Buffy?” he asked them.

As if on cue, Buffy took a few steps forward so her aunt and cousins could see her more clearly. Meredith immediately approached her. “This is little Buffy? My lord, you have grown so much since the last time I saw you. You’re a vision, absolutely stunning.”

She looked down, embarrassed. “Thank you.”

“I only wish this could be under more pleasant circumstances. Your father tells me you’re the one who found your mother,” Meredith stated. “How horrible for you.”

“Yeah. I came home and found her on the couch.”

“Well, I’m sure you did everything you could.”

Buffy took a labored breath. ‘Nothing like rubbing salt in my wounds,’ she thought. “I guess. Dad, can I go upstairs?”

“Good idea. You can show your cousins where they’ll be sleeping,” Mr. Summers suggested. “The spare bedroom is set up for them.”

‘Joy. That’s not what I meant, though.’ “All right. Come on, guys. Let’s head upstairs.”

***

// I’ll be your cryin’ shoulder
I’ll be love suicide \\

The knock at the back door made everyone look up from the meal they were eating. Nobody had really said much of anything once they sat down at the kitchen table. Everyone more or less concentrated on the plate of food in front of them.

Buffy jumped out of her seat. “It’s Liam. I’ll get it.” She ran to the door and opened it, seeing her boyfriend on the other side just as she’d predicted. As much as she wanted to launch herself into his arms, Buffy had to hold herself back. “Hey.”

“Hi. How are you doing?” Liam asked.

She shrugged her shoulders in response. “I’m okay. Come on in, my family is inside eating.”

Making his way through the door, he looked tentatively at the people seated at the kitchen table. “Am I interrupting? I’m sorry.”

“Wow,” Heidi commented when she laid eyes on Liam. “What a hottie.”

“He looks like one of those guys in Teen Beat magazine,” Jaycee said.

‘Ugh.’ “No, Liam, you’re not interrupting anything. I really need to get out of this house for a little while. Dad, do you mind if Liam and I go for a walk?”

Mr. Summers shook his head. “Not at all. Go right ahead.” He understood that his daughter needed some time to herself.

“Buffy, why don’t you take Jaycee and Heidi with you two. That way your father and I can speak in private,” Meredith requested.

Though she wasn’t thrilled with the idea, Buffy knew she couldn’t very well say no. “Fine. Do you mind, Liam?”

“It’s fine with me.”

Within five minutes the four of them were strolling down the street, Buffy’s cousins walking several paces ahead of the couple. Grabbing his girlfriend’s hand, he gazed at her. “How are you holding up?” he asked, concerned.

Buffy needed to take a deep breath. “It’s hard. I woke up this morning and smelled breakfast, and when I went downstairs I half-expected to find Mom in front of the stove cooking it. But it was Dad, not her.”

“It’ll take some getting used to,” he told her. “I did that for a long time after Paige died. And I know me losing my best friend doesn’t even compare to you losing your mother, but believe me when I say I know what you’re going through.”

She nodded. “She was like a sister to you.”

“Exactly. It’s going to be a hard adjustment for you. I hope you know you can always come to me. To talk, to cry, or just to be with someone.”

“I know. God, I haven’t even cried about it. Does that make me some kind of freak? My mother died two days ago and I haven’t shed a single tear over it.”

“It probably hasn’t sunk in yet. Give it time.”

Buffy frowned. ‘Time? I can’t even cry over my own mom’s death. I should have done that a long time ago.’ “When did you get your medical license?”

“I’m an unqualified expert.”

Jaycee and Heidi stopped walking and turned around to face the two older teenagers. They saw them holding hands. “Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?” Jaycee asked.

Buffy cracked her first smile in days. “Yes we are, Jaycee.”

“How long?”

“About a month or so.”

“Are you in love?”

Neither one of them knew quite how to answer the question, though they knew in their hearts how they felt. “That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?” her cousin replied.

“Are you gonna get married?”

Liam and Buffy burst into laughter.

***

// I’ll be better when I’m older
I’ll be the greatest fan of you life \\

“Who was that young man?” Meredith asked her older brother after the four young people left the house.

“Liam O’Neal; he lives next door. He’s also Buffy’s boyfriend.”

She nodded her head knowingly. “Yes, I thought as much. He looks a little too old for her.” ‘A lot too old.’

“He’s eighteen, Meredith, so don’t go there. Liam is a good kid, he and Buffy have known each other since they were in diapers. Joyce and I used to babysit him and his sister.”

“There’s no need to snap at me. I was only stating my opinion. A boy that age will use this hard time for Buffy to his own advantage. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“Not Liam. That boy has been a rock for her during the entire length of Joyce’s illness. I trust him one hundred percent. Can we change the subject now?”

Meredith knew there was no arguing with her brother. “Very well. It’s only because I’m concerned. Joyce may have let Buffy run wild, but now you need to lay down the law and be the disciplinarian.”

“Buffy’s not wild. And I am not going to have this discussion with you, Meredith,” he snapped.

“Fine. Have you given any thought to what I suggested the other night when you called me?” she asked.

“I’ve had too much on my mind to give it any real consideration. But I’m not sure how I feel about uprooting our lives. Especially Buffy’s; this has been very hard for her.”

“Things will get easier, Hank. Moving out of this town will be good for both of you. You can put the past to rest and start over. Just promise me you’ll think about moving to New York.”

He nodded. “I will.”

***

38

// I’ve dropped out, I’ve burned up, fought my way back from the dead
Tuned in, turned on, remembered the thing that you said \\

“We commend to almighty God our sister, Joyce Summers, and we commit her body to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,” the minister spoke.

Standing between her father and aunt, Buffy stared at the hole in the ground where her mother’s coffin lay. When one of her uncles threw the first shovelful of dirt onto the coffin she felt her father’s hand tighten around hers. But she only stood there expressionless, motionless, virtually devoid of feeling. The reality of the situation still had not sunk in.

“The Lord bless and keep her. The Lord makes his face to shine upon her and be gracious to her. The Lord lift up his countenance upon her and give her peace.”

Mr. Summers took a deep breath and stepped forward. In his hand he held a single white rose – his wife’s favorite flower. Saying a silent goodbye to his life’s partner, he tossed the flower onto her coffin.

The mourners began to depart, offering their condolences to the grieving family before they left. When there were only a handful of people remaining, Meredith turned to her brother. “Perhaps we should return to the house now.”

“I agree,” Mr. Summers stated.

Buffy shook her head. “No. I-I’m not ready to leave yet. I haven’t said goodbye to Mom yet.”

Her aunt looked up to the sky. It had darkened considerably since the service began, and drops of rain drizzled over them. “It’s starting to rain, Buffy. If we stay any longer it’ll pour on us. You don’t want to ruin your nice clothes, do you?”

“I don’t care about my clothes.”

Frowning, Mr. Summers touched his daughter’s shoulder. “Please, honey, don’t start an argument here. Your aunt is right, it’s time to leave.”

“Fine,” the teenager relented.

Several feet away, standing with his family, Liam watched as Buffy was led away from the gravesite. He’d never had a chance to offer his condolences to the Summers family. After telling his mother and stepfather where he was going, Liam headed in their direction.

“Can I help you?” Meredith asked him curtly when he approached the family car.

“I was hoping to have a word with Buffy,” he explained.

“She isn’t feeling quite up for visitors yet. We’re going back to the house to rest. I suggest you try back in a couple of days.”

He knew Buffy, and knew that she needed his support. It didn’t make sense that her aunt would keep her from seeing him. “She needs me.”

“Son, you are the last thing she needs right now. Go home and leave my niece alone,” Meredith told him.

Liam stood in shock at her words. “Excuse me, but have I done something to offend you?”

“My brother and niece are grieving for their loss. The last thing Buffy needs is to be hurt by the likes of you. I’ll tell her you came by, though.”

***

// And I’ll be your crying shoulder
I’ll be love suicide
I’ll be better when I’m older
I’ll be the greatest fan of you life \\

Buffy picked up the telephone at nine-thirty. She’d been waiting all day for her boyfriend to call or stop by but he never did. Wanting to hear his voice, she dialed his number.

“Hello?” he answered on the fourth ring.

“It’s me,” she said, standing in front of the window, looking into his room and seeing him sitting at his desk. “Are you busy?”

“Not really. Just writing a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Burkhardt. How are you doing?”

She shrugged his shoulders, making eye contact with him through the window. “I’ve had better days, that’s for sure. How come you never called? Or came by?”

“I didn’t want to bother you. That and the fact that your aunt wouldn’t allow me within ten feet of you this morning at the service,” replied Liam.

“She’s a bitch. W-Would you mind if I came over? I need someone to talk to. I can’t talk to my dad or my aunt.”

Liam nodded. “Of course you can.. I’ll let my mom know, just come over whenever you want.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Hanging up the phone, Buffy opened her bedroom door and headed for the kitchen where her father was sitting. A part of her did not want to bother him, but she knew he’d worry if he didn’t know where she was going. “Dad, do you mind if I stay at the Rosenberg’s for a little while? I can’t stay here, I’m going crazy. I already called over there and they said it was okay.”

Mr. Summers glanced up from the paperwork he was looking over. “What? Oh, sure, go ahead.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“It’s fine. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

“I doubt I’ll enjoy myself, but thanks.” She bent down to give him a kiss. “Try to get some sleep tonight.”

“You, too.”

Buffy walked out the back door and stepped outside. The house had been stifling; she needed air and the summer’s breeze felt wonderful against her skin. When she reached the Rosenberg’s house, the back door opened for her.

“Hi, Buffy,” Mr. Rosenberg greeted. “Liam is in his room waiting for you. You can go on up if you want.”

“Thanks.” She walked inside, up the stairs and knocked on her boyfriend’s bedroom door. “Knock knock.”

Liam opened the door and saw Buffy standing on the other side. She looked as if the dam behind her eyes was about to burst. “Sit down, honey.”

Nodding her head, she stepped in the room and sat down on his bed. When Liam turned to face her, he saw the tears welling in her eyes. “I’m so sorry for coming over so late, but you’re the only person I can talk to, Liam. You’re the only one who’ll even remotely understand.”

He sat down next to her. “It’s okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I miss her,” she stated simply, looking directly in his eyes.

“I know you do. I wish I could tell you the pain is going to go away but it doesn’t. It never goes away, you just learn to deal with it.”

She sniffled. The tears stinging her eyes threatened to overflow. “It’s all my fault. I keep thinking about it...when I found her. If I had just gotten there ten minutes earlier.”

Liam hated to see her beat herself up over it. “You said the doctor told you and your father it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“The doctor said ‘probably’ wouldn’t have made a difference. The exact thing he said was ‘probably.’ I haven’t told that to anyone.”

“Doesn’t make it your fault. You couldn’t have done any different,” Liam reassured his troubled girlfriend.

She sighed heavily, causing herself to hiccup. “I didn’t even think to start CPR, you had to. I fell apart, Liam. That’s how good I am at being a grownup.”

“No one’s asking you to be a grownup.”

“Good. Because I want my mommy. I miss her.”

He took her in his arms. His heart broke hearing and seeing her cry; he wanted so badly to take her pain away. “I know you do. Just let it out, Buffy. Cry.”

And she did. For five minutes straight she sobbed into his chest, letting him comfort her as best he could. Glancing at the doorway, he caught a glimpse of his mother and stepfather in the hall. Seeing the expressions of helplessness on their faces, he shook his head. There was no way he was letting Buffy leave his side that night. He didn’t care what they said.

“Do you want to call Hank or should I do it?” Mrs. Rosenberg asked her husband. “I don’t want him to worry when Buffy doesn’t come home tonight.”

He frowned. “I’ll tell him. Are those two going to be all right?”

“Yeah. I know my little boy, they’ll be fine tonight. We can trust them.”

***

39

// Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take
Baby, when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me \\

When her crying finally ceased, Buffy sniffled and looked into her boyfriend’s chocolate eyes. She could see the concern in them and it made her want to cry all over again. Not from sadness but from the happiness of knowing she found the right man to love. One who cared enough to let her sob in his arms.

“I cried all over you,” she whispered, wiping the tear stains on his white t-shirt with her finger. “You’re all wet.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll dry,” Liam told her. “I’m more concerned about you than I am a twenty dollar t-shirt. Do you feel better now that you’ve gotten that out?”

Buffy nodded. “Much better. Thank you, I really needed that. I guess I should go home now, I’m sure you’re sick of listening to me cry.”

“You can stay as long as you want, Buffy. Either my mom or Ira called your dad to let him know you’re here with me. No one is going to mind whatsoever if you spend the night.”

“You don’t care if I stay here with you?” she asked.

“I don’t mind at all. We’ll let Willow know when she gets home so she can set up the cot in her bedroom.”

She bit her lip. Staying in Willow’s room wasn’t where she wanted to sleep. “Can I sleep in here? With you?”

“If that’s what you want. I can sleep on the floor,” he said.

“No. The bed.”

“It’s only a single. We’ll never fit.”

“I’m small. Please? I’ll sleep better next to you, with your arms around me.”

Even though his better judgment screamed at him to tell her no, he couldn’t possibly turn her down. Especially not after the stressful day she’d had. “All right. Why don’t you change into a t-shirt or something of Willow’s while I tell Mom and Ira the sleeping arrangements tonight.”

Liam left his bedroom and headed for the living room, finding the two adults sitting on the couch watching television. He doubted they’d say yes, but he owed it to Buffy to at least ask them. “Mom, Ira, did either of you call Buffy’s dad?”

Mr. Rosenberg turned to face his stepson. “I did. Hank said it’s fine if Buffy stays over. He thinks it’ll be good for her to get out of the house for the night.”

“I figured as much. She’s upstairs changing right now.”

“How is she doing?” his mother wanted to know.

“She let it out finally, which is a good sign. It’s going to take some time before she’s back to normal,” he informed them. “But she has a request for tonight. Buffy wants to stay in my room. With me.”

“That’s what your mother and I assumed.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “You mean you’re not going to flip out and make us sleep in separate rooms?”

“We trust you,” Mr. Rosenberg told him. “Besides, it’s not as if the two of you can get into too much trouble with us in the next room.”

“You have a point there. Thanks. I think Buffy and I are just gonna hang out in my room until we go to bed – sleep,” he corrected himself. “Night.”

“Night.”

He went back to his bedroom and was surprised to see Buffy waiting for him. She wore a pair of his boxer shorts and one of his t-shirts. Though the clothes were much too large for her, he thought she never looked lovelier. “What happened to Willow’s clothes?”

She smiled shyly. “I liked yours better. The shirt smells like you; I like that. Can I keep it?”

“Sure. Ira called your dad and got the green light. *And* they’re cool with you staying here tonight. Quite shocking, actually.”

Buffy sat down, her eyes burning with hot tears. Her boyfriend followed in suit, sitting to her right. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Liam. I counted on my mom so much, how am I supposed to go on without her here?”

“You’ll learn. Buffy, you’ll always have someone to count on. Your father, your family, Willow and Oz and Xander. And me. None of us are going anywhere.”

Her lower lip trembled. “You mean it? You won’t leave me?”

Liam drew her close, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. “Never. You’re going to have a hell of a time getting rid of me.”

“I’m not letting you go, Liam O’Neal,” she promised.

“Me neither.” He took a deep breath. It was time; he was ready to say the words he’d been feeling for the better part of ten years. “Buffy, I know this isn’t the best time to tell you this, but I might not have the nerve to say it later. I-I love you.”

Buffy felt her heart pound. The three words she’d dreamed of hearing him say for most of her life had left his lips. She didn’t care that it wasn’t the most romantic setting, but it was exactly what she needed to hear. “You do?”

He fiddled with a strand of her hair between his fingers. “Yeah, I do. It’s probably the last thing you need to hear me say, but I do. I’ve loved you since before I even knew what love was. By the time I realized it, I thought it was too late, I’d already pushed you away. It’s been eating away inside of me now since I first saw you again. And I have been trying to find the right words and right time to say it. I guess I couldn’t keep it in any longer.”

“You have no idea how much I needed to hear you say that,” Buffy told him. “And it’s been killing me inside not being sure of when or how to say it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, too.”

Liam got up and walked over to his desk, pulling out the locket Paige returned to him. “I want you to have this.” He handed it to her.

She held the locket in her hand. It was gold plated with the words ALWAYS – LIAM inscribed on it. “Liam, it’s beautiful. Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He clasped it securely around her neck. “I bought it for Paige as a Sweet Sixteen present, and she gave it back to me in a letter she wrote before she passed away; said she wanted me to give it to someone I love. You.”

“She knew how you felt, didn’t she?”

He nodded. “Before I even knew.”

“Thank you.”

Their lips met in a tender kiss. It seemed like a lifetime to both of them since they’d been that close. Buffy ran her right hand through his thick brown hair and trailed her left one to the hem of his shirt. When he felt both of her hands lifting the shirt up, Liam pulled away from their embrace. She was moving entirely too fast.

“Buffy, what are you doing?” he asked.

She looked at him innocently. “I want you to make love to me, Liam. Right here, right now.”

Liam shook his head, not believing what she was asking him to do, particularly given their conversation Sunday night regarding the speed of their relationship. “You don’t want me to. You may think you do, but you really don’t.”

“I know what I want. You.”

“We can’t. My mom and stepfather are right downstairs. They will be able to hear everything that we do.”

“We can be quiet.”

“Buffy, no! You’re hurting right now, you don’t know what you want. If we have sex tonight, you’ll just regret it. Think about it. Do you really want our first time together to be an experience you look back on with regret? I know I don’t,” he explained.

She sighed. “I won’t regret it.”

“I would. It would be like taking advantage of you, and I cannot do that. I’m sorry.”

Realizing there would be no changing his mind, Buffy decided not to pursue the issue. “Okay. But someday you won’t be able to say no.”

“I never said it wouldn’t happen, just not tonight. I’m no angel, Buffy. It’s hard enough for me to say no right now.”

“You’re wrong. You are an angel. You’re my angel.”

***

40

// And it blows me away
I’ve never been this close to anyone
Or anything
I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams \\

“Liam, could I talk to you for a minute?” Mr. Rosenberg asked his stepson right after Buffy left the next morning.

With an annoyed sigh, the teenager followed his stepfather into his bedroom. ‘Great, now I’m in trouble.’ “What did I do this time, Ira?”

“Sit down.” Once Liam was sitting on his bed, he closed the door for privacy. “You didn’t do anything. In fact, it’s what you didn’t do that I want to talk to you about.”

“Huh?” Liam was clueless.

“Last night I overheard some of your conversation with Buffy.”

Liam raised his eyebrows suspiciously. “Overheard? Or were you eavesdropping on us?” he accused.

“I was on my way to the bathroom and I was walking past your bedroom when you two were talking. And I want to tell you how proud I am of you for giving in to temptation. I know Buffy asked you to make love to her.”

“You heard that part?” he asked, more than slightly embarrassed. “Well, now I am completely mortified.”

Mr. Rosenberg shook his head. “You have no reason to be. I’m sure it was hard for you to tell Buffy no. That’s why I’m proud.”

“Yeah, I’m a real stand-up guy.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Liam. Most men your age wouldn’t have the nerve to say no the way you did. Especially when it’s the girl they love.”

“What?” ‘Don’t tell me he heard that, too,’ he thought. “Love?”

“You may not think we know, but we do. We’ve all known your feelings for Buffy go way beyond those of neighborly affection. For years your mother and I have known,” the adult admitted.

He was shocked to hear that everyone knew. Liam never thought of himself as someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. “If you knew how I felt about Buffy, why did you let us sleep together last night? Weren’t you and Mom afraid we’d lose control or something?”

“Your mother wasn’t, but I have to admit I had my reservations until I heard you turn her down. And most of them stem from the trouble you got into back in L.A.. I know none of that had anything to do with girls or sex or anything like that. Still, I couldn’t help worrying.”

“I only got into a couple of fights.”

“How was I to know what that would snowball into? A fight at school one day, an unwed father the next. Things happen that quickly these days.”

The teenager rolled his eyes. “Blowing things a tad bit out of proportion, don’t you think, Ira?”

“I know. It’s knowing what you could have done that makes me proud to be your stepfather. Your mother and father raised you to respect women, and you’ve turned out to be a level-headed young man. I know you’ll treat her right.”

“Of course I will. Like you said, I love her.”

***

// I don’t how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better \\

Buffy closed the back door softly behind her. It was only nine in the morning and she assumed everyone would still be sleeping. The last thing she wanted to do was wake her family up; they deserved a day to rest. She, on the other hand, felt plenty rested after staying the night at the Rosenberg’s house. Though she didn’t know if it was because she slept soundly in Liam’s arms or because she finally let herself cry over her mother’s death.

“Where the hell have you been, young lady?” her aunt demanded, walking into the kitchen in her bathrobe. “I know it hasn’t been in your own bed.”

“I stayed next door last night.”

“With your boyfriend, I assume.”

Buffy opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. “So what? I’ve stayed over there plenty of times before. I’m best friends with his sister. This isn’t exactly a big revelation.”

“How convenient for you.”

She whirled around to face her aunt. “What does that mean?”

“You know very well what that means. You just buried your mother less than twenty-four hours ago and you are already out shacking up with you boyfriend,” Meredith stated. “Have you no common decency?”

“You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

“I know exactly what I’m talking about, Buffy. A girl your age doesn’t need to be concerning herself with having sex. You don’t know how many girls that boy has been with. Sixteen is too young to be having sex.”

“Thanks for the lecture, Aunt Meredith, but it’s too little, too late. I’ve both been there and done that,” she informed her aunt smugly, hoping it would shut her up. “About two years too late.”

Meredith shook her head in disgust. “Your mother raised you a slut then. No decent mother would let her daughter have sex at fourteen years old.”

“How dare you say that about me! You bitch.”

“Go to your room, Buffy; you are grounded. And you’re not allowed to see that boy next door anymore. He is nothing but trouble.”

“You don’t even know Liam. You shouldn’t be making accusations like that without the facts to back them up. And I’ll have you know that my mom was the best mother ever.” Buffy wasn’t about to let her aunt talk about her mother and boyfriend like that.

“Get your ass upstairs, young lady!”

“Go to hell!” Buffy shouted. “You’re not my mother! I don’t take orders from you.”

Meredith fumed. She did not like to be talked back to. “Go to you room right this instant. I won’t stand for this kind of malarky in my house.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we’re not in your house then.”

“Do you want me to slap that smart mouth of yours? Wash it out with soap? Don’t tempt me, I won’t hesitate to do it.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

Just as Meredith was raising her hand to strike her niece, Mr. Summers entered the kitchen. “What is all the shouting down here? It’s only nine o’clock, you’ll wake the neighborhood.”

“Aunt Meredith was about to slap me,” Buffy told her father. “Isn’t that right?”

“You’re exaggerating. Hank, your sixteen-year-old daughter just got home. Do you know where she was? Spending the night at her boyfriend’s house!”

He nodded. “I know. Ira Rosenberg called me last night to let me know Buffy would be staying over.”

Meredith was outraged. “How can you stand there and act so nonchalant about this? Your daughter slept with her boyfriend.”

“I never said I slept with him. Don’t put words in my mouth, Aunt Meredith.” Buffy turned to her father. “Daddy, nothing happened between me and Liam last night. I swear.”

“I’m sure nothing did. I trust you two.”

“How can you trust her?” Meredith demanded. “The girl has been having sex since she was fourteen! Who knows how many boys she’s slept with.”

Buffy lunged at her aunt but her father stopped her before she could make contact. “The subject is dropped right now,” Mr. Summers said. “Meredith, I suggest you finish packing the rest of your things, your plane leaves in four hours. Buffy, help your cousins.”

“Four hours isn’t soon enough,” the teenager mumbled as she marched past her aunt and father.

***

41

// I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
For ever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you \\

Mr. Summers knocked on his daughter’s bedroom door once he returned from the airport later that afternoon. The two of them needed to have a talk; one that they hadn’t yet had a chance to have. “Honey, can I come in?”

“Sure” he heard her reply.

When he opened the door, Mr. Summers found his daughter sitting on her bed, playing with her stuffed pig Mr. Gordo. He could still remember the day he bought it for her. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead.”

Mr. Summers sat down next to her, pointing to the stuffed animal Buffy held. “Mr. Gordo, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember when you got him?”

“Uh-huh. I was five or six and I had the chicken pox. I kept trying to itch myself; you felt so bad for me that you bought me Mr. Gordo and told me to itch him whenever I itched. You said it would make it stop itching,” Buffy recalled. “By the way, it didn’t work.”

He laughed. “It appeased you at the time.”

“No it didn’t. I was afraid if I told you it didn’t work you’d take him away.”

“Quite the little sneak you were. That’s it, I want the pig back. I’m returning him to the store,” he teased.

Buffy held Mr. Gordo close to her chest. “No way. Not a chance in hell am I giving him back, Dad. Mr. Gordo always makes me feel better.” ‘He and Liam.’

“I was only kidding anyway. Somehow I doubt they’d let me bring him back.” He paused. “Buffy, I think maybe you and I need to talk.”

“Is Aunt Meredith gone?”

“Yep. Her plane took off half an hour ago.”

She eyeballed him. “Did you make sure she got on the plane? I wouldn’t put it past her to pretend she left just so she could torment me.”

“I made sure.”

“Good.”

“What happened between you two this morning? All I heard was you two shouting at each other.”

Buffy frowned, remembering the argument. It made her blood boil just thinking about it. “Are you going to believe me if I tell you? Or are you going to take her side and call me a liar?”

“I just want the truth.”

“Fine. I came in the door this morning and she was there waiting for me. She started ragging on me about staying out all night, especially when she figured out where I’d spent the night. I tried explaining to her nothing happened last night but she refused to listen! Then she started saying all sorts of awful things about Mom, and I just snapped on her. Then she tried to hit me.”

“I’m not trying to justify what your aunt Meredith said, but maybe she was worried about you,” Mr. Summers suggested.

Buffy shook her head. “You’re right, that doesn’t justify what she said about Mom. Dad, she called me a slut! Aunt Meredith doesn’t even know me, she does not have any right to make accusations like that. I seriously hope I never have to see her again.”

“That’s not very nice, Buffy.”

“I don’t care! She’s a bitch.”

“She just doesn’t know you well enough to know you’d never do anything stupid. Yesterday was a hard day for everyone; judgements were impaired by our grief. Meredith was only concerned for your well-being.”

She widened her eyes. “You, too? I didn’t sleep with Liam last night, not that I didn’t try to get him to. It wouldn’t have been my first time, either.” Buffy watched her father’s face to see the shock of her words set in, but there was no change. “You’re not surprised by that. Well, Liam said no. He said I’d only regret it, and do you know what? He was right. Liam loved me enough to say no to me. And I love him even more for it.”

“Love?”

“Yes, Dad. Love.”

Even though he expected it to happen someday, Mr. Summers didn’t think it would happen so soon. “I am happy for you. And as much as I hate to change the subject to your aunt again, there is something she mentioned to me that needs to be discussed. Ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” she repeated with raised eyebrows.

“Your mother set the rules before she...before she passed away. We have to make allowances for the fact that she’s not here to enforce them anymore. I’m not going to change much, just a few little things here and there. Expect more responsibility, for both of us. Things will never be the way they were.”

“Tell me about it,” she agreed whole-heartedly.

***

// The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark \\

“I can’t believe you went to all this trouble,” Buffy commented a week later to her boyfriend as he spread the blanket on the grass in Weatherly Park. He’d called her up earlier that morning and invited her on a picnic for two.

Liam smiled. “It was no trouble at all. My mom actually did all the work, I just called you and invited you.”

She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “It was still sweet of you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Saying those words no longer frightened him. “Do you want to eat now or in a little while?”

“I’m not hungry yet. Would you mind if we just sat here and talked for a bit?”

He shook his head. “Sure. How are things going at home? Are you and your dad doing okay on your own?”

“So far so good. We had a long talk last week about how things won’t be the same and all that stuff. Basically stuff I already knew. There’s a heck of a lot more responsibility for both of us.”

“I’m sure. It’s going to be a difficult adjustment.”

“You’re not kidding.”

Realizing the conversation was taking a sad turn, Liam opened the basket his mother packed for them and pulled out two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two cans of Pepsi. They unwrapped the sandwiches and began to eat.

“Hey, Liam,” Buffy began five minutes later. “Can I ask you a question? It’s been bugging me for some time now and I never bothered to ask.”

“Shoot.”

“Well, you said you’ve been in love with me for a long time. How long exactly?”

“I...” Liam never thought that would be the question she’d ask him. “A long time, Buffy. Probably since I was a little kid.”

“Before you left for L.A.?”

He bit his lip, knowing what her next question would be before she even asked it. “Long before I left.”

“Then why did you say those horrible things to me when we said goodbye? If you loved me, why didn’t you tell me?” she wanted to know.

“I was fourteen. At that age, do you know embarrassing it is to be in love with a girl who’s only twelve? Very humiliating. Not to mention I didn’t know what to do about it; I was leaving and I thought I’d probably never see you again. Which is stupid considering you live next door to my sister. Part of me figured I’d get over you.” Liam smiled. “But I never did.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Believe me, I tried my best to get you out of my head. I knew loving you like that was totally unhealthy. If there was such a thing as a dateaholic, I’d have been one. But none of them were you.”

Buffy scooted over and sat in her boyfriend’s lap. “Lucky for me. I don’t like to share.”

***

42

// Your hair all around me
Baby you surround me
You touch every place in my heart \\

Liam cradled the telephone between his ear and his shoulder while he put several pairs of socks in his suitcase. “Are you sure you and Amelia are totally okay with Buffy coming with me?” he asked his father. It was mid-August already and the teenager was preparing for his trip to Los Angeles.

“It’s fine, Liam. We told you that before,” Mr. O’Neal said.

“I know you did, but I just want to make sure. You know, with Amanda, I thought maybe you two would be completely exhausted by now. Having one teenager is hard enough, but two might be even more stressful.”

Mr. O’Neal thought it was sweet that his son was so concerned about their well-being. “Don’t worry about it, Liam. Amelia and I can’t wait to have you two visit for a week.”

“I’m sure Buffy won’t mind staying in one night while you two guys go out for some alone time,” he offered.

“I’ll let Amelia know. That’s really nice of you two to offer.”

“No problem. How is my little sister doing? Sleeping through the night yet? Talking in complete sentences?”

His father laughed at the question. “Has it been that long since you’ve been around a newborn? Amanda is hardly sleeping through the night. Trust me, if that were the case, I’d be the happiest father in the universe. If anything, she’s waking up every three hours. Seems like whenever we just start to fall asleep she wakes up. Amelia and I are dead tired.”

“I don’t doubt it. I don’t plan on having kids anytime in the near future.”

“That reminds me. What time will you and Buffy be here?” Mr. O’Neal wanted to know.

“We’re leaving at two in hopes of avoiding the rush hour traffic on the freeway. So let’s shoot for five o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

He nodded. “We’ll have dinner ready for you guys. I’m actually quite surprised Hank is letting Buffy join you on this trip.”

“I think he knows he can trust us. I mean, really, with two other adults there, plus a baby, how much trouble can we get into?”

“That’s not what I meant, but that does assuage some fears I might have had. I’m talking about it being so soon after Joyce Summers’ death. It’s only been a couple weeks.”

“Six weeks to be exact. Yeah, I’m pretty surprised myself. But he’s completely cool with it, which shocked me. I think the fact that there’ll be parental supervision definitely weighs heavily in our favor.”

“You two can’t get into too much trouble while we’re here.”

“I told you.” The teenager sighed softly. “Unfortunate though.”

“Better watch it or we’ll never leave you and Buffy alone this week,” his father threatened.

“I’m quaking.”

***

// It feels like the first time every time
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes \\

“Wow,” Buffy commented when she and Liam pulled into the driveway of his father’s house. It was bigger than she expected it to be. “This place is beautiful.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay. Maybe I’m a little too used to it, having lived here for three years. Truthfully, I think it’s about the same size as my mom’s house in Sunnydale.”

“No way. This one’s definitely bigger.”

Liam turned off the engine and stepped out, walking around to the passenger side to hold the door open for Buffy. Unbeknownst to them, his father and stepmother came to the front door and watched them. Cradling her two-month-old daughter in her arms, Amelia smiled at the sight.

“Look at that boy of yours,” she noted. “Such a gentleman. Looks like someone raised him right.”

Mr. O’Neal grinned proudly. “I take full credit for that, thank you very much, Amelia. Come on, let’s help them with their stuff.”

“Gee, I’d love to but my hands are full at the moment,” she said, nodding to a sleeping Amanda.

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head and headed for the two teenagers. His wife followed behind him. “Hi, guys. How was the drive up here?”

“Long,” Liam replied, pulling out a duffel bag Buffy had packed. He silently wondered what she put in there that made it so heavy. “Buffy fell asleep five minutes after we hit the road. It was a long, boring trip.”

“Sorry,” she apologized sarcastically. “I was tired. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. You know, if it was such a boring trip for you, Liam, you should have woken me up. I might have been cranky, but at least then you’d have had someone to talk to.”

Amelia could sense an argument brewing between the couple. She knew if they started fighting it would be a long week for everyone. “Hi, Buffy, I’m Amelia. Liam’s stepmother. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. O’Neal,” she responded. “Finally?”

“Yes, finally. When he came to visit back in June, you were all Liam could talk about. I feel like I already know you. And you can call me Amelia.”

Buffy noticed the sleeping baby in the older woman’s arms and practically melted. “Oh my god, is that Amanda? She’s so adorable!” she gushed. Amelia nodded. “Would you like to hold her?”

“I’d love to.”

“Let’s go inside then. We can sit down and gossip.”

The blonde’s eyes lit up with excitement. She already felt as if Amelia was like a kindred spirit. “Sounds like fun.”

Watching the two women walk into the house, Liam and his father exchanged worried glances. “You do realize we’re outnumbered, right?” Mr. O’Neal informed the teenager.

“Oh yeah. And they left us to bring in all the suitcases. Figures.”

“I get the feeling they planned it this way. You and I are in for trouble this week. Those two are out to get us.” Mr. O’Neal hefted a suitcase out of the trunk.

Liam nodded in agreement. “Big time.”

***

43

// I don’t know how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better \\

“Do you mind if we stop someplace before we go to the mall?” Liam asked his girlfriend two days after they arrived in Los Angeles. They were driving down the road in the direction of the closest mall.

Buffy shook her head. “No, I don’t mind at all. Where do you want to stop?”

“The Burkhardt’s house,” he informed her. “I haven’t seen them since I visited in December. Is that okay? If you’re uncomfortable with it I can go by myself some other time before we leave.”

“It’s fine with me. They’re like family to you. I can’t wait to meet them.”

“That they are. They only live a couple blocks away. I just want to stop in and say hello. We won’t be long, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it, Liam. Take your time.”

A minute later the couple was walking up the sidewalk leading to the front door. With a deep breath and slightly shaking fingers, Liam pressed the doorbell. Not ten seconds later the door opened, revealing a tiny redheaded girl not much older than twelve.

“Liam!” she screeched, launching herself into his arms.

Buffy couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the sight. It was akin to being witness to a brother and sister reuniting after years apart.

“Hey, Ash. How’re you doing, squirt?”

“I’m good. Why are you here?” she wanted to know.

“I’m visiting my dad for a couple days,” he answered. “I needed to see my new little sister before I go off to college. Have you seen Amanda yet?”

Ashley Burkhardt nodded her head. “She’s cute, I saw her a couple days ago. Your dad even said I could baby sit her when she’s a little older.” She looked to Liam’s right, seeing the blonde standing next to him. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Yep. Her name is Buffy.”

She made a face. “What kind of name is Buffy?”

“It wasn’t my first choice either,” Buffy responded. “What’s your name?”

“Ashley.” She grabbed Liam’s hand and dragged him inside the house. “Mom! Liam and his girlfriend are here!” Ashley announced.

Mrs. Burkhardt walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Upon seeing her late daughter’s best friend, she burst into a happy grin. “Liam O’Neal, is that really you?”

“It’s me.” They all had a seat on the couch. “Mrs. B, I’d like you to meet Buffy Summers. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Ah, yes. Your father mentioned you were bringing your girlfriend when you came to visit.” She looked over the blonde girl who’d accompanied Liam. Buffy couldn’t have been more different from Paige in looks. And she definitely looked younger. “It is very nice to meet you, Buffy.”

Buffy smiled. “Thank you. Same to you, Mrs. Burkhardt.”

“Mom, can I show Buffy my bedroom?” Ashley questioned her mother.

“As long as Buffy wants to see it, it’s fine with me.”

Ashley turned to Buffy, a hopeful look on her face. “Buffy? Do you want to see my bedroom?”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

She followed Ashley down the hall to her bedroom, passing by a closed door labeled PAIGE’S ROOM. Buffy was willing to bet a month’s allowance the room itself hadn’t been changed since the teenager passed away a year earlier. When they entered Ashley’s room, the girl pulled a picture off her bookshelf.

“This is me and Paige,” Ashley told her, handing Buffy the picture. It had been taken a few weeks prior to her sister’s death and it was the twelve-year-old’s favorite picture of them. “Wasn’t she pretty?”

“She was,” Buffy answered truthfully. She couldn’t understand why Liam chose her over someone as beautiful as Paige had been. “Very pretty.” Pulling the locket Liam gave her out from under her blouse, she began to nervously play with it.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Ashley, who recognized the necklace as her sister’s. “That’s Paige’s necklace.”

Buffy glanced down at it, completely forgetting that it had belonged to her. “Yeah, it is. Liam gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“Because Paige wanted him to; because he loves me. And because I love him just as much.”

“Aren’t you too young to be in love with Liam? You’re too young for him. He and Paige were the same age. And you’re not.”

It was an argument Buffy hadn’t been expecting to have with the girl. “No, Ashley, I’m not their age, I’m only sixteen. But I’ve loved Liam since I was a little kid. For a very, very long time.”

“Paige loved him, too,” Ashley said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“I know she did.”

“Are you going to make Liam forget about her?”

She shook her head, her heart going out to the younger girl. “He’ll never forget your sister. Liam loved Paige, too. It was just a different kind of love than he has for me.”

***

// I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever \\

“She seems like a nice girl,” Mrs. Burkhardt noted when Ashley and Buffy left the room. “And from the look in your eyes, you’re completely smitten.”

Liam smiled shyly. “Completely. I-I gave her Paige’s necklace. You know, the locket I bought her for her sixteenth birthday.”

The older woman raised her eyebrows. She recalled Paige telling her that she wanted Liam to have the necklace to give to someone he loved. “I guess your feelings for her go beyond those of smitten. You love her.”

“I do. I have forever.”

“Are you happy?”

“Very. Buffy...she’s been going through some difficult stuff lately. Her mom died about six weeks ago of an aneurysm. Complications from brain surgery. Mrs. Summers had a brain tumor,” he informed Mrs. Burkhardt.

She was silent for a moment. “Like Paige.”

“Exactly. Except that they got the whole tumor out and she was given a clean bill of health. Buffy found her mother’s body on the living room couch just after the Fourth of July. It was very unexpected.”

“How awful for her.”

“It devastated the whole family. So I’ve tried to be there for her through all of it. Mrs. Summers was a great lady.”

“From the way you’re talking about her, I don’t doubt it.”

He nodded. “The Summers’ live next door to my mom and they’ve always treated me like a son. Just like you and Mr. Burkhardt did.”

“That’ll never change, Liam. No matter where you live, you’ll always be like the son we never had.”

***

44

// Every little thing that you do
Baby I’m amazed by you \\

With an annoyed sigh, Liam rolled his eyes and knocked on the door of his girlfriend’s room for the second time. He’d been waiting for her for ten minutes; they were going to a local club he used to frequent called Rave to meet some of his high school friends. “Buffy, are you ready yet?”

“Just about. Hold your horses!” she shouted back.

Walking down the hall, Mr. O’Neal heard the exchange and laughed. Buffy Summers had his only son wrapped around her little finger.

“We’re gonna be late,” Liam argued. “I told everyone we’d be there by eight o’clock, and now it’s ten minutes to. I don’t want–”

He shut up the second Buffy opened the door and revealed herself. Whatever he’d been about to say was forgotten the moment he laid eyes on her. Dressed in a short black halter dress that accentuated every curve and strappy heels, Liam needed to swallow. Hard. She twirled around, the skirt fanning out around her. “Do I look okay?” Buffy asked him.

“Wow” was all he could manage.

Buffy giggled at his reaction. “I take it you like?”

“I love. Only one problem now. I don’t know if I want to let you out of this house looking like that,” Liam told her.

“Okay, Dad,” the blonde teased. “Now, shall we go and meet your friends? I’m dying to get all the good gossip from your days at Hemery High.”

He frowned. “I can guarantee that there’s not much to tell, but all right. Let’s go.”

The two of them headed down the stairs to the living room where his father and stepmother were waiting for them. “Look at you two,” Amelia commented. “You look totally adorable. Don’t they, Patrick?”

“They certainly do,” Mr. O’Neal agreed. “A perfect compliment to one another. What time should we expect you home tonight?”

“Don’t wait up,” Liam said to his father. He wore a devilish smile on his handsome face.

“How does one o’clock sound?” Mr. O’Neal countered.

“Sounds fine.”

Amelia reached over and removed a stray hair from Buffy’s face. “Are you still going to stay in and watch Amanda tomorrow night for us?” she wanted to know.

“Definitely,” Buffy answered. “I can’t wait. Have you decided what you’re going to do with your free night?”

“Probably go see a movie, then maybe dinner. You know, we’ll be sorry to see you go on Wednesday. Having you both here has spoiled us.”

Mr. O’Neal turned to his wife. “We should let the kids go now, Amelia. I know my son is getting anxious to show off Buffy to all of his friends.”

“You got that right, Dad.”

***

// Every little thing that you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better \\

“Liam O’Neal, is that you?” Mike Palmer cried out as soon as he saw his old friend approaching the table. They hadn’t seen each other since Liam moved to Sunnydale.

The dark-haired teenager broke out in a grin and embraced Mike when he and Buffy reached the table. “Hey, Mike. Long time no talk to. How the hell have you been?”

“Not bad.” Mike cast his eyes to the pretty blonde on his friend’s arm. “And I’m going to guess you’re not doing half-bad yourself, what with the gorgeous girl you’ve got here.”

“This is Buffy Summers, my girlfriend,” Liam introduced. “Buff, these are my old friends from Hemery. Mike Palmer, Shawn Douglas and Caleb Devlin. Next to Caleb is Kara Shanahan and Erin Cooper.”

Buffy smiled shyly. All of them seemed to be checking her out, which added to her apprehensiveness. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

Erin pulled out the chair next to her. “Have a seat, Buffy. We want to know all about you.”

“All about me? How keen,” she said, sitting down.

Brown-haired Kara laughed at the younger girl. “Don’t worry, we don’t bite. At least not all of us.”

“Great.”

Standing behind his girlfriend, Liam could sense Buffy would have no trouble getting along with Kara and Erin. “Do you want anything to drink?” he asked her.

“A Dr. Pepper would be great. Thanks.”

Following their friend’s lead, Mike, Caleb and Shawn did the same. The four guys headed for the concession stand to order their drinks.

“Liam, man, you rock. You totally lucked out,” Shawn began. “Your girlfriend is hot! How on earth did you meet her?”

“She’s my sister’s best friend. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. She and I used to take baths together when we were kids.”

Caleb raised his eyebrows. “Have you lately?”

While the other two guys laughed, Liam shook his head at Caleb’s tactless question. “Real cute, Caleb. To answer your asinine question, no we don’t bathe together. At least not in ten years.”

“Testy testy.”

“It was a dumb question. First of all, Buffy and I have only been dating for three months. Secondly, and most importantly, she’s only sixteen.”

Shawn scoffed at his friend’s statement. “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number, Liam. If I had a girlfriend who looked like yours, I wouldn’t hesitate to show her how I feel.”

“There’s a big shock,” Mike said. “Once a hornball, always a hornball.”

***

// I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever \\

“Tell me, how did you manage to land our perennial bachelor?” Kara wanted to know. “So many girls before you have tried and failed.”

“You mean crashed and burned horribly,” added Erin.

Buffy didn’t know quite what to think. “Perennial bachelor? I always thought Liam was popular with the girls. He was at Sunnydale High.”

“Oh, he was definitely a draw at Hemery. It’s just that he was rather...fickle is the best word to describe him. He wouldn’t date just anyone,” Erin informed her.

“Take it from someone who gave it her all and was shot down by Liam.”

“You, Kara?”

She nodded. “Big time. Who wouldn’t want him? He’s got the whole package – looks, brains, personality, etc.. But I don’t need to tell you that. How’d you guys meet, anyway? And subsequently hook up?”

“We live next door to each other. I’d been in love with him forever but he never looked twice at me. Or at least I never thought he did. When he moved back to Sunnydale, things between us changed. I guess he stopped looking at me as the little girl next door,” Buffy explained.

“Wow,” Erin said. “You got what Paige always dreamed of having with Liam.”

“So I understand,” Buffy noted.

Kara bit her lip, fearing Erin had inserted her foot in her mouth. “You know about Paige and Liam, right?”

“They were best friends.”

“Those two shared everything. We always thought they would get together someday. And I mean no disrespect towards you, Buffy. But Paige was in love with Liam, and everyone knew it except for Liam. Her dying last year really hurt him.”

“That’s why he left Los Angeles,” Erin told Buffy.

“Yeah, I know. He told me he left because everything reminded him of her. I’d have left, too, if it were me.” ‘I’m surprised I can even remain in Sunnydale after Mom’s death.’

“He’s fiercely loyal, Buffy,” Kara stated. “He’ll do anything for the people he loves. But I’m sure you already know that.”

Buffy nodded her head. She didn’t know if Kara and Erin were trying to be friendly or trying to warn her away. “I do. I’ve experienced it firsthand. Liam is the guy I’ve waited my whole life for. And he knows it.”

***

45

// Every little thing that you do
Every little thing that you do
Baby I’m amazed by you \\

Mr. O’Neal helped his wife put on her light jacket for their night out. It was an unseasonably cool evening in Los Angeles. “Okay, guys, the movie lets out at eight forty-five. Amelia and I are going to have dinner at La Joya, so don’t expect us home much before ten or eleven.”

“Got it,” Liam said. “In other words, we have to have the band and the stripper out by nine.” He jumped when his girlfriend elbowed him in the stomach. “Ow.”

“Very funny, Liam,” his father commented. “If there’s even a hint that anybody besides you, Buffy and Amanda were in this house consider yourself dead.” Despite his threats, Mr. O’Neal knew his son well enough to know he’d never throw a wild party.

“You don’t have to worry about us, Mr. O’Neal,” Buffy told him.

He smiled at her. “You can keep him in line, right, Buffy?”

“He listens when I threaten him.”

“It’s good to know at least one of us can get through to him. Amelia, am I forgetting anything? I feel like I am.”

Amelia shook her head and laughed at him. Her husband would forget his head if it weren’t attached. “Just go start the car, Patrick. I can handle it from here.” When he left the house, she sighed heavily. “Thank god he’s out of here, he was driving me batty. Okay, I wrote down all the numbers on the fridge. The hospital, Poison Control, the fire station, the police station and nine-one-one. I put the cell phone on there as well; we’ll have it on all night. If you guys come across any trouble at all, let us know.

“Now, Amanda will probably be hungry around eight or so. I have two bottles chilling in the fridge, although chances are she’ll only drink one of them. Then burp her and lay her down for a little while. She’ll fall asleep in her swing or playpen about nine or nine-thirty. Just put her in her crib, I doubt she’ll give you any trouble after that.”

“Are you sure that’s all?” Liam teased.

She felt all the air leave her lungs. “What do you mean? Did I forget something?”

“No, Amelia, you didn’t forget anything,” Buffy told her. “Everything will be fine tonight, I promise. I’ve done a lot of babysitting, I know what I’m doing. Go out, experience this thing called fun.”

“All right. Take care of my baby,” Amelia said.

“We will,” Buffy promised. “Have a good time.”

“Bye.”

As soon as the door closed leaving them alone in the house, Buffy swatted her boyfriend on the upper arm. “A band and strippers, Liam? Are you a fucking idiot?”

He laughed at her outburst. Buffy was totally overreacting. “Get a grip, it was only a joke. My dad knows I’d never do anything like that. Besides, why would I give up the opportunity to spend some quality time with you to party with a bunch of people I don’t know? Answer me that one, Buffy.”

She shook her head. “Whatever.”

They headed into the living room where Amanda sat in her swing making gurgling noises. Buffy leaned down and picked up the three month old. The baby stopped her baby talk and looked at the young blonde holding her.

“Hey there, Amanda. Do you want me to sing to you? Oh, Mandy. You came and you gave without taking. But I sent you away–”

“No!” Liam shouted. “Not that song. Please god, any other song but that one.”

Buffy couldn’t stop herself from laughing at his reaction. “What wrong with ‘Mandy’? I think it’s kinda pretty.”

“I don’t like it, end of story. For personal reasons. Let’s forgo the singing and do something else,” Liam suggested.

“Such as?” she asked, cocking her eyebrows upward.

“Anything but singing Barry Manilow songs.”

***

Amelia picked at her caesar salad, turning the lettuce leaves over and over again on her plate. “Patrick, don’t you think we should call the kids and see if everything is going okay back at the house?”

“And you claim I worry too much? They’re fine, honey. If there had been any problems they would have called us.”

“You don’t think Liam was being serious, do you?”

“About what?” he asked, taking a bite of his stuffed shells.

“Having a party.”

Mr. O’Neal sighed, finding his wife’s concerns to be funny. “He was not even remotely serious, Amelia. Liam was only trying to ruffle my feathers. Besides, I don’t think Buffy would have let him have a party. That girl knows how to keep him in line.”

“She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders.”

“I think she does. And I get the feeling she doesn’t put up with any crap from my son. Buffy is exactly what Liam has always needed.”

“She reminds me a lot of Paige.”

He nodded. “And I’m pretty sure Paige reminded him of Buffy.”

***

“Mmm...” moaned Buffy as her boyfriend’s lips nipped at her sensitive earlobe. They put Amanda to bed ten minutes earlier, and the moment they were alone they attacked one another. It had been close to a week since they’d had any physical contact.

“Just tell me when you want to stop,” Liam told her, kissing a trail down from her neck to her collarbone.

Buffy threw her head back, feeling Liam’s hands skimming over her bra-clad breasts, his mouth tasting the skin of her shoulder. It was the closest to bliss she’d ever been; and that included her night with Parker Abrams. “Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

She decided to take some initiative herself, not wanting to take their time together for granted. It wasn’t often that they could be free around one another without adult supervision. Liam’s shirt had long since been discarded, so she trailed her hands down his muscular chest until they reached the waist of his jeans.

Liam could feel her hands working on the buttons of his pants but he chalked it up to his imagination playing tricks on him. He didn’t think it was even remotely possible that it could be happening. So far it had always been him who had done the exploring during their hot and heavy makeout sessions. But as soon as he consciously felt Buffy’s hands cupping him, he broke away from her.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, more surprised than angry.

“What do you think I was doing?”

“I know what you were doing. I think my question was more along the lines of why were you doing it.” Liam stood up and began buttoning up his jeans.

Buffy bit her lip, holding back the angry tears she knew were burning her eyes. She was angry at herself for what she’d done. “I’m sorry, Liam. Are you mad at me?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not mad at you.”

“Then why did you jump away like being near me was going to cost you your life?”

“I’m in shock, Buffy, that’s all. Look, I’m not quite ready yet. At least not for that. Which I’m sure makes me some kind of freak in your eyes, but I don’t really care. We have all the time in the world to do that stuff.”

His words perplexed her. “I don’t think I get it. It’s okay for you to touch me but I can’t do the same to you? Didn’t you like it? Don’t you want me to touch you?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

Buffy looked him in the eye and he did his best to avoid her gaze. Though he was trying to hide his true feelings, she could see right through him. “You’re embarrassed.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to hide it, Liam. You’ve never done it before, you have every right to be embarrassed. It’s not like I’m going to judge you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied. Buffy had hit the nail right on the head. He *was* embarrassed of his inexperience.

She stood up and touched his cheek. “Yes you do. And it doesn’t matter to me. I still love you more than anything. I can wait until you feel ready.”

He took a deep breath. “I guess I’m *not* ready yet.” ***

46

// I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for all the memories \\

Placing the final box on the floor of Liam’s dorm room, Mr. Rosenberg heaved a sigh of relief. One hour of lugging boxes up two flights of stairs was finally finished. “Please tell me that’s the last of it,” he begged his stepson.

Liam chuckled. His stepfather looked as if he was about to have a coronary. “I think there are a couple of boxes left in the trunk of my car.”

“Screw that. You’re on your own.”

“I’m only kidding, Ira. That’s the last of it.”

Mr. Rosenberg narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t funny, Liam.”

“I thought it was. Thanks for your help, though. After all, Mom and Willow conveniently had other plans. Emphasis on the word *conveniently.*”

“They had the right idea.” He glanced around the room, noting that only Liam’s belongings were there. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say your roommate’s not here yet.”

Liam nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, I’m assuming so, too. The only thing I know about him is that his name is William Maxwell and he’s from England. Other than that, he’s a mystery.”

“He’s an awful long way from home.”

“Yep. I’m just hoping we get along. If not I’ll be spending a lot of time at home,” the teenager commented.

“Let’s hope you two get along. I’d hate to think of your father spending all this money for you to dorm at UC Sunnydale only to have you practically living at home,” Mr. Rosenberg stated.

The teenager laughed. “Yeah, that would totally suck, wouldn’t it? Thanks again for your help. I’m sure this is the last thing you wanted to do on a Sunday afternoon.”

“Don’t worry about it. Call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

***

// Remember the good times we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin’ in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth around me
I wanna be the one \\

Liam watched with wide eyes as a tall, bleached-blonde young man breezed into the room without so much as knocking first. It was like being witness to a hurricane blowing through as the man he surmised to be William dropped his bags on the floor. He didn’t even say hello, he just threw himself unceremoniously on the bed.

“You must be William,” Liam guessed, shaking his head in amazement.

“That would be me. Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

“Liam O’Neal. You and I are roommates.”

William made a face. The idea of having to share a room with someone he already didn’t like did not appeal to him. Couldn’t the guy see he was tired and wanted to rest, not talk? “What a thrill,” he said sarcastically.

‘Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.’ “So, do you want me to call you William, or do you have a nickname? Will, Billy...”

“How about you don’t call me anything at all,” he countered with his thick British accent. “We can each pretend the other doesn’t exist. How does that sound, Peaches?”

Liam couldn’t for the life of him understand why his roommate wasn’t being more cooperative. “Look, I’m trying to make an effort to get to know you, here. If we’re gonna be living together for the next four months, the least we can do is get along. Maybe you don’t want to bother, but I’d like to make the most of the situation.”

The blonde Englishman raised his eyebrows slightly as Liam turned around and resumed unpacking his belongings. ‘He’s got some spunk. Maybe this won’t suck as bad as I thought it would. Hell, he might even have some hot little girlfriends to hook me up with.’ “You can call me Spike. I won’t answer to anything else.”

“Spike?” Liam repeated. “What kind of name is Spike?”

“It’s a nickname my grandmum used to call me when I was kid. It stuck. Why? If you have a problem with it, that’s too damn bad.”

With a roll of his eyes, Liam sighed softly. ‘Yeah, I can tell I’m going to love this arrangement. I’m thinking living in the dorm wasn’t such a good idea after all.’ “I have no problem with your name. It’s just a little unusual, that’s all. Not too many Spikes around these days.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed with a smirk. “I like to be unique. Where are you from anyway?”

“Sunnydale. But I went to high school in L.A.. My parents are divorced and my mom and stepfather live here, and my dad and stepmom live in Los Angeles.”

Spike looked at his roommate closely for the first time. Liam, with his dark hair and dark eyes, didn’t look anything like the stereotypical California boy. “Born and raised here in sunny Californ-I-A? You’re bloody kidding me.”

“Why does that surprise you?”

“You don’t look like you’re from around here. You know, you don’t have the blonde hair and killer tan one would expect from a California beach bum,” Spike commented.

“That’s probably because I’m not a beach bum.”

He nodded. “Yeah, whatever. So, you got any hotties you wanna hook me up with?”

***

// I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for all the memories \\

Her green eyes closed, Buffy gave herself over to the feelings of excitement her boyfriend’s kisses filled her with. She’d arrived at his dorm room half an hour earlier, and after a quick tour of the dorms they found their way to his bed, where they’d been ever since. They were making the most of the lack of parental supervision and interruptions they were accustomed to.

“Keep doing that,” she moaned as Liam’s teeth nibbled her earlobe ever-so-gently, his breath tickling the inside of her ear. His right arm held his weight off of her while his left hand had slipped underneath the cup of her bra.

“What should I keep doing?” he whispered. With her hands running up and down his back, her nails scraping the skin, Liam was almost beyond reason. And with her left foot bent up at the knee and her right one tangled around his left leg, their positions couldn’t be more intimate unless they were actually making love.

“Everything. Don’t stop any of it.”

The heat radiating off Liam’s body was making Buffy even hotter. She wanted to strip off what few clothes they had on and just go from there. But her better sense told her it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. Liam still wasn’t ready to take the next step, even though she was. From the way he pressed against her thigh, his body was saying something totally different from his lips.

Buffy was two seconds away from ripping the clothes off his body when the door suddenly burst open. In walked a blonde-haired man she’d never seen before. Spike smiled appreciatively at the sight he’d walked in on.

“Way to go, Peaches,” he said with a playful smile on his face.

Liam rolled off his girlfriend in shock and sat against the headboard. “Spike. Don’t you ever knock?”

“It’s my room, too. Gotta tell you, I didn’t expect to walk in on some serious foreplay. Were we on the verge of naughty touching?” he asked.

Utterly embarrassed, Buffy stood up. “I think I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.” Keeping her eyes to the ground, she left the room.

Spike whistled. “Hel-lo, cutie. She’s a stiffener, Peaches.”

“Go to hell. She’s my girlfriend,” Liam informed him. “That means you keep your hands off and stop undressing her with your eyes.”

“Why can’t I? That outfit doesn’t leave much to the imagination.”

“Is there something you wanted?” he demanded angrily.

“Just came for some money and I’ll be out of your way. Don’t expect me home too early.” Spike smirked, taking a closer look at his roommate. “You might want to take care of that little problem of yours before Blondie gets back.”

***

TBC...

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