Strange Place to Live:
Coming Home
by Cynamin

"Oh, memory has a keen edge
drawing blood and sometimes more
And all my pretty horses fly
Oh my childhood, coming to see me
in the shapes of those I've loved"
~All My Pretty Horses
The Nields

Summers' Residence
Late morning, Saturday

Joyce Summers was just cleaning up hers and Buffy's breakfast when the doorbell rang. She quickly put down the plate she was holding in the sink and hurried to the door. It was probably one of Buffy's friends, but Buffy was upstairs getting ready.

When she opened the door she was surprised to be faced with a young man she did not recognize. "Can I help you?" Joyce asked.

"Yes, I hope," the man said. He glanced at a piece of paper he held, then asked, "Does Buffy Summers live here?"

"Uh, yes, I'm her mother. Can I help you?" Mrs. Summers asked again, confused. She seemed to be confused quite often when it came to anything having to do with Buffy.

"My name is Joshua Riley. I'm the new priest at the Sunnydale Church of God. I just need to speak with your daughter. May I come in?"

Mrs. Summers nodded and stood aside to let him enter. She watched the priest a bit warily as he made his way to have a seat on the couch, then she stepped to the bottom of the stairs. "Buffy!" she called. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Be down in a minute!" she called back.

"She'll be right down," Joyce said to the priest as she sat across from him. "May I ask what this is about?" The priest shifted a bit as he sat, as if uncertain of how to proceed. He played a bit with the piece of paper he carried. It looked like an envelope, but she couldn't be sure without looking closer. He looked at the paper, then back at Joyce. "Does your daughter know someone called Angel?" he asked finally.

Mrs. Summers was surprised. She hadn't heard Angel mentioned in a while. Last she'd heard he was in L.A. "Yes, she does," Joyce answered.

The young man looked slightly relieved. Still, he continued. "Young man, tall dark hair, tattoo on his back?"

Joyce nodded, even more confused as the questions went on. "Yes," she confirmed. "I don't know about any tattoo, but Buffy would know." She thought a touch uncomfortably that Buffy would definitely know whether Angel had a tattoo.

"Know what?"

Buffy came down the stairs and into the room with her mother and the priest. Looking at her as she took a seat and glanced worriedly at them both, Mrs. Summers replied, "Whether or not Angel has a tattoo."

"Yeah, he does. Some sort of bird-thing on a letter 'A'," she replied automatically. Then she looked closer at her mom and the priest. "Why are we talking about this?" Then, to the priest, "Who are you?"

"My name is Joshua Riley," he introduced himself again. He took the piece of paper he had been holding and gave it to Buffy. "Miss Summers," he said, "did you write this?"

As Buffy took the paper, Joyce could see that it was indeed an envelope. Inside was a piece of paper, one that looked like it had been read and refolded many times. Buffy took it carefully and looked at it a moment before saying, "Where did you get this?"

Father Riley shifted nervously. "Last night," he began slowly, "there . . . was an accident. Angel was taken by ambulance to Sunnydale Hospital, where he was treated. . . . They managed to restart his heart, and. . . ."

"Excuse me?!"

"The doctor says he should be fine, but he's still unconscious, and -"

Buffy cut him off sharply and shook her head slightly in confusion. "You said Angel's in the hospital?" she asked.

The priest nodded patiently. "Yes, Miss Summers."

"As a patient?"

She was looking at the priest like she'd suddenly noticed he had two heads. Joyce could understand her daughter's confusion. *I mean, Angel's a vampire. From what Buffy told me, a vampire is dead. Dead men don't end up in hospitals in places other than the morgue.*

"Yes, Miss Summers," Father Riley was saying again, but now looked confused at this line of questioning.

"And you said he's going to . . . live?" Buffy asked, confirming her mother's thoughts from a moment before.

This time the priest simply nodded in response. Buffy said nothing, but only stared at him as if she was having trouble completely comprehending the conversation. After a moment, the priest spoke again. "The only thing he had with him for us to identify him was that letter. I was hoping you could help me find any family."

Buffy looked at the letter she still held in her hand. "I'm the closest he has," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Angel doesn't have any family," she said more clearly. "But . . . I'd like to come and see him, if I can." She looked at her mother for confirmation. Joyce nodded.

At the same time, the priest said, "Of course."

Buffy stood quickly, her expression still a little vague. "Mom, could you call Giles for me? Tell him where I've gone."

Joyce understood. Buffy meant *call Giles and tell him something weird is going on.* She nodded, and Buffy hurried out the door, followed closely by Father Riley. A familiar wave of confusion swept over Mrs. Summers as she wondered what exactly had just happened. She hoped that everything would turn out okay, for Buffy's sake. She didn't dwell on it for long, though, she couldn't. This was Sunnydale, and you just had to take what happened as it came.

Allowing herself a small sigh, Joyce picked up the phone and dialed Giles.

Part Four

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