disclaimer in part 1
Drusilla smiled sweetly as she gazed down at Cordelia stretched out on the car hood and began to dove towards her.
Inside the car, Willow hadn't precisely been paralyzed with fear, but she was panicking. With her broken legs there was NOTHING she could do to save Cordelia . . . until Drusilla had thrown her facedown onto the hood of the car.
No time to lose. Ignoring the pain, Willow wriggled into the driver's seat, shifted into reverse -- and pressed down on the accelerator. Drusilla performed a neat pratfall and leapt onto the pavement. Cordelia screamed but held on for dear life. Willow held as long as she could and hit the emergency brake. Cordy's face smashed into the windshield and she screamed again. Then she figured out what had happened and rolled off the hood onto the street. Willow squirmed back into the passenger seat and the cheerleader jumped in.
The crazy lady had recovered quickly from her impromptu swan dive onto the asphalt and was running towards them with yes, inhuman speed. Cordelia -- whose face was all bloody -- kept the car in reverse and backed down the road. Thank god there were no other cars coming.
Drusilla kept charging at them, getting closer. Suddenly Cordelia took the car out of reverse and sped forward. Surprised, Drusilla still had the presence of mind to jump straight up. The two women looked around. "You think we lost her?" Cordelia asked hopefully.
A fist reached down from on top of the car and smashed through the windshield. Willow said, far more calmly than she felt, "I'll take that as a no." She was surprised that Cordelia hadn't yet bitched about the damage to her face. "She's never been invited in, but still --"
Cordelia snarled, "Willow, right now, SHUT UP!" Startled, Willow took another look at her friends' face. She'd never seen the cheerleader so mad. Then Cordelia slammed on the brakes again and Drusilla went flying off the hood. Not wasting time, Cordy sped forward and aimed the car directly at the vampire. Drusilla rolled out of the way; the tire missed her head by inches. Reversing it, she backed towards Drusilla yet again, but this time she was waiting and dove calmly to one side.
"Cordy!" Willow shouted. "What are you doing?"
"Getting rid of a problem," she said as she drove forward again.
"But, Cordy -- my legs! Your face!"
"Oh, Willow! I didn't even think." She looked down. "We need to get you back to the hospital." Driving around Drusilla this time -- who simply grinned as they passed -- she headed for the hospital. After a second she said, "Wait a minute! What's wrong with my face?"
* * * * *
Buffy jumped out of the sewers near her house and ran there as fast as she could. She freaked when she saw Oz's van -- and the wide open front door. Walking onto the porch, she listened through the open doorway. Oz was on the phone.
"--barely escaped from Drusilla by diving through the front door, Giles." A pause. "No, neither of us were hurt. Right now, I don't trust her not to invite the vampire back in in her condition." What condition? What was wrong with her mother? Quietly she crept into the house and looked around. Oz was around the corner in the kitchen -- and Mom was on the couch not moving. She ran closer. Well, she was breathing -- she was drunk! Oh, MOM . . .
Joyce Summers had been something of an alcoholic before she was born, her dad had told her. She never really went through any kind of rehabilitation, simply stopping -- mostly -- after the birth. Buffy had been a lifeline, something for her to cling onto. And now that Buffy was gone --
She'd had no reason not to anymore. Buffy looked down at her mother and said, "Mom . . ." sadly.
"Buffy? Is that you?" Came a weak voice from the couch.
"No, mom. Shhhhh," Buffy said quietly. In the other room, Oz was still talking to Giles. Something about Spike.
"Buffy, I know that's you." She stopped. "Why did you leave? I love you."
"I know. Why did you start drinking again?"
"Am I drinking?"
"Yes. Look, Mom. I'm sorry I had to leave. But I did. Staying here -- you wouldn't have been safe."
"Am I safe now?" Delirious, her mother had just asked her the best possible question. She'd left -- and Mom was drinking, and Drusilla was in town trying to kill her friends.
And they were her friends. No matter what Whistler had said, she did still have them to lose. She didn't want to. If only she could get Drusilla out of town --
Oz was winding up his talk with Giles. Buffy looked down at her mother and said quickly, "Mom, I have to go again. But . . . I'll be back eventually. I swear. You'll need to take care of me." Phone click. She kissed her mother and dashed out the front door.
* * * * *
Oz wound up his conversation with Giles in amazement. Spike allying with them and NEEDING their help to find Drusilla. Whoa. Well, man's gotta do and all that. Still, no WAY was he leaving Joyce Summers here in her condition. Drusilla came she'd invite her in, no question.
He debated whether to do it -- then he decided he really didn't have a choice. Slayer supplies would be somewhere in Buffy's room -- but the only things he could find were a spare stake and a cross on the wall. Returning downstairs, he found Joyce Summers standing and staring at the front door.
"Buffy -- she was just here!" Delusional. Great. "You know what she told me, Oz? She said she'd be back someday!" And wishful thinking. Ah well.
"Come on, Ms. Summers. You and me, we're going to go hunt vampires."
"She WAS here, Oz." Nodding his head, the guitarist slowly led Ms. Summers out into his van.