(Edited 03.31.2023)

"I remembered that... before mom you liked to play Ukulele." Dad said, sitting beside my bed. He'd driven to Sunnydale the second he was told about my little hospital trip and had brought a bag full of different care package items with him. I smiled at the faint reminiscence of my childhood, looking down at my fingers that were tangling together.

"I was fourteen the last time I played. It was a while before Mom." I corrected. Although her death gave the thought of playing even more distance. Not to mention we had sold everything in that house, then moved again when my true form was discovered in our newer neighborhood. All the way to California.

"Well," he began to dig in the big bag he had sat beside him, "I thought since it'll be a while before you get back to hunting, this might be a safer hobby to take up in the meantime." He said, pulling out a small black case, familiarly shaped into the instrument of my childhood.

"Dad..." I trailed off.

"I always thought it was a waste of time, but it always seemed to make you smile... And your mother." He remembered, smiling at the far away memories. I opened the case to reveal a small, entirely white ukulele.

"Thank you." I said, strumming a few of the tuned strings. "I can't really remember how to play this, honestly." I laughed, making noises instead of tunes. Our fun was interrupted by a short rapping on the doors.

"Sorry to interrupt." I heard, Buffy standing at the doorway looking in. "The Doctor's writing up the discharge papers now, and we weren't sure if you have a place to stay, but Giles said you're welcome to stay on his couch if you need a place— just for a little while." Butfy explained as if she

"Better than a shitty motel room." I shrugged, although Dad shot me a concerned glance.

"I thought maybe you'd want to come back home while you're recovering." He said after a moment. I couldn't tell if that was the true reason, or if he was concerned about me staying with somebody who didn't know my real self. Still, I'd take a free couch over expensive bed bugs any day of the week. I'd have no problem leaving this town if Buffy hadn't informed us all that she lost the vampire that had almost broken my back. I couldn't leave mid-hunt.

"The vampire is still out there."

"How are you going to fight it if you're dead, Al?" He questioned, cutting my words short. I clamped my mouth shut as Buffy slowly began to back away from the tense atmosphere of the room.

"Then Buffy can fight." I replied after some consideration. "But I can't go home in the middle of the hunt. I have to see this through." I tried to explain, though the disappointment in my father's face stuck in my mind as he stood from the bedside seat.

"Then I'll leave you to fill out your discharge papers. I'll see you at home." Before he left, he squeezed my hand, then disappeared through the threshold of the small white room.

☥

"Thank you again for letting me stay here, Mr Giles." We walked through the doors I had never imagined walking back through again. My guard was still up as I walked straight through to the familiar living room, looking around the place now that I didn't have a swirling headache.

"Just Giles will do, Alex." The man responded, stuttering through the words slightly. I nodded, wondering where he got such a strange name. Surely Giles couldn't be his first name, unless his parents resented him.

"Sounds good." I simply said, noticing he was also erring to the side of caution. "Well, either way, Giles, I appreciate it. I'll be out of your hair by next week." I said, dropping my bag beside the couch while he stood by the door to the kitchen. Part of me began to wish to find another reason to stay, to learn more about this Slayer and these people. The first people I've met in this life in a long time.

"Next week?" He questioned.

"Thanksgiving." I answered. It had always been a family tradition when Mom was alive. She'd spend all day and the day before preparing grand meals Dad and I, as well as his side of the family that used to visit us. I'd always help with the cooking and cleaning, and we would say grace at the table before eating the 20 pound turkey she'd so meticulously prepared.

It had been 8 years since we'd celebrated those traditions. We stopped seeing Dad's family. I'd make us some easy mac and cheese and instant mashed potatoes for lunch, and we stopped saying grace for the things we appreciated having. The idea of Thanksgiving itself became futile, but that didn't mean I didn't want to spend it with Dad, or that I wanted to take up any of this groups time or space with my presence at their celebration. Giles nodded in understanding at the statement.

"Well, for now I think it would be best for you to get some rest and let yourself heal. Buffy's out looking for the vampire as we speak." He expressed, taking a seat at the desk behind the couch as he did and opening one of the books sitting there. I nodded, trying to swallow my Hunter pride as I sat on the cushioned seat. I knew I'd be back to work soon enough—it wouldn't take too long for my bones to set back into place, but the fact was I felt useless letting Buffy do all the work.

"I just wish I could do more to help."

☥

Cold sweat beaded off of my forehead as I shot up on the couch, frantically looking around the dark living space. I noticed a dim light still on up the stairs and assumed Giles was still awake. The nightmare escaped my memory, though the shaking in my body made it clear that I'd no doubt had one. It wasn't the first night in my life something like this happened, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last.

I took a deep gulp, swallowing the fear I'd woken up with as I tossed the blanket off of me and stood from the couch.

"Giles, you still awake?" I called up the stairs, just to see if he hadn't fallen asleep reading.

"Oh, yes, Alex." He answered as if he had forgotten I was even here to begin with. "I am. I-Is something wrong?" He questioned with that faint stutter.

"No, was just wondering if you'd heard anything from Buffy about the vamp." I explained just as he appeared at the top of the stairs and began to make his way down, adjusting his glasses onto his face as he did and checking his watch. Awake my ass.

"Er, yes, in fact. Actually, she should be back any minute now." He explained as if he hadn't realized the time. As if on queue, Buffy burst through the doors like a woman on a mission.

"Giles, I have news." She said in a matter-of-fact tone, Xander and Willow trailing behind her. I nodded at the two and the redhead shot me a sweet smile in return.

"What—What is it, Buffy?" Giles questioned with a furrow of his brows, meanwhile I crossed my arms, waiting for this 'news'.

"The vamp we were hunting? Gone. Soldier boys came in and took it." She informed us. Oh, no, I thought, not new vocabulary.

"Can we back track to what a soldier boy is?" I questioned. They briefly explained the soldier-like-people that hunted vampires around and on Buffy and Willow's college campus and nearby streets, but never killing them, only taking them God-knows-where, only they knew it was somewhere practically untraceable.

"So, I guess it appears that your hunt is over." Giles spoke with a glance my way. My jaw felt on the ground as I began to zone out.

"So, the vampire is still possibly alive, but my job is done?" I questioned, still trying to understand everything, or why they were all so obedient about not looking for the soldier boys anymore. The only thing that came to mind was that the soldiers were their hunt, not mine.

"You won't find them. We've tried." Buffy said and I nodded, wondering if it was true. Perhaps my true self could find the base, but would it waste time if I couldn't.

"I'll head out at sunrise." I said, just as a pang hit my teeth, "Please excuse me." I shoved past the group, heading to the bathroom. It must have been a few days by now since my last transformation, but luckily I had already stashed a new pair of contacts in one of the bathroom drawers. As I changed, I could hear soft conversation from outside the door, letting out a sigh.

I knew I should keep my guard up. I wasn't a part of their group, nor was I trusted by them to be a part of the conversation or hunt for the soldiers. I'd been alone for years, just Dad and I, but for some reason the loneliness still hit when I thought about it.

"Mom..." I whisperer, looking at my horrible frostbitten colored fingertips, before up at myself in the mirror, my eyes being the first thing to stare at, "Why'd you have to go so soon?" I questioned, as if the inquiry would be answered.

I knew it never would be.

☥

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all. Thanks again for the rescues." I gave them a tongue-in-cheek salute.

"Before you go," Buffy stopped me from getting in my beat up car, holding out a folded piece if paper, "Giles and my numbers." She explained as I plucked the note out of her hands with a nod. "In case you're ever in town and need rescued again." She smiled. I let out a short huff of a laugh and nodded, pocketing the numbers.

"Thanks." I put simply, looking over the group. "Well, I'll... See you when I see you." I said, not exactly sure how to say goodbye. Fortunately, I didn't have to, as Willow and Xander both stepped up and engulfed me in a big bear hug.

"Here, we say 'See you later'." Xander informed me and I nodded, awkwardly patting their backs in as much of a hug back as I could muster.

"All right, get off. You bother me." I pushed the two away, but smiled nonetheless at them. "Well, touchy feely, on that note, I'm off." I said, turning back to the car. The moment I laid a hand on the door handle, something flashed my eyes, quicker than anything I could humanly explain.

☥

There stood a man with short, deep brown hair. He was dressed nice—warm. My heart felt warm. I felt longing, connection—Connection with Buffy. Then a wave of loss washed over me. I miss someone. I miss someone close to me, but I can't be close to them. This man; I knew who this man was. I didn't know how I knew, I just knew.

Angel.

☥

"Al, you good? You just kinda froze there, buddy." Xander said, clamping a hand on my shoulder as if to snap me out of the trance, however it wasn't him that stopped it. I looked past him, across to Buffy, with a large gulp as I questioned whether or not to tell her. Why did I just see that? It had to be the right thing to do, especially as her face began to twist with concern.

"He misses you." I spoke simply, with the understanding that she'd know what I meant before getting in the car before anyone could object. As I backed out of the driveway, the expression on her face gave me the answer I needed.

She missed him too.

☥

The drive home felt different this time. Looking for the vampire had turned out to be futile, as I didn't even know where to begin, and I couldn't stay my true self in the light of day. I glanced in the rearview mirror at the black case of the ukulele, thoughts stopping on Dad.

I parked in our gravel driveway, hopping out of the car and heading up the stone path to the front doors. As soon as I got inside, I dropped my duffles by the door.

"Dad!" I called, noticing it felt rather cold inside the house. It was November, but Dad always kept the heat on. I stepped through the rooms, searching for him, to no avail. Finally I stopped in the kitchen, noticing a delicious smell coming from the oven.

Bouncing over, I saw a freshly baked pie sitting on the stove, still seeming to be cooling down.

"Dad, I'm taking a piece of pie!" I exclaimed back as if he were around. Perhaps he'd taken a trip to the store. Thinking about it, I didn't notice his car in the driveway. I grabbed a dull knife, slicing through the pie.

I stopped as my knife hit something hard in the pie, looking at it in confusion as my stomach. I put the now red colored knife to the side before reaching my hand into the pie, digging out a small cold piece of metal. At further inspection, my stomach dropped.

My father's wedding ring.

Looking back down at the pie, I noticed a sliver of white underneath and pushed the plate back on the counter. There laid a small paper, with writing on it that definitely was not Dad's. It became apparent to me at the moment of reading the note that my father had never left Sunnydale to begin with.

Bring me the Slayer.

☥

"Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking 'bout
Somebody else.It's best if we all keep this under our heads.I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the wayI do.But it's over now, and I don't know how, it's over now.There's no getting back to good."

-Matchbox 20