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Disclaimer: All recognizable character belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I don't own any of them. No copyright infringement intended. Timeline: This occurs after Lover's walk, so anything after that never happened.
Author's Notes: This is a sequel to Seeing things differently. Dru had a choice to make. Both are from my own mind, and this is the way I see Dru. Feed back is welcome.
Part 1
Silence descended on the library as Dru left. The news that she was to have been trained as a slayer was shock to both Buffy and Angel, but the calmness that Dru showed when she heard the news was a shock to everyone. Angel was the first to speak, breaking it. "Do you think I should go after her? She seemed to calm."
"No, Angel, I think you should give her some time. She has joined you and Buffy the last few nights, right?" Both Angel and Buffy nod, so Giles continues. "Then she knows the basics for defending herself. If I remember correctly, she was quite a force to be dealt with before these changes took place. I'm sure she'll be just fine. Though I must admit, I also expected a different reaction to what I just told her. She did ask us to give her some time. I don't see any reason to worry just yet. She does have a big choice to make. Dru has got to decide where to go from here. There's nothing we can do to make this easier for her. Now you should get ready to head home, all of us should. I'll give Willow a ride home, and I could take you two as well, if you want me too."
"No, thanks Giles. I'll walk with Angel. I want to talk to him and check on Dru anyway. I still remember when I first heard the same news. I may be able to help answer her questions, if she has any." Buffy starts to leave then stops. "Oh, and Giles?" He looks at Buff. "Thanks for helping us get the answers. Willow and I couldn't that done it alone." Buffy joins Angel in the hallway. They walk out of the school and head towards the mansion. Giles locks up, and then takes Willow home. He waits till he sees her go in and then returns to his apartment. It is the start of the weekend. He lays down to rest, hoping that everything stays quiet for now.
Buffy and Angel continue on towards the mansion. Angel is quiet, he is thinking about all that has been happening. Buffy notices this and asks what he is thinking. Angel smiles, "I was just thinking about what we just found out. I never realized that Dru was a slayer, though it makes sense. She was quite strong, and she had the dreams and visions similar to yours. It was her visions that made me want to change her. I wanted to know what was going to happen before it did. I thought that her visions would give me the power I wanted then. I made her a project and tried to drive her crazy so that I would be the one she relied on. I was wrong to do that. I'm sorry for what I did to her. I hope that you can forgive me for being so mean to a fellow slayer, I can't even see doing that to you. All I want to do is protect you, and prevent it from happening to you. I hope that she is here." Angel opens the door and goes into the mansion, with Buffy close behind.
They look around but can't find Dru. Buffy checks out the room that she was using and discovers that the bag that had her clothes in it is missing. She realizes that Dru has taken off, but there isn't any note saying where she went. She goes back to the front room where Angel has taken a seat. "Angel, she isn't here. Her clothes are gone too. She has left, and there's no note telling where she has gone. I searched everywhere in her room. I'm sure that she is going to be ok though." Buffy walks over and sits down near Angel. "Are you ok? I know that you were hoping to find her here, but we didn't. I'll let Giles know tomorrow. I'll head home now. Mom isn't home, but I'll be ok." Buffy starts to leave, but Angel stops her. "Buffy, please, don't go. I don't want to lose you too. You can use the extra room for what's left of the night. I have a feeling that Spike is still around, and I'm not taking any chances. OK?" Buffy nods, then heads down the hall to the room he mentioned after saying good night. Angel sits there for a while leaning back in the chair lost in thought. He brought his hands up in front of him fingers touching. He looked out the window, and whispered. "Dru, I don't know where you are or why you left, but be careful. No matter what happens, or where you go, please remember what happened here in the last few weeks. Remember what you learned about your past, and what is was like to work with Buffy and myself. I hope to hear from you soon. Good luck." Angel got up and headed to his room with the last words whispered.
Dru was a little ways out of town when she located an abandoned warehouse just before sunrise. She went inside and found a spot that she would be safe for the day. She laid down and found that she couldn't sleep. She had a lot to think about. She had to decide if she wanted to try to return to her calling of if she was just going to turn her back on it. She also had to decide where she was going to stay. Dru knew that Spike had seen her fighting on the side of Buffy and Angel. She had left without telling anyone where she was going. She had felt that it safer that way, at least for now. Dru did leave a note though. It told why she left and gave an indication as to where she would probably be staying at. She had placed it inside the book on her nightstand, hoping that Angel would eventually find it. She knew that he loved books, his library was filled with them. She fell asleep after a few hours of quiet contemplation.
Buffy woke up Sturday afternoon at Angel's. She got up and looked around Dru's room again, and looks for anything that she may have missed the night before. The only thing that she noticed that seemed out of place was the book on the nightstand. She picked it up and recognized it as one from Angel's library. She wondered what it was doing in Dru's room, and put it back where she had gotten it from. Buffy made a promise to herself to ask Angel about it later. She headed to the front room to call Giles and to let him know about Dru leaving town. She walked quietly past Angel's room knowing that he was up for a while after she went to bed, and didn't want to wake him.
She sat down near the phone after closing the door to the room. She dialed the number to Giles's apartment hoping that he was there. Giles answered on the third ring. "Giles? Hi, it's Buffy. No, there wasn't any problems between the library and Angel's. That's good, I'm glad both you and Willow made it home safe too. No, I didn't return to my house, I'm still at Angel's. He's asleep Giles. Well, that's kinda the reason I called. We didn't find Dru at the mansion. She has left Giles. I don't know if she left town, but I do know that she isn't here. No notes left either, at least none that I've found. I agree, this is definitely not going well. Angel was upset by the fact that she isn't here. I think that he may be worried that she'll do something, well.... something crazy. I don't think she would, but then again, he has known Dru longer than I have. Sure, I'll let him know. Just after sundown? I'll be there, I'm gonna patrol first, though. I think she is still in town. If not in it, she's just on the outskirts. Sure, I'll be careful. You too. OK, bye Giles." Buffy hangs up the phone and sits back to think. Giles had asked her a lot of questions that she didn't have answers for. She had a feeling that those questions would be asked again tonight.
Buffy grabbed a couple of dollars out of her backpack and headed to the deli on the corner to get something to eat. She stopped and left a note for Angel in case he should wake up before she returned. She grabbed the keys that were laying on the desk as well so that she could lock the door. Buffy returned about an hour and a half later. She stopped by her house and filled a bookbag with a few changes of clothes and extra slaying supplies. She had stopped by the factory that Dru had stayed at when she first arrived in Sunnydale, hoping that maybe she had returned there. There was no sign of her, or that she had even been there recently. Buffy was sure that Dru was still alive, but she was beginning to grow concerned for the newly souled vampire. She knew that she had to hide it from Angel, because he was already concerned enough for Dru's safety.
Angel woke up about an hour after Buffy left. He noticed that his keys were gone, and that there was a note for him on the desk where they were. He read Buffy's note and smiled. She had just went out for something to eat and she was returning to his place. She also told him that they were to go to Giles's apartment just after the sundown patrol was done in the note. He sat down in the library to wait on Buffy's return. He was still upset about Dru's leaving, but he knew that she was quite capable of taking care of herself. He just hoped that Spike didn't run into her. Angel started looking through the books that he had in the library trying to find one to occupy his wait for sunset. He noticed that one was missing. He thought that maybe Buffy had borrowed one and made plans to ask Buffy about it when she returned.
Angel met Buffy in the front room when he heard her unlocking the door. She smiled and walked over to him. "Angel, did you know that Dru had borrowed a book from your library? It's on the nightstand near her bed. I found it there this morning. I left it there, so at least you know where to find it." Angel looks at Buffy. He starts to say something, but Buffy stops him. "You better get ready for patrol, we do have to meet Giles shortly after we finish. I gathered a few extra supplies while I was out. The sundown should be completely down soon. I'm gonna finish getting myself ready, I swung by my house and grabbed a few extra change of outfits. I hope you don't mind. I don't know when I'll be staying here, or if I'll ever need to change before I go home after patrol."
Angel smiled and told Buffy that he understood. He watched as she placed the bag in the room she had been using at the mansion. He finished getting ready for patrol himself. Angel decided to check on the book later on, at least he knew where to find it now. He met her by the door and then locked it as they left. They were quiet as they patrolled. Giles's apartment was their final stop. He met both of them at the door. Once he saw who it was, he invited them in. They all sat down and talked. They discussed Buffy's ideas that Dru was still close by. Giles agreed that with the time that she had left after leaving the library, she couldn't have gotten to far. But with this new evening upon them, she did have a chance to get further away even as they were talking. Buffy nodded, and looked at Angel. He was just listening. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. They talked for few more hours before calling it a night.
Angel walked Buffy to her house. He told her that he wanted to make sure
that if her mom called, she was there to answer the phone so that her mom
wouldn't worry. Buffy started to protest, but decided that he may be right.
She went in after giving him a kiss goodnight. He left only after she
promised to meet him for an evening patrol. They agreed on meeting in the
park. He returned to mansion and went to Dru's room. Angel hadn't been
there since the night that he came and talked to her after her soul was
restored. She had cleaned it up and decorated it nicely. He didn't see any
of the signs of her original state of mind. The gags that had been on the
dolls while she was still listening to the demon's music were gone and they
were placed very neatly in the corner. The bed had been made and showed a
touch of softness in the colors that she had chosen for it. Her clothes
hangers were still hanging in the closet as if waiting for her return. His
eyes finally fell on the nightstand. He saw a vase that held a single
artificial rose in it near a touch lamp. He saw the book that was laying on
it as well. It was one of the few books that he had by the writer of J. R.
Tolkien, The Hobbit. Angel smiled at the thought of Dru reading it. He
walked over and sat down on the bed. He was missing Dru, but didn't feel
right telling Buffy that. He had fun with someone that he could talk to
during the times that Buffy was unable to visit because of school. He also
missed having an extra person to help him and Buffy with the slaying. He
knew that he still cared for Dru when he saw her standing outside of the
Bronze that first night. She was his child after all, and he had a father's
love for her. He just hoped that Buffy would understand that. It wasn't the
easiest thing to explain to a person. Angel finally decided to go and lay
down to get some rest. He wanted to know that Dru was okay, but if she felt
that she needed to be alone, he would accept it. Angel had a feeling that
Dru would return, but he just didn't know when she would return, of for what
reasons. All he could do was to hope for the best, and expect the worst.