Prologue

Buffy tilted her face up to the sunlight, leaning back on her elbows. She'd spread a beach towel on the grass in her back yard, and was intent on soaking up some rays. "This is the life. No homework. No classes. Sleeping late. Partying later."

"And no vampire slayage," Xander added, bouncing a tennis ball against the back wall of her house.

"That's the best part for me," Willow said sleepily, curled up in the grass with a kitten in her lap.

"Things have been quiet," Giles allowed from where he was sitting in the shade, a tall glass of iced tea at his elbow. Unlike the California teenagers, he was not enjoying the brilliant sunlight. But with the school closed for earthquake repair, and since he was rather disinclined to spend any time there, he was reduced to joining his little band in the great outdoors. Buffy's mother was spending the day at the gallery, so they did not have to explain what the librarian was doing hanging with the teenagers.

The methodical thunk-thunk of the tennis ball lulled them all for several long moments. "Three months of nothing to do, no where to be... hey, wait, Will." Xander suddenly turned, and the ball bounced back to clunk him on the head. "Aren't you going to that computer camp thingie?"

Willow sat up, wide-awake. The kitten yowled a bit plaintively at the sudden motion. "Yeah! I completely forgot."

"Whoa, brakes. What's up?" Buffy pushed her sunglasses up onto her head to look at her friend.

"There's this really exclusive computer camp, up in San Jose. Actually, it's run by a company in San Jose, but the camp itself is in a really cool old house in Napa Valley. You have to get on a waiting list to get into this camp. I've been on it for two years."

"But.. you're leaving?" Buffy looked tragic. "How long?"

"Um, well... six weeks. It's really intensive."

"And yes, this is how she wants to spend her summer." Xander shook his head, baffled beyond measure.

"It's not like you're going to be here yourself, Buffy," Willow argued.

"What's this?" Giles pulled himself out of _Le Roman de la Rose_ and looked at his Slayer. "Are you leaving Sunnydale?"

Buffy pushed the glasses back down onto her nose and shrugged, lying back. "I'm spending the summer in LA. The joint custody agreement was that I spent summers with my dad. But I thought I'd be back here some weekends," she added, pouting.

"Great. Willow gone, Buffy gone. Guess it's just you and me, Giles, eh?" Xander resumed bouncing his ball. Willow curled up with her cat. Buffy got bronze.

Thunk-thunk.

"Actually, now that I think on it, it would probably be best if I returned to England," Giles finally said.

The three teenagers all turned on him. "What?" "No!" "You mean... forever?"

"No, certainly not permanently." Giles set aside his book and leaned forward in his chair. "But I left rather... abruptly. There are... things I need to attend to. I have possessions... books. If I am going to reside here, I will have to decide what to do with my life in England."

"Oh," Buffy said, lying back again. There didn't seem to be much to say after that.

"Will, when are you leaving?"

"Um... next Wednesday, I think. Mom's driving me up the coast."

"And I'm leaving on Monday." Buffy sighed. "Well, we'll have a nice, quiet summer. Right?"

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