"Mom, you don't mind if I go out for a little while, do you?" Buffy asked, even though she knew Joyce Summers still wasn't comfortable knowing she was the Slayer.

"Do you have to? I thought maybe we could, I don't know -- pop some corn and watch a little TV, together."

"You know, Mom, that'd be really great, but I. . . ."

"I know, you have Slaying to do."

"Yeah," Buffy answered uncomfortably. "But I won't be late, I promise. And I'll be real careful!"

"Buffy, I'm sorry, but I'm still having trouble understanding all this Slayer stuff."

"Mom, can't we talk about this some other time? Like tomorrow! First thing tomorrow morning we'll have a nice long Mother/Slayer talk."

"I don't want to talk about it tomorrow, Buffy. I want to talk about it now."

"But, Mom. . . ."

"Can't your vampires wait just a little longer? Please, Buffy. You have no idea how hard it is for me to -- to accept this life you're leading; that you have been leading. After everything that's happened I think I deserve an explanation."

Suddenly feeling very tired, Buffy sat down at the kitchen counter. "Okay, what you want to know?"

"Everything. How and when this all started. How did you know you were supposed to be this Slayer and not some other girl? There's just so much I don't know."

Realizing she probably wasn't going to be doing any patrolling tonight, Buffy decided to go ahead and tell her mother everything. Just answer all her questions and then maybe she would understand.

"Ask away." Buffy told her.


Suddenly Joyce was at a loss. There were just too many questions, so much she didn't understand.

"Are you sure you're supposed to be the Slayer?"

"Mom!" Buffy exclaimed, "Of course I'm sure! I was the Slayer in L.A. and I've been the Slayer ever since we move here."

"But when did you become the Slayer?"

"Do you remember when I was the 'good girl?' My grades were good, I was a cheerleader, and Prom Queen, and all the other stuff 'good girls' do?"

"Of course I do. We were so proud of you."

"And then I changed and I became the 'bad girl?' That's when I became the Slayer. I didn't have time to do all those 'good girl' things. I had vampires and demons to fight."

"But you burned down the gymnasium!"

"I had to! There was a nest of vamps there. It was the only way to get rid of them all at once."

Then Joyce paused for a moment. "Did you say demons? What kind of demons?"

"All kinds! Mom, there are more kinds of demons than there are -- dogs. And there are werewolves and witches. . . ."

"Wait a minute, Buffy, you're going too fast! So you're saying there are vampires, and demons, and werewolves, and witches? My God! Is there anything else? Fairies? Pixies? Leprechans?"

"Actually, Mom, all the supernatural beings I know about are all pretty much bad."

"Buffy," Joyce said in exasperation, "Why don't you just start at the beginning, and then I'll interrupt whenever I don't understand something."

"Fine. So where do I start?"

"How about exactly how you became this Slayer?"

"I'm not sure, exactly, how I became the Slayer. One day this guy showed up, said he was my Watcher and I was the Slayer. . . ."

"It wasn't Mr. Giles?"

"Oh no, Giles didn't become my Watcher until we came to Sunnydale. Anyway, I became the Slayer. But I had no idea I had these -- powers. . . ."

"See, that's something else I don't understand. You have this unusual strength, and God knows what else, but you were never very athletic. When did all this happen?"

"I don't know. It just -- happened, I guess. Maybe I had them all along and didn't know it. Or maybe they were just hidden until the previous Slayer died and then they came out."

"A Slayer died? Did you know who she was?"

"No. And I didn't want to know. And before you ask -- when a Slayer dies, or is killed, then the new Slayer arises. And no, I don't know why I was Chosen. Either I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or I was the right age at the right time. I just don't know."

"But why YOU? Why not some other girl? Why. . . ?"

"God, Mom, don't you think I've asked myself that a million times? Even Giles doesn't know. No one knows why a particular girl is Chosen. All I can figure is it's like having blue eyes or brown hair. It just happens."

"Okay. So you're now the Slayer, with all these superhero powers. So just what powers do you actually have, besides the strength, I mean. And how strong are you, by the way?"

"I'm not really sure about the strength. Somewhere along the line it seems like I heard, probably from Giles, that the Slayer has the strength of ten men."

"Ten men like Woody Allen? Or like Arnold Schwarzenegger?"

At this Buffy had to laugh.

"I don't know. Most of the time I don't know my own strength. I think it just depends on how much I need. But there have been times when it wasn't enough, like with chains."

"You were chained up?"

"Only once or twice, but I always got out!"

Joyce shook her head, almost afraid to hear more.

"So what about your other powers?"

"Well, you may have noticed I heal up pretty quick. Cuts and bruises don't last very long."

Joyce nodded. "Anything else?"

"If I concentrate, I can tell if vamps and demons are around."

"Any more?"

"Probably, but mostly, I think that's about it. Except, I really AM a good daughter."

Joyce blinked back a few tears and leaned over to give Buffy a warm hug and kissed her.

"Okay, so you became the Slayer. So why is that you have to go out every night? Are there so many vampires?"

"I go out every night bcause this is where they are. And, yes, there are a lot of them. It's the Hellmouth, you know."

Suddenly, Joyce felt fearful.

"The what? The Hellmouth. What in God's name is 'The Hellmouth?' "

"The Mouth of Hell. Sunnydale sits directly over the Mouth of Hell. That's why it's called 'The Hellmouth.' Did you think us moving here was an accident? I was needed here. Needed to save the world, again and again."

"Buffy, are you sure you're not making some of this up, just to scare me, or to shut me up?"

Buffy started to feel her eyes grow moist.

"How I wish I was! But believe me, this is it. This is the Focus. All the evil concentrates right here. And I'm the only one who can stop it. It's my job. . . No, not my job, it's my life, my destiny. Whatever you want to call it. And, God, how I wish it wasn't. You don't know how much I wish I could be like a normal girl, doing all the normal girl stuff I used to do. And I truly didn't want to scare you, Mom, but you asked."

"Yes, I did. And I'm almost sorry I did. But I had to know. Just promise me one thing, that you'll always be careful. And you won't die."

It was Buffy's turn to hug and kiss her mother.

"I can't tell you not to worry, because I know you will, but believe me, I'm very, very good at what I do. I may get a few bumps and bruises, some scrapes and cuts, but I promise you, I won't die. I won't, not ever!"