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“I’m awake, mom,” Willow sat up abruptly in response to the elbow jabbing into her ribs.

“Their flight’s been diverted to Vegas because of the fires,” Kennedy informed her ‘awake’ partner.

“What?” the redhead rubbed her gritty eyes. “When?”

“It landed there two hours ago.”

“Two hours? And you’re only just telling me this now?” Willow was wide awake and on her feet.

“Sorry. I dozed too and when I woke up it took me forever to get the information from the witc–bitch manning the information desk.”

“So she probably rented a car to make it the rest of the way. This is not good.”

“I know. Isn’t Buffy supposed to be one of the world’s worst drivers? I mean does she even have a license?” Kennedy tried to relax her girlfriend with a joke.

“She is and she somehow did manage to actually get a California license, but that is so not the source of the bad. She’s coming here expecting to find Spike all … there and when she doesn’t …. we have to call Angel.”

~*~*~

“Car accidents are so not fun, do you think you could try a little harder not to get us into one?” Dawn asked as her hands gripped her seatbelt tighter and she cringed as her sister swerved past the car on the highway in front of them.

“Dawnie, do not tell me how to drive,” Buffy responded with her eyes on the road, both hands clenched on the wheel and her right foot pressed hard on the gas pedal. “I am not going to wreck.”

“Can you pull over and put that in writing for me so I have proof that you don’t know what the heck you’re talking about?”

“Tiredness and distractions are the number one causes of accidents in the United States. We were crammed on a plane for eight hours straight, forced to hang out in an loud airport for our four hour layover and then back on a plane for nearly four more no fun filled hours after which we still have not reached our destination so the tired I’ve got plenty of,” Buffy took her eyes off the road to glare at her sibling. “Do you really wanna be bickering with me right now to add that distraction to the mix?”

“Good point,” the teenager said after a moment before closing her eyes and making a big show of praying as her sister drove on.

~*~*~

“And how exactly is it that you found out to lead to Buffy finding out?” Angel raked his hands through his hair ‘causing it to stand up in even more disarray than usual.

“Really a long beside the point story. All that matters is she and Dawn are on their way and they are under the impression that Spike is here here for them to see,” Willow bit her lip and flopped down in a chair in the vampire’s office.

“Technically, luv, I am here for them to ‘see,’” Spike informed her with a wry smile.

“Yeah,” the redhead glanced at the apparition, “and that really kinda givin me the wiggins.”

“Spike, leave,” Angel ordered as he sat down heavily behind his desk.

“Sorry, mate, I’m not going anywhere. This whole conversation’s about me and I’ve got bloody good reason to stay put.”

“But you can’t be here when they get here,” Willow jumped up with panic in her eyes. “Buffy so can’t see you like this.”

Spike opened his mouth to say something, but the Wiccan held up a hand to keep him quiet.

“I know you want to see her as much as she wants to see you, but this can only make things worse. She doesn’t know you’re all ghosty and if she finds out without being told there’s no telling how she’ll react. We just need for you to make yourself scarce until we’ve braced her then, hopefully, you’ll get your chance.”

“Really, does she need to see him at all?” Angel asked sulkily.

“Yes, she does,” Willow looked at the older vampire. “She really does.”

~*~*~

“What’s the rush? Can’t we check into a nice hotel to get some sleep or at least go get some nice fatty American food to celebrate our return home?” Dawn whined as Buffy drove in circles trying to find a parking space near the Wolfram & Hart building.

“Angel will feed you and give us a place to crash,” the slayer squealed excitedly as she saw a car pulling out of a spot she could take. “Ok, we are good to go.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, sis, but skinny as I am there’s no way I can get out of this car unless you give me more than two inches to open this door,” Dawn stared pointedly at how closely her sister had pulled in to the vehicle parked in the slot on the passenger side.

“Party pooper,” Buffy pouted as she put the car in reverse and backed up then pulled back into the slot a few more times until it was parked better. “Happy?”

“Utterly joyful,” the teenager muttered as she got out of the vehicle and stretched. “I’d forgotten how bright the sun is here,” she shielded her eyes from the bright afternoon light.

“Daylight,” her sister cringed as she too exited the car. “He’ll probably be sleeping. Dammit.”

“He’ll wake up for you,” Dawn said a bit jealously as she still sometimes felt the effects of the major crush she’d had on the vampire they were here for.

“What am I going to say to him,” Buffy bit her lip and got all nervous now that they were at their destination. “Do I look ok? Oh, God, I’ve got like limp and grungy travel hair, don’t I?”

“Travel hair?”

“And makeup,” the young woman ignored the look she was getting from her little sister. “I need to put makeup on. And these clothes have got to go,” she looked at herself critically. “We must shop. Now,” Buffy opened the driver’s side door and got back in.

“No way am I getting in that deathtrap with you again. I don’t know what miracle kept me alive on the trip here, but I’m not pushing it with a second go.”

“But … I need nice clothes and new shoes to face him. I wanna look my best,” her sister was leaning across the front seats and practically begging out the passenger side window.

“The things I do for family,” Dawn groaned as she reluctantly got back in the car and fastened her seatbelt tight.

~*~*~

“They should be here by now,” Angel and Spike were both pacing the office and glaring at each other for showing such similar worry.

“You two are making me way too busy to think,” Willow closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath. “They’ll be here soon, I’m sure.”

“It’s only a four hour drive here from Vegas,” Angel growled.

“Oh, dear God,” Spike stopped dead in his tracks and stared at them in horror. “Buffy wouldn’t be driving would she?”

“Will you both relax?!” Willow snapped as Angel instantly rushed to the phone and began making calls to see if there had been any accidents on the roads from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. “They’re fine. I sense that.”

“No accidents to report involving two women matching Buffy and Dawn’s description,” Angel confirmed the redhead’s suspicions as he hung up the phone.

“See,” she looked at both skeptical males, “the witch is always right.”

Spike’s scarred eyebrow shot up at that in a ‘yeah, right’ look that had the girl blushing then adding, “Ok, most of the time I’m right.”

“Why aren’t they here yet?” Angel asked as he resumed his pacing while Spike and Willow continued to argue in a friendly fashion over her accuracy rate in the past.

~*~*~

“Do you really wanna be saying ‘I’m your love slave do with me what you will’ when you see him again?” Dawn asked as Buffy modeled yet another very skimpy outfit for possible wearing to face Spike.

“This does not say that,” the blonde argued with a pout.

“It’s leather and it screams ‘take me to a room now and shag my brains out.’”

“He always liked me in leather,” Buffy admired the tight fit of the pants she wore, but agreed that maybe the bustier was a bit much.

“Not as much as he liked you out of it,” Dawn muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Like that isn’t the truth,” the teenager said when her older sister gave her a reprimanding look.

“Be that as it may, you’re too young to be talking like that.”

Dawn rose and gave her sibling a look of her own before crossing her arms over her chest and saying, “Should be out doing it like you were at my age instead of talking about it then?”

“I was not doing it when I was your age,” her sister stated when she picked her stunned jaw up off the floor. “I’ll have you know I waited until I was 17 and you’d better believe you won’t be doing anything until you’re that old or older. If I ever let you date.”

“Like you could stop me,” long brown hair was flicked back defiantly as the sisters faced off.

“I may not be able to stop you, but I bet I can scare your dates off in a heartbeat. Not many young guys will stick around when someone’s threatening their manhood with an axe and I still have plenty of axes,” shoulder length blonde hair was flipped back in a similar fashion as Dawn had done hers.

“I think you should wear a dress. Something soft and pretty for him,” the teenager folded under her big sister’s challenging stare and she switched topics back to the reason they were at the mall. “Something feminine. Save the leather for more private moments that my innocent little mind does not need to know anything about.”

“You’re right. He always preferred me wearing skirts,” Buffy sighed dreamily and her expression went all soft as she was obviously remembering some private moments that Dawn’s innocent little mind did not need to know about.

Three hours later the sisters breezed into the Wolfram & Hart lobby and strolled easily past security to the elevators with numerous shopping bags in freshly manicured hands.

“Are you sure this looks good?” Buffy asked worriedly as they waited for the elevator to arrive and she fidgeted with the tiny straps holding up the cream colored mini dress she wore.

“You look fabulous, as usual, and I am being eaten alive inside by my jealousy that you got mom’s good looks while I got her figure,” Dawn said with equal parts teasing and sincerity while frowning down at the new jeans and T-shirt she wore.

“So you think he’ll like it? And my hair?”

“Have you always been this neurotic about guys? ‘Cause if so I’m really seeing why you never dated as much as you should have.”

“I’m not being neurotic and I doubt you even know what that word means,” the elevator arrived but Buffy didn’t really notice it. “Spike’s special and I wanna show him that he’s worth all the effort of getting dolled up for. I never really bothered when we were … before.”

“You look beautiful and he’s totally going to fall in love with you all over again the second he sees you,” Dawn assured her nervous sibling with a genuine smile. “And he’s gonna love the hair.”

Unseen by the duo stepping into the lift Kennedy tossed down the magazine she’d been thumbing through in the lobby for what felt like an eternity and rushed to a phone to tip them off upstairs.





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