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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here it is- the confrontation. Hope it isn't too awful.
Chapter 20

Tuesday’s dinner came and went and Buffy had a wonderful time. Connor seemed perfect for her daughter, and she hadn’t seen her that happy in a long time. He was the right mix of fun-spirited and level-headedness that Dawn needed in order to keep up with her studies. Both Connor and Dawn seemed excited to come to the showing at the Gallery. Buffy surmised it was Connor’s influence that had Dawn so excited about seeing a new artist because this was the first time she had shown any interest in art whatsoever. Buffy promised to have them over again for dinner after the showing when she had more time. She hoped by then that Will could join them because their relationship was out in the open.

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William had called Dawn and asked to see her in his office Wednesday afternoon. He knew her dinner with Buffy went well since Buffy called him right after. He had told her there were some things he wanted to discuss with her, and she had agreed to meet him at three o’clock.

Promptly at three, Dawn knocked on the door and walked in. Professors always had open door policies, and if the door was open, it was polite to knock before entering. Will was working at his desk, correcting papers, and looked up at her knock.

“Hey, Will, what’s up?” asked a curious Dawn. She had no idea why he wanted to see her, and she hoped it was not an attempt to get back together. Their breakup had gone well and they had promised to remain friends. Plus, Will didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would beg, but you never could tell.

“Dawn, come have a seat. There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Will said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. He placed his folded hands on top of the desk and took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy.

Dawn sat down in the chair in front of Will’s desk. She was a bit nervous herself since she hoped that she wasn’t going to have to hurt Will’s feelings and tell him there was no chance of getting back together and that she was dating someone else.

“Dawn, there’s something I wanted to tell you before you found out from someone else. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to do it. I’ve started dating your mom.” Will said this all without taking a breath. He looked up to see if he could gauge Dawn’s reaction and didn’t really expect what came next.

“What?! You’re dating my mom? How could you? It’s my mom! She had you over for dinner as my boyfriend, and now you want to be her boyfriend?” The anger and shock was evident in Dawn’s tone.

Will got up and closed the door to his office. No use in letting the whole university hear their conversation - that wouldn’t help his promotion inquiry. “I don’t see why you’re angry. I heard you’re dating someone else already, too.”

“How did you know that? Of course, my mom told you. I’m sure she told you she had dinner with Connor and myself last night, too. How long has this been going on? Were you cheating on me with her, my own mother?” Dawn’s hurt was obvious in her voice.

“No, we didn’t start dating until you broke up with me. We both felt something that first meeting, but we ignored it until you and I weren’t together anymore. Buffy wanted to tell you with me, but I felt I should be the one to tell you. I didn’t want you mad at your mom or to ruin the relationship the two of you have. Your mom loves you very much, and if it came between you or me, she’d choose you every time.” Will was pouring his heart out to Dawn in hopes that she would understand. He knew that Buffy didn’t want to hurt Dawn and that she was very important to her.

“I don’t know if I should be angry or happy. I mean, I’m glad my mom is dating, but she’s dating my ex. How weird is that? Is there anything else you two are keeping from me?” Dawn asked. She inwardly hoped that he wasn’t going to share some weird thing he did with her mom. Oh my goodness, I wonder if they’re having sex? That is just too creepy to think about.

“Well, there is another thing, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. It is imperative that it remains a secret. The new artist that your mom is showing next week at the Gallery...”

“You mean Spike?” Dawn asked, now very curious and a bit relieved that it didn’t involve sex and her mom. Her mom had sounded kind of excited when she was talking to him on the phone. What did that have to do with Will?

“Yeah, Spike. Well, that’s me,” Will said quietly. “I use Spike as my non de plum. This way the University won’t find out.”

“You paint?! You never told me you painted. Are there any other secrets that you kept from me? I can’t believe you. I thought I knew you.” Dawn was getting angrier and angrier with everything that Will was telling her. She just didn’t know who she was angry with - Will, her mom, or both. “I can’t talk about this now. Please tell my mom not to call me, and I’ll call her when I’m ready to discuss things.” With that said, Dawn got up and left the office, slamming the door on the way out.

Will sat down and rubbed his temples. The meeting hadn’t gone as well as it could have, but at least Dawn knew about them now. I really hope she can work through this ‘cause I know it would kill Buffy if her relationship with her daughter was affected. He felt the beginnings of a huge headache coming on and was glad he was finished with his classes for the day. Maybe he would go home early and take some Tylenol for his headache. He got his briefcase together and locked up his office.

I need to call Buffy when I get home and let her know how it went. Not lookin’ forward to that conversation, he thought to himself as he walked to his car.





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