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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Allison my beta.
Chapter 23

The day of Spike’s showing came, and Buffy had yet to hear from Dawn. Normally, she would have been sick with worry, but she was so busy getting The Gallery ready for the showing that she didn’t have time to think. Tara and she had been there since seven AM and were closing the Gallery at noon so they could finish up and get some rest before the opening.

“Tara, have you confirmed the caterers and the press for tonight?” Buffy asked as she finished cleaning off her desk.

“Yes, everything is confirmed and I think we are done for now. What time are you and Will arriving?” Tara asked as she also cleaned her desk off.

“Will’s picking me up at six and then we are coming straight here. We were going to have dinner first but figured we’d be too nervous. I was going to fix a small snack for us to have on the way since I know there will be champagne flowing freely. What time were you planning on coming?” Buffy asked as she put on her coat and got her purse to leave.

“Willow and I will be here by six. I will let the caterers in and do a last-minute check.”

“Great. Go get some rest and I’ll see you after six tonight.”

Promptly at six o’clock, Will rang Buffy’s bell. He was so nervous, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to drive them to The Gallery. He had decided to stay in his ‘Spike’ persona and dressed all in black: black leather pants, black button-down silk shirt, black boots, and a long black leather duster. He hoped Buffy approved.

Buffy opened the door and her mouth fell open. “Oh my goodness, Will, you look so hot. Not that you don’t always look hot, but hot in a bad boy kind of way. Totally ‘Spike’.”

“Don’t look so bad yourself, Buffy. Quite sexy, and I am gonna have to make sure none of those artsy blokes start coming on to you,” Will said to Buffy as he looked her over.

Buffy had decided to go for sophisticated elegance and was wearing a knee-length black sleeveless dress with a deep v-neck that showed ample cleavage. She had black stiletto sandals on her feet, and her hair was swept off her neck in a chignon.

“I don’t know if I can drive, luv. I’m so nervous,” Will confessed.

“No problem. I had planned on driving anyways since I had a few more things to bring over. I also packed the car with some finger snacks for us to munch on while we drive over there. Don’t want our new artist getting drunk from an empty stomach at his first showing, do we?” Buffy said professionally.

They both got in her car and drove over to The Gallery and parked in back, next to Tara’s car.

“Are you really nervous, Will?”

“Yes and no. Yes ‘cause I am putting myself out there for everyone to see and talk about, and then no ‘cause this is my work and if no one likes it, well that’s fine, too, since I paint what I like,” Will said that rather quickly, which told Buffy he was more than a bit nervous. “How about you?”

“Well, I’m nervous for different reasons. I want it to run smoothly and your work to be loved like I love it. But also I don’t know if Dawn and Connor are gonna show, and that makes me extremely nervous.”

Will got out of the car and helped Buffy carry some things inside. Everything looked perfect to him, and he now knew that he was ready to face the crowds when they opened the doors.

At seven o’clock, Tara opened the doors and a crowd of guests came inside. There were critics from the two newspapers, prospective art buyers, and guests that Will and Buffy had invited such as Anya and a few of Will’s colleagues. Everyone seemed to love Spike’s work and many praises were heard from the crowd. Anya was a bit upset there were no nudes, but Will told her he’d work on that next time.

Buffy was kept busy by showing people around and made a few sales of Spike’s work. Will was questioned by the newspapers’ art critics, but he never told them his real name. Though busy doing different things, they always seemed to know where the other was and would share smiles and looks. They were both so busy that they didn’t see the young couple enter the store.

Dawn was nervous about showing up without calling and talking to her mom, but she felt this would be easier. With all the people around, there would not be a scene. Dawn had talked to Connor and some of her sorority sisters about the situation and had come to realize that she was okay with Will and her mom dating. And looking at them now, she validated that opinion. She pointed them out to Connor, and even he agreed that they looked perfect together. Why didn’t I think of getting them together before? Maybe because I was infatuated with going out with an older man. They have so much in common, and I have never seen mom look so happy before.

As the evening drew to a close and most of the guests had left, Buffy noticed Dawn and Connor admiring some of Will’s work. She took a deep breath and walked over to them. Might as well see what they thought, and she knew Dawn wouldn’t be there if she was still mad.

“Dawn, Connor, I’m so glad you both could come. What do you think of the showing?” asked a nervous Buffy.
“It’s great, Mrs. Finn. I was just telling Dawn that Spike is very talented. Didn’t know Professor Atherton had it in him,” Connor smirked.

“It’s great, Mom. How are you? You look fantastic, by the way.” Dawn was just as nervous as her mom but wanted to move on to their more normal relationship, so she decided to just blurt out her feelings. “I really am happy for you and Will. You both look very happy.” There, she said it and it wasn’t so bad.

“Oh, Dawn!” Buffy said as she threw her arms around her daughter and hugged her hard. She was so happy that Dawn was okay with this relationship. She really cared a lot about Will, and she even thought she may be in love with him, and she wanted her daughter to be happy for them. “He makes me very happy, but hearing you say that makes me happier.”

Just then, Will wandered over. He had been observing the mother-daughter reunion from across the room. He said, “Hello, Dawn. You must be Connor,” and stuck out his hand for the other man to shake. After formal introductions were made, Will asked what they thought of the showing.

“I loved it,” said Connor. “Your work is wonderful, and if I wasn’t a starving student, I would be tempted to buy one.”

“I agree with Connor. You do good work, Will,” Dawn said quietly.

The two couples stood around for a few minutes, chatting about general safe topics, and then Dawn and Connor bid them goodnight but not before Dawn promised to have lunch with her mom early the following week to catch up.

“Well, I’m glad that is over. I don’t mean the showing ‘cause that was fantastic, but this initial confrontation with Dawn. I gather she is all right with us?” Will asked while rubbing his temples and trying to ease the tiredness around his eyes.

“Yes, she said that she was happy for us and hadn’t seen me this happy in a long time,” Buffy replied while kicking off her shoes and rubbing her insoles. “I think we can call this night a success overall. How ‘bout we leave things for the caterers to clean up and head on to my house? Stay over since you seem too tired to drive.”

“Good idea, luv. I am knackered.”

“Bye, Tara. Bye, Willow,” Buffy and Will said as they walked out the door to the car.

“See, I told you they had some kind of connection. Just took them awhile to find it,” Tara said knowingly to Willow.

“Well, mothers have needs, too, and why shouldn’t Buffy be happy?” Willow asked as she and Tara said good night to the caterers and walked out to their car.

Epilogue

Two and a half years later…

Buffy sat in the UC-Sunnydale auditorium, watching Dawn receive her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with honors. She was a very proud mother at that moment, but then she was always proud of Dawn.

She looked up at the stage and caught the eye of Professor Atherton, assistant chair to the department of English literature, and he winked back. Will was seated with the faculty on stage. She looked down at the ring on her left hand and then blew him a kiss.

A lot had happened in the last two and a half years. Will had become assistant chair of his department and after six months of dating had asked her to marry him. She had accepted, and they were married in the backyard of her house with Dawn as her maid of honor. It was a small ceremony with only their closest friends, but it was still beautiful.

The Gallery was attracting more new artists, and she and Tara had a new artist showing almost every six months. Will continued to paint under the name of Spike and was selling well in the store. Tara had taken on more responsibilities of running the place, and that let Buffy have more free time to travel when Will was not teaching.

Dawn and Connor were still together and had decided to try living together after Dawn graduated. Connor was in his last year of a master’s program at UCLA, and Dawn had been accepted into the master’s program for anthropology. Connor had hinted to Buffy that he was going to ask Dawn to marry him after graduation, and Buffy had given her approval.

After the ceremony, the two couples met up and Buffy threw her arms around Dawn. “I am so proud of you,” she said.

“Oh, Mom, I wouldn’t be here without your support. I may have been selfish when I first started UC-Sunnydale, but I think I really matured and I had you as a model. You always put your family first before your own needs. I really appreciate it,” Dawn said with sincerity.

“Oh, honey, family always does come first, but you must remember when you have your family that mothers have needs, too.”

A/N: Just a quick thanks to cordykitten, Crystal Pegasus, secretguest, Brat, Delicia, fallen_angel, Isabel, melly, beasleysmom,j, jt, toni, chrissnicole, DaniD, Emma, spacelord, opal, spufette, daffodil, and any others that may have reviewed. Also a big thanks to Spikeshunny for the banner she made me.





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