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As it turned out, her day could get far worse. A ceramic statue had fallen off of its pedestal when she accidentally bumped into it, falling and smacking against her foot before rolling to the ground and chipping.

“Good job, Goldilocks,” Spike said as he walked past her, carrying a box. “I’m sure dear old dad will love to see that.” She shot him a look before picking up the statue and looking it over.

“He won’t notice,” she said quietly, putting it back on display and going to the office to answer the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Buffy,” Lilah said, making Buffy cringe.

‘She drives me insane more than Spike does,’ she thought.

“Hello, Lilah,” Buffy replied, trying to sound cordial. “What can I do for you?”

“Can you tell your dad that he left his watch here last night?” she asked. “He called before to ask if I had seen it, and I just found it on the bed.” Buffy made a face and shook her head.

“Sure, I’ll go tell him,” she replied. “Have a good day, Lilah.” She hung up the phone and went to give her father the message before going into the back room to try to find a shipment of Greek amphorae. Spike walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Was it Hank?” he asked, looking at her. She raised an eyebrow.

“What’re you talking about?” she asked, confused.

“Was he the one who hit you?” he asked, crossing his arms. She shook her head and kept looking through crates and boxes. “Is it Lindsey?”

“Is it your business?” she asked, not looking at him as she cut open a box. He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed up and looked at him. “What’re you doing?”

“Talk to me,” he said, looking at her sadly. “I want to help you- give me the chance.”

“There’s nothing for you to do,” she replied, looking away. “I’m not with Lindsey anymore. He hit me once, I dumped him- case closed.”

“And you think you’re the only girl he’s ever physically hurt? You think that he won’t do it again to someone else? Don’t be naïve, luv,” he said firmly. “You should go to the police.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” she said, heading to the door, but he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. “Let me go.”

“I know you hate me, but believe me when I say that I care about you and want to help,” he said. “If I ever see that ponce, I’m going to have a little chat with him.”

“And if you lay a finger on him, we’re going to have a confrontation,” she replied sharply, breaking away from him and walking into her father’s office, slamming the door and locking it.

“Bloody hell,” he said quietly, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

* * *

While Spike and Buffy worked on setting up things in the gallery, on opposite sides of the room, Hank walked in and looked at both of them, smiling.

“So, whom is everyone taking to the Summers Gallery gala next week?” he asked. Buffy froze and looked at him.

“I thought it was canceled this year,” she said. “Since Mom…”

“It’ll be in memory of her,” Hank said, sitting on a bench. “I think she’d want us to continue the tradition of a gala every June.” Spike nodded, looking at his boss. “So, who are you taking, William?”

“Probably my girlfriend,” he answered, quickly choosing not to look at Buffy to see her reaction.

“You’re still dating Harmony?” she asked, surprised, and he nodded. “Wow, can’t say I expected that.”

“Are you bringing your new boyfriend?” Hank asked his daughter, and she shrugged. “I’d like to meet this Lindsey fellow.”

“Me, too,” Spike agreed, looking at her sternly. She frowned and sighed.

“I don’t know- I’ll see if he wants to go or not,” she replied, heading towards the back room. Hank looked at Spike.

“Is she alright?” he asked, and Spike shrugged. “She’s been acting very odd for a while, and I have a feeling it’s not just because of Joyce.”

“She’s a teenager- they always act odd,” Spike said before following her into the storage room.

* * *

“You’re not actually going to invite him, are you?” Spike asked as he closed the door behind him.

“Maybe, maybe not,” she answered, busying herself with a folder she found lying out.

“I was serious before about talking to him if I saw him,” Spike said, crossing his arms.

“And I was serious about confronting you if you did,” she replied, looking at him. “It’s not your business, Spike, and I already told you that I handled it.”

“Why are you being so bloody stubborn?” he asked, angry. “Do you not understand that he might’ve hurt girls before you and that he might in the future, also?”

“Yes, I know that,” she answered, sitting down on a chair. “But I don’t want you involving yourself in my private life. I let you in on it once and look how that turned out.”

“I think it turned out pretty well, actually,” he replied, slightly smirking before becoming serious again. “Buffy-”

“Why are you still dating Harmony?” she asked, cutting him off. “I thought you said that night that you were done with her.”

“I thought I was,” he answered, looking down. “I just haven’t gotten around to dumping her yet.” He paused. “If circumstances were different between us, Buffy, I’d leave her for you in a heartbeat.” She looked at him, stunned. “But they’re not, and what happened that night won’t ever happen again. It was a privilege to be with you for one night only, but it’s in the past and I’m over it.”

‘You’re such a liar,’ he said to himself.

“I thought I told you that I never wanted to talk about what happened,” she said, standing up. “We both made mistakes, and it’s done, isn’t it?” He nodded. “So stop bringing it up. I’ve already written it off as temporary insanity.” He looked at her.

“Right,” he said, even though he didn’t agree with her at all. “When did you start dating Lindsey?”

“A week after Mom died,” she answered, looking away. He raised an eyebrow.

“Why? I thought he wasn’t even on your radar,” he pointed out. “And wasn’t he kind of a jerk to you before?”

“Yeah, but apparently I started to like jerks around that time,” she said, putting the folder away in a file cabinet.

“Why did you start dating him?” Spike asked curiously, and she looked at him.

“To take my mind off of you.”





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