Dawn sighed with relief and made a mental note to give Joy a really fabulous birthday present. The little girl’s meltdown following the dance performance had kept Spike slightly distracted the whole time he and the rest of the visitors were backstage meeting her new boyfriend. Despite many years of domestication, she feared Spike could easily slip into Big Bad mode if he thought anyone, or anything, threatened to abuse, harm, or even disappoint one of his girls. With Joy’s unwitting assistance, the introductions had gone very smoothly, with absolutely no one getting bitten.
As Dawn accompanied Buffy, Spike, Joy, Dawn, Willow, and Giselle to the parking lot she felt good, very good, about the whole evening. “What do you think?” she asked Buffy as they approached the car.
Buffy stopped walking, letting the rest of the group get several paces ahead. “What do I think about what?” she replied, smirking. “Are you asking how I liked the show or the guy?”
Dawn put her hands on her hips and smirked right back at her. “The guy, of course!” she said. “What do you think of him?”
“I think he’s great,” Buffy said, smiling at her sister. “But what happened to keeping him a secret from Spike? All of a sudden Willow says we’re meeting you and the boyfriend backstage, just like a normal family. There was no way I could keep Spike from coming.”
“Yeah, sorry about that…I guess I changed my mind,” Dawn said. “After Willow and Giselle spent half the afternoon helping me with costumes I felt silly about making you and Spike wait. They’d already met Tom. The cat was pretty much out of the bag, so…”
Buffy stared at Dawn. “You do realize what you just said, right?” she asked. “Tom. Cat out of the bag. Tom, cat. You are head over heels, aren’t you? I can’t think of any other reason you would say something so lame!”
Dawn covered her face with her hands for a moment, and then peeked out through her fingers to look at her sister. “You might have something there,” she said sheepishly. “I do get all stupid and gooey when he’s around. It’s either love or I’m allergic to him.”
Buffy took Dawn’s arm and pulled her along toward the car. Spike watched them approach, Joy slung over his shoulder and snoring. “Well at least you don’t haul off and punch him in the nose,” Buffy said quietly. As usual it was no use whispering, Spike heard everything.
“Ah, luv, I’ve told you a thousand times to stop worrying about that! Violence and brutality is perfectly normal for Slayer/vampire relationships,” he said, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Joy. “We are the exception because we eventually got beyond all that to something even better,” he continued, winking to underscore his lascivious intent. “But what I want to know is what’s what with Miss Niblet here.” he said, eyes full of mischief. “Gone all weak in the knees for your cowboy, have you?”
Dawn took a deep breath before answering. “He’s not a cowboy, Spike. He sells wine making equipment.”
“Then why does he wear cowboy boots?” Spike asked, eyebrows lifted to suggest innocent curiosity.
“Maybe because he likes them…” Dawn started to reply, but Spike cut her off.
“Never mind. What matters is, they’re very good cowboy boots,” he said. “Definitely the real thing. Otherwise I’d be calling him your ‘wannabe cowboy’.”
Dawn was too stunned to speak.
“He’s okay. The boots are good, really good,” Spike said, looking sincere. “And he smells alright, too.”
“Eww!” Dawn and Buffy said simultaneously. “Do you really have to do that?” Dawn asked.
“What? You’re just jealous ‘cause I can smell all the important stuff: booze, sex, and fear,” Spike responded. “But I didn’t smell any on your cowboy. Which means a great deal, since I’m sure you let him know one way or the other this little meet-up was putting your nerves on end. He has nothing to hide. He’s straight ahead, niblet, so I suggest you think about returning the favor. Since the two of you haven’t yet done the deed….”
“Spike! Do you really have to share everything you learn from sniffing people?” Buffy asked, exasperated with her mate.
“I’m just saying the guy seems alright. But if Dawn waits until after…” Looking at Buffy, he knew he shouldn’t finish his thought. “You know…after…he’s going to feel different about it than if she tells him now while he’s got more hormones fogging his brain. And if Dawn wants this to get serious she shouldn’t wait to find out he’s squeamish about her not-totally-human origins.” Sighing now, Spike looked at Dawn with obvious warmth and love as he slightly shifted Joy’s weight on his shoulder. “I don’t want you getting hurt again, niblet, at least not anymore than absolutely necessary. If you’re… intimate with him, and it turns out he can’t handle the truth, it will just hurt more.”
Buffy slid her arm around Dawn’s waist. “He has a point, Dawn,” she said, giving Spike the benefit of her smile. “I don’t get to say it very often, but fang boy here is right.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling the rightness too,” Dawn conceded. “Now that he’s met all of you it might be a little easier to explain. I mean, saying Giselle’s from Ethiopia fooled most of the moms backstage, but I don’t think Tom was really going for it.”
“Yeah niblet, start with the demon nanny from an alternate dimension,” Spike laughed. “Once Tom’s accepted that much, the witch, vampire, Vampire Slayer, and mystical key will be a cakewalk.”
Dawn’s posture slumped in response to Spike’s comment. “No, no, none of that, Dawn,” Buffy mock scolded her. “It’s going to work out this time. He’s a keeper. I can tell. Just take it slow and let him absorb it in little doses. There’s no hurry, right? Other than Christmas, ‘cause it would be so cool if you’d bring him to London for Christmas.”
Dawn perked up at the thought of celebrating the holidays in London. “That would be so much fun!” she said, beaming. “I’ll start breaking the news as soon as everything settles down. Now that the performance is over I have a couple weeks before I start teaching again. I promised Joy I’d come visit during my break, but otherwise I don’t have any plans,” Dawn said, turning to Spike. “And I think I owe you an apology, Big Bad Brother-in-Law.”
Spike was nonplussed. “What for?”
“I was so worried you’d bite him I completely forgot how you look out for me,” she said, a tear slipping down her cheek. “You’re always looking out for me. I shouldn’t have forgotten that…even for a minute.”
“Ah, niblet, please stop blubbering,” Spike said, brushing Dawn’s hair out of her face and resting his hand on her cheek. “I’d just as soon you took it for granted, you know, it’s what I do, nothing to think about, really. Please, no more tears. I only just finished drying the Widget’s face. Come on.”
Dawn brushed her tears away with the back of her hand and tried to smile. “Okay,” she said. “But you have to wait until I get back before you leave for London. Tom’s bringing me home. That way I can say goodbye and you can have one more chance to check him out. Okay?”
Spike looked at Buffy, who nodded her agreement. They each gave Dawn a kiss on the cheek and then climbed in the car with Willow and Giselle. Spike tucked the still sleeping Joy gently into her car seat and they took off for Dawn’s house.
“You were great back there, honey,” Buffy said sliding her hand along Spike’s leg as he drove. “Dawn’s right, you do always look out for her.”
“Yeah,” Spike said, his eyes firmly on the road. “Well, the guy seems okay.”
“I think so too, even without your super smelling powers,” Buffy said, watching the scenery whiz by outside. “I want her to have someone to love,” she said, squeezing Spike’s leg. “It just makes everything so much better.”
“Well, I’m hoping this is the one,” he said. “But Willow can always do one of her little memory wipes if he gets his knickers in a twist when he learns all about us. I just hope we won’t have to resort to that this time.”
Buffy sighed. “Yeah, that would be good.”
“At least not until I find out where he bought those boots,” Spike added, mostly to himself, as he pulled into Dawn’s driveway.
Tbc……………..
A/N: You know I love reviews. Reviews make me want to write more, really, they do! ;)
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Yeah, I'm big with the domestic scenes of happily-married Spuffiness. Can't help it!