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By the time they heard Tom’s pick-up in the driveway, the five travelers were ready to go. Spike carried the small duffle bag he shared with Buffy. The tiny bag was only practical because she kept her California wardrobe at Dawn’s. Joy’s back pack, complete with Mr. Pig peeking out on top, was packed, zipped, and propped against the couch where its owner was quietly sawing logs. Willow could fit a month’s worth of clothing and accessories into her handbag. Long ago, much to her embarrassment, she had admitted the enchanted bag was inspired by Mary Poppins. Giselle, the lightest traveler of all, changes outfits by shape-shifting and only needs a wallet-sized pouch for the pellets of highly-concentrated food she consumes when away from home. (Giselle had once confided that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups could sustain her if she ever ran out, but she really doesn’t care for the taste.)

They were all standing in the living room, with their amazingly-minimal gear, when Dawn and Tom surprised everyone by using the front door.

“Time to stop treating the bloke like company and see if he’ll rise to the challenge,” Spike muttered, mostly to himself, as Dawn escorted her beau into the house.

“Shh!” Buffy hissed. “We talked about this and you agreed to give him a chance. Remember?”

Spike had to look away for a moment. Although he finally nodded in reply, Buffy could see the tension in his jaw. “I just don’t want her wasting a lot of time on some wanker who won’t be there for her,” he whispered, careful to be sure the others couldn’t hear. “You know?”

“Yeah,” Buffy sighed. “I know. But please just hang in for a bit. We need to let Dawn take this at her pace.”

Buffy didn’t see the smirk on Spike’s face as he turned to follow the others into the kitchen.

Now that another successful performance was behind her, Dawn was in a celebratory mood. But she was still stunned when Tom pulled a bottle of champagne out of her refrigerator and proposed a toast.

“How long has that been in there?” Dawn asked.

“At least a week,” Tom said, laughing. “I was all stealthy about it, too. I needn’t have bothered, though. You were way too preoccupied with the show and your visitors to notice.”

Spike watched closely as Dawn took in Tom’s comment. Turning to face him, she searched his face for a beat and then reached up to touch his cheek. “I’m sorry if you felt neglected,” she said, with real regret. “I should probably be honest and tell you that it’s always like this. Twice a year, every year, I get completely lost in my work. There’s just so much to do in such a short time. I’m afraid I’m always pretty frantic, especially toward the end.”

Tom took her hand, shaking his head. “You really don’t need to apologize,” he said. “I think what you do with your students is amazing. I’ll admit I’m glad you’ll have a chance to relax for a couple weeks, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You clearly love what you’re doing. Why would I ever want you to apologize for that?”

Only Spike witnessed Dawn and Tom’s revealing interaction. The others were too busy finding glasses and arguing about who got to open the bottle. He stood very still, as only a vampire can, hoping he’d get to witness what came next. But the sound of the champagne cork bouncing off the ceiling interrupted the moment. Willow quickly shoved glasses into their hands and the two not-so-young lovers joined the melee as everyone tried to catch the bubbles as they cascaded down the sides of the bottle.

When they had salvaged enough to fill five glasses, and mopped up the rest from the floor, Tom raised his glass. “To the most talented, hard-working, and beautiful dance teacher in the entire state!”

Dawn looked both pleased and embarrassed as everyone took a sip, but Spike couldn’t help noticing that her eyes actually sparkled when she looked at Tom. In retrospect, he would later claim, that sparkle was the last straw.

“Alright then,” he announced, placing his empty glass on the kitchen counter, “time to go!”

Buffy looked up from her half-consumed champagne in confusion, but Spike and Giselle were already in motion, both following Willow into the living room.

“Wait a sec’,” Dawn called after them. “I thought you guys were going to let me…you know…take you…you know…after. I mean…when Tom goes home I can drive you…”

No one responded, so Buffy, Tom and Dawn left their glasses behind and joined the others in the living room.

When they got there, Spike had already roused Joy just enough to put on her backpack. They watched as he hoisted her into his arms where she quickly settled back to sleep on his shoulder. Picking up the duffle with his other hand, Spike lifted his chin to summon Buffy to his side. “Come on, luv,” he said. “Time for us to hit the road.”

She began to protest, but the determined set of Spike’s features made her hesitate. Then she noticed Giselle and Willow standing nearby smiling pleasantly, but saying nothing. “Something is definitely going on here,” Buffy thought. “And it looks like I’m going to be among the last to know what it is.”

Seeing that Spike already had the votes to win in the event of a ballot, Buffy decided to go with the flow. She turned to Dawn and wrapped her arms around her for a big hug. “He’s right,” she said, pulling back to look meaningfully into Dawn’s eyes. “It is time for us to get out of the way. You’ve worked hard for weeks. You need to rest. Having company, especially family, is never restful. We’ll go. That way you can spend a little time with Tom instead of sending him home.”

Tom was perplexed. Dawn had gone from animated to wooden in a matter of moments. No one had said anything to cause distress; it all seem like a modest change in plans. And it didn’t make sense for Dawn to be upset about her guests making their own way to the airport. As far as Tom was concerned, Spike was going out of his way to ease the burden on Dawn, not to mention creating the opportunity for some long overdue alone time with his sweetheart. While he didn’t relish the idea that Dawn was disappointed with Plan B, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. A house free of guests and a little more champagne could easily lead to some quality time on the couch with Dawn. For his own selfish reasons Tom wasn’t at all opposed to letting the travelers go without an argument.

Dawn, seeing resistance was futile, smiled weakly. “Well, then,” she said, a bit stiffly, “have a safe trip home.”

Spike shifted Joy on his shoulder so he could extend a hand to Tom. “You’ll be good to this lady if you know what’s good for you,” he said, smiling to keep his tone light despite the tough talk. “It was good to meet you.” Then Spike gave Dawn a kiss on the cheek and winked at her ostentatiously behind Tom’s back.

Buffy, Willow, and Giselle also exchanged embraces with the pair before the party of five stepped purposefully into the entry hall. Willow held out an amulet to open the portal and they all walked through, waving as they disappeared from view.

As soon as they were gone, Dawn drew her palm across the portal to close it again. Turning back, she held out her hand out to Tom who was standing very still with his mouth open. “Here, honey,” she said, sighing as she took his arm. “Sit down on the couch. I’ll get our champagne and try to explain what just happened.”

Tbc…………





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