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Author's Chapter Notes:
Firstly I'm so sorry this chapter was so late. Life got away from me with Christmas and my wedding, and I just came home from spending four days in hospital getting my appendix taken out... But I'm on the mend, hopefully I'll be better in time to go on our honeymoon and I will try to write a bit in my downtime post-surgery. Anyways, hope you all enjoy and are still reading!

*** In the original posting I forgot to credit the ever wonderful dusty273 for her great beta work... I'm sorry, all I can say it that the pain killers fogged my brain *blushes* But thank you Mari for all your continued support!****
Chapter 15 – Apartment Hunting





“Is this the last one, Buffy?” Dawn complained pulling on her sister’s hand. They had been looking for apartments for the last two weeks and had been to four this morning alone. Dawn was getting tired and bored. She liked spending time with Willow and she understood that they were looking for a new house to live in, but it was tiring and she wanted to go over and play with Spike and Giles like Buffy had promised her they would.

“Yes, sweetheart. This is the last one, I promise,” Buffy replied, leaning down to pick Dawn up. Dawn had been a little trooper when it came to apartment hunting. They had looked at so many places at this point that Buffy prayed this would finally be the one that suited them. It was a place about a block away from the Giles’ apartment, which would be good in case they needed anything, and it was on the bottom floor which meant they would have a bit of a backyard for Dawn to play in.

“This is the one, Buffy. I can feel it in my bones,” Willow smiled brightly at the sisters as they knocked on the door. Willow was tired as well, but the place needed to be perfect. Buffy and Dawn were giving up a house to move into somewhere smaller, so it still needed to have that homey feel to it.

They were greeted by a perky real estate agent who smiled widely at them and opened the door with a flourish. “This is the perfect place for you, girls. Lots of room, a backyard for your daughter, and it just came on the market. It hasn’t even been announced yet, but when I got wind of it, I just had to let you know.”

Karen was responsible for renting the Summers’ home and had been taken with the girls right away. She was a little spacey and insisted on believing that Dawn was actually Buffy’s child, not her sister, but she had a good heart. She had snatched the only set of keys to the apartment this morning, knowing it would be what they were looking for.

“Come on in, have a look and let me know what you think!” she said, preceding them into the spacious kitchen.

Buffy set Dawn down on her feet and glanced over at Willow. Maybe there was something to these hunches her best friend had. The place was beautiful. A large kitchen with a breakfast bar which reminded her of their house in Revello Drive, a huge living slash dining room area which had beautiful French doors that opened onto a small deck and back yard. They explored the master bedroom which also opened onto the deck and yard with a beautifully kept ensuite. There were two more rooms, one which Dawn could use as her bedroom, and a slightly smaller room which could be used as an office where both girls could study. Dawn would have to wait a few years before she made real use of an office, but it would suit their needs perfectly. If they put in the futon as a sitting area, it would serve as a guest room as well.

Dawn wandered around through the rooms, exploring as only a child could. She chattered about where she could put her things and where Buffy could put hers.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it, Wills?” Buffy said after they had toured the apartment.

“Yeah, it is. Perfect, just like I said,” Willow replied with a cheeky smile.

“You’re awfully perky today, Willow. No more sad-just-broken-up-girl?” Buffy asked softly so Dawn wouldn’t overhear. Willow and Oz had broken up a couple of weeks earlier, soon after their last night out at the Bronze. His band had gotten a record contract and needed to move to New York but Willow needed to stay to finish school. It seemed they had both agreed breaking up was the right choice, and if they ever found their ways back to each other it would be because it was meant to be.

“Yep. That was the old Willow. Now I’m the happy-to-be-single-again Willow. It was just time really. A-and it’s not like we’re not friends. Besides, I’ll always be the number one Dingoes fan,” Willow finished with a sad little smile.

“Are you sure?” Buffy turned to look at her best friend thoroughly. “I mean you were all ga-ga over each other for a long time. Not that I’m trying to stop the healing process, I just want to make sure you’re really happy.” Buffy watched Willow closely as she waited for her to reply, but found no trace of the depressed version from last week’s girls’ night cry-fest.

“Yep. All good. Besides, I’ve been spending some time with Tara. She’s really sweet,” Willow reassured Buffy. Willow had in fact been spending a lot of time with Tara and wasn’t sure it was just a friendship she was looking for. Maybe that was why the transition into an Oz-free existence had been easier than she’d thought.

“Okay. I trust you. But if you ever need me, I’m all with the comforting. I’ve gotten enough of it lately and this should even the scales a bit,” Buffy said as she opened the door for Dawn so she could inspect the backyard.

“I know. But there are way more important things to talk about than my inexistent love life…” Willow started slyly when Dawn was out of hearing range. “How was the Dawn-free movie night with Spike? Was there smoochy goodness? Maybe even some yummy salty goodness?”

Buffy blushed deeply at Willow’s blunt comment. It wouldn’t do to remark on how similar to Anya she sounded, but Willow seemed to be picking up some of Xander’s girlfriend’s traits.

“There was definite salty goodness,” Buffy said, watching Dawn as she stood fascinated in front of a flowerbed filled with sunflowers.

“Oh! More than once?” Willow asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah. Definitely a good night and morning,” Buffy blushed and looked down at her shoes. “I think I may have heard something as I was falling asleep though, but I’m not sure.”

“Heard something? Not like a bad boy noise, the ‘I’m-already-too-comfortable’ kind?” Willow asked, wrinkling her nose in a playful gesture.

Laughing and shaking her head, Buffy replied, “No, I think he said that he loved me. He must have thought I was already asleep. I’m not sure though. I could have been dreaming.”

“Wow, Buffy. That’s big.” Willow’s eyes opened wide and she studied her friend’s face as she continued, “Did you ask him about it? Does he know the whole Angel story?”

“The one where I told him I loved him, slept with him, and he dumped me the following week?” Buffy asked rhetorically. “Sort of. Not in Technicolor detail, but he knows. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that right now. With Dawn and moving and school and now that ridiculous woman from social services, I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with love on top it all. Buffy in love has been so bad in the past.”

“But maybe he knows that?” Willow said. When Buffy raised an eyebrow as a reply she added, “That’s why he said it when he thought you were asleep. Because he knows you’re not ready.”

“Maybe,” Buffy sighed. She hadn’t thought about it that way before. Spike was more than understanding in all circumstances. Why wouldn’t he be in this case as well? She knew he could read her like an open book, but did that make it any easier for her?

“So what do you ladies think of the place?” Karen’s voice broke through Buffy’s muddled thoughts. “Ready to sign on the lil’ ol’ dotted line?”

Buffy shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to Karen, “Let’s ask the boss first, but I think we have a winner.”

“Buffy! Buffy! I wanna live here with the sunny flowers. Willow told me they turn to the sun an’ watch it every day! Please, can we stay here?” Dawn came running up to Buffy from where Willow had gone to fetch her at the edge of the garden.

“Well the boss approves,” Buffy said with a laugh and followed Karen into the kitchen of their new home to sign the lease.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour later Buffy and Dawn were knocking on the Giles’ front door, proud new renters of an amazing apartment. Dawn was squirming in excitement beside Buffy, as she usually was when they visited Spike and Giles. As soon as the front door cracked open, Dawn rushed into the apartment and threw her arms around Giles’ legs as way of greeting.

“Hi Giles!” Dawn squealed happily, all her pent up energy coming to the forefront after being on her best behaviour for the past four hours.

“Hello, Dawn,” Giles smiled down at her, attempting to move aside to let Buffy in, but finding himself stuck until Dawn let go. Which she did half a second later as soon as she spotted Spike coming down the stairs running towards him; who promptly threw her in the air and spun her around, eliciting an eruption of giggles.

“Hi Giles,” Buffy said more sedately than her sister did. When Giles moved aside to let her in, she walked up to Spike and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey sweetheart,” Spike greeted Buffy with a warm smile, holding Dawn in his arms. “So you find a place then?”

“Yah, we did!” Dawn said happily as the small group made their way into the living room. “An’ it has flowers that follow the sun even! Willow said she would help me make them happy. An’ I get my own room next to Buffy’s. An’ she gets her own bathroom!” Dawn rambled excitedly.

“Sounds right fine, it does,” Spike replied with a smile.

“It does sound rather nice,” Giles added looking to Buffy for further description that didn’t focus around the ‘flowers that followed the sun’.

“It’s really beautiful,” Buffy started, face alight in anticipation. “It has three bedrooms, a huge living/dining room, great kitchen, and a backyard that’s big enough for Dawn to play in. And the sunflowers of course. Dawn was quite taken with them.”

“Sounds perfect, love,” Spike said. “Where’s it at?”

“Jus’ up the street. I can visit you everyday,” Dawn said with a happy smile. Spike’s own smile nearly matched hers in joy and he shot Buffy a conspiring wink.

“Well it does indeed sound absolutely lovely. We can’t wait to see the place,” Giles said. He looked at the two girls standing before him and continued, “Now, we heard there’s a bit of an issue which has arisen since last time we spoke. Is that something you’d like to discuss with me now, Buffy? Spike can take Dawn out to look at his latest indulgence.” Giles shot his son a meaningful look, and it didn’t take Spike long to entice Dawn out to see his new toy.

“So you heard about the evil woman who came to see me then?” Buffy said feeling the weight of responsibility again. She was glad Giles had brought up the issue or she would have tried to avoid it as long as possible. And seeing as she had an upcoming appointment in the next few days, it was something she had to deal with right away.

“Yes, William informed me this morning and I have been most anxious to speak to you. You do know that she is not within her rights speaking to you in such a fashion, don’t you? And that you have more than enough time to present a working plan for your future income in regards to Dawn’s care. Also, have you inquired with her teacher recently about how she’s doing? Perhaps you could get her to write a letter stating her opinion for you that we could present to this woman’s supervisor, because by no means are we dealing with such a trollop again,” Giles was flushed by the time he finished his impassioned speech.

“Whoa, Giles! Slow down, you’re making my head spin,” Buffy grinned at the older man, touched because he’d already put so much thought into the matter. “I can answer all those very important questions, but first, what’s this ‘we’ business?”

“Well I shall be attending your meeting with you, of course,” Giles stated. “There is no reason why you should face off that dreadful woman on your own. I have some experience in these matters and I must say that my negotiation abilities are still top notch.”

Buffy smile grew wider; she was so relieved not to have to face the situation alone. When Giles indicated that they should sit down to discuss the matter further, she quickly complied. The discussion that followed allowed the two to work out a plan on how to approach the meeting as well as informed Buffy as to what information she would have to bring along to make her case. As Giles informed her, there was absolutely no reason for the Social Services to take Dawn away, especially if she appeared completely and professionally prepared. By the time the discussion was finished, Buffy saw the coming interview in a completely different light.

As Buffy and Giles were finishing up their conversation, Dawn burst in through the door, followed closely by Spike.

“Buffy! Guess what Spike has!” the five year old ran up to where Buffy was sitting and stopped right in front of her face. Her eyes were gleaming with excitement and her cheeks were flushed. Before Buffy even had a chance to ask she revealed, “A motorcycle! It’s like a bike that drives like a car. Is all black n’ shiny an’ it even has a beeper thingy like a car. It’s so cool!” she finished with a flourish, admiration shining clearly in her eyes as she shot a look at Spike.

“Wow, that is pretty cool, Dawnie,” Buffy glanced up at Spike for confirmation. At his nod, she looked back down at Dawn. “You know you’re probably too little to go for a ride, right?”

“Yeah, Spike told me that already,” Dawn said in a disappointed tone. “But he says when I’m older, I can ask you an’ then you’ll let me go. But only if I wear a helmet, an’ special boots, an’ special jackets, an’ special pants?” The last word came out as a question as she looked up at Spike to see if she had gotten the list of protection correct.

“Yeah, tha’s right, nibbles,” Spike smiled warmly at her. “But only if your sis says it’s okay.”

“Okay,” Dawn said, looking up at her sister with hopeful eyes. She was already starting with the puppy-dog eyes that Buffy would have sworn she inherited from Spike if she didn’t know better.

“We’ll see, Dawnie,” Buffy responded not wanting to make any firm promises on when yet. Spike’s astuteness on what was appropriate to tell the five year old still astounded her. No matter how worried she was about falling for Spike, she could acknowledge that he certainly knew her heart. She knew she was in deep, deep trouble.





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