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Author's Chapter Notes:
My roomies think that I am absolutely insane because I've been rocking out to random Christmas songs to get me in the spirit to write the next couple of chapters. Bah, I say! Who doesn't want a little Christmas in (almost) July?

I know everyone is excited about Buffy and Spike going on tour together but we've still got a few things to get through before that happens. This chapter is going to move things forward quite a bit, by about a week actually, but since the demand for Road Spuffy is so high I don't think any of you will really mind.
Chapter 17.

Hell hath no fury like the 7:10 bus ride back to Sunnydale. It probably wouldn't have been quite as bad without her multiple bags of luggage littering the seat next to her earning quite a few angry looks as the seats filled up, but she had no other options. She would never ask Xander to drive her home and it wasn't as if she had a car, or even drivers license, of her own. She'd deal with the early Wednesday morning bus just like she did at the beginning and end of every other semester by listening to her Ipod and avoiding the glances of the other passengers.

She felt her phone vibrate from her purse and quickly pulled it from it's hiding spot.

Spike:

Good morning, luv. Did you make it to the bus okay?

She smiled as she read his text, he never forgot a single detail of what she told him.

Buffy:

Yes, I did. It's just as cramped and angry as I remember.

Spike:

I''d drive you if I could, but then you'd never make it home.

Buffy laughed softly to herself.

Buffy:

Oh yeah, and why's that?

Spike:

Simple, pet, wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you. Two hour trip would take us days.

Buffy felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she was sure that she had a pretty deep blush in her face.

Buffy:

You didn't seem to have a problem when you were here last week.

Spike:

You were hurt.

Buffy glanced at her small black cast, a slight frown on her features.

Buffy:

I still have the cast on.

Spike:

Not for long.

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"Who are you talking to?" Darla asked as she took a seat next to Spike on the long sofa lining the left side of the tour bus. It wasn't a rare occurrence for her and Andrew to ride along with them and leave Glory alone in the other bus, she was constantly having a fit over one thing or the other and everyone could tell that it was only a matter of time before she did something drastic and completely insane, honestly they were all surprised that she hadn't already.

"Do you really have to ask?" Bob said from the floor between them.

Darla smiled as she 'accidentally' kicked Bob in the back of the head as she crossed one leather booted leg over the other. "How is our little Buffy doing?" She asked in sincere curiosity. When she and Bob had heard about Buffy and Willow's car accident, almost an hour after Spike and Oz had left, it took all of Anya's persuading skills to get them to stick around and man the tour fort. Anya had done an incredibly good job of keeping the news of the accident from spreading and getting in to the press and she knew from prior experience that if Bob and Darla took off as well everyone would figure out that something serious had happened.

"She's fine," Spike answered, "smaller cast and her ribs are almost healed."

"Did you tell her about-"

"No," Spike said quickly, "she has no idea what's going on."

"But you told her parents and little sister," Darla said, "aren't you worried that they may have spilled the beans?"

Spike shook his head. "Joyce wouldn't want to ruin the surprise and Dawn's got more sense than that."

"She's seventeen." Darla said pointedly.

"And still very much under her parents' thumbs." He interjected. "She won't say a word."

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"Oh, my God! You're going to love it!" Dawn squealed as she pulled Buffy in to the house by her good wrist. "I wasn't supposed to tell you but I have to it! He's just so cute!"

Buffy followed her younger sister without question as she began to run up the stairs of the house toward their bedrooms. Everything was still exactly the same as it had been when she had come to visit for Thanksgiving. Living the busy city life that she did during her schooling made her really begin to appreciate the unchanging appearance to her childhood home. Nothing about it was ever different, the furniture had been replaced a few times due to accidental stains and the changing of the times and styles, but no matter what new couch or table made its way in to the house it always looked just the way it had her entire life.

Dawn burst in to her room, the second door on the right side of the hallway, and pointed excitedly in the corner. When Buffy was finally able to see what had her sister in such a state she couldn't help the immediate jaw drop that occurred not a moment later.

"A puppy?" Buffy asked. "Mom and Dad got you a puppy?"

"Yes!" Dawn shrieked as she ran over the crate that sat in the corner. She pulled the tiny rottweiler out of the newspaper lined cage. "Isn't he cute?"

"Adorable." Buffy answered as she watched her sister cuddle the puppy against her chest. She had always wanted a puppy and it struck her as odd that her parents would choose to finally get one now.

"I know right? He's only like three months old." Dawn said as she sat down on her bed and placed the dog in her lap. "I named him Riley."

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Spike's laugh was so loud that she was sure her mother must have heard it through the phone from the other room. "It's not that funny, Spike." She said as she tried to keep the laugh out of her own voice.

"Yes it bloody well is, luv." He responded while still in the midst of a laughing fit. "Has she ever even met the ponce?"

"No, she picked that name right out of the blue." Buffy said. "It's just kind of annoying."

"What's that?"

"Dawn." She answered. "This is going to sound really selfish and immature but I've been begging for us to get a puppy my entire life. I'm away at college and this is when they finally decide to get one? It just seems really weird and unfair."

"Filling the empty spot you left in the family home?" Spike suggested.

"Good to know you feel like I can be replaced by a dog." Buffy said jokingly.

"Well," Spike said, "dogs are infinitely better than people."

"Shut up." She said with a laugh.

"It's true." He said. "When's the last time a dog was crying in the middle of a shopping mall over not getting a video game? When's the last time a poodle asked you for money or decided it wanted to talk at the theater?"

"Dogs aren't allowed at the theater, anyway that's not the point." She said quickly. "I just feel like something is going on, it's weird."

"I think maybe you're looking a little too far in to this one, pet." He said reassuringly. "I'm sure the little bit has been going at them harder than you did about getting the animal and they finally cracked to shut her up."

Buffy sighed. "I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." He said proudly. "Other than the pup is everything good back at the home front?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, "I'm going Christmas shopping tomorrow with Mom and Dawn so that should be pretty fun."

"Have you bought anything yet?" Spike asked.

"Nope." She answered. "We do this every year, we call it the Summers Dash. We go to the mall and run all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off and do all of our shopping in one day."

"Sound hectic." Spike commented.

"It is," she agreed, "but it's really fun, too. When we're done we go out to dinner and a movie and just have a nice little girls day out."

"Gonna get your nails done?" He asked sarcastically.

"Hey!" She yelled playfully. "Don't make fun of the Summers Dash, Mr. Pratt, or you will get absolutely no presents!"

"Is that a threat?" He asked. "Gonna tell Santa on me, luv?"

Buffy sighed as she tried to cover up the amusement in her tone. "Yes, Spike, I'm going to tell Santa not to bring you or your friends any toys."

"Bob's going to be awful upset about that." He said.

"Upset about what?" Buffy laughed as she heard Bob's voice yell from the background.

"Buffy's gone and canceled Christmas for you, mate." Spike explained.

"Why the hell did she do that?" Bob yelled.

"It's Spike's fault!"

"Apparently it's my fault." Spike repeated.

"Well apologize! Make it better! I got you something Buffy!"

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Bob got me something?" She asked.

"Of course he did," Spike answered, "so did Oz and I'm pretty sure Darla did, too. She's taken quite a liking to you."

"Oh," Buffy said in almost shock, "well good. I'll have a friend when I go on the road with you, then."

"Something like that." Spike answered, it wasn't his place to spill the lesbian beans. "Listen, ducks, we're on in ten so I've got to go."

"Alright." Buffy answered.

"I'll call you after the show. Miss you."

"I miss you, too."

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Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce were all up at the crack of dawn the next morning ready to get their day of marathon shopping started. As was customary they stopped at a local Starbucks before rushing to the mall in an attempt to beat the crowd. Buffy had a pretty good idea of what to get everyone on her list except for one, the one that really mattered the most to her. Her mother had told her to just look around, it would come to her when she saw it, and that was exactly what she planned to do.

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Spike, Oz, Bob, and, much to everyone's surprise, Faith had all planned a get together at Xander's apartment for the 29th for an after Christmas gift exchange. This was common for the original three of what Bob had recently nicknamed "The Scoobies" and having a few extra guests to the shindig wasn't going to stop tradition. An invitation had been extended to Riley but nobody was quite sure if he would show or not. Buffy figured that just to be on the safe side she would buy him a gift and already had a pretty good idea of what she would get.

The three women walked in to the main entrance of the mall looking like a force to be reckoned with. Their first stop was a large boutique where they all had no problems picking out clothes, makeup, and accessories for their female friends and family.

"Buffy, look at this!" Dawn called from one of the many jewelry counters.

Buffy put the shirt that she had been eying back on to the rack and made her way over to her sister. She was pointing through the glass to a silver bracelet in the shape of a small snake. The eyes on the intricate reptile were dark blue diamond like gems and she could instantly see Willow wearing it. She had loved interesting jewelry for as long as Buffy had known her and she knew that this was a perfect match for her best friend. As she continued to browse around the store she found a few more things that she decided to pick up for her, but she knew that the bracelet would definitely be the highlight of Willow's presents.

Before she knew it she was nearly done her shopping. The only people left to buy for were her sister, mother, and of course Spike. She hadn't seen anything all day that screamed at her for him and she was starting to feel a little downtrodden about the entire thing. She looked down at the necklace he had given her, true to her word she had worn it every single day since she had received it. He was so good at giving gifts and she couldn't find one measly thing for him.

"What about a fedora?" Dawn asked as she stuffed a piece of pizza in to her mouth. "Fedoras are cool, right?"

"No way am I buying Spike a fedora, that is the last thing he would ever want." Buffy said with a laugh. "Actually, he has everything he could want. I'd get him new door handles for his car but he's just so attached to the broken ones that it would break his heart if they were gone."

"Don't worry, honey," Joyce said from across the small food court table, "you'll find something, I promise." Joyce put a hand to her head, applying a bit of pressure to her temple the way that she had been doing all day.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." She answered.

Buffy lifted her purse from the floor and began to rummage through it quickly. "I think I've got some Tylenol in here somewhere."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." Joyce said with a wave of her hand. "It's just a little headache, the cold air must be getting to me."

"Do you need anything?" Dawn asked.

Joyce smiled sweetly at her youngest daughter. "No, I'm fine. Let's just get back to shopping, okay?"

Dawn smiled as she gave her mother a quick nod before the two stood from the table, taking their trays and moving toward the trashcans across the way. Buffy collected her things and did the same, but when she caught back up to them she grabbed Dawn lightly by the arm and pulled her closer to her.

"What?" Her sister asked.

"How long has Mom been having headaches?" She asked quietly.

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know, a while I guess."

"Has she gone to the doctor or anything?" Buffy asked.

Dawn shook her head. "No, I don't think so. They're just headaches."

Buffy nodded as she released her sister and the three continued on their way down the busy shopping mall.

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After the Summers girls had finished the shopping they needed to get done for their friends and family it was time for them to split up and shop for one another. Buffy and Dawn had already decided on the joint presents they were getting for their mother and father and each was designated one to go and pick up. As Buffy walked through the mall on her way to pick up what they had chosen for their mother she just happened to glance to her left and that was when saw it. It was sitting motionless in the front window of the shop but it may as well have been screaming at her.

Leaving her previous mission behind for the time being she rushed in to the store, one she had never been inside before, and quickly found the teenager who had been given the task of running the small shop for the day. "Can I help you?" He asked as he flipped a piece of his long, jet black hair out of his face.

Buffy turned and pointed toward the item in the window. "I need that."

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It was almost eleven by the time the girls got home that night. They had gone and seen a romantic comedy after their shopping was done and then had a nice dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the city. Joyce had said that she was tired and went to bed almost immediately but Buffy and Dawn were both content with staying up and watching movies in the living room together. Dawn loved when Buffy came home for the holidays, it was nothing but late nights, junk food, and fun times with the older Summers sister and Dawn wished she could have more of them. The fact that she was dating a celebrity made Dawn want to spend even more time around her, she would never admit it to Buffy but she had had a huge crush on Spike since she had gotten her hands on the first Passions album a few years earlier. It was almost surreal to her that this was her life, it was like a soap opera and she loved it.

"Have you talked to Spike today?" Dawn asked curiously as Riley Dog jumped up on to her lap.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, we've been texting back and forth all day. Thursday's are driving days and he doesn't have shows so he's bored and blows up my phone all day long."

"Aw," Dawn said with a smile, "that's so cute."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"So," Dawn began, "when is he coming back?"

"He'll be back in LA on the 28th and I'm going to head back up there for New Years with my friends just like I did last year." Buffy explained.

"Does it bother you that you won't see him on Christmas?" Dawn asked.

Buffy shrugged. "A little bit, but he can't help it. It's his job and I get that we can't be together whenever we'd like. I'm just happy for the time I do get with him."

"I would be, too." Dawn said. "It's got to be hard when he goes on tour and your left at home."

Buffy narrowed her eyes for a moment, contemplating something before quickly jumping up from the couch and looking in to the kitchen. Seeing that no one else was around she walked over to the loveseat and sat as close to Dawn as she could. "If I tell you something right now, you promise not to say anything?" She asked in a whisper.

Dawn nodded. "Of course."

"After the holidays when I get my cast off," Buffy said as she gave the room one more look around, "I'm going on tour with Passions for a month."

"Oh, my God!" Dawn squealed quietly. "Buffy, that is so cool!"

Buffy smiled. "Mom and Dad don't know yet so keep it hush hush."

"I will." Dawn said happily clapping her hands together. "My sister is touring with rock stars! You have to tell them tomorrow so we can rub Claire's face in it the entire time she's here."

Buffy smiled to herself, that wasn't a bad idea.

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"Girls!" Joyce's irritated voice awoke them early the next morning.

Buffy heard Dawn's loud groan as she opened her eyes. "What, Mom?"

"Not only did you fall asleep in my living room, but you left the television and half of the lights on." Joyce said irritatedly as she picked the blanket up off of Dawn's drowsy form.

"We watched a horror movie and didn't want to be in the dark." Buffy explained. "I'm sorry, we didn't think we were actually going to fall asleep."

"What time is it?" Dawn asked.

"It's almost 2:30." Joyce said.

"In the afternoon?" Buffy asked in shock, she hadn't slept in this late since she was sixteen!

"Yes, Buffy." Joyce answered. "How late were you two up last night?"

"I don't know." Buffy said.

"I remember watching the second round of Adult Swim after Darkness Falls was over so it must have been at least four in the morning when we went to sleep." Dawn reasoned as she turned toward the back of the couch.

"No, Dawn, you have to get up now!" Joyce yelled as she hit her daughter lightly on the arm. "Your father's family is going to be getting here in the next hour and you two are still sleeping."

"I'm so sorry, Mom." Buffy said as she stood from the sofa.

"Well you're going to be sorry if you two don't get upstairs and start getting ready." Joyce said as she finished folding Dawn's blanket. "You know how much your grandmother likes to take pictures and you two look like you got hit by a truck."

"Poor choice of words." Buffy said as she folded her own blanket.

Dawn laughed as she finally stood from the couch. "I think your hair was actually in a better state when you did get hit by a truck, Buffy."

Buffy glanced across the room and looked in to the large mirror that hung on the wall, Dawn wasn't lying. Her hair was matted and tangled on the side of her head in a huge birds nest of a mess. She turned around just in time to be blinded by the flash of Dawn's phone snapping a picture. "What the hell are you doing?" Buffy asked as she rubbed her eyes.

Dawn typed in a few numbers before answering her. "Sending that picture to Spike."

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Every December 23rd all of the Summers family would show up at the house at 1630 Revello Drive and stayed there until December 26th. The day that they arrived was always a somewhat formal affair, if you're going to see your entire family you can't possibly let them see you in jeans and a t-shit! Buffy honestly loved having a reason to dress up, it was fun to get all dolled up once in a while, but when she really thought about it she realized what a stupid tradition it was. The Summers as a family were hardly struggling for money but they weren't rich by any means either. They were a normal working class group of people that had a few members with the issue of having a wine taste on beer budget.

Regardless of how silly the tradition was Buffy and Dawn were holed up in Buffy's room with Riley Dog helping one another get ready at a leisurely pace. They knew that people were already downstairs waiting but it didn't really bother them to make them wait. Neither of the two really wanted to deal with Claire again and, truth be told, their father's side of the family wasn't exactly fun.

"Look," Dawn said from her spot on Buffy's bed, "now even Riley is fancy."

Buffy turned and saw that Dawn had taken it upon herself to decorate her dog with a bright red bow on his green collar. He looked absolutely adorable as he looked at her with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and tiny stub of a tail wagging on his tiny behind. "Yes, Dawn, he looks gorgeous. Now come over here and let me do your makeup."

Dawn didn't have to be told twice. She put Riley Dog down on the floor and moved to sit in the little chair in front of Buffy's vanity. Moments like this made her happy to have a sister, if Buffy had been born a boy she wouldn't have anyone to prepare for these torturous family gatherings with. Buffy made quick work of applying her sister's makeup and took great care to make sure that the colors she was using would match the outfit that she had picked out. Within five minutes she was done and Dawn was free to go and get dressed in the other corner of the room.

Buffy looked at her own face in the mirror and quickly dusted it with a bit of concealer, a dab of lip gloss, and some neutrally toned shimmering eyeshadow. Spike had been on her mind all day long and she was a bit concerned about why she hadn't heard from him. She knew that he had a couple of extra things to do today, an interview before their show and a photo shoot for a magazine article about the band, but he would normally text her between appointments. He hadn't been missing in action like this since the first day of the tour and she didn't like the feeling that it gave her. She applied some mascara to her lashes and a thin line of eyeliner before calling herself done and turning to grab her phone.

To Spike:

Hey, haven't heard from you today. Call me when you get the chance. Xoxo

She sat the phone back down on her vanity and moved to change in to her clothing, a distant and somewhat sad look on her face as she did so. "Buffy, what's wrong?" Dawn asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"You're an awful liar." She said as she sat cross legged in the middle of her bed with Riley Dog in her lap again. She was already obsessed with the little thing and she had only had him for a few days.

"I haven't heard from Spike today, that's all." She explained as she stripped herself of her robe and threw it on to the back of her vanity chair. She grabbed the deep red silk top and threw it on over her black lace bra, buttoning it quickly before pulling her black pencil skirt over the matching underwear and pulling the entire look together with a thick black belt around the small of her waist.

"He's just busy." Dawn answered.

Buffy sighed. "I'm sure you're right."

Dawn couldn't help the smile that lit up her face as she heard the stressed tone in her sisters voice. "You have nothing to worry about, Buffy, okay? Trust me."

When Buffy heard the laugh etched in to her sisters words she couldn't help but glance over at her in confusion. She was looking at her with the most amused look she had ever seen, smiling like the cat that had just eaten the canary. "What?"

"Nothing," Dawn answered, "just trust me."

Buffy cocked her head to the side. "You know something."

"I know that we'd better get our shoes on and head downstairs." Dawn said as she moved from the bed and over to the corner of the room, grabbing both pairs of heels that sat there and bringing them over to her sister.

"Dawn, you're withholding information from me." Buffy said seriously, she didn't like Dawn knowing something that she didn't, it was creepy.

"Maybe," Dawn answered as she slipped her shoes on, "maybe not. Come on, we've got to go and act like we want to be here."

Dawn opened the door to Buffy's room and rushed her sister out of it. The girl knew something alright, there was just no way she was going to tell Buffy that.

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Buffy descended the stairs and plastered her fake 'bar smile' on to her face as she prepared to face her family. This was the one time of the year that everyone was in one place and it just had to be at her house. Her grandmother was the first one to notice that she and Dawn had joined the group of people in the living room and she wasted no time in rushing over to them and giving them each a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"There's my girls!" She exclaimed happily. "Dawn, you are getting so big! Buffy, you get more and more lovely every time that I see you."

Buffy's smile widened. "Thanks Mom-mom. How have you been?"

"Just lovely, dear, wonderful." She said. "You're grandfather and I are going to Florida for two months starting in January and we're so excited about it."

"That should be fun," Dawn said, "I've never been to Florida."

"Now that's a shame," their grandmother said, "we'll take you with us next year."

Dawn smiled. "Okay."

Buffy smiled, but on the inside all she wanted to do was give her sister a hug. She had heard empty promises like this from her Grandmother a million times over the years and the woman had not once gone through with any of the things she had told the girls she would do. Buffy used to get upset when the plans she thought she had would fall through, but after twenty two years she had gotten used to it.

"Look, there's your Grandfather now, Richard!" Their Grandmother called gently.

The older man turned around and a smile instantly appeared on his face. "Hey!" He yelled as she marched over to his granddaughters. He quickly enveloped both of them in a single hug and gave them each a kiss on the forehead. Out of all of their relatives he was definitely their favorite. "How are my girls doing?"

"We're good." Dawn answered.

"I hear better than good," he said, "I hear Buffy's got herself quite the boyfriend."

Buffy laughed. "That I do."

"Hope he's better than Claire's." He said quietly. "Kids in the kitchen stoned out of his mind staring at the picture of the chef like he's going to hurt him."

Buffy and Dawn both laughed as they peered in to their kitchen, sure enough there was some random boy in there, around Dawn's age, loosely holding Claire's hand. He was staring at the wall across from him as if he was pondering the meaning of life and not paying a bit of attention to anyone around him.

Buffy laughed as she straightened back up. "Well, we can't all be winners."

Her grandfather smiled. "That's my girl. I've got to go talk to your father, you two enjoy the party."

Buffy smiled. "We will."

As the man took his exit Dawn grabbed Buffy's arm and rushed her in to the dining room so that they could get a better look at the kid Claire had brought along with her. "Look at him," Dawn said, "he's so out of it."

Buffy laughed. "I know, I don't even think he knows where he is."

"Probably not," Dawn said, "he probably needs to be high to put up with Claire."

"Hello there, girls." Buffy and Dawn both jumped when a very recognizable voice startled them from behind. They both turned quickly to see their Aunt Karen standing there, a wine glass in her hand and eyes already a bit glassy.

"Hi." Dawn said awkwardly, she knew she had been caught.

"How are you, Aunt Karen?" Buffy asked quickly.

"Oh, I'm fine." She answered quickly. "This wine is just the thing I needed to deal with this entire Christmas thing."

Buffy smiled. "I hear you there."

"I couldn't help but notice you two staring at Timmy." Karen said as she took another sip of her wine. "Such a good kid, musician in a local band, too."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You don't say."

Karen nodded. "Where's your boyfriend, Buffy? Spot, was it?"

"Spike." Dawn corrected angrily from her sister's side.

"He's still on tour, actually." Buffy answered. "He'll be back the 28th."

"So he won't be making an appearance this weekend, then?" She asked.

Buffy secretly bit the inside of her lip, she would try and rub that one in her face. "It would seem that way, Aunt Karen, yes."

Karen gave her a bitter smile. "Pity."

Buffy wanted nothing more than to throw her aunt a witty comment but her sister's arm locking with her's helped her to keep her cool as she slowly began to pull her away from the vile woman. "We're going to go and find our mom, we'll see you later."

"Till then, dears, enjoy your party."

Dawn nodded and pulled her sister in to the kitchen, holding her close to her body so that she could whisper in to her ear. "Aunt Karen is such a bitch."

Buffy nodded. "Yes she is."

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The next few hours went by without much destruction being left behind in their wake. Hank's brother Mike had showed up a little late to the party and Joyce's sister Sarah's flight had been delayed and she and her husband, Dave, wouldn't be arriving until the next morning. Everyone had congregated in the living room and all of the men were watching a college football game while the women, plus Timmy, all sat around talking aimlessly about this, that, and the other thing. Buffy almost felt bad for the kid, Claire had his hand in a vice grip and there was no way in hell he was happy just sitting around the knitting circle listening to everyone's stories, but he sure was taking it like a champ.

"So Buffy," Claire said as her grandmother finished up her story, "what happened to your arm?"

Buffy glanced down at the small black cast on her arm, she had almost forgotten it was even there. "I was in a car accident a few weeks ago."

"Oh my," her grandmother said as she raised a hand to cover her mouth, "nothing serious I hope!"

Buffy smiled. "I had a couple of broken ribs and messed up my arm a little bit, but I'll be fine."

"Was your boyfriend with you?" Claire asked, practically spitting the word 'boyfriend'.

"No," Buffy answered nonchalantly, "a few friends and I were out looking at apartments and we got hit by an SUV."

Claire let out a sarcastic snort. "If it was my boyfriend he would have come to the hospital, wouldn't you, Timmy?" Timmy nodded slowly and Claire beamed at him as if he had said the most wonderful thing in the world.

"Actually Claire," Joyce spoke up, "Spike was there. He took a four hour plane ride just to stay for the weekend and make sure that Buffy was okay."

"Oh, now isn't that romantic?" Grandmother Summers asked happily. "It's one of those things you see in movies."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, it was pretty sweet. He's a really great guy."

"And so good looking." Joyce added with a wink in her daughter's direction.

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, he's not too bad."

A sudden knock on the door caught everyone's attention and they were all wondering who it could be. "Could you get that, Buff?" Hank asked from his spot on the couch.

Buffy rolled her eyes, he was about ten feet closer to it than she was and the game wasn't even very interesting. Nonetheless, she got to her feet and made her way over to the door. She opened it quickly and when she saw who was standing on the opposite side of it, deep red roses in his outstretched hand, her heart practically leapt from her chest.

"Spike!"

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Chapter End Notes:
Go ahead, yell at me. :)



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