Connor reached right into the middle of his milkshake, pulling out the bright red cherry and popping it into his mouth with a big smile as the waitress slid his oval shaped plate in front of him as well, warning it might be a little warm still. Angel went to thank her and Connor followed suit earning them each a smile before she asked if there was anything else she could get for them before taking off.

Popping a couple of fries in his mouth realizing his chicken strips were still warm, Connor glanced around the diner, his eyes falling toward the front entrance just as a familiar face walked in. Those same bright eyes widened and a smile quickly took over his face right before Connor all but yelled out her name.

Angel, unaware she had even shown up before that point, blinked and looked confused for a moment before his eyes followed where Connor was looking and saw the girl in question just inside the door, waving and smiling his son's way. She looked like she was about to come walking their way but then the hostess from the front grabbed her attention instead. Angel watched as he leaned closer to the other woman and they exchanged a few words while Connor made sure his dad had heard the news.

"I see," Angel answered, telling himself not to stare, as her being actually in front of him, live and in person, only reminded him exactly of how beautiful she was. Something about seeing her outside of the parlor and out in the real world only seemed to want to drive that fact in through his head all the more, too. Or maybe it was simply not having seen her in a couple weeks now, who knew... either way he found his stomach clench and heart beat a little faster simply by taking the image of her in.

Unable to help himself, Angel watched as she started off behind the hostess until they reached a table, laughing hard at something the incredibly tall other woman said just as she was sitting down.

OoOoO

Buffy hurried to flip through the menu until the spotted the drink section, her eyes scanning through the impressive list before settling on the first thing that really stood out and sounded good for tonight and went ahead and ordered it. She came here already knowing exactly what she wanted to eat though so was able to go ahead and tell her waiter at the same time and hand him the menu back.

Once she had that out of the way, she stood up and hoped she wasn't yet again making some giant fool of herself and went to go re-find Connor and his dad.

"Hi, Buffy!" Connor called out happily when she got closer, his face making her heart warm just from how excited he seemed to see her.

"Hey there, kiddo," she smiled back, coming to stand on the outside edge of their booth. "I promise I'm not trying to interrupt your guys' meal, I just wanted to quickly come over here and say hi and see how you've been. I haven't seen you in a couple weeks now," she rushed out and Connor jumped in to explain that he and his dad very much had in fact come to see her yesterday but she wasn't even there. "Oh no!" she pouted her lip out, "I was out of town the past couple of days and didn't wind up getting back in until late last night... which is also why I'm here because I felt like being lazy rather than having to go grocery shopping then cook something on top of it. At least for tonight," she explained. "And now that bums me out that I missed you again, what'd you get?" she asked and listened as he filled her in on how the entire experience seemed to pan out yesterday afternoon.

She made small talk with him for a couple more minutes before deciding she had taken up enough of their time and went to excuse herself back to her own table... only for Connor to keep asking her different questions each time she tried to pull away. Finally he up and asked if she would come sit with them which made her eyes widen for a moment and hurry to explain to him she wasn't trying to impose on anybody here... only to be surprised with a curveball for Dad over there who assured her she wouldn't be and properly invited her to join them if she so wished.

"Um," she stalled, looking between them. "A-are you sure?" she finally settled on, wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Yeah, absolutely. We... we would love to have you," he answered with and she stood with her mouth just hanging open for what felt like way too long before agreeing to go inform her waiter and grab her things then she would be back.

OoOoO

"What did you get?" Buffy asked, eyeing Connor's plate as she let her meal finish cooling down, having seen it just put down at her table not long before she walked back over that way.

"Chicken, fries, strawberry yogurt, and I already ate all my mac and cheese," he answered, pointing to each item.

"Mmm, can't go wrong with chicken strips here, they're some of my favorite. I always order them with a small cup of gravy." Connor quickly grabbed one and handed it to her making her laugh. "Oh no honey, you can keep it," she told him but he insisted so next when they went over what she had she made sure to start putting some on his plate as well to share, at least what he showed interest in anyway.

"I've never had shrimp before," Connor said, picking his piece up and looking it over, his face a little unsure.

"You don't have to try it if you don't want, everyone has their own likes and dislikes ya know? I don't generally like seafood but for whatever reason I do enjoy shrimp every now and then... as long as it's coconut."

"Do you like shrimp?" Connor asked his dad before taking a bite so small she wasn't sure he even had enough there to taste anything or not.

"I don't think I could eat some every day but I'd agree with Buffy there, it's something nice to have every once in awhile when the craving hits."

Connor seemed to let that information sink in, then he took another bite, this time bigger... and quickly made a face and put the rest of it down. Obviously he wasn't a fan.

OoOoO

It was about halfway through their meal before Buffy was able to even catch what Connor's dad's name even was but that hadn't even been the biggest revelation from their time together. She had done her best to force herself to relax in his presence but for once it hadn't been as hard as usual, he had participated a lot more in the conversation at hand, even initiated a lot of it tonight.

And she felt like she learned quite a bit about the pair over dinner, Connor jumping subject to subject and sure was not shy about saying whatever came to mind. By the end of dinner she knew at least one thing about every kid in Connor's class and all of his teachers, more than enough stories about his grandparents who he obviously seemed to adore, how he and his dad had spent the summer connecting, how he'd gone fishing for the first time and seen the ocean, how a bird had managed to get stuck in their house one morning and how funny that had been trying to catch it and shoo it back outside, and a dozen other fun facts about his life and those in it.

That included a brief mention of his mother who she sadly learned had passed away, her heart broke for him there having been through that kind of loss herself a few years back. Connor had hugged her when she mentioned that bit of information up about herself, she could tell the whole conversation on that subject seemed to be making him sad so was not surprised when he changed it not long after to something a little more light.

"What was your favorite part of summer?"

Buffy thought for a moment then told him about the parlor opening up and how she and her best friend had decided to celebrate that weekend with a small trip up to a theme park nearby, how she'd finally rode one of the rollercoasters she'd always been afraid of... and how she would be fine not trying it again but was glad she did the one time.

Connor's little eyes lit up again. "I have never been on a rollercoaster before," he told her, then how he remembered once seeing a giant one and ferris wheel going one time from a highway and how fun it had looked, how it was all lit up since it was nighttime when he'd spotted it.

"That sounds so pretty, I love seeing those places all bright and shiny when it's dark. Or when everything gets all decorated for Christmas and they do nightly parades and cute things like that, though sadly a number of them around here now only want to be open for the summer season," she frowned.

And then that quickly turned into Connor being excited over Christmas and how his dad and grandparents had promised to go opening weekends to see a drive thru light show and get pictures with reindeer and her rambling off some of her favorites off the top of her head in case they would also be interested in doing those when the time came.

OoOoO

Buffy's eyes widened and her head shook slightly. "Oh please don't do that, you don't have to," she rushed out and he smiled ignoring her, paying for her meal alongside his and Connor's and how her cheeks stained pink.

"It's fine, not a big deal," he promised. "If anything a big thank you for putting up with us for the past hour or so." A few moments later he had everything signed for and they were walking back out of the restaurant together, making sure she got to her car safe and soundly. Which she also thanked them for and dinner once again.

"Not a problem," he told her softly.

"We're going to the park tomorrow," Connor piped up before either of them could say anything else. "Do you wanna come?"

Angel turned his head string at the little man, wondering how in the hell it was he just jumped all head first without a care in the world when it came to this one damn woman knowing how he usually acted around people he didn't really know... or hell ones he even did know for that matter more often than not.

Buffy let out a light laugh then tilted her head to the side some. "As much as I would love to I sadly will be busy working tomorrow."

"My dad never works on the weekend, I think it works out better that way."

She laughed again at that, and this time harder. "Well I don't usually either buuuut since I've been gone a good chunk of the week I have more than enough stuff I probably need to get caught up on," she told him. "Maybe I'll see you again come Friday though?"

"Alright I guess. I'll try extra hard to have a good week then."

"That sounds like a pretty good plan to me, kiddo."

OoOoO

"Grandma wants to talk to you again," Connor came bounding into the bedroom, nearly tripping twice over his own feet as he brought him his phone back. "Can I finish watching my movie?"

Angel glanced at the time then told him he could but only if he jumped into the bathtub right afterward so they could get him ready for bed since he had school in the morning and knew exactly how important a routine was for everyone's sanity. Connor went running back out as he shook his head and finally spoke into the phone once Connor was back out of sight.

His mother wasted no time jumping into questions about his apparent dinner date with Buffy that Connor must have mentioned making him groan. Worse part of it all was the whiplash from the damn woman over a back and forth of what was he thinking jumping the gun like that and how Connor obviously seemed to like the girl and how settling down with someone might not be the worst thing in the world for either of them.

"I wasn't on a date, Mother," he said, rolling his eyes. "We were just out to dinner and then she showed up, Connor invited her over to our table and I didn't see it as a big deal for her to simply sit and talk with us while everyone was eating any way. That's really all there was to it."

"Mmhmm."

OoOoO

Sure enough, Connor had done his best to have a good week and when Friday rolled around he practically danced in his seat the whole way from the school pick up line on into the familiar white and gray building.

"Hi, Connor," Buffy greeted loudly, waving from behind the counter despite the fact they looked like they were the busiest he'd at least seen in the times he'd been here. She also gave him a small smile and wave this time before turning her attention back to the family in front of her.

When it got to their turn he waited for her and Connor to have their little small talk out of the way before mentioning the crowd. She nodded her head and explained it had to do with some groups with the middle and high school kids. Connor went back to getting his sample set, even letting Buffy pick every last one of them, and watched as she marked off his newest tries on his sheet before sliding it back over.

Connor laughed as the tray was also put their way, noticing all of his little cups had blue ice cream in them. "You said that's your favorite color, right?" she asked and he laughed again saying he thought she was funny.

OoOoO

Angel stood awkwardly back in the line then pointed up the gift cards that were displayed at the top corner of one of the windows, honestly using the whole idea just as an excuse to go back up here, not that he was opposed to going ahead and getting some gifts for the holidays because lord knew he was terrible at such and usually wound up doing everything last minute. Not to mention it would certainly help the small business out in the process of course.

Buffy laid out the different designs they had available for him to pick from and he decided on how many he needed and what amounts to add to each of them, earning a shirt for both himself and Connor with how much he wound up totaling out at. She placed everything in a tie dye bag for him and handed it over, asking him if there was anything else they needed today, then thanked them again for coming out and wishing them a fun weekend ahead.

Angel was honestly a little disappointed Connor didn't chirp up asking her to tag along to something or another this weekend which made him feel even more ridiculous as they were walking back out.

OoOoO

A couple weeks of nothing too exciting came and went before, "What are you doing tomorrow night?" Connor asked as their turn came around. Buffy thought for a moment then answered that she really didn't think she had anything going on. "Do you want to come to my Christmas concert at my school? It doesn't cost anything, I just have to give you a ticket."

Buffy did one of those surprise looks followed by looking at him to gauge his reaction before looking back Connor's way answering that she would love to. "Thank you, you'll have to let me know what time though okay and where exactly I'm supposed to be going alright?"

Connor smiled and reached into his pocket. "Do you want a red one or a green one?"

"Mmm," she thought, tapping a finger against her chin. "I think I'm gonna go green." Connor tore off one of the two tickets and handed it to her before Angel answered her questions about the show, including a new one once he was done about what she was supposed to wear. "I think I can handle that," she answered with a smile then finally got around to letting them order while Connor told her more about the program for tomorrow and who all he had coming just to see him.

"You sound very well loved huh?" she asked and he nodded happily.

OoOoO

Checking herself over quickly one last time in the mirror to her sun visor, Buffy fussed with her hair for a moment then went ahead and shut it all back into place, turned her car off and stepped out into the parking lot. Her eyes watched a number of other people who were also here for the show making their way toward one of the doors to the left and started following the masses, her hand reaching into her coat pocket to make sure her ticket was still where she'd left it.

A number of adults greeted them as they passed by, telling them where they could line up and reminding them all when the doors would open, and the show would begin. She nodded and ducked inside, handing her ticket off a moment later and heading to figure out where the back of the line was when she heard her name being called.

"Oh my gosh, you look so cute!" she gushed, hurrying over to where Connor was.

"Thank you! We're running late," he leaned closer to whisper.

"It happens to the best of us," she whispered back.

"I gotta take him back toward his classroom so he can joint up with everyone," Angel told her and she nodded. "You can wait here if you want," he then said, pointing to the group around him and quickly tried to point out who everyone there was before he was suddenly gone.

Buffy opened then closed her mouth once before awkwardly saying hello to everyone.

"Hmm, so you're the infamous Buffy," his mother smiled. "You wouldn't believe how much I have heard about you lately."

Buffy's face felt warm and her shoulders shrugged awkwardly. "I... I just serve ice cream on Fridays, that's about it," was the best she could come up with to say.

Lindsey, who she knew already to be Angel's best friend and had seen a couple of times at the shop, too, laughed and put his arm around her shoulder. "Stop embarrassing the poor girl, at least not until Angel's ass is back over here to hear it," he joked and she rolled her eyes at him, blushing harder.

She was just trying to explain she didn't want to intrude on their little group here and was fine sitting on her own when Angel did in fact return and waved that entire notion off.

OoOoO

Buffy tried not to smile as Angel's mom elbowed him in the side and she could overhear her telling him to compliment his guest. The two of them shared a look and she nodded her head backward, "You should tell Buffy she looks nice," she explained further.

Another look was shared between them before he looked back and she about lost it at his hopeless face. "You look very beautiful tonight by the way."

Unable to keep it any longer, she laughed between trying to thank him. "I was worried it'd be too much," she told him and everyone it seemed quickly jumped in to tell her she looked perfect.

Before the doors finally opened their group grew with some more of Angel's friends showing up and joining their large cluster, all of which made her feel a lot less out of place being here too, almost acting like they'd known one another their whole lives rather than having just met as easy conversation and easy teasing went on amongst them all.

OoOoO

"Here Sweetheart, you can sit between me and Angel," his mother called out, pointing to the black chair between them. Knowing better than to argue with that lady already, she snuck by Wesley and Fred who were already seated to get over there. Slipping her jacket off to hang on the back of the chair, she smoothed her outfit out quickly before taking her seat. "I used to be young and skinny once, too," his mother commented making her laugh again.

"I think you lovely," Buffy complimented and then it was her turn to tap at Angel to get him on the compliment train. "Don't you agree?"

"Good lord," he mumbled with a smile on his lips, "You're both a mess."

OoOoO

Not long after everyone had managed to get in their seats and the lights dimmed back down, the show kicked off. Buffy spotted Connor right away but also thought she recognized some of the other kids just from the shop or simply being from the area, but thought they all looked adorable in their little pajamas and outlandish costume changes.

The program operator had asked everyone to not snap photos or videos, explaining they could buy a professional copy after the fact but she still sneaked in a few during some of Connor's highlight moments on the stage... and was hardly the only one.

And when all was said and done she felt so proud for him as he stood up there being a complete goofball as everyone clapped and whistled for the kids. Angel had to sneak back out past them to go help him back off the stage and bring him back over, Connor being carried back their way then hopping down to jump on his grandpa's lap and hear the rest of his utter praise from everyone.

"Thanks so much for inviting me, Connor. That was possibly my favorite thing I've ever gotten to watch," Buffy told him as she stood up, the crowd having cleared out better since they'd been sitting here waiting to let others out first. Connor beamed and snuggled closer to his grandpa for a moment before all but flying over into her lap, or more rather his head and upper body making it to her, most of him landing on his grandma and his feet still hanging out with grandpa. "Whoa, kiddo, you're gonna hurt yourself there."

"I'm really glad you came," he smiled, not a care otherwise in the world.

OoOoO

Angel's hands were full of child so he watched out of the corner of his eye as his friend Gunn helped Buffy get her coat back on and rolled his eyes as he came back around whispering in his ear, "If you don't ask that girl out, I'm gonna."

The group started out finally, much cooler air hitting them as they managed their way outside, the parking lot a lot less packed now. They still stood bundled around one another a few more minutes despite this before he heard Buffy thanking them one last time and telling everyone how nice it was to have met them, wishing everyone a safe ride back home.

"Hand me my beautiful grandson," his mother demanded then pointed over to the blonde. "And go walk that girl to her car."

Again rolling his eyes, he did as he was told, telling Connor he'd be right back and moving toward Buffy, ignoring the fact that every single one of them were without a doubt watching his every move. He knew he was really never going to hear the end of this night any time soon.