Rain poured down relentlessly outside, large droplets tapping on Buffy's bedroom window as she studied the outfits draped across her bed. Her apartment was a flurry of activity; she was trying to get dressed without having a complete panic attack, Dawn was doing her makeup and talking on her cell phone to Lawrence, and Spike was staying in the kitchen until both women were ready to leave. Buffy let out a strangled cry of exasperation, crumpling up her black velvet skirt and hurling it across the room. She had been trying on clothes for the last hour and nothing looked right; her closet had exploded all over the bedroom and she still couldn't figure out what to wear out to dinner.

In the kitchen, Spike closed his laptop and replaced it inside his briefcase. Checking the clock on the microwave, he let out a long deep breath. "Patience," he murmured, trying to remember why he had thought that taking both Buffy and Dawn out to dinner and a show was a good idea. Leaving the computer bag on the kitchen table, he walked through the apartment towards the guest bedroom. The sisters had less then half-an-hour to finish getting ready if they wanted to make their dinner reservation, but Spike knew that there was no way his girls would leave until they were one-hundred percent ready.

Knocking on Dawn's open door, Spike leaned inside the brightly lit room. "You almost ready," he asked softly, her back was facing the doorway and Spike didn't know if she was still on the phone with her boyfriend. Out of all the guys Dawn had told him about, this one seemed the least idiotic; Spike was still threatening to inflict bodily harm on the guy if he dared to break her heart. Dawn turned around on the bed, holding a compact mirror in one hand and a black-tipped pencil in the other. Tracing her eyes with the eyeliner, Dawn smiled at Spike. "Yeah, just need a few more minutes to perfect the makeup." He shook his head, "I'm not even going to pretend that I understand what you're doing." Dawn shrugged, putting the pencil back in her makeup case and pulling out a tube of mascara. "Just smile and nod and tell me I look awesome." Leaning against the doorframe, Spike flashed Dawn his signature smirk. "That I can do, Nibblet. Long as you return the favor of course."

Dropping the silver tube onto the bedspread, Dawn stood up to face Spike. She lifted her right hand, spinning her index finger around in the air, indicating that Spike should turn around. "Very nice," she said, resisting the urge to whistle under her breath. Spike smiled, "glad you approve," silently congratulating himself on his suit. The navy blue material of the jacket clung to his shoulders, fitting well without being overly snug. His pants were made of the same expensive material, a sharp crease down the center of each leg, showing off his muscular build without being tight in the wrong places. Underneath the jacket was a white button-up shirt, the top button open until the last possible moment. Spike had ordered the suit months ago, from a skilled tailor in Australia, but he had been saving it for the perfect occasion. Taking his two favorite girls out to dinner and a show seemed like the perfect time to bring out the navy suit, and judging from the admiring look on Dawn's face, Spike had made the right choice.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants, Spike tipped his head to the side, studying Dawn's dress. It was a mixture of chocolate brown and golden fabric, swirling together in an intricate pattern. The dress fell off her shoulders, the soft material resting just below her collarbone, gliding down her soft curves and stopping just above her ankle. Her dark hair was swept up in a complicated-looking knot, wispy strands delicately framing her face. Dawn wrinkled her forehead, arching an eyebrow in Spike's direction. "Does this meet with your approval," she teased. Spike nodded slowly, "you look wonderful." He paused, "not used to seeing you look so grown up," he practically whispered. Dawn's eyes burned with tears and she pressed her fingers underneath them to catch her mascara before it could run. "Don't you dare make me cry," she ordered, dabbing at the makeup with a tissue. Spike shook his head, "wouldn't dream of it."

"I hate to interrupt the tender Hallmark moment here, but don't we have a dinner to go to?" Dawn and Spike turned around to face Buffy who was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. She had finally decided on a ruby red corset-style top with intricate silver embroidery that left the creamy skin of her chest and upper back exposed. A long skirt in the same ruby material cascaded around her legs in a slight bell shape, leaving Buffy a vision in red. Spike's jaw dropped open; he loved to see Buffy in red and this dress had left him completely speechless. Dawn's eyes bulged out, she had never seen her sister in something so dainty, the dress was almost Victorian inspired and she wondered if Buffy had bought it with Spike in mind.

Buffy smiled, oblivious to the thoughts racing through Dawn's mind and the images in Spike's. "What? You guys told me to be ready by six. It's five fifty-eight; I'm a minute and a half early." Spike crossed the room towards Buffy, "sweetheart, I'm just amazed that you can spend two hours throwing clothes in a heap and then show up all ready to go, with a few minutes to spare. And you look absolutely gorgeous." Buffy stuck her tongue out at Spike from between her red-glossed lips, glad he liked her new dress. "Well, are we ready," she pressed, walking out into the living room with Dawn and Spike close behind.

Tapping the toe of her boot impatiently against the beige carpeting that covered the floor of the dressing room; Buffy glanced around the store, amazed that more people weren't shopping on such a beautiful day. Looking back at the fitting room mirror, she shifted the small pile of clothes in her arms; Buffy started tapping her right foot louder, sighing impatiently. Dawn had been in the narrow stall for almost fifteen minutes, slowly working her way through the massive heap of clothes she had picked up. "Are you almost done," she asked the closed burgundy curtain, picturing her sister twirling around in front of the mirror. Dawn stuck her head out the side of the curtain, "just two more shirts," she said. Sighing dramatically, Buffy pushed her purse farther up her shoulder, flipping her blonde hair away from the leather strap. "Okay," she muttered, willing Dawn to hurry up so they could go to the next store.

"All ready," Dawn chirped, pushing the curtain aside with her free hand. A large pile of clothes was balanced precariously in her arms, her face glowing with the excitement of shopping. Buffy raised a golden eyebrow in her sister's direction, "you're getting all of it," she asked incredulously. Nodding, Dawn plopped a few hangers back on the discarded clothes rack before walking out of the dressing room. "Most of it," she said and Buffy muttered something about insane shopping habits. Standing in line for the cash register, Dawn turned to face Buffy, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Besides, I haven't shopped like this in ages. Some things are just better in New York." Buffy nodded, "understandable. But you know I'm just teasing you, right?" A low snort of laughter was her answer as Dawn placed the armload of clothes on the counter in front of her.

Ten minutes later, Dawn pushed open the glass door of the store, squinting in the bright sunlight. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she shifted her shopping bags around until they were all digging into one wrist. With her free hand she rummaged through her oversized purse in search of her sunglasses. Buffy stood in front of her, patiently watching her sister paw through her woven bag as she struggled under the weight of her shopping bags. Being the experienced shopper that she was, Buffy had consolidated all of her small bags, leaving only six bulging bags digging into the tender skin of her hands.

Turning around to face her sister, designer black sunglasses perched on the edge of her nose, Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow. "You alright over there Dawnie?" Looking up from the mess inside her purse, Dawn had to bite back a giggle at the sight of her sister. Buffy's long hair was wind tousled, her leather coat swirling around her petite frame, a small purse clutched under her arm, black tinted oval lenses covered her eyes and her smile seemed to light up the mild winter afternoon. She looked like some famous celebrity who had just stopped in the City for a day of shopping, not someone who spent almost ten years saving the world from apocalypse after apocalypse. "What," Buffy asked, feeling self-conscious under her sister's piercing gaze, oblivious to the moment of clarity that Dawn was having.

"Nothing," Dawn said, shaking her head absently as she pulled a pair of tortoiseshell frames out of her bag. "Found 'em," she chirped, trying to avoid the crowd of people that had suddenly swelled around them. Rolling her eyes at the look of shock on Dawn's face, Buffy grabbed her sister's free hand, guiding her through the crowded sidewalk. Waiting for the light to turn green, Buffy glanced at her watch. "It's almost three-thirty," she exclaimed, her jaw dropping in amazement. Dawn turned to look at Buffy, "no way, it can't be that late." Holding the watch in front of Dawn's face, Buffy said, "well it is. We've been shopping for like six hours." They crossed the street quickly, heading in the general direction of Buffy's apartment. "Now that's what I call a good day," Dawn said, "I can't wait to get back to your place and look at all our stuff." Shaking her head, Buffy stopped in front of Starbucks and opened the door for Dawn, gesturing for her to go inside. "You're insane," she said, giving Dawn a light push in the back.

Buffy scowled in mock-annoyance as her sister stared in awe at the wide array of coffee-based drinks on the overhead menu. "Don't you people have Starbucks," she teased, knowing that Dawn's small college town had probably never even heard of gourmet coffee, much less Starbucks. Sticking her tongue out, Dawn giggled, "we can't all be cosmopolitan socialites." Buffy screwed up her face, "a world of no. Anyway, what d'you want? Coffee's on me, gotta treat my poor deprived sister right." Dawn flipped her hair out of her eyes, "brat," she said with a completely straight face. Her brown eyes glittered with laughter when she looked back at Buffy, "You know you're gonna miss me when I go back tomorrow."

Buffy nodded, not ready to think about her sister flying back to Colorado, it seemed like she had just flown in. Before the prickling sensation in the back of her eyes could swell into tears, Buffy gave Dawn a shaky smile. "My apartment's going to be too quiet," she teased as they moved up in line. Cocking her head in Buffy's direction, Dawn smirked, "yeah, sure. Tell Spike, I'm sure he'd be more then willing to blast some of his God-awful music." Buffy giggled, "anything but that," she pleaded half-heartedly.

The streets were filled with cars when Buffy and Dawn left the coffee shop, steaming paper cups balanced in their free hands. "Want to walk back or take a cab," Buffy asked, hoping that Dawn said cab. "Cab," her sister chirped, glad that Buffy hadn't suggested walking all the way back to her apartment. Inside the cramped backseat of the taxi, Dawn turned to Buffy, a serious look on her face. "I know you're probably tired of hearing me say this," she began, zipping the pendant of her necklace back and forth across the chain. "But I'm really glad you and Spike worked everything out." Buffy broke into a wide smile, "me too. I mean, I thought it was going to be really weird, but it's not. And now that he's staying in New York, we have so much more time to.figure stuff out."

Dawn nodded, "I know. Last night he couldn't stop talking about all the great ideas he has for his new book. I think we were up until like two just talking about it. He's thinking about making the main character a poet and a total oxymoron, one of those bad-ass exterior guys with a huge chip on his shoulder and this gooey sensitive soul that no one expects. Especially not the emotionally closed off, drop-dead gorgeous woman that he somehow runs into and ends up falling in love with, even though she has this terrible history with men." She broke into a huge smile, "sound familiar," Dawn teased. Buffy's eyes widened comically, "no," she pouted, even though Spike had already told her about his characters and how they were going to be remarkably similar to another pair of headstrong blondes. "Liar," Dawn said, "but that's okay."

The cab pulled up in front of Buffy's building and she handed the money to the driver, "thanks a lot." He nodded, waiting for them to unload their shopping bags before pulling back into traffic. Once everything was out of the trunk, the sisters exchanged knowing smiles as they looked at the mass of shopping bags. "Spike's going to flip when he sees how much we bought," Dawn said, her voice ringing with laughter, as she leaned over to pick up her bags. Buffy nodded, "definitely," she agreed, grabbing her own bags before they could fall open on the sidewalk.

Spike was sitting in the living room when the apartment door swung open. His feet were propped up against the coffee table, his laptop resting on his thighs as his fingers danced over the keys. He looked up from the open document, tilting his head back to smile at Buffy and Dawn without getting up. His blue eyes widened, watching the two women struggle to maneuver all their bags into the apartment without having to make more then one trip or spill their coffee. "Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath, saving the open document and placing the laptop on the tabletop. "Did you two have fun," he asked in a normal voice, getting off the sofa and moving towards Buffy and Dawn who were staring at the sea of shopping bags at their feet. Sipping her coffee, Dawn nodded emphatically, "it was awesome," she squealed, her body's energy level surging from the rush of sugar and caffeine. He grinned, "that's good," leaning over the bags to gently kiss Buffy's lips. Long pale fingers wrapped around her coffee cup before her trembling hands spilled the luke-warm liquid all over her rug.

He took a long swallow of the coffee, never breaking eye contact with Buffy and she blushed under his smoldering gaze. "So what'd you two get," he asked, turning his head towards Dawn, his eyes never leaving Buffy's. Dawn sighed dramatically, picking up her shopping bags and moving towards the sofa. "If you two stop making googly-eyes, I'll show you," she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth despite her best efforts to sound angry. Buffy took Spike's hand, stepping gracefully over her shopping bags and pulling him towards the couch. He sat down on the armchair opposite the couch, giving Dawn plenty of room to show off her new clothes. Without even a second thought, Buffy sat down in his lap, leaning her exhausted body against his muscular chest, her head resting on his shoulder as they watched Dawn unpack the bags.