A/N : Another slightly shorter chapter, but you guys don't seem to mind the shortness as long as I keep the updates coming as regularly as I can, so that's good. Thanx to; Girl version of Chandler, Brunettepet, Moonjava, vanillagigglez, katie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Drusilla, Demonica Mills, Mita427, Xtremely-Canadian, OnlyHaveEyesForYou, Onion Petal, sheilamarie, LisaMR, spuffygrl, Moluvsnumber17, Verity, bella-lover, Celestia Nailo, and Max, for the latest reviews. Now, time for ice-cream...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4 - Ice Cream Dreams

"Seems everybody had the same idea we did, Bit" Spike sighed as he and Dawn arrived at Gino's Ice-Cream Bar, only to find that practically every seat was already taken.

"I think there's a space over there" the young girl pointed as she stood up on her toes to try and see. Spike who was substantially taller could see she was right and told her to go grab the two-seater table while she could and he'd order at the counter since they already knew what they wanted.

"'Scuse me luv" he called to one of the waitresses behind the counter, "Two chocolate sundaes please, heavy on the chocolate" he winked. The young girl smiled as she went to fulfil his order and Spike leaned back on the counter to wait. He spotted that Dawn had managed to grab the table and was currently talking with a girl he thought he recognised as one of her school mates. When he turned back around to see if any progress was being made with his order, he caught sight of a female head of blonde hair that he also thought he recognised.

"Buffy?" he ventured, making her look at him with a smile.

"Spike, hi" she greeted, picking up two dishes of ice-cream from the counter and turning back around, feeling a little more daring than usual she asked "You're not gonna make me spill my ice-cream, are you?"

Spike didn't know why he had to force down the colour he felt rising in his cheeks. The coffee incident before wasn't that embarrassing, was it?

"Oh, no, no" he told her quickly, "I only spill things on beautiful women once a day, I'm trying to cut down"

Both of them were slightly surprised that the word 'beautiful' had crept into that sentence, and it was Buffy's turn to blush slightly as his eyes didn't leave her face. He was trying to work out why he'd phrased it that way and he realised what his sub-conscious must already have picked up, Buffy really was a beautiful woman, especially now she was smiling and also trying not to turn red.

"Buffy, over here!" a male voice yelled to the side and both she and Spike turned to see a brunette waving for her to come and sit down before the ice-cream melted completely.

"I have to go" she said, somewhat regretfully, "but it was nice to see you again"

"Yeah, you too, pet" he replied, wondering as she walked away why it bothered him that she was with another bloke. He'd only met her that same day and she wasn't that special, was she?

"Excuse me, sir" the girl behind the counter repeated and he turned to find her smiling and gesturing to the two sundaes on the counter top.

"Oh, right" Spike shook himself out of his daze, paid for the ice-creams and took them over to the table where Dawn was waiting.

"Who was that woman you were talking to?" she asked immediately, having seen the whole exchange from her seat.

"Someone I met at the coffee shop today" he told his daughter as they both dug into their sundaes "Her name is Buffy"

Dawn almost choked on a piece of chocolate fudge.

"Buffy? That's a name?" she asked, trying to not laugh long enough that she could swallow properly, "That's stupid"

"Says the girl with the father named Spike" the bleached-blond rolled his eyes and Dawn shook her head as she swallowed her next mouthful.

"But Spike is a nickname" she argued, "plus it's cool and dangerous and tough"

Spike couldn't help but smile at that. It was almost exactly what Dru had said to him the day she'd come up with the name and decided it should be his own. At first he didn't think it suited him, and it really didn't when he still had the glasses and poncey hair and stuff, but she transformed every aspect of him and brought out the wild side he wasn't even sure he knew he had. God how he missed his Drusilla.

"...but if that's her real name" he was suddenly aware that Dawn was still talking, "Buffy is just..."

"Buffy is just a very nice lady" he interrupted, "So hush your noise about her okay?" he said a little more sternly than he meant to. Still, Dawn took it lightly as always.

"Yes, sir" she nodded, giving a mock salute with her spoon and despite himself he smiled.

"Cheeky madam" he said, ruffling her hair and making her yell about messing up her style, "Eat your ice-cream before it melts" he told her, gesturing with his spoon, before digging into his own sundae, all the time stealing glances at a blonde across the room.

"Who was the guy?" Xander asked as soon as Buffy got back to the table with two dishes of fairly plain looking ice-cream. Less complicated was less expensive.

"What guy?" she shook her head, just now coming out of a daze it seemed said guy had inflicted upon her, "Oh, that was Spike" she smiled, hoping her cheeks were no longer pink. She could do without explaining it to Xander.

"Coffee shop guy?" her cousin guessed, shoving vanilla ice-cream into his mouth.

"Yeah" Buffy nodded, looking over at Spike and turning back fast when she realised he was also looking at her, "He's nice" she added absently, as she started to eat the contents of her own dish.

"Looks like a freak to me" Xander complained, he didn't like the way the bleached blond was staring at his cousin or the way she was stealing glances at him. He was very protective over Buffy, ever since Angel... "Besides, he has a girl with him, so don't get too attached Buff" he added swiftly.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, not bothering to look and see the girl her cousin had mentioned.

"I'm not attached, Xand" she told him, "I only met him today. He's just a nice guy is all" she shrugged, before changing the subject completely.

Despite her appearance of indifference, it did bother her somewhat that Spike had a girlfriend. She knew he'd been married and that he'd lost his wife and a small part of her had been really glad he was single, however unfeeling that made her. Now it seemed he wasn't quite so available and despite the fact she had no real intention of dating him it was hard to hide the disappointment she felt.

"...so first thing tomorrow I'll try both the places and with any luck one of them will want me" Buffy was only half aware of Xander still talking as she concentrated mostly on wondering why she was so bothered about Spike's love life, that and eating her ice-cream obviously.

"Who wouldn't want you?" she smiled, catching the end of what he said. He was referring of course to places where he might be able to get a job, another thing that Buffy had to worry about, "I just can't think who's going to want to employ me, I mean, I don't have the worlds greatest resume" she shook her head sadly.

"Hey" Xander reached across the table to put his hand over hers, "it was hardly your fault about High School, and y'know, you've done okay since then. Shop work, office jobs, plus you took those night classes"

"It's just basic computer knowledge and stuff, Xand" she sighed, dropping her spoon into the melted remains of her ice-cream, "It's nothing special"

Xander hated to see her so down, and Buffy didn't like feeling this way but sometimes it just felt like everything was against her. The Powers That Be had thrown one false hope after another at Buffy Summers, since she was fifteen years old. She was beginning to wonder if this trip to Sunnydale and a guy named Spike were set to be the latest in that long list.

As soon as Spike and Dawn arrived back home he reminded her to do her homework. Begrudgingly the teen got out her books and sat down at the table to work. She really didn't mind it so much, she was averagely smart and her Dad always helped her whenever she hit a maths problem she couldn't figure out or a passage in a play for English that didn't make any sense to her.

At the same time, Spike would run the vacuum around the house or get around to doing the dishes left from last night or breakfast. He had to be mother and father to Dawn, as well as the house keeper and the money earner. He never complained, though secretly he wished things were different.

Obviously to have never lost Dru would've been indescribably wonderful, but since she was most definitely gone, he sometimes wondered if he should look for a new woman in his life. It would not be long before Dawn was dating and time would fly by without him noticing. She could be married with her own children in ten years time or less and then Spike would be alone, even more so than he was without his wife.

"Dad?" Dawn called again from the kitchen doorway as her father stared off into space, no longer drying the dish in his hand but just holding it, "Dad?"

"Sorry, Bit" he physically shook himself when he realised she was there, "What's up?"

"Nothing really" she shrugged, "I just finished my homework and you were so quiet in here I came to see if you were okay"

Spike had a habit of singing when he was doing house-work and Dawn would never tell him but he sometimes completely distracted her from her homework with his songs. He had a great voice and played guitar very well, she was always teasing him that he should have been a rock star.

"Course I'm okay, luv" Spike smiled as his daughter walked over and gave him a hug and he kissed the top of her head, "You don't have to worry about me, sweetheart, it's my job to do that for you"

"But that's twice today you've zoned out on me" she frowned, looking up at him from under his arm that still held her, "It's just...well, you haven't been this..thoughtful since Mom..." her sentence disappeared as she came to the words she hated saying.

"Honestly, Dawnie, I am okay" he promised her, "Though I admit, your Mum has been on my mind. I dunno why now especially, I just miss her is all" he sighed.

"Me too" his daughter agreed, feeling the need to hug Spike again. Apart from her Grandpa Giles, the only family Dawn had was her father, since she was adopted and there had only been the three people in the family that took her in as their own. Now with her mother gone, the world was an even more lonely place.

She loved her father dearly and he meant the world to her but she did miss having a woman around that she could talk to about things. It was hard being a teenage girl without a mother, and she knew that Spike realised it. He tried so hard to understand her and for the most part he did pretty well, but there was always a slight discomfort for both of them when the subject of boys arose or more decidedly female aspects of growing up. There were times when she'd ask Willow about things but the red-head was easily embarrassed and Dawn knew she had her own kids to deal with so she mostly kept herself to herself, constantly day-dreaming about the mother she wished she still had.

Spike did his fair share of wishing that he'd wake up and find out Drusilla being gone was all a nightmare, even now years on, but today when he thought of her, he felt a pang of guilt. She was the only woman he'd ever really dated, definitely the only one he'd ever truly loved. Now here he was inadvertently telling Buffy she was beautiful and finding that her face stuck in his mind of it's own accord. He'd been embarrassed in front of her, something he rarely ever was in anyone's company, and the thought of her with that other bloke he'd spotted at the ice-cream parlour was bothering him too.

Somehow, despite the fact he'd only known her a day, Spike realised he really did like Buffy, and also that he was ridiculously concerned about what Dru would think of that fact. He knew deep down he was being an idiot, and that he was quite allowed to find other women attractive, especially since he was technically unattached, but until now he'd never really even looked at another woman that way. Perhaps Buffy Summers was more special than he'd originally given her credit for.

To Be Continued...