Over the next two weeks, things settled down into a routine. Buffy, Willow, and Tara ran the Magic Box while Giles was in England. Buffy had instructed her Watcher to take his time and have some fun while he was home. He didn't get a chance to go very often so he was to do whatever it was he wanted to do while he was there. What she didn't know and Giles didn't tell her was that he intended to inform his family of his intention to ask Joyce Summers for her hand in marriage. While he was fairly certain his American family would be welcoming of his suit, he wasn't so sure of his British family. The idea of his marrying his slayer's mother was going to come as a shock to them. It didn't help that he had been fired from the council. But if his father or anyone else gave him any grief, he had one fool proof thing to say to them. His slayer was still alive and well after five years of serving on a hellmouth. Something no other Watcher in the history of the council could say.

The Winchester garage found quite a few eager customers once word got around that not only did they help out Buffy Summers and therefore didn't blink about 'unusual' damage, but they could also figure out a way for the insurance company to pay for it most of the time. The fact that they were good mechanics had many of their new customers promising to become regulars. The work was regular enough and the slaying was light enough that all those involved with the protection of Sunnydale were making good recoveries from the back to back apocalypses.

They were well into their second week when Dean cornered his dad. "I know you and Buffy patrol together every night. But patrolling is not dating." He shook his head. "I know it's been a long time Dad, but dating is important. If you don't start, you are going to lose her." He shoved a picnic basket into his father's hands. "Go take her out to lunch. I can't believe I'm saying this, but do something with her that doesn't involve hunting or Dawn." He hustled his dad out of the gargae before John could say or do anything, and shut the door behind him. Leaning with his back against the door he saw Sam smirking at him from the office. "Oh, shut up!"

"You know Dad's going to check you for possession, right?" Sam laughed.

Dean just flipped him off and went back to work replacing a timing belt that had been chewed off by something. "I'm surprised you haven't talked to him already, Sammy."

"What makes you think I haven't?" Sam wandered over to lean on the wall nearest to his brother.

"Oh, man! Are you two at it again?" Dean had known that things were getting tense between his father and brother again, but he'd been distracted by Dawn and hadn't been paying as much attention as he usually did. He hadn't thought they were fighting again yet and had been impressed by both his father's and brother's restraint.

"A little. Not like before though." Sam sighed. "I understand him a lot better now, but we're never going to see eye to eye on a lot of stuff."

"That's because you two boneheads are too much alike." Dean snorted. "You always have to have it your own way. So what did you say?"

"Just about what you did, that patrolling isn't dating."

"You two back to throwing punches?" Dean asked seriously. He knew San had said it wasn't like before, but he hated it when they got to really fighting with each other.

Sam smiled. "No, but apparently in Sunnydale patrolling together is dating by the way the man blushed. You hurried him out the door so fast you didn't catch it."

Dean jerked his head out from under the car's hood to stare at Sam. "Blushing!"

Sam nodded. "It wasn't as bad as when I tried, but it was still there. Apparently summer patrols are so quiet they're good for, to quote Willow, 'smoochie time'." Sam was amazed that he was able to say it with a straight face. "When I saw how bad Dad was blushing I backed off. I can understand him not wanting us to run his love life. Now that he has one that it."

Dean still couldn't process the idea of his dad blushing. When that thought collided with the 'smoochie time' quote the look on his face was enough to send Sam into gales of laughter.

"She did not say that!"

"Yes, she did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Before the argument could get very far Xander walked in and Dean pounced on him. "Willow did not say that, did she?"

"Say what?" Xander asked confused. He hated walking into this sort of situation. It always left him confused.

"Smoochie Time!" Dean exclaimed in disbelief, which sent Sam off again.

Xander grinned. Sometimes hanging out with these two really made his day. although they had grown up all over the US, they really hadn't learned too much teen speak, seeing as how it could be very regional. "Smoochie time is Valley speak for making out and is Willow's favorite expression for the subject. I'd have to say yes, she probably did. What brought this on?"

"She and I were talking about dating verses patrolling." Sam said between gasps.

"Oh, yes. I remember it well." Xander sighed in exaggerated nostalgia. The truth was that the one thing he really missed now that Anya had left for New York was sex. He had liked Anya, but not having her here to make her heart failure inducing comments was a relief from stress he hadn't known he was under. "Although if you are talking about John and Buffy, I don't think they've gone beyond holding hands yet."

"Smoochie Time." Dean shook his head and go back to work. He really couldn't believe Willow had said that, and about his hard headed, ex-marine father of all people!

John stood at the door to the Magic Box and wrestled with the butterflies in his stomach. He could do this. He took a deep breath and walked inside. Buffy was on the upper story, shelving books. As he climbed the steps, Buffy looked over at him. "Let me guess. Someone has been pushy and said something about us not spending enough time together."

John relaxed. "You too?"

"The matchmakers are circling like buzzards. It's like there is this weird contest to see who can get us together first." She snorted. "Dawn at least I can understand. Why the others are so bent on it, I have no idea."

"Well, I don't mind. I just tell them off when they get too pushy, but when Dean of all people says we need to spend time away form Dawn and patrolling, I figure they may be on to something."

"Dean, not Sam?" She asked.

"Sam has always wanted a more normal life. I expect him to say things like that. Dean has always been the one to throw himself into hunting. He shoved a picnic basket at me and told me to take you to lunch."

Buffy sighed. "That actually sounds good. I've been shelving books all morning. I don't know how Giles does it sometimes." She stood up and stretched. She caught him watching her shirt ride up and pretended that she hadn't. Dating a gentleman was a completely new experience for her. She wasn't used to making the first move. She was more used to having to restrain a guy's hands than watching him restrain himself. It also didn't help that John was a man used to shielding himself. But as time went on either she was getting better at reading him or he was starting to relax around her. Or just maybe, it was a bit of both. Buffy caught his hand and walked down the steps and over to the counter. "I'm off to lunch guys."

"Ok." Tara and Willow chorused and gave identical smiles which Buffy ignored. Yes, John was a good guy so far and yes, he did giver her the tingles. But that did not mean that everyone had to get all pushy and start yentaing all over the place.

John helped Buffy into his truck. When he got in the driver's seat he asked, "Where is a good place for a picnic?"

"Let's go to the beach. There isn't a lot of patrolling to do down there." She sometimes thought it was sad that her patrol routes were a consideration at a time like this. She gave him directions and they ended up in a secluded spot on the beach. They spent the next hour talking about almost everything under the sun and nothing in the dark. They sat next to each other on the blanket and shared the contents of the basket lunch Dean had given John. Where normally she would have backed off on eating nearly everything in the basket, John's matter of fact handing her most of the food relaxed her normal nervousness about eating in front of other people. When she finally got up the courage to ask him why he was so comfortable with the fact that she could eat most guys under the table, he just looked like at her like he was confused she was even asking. He made a comment that slayers needed fuel to do what they did and that seemed to be the end of the matter as far as he was concerned.

Although he didn't know what the big deal was, John knew he had answered her correctly when she gave him one of her blinding smiles. She leaned into his shoulder and he considered himself lucky that she allowed him to wrap his arms around her. It had been years since he had last done something like this. Just sitting on a beach with a girl in his arms was another thing he had given up when Mary had died. for the first time he truly had to admit that he was grateful to the monks who had created Dawn. It was they who had started the chain of events that had brought this wonderful young woman into his life. As she relaxed watching the waves crash onto the beach, he softly kissed the top of her head.