Spike was extremely confused when Dawn ran back down the basement stairs in tears and threw herself in Spike's arms. His protective instinct flared and he cradled the sobbing teenager gently.

"What is it, pet?" he demanded. "Who's gone and made you cry? I'll rip his eyeballs out."

"I-it's my d-dad!" she wailed. Spike blinked. Hadn't the wanker run off somewhere with his secretary or something?

"What about him?" he asked.

"He's here! Now! Upstairs."

"Oh," Spike replied. "And…you don't like that?"

"Of course not! He, he left!" Dawn wiped her face on her sleeve. "We didn't hear anything from him. How am I supposed to talk to him?"

"Don't," Spike said with a shrug. "If you don't want to, there's no need to be giving yourself that heartache. Fathers aren't much good, anyway. Closest thing I ever had to a father was Angelus, and, well, you know how that turned out." He flinched suddenly and shuddered. "He's up to no good. He'll go taking what isn't his and leave broken pieces behind."

Dawn assumed he meant to say the last part in past tense. "What does he want, anyway? Dad, I mean."

"Wait til he leaves and ask the Slayer," Spike suggested, rubbing her back. "You don't have to see him if you don't want to, Nibblet. You can stay with ol' Spike until he's gone. Make sure William doesn't do anything naughty."

"You could always go upstairs and eat him," Dawn mumbled darkly.

*****

"You're moving to Sunnydale?" Buffy repeated, staring at Hank.

"Yeah," he said awkwardly. "Is there something wrong?"

"Everything about that is wrong, Hank!" Buffy spat, emphasizing her use of his first name. "You can't just show up and expect us to forget the past! How do I know you won't walk out on us again? How do expect me to trust you?"

"All I want is a chance to start over," Hank pleaded. "I know I've made mistakes in the past, but I want to make it up to you."

"Mother?"

Buffy spun around and saw Micah standing at the back door. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Caddie said you were upset," Micah replied. She glared at Hank. "Is he upsetting you? Do you want me to I kill him?"

Buffy sighed, though she was secretly pleased by the flash of alarm that passed across Hank's features. "No, Mic. You can't kill him. This is Hank Summers, my father."

Micah crossed her arms. "I am not calling him 'grandfather,'" she said stoutly.

"Didn't say you had to, honey," Buffy assured her.

"Buffy, who is that?" Hank whispered. Micah easily overheard the question and her pale, luminous eyes flashed indignantly.

"This is Micah," Buffy interrupted before Micah could say anything. "Angel and I are in the process of adopting her."

"Isn't she a little old for you?" he asked. "I mean, you're only twenty-one."

"We fostered her for a long time," Buffy replied vaguely. "Mic, honey, why don't you go back inside and tell Caddie I'm fine, okay?"

Micah nodded and, with another glare at Hank, retreated indoors. Buffy turned back to Hank. "You probably should be going," she said with a hint of warning.

"Okay," he said meekly. "I'll, um, call sometime." He said it more as a question, and Buffy only shrugged in reply. As soon as he left, Buffy walked back into the house, where everyone was waiting for her.

"What did he want?" Angel was the first to ask the question they were all waiting to hear.

"He's moving to Sunnydale," Buffy said wearily. "What are we going to do? How am I supposed to explain having a twelve-year-old daughter? This is not what we need right now!" Seeing Caddie's hurt and confused expression, Buffy held her arms out. "I didn't mean that about you, sweetie."

Caddie snuggled against her mother. "You meant that he wouldn't understand if you told him you raised me in a different dimension," she clarified.

"Exactly," Buffy told her.

"Well, I'm sure we can throw up a decent smokescreen," Oz said from where he stood behind Willow's chair. "We've done it before lots of times."

"The thing is, Hank wants to 'get to know us again.'" Buffy used air quotes to emphasize her words. "Him getting involved—not good with the Slaying."

"We'll figure something out, beloved," Angel assured her. He peered into the kitchen. "Is lunch ready? I'm starving."

"Oh, me too," Doyle agreed instantly, already heading toward the food. Angel followed him closely.

"You really should think about it," Angel told his best friend. "Talk to her."

"I'm not sure that's where we're at in our relationship," Doyle protested.

Buffy shook her head. "What are they on about?" she asked.

"Whether or not Doyle and I should have kids," Cordelia replied casually, picking up her discarded magazine.

Buffy's eyebrows shot up. "What do you think?" she asked her friend.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Duh, yeah. We did, after all, kind of miss out on Caddie's childhood."

Caddie frowned, not sure whether to take that as good or bad, and looked over at Willow. "Do you want to have children?" she asked innocently. Willow blushed bright red and stammered something unintelligible. Oz put his arm around his fiancé and smiled at Caddie.

"Kids are definitely an option," he told her.

Angel and Doyle appeared carrying platters of food. While the others were distracted by the meal, Angel pulled Buffy into the living room. "How terrible would it be if your father knew about you being the Slayer?" he asked softly.

"Are you kidding?" Buffy hissed. "He'd try to get custody of Dawn! And probably Caddie, too. He's not like Mom; he wouldn't understand."

"Okay. We'll just have to come up with a convincing cover story. Like Oz said, a smokescreen."

Buffy sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know if I can pretend, Angel. I've had nothing to do with him for twelve plus years. God, this is all so confusing! I can barely remember him at all, just that I hated him for leaving and hurting Dawn, except Dawn wasn't actually there."

Angel put his forehead against hers. "If we have to, Oz, Doyle, and I can chase him away. I won't let him hurt you again, Buffy. I don't care if he's your father. You and the girls come first."

Buffy stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly. "Did I ever tell you I love you?" she asked with a tired smile.

He smiled back. "Only about a hundred times or so. I love you, too."