Hey! It's been awhile since I updated, but I managed to get this done today...I recently started up my new project, an Avengers and Hunger Games crossover. I'm having all kinds of fun writing that one, but I promise I will not abandon Spike and Cassidy, either! I will finish this story. I just needed some time to get the other one going...

Anyways, 74 reviews? You guys are amazing! Hopefully you enjoy the update!

Oh yeah...a side note. I'm kind of getting married...:D (YES! I KNOW! I'm getting hitched!) So updating will be hard, but I promise. It will come.

"You could stop pacing, you know." said Spike as he lounged in the seat at the airport. "Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy?"

Cassidy shook her head. Spike had agreed to come with her to pick up her parents with her, something she still couldn't understand. She didn't want to see them, which made it hard for her to figure out why he still wanted to come along.

"You wouldn't be so relaxed if you'd already met them." she told him firmly, still not sitting down.

Spike thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. "Actually, I would be. You know why?"

She rolled her eyes, but knew he wouldn't drop it until she gave him a response. "Why?"

"Cause I already know you!" he gave her a cheesy grin, which did make her laugh.

"Wow."

"What can I say?" Spike said, smirking at her. "I'm irresistable."

"Irresistable my ass." she snorted.

"Yeah, you know, it is pretty irre-"

He was cut off by her smacking him across the head. "Ow..."

"Your fault." she told him firmly, finally sitting down next to him.

"Westjet Flight 207, arriving from Calgary, AB, is unloading at Gate 3." a voice came over the intercom, and Cassidy sat up suddenly.

"And here we go." she muttered. Spike saw her shoulders stiffen, and felt her edge away from him a little bit. It was her coping method, he figured, to push people away when she felt in danger of losing him. One of these days he'd convince her that he was there to stay, but until then, it was a continuing work in progress.

"Hey, Cass?" he said, helping her up so that she could go over to the gate.

"Yeah?"

He wasn't sure how appropriate it was, considering he was just about to meet her parents, but he planted a small kiss on her forehead. "I'm not Blake."

She grinned at him shakily, and allowed him to take her arm as they walked over together. They stood in silence as they waited for the plane to unload, and he felt her tense up as soon as the doors began to open, revealing the passengers.

A couple, a tiny woman with shorter, greying hair, and a large man with a bushy beard were the first to exit, and Cassidy immediately waved.

'Well,' thought Spike, 'At least we know what side of the family she gets her hight from.'

"Cassidy!" gushed the woman, wrapping her arms around her daughter's shoulders. "Hi sweetheart!"

"Hi Mom!" she said brightly. Spike immediately realized something was off, if only because her voice was much higher than normal. She was smiling widely, but Spike could see that it didn't reach her eyes. She was already trying too hard.

It was then that her father came over to them. He was a big guy, with a scruffy brown beard and big glasses. He was wearing dress pants, and a dress coat over a white shirt, and had a scowl on his face that Spike was pretty sure was permanent.

"Dad." she said, carefully. Spike had seen her in a lot of situations, but this was another new one to him. She looked nervous.

"Cassidy." he said, firmly. He held out his arms and gave her a small hug.

"We got the call from your boss a couple days ago, sweetie." said her Mom, who had since moved closer to her and was now holding her hand. Spike knew that Cassidy didn't have the fondest memories of home, to say the least, but he decided that he kind of liked her Mom already.

"Which we knew would come." added her father.

He, Spike immediately decided, he did not like. Not even a little bit.

"Good to see you too, Dad." she muttered, and Spike wanted to give her a hi-5 for that one. It probably wasn't the most tactful thing to do at that point, though, so he made a mental note to do it later.

"Are you in pain?" asked her mother.

Cassidy shrugged. "A little bit. It wasn't that bad."

'Liar.' thought Spike fondly.

"But it was bad enough for your boss to have to call us." said her father, matter of factly.

She rolled her eyes, earning a glare from him. "It's just protocol."

"It shouldn't have to be. I think it's pretty clear what kind of people the job is for, and the fact that we're getting a call from her boss that she's in the hospital because she couldn't do it properly..."

"James..." her mother spoke up sharply. She motioned to the people around them. "Not here."

Her father, James, huffed, but to Spike's surprise, was silent.

That was until he met Spike's eyes. Spike had been standing against a nearby wall support beam, leaning up against it and watching the exchange in silence. James' eyes widened, and his head jerked back over to Cassidy.

"Who's he?" James asked, pointing in Spike's direction.

Cassidy glanced over at Spike, her eyes resembling that of a deer caught in the headlights. Spike took that as his invitation to take charge of the situation.

"Spike Scarlatti." he said, walking over to the trio. He slipped his arm around Cassidy's waist firmly, and offered his other hand to her father. He simply stared at it, and Spike shrugged, stuffing his hand into his pocket.

"And..." her mother's eyes took in Spike's arm around Cassidy. "You're her..."

"Boyfriend." Spike finished firmly. Maybe he wasn't quite technically her boyfriend yet, but he figured announcing it to her parents was close enough to making it official.

Her Dad had been doing a pretty good job of looking like he was sucking lemons before Spike said this. The expression afterwards was priceless.

"Her...boyfriend." he said, his voice low and angry.

"Yeah. I work for the SRU. It's where I met Cass."

"James." her mother reprimanded, just as he opened his mouth to say something. He glared at his wife, and then turned back to Cassidy.

"And how much have you told him?" he all but growled.

Cassidy was about to reply, but Spike cut her off. "Are you talking about Cole? Or Blake? Or the part where you guys saw her son dying as a second chance at her life?"

James stared at him, and for a moment, in the middle of the crowded airport, the two men stared each other down. Spike didn't flinch, but rather held his gaze, his eyes flashing.

Later, Spike would try and figure out exactly why he was so angry in that moment. He wasn't sure if it was just the guy's overall personality, or if it was the way that he had been a bit of a tool to his girlfriend. He eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't exactly the way the guy had treated Cassidy, although it could've used some improvement. It was more the idea that he'd been the cause of so much of the hurt that Spike had been left to help Cassidy sort through. He hadn't been there to see the hurt when it had been brought into her life, but he was the one dealing with it.

"Spike." Cassidy whispered, jolting him out of the stare showdown.

He gave her a small smile, and then turned back to James. "My car's outside. We can get your stuff to her place, if you want."

James shook his head. "We rented a car. We didn't want to be reliant on our daughter to provide transportation for us around the city. We'll manage fine, thank you."

Spike nodded, and nodded to Cass. "I guess we'll meet you at her place, then."

James shook his head. "I think it will be best if she rides with Martha and I." He nodded to his daughter, and to Spike's surprise, she heaved a sigh and got up to follow him.

'Sure.' thought Spike. 'Get her out of my earshot so that you can deal with her your way.'

"Actually," said Spike firmly, reaching out and taking her hand. "I'll take her, thank you sir. I assume you have directions?"

Her mother nodded as her father stood, staring at Spike. Spike grinned at him widely, and then led her out the nearest set of doors, ignoring that it was farther away from their parking spot.

After all, kick butt moments like this required dramatic entrances.

So, was her Dad what you expected? This is how I've envisioned him from the start of the story. A lot of things have changed about this thing along the way, but her Dad was always the constant. I tried to write him to be the total opposite of my Dad, and I actually like how his character worked!

And the plot continues...Was everyone happy that Spike gave a little shove back? I didn't want a big, dramatic, family blow up. I mean, they were in the middle of the airport, and they had just met each other. Hopefully this is still working for you!

Reviews are awesome!