In Xander's experience, dates weren't the normal romantic outings that they were for most couples. Given that, on the rare times he and Anya had actually ever tried to go out to dinner, they'd been inevitably been called in due to some demonic crisis, it had never exactly been something he'd done very often. On top of that, given that Anya was a thousand-year-old ex-demon, strange dates had been par for the course. Xander hadn't ever even gone on a real date with Cordelia, either. They'd spent their time making out in every unoccupied space that they could find. And, given that every other person Xander had ever developed an attraction for ended up trying to kill him, his experience with dates was rather limited.

Even with Rory, the closest they'd ever come to a proper date had been the day they'd spent together after he'd revealed that demons, vampires and magic existed. Given that a large proportion of that date had been spent talking about his demon hunting, it wasn't really that surprising that the date had been rather unusual.

So, although this date had been preceded by Rory turning into a vampire, Xander was mildly surprised when the only unusual thing that happened was when Lorelai slumped into a chair at their table to vent about the argument with her parents. Even then, it wasn't entirely unexpected, and it didn't last all that long. Luke turned up, revealing that he'd been hiding so that he wouldn't get dragged into the argument, and the pair then left together.

Other than that, the date went as Xander had always imagined a date should go, up to and including him (thoroughly) kissing Rory goodnight at the door to her room.

Lorelai was tired. This wasn't really all that surprising, given the pitiful amount of sleep she had managed to get thanks to preparing for this weekend. But she was even more tired than she had thought she would be. What should have been the crowning moment of triumph for her entire life had been ruined by the surprise appearance of Jason, who had of course pulled her parents into an argument that they had just been dying to have ever since Xander had pulled that stunt of his.

Still, that was over now. At least for the time being. Jason was gone, probably for good. Her parents had clearly been stunned by the revelation about what Xander did for a living, which had probably curtailed the argument. All in all, besides the mildly catastrophic evening, Lorelai's day had gone well.

She did however regret that she was too exhausted to even have dinner with Luke like she had planned.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Luke. I didn't plan on having our evening hijacked by my parents and Jason."

Luke smiled. "Its fine, Lorelai. Don't worry about it. I've waited this long to have 'our evening', I think I can wait a little bit longer."

Lorelai looked at Luke questioningly. "This long? How long is this long? And please don't read any innuendo into that, I'm too tired to be intentionally dirty."

"Trust me, innuendo is just about the furthest thing from my mind right now." Luke replied. "And I don't think it would be a good idea if I answered your question. Don't really want to seem like some love-struck fool."

"That long, huh?" Lorelai said quietly.

Luke nodded once. "That long."

Lorelai thought about that for a while. She had, she could safely admit, if only to herself, had a crush on Luke for quite a while now. She'd even brought it up with Rory once, years ago. Rory had emphatically told her not to pursue the relationship because they would starve if they ever broke up. So she'd never really gone for it.

"Why now?" Lorelai asked suddenly. She probably shouldn't have asked such a personal question, but then she was tired and being upfront was one her numerous virtues.

Well, that was certainly an interesting question. With his spontaneous marriage with Nicole over and done with, and Rory off at university, it had seemed like, for the first time, both of them were free. Then, when Jess had turned up again, Luke had realised that he didn't want things to end before they even began because of a communication failure, which had seemed to be the primary problem between Jess and Rory.

"It's complicated." Luke said simply.

"I hear that."

"Well, are you going to sleep her or would you like me to drive you home?"

Lorelai intended to tell him that she was just going to crash in one of the empty rooms, but what she actually said was "I'm glad you did this. Lord knows, I wouldn't have made the first move."

Luke smiled warmly. "Good to know."

"Well, um, I'm just upstairs, so… goodnight, I guess." Lorelai said, turning to go.

"Hold on a second." Luke said, putting a hand on Lorelai's shoulder. She turned back to face him, and he kissed her. He didn't think about it, he just did it. If he had thought about what he was doing, Luke would never have done it. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, he had been wondering what it would be like for years to do it.

It wasn't a passionate kiss, though. Just a simple, short kiss that he broke off before it had a chance to develop into anything further.

"Goodnight, Lorelai." Luke said gently before turning to leave. He didn't see the rather gobsmacked Lorelai with her hand pressing against her lips watching him go.

Luke wasn't really all that surprised when he came home to see Jess reading something, with some music blaring. It wasn't exactly an unusual sight. He was, however, rather surprised when Jess looked up when Luke came in, put aside his book and turned off the music. Normally, when Jess was reading, he shut out the world. A building could fall down around his ears without him even noticing.

"So, I was thinking about getting a GED." Jess said without preamble.

Luke blinked, not sure if he had heard correctly. Was Jess actually volunteering to do something involving work? "What?"

"I want to get a GED."

"Why? You were dead set against going back to school. Why do you suddenly want an education now?" Luke asked. "Wait. Hold on a second. This doesn't have anything to do with Dawn, does it?"

Jess absently picked up a pen and put it in his mouth as though it was a cigarette. Jess was never far from a pen – he was the only person Luke knew who was keener on annotating books than Rory. Every book he had was filled with the black scrawl of Jess' spidery notes. "No. I've been thinking about it for a while now. I don't want to be stuck in some dead end job flipping burgers every day for the rest of my life. Or, you know, go back to Walmart. I want to do something more interesting."

Luke ignored the dig at his job and instead said "Well, that's great, but can we talk about all the details tomorrow? It's late."

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Jess said, immediately picking up his book again.

Rory had some difficulty getting to sleep, and not just because earlier she had quite literally slept as though she was dead. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the pulse jumping in Xander's neck and the desire she had felt to sink her teeth into it flared fresh through her mind. It made her feel ill.

She could've killed him. She couldn't help but think that, if it hadn't been him that come through the door, if it had been someone less practiced dealing with vampires, if it had been iLorelai/i, then she would've killed her. She would be a murderer, and a cannibal. As it was, she had only attempted to kill someone.

All through dinner, she had been waiting for Xander to say something. She didn't know what she had expected him to say, but she had expected something. As it was, she had been kept on tenterhooks, trying to relax and fully join in with the banter, but Xander hadn't done anything. It was as though he had completely forgotten the entire thing.

It wasn't until a while later that Rory realised that Xander had had to deal with many similar occurrences. He had even told her as much. What had been, to Rory, an earthshattering, life-changing event, hadn't even been something noteworthy to Xander. To him, it was just another day at the demon hunting office.

Rory didn't know how she felt about that. She had already broken up with Xander once because of what he did for a living. She knew that he had given up being on the front lines for her, and she was grateful for that. But if it had followed him here, into this safe haven…

She rolled over to pick up her phone, as she had done so many times before when he had still been living in Sunnydale and she had called him because she had had nightmares about the videotape she had shown him.

"Hey there." Xander picked up almost immediately, as he usually did. Rory supposed that was one of the benefits of having an insomniac boyfriend. "Everything okay?"

"Um, yeah. I guess."

"Did you have a nightmare or something? You can tell me, you know."

"No, it's not that." Rory replied. "What if that's not it?"

Xander paused as he tried to figure out what Rory was saying and failed. "What if what isn't what?"

"What if there's more coming? I mean, more besides Ethan. You said that you're a demon magnet, and-"

"Rory. You don't have to worry about that. I talked to Willow, and she thinks she can come up with some binding sigils that will stop people from being able to use magic in town. And we already know that there aren't any vampires or demons around. You're safe here."

Rory sighed. "I don't like being like this, you know. It's just… it's all kind of scary."

"Rory, do you want to break up with me?"

"iWhat?/i No! Of course not – why would you even ask that?"

"Look, I can't promise that I can keep you safe. I can't promise that I can keep Lorelai or Luke or even your grandparents safe. And I couldn't do that even if didn't do I do. Do you understand? There was this girl a few months back, Cassie. She prophesised her own death. Buffy stopped a cult from sacrificing her, stopped a booby trap from killing her, but in the end her heart gave out. Do you get what I'm saying? This is what my life is like, Rory. If you want out, that's fine, just say the word and I'm gone. You know that."

"Wow. Where did that come from?"

Xander paused, grasping for the right words. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually so…"

"Vehement?"

"I don't know what that means, but sure, sounds about right. I'm not usually so whatever it was you just said, but… honestly, you turning into a vampire scared the hell out of me."

"You have no idea how much better that makes me feel."

Xander blinked. "Wait, what? Aren't women supposed to like having strong courageous men around?" Then Xander remembered Riley and the mess he had made trying to be strong enough for Buffy.

"Sure, strong is good, but… when you didn't say anything at dinner, I realised that it was kind of another day at the office for you. I mean, it changed my life, literally, and then it was like you completely forgot about it. It's good to know that you're not some flawless Superman. It makes me feel better knowing that we were both scared."

"I know that we Scoobies tend to get a little blancmange about things after saving the world a few times, but seeing you like that and knowing there was nothing I could do other than head-butt you – yeah. That was a whole world of not fun."

"On the other hand, at least you managed to work pudding into a sentence." Rory said lightly.

"What? Did I miss something? How did we get onto food?" Xander asked, thoroughly nonplussed.

"You said blancmange. You meant blasé."

"Meh. Close enough." Xander said with a shrug that he somehow managed to communicate down the line. "So, we're not breaking up then?"

"No, you noodlehead. I love you, in case you hadn't noticed." Rory said, then held her breath as she realised what she had just said. She was, she realised, perfectly comfortable doing so. Xander had already said it to her, and hadn't made a big deal of it when she hadn't said it back.

Xander paused, obviously digesting the news. "So, I'm a noodlehead, am I? It's not enough that we males need an idiocy quota, but you have to give me a noggin made of food?"

"Well, you can be noodlenoggin if you prefer. Since when are you British, anyway?"

"Bah. Blame Giles."

"Still, it will go with your serious face."

"How can a noodle have a serious face?"

"I don't know. Why don't you look in the mirror and find out?"

Dawn woke up because she was hungry, but when she actually became fully awake she realized that eating would definitely be a bad idea. She felt nauseous in a way that she hadn't since – well, ever. On top of that, she felt as though a pair of dwarves were using her temples as anvils.

She guessed that Jess had been right when he had so emphatically told her that drinking alcohol wasn't a good idea. At least she hadn't gone all cavewoman and brained someone with a club or set something on fire. Or at least, she thought she hadn't. Dawn did have a vague memory of trying to kiss Jess, though. If she had, she couldn't even use the excuse that she wasn't actually human, and therefore it was hardly surprising that she had gotten intoxicated so easily.

Dawn had a vague inkling that greasy food and water was supposed to be good for hangover, both of which were things to be found in abundance at Luke's. Hopefully she could even avoid the inevitable 'I told you so' that she was absolutely positive Jess was dying to give her.

She should probably wash up first though. Dawn hated sleeping in her clothes, it always made her feel scummy. On the other hand, if she had in fact tried to make out with Jess it suggested that she hadn't gone too far and done something that she would regret.

Luke hadn't had a chance to talk to Jess about his decision to restart his education, even though his nephew had surfaced rather earlier than he usually did. He figured that he would have time once things in the diner calmed down a little after the breakfast rush.

However, when Dawn turned up wearing sunglasses and clearly hung-over, and Jess promptly vanished into the kitchen even though he had no reason to be there and normally avoided that place like the plague, Luke began to suspect that maybe it would be a good idea if he and Jess sat down and had a talk. Luke didn't know what had happened between the pair last night (one second they'd been talking at the inn and the next they'd both gone) but if it involved Jess plying her with alcohol, then Luke really needed to have some strong words. They were both underage, after all.

Dawn plonked herself down at the counter. "Got any hangover food there, Luke?" Dawn said, before wondering whether it might've been a good idea not to broadcast her hung-over state.

"Sure, I'm sure I can whisk something up."

"Is Jess around?"

Luke shot a quick look at the kitchen. Jess still hadn't emerged. He really didn't want to get involved in whatever was going on between the couple, but he didn't think that Jess would be best pleased if he told Dawn where he was. If Luke was going to do the whole parental 'Don't drink, don't smoke more than you already do, don't take advantage of your sort-of-girlfriend' speech, it would probably be best if Jess wasn't already mad at him.

"Nah. I think he just popped out. I'll tell him you want to see him, if you like."

"Shouldn't be that hard. He's hiding in the kitchen." Seeing Luke's shocked face, Dawn added "What? I'm a lot more observant than people give me credit for."

"Yeah." Luke said dumbly. "He's in the kitchen."

"Got any idea why he's hiding from me?"

"What? You mean you don't?"

"Oh yeah, I asked that question just for fun. Of course I don't know!" Dawn snapped, then said "Sorry. Its these damned dwarves."

Luke decided not to ask. "No idea, although I guess it has something to do with him getting you drunk."

"What? He didn't get me drunk. Well technically, he kind of did, but only because he provided the alcohol. I did all the drinking. And… okay, it's complicated. Would you mind getting him, 'cause I don't think I'm going to get my breakfast until we sort out whatever's going on."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Luke said. He poked his head into the kitchen. "Hey Jess? Dawn wants a word."

Jess scowled, and Luke was sure that if looks could kill he'd be nothing but a small pile of ash. "You told her I was here?"

"No, actually, she figured it out by herself."

"I don't want to talk to her."

Luke shrugged. "Fine." He left.

"Wait!" Jess called. Luke smiled to himself, and returned. "Aren't you supposed to try and convince me to talk to her?"

"She's your… whatever she is to you, Jess. It's your decision."

Jess' eyes narrowed. "Wow. That's a new approach for Fix-Everything-Luke."

Luke shrugged again. "What can I say? I'm flexible. She's also just out there, and I'm sure you can unbend yourself enough to go out and talk to her. Just remember, Jess, use your words."

Somehow, Jess' scowl managed to deepen even further. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime." Luke said cheerfully. "So, you going out or are you just going to lurk in here for a bit longer?"

For a moment, Luke thought Jess was going to stay, but after a couple of seconds he sighed and said. "Whatever."

"Great." Luke said cheerfully. Then he ushered Jess out of the kitchen and said "Okay, you two, take it outside. I've got a business to run here."

Once they were outside, Dawn instantly said "Okay, so what's the problem?"

"Oh, not that again." Jess groaned.

"Worked well enough last the time. Besides, I'm too hung-over to be original. So what's the problem?"

For a second, it seemed as though Jess wasn't going to answer. Then he suddenly said "What the Hell are we doing here, Dawn?"

"Well, personally, I'm breathing, talking, wilfully missing the point, being sarcastic and wondering what you're talking about."

Jess sighed. "I meant what are iwe/i doing. I realised today that, although I know that you're well-read and reasonably intelligent for all that you hold some ridiculous views about literature, but the fact remains that I don't even know your surname."

"Summers."

"Yes, thank you for completely missing the point." Jess said drily.

"What's yours?"

"The point is, I thought I could do this whole mysterious thing. I thought I was fine with you not telling me about your past, and just generally being a complete enigma, but I guess I was wrong about that. So, yeah, this isn't really working out quite as well as I hoped." Jess said, carrying on regardless.

"So you don't want to tell me your surname then."

"You're really hung up on that, aren't you?" Dawn shrugged. "It's Mariano."

Dawn tilted her head to one side, only to immediately regret the unnecessary movement as her pounding headache reached new heights. "You're Italian?"

"Have you even been listening to what I've been saying?"

"Oh, yeah. I just don't get why you're suddenly going all weird about it. I mean, sure, I haven't told you my entire life story, but neither have you. And honestly, I don't care about it a great deal." Dawn said succinctly. "Do you speak Italian?"

"Yeah, a little. Which really isn't the point."

"Are you going to get to the point soon? Because I totally don't get why you're wigging out."

Jess was silent for a second. "You don't remember what you said yesterday, do you?"

Dawn shrugged. "I'm sure I said plenty of delightful things. I generally do. Which one's giving you problems?"

"You told me about Spike."

"Right." Dawn said neutrally. "Nope, don't have a clue what I said. Although I don't see why anything about Spike would freak you out so hard."

"Well, the fact that he seemed to be a literate bad boy type who smoked and was kind of like me that you had a crush on and is now dead is the main reason." Jess said blandly.

Dawn rubbed her forehead, wishing she had stayed at home to suffer through her hangover in peace. "Oh, Hell. You're jealous. You're jealous of a crush I had on a dead guy. Do I even need to tell you how stupid that is?"

"Well, yeah!" Jess said loudly. "Because it seems to me that you're only with me because I remind you of him, which seems like a perfectly reasonable reason to freak out to me!"

Dawn raised a finger. "Firstly, I like you, not 'cause you're like Spike, although you are, but because despite the fact that you have some ridiculous ideas about literature you're well-read and reasonably intelligent. Secondly, I haven't made an issue that you only like me because I'm just about as similar to Rory as someone can get without cloning her or bringing in her evil doppelgänger from another dimension. I mean, we even look the same! You and Spike look completely different. Secondly, and I am absolutely certain you already know this but you've forgotten because you're a guy and therefore kind of dense, but up until I met you I kind of had a crush on Xander. Now, while Xander might be reasonably intelligent, he thinks that comics are actually books and that Jane Austen was named after the capital of Texas. I don't think he's read a book in his life, and he doesn't smoke. So he's just about a different from you and Spike as anyone can get, okay?"

Jess digested that. "Okay, but look-"

"Jess, stop talking before I feel obligated to give you a shut up kiss, which will probably be awkward for both of us and won't do my hangover any favours. You're being an idiot."

Jess held up a hand. "Can you just hold on a second before you start insulting my intelligence again? Right. Thanks. Look, Dawn, I know you like – liked Xander. That isn't really a problem. But I don't think I can do this. It's too hard. I feel like at any second I'll say something that will make you go retreating into the past, and I just can't deal with that."

"Okay." Dawn said impassively.

"That's it?" Jess said, surprised. "'Okay'?"

"Well, I figure that you're just having a miniature freak out at the moment, like I did after you kissed me, and once I no longer feel like my head is being used as a football in a game between some giants with really, really hard feet, I'll come up with some pretty speech that'll probably be stolen from someone, and then you'll realise that you're being a complete idiot." Dawn replied. "So, unless you've got some other drivel you'd like to spout, I'm going to go and have breakfast."

Dawn walked inside the diner, leaving a rather confused Jess standing outside.