A/N: I know it's been a while but I hope you enjoy this extra sweet installment written as a special thanks to everyone sticking with this story. Your likes, comments, and love are so very important to me! Thank you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

January (and Buffy's birthday) had come and gone in a flurry of snow and ice that had kept the inhabitants of the castle grounds semi-snowed in (or simply unwilling to venture out) for the better part of the month. An unusual occurrence in Edinburgh to be sure but given the location of the castle well outside of the city proper, it wasn't completely unexpected.

As such, Buffy's birthday ended up being a relatively quiet occasion, the main highlight being the incredible meal and birthday cake Ruby whipped up in her honor with help from Willow and Spike. They had invited the usual crowd and enjoyed a night in. It was the first time in years Buffy could remember celebrating her birthday without some catastrophe interrupting the festivities and before they knew it they were already rolling smoothly into February with Valentine's Day right around the corner.

Dawn let her hair fall to the floor as she tapped her bare foot in midair to the sound of Steppenwolf's 'Magic Carpet Ride', reading a magazine. Connor sat next to her on the secondhand sofa, with his shoulder resting against her knee and his feet on the footstool.

"Alright, I have one. What's your all-time favorite movie," Dawn asked, adjusting herself so her head wasn't hanging over the edge of the sofa quite as much and she could see him better.

"Yikes— eh, I'm not sure if I have one really… I guess I kinda like the 'Lethal Weapon' movies," he shrugged.

Dawn hummed noncommittally. "Yeah alright, I guess they're okay."

"I don't watch a lot of TV," he defended lightly. "So, what's yours?"

"Oh let's see…" she trailed off, thinking, as the song came to a close and the next one began. "Alright yeah that is a hard question to answer but I still think I'm gonna have to go with 'The Mummy'."

"Old or new?"

"New."

"You better not let Spike hear you say that," he teased.

"Yeah, like he doesn't already know about my thing for Brendan Fraser," Dawn countered with a smirk.

Connor leaned in over her as he began tickling her sides. "Brendan Fraser, huh?" he laughed teasingly.

Dawn screeched, legs kicking wildly over the back of the couch as she squirmed with laughter. Connor braced his arm against her legs, pinning them in place as she pulled herself up in a crunch in an attempt to guard against his unrelenting one-handed tickling. Dawn rolled panting for breath, sprawled on her back in his lap, until she met his piercing gaze, and the breath caught in her throat.

"Hey…"

"Hey…" Dawn replied breathlessly, sitting up a little.

A heavy weight hung in the air around them. An undeniable connection drawing them together. Dawn bit her lip coyly, thinking about their first kiss. It had been a sweet moment sitting on the large bench in the common entranceway between their homes. The bench had been the spot where they normally met to hang out and chat until they had crossed that particular line that is.

Once kissing had been added to their mutual list of favorite activities, they had started gravitating to more secluded places. Such as Connor's private living space.

Dawn found herself plunging back into the moment by the gentle caress of Conner's thumb on her jaw as he tilted his head down to brush her lips. The intimacy of the moment pressed in upon them until it became almost cloying and they found themselves slowly deepening the kiss, arms entangling around one other. Connor slid his hand up from her jaw to the back of her head, the other scooping her into his lap and pulling her in closer. She let him slide his tongue in against hers experimentally, eliciting a tiny gasp from her.

Dawn adjusted her hands to knead the muscles in his shoulders, wrapping her arms around him as she felt his fingers brush a thin line of bare skin where her sweater had risen in the back. The simple, innocent touch had sent an unfamiliar yet thrilling jolt of electricity through her body that made her arch into him with a gasp.

"Gahh! Would you please remove your tongue from my sister's mouth, I'd like to be able to talk to her," Buffy scolded with a huff as she came down the stairs into Connor's (formerly Ruby's) basement living space.

Dawn twisted her body around, finding her feet, and whipped her head around to face Buffy. "This better be important," she exclaimed.

Connor stood up wrapping an arm around Dawn's waist, facing Buffy with a firm jaw as though he were about to say something.

Buffy shot him a stern glare. "Relax, Romeo, you'll get your Juliet back when I'm done with her," she huffed, beckoning her sister forward with a wave of her hand. Dawn moved toward her, annoyance evident in the set of her shoulders as she joined her at the bottom of the stairs. "It better be life or death."

Buffy pressed her lips together, bracing her hands on her hips. "No, actually it probably could have waited until you came home but I wasn't sure when that would be since you've been spending most of your free time liplocked."

"Have not! We were just hanging out until a few minutes ago, I—"

Buffy shook her head holding up a dismissive hand. "Just don't make the same mistakes I did, alright? That's all I'm saying"

"Would you stop comparing me to my dad already? We're not the same person," Connor interjected sullenly, relaxing back down onto the couch.

Buffy shifted herself to look past her sister to the broody-looking boy. "I didn't say you were, Connor, but the two of you are still really young and I don't want you guys doing anything you're seriously not ready for-" She turned eyeing her sister "-even if you think you are..."

"Is this what you came down here for; To make sure we weren't getting naked?" Dawn asked incredulously.

Buffy's gaze flickered to the floor and back up. "No. Not really. I'm working on our Valentine's Day plans and I kinda wanted to make sure they didn't clash with yours," Buffy said, gesturing between the two of them.

Dawn took a step back, turning on her heel to glance over to Connor, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

Connor blinked a few times, as though he were trying to kickstart his brain into action. "Oh, I eh— thought we might do dinner and a movie. Maybe?" he asked, more than told.

Dawn nodded her head curtly. "That's right. Dinner and a movie. Maybe a walk?" she added as a counter-question.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Just remember to take stakes if you're going to be out late."

"Always do," Connor replied, as Dawn drifted back over to his side, taking a seat on his lap.

"Right—" Buffy nodded stiffly, "—well eh, as you were— or eh not exact— you know what, just— make good choices. Alright? Alright— good…" she stammered awkwardly before heading back upstairs to rejoin Willow and Ruby in the kitchen where they could hear chatting as they did dishes together per-usual.

Dawn turned back towards Connor, arms folded over her chest. "Dinner and a movie, huh?"

Connor shrugged easily and extended his hand toward her. "Unless you have a better idea."

She took his hand, letting him settle her onto his lap once more. "I'm just excited to have a real date for Valentine's Day."

Connor shifted a sheet of long hair, watching as it fell behind Dawn's shoulder, exposing her collarbone. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the last time I had one was in middle school which— you know, didn't actually happen but it's a hell of a lot better than what really did happen… so, yeah," he shrugged.

Dawn gave him an anemic smile. "So let's make a new reality, new real memories, together, you and me."

"Says the ancient mystical ball of cosmic energy sitting in my lap."

"Yup!" She smiled brightly.

"Then let's make some memories," he murmured, pulling her in for a sweet lingering kiss.

(*)

Spike shifted, stretching his arms out across the back of the couch, taking up as much space as possible while he eyed Connor sitting opposite him in the wingback chair. The kid was bouncing his leg in nervous agitation while they waited for Buffy and Dawn.

"What movie you plannin' to see?" Spike asked, cutting through the awkward silence and regretting it almost immediately, knowing full well how much he sounded like the disapproving big brother.

Although it was true that since they had returned to Scotland and got settled in, Spike had been making a point to reforge his sibling-like bond with Dawn. Then there was the simple fact (At least from what he could gather) that Connor had been the very definition of the perfect boyfriend. Dawn was evidently smitten, at any rate. Which were the exact reasons he hadn't threatened the kid, yet. That, and Buffy asked him to behave himself.

Connor glanced up at Spike through his somewhat shaggy hair. "I'm not sure. Dawn said she wanted to decide when we got there."

"Fair enough…" Spike nodded, directing his gaze around the room and wishing Dawn and Buffy would make their grand entrance already so they could get on with their plans for the evening.

It was still early in the day but they were going to need travel time. He was just starting to get impatient when Ignatius (Willow and Ruby's kitten) caught his eye.

The kitten had somehow managed to get up onto the countertop ledge of the shared kitchen "window" and was rubbing the side of his fuzzy little face against the frame, sounding like a tiny motor. Ignatius had more than doubled in size since the move, most of it fluffy gray fur that stuck out in a magnificent mane.

"Well 'ello there ya little puff-ball. Haven't seen you in a couple of days," Spike greeted.

Ignatius took that as an invitation to come in, hopping down onto the top of the trash bin, and after a short display of kitten determination, he pounced, landing on his feet in the kitchen looking comically surprised by his own daring.

Spike chuckled, bending forward to lower his hand to the floor. "Come'er ya barmy cat."

Ignatius strutted over to him with his bottle brush tail held proudly in the air.

"Found a new kingdom to conquer, did you Igg?"

A purr rumbled through his little chest as he wound himself around Spike's hand and only protested a little when Spike lifted him off the floor to hold him in front of his face. "Just remember who's the big bad around here, mate."

Ignatius batted his nose lightly.

"Guess he showed you," Connor laughed.

"Oh I think we understand each other well enough," Spike replied, placing Ignatius in his lap and scratching behind his ears and jaw. "Peas in a sodding pod ain't we, Iggy? Only trouble is you're lonely. Gotta get you a friend or two to pal 'round with." Ignatius purred contentedly, nudging his face into Spike's palm as though he understood and agreed wholeheartedly. "Yeah, alright little mate, I'll talk with the Mrs. and see what I can do 'bout that."

A moment later Buffy and Dawn came down the stairs, both dressed for a night out. Buffy in a long-sleeved little black dress that hit mid-thigh, paired with low-heeled knee-high black boots.

Stylish yet practical.

"Hello, gorgeous," Spike drawled in Buffy's direction, setting Iggy on the couch as he got up to pull her against him suggestively. "Love the dress."

Wait until you see what I'm wearing under it. Buffy's voice purred within his mind.

Keep that up and we'll never leave. He replied.

Connor had followed Spike over to the stairs, looking more than a little stunned by the effort Dawn had put into her appearance for the evening. "Wow, Dawn, you look amazing," he murmured and was rewarded with an obvious blush of her cheeks.

Dawn by contrast had chosen an almost '50s style red dress with a sweetheart neckline and a full skirt that came to mid-calf.

"Oh, eh— thanks. Are- are you ready?" she asked.

Conner pulled out Faith's car keys she had lent them for the night. "Absolutely," he answered, taking her hand.

Buffy stopped them before they had a chance to start making their way to the door. "Be careful you two. Do you have your wallet, keys, stakes?"

"Never leave home without them," Dawn sighed.

"Ah huh, and how has your training been going?" Spike asked with a knowing smirk. Dawn had been doing a little fight training in Rome and had picked it back up within the last few weeks with the girls in the castle but it was no secret that she wasn't a particularly talented fighter.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?"

Spike's smile widened. "Just fun to see you squirm."

"That and if you aren't back by midnight your coach won't just turn into a pumpkin either, I'm gonna put both of you on scrub-down duty in the training rooms if you're late," Buffy said.

Dawn looked at her watch and tugged Connor toward the door to get their coats. "We should have plenty of time, consider us warned!" she shot over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Connor added just as flippantly.

When they had left, Spike turned with a smirk toward Buffy. "What I want to know is what makes you think we're gonna be home in time to enforce that particular ultimatum?"

"Who's side are you on anyway, mister?" Buffy pouted, before going to retrieve their coats. She slipped hers on, shoving Spike's duster into his arms.

He grinned, pulling on his coat, and followed her through the kitchen and down into the basement. The two shelves situated between the poker table and TV area were now dotted with books while the rest of the shelves lining the walls were crowded with canned food and dry goods as well as other household necessities.

At the far end of the room, Spike released the mechanism holding the shelving unit over the concealed entrance to the tunnels shut and held out his hand to Buffy. "Shall we?"

She glanced at her watch, nodded, and accepted his hand. "I'm sure Steve and Bonnie will be waiting for us by the time we get there."

"Makes me wish I had my bike back. Need to ask Cal about that, see if his guy ever managed to track down the part he needs."

Buffy shrugged a shoulder as they began their walk into the underground city. It was still quite a long trek to get to their destination but at least it was a relatively straight path that they were now familiar with, which cut the travel time down considerably.

(*)

When Dawn and Connor got into town, it became very clear to them that they were not the only ones to make it their Valentine's destination. The restaurant they'd planned to go to had yet to clear out the midday lunch crowd and since neither of them were particularly hungry they decided to simply make a last-minute reservation (which by some miracle they were able to do) and opted to go to the nearest theater.

Connor rested his hand on the small of Dawn's back as they examined the marquee, debating their options. "Not a huge selection here, huh?" Dawn commented.

"Well, if you still have your heart set on a rom-com I think our choice has pretty much been made for us," he said gesturing to a poster depicting Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler advertising the movie 'Fifty First Dates'.

Dawn shrugged, leaning into him a little. "We can give it a shot. Who knows, it might be good."

"Let's find out."

"You get the tickets, I'll get the popcorn."

"I thought you said you weren't hungry yet," Connor teased.

"Popcorn so doesn't count. I mean what's the point of even going to the movies without popcorn?"

Connor laughed. "Oh well if you put it that way… go on."

Dawn beamed, going up on her toes to kiss his cheek before dashing away to the refreshment counter.

(*)

Spike and Buffy were chatting companionably as they made their way into the underground city. The demonic community wasn't typically known for observing the same holidays as the humans on the surface. Some did tend to observe similar holidays, though often following a lunar or seasonal calendar. So the fact that the celebration of Valentine's Day (or something very similar) seemed to be a widespread exception took Buffy completely by surprise.

Everywhere she looked, the streets were decorated with red, white, and pink streamers, lights, cutesy hearts (as well as a plethora of eerily anatomically correct renditions) decorated storefronts, apartment balconies, and light posts.

"Wohhh… what the—" Buffy gasped as they walked on through the streets.

"Yup, pretty incredible ain't it?" Spike drawled.

"Steve and Bonnie asking if we wanted to come over for dinner was surprising enough, but this… I had no idea Valentine's Day was so popular down here."

Spike shrugged. "They still call it Lupercalia down here but it's nothing like what the Romans did. That rot died out even among this lot. Now it's a lot closer to the modern celebration of love you're used to, Pet."

She eyed him warily. "Do I even want to know what the Romans did?"

"Depends on how you feel about sacrificial rams, dogs, and using the bloody hide to whip women as a fertility right."

"I'll just take the chocolates, thanks."

Spike chuckled at that. "Yeah well, I'm pretty sure our gracious hosts would have to agree with you on that one, all things considered," he muttered, gesturing toward what looked like a New York brownstone built right into an enormous pillar of earth that made up each one of the city blocks essentially holding up the city above. "Here we are."

"Nice place," Buffy answered, taking in the scope of the building.

"Seem to be doing alright for themselves, don't they? Course real estate rates down here are considerably lower."

"Location, location, location…" Buffy murmured as she used the ram's head knocker mounted on the front door.

A moment later Bonnie opened the door wearing a pink empire waist dress with red hearts printed all over it and adorned her fluffy white hair with a red rose tucked behind one adorably floppy ear.

"Bonnie! Oh my goodness, look at you!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Almost halfway there." Bonnie smiled, running her hands over her little baby bump. "Thank you so much for coming!"

Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion as she and Spike passed into the quaintly decorated home. "Thank you for inviting us… but I thought you were only like two months along."

"That's right," Bonnie nodded. "Oh yes, this sweet little lamb should be here 'round mid-April."

Buffy had just opened her mouth to ask more questions when Spike stopped her, taking her coat from her.

Not a human baby, Luv… Best to just roll with it… Spike replied through their link.

"The dining room is just through here, Steve is just finishing up in the kitchen. I hope you guys like fettuccine alfredo with mushrooms. It's sort of Steve's specialty. We have wine and blood for Spike and I made my special chocolate cake for dessert," Bonnie said excitedly as she led them through a sitting room.

Steve was just coming into the dining room with two plates of food, setting them down on the table with the other two plates he had already brought out. "Perfect timing! How was the walk-in?" he greeted jovially, much more relaxed than he normally was at the bar.

"Was alright, not many folks in the tunnels when we came through," Spike answered as he accepted a glass of blood from Bonnie.

"It'll be quite a bit busier tomorrow when they have the festival in the market," Steve replied.

"Oh that sounds interesting, what's that all about?" Buffy asked as the four of them quickly took their seats, easing into comfortable conversation as they enjoyed their meal.

(*)

The lights of passing cars glinted off shop windows as Dawn and Connor made their way back to their borrowed car from the restaurant. The movie had given them plenty to talk about over dinner and they had taken the time to thoroughly enjoy their meal.

Dawn squeezed his hand, holding the top of her coat closed over her throat with her other hand. The temperature had dropped considerably and Dawn was anxious to get back to the car and the heat it promised.

As they turned down the alleyway leading to the parking lot, Connor cupped the hand he held with both of his, bringing it to his mouth to blow warmth back into her fingers. "Any better?" he asked.

Dawn giggled at the sweet but silly gesture, distracting them both from the two thuggish silhouettes that had suddenly appeared within the alley.

"Oi, what do we 'ave here then?" One of them jeered. "Pretty little thing ain't she, Mac?"

"Oh, aye, very pretty. Wouldn't mind a bite of that."

Dawn squeezed Connor's hand at the sound of the thugs' slurred speech. It wasn't the drunken kind of slur either, that much was clear. Connor realized it too, stepping into a defensive position in front of Dawn. "It's nice to see so many lovely couples out tonight, isn't it sweetheart?" Conner asked Dawn conversationally.

"Oh sure, really cute," Dawn agreed in a flat tone, releasing her cold fingers from the neck of her coat to carefully reach into her bag for a stake, passing it to him as they drew nearer.

"Who you callin' a couple, eh?" The larger of the two growled, the dim street lights casting shadows over the ridges of his forehead and glinting off fangs and amber eyes.

"Oh, you're not? I just assumed you two were on a date, you know since it's Valentine's Day and all. Late night stroll, dinner for two," Connor countered, adjusting the stake in his hand. The smaller vampire threw a punch Connor ducked easily, using his momentum to scoop the vampire over his back flipping him onto the ground.

Dawn grabbed a discarded shower curtain rod that had been leaning against a dumpster, using it like a staff to pin the vampire to the spot with a rusted tip. Connor took the opportunity to kick the larger of their attackers in the stomach, propelling him into the brick wall behind him.

Before Connor could lunge forward with his stake, the vampire Dawn had pinned to the ground grabbed the curtain rod, bending it in half, throwing Dawn off balance and freeing himself in one motion. Dawn fell to the ground with the vampire atop her, teeth bared in a snarl. Dawn screamed as she struggled to push him off, drawing Connor's attention.

"Something tells me you're not her type!" Connor spat as he delivered a strong kick to the vampire's side, rolling him off of Dawn, and allowing her to grab another stake from her bag.

As the vampire flung himself back onto her, she was able to position the stake just in time to stab him in the heart. "Nice one!" Connor exclaimed.

With the first vampire dusted, and Dawn out of immediate danger, Connor turned his attention to the second, driving him down the alleyway with a series of kicks. The vampire fell back against a dumpster with a crack to the skull and Connor advanced with his stake dusting him.

Dawn pulled herself up from the floor of the alley, dusting off her jacket. "Aww, man! Stupid vamps!" she whined, lamenting a run in her pantyhose when a small shuffling sound caught her attention from under a stack of cardboard boxes.

"Are you all right?" Connor asked.

Dawn held up a finger indicating she needed a minute as she moved forward, removing a few of the boxes.

A small tabby huddled in the corner of the bottom box hissing defensively. "Awww!" Dawn gushed at the miserable-looking kitten. The malnourished animal had gunk matted at the corner of its small watery eyes. Dawn tossed the boxes aside as Connor picked up the kitten.

"Hey little guy, what are you doing out here alone?" Connor murmured, scratching it behind its ears and it meowed weekly at the affection.

Dawn could feel her heart melting at the sight of it and reached out to take the little tabby from him to examine it herself. It was very light and looked at her with wide glassy eyes. "What do you think we should do with her?"

Connor smirked. "Happy Valentine's Day?"

(*)

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Spike asked Buffy as they made the long trek back home through the tunnels hand in hand.

"Yeah, it was nice. Different. But nice." She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm glad we're starting to make some mutual friends."

"I'm warming up to your lot, Pet."

"It's about time, you dope," she giggled, nudging him in the arm playfully as they walked. "But I like this whole having 'our friends' kind of thing. Definitely of the good."

"Suppose it is," he shrugged, flashing her a warm smile as they walked on a little further. "Speaking of things that are 'ours' how would you feel 'bout getting ourselves a pet?"

"You mean like a dog?" she asked, scrunching her nose a little. "Not that I don't like dogs or anything but I'm just not sure if that's—"

"Nah, was thinking 'bout a cat or two, whaddya think? Already got Iggy breaking in from the other side. Why not get the fella an itty-bitty friend?"

Buffy hummed in consideration. "I dunno, maybe…" She hadn't ever considered herself a pet person before. Not because she disliked animals or anything like that, but rather because she had never had any of her own growing up and she wasn't really sure if she could keep a pet alive. She bit the inside of her cheek. Her sister was proof that she could keep another living being— well, alive… Right? After Dawn how hard could a cat be? At least she wouldn't have to take it for walks.

She huffed out a sigh as they neared home. "Are you gonna clean out the litter box?"

"I'd take my fair share of turns, same as the vacuuming and dishes."

"You really like Iggy that much, huh?" Buffy asked as she opened the hidden door leading into their basement.

Spike shrugged, turning to seal the door behind them before they made their way upstairs. "Could say I've got a soft spot for the fluffer."

"Ah huhh… and does that soft spot extend to all cats? What about all your poker kittens, what happened to them?"

"The ones I managed to keep from Clem you mean?"

Buffy grimaced, shucking off her coat, tossed it over one of the barstools, and leaned back against the kitchen island. "Yeah, those ones… you eh, didn't eat them, did you?"

"Sunnydale Animal Shelter," Spike admitted lamely, opening the fridge to retrieve a couple of beers, and handing one to her.

She gaped at him. "Shut up! No way… you're totally messing with me," she laughed.

"I'm not," he chuckled.

"Gahh, would you two keep it down?" Dawn's very annoyed and sleepy voice came from the living room.

Buffy raised an eyebrow in Spike's direction as they made their way into the living room. "What are you doing sleeping down—" Buffy cut off when she caught sight of her sister.

Dawn had changed into a pair of warm flannel pajamas with cute little green aliens printed all over them. Connor was still in his dress shirt and slacks, curled on his side, fast asleep with his head resting on Dawn's shoulder. His top arm lay at a right angle across Dawn's rib cage with his hand resting securely on her other shoulder. In the crook of his elbow, fast asleep, was Ignatius cuddled up with the little tabby kitten lying on Dawn's chest for warmth.

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, casting Spike a mirthless grin. "Oh, yeah, there's totally going to be some sharing of the kitty litter duties happening."