Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Gilmore Girls they belong to their respective creators.
A/N: This is my Birthday Special...enjoy!
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In a sleepy little town in Connecticut, a young man skipped rocks across a pond, a mother daughter duo laughed happily in a little diner, a man growled angrily into a phone, and a couple had their first date.
Buffy laughed softly as Lindsey told a story about a client who had wanted to sue her neighbor for not being handsome.
"Christmas, a few years back, my Aunt dumped whipped cream down this guys pants because he wouldn't leave me alone," Buffy licked her lips. "Then she pied her mother in the face—which got us both sent upstairs."
"I wish I could have seen that," Lindsey grinned.
Buffy couldn't help but retort, "Stick around long enough, and you'll probably see a repeat."
"I'll make sure to stick around then," the cowboy drawled.
Burgers half-eaten, the pair continued to talk. Buffy surprised at the mere fact she hadn't been pulled away or completely screwed up their first date.
"Alright, so I know you're a lawyer, and you ride horses, what else do you do," the blonde asked with a smirk.
Lindsey sipped his coke, "Well I dabble with playing the guitar, and I like dancing too, old movies. I'm not the brightest guy around, sometimes I do stupid things, but I try to do the right thing in the end."
Buffy could only smile, she liked honesty, and she liked that he wasn't perfect…well maybe that made him perfect in her eyes.
"I can deal with that," she grinned and swiped a fry from his plate.
"Hey," he yelped. "Eat your own fries, Missy."
The lower lip jutted out and she batted her lashes, "But yours taste better."
Lindsey was broken with just one look, "Okay, I'll share, just put the pout away, Sweetheart."
Buffy's eyes narrowed, "Deal."
Lindsey grinned, his lips pulling into the mirthful countenance, "Okay, so what do you do besides look gorgeous, and wrangle spooked horses?"
"Well," Buffy said thoughtfully, "on Tuesdays, I avert the apocalypse, I ice skate from time to time, I'm working on my G.E.D., and I'm a sucker for dancing."
Lindsey inhaled, "The apocalypse, really? And I thought my job was hard."
Buffy laughed with him, it was nice to be normal for a little while.
Luke left Caesar in charge of the diner and started towards the fishing pond. Of course there weren't many fish in the pond, and it was really only good for pushing Jess in.
And there was his nephew, the delinquent with a heart of gold. Not.
"Hey," Luke called. "What are you doing out here?"
"Nothing," Jess returned with the hard edge that his upset statements usually had.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest, "Okay, do you wanna stop scaring the few fish that are in there to death?"
"No."
Luke scowled and scratched his head in frustration, "What's got your panties in a twist?"
Jess froze and finally looked at his uncle, "My 'panties'?"
"Yeah," Luke confirmed. "You stormed out of the diner. Do you like her that much, or are you just being a jerk?"
"What would you know," Jess growled darkly. "Just leave me alone."
"Fine," Luke sighed. "But so help me…if you even try to hurt Buffy. Do you understand me? I know you Jess, one little prank or interruption and I will kill you."
"Whatever," Jess grumbled as the other man retreated.
Shaking her blonde head, Buffy couldn't believe what Lindsey was doing. He'd walked right on over to the jukebox, and even though there weren't all that many people in the restaurant, he slipped in a coin and pressed a button.
A slow song started to play and the slayer smiled reflexively, she'd loved the song as a little girl. It had been a long while since she'd heard it, or had the chance to think about it.
"May I have this dance," Lindsey asked with a little flourish of a bow.
Buffy placed her hand in his and she was pulled onto the little dance floor. Pressed against each other, the couple swayed to the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses. Surprisingly Buffy's thoughts were, well, nonexistent. She wasn't plagued by guilt or anger, she was just relaxed, happy, even.
Luke closed up the diner and picked up his toolbox before climbing into his truck. Of course when he to where he was going, he didn't look one hundred percent innocent. In truth, he looked very guilty. He kept shifting his gaze to the sides as he made his was up to the porch and knocked on the door.
Lorelai swung the door open and immediately quirked an eyebrow at the sight before her.
"Can I help you," she asked with a little smirk.
Luke coughed slightly, "Yeah, didn't you want me to fix that sink?"
Frowning, Lorelai tried to remember, "Sink?"
"Last month, you said the laundry room sink was dripping," Luke fibbed.
"I did," Lorelai frowned. "Well alright. Sink's in the back…where it always is."
Luke shook his head, only Lorelai would say something like that, "Alright. It shouldn't take too long…but then again…"
He trailed off as he walked further into the house.
He fiddled under the perfectly fine sink for a whole ten minutes before Lorelai's squeal echoed through the house.
"Rory," Lorelai screamed. "They're here!"
Luke sat bolt upright, just barely missing the pipe he'd been 'fixing'. Scrambling off the floor, he tossed the one tool he'd been holding for appearance's sake into the box and straightened his clothing.
He pretended, quite well, to be oblivious to the sound of the front door opening and pleasant exchanges.
Walking into the entrance hall he schooled his expression into mild surprise, "Oh sorry, I'll just be going…"
Lorelai rolled her eyes, "Actually, I kind of need you to help me open a window later."
"Right," Luke nodded and set down his toolbox.
Buffy frowned at her friends and family, "Right. Lindsey, this is my Aunt Lorelai, my cousin Rory, and Clyde. Guys, this is Lindsey."
Apparently Buffy wasn't fooled by Luke's presence. Of course, neither was Lorelai, but neither would say anything to the contrary.
"Luke," the baseball capped man corrected and extended his hand.
Lindsey inclined his head and shook the hand that was offered, firm but not too tight, he wasn't a lawyer for nothing. He knew how to schmooze, and press the right buttons.
Rory's eyes twinkled in mischief, "Hey Luke, will you make coffee?"
The man nodded and the group headed to the kitchen, "By the way, Bonnie, you bring my mug to the diner tomorrow or I'll cut you off from coffee."
Buffy whimpered, hand still wrapped in Lindsey's, "No, I promise, I'll be there!"
"Coffee junkie," Lindsey chuckled.
"You don't know the half of it," Luke muttered darkly. "The three of them could drink Brazil dry."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lindsey smiled charmingly.
Once everyone was sitting and coffee was brewing, Lorelai turned on Buffy's date, "So, a lawyer."
"Yes, Ma'am," Lindsey nodded.
Respectful always earned points with Lorelai.
Rory bit her lip, "So how'd you meet?"
A light blush entered Lindsey's cheeks, "Buffy grabbed my horse who'd been spooked. Saved me from a hoof to the chest."
Luke's eyebrows disappeared up into his cap, "Oh?"
Lorelai kicked the diner owner under the table, "So you moved your practice to Hartford and decided to take the weekend off?"
"Sorta," Lindsey shrugged. "Buffy mentioned she was headed east, to a town near Hartford. Happiness of coincidences that I'd already bought a space out here."
Buffy squeezed his hand in encouragement. She was having tiny flashbacks to when Angel met her mother…and their first kiss. And God did she hope this went better than that.
Lorelai saw the slightly spaced look on Buffy's face and frowned, "So when are you heading back to Hartford?"
Buffy's head snapped up as Lindsey answered, "Tomorrow morning."
"Well then we should probably let you get back to the inn and get some sleep," Lorelai smiled firmly putting an end to the 'interrogation'.
Standing on the porch facing Lindsey, both of her hands trapped in his, Buffy looked up at the man who'd made her forget the hurt for the night.
"So I guess this is goodnight," Lindsey chuckled, eyes sparkling.
Buffy returned the laugh, "Yeah, I guess so."
Unaware of the three on the other side of the door Lindsey just kept stroking Buffy's hand, the slayer, on the other hand was fully aware of the peeping and prying toms.
"So do I pass the test," the lawyer asked.
"Yes."
He grinned, "That mean I can call you?"
She nodded and slipped one hand out of his so she could hand him a cardboard coaster she'd tucked into her skirt—being the slayer had some upsides.
"You'll probably need this then."
Lindsey turned the cardboard circle under his fingers, it was pleasantly warm and had 13 numbers scrawled across it. It was tucked into his front pocket.
"I had a good time tonight," Lindsey murmured.
"I did too, first time in a long time," she admitted shyly.
Then he was leaning down, and Buffy's heart fluttered lightly. His lips brushed against her cheek just as they had the night at the inn.
She didn't have time to frown or pull him back because he was already on the stairs.
"Night," he called back.
"Night," Buffy muttered a little darkly as she pulled the door open.
Inside three troublesome people had just jumped onto the couch and started talking loudly.
Buffy frowned even further, "Hey."
"So," Lorelai prompted giddily.
Rory was squirming, "Did he kiss you?"
"On the cheek," was Buffy's subdued response.
"What," Lorelai exclaimed in sympathy—though she, Rory, and Luke all knew about the cheek-kiss.
Buffy shrugged and kicked off her shoes, "Well, at least he didn't run screaming from me."
Lorelai patted the couch, "Come on, should we make Luke get us ice cream?"
"No," Buffy sighed, "as far as first dates go, this was pretty non-horrible."
Luke was starting to feel a little out of his depth, "Well I should go, make sure Jess is…not robbing the bank."
"Hey Clyde," Buffy called as Luke attempted to escape. "Thanks for caring."
Luke frowned and Lorelai swore she saw his eye twitch, "I have to go."
Once Luke was far, far away, Lorelai turned on her niece.
"I like him."
Rory licked her lips, "He's so pretty."
Lorelai instantly agreed, "Delicious."
"Yeah," Buffy sighed.
"So how was the date," Lorelai pressed as she pulled a pack of Red Vines out from under a magazine.
"Perfect," Buffy pouted. "We went to KC's. He paid, we chatted. He saw the Jukebox, and now we have a song…we slow danced, he's amazing. This is terrible!"
"Why," Rory cried.
"Because," Buffy whined as she buried her face in her aunt's shoulder. "He's perfect! And I'm horrible, God. I just wanna lick him."
Rory's eyes widened in mild horror and full shock, "Umm, too much information."
Lorelai snickered, "Aww, poor baby. Is he ripped?"
Rory whimpered and went running from the room.
"Remind me to tell you what happened back in Texas some other day," Buffy winked.
Buffy was tossing and turning. Though she was still pleasantly tingly from the date, she was second guessing everything. What was she doing dating a normal guy. Hell she shouldn't even have been dating. She was the slayer.
Shaking herself bodily, Buffy sat up on her bed and looked out the window at the pale moon that glowed in the sky. Buffy had to admit that she really loved living in Stars Hollow. It was smaller than Sunnydale, and the glow of shopping districts was nonexistent. She could actually see the stars, it put the slayer at ease. She had come to love the night, she thrived in it. And there was no place that felt more like night and darkness than a graveyard, but Stars Hollow was becoming a close second—Buffy preferred the town to graveyards but the slayer was a big part of her.
A soft buzzing snapped the slayer back to reality. Picking up the ringing phone, Buffy unlatched the window and slid it open before slipping out onto the porch.
"Hello," Buffy spoke softly into the phone.
"Hey Pet," Spike's smooth voice answered her.
Buffy smiled at the man she could almost call friend, "Spike. I've sort of missed you."
"Yeah, me too, just don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to maintain and all that," Spike smirked.
"Big Bad," Buffy agreed half-heartedly. "I don't know what I'm doing."
The confession caused the line to go silent.
"What happened," Spike asked after a moment.
"A watcher found me, my mother doesn't care that I'm gone, I went on a date and I didn't feel guilty. But I'm not normal, I'm the slayer, the slayer is me," Buffy moaned.
"But you're not like other slayers," Spike corrected her with a growl. "If you were, I'd have killed you by now."
Buffy frowned, "Thanks, I think. So how've you been? Massacring the village?"
"Oh yeah," Spike agreed flippantly. "Nah, been thinking about heading back to the States. Rain isn't really my thing, ruins my hair."
"Well if you promise to behave, I wouldn't hate it terribly if you stopped by to try and kill me," Buffy offered with a shy grin.
"We'll see, Pet," Spike snickered. "Goodnight."
Tossing the phone back inside the house, Buffy frowned as something moved on the periphery of her vision. Retreating into the shadows, the slayer watched and waited, ready to attack. She nearly collapsed in disbelief at who bent over the front door…picking the lock.
"So, what are you doing here, Jess," Buffy smirked as Jess straightened and turned towards her before freezing.
She reveled in his pain as he swallowed in nervousness.
At last he snapped out of it and pulled a book from his coat pocket, "I wanted to return this book. It's Rory's."
"Hmm, oh well why don't you come back during operational hours," Buffy suggested sweetly.
Jess sniffed, "Mm, not my style."
Buffy leaned back against the siding, "Right."
Jess rocked on his heels, "So you like 'em old, or what?"
"Excuse you," Buffy frowned, anger tingeing her stance.
"Your date," Jess tossed out lightly. "I hear he's real dreamy."
Buffy frowned, "And we're done."
Jess rolled his eyes, tossed the book to Buffy and headed back the way he came.
"And by the way," Buffy called after him, "I don't like them old. I like them experienced, and mature."
"Whatever," Jess scoffed as he retreated into the night.
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So today is my 20th birthday...it was pretty chill. But i figured i'd give my readers a little treat by updating a couple of my stories...please review i always love feedback.