Daddy Knows... Best?: Introductions, Part 1
by Wolfkin
Chapter 3

Xander walks into the room he shares with Buffy, looking around for her. Hearing the shower in the bathroom stop, he walks in there, just in time to see his girlfriend leaving the stall, rubbing her hair vigorously. She gives a gasp, reflexively trying to cover up, then scowls at him.

"Xander! You scared the crap outta me!"

He smiles, a little lustily as he studies his Slayer's nude, damp form. Shaking his head and looking to the side a bit, so he can think of something besides his beautiful girlfriend, he notices the suit laid out. "Did I forget we were going out?"

Buffy's reply is muffled by the towel as she finishes drying her hair. "No, but yeah, we're going out." She removes the towel and hangs it up to dry, stalling. "Did I ever introduce you to my dad?" She finally gets out.

Xander thinks for a moment, the answers, "No, don't think so. Heard about him, of course. Usually you or Dawn saying something not so good." His eye narrows suspiciously. "Why? Did I miss something today?"

The blonde grimaces, then turns to face her man. "Well, yeah. Uh, my dad kinda showed up today. Here. He wanted to treat me and Dawn and our 'boyfriends' to dinner. So I got you a suit ready, since it's a fancy restaurant. You should hurry and shower. We need to be there a little before eight."

The confused man waves his hands in a stop motion, as he says, "Whoa, wait! Ok, couple things I'm not real clear on here. Your dad was here today? The one you haven't seen in, what? Ten years, or so? And we're going to dinner with him?"

Buffy sighs and reaches for her underwear, slipping it on as she answers. She grins and ignores the whine from her boyfriend as she dresses herself. "Yeah, he was here. Big as life and twice as unwelcome-y. And, yeah, ten years, three months a few odd days." she completes, her tone harsh.

Xander lowers the toilet lid and sits down. "But who's counting, right?" he attempts to joke. Seeing the look she gives him, he drops it. "Ok, if you don't want him here, why are we getting dressed up to go have dinner with him? And, why did he show up now?"

"He's here because he heard Dawn's getting married. He invited us to dinner because he wants to meet his future 'son' in law."

Xander's eyebrows drew down in confusion, then rose in realization of what was likely to happen. "You guys didn't tell him about the pronoun problem, huh?"

Buffy shrugs. "He didn't really give us a chance. I tried to tell him he didn't need to stay, that I had it all under control. I even tried to tell him that Dawn's fiance was perfect for her. She's perfect for her, I said, but he didn't listen. Nothing new there!" she says bitterly.

"And he still didn't get the clue?" Xander asks, then he smiles and looks directly at his blonde. "Wait. You said Faith was perfect for Dawnie?" She nods. "You did? My Slayer? The one who doesn't just hold grudges. She takes care of them til they're fully grown, into big, strong vendettas? That Buffy?"

She grimaces at him, then throws a pillow from their bed at the man's head. "Shut up!"

He dodges with a laugh and tackles her back onto the bed, turning as they fall so she's on top. She giggles at his action, then leans in, laying across his chest and kisses his lips for a second before drawing back quickly.

"Yuck!" she exclaims. "You forgot to shave this morning." The blonde rubs her upper lip and cheek, trying to remove the scratchy feelings the stubble on her man's face has put there.

He chuckles as he watches her. "I didn't forget. I'm trying to grow a beard." At her scowl, he quickly expands on his explanation. "Winter's coming and I wanted to keep my face warm."

Buffy gives him a disgusted look. "Wanna keep your bed warm?" He nods enthusiastically. "Then lose the fur," she tells him sternly.

He grins and tries to rub his cheek against hers, but the agile blonde rolls off him and then off the bed, keeping the furniture between them. "Seriously, Xander Harris. Unless you want to sleep alone for the foreseeable future, you need to undergo some serious defuristation!"

The Slayer puts on her own resolve face and Xander just holds up his hands and heads for the bathroom. After all, she might *not* have been joking about sleeping alone.

***

They all meet in the foyer again and all stops have been pulled. Xander is handsome and respectable in his best suit, looking every inch the young architect he's becoming.

With the loss of his eye and therefore, depth perception, he could no longer do the actual construction work he loved, so he'd found a more than acceptable substitute in learning to design buildings. He'd even enrolled in college part time to take the necessary classes to get his architecture certifications and degrees and Buffy and Willow have never been prouder of him.

The ladies have similarly pulled out the stops, all of them unconsciously trying to outdo each other. Buffy, Willow and Dawn have changed into evening gowns of various colors. Black for the blonde, cobalt blue for the brunette and forest green for the red head, all with contrasting wraps. Kennedy and Faith are both in black pants and silk tank tops, leather and gold for the younger Slayer and jeans and a red top for the older. Both are wearing black satin jackets and boots.

Compliments are exchanged and the group separates to their respective cars. They all arrive at the restaurant with ten or so minutes to spare and head in. Identifying themselves to the maitre 'd, the three couples are escorted to corner table set for ten.

As they approach, Buffy and Xander in the lead, they see Hank Summers sitting there, alternating between looking toward the door and the rear of the restaurant. When he spots his daughter, he stands and smiles.

Giving a small wave, he calls, "Buffy! Over here!"

The Slayer smiles in return, though Xander can tell it's a bit forced. "Hi, Dad." She waves the others over, making sure Dawn sits beside her and farthest from their father. "Dad, this is my boyfriend, Xander Harris."

Hank and Xander shake hands, the older man smiling at the younger. "Good to meet you, son. Are you taking care of my little girl?" He notices the eye patch, but says nothing, out of politeness.

Xander chuckles. "More she takes care of me, but I do what I can."

Hank smiles and nods, looking back at his oldest daughter to continue the introductions.

Waving her hand at Willow, the blonde smiles at her best friend, though it dies a bit when she turns it told her father. "I think you met Willow when we first moved to Sunnydale, but, if not, this is my best friend, Willow Rosenberg." Hank smiles and nods at her. "And the lady beside her is her fiance, Kennedy Perez."

The elder Summers' smile fades a bit, but he replies, "Nice to meet you both. Did Buffy say the two of you were engaged?"

The redhead smiles and blushes a bit, taking her girl's hand. "Yes, we are. Dawnie and I have been helping each other plan our weddings, though we're trying to schedule everything so they're a few months apart. We kinda got engaged on the same day, but we don't want the weddings held that way. Lots of separation, in fact. We really don't-"

Her words are cut off by Kennedy's lips as her Slayer kisses her in thetime honored way to stop Willowbabble. The others, totally used to this, just grin as the couple's kiss lasts for a few seconds. Xander, however, sees Hank's smile completely die for a second, then he looks away. His eye narrows as he processes this, wondering if there's a problem.

Buffy, smiling even bigger at Willow's embarrassed blush as she and Kennedy finally pull apart, turns to her dad, intending to introduce Faith. Before she can, Hank smiles and looks off behind his daughter.

Smiling proudly, Hank nods and motions to someone just out of Buffy's sight and she starts to turn that way, but doesn't turn quite quickly enough. "Buffy, Dawn, everyone. I've got someone for you to meet, too." He holds out his arm and an attractive, thirty-something blonde woman slides in under it long enough to give the man a pecking kiss on the cheek. She draws away from him slightly as he rotates toward the Scoobie group.

"Everyone, this is my wife, Gloria." He looks at his daughters, both of whom are sitting with very serious expressions. This was woman their father left their mother for. "We were married a little over six years ago."

He nods at his wife and she bends over for a second, standing again with a light brown haired little boy. "And this is Greg. Your baby brother."

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