TITLE: “One Thing Leads to Another”

AUTHOR: Alessandra “Pamela”

EMAIL: alessandra@...

RATING: NC17 overall

DISTRIBUTION:  My sites… anyone else, just ask.

FEEDBACK:  I would love it if you were so inclined. :)

SPOILERS:  This takes place after “The Gift” except Buffy didn’t die.

SUMMARY:  Buffy and Graham run into each other and find out they get along *really* well.  But will their loyalty to Riley keep them apart?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” characters or situations (I will even give my story ideas to Joss in exchange for a day on the set).  I am borrowing them, without permission, and I mean no harm to them.  They all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, and Warner Brothers.  I wrote this purely for entertainment and not at all for profit.

NOTE: Moe is a goddess!  Best beta reader ever, I swear.  And Andra rocks too, for sitting and reading and helping me plot.  I’m super lucky to have them both!

***

“Wow, this is really nice,” Graham, commented, looking down at the meal Buffy had prepared.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Buffy lied.  She’d spent several hours that morning going through cookbooks and trying to find the perfect meal.  She’d finally settled on lemon chicken, seasoned potatoes and a green salad.  It was more ‘adult’ than macaroni and cheese, but didn’t appear to be overly romantic. 

Buffy chose not to ponder why the decision had been so important.

“How come you never made this before?” Dawn asked before taking a bite, “Mmm, it’s yummy.”

“Thanks.  And I am trying to learn how to make new things.  We’re going to get sick of eating the same stuff all the time if I don’t.”

“Too bad you two aren’t guys.  We can eat the same thing every night,” Graham half-joked.

“Like pizza?  I think I could eat pizza every night,” Dawn said.

“You’d get sick of it,” her sister disagreed.

“I know!  Why don’t we order pizza tomorrow night and the night after and so on and see when I get sick of it?”

Graham chuckled, “A science experiment, huh?”

“Exactly!  I can write a hypothesis tonight if you’d like, Buffy.”

“How about you just do your homework tonight and we can eat well-balanced, healthy meals?”

Dawn gave Graham a sullen look,  “Gee, I don’t have to wonder why you like hanging out with Buffy.  She’s just *super* fun.”

“She has her charms,” Graham replied quietly, making Buffy blush before studiously cutting her chicken.

There was a definite tension in the room, which did not go unnoticed by Dawn, but she chose to file that away later so she could discuss it with Lisa.  Playing the part of the oblivious sister, she rambled on about the latest rumors Kirsty Sims was spreading around the school until Buffy and Graham got over their discomfort and once again relaxed enough to make casual conversation.

***

Buffy carefully walked into the garage with a cold bottle of water.  She didn’t want to startle or annoy Graham by hovering, but it seemed rude to sit in the house while he’d spent nearly an hour under the hood of her car.

When he looked up, she smiled, “I thought you might like a drink.”

“Actually, yeah, that’s be great,” he replied, gratefully taking the bottle from her and gulping some down.

“How’s it going?  Need help?”

Graham grinned, “It’s really driving you insane that you have to let me fix this, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m a control freak, I know,” she sighed, “But actually, what really bothers me is that it’s *my* car and you are doing all the work.”

“Well, I like working on cars.”

“I hope you aren’t just saying that to make me feel better,” Buffy told him, then asked, “So, any idea what’s wrong?”

He nodded, “Unfortunately, I think your compressor has gone out.”

“Is that incredibly difficult to replace?  I can take it to a shop.  Dawn and I can rely on rides from friends for a few days, we’ll be fine.”

“No, it’s not hard, it just takes a few hours.  However, it’s four hundred dollars for a new compressor.”

Buffy grimaced before shrugging, “Not the most fun way to spend four hundred dollars, but I need a car.”

“I have some money; I could loan you some,” he offered, knowing better than to even suggest that he *give* her money.  Besides, he really didn’t like the fact that he’d give Buffy four hundred dollars without a second thought.  He liked to think he was a good friend, but he wasn’t *that* good a friend to someone he’d hardly known until a week and a half earlier.

“Don’t worry, I have the money,” she assured him.  “But would you mind taking me to the store?  For one thing, I have never bought a compressor before and also, it’s kind of a long walk.”

“Of course I’ll take you,” Graham rolled his eyes.  She was self-reliant to a fault.

After Graham had cleaned up a bit and Dawn had headed over to Melinda’s so she wouldn’t have to go to the ‘boring car parts store’, he and Buffy climbed in his Mustang and headed to the nearest auto parts supplier.  They walked in the door and found the store was relatively quiet, with only a few customers inside.  As they walked down the aisles and found what they were looking for, Graham noticed Buffy getting quite a few appreciative looks, and felt the envy of the other men.  Despite the fact that he wasn’t supposed to even think of Buffy as a female, it sure felt nice.

***

Since it was already almost nine o’clock by the time they returned home and Graham had told her he expected to take several hours putting the new compressor in, Buffy insisted he finish it the next night.  When she went to get Dawn from Melinda’s, she asked if her sister could get a ride to school with them the next day and they said it was fine, so the girls would be okay without a car for the day.

Graham reluctantly agreed to leave the car as it was, since he was pretty tired already and didn’t relish the thought of being there until one in the morning.

“Thank you so much again,” Buffy smiled, “You have no idea how wonderful you are.  I trust you, and I wouldn’t trust a mechanic, so at least I have peace of mind now.”

“You’re sure you two aren’t going to have to eat broth for a month because you spent so much money, right?” he asked.

Buffy laughed, “I promise, it’s fine!”

“Okay, see you tomorrow?”

“Of course, and come by at six again, I’ll make you dinner, okay?”

Graham nodded enthusiastically, “You don’t have to ask me twice.  That’s some of the best food I’ve had in years.”

After they said their good-byes, Buffy went back to the kitchen to start looking for something else to cook the next night since she had a couple hours before Xander was supposed to show up to stay there while she patrolled.  Dawn had already gone to bed, so she had peace and quiet while she scanned through the cookbooks, determined not to feel bad about doing it.  She and Graham had gone in a car, at night, by themselves, to the store and hadn’t done anything inappropriate.  They were doing great at the just friends thing.

All she had to do was get rid of the underlying tension that was often right under the surface when Graham was around and she’d be home free.

***

“Ahh, so this is some of that newfangled air conditioning those kids are always talking about, huh?” Buffy joked as she and Graham sat in the front seat of her car testing the new compressor.

“Amazing, ain’t it?” he smiled before shutting it off, “I guess I am done.”

“Thank you again, so much,” Buffy gushed, “I feel like I owe you big.  What can I do?”

“You’re here, you let me be your friend and spend time with you and your sister.  That means a lot.”

“Oh yeah, we’re the two most popular hostesses in town,” she retorted, “Actually, this *is* Sunnydale…”

“You two are great.”

They smiled at each other and were silent for a moment before Buffy opened the passenger side door and climbed out.  Graham did the same on his side before following her out the garage door and back into the house.

“So, that should take care of your air conditioning problem, I hope.  I kind of got the impression from Dawn that it goes out a lot?”  Graham asked.

Buffy shrugged, “It was okay for about three years, then it started going out once or twice a year.”

“Jeez, great car,” he replied sarcastically.

She smiled, “I know; it’s not very reliable and I really should just trade it in for a new car like Dawn says, but I just can’t.”

Graham frowned and was about to ask her why she couldn’t when there was a knock at the door.

“Oh, that must be Willow!” Buffy exclaimed and rushed to the door.  Graham trailed behind, wondering why Buffy had friends coming over at eleven o’clock at night.

“Hi!” she greeted as she opened the door to reveal a redhead standing on her porch.

“Hey Buffy, how are things?” the other girl said as she stepped inside.

“Just fine, I totally lost track of time, I can’t believe it’s already eleven,” Buffy replied, then looked at Graham, “Oh, I’m sorry, you guys remember each other, right?  Willow is my best friend and Will, Graham worked with Riley in the Initiative.”

The redhead smiled apprehensively, “I remember.  Does this mean Riley is back?”

“Uh, no,” Graham replied quietly, “At least not yet.  It is possible that he’ll be coming back sometime soon.”

“Oh, well is everything okay?  I mean, is some bad thing going down?”

“No, Graham and I have just been hanging out,” Buffy explained, “He actually just spent tonight putting a new compressor-thingy in the jeep so I can have air conditioning again.”

“Wow, that is really great of you.”

“It’s nothing,” Graham said modestly, “I’m good with cars and I like helping Buffy.”

Willow smiled widely at him; she’d been a bit anxious first since, with the exception of Riley, she really hadn’t trusted anyone from the Initiative.  However, Graham seemed like a good guy – he *had* been Riley’s best friend, after all – and Buffy really needed to have good people like that around her, especially now.

“Willow and my other friends all take turns coming over to stay here with Dawn while I patrol,” Buffy told him, “You know, just in case.”

“Oh yeah, I hadn’t even thought about the fact that you still patrol.”

“A slayer’s duty never ends,” she half-joked.

“If you want, I could go with you,” Graham offered.

Buffy smiled, “You go home.  It’s late and you have to work tomorrow.”

He would have argued, but he really was tired.  “Alright, if you’re sure.”

“I can take care of myself, as far as slaying is concerned, anyway,” she assured him as the two of them walked to the door, “See you in a while, Will.”

“It was nice seeing you again,” Graham told the witch.

Willow smiled and waved, “Bye!”

The two walked out front and said goodbye before parting ways.  As Buffy walked alone down the quiet streets towards the cemetery, she thought about Graham.  She really had wanted to him to join her, but she had seen how exhausted he was.  Besides, despite the fact that they had been really well behaved as of late, as far as keeping their hands, lips and other body parts to themselves, she still didn’t trust herself not to repeat past mistakes.

***

“So, did you do it?”

Dawn sighed into the telephone, “Yeah, but I really don’t think this is a good idea.  Buffy will probably get mad at me.”

“Nah,” Lisa replied on the other end, “Just tell her that kids are supposed to bring both their parents to the graduation and even though she isn’t your mom and Graham is just a friend, it would make you feel less left out.  It’ll make her feel totally guilty, trust me.  My cousin, Talina’s parents are divorced and she has a million ways to get what she wants through guilt.”

“But that doesn’t seem right.  I mean, Buffy can be a pain in the ass but I love her and she’s in just as much pain about my mom.”

“Yeah, and if we were doing something to hurt her, that would be a problem.  You like Graham, right?”

“Sure, he’s really nice.”

“And he’s hot, isn’t he?”

“Definitely good looking.”

“He treats Buffy well?”

“Yup.”

“Then don’t you think they should get together?” Lisa persuaded, “We’re *helping* Buffy.”

Dawn bit her bottom lip, “I just hope this doesn’t blow up in my face.”

“Dawn!  Ready to go?” Buffy called from downstairs.

“I’d better go now, see you at the ceremony.”

“Okay, good luck!” Lisa said before they both hung up.

Dawn grabbed her sweater and ran down the stairs to find her sister waiting, “I’m ready.”

“Are you up to something?”

“No, why?” Dawn asked, trying to appear calm, as she opened the front door and started walking to the jeep parked in the driveway.

“Because you’re being weird.”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are,” Buffy argued, but shook her head and brushed it off as she followed her sister to the car.

She had other things to worry about, like how she was going to get through the next few hours.  Buffy had only agreed to go because the graduation had been important to Dawn.  However, all the sympathetic looks and comments she would be getting from all the parents who knew about her mom were something Buffy absolutely didn’t enjoy.

***

Buffy frowned as she saw her sister looking around the crowded auditorium.  She still hadn’t been able to shake her suspicions that Dawn was up to something and now she appeared even sneakier.

“Looking for someone?”

Dawn looked at her and tried to figure out what to say when she saw Graham walk in the doors about ten feet behind Buffy. 

“Graham!”

Surprised, Buffy turned around and saw that her friend was indeed there.  “Graham, what are you doing here?”

“You didn’t know I was coming?” he asked.

Dawn smiled nervously as they both turned to look at her questioningly.  “Well, you see, this is something that you’re expected to bring your parents to and Buffy, you’re the closest thing to a mom that I have.  And I know Graham isn’t my dad, and I don’t see him as fatherly or as your boyfriend or anything, but he’s my friend.  And even though he hasn’t been my friend for long, he’s special to me.  Almost like a big brother.  If I can’t have my parents here, I wanted two very special people here.  Are you guys mad?”

Buffy and Graham exchanged looks before turning back to Dawn and giving her small smiles.

“It’s fine, Dawnie.”

Dawn could tell her sister was near tears and felt a pang of guilt, but reminded herself what Lisa said.  This was for Buffy’s own good.

“Oh that’s great.  Well, you two sit down and I’ll go check in with Mrs. Douglass,” she told them before rushing off, relieved that it had worked.  Now it was up to the two of them.

Doing as Dawn directed, Buffy and Graham found two seats in the rapidly filling auditorium.

“Wow, I had no idea she felt that way about me,” Graham said.

“I think Dawn feels a connection with you.  You’re a great listener.  You don’t treat her like a kid; she appreciates that.”

“Still, I feel very special.”

“You are special,” Buffy replied, giving him a tender smile.

“Oh Buffy!” an older woman exclaimed as she approached the two of them.

Buffy plastered a fake smile on her face, “Mrs. Jennings.”

“It’s so good to see you here.  You’re taking such good care of little Dawn.  After your mother passed, I was so worried about her, but she has such a wonderful sister, that I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the woman rambled, “Oh, who is this?”

“I’m sorry, this is Graham Miller,” Buffy explained, then added before the woman jumped to the wrong conclusion, “He’s a friend of Dawn and I.”

“Ohhhhh,” she replied, raising her eyebrows.  Obviously Mrs. Jennings didn’t quite buy that.

“Nice to meet you,” Graham said politely.

Buffy was afraid she was about to get a long grilling about how things were going, or even worse – the real deal with Graham, but luckily Mr. Jennings appeared and politely dragged his wife away.

“She was interesting,” Graham commented.

Buffy nodded, “I first ran into her when I had to go bring some paperwork to the school right after my mom died.  She is very concerned about Dawn and I.  But in all honestly, I think she would love it if I totally screwed up so that she’d have something to gossip about.”

“Too bad for her, she’s going to be vastly disappointed,” Graham smiled.

Buffy returned the smile before their attention was directed to the Sunnydale Junior High principal standing on the stage in front of the microphone.  All thoughts of Mrs. Jennings disappeared as Dawn’s graduation ceremony began.

TBC...