TITLE: “One Thing Leads to Another”

AUTHOR: Alessandra “Pamela”

EMAIL: destructo-girl@...

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: Thanks to Tiara for the beta read!
NOTE 2: You may notice this is from a new address.  I have had HUGE problems with my web host (basically, my sites and emails won't work!) for over a week now, so I gave up and switched to this addy.

***

Graham frowned as he watched Buffy struggle with her crutches as she made her way to the couch.  He had offered to carry her several times, since her nerves were shot and the pain meds were making her drowsy, but she had insisted she could do it herself and he knew when Buffy was going to stand firm.

She collapsed on the couch and sighed, “I know I didn’t have to avert an apocalypse or get my heart broken… but this really sucks, you know?”

“I know… and I know you won’t believe me, but after you take some time to calm down and get some rest, things won’t seem as bad.”

“You’re right, I don’t believe you,” she retorted, then gave him a sad smile.  “My mom kept it together for all these years.  She took care of the bills and us and even ran the gallery and made it look easy.  I’ve just been at it for months and I wrecked the car.”

“Hey, for one thing, the same thing could have happened to your mom.  And for another… your mother wasn’t twenty years old when she all of a sudden had to start raising a fifteen year old and take care of bills and a house.  Nobody expects you to take this all on with no problems,” Graham told her.  “And in all honestly, I look at you and all you do and I am amazed.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my friend,” she smiled shyly.

“I’m not!  I’m a good friend… if you were screwing up, I would tell you,” he promised her.  “Now… do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Buffy would have liked to tell him that she didn’t need anything, but she was really thirsty and since she sincerely doubted she’d be able to get herself into the kitchen anytime soon, it only seemed smart to fess up.

“Diet coke?”

“Sure,” he smiled and went into the kitchen.  He emerged a moment later with a glass of soda for her.

Insisting on getting her comfortable, Graham had Buffy tell him where to get her a blanket and some pillows before the two of them relaxed with the television on.

Growing drowsy, a thought hit Buffy.  “Oh no, what time is it?”

“A little after twelve, why?”

“Dawn’s class lets out at one.”

“I’ll pick her up, then,” he told her.  “It’s at the college?”

Buffy nodded, “Satterfield Hall.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave in a little bit and Dawn will find me waiting for her as soon as she’s done.”

***

At half past twelve, all the students sat anxiously in the seats of the auditorium and watched with bated breath as Craig Dannen stood on the stage and announced who got what part.

When he said that Dawn Summers would portray Bianca, the brunette sat in shock, frozen still.  As much as she had hoped and prayed she would get the part over the past few weeks, she had never imagined what it would feel like to really get it.

Once he was finished, Mr. Dannen allowed the kids to socialize until their rides came to pick them up.  It was only after talking to Lisa for ten minutes that it started to sink in.  By one o’clock, Dawn rushed out to the parking lot, excited to give Buffy her news.

However instead of finding any sign of the black jeep or her sister, she found Graham standing in the lot beside his Mustang.  Her heart stopped as she immediately was filled with fear.  Buffy would never have Graham pick her up without a good reason.

Instantly, dozens of reasons why Buffy wasn’t there passed through her mind, most of them along the lines of something horrible happening to her sister.  She couldn’t lose Buffy… she was all Dawn had left!  Panicked, she broke into a run until she reached Graham.

“What’s going on?  Where’s Buffy?”

“Calm down, it’s okay,” he assured her.  “Buffy got in a car accident.”

“Oh God!”

“But she’s *fine*.  She just has a sprained ankle, that’s it,” Graham explained.  “The doctor gave her some pain killers and they made her drowsy, so she is asleep at home right now.”

“You left her alone?!”

“Dawn, she’s just sleeping and it’s not for that long.  Come on, we can go back right now.”

Dawn nodded and allowed him to help her into the passenger seat of the car.  Graham climbed in his side and quickly started the engine, eager to get her home so that she could see her sister.  It hadn’t occurred to him before, but upon seeing the look on her face when she had spotted him waiting, Graham realized that Dawn was terrified of losing Buffy.  And with good reason… she’d learned far too young what it was like to lose a parent.  That’s what Buffy was to her now… and Graham had to prove to her that everything would be okay.

At long last, they pulled into the driveway in front of the Summers’ home.  Graham had just barely stopped the car before Dawn tore out and raced into the house.  He quickly followed and found her standing in the doorway to the living room, staring at her sleeping sister.

“She’s okay?” she asked in a small voice.

Graham nodded, “I promise, she’s fine.  She’ll have to rest her ankle for a few days, but then she will be good as new.”

Dawn moved to kneel beside the couch, just to be sure Buffy was breathing.  After a few moments, she felt more confident of her sister’s health and turned to Graham and smiled, “Buffy’s going to go crazy if she has to rest for a few days.”

He returned the smile, “Probably… so you really should try to go easy on her, okay?”

She nodded, “Sure.”  At that moment, she was so filled with relief and gratitude that Buffy was indeed fine, it was easy to agree to something as simple as that.

“Hey, how about we go make some lunch?”

Dawn shook her head, “I want to stay here in case she needs me.”

“She’s going to be asleep for hours, she won’t need anything for a while.  Besides, we’ll be able to hear her in the kitchen.  Come on,” Graham persuaded.

Reluctantly, Dawn stood and went into the kitchen with him.  After a few moments, they found a frozen pizza and put it in the oven.

“Hey, with all the excitement, I forgot to ask… how did the audition go?”

Dawn smiled, “I got the part.”

“That’s great!  Not that I’m surprised… you nailed it last night.  Wait until Buffy wakes up, she’s going to be so happy.”

Her smile widened at that.  Buffy would be really happy for her, she was positive.  That would be the perfect thing to tell her when she woke up.  Dawn couldn’t wait to talk to her… and she was so caught up in everything that was happening that what she had witnessed the night before completely slipped from her mind.

***

“Hey,” Graham said quietly, smiling at Buffy as her eyes fluttered open.

She looked over at him, still somewhat in a haze, before she tried to reply and found her throat was extremely dry.

Graham got up and left for a moment before returning with a glass of water.  Helping her sit up a bit, he assisted her in drinking until she’d finished the glass.

“Want more?”

Buffy shook her head, more awake now.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, sitting down in the chair again, “How are you feeling?”

“Okay… my ankle hurts a little, but I can deal with it.  What time is it?”

“About seven o’clock.  You’ve been out for about six and a half hours.”

“Oh God, I can’t believe I did that.”

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure it was the Tylenol 3,” he grinned wryly.

Buffy looked around and asked, “Where’s Dawn?”

“She had to use the restroom.  She’ll be very disappointed that she didn’t get to witness your awakening,” he half-joked.  “She’s spent the past few hours not so patiently waiting for you to wake up.”

“Sometimes she can be sweet,” Buffy smiled.

“Do you feel up to eating something?  You probably should get something in your system soon.”

Groaning, she replied, “I was supposed to go to the grocery store today!  We have hardly any food.”

“I know, that’s why I went to the store earlier and got you some essentials.  You know, milk, bread, lunchmeat, cereal… not a lot, but enough to get you through a few days until you fill up to making a full list for me,” Graham told her.

“You went grocery shopping for me?” Buffy asked, surprised.  Sure, Graham was a very considerate guy, but that was definitely above and beyond the call of duty.  Actually, his still being there was quite generous of him.

“Yeah… I hope you don’t mind, but I left Dawn here with you.  I know she was basically unsupervised, but she refused to leave your side and she was so anxious about you that I knew she wouldn’t do anything bad.”

“No, that’s okay,” she said quietly, then gave him a grateful smile.  “Thank you for all your help.  I really owe you.”

“Hey, we’re friends, right?  I’m just doing my job.”

“You’re awake!” Dawn exclaimed as she walked into the room before running over to the couch and bending down to hug Buffy tightly.

“I’m fine, Dawnie… don’t worry.”

“Never get in a car accident again, you scared me!”

“I won’t, I promise,” Buffy smiled up at her.

“See, I told you she was okay,” Graham said.

Dawn grinned at him, blissful that he had been telling the truth.  Turning back to Buffy, she took a deep breath.  “Guess what?”

“What?”

“I got the part!”

Buffy’s eyes widened and she beamed at Dawn, “That’s wonderful!  I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks!” the younger girl said, ecstatic that she finally got to share her news with her sister.

“Man, I had planned on us celebrating tonight and now we have nothing.”

“That’s okay, we can do it when you’re all better.  I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt worse.  The jeep is really totaled?”

Buffy nodded, “It’s a goner.”

“Well, I’m not happy that you were in an accident, but at least we’re rid of that hunk of junk.”

Rolling her eyes, her sister told her, “Easy for you to say.  You don’t have to worry about getting a new one… the hassle it will be and the whole money thing.  But remember that we have no car for a while now.”

“That’s easy!” Dawn retorted, holding her hand up to her ear like a phone, “Hello Avis, I’d like to rent a car, preferably a convertible!”

“I sure hope my insurance will cover that,” she sighed.

“Don’t worry Buffy, we’ll be fine.”

Despite all her worries, Buffy smiled and tucked Dawn’s hair behind her ear.  “Yeah, we will.”

“Want me to make you a sandwich?” Dawn offered.

“That would be nice, thank you.”

As the teenager trotted out of the living room, Buffy and Graham exchanged amused looks.

“Do you really think she’s okay?”

“Yeah… she was really upset when I picked her up, but she calmed down when she saw you.  And now that you’re awake, she is sure you’re fine and so she is fine.”

Buffy sighed again, “Poor Dawn… when I was scared of losing her… I just couldn’t imagine going through life without her.  And at least I don’t have to rely on her to take care of the house and bills and make sure there is food on the table.  I imagine it must be pretty scary for her.”

“But she is a good kid… she’ll get through this.  She’s got a great sister to make sure she does,” Graham replied.

Buffy granted him a smile and wished, not for the first time, that he wasn’t Riley’s best friend and that they could be a real couple.

***

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Dawn said into the telephone.

“Hi,” Lisa replied, “What’s up?”

“Buffy got in a car accident.”

“Oh my God, is she okay?”

“Yeah, she sprained her ankle, but she’s fine,” Dawn explained, “The car is totaled… I know I should be all mature and say that’s bad, but we’re getting a new car!”

“Awesome!” Lisa grinned, “So do you have to play nurse?”

“Not so much… Graham’s been here and he’s more than happy to cater to her every need.  You know, with all the freaking I did about her being hurt I forgot about it, but this morning I realized that neither of them have said anything about them being a couple.”

“Hmm, that’s weird,” her friend frowned.  “Well, maybe they’re just dealing with this for now.  Once Buffy gets better, they’ll probably tell you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

It was Dawn’s turn to frown.  “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.  I mean, if they just told me out of the blue that they were getting married, it would be a shock, but dating isn’t that big a deal.”

“Yeah, but Buffy is dating her ex’s friend and that’s sort of against the rules.  They’re probably nervous about being judged, so I think they’re putting it off to avoid your possible disapproval.”

“Well that’s silly.  Sure, if I was Riley, I probably wouldn’t be too happy.  But I like Graham better anyway.”

“You could always tell them what you saw,” Lisa smirked.

“Yeah right!  Talk about embarrassing conversations I never want to have!”

“Then wait it out.  Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.  True love conquers all!”

Dawn rolled her eyes.  Lisa may be her best friend and a very cool person, but when she read romance novels, she could be such a fruitcake!

***

“I wish I didn’t have to work tonight.”

“We’ll be fine.  In fact, it’s not even necessary that Xander’s here.  I feel a lot better today and can use my crutches,” Buffy said.

“Rest,” Graham ordered.  “Remember, the more you rest, the faster you heal.”

“Yes doctor,” she replied sarcastically.

“Now, that sounds interesting,” he teased.

Buffy blushed, “Pervert.”

“Yeah, like you wouldn’t love to play.  Maybe I’ll come by after work.”

“I thought I needed to get my rest?”

“Well, too much rest can be bad,” Graham said playfully.

She grinned, “Oh really?”

Dawn and Xander were busy in the backyard… allegedly watering plants, but Graham had a feeling they would be having a water fight.  Nevertheless, he knew they were otherwise occupied and probably wouldn’t walk in on he and Buffy.

With that in mind, he sat down on the edge of the couch and bent his head down to capture Buffy’s lips in a passionate kiss.  Her arms found their way around his neck as she eagerly reciprocated.

All too soon, Graham had to pull away, out of fear of being caught as well as getting too carried away.  He supposed if they were careful, they could make love with Buffy’s ankle being hurt… but this was not the time nor place.

“I’d better get going.”

Breathlessly, Buffy nodded.

“Take it easy tonight.”

“Be careful,” she replied, giving him a small smile.

“Always am.  I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay, bye,” she called as he waved and walked out the front door.

Closing her eyes, Buffy rested her head against the cushions and wondered for probably the millionth time… what the hell was she doing?

TBC...