Title: Not Quite Ruined

Summary: Dawn/Spike Christmas. Written for Redwolfoz

 

 

 

          It was ruined, everything she’d wanted, everything she’d planned was ruined.  The turkey resembled something post apocalypse, the dressing was crunchy, not fluffy. At least the cranberry sauce was okay, but that was only because it came from a can. Mom had always used canned cranberry sauce.

 

          Dawn picked up the Betty Crocker cookbook, considered the turkey and dressing recipe one more time and then flung it across the room. It hit the shelf with the pretty plates on it. The shelf tilted crazily for a second and everything crashed to the floor.

 

          A sharp whistle sounded through the kitchen and Spike poked his head around the doorway. “I miss the British invasion or sumethin?”

 

          “It’s awful!”

 

          Spike stepped into the room, skirting around the shattered remains of the decorative plates. He considered the black lump on the counter that he was fairly sure was supposed to be turkey. He quirked his scarred eyebrow at her and picked up the dish of cranberry sauce. “Looks like this turned out alright.”

 

          “Yeah, and do you know why?”

 

          He considered his answer carefully. It didn’t seem the time to be careless with words. “Because you’re a bleedin wonderful cook?”

 

          “Because this is what I had to do.” Dawn jerked a can of vegetables out of the cabinet, grabbed the can opener, used it and then smacked the open can of green beans on the counter.

 

          “And you were brilliant at it. Want to try another?”

 

          “No!” Tears filled her eyes and a shudder went through her body. “I wanted everything to be perfect. It’s-it’s my first Christmas doing this all by myself and I wanted the turkey to be right and the dressing to be fluffy and-and…the pumpkin pie to be all pumpkin pie-y!”

 

          “You burned the pie too?” He’d been looking for an excuse to eat the whipped topping she’d bought to put on the pie.

 

          “No! I haven’t even started the pie, but that’s not the point!”

 

          Spike’s brow furrowed. “It’s not?”

 

          “No! The point is…I don’t know what the point is. The point is Christmas is ruined.”

         

          “Come here, Luv.”

 

          Dawn stepped toward him. Spike reached out, pulling her into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head. “How’s it if we order one of those pizza’s you like with the lil dead fishes on it?”

 

          “For Christmas dinner?”

 

          “Alright, Bit, hear me out before you yell at me. Since I don’t eat and we’re alone this year…s’long as you’re happy with pizza on Christmas that’s all that matters, right?” Spike held his metaphorical breath, waiting to see her reaction. He had found out that Dawn could be fanatical about holiday traditions. There were certain things she insisted upon, like watching The Wizard of Oz on Thanksgiving because it was what she, Joyce and Buffy had always done.

 

          Dawn gnawed on her lower lip and glanced around at the mess she’d made of the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, anchovy pizza sounded good right now. “We can still go look at Christmas lights and watch A Nightmare Before Christmas later, right?”

 

          “Wouldn’t miss it.”

 

          A smile lit her face and she pressed a kiss to his lips. “Pizza Hut or Papa John’s?”