Title: Happily Ever After

Author: Settiai

Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and other related characters are all properties of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and other related corporations. No infringement is intended. This story, such as it is, was written as a sign of respect and love for the characters, the show, and their creator. I claim no ownership of the aforementioned show and characters.

Rating: PG

Explanation: This is my story for the Het Ficathon on LiveJournal, and it was written for chloestorch.

Summary: And the prince and princess lived happily ever after.

Feedback: Comments and helpful criticisms are always appreciated.

E-mail: lynn_foster@settiai.com

**********

Willow let out a content sigh as she leaned back on the couch and carefully placed her hands behind her head. The sound of soft music echoed through the room, and she was more than prepared for a mid-afternoon nap.

She hadn't counted on the front door slamming open and a two-year-old bundle of energy running inside with a loud cry of "Momma! We're home!"

Shaking her head in amusement, Willow had just managed to pull herself back into a sitting position when a familiar red-haired child threw himself into her lap. The boy grinned up at her, melted chocolate smeared across his face, before attempting to envelope her in a hug. "Daddy bought me a candy bar at the store!"

"I can see that," Willow said dryly, her gaze flickering toward the man who was now standing in the doorway. He merely shrugged, a vaguely sheepish expression on his face, before walking over and scooping the toddler up in his arms.

"Come on, Ryan, let's leave your mother be. It looks like she was just getting ready to enjoy a nice nap."

Ryan pouted slightly, his lower lip jutting outward. "Ever since she got the baby inside her, all Mommy does is sleep and eat."

The man winked at his son, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Now Ryan, you know that isn't true," he said cheekily, taking several steps backward--away from his wife--as he did so. "Mommy also has mood swings that only a strong, powerful, and brave man like Daddy could survive."

"I'm feeling a mood swing right now," Willow replied with a smirk. "I've gone from being relaxed... to being ready to test the boundaries of justified homicide. What do you have to say about that, Mr. Finn?"

"What do I have to say about that?" Riley asked with a nervous chuckle as Willow pulled herself to her feet. "Mrs. Finn, you ought to be ashamed... After four years of marriage, a person would think you would know what I would say."

Willow raised an eyebrow, and he gave her a warm smile. Then, with a wink, he pushed a giggling Ryan into her arms. "Kill the boy first, that's all that I ask."

"No!" Ryan cried out, laughter bursting from his lips at the same time. He struggled against Willow's hold on him, giggles escaping him every few seconds. "No, no, no! Daddy first! Daddy first!"

"You heard your son," Willow said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Daddy first."

With a slight smirk, she put Ryan back down on the floor and leaned in closer to Riley. Ignoring their son's cry of "Ew!", the two of them shared a quick kiss before she sank back down onto the couch with a tired sigh.

Riley gaze her a sympathetic smile before gently grabbing Ryan's shoulder and steering him out of the room. "Come one, let's leave Mommy be. Your baby sister has tired her out."

"That's not what you said earlier," Ryan said innocently. "Earlier you said the reason Mommy was tired was because she..."

"Okay," Riley said quickly, his hand covering the boy's mouth, "we're going now."

Willow raised an eyebrow, but she didn't even attempt to stand back up. "What did you say earlier, Riley?"

"Nothing," he replied as, his hand still covering his son's mouth, he led Ryan out of the room. "Nothing whatsoever."

**********

Ryan stared up at his mother for a moment before carefully reaching up and grabbing the edge of the couch. His eyes narrowed slightly as he struggled to pull himself up beside his mother, and he couldn't help but let out a slight gasp as he finally managed to pull his short legs up onto the couch.

He stared at Willow's face for a moment, her eyes closed peacefully in sleep, before turning his attention to the ever-growing bulge of her stomach. A curious expression on his face, he reached over and gently placed his hand on it. For a few seconds he merely sat there, but then a delighted grin appeared on his face. "My baby sister kicked me!"

Still grinning, he gingerly crawled up onto his mother, but he was careful not to put too much pressure on her large stomach. He leaned over as he did so, his face leaning in close to his mother's.

"Wake up, Mommy..."

**********

Willow felt a slight pressure on her stomach, and--biting back a sigh--she reluctantly opened her eyes. A pair of hazel eyes stared back at her, and the innocence in them almost fooled her.

Almost.

"Ryan," she said firmly, "what are you doing?"

The toddler gave her a wide grin as he slid off of her bulging stomach and planted himself on the tiny sliver of couch that wasn't occupied. "Waiting for you to wake up, Mommy."

Willow briefly closed her eyes, barely restraining from saying several words that she knew her two-year-old son didn't need to hear. After a few seconds, however, she opened them once more and gave the boy a warning glance.

"Didn't Daddy tell you to let Mommy rest?"

Ryan nodded seriously, his eyes wide with gravity. "Yes, Mommy, he did."

"Then why were you sitting on my belly?" Willow asked with a smile.

"Because I wanted to see if you were awake yet," Ryan stated sincerely.

Willow closed her eyes for one more moment, and a tired sigh escaped her lips as she opened them once more. "Ryan, baby... Where's your father?"

"I don't know," the boy said with a shrug of his shoulders. "He told me to come wait for you to wake up, and then he said something about letting you deal with the hyp... hypac... hypactive demon. What's a hypactive demon, Mommy?"

"Hyperactive," Willow said with the barest trace of a smile. "And don't you worry about what a hyperactive demon is. It's just something that Daddy and I need to talk about once I find him."

"Ah," Ryan stated gravely, "you mean that Daddy's in trouble."

"Exactly," Willow replied with a smirk. "Why don't the two of us go find him?"

**********

"Mr. Finn, I think that we need to have a talk," Willow said as she stepped into the garage, an unreadable expression on her face. Ryan followed close behind her, one of his pudgy hands tightly gripping the leg of her loose-fitting pants. "A little birdie informed me that I was supposed to be dealing with a certain hyperactive demon."

Riley flinched slightly as he reached over and turned off the football game that had been playing on the television. "I'm assuming that you aren't exactly pleased with that?"

Willow shook her head, her eyes twinkling slightly as she did so. "Nope. Not at all. We're going to have a discussion about that later tonight, in fact."

"Not now?" Riley asked curiously. "You aren't going into labor on me are you?"

Willow snorted before reaching down and untangling Ryan's hand from her pants. "Trust me, you'd know if I were going into labor."

Her eyes flickered in Ryan's direction, and comprehension quickly dawned on Riley's face. Nodding in understanding, he walked over and scooped the boy up in his arms. "Come on, sport, let's get you cleaned up and ready for bed. Daddy has to go let Mommy punish him for being bad."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, and a worried expression suddenly appeared on his face. "That's what you said right before Mommy got the baby inside of her belly."

Riley and Willow shared a quick glance before bursting into laughter, causing their son to stare at them in utter confusion.

**********

"Then the handsome prince kissed the lovely princess, and they both knew that everything was right in the world. Though many of their friends had been lost in the battle, they had found each other at last... and they knew that nothing would ever tear them apart."

Willow glanced down at Ryan and smiled when she saw that he was sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. She glanced over at Riley, who was standing in the doorway to Ryan's room, and nodded gently.

Riley smiled in return, and he slowly made his way over to where his wife was kneeling beside their son's bed. He placed one hand on her shoulder, drawing a loving look from her, before leaning down and gently ruffling Ryan's hair with the other.

Shaking her head slightly, Willow reached over and moved her husband's hand. She shot him a warning glance, and he quickly held both of his hands up in a gesture of surrender. The red-haired woman let out an amused sigh before turning her attention back to the sleeping boy.

"And they lived happily ever after," Willow finished with a gentle smile. Her eyes twinkling, she leaned down and planted a kiss on the sleeping boy's head. Then, gratefully accepting the hand her husband gave her, she slowly pulled herself to her feet.

"For the rest of their days," Riley finished with a grin of his own, moments before he planted a loving kiss on his wife's lips.