A/N: Hey guys. Me again! I would like to thank all of you who have added this to your favourite stories/story alerts. If you could possibly take 2 seconds at the end of the chapter to review as well I would be very grateful. I won't blackmail you & say I don't write without reviews. I do. But I'm just a sad writer! Enjoy...
Buffy awoke to find herself alone in the bed. Spike was usually her alarm clock to ensure she arrived on time for work and seeing him gone gave her a slight panic as she thought of the 9:30 conference call between her, Faith and Dawn that was scheduled for today. She had a tendancy to forget these kind of things. Slowly but surely she was trying to adjust to taking more of a managerial role in the fight against evil. This was what other people did on a daily basis. What normal people did: got up, got dressed and went to work. However as satisfying as it was to be able to sit behind a desk and organise troops like some general in a far-off war there was still a part of her that craved to be in the thick of the action. Sure, she still had regular training sessions with the newbies and nothing would stop a jumped-up gang of demons trying to kill her once in a while but nothing truly apocolyptic had happened to her in years. Saving the world wasn't glamorous and risking you life was never fun but something inside her craved to be leading the battle rather than supervising it. Maybe Spike was right. Maybe she would never be happy being normal, no matter how she craved it. Maybe nothing satisfied her because she always desired what she didn't posess. Maybe... Maybe it was time to buy a new pair of shoes.
Sighing, Buffy rolled over in an attempt to locate the alarm clock buried under the piles of paperwork on the bedside table. The only disadvantage to living with a vampire was the state of semi-darkness it was neccisary to live in to stop her waking up next to a Spike-shaped pile of dust. Eventually she located it wedged between the cabinet and the wall and a quick glance at the bright green numbers revealed it was 6.25 am. A full hour before she had to be up. She momentarily contemplated trying to catch some more sleep but she knew her curiosity as to where Spike had dissapeared to would stop her from resting properly. So, summoning up her strength, she kicked back the covers and threw on some clothes to go and investigate the case of the missing Spike.
The house was still caked in darkness as she crept down the stairs. All her slayer senses were on red-alert in case any nasty had snatched him when he had ventured down a cup of blood or, more likely, a middle-of-the-night beer. However she was relieved to sense him moving about somewhere downstairs hopefully unharmed. Something still felt wrong with this morning. Although Spike would often sneak out to patrol the area even after they'd retured for the night or even just to grab a cigarette he was always back in bed with Buffy, where he belonged, when she awoke in the morning. She hoped that today he had just not expected her to wake this early and that nothing sinister was afoot.
As she crept downstairs and pushed open the door to the kitchen a wave of unusal events overwhelmed her. Firstly Spike was fully dressed and standing over the stove. Normally her vamp refused to leave bed until atleast mid-day pleading that he was a creature of the night who needed his beauty sleep. Secondly, if she wasn't mistaken, the smell that met her was that of pancakes. On the few rare occasions he'd cooked breakfast for her before he'd always insited on feeding her what he called a 'full english' and had left her feeling so bloated and full of grease she'd been unable to move for the rest of the day. She didn't know he even knew how to cook pancakes properly. The final thing she noticed was that there normally plain kitchen suddenly resembled a picnic area with a checkered cloth lying across the table and flowers liberally dotted around the room.
"Mornin' sleep head." Spike grinned from across the kitchen.
"Spike. It's 6.30. You're making pancakes. There are flowers. Explain." Buffy mumbled, confused.
"Just wanted to do something special for you pet." He shrugged as he piled the pancakes onto a plate and gestured for Buffy to sit down. "Now sit down and eat these before they get cold." He kissed her quickly as he manovered her into a chair infront of the stack of pancakes and sat down opposite looking very uneasy.
"You not eating?" Buffy asked as she tucked into the food infront of her. After all, this was an opportunity not to be missed no matter what bizzare vampire logic was behind it.
"Nah can't eat. Too nervous." He muttered as he watched her eat. Buffy raised an eyebrow.
"If you're really that worried about your cooking should I be eating it?" She laughed. Even Spike managed a small grin but he still looked distinctily like he was going to hurl at any moment. "What's up?" She gazed at him.
"Nothing... Really pet it's nothing. Just got something to give you. But not yet so just eat up and I'll get you some coffee." He got up suddenly and began to busy himself fixing coffee and tidying the kitchen. Buffy watched him with curiosity as she ate her breakfast. She'd never seen him like this before, wasn't aware he'd ever been anything less than one hundred per cent confident in himself and his actions.
"Ok I'm done." She announced as she placed her knife and fork down with a clatter. "Now spill. You being all angsty is making me angsty and it's still way too ealy for any kind of angst."
"Right." Spike too a deep breath as he stepped towards his girl. "I've not done this before so forgive me if I royally bugger it up. But you said you wanted a ring so..." He fumbled around inside his duster and swore until he located the tiny box and dropped, rather clumsily, to one knee. "Buffy Summers, will you do the honour of becoming my wife and make me the happiest man, vampire or... anything else in the whole world?" Buffy gasped. Yes, she actually gasped. What a complete cliche she thought.
Her mind whirred. Could she do this? Finally be the girl with the house and the job and the husband and still be the slayer? Could she let go of years of fear of being abandoned and finally let herself say 'yes this is the man I want to be with for the rest of my life'? Could she put on the ring-
"Oh my god Spike that ring is beautiful! How did you know it's just like I... You didn't steal it did you?" She finished suspiciously.
"No I bloody well didn't you ungrateful bint." Spike snapped as he got up roughly.
"I didn't mean... It's just this must have cost more than I've earnt in my entire life."
"It was my mum's." Spike grunted, still not looking at her.
"It was your..."
"My mum's. Yeah. It was her engagement ring. I'd been holding on to it incase... Someday..." If she didn't know it was impossible Buffy would have sworn he was blushing. She felt such rush of love for him that she practically ran towards him as she threw her arms around him and crushed her lips against his.
"I'll marry you." She whispered as they broke apart.
"Say it again." He grinned.
"I'll marry you!" She laughed, still holding him tightly. This was madness but somehow it just felt so-
"One more time."
"Spike." She said, trying her best to sound annoyed.
"Sorry pet I just never thought you'd agree without a fight. Now though on a serious note do we really have to have wind beneath-"
"Spike!" Buffy sqeeked. "I thought we agreed we were never talking about that again? That was just the spell."
"Just the spell. Sure." Spike winked and recieved a quick blow to the stomach for his efforts. "Now you going to put this ring on and make it official?" Buffy nodded and held out a shaking hand. The ring really was beautiful. It had a pearly white stone set in the centre surrounding by blinding diamonds on a base of sparkling gold. It was classic without being dated and Buffy loved it instantly. She felt it slide perfectly onto her finger and it felt as if her world was going to stop.
In fact her world did stop. The world stopped. As the ring went onto her finger those words recited into the darkness took effect and reality changed. Spike changed from his usual duster into a smart black suit and the house became a shade cleaner. The weapons chests were replaced with DVD cabinets. Books on mythology and demons became trashy novels and sports magazines. Photos of Buffy's friends and family were replaced by ones of her and Spike throughout the ages. The house became a home and the two people in the centre stood unaware of it.
A second later they blinked as if doing a double take and then shook off that strange sense of deja vu that strikes from time to time. Odd that it should occur on such an ordinary morning.
"You know I really do feel like my life has changed since you proposed Spike." Buffy gushed. "I feel... complete."
"Just glad I can make you as happy as you make me pet." He grinned as he kissed her gently on the forehead before glancing down at his watch. "But now I really must be off. Wouldn't do for me to be late for my first day."
"Stay safe. Will you be home for 6? I'm doing steak and chips."
"Of course. See you later." He gave a small wave as he picked up his briefcase and walked out into the morning sun.
