My favourite chapter thus far! I'm so proud of this one! How obnoxious is that! Regardless of my weird problems, read on brave reader, read on!

Buffy woke up far too early, but she was too excited to sleep in. Today Faith was going to get married to Robin – and she got to be a maid-of-honor. She rolled over to see Spike lying next to her with his eyes closed in the most peaceful expression. They were both wearing next to nothing – considering the night previous emotions were running high, so what else did they expect was going to happen? She smiled a little bit and decided to let him sleep for a bit longer and crept out the door and towards the kitchen. When she got to the kitchen she noticed a big yellow note sticking to the microwave. She walked over and picked it up, her smile still stretching across her face. After glancing at the note her smile became a sorrowful frown, her eyes widened and her heart dropped.

Buffy,

I know you don't like having to look after me. I know I'm a handful, which is why I've gone. I'm sorry that I've fallen pregnant but you need to understand that this baby is special – I can feel it. Please don't look for me, don't send someone to look for me just forget about me. I need to do this alone and I can't do that with you watching me like a child. You're not my mother. I'm not sorry, but this isn't your fault.

Love always,

Your sister,

Dawn.

Buffy crumpled the note and ran to Dawn's room in a frenzy of panic and tears. She threw open the door to find the room was empty. The bed was made and the drawers were almost completely emptied of clothes. Buffy stepped in nervously and noticed on her desk there were scissors and envelopes. The envelopes were all named to each member of the scoobies except for Buffy herself – her note had already been given.

"Dawn?" Buffy whispered, hoping by some off chance she was hiding outside the room or the whole running away deal. No one answered her call, she sat down on her little sisters pink coloured bed sheets and held her head in her hands.

"Dawnie!" she whimpered as tears fell like hail from her eyes. Not only had she lost her sister, she felt like she'd failed her mother. She'd failed as a sister, a mother and guardian. And that stung beyond words. From the door Spike was watching his girlfriend cry, but he couldn't understand what for. She had seemed like nothing in the world could bring her down, but now it looked like the world had tested that theory.

"Buffy?" Spike was awake, shirtless and wearing nothing but his jeans. She didn't reply, she just kept crying, so he sat down next to her.

"What happened?" he asked placing a hand on her shoulder. She was freezing cold and covered in nervous sweat.

"She ran… she ran a…away," Buffy wailed, glad that no one else was in the house today besides the two of them "it's all my fault Spike, what am I going to do?" she threw herself into his bare chest and curled her arms around his neck.

"You'll do what you always do, you'll find her and make up." Spike stated and Buffy shook her head and met his beautiful blue eyes

"It's not that simple, she doesn't want to be found." Buffy wiped her eyes. If there was one thing she understood, it was not wanting to be found. She'd gone through a similar thing when she'd killed Angel.

"Then we'll call the Watcher, we'll send out the new slayers to find her." Spike suggested rocking her back and forth.
"No. She wants to deal with this on her own. I think she needs that." Buffy admitted, though it pained her to say it out loud, Dawn was more or less an adult now.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she replied then sniffled and bit her tongue to hold back the next avalanche of tears "Spike? Can you not tell anyone just yet? I don't want to ruin the wedding." She asked him and he smiled.

"It'll be our little secret." He promised then pulled her into a passionate – if not sudden – kiss. She accepted the comfort and kissed him back, lessening the kiss into a bittersweet softness. She didn't need passion right now, she needed understanding and that's exactly what Spike was so good at giving.

--

"I don't think I should wear the shawl." Ashley said, scratching her head as she and Willow looked at themselves in the floor length mirrors. Willow and Ashley were staying with Jenny and Giles for the time being. Willow looked at her backless pale yellow dress and swung her hips just to see the dress pirouette like a shimmering parachute.

"Why? I think it's pretty." Willow replied and gave Ashley a friendly smile who then returned it awkwardly and attempted smoothing down the dress.

"I don't know, I just feel like I'm going to funeral," she complained "why didn't I pick out a bright dress?" she was mostly talking to herself by this point, but Willow responded anyway

"Uh, well if I remember right you said 'I'll die before I wear something bright to a wedding'." Willow grinned and Ashley rolled her eyes

"I get embarrassed okay?" she said defensively

"Okay." Willow said then threw the shawl at Ashley who wrapped it around her shoulders and grimaced

"Okay, maybe not a funeral, possibly a wake." Ashley half-joked and Willow came back to stand next to her

"Complain all you want but as soon as you start having fun you owe me ten dollars." Willow joked, but she managed the get Ashley to crack a smile.

"Lets go do this thing." Ashley said as the two girls swooped out of the room, their perfumes lingering in the room behind them.

--

"I look like a rectangle." Anya stated and Xander couldn't help but grin at the remark

"But a very well proportioned rectangle." He laughed when she gave him an annoyed look. He walked out of the room wearing his old wedding tux, one that gave Anya the weirdest feeling of déjà vu.

"When do we have to leave?" she questioned

"Soon."

"When soon?"

"Half an hour maybe?" Xander replied trying to maneuver his tie properly, but failing miserably each time her tried. Anya grinned and walked towards him and took the tie into her own hands. Without needing to think about it she looped and knotted the tie like she'd done it a million times before

"When did you learn that?" Xander was amazed, Anya had her memory wiped and she still knew how to tie and tie better than him.

"I didn't learn, I just sort of knew how." She informed him, unaware that her hands still lingered on his shoulders.

"What other nifty tricks do you 'just know'?" he asked, suddenly intrigued by what secret tricks she had hidden up her sleeve

"Lots of things!" her cheeks turned a rosy pink as she began reciting her newfound talents to Xander "I can play poker, I'm really good at complicated mathematics, I know origami, nursery rhymes, how to make bread and for some reason I know a whole boatload of stuff about filing and spreadsheets." She finished with a quick exhale.

"You just know all that stuff?" Xander was amazed, he felt rather stupid sitting next to someone like her

"That and how to tie tie's!" she reminded him and he grinned

"You're one crazy girlfriend." He stated and she grinned and returned to the bathroom to continue working on her hair, she was straightening it and putting it up into two small pigtails. She was also reveling in the fact that Xander had just called her his girlfriend.

--

"Rupert I'm fine, stop fussing!" Jenny scolded as Giles held her arm as she put on her heels. She'd stumbled just a tiny bit and Giles had immediately panicked and thought she was going to pass out.

"Yes… yes of course." He replied awkwardly and she placed a hand on the side of his face

"Today's going to be fine, it's just a wedding, nothing will go wrong." She promised and Giles smiled a little and looked into her eyes

"Saying that I believe is called er… 'Jinxing it' or so Buffy has called it many times before" he felt weird quoting things a teenager had said.

"Will you let me off for it?" she pleased jokingly

"I suppose there could be a loophole or two in the theory." He admitted and then arm in arm they went to go meet up with Ashley and Willow who were waiting at the front door.

--

"Stop struggling!" Grace growled as she attempted again at putting Robin's bow tie on him but he kept moving his head about in the process.

"The material's scratchy!" he complained

"Stop being a little girl!" she slapped him lightly over the head and then bit her bottom lip and attempted the bow tie for the seventh time.

"So how do I look?" he asked, tugging a little at the white shirt he was wearing underneath the suit. Grace grabbed his hand forcefully and shoved his hands back to his sides where he couldn't fiddle with Grace's hard hours of work.

"Like a married man, or a nearly married man." She smiled at him and he patted her on the head, messing up her already messy hair.

"Gee, you're so sweet." Robin replied sarcastically, though he understood that she meant well, it was too fun getting a rise out of her. They had an almost sibling-like relationship, like they'd known each other for years.

"You bet your butt I'm sweet. I'm the sweetest person on the planet!" she pointed an accusing finger at him and he rolled his eyes

"Somehow I have trouble believing that." He replied and then she pushed him towards the door in mock anger

"Time for Mr. nearly married to leave the room," she said then before she slammed the door "and I can too be sweet! I bet you I can make ten friends before you can make five!" she challenged and he laughed

"You're on, now hurry I don't want to be late." He said, not bothering to hide his stress.

"I'm hurrying!" she said then pushed the door shut with her hip and skipped over to her red slip dress and pulled out a small bottle from her bag. It was a tiny vial of what looked like water but on closer inspection it had tiny pink flakes in it just floating. It was a potion, and Grace knew this was her chance to fix all of the mistakes that her copycat vengeance demon had created.

--

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed when Spike stepped out of the room in his suit; he looked amazing, even if his expression showed nothing but disgust for the outfit.

"Sodding suit, feels like a bloody material death trap." He grumbled and Buffy held his hand and smiled up at him

"Come on, let's put on our happy faces and do this shindig thing." She said then turned towards the bathroom which was occupied by Faith who had taken the succors and claimed she was making 'changes' to her dress.

"Faith?" Buffy rapped lightly on the bathroom door "you still breathing?" she joked

"Maybe!" Faith yelled back and Buffy heard the sound of material ripping and exchanged a look of interest with Spike.

"What are you doing in there?" Spike wondered if she was ripping up the wedding dress

"I told you! I'm not wearing that white piece of trash, its not me," she replied, "I'm just making a few subtle changes!" she replied though something in her voice sounded amused by the word subtle.

"Faith, that's enough, come on out or you'll be late." Buffy warned and she heard the lock click around and Faith fiddling with the handle

"No laughing?" she asked before opening the door fully

"No laughing." Buffy agreed to her terms

"Not too much laughing." Spike corrected, easily dodging Buffy's foot when she went to go stamp his foot for saying that.

"I will kill you if you do." Faith warned, though the threat was rather dry since she was so nervous. Slowly she stepped out and looked expectantly though her heavily eyeliner eyes to see their reactions

"Bloody hell!"

"Holy crap!"

"That bad?" Faith questioned with a coy grin.

Hope you guys like it, I wrote this chapter with all the nerdy excitement I could muster. I attended my first ever college lecture (for an open day, I'm not in uni yet) and my Lord it was amazing. The room was massive and it honestly felt like I was in someone else's shoes for the day. I can't wait to go! Ha-ha, just wanted to get out that little rave.