Chapter 32: The Wedding Banquet

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, August 16th, 2008

"...now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Finally! Caridad cheered when Ellie and Devon kissed. Not just because the ceremony had been about an hour too long for her taste, but that certainly helped. As did the fact that there hadn't been any attack, demony or not, or other incident. Well, apart from a few cell phones ringing in the middle of the ceremony, but, frankly, Caridad preferred to listen to some synthesised version of "Baby One More Time" instead of yet another sermon.

It reminded her of her childhood's visit to churches, and she could do without that. She had fought demons in hell; she didn't need any priest telling her about sins and evil and stuff.

Granted, the priest officiating Ellie and Devon's marriage hadn't preached about that stuff, just the usual stuff about love and union and marriage, but still… she was glad it was over.

And now came the wedding reception, and then the banquet! Oh, she couldn't wait! Any longer, that was.

But first, they had to file out, past the happy couple. Well, the mostly happy couple; as Caridad stepped outside, she saw more plumes of smoke in the sky - apparently, between sales staff demanding higher wages and mall shoppers demanding more sales, the riots were spreading.

And she heard Ellie whisper through clenched teeth: "If our banquet is ruined, I'm going to kill Morgan."

Maybe a block wasn't enough of a safe distance to a riot. Even though the LAPD seemed to have things in hand - they were still holding the line at the corner; Caridad could see that clearly.

But so could everyone else at the reception - many of the guests weren't quite as interested in the buffet as in watching the police. Or following the news on radios. And a lot of them looked concerned.

Caridad grabbed a plate for herself - being a bridesmaid was hungry work - and moved to the security van. "How are things going?" she asked between scarfing down a few sandwiches - canapées.

"For us, or for the city? Or for the Los Angeles United Mall Workers Front?" Zondra asked.

"'United Mall Workers Front?'" Caridad repeated.

"That's apparently the name for the new organisation behind the protests." The spy shrugged.

Caridad sighed. "Let me guess: Founding members are Lester Patel and Jeffrey Barnes?"

"I wouldn't know; I'm security, not electronic surveillance."

And both Chuck and his dad were in the line. Caridad shook her head. "Any chance of the riot turning our way?"

"Only if the LAPD completely screws up," Zondra replied.

"So… fifty-fifty?" Caridad hoped that she was joking.

Zondra chuckled. Once.

Caridad stepped out of the van and headed back to the others. Well, to the Scoobies and her own team. They had taken over part of the buffet. The part designated to feed Slayers, according to Ellie.

"How's the situation?" John asked.

She winced and told him. "The riot nearby? Holding. The rest of the city? Spreading."

"I didn't expect that!" Morgan exclaimed. "They are Jeff and Lester - how could I have known they would actually manage to succeed? I just wanted a distraction, not some… some..."

"...new workers' movement?" Willow asked, tilting her head slightly. "They were only the spark; this has been brewing for some time."

Kennedy scoffed. "Must be Los Angeles. They are almost as bad as France."

"That's a stereotype - two actually!" Willow told her. "And not true!"

"In any case," Xander interrupted the political discussion before it could start, "is there any riot close to the wedding banquet's location?"

"Not last I heard," Willow said. "Let me check…" She pulled out a smartphone. "Doesn't look like it," she added after a moment. "Though I already cast some wards on it, so we should be fine."

"Goodie. So we can dine in the eye of the storm," Buffy said.

"Should be good entertainment. A real riot," Faith joked.

"That's not really funny. Think of Ellie and Devon - who would want to celebrate their wedding in the middle of a riot?" Willow said with a frown.

"That sounds actually like fun," Faith replied with a toothy grin before she grabbed another plate of snacks of all kinds. "You know, fun for the whole family."

"Faith!" Buffy chided her. "Not everyone thinks a brawl is the perfect way to end an evening!"

"Or to start it!" Faith grinned again.

"In any case," Caridad said. "We have to keep an eye on the situation. If the riot spreads to the church…"

Everyone winced.

But half an hour later, the riot still hadn't spread to the reception, and the guests had stopped looking at the police - mostly. And the music drowned out the chants from the Buy More crowd.

Ellie, though, wasn't looking as happy as a bride should be on her wedding day. Though she had stopped complaining to Chuck about the riot. And threatening Morgan.

So Caridad didn't feel guilty for sampling all the food - which was great! - and generally keeping an eye out for threats that Vi might miss. Or Zondra. Though there wasn't any threat. Not that they were expecting any, anyway. Not with Gaez's terrorists dealt with. The local demons knew better than bothering any event with the Scoobies present, and the cops were all too busy to bother them.

She frowned a little. There was still van Vleck, but she doubted that he was in the country, much less the city. Probably still in Mexico. And if he managed to attack… well, Caridad's money would be on Willow.

She grabbed a new plate and loaded it with some of the dessert bits and bites. Tiny glasses filled with mousse au chocolat, tiramisu or crème brûlée! Yummy! She grabbed three of each, ignoring the muttered comments from some guests from Devon's side of the family about being greedy or something, and wandered over to John.

Who was talking to Mel. Or the other way round.

"And isn't it grand? It went perfectly!" the woman said.

"Except for the riots," he replied in a dry tone.

"Bah! The situation is under control. And it'll make it easier to remember the date!"

Caridad stopped eating her second tiramisu and blinked. That was certainly… an original view of the whole incident. "I doubt you'd forget the date, being a bridesmaid."

"Well, not me, of course not - but the others?" Mel gestured at the guests around them, almost spilling her wine. "They'll remember this wedding for the rest of their lives!"

"I think Ellie shares your opinion," Caridad told her, smiling politely. And Ellie wasn't happy about it.

"I know, right? Isn't it grand?"

"Only until the riots turn into an insurrection," John grumbled.

Mel blinked, then laughed again. As if that was a funny joke.

Caridad stepped closer to John and held one of her tiny glasses out to him. "You have to try this!"

He looked at it, and she handed him her spoon. After licking it clean.

Mel got the message and left to talk to Ellie. Caridad grinned as the woman left.

"She wasn't flirting," John said after finishing the dessert.

Caridad nodded and made a noncommittal sound. Better safe than sorry. John was hers.

Time to change the subject. She looked at Ellie and Devon, who were talking to Devon's parents and Ellie's dad. "She'll laugh about this tomorrow."

John grunted in return.

She handed him the next glass and added: "And no one could've predicted this."

Another grunt.

"You are pretty silent," she commented.

He shrugged.

He wasn't thinking about his former fiancée, was he? That was almost twenty years ago. Not that she'd mention that - he was a little sensitive about his age. Not that he had to - Giles was older, and Phil was just plain old, and both were great Watchers. Or… "Are you thinking about marriage?"

"Spies don't marry," he replied.

She suppressed a sigh - he was thinking about it. But she agreed with him - mostly. "Neither do Slayers," she told him. "Though there are exceptions."

"There are married Slayers?"

She shrugged. "There are hundreds of us now. Someone will probably marry." She chuckled. "Faith said someone will get drunk in Vegas and wake up hitched, but Willow said that was just a movie gimmick."

He chuckled as well. But after a moment, he asked: "Do you want to get married?"

Ah. She took a breath and tilted her head. "Not really," she said after a second. "I mean, who hasn't dreamed of a dream wedding?" She forced herself to laugh. "But I don't see the point." She wasn't the little girl she had been before she had been called. "And all the stress, for what? A ring and a certificate?" She snorted. I can throw a party for my friends without a pretext. And her family… well, that was something best not talked about, either.

He nodded, although a little slowly. Then he took a deep breath. "But if you wanted…" He trailed off and looked at her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I'd tell you."

He nodded as well.

California, Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, August 16th, 2008

Caridad was glad she wasn't riding with Ellie and Devon but in John's car. They had to take another detour on the way to the restaurant. Not because of a riot blocking the way, but because of a traffic jam caused by a riot. That meant they would be late for the wedding banquet - well, not late for the actual banquet, but the apéritif would be cut short.

Which was fine by Caridad. They had just spent over an hour at the reception doing the same, and she was looking forward to the banquet. Not that she'd mind another round of appetisers, but full courses were better.

She leaned to the side and looked up at the sky. "I think there are more news choppers than police choppers," she commented.

"It's a city-wide riot," John replied. "That's national news."

"Bet they're making it look as if the entire city is rioting." Caridad snorted. Technically, there was enough rioting in enough districts to qualify. Technically. And according to Chuck's last update, the LAPD was struggling to handle so many riots. "I hope they blame the cops for that," she said.

John made a noncommittal grunt.

She shrugged. The cops deserved it, in her view. They had stubbornly refused to let them be, after all. And she was really tired of dealing with their shit. Hopefully, the LAPD would get a new boss after this and stop harassing them.

She blinked, then grinned. How was that for unintended consequences, as Phil would say? Perhaps pointing this out to Ellie would get Morgan back into her good graces?

Or not - Ellie was stubborn. Better wait until after the honeymoon.

They reached the restaurant about half an hour later than planned. Not too bad for a riot day, as the news was calling it. Well, they were calling it the 'Mall riots', but the point stood. More or less.

Caridad got out of the car and took a look around while John parked - no valet parking for his baby on a riot day. No demony traces in the air. At least not outside. Just some faint smell of burning tyres and other stuff. And she couldn't spot anything suspicious in the parking lot, either. She tapped her radio. "Parking lot clear."

"Copy," Zondra replied. "Red has cleared the interior."

That meant Ellie and Devon and the rest of the guests would be safe to enter, too.

"Everything checks out?" John asked as he joined her.

She nodded, then looked him over. His tie was slightly crooked, but he fixed it before she could. She checked her dress. Decent. Not that she cared much - it was a typical bridesmaid dress, so everyone should know that she hadn't picked it, and she was absolutely sure she'd never wear it again. "Let's go! We've got appetisers waiting!"

He chuckled - he knew how much she needed to eat.

"...and so I can only wish you the best!"

Caridad joined the other guests politely applauding as Devon's father sat down after his toast. Now they would be able to...

Then Ellie and Chuck's father stood, raising his glass. Great.

"I'll be short," Mr Bartowski started his own speech. "As most of Ellie's friends know, I haven't been a part of her or Chuck's life for years. It's, therefore, an even greater pleasure to be here for her wedding - to be part of the family again. A family that has grown with the addition of a great man I'm proud to call my son-in-law and a family that I hope will grow even more in the future." He smiled at Ellie and Chuck.

Ah. He didn't just mean grandkids. Or not just Ellie's kids. Chuck blushing and glancing at Sarah was cute.

"I won't bore you with stories about their childhood, I can't bore you with stories about their lives in Los Angeles, and I don't know what the future holds for them, but I know that we'll be facing it as a family. And in that vein: To the future!"

Caridad applauded a little more enthusiastically than the bland speech deserved. She could hear several guests wondering why Mr Bartowski hadn't been around for years and a few repeating various rumours in response. Mostly about a younger woman and an estrangement.

As planned, in other words. It wasn't particularly fair to Chuck's dad, but the truth wasn't that much better. He had abandoned his kids, after all, even if he thought he had somewhat good reasons for it.

Unlike someone else about whom Caridad would rather not think.

But they were finally starting to serve the main course, and the smell of delicious meat - steak - drove the unhappy memories away.

Time to dig in!

"If we'd had this food at the rehearsal, I'd have volunteered to rehearse all week," Caridad commented after finishing her... third, no, fourth serving of the main course. Unless stealing some food from John's plate counted. Or trying the vegetarian alternative. No, that didn't count at all.

"That would have bankrupted Ellie and Devon," Willow pointed out, then cringed a little when Caridad, Buffy, Faith and even Kennedy glared at her. "I'm just pointing out that a banquet is expensive."

"Indeed," Anya agreed. "The costs for the security arrangements alone are quite significant."

"But necessary," Xander added. "And it's nice to relax a little."

"We do relax a lot," Buffy protested.

"A little too much in some cases," Anya commented.

"But we're usually… well, we're usually not the side-show," Xander said.

"'Side-show'?" Buffy frowned at him.

"Well, we aren't the main act; that's Ellie and Devon. And we aren't the closest family, either," Xander went on. "That's Chuck and his dad. So, we're not the centre of attention. Just some weird friends from England, as far as the rest of the guests are concerned."

"Hot friends from England," Faith corrected him.

"I doubt anyone would mistake you for a Brit," Buffy said.

"Some of the guests certainly think we're British," Willow said. "And, technically, we are British citizens."

"Don't remind me." Buffy pouted. "I'll start drinking tea any moment now. And my teeth will grow."

"Buffy! That's a stereotype!" Willow frowned at her.

"So?"

"See, that's why we're exiled to a table in the corner," Willow told her.

"I thought it was so we could eat as much as we wanted without anyone growing suspicious. Other than the waiter who was told that we're bulimic," Buffy replied.

"And to keep us from making all the other women jealous," Faith added. Very unhelpfully, if not entirely wrong. "Which we will do anyway once the dancing starts."

"It's not that kinda dancing," Buffy told her.

"That depends on the dancers," Faith retorted with a leer.

"Please don't strip," Anya told them bluntly. "Our budget can't afford another incident."

"We won't strip," Willow said. "No one will. The strip Karaoke was just a… uniquely and totally not repeatable incident."

"I think it was great and I'll suggest it for our next pub crawl in London," Faith said.

Caridad couldn't tell if she was serious.

"Not even you would dare strip in front of Giles and Phil," Buffy told Faith.

"Watch me!" Faith shot back.

"I won't!"

"No one will strip at Ellie and Devon's wedding," Willow glared at everyone. "Or it's curses all around!"

"You wouldn't curse us!" Buffy protested.

"I so would! No one will ruin this wedding! Other than the usual embarrassing family members making a scene, but that's totally not our fault."

"Well, technically, we could qualify as the embarrassing remote family members," Xander pointed out with a grin.

"Xander!"

"Just kidding. And Dawn would probably kill us - look at her chatting with some of Ellie's friends." He grinned.

Buffy looked over with a frown. "She gets to play the sophisticated British scholar - and you know she can pull off the accent - and we're the bulimic table?"

"Would you rather have been stuck with regular servings?" Kennedy told her. "Besides, half the women here are probably bulimic."

Well, not the vegetarians amongst them; their food had been yucky.

"Who cares what the others think of us?" Faith snorted. "We're here to enjoy ourselves! And we will enjoy ourselves!"

"No fighting at the banquet!" Willow quickly said.

"There's bound to be a drunken brawl," Faith retorted.

"Which you won't be taking part in."

"But that's the best part! Apart from the sex part."

"Faith!"

"Just kidding. Don't worry, I'll dance, grab a nice hunk or something, and then look for a cupboard or room nearby."

"And that's one reason why there's usually a drunken brawl at weddings," Kennedy said.

"Hey!"

Caridad glanced at John. He hadn't said much during the meal. Not that he did say much, usually, especially compared to the Scoobies, but he'd been silent even for his standards. But he didn't seem to be angry - he was relaxed; she could tell by his muscles.

Well, they were the only ones at the table who weren't Scoobies, so it was probably that. She reached out and squeezed his thigh under the table. He quickly grew tense, but his lips pulled into a faint smile as he looked at her.

Good.

Caridad wasn't going to let Faith beat her at enjoying the wedding.

Dessert had been great as well, though the murmurs of 'bulimic' had been impossible to ignore afterwards. It wasn't as if Caridad had rubbed it in that she could eat three servings of the wedding cake, after all! And some ice cream afterwards. Well, not before that aunt of Devon had made that nasty remark about Californian women.

But now they were dancing. Ellie and Devon had opened the floor, so to speak, and Caridad had taken advantage of it by dragging John on the floor as well. He was a surprisingly good dancer. "Was ballroom dancing part of your spy training?" she asked as they led into another song.

"Partially," he replied. "An officer is supposed to be able to dance at a ball."

Ah. So he'd learned dancing at West Point. But she was sure that some of his moves he hadn't learned there.

"You?"

She grinned. "Natural talent and high school." And Slayer reflexes and grace, of course. Enough to outshine everyone on the floor, even though you weren't supposed to outshine the bride and groom. Well, almost everyone, she corrected herself when she saw the other Slayers dance.

That was unfair. L.A. was her territory. She let John lead her away from the display Buffy and Faith, trying to upstage each other, were making.

A new song started. She kept a firm grip on John. Ellie and Devon might be supposed to dance with various guests and family - Devon was now dancing with Sarah - but Caridad wasn't under any such obligation. She was here to enjoy the occasion, after all, and she would…

She felt John tense and tensed up herself. "What's wrong?"

"One of the waiters just stuck her hand into the jacket of Devon's father," John told her. "The brunette headed towards the door."

She hissed. They could contact Zondra and Vi, let them sort it out, but… describing the waiter would take time, and a spy would be gone before they were through. "Let's nab her!" she whispered.

The song was still playing, and them leaving the floor would send more tongues wagging, but Caridad didn't care right now - she had a spy to hunt!

Without saying anything, they split up. John was going after the woman while Caridad took a side exit.

"Trailing a suspect," she heard John inform the others as Caridad strode past the small line in front of the bathrooms and left the building through a not secured emergency exit. "Might have stuck something in the elder Woodcomb's pockets."

Her bridesmaid's dress hadn't been made for running, originally, but she'd made some alterations afterwards. A quick tug and it split up to her hip now - still not ideal, but good enough for a Slayer to dash around the restaurant and beat the spy to the main entrance - or exit.

"Copy. She's headed for the side exit on south," Zodra's voice sounded in her ear.

Good. Caridad sped up a little, turned around the next corner, then slowed down as she approached the door.

Perfect timing - she had barely reached it when it was opened from the inside, and the spy stepped out. Caridad grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, slamming her into the wall, then dropped her to the ground and secured her with an armlock. "Got her!" she reported.

"Ah! Let me go, damn it!" the woman - belatedly - protested. She didn't cry out for help, though, Caridad noticed.

A moment later, John arrived. "Let's get her inside."

"Let me go!" the woman protested again. "I've done nothing!"

"We'll see about that," Caridad told her, baring her teeth at her.

"Moving the suspect to an interrogation room," John told the others.

"Interrogation room? What? Are you arresting me?"

"We'll see about that," John told her.

The spy started to struggle harder now. "What the hell! Who are you? You're not… You're not cops!"

Caridad muffled her with a hand on her mouth before the spy could scream. Then John put binders on her hands and feet and properly gagged her.

"We need a clear path to the interrogation room," he told Zondra.

"Path should be clear right now."

"Copy."

Caridad carried the woman inside and up the closest stairs. She was still struggling, but a few taps to the ribs stopped that before they reached the room - which was merely a hotel room rented in advance and checked for bugs and decent soundproofing.

She dropped the woman on the bed and started to search her. No weapons. No bugs. But lockpicks. And a wallet. Which belonged to Devon's dad.

The spy was a thief - or wanted them to think that. Not exactly the oldest trick in the book, but a classic.

"Devon's dad is missing his wallet," Zondra reported. "Nothing was found in his jacket."

The woman wasn't struggling any more but still trying to scream or talk into her gag. She was either a good actress or some dumb thief in over her head.

They'd find out. Caridad grabbed the woman's driver's licence. "Lara Hollister."

"Running the name," Chuck replied over the radio.

Damn. He was either using his laptop at the banquet or had left. Caridad hoped for the latter. People would assume he was in the bathroom.

Well, they had a potential spy to investigate. Time to get a move on before people thought she really was bulimic.

"...and I just thought I could nab the wallet - people care less about their wallets at weddings since they don't have to pay for anything - but it's just a wallet!"

Hollister either was the best actress in the city or a rather lousy thief. Since she wasn't nominated for an oscar, Caridad was betting on the latter. She looked at John while the woman sobbed.

"Please! You got the wallet back, even! Let me go! I won't tell anyone!" She struggled a little, but with her hands and feet cuffed to a sturdy chair, there wasn't much she could do.

Caridad really wanted to say: 'She knows too much', but the woman might wet herself - and Caridad had plans for the room. Plans that could do without any lingering stench her nose would pick up. So she sighed. "We'll have to fill out too much paperwork if we hand her over to the local cops."

John grunted, then leaned in until his face was inches from the woman's. "If we ever see you again, we'll take you in and charge you with smuggling drugs. Lots of them. Understood?"

The thief whimpered as she frantically nodded. "Please! I'll leave the city!"

"You better," Caridad told her as she bent down to uncuff the woman.

A few minutes later, Caridad watched from the side entrance as the thief stumbled away as fast as her shaking legs could carry her.

"Back to the banquet?" John asked, standing behind her.

She frowned. They had taken too long to explain it as a trip to the bathroom. People would wag their tongues. Might as well… She grinned at him. "Let's work on our cover." She nodded towards the stairs.

His eyes widened for a moment, then he nodded with a grin. "Yes."

Faith was smirking at them when they returned to their table, though Caridad noticed that Willow and Kennedy were absent as well. And unlike Xander and Anya, she couldn't see them dancing, either.

"And here are our two lovebirds!" Faith greeted them - loud enough so the neighbouring table could overhear her despite the music filling the hall.

And Caridad's ears easily picked up the comments.

"Really!"

"Do you think they did it in a car?"

"No, no - they had a bathroom at least to restyle. That's not how you look if you did it in a car."

"You would know, of course!"

"Hah! You wish you'd know."

"Good one!"

Well, better than she had feared. Caridad grinned as she took her seat. "Did we miss anything?"

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head before sighing.

Caridad looked at Faith and raised her eyebrows.

The other Slayer shrugged. "Just B having some wedding blues. Her clock's ticking louder today."

Buffy sighed again. "It's not wedding blues."

"Midlife crisis?" Faith asked, her grin widening.

"What? I'm not even thirty!"

"But you're getting close," Faith replied.

"Which is a good thing for a Slayer," Caridad pointed out before Buffy could make a scene. After all, Ellie was already thirty, and she wouldn't be amused at all if Buffy started to loudly complain about becoming old.

"Well, yes…" Buffy pouted. "But I'm not going to marry."

"So? Marriage is for wimps," Faith said.

"Don't let Ellie hear that," Caridad told her.

"Marriage isn't for wimps!" Buffy protested. "And don't tell me that you've never dreamed of your, ah, dream wedding!"

"Me?" Faith laughed. "I never dreamed of a wedding! You should know me better than that!"

Buffy narrowed her eyes at her. "I know you well enough to know you're lying."

Faith rolled her eyes. "I was, like, five. And watching cartoons. That doesn't count."

"That so counts!" Buffy grinned.

"Whatever." Faith stood. "Now that our interrogation room is free again, I think I'll grab a hunk and drag them off for some… quality time. Laters!"

Buffy opened her mouth, then closed it and sighed once more. "She'll never change."

Well, she got that right, in Caridad's opinion.

"But really!" Buffy went on. "It's normal to think of a wedding of your own, at a wedding. It's very normal - very weddingly. Right?"

Caridad shrugged. "Probably. I can't speak for everyone."

"But you thought of your dream wedding, right?"

She tilted her head. "We discussed it," she said.

Once more, Buffy's mouth was open for a moment without any sound coming out of it. "Oh." She looked at Caridad, then at John - and then dropped her head on the table. "I'm gonna be an old spinster surrounded by married couples! Even Dawn will marry!"

Caridad looked around, but, fortunately, Dawn was dancing and hadn't heard Buffy's comment. Good.

"That was your clue to tell me that I'll find Mr Right, Caridad."

"Uh… you'll find Mr Right? Or Miss Right?" Caridad said.

"You could at least sound sincere."

Caridad rolled her eyes.

John smirked.

"Bye! Enjoy your honeymoon!"

"Have fun!"

"Leave the hotel room at least once during your stay!"

"Drive safely, Vi!"

"Safe for other people!"

Caridad watched as the limousine Chuck had rented for Ellie and Devon drove off. Vi was actually driving slowly - for a Slayer. She heard Zondra over the radio: "Couple's moving."

And then the car turned the corner and was out of her sight. A little later, she couldn't hear its engine any more.

"Well, that's that," Morgan commented. "They're married."

"Technically, they were married hours ago," Chuck said.

"Yes," Morgan replied. "But this… this feels final, you know?" He looked at the others.

"I don't, actually," Chuck said. "This is more like… Ellie and Devon going on vacation. Which they are, of course."

"But this is how the movies usually end," Morgan insisted. "The couple riding into the sunset. Well, it's already past that, I guess. Do you think they'll make the hotel on time?"

"They could arrive past midnight," Chuck said, "and they would get in - we arranged the check-in in advance. Technically, they're already checked-in."

"Ah."

Caridad looked around. The other guests were gathered in small groups, slowly filtering back to the banquet - and the dessert buffet - or talking to each other. Like Devon's parents and Chuck's dad.

She didn't see Faith, but that was no surprise. Phil and Giles were talking to some of the 'uncles' of the families. Well, Devon's family. From what Caridad could overhear, they were discussing literature. Willow and Kennedy were chatting with some of Ellie's friends, including Mel, who looked pretty drunk and was laughing almost constantly. Dawn was still talking with some older, academic types. So, she actually was interested, at least in the discussion, and not just riling up Buffy by flirting with men double her age.

And speaking of Buffy… Caridad saw the Slayer talking to one of Devon's friends and smirked - Buffy was gesturing as she vented on age and marriage, and totally missing how uncomfortable the guy was. She elbowed John and nodded towards Buffy. "So much for preying on desperate women at a wedding." The guy had picked the wrong target.

He took a look and snorted.

Sarah chuckled. "He actually hit on me when Chuck was in the bathroom."

Chuck, who had been staring down the road with a whimsy expression, blinked. "What?" He turned to glare at the guy.

"I shot him down," Sarah told him.

"Uh, yes, but still…" He shook his head.

"He hit on every woman," Kirsten said.

"Ah, one of those." Chuck nodded.

"One of those?" Morgan asked.

"The kind who just ask woman after woman in the expectation that sooner or later, one will say yes," Sarah explained.

"Ah." Morgan nodded. "Does that actually work?"

"Surprisingly often," Kirsten replied.

"Well, it's maths," Chuck agreed. "Try enough times, and unless it's completely impossible, sooner or later, you'll succeed provided there's no opportunity cost."

Caridad rolled her eyes. You couldn't reduce love - or lust - to maths. "Whatever. I doubt Buffy will say yes. Unless she's more desperate than I thought," she added, a little more loudly.

Judging by the way Buffy glared at her, the other Slayer had overheard her. Caridad raised her hand, whispering: "Shhh, I wanna hear this!" and tilted her head when Buffy turned back to the guy.

"Were you hitting on me because you think I'm desperate?"

"What? No, no! Of course not! I was drawn to you because you're the most beautiful woman here!" The guy was obviously lying.

"Really? It took you a long way to talk to me." Buffy's frown deepened.

"Well, there were so many people, so I didn't see you, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of you, I was…"

"Are you telling me that I'm short?" Buffy snapped.

"Ah…" The guy seemed at a loss for words for a moment. "That's not…"

But Buffy poked him in the chest with a finger, making him stagger back and cough. "Get lost!" She whirled and stalked over to Caridad and the others. "Really! Making fun of me?"

"Of the guy hitting on you, actually," Caridad told her.

"He thought I was desperate! You did as well!"

"Well, you were all 'oh, noes, I'm gonna be old!" Caridad shot back.

Sarah and Kirsten exchanged a glance.

"That's not desperate!" Buffy protested.

"Well, close enough." Caridad shrugged. "Anyway, you sent him packing."

"Yes." Buffy sighed again. After a moment, she said: "Weddings make you weird."

"Well, a lot of people would agree with that," Morgan said in a fake-sage voice.

"Not like that. I mean… you start thinking what if, what is, what stuff…" Buffy looked at them. "Don't tell me you weren't thinking about weddings. Other weddings, I mean."

"You already know that we discussed it," Caridad told her.

"You and Casey, yes. But you?" Buffy stared at Chuck and Sarah, then at Morgan and Kirsten.

Chuck actually blushed. "Well, uh… I mean…"

"It's certainly a concern, but not in the near future," Sarah said, far too smoothly for such a topic, in Caridad's opinion.

"Yes. No one wants to shoot 'The Big Fat L.A. Wedding Part 2' so shortly after the first part ended," Morgan added with a nod. Even Kirsten glanced at him with a frown for that, so he quickly added: "That's only one factor, of course. And it shouldn't influence our decisions at all, once we do make it."

Caridad snorted, but Kirsten smiled. Well, she was with Morgan, so she probably didn't mind his antics.

Buffy shook her head. "I'm surrounded by couples."

"Yes?" Caridad suppressed her grin.

"You don't know how lucky you are."

"Oh, we do," Chuck said, beaming at her. "We really do!"

Buffy blinked, frowned, sighed again and walked off. Stomped off. Caridad heard her mutter: "So unfair!", but the others would've missed it.

"Is she OK?" Kirsten asked.

"Oh, yes," Caridad said. Buffy was the Slayer, after all. "She's just…" She trailed off. How to word this without...

"She's just lamenting her love life," Chuck said.

"Yes, that," Caridad agred. No need to get into details. That would take too long, anyway. "She'll perk up tomorrow."

"If you say so," Kirsten said.

"Yes." Caridad firmly nodded.

"So…" Chuck looked around. "You talked about… weddings?"

"Yes," Caridad replied. But he was looking at John, she noticed.

And John stared back until Chuck ducked his head and looked away. "Never mind!"

She had to chuckle at that - but she also elbowed John. Gently, but so he'd feel it.

He grunted in return, and she wrapped her arm around his waist. After a moment, his arm was draped around her shoulders.

"We did as well," Morgan said after a moment. "But…"

"We decided that it's not on the table for a while," Kirsten cut in.

"Yes, that." Morgan nodded. "We're Watchers. And Spies. Spy-Watchers. We've had a lot of trouble just organising an adjacent wedding, so to speak, so organising a wedding of our own?" He grimaced. "Lots worse, you know?"

John grunted, though it wasn't his agreeing grunt.

Chuck looked a little taken aback and exchanged another glance with Sarah.

Ah. So, perhaps there would be another Bartowski wedding in the future. Well, seeing Sarah and Ellie clash over table decorations would be amusing.

"And, uh, you?" Chuck carefully didn't look at John as he asked Caridad.

"If we marry, we'll let you know," Caridad told him. She felt John nod.

It wasn't as if they had to hurry, after all.

They were good.

The End.