Holy Matrimony
Part Six
"Don't lay our love to rest
'cause we can stand up to the test
We've got everything and more
than we had planned"
~All For Love
Giles stood outside the mansion waiting for Buffy and all of her friends to return from the hospital. Buffy had called him from the emergency room, sounding both concerned for Angel and angry that they had been attacked in broad daylight. She was right in assuming that there was more to what had been happening than random attacks and had demanded that Giles would come with some answers.
Now Giles stood outside the front door, several of his books with him, waiting for everyone to arrive. He hoped that Angel was okay. If he wasn't, Giles knew that he was at least partially to blame. He should have told them everything from the beginning. However, he had not wanted to worry them when he wasn't sure whether there was truly a reason to be concerned, and if there was he hadn't known at the time the reason behind the threat.
Now, however, Giles knew the answers to both these questions. As he waited, Giles only had to consider how he was going to tell them. And how much of the prophecies they should know.
Giles had been waiting for about a half an hour when Oz's van pulled up in front of the mansion. The group of teenagers climbed out, followed by Angel whose bandaged shoulder hampered his movement. Buffy moved at the head of the group, carrying Angel's bloody shirt in one hand and his keys in the other.
"Hey, Giles," she said as she ran up to open the door. Everyone hurried inside. "You've got something to tell us, right?"
"I do," Giles replied, pulling out his books.
Angel closed the door behind him as he entered. "Could you hold on a second, Giles?" he asked. "I want to go put on a shirt."
Giles nodded.
"I'll help," volunteered Buffy, following Angel out of the room. He looked at her curiously. "You're going to need to help to get a shirt on over those bandages." The two of them disappeared into Angel's bedroom.
Everyone else made themselves comfortable on the couches. Giles took the books he brought and put them on the table. Willow picked up a book of prophecy from the table and quickly flipped it open to the correct page.
Xander was watching her strangely. "What are you doing, Will?" he asked.
Willow looked at Giles for a moment, her expression clearly saying "can I tell him?" Giles nodded.
"I'm going to be a Watcher," Willow declared with a smile. "That is, I'm learning. Giles is teaching me."
"Really?" asked Xander in surprise. "Didn't we say you'd make a good Watcher?"
Willow nodded.
"Cool," said Oz.
There was a moment of silence. Xander had a thoughtful look on his face. "Giles," he asked finally, "I thought you were a Watcher because like your whole family were Watchers or something."
"True," Giles replied, "but not all Watchers are from families like mine. Sometimes new people are brought into the Watchers on the recommendation of another Watcher, usually if that Watcher has no family to continue their tradition."
Everyone nodded their understanding at that as Buffy and Angel returned to the room. Angel had put on a white, buttoned shirt. "What's going on?" asked Buffy.
"Willow's going to be a Watcher," declared Xander.
"Really? Wow," said Buffy.
"Good luck," Angel added.
Willow just beamed.
Oz moved over to allow Angel a seat on the couch. Buffy took a seat on the table, now in the center of everything. "Well?" she said once everyone was settled. "What's up Giles?"
Giles took his glasses off, cleaning them while he thought on how to begin. Everyone except Willow stared at him expectantly. "I should have told you this earlier," Giles began.
Buffy glared at him angrily at that. "Giles," she said slowly, "this isn't going to be like when I died, is it?"
"No, no, of course not," Giles assured her. She didn't look appeased. "When you first announced that you were engaged, I looked into the records to see if any Slayer had ever gotten married. None had."
"Right, you told us this," Buffy said impatiently.
"What I didn't tell you is that one Slayer did get engaged."
Silence met this remark, a silence that Angel was first to break. "What happened to her?" he asked softly.
Giles sighed. "She was killed. Both she and her fiancé died a month before their wedding. It was a demon attack, one no one saw coming." Buffy was about to speak, undoubtedly to demand why they hadn't been told of this earlier. Giles held up his hands, answering her question before it could be asked. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew more. It could have just been chance."
"That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" muttered Xander.
"Correct," Giles replied smoothly, "especially now that we have seen similar increased activity. But I still did not know the . . . reason behind it."
"You mean besides the fact that the bad guys hate us?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, Buffy, besides that. If that was the only reason it still wouldn't explain the drastically increased activity that we're seeing. The question is really 'why now'."
"I assume you found an answer."
"Actually, I did," Willow said, holding up her book. "Giles and I found a whole bunch of references in places like the Pergamum Codex-"
"I hate that book," muttered Buffy.
"-and other books of prophecy to the 'wedded Slayer,'" Willow continued as if Buffy had not interrupted. "Mostly just little events and stuff, but I did find something that would be why they wouldn't want you to be the wedded Slayer." Willow pointed to a passage in the book she had opened. Reading aloud she said, "Neither her natural enemy nor their inhuman allies shall bring the destruction or death of the wedded Slayer."
Silence met her pronouncement. "That would be vampires, right? The Slayer's natural enemies?" Xander asked.
"And lesser demons is the implication, yes," Giles replied.
Oz smiled. "This is good, right?"
"Yes . . . and no," replied Willow. "Good for us: Buffy won't be killed by a vampire or demon if she's 'the wedded Slayer.' Bad for them: evil sees her as undefeatable. Bad for us: evil tries to stop Buffy from being 'the wedded Slayer.'" After a pause she added, "And it doesn't say that they can't defeat her, just that they won't."
"Way to look on the bright side, Willow," Buffy said sarcastically.
"Just looking at all sides, like I'm supposed to," Willow explained.
A silence fell over the group once again as everyone thought about what had been revealed. "So what do we do now?" asked Buffy.
"What would happen if they got married sooner than planned? Like ASAP?" Xander asked.
"Aside from giving my mother fits?" Buffy remarked.
Giles shook his head. "Probably not a good idea."
"To give my mother fits?"
"To hurry the wedding," Giles clarified. "Who knows at this time what is still to be released against you? If you rush the wedding, everything may be thrown at us at once . . . with disastrous consequences."
Everyone thought for a moment longer. Angel spoke. "What if-" he began.
"Don't even say it!" Buffy demanded. "Don't you dare ask 'what if we cancel the wedding' or something stupid like that!"
"Buffy," Angel explained softly, "I want nothing more in the world than to be married to you. But if it comes to making a choice as to whether you live or die, I'd rather not be married to you and have you live."
Buffy nodded reluctantly at that, but Willow shook her head. "I don't think that works, either," she said. "They're already trying to stop you. I don't think they're just going to go away. What's to stop the two of you from running to the courthouse one day and getting married?"
Giles cleared his throat. "This is not the only mention of the wedded Slayer, and we can assume that whoever or whatever is leading these attacks has access to the same prophecies we have," he added. "Some of the other instances make it clear that this refers specifically to the two of you, and not just any Slayer who happens to get married."
"Really?" asked Buffy in surprise.
Giles nodded.
Buffy had a very strange expression on her face. "Are you alright?" Angel asked her.
"Yeah," she said, "yeah, I'm good. I'm happy, I'm just not sure what to think of being in a prophesized relationship. It's really weird. Destiny is cool and all, but . . . ." She shook her head slightly. "I'm off topic . . . . I'll concentrate on that later. So Giles, what do we do now? Do we just continue as we have been?"
"There's not much else we can do," he replied.
"We can get help," Xander offered. When everyone looked at him blankly, he explained. "We all know more people . . . and things . . . that fight evil. Wouldn't some of them help if we asked?"
"Like Kenneth!" exclaimed Willow.
"Yes," Giles said with a nod. "I can get a hold of him."
"Anyone else?" Xander asked.
"Cordelia." Everyone looked at Angel in surprise. "She helped me in L.A. for a year. She can fight evil alright."
"How about the woman with the sword? You know, the one who passed through town a couple of summers ago and helped fight vampires. What was her name?" Oz offered.
Willow thought for a second. "Colleen?"
"Alright," said Giles. Then, after a moment, "Does anyone know how to get in touch with Ms. Cunningham?"
Neither Oz nor Willow had a reply for that. Much to their surprise it was Angel who provided an answer. "Cunningham?" he asked. "I know someone else with that last name, maybe she's related. I know a Robin Cunningham, a self proclaimed vampire hunter. She doesn't deal with other types of demons, but she'd probably help, too. She's already invited to the wedding."
As everyone stared at Angel dumbfounded, Buffy laughed.
"What?"
"Do you know *everyone,* Angel?"
Angel smiled. "I've been around," he replied.
"Well," said Giles, "any other helpers anyone can think of?" When no one replied, he stood. "Then we'd best be leaving. It's been a busy day."
Everyone nodded as they made their way towards the door. Buffy stood. "I should be going, too," she said. She kissed Angel briefly on the lips. "You rest. Doctor's orders." Then Buffy walked with Giles out the door.
Once outside, Buffy turned to Giles. "What else did the prophecies say?" she asked softly.
Giles regarded her seriously. "Only bits and pieces. Most of it is unclear now, and none of it is of immediate consequence." That all was true.
Another pause. "It's good, right? We're going to make it?"
"It's good, as far as I can tell."
Pause. "Giles?"
"Yes?"
"If you found something bad, you'd tell me, right?"
"I would tell you, Buffy." And that was also true.
"Good."
Part Seven
"When I rearrange the pieces of the puzzle of my past
I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs
And I think about the moments that have left their mark
And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark"
~Babysitter
Harry Chapin
As the month progressed, encounters with demons and multiple vampires became routine. The no longer caused the same worries - now they were just one more obstacle to overcome. It was the wedding plans which caused much more stress, as Buffy and Angel rushed to book a church, a place for the reception, catering, flowers, invitations . . . plus manage to keep up with school and work, not to mention slaying.
The combined tensions of demons and planning mounted. Buffy had once remarked that when they got together it was always a "blood thing." To provide a balance and a calming break, Buffy and Angel made sure they spent at least one evening a week together where both slaying and preparations were not the reason to gather, and they could just be a couple. It was a new experience for both of them, and for Angel at least it was a constant joy.
Angel smiled at the smell of cooking food permeating his kitchen. It was a far cry from his meals of the past. He was actually getting good at this - cooking, that is - he thought with a touch of pride. At least, the food was edible. The only other person he'd had around to tell him how it was was Buffy, and her opinions were probably a little biased. One thing Angel was doing for sure was enjoying himself.
An appreciative sigh in the door to the kitchen announced another presence in the mansion. A moment later arms wrapped around Angel's waist. "Mmm," said Buffy appreciatively, "smells good."
Angel stopped stirring for a moment to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey," he said softly. "How was your day?"
"Okay," she replied. "I mean, no weird occurrences, none of my teachers died mysteriously, and I only had to slay one vampire on the way over here." She sighed. "That's good, right? And you?"
"Pretty much the same."
For a moment they simply stood there together, Angel's arm around Buffy's shoulder, and he gave her a small hug. "I'm glad you're here," he said with a smile.
"Wouldn't miss it," Buffy replied with a grin, and kissed him in return.
They were interrupted by two things at once. One, Angel's phone began ringing. At the same time, the pot of water on the stove began to boil over. Breaking from what had been an easy, relaxed moment with each other, Buffy and Angel sprang to action, Angel taking care of the near food disaster while Buffy ran to get the phone.
Rescuing the meal quickly, Angel couldn't help but smile again as Buffy answered his phone. It felt so nice to love and be loved. He had spent so much time lonely, and not that long ago had resolved himself to continuing alone. But he wasn't alone. He had friends . . . he had Buffy. It was nothing less than amazing.
Buffy was speaking to whomever was on the other side of the phone. "Hello? . . . No, this is the right place." A pause. "This is Buffy." A longer pause this time. "Oh, hi! He's in the kitchen . . . . Cooking dinner. . . . Ravioli, why?" Buffy was standing in the doorway now, the cordless phone held to her ear. After a moment of silence, she laughed lightly. "Hold on, he's right here," she said into the phone, then handed it to Angel.
The meal now under control, Angel took the phone and propped it on his shoulder. He wondered who it was - not many people would call him. "Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Angel. This is Robin," came the female voice on the other end.
Angel was pleasantly surprised. Robin Cunningham-Baker was from L.A., a friend and amateur vampire hunter that he'd fought side by side with on occasion. They'd met when Angel had rescued her from a gang of vampires with a grudge. In the continued excitement, he had forgotten to give her a call and ask for her help. "Hey there!" he said with a smile. "How's it going?"
"Real good. The restaurant John and I bought is doing great. How about yourself? Everything going well? I haven't seen you in a while."
"Never better," Angel replied sincerely. "What's up?"
"Well," the voice came back cheerfully, "I went and checked the mail today and found this lovely invitation to a wedding in some town called 'Sunnydale.' Since someone I knew left for that town several months ago and this is the first I'd heard from him, I thought I'd better give him a call."
Angel laughed lightly, feeling a tad sheepish. "Sorry I haven't been in touch," he said. "will you forgive me and come to my wedding?" My wedding. Now that was something Angel thought he'd never say.
"Of course we'll be there!" replied Robin. Then, after a pause, "That is, if *you'll* be there?"
"Hmm?" Angel was confused. "I'm sorry, I don't follow. Why wouldn't I be there?"
Robin sighed. "Let's see," she said. "I have here an invitation to the wedding of Buffy and Angel . . . no last names given . . . at the Sunnydale Church of God. December 18th at noon." She paused again, then said, "I think it was the 'noon' part that really threw me for a loop. Awfully sunny, isn't it?"
Now Angel really felt sheepish. "Oh. I guess I *really* haven't been in touch."
"No, Angel, I'm guessing not," Robin replied with a laugh. "So," she continued, "I figure this is either the legendary underground church . . . which still requires you to have developed a tolerance for crosses, you've rejoined the land of the living, or a mistake was made on the invitation."
"Um, option number two, actually."
"Really?" Robin sounded genuinely pleased. "Well, in that case I suppose dual congratulations are in order, on your engagement and on your new found humanity. No strings attached, I assume?"
"No strings," Angel replied with a happy sigh. Just Buffy standing in the doorway watching him with a smile was a delight. He'd been so caught up in the joys - and occasional frustrations - of being human again he'd forgotten to tell someone who'd really understand. "It's . . . it's amazing, Robin. I've never been happier."
"I can tell. I've never heard you sound so happy." Angel knew she understood better than anyone else could. When he had first met Robin she had been a bitter, sad young woman who had no desire in life but to take as many vampires with her as she could before she died. Not long after she had met her husband, John, and now they only fought to live. Perhaps she saw a similar change in Angel, a joy where there had been no hope. If nothing else, he knew she understood.
"Well," she said finally, "I don't want to keep you from your fiance any longer. Or your dinner, for that matter." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, congratulations, Angel. John and I will be at the wedding, even if we have to close the restaurant to get there."
As she made as to end their conversation, Angel remembered. "Robin, wait," he said urgently.
"What?"
Reluctantly Angel asked, "Um, do you think you could come to town a couple of days early?"
"For fun, or am I fighting vampires?"
"Vampires and assorted nasties, actually," Angel said, a touch sadly. "We're having a bit of trouble, and it's only going to get worse. It's going to be worst right near the wedding, and I don't know that we'll be able to handle it."
"Of course we'll help," Robin assured him. "Don't know how early we'll be, but we'll be there."
Angel smiled in relief. "Thanks," he said. Suddenly he remembered why Robin had come up in conversation in the first place. "Um, one more thing. Do you have a relative named Colleen?"
"Yeah. My sword wielding, occasionally vampire slaying cousin. You met her at my wedding."
"Oh, I remember her now. Do you think she'd help?"
"If I can find her. She's a bit hard to track down, though, she's quite the wanderer." A muffled voice spoke in the background. "Listen, I have to go now. We'll try and get there early."
"Thanks, Robin," said Angel. "It was nice hearing from you. Goodnight."
"You too. Keep in touch this time, alright?"
Angel smiled. "Will do. Bye."
Buffy stood watching Angel from the doorway. She smiled at him, and he smiled back lovingly. "Well," said Buffy, "I'm guessing from what I heard that you forgot to include a 'by the way, I'm human' note to Robin."
"Yeah."
"Angel," Buffy said with a laugh, "I think we need to work on your communication skills."
Angel smiled in response. "How about I start with 'dinner's ready?'"
"Sounds good to me."
The dinner was quiet, but that was the idea. They spoke about the newest show at the museum a bit, and how Buffy was doing in her psychology class, but mostly they were comfortable together in silence. As she finished her meal, Buffy looked at Angel still eating and chuckled.
"What is it?"
"You," replied Buffy in amusement. When he looked at her curiously, she explained. "You once thought you'd have trouble adjusting to being human, but once you decided to, you sure didn't do anything halfway."
Angel laughed slightly, finishing his meal. True, he supposed. "What brought that on?"
Buffy shrugged, smiling. "Well, it could be that you seem to be doing your best to become a gourmet cook. You used to have the barest kitchen ever. Now, there's a mirror hanging in your bathroom. This house in the daytime is filed with sunlight, and if you're home I usually find you out in the garden. You don't sneak around like you used to. You've got a job . . . ." her voice trailed off. When she continued her voice was no longer teasing. "Sometimes, it's like you're a different person. Not in a bad way . . . . You used to always look sad inside, and you very rarely talked about your feelings . . . or anything else, for that matter. You smiled more now, and even laugh on occasion. And talking isn't *quite* as much of a problem." She laughed then, sounding a bit nervous. "Did I really just say all that?"
Smiling, Angel continued. "You forgot about being so completely in love with an incredible woman that I want nothing more than to have a family with her, to grow old with her. And now that that's actually possible . . . . I hope she likes the new, happier, daytime me." Angel tried to make that a joke, but his voice showed that he really was concerned.
Buffy reassured him without even realizing he had been worried. She was grinning from ear to ear. Getting up from her seat, she said, "You were talking about me, there, right?"
"Could be," Angel replied with a small smile.
Buffy leaned over to kiss him, and for a moment there was nothing and no one else in the world. Angel held her tightly. When they broke the kiss, Buffy sat herself in his lap and grinned. "You know," she said, "I've decided I like destiny."
The man was angry enough to throw things. Deadly things. If he'd been able to act against them, his very anger would have killed the Slayer and her dark man. Unfortunately, he suffered under certain restrictions. Instead, his minions hid from his anger.
The darkness fumed as well. "You said she would wear down."
"I know."
"That she'd never see it coming."
"I know!"
"She knows what's going on, now. She's seen through your attacks."
"I KNOW!"
The darkness fell into an uneasy silence at his outburst. One did not raise his voice to his master.
"Not to worry," the man assured in a softer tome, "it's not over yet."
Part Eight
"And I can't feel
Much hope for anything
If I won't be there
To catch you if you fall"
~Something's Always Wrong
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Buffy and Angel drove up to the address Buffy's father had given them shortly before noon. It was a tall office building, and neither of them said anything as they got out of the car and entered. Buffy was nervous. She hadn't seen her father in a long time now. When she'd called him to say she was getting married, that had been nerve wracking enough. If forces of evil couldn't stop her from getting married, then her father wouldn't either, but it was still important to both Buffy and Angel that he approve of their wedding.
So today they had arranged to meet for lunch while Buffy and Angel were in town. Buffy was going shopping for bridal gowns, Cordelia having promised to show her all the finest shops, and Angel wanted to get some things he'd left in his L.A. apartment. First, however, there was the lunch with Buffy's father.
Buffy approached the reception desk a bit nervously. "Hello," she said, "I'm here to see Hank Summers?"
The woman behind the desk looked at her with a serious expression. "And you are?" she asked.
"I'm-" Buffy began.
"My daughter," said a voice behind them.
"Dad!" Buffy turned around to find her father right behind her.
"Buffy," he said, giving her a small hug. "It's been a while."
"It's good to see you, too," Buffy said with a smile. Stepping back, Buffy noticed Angel standing somewhat awkwardly by the reception desk. "Dad," Buffy said, gesturing for Angel to approach, "this is Angel. Angel, this is my dad."
The two of them shook hands seriously for a moment. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Summers," Angel said.
"The pleasure's mine," Buffy's father replied. They let go of each other's hands and there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. "Well," Mr. Summers said finally, "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving. How about we continue this somewhere nicer than the lobby?"
"Sounds good to me," Buffy replied with a grin, and the three of them made their way back out of the building.
The lunch at least started as a tense affair. Aside from her mother, no one in Buffy's family had met Angel prior to their engagement. Not having spent much time in his daughter's life in recent years, Hank Summers had been more than a little surprised when she announced she was getting married. Angel and Mr. Summers tried to get to know each other during lunch, but circumstances made that difficult. So much of Buffy's and Angel's relationship was tied up in her secret Slayer identity. There was only so much she could tell her father without mentioning vampires. She and Angel had come up with a story to explain what they could, but somehow Buffy felt that her father knew they weren't telling him the complete truth.
As the meal ended Mr. Summers did something surprising. "What are you doing after this?" he turned to Buffy and asked.
Buffy glanced at Angel for a second, then replied, "Angel's going to get some things he left in his apartment, and I'm meeting a friend to go shopping for my dress." She looked at her father curiously. "Why?"
"If you don't mind the company, I'd like to go with you."
Buffy looked at him in surprise. "You mean that?" It went unspoken, but Buffy finally felt her father's approval. After a moment, she frowned. "What about work?"
"They'll get along without me," Mr. Summers said. "I haven't been part of your life much lately, and I'll only get to be part of your wedding once."
Business was obviously closed. Angel stood on the sidewalk, looking at the small office. A discolored spot near the door showed where a sign had hung. The curtains were closed as they had always been, so he could not see inside, but he knew everything in the office had been cleared out. Cordelia had told him that she and Doyle had closed up shop as soon as they knew he wasn't returning. She'd finally gotten an acting job at the same time, and still helped people occasionally, though in more mundane ways than before. Doyle had gone somewhere, presumably, but she didn't know where.
The building didn't have any new tenants yet. The office had been packed up, but Cordelia said that most of Angel's stuff he'd left was still there. It was only a matter of time before everything was gotten rid of, however, and there were a couple of things he wanted. Opening the door, Angel entered the permanently darkened interior.
It was strange entering the office from the bright light of day outside. Oddly, the place looked almost exactly the same as it had when Angel had first entered the place. He didn't care about anything that had been here. Instead, Angel descended the stairs to the basement apartment that had been his residence.
Angel flicked on the lightswitch to find the room exactly as he had left it. There wasn't much here he wanted - he had plenty of clothes in Sunnydale, he'd been fighting demons less since he'd lost his vampiric strength so the weapons were sort of pointless, and there wasn't much else in the apartment.
A couple of boxes were left behind from when the office had been packed up. Placing an empty box on the couch, Angel started filing it with the couple of books he wanted to take with him. Once he'd gone through those, he debated his collection of weapons. Even if he didn't use them often, Buffy, Giles, or another Slayer might find need of them. Finally he put a couple of swords and other weapons in a box as well. The two boxes he placed in the elevator to take back up. That done, he glanced around the living area, then made his way into the bedroom.
This area had only a couple more things that he wanted to keep. There were things here that he had brought with him from Sunnydale in the first place, things that he'd wanted near him. Mementoes and other items that had some meaning to him went into a third, smaller box.
As Angel sat for a moment on the bed, he noticed a picture on the nightstand. The frame had been knocked over so it lay face down, but Angel knew what it was. He picked up the picture and looked at it with a smile. It was a sketch of Buffy, one he had drawn soon after moving to L.A. He'd wanted to at least have an image of her if he couldn't be near. Sure, he'd done a lot of good in L.A., but it had been a lonely year.
Now, he didn't need the picture to have her near. Not with their wedding less than two months away. Still smiling, Angel laid the picture in the final box.
In a moment Angel knew he was not alone. It didn't take vampiric senses to know there was someone else in the apartment. Just plain human senses did that fine. It also didn't take vampiric senses to guess who it was.
Angel waited until the footsteps came to a stop outside the bedroom door. "I was wondering when I'd see you again," Angel said calmly.
"Well, it's not like you've needed my help lately," the Irish accented voice replied from the doorway.
Angel turned around, smiling slightly. "Nice to see you, too, Doyle."
The half-demon smiled. After a moment he said, "I figured you'd be back here sooner or later. Of course, originally I thought you were only going to be gone for a week at the most."
"Plans changed," Angel replied.
Doyle nodded. "Yeah, I got that. You know how it is - I had a vision a couple of days after you left. Got a glimpse of you and your lady-love taking a sunlit stroll to go with the headache. Figured you wouldn't be back after that." He chuckled briefly. "I told you not to distance yourself from the human race, but I wasn't expecting you to go to the opposite extreme."
"What can I say, I finally listened to you," Angel quipped. "Buffy says I never do things halfway." After another moment of silence he stopped smiling. "I'm really glad to see you, but since I never heard from you these last few months, I've got to assume you've got some reason to talk to me now."
"Hey," Doyle scolded, "you're the one who dropped out of touch, not me. Left Cordelia and I sort of at a loss of what to do." Angel began to apologize, but Doyle waved him off. "No, you're right. Besides, we both got new jobs within the week, and it was 'meant to be' after all. That's not the point - I've got a message for you."
Angel began to protest. "I'm not staying, Doyle. We're heading back to Sunnydale tomorrow."
"Nothing like that," Doyle assured. "This is just a warning for you and your Slayer. There's hard times ahead."
"I know. They've already been trying to stop the wedding."
Doyle shook his head. "It's not just that. There's more going on than any of us know, and . . . ."
"And?"
"The two of you had better be ready."
Part Nine
"There you stand in your wedding dress
You're so beautiful that I must confess
I'm so proud you have chosen me"
~Dreams Go By
Harry Chapin
Buffy smiled contentedly as she rode in the car with her father. Things were going even better than she had hoped when he'd invited her and Angel for lunch. He actually seemed to be okay about everything. This was the way today was supposed to go - absolutely normal.
"You're very quiet," Mr. Summers said after a moment.
"And you're awfully calm," Buffy replied. "I keep expecting that any minute you're gonna get angry or something."
He glanced at her for a moment. "Why would I be angry?"
"Because . . . I'm young, and still in school, and I don't know what I'm getting into . . . or something."
"I could say those things, but we both know they're not true," Hank said.
Buffy looked at him in surprise.
"You've grown up a lot since I saw you last, Buffy. More than just age. And I think you do know what you're doing. It's not really my place anymore to pass any sort of judgement. That's your mother's job. I only wish I'd been around more so this didn't come as much of a surprise."
Buffy chuckled slightly.
"What?"
"You'd probably still have been surprised," she explained. "Just about everyone was. Mom didn't even know I was seeing Angel until I'd already known him for a year."
"Speaking of your mother, what's she think of this?"
Buffy shrugged. "She's okay about it, I think. She was surprised, but she's dealing." Suddenly, Buffy sat up straighter and looked out the window. "Ooh! We're here!"
There was no more conversation as Hank Summers pulled into a parking space in front of the bridal shop. Buffy practically jumped out of the car. Cordelia waited for her just inside.
"Hey, Buffy," she said with a small smile.
"Hi Cordelia." Buffy smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm doing good. And you?"
"Good." Buffy gestured to her father. "Cordy, this is my dad. Dad, this is Cordelia. We went to high school together."
"It's nice to meet you, Cordelia," he said.
Showing an unusual amount of restraint, Cordelia glanced at Buffy. "Does he know about . . ." she made a gesture that vaguely resembled staking a vampire.
Buffy shook her head. "So, she said finally, "are we gonna hang out in the doorway or are we going shopping?"
"Shopping," Cordelia replied with a grin.
What followed was a parade of wedding dresses, most of which blurred one into the other. The sales woman was most helpful, but mostly it was Cordelia who found dresses she thought Buffy would like. They chatted at the same time, catching up on each other's lives.
"So," Buffy said as Cordelia helped fasten the who-knows-what-number dress she'd tried on, "what have you been doing?"
"Well," Cordelia said, "you know how I got that small acting job right after Angel left?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I made friends with the wardrobe lady. She took me on as an assistant. I go to all the local shops and find things for her." Cordelia was smiling.
"So you basically get to shop for pay," Buffy said with a grin.
"Of course," Cordelia replied. "That's also how I knew you'd like this store."
"Thanks Cordelia."
Cordelia didn't say anything for a moment. "There," she said, "what do you think?"
Buffy looked at herself in the small mirror. "I want to look at this in the large mirror," she said with a smile. Already she knew she liked this dress. She left the small dressing room and stood on a small platform in front of the three-way mirror. Cordelia and the saleswoman arranged the skirt so she could see it best in the mirror, all spread out. The dress was relatively simple, white satin with thin straps. The skirt wasn't as full as some of the dresses she'd tried on and ended in a slight train. Buffy looked at it and grinned from ear to ear.
"Well?" Cordelia said expectantly.
"I love it," Buffy replied. "This hardly seems real. The fact that I'm actually getting *married* kinda just hit me." She turned her head away from her reflection to look at Cordelia. "What do you think?"
"Gorgeous," Cordelia said, then smiled. "I think Angel's going to faint when he sees it."
Buffy laughed. "God, I hope not. That would be embarrassing."
"Hold on just a moment, dear," the saleswoman said to Buffy, hurrying out of the dressing rooms. A moment later she returned with several veils. She looked at each of them in turn, finally selecting one and positioning it on Buffy's head so the thin fabric draped down her back.
Buffy stared at her reflection, wide eyed. Cordelia said nothing, only grinned. After a moment Buffy called out, "Dad!"
Hank Summers was behind her quickly. Buffy watched him in the mirror as he saw her standing in the wedding dress. He looked completely shocked.
"What do you think?" Buffy asked softly.
"I think if I was your mother I'd be crying right now," her father replied.
"Well," the saleswoman said after a moment, "I take it everyone is pleased with this dress?"
"Definitely!" Buffy exclaimed.
About 15 minutes later they were leaving the bridal shop again, this time carrying their perfect find out to Hank's car. Cordelia and Buffy said their goodbyes - or "see-you-soons"- and went their separate ways once again. Mr. Summers was driving Buffy back to the hotel she and Angel were staying at. Buffy was still grinning from ear to ear.
Buffy's father pulled the car up in front of the door as the sun set. He helped her get everything out of the car and to a hotel employee, then just stood there and smiled at Buffy for a moment. "I didn't say it before," he said finally, "but I'm happy for you. You're going to be a beautiful bride."
Buffy smiled. "Thanks Dad."
Hank gave her a hug. "Be happy, alright?"
"I am."
He moved away, about to get back in the car when someone knocked him over from behind. As her father fell, Buffy looked at his attacker in disgust. *Vampires. Of course.*
"Hey!" she called out, getting the vampire's attention, "don't you know it's really stupid to attack my family? Don't your Sunnydale cousins tell you anything?"
The vampire got off Buffy's father, who smartly scrambled away from him. "They tell me enough," the vampire replied.
"Really?" Buffy asked in mock surprise. "Did they say 'the Slayer's in town, go commit suicide?'"
"No, they said don't go against the Slayer alone." And then the other vampires appeared.
"Buffy, what's-" her father asked, a bit groggy from his fall.
"Not now, Dad," Buffy said tensely. She had come to the frightening realization that she didn't have a stake handy. She'd been trying on dresses all day, and so hadn't kept her usual stake up her sleeve. Whirling around, Buffy was going to grab her bag which had her weapons in it, when she noticed that the man from the hotel had already taken her things up to the room. *Just my luck.* Buffy looked back at the advancing vampire. "I don't suppose you'd like to call this off for another time?" she asked nervously. A low growl answered her. "Didn't think so."
Buffy really didn't want to take the battle into the hotel. She wanted to be welcome here, and massive property damage kinda didn't fit that purpose. Maybe if she just kept them here long enough someone would scare them away, like the police. Maybe if she pummeled them enough they'd get tired of this and go home.
Yeah, right.
The only upside Buffy could see to this was that the leader seemed to be only interested in fighting her at the moment. They traded punched and proceeded to otherwise throw each other around. All the while Buffy could only hope that her father was staying out of trouble. His car wasn't so lucky - it had several dents from either Buffy or the vampire getting thrown into the side. Buffy was doing just fine, weapons or no weapons, and the vampire was soon laying on the ground, unconscious from the thorough pummeling he had received.
Which, of course, was the cue for the rest of the vampires to attack. There were about four of them, which without weapons was decidedly bad odds. Buffy managed to knock the first one out of the way, but the second one knocked her down in his rush to attack. She kicked him in the stomach, but a third one was there before she could get off the ground.
And then he wasn't there anymore, and Angel was there instead helping her to her feet before trading punches with vampire #4.
"Great timing," Buffy said as she kicked vampire #1 again, trying to rush at her.
Angel staked the vampire he was fighting. "You looked like you could use some help."
"You got anymore stakes?"
Angel tossed her one without a word. She caught it easily and turned to stake stupid running vampire, who essentially impaled himself on it as he ran at her a third time.
Several minutes later Buffy and Angel joined her father, leaning against the car and catching their breath. The final count - Angel 2, Buffy 3, with the final one being the leader who did not regain consciousness throughout the prolonged fight. The battle finally over, they breathed a collective sigh of relief, then Buffy helped her father - numb from shock - into the hotel for the requisite explanations.
Angel sighed in relief when Mr. Summers finally left the hotel room. It had been a nerve wracking day. He loved Buffy very much, and it had been strange to be marrying her without having even met her father. Hank's approval had been important to both of them, even though he didn't seem to pay much attention to Buffy's life. That seemed to have changed today, however.
The last hour had been the worst. Mr. Summers had guessed he wasn't being told the whole truth after having lunch with Buffy and Angel. After the encounter with the vampires he had been sure of it. So Buffy and Angel had found themselves having to explain things without any prepared story. At first, Buffy had tried the old "gangs on PCP" route, and then "Dad, you're just seeing things," neither of which had any success considering they still didn't explain why Buffy had been fighting them.
So next came the abbreviated story of "yes, vampires are real, those were vampires, I killed them." Works alright, and unlike last time Buffy had told that version she didn't get kicked out of the house. Not that Mr. Summers was exactly happy at the news, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Especially not when he found out that Joyce knew and had come to a reluctant sort of approval.
Then Mr. Summers asked something that Angel hoped he wouldn't think of; what did Angel have to do with all this? Does one say to his future father-in-law that he's actually 220-something years older than his daughter, an ex-vampire of the most vicious variety, twice cursed with a human soul, now returned to humanity in a case of pure accident? Not hardly. Instead Angel said that his parents were killed by vampires and left it at that. It was a half truth, actually - the guilty vampire had been himself.
Many vague answers and half truths later, Buffy's father left, partially satisfied. As the hotel door closed, Angel slowly took a seat on the bed and hung his head with a relieved sigh. Finally, the very long day was coming to a close. Very long day . . . very long hour.
Buffy's arm around his shoulders startled Angel out of his thoughts. He looked at her in response. She was smiling slightly, fondly, but she looked concerned as well. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Angel nodded. "Just glad that's over," Angel explained.
"I'm glad you were there with me to explain this time," Buffy replied. "Speaking of, how did you know I needed your help outside?"
Angel shrugged. "The bellman brought your stuff up. When you weren't right behind it, I came down to see if I could meet you."
"It's lucky you did." Buffy sat beside Angel, leaning against him. Angel smiled. "You take care of everything you need to?" Buffy asked.
Angel nodded. "You?"
Buffy's face broke into a wide grin. "Oh yeah," she replied. "It's going to be perfect."
Smiling, they simply sat there and held each other. Perfect. That was exactly how it was going to be.
Part Ten
"We got this far
not by luck
but by never turning back"
~The Hard Way
Mary Chapin Carpenter
The church as of yet had no flowers, no decorations, and the few people gathered were wearing everyday clothes, but in her mind's eye Buffy could see exactly how it all would look on her wedding day. Absolutely beautiful. That was the bride-to-be Buffy. The Slayer saw at the same time places where demons could hide, best places for fighting, ambushes laid. Yet Buffy rebelled against those thoughts now. After all, except for vampires there'd been very little of threat in the last month. And so the dreamy vision of the wedding took precedence, and Buffy wasn't aware of much else.
The wedding rehearsal had ended just a few minutes before. Buffy's family and friends were making their way out of the church, but Buffy hung back a bit, lost in thought. A hand on her shoulder startled her.
It was Willow. "Hey," she said, "you coming?"
Buffy smiled slightly. The wedding was going to be perfect - and perfectly normal. Willow and Cordelia were going to be her bridesmaids, Xander and Oz were the groomsmen. Both of Buffy's parents were going to be there, and Giles was standing in for family of the groom. The reception after the wedding was going to be held in the mansion, being the only private residence they had access to without too much money that was large enough. Undead party crashers were not a usual wedding concern. Then, Buffy and Angel were spending a week in the Bahamas.
After the craziness of the last few months, they definitely needed a vacation. The wedding might be normal, but everything leading up to it certainly hadn't been. They'd had to forgo some of the usual pre-wedding events. What with the constantly threatening monster attacks, there just wasn't time. Even tonight was going to be dealing with demons instead of the impending wedding. That's where everyone was going now - the Scooby gang was meeting at Giles' house to face whatever might be thrown at them.
Buffy shook her head slightly. "I'll be there," she said to Willow. "I want to talk to Father Riley."
Willow frowned. "Don't be too long. It's getting dark."
Buffy laughed. "Yes, ma'am."
Willow smiled and walked towards Giles at the door. Buffy watched them go, then crossed the church to where Father Riley stood. He was talking to Angel and both smiled when Buffy came over to them.
"Buffy," Father Riley acknowledged, while Angel put an arm around her shoulder. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
Buffy grinned from ear to ear. "Definitely." After a moment she looked at the priest seriously. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Father?" She looked at Angel, reluctantly conveying that she wanted to speak to the priest alone.
The priest nodded. Angel gave Buffy a kiss on the forehead, saying, "I'll wait for you outside," and left Buffy and Father Riley alone.
When Buffy hesitated about saying anything, Father Riley regarded Buffy with a questioning expression. "What's wrong, Buffy?" he asked.
"Wrong?" Buffy asked in surprise. "Nothing. I just wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? Ms. Summers, that's not necessary. Performing a wedding . . ."
"I'm not talking about that," Buffy interrupted. "Well, not entirely." The young priest looked confused. "You know that we're not exactly . . . normal. I mean, how we met you and all . . . And you know that we had to be a bit, uh, creative, in order to make this legal. But you've never said anything about it."
The priest nodded in understanding. "You want to know why."
"Yeah."
"Buffy," the priest explained, "when we first met, when Angel was in the hospital, you asked why I helped him after I saw my cross burn him. I said that he needed help at the time, even if the circumstances were odd." Buffy nodded. "I've since learned that there are a lot of odd circumstances around here."
Buffy looked at Father Riley in surprise. Off her look, he continued. "People aren't as oblivious around here as you think, Ms. Summers. Though, as a member of the church, perhaps I am a bit more open to the supernatural than most. Connecting legends with real life isn't that hard. And it doesn't take much for me to remember that you asked about banishment of demons when you saw your cross no longer burned Angel. So, I can guess a lot. But I also hear a lot. And those same people who've lived in Sunnydale for a while, who talk about all the strange things in town, talk about you sometimes."
"Me?" Buffy asked in alarm.
The priest nodded. "You always seem to be at the center of action, they say, and many of them give you credit for saving their lives. I figure you know about a lot going on that I don't want to know about." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I'm a pretty good judge of character, Buffy, and you are a very good person. You care a lot about people. The man you are marrying tomorrow is a good person as well, I think, and he cares a lot about you. That's all I need to know."
Buffy smiled. "Thanks." Then she thought about what he'd said for a moment. "You haven't . . . spoken to anyone else about this, have you?"
"No. And I won't."
Buffy sighed in relief.
Father Riley smiled. "Go on, Buffy. It's getting dark, and you don't want to leave your friends waiting."
Nodding, Buffy practically bounced towards the door. Part way there, she turned around to face the priest again. "You know," she said, "if it wasn't for you this wouldn't be happening. We couldn't get married . . . before."
"You're welcome." Father Riley laughed slightly. "Now get going!"
Buffy grinned, spun around, and waltzed towards the doors. Father Riley's answers had given her one less thing to worry about. She couldn't feel anything but joy, no matter what else might be ahead.
She was surprised when there was no one outside the doors at first. Not worried, just surprised. "Angel!" Buffy called. There was no response. "Angel!" Looking around, Buffy did not see Angel anywhere. She continued to call out his name as she began to walk around the church.
On the side of the church where few ever walked, Buffy saw her first proof that something was wrong. Standing in the yard across from one of Sunnydale's twelve cemeteries, Buffy was disgusted at the smell of things rotting. It filled her senses, though it had no discernable source. The grass and nearby bushes showed clear signs of a fight, broken and trampled. There was no one here any more, but even Buffy could see - and smell - where they had been.
"Angel?"
Now she was worried.
By the time Angel exited the church, Giles and the rest of Buffy's friends had already left. Not that he minded at all. He stood outside the doors of the church, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. The sunset was beautiful tonight, just beginning to turn the sky brilliant colors of gold and red. Angel smiled. He had yet to see a sunset that wasn't beautiful.
And tomorrow, he was going to be married. Married! To a woman who loved him unconditionally, whom he loved more than life itself. Coming from him, who a year ago didn't have a "life" to speak of, that was really saying something. A year ago he never would have guessed that he'd ever be standing where he was today - watching the sunset outside a church while waiting for Buffy, his fiancée, a day before they would be wed. Destiny was a wonderful thing.
Of course, that was assuming they both made it tomorrow. Angel had looked over some of the records that Giles had found. He wasn't sure if Buffy was aware of this, but the only other Slayer who had gotten engaged had survived to the day before her wedding. Both she and her fiancé had been killed in the night. Giles tried to be optimistic, saying that since the prophecies seemed to clearly indicate that the "Wedded Slayer" was Buffy, with Angel her husband, they had to survive through their wedding.
But Angel was used to being pessimistic. It didn't help that Giles would not show him or Buffy the entirety of what he'd found. Giles insisted that the prophecies referred to the two of them because of something in the wording, light and darkness, Slayer and vampire . . . but Angel couldn't be sure. Even if it was a certain thing, what was to stop . . . whoever . . . from attempting to thwart prophecy? After all, Buffy had already managed that once.
Not that Angel was letting such things predominate his thoughts. He was incredibly happy to be where he was, his gloom-and-doom habits quickly becoming a thing of the past. He was just ready for whatever might come, and, god forbid, preparing for the worst.
A strange noise rustled to Angel's left, making him jump, then instantly wary. A normal human probably wouldn't have heard the sound at all. Angel glanced at the doors behind him, but Buffy did not appear. The sound came again, and slipping a stake into his hand, Angel moved to investigate.
As Angel approached the corner of the church, he became aware of something else - a smell. He recognized it, and was instantly revolted. The smell of rotting corpses was not one he ever wanted to be familiar with. Still, the sound came again, and Angel found himself approaching the source of the smell.
The side of the church was lined with bushes, and it was here that the sound was coming from. It was part rustle of disturbed plants, part moan of . . . something. Angel approached cautiously, listening as well for the sound of Buffy leaving the church. Angel was standing in front of the bushes now.
Neither the source of the sound nor the smell was visible. Slowly, cautiously, Angel leaned over the bushes, pushing them apart so that he could see behind them. Nothing. The smell, that horrible corpse smell, was stronger now, overwhelmingly so. It was so strong that it no longer had a definite source at all.
A new sound stirred the quiet evening. Already tense, Angel listened to the very soft step of someone trying to sneak up behind him. He waited, unmoving, for the person to come closer. Then, stake at the ready, he spun to meet his enemy.
He met a zombie.
At least a dozen zombies, actually, their recently reanimated bodies the source of the now overwhelming stench. *Why did it have to be zombies?*
Fighting a dozen zombies was not a great option. The stake Angel held meant nothing to them. They could be torn limb from limb and still come after you. Still, it was either fight, or let them tear *him* limb from limb. Backed against the church, running was not an option.
So Angel fought.
Exhausted, depleted of weapons, and surrounded by zombies, Angel never saw the blow that knocked him out from behind.
Giles was pacing the length of his living room. Willow ground up herbs almost violently, staring at the bowl on the table with almost too much focus. Xander and Oz were having a hushed conversation, looking at the door instead of each other. Cordelia filed her nails with singe-minded determination.
Stopping in the middle of the floor, Giles looked sharply at Willow, again. "They said they were coming, right?"
Willow rubbed her forehead and looked up at Giles. "Buffy said she was coming, she wanted to speak to Father Riley." Her tone was exasperated; she'd already said this. "I assume Angel is with her."
Giles began pacing again; Willow went back to her magical preparations. A nervous routine.
"If you're all so anxious," Cordelia said, not looking up from her nails, "why doesn't Willow cast this spell without the lovebirds?"
Everyone fell silent and stared at her.
Cordelia looked up at them in surprise. "What?" she said. "We cast the spell, find the demons, and then Buffy and Angel show up to kick some demon but."
Xander laughed suddenly. "Does it strike anyone else as odd that Cordelia came up with a good plan?"
Before they could deteriorate into bickering, Willow sprang to her feet with her bowl of herbs and went to the already prepared ritual space. As the threat of demons had increased in recent weeks, Willow had gone back to her old routine of casting the demon locator spell every evening. There would be no demons sneaking up on them.
They had not heard from Kenneth since Giles had tried to contact him over a month ago. Still, Willow thought as she cast her spell, in some ways he was helping them every time she used the magic he'd taught her. There was little he'd taught her that she used as often or was as useful as the demon locator spell.
So often had she used this spell now, she had no doubt it would work. But as Willow completed the spell, it did not work as she expected. Instead of creating simple green smoke, it ended in a flash of green light instead.
Xander jumped. "What was that?"
Willow was flustered. "I don't know."
A knock came at the door. "I hope that's Buffy," Giles said, standing up.
"So where's the demon?" Xander asked.
The door disintegrated. A flurry of writhing tentacles filled the doorway.
"I think it's already here," Willow replied.
Part Eleven
"Don't tell me
it's not worth fighting for
Can't help it
There's nothing I want more."
~Everything I Do I Do it For You
Bryan Adams
Buffy followed the obvious path of destruction, frantic to find Angel. Though she tried not to think about it, her mind was filled with images of him bleeding somewhere, dying, or worse, dead. Angel was still stronger than the average human, probably always would be, but he's lost his vampiric strength in the months past. Buffy could kick his but now, and tonight there were things out her that could kick hers.
If the torn apart landscape wasn't enough evidence of where those she was tracking had gone, the stench certainly was. It had faded some (thank goodness) but it still filled her senses like something horrible. As the sunlight faded completely from the sky, Buffy followed her nose, hoping that it would lead her to Angel.
It led her to a road. Suddenly the visual trail disappeared, and the smelly one had been masked by the scent of asphalt and car exhaust. Buffy yelled briefly in frustration. She tried calling out to Angel once again, but once again received no response. *Where do I go from here?*
She didn't mean to say that out loud, but she got a response this time. Unfortunately, it wasn't the response she wanted.
"You, Slayer, are going nowhere."
Buffy sighed. "You know, I'm really not in the mood for this," she said softly before turning to face the vampire.
Vampires. Lots of vampires. They had come up behind her while she was staring at the road. Now they surrounded her and stopped both her escape and her continued search. A quick inventory showed Buffy would never have enough stakes to get them all.
"Well, we're in the mood, so you'll just have to deal," the lead vampire said.
Another battle was engaged.
Angel awoke an indeterminate amount of time later. He was laying in one of Sunnydale's factories. No sunlight shown through the windows, having long since faded from the sky. His head was pounding, and he ached from multiple bruises and scrapes. The zombies, apparently, had been none too careful in dragging him to this place. Still, he was in one piece, which was an unexpected pleasure.
The zombies were arrayed all around the room. They were still, only their eyes in rotting watchfulness showing that he never left their attention. Some stood, some sat, some lay at odd angles that no living body could accomplish, but all watched him.
One thing Angel knew for sure was that he could not stay here. Tonight was the night where he needed most to be with Buffy and everyone else. None of them would be able to stand on their own tonight. Biting back a moan of pain, Angel climbed to his feet.
Immediately the zombies seemed to return to life. Those standing seemed more alert, those sitting or laying down clambered awkwardly to their feet. As Angel moved, they moved, subtly shifting so that their intentions were obvious. For now, whomever or whatever had raised them did not intend for them to kill him. Their only intention seemed to be keeping him here.
Staying here, however, was the last thing on Angel's mind. He knew that what the zombies had in strength they lacked in speed and agility. If he could take them by surprise, find a weak part of their circle, he might make it out of the building.
Quickly Angel surveyed his options. He took note of where the most "lazy" zombies were. Far gone to decay, they had not yet risen to their feet. Without a second thought he dashed for the prone zombies, hoping to reach the freedom that beckoned from the doorway beyond them. He prepared to jump over the zombies still struggling to their feet . . .
. . . and met a wall of flesh instead. Moving far quicker than he would have thought possible, the most mobile of the zombies had closed the distance between them and him, forming an impenetrable barrier between him and the exit. As Angel tore into the zombies closest to him, none of them moved from their new positions.
The zombies never fought back, just stood and blocked Angel's way. They took a lot of damage before they fell, but fall they did. For everyone that did, though, another took its place. There seemed to be an endless supply of them, and Angel was quickly tiring of what was sure to be a hopeless fight.
Suddenly, the zombies dropped where they stood. They were like puppets whose strings had been cut; crumpled, awkward forms. Whatever had animated the zombies was gone.
For a moment Angel breathed deeply in relief, but only for a moment. The zombies had most likely been dismissed by whoever had raised them in the first place. He never dropped out of a battle stance as he waited for whatever had stopped them to make an appearance.
Make an appearance he did, separating from the shadows near the entrance to reveal a young, brown-haired man.
Angel relaxed finally. "Kenneth," he said calmly, "you couldn't come any sooner?"
The demon hunter smiled slightly. "I think I came just in time," he declared, looking at the dead bodies strewn about the factory. "Come on. Your friends need my help as well."
"Giles!"
The creature's tentacles were quickly making their way into the cramped living room. Willow flailed wildly with the only weapon she had available to her - the remains of a chair - trying to beat one of them back. Xander was facing off another with a kitchen knife. Cordelia was standing back and throwing things at it, miraculously avoiding hitting any of the rest of them.
"Just hold it off a little longer!" Giles called back, quickly pulling books off shelves, flipping through them and discarding each one in turn.
"How do we kill it?" Xander called without tearing his attention away.
"I . . . I don't . . ." Another book tossed aside.
"Giles!"
"Just hold it off!" he cried back. "Just until help arrives!"
The Scooby gang fought, and prayed for the arrival of Buffy.
Buffy wasn't faring any better. She fought the vampires to a stand still, staking one or two where she could, but mostly just hoping to stay alive. She didn't know how long she'd been fighting. She was caught in a rhythm now, an endless rhythm of hit and dodge. The vampires swept her up in their deadly dance.
Suddenly one of the vampires caught her by surprise, catching her blow and using its own momentum to throw her to the ground. She saw stars as her head struck a rock and rolled to prevent serious injury. The roll caused the vampire going after her to stumble as he overshot his mark. Buffy sprang to her feet again, ready to continue.
She wasn't as ready as she thought. The sudden movement combined with the head blow caused her vision to swim, and the number of vampires seemed to triple. Buffy blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision as even now blood from the wound on her scalp dripped into her eye.
The vampire who'd thrown her growled. Buffy saw him running straight at her and rose one of her few remaining stakes to catch his impact. Her hand was empty, however, the stake having been dropped in her fall. The vampire and the Slayer struck the ground together.
Buffy fought against the vampire who pinned her to the ground to little effect. From this position her blows had little strength behind them. She didn't give up, though. She never would.
The snarling face of the vampire suddenly exploded into ash and Buffy coughed as it fell around her. She rolled back to her feet, more cautiously this time, to lay eyes upon her rescuer.
The dark haired woman waved briefly with a grin of acknowledgment, then joined the man next to her in fighting another vampire. Seeing that the two of them could handle themselves, Buffy went after the nearest unoccupied vampire. The three of them made short work of the remaining vampires. Those that did not fall before the renewed onslaught finally ran for their lives.
The three humans stood together for a moment, catching their breath. Buffy wiped the blood from her face and the woman leaned against her husband with a slight limp.
"See?" she said with a laugh. "I told you Sunnydale wouldn't be boring."
In spite of the gravity of the situation, Buffy grinned.
The creature made a strange sound like one of pain and inched farther into Giles's living room.
"We're hurting it!" Xander cried.
"Um, hello? If *we* were hurting it, why would it keep coming closer?" Cordelia replied.
The group fell silent at that, continuing to fight without pause. The creature was bleeding from wounds they'd given it, but had not slowed. It made the noise again, and trembled.
"I think the cavalry's arrived."
Angel and Giles made their way to Giles's house in record time. They were not prepared for what they saw when they arrived, though. A squid-like creature - a massive, demonic, squid-like creature - had its tentacles through the front door of Giles's house. It was both attacking those within and retreating from one who attacked it from outside.
A young, red-haired woman in a long coat struck at the creature's armored body with a sword. Its tentacles occupied inside the house, it could not strike back at her. Already it bled from multiple wounds, a thick black ichor dripping down its sides.
Angel ran to join the battle, but Kenneth held back for a moment. "Who..?"
"Fight now, introductions later!" the woman called. Glancing up only briefly from her battle.
The newcomers needed no further encouragement. Angel strode in next to her, no weapons handy, content to just pummel the creature to death. Kenneth stayed back, using his magic instead to weaken the creature.
The three of them fought outside alone only briefly before their numbers doubled. Buffy and her rescuers joined in without a word as they saw what was going on. Knives, stakes, fists, magic and a sword all struck against the monster. It shuddered beneath their blows. Trapped between two sets of attackers, it could not advance or retreat. Still, it fought long and hard against its inevitable death.
As its body writhed, trying to twist away from them, it briefly revealed its unarmored underbelly. That was all the opening the defenders needed. Several weapons entered that vulnerable target, and the creature let out a final scream before slumping to the ground, not to move again.
For a long moment silence filled both courtyard and house. Then Xander's voice echoed through the doorway.
"Is it dead?"
Buffy laughed in relief, leaning against Angel and more than thankful that they were all alive. "I don't think anything can survive what we all did to it," she replied.
"Buffy!"
"Yup, that's me. Angel's here too, and Kenneth, and . . . umm . . . ."
"Robin Cunningham-Baker and her husband John, and Colleen Cunningham," Angel finished, pointing to the vampire hunting couple and the swordswoman in turn.
"Are introductions made?" Giles asked a touch testily from inside. At everyone's acknowledgment he continued. "Good. Then let's get this . . . thing out of my house please?"
Everyone laughed. Relief, joy, fatigue - it was all there. They'd done it. They'd all see another sunrise.
Epilogue
*Special author's note: I've never been to a Christian wedding, honestly. So just go with it and enjoy. Alright?*
"Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We might have took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday"
~Shania Twain
"Still the One"
The wedding was a beautiful, if unusual affair. The church was decorated with flowers and ribbon, streaming with more sunlight than should have been possible. Counterpoint to the cheer were the four "friends" who stood just outside the doors as guests arrived, scanning them with a dangerous eye for something they apparently never found. A strange tension was in the air. It was a feel of impending great events, their potential danger making them all the greater.
The extended Summers family was greeted by this mystery and more when they arrived at the church. Some whispered about the strange scrutiny at the door. Some whispered about the groom's apparent lack of family. Whatever they spoke about, they all whispered when the bride and groom made an appearance.
Though both stunning in their wedding attire, it was not hard to spot signs of the fighting from the night before. Still, whomever they fought, it was obviously not each other, for they exchanged impassioned vows with pure happiness on their faces.
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Both bride and groom had written their own vows for the occasion. And though the gathered family listened with smiles, they knew they were missing something laden with double meanings and secret smiles that only those at the front of the church understood.
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Still, for all the affair's strangeness, even the youngest child had never seen anyone so happy as the newlyweds. The previously stern "friends" smiled and became friendly as the ceremony came to a close. The parents of the bride smiled, their animosity forgotten for the day.
The newlyweds smiled with eyes only for each other as everyone saw them off for their honeymoon.
Yes, the family would say afterwards, the wedding was a strange affair. Strange and beautiful.
Much like the bride and groom.
Perfect.
In the shadows, the man sat alone. The shadows were empty now, as they had been since the wedding was finished.
The man's failure was complete.
"I'll make it up to you," the man whispered. "I will take revenge for this defeat. The child of prophecy shall serve only you."
It was an empty promise to empty shadows.
Silence.
(That's it for this story! There is a sequel planned if I ever get around to it...)