TITLE: Before the Wedding

AUTHOR: Joe T

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB, others, and just about everyone but me.

SUMMARY: The girls decide to try a spell.

SPOILERS: AU stuff, consider everything fair game, and Angel's group is there, but I don't think I spoiled that show.

RATING: R, some bad language, graphic description of character death, vampire weddings, sex, all the good and freaky stuff.

P.S. - * * will be placed around events in the glass.

The Magic Shop.

"I don't know if we should do this, you guys."

"Come on Tara, it took me hours to find a store that had a piece of volcanic glass that big, you and Willow owe me."

"Cordelia, what are we scrying for anyway?"

"I just want to see how I look as a bridesmaid, besides, what if demons attack during Xander's wedding? Don't you want to be prepared?"

"Well, yeah, but the spell we have doesn't work like that, it scans through alternate realities until it finds a match to certain keywords. We might see a demon attack on the world without shrimp, but everything ends up fine on this world."

"Close enough for me, let's get moving."



Half an hour later.

"Ok, the spell is focused on Xander, and will respond to you and I, Cordelia."

"Wait, it's not like, focused on the wedding?" The large flat piece of volcanic glass begins to appear smokey, images can just barely be seen.

"No, the spell has to focus on a person, not an event."

"So we can look at.Xander's kids."

"Cordelia!" Both Willow and Tara shout, as the glass clears and an image is plainly seen,

* An older Xander and Anya pulling to a stop in a station wagon, two children running out of the back doors before they even have their seatbelts off. "Where's my little baby?" Anya playfully asks, as Jonathon steps out of a house holding a third child, "Right here, she just woke up from her nap." He says, handing her the child. *

"Wow, Jonathon baby-sits for them, and their kids are so cu.OH MY GOD!" Tara exclaims, seeing the scene in the glass.

* "And where's my little baby?" Jonathon asks, before kissing Anya. Xander is smiling as he walks past, calling out, "Honey, I'm home." *

"What, Who is Xander married to if Jonathon is kissing Anya? What is going on here?"

* "Hey, hon, how was work?" Xander asks a very pregnant Cordelia, who is complaining about her day as she grabs him for a kiss. "God, these models don't have a brain in their heads, Tracey, that new girl I just signed, was going to work for almost half the normal amount if the shoot director made sure she had bottled water in her trailer, I'm starting to think someone is putting something in the food that kills off brain cells in models." *

"Cordelia, you married Xander?" Tara asks.

"I guess so, are there other weddings we should know about?"

"Well, we could take a look." Images begin moving faster on the glass, scenes changing within seconds of being formed.

"Tara, nice wedding gown." Cordelia says smiling.

"But, how? I'm not interested in Xander like that."

"Alternate universes honey, we could even see one where Xander is married to Spike."

"Only in Hawaii" Laughs Cordelia, who stops when the scene changes to a tropical beach.

"Isn't that Darla? How is she in sunlight? And how is she marrying Xander?"

"That must have happened when she first got brought back somehow. Let's keep score Ok?"

Half an hour later.

"Willow, I really don't feel comfortable doing this, and I was supposed to get Dawn from school today."

"It's Ok Tara, we're just about finished, at least we didn't see any vampire Xander's." Cordelia answers.

* The glass reacts to the word vampire and changes the scene again. This time it is a church, Xander is there, Spike is his best man, both have their game faces on. Walking down the aisle is a vampire Cordelia, game face on, wearing a wedding dress, Drusilla is her bridesmaid. Angelus is dressed as a preacher, the pews are filled to capacity with bodies, throats torn and punctured. *

"Ewww. Change it, I'm a vampire. And that is my bridesmaid, please, there's no way that psycho would be at my wedding."

"Ok, we need to stop this now, Buffy and Giles could be here any minute."

"Relax Tara, it's not like we're watching Xander having sex." Cordelia replies.

* The Glass changes to a scene in a cheap motel, Xander and Faith are the only occupants.

".I'll steer you around the curves." *

"I'll bet she thought that sounded all sexy or something, slut."

"Willow!"

"I just don't like her. Let's change this."

"Holy shit, Xander's naked."

"DAWN!" The three other women shout at once.

"I was wondering why you were late Tara, I don't mind walking now. Hey, it's changing!"

* Upon hearing Dawn's name the glass changed again, this time showing an older Dawn, in her twenties, walking into a bedroom, taking off her business jacket, Xander is right behind her. She turns and pushes him onto the bed. It's obvious he is letting her have control, it's also obvious they have done this before. *

"Change it, fast, Dawn, stop watching."

"Are you kidding me Tara, I'm getting with Xander, how old am I when it happens?"

"These are alternate realities, Dawn, your not actually going to get with Xander." Willow gently explains.

"Yeah, it could just as easily be, um, Buffy there."

* Reacting to Cordelia mentioning Buffy, the scene changes again, this time showing the library, Xander is on the floor, Buffy is standing over him in a black raincoat and high heels.

"Well Xan, if you won't have your present, I guess you present is just gonna have you." Buffy whispers out, taking hold of Xander's wrists in one hand, while the other fumbles for his belt.

"Buff, you really don't want to do this. See there was this spell." Xander attempts to explain while swinging his hips wildly to prevent Buffy from getting his belt undone. She solves the problem by sitting in his lap.

"Oh, I really want to do this, and I know you do too. You know how I can tell?" Buffy playfully asks, now working on his zipper, grinding her hips into him. *

"Ok, this is enough, we've seen plenty."

"Chill out Tara, you've been jumping around since we saw you marry Xander, relax."

"I just don't like where I think this is leading, Cordelia."

"We're just having fun, we'll make sure Dawn doesn't see anything, it's not like Xander's killing people."

* The glass shows the door to the old Angel Investigation's offices, Xander, dressed in dark clothes, holding a pistol in each hand, with three ragged scars crossing his face kicks in the door. He shoots Doyle in the legs before he gets out of his chair, and smacks Cordelia across the temple with a gun butt. As Angel runs out the door of the back office, Xander shoots him several times in the legs and chest. As Angel falls, his knees shot out, Xander flips him onto his back and pulls a stake from his pocket. "I have a message from Wolfram and Hart, your dead." He says as he plunges the stake into Angel's heart. *

"Wolfram and Hart, bastards, why can't we see them get killed." Hisses out an extremely angry Cordelia.

* The glass now shows an elevator across from the Wolfram and Hart Board room. As the doors open, out steps Xander, wearing black jeans and boots, and a light grey shirt, with a long black trench coat covering the esemble. He is holding a chopped down double barrel in his left hand, and a large knife can be seen at his belt. Following right behind him is Dawn, wearing black leather pants and jacket, the buckles at he throat done up. Xander kicks in the doors to the boardroom, shooting the large demon bodyguard behind them with both barrels under its chin. Before anyone in the room can react, he has pulled his knife and made short work of the two remaining human guards. Meanwhile, Dawn has pulled out a Mac-10, and shot all the lawyers seated in the room, save two. "Where is our money Lindsey?" Xander asks.

"It's being transferred to your accounts as we speak. I must say, you're even better than your reputation."

"Thanks. Cap her? Yes or no?" Dawn asks slamming Lilah down on the table, placing her knee into Lilah's back, and a pistol to her head, so she can't move.

"Lindsey, you're insane, when the head senior partners hear about this." Lilah begins to rant.

"The head senior partners will compliment me on my determination and ambition, by the way, I wanted you spared so you would know it was me that did this. Ok, you can kill the whiney bitch now."

"No, wait."

BLAM

"If the money isn't there, you'll wish that was you. Let's go." Xander says as he leaves the room. *

"It figures, that little shit Lindsey comes out on top again."

"Cordelia, Dawn just killed someone, I mean, not our Dawn, but still."

"That was so cool."

"Dawn, that was NOT cool, and if Buffy finds out, well, you'll probably be grounded until your thirty, and I can guarantee she won't let you speak to Xander ever again."

"Don't worry Willow, Dawn can keep a secret. I just wish Lindsey had bought it too. A lot of what happened in L.A was his fault.

* The glass changes to a scene in a warehouse, Lindsey is furiously slashing at Xander with an axe, who is taunting him, and giving him small cuts with his knife.

Tiring of the game, Xander slashes Lindsey across his wrist, forcing him to drop the axe.

"No!" shouts Angel, as he rushes forward to stop Xander. Suddenly he stops and bursts into dust.

Standing behind the dust cloud, stake in hand, is Cordelia.

"Saved this one to do together." Xander says as she walks over.

"Aww, you are so sweet." She replies, taking his knife and slitting Lindsey's throat. They press together, kissing, their bodies holding Lindsey up as he dies between them. As Xander reaches his hands into Cordelia's hair, and she grasps the back of Xander's neck, rings of the Order of Takara can be seen.

"Hey, you two said you wouldn't start without me anymore." Shouts a blood covered Faith, as she steps over the bodies of Gunn, Wesley, and several of Gunns friends. Hanging on a chain around her neck is a ring from the Order.

"Sorry, we got carried away." Cordelia says, grinning widely. *

"Are you happy now Cordelia?"

"What happened?"

"Angel! Buffy! What are you two doing here?"

"I didn't want to stay in Spike's crypt all day, and Buffy wanted a ride to see what you were all up to? So, what happened?"

"Nothing, hey, Buffy, why don't you take Angel's car and go for pizza, I'll pay."

"If she's going in my car, I'd better drive."

"Hey!"

"Those tints were expensive Buffy, besides, it gives me a reason to drive around with you for a while."

"Alright, but when we get back I want to know what happened."

"I said nothing happened."

"Sure Cordelia, that's why you're paying for pizza, and Willow and Tara look like they just got caught raiding Giles supplies again. And if Dawn grins any wider the top of her head will fall off."

"Nothing happened."

As Buffy leaves the store she shouts back, "I don't believe you."

"Alright, let's get everything cleaned up, no one mention this. Ever." Cordelia orders once she is sure Buffy and Angel are gone

"Were you two raiding the supplies again?" Anya asks, walking into the store.

"Hi Anya, it was my fault." Cordelia says.

"What was your fault? How expensive was it?"

"No, nothing broke, I just wanted the witches here to see what the wedding would look like, you know, in case of demons or if it rains."

"Oh, did it rain."

"We didn't actually see the wedding, it kept showing you and Jonathon with your kids."

"What?"

"Every alternate reality we saw that had you in it, you and Jonathon were married, and had two really cute kids."

"Really. Hmm. Maybe I should talk with Jonathon, he was kind of cute when he cast that spell." Anya wonders as she leaves the store.

"Cordelia, I can't believe you did that."

"What, I told the truth."

"It only showed her once."

"Exactly."

"You did that on purpose, you're trying to stop the wedding."

"Come on Willow, we added up who Xander marries, Tara is with you, Buffy is getting close to Angel again, and I know we didn't check Dawn, but she's still a kid."

"Hey!"

"The only other person who got hitched to Xander as much as I did and is available is Faith, and she's stuck in prison for a few more years. You owe me from those kisses you were sneaking, so just don't say anything about this to anyone." Cordelia states, giving Willow a very determined look.

"But."

"Willow, I mean it. You owe me this."

"But I don't." Dawn replies, smiling.

"Dawn, if it doesn't work between me and Xander this time, I'll help you get him, just give me a fair shot." Cordelia says, smiling as sweetly as she can at Dawn.

"I'll think about it."