2002

Sunnydale

"Well." Hank was sitting in the living room, looking slightly dumbstruck, "You asked someone else to give you away."

"Not *someone else* as if I just, forgot I had a father." Buffy insisted impatiently, "Someone else as if that person has been there for me. Something you have not been."

Hank sighed, "I know...but, who *is* this--guy--who's giving you away."

"Giles."

"Who's Giles?"

Buffy looked helplessly at her sister, "It's complicated. He was my high school librarian."

"A *librarian* is giving you away at your wedding?"

"Dad, just drop it. It doesn't matter who Giles is, all that matters is that he is giving me away. End of discussion."

There was a rather awkward silence before Hank spoke again, "At least let me give you a rehearsal dinner."

"Why? There isn't really a big ceremony. So why bother?"

"Just...let an old man do something for his daughter?"

Buffy gave him a pointed and sad look, "Yeah, but don't you think you could have done something else for your daughter? Like...Help her after her mother died? Or, maybe send money to help with bills? Dad, it's not that I'm not glad you've decided to help now. It's just that I'm still angry that you came here placing blame on me for things that weren't my fault."

Hank sighed, "I said I was sorry...Let me make it up to you with this dinner, then we'll worry about other things?"

"Fine...But I want it simple and casual, Dad. Nothing huge or extravagant. That's not my style, and I *know* it's not Spike's."

2003

Sunnydale

Buffy snapped out of the partial hypnosis when Angel shoved her out of the way, "Buffy, don't look at her."

"What?"

"She'll pull you in...just don't look at her." And with the group not blocking the door, Buffy could see that Gunn was swamped with minions. While Angel and Faith tried to distract Drusilla and Fred kept trying to unlock Spike, Buffy motioned for Wesley and Cordelia to follow her to help Gunn.

"It's about damn time!" The former street kid complained, throwing a punch at a game-faced minion's head, "I was starting to get tired."

"Quite sorry." Wesley said offhandedly, staking one of the fledgelings quickly, "Buffy was being hypnotized."

"I was?" Buffy shrieked, kicking at one minion while she staked another.

"Yeah," Cordelia managed, "Drusilla has this freaky thing where she can hypnotize pretty much anyone. You're all in her thrall or whatever, and the next thing ya know, you're dead...Best to let Angel deal."

"Right." Buffy grunted as she was blindsided by one of the vampires, "She'd never hurt her precious sire, right?"

Inside, Drusilla lashed out at Angel, catching him across the cheek with her nails.

"You're ruining my fun, Angelus." She pouted, stomping her foot like a petulant child, "You're so depressing these days."

Faith came at her from behind, stake poised, but the vampiress turned quickly, grabbing her arm and twisting.

Meanwhile, Fred had one shackle left to go on Spike's restraints.

"Hurry up..." He growled, struggling against it.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" She insisted.

Spike rolled his eyes, "Sod this." He pulled, hard, twisting his wrist and making his hand as small as possible, and in a few long seconds, his hand was free, "OW! Damn, I think I broke a few bones..."

Fred winced, "Can you fight?"

"Oh hell yes..." He replied, launching himself into the fight.

2002

Sunnydale

By the next day, Buffy regretted ever deciding to marry *anyone* in the first place. In the past two hours since breakfast, her father had called twice with two rehearsal dinner suggestions, both of which she had said "absolutely not" to. One had been an afternoon 'tea' outdoors. The other had been at an over the top expensive restaurant. Then, only moments after hanging up with her father (after telling him there would be NO ice sculptures), she got a call from some flower company saying Hank Summers had booked them. After un-booking them, Buffy tried to ask Spike about his tux fitting the evening before. Her only answer had been, "It was awful, and if you bloody well send me to that place again, I'll kill the bloke with the tape measure, searing head pain be damned."

Then, Wesley and Cordelia showed up, and Faith bolted, saying she had to run to 'somewhere'. Wesley had been quiet ever since they had arrived from LA, and now Faith was acting Schizophrenic. After Wes and Cordelia had gone, Buffy was left with the impression that the former May Queen had *something up her sleeve.

By the end of the day, Buffy was informed that the next night would be her bachelorette party.

"Will? Where are you?"

"Umm…Tarah's." And Buffy could actually *hear* the blush in her friend's voice, "Actually, I'm calling to let you know.."

"Let me know what? Is something wrong?"

"No! No, no, nothing's *wrong*. But, um, there's this thing and fthdecdedtigveyouabchlrtprtytmorownght."

"What?" She shrieked into the phone, then heard a clatter as Willow dropped it.

"It wasn't my idea!" She insisted, "Faith and Cordelia ganged up on me! It was…scary. I said, No siree, Buffy wouldn't like that, but they're both really persistent people. Plus, maybe it'll be fun?"

Buffy sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes, "Oh God…this day couldn't be worse."

"Well, actually…"

"Don't you DARE give me more bad news, Willow Rosenberg."

The voice on the other end of the phone sighed, "Well…Xander thought it would be funny to make Spike have a bachelor party."

Buffy promptly hung up before she said anything she would regret later.