December 19, 2001

"Angel! I can't believe you!" Buffy said incredulously as she and Angel worked on putting the decorations on the Christmas tree. "Christmas is six days away and you haven't gone shopping?"

"Well.. You know how much I hate shopping sweetie." Angel said.

"Don't sweetie me bub! You haven't bought ANY Christmas gifts?"

"Just one."

"One?"

"Yours."

Buffy brightened. "Mine? Really? What'd you get me?"

"Six days. You can wait."

"No fair." Angel chuckled and put two more shiny ball decorations on the tree. "Angel, spread them out and don't put all the colors on one spot."

"Sorry."

"It's ok." Buffy looked at the clock. "The stores don't close for another two hours. Do you wanna go out and see if we can find anything?"

"Buffy.."

"My Winter Solstice slash Christmas party is tomorrow. I would like to have more presents under this tree."

"It's just our friends."

"And some of mom's old friends and Lita's dad and my dad and Lindsey and her brother are coming and Wesley. And Lindsey's bringing Gabriel too."

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot you have a brother now."

"Half brother. It's not like I'm thrilled about it. I won't even get to see him all that much anyways. It's a rare occurrence to get my dad down to Sunnydale." Buffy looked at the clock again.

"Also, why Wesley? When did you start liking him?"

"I.. didn't. I heard that Giles had been talking to him and he's in town for a little while, so I figured he shouldn't be left out."

"I don't know. The last time I remember seeing him he was screaming like a girl and getting knocked out."

Buffy chuckled and kissed Angel's cheek. "All right. You have shopping and wrapping to do. Let's go." She walked into the foyer and grabbed her and Angel's coats. Buffy put hers on and handed Angel his.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes." Buffy walked to the stairs. "Dawn! Angel and I need to go out for a while. Have you found those lights to decorate the front porch yet?"

"I found a huge box full of little lights. I don't know if these are them." Dawn called back down from the attic.

"Does the box have a reindeer made out of lights in it?"

"Yeah."

"That's them. Bring em down and we'll put them up tomorrow morning."

"Where are you going?"

"Out! Call Xander and let him know you're going to be alone. Lock all the doors and don't invite pale people in!"

"I know!"

"Just making sure. Love you Dawn!"

"Bye!"

Buffy followed Angel out the door and to the convertible. "So, what did you have in mind for people?" she asked.

"Well, Dawn I was thinking perfume, Willow: a dress, Xander: maybe Apocalypse, Now on DVD because you said he loves that movie, Anya: money, Lita: some perfume, Tara: some perfume, and Spike: a swift kick in the ass."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the absolute worst taste in gifts?" Angel stared at her for a moment. "Probably not because they were all afraid that you would kill them. Ok, Dawn's a teenager. Teenagers love CDs, computers, books, stuff like that. But what does she absolutely love doing?"

"Writing."

"And what did she do last year that she still hasn't recovered from?"

"Rip up all her journals."

"Now you're gettin' it."

"You want me to buy her a journal?"

"Yeah. Make it one of those special ones though. You know, more grown up. She's been complaining that we're treating her like a little girl."

"Ok, so.. Grown up journal for Dawn."

"Willow. Now that's just the hardest thing in the world."

"Huh?"

"What does Willow love?"

"Tara."

"Other than Tara."

"Magicks." Buffy nodded. "But baby, she's got everything."

"Nuh uh. She hasn't gotten the Talisman of Thortu yet. She's been looking for it everywhere. I asked Giles to order it since Anya can't keep her mouth shut about presents. We're supposed to pick it up soon."

"You already got a present for her?"

"It's from both of us. I don't have that much money."

"Yes you do. You're my fiancé. You have access to all my money."

"Anyways. Xander has been getting into the old film noir lately. I got him a bunch of DVDs that's nothing but old film noir. There's a shop just off Main Street that sells original copies of movie posters and stuff. We'll stop there for Xander."

"Does he like Grace McCandless?"

"That's his favorite old movie actress."

"Ok."

"Anya: you got her down packed. Just stick two twenties in a card. Lita: she's a Slayer. What do all Slayer's love?"

"Me."

"Angel.."

"I'm kidding."

"Weapons. Slayers love weapons."

"And jewelry."

"Is that what you got me?"

"Six days." Buffy grumbled. "Ok. There's a shop near Docktown we can go to that carries some nice battle axes."

"Good. Now, Tara. Tara is a..?"

"Witch. So, that's two presents to get at the Magic Shop."

"What are you getting her?"

"Um.."

"She wanted 'The Book of Wu Ch'ang Kuei.' I saw her eyeing it at the store the other day. She didn't have enough."

"That book is dangerous, Buffy. It once belonged to Yen Lo, empress of Hell. One of her lackeys lost it in a card game. You can only image what Yen Lo did to him. It's been lost ever since. She's been tracking it since the day it was lost."

"Why hasn't she found it?"

"Because the warlock who got the book in the card game put a spell on it so Yen Lo could never find it."

"Wow."

"Maybe we shouldn't.."

"Nag about this all night." Buffy said, cutting Angel off. "Tara's a big girl. And so am I. She needs help, I'll save her from the big bad book. It's what she wants."

"Fine. What about Gunn? Did you get him something?"

"Yup. Me and his gang banded together and had a battle-axe made for him. It was made out of a chrome hubcap."

"Interesting. What did you get me?"

"Six days." Buffy mocked.

"Fine. You can just be that way, but remember: I know all your ticklish spots."

"And I know how to make you squirm. So, it's a truce."

"Truce." Angel tool Buffy's hand and kissed it.



"Happy Solstice." Wesley said when Buffy opened the door. "My Buffy, you have grown up. You look more radiant than ever."

"Thank you. Come on in." Buffy said. "I can have Dawn run your coat upstairs if you like."

"Oh, thank you. How is Dawn?"

"She's.. She's good." Buffy turned and yelled, "Dawn!" Dawn came running in her long green dress. "Take Wesley's coat upstairs and put it with the others please."

Angel came in and wrapped an arm around Buffy's waist. "Hi."

"Hello Angel. Good to see you." Wesley said, trying to be of good cheer.

"You too."

"I thought you were shmoozing sweetie." Buffy said.

"I was, but I missed being with you. You know how much I hate crowds."

"I was only away for a moment."

"One moment too long."

Lita bounced up through the still open doorway with her father in tow. "Hey Buffy! Oh I love your dress!"

"Thank you." Buffy did a small turn to show off her empire waist, short, red velvet dress. Black embroidered flowers were sprinkled over the fabric and the top was a peasant top. Her bell sleeves covered half of her hand and the low neckline showed off a small amount of cleavage as well as the antique locket she wore. Behind her, the back line dropped and squared off half way down her back. On her legs were tall, black leather, knee-high boots. Her hair was curled and half messy, but very classy and topped off the dress beautifully. "Angel helped pick it out."

Angel held out his hand to Lita's father. "You must be Mr. Cortes. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. It's an honor to finally get to meet the infamous Buffy and Angelus." Mr. Cortes said.

"Angel. It's Angel dad." Lita said.

"Pardon. Angel."

"Mr. Cortes? As in Abraham Cortes?" Wesley asked. "One of the top Watcher's in the Council?"

"Yes, that would be me. And I do believe that you are Wesley Wyndam- Pryce."

"Y-y-yes sir." Wesley shook Mr. Cortes' hand enthusiastically.

"Come. Let's find Mr. Giles and have a talk." He turned to Lita. "Be good. No slaying tonight."

"Promise dad." Lita said.

"I think Giles is hiding in the kitchen Mr. Cortes." Buffy said.

"Thank you Miss Summers." Mr. Cortes said, leading Wesley away.

Lita shut the door. "Your presents are out in the car. I figured we could bring them in later."

"That's cool. Your present is under the tree."

"Where's Dawn?"

"She's up.." Dawn came bounding down the stairs. "Right here."

"Hey Lita!" Dawn said.

"Hey Dawn. What's hanging?" Lita asked. She and Dawn had become best friends instantly. "Still thinking about coming to my belly dance classes?"

"Buffy won't let me. My grades have slipped and I can't do anything fun like that until I get them back up."

The two girls walked away leaving Buffy and Angel to themselves for the moment. Angel was dressed in black leather pants and a deep red silk shirt that matched the color of Buffy's dress. She loved to lay her head on Angel's silk clad chest. It brought a cool sensation whenever she laid her head on the soft fabric and Angel's hands found the skin of her back. They were the perfect compliment to each other and whenever they were together in a room full of people, everybody noticed them.

"Come on. We need to go find my dad. He's been wanting to talk to us." Buffy said. They found Hank by the fireplace holding a glass of eggnog and talking to Willow about some business stuff. "Daddy."

"Buffy!" Hank said. "Willow, I'll get back to you on that." Willow nodded and walked away. "You look gorgeous sweetheart."

"You said that when you first saw me. But thank you anyways. What was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Well, I'm an old man Buffy.."

"No you're not."

"Well, I'm getting there. I'd like to see some grandchildren soon. But for there to be grandchildren there would have to be a wedding. I know that you and Angel have probably already.. consummated.. but I know that you told me that you would wait to have kids until after you were married."

"When did I say that?"

"When you were nine. So I want you to know that no matter how much it costs for your wedding, I'll pay it because my girl deserves a wedding."

"What does that have to do with grandchildren?"

"It doesn't. I just needed a conversation opener. So have you set a date?"

"We were thinking February 14th."

"Valentines Day! That's wonderful. A magnificent day for a wedding."

"So you'll be there? No flaking?"

"Of course I'll be there. It's my little Buffy's big day." Buffy hugged her father. "I love you Buffy."

"I love you too Daddy." Buffy sighed and took Angel's hand.

"Where's Lindsey and Gabriel?" Angel asked.

"She took him upstairs to change his diaper." Hank said. "I feel so old. I've got a baby boy and my oldest daughter is getting married! How much older can you get?"

Buffy and Angel shared a look when Hank wasn't looking. They smiled warmly at each other and Angel squeezed her hand lovingly. "Dad?" Buffy asked.

"Yes?"

"Angel and I need to go mingle. We'll be back in a minute."

"All right sweetheart. I'll be here."

Buffy nodded and Angel almost drug her upstairs. "Angel, what are you doing?"

"Getting away from the crowd." Angel replied, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "I needed some alone time."

"Well, the party ends in an hour and we can have alone time then."

"No, that would be clean up time."

"We can do that tomorrow. Or have Dawn do some of it tonight and we'll finish the rest."

"Well, that's just.." Angel cut her off by smothering her lips in a smoldering kiss. At first she didn't respond, but when his tongue snaked it's way to her lips, Buffy opened her mouth and kissed him back. The whole time Angel led them into the bedroom. Once in, he shut the door and picked Buffy up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ground into the large bulge in Angel's pants. He groaned and opened his pants up to allow her access. She slid on slowly and then rested there for a second.

Angel couldn't take it. He pushed her against the wall and shoved into her hard and fast. After all, this was supposed to be a quickie. They had a party to get back to. Both of them moaned quietly so they didn't alert anyone going to the bathroom across the hall. Buffy felt the first waves of her orgasm coming and she bent low and sucked on Angel's neck to stifle the scream she felt building in her. They climaxed fast and hard, leaving them flushed and breathless. Buffy smiled and bit lightly down on Angel's neck as she slid off him and straightened her dress.

"Why Miss Summers, you are positively glowing." Angel said, zipping up his pants.

"It's all your fault.. Dork." Buffy walked out of the room fast and Angel went after her. He caught her just before she reached the stairs and pinned her against the wall. She was about to say something incredibly raunchy, but Angel stopped her with a deep, passionate kiss.

"Now do you think I'm a dork?"

Buffy didn't answer, she just turned him and slammed HIM against the wall, kissing him hard. When they heard a squeak, Buffy and Angel broke apart and found Dawn and Lita at the top of the stairs. Lita was giggling and Dawn was looking almost mortified.

"Dawn!" Buffy said. "Lita. What are you guys doing up here?"

"Well, we know what YOU'RE doing up here." Lita said, still giggling.

"We just came up to see if you guys were up here. Dad wants to make an announcement, but he wants you down there." Dawn said, hands on her hips.

Buffy straightened her dress and wiped at her lips. "We'll be down in a sec."

"Whatever." Dawn rushed back down the stairs. Lita smiled at Buffy and Angel and followed Dawn.

Buffy turned to Angel and they started to laugh. As their laughter died down, Buffy fixed Angel's hair, wiped away some lipstick, and straightened his shirt. She turned and looked into a photo frame and fixed her mussed hair and wiped away stray lipstick on her chin. With a "hmm" of satisfaction, she turned and walked down the stairs behind Angel.

Everyone was gathered in the living room crowded around Hank Summers. He held a champagne glass and was talking about something that sounded vaguely familiar to Buffy. He saw them making their way through the small crowd.

"There she is now with her future husband. Now I can get to my announcement." Hank said. "Buffy, sweetheart, come up here please."

Angel led Buffy up to Hank and they stood next to the man. "What are you doing dad?" Buffy asked.

Hank turned back to the small crowd. "Now, I know that most of you know that my oldest daughter is engaged to be married." A few murmurs from mom's old friends arose and some of them were congratulations to the couple. "But Buffy has just told me that they have finally set the date!" Come people clapped and others said more congratulations. "I am happy to announce that I will be giving away my daughter this February 14 to the man she loves." Everyone clapped and Hank raised his glass. "A toast to my beautiful daughter Buffy and my future son-in-law, Angel." Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to the couple standing there blushing.

Soon everyone was starting to leave. Hugs and "congratulations" and "why didn't you tell me" were thrown around to Buffy or Angel or both. The last ones to leave were Hank, Lindsey, and Gabriel. It was a long goodbye. The new baby was holding Buffy's father and stepmother back because Buffy and Angel took turns holding and loving the baby. After about 15 minutes, they finally got to leave. Surprisingly, the house wasn't too bad off. Everyone decided to go to bed and clean up the next day. Everything was happy and peaceful in the house.