Chapter 34

Spike reached across the bed and found an empty space where Buffy should have been. He lifted his head off his pillow, opened one eye and confirmed what he had felt.

"Buffy?" he called out uselessly as his voice was low and scratchy from sleep. He looked at the clock and sighed. It was only 7:30 in the morning. It was her day off, so why wasn't she in bed? With him, where she should have been.

His answer came in the form of the phone slamming down on the table which was followed quickly by "damn it". He chuckled when he could hear the tell-tale signs of her whine as she came down the hall to the bedroom. When she appeared in the doorway with the phone, no, parts of the phone in both hands, Spike couldn't stop his laughter.

"It's not funny! Fix it?" she asked, sweetly, as she made her way over to the bed. "Please?" She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted a little before turning it into a sly smile as he reached for the phone.

"Did you break the table, too?" he joked.

"Not my fault the phone is cheap."

"So who pissed you off this early in the morning?"

She shrugged. "No one."

"Right...who was the person on the phone that didn't piss you off?"

"Mom. They cut down the wrong tree."

"Pardon?"

"She wanted the branches trimmed on one tree and what she got was them cutting down the tree that she planted when we first moved into the house."

"Your mum planted a tree?"

"Well, it's not a big one. It's that small one with the purplish leaves? Anyway, she planted it as a sign for new beginnings or growth or something. She was all about the Zen when we first moved. I think it's how she dealt with my rebellious teen ways."

"Ah," he commented, his attention fixed on putting the cordless back together.

"So, yeah, she's very upset and she did that veiled accusation thing where she didn't flat out blame me but inferred that if we weren't having the wedding there, she'd still have a tree."

"I'm sure she didn't mean-"

"And the thing is, this was all her idea!"

"It wasn't entirely-"

"She practically begged us to have it at the house. She insisted on hiring contractors-"

"Buffy," Spike interrupted forcefully. When he had her attention, he continued. "You wanted the wedding at the house just as much as she did. Remember not calling the park?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And when your mother wanted to fix up the yard, you were the one who thought it was a great idea and I was the one who didn't want her to spend that kind of money." He smiled when the final piece of the phone clicked into its place. "Try not to kill it again."

"Look, logic man, I know what happened but this tree business was just one more thing in an increasingly growing list of mishaps."

"It hasn't been that bad."

"And you would know how? You're not exactly on the up and up with the hell the last two weeks have been."

"Maybe that's true-"

"Maybe?" Buffy asked, incredulous.

"Fine, I don't know everything but it's all over tomorrow, right?" He snaked his hand up her thigh until it found its place along her waist.

"Oh, good, at least you know that much."

"Are you looking to fight with someone?"

"I'm stressed. I'm all pent-up and you're here so you're the lucky catcher of my wrath. Deal."

"So, tell me. What else happened?"

"You don't care."

"Of course I do."

"Uh-huh. That was made glaringly obvious when I tried to tell you about what's happened when it actually happened. You gave me all of a minute of your attention before switching into your distant nodding mode. You know, like you did when I was telling you about the tree." She raised her brow and looked at him pointedly.

"I was fixing the phone," he tried lamely before nodding his head shortly, giving in. "Well, pet, you have my undivided attention now, so tell me."

"Okay, but at the first sign of nonchalance, I'm out of here. Tara's dress is too tight now. She feels horrible and because she feels so badly, I can't even be mad. Not that I would be because she's pregnant so it's understandable. It's just a tiny bit annoying. They altered my dress all wrong and they had to...you know what? Nevermind."

"I'm listening."

"I know but I shouldn't tell you anything about the dress."

"I thought I couldn't see it. I can still hear about it."

"But if I describe what they did, you'll get an idea of what it looks like and I'd rather you didn't."

He wanted to tell her that it was just a dress but went with, "Fair enough. What else?"

"Andrew has been a colossal pain in my ass. As much as I appreciate what he's done for us, I find myself wishing we just did it at the hall or something because he's just being Andrew times fifty."

"I feel your pain."

"No, you really don't."

"Luv-"

"I'm not picking, promise. I'm just saying you can't know until you're in reception hell with him. You'll probably get a taste of it tomorrow. It's colors and linens and flowers and food and everything on God's green Earth. He's going to drive me to drink."

"Is that it? Doesn't seem-"

"The flowers?" she continued without even hearing him. "Flora's Flora is officially on Buffy's hit list. First of all, there's no actual Flora. They just thought it was a cute name."

"It has a bit of a flare to it."

She glared at him for an instant, her mouth opened to say something but decided against it. "Anyway, they promised me they could supply the roses and colors I wanted. It's not like I'm asking for a lot. A dozen for mine and a half for the girls, along with your boutonnieres and Mom's corsage. It's not like I was asking for those big done up bouquets. Just some baby's breath, a ribbon and roses. Not too much to ask, right?"

When he didn't answer, the glare returned. "Oh, right, pet. Absolutely."

"They called yesterday and told me they couldn't get the roses for my bouquet. Yesterday! And this is after I called them last week to make sure they had it set. They said they did. They lied. I hate them."

"Hate seems awfully strong-"

"So now Cordy and I have to go over to the flower expo in Brighton and get the roses because that's where I originally saw them. Then I have to bring them to the flower shop where they will put them together. The only good thing is that I refused to pay them for the boutonnieres and corsage."

"They're doing it for free?"

"They're still getting the money for the five bridesmaid's bouquets. They promised me a service and they tell me two days before the wedding that they can't do it? Unacceptable."

"That's not like you."

"It's being a bride. It's insane. I'm telling you, something happens with the chemicals in your brain. It's like I see red every single time something doesn't go my way and then I bitch until it does."

She sighed and curled up beside him on the bed. His arm went around her waist, pulling her tight against his body. His lips went to the side of her neck, kissing her lightly. "Remind me to never get married again."

"Will do," he said and she felt his lips curl into a smile against her skin.

"I'm serious, Spike. If say in fifty years, I get the grand idea of renewing our vows, remind me I said that. I don't think I even want to attend another wedding again."

"Tell me more about you cutting people to the quick. I like that. Not when it's directed at me, of course, but I like when my girl takes charge."

"So I feel," she said, giggling as she rubbed her backside against him.

"That's not playing fair."

"No, that's me taking charge."

----------------------------

This was the part of the job he hated. At least when he had been working out of L.A., he never had to answer the phone. Spike's hold on the handle tightened further as the woman on the other side continued to explain her situation although he had already told her it wasn't the kind of case that they take. He pressed the heel of his hand into his temple and closed his eyes, hoping and praying that she would just be quiet for two minutes.

"Ma'am, as I've already explained, we don't do-"

"You listen to me, young man, you're in the business of finding lost things-"

"Yeah, people," Spike interrupted. "Not dogs."

"You are a detective, are you not?"

"Again, I say...you know what?" Spike asked, deciding to change the course of the conversation. "I understand you're anxious to find your dog and although we would love to help, this office doesn't specialize in that kind of investigating. However, our L.A. branch could help you and I can guarantee you'll have your dog back pronto."

He glanced up to the main office area and caught Connor snickering at the copy machine.

"I'm going to give you to a colleague who will be more than happy to give you the information you need," Spike said, loudly and Connor's smile disappeared. "You're very welcome. You have a nice day and best of luck."

He pressed the hold button and slammed the phone onto its cradle. "Don't just stand there. Talk to the nut. Be a part of the team that Angel's always going on about."

Sighing, he grabbed his pack of cigarettes from the drawer, pulled one out and lit. Inhaling deeply, Spike leaned back in the chair and swiveled to face the window that overlooked Main Street. It was a warm afternoon, the sun was shining, he would swear on something holy that he could hear birds chirping and it was his last day without a wife.

With the exception of this morning, he felt like he hadn't seen her or spent quality time with Buffy since the bachelor party. He did feel a little guilty that not only was she working just as much as he was, she was taking care of all the last minute wedding things that he didn't know the first thing about. He wished he could care but he was eternally grateful that Buffy didn't need anything from him. It wasn't that he didn't want to participate in all the hoopla of the event; it simply wasn't his ideal thing to do. He knew she was well aware of that fact and she kept it as far away from him as he could be.

He heard a delicate cough come from the doorway and he turned his head to find his other half standing in the doorway, shaking her head.

"You are not supposed to be smoking in the building. Big, hefty fines if they catch you. It's a lovely day. You should have at least gone out onto the stairs. You can't get in trouble then."

"How many times do I have to tell you that-"

"Trouble is your middle name? Got it, bad ass. Now put the cigarette out because I'm not coming near you until you do."

He made a show of grumbling his displeasure over that but he really didn't care, either way. "What brings you here?"

Buffy walked over to the desk and placed a large brown bag on top of his desk. "Hungry?"

"Is it actual food?"

"What do you mean 'actual' food? Of course it's food. I got you a hamburger with all that junk on it."

"And for yourself?"

"Turkey sandwich. Why?"

"Just making sure you were eating is all."

"All I do is eat."

"Oh, I beg to differ, luv. You've been picking at everything for the last couple of weeks."

"Hello? I'm a bride. I'm supposed to do that." She started pulling the food out of the bag and before Spike could say anything else, she began to talk. "I can't wait to relax. After all the chaos lately, I just want to sleep for like a month."

"I second that."

"Oh, don't even go there. You have no clue-"

"Flowers, dresses, trees, Andrew. I heard about it this morning, remember?" He opened the container to his burger and looked around. "Did you get me-" He cut himself off when she placed a carton of onion rings in front of him.

"And they're not from the freezer. I asked," she told him. "Anyway, believe me when I say you haven't heard all the stories. You got a two second summary because that's the limit of your attention span when anything concerning this wedding is mentioned."

"Oi, that's not true!" She looked at him with a raised an eyebrow and he smiled shyly. "Alright, fine. You're not wrong."

"I'm always right. Remember that."

"Pfft."

"Did you just 'pfft' me?"

"What's that old saying? I may not always be right but I'm never wrong...that's you."

"That doesn't even make any...oh, I get it. Hey!"

"You started it."

"You pffted me!"

"You love it."

"Pfft," she retorted with a wink. "Dawn wanted to know if you asked Connor about tonight."

"Not yet."

"Spike..."

"I'm going to. It's been a busy day-"

"Don't get me started on busy," Buffy interrupted.

"She's already asked him. I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that Connor thinks he shouldn't come and Dawn wants her friend or whatever he is there. You need to help make that happen."

"Buffy, this isn't-"

"Look, mister, I have asked nothing of you when I easily could have. Will you please just reinforce the fact that we want him there tonight?"

"He's going tomorrow. Maybe he doesn't want to go tonight," Spike tried to reason.

"Men are so completely clueless," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "For the last time, Dawn really wants Connor to come to the rehearsal dinner. Please tell him that we would love for him to be there. Got it?"

He could hear the "don't say another word" tone in her voice and simply nodded.

"Good. We'll be at the house for about an hour tonight and then we'll eat around seven at Mario's."

"I know this," he muttered, his tone more harsh than he intended.

"Just reminding you," she said, quietly. Her eyes were fixed on her sandwich and he instantly felt like an ass.

He reached his hand across the desk and took one of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you. You know I'm a right wanker at times."

She peered at him through her lashes, a small smile gracing her lips. "At times?"

"There's my girl. Now tell me-"

"Sorry to interrupt." Two sets of eyes looked over at him and he shifted on his feet. "Uh, I just wanted to see if it was alright if I went to lunch now."

"Connor, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. You don't answer to me. Just let me know what's going on. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Connor frowned. "Sorry, I just-"

"Don't get all morose about it, kid. I didn't mean anything by it."

Buffy squeezed his hand and his gaze shot over to her. She widened her eyes and as delicately as she could, nodding her head in Connor's direction. Spike sighed and looked back at Connor.

"You're coming to the party tonight, yeah?" He could see Buffy's pursed lips from the corner of his eye and internally shrugged. There wasn't anything he could do about it now.

"Actually, I might help that lady from earlier and-"

"Everyone is going to be there," Buffy jumped in. "That includes everyone from L.A., as well, so there will be no detecting going on in either office. Please come, Connor. We both need everyone we know there so neither of us lose it and run away."

"And since the men are so poorly outnumbered..." Spike added.

Connor's mouth curled into an almost smile before he nodded and said, "Can't let that happen, I guess."

"Good, it's settled. Be at my Mom's house no later than six," Buffy said, cheerfully. Connor nodded again and left the office. "'You're coming to the party tonight, yeah?' That's how you ask someone to our rehearsal dinner?"

"First of all, I love you, but if you ever mock me again with that horrible accent of yours, I'll divorce you. Secondly, I was approaching it as if I were just confirming that he was coming. Thought it would be a good way for him to not object."

"Well, when you put it that way..." she mumbled with a shrug.

"So what's on the agenda today?"

"Flowers, last minute fitting for me, maybe with Tara if she can get away from the gallery for a bit and oh! I have something for you."

"What are you going to do when this is all over?" he mused aloud.

"Here." She held a long, narrow box out to him. "And this." She grabbed a brown shopping bag at her side and put it on his desk. "Be careful. Don't get greasy hamburger junk all over them."

He wiped his hands on the napkin she handed him, rolling his eyes in the process. He opened the box and stared. "A tie?"

"For the wedding."

"A tie."

"Did you think you wouldn't be wearing one?"

"I bought my own."

"I know but that one doesn't match my dress perfectly. This one does because it's actually from my dress and you couldn't be any less enthused, could you?"

"It's a tie, pet. Not exactly ra-ra material."

"Well, you're not going to be excited about what's in the bag, either. Clothes for tonight."

"I have clothes for tonight."

"You're not wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt."

"What am I wearing, then?"

"Not a tie," she said, smiling, hoping that it would lessen the rising tension she could feel around her. "It's just a pair of pants and a shirt. No big."

He tipped the bag and looked inside. "I see blue."

"It's cornflower blue. It's very grr manly."

"It's light blue."

"No, cornflower," she told him, slowly. "It, uh, well, it matches what I'm wearing. And it's really not that light. It's a perfectly perfect shade of blue, really, as far as blue goes."

"Perfectly perfect?" he asked, smiling.

"We'll look very pretty."

"Don't want to look pretty, luv."

"Baby, you are pretty. You know it. Stop acting all macho-y and just go with it. Long lashes, blue eyes, chiseled...everything. You're a very pretty man."

"You're killing me, Buffy."

"Learn to take a compliment, William." She shoved the last of her sandwich in her mouth and mumbled, "I'm off like a prom dress."

"Not yours," he muttered.

"Aw, funny, honey." She walked over to his side of the desk and bent to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight?"

"I'm not sure I'll be-"

"Don't start with the joking. Not the time."

"See you tonight," he told her with a wink. "Probably."

She shook her head and walked to the door. "You couldn't just leave it alone, could you?"

"Never."

"Oh, by the way," Buffy said, stopping in the doorway. "You're staying at Xander's tonight because we can't spend the night together. See you at six! Love you!"

He laughed quickly and his eyes went wide. Before he had a chance to retort, she was out the door.

"She's taking these traditions far too seriously."

--------------------------

"Can you suck it in?"

"There's a baby inside me. I can't just suck it in," Tara snapped. She blushed instantly and bowed her head. "Okay, the baby is only the size of a half-dollar and I'm sorry...hormones...wonky...me."

"Well, if we had more time, perhaps there would be something we could do-"

"Mrs. Hubbard, the thing is we don't have more time. She needs to be able to wear this dress for at least two hours tomorrow without losing consciousness."

"Two hours?" Tara asked, confused.

"Well, I figured you could always change if you were really uncomfortable. I don't care about that," Buffy told her with a wave of her hand. "So what can we do?"

"Well, the problem lies with the top of the dress. With the draping, there isn't much to do. There is very little material to work with as I've let it out as much as I can. Maybe I could add more material to the sides and along the bosom. Cinch it under..."

"The bosom?" Tara squeaked. "Would rather not emphasize them."

"Like empire-style?" Buffy asked, ignoring Tara.

"It will make the dress look very different from the others but with the added materials to the side and bodice, we can open it up as much as we want so she's comfortable and the additional material can cover any bulges."

"Bulges? I don't have bulges. I'm full-figured."

"And gorgeous," Buffy added, smiling to reassure her friend.

Tara's eyes narrowed before a crooked smile broke from her lips. "Thank goodness you're getting married now. We'd be in big trouble if it were later in the summer. Hell, we'd be in trouble if it was next month."

"You don't look any different."

"I'm not, really. Bloated, though. Lots and lots of retention. I've only gained a pound or two. But apparently it's enough to make the dress just a bit uncomfortable."

"Don't worry. They'll fix it so you're not."

"I'm sorry about this."

Buffy shook her head, laughing it off. "Don't even do that, Tara. What's happening for you and Will is so important. Way more than a stupid bridesmaid dress."

"Good," Tara sighed. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hand coming to cover her stomach. "Everything's changing for all of us."

"Well, we're 'adults' now so on to doing those sorts of things."

Tara took a deep breath and her eyes went wide as the top of the dress grew even tighter around her breasts. "How did this dress fit me on top in the first place?"

"We did pick them out four months ago. Cordy's was a little tight there, too, at her last fitting. Everyone's happy and with happiness comes lots of food for some reason."

"Can we not draw more attention to them?" Tara asked, shyly.

"Sure, hon, whatever you want."

----------------------------

"I can't believe I'm going to be late for my own rehearsal dinner. You do know I'm never going to hear the end of this from him, don't you?"

"Calm down. Take a deep breath. And if I have to put your head in a vice to keep it from moving, I will so stop shaking it," Cordelia warned her.

"Hurry, hurry. We have to be there in ten minutes."

"I tried to tell you..."

"Don't start. The dresses took longer than I thought they would."

"I volunteered my precious time to run over there and get the flowers but you just had to come."

"I didn't think that would take that long, either," Buffy mumbled.

"No, you didn't think I would get the right flowers." Buffy turned to look at her friend but stopped when Cordy tugged her hair a little too hard. "Don't move."

"It wasn't that at all, Cordy, believe me."

"But if you had just let me, you wouldn't be running late now."

"Would've, could've, should've," she retorted. "Plus I had to find that tree for my mom."

"And you couldn't buy the tree on another day?"

"It's the principle behind it. I stopped by today to see how everything was going and she was just standing in the yard, sadly looking at the place her tree used to be. I had to do it."

"I really don't think she needed it today, though. It took an extra half an hour to find the damn thing."

"Can I just say a big whatever and move on. Are you almost done?"

"Sure, if you were going for that 'sparrows just set up shop on my head' look."

"Why sparrows?" Buffy wondered aloud.

Cordy laughed and shrugged. "Popped in my head. Hand me that clip." Buffy did as told. "Okay...two bobby pins...and presto."

Buffy grabbed the handheld mirror and turned around, holding to the side to see the back of her head. She nodded, moving the mirror from side to side, trying to see all the angles.

"It's okay?"

"Um..."

"Oh, just spit it out, Buffy."

"It's just he likes my hair down. Maybe I should leave it down..."

"Are you wearing it up tomorrow?" Cordy asked.

"Yeah...loose, wavy bun thing."

Cordelia gave her a look, but Buffy wasn't sure if it was annoyance that she had to do her hair over or if it was about how she was wearing her hair tomorrow.

"Sit."

"We don't have time-"

"Sit," she ordered again. Buffy did as was told and one minute later, with a flip of Cordy's wrist, the clip was undone and her hair was falling loosely past her shoulders.

"Pretty," Cordy said. "Now up and get dressed."

"How much time?"

"Five minutes."

"I am so never hearing the end of this!" Buffy yelled as she ran to the bedroom.

------------------------

"The girl does have a tendency to be tardy, Joyce."

"But not this. Of all the things..."

"She'll be here soon enough, no doubt. Just think, we can hold this over her head for the rest of her life. Good times," Spike said, with a smile, which seemed to calm Joyce somewhat. "Why don't you go chat up the JP while I try her again, alright?"

Joyce nodded to Spike's relief and he headed for the house. Buffy was fifteen minutes late and counting. The same girl who had told him on numerous occasions over the last week that if he were late, he would lose bits, was now late. However, as confident as he acted towards Joyce that everything was a-okay, he couldn't stop the creeping paranoia that set into his bones. Sure, she wasn't punctual but he knew there was no way in hell she would be late for this unless...

No, she was fine. He would just call her again. Not that it had worked when he tried just three minutes before but he couldn't not try the line again. Her cell phone rang and rang, her cheery voice came on to tell him to leave a message, which he didn't. Cordelia's phone gave him the same result. Maybe something happened on their way to get flowers. Or on their way home. Maybe they were trapped somewhere, unconscious and bleeding to death and he had no way to know. Maybe he should get in his car and take a drive to Brighton to see if there looked like there had been an accident on the road. Maybe-

"Be careful, Buffy!"

Maybe she was walking backwards through the front door, trying to carry a tree in.

"What in the bloody hell are you two doing?"

"Oh, hi, honey. A little help, please?"

"Yes, please. I'm getting dirty and sweaty."

"I'll get it," he said, grabbing hold of the bottom and pulling it from their hands.

"Watch out for the branches!"

He turned around, pinning her with narrowed eyes and she had the good grace to look away, sheepishly.

"Is this why you were late? You had to buy a fucking tree?"

"No! Well, not exactly. Just put it down. I'll give it to Mom afterwards."

He dropped the tree where he stood and it landed with a loud thud. He heard Buffy's sharp intake of breath and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't say anything to him. He put his hands on his hips and stared at her, his mouth pinched together, his cheeks sucked in and Buffy knew that he was none too pleased with her at the moment.

"I'll just...yeah..." Cordy said and quickly left the room.

"Hi," Buffy said softly, a crooked smile on her lips.

"Don't 'hi' me, Summers. Six o'clock sharp. It's 6:20. Dinner's at seven, the JP has something else to do, Joyce has gone around the bend, people are getting antsy-"

"I know. I'm sorry, really." She took a step toward him and then another until she was only a breath away from his body. "We tried to hurry but...it doesn't matter. We should get this show on the road before there's a riot."

"That's it?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "You look amazing."

"Ah, there we go, then. Let's do this."

"Ahem."

"What? You don't get compliments until you've earned them," he said, with a smirk. He took a step away from her and wrapped his hand around hers. "C'mon, now. I'm starting to feel peckish."

---------------------------------------

Buffy's hand tightened around Spike's as her other hand held her side in laughter. She looked at her fiancé with joyful tears in her eyes and he returned the look, giving her a wink in the process.

"Xander, stop! Please," she gasped out, trying to control her giggles.

"No, continue. I never did get to hear this whole story," Spike said. Buffy gently smacked him in the arm, trying to give him her best scowl but failing miserably.

"So, we're standing up there and I'm sweating and Willow looks like the top of her head is going to explode and Buffy's just reading the lines lifelessly. All I could see was Snyder glowering at us for ruining his first talent show."

"And Giles rubbing his head and cleaning his glasses, per usual," Willow put in. "I was never so terrified in my life."

"'O, Oedipus, Oedipus, unhappy Oedipus," Xander droned. "Sound familiar?"

"Shut up, star of the stage. You were stammering through your lines. 'Madness...and m-madness and uh, stabbing pain and uh...' You have no right to tease me," Buffy joked.

"I'm sorry but I rocked that talent show," Cordelia informed them.

Willow and Buffy shared a look and snickered. At the same time, they opened their mouths and sang, "The greatest love of all is happening to meeeeee!"

"Oh, for the love of my eardrums, please stop. It was mind numbingly awful the first time around," Giles said.

"Excuse me?" Cordelia asked, flabbergasted.

"Cor, a singer you are not," Lorne said. "Speaking of which, this place should install-"

"No!" came a collective reply to his unfinished sentence.

"Lorne, I think you need to let go of the dream that you can rule the world with karaoke," Angel said.

"Almost every one of you didn't think you would like it until Queen C and I put on a hell of a Halloween bash."

"Great party, not so much with the singing," Xander replied.

"Well, at least it got Buffy and Spike in the sack," Anya chimed in.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Spike muttered.

"Dear," Giles warned at the same time.

"What? It's true. They didn't leave that hotel room all weekend."

"And we were so hoping you would share that with everyone that wasn't there," Buffy told her.

"It's not as if people aren't aware that-"

"Really, Anya, no further explanations are needed," Joyce interrupted.

"How about the bet?" Willow asked.

"You four would have been dead if I had known about that," Buffy said, laughter in her voice.

"I had nothing to do with it," Oz interjected. "Seemed like a bad idea from the start."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'm quite comfortable in my role as Switzerland."

"Whatever did happen with that?" Cordy wondered.

"I would have won but the bet was already over," Willow grumbled. "You know as the best friend, I should have been told about prom night."

"Which was ten years ago so we can let it go now?" Buffy asked, sweetly.

"The best part about prom was Spike pretending to be Xander's boyfriend," Cordelia said.

"Oh, yeah, that was fantastic," Xander commented sarcastically.

"You know you want me," Spike leered.

"You're too small for me. I like 'em bulky."

Spike's eyes went wide and he nodded his head in approval of Xander's retort. He was glad his friend no longer went off the deep end over a joke at his expense.

"The look on Xan's face was priceless. I've never seen you so flustered," Willow added.

"I have to disagree. Will pushing Harmony into the pool was priceless," Oz said.

"Man, I forgot all about that!" Cordelia exclaimed. "God, remember when Spike dated Harmony?"

"Yes, and we want to remember that, as well, the night before we get married," Spike told her, his tone telling her he was not at all thrilled.

"Does anyone else want to bring up anything awkward?" Buffy inquired.

"Remember when Mom and Giles were hanging out after you ran away?" Dawn asked.

"And there we have it!" Buffy shot Dawn a dirty look who, in turn, smiled gleefully.

"You and Joyce spent time together?" Anya asked. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Well, it wasn't...I had just moved here and with Buffy...it was-"

"Nothing," Joyce told her, interrupted Giles's stuttering. "He was concerned for Buffy's welfare and helped me try to find her."

"So no sex?"

"Okay! Who wants desert?" Buffy asked, loudly. "Everyone, great! Let's get the waiter."

"I am going to kill you later," Joyce whispered to Dawn.

--------------------------------------

The dance floor wasn't big at all. Just a square of wood but none of the couples seemed to mind. Buffy looked at her friends and couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. Cordelia and Xander whispered to one another, looking far more intense than she could ever remember seeing them; Tara and Willow resting their heads on each others shoulder and mindlessly turning in circles; Oz and Beth; Angel and Darla; Giles and Anya; Dawn and Connor. She wished her Mom had someone to dance with and she made it a point to ask Spike to dance with her later on.

For now, however, she was quite happy to dance with her own honey.

"Penny for your thoughts, luv?"

"Give me a penny first and then I'll tell you."

"Catch me later on that?"

"Sure, but just this once." She leaned back to look him in the eyes. "I'm just happy. Happy that everyone is happy. Happy that we're happy. Happy that we're finally getting married and no comments about that being my fault. I know. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For taking so long when I knew all along-"

He put a finger to her lips and stopped her words. "You don't need to do that. I don't need to hear it. I know, Buffy."

"Do you?" she mumbled against his finger.

"I'm not going to say it wasn't frustrating because there were times when I wanted to throttle you a good one but you had your reasons-"

"Not entirely good ones."

"And they don't matter now. We keep putting all this pressure on tomorrow but I realized something today after you left the office."

"Yeah? What was that?"

"That all that's changing is your name. We're still the same, our lives are still the same, the people in them, what we do. I think people put too much onto marriage as a word and not on how they live it. But you and me, pet? We've been married all this time. Just tomorrow's when it'll be legal."

"Can I borrow your ability to express yourself? Because I suck at it and you can just put it down for me, plain as day."

He shrugged. "One of my many, many charms."

"I guess I just want you to know that I know how lucky I am. How incredibly fortunate I feel. I think that I sometimes don't show you that in the way that I should. I want this so much, Spike." A single tear rolled down her cheek and Spike caught it with his thumb.

"Pet, don't upset yourself."

"I'm not but I don't know how to tell you and-"

"And I don't need you to, okay?"

She nodded but frowned and Spike just let it go.

"So I really have to sleep at Xander's tonight?"

"Oh, change of plans. It makes more sense for me to stay at Mom's and you can have the apartment."

"Bugger."

"Why?"

"Had some thoughts about our last night as 'single' people, is all."

"The word naughty is flashing through my mind right now."

"You know me too well, kitten," he smirked.

---------------------------------------

"Bit, come here for a tick."

Dawn walked into the living room and sat next to him on the couch. "What's up?"

"Buffy in the kitchen?"

She nodded. "The girls' are gabbing about tonight and tomorrow. Why?"

"Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

He pulled a small wrapped box out of the inside pocket of his duster. "Will you give this to her? Either tonight after I leave or tomorrow before the wedding."

"What is it?" Dawn asked, excited.

"Something she really wanted and will probably kill me for getting for her so I'd rather not be here for that."

"Uh-huh, like she's going to be really angry that you got her a present," she said, sarcastically.

"I know she won't be but there'll be that split second of RedBuffy and I'd rather not-"

"Spike?" he heard Buffy call from the other room. "Can you come here, please?"

"You're in trouble now," Dawn teased.

"Huh?" Spike asked, dumbly, his eyes going wide in fear.

Dawn laughed and shook her head. "You two are too funny, you know?"

"Spike, did you hear me?" Buffy asked, coming into the room.

"Yeah, was just finishing up my talk with the Bit first."

"I'll come back."

"No, we're done," Dawn told her. She leaned over and gave Spike a hug. "See you tomorrow, brother."

Buffy took Dawn's vacated spot and swung her legs up to cover Spike's thighs. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Tired, yet?"

"After listening to Andrew all night, I'm starting to understand and beginning to feel deeply guilty about not helping out more."

"So, I have something for you."

"Not another tie, I hope," Spike joked.

"No, not another tie, dumbass. Our trip...the honeymoon."

"Ah, some faraway locale where I'll burn up in the scorching sun. Can't wait, lamb."

"Actually, not so much with the scorching sun." She handed him the envelope. "They're sort of non-refundable so your ass better want to go or I'm going to kill you."

"You know I love it when you threaten me," he commented, puckering his lips and raising a brow.

Buffy shook her head and laughed. "Open it!"

Spike ripped open the envelope and pulled out the tickets. He saw the destination and smiled.

"England?"

She shrugged. "Thought you might like to go back and you know, show me around since I've never-"

Spike's lips crushed Buffy's and cut off her sentence. His urgency threw her for a loop for a moment before she eagerly returned the kiss, matching his fervor. He blindly placed the tickets on the table and instantly put his hands in her hair, tugging her in the directions he wanted her to go. Buffy broke away to catch her breath and one he allowed her before he attacked her again. He pushed her back onto the couch, his lips moving to her neck and his growing excitement rubbing against her backside.

"Spike," she gasped out. "Spike, you have to stop. Mom's in the other...oh my god."

His fingers moved under the skirt of her dress and slowly moved their way up.

"Oops! Sorry!"

Buffy's head snapped to her left to see Cordy's quickly retreating form. "Spike, stop! Really, hon, you need to oh! Not do that. They're probably already gossiping about it."

"Let them."

"We'll go back to the apartment. I suddenly remembered that I forgot my uh...robe! I forgot my robe and must go get it now!" She squirmed away from his roaming fingers before the moved back down her body where she knew they would be heading any second. She rolled off the couch and landed hard on the floor.

"Ouch."

"You okay?"

"Sure, but you're going to rub it and kiss it until it feels better," she told him with a flirty smirk of her own.

-----------------------------------

"Buffy, you up?" Dawn asked as she knocked on the door.

"Come on in."

Dawn opened the door and walked into her sister's old room. "Feel funny being here?"

"Oh, yeah but it's necessary."

"Didn't stop you earlier."

"Hush," Buffy said with a laugh.

"Wow, they did an excellent job fixing it," Dawn commented as she regarded Buffy's wedding dress.

"I'm so over the halter now. I'm glad they messed it up. It's so much prettier as a strapless. Looks nicer with my necklace, too."

"Spike's tongue is going to fall out."

"That's the plan!"

"Are you nervous?"

"It's funny. I've been nervous for the last couple of weeks and having to deal with everything but now that it's here, I'm so incredibly calm that I'm sort of freaked out by it. It's...it's right, you know? All the questions and apprehensions I had are completely gone."

"And that's a good thing, right?"

"Oh, it's a great thing but I've been so neurotic about everything and especially the marriage parts that I just assumed that I would still be just as nervous as I have been. But I'm not. It feels so natural to me now."

"Are you glad you waited?"

"Actually, I am, Dawnie. I love him. God, do I love him but I really don't think I would've been able to handle all this a few years ago. I probably wouldn't have been able to handle it last year. But now...now it's simply different. I'm different."

"But you've loved him so I don't really get it."

"Oh, of course I've loved him. Been crazy for him since I saw him but I've been so scared. I thought that if we got married, everything would be ruined. I didn't want to lose him so I thought if I just kept everything as it was, then nothing could be destroyed. It wasn't until Will and Tara were getting married that I realized that marriage didn't always mean ruins, you know? That despite what happened with Mom and Dad and what didn't happen with Xander and Anya, Spike and I are not them. We don't have their relationship. We're stronger together than apart. I'm better with him than without and I'm almost certain he would say the same thing. So, yeah, I knew it but I was too scared of it. Now I'm not. Now it's like I'm looking at everything and I can see it all so clearly. The fog that was there, that refused to leave me for so long, has finally broken up and floated away."

Buffy took a deep breath and looked her sister, giving her a crooked smile. "Sorry, got caught up."

"No, it's good!" Dawn told her. "I'm glad that you're so sure now because that can only mean greatness, right?"

"Well, I tend to think that Spike and I have the market on greatness already so..."

"You know what I mean," Dawn said, lightly slapping at her sister's arm.

"I know and yeah, big greatness."

"So, he wanted me to give you something either tonight or tomorrow morning. When do you want it?"

"Like a gift?"

"Your wedding present, I assume."

"Why didn't he give it to me himself?"

"He thought you would freak."

"See, that's never good. Do you know what it is?"

"No and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Oh, did you give him the tickets?"

"Yes."

"And? Did he flip as I said he would?"

"He...sure, he sure did."

"Ah, apartment time and the missing robe," Dawn nodded, knowingly.

"You be quiet and gimme my present."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Want me to leave?"

"Would you mind?"

Dawn handed her the gift and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Buff."

Buffy smiled at her sister and before she got to respond, Dawn was out the door. Buffy scooted up to the top of her bed, propping up her pillows and leaning back. She turned the box over in her hands, trying to figure it out before she opened it. She smiled and shook her head.

"Screw it."

She ripped open the wrapping and threw it to the side. She carefully opened the flip top of the box and gasped when she saw the matching earrings to her necklace.

"Son of a bitch," she mumbled. She ran her index finger over them and smiled. When did he get so good at lying to her? She could usually tell right away but he had her completely convinced that he hadn't bought them. She should have known better. She should have known he knew her well enough that she would want the earrings, as well. She felt like a complete dork. However, a very pleased dork.

She picked up the phone next to her bed and quickly dialed the number.

"Yeah?" Spike answered, sleepily.

"You sneaky little Englishman."

He laughed heartily and she grinned.

Oh yeah, this was as right as anything could ever be.

-----

tbc