A/N : Well, here it is, the end of this story! This is the final chapter but there is a little epilogue too which I have also posted. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed this story and I hope you approve of the very Spuffy ending :-). Thanx to those who reviewed the previous chapter - SpIkEs AnGeL, SweetBitter, Courtney37, SouthernRain - and of course big thanks to everyone who has reviewed throughout this fic. You guys are all awesome! :-) I'd love to hear your opinions on the ending so please review when you've read these last parts... :-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 18 - The Big Day

The day of the wedding finally arrived, and practically everyone was nervous. Spike went with Giles to the church, proudly playing the part of best man, though he did complain a great deal about wearing a suit instead of his usual black and leather. Doyle was also there, of course, proud to have Cordelia on his arm. Xander and Willow looked a picture together, as did Joyce and Johnny, though they quite embarrassed the young people by being so close all the time.

Jessica's mother was constantly sniffing into a handkerchief, so happy for her daughter. She had started to think her dear girl would never find the happiness of marriage and yet the day had come and it even seemed that Johnny may be finally settling to one woman!

The bride arrived in style with her father, and Buffy and Dawn as her bridesmaids. All eyes turned to watch as the three woman glided down the aisle and the sight of Buffy took Spike's breath away, she had to admit, seeing him dressed so differently had quite a similar effect on her.

Vows and rings were exchanged by the bride and groom, but Spike and Buffy had to admit they were only half paying attention to the ceremony. They simply couldn't keep their eyes off each other, as was the case with many of the other couples in the room.

Giles was told he may now kiss the bride, and thoroughly embarrassed everyone including himself by making a big deal out of it. All the respective couples filtered out of the hall, arm in arm and smiling. It was a beautiful day that many wondered if they'd ever make it to, but here it was and no-one could be happier than this group of friends and family today.

After the ceremony, everyone headed back to Revello Drive for the reception at the Giles household. Even the kids were allowed to sample the champagne, although only a half glass each, and there was of course a beautiful cake that Joyce had iced as her present to the couple.

It was getting dark outside but everyone was so involved in conversations, eating and drinking and being merry, that they barely even noticed. Buffy only had one thing on her mind now, the same thing that'd been the centre of her attention all day, and that was Spike.

He was talking to Doyle on the other side of the room when she walked over and said she needed him. He went willingly with her through to the kitchen and out of the back door to the back porch, where she began to kiss him. He kissed her back in equal measure though he was unsure why he'd been dragged out of the house for this, it's not like the rest of their family and friends hadn't seen them snogging before.

He began to realise the reason for their exit, when Buffy finally pulled away, leaving them both breathing heavily from lack of oxygen.

"They could all be talking in there for hours" she said, just above a whisper "...my house is empty"

"What are you saying, pet?" Spike asked her, holding her at arms length for a moment, thinking he knew precisely what she meant but checking before he got a slap for saying and/or doing the wrong thing.

"I'm saying, I love you" she told him honestly and he sighed, removing his hands from her arms but not getting any closer yet.

"And I love you too" he assured her.

"So..." Buffy drew out the word as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck "do you want to?"

"Do I want to...?" Spike stammered, eyes wide as ever "oh Slayer" he said slowly, backing off again "you really know how to mess with a bloke's head" he sighed, turning his back on her briefly, "and other things" he added under his breath as he tried to regain control of himself.

"I don't understand what the problem is" he heard Buffy say behind him "if you love me..."

"I do" he protested, turning back to face her "you know I do, I just said it" he assured her, hands on her arms again as he looked her straight in the eye and she knew it was the truth.

"But?" she asked, knowing there had to be a 'but' in this sentence somewhere, either that or a 'however' which was basically just a fancy 'but' anyway...

"Why the sudden rush to do this?" Spike asked her, head tilted to one side, the way it always was when he was trying to figure something out. He did love her and was sure she loved him, but they'd never even mentioned going that step further before and all of a sudden she was practically dragging him to her bed!

"Because...I don't know" she mumbled, shifting her eyes away from his intense gaze "I just...well, Willow and Xander, when they were on vacation, they..."

"Buffy" Spike interrupted with a sigh, taking a cigarette from his inside pocket "you don't do something like that just because everyone else is doing it" he told her as he lit his cigarette and blew out the smoke "If all your mates decided to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?"

"Of course not" Buffy said grumpily, turning away from him, before adding "and you do know you sounded like my mother just then, right?"

Spike just sighed and rolled his eyes as Buffy sat down on the porch step with a decidedly moody expression and he joined her there.

"Anyway, it's different for Willow and Xander" he told her, "They've known each other for-bloody-ever, they know everything about each other and they have this deep bond"

"And we don't?" Buffy asked wide eyed, she thought that she and Spike had this huge connection too. Did he not believe their relationship was as strong as their friends?

"We do" Spike sighed again, eyes begging her to understand what he was explaining so badly "but it's different" he tried to make her see "Every relationship is different, and I'm not going to ruin ours by rushing into something we might not be ready for"

It was the way he said it that made Buffy wonder if she'd been selfish. She had been unsure if she was ready to take this next step in their relationship but it was her standing there calling the shots right now. She hadn't considered, not for a moment, that maybe Spike was scared too, maybe he wasn't ready for this yet.

"You're not ready?" she asked him with a slight frown. Spike studied her face, not wanting to offend her or make her feel he didn't want her, because in all honesty there was nothing on this Earth he wanted more than her, but at the same time this was a hell of a big deal for both of them, though she didn't realise why it was for him.

"I don't know, luv" he told her gently "Are you? I mean, really positively ready?" he checked, something in her eyes told him she was not half so confident as she seemed at first glance.

"I don't know either" she admitted quietly, fiddling with the lace on her dress "I've never actually...y'know" she mumbled, eyes always down, trying to hide how embarrassed she was about it "...have you?" she asked, looking up only for a brief second.

"Honest answer?" Spike sighed, looking out across the yard instead of at Buffy "Once" he admitted, not daring to look at his girlfriend, wondering what her reaction would be to this, as he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stamped on it with his heel.

"Wow" he heard her say in a flat tone "With Drusilla?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, with Drusilla" he answered, still looking straight ahead "But it wasn't a big romantic thing...in fact I barely remember what happened" he looked over at her then and saw more or less what he'd expected - Buffy's 'yeah, right' look.

"I'm serious..." he assured her, before turning to face her properly and explaining what he'd never told anyone before "It was about six months before I moved over here. Our relationship wasn't going anywhere, I told you we were better off as friends than anything more, but she'd had another falling out with her Dad, and my Mum was out of town for the weekend, so she came over, bought two bottles of scotch she'd nicked from Daddy's drinks cabinet. Didn't take her long to get wasted and I wasn't far behind. I vaguely remember some sort of pillow fight, and then we were kissing and, well, that was it" he ended somewhat lamely with a shrug of his shoulders, and after a moments silence Buffy had one question she had to ask.

"Did you love her?"

"Not in the way I should have, pet" Spike replied honestly with a shake of his head "not like I love you" he told her, taking hold of her hand "and she didn't love me like that either. In the morning we agreed to forget it and go back to being just friends. In all honesty I didn't see much of her from that day to when I left, things couldn't be the same after all that had happened, which is a shame I s'pose but...that's just how it is sometimes"

Buffy stayed silent, watching his thumb as it moved up and down the back of her hand. She was starting to wish she'd never opened her mouth on this subject today.

"So, you and Angel never..." Spike said eventually.

"No" Buffy all but whispered in reply "And not just cos it might make him lose his soul either" she told him, "it was never really like that with us...I guess, without knowing it, I kind of saved myself for you" she smiled shyly, eyes flitting up to meet his just briefly before going back to the ground.

With a smile on his lips, Spike lifted her chin with his finger and placed a sweet kiss on her mouth.

"Wish I'd have done the same, luv" he told her sincerely "but I'm not going to sleep with you now just to erase an ugly memory" he explained "...or lack of ugly memory, if you see what I mean" he amended with a smile, "and I'm not gonna rush into this just because everyone else is doing it"

"Yeah, it's okay, I understand" Buffy nodded, maybe a little disappointed that the afternoon hadn't quite gone according to her plans, but also a large part relieved. Spike was right, as usual, they shouldn't make a step that big just because everyone else had.

"One day, Buffy" he said softly, seeing the slight sadness in her eyes "when it's right, then it'll be perfect, for both of us, I promise you that"

"I believe you" she nodded and smiled, realising she really did mean that, as their lips met and they kissed each other soundly. It was enough, for now, they both decided as they headed back inside, to the celebration that would go on for hours yet.

This wedding had seemed like it might never arrive, but here was the day and it was one that many of those people present would never forget.

Not Quite The End...