Chapter 12

Buffy looked at the reflection in her mirror and suppressed a groan. She had 30 minutes to get showered, changed, and have her hair and makeup done perfectly. She had gotten caught in a brief but powerful rainstorm while waiting for the bus, so her soft blond hair became a stringy wet disaster. Black raccoon rings dripped around here eyes from wearing the wrong choice in mascara.

By the time she stripped down to step into the shower, she was shivering with chills. Buffy quickly cleaned up, and hopped back out of the shower in a matter of moments. Twisting and turning her body at impossible angles, she managed to slide her legs into a jean skirt, while at the same time putting on her deodorant. She twisted into a long sleeve blouse, and pulled on a pair of boots, and stood up to inspect the overall package. The hair dryer on high, she furiously brushed her hair into soft waves, before applying a thin coat of gloss and mascara.

Standing back just a bit, she against studied herself in the mirror, and was pleased with the reflection this time. With a quick spritz of vanilla, she was out the door and into the living room to wait. She glanced at the clock and saw that she still had nearly ten minutes of time left yet. She smirked proudly as she sat down on the sofa to wait for Will. He was coming straight from the shop, so he should be there soon.

*

Sweet Jesus, I convince her to go on a date with me, and I'm going to wind up being late, Will thought with a curse. He stood on the side of the road looking at the smoking engine, and felt the desire to hurt something. Will looked at the cars rushing past him, and roughly kicked the tire of his misbehaving car. Running a hand through his hair, he leaned back against the car, and crossed his arms, all while hoping that someone would have pity on him, and stop.

*

Buffy glanced at the clock again, and finally gave in to her urges to check on him. Dialing quickly, she called the shop, but got no answer. That means that he's already locked up, so maybe he's on his way home now, she thought. She went back to pacing, and occasionally glancing outside. Finally, she went in to Xander's room, and shook him awake. He had been sleeping since that afternoon, so she didn't feel the least bit bad in waking him.

"Xander! Wake up!" She heard a muffled groan as his head slid under a pillow. "Xander, Anya's here, and she's NAKED!" Xander sat up so quickly that he knocked Buffy back off the bed.

"Where? What-?" His sleep filled eyes landed on the slightly miffed form of Buffy on his floor, and his watchful eyes turned into a glower. "Buffy, that isn't nice, you know!"

"I know, but Xander, I'm worried! Will was supposed to close up the shop at 8, and be here to pick me up by 8:30. It's almost 9, and I haven't heard a thing from him."

"And this is my problem because...?"

"Xander! Help me find him! What if something horrible happened? He could be lying somewhere… in a ditch! I didn't ever think ditches could be bad, but mom said they were, and look, it could have claimed a new victim!" As she rambled, Buffy paced back and forth in Xander's room, not even watching him now, but rather staring at a distinct spot off in space.

Xander groaned and flopped back on the bed before burying his head under the pillow again.

*

"Thanks for stopping, mate. I was beginning to think I'd be stuck out there all night waiting for a ride. Buffy's gonna kill me when I walk in." Will glanced out the window to where to tow truck was hooking his car up, and then glanced back at the guy who had stopped to pick him up. His name was Aaron, and he had a cell on him, and had called a tow truck.

"Buffy?" Aaron asked absent-mindedly. "Oh, yeah, the girl you're rushing off to. Here, give her a call, and let her know you're on your way." Riley handed him the cell phone again, and Will threw him a grateful smile. He quickly dialed the home number, and waited while it started to ring. A breathless Buffy answered a moment later, as though she had run to the phone.

"Will? Hello?" He chuckled as a smile widened across his features. "Yeah, Buffy, this is Will. Had a spot of car troubles, but I'm almost home now. I'll be up in about ten?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you called. I was getting worried. I'll see you when you get here. Bye!" He said his own good byes, and quickly hung up, then handed the phone back to Aaron. Before long, they were pulling up in front of the house, and he could see Buffy's face at the window, anxiously watching for him. As soon as she saw him getting out of the guy's truck, her anxious expression turned into a beautiful smile, all for him. Aaron glanced up to where Will was looking, and smiled himself. He quickly said his good byes, and headed to his own house, where his wife was waiting for him.

Will disappeared into the apartment complex, and took the stairs leading up two at a time. When he reached the top, she was standing there with the door open. He reached her, and his arms slipped around her waist before pulling her close. "Sorry I'm late, beautiful." He whispered against her temple as he held her close.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," was all Buffy said back as she let him hold her close.

**AN: It's a bit shorter then I normally would have wrote, but I'm leaving for thanksgiving, and I promised a chapter before I left. Here it is.