Epilogue

8 months later

Buffy's hands nervously smoothed down the taffeta of her dress. Her hair was perfect, the long tresses curled and arranged artfully with small white flowers woven in and around the curls. A simple strand of tiny pearls was fastened around her neck, with a pair of matching earrings at her lobes. Her feet were encased in a lovely pair of satin shoes, and her legs were shrouded in silk nylons. The finishing touch would be the bouquet, which was still sitting off to the side on a small table.

Willow stood behind her, helping to fasten the back of the dress. She placed her hands on Buffy's shoulders, and smiled at the reflection in the mirror of the two friends.

"Everything will be fine."

"I know. Things will be fine. In a few hours, it will be over with, and we can celebrate."

Buffy smiled and turned to her friend.

"Well, it's time."

Will frowned at the stubborn tie around his neck, and finally scowled as he dropped his hands.

"Xan, mate? Little help here?"

Xander chuckled and bit back a teasing comment before he reached up and quickly tied the bow tie at Will's neck.

"You ready for this, man?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Good, cause I think we're supposed to be out there now."

Will nodded, and with one last adjustment to the tie, he followed Xander out the door.

Buffy peeked into the room, which was packed with more people than she'd ever even known. With a deep breath, she smiled over at Willow, and nodded.

"Let's go."

Willow grinned, and walked towards the entrance way, and started to arrange the bridesmaids up with their groomsmen. She frowned and looked at Anya.

"We're missing someone", she said quietly.

"Yeah, I know. He'll be out here, or I swear, I'll cast a hex on him. It might not do anything now, but one day, when he least-".

"Yes, yes, yes, I know. Can we save the hex's for after the wedding?"

Anya just huffed, and nodded.

Willow caught Buffy's eye and rolled her own, while mouthing the words, "Drama queen". Buffy stifled a giggle, and nodded, before slipping into her place in line. Finally, Will came sprinting out, and stepped up next to her. He placed a kiss on her cheek.

"You look beautiful," he whispered. She smiled and thanked him softly as the music inside the church began.

"Alright, it's time, so get out there and get me married!" Anya said in a loud and gleeful voice. Willow and Buffy again both rolled their eyes.

Buffy sat at the head table sipping a glass of wine while the music played. The bride, no matter how annoying she could be, looked radiant, and Xander looked happy, as well. Will had disappeared just before the bridal dance had started, and Willow had gone to talk with one of Xander's cousins. The meal was served, the drinks were flowing rather freely, due to the Harris clan, and everyone was having a good time.

No matter how much she tried not to picture it, every few minutes, Buffy's mind melted away, and she was imagining what her own wedding would look like. Xander had moved out of the loft just a week ago, and Willow would be staying with them, at least temporarily.

As the song ended, Will looked at the DJ and nodded. Xander pulled Anya from the floor with some protest, and artfully stopped her from protesting too much with a kiss. The lights in the room were dimmed, with a single spotlight still on from the bridal dance. It swiveled over to Buffy, who looked up in surprise. Over the microphone, the DJ asked if everyone could please cast their attention to the girl in the spotlight. Her cheeks flaming, Buffy stood up to move, but the light followed her.

"Sorry, doll, but we have a young man here who says to keep the light on you," came over the speaker again. There was some laughter from the guests, before the mic was handed over to Will.

"Buffy, love. Can you come out here, please?" Buffy's belly about dropped out from her as she moved quickly over to where Will stood on the middle of the dance floor. The spotlight followed her the entire time. "I know, this isn't the most ideal place, and Anya's likely going to hex me for this, but Buffy, love, I had to ask. Will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?"

Her mouth dry, Buffy just stared at Will, who was doing things right and proper, and down on one knee. In front of him, he held a small black velvet box up towards her. With a shaky hand, she reached for it, and snapped it open. Inside, nestled in white satin, was a gold ring with three diamonds on the band. The center diamond was larger than the other two, but all were fairly good sized.

Blinking back tears, and failing just some, Buffy looked back at Will, and finally nodded. The audience, minus Anya who was now pouting rather loudly, all started to cheer and clap. Will stood up and dropped the mic as he took her in his arms and swung her around in a tight hug.

"Oh, love, you've made me happy, not just for this, but for the past year. You made me complete." Buffy laughed even as tears came unchecked down her cheeks.

"You stole that from a movie, Will." She accused him playfully. With a devious grin, Will nodded.
"Yeah, I did. What are you going to do about it, little one?"

"I'm going to love you forever."

"Good, that's what I was hoping for."

"Are you two done yet? This isn't your night, it's mine!" With a groan, Will looked back towards Anya, who now had the mic in her hands. The audience again laughed, and music started back up again as Will lead Buffy off the floor. As they left, Willow and Xander both came up to congratulate the happy couple.

"So, love, now that you have me all to yourself, what are you going to do with me?" Will asked her later that night.
"I'm going to ravish… this ice cream." With a grin, she swiped her finger through the ice cold confection, and dotted his nose.

Before she could run, he tossed a pillow at her, which is how the couple spent their night: pillow fighting.

The End

I hope you've enjoyed the story, which I enjoyed writing. It took a long time, and many breaks, but the end came. I hope everyone got what they wanted from the story. Perhaps, someday, there will be a sequel, but I make no promises. For now, I will simply try to finish off more of my other stories as I can.

Thank you for sticking with me, and for the hundreds of reviews, emails, and posts on my tag board. They have helped me finish the story for you.