A/N: I'm skipping approximately a month into the future in this chapter. This one is a little bit longer than my average chapter, but I've got the feeling that I probably won't be able to do an update next week. I'm taking my nieces to the beach for a few days. It will be big fun, but I'm sure I won't have a chance to do any writing (3-yr-olds are incredibly demanding).

The chapter title is a Bad Company song from their album of the same name (1977).

Thanks to my beta reader isugirl!

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Chapter 7 – Burnin' Sky

Buffy was hanging out in the dorm's common room while she waited for the girls to get out of Willow's 'Defense Against the DarkArts' class. She wished she knew why people (especially Xander people) always giggled whenever that class was mentioned. The title was kinda weird and way too wordy, but it was a good idea. Willow was teaching the girls how to recognize the various types of baddies and what their weaknesses were. It was a solid concept, so obviously there was some inside joke she was missing out on.

While she waited, Buffy looked out of the window. She could see the Council's parking lot where Dean's legs were currently sticking out from underneath her Camaro. He was changing the oil down there since there wasn't much space for that sort of thing where she lived. He'd been horrified when he'd discovered that the oil had never been changed in the six months that she'd owned the car. Personally, she thought he was overreacting. The car was still practically brand new, so it seemed pretty early to start replacing things. Of course, this was the first car she'd ever bought, so there was a tiny chance she was mistaken.

"Hi ya Buff," Xander's voice greeted from behind her. "Whatcha lookin' at? Ah, I see," he concluded as he stood behind her and peered out the window. "Ogling your boyfriend again."

"Only the boots part," Buffy admitted, "because that's pretty much all I can see."

"Car trouble?"

"Nope, just an oil change. It's never been changed and he sees that as a bad."

"Never been changed?" he asked in surprise. "Not once? Wow. You better get out while you can Buff, that man is obviously dangerously irrational."

She rolled her eyes at her old friend - like she had the time or the desire to learn car stuff. They should start when you turn the key. That was pretty much all she cared to know about the subject.

"So, how's it going with clan Harris?" she asked with a mischievous grin. "Have they made it into town yet?"

"Unfortunately," he grumbled. "I picked them up at the airport this morning. Uncle Rory's afraid to fly, so he got drunker than usual and hurled on a stewardess."

"Ewww."

"Yeah," he agreed, "oddly, that was my take on it too. I'm continually amazed that I'm actually kin to those people."

"What amazes me is how you managed to throw together a full-fledged formal wedding in one month. That's no small feat. I should know. I watched the entire last season of that Bridezilla show."

"Well, Allie was determined to do this before she started showing. Besides, her mom did most of the work. I think she's been planning this since Allie was in diapers. Eloping is completely out of the question when you're the only girl in a family of six kids."

"But her family still doesn't know the reason for the big rush?" Buffy asked almost in a whisper, even though she knew there was no one around to overhear.

"I don't think so," he replied hopefully, "and that reminds me. Will Dean be bringing a gun to the wedding?"

"God, I hope not. Tell ya what though, I promise to pat him down before the ceremony."

"Actually, I was looking for a big fat 'yes'. I'm afraid some of Allie's brothers suspect me. Trust me, five strapping farm boys who think you've defiled their baby sister – scary stuff."

"So you want Dean to shoot them?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only if they try to shoot me first. I'm a reasonable man."

"Duly noted," she replied with a nod, "and if we're lucky, that will be the only bloodbath on the program."

"If we're lucky," Xander agreed. "Hellmouths and formal occasions are famously incompatible."

"Willow has it covered," Buffy assured him. "She's amped up the protective spells on all the buildings and she's invented some handy-dandy little charms that are bound to scramble any virgin-seeking radar. As long as the weather holds, I predict the outdoor reception will be a big hit."

"Here's hopin'," he replied with his fingers crossed. "If nothing else, this will be a good dry run for your wedding," he teased.

She snorted a laugh. "Yeah right. We've only been together a month. I'm not even sure how Dean feels about me yet."

"Trust me, he's hooked," her friend said confidently. "He's changing your oil isn't he?"

Buffy shot Xander a puzzled look. "Is that some sort of secret guy-code for commitment? If so, you must teach me the mysterious ways of your people."

"See, that's where you ladies get tripped up. You give us guys way too much credit. Mostly, we're a simple folk. We show our devotion through the ritual acts of changing oil and mowing the lawn."

"I don't have a lawn, but he does take out the trash," she stated hopefully. "Ooh, and he fixed my leaky sink."

"And both are highly symbolic acts," he assured her. "And on a totally unrelated subject," he added, "You better hurry up and hide that Wal-Mart bag you're holding before Will shows up. Must she remind you that you'll pay for those low prices with your immortal soul?"

"Uh oh," Buffy said as she looked down at the bag in her hand. "Close call. I totally forgot. I so do not want to sit through that boring documentary again."

"No one does," he agreed. "So tell me. What did you sell your soul for this time?"

Buffy reached into the bag, which was filled with miniature spiral-bound notebooks. "These," she said as she held one up, "and they were two for a dollar," she added proudly. "I'm going to ask all the Slayers to keep one by their bed. Just as soon as they wake up, I want them to write down everything they can remember about their dreams, even if it's only one word."

"Still on the dream kick, huh?" Xander asked with a slightly patronizing smile.

"I'm telling you there's something to it," she stated firmly. "Every morning I wake up with déjà vu… and", she added quickly, "it's not because I get the feeling that I've woken up thousands of times before. Giles already used that one, so don't waste your time."

"Darn," he said with a snap of his fingers. "I thought I had some original snark."

"Sorry to disappoint. Plus," she continued on, "I talked to Faith and it's the same deal. Both of us are having weird dreams that magically fade away the minute we wake up. For instance. Yesterday, we both remembered dreaming something about kittens. Fishy huh? What's the chance that's just a coincidence?"

"Evil kittens?"

"Yes, vampire kittens. It was horrible. All of them were drinking from tiny little blood-filled saucers."

"Seriously? That would actually be pretty darn unsettling."

"No," Buffy smiled, "I'm joking…I hope. But there is something disturbing about the whole thing. It's almost like someone is deliberately preventing us from remembering these dreams."

"That Eve chick?"

"No," she replied thoughtfully, "For some reason I don't think so. It's something else. I'm not even sure why I think that. It's just, I have a gut feeling. That's why I want to try the dream journals. Maybe if we can all remember one or two things, we can piece this thing together."

"Guess it couldn't hurt," Xander agreed. "Besides, I shouldn't doubt your spidey-sense. It's proven itself worthy many times," he added sincerely.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you for lending credence to my 'I have to go to work and talk about important work stuff' excuse. Now it's not a complete lie."

"I see," Buffy replied knowingly. "You're just using us an excuse to hide out from your family."

"Guilty as charged," he admitted. "Actually, I really do have some official wedding business to go take care of. I still need to pick up my tux. If I drive super slow, I think I can manage to kill a few more hours. Maybe I'll walk," he added thoughtfully.

"Good luck with that."

Xander started to leave, but paused at the door. "I almost forgot. Please tell me that Dean and Sam are coming to the fake-Bronze tonight to do the bachelor party thing. I'd like to have at least a couple of real guys there. No offense to Giles and Andrew, of course."

"Of course," Buffy agreed with a nod. "Don't sweat it. I'm sure they'll be there. I predict that tonight will be rather light on the slayage. Dean won't mind spending a night away from Cleveland's great underground labyrinth, plus me and all the girls will be at Allie's shower tonight. The magnificent seven will have to survive one night without Sam."

"They won't like that. You do realize that a lot of their distress calls aren't entirely on the up-and-up. If they were, then they'd call Faith, Vi, or Rona. But nooo, they always call Sam for some strange reason. It's so not fair," he emphasized. "I was supposed to be the crush-worthy older guy. Oh well," he said as he stood up straight and squared his shoulders. "I'm going to be a father soon, so I suppose it would be appropriate for me to pass the torch. I'll transition into being the wise and dignified paternal figure. Wait a minute," he paused, his face falling in disappointment. "Giles already has that title. What am I supposed to be now?"

"We'll figure something out," Buffy promised. "Just remember that the quality of your new title is contingent upon you not taking my boyfriend to a strip club tonight."

"I don't think you have to worry," he assured her. "The best man plans these things and seeing as how that's Giles, I'm not expecting anything much more exciting than a few beers and maybe a game of pool."

"Good." Buffy replied happily.

XXXXXXXXXX

Buffy got home from Allie's bridal shower around ten and watched TV with Dawn for a couple of hours before heading off to bed. It was nice to get to spend some time with her sister again. Her boyfriend, Russ, had driven her in for the wedding and had ended up tagging along to Xander's bachelor party. As far as she could tell, he seemed pretty nice, but she still felt weird about allowing him to share Dawn's room. However, she had a feeling that despite anything she'd said, he'd still head straight to Dawn's bedroom when he got in. Her sister was technically an adult and Buffy wasn't their mom, so there was only so much she could actually do about it. Still, she didn't have to like it. Dawn would probably always be a little girl in her book.

Once she laid down, she quickly realized that she'd grown so accustomed to Dean being there that she was now having trouble going to sleep without him. That idea scared her. She was serious when she'd told Xander that she didn't know how he felt about her. He never talked about anything like that. He was almost always around and was very affectionate, but he never made any grand declarations. If she used Xander's yardstick, it did seem that he cared about her. Aside from taking on the so-called 'manly household tasks', he had completely devoted himself to helping her solve the Eve crisis. His first act was to assign his brother to mini-Slayer duty. The first week or two, Sam had gone out with a different one of the seven each night. It had really helped to ease them into the idea of being on their own and had also given her some serious peace of mind. Since then, he'd been spending most of his time accompanying the less experienced girls on patrol and answering multiple requests for help each night. Many of these 'emergencies' were just obvious ploys to get his attention. She thought it was funny, but it infuriated Faith, who sometimes claimed that he was secretly messing around with some of the underage girls. Buffy really didn't think so and Dean thought the idea was absurd. Since he knew Sam better than anybody, she'd decided to trust his judgment. Faith had a very low opinion of men in general, which tended to skew her judgment toward the highly negative. Buffy often wondered what had happened to her to make her so suspicious. She was afraid it was something horrible, but Faith had never opened up to her about it. It was sad actually. She'd begun to suspect that Faith had an interest in Sam that went beyond her typical 'use 'em and lose 'em' agenda. The lady most definitely did protest too much.

Buffy flipped her pillow over again and continued on with her attempt to define her relationship with Dean. She tried not to delve too deeply into her own feelings and instead concentrated on what his might be. Her feelings were way too intense for her to linger over, mainly because she was afraid he might not share them. She was ashamed to admit that a small part of her was glad that they hadn't managed to kill that stupid dragon yet. That part of her feared that he'd move on once the job was done. Of course, killing the dragon didn't automatically end their problems with Eve and aside from that, they weren't much closer to killing it than they'd been when they started. It had turned out to be much wilier than she'd given it credit for. It seemed to know they were onto it and had started moving its lair around. They'd found several piles of scorched bones and some gold that had been dropped and left behind. The bones answered her question about what had happened to the non-Slayer virgins it captured. Apparently, they were barbequed and eaten for lunch. This discovery made her feel like a horrible person for harboring any secret, self-centered motives. But still, it wasn't like they hadn't tried to get rid of it. In fact, they may even be close to a breakthrough. In the past week, there'd been a rash of attacks on young women near Council headquarters. The dragon had apparently decided that those girls hadn't fit the profile, but they'd still ended up clawed and traumatized. The girls hadn't been able to give any reliable descriptions of what had happened, but it seemed pretty clear that the creature was getting desperate. It knew that its targets were close by, but yet it couldn't seem to get to them. The hope was that its frustration would soon cause it to slip up and come out into the open.

It was around 2:30 A.M. when Buffy finally heard the Impala's engine and Sam's voice saying good night to Dean and Russ. Dean's boots sounded stompier than usual on the stairs, so she figured he'd done quite a bit of drinking. As it turned out, she was correct. She just hoped that his brother had been in better shape since he'd been the one driving. This was the first time that she'd ever seen alcohol have much of an effect on Dean. He always drank a few beers with dinner, but he never seemed to have much of a buzz. His tolerance was obviously way higher than hers.

After making such a racket coming up the stairs, he opened the bedroom door very slowly and carefully. He then tried his best to move stealthily across the floor in the dark. He ended up slamming his shin against the nightstand and proceeded to curse loudly. Buffy decided it was time to give up the sleeping act and flipped on the lamp.

"You okay?" she asked with amusement in her voice.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he answered sheepishly. "I'm a little drunk," he added with a goofy smile as he half-fell/half-sat on the edge of the bed and started trying to take off his boots.

"You don't say," she commented as she leaned over his shoulder and watched him struggle with his laces. "Do you need help with those?"

"Nope, 'm good."

"What shape is the groom in?" she asked curiously. "Xander doesn't need to end up missing another one of his weddings."

"Blitzed. Dude puked in the parking lot."

"Great. You guys do realize that the ceremony is at one o'clock tomorrow?"

"He'll be fine," Dean stated with a sloppy wave of his hand. "Just needs to sleep it off. But man, squirrelly-dude really made me nervous tonight."

"His name is Andrew, remember? His feelings will be hurt if you slip up and call him squirrelly-dude to his face."

"Yeah whatever," he slurred. "The way he looks at me and Sam… I'm serious, it's like we're both just a piece of meat," he declared in an honestly offended tone.

Buffy burst out laughing. "I'm sure the both of you can manage to fend him off."

"I hope so," Dean said earnestly. "I'd hate to have to sic the Slayer on his ass."

He finally managed to rid himself of his boots and swung his legs up on the bed. He propped himself up against the headboard before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet.

"Here," he said as he attempted to push a wad of bills into her hand. She judged that there was at least five hundred dollars there, maybe more.

"This isn't a strip club," Buffy said dryly. She wasn't quite sure what he was up to.

"Too bad," he joked as he continued to try to get Buffy to accept the cash. "Take it. It's for bills and stuff, but if you feel like you need to strip for it, I won't complain," he added with a drunken leer.

"Dean, where did you get this?"

"I hustled pool. What do you think?" he asked a little defensively. "I sure as hell didn't sell my body to squirrelly-dude."

"Well that's a relief," she replied sarcastically.

Buffy took the wad of cash from him and dropped it on the nightstand. She didn't intend on keeping it, but she wasn't about to waste her time arguing with a drunk man. She tried to tamp down her irritation with him by reminding herself that she had no chance of having an intelligent conversation with him tonight. It was just that this issue was so damn ridiculous and frustrating. Dean refused to take any money from the Council, even though Giles had made it clear to him - on more than one occasion - that he would be more than happy to pay to his expenses. He and Sam had even argued about it. Sam felt that they were working a job and deserved to be paid, but Dean wouldn't even discuss it. What he didn't know was that Sam had decided to go ahead and take Giles up on the offer. She was glad because Sam was working his ass off, but she was afraid that it might end up causing a big fight between the two brothers. Speaking of fights, she'd finally decided that she was way too aggravated with Dean to let this drop until tomorrow. She had to say something.

"Dean, this is stupid." she snapped. "I don't understand why you won't let Giles put you on the payroll. You don't have to gamble and hustle pool to pay the bills. You are working, you know? I realize you don't normally get paid for it, but that's the way we do it around here."

Buffy had expected an argument, but it appeared that he was too far gone to rise to the bait. In fact, he'd passed out on top of the covers with all of his clothes on. She decided to leave him that way, but did make sure that the pillow was behind his head since it was propped against the headboard at an odd angle. Hopefully he'd wake up soon and realize that he was in an uncomfortable position. The argument would have to wait, but at least now that he was here she'd be able to get some sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Buffy made a big breakfast. She'd decided to go all out since Dawn was visiting. Thankfully, there had been no egg-based disasters this time. To her surprise, Dean ate just as much as usual. She'd assumed he might be too hung over, but he seemed to be holding up pretty well. He was a little grumbly though and he kept rubbing at his temples.

When Dawn entered the kitchen, she placed her hands on Dean's shoulders, leaned in close to his ear, and practically yelled 'good morning'. She was just torturing the injured and helpless, it was one of her favorite pastimes. He growled and swatted at her, but she just smiled and patted him on the top of the head before taking her seat. What bothered Buffy about this little scene was Russ' reaction to it. She didn't think that Dean or her sister had noticed, but the expression on his face had been close to fury. He seemed to hide it quickly and was polite throughout breakfast, but she noticed that he kept shooting suspicious glances at Dean when he wasn't looking. A little jealousy was normal, but this seemed extreme and had set off an alarm in Buffy's head. She decided that she was no longer so sure that she liked Dawn's new boyfriend. She'd have to keep an eye on him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The ceremony went off practically without a hitch. Something Buffy was sure fate would eventually make them all pay for. She hadn't attended many weddings, but the ones she'd been to had all been traditional spring affairs. Since it was early October, Allie and Xander had used a fall theme. The colors were gold and a burnt-orange. Everything had turned out really pretty. Actually, Council Headquarters was a great location for a wedding. The campus had originally been a small Catholic boarding school, so it had come pre-equipped with a chapel. All they'd had to do was clear out the cobwebs and add some decorations. The Slayerettes had thrown themselves into helping Allie's mom, sisters-in-law, and cousins decorate. The fifteen 'shut-ins' were especially enthusiastic because they were understandably bored with the day-to-day routine. Buffy had initially been against the idea of holding the ceremony there, it seemed like the risk of an incident was just too great. For one thing, the bride's family and friends had no knowledge of the real purpose for the school. They believed it was a private, church supported girl's academy. But Allie had ended up insisting on holding the ceremony there, because she wanted all of the girls to be able to attend. Xander's new wife had always been very maternal, which was probably why she'd been drawn to nursing. She wanted everyone to feel included. This aspect of her personality reminded Buffy a little of Tara and she felt a stab of sadness. She felt like Tara had never been properly mourned. When Willow had gone off the deep end, Buffy had forced her death to the back of her mind. There had simply been too many other issues to deal with. Since then, she had mourned her in bits and pieces, usually when some small detail caused her to remember.

The reception was held outside beneath a large rented tent. Thankfully, the weather had been nice so they'd been able to pin up the sides and let the breeze blow through. Buffy had been chatting with Trish, a shy, sixteen-year-old member of 'the fifteen'. She'd been sitting alone, unlike the other girls who were taking the opportunity to socialize and flirt with some of Allie's cute nephews and cousins. Trish was a skinny African-American girl, who seemed ill at ease with her nearly six-foot-tall frame. Buffy knew that once she stopped being so self-conscious and learned how to carry herself that she'd be absolutely stunning. Her features were striking in a way that reminded her of a contestant on America's Next Top Model. Of course, none of that was in this girl's future. She'd been chosen and Buffy could understand why. When she fought she immediately transformed into the perfect picture of confidence and grace. The Powers didn't hand out Slayer skills evenly, some of the girls had more than others and Trish probably had the most. She'd been really sorry to lose her in the field. She was currently telling Buffy about a disturbing dream she'd had the night before. The only thing she'd been able to remember was that someone or something had creepy, black eyes. Buffy immediately got that déjà vu-y feeling and became even more convinced that these dreams had a deeper meaning.

Faith was another person who appeared to be uncomfortable in her own skin. She had on a simple and rather conservative looking blue dress. It was so not her style. She was sitting at the end of the table, looking fidgety and anxious. Buffy excused herself from Trish and went over to say hello.

"I feel like an idiot," she grumbled as she tugged at her clothing. "I can't wait till this thing is over."

"You sound like Dean," Buffy said with a laugh. "I had to convince him that jeans and a t-shirt were not appropriate wedding attire." She looked over at him as she spoke. He was standing with his brother and drinking a beer of all things. He called it 'hair of the dog'. She smiled when she noticed that he'd already managed to get rid of his tie. She also noticed that Faith was looking in that direction as well, but her eyes weren't on Dean.

"You two are silly," Buffy stated. "You look at him when he's not looking and he looks at you when you're not looking. It's like a high school flashback."

"Sam looks at me?" Faith asked. She'd attempted to sound casual but it was obvious that she was surprised. "Huh," she shrugged, "guess that horn-dog can't keep his eyes off any of the women."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "That's not true Faith and I think you know it. Are you ever gonna spill the beans and tell me what happened between you two?"

"What do you think happened? Do I need to draw a picture?"

"I'd rather you didn't," she replied sincerely. Strangely, Faith's words had given her another whopping sense of déjà vu.

"I saw Dean changing your oil yesterday," Faith remarked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah, I think he's deflecting his vehicle-angst onto my Camaro since Sam almost always has his. I've never seen anybody so attached to a car before. You'd think it was human."

"It was the family car," Faith told her. "Their mom and dad had it before they were even born and – ya know – they're both dead now. That's why he's such a spaz about it."

This revelation explained a lot. Buffy hadn't realized that the car had such history. She'd always just assumed that Dean's obsession was simply some weird car-guy thing, but what really surprised her was the fact that Faith had this information.

"How did you know that?" she asked curiously.

"Sam," she replied simply.

"But you can barely manage to be in the same room with him," Buffy argued.

"He told me that night," Faith replied a little irritably. Obviously, she was uncomfortable with the subject.

Shock and awe weren't strong enough words for Buffy's reaction. "Don't take this the wrong way Faith," she began cautiously, "but if I were to imagine what happened that night, talking would've been at the very bottom of the list. Actually, it wouldn't have even made the list."

"Thanks B," Faith said defensively. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry," she said sincerely. "It's just… you don't talk to men. I'm really not trying to be harsh here. I thought you were pretty open about the fact that you only have one use for them."

Faith refused to look her in the eye. "Well, he was pretty easy to talk to. I actually kinda liked him," she admitted hesitantly.

"Then go talk to him," Buffy encouraged her.

"What am I supposed to say? Our last conversation ended with me threatening to kick his ass."

"Did he deserve it?"

"Yeah… No… I don't know," she replied in frustration. "I just don't get him. I can't seem to figure out his game."

"Maybe he doesn't have one," Buffy said.

"They all have a game B. If you're nice enough and give 'em what they want, they'll take care of you. Maybe give you a place to stay, somethin' to eat… at least until they get tired of you. But if you're strong enough," she added with a somewhat bitter smile, "you get to make your own rules."

Buffy wasn't sure how to reply to this. She felt incredibly sad for Faith, but she knew pity was the last thing she would want. Faith would rather die than be painted as a victim and she respected that.

"Just go talk to him," Buffy finally said. "Ask him how he is. You can even discuss slaying. It doesn't have to be anything deep or complicated and it doesn't have to be about sex. Just try and be his friend."

"Nah, he's busy talking to Dawn right now. She had a big crush on him, didn't she?"

Buffy looked up and saw that her sister was indeed chatting with Sam. Dean wasn't with them. If she had to guess, she'd say he'd gone back for more food.

"Yes Faith," she answered in a slightly exasperated tone. "But nothing happened. Regardless of what you may think, Sam actually seems to prefer his women to be out of their teens. Besides, Dawn's all wrapped up in that Russ guy," she added sourly.

"So, we don't like him?" Faith asked.

"Look at him," Buffy replied as she attempted to subtly incline her head and roll her eyes in his direction. "Doesn't he look like jealous psycho-boy? It's like he's trying to fry Sam's face off with his laser eyes. He did the same thing to Dean and for no good reason. I need to talk to Dawn about this, but I know she won't listen to me."

Faith rose from her seat. "Maybe I should go introduce myself," she said with a sly grin.

"What are you going to do?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"Nothin' bad. I'm just gonna say hello… maybe give him a nice bone-crushing handshake. Ya know, subtly remind him that Dawn has friends who can stomp his ass into a mud puddle."

Buffy actually kind of liked that plan. The more she was around the guy, the less she liked him.

"Just don't take it too far," she reminded Faith.

"It's all good," she replied with a wink.

It wasn't long before Dean joined Buffy at the table. He had, as she'd suspected, once again loaded up his plate.

"You should try these sausage balls," he said as he held one out to her. "They're awesome."

"I'm good," she assured him. "I usually try to stick to the one plate. The drawback to being this short is that the calories have nowhere to go but out."

Dean shook his head. "That's ridiculous. You should eat what you want."

"I'm sure that's what you'll think when I weigh three-hundred pounds."

"A three-hundred pound Slayer would be bad ass," he joked. "Nothing would mess with you."

"Yeah, nothing. Not even you," she replied dryly.

Before Dean had a chance to say something that was undoubtedly going to be crude and inappropriate, Xander and Allie interrupted them. They were making the required rounds among their guests.

Buffy stood up and gave each of them a big hug. "You look so beautiful Allie," she gushed.

"She does," Xander agreed proudly. "But hey, what about me?" he added in a fake injured tone. "I didn't put on this monkey suit for nothin'."

"Actually Xander," Buffy began, "you look a whole lot better than I imagined you would after hearing about your parking lot adventures."

Xander nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well, remind me that I should never try to go shot-for-shot against your boyfriend. Never," he emphasized.

"Sorry Allie," Buffy apologized. "I didn't realize Dean would be such a bad influence."

"Xander's a big boy," she said with a smile, "and hopefully now he's gotten all the wildness out of his system."

"Believe, me," he said, "I got everything out of my system in that parking lot last night. The good, the bad, the indifferent… I think I might've lost some things I actually need."

Dean laughed. "Yeah man, you had some problems holding your liquor."

"That reminds me," Xander said excitedly. "Buff, you missed it! You'll never guess who can drink as much as Dean and still stay on his feet."

"Who?"

"Giles! He was completely off the hook. I'll never look at him the same way again."

"The old limey can put away some booze," Dean agreed.

"I really didn't need to know that," Buffy said honestly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Buffy was once again feeling that she was deeply in fate's debt. Somehow, they'd managed to see Xander and Allie off and get all of the guests safely back to their hotel rooms before sunset. Aside from Xander's drunk uncle Rory getting a little too friendly with the bridesmaids, there hadn't been any notable incidents. Most importantly, there were zero incidents of the freaky and supernatural variety.

She was in the chapel with Giles, helping him to roll up yards and yards of ribbon and lace. Everyone else was outside either standing around talking or working to clean up the remains of the reception.

"So," she said to Giles. "I hear you got to see Dean's Paul Newman impersonation last night."

"Ah yes," he agreed. "The Hustler. Possibly Newman's best role."

"I think it's stupid," Buffy stated.

"I rather enjoyed it," he replied. "I realize you're not much of a classic film connoisseur, but I think that one really stands the test of time."

"Not the movie," she said in exasperation. "Dean hustling pool. That's what's stupid."

"Well he is quite good at it."

"Not what I'm getting at Giles. I mean it's ridiculous that he thinks he needs to do that, when you're offering to pay him good money. It makes no sense. Do you know he tried to give me his winnings? He thinks I took it, but I didn't really. I'm making him take it back just as soon as we get home."

"I don't think you should do that," he said seriously. "You should keep the money."

"You don't get my point."

"I do get your point," he disagreed. He stopped what he was doing and took off his glasses, something he tended to do when he was about to get serious. "Would you like me to be completely honest with you?" he asked.

"I guess," she replied hesitantly.

"Well here goes. I believe you are being deliberately obtuse."

"Uh," she protested. "Maybe you're the obtuse one. Did you ever consider that?"

"Yes, very mature. What I'm trying to say, is that you must know why he refuses to let me pay him."

Buffy shrugged innocently and Giles shook his head before continuing. "He associates you with the Council and he doesn't want you to pay him for helping you."

"But I'm not paying him. It's the Council's money, not mine! Plus, he's not just helping me. He's helping everyone. Hello - the entire world that might get roasted if Eve manages to succeed with her plans."

"I don't believe he sees it that way. You're his primary interest in this matter. I say you should take the money and leave this be. He'll come around eventually."

"One night of drinking and you're taking his side," she accused. "I can't believe this."

"I'm not taking his side Buffy," Giles replied irritably. "I'm taking your side. This is the first time that I've seen you truly happy in years and I don't wish to see you sabotage things. That young man is here because of you, it should be obvious."

"Then why doesn't he just say that?" she pouted.

"And so we've arrived at the root of your argument," he sighed. "You need to have patience. Dean's not the sort to read you poetry. I've no doubt that he'll eventually tell you what you wish to hear, but until that time, you need to not get so caught up in what he's not saying. Open your eyes. That's the best advice I can give you."

"Well I'm glad all that doesn't make me sound like a huge bitch," she said. "I'm really not trying to be all pushy. I just…"

"Don't want to get hurt," he finished for her. "I see that and I also realize you have an awful lot of baggage. I'm just telling you that you need to try and see past it. I'm certainly not accusing you of being a 'pushy bitch'."

"Good," she said with a small smile. "Because that's kinda mean."

Giles' reply was cut off when the topic of their conversation came tearing into the chapel at a full run.

"It's a giant freakin' lizard!" he exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath.

"What?" Giles asked, obviously confused by this statement.

"The dragon. It's actually a ginormous fire-breathing lizard. It's a flying Godzilla. The bastard burned the damn tent to a crisp!"

"Does this mean I've lost my deposit?" Giles asked in alarm.

Buffy was already on her way toward the door, she could hear yelling and what sounded like gunfire coming from outside.

"Hide the virgins!" she yelled before turning and asking in amazement, "Did I actually say that? Because that's just weird."

"They made it inside," Dean answered her as he caught up. "The witch threw up this shield thing. It lasted long enough for them to get into the main building. It was pretty damn impressive actually," he admitted.

"Good," Buffy sighed in relief. "Where's the sword?"

"As far as I know it's still in the trunk of your car."

"Oh no, my purse!" she said in a panic. "I need the keys." She ran back inside and to the back of the chapel where she'd remembered stashing it.

"Cover me," she yelled as she flew out of the door with her keys in hand.

"With what?" he called after her.

Dean ran out into the courtyard, looking around desperately for anything that could be considered a weapon. Thankfully, the dragon was currently occupied with throwing itself against the main building, so it hadn't noticed Buffy. Every time it touched the brick, you could hear a loud sizzling sound that must've been the effect of the magical charms Willow had placed on the structure. This enraged the creature further, causing it to roar and launch a stream of fire at the building. This too was repelled by the barrier and blew back into the dragon's face. Dean felt safe in thinking that he had now seen everything.

He called out for his brother. He was hoping to get the Impala's keys and get some weapons from the trunk. It was hard to see because the fumes from the burned tent and a few trees that had caught on fire were clogging the air. He finally saw his brother running toward him with a handful of weapons and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Sam. What did you get?"

"Whatever I could grab," he replied as he coughed and gasped for air. He dropped a bundle of weapons on the ground and Dean immediately grabbed a crossbow.

"You actually brought the flamethrower?" he asked. "Don't you think we have enough fire?"

"Bite me," his brother snapped. "I wasn't exactly being choosy."

Dean shrugged. "I think this is the most messed up thing we've ever seen," he commented. "What happened to the lame goth-guy dragon?"

"Weird Hellmouth energy," Sam replied. "I think it makes monsters more monstrous."

At about that time, Buffy came running up beside them holding the dragon sword.

"You okay?" Dean asked her immediately.

"Fine," she replied quickly. "But we need to get that thing away from the building. Will's protection charms are super strong, but I don't know how much abuse they can take. Plus, we need to get it down here where I can stab it."

Dean lifted the crossbow and fired a shot at the creature. The arrow bounced off, but it did turn around and growl, which meant he'd caught its attention. Through the smoke he could see Faith and the other Slayers (the non-virgin ones anyway) and they had apparently gone inside and taken every single crossbow from the weapons room. Thankfully, there were more than enough to go around. They launched volley after volley of arrows at the dragon and every third or fourth one would actually stick into its hide. They didn't appear to be causing it injury, but it was definitely angry and distracted. It abandoned its attempts to get into the building and swooped down over the courtyard breathing giant streams of fire and causing everyone to scatter across the grounds to avoid it. The jacket of Dean's suit caught ablaze and he had to take a break from shooting arrows in order to rip it off. Now that they had the dragon's attention they'd discovered a huge flaw in their plan. It didn't need to get very close to the ground to incinerate them with its breath. It could stay twenty to thirty feet up and still easily manage to roast them all alive, meaning Buffy had no chance of sticking it with the sword.

Buffy grabbed Dean by the hand and pulled him toward the foot of a large cross that stood on the grounds. It had obviously been placed there by the previous owners. It was at least sixty feet tall and had at one time been lit up with lights. Because of this, there was a built-in maintenance ladder on the back of the structure. The rungs didn't start until you got about ten feet off the ground, which probably had something to do with deterring curious children from climbing it.

"Lift me up," Buffy said as she kicked off her high heels.

"Hell no," Dean replied. "Are you crazy?"

"I have to," she argued. "That thing won't come down here, so I'll have to go up there."

"I'll do it," he stated.

"No," she said firmly. "Lift me up or I'll find someone who will."

"Goddammit," he cursed in frustration, but he did boost her up. He knew she'd do it anyway; she had that look in her eye.

She paused on the bottom rung and looked down at him. "Get everybody to chase that thing this way," she ordered sternly, "and please be careful," she added more gently.

Dean stood for a moment and watched as she swiftly climbed the ladder one-handed since she had to use the other to hold on to the sword.

"Goddammit!" he cursed again before going to inform the group of her plan.

They did manage to steer the dragon toward the cross, but it still wasn't cooperating with the slaying plan. It just wouldn't get close enough to Buffy to allow her to stab it. She was standing balanced on the 't' of the cross when it swooped by just feet below her. As it turned around and came back for another pass (shooting fire at the ground as it flew) she made the snap decision to jump onto its back. The moment it detected her presence it did a barrel roll in the air in an attempt to dislodge her. She barely managed to keep hold of the sword and prevent herself from flying off by grabbing onto one of the pointy spines that protruded from its back. When it came out of the roll, she realized with horror that it was starting to gain altitude. That wasn't good. She'd been hoping to wait until it got a little closer to the ground before stabbing it, but after a second barrel roll, she decided that this may be her only chance. She slammed the sword into the side of the creature's neck with all of her strength. It sunk in to the hilt and the dragon let out a horrible shrieking roar that could probably be heard for miles around. It then fell silent and immediately began to sink like a stone through the air. Buffy had judged that they were probably at least eighty feet up when she'd stabbed it. This fall was going to hurt. She waited until they were probably ten to twenty feet from the ground and then jumped clear. She had no desire to be impaled on one of those spiny spikes when the thing crash landed.

She must have been temporarily knocked out, because the next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground and Dean was kneeling over her. She could see his lips moving and feel his hand brushing against her face, but the ringing in her ears prevented her from understanding him. His face, she noticed, was white with panic and fear. She wanted to assure him that she was alive and sorta well, but the breath had been knocked out of her. After a minute or two, she felt like she was getting her bearings a little, so she grabbed onto his arm and pulled herself into a sitting position.

"No more sewers," she announced with a smile.

He stared at her for a moment with the same terrified expression on his face and then pulled her into a tight embrace. "I thought you were dead," he said in a gravelly voice. "I knew you were." He paused for a moment as he took deep steadying breaths in an effort to compose himself. "You're completely batshit insane," he finally added as he squeezed her tighter. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Buffy would've laughed if her ribs hadn't hurt so much. "Dean," she groaned, "I think I broke some ribs in that fall."

"Oh God," he said as he released his grip on her pulled away. "I'm sorry."

Buffy took both of his hands in hers and looked into his eyes. His features showed a variety of emotions that were seemingly at war with one another. He somehow appeared both worried and desperately hopeful at the same time. Immediately, she remembered Giles' advice about opening her eyes. Maybe she didn't have to hear any grand declarations of love just yet. Right now she was pretty damn happy with 'batshit insane'.