The sun blazed overhead as Tara tended to the herbs tucked in among the flower beds at the back of Buffy's house. She took a clipping of the rosemary she'd planted by the steps when she'd been living there and handed it over to Willow as Xander came through the back gate with a flat cardboard box filled with marigolds and chrysanthemums. Willow shot Xander a short wave with the rosemary cutting.

"Hey, Wills, how's it going?" Xander greeted as he stood, stretching his back. They had been working hard to refresh the back garden all summer long and now it was time to add in some fall flowers just in time for the wedding.

She gave a shrug glancing up to the sun above. "We're about to find out. The sun is almost in position for the spell."

Tara stood, brushing her hands on the canvas apron she wore over a long green knit dress. "Guess that's my cue," she said, also glancing upward.

Willow moved to the center of the yard where she had already set up a small folding table that sat low to the ground. She had covered it with a bright white cloth, seven yellow beeswax candles, a small cast iron cauldron, and three small ceramic bowls painted with sigils. One bowl contained moon water, in the second bowl was a special herbal oil she'd made just for the occasion, and in the third bowl sat Spike's ring.

Xander watched Willow take a seat on the grass in front of the little table. "Ah, anything I can do to help?" he asked tentatively.

"I think we got this. It shouldn't take long," Willow answered with a smile as Tara sat across from her.

"Alrighty— guess I'm gonna head over to the lawn and garden center on my own then," Xander replied, glancing at his watch.

"You still have the list I gave you, right?" Tara asked while Willow lit the charcoal incense disk.

He drew a folded piece of paper from his pocket and held it up. "Along with Vampirella's oh-so-special additions," Xander grumbled.

"Great, we want to get the rest of this stuff done before the rental company delivers the stuff for the reception Saturday morning.

"Yup, massive to-do list, substituting impending doom for nuptials, yeah, yeah not my first rodeo. Married-guy is on it!" Xander replied with a wave. As he exited through the gate Willow began casting a sacred circle.

When she was finished, Willow looked up at the sun directly overhead and back to Tara who was waiting patiently for her part of the spell with her hands resting palms up on the edges of the table.

Willow smiled softly. "Here we go," she sighed, carefully placing the rosemary in a circle within the bowl of moon water and lit the candles arranged in a semicircle around the bowls. Then taking a deep breath she clasped Tara's hands for a few moments as they grounded themselves.

Willow picked up the ring, dipped it into the oil, then using a pair of long-nosed tweezers she pulled it out of the oil and placed it in the center of the now smoldering incense briquette. She clasped Tara's hands once again as they began chanting the incantation. The oil coated ring ignited, sending up a flame like a bunsen burner set on high. A moment later the flame burned itself out leaving the ring glowing dimly. The two witches continued chanting as Willow picked up the ring, once again using the tweezers and placed it in the bowl of moon water sending up small tendrils of steam from within the ring of fresh rosemary as the spell drew to a close.

Willow pulled the ring out, examining it. She had expected to see some remnants of the fire, soot at the very least, but it remained perfectly polished. The thick white-gold band with its simple braided metal work gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

"Is that it?" Tara asked, wiping beads of perspiration from her hairline.

Willow nodded. "It should be—"

"Sure there was flameyness but I guess I kinda expected more of a light show— or something," Tara replied, nervousness entering her voice.

Willow inspected the ring more closely. It didn't look any different than it had when Buffy had handed it over to her. But then perhaps she should have expected that after all, given that the whole point of the ring (according to the notes she had found) was to be understated enough that it wouldn't draw attention to itself or the wearer— A point she was certain had been ignored completely during the creation of the original with its large and rather gaudy stone. The fact that the spell had nothing to do with the stone itself and could (in theory) be used on practically any piece of jewelry had initially thrown Willow for a loop since in the case of the Gem of Amara it was the gem that had been enchanted.

With a final sigh, she wrapped her fingers around the ring, securing it within her palm before the two of them stood to open the circle and clean up before going inside.

At the sound of the back door opening, Buffy unfolded her arms, turning toward the two witches. A look of sheer desperation on her face while Harmony continued filing her nails as she rattled off her ideas for the wedding reception, unconcerned by their appearance.

"Please tell me the spell worked," Buffy urged, thankful for the interruption.

Willow cast Harmony a cursory glance before giving Buffy an apologetic smile. "We think so, but I won't really know until our crash test dummy tries it."

Harmony turned to Willow with a glare. "Rude, much? Just because I'm trying this whole self-discovery thing and following all your lame-ass house rules, doesn't mean I have to be helpful and crap."

"Ah huh, totally evil self-appointed wedding planner. Yeah, we get it, not helpful at all," Willow huffed.

Harmony crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you going to stand there and tell me I haven't single-handedly elevated this whole thing? Who insisted on adding the night-blooming flowers? That's right, it was my genius. People are going to be talking about it for years, even if it is just a little backyard thing."

"Yeah, 'single-handedly'. That's why the rest of us have been busting our butts getting the yard ready while you sleep," Willow countered.

"Is it my fault I'm nocturnal?"

Willow bobbed her head once. "We're getting way off topic here. Stick out your hand," she instructed Harmony, holding up the ring.

Harmony eyed it for a second before holding out her hand expectantly. "You're not gonna stake me to test it, are you? Because that really hurt the last time."

Willow hesitated, casting a look at Buffy.

Buffy grinned as she pulled a stake from her back pocket. "Ready when you are."

Harmony yelped, eyes comically widening.

Buffy smirked. "We're just testing the sunproofness. As long as you don't try to run off with it or go all evil intentions I won't get stabby."

"Promise?" Harmony squeaked hopefully.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah sure, it's not like it'll fit you anyway."

Willow stepped toward Harmony, slipping it onto her thumb. "Now what?" Harmony asked.

In answer, Buffy reached her free hand up to open the kitchen blinds. Harmony yelped loudly as multiple streams of bright sunlight fell over her.

And nothing happened.

Well, not exactly nothing.

Harmony continued patting out imaginary flames for several more seconds before she realized she wasn't on fire. "Oh, hey!" she exclaimed, stretching her hand out into the light streaming in. "Now, that's super cool." She grinned. "So can I get one of these? But you know, like pretty— Not all big and clunky like this, maybe a nice pink diamond?" Harmony burbled. "I seriously miss going to the beach."

"Not likely," Willow muttered.

"That was just the first test," Tara interjected, opening the door and letting more light flood the kitchen.

Harmony cast her gaze around the room, eyeing all of them and the stake in Buffy's hand.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You were the one just talking about the beach," Buffy urged.

Harmony took a deep unnecessary breath before hopping into the pool of light with both feet like a little kid jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool for the first time. It would have been funny enough even if she hadn't pinched her nose shut with index finger and thumb.

Buffy bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head at the absurdity.

When nothing happened, Harmony released her nose (apparently realizing for herself just how ridiculous it was) and slowly stepped through the door onto the back porch, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. Her face split into a big smile. "Oh my God, I totally forgot how bright the sun was," she said in awe as she surveyed the garden. "Wait— where's the arbor? There's supposed to be an arbor!" Harmony complained.

Buffy rolled her eyes, about to speak, when Willow laid a hand on her shoulder briefly before stepping forward. "Xander's already on it, he got the wood and started working on it yesterday."

Willow's answer seemed to mollify her because she gave her shoulders a happy little wiggle and hopped down the back steps onto the grass. Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose watching as Harmony began spinning around in the sunshine like Julie Andrews in 'The Sound of Music'.

She spun around to face the rest of them clapping her hands. "Oh my gosh guys! What are you still doing inside? It's such a beautiful day! It's so bright. We should do something we should—" she paused with a brilliant grin "We should totally get smoothies!"

Buffy snorted a laugh as she walked outside, standing across from her. "Sorry, Malibu Barbie, can't play right now. You need to give it back," Buffy replied, holding out her hand expectantly.

"It's not fair," Harmony pouted. "What makes Spike so special that he gets a daytime access ring?"

"Well, that's a no-brainer, which explains why you missed it. One: soul. Two: soon-to-be husband that I would love to take to the beach someday. Three: he's a daddy now, and he's probably gonna need to go out in the sun occasionally," Buffy countered.

"Nepotism," Harmony huffed. "It figures— Well, fine! Here's your stupid ring," she spat, reaching for the ring on her thumb with her other hand impulsively.

Buffy lunged forward, grabbing her wrist roughly and dragging Harmony back into the kitchen, closing the door behind them. "Are you insane or just stupid?!" Buffy snapped, taking the ring from her. "This—" she held up the ring, "is going somewhere safe until wedding time."

Harmony huffed picking up Buffy's wedding binder abandoned on the kitchen island and slumped off to the living room. Buffy watched her collapse comfortably onto the couch with the binder in her lap.

Turning back toward Willow and Tara, Buffy inquired, "So what do you guys have planned for the rest of the day?"

Tara glanced through the back door to the garden beyond. "I really should get the flowers Xan brought over in the ground," she replied wistfully, looking tired.

"I'll—" Willow began but was interrupted by a yawn. She shook it off, blinking a few times. "Man, I think that spell drained me more than I thought. I could go for a snuggly cat nap but I'll help you with the flowers."

Buffy checked the clock and rolled one shoulder. "I still have a little time before the girls wake up, and Spike is upstairs." She gestured toward the door. "Maybe I'll finally earn that green thumb I've always wanted."

"The more the merrier," Willow yawned again.

The three of them had no more than finished planting the new flowers when Xander arrived, unloading his purchases. Buffy helped him, filling him in on the experiment with Harmony while Willow and Tara rested on the deck chairs.

"Are they alright?" Xander asked, nodding toward the two witches.

"Mojo-hangover," Buffy quipped.

Xander chuckled and turned toward them as he set a box of fairy lights down. "You two want me to drop you off at your place?"

Willow nodded. "That would be great. There's something we wanted to talk to you about anyway."

(*)

The next three days flew by in a whirlwind of lights, garden flowers, and arriving guests; most of whom were staying either at Giles's house or theirs. Spike sat on the edge of his bed alone. He and Buffy had discussed the day's itinerary the night before, after the rehearsal. He cast his gaze to their closet door and his stomach flip-flopped at the sight of the sleek black suit, gray shirt, and thin black tie hanging there.

Spike could hear the sound of people mingling around downstairs taking care of all the last-minute preparations. He listened for a few seconds, Harmony's voice carrying as she called out orders, presumably from the safety of the kitchen. A sound from outside caught his attention and Spike pulled himself up, striding toward the window. Standing to the side, he pulled the curtain back a few inches to peek out into the yard. Xander, Giles, Ethan, and Angel's friend Gunn were huddled around what even from this distance he knew was a detailed and color-coded map of the backyard. None of the men were in their wedding attire yet. Xander faced the house, apparently arguing with Harmony as he gestured wildly from the map to the arbor he had built.

Spike watched as Giles strode over to a pair of men in black slacks and white shirts emblazoned with the rental company's name. Each of them carried what appeared to be extremely long folding chairs which he soon realized were short pews designed to seat three or four people. Giles directed them to set up rows of four on either side of the arbor now sitting in front of the shed hidden behind gauzy white curtains, thus creating an aisle between the two. With the help of the delivery men, Xander, Giles, and Gunn, had everything set up for the ceremony as well as the dinner tables for the reception on the other side of the lawn within a matter of minutes. A rectangular table was placed along the edge of the flower beds before they began setting up four round tables with artfully mismatched chairs.

As the tablecloths were laid, Spike suddenly decided he'd rather have the rest of it be a surprise and released the curtain. Turning toward Buffy's vanity, a framed photograph of their family taken shortly after the birth of the twins sat on the surface next to a photo of her mother. He wished Joyce could see how far they had all come in the past year, especially Buffy. He couldn't imagine how differently things between them could have gone if not for the girls.

And in just a few more hours, she would be his wife.

Wife.

Till death do us part… or eh… maybe not the death bit—

He grinned, warmth flooding his chest.

Too bad we won't be having a honeymoon…

(*)

The sun had just dipped beneath the horizon when Giles knocked on the door to Buffy and Spike's bedroom. He could hear some slight scuffling from within the room before the door opened, showing just a sliver of Dawn's face and one of the twins snuggled against her shoulder dressed in a white eyelet dress edged with lace.

"What's up?" Dawn chirped as she glanced to the hallway behind him as though Spike might be lurking. "You're not hiding any super-sneaky-about-to-be-married-vamps out there, are you?"

"Not currently, no," he chuckled. "I believe the groom in question is already outside. I've come to let Buffy know it's time, all the guests are seated. Willow is waiting for us in the kitchen with Hallie."

Dawn opened the door wider, nodding as she stepped back to give Giles room to enter. His eyes immediately fell upon Buffy, standing at the far end of the room peeking out the window at the guests gathering in the glow of the fairy lights below.

"Buffy," Giles murmured, choking slightly on the emotion clogging his throat as she turned toward him. "You look absolutely stunning my dear."

Buffy blushed slightly, running her fingers over the intricate crocheted lace of the white gown hugging her slim form. Artfully scalloped lace edged the wide "V" neckline providing just a hint of cleavage while fluttering lace cap sleeves adorned her shoulders. Her hair was pulled up in a complex series of braids and curls with deep purple mums, a single reddish-purple sunflower, and orange roses woven within the curls, along with sprigs of baby's breath to soften the look.

Giles couldn't help thinking the overall effect made her look a little like a fairy queen.

Impossibly beautiful.

"Are you ready for this?" Buffy asked, breaking the spell that seemed to have settled around them.

Giles grinned. "I believe, as acting father-of-the-bride, that is meant to be my line."

Buffy returned his grin. "Oh, I'm ready. Babies are fed and ready to go. Bring on the marriage vows."

A/N: As always thanks so much to Geliot99!