Red Series: New and Old by Rin

Rating: R
Disclaimer: Aww, shucks...I don't own 'em. I just like to play with 'em, and take 'em down from the shelf every once in a while.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
Rin's Spot: http://www.geocities.com/rin_wag/index.html
Feedback: Sure, if you feel like it.
Spoilers: Who knows? I wrote the series in a real world setting here, so I guess anything goes.
Author's Notes: This is my baby, the Red Series. There are several stories already in production, and I've decided to keep adding them in different places.
Pairing: Willow/Buffy

Summary: Willow gets a phone call from somebody from her past, inviting her to an art gallery. At the opening, she discovers new things and is faced with the old.

As Buffy walked into the apartment, she managed to do three things at once: shut and lock the door behind her, hold a few plastic bags, and start to take her jacket off to hang it in the closet. Laying the bags down in the kitchen, she fully removed her jacket, hanging it for storage. Returning to the kitchen, she started removing the various items in her bags. First, she placed the food items in the refrigerator, and then laid the wine bottle horizontally on the tiny rack that she gave Willow for their fourth anniversary. The redhead had a nice selection in her cupboards but the blonde thought she would like to display a few bottles in her kitchen. Finally, she took out the candles and white daisies, and moved back into the bedroom, stopping only once in front of Faith's closed bedroom door, where she was singing along to 'Lady in Red.' Shaking her head in amusement, Buffy continued her journey to the redhead's bedroom.

The month seemed to fly by fast, and something seemed to bothering Willow more each day. The redhead had to fly out to New York for a few days to sit through interviews with one of her bands. As the months went by, Buffy was getting first hand what it was like to be dating the CEO of a record label, even if it was still considered a small one. Willow's flight was scheduled to land five minutes ago, and the blonde wanted to make sure she had a very nice welcoming home. Her editor had kept her overtime to finish her article for the printers the next day, and she felt they both deserved some much needed R & R. Buffy had no qualms with making sure her girlfriend received just that. The month before at the cabin had been perfect, and they decided that they needed to find time to do that more often, even though Willow knew that she was going to be extra busy with Rogue Slayer's album release the next month.

Now, two days before the release, the entire label it seemed had been working extra hard to promote the album. She only had time to talk to Willow briefly a few times a day, and knew that her girlfriend would be driving down to L.A. with the band, and a few execs in the label the day of the release. Once again, she wouldn't see her redhead for an entire weekend, and possibly a few days after that but she was more than willing to suffer the consequences for those moments that they were able to be alone. Now, she was preparing something ultra romantic for one of those moments. After setting up the candles by the bubbling Jacuzzi, and throwing the daisy petals in the floral scented foam, Buffy turned all of the lights off, and moved her way back to the kitchen, stopping and shaking her head in amusement once again in front of Faith's door, listening briefly now to her rendition of a jazz tune. She listened to Faith's smoky voice mixed with the sultry feminine voice, trying to make out some of the words.

"Hmm…Faith seems to be in some lovelorn mood. Wonder what's up…" Buffy shook it off, and went about to finish her task. After pulling out the food, and placing them somewhat neatly on a tray, she tucked the wine bottle under her arm, brought down two wine glasses, and proceeded to move back to the bathroom. Once there, she laid the food tray and wine glasses down by the Jacuzzi, taking the corkscrew from the tray to open the bottle of wine. Letting the wine filter, she lit the several candles that adorned the area around the tub, and went to grab a few towels from the closet, folding them around the bar situated between the tub and huge shower. Hearing the bedroom door open, she knew she only had a few minutes to strip and put a robe on before Willow opened the bathroom door, so she did just that. Situating herself on the edge of the tub, she poured the two glasses of wine gently, while waiting for her lover to enter.

Hearing the bags being laid down on the floor, she didn't have to wait much longer before the redhead opened the door to see a robed Buffy sitting crossed leg by a candle lit Jacuzzi filled with white flowers. She looked exhausted but her eyes immediately sparkled when she saw the setup that the blonde had recently prepared for her arrival. Buffy seductively moved from the tub, and handed her a glass of the Chardonnay, while kissing her sensuously. Pulling back slightly from her face, she smiled lovingly next to her girlfriend's mouth.

"No…don't worry. Mood not ruined…just…I need to pee really badly. I didn't know you'd be here; I just planned on calling you after I

"Yes, ma'am." She kissed her sweetly before moving over to the porcelain-plumbing object, and divesting of her pants and underwear while she was there. When she was finished, she washed her hands, and saw Buffy drop her robe seductively through the mirror, and inch slowly into the tub, keeping her eyes on her with a passionate gaze. Turning around, she unbuttoned her shirt torturously slow, causing the blonde to beg her to hurry it up, and finally flew the rest of her clothes to meet her other articles by the closet door. Cautiously dipping her body into the water, Buffy immediately pulled her body to her, and just locked their eyes together, not saying a word.

"Well…you're in luck then…because I happen to have fruit and Buffy on the menu this evening."

"I'll keep that in mind." Willow pulled Buffy into a deep kiss, not willing to let go of slippery body contact. Buffy fed her strawberries, seedless grapes, and cherries, and was astonished when she managed to tie a cherry stem with her tongue. Trying to teach Buffy, but with no success, they finally divested of the majority of the fruit, and all of the white wine. Tipsy to the core, and more than heated for the other, they let the water drain, blew out the candles, and dried each other's body before keeping in constant contact and kisses on their way to the bedroom. Falling onto the bed, Buffy broke contact briefly to yank the covers down, only to find that Willow's breathing had turned, and that the redhead had fallen asleep. Frustrated but careful not to wake her, she pulled Willow underneath the covers, kissing her temple as she went back to the bathroom to clean up a little after their romantic excursion. Putting on a robe, she took the tray, glasses, and bottle back to the kitchen to clean them in the sink. On her way back, she thought she heard Faith sobbing, and stood with her ear to the door to check out the scene. She could still hear the faint sounds of the soft jazz emanating from her stereo.

That old black magic has me in its spellThat old black magic that you weave so well

Deciding that she couldn't take much more of the constant ignoring Faith had been doing around her, and the quiet sobbing and love songs mixed together, Buffy knocked quietly on the door a few times before Faith flew the door open. Tensing, and then relaxing a little, Buffy noticed the tissues piled in her trashcan, and the red puffiness around Faith's eyes and face but decided not to mention anything for fear of being slugged.

"Mind if I come in?" Faith seemed lost in thought for a moment before she sighed, and moved back to allow her entrance. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, Faith followed, and curled up with her back against the headboard, trying to act cool but only coming off as tortured. "I heard you singing earlier. Who were you listening to?"

"Yeah. She's one of my favorites. Probably the first jazz album I ever bought. It's the whole reason I play with the guys now, even though we mix it up a little."

"Spill it, B. It's obvious you want somethin'. It's written all over your face."

"Look…just…" Buffy sighed, and ran her hair through her damp locks in frustration. "You've been ignoring me, and I wanna know why. That's all."

"Yes you are. No sense denying it either, Faith, because we both know it's true. Have I done something to make you mad?"

"Then what is it because I definitely don't understand? I thought you and I got along pretty well. Sure, disagreements here and there but nothing that major."

"Stop delaying because I really wish you'd talk to me about it instead of just beating around the bush constantly. You can't ignore me forever because you live with Willow, and you see me all the time when I'm over…what is it? Did I say something wrong?" Buffy noticed Faith move her head away from her, and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, replaying her last comments, trying to gauge what caused that reaction. Coming up blank, she turned her attention back to the brunette. "Come on, Faith. Talk to me. Please?"

"Look, I'm tired. I need some sleep before tomorrow. Could you close the door on the way out? Thanks." Buffy shook her head but decided not to push the girl any further for the night. Moving towards the door, she looked back before exiting.

"Faith. You can talk to me, or Willow. Either one of us. We consider you a good friend, and hope that you feel the same way about us. I'm not going to push but I do wish you'd talk to one of us."

"Good night, Faith." She sighed, and closed the door behind her. Moving back into Willow's bedroom, she noticed that the redhead hadn't moved a muscle practically, and crawled into bed beside her after discarding her robe on the floor. Still worried about Faith, she tried to focus her attention on her sleeping girlfriend, and turned on her side, moving a few stray hairs behind her ear, kissing Willow's cheek lightly, and turning in for the night.

The Bronze was packed, and the speakers were booming. People were scattered everywhere, and there were cameras and reporters sitting at tables, waiting for Rogue Slayer to come on stage. Their release had hit the stores, and they quickly made a small following from the radio crowd. It was now Friday, and they had just returned back from Los Angeles from a few gigs the label had managed to get them for their first week of release. Faith's smoky vocals, and the mellow style had given the band great reviews in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast, with the few exceptions of the common reviewer. The sales had gradually increased since Tuesday, and the CDs that were being sold at the counter were selling gradually, and the band hadn't even taken the stage yet. Willow was currently in her office with Faith, just relaxing before the band played. The rest of the band, and the manager were mingling within the crowd. Teaching Willow how to play poker was the only thing the brunette could think of to relax her nerves before the show, and Willow amusedly complied.

Buffy walked in the doors, dressed in a pair of low rise jeans, and a fancy white top, and immediately went about the huge crowd to find her girlfriend. Not seeing her since Monday, she was more than excited to again reunite, even if it was while the redhead was working. After scanning the crowd for a few minutes, she found Xander and Anya, and they directed her to Willow's office. After rubbing Anya's growing belly for a moment, she smiled, made idle chitchat, and went off to find the hidden hallway. When she reached it, she was relieved to hear the voices coming from the darkened hallway. Knocking lightly before opening the door slightly, she smiled to find Faith currently giggling at Willow's argument behind how a set of four should beat a royal flush. Finally groaning that Faith was right, the brunette gathered the cards, and startled shuffling when Willow looked up to find Buffy giggling at them. Turning around, Faith physically and emotionally tensed, knowing that she'd have to again watch another physical display of affection between the two.

Moving to sit next to Willow on the couch, Buffy linked her arm through Willow's, clasping their hands at the end, and kissing her sweetly on the cheek in greeting. Knowing that Faith would be uncomfortable, Willow tried to avoid too much contact, hoping that the brunette wouldn't run away from them. Instead of running, she just kept shuffling the cards nervously, while keeping her eyes averted from the couple. Buffy noticed that Faith's mood had changed when she walked into the room, and that Willow had avoided kissing her back. Wondering what was up, she decided to wait to ask her girlfriend when the brunette left for the stage in five minutes.

Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer, and not wanting to jar Willow from being with her girlfriend, Faith laid the cards down, and stood up from the desk chair, moving it back to small table. Saying that she was going downstairs to get ready, she left the office hastily before Will could protest, or Buffy could ask questions. She shut the office door, and took a very deep breath to calm herself before making her way from the darkened hallway.

Buffy was sad that Faith had an obvious problem with her, and Willow just stared at the door, still worried about her friend, and having no idea what to do about it. Maybe it was time to tell Buffy. Turning to her girlfriend, she noticed that the blonde looked nice, and forgot about the heartsick brunette for a moment. Squeezing her hand gently, Buffy turned to look at the gorgeous redhead smiling at her, and the blonde smiled back. Leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips, they kept their heads close together, foreheads touching, and continued with the happy smirking.

"Yeah…well, I heard there was this party at the Bronze tonight, and thought I'd show up, hoping some redhead would sweep me off

"I'm thinking that could be arranged." They kissed a few more times before they heard Xander's voice coming through the speakers downstairs, announcing the band. When the band started to play, Willow pulled Buffy out to stand on the balcony to watch for a few songs, with her arms wrapped around her waist in a loving embrace. Leaning in to her ear, she wanted to be heard above the crowd when she spoke, right after placing a light kiss in her sensitive spot. "I've missed you." Buffy leaned further back in the embrace, and wrapped her own arms around Will's. Turning around, she kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"It's okay. It's your job. I totally understand. Just as long as you come back to me in the end."

"Good." They kissed again, and turned back around to see Faith down on the stage, tinkling her fingers on the baby grand, and singing into the microphone. The band finished playing the last few bars in the slow song, and Faith looked up briefly to notice the two lovers swaying together, watching from over the railing. Looking back down, she didn't give the crowd time to finish clapping before starting up the slow intro to the next tune.

"This isn't theirs, is it?" Buffy turned her head slightly, so that Willow could hear above the speakers. On the dance floor, couples were abound to the slow, sultry music, and Willow was swaying their bodies together while they watched.

"Are you sure? The other night, when I was there, she had been crying, listening to all sorts of lovelorn music, singing along. It was kinda strange to see her like that."

"Oh. Well, she has been listening to more music lately, and playing her keyboard more than usual."

"What makes you say that?" Buffy could feel Willow's body tense against hers but decided that she was just unaware of the problem, and was mentally scolding herself for not paying that much attention.

"Well…she looked like she'd been crying, Will. This is Faith we're talking about."

"No…I mean, there's nothing wrong. Faith could cry. Everybody cries. Why shouldn't she be allowed to cry? It's a natural human response. She's human."

"Will, sweetie…" Buffy scrunched her eyebrows together, wondering what caused the babble. It was only something she did when she was nervous, or scared. There should be no reason for either of those. "Do you know something, and you're not telling me? It's okay; we don't have to talk about it if you know something, and Faith doesn't want you to tell." Willow released her hold on Buffy, and let out a high-pitched groan. Buffy turned around to find Willow's entire face and neck was crimson. "Willow? Are you okay? Do you want to go sit down a minute?"

"Somehow I'm finding that harder to believe. Is it bad? Does it involve me because it would explain why she keeps ignoring me, or finding an excuse to leave when I'm around? Does she not like me, or something, is that it?"

"So, she has talked to you. At least she's talked to somebody. Can you tell me what the problem is? Am I doing something that she doesn't like?"

"What? I'm just doing…" Buffy stopped talking, and let the information sink in. As it gradually became clearer, her eyes grew wider, and her temper was threatening to leak from behind her red face and rapid breathing. "What?" Her tone was more primal, feral, commanding, and Willow moved back a little at the narrowed look on the blonde's face. "How long?"

"How long what, Buffy?" Willow continued inching back, afraid that her girlfriend was going to blow a casket, and her voice was barely audible but she knew the blonde had heard when she found her blazing eyes.

"What do you think, Will?? How long has this been going on? Did you just think that I wouldn't ever find out, or something? That you and her could do this…I can't believe it. Why would you…how could you…I thought you loved me." Willow looked at the fuming Buffy, and even though tears were flowing freely from her blazing eyes, she knew that approaching her wasn't the answer. "Answer me!" Willow flinched at the loud harsh tone, and when she opened her eyes, she noticed that people were starting to turn their attention at them. "Answer me, Willow!! How long?!" More than a little scared and nervous, Willow noticed that Xander and Anya had made their way over to them cautiously, only stopping when they saw Buffy. Shaking her head, and hiding her hands to hide her tears, she made a beeline back to her office, knowing that Buffy was following. When she heard the hallway door slam loudly, she flinched again before she could get her office door open to escape. Buffy pinned her body against the door roughly, and looked like she was about to explode. Willow struggled but the blonde had found some form of supernatural strength all of a sudden, and she couldn't break free. With her hands pinned over her head with one of the blonde's hands, and the other one arching their bodies apart by her head, she decided that she should just answer. 'I didn't think she'd be this upset at Faith being in love with me. I thought she'd be a little upset at me keeping it a secret but not this much. Oh, goddess…what have I done? Buffy…'

"Dammit, Willow!! Just tell me!!!" She slammed the hand that was beside Willow's head against the wall, causing the echo to reverberate in the hall, glad that the music outside could drown all noise from the dark passage.

"I can't…do this." Willow was barely speaking above a whisper, and her words were slightly mumbled from her sobs.

"Two months." Buffy pushed away from her dejectedly, and Willow let her body fall to the floor. "A couple days before we went to the cabin."

"No…" Buffy fell back harshly against the other side of the hall, and held her hand over her mouth to cover up her loud sobs.

"Not this mad? How could you think that I'd be okay with this? I love you…doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Yes…of course it does. More than you'll ever know. I didn't mean for it to happen, neither did she. It just did. You can't plan these things…look at us." Buffy was taken aback that Willow was starting to act calm, like it didn't matter that she was sleeping with Faith while they were together. "Baby, please…talk to me. What's so bad about it? I think it's wonderful to some degree, and we've talked about it a few times. It's nothing to worry about. She knows that I love only you."

"What's so bad? You really have to ask me that? Maybe…maybe I should just go." Buffy stood up, and wiped her eyes to some semblance of clarity. She walked down the hall, and turned back around to see Willow kneel to reach out to her.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…but maybe we just aren't going to work out. Obviously, I'm not enough…forget it."

"You really think it's the fact that you kept it a secret from me that's the problem?"

"No, Buffy…I need you…baby, come back." She didn't listen, though, and just left Willow sobbing on her hands and knees, unable to move from the shock of the sudden turn of events. One minute they were swaying together and kissing, and the next Buffy is breaking up with her because she kept a secret. 'Okay…so it was a big secret but I promised Faith, and I didn't think she'd react like this. Oh my goddess…what have I done?'

Xander and Anya watched Buffy hurry to get out of the club, nothing but tears, and looking like she'd been stabbed in the gut. After a few minutes, Willow never followed her, and Xander began to panic that something major had happened, and that his best friend was in no better shape than her girlfriend. The married couple snuck back into the darkened hallway, and found Willow curled up in a fetal position on her knees, sobs muffled slightly from her arms and the ground. He knelt down, and raised her body up to wrap her into his arms. She just continued to cry into his chest, and he let her, while his wife placed a comforting hand on both of their shoulders, still unaware of what exactly had just happened in this tiny corridor moments before they entered.

A week passed by, and both girls were nothing but shells of themselves, neither one talking too much to their friends, families, or coworkers than was absolutely necessary. Willow had tried calling several times but Buffy never answered, and just sat there while the redhead left message after message on her machine. Willow had to go to Los Angeles again for interviews, and publicity for the label, and a few of her bands, including Rogue Slayer. Xander called Fred and Cordelia, and asked if Willow could stay with them instead of going to a hotel. Without much argument from either side, Willow had been staying there for a few days, while she finished up her business but between every meeting, interview, and promotion, she would always call Buffy, hoping that she would pick up just once. After talking to Fred and Cordy, she decided that she wasn't going to give up that easily but Buffy was making it more than difficult.

Meanwhile, Buffy was sitting on her couch, staring into nothing but a dark house. Bubbles jumped on the couch with her, and wagged her nub for attention but groaned after several minutes, and the blonde still hadn't acknowledged her presence. She had barely even moved. All she could see was Willow…happy Willow, seductive Willow, sad Willow…Willow arguing with Anya over her lack of tact, Willow stopping sad movies at a happy part, so that there wouldn't be a sad ending. The way Willow smelled, her shampoo, the way her auburn locks flowed through her fingers when they were cuddling on the couch, her tousled hair in the morning sun. Her yawns, her smiles, the cute way her face scrunches up when she's confused about something. Almost everything they'd ever done together, or said to each other. Buffy had never been so heartbroken…she felt like a part of herself was completely missing now, and the pain was permanently there, leaving her in the darkness. Dawn had come home for spring break the day before, and she had barely even acknowledged her presence. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, she didn't want to move.

"Buffy…you have to eat something. You look sick." After a few minutes of urging her sister to eat, Dawn decided to call in reinforcements. Buffy wasn't talking, and she'd noticed that she never took Willow's calls, since there were 78 messages from her on the machine when she arrived. Not wanting to interfere in something she knew nothing about, she called the only person she knew that had dealt with an extremely lesser form of this Buffy before, and could deal with her catatonic state. After the third ring, she finally heard the voice on the other line. Explaining the situation, there was hardly any argument, and she knew to set up the guest room for tomorrow. "Buffy…somebody's coming to see you tomorrow."

"Is it Willow?" Taken aback by the neutral tone at the mention of her girlfriend, Dawn decided to just keep it a surprise, since Buffy was obviously in no mood at this point.

"Then talk to me." Without any movement of her head, Buffy just got up from the couch, and left Dawn in the dark. She watched her older sister walk up the stairs like a zombie, and willed that her last resort would get there faster than anticipated.

"Willow, maybe you should come to bed. She's obviously not going to call back this late."

"You haven't had any sleep since you've been here, and Xander said that you weren't getting sleep before, either. You need to rest. You look sick."

"Will…sweetie, you need to sleep, and eat something, too, while you're at it. She won't call if you keep torturing yourself like this. Give her some time. She's obviously confused about things right now." Willow turned her tear-stained face up to see Fred, and sighed, once again crying over the loss of her girlfriend.

"This feels worse than losing Tara. Fred…" Fred just wrapped her arms around the sobbing redhead, and rocked her back in forth on the couch. "I just didn't tell her Faith was in love with me. Why would she react that way? Was she looking for a way to get rid of me, and found her chance?"

"No…don't think like that, Willow. You know that's not right. Buffy loves you."

"She does…just give her time. She obviously needs to figure some things out right now. I'm sure she doesn't know how she reacted that way, either."

"Willow…honestly…things will work out. We used to fight, and we'd always make up in the end. The making up was always worth it in the end."

"It was a pretty big secret, and even if we don't understand what made her react that way…it doesn't matter. You need some sleep, and in the morning, I'm making you a big breakfast, and I don't want to hear any arguments." Willow wiped her tears, and released her death grip on Fred, and followed her into the bedroom. She crawled under the covers, and Fred followed suit, turning the table lamp off before getting situated. After several minutes of deep breathing, Willow turned on other side, facing Fred, who was facing her. "It's gonna be okay, Will."

"I know. We've been there, remember?" Willow nodded slightly, and Fred tucked a few auburn locks behind her ear.

"I wish I could. I'm doing everything that I can. It will get better. I promise." She leaned over, and pressed her lips lightly against Willow's, and stayed there for a few minutes before pulling back slightly, and rested her forehead on hers. Willow, content with the contact, pulled her in again for another light kiss, and then another.

"Fred…" She deepened the kiss slightly, and Fred wasn't pushing her away, so she reached up underneath her t-shirt. When she had Fred's slim form underneath hers, she started sliding the shirt over her head, without breaking contact. Cupping a small breast, she was feverishly trying not to cry but she could still taste the salt between kisses. Finally, Fred's logic returned, and she fought everything that she had to keep herself grounded for her friend. Moving her arms back around Willow, she kissed her lightly one last time, as she pulled her away from her body. When the redhead stopped, she took one hand to remove the one holding her breast, and cupped her friend's tear-filled cheek with the other, wiping the trails with her thumb.

"Willow…we can't. As much as I've wished for this moment over and over again, we can't. You're not thinking clearly, sweetie. I can't let you do something you'll regret in the morning. That both of us will regret in the morning."

"Willow…you're just looking for an easy outlet right now for the pain. A few seconds of pleasure isn't worth the pain and guilt you'll feel in the morning, and I'll feel guilty because I had the power to stop it, and didn't. Things are going to work out. Just give it a little more time. Even if it's painful, I promise the end is going to be amazing. I've never heard or seen you so happy before in my life, and it's all because of Buffy. I have a feeling that she's hurting right now just as much as you are, and you know it to be true." Willow moved off of Fred's body, and just lay facing her from her right side. The slim brunette kept wiping the tears away from her face. "You go back on Monday."

"I know but I'm making you stay another two days, so that I can make sure that you eat and sleep. When you get back with Buffy, she'll want a strong, healthy Willow. You've always had my heart, now let me get you back yours." Fred kissed her temple, pulled her shirt back down, and pulled Willow's body to hers. Rubbing her back in calming circles, she started to cry herself when she felt her ex-lover fall asleep snuggled against her.

"Hello, niblet." Dawn smiled when she saw Spike standing at the door. Opening it further, he crushed his cigarette beneath his boot before moving inside the house, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "What's happened now?" Dawn closed the door behind them, and took Spike up to the guest room, where she helped him settle in before taking him to see Buffy, who was still in bed since she'd departed her company yesterday.

"I don't know. She won't talk to me, Spike. It's worse than ever, and I don't know what to do. I'm honestly scared. I didn't know what to do, so I called you."

"I hope so. Something's up, and all I can figure out is that something happened between her and Willow."

"Oh." He tried not to show the shock on his face that his ex lover had taken to dating a woman. He knew that she was bisexual, had shown him many times in their sexual excursions but never imagined that she'd actually settle down with another woman. Tossing his black duster on the bed, he turned back around to Dawn. "Well…tell me what you know, and we'll go from there."

"Well, Willow calls, and she won't talk to her, lets the message get it, and you can tell that Will is distressed, too, from her voice. Other than that, I don't know anything. She won't talk to me. She wouldn't even talk to Charles when he called yesterday. Willow's in LA with his girlfriend right now, and her roommate."

"I see. Well, where she at? Time old Spike knocked some sense into that mind of hers."

"Thanks for coming, Spike." He just nodded. "I know it's probably strange being back here, after…well, it's good to see you again."

"In her bedroom. She hasn't come out since last night. She hasn't eaten, and I when she is out of bed, I don't think she's really there. She's just…there."

"Right. Okay. Time I got to it then." He headed towards Buffy's room, and Dawn watched as he opened the door slowly. When he was completely inside, she moved down to the kitchen to prepare dinner, hoping that her sister would finally eat something. Spike inched his way into the darkened bedroom, and took in his surroundings. The curtains were completely closed, hiding the moonlight, and there were tissues and clothes strung all over the place. The usually somewhat tidy room was filled with nothing but small, white sheets, and a mess of clothes that he didn't remember the blonde ever wearing. He saw Buffy curled up into a ball underneath her comforter, and decided to just get on with it. Sitting down on the bed, he placed a comforting hand over her blanketed form.

"It wasn't a joke." They were quiet for a few moments before Buffy peeked her head out from under the covers. "What do you want?"

"Don't think so. You got little bit scared, and that's not like you. Tell me what's going on, love."

"Sorry, love. I'm staying until you spill." Buffy sighed angrily, and sat up in the bed, hair tousled, tear-stained cheeks, dark circles under her eyes, and pink and puffy in the face. "You know I'll get it out of you one way or the other…might as well do this the non-violent way."

"Please?" Spike could see that she was about to cave, and wasn't going to give up to her sobbingly pleading tone. She was about to break again.

"Please…" She was pounding on his chest, screaming and sobbing with everything that she was. She was all cried out, it felt, but the tears just kept coming, and wouldn't stop. The pain was just too unreal, and she felt as though she was dying. "Spike…" She stopped hitting him, and he grabbed her tight, stroking her hair, and rocking her pathetic form. "Why?"

"Ah…I see." Buffy moved away, wiping at her face to get a less blurry view of her ex-lover. She took a look at him for a moment. His hair was still slicked back, bleach blonde, and he still wore only black. At first glance, people would be intimidated by the way he carries himself but Buffy was immediately attracted to the danger that he represented. He still screamed dangerous but she still trusted him, after so long of finally being able to do just that. This was a normal occurrence. When she was feeling lonely, or fell into a funk, he would show up, and the two would start up with their hard, rough sex antics, and spend time doing nothing but. He loved her, and she had known that long before they had started having sex but she was never sure exactly how she felt about him. She felt for him but she didn't honestly know if it was actually love. It was nothing like she felt for Angel, and Riley to some extent, and now that she had been with Willow, she knew that it was never love…because she had now felt genuinely, painful, pure love, and she had lost her.

"Yeah, I guess you would." She exhaled slowly, and took a few calming breaths, willing herself to at least tell somebody, and since Spike was always who she ended up talking to in these times, it was better now than later. "She was sleeping with her roommate, too."

"It wouldn't have been that bad if she didn't always treat me like I was the only one. Instead, she was sleeping with Faith, too…argh!!!!" She stood up quickly, and felt dizzy from the sudden movement. Spike caught her before she fell, and moved her to sit back down on the bed. "She didn't even think she did anything wrong! She just sat there on the floor, acting like it was nothing!"

"When Dru did that to you, how did you feel?" Spike didn't say anything, knowing exactly where she was coming from completely. "Spike…she was nothing like that…never even gave me a reason to doubt…so why?"

"I…it…it hurts so much, and I feel like I've been slip, and she took the best of me with her. I haven't been to work all week…I've hardly eaten anything. I haven't showered."

"She doesn't know what's wrong, why I reacted the way I did…she's in pain, too…and I can't give into it no matter what. She was the one that cheated."

"No, Spike. That's it. It's over…I can't live with somebody that thinks that sleeping with somebody else while in a relationship with me is okay."

"Didn't bother you before…" He smirked, knowing that she used to meet him in tombs for their sex games when Riley would fall asleep at night.

"Spike…please…make me feel something…anything…I can't do this anymore…I can't…I…" She crashed her lips roughly against his, and they continued kissing hungrily, practically ripping their clothes off in the process to just feel something. Buffy wanted to get rid of the pain of losing Willow, and she thought that Spike could make her forget…just like he had time after time. Deep down, she knew this was the chicken's way out…she was just running away from the problem but the pain was too much for her to handle. She was about ready to explode, and she needed Spike to hurt her in all the right places…just to make the emotional pain go away, even if just for a moment. It wasn't cheating, she kept telling herself, because she had told her it was over, and just as she was being slammed against the wall for the third time that night, she kept telling herself that it was poetic justice. However, she was still crying on the inside, even more now because she still felt like it was cheating, and she couldn't do that to Willow, even if her ex-girlfriend had done that same thing to her.

Piling out of bed, Dawn grabbed the incessantly ringing phone. Buffy and Spike had kept her up all night with the constant moaning, groaning, and banging on the walls. She was more than upset that she had fallen in to her old sex escape with the bleach blonde but at least he had gotten her to talk, reveal what was wrong. Still unaware as to what that was exactly, she was planning on drilling one or the other for the facts.

"Hello?" Her voice was tired, and mumbled. There was no answer on the other end but she could hear somebody gasp for breath. She sat up further in bed, and willed herself to wake up somewhat. "Hello?"

"Dawnie, calm down. I didn't do anything to Buffy…at least I don't think. Can I talk to her?"

"Oh…um…how are things? Are you on spring break?" Dawn could hear the defeated

resolve fall from the redhead's voice, and she wanted to slap them both for not figuring out what the problem was. They were both obviously severely depressed over what happened. Dawn decided that maybe Willow would be willing to tell her something…anything. She wanted to help her sister out of her funk, and she wanted to see her happy again. Knowing that the woman on the phone was what made her happy, the young brunette decided to drill for some information.

"Yeah. It's been dull, though. My friends from school all went to New York, and they aren't out yet here. So, it's just me and Buffy, who by the way is more dull than usual. What happened?"

"I don't know, Dawnie. I really have no idea. She just snapped, like I had done something horrible, and it was just a secret."

"Oh…what kind of secret? Like…you're actually married and have seventeen illegitimate children?"

"No…nothing like that. Just that Faith is in love with me. That's all. Faith didn't want me to tell her, so I didn't. I feel so bad, Dawnie. I didn't know she'd react like that."

"As far as I know…look, maybe I should let you go. You sound tired. Did you not sleep last night?"

"Oh…um…there was a lot of noise." Dawn really didn't want to tell Willow the real reason…that was between her and her sister. More than angry at Buffy at reacting so ignorantly, and not just talking it out, she resolved herself. "I'll talk to you later, Willow."

"Okay." Dawn was about to hang up when she heard Willow call her attention back. "If she'll listen, can you tell Buffy…tell her that I love her, and that I'm sorry."

"Bye." She hung up the phone, and set her jaw, trying to breathe deeply, thinking her sister had brought all of this upon herself because she was scared. Dawn wasn't about to let Buffy give up total happiness over something so mundane. After she was calm a little, she stretched, and went to brush her teeth. Once she had her hair pulled back, she set her resolve again, and stormed into Buffy's room without knocking. She wasn't even startled to see Spike and her sister uncovered on the floor, scratches, cuts, and bruises all over their bodies. This happened every time, and she wasn't about to let it happen this time. She thought of Willow as a surrogate sister, and wasn't about to let Buffy ruin the best thing that had happened to her. "Get up!" Her tone was icy, and that caused the two to stir.

Hearing Dawn's angry voice, Buffy snapped her eyes open, realizing that she and Spike were still naked. Pulling a crumpled sheet that was torn from the bed, she wrapped herself, and threw a blanket to Spike. Standing up, she was wide-eyed, and still hazy from the lack of sleep, and pained from the rough sex. She hadn't even been turned on that much by Spike like she used to be, and when he thrust into her each time, her opening burned from the harsh entrance and constant in and out.

"I said, get dressed." She left no room for argument, and slammed the door shut as she exited. Waiting impatiently in the hall, her sister emerged with a long t-shirt the only thing covering her form. "Why?"

"Well…" Buffy was in defensive mode, and Dawn was in bitch mode. Sister against sister, the fight had begun…the outcome still unknown.

"Tell you what? You obviously heard us…and saw us…there's nothing else to tell."

"What about her? She was the one that cheated on me…we're through…it doesn't matter who I sleep with now, and it's none of your business. So, just back off!"

"Then what? Because, honestly, Buffy…she's the best thing that's ever happened to you, and I can't stand to see you throw that away. You always do this! You always run away when things get too bad!!"

"I am not running away!!! I love her!!! That's why it hurts so bad!!! Can't you see that?"

"Then what are you doing? Why aren't you over there right now, making up, getting back together?"

"What, did she just come out and say, 'Oh, by the way, I'm cheating on you?' Because I gotta say, Buf…doesn't sound plausible. Willow's not like that."

"Because you know it, too." They stopped yelling for a moment, and just stared at each other, jaws set, eyes bold, and minds not budging. "So, tell me, Buffy…what did happen exactly?" Buffy sighed, and walked her sister into the brunette's room. Shutting the door, they sat on the bed. "You can tell me…"

"Oh!! I bought their CD!" Buffy eyed her sister warningly but Dawn could see the pain still emanating from behind her hazel eyes. "Sorry…continue…"

"Next thing I know…I'm asking about Faith because she'd been acting differently lately, especially around me. She'd been avoiding me. I tried talking to her but…it was nothing but defense mechanism central with her. When I asked Willow, she just told me that she'd been with Faith since before we went to the cabin that weekend."

"Yeah…" Buffy hung her head, and tried to stop the tears but it was still to no avail.

"We just started fighting. She ran back into the hallway that holds her office, and we just kept fighting. I couldn't take it, and told her that I couldn't be with her, and left. It was the worst day of my life…even worse than when Angel…"

"Dawn…it hurts so much…" Dawn cradled her sister's weeping form, and just held her there in silence.

"Shh…Buffy, it's okay." She kept cooing soothing words to calm the crying Buffy. "I talked to her this morning."

"See, Buffy…I think something happened in the lines of communication. You have a hot temper…"

"Maybe it should. I don't think Willow ever cheated on you. I think you just heard what

"Because you always do. In every relationship you've ever had, you've always felt that you didn't deserve to be happy, that when you were, it was too good to be true. Now…you've never been happier. So, you take her words, and only hear what you think you deserve."

"Did she really? Because when I talked to her, she didn't understand why you had reacted so harshly over the fact that she kept a secret. A secret, Buffy…that's all."

"Buffy, listen to me. Snap out of it. You're going to have to deal with the fact that you are

going to be blissfully happy for the rest of your life if that girl can help it. She's not going to do ANYTHING that'll jeopardize that. You do deserve to be happy. She knows it. I know it. Hell, even Spike knows it."

"Oh my god…Dawnie…" She looked up fear-stricken at her sister, as she replayed the entire conversation, and realized that Dawn was right: never once did Willow say that she had been sleeping with Faith. "I slept with Spike…"

"Don't remind me…I'm going to be sleeping all day now because you two were at it all night. When I called him, I honestly didn't think you'd…"

"Buffy…Buffy…" Seeing her sister getting ready to fall back into herself again, she tried to think quickly before it actually happened. "Buffy! Listen to me!! We're going to get Willow back!! We are! She wanted me to tell you that she misses you, and that she's sorry. She's not mad…she just doesn't understand. You need to explain, Buffy."

"No! You are not doing this again! You're going to eat something…" She looked at Buffy, and waved her hand in her face for emphasis "…and definitely take a shower…maybe two. Then, we're going to the store, and we're going to plan a nice evening for you two. You're going to explain, then you'll kiss and make up…it's that simple."

"But, how do I explain Spike? Dawnie…I slept with him, and I didn't even like it."

"Well, that's a start. People have different ways of coping…I go to chocolate…you for some strange reason go to sex with Spike…which I will never understand…"

"At least it's a start. And see? Willow got you back something you love. Were you really willing to give that all up?"

"Okay, Dawnie. You've made your point." Dawn smiled, and dragged Buffy out of her room, sending her off to get a shower…or maybe two.

Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer, she set off back to Sunnydale with a nervous resolve. She WAS going to talk to Buffy, and she didn't care how much it hurt, or what happened. She couldn't live like a zombie. Fred was right. Willow was more than grateful to her friend that she had stopped her from making a mistake. Instead, she had watched over her, and held her at night, making sure that she slept. Fred truly was a great friend to her, and she had listened to her advice, and decided that she was not willing to give up that easily on Buffy. Since the blonde wouldn't talk to her on the phone, she was just going to go to her house, and make her talk to her face to face since there was nowhere to run. Standing on the doorstep for a few minutes, she finally took a deep breath, and managed to knock. When the door opened, she was prepared to go straight into but was shocked that Buffy, or even Dawn didn't open the door. It was a strange man that she'd never met, never even seen pictures of him. She thought that it might be Dawn's boyfriend, even if he did look a little old for her. He was standing there, wearing nothing but a pair of leather pants, and his bleached hair was tousled every which way. He just stared at her, staying out of the setting sun's rays as though he were allergic.

"Yeah?" She wasn't prepared for his British accent, or his rude way of acknowledging his presence.

"Hi. I'm looking for Buffy or Dawn. Preferably Buffy if she's home." She was feeling her resolve crumble under his cold stare.

"Yeah…whatever." He moved back as she entered the house, and closed the door behind

her. They both stood there in the foyer, and he wasn't sure who the cute redhead was. Since she had a young, innocent face, he assumed that it was one of Dawn's friends, or possibly somebody that worked with Buffy. He never in a million years thought that she would be Willow. "Um…do you wanna sit down?"

"Oh, yeah…sure." They both went into the living room. She sat uncomfortably at the end of the couch, slightly clutching the arm. Spike sat down in the chair, and plopped his feet up on the coffee table, and just stared at her, and smirked when he noticed that she was squirming under his gaze. "Um…are you dating Dawn?"

"Oh…um…who are you?" Spike chuckled wickedly at the way she scrunched her eyebrows together nervously.

"Just wondering." He leaned forward in the chair, and studied her downcast eyes, noticing the sudden change of tone in her voice. She sounded sad.

"Okay…um, I'm here to talk to Buffy. She and I…we have some business to discuss." She

didn't want to reveal too much because she didn't know him, and wasn't sure how much he knew about her and Buffy's relationship. "Your turn."

"When Buffy gets in a jam, let's just say, I come and help her…work out the kinks." Seeing his smirk, Willow decided that she immediately didn't like him for sure. The way he had said that…about her Buffy…she didn't like it one bit.

"Well, well…then, let me put it in simple terms." He leaned back in the chair again, the intimidating, seductive smirk still plastered on his face. Willow really, really didn't like him. "Well, you see…birds and bees take part in…"

"What?!" She was more than upset. She jumped out of her chair when she realized exactly what he was implying. "No! Buffy wouldn't do that!"

"Right…" He drawled out, wondering what made the redhead suddenly go white. Then, he saw her face turn from pale to red, and wasn't prepared for the explosion.

"No! She wouldn't! Buffy wouldn't do that to me! It doesn't matter that she said it was over, she wouldn't!! Who are you? There's no way she would ever!!!"

"Well, she did…and what do you mean do it to you? I was there, and think I'd remember you being there, too."

"No! No! Stop lying! She wouldn't!!" He leaned forward, and finally understood what the nervousness at the door, and after that had been. It wasn't completely from his intimidating gestures. He stood up, anger set from what the woman in front of him had done to his Buffy, the only person that he'd ever loved.

"So, this business you have with Buffy? That wouldn't happen to involve…oh, say…breaking her heart?!!" Willow was bright as her hair, and stepped over to stand next to the taller form, not backing down from his obvious attempt at acting dangerous. She didn't care…all she cared about was Buffy, and she refused to believe that her girlfriend would sleep with this man. He was attractive, she admitted, and she was more than jealous at the idea. Sure, she had said it was over but she wasn't going to let her go…she was too important…THEY were too important. Thinking that this Spike ever laid a hand on her Buffy was making her go crazy…wanting to hit him hard, throw him against the wall, stick a wooden stake in his heart…anything. Her jealously was at full force.

"To hell it is! I know her, and I've never seen her this dead before…you did that to her.

You and that other girl of yours…shagging behind her back. Doing what you please…bloody hell, if I didn't have a soul, I'd have a mind to pop you…"

"What?! There is no other girl!! I told her that!! I don't want Faith! I only want her!!

"Damn right, you are, you jerk!" Buffy and Dawn heard shouting from inside the house, and knew that Spike was still supposed to be inside. Afraid that something was wrong, they clutched their shopping bags tighter, and ran into the door to find Willow and the blonde in a heated verbal battle, practically throwing punches and kicks with their eyes. The tension was strong, and the two girls quickly moved to separate the two, and figure out what the problem was. Buffy took Spike, since she knew she could handle him better than her sister, and Dawn moved Willow to sit on the couch.

When she saw Buffy move to calm Spike down, the fire just raged on, and her jealous streak was screaming, still throwing daggers at him, even though her heart was crying that she had chosen the man over her. Dawn just held her down the best that she could, and Buffy finally turned around, anger in her voice at the both of them. She wasn't prepared to see Willow so soon. She was just getting used to the fact that she'd overreacted, and pushed her away without a chance to explain. Seeing her fighting Spike, though, she got a headache, not ready to deal, especially that knowing Spike, he had revealed her last night's activities.

"I think you bloody well know what's going on. Your little girlfriend over there came here to rattle you up some more!"

"I did not!!" Dawn had to pull Willow back down to the couch again, and Buffy had to hold Spike back to some degree.

"I was explaining why I was here…and what happens when I'm usually around." Buffy sighed deeply, not prepared for that discussion with Willow, knowing that she'd have to talk to her privately after this. "That's when I figured out who she was, and I wasn't about to let her come in here, and get you upset again!"

"Okay, Spike…thanks but really not necessary. Now, what are you doing here, Willow?"

"You aren't taking my calls, and we need to talk. I don't understand what happened,

Buffy! Then, I get here, and he's here, telling me that you guys were…that you were…"

"Dawn!" Buffy and Willow both admonished the girl for her language, and Spike just smirked at the chemistry that was still poring from the two women but not willing to let the redhead to cause his lover more pain. He was too protective of her feelings, even if they weren't of love for him. Even though he loved her, and more than enjoyed their sexual excursions, all he wanted was to see the blonde happy. From what Dawn told him, this woman had made her ultra-happy Buffy, and it was obvious why, even when they were fighting.

"What? It's basically what you two are but I gotta say that I didn't think it'd happen this time…with Will and all."

"I just wanted to talk, Buffy. I didn't think things were that bad between us. Instead of

working out our problems, you go around with Captain Peroxide here…what am I supposed to say to that?"

"We aren't together anymore, so don't give me jealous Willow right now. I messed up, I know that! There's nothing I can do now!"

"Yes there is, Buffy! Talk to me! Help me understand what I did wrong. Was it because I kept a secret from you? I didn't think you'd react that way…if I'd known, I never would have promised Faith not to tell you. She just didn't want to hurt you, or make her act any differently around her. Nothing happened, or ever will…is that what you thought? That I'd just give up on you now that Faith was in the picture? Is that how you think of me?" She was trying not to cry her words out at the end but she was desperate to understand. The two hadn't noticed that Dawn and Spike had gone into the kitchen to give them privacy. Buffy sat down on the couch next to Willow, trying to find a comfortable distance, even if she just wanted to hold her, and tell her everything would be alright.

"Will! No! You never directly said that Faith was in love with you, and that was it. I heard what you were saying, and I thought you were telling me that you and Faith were sleeping together. When I saw that you didn't know what was wrong with that, I panicked. I couldn't deal. I needed out…because I wasn't willing to share you with anyone."

"Well, I'm not either but apparently you've already…shared." Buffy cringed at the tone, and harsh jab from the redhead.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I'm not even sure if I can say anything but I am sorry. More than you'll ever know."

"Spike?" She laughed under her breath, then remembered that it wasn't appropriate at

the moment. "No…never. I would never want Spike the way I do you, and he knows that."

"Then what? When I'm not in town, you're just going to call him up for a good time?"

"How do I know you haven't done this before when I was in New York, or Los Angeles?"

"Because I haven't, and you know that I'm telling the truth. I was hurting, Willow. I thought that you'd cheated on me."

"I don't believe that, and neither do you. I've never felt this bad in my life. When I walked out that hallway door, I left the best part of me behind, and I've been nothing all week long. Knowing that you were hurting, too…I wasn't mad at you, and I think that's what hurt the most. The thought that I couldn't make myself hate you because that would've made it hurt less."

"I never hated you, either. I just didn't understand why you reacted like that. Faith loves me, okay…that's fine. But I don't love her back. I could never love anybody the way that I love you. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"It means everything." They both sighed, relieved to get everything in the open, but aware that they still had problems to work out. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, Buffy. So much." Both girls were freely crying now, and neither was sure what to do next. "When Spike told me you…I felt what you must've felt. Only mine is real…but I don't want it to be. That's hard to forget, and I'm sorry that you were going through that."

"I'm sorry that I didn't give you a chance to explain, and that you have to go through that now. It just happened."

"No…he's more like an escape. I'm always running. From myself, from relationships, from the pain…he was always around, and things just started getting out of hand. One thing led to another, and I was having violent sex in a crypt."

"I'm not proud of it but I don't hate him, either. He's my Fred, in some degree."

"No, Will…you were strong. I wasn't but I'm through running. I'm staying right here, and if you're willing to try again, then I'm already there."

"Buffy…" She was hesitant to explain that she wasn't strong, that she had faltered, and that it was Fred that said no.

"I stayed with Fred." She saw Buffy's face drop, and knew she had to explain fast. "Nothing happened."

"I wasn't. She was. I tried…just to get the pain to go away, even if just for a minute…but she wouldn't let me do that to myself. I'm sorry."

"No, Willow. You have nothing to be sorry about…at least she stopped you. Remind me to thank her."

"Can you be kissing me now?" Willow didn't have to be asked twice. She'd longed for those lips against hers all week, cried at the fear that she never would again. They hadn't even made love since that Monday before the album release. She'd fallen asleep the night before, and felt awful that she did after Buffy had made sure her welcoming home was more than romantic. However, she more than made up for it in Buffy's opinion. The frustration, the tension, the pain, everything slowly melted away as they held onto each other tightly, and rejoined their lips in a familiar passionate embrace. They both knew there were still problems to be worked out but for now, things were settled, and Buffy let Willow take the lead. After all, she was the one that wasn't strong, she was the one that had jumped to conclusions. Willow kept a tight hold on her, and moved her face away just for air, both of their breathing hot and heavy against the other's face.

"Good." Willow crushed her lips against her girlfriend's again, and pulled her up from the couch, never letting the contact be broken. Dragging her up the stairs, in a lip-locked embrace, Buffy pushed her into her mom's old room, knowing that hers was still Spike infested. She didn't want the mood to falter, and knew that if Willow saw the remnants of her night, then the mood would definitely be broken. The redhead just followed her into the bedroom, clumsily keeping her grip tight, and lips connected.

Once the door was shut, Willow pushed Buffy all the way to the bed. Falling on top of something, Buffy pulled Spike's duster from under her, and threw it the floor, not caring about the argument that would come later from him. All she cared about was that she was in the arms of the woman that she loved, and that she thought she'd never feel again. So far, the make-out process of the making up was going pretty good, and they were both resolved to make the rest just as good. For hours, they spent time getting acquainted with the other's body, and hardly stopped for breath between takes. It had been too long, and their bodies were craving the other too much to be tired or hungry.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Spike and Dawn were watching late night reruns, munching on the blooming onion thing that the blonde had made for them. They figured that the two lovers would be hungry after they made up but that was four hours ago, and they were still upstairs, making noises in pure ecstasy. Dawn was jumping up and down that they made up, Spike was wary about Willow hurting Buffy again but was more than aroused by the noises, and had to hold a pillow to himself to save Dawn and himself from embarrassment.

"Ugh…are they ever gonna stop? I'm getting a migraine from all the moaning and groaning. It's the second night in a row that I won't get any sleep because my sister's sex life. They should have a rule or something about this. At first I was happy for them; I can deal with the fact that Buffy has sex but geez…you'd think she's the Energizer bunny up there or something."

"No, I didn't. Turn the volume up. It's like they know we're turning it up, and purposefully are being louder."

"She won't. I'm not entirely sure that she hurt her this time. It was just Buffy being Buffy

"I know you didn't know, and I'm not mad at you. It's who you are but you saw her. You

"She's in this one for the long haul. She's not gonna need ole Spike anymore to fix her problems. Nope."

"Then, that's all I need." Dawn smiled at him, and he actually genuinely smiled back at

her. After a few minutes of watching more reruns, Dawn turned the volume up on the remote yet again, and did so every so often for the remainder of the night. She and Spike decided to just crash on the couch because it was going to be a long night.

The morning sun began to shine through the window, and the two lovers were still exhausted against each other's body, asleep from the night's energy-burning activities. Around three in the morning, they had drifted off in each other's arms, both ignoring the want to still be together physically, and the constant hunger that was screaming from their bellies. Instead, sleep finally took over, and they were helpless against it, at least content to fall asleep together after a week of missing the heat from the other.

When eleven peaked, Dawn cautiously opened the door a crack to peak, and see if they were awake but not wanting to catch the residual effects of her sister's all-nighter. She and Spike had finally managed to fall asleep on opposite ends of the couch, and he was ready to take off, back to wherever it was that he always went. Nobody really knew, and they knew better than to really ask questions. When the two awoke, Spike had cleaned Buffy's room from the mess they had made the night before, and Dawn had placed the sheets and comforter in the washer, trying to get the smell of sex from her sister's bedding. Once things were in order, Spike took a shower, and was currently wrapped in nothing but a towel around the waist, realizing that his things were still in the guest room, where the two lovers were still occupied. Dawn decided to help him out by getting his bag, and duster.

When she noticed that they were still conked, she snuck into the room quietly, a happy Bubbles following on her heel. She took a second to smile excitedly about the way the two were clung together for dear life, as though it was the end of the world. Leaving a small crack in the door, she exited with Spike's things, handing the bag and old leather jacket to him. He nodded, and went back into the bathroom to dress. Dawn just went back downstairs to make some lunch for everyone, realizing that the lovers will be starving when they finally wake. Spike finished dressing, and told Dawn a quick goodbye before heading out on his motorcycle.

Meanwhile, Bubbles jumped up on the bed beside Willow, and just sat there, looking down at her spooned against Buffy. Wagging her nub excitedly, she wanted to get her attention, so she tried burying her paws underneath her arm that was tucked beneath the pillow the two lovers were sharing. The smirking redhead only stirred slightly, groaning a bit from the furry alien in her warmth bubble that was Buffy's arms wrapped around her maroon sheet clad form. Bubbles tried again, digging at the covers slightly. She wanted attention, and would not be deterred by the groaning. Willow's smirk looked permanently plastered to her face, and Bubbles finally decided to lick her.

"Mmm…Buffy, maybe you should brush your teeth, or get a mint." Her voice was mumbled but she was coming to, which was the small cocker spaniel's plan. Willow slowly opened her eyes to find a panting pooch lying with its head facing hers. Giggling slightly at the wakeup call, she unwrapped her arm from around Buffy's, and patted Bubbles on the head, which the tan puppy enjoyed. "Hi, Bubbles. I almost forgot about you." The dog just relaxed, and relished the feel of Willow's slim fingers running through her golden fur, which was in need of a nice cut. "How did you get in here?" She looked around, and noticed that Spike's bag and jacket were missing from their scattered clothing piles, and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Realizing that the bleach blonde had left, she wanted to do a happy dance to celebrate. "Well, Bubbles…looks like I'm going to be around a lot again. I hope you didn't miss me too much this week. I definitely missed you guys, especially Buffy, of course but you're high up there on the list. You know that I'm going to make sure that she's happy, don't you? You're probably mad at me, too…but it was all a misunderstanding. I never cheated on her. I never would. She's stuck with me, whether she likes it or not. She's my always."

"Who are you talking to, Will?" Buffy kissed her shoulder, and rubbed her arms over her torso in a stretch. Willow moaned from the sudden moving contact, and her lids fluttered in agreement. The blonde was stretching a little close to still sensitive areas below her waist. Kissing her neck, Buffy snuggled in a little tighter, and finally opened her eyes to find Willow petting a happy Bubbles. "Hey, Bubbles." She reached over to rub the dog's curly ear, and Willow stopped petting her briefly to turn her head, in order to kiss her girlfriend good morning. "Mmm…morning."

"She didn't, I don't think. Either Dawn or Spike…" Willow's voice was colder at the mention of him. "…one of them came in, and got his stuff. I'm hoping he left."

"How could I not be? He got to be with you while we were fighting, and he's been with you before, so obviously you have some attraction to him."

"That's over now, though, because you're more than enough to last me for eternity."

"Well, get used to it again because from now on, you're going to hear it once a day, twice on weekends." They giggled, and Willow turned around to face her, leaving Bubbles to lay down behind her naked back. "I really am sorry."

"That's behind us now. Time to move on to better things. Like this…" Buffy kissed her sweetly on her right cheek. "And this…" She lingered a little longer on her left. "This is important…" She kissed the cupid's bow. "And definitely can't forget this…it's crucial." She pulled Willow in further, kissing her sensuously for a few minutes, letting her hands run up and down the redhead's back in firm, lazy circles.

"No. You definitely did nothing wrong last night. My body is still agreeing. No, I just want to feel something…or someone, rather…a little bit closer to me because I feel cold."

"Well, you are naked…" Willow smirked playfully, finally up to par on Buffy's game plan. She lifted the sheet further down the blonde's body, and revealed the glory that was her girlfriend in the nude. "See, you're buff, Buff."

"Oh, that explains a lot but you're naked, too." Buffy tugged at the sheet covering Willow, and pulled the high-thread count sheets down to her waist. "Yep, and I heartily approve of that fact. You should always be naked."

"Well…see, in my little reality, there is no work…just play, and guess what my favorite toy is?"

"Hmm…he's on the list but there's this redhead that's quite the teaser that needs to come over here now before I pounce on her, and just completely torment her until she begs for mercy."

"I can do that." Buffy pulled Willow's body closer, and wrapped them in a tight embrace, making sure that all of the previous week's problems were finally settled.

"Argh! Why won't you work?!" Buffy was kicking the fax machine when she saw her editor walk by, and stopped immediately, trying to act nonchalant. He stopped, shook his head, and moved on, and Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, her luck wasn't completely with her on that particular Friday. She had missed the entire week before, and she was forced to work double time all week just to make up the hours. There were articles, and interviews that needed to be done today, and luckily, she had finally finished. All she needed was to fax this one sheet, and she was finished for the day. However, the fax machine was making her day longer than she wanted, and she had a certain redhead to seduce.

The entire week, they had stayed together, moving from one place to another, and were only separated by work, and even then, Buffy would come over for lunch everyday. They were practically inseparable, and even though there was a slight fear from both of being too clingy, both realized that it still wasn't enough. They needed more time together. Being together every minute possible was just not enough; they needed every second, every millisecond…just to never be apart from the other. Things had been stronger since they had made up: emotions, sex, and conversations were more intense. They were completely open with one another, honest, and revealed every dark secret that would ever possibly come up between them, their fears about the past, present, and especially future, Buffy's tendency to run because she didn't feel she should have happiness, and Willow's insecurities regarding failure, and people leaving her all the time. They were connected: through love, through life. It was so intense that it was scary, and neither girl was willing to see it as that. All they saw was love.

Now, Buffy kept fighting with the fax machine until it finally started sending the fax successfully. A few more seconds, and she would fly from the office, ready to start a Willow-filled weekend full of chocolate, roses, and extra kisses. There was nothing in the world better, in her opinion, and she finally acknowledged the fact that she was willing to go the distance. She was more than happy, and for once in her life, she never wanted to run. This was the real deal, the big one…she wanted to be with Willow for as long as possible, and had talked to Dawn about it all week. Dawn was more than excited at the conversation. Buffy didn't know if it was an illegal wedding, or starting a family, but she knew that she wanted that with her girlfriend…eventually. Now, she just wanted to relish in everything that the woman had to offer, and one day, those things would come but for now, things were content.

Leaving the office behind, she literally jumped from her car up the stairs to Willow's apartment. She was more than ready to get things started. Finally getting in the door, she was surprised to find a bunch of people in there, dressed nicer than usual. She looked around, and realized that she was late for the party. Rogue Slayer had hit a high sales market, and Willow was finally giving Faith that party that she kept asking for almost every day.

Faith. That was something that took a little time to deal with but she decided after a few days of avoiding her, she should just talk to her. When they talked, they were completely honest with the other, making a connection that abounded into friendship. Relieved that the brunette had no plans to make a move on her girlfriend, she put her jealousy behind her, and just enjoyed hanging out for a few hours before Willow returned from the office. Overall, Faith said that she didn't want to mess up what they had because in her eyes, it was the exact thing that she'd been singing about for years, and to her, as long as Willow was happy, that's all she could ever ask. Buffy thought that she was like Spike in that respect. In love with somebody but could never be involved, knowing that but still staying a friend.

Moving past the people mingling, she didn't see her girlfriend anywhere, and decided to keep heading to her room. When back there, she found Willow sitting on her bed with a huge smile, dressed extra nice. Shutting the door behind her, she came over to the dazed redhead, and wrapped her arms around her waist from the side. This caused Willow to finally acknowledge her presence, and she leaned into the touch, wrapping one of her own arms around the one residing on her abdomen.

"Yeah. I would've been here sooner but I just spent an hour trying to fax. Those can be tricky little machines. They should have a warning label that state 'tricky little machine' on the side." Willow laughed, and kissed the blonde sweetly on the lips. Backing away from her mouth, Buffy moaned her approval, and continued licking the residual taste of Willow from her lips. "Mmm…cherry. My new favorite flavor."

"Yeah. I need to get changed for the party. Didn't want any of your executive friends walking in, and finding a very naked Buffy."

"Yes but do you really want the people out there to?" Willow frowned, and shook her head in certainty. "That's what I thought, ere go, I change."

"Um, Will…in case you haven't noticed, I'm wearing jeans and a blouse. I hardly constitute that as nice."

"Tease." Buffy moved to Willow's closet, and pulled out a short, black dress that wasn't overly fancy but would suit the party perfectly. Plus, easy access if she should happen to trap a certain redhead for a few minutes for a little teasing. "Come here." Buffy looked at Willow, who was waving her hand towards her. She moved over to the sitting redhead, and was pulled in between her legs by her thighs. Willow was rubbing her palms around her thighs, and she knew that it was going to be a long night. Lifting her light blue sweater lightly, the redhead kissed the area above her navel gently.

"I know. Shh…" She buried her head in her stomach, sucking gently on the skin, and gripped Buffy's bottom, pulling her closer. Not ready for the action, the blonde had to grab Willow's shoulders to stay balanced.

"Don't wanna." Buffy didn't want her to stop; she'd been waiting for this all day but knew that they had to, even if the sensations Willow was producing on her body were already torturing her.

"Yeah. But…mmmm…but the people out there are here for...mmm, Willow…" Buffy let her resolve down briefly, and let her hands roam down her girlfriend's back seductively. She could feel the redhead smiling into her stomach. That's when her resolve came back; things were getting too heated, and they had to stop before Buffy lost control. "No, Willow." She pushed back away from the pouting redhead." She leaned down, and kissed her gently on the lips as apology. "Later, I promise."

"I, Willow Rosenberg, being of sound, mind, and wanting Buffy's body, do hereby promise that I will not embark on any funny business while stripping her at this time. Subject to change later in the evening." Buffy just chuckled at her girlfriend, and kissed her sweetly before nodding her head in agreement. Willow smiled like a child on her birthday, and unwrapped her blonde present, only kissing her softly in certain spots.

When Buffy was down to her undergarments, she walked into the bathroom, Willow trailing behind her with her hands holding her waist. Reaching the sink, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and curled her hair, as Willow sat on the counter, watching her in awe. She kept stealing kisses from her girlfriend, and applied a light and gentle amount of makeup before putting on her dress. The redhead zipped her up, and once she had on her strappy black sandals, they were ready to party.

Making their way out of the hallway, they closed the door tightly behind them. Finding people scattered, mingling, talking about this and that, and Xander and Anya predictably kissing in the corner, the two lovers moved further into the crowd, and started greeting people. Buffy had never been to one of these parties, and wasn't sure what to talk about, or how to even greet herself. Luckily, Willow walked her through it with ease. The proud grin that was plastered on the redhead's face when she introduced Buffy as her girlfriend, sent shivers and joy through every muscle in her body. This was her life now. This is what happily ever after felt like, and even though she knew there was still a long road ahead of them, this was true happiness to her. This was heaven to her, the place that she was at peace: by Willow's side.

After greetings, Willow ushered everybody to the dining table, and they settled in as servers brought their food. Apparently, the redhead went all out for these parties, making sure that every detail was fitted to perfection, and Buffy thought that it suited her neurotically organized girlfriend perfectly. She found that topics of conversation were easy to follow, and her outgoing personality helped her interact with the guests. Willow would squeeze her hand under the table, and smile proudly when she would say something to impress one of the executives. It was a lovely meal all around, and drinks were shared, humorous stories were told, and memories were remembered. She giggled at some of the stories that Xander would tell about Willow's younger years, having heard a few before but others, hearing them for the first time. The delicious food was devoured, and more drinks were served. After Willow made a toast to Rogue Slayer, and their success at the label, more drinks were served, and people once again parted from the table to do more mingling.

When Willow finished explaining some of the items in her curios, Buffy pulled her into the kitchen for a fevered kiss that she had been dying to give her since the first introduction. Shocked but eager to return it, the redhead just pulled her in tighter, and opened the pantry door, shutting it behind them. Hidden from the servants, and the guests, the two girls were making out heavily, and Buffy used that easy access to full advantage, allowing Willow's hands to grasp her breasts. They were unaware how long they had been gone but when the door suddenly swung open, there were several of the guests standing there, watching the two girls flurry to make themselves more presentable, faces still flushed from their recent excursion. The guests clapped, and they both blushed, and groaned in embarrassment as they exited the pantry.

After the comments died down, Xander and Anya made their way over to the girls that were still trying to make themselves presentable. Buffy wiped a smudge of lip gloss that was making Willow's chin shine more than usual, and Willow was helping her twist her dress back around the right way. Xander just laughed, trying to make his fantasies going away but having no luck. Anya stood there, just rubbing her belly, actually being quiet for once. She had been too preoccupied with the baby preparations that she wasn't her usual tactless self, and Willow had actually mentioned to Buffy that she sort of missed that side of the woman.

"Okay…given but that was bold. Will's never left a party to make out before, not even with Tara or Kennedy. You must be some kisser."

"You won't be finding out anytime soon." Willow moved in between him, and her girlfriend, and Buffy just smirked at the gesture of claim. 'Yep. You are definitely getting lucky tonight, Miss Rosenberg.'

"No. Go. Get to bed. You need your rest. The doctor said that you were working too hard, Anya. Maybe you should consider letting Johnny taking over for a few months until the baby comes."

"Surely there's a better way. You don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize the birth, or cause you to go into labor too soon."

"Yes. I'm very aware of those facts but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about, Willow. Now, go make orgasms, and I'll see you Monday at lunch."

"Alright. Take care." The two girls hugged the couple, and noticed that other people were leaving as well. When the final person was gone, the two occupants of the apartment, and the unofficial occupant crashed on the couch. "That was embarrassing."

"Kinda hot, if ya ask me." Faith smirked at the two lovers, and Willow blushed, remembering how heated the session had become in so little time. "Maybe you two should head that way…got some unfinished business you need to fix."

"Good night, Faith!" Willow shocked Buffy, as she pulled her off the couch, and through the hallway door. Neither saw a lonely Faith smiling at their happiness, yet heartbroken that it wasn't her. 'I've become a softie.'

As the servers cleaned up the apartment around her, she just decided to watch television until they were finished, knowing that she wanted to make sure they left without anything extra. She found herself overprotective of everything that was Willow, and with good reason. The redhead was too trusting but Faith knew better than to trust just anybody, especially those that worked in low-level jobs. She'd been there; she remembered the things she did just to help her buy her next meal. It's not easy when the pay is low, and you hardly have enough to put a roof over your head. There was a knock at the door, and she went to answer it. Opening the door, she found Kennedy on the other side, dressed casually in jeans and a simple maroon shirt.

"I'm not here for the party. I'm actually here to talk to Willow. Is she still around?"

"Yeah but I don't think it wise to disturb her for the rest of the evening. Somethin' I can help you with?"

"Well, I'm here. I have two ears. Come on in. I'm just watching reruns." Kennedy was contemplative for a moment, and decided that she could use a friend. They'd gone out for drinks once, and the conversation was easy-going. She just needed some company, and the buxom brunette was just that. Walking into the apartment, she put her jean jacket in the closet, and followed Faith to get comfortable on the couch. After a few minutes of just watching 'I love Lucy' classic episodes, she turned to Faith, ready to talk.

"Decent. The best part was when we caught Red and Blondie in the pantry getting' their rocks off."

"They were…" Kennedy hid her saddened face a little. She was happy for Willow, and was glad that they were able to become friends again but there was still a part of her that would always love the redhead.

"Ah, nah. Just getting a little hot and heavy. I don't think B has that kink in her. She's too vanilla."

"Well…" Kennedy reminisced about several times that she and Willow would do brazen things in random places, and Faith just shook her head in astonishment.

"Oh, no! I don't know about Buffy…just Willow has a way about her that'll make you want to do anything for her."

"Yeah, well…" They were quiet for a moment before Faith changed the topic. "What did you wanna talk about?"

"It was important enough to drag your ass down here at eleven o'clock at night." Kennedy sighed deeply, and took a deep breath.

"So…you just figured you'd come down here on a Friday night to what? Talk? Sure you didn't have anything else in mind?"

"No! I mean…not what you're thinking. I don't know…it was just a whim…like something was telling me to come here."

"Well, if you'd come four hours earlier, you could have joined our little shindig. I'm sure Red wouldn't have minded."

"Well, you're here now." They both just sat there a few minutes, unsure what to say. They didn't know each other that well, and weren't completely comfortable yet. "Want something to munch on? I'm sure there's somethin' in the fridge."

"Oh, um…sure." Faith nodded her head once, and moved to the kitchen. She returned with a bag of chips, and two sodas. Handing one to Ken, she moved back to the couch, sharing the bag between them, and continuing to watch Lucy crush grapes amusedly for wine. "This is my favorite episode."

"When do you go on tour? I've seen where the album has done well, and catch you on TV and magazines sometimes."

"I didn't know her before all of this but we've become tight, ya know? And she's actually the best friend I've ever had."

"Just as long as I'm president." Kennedy narrowed her eyes in thought, and smirked playfully.

"Okay but I'm in charge of everything else." They both laughed heartily, finally breaking the ice enough to relax in the other's company. "So, Faith…"

"Fair enough. It's not that bad. A little overwhelming when it peaked but I'm getting'

"Um…well. I have an exhibit getting ready to show in New York, and then it'll move to Cleveland for a few weeks. Other than that, I'm just working when it comes to me."

"I guess you would." They smiled at each other, and finally relaxed completely. "Hey. You know that song you wrote…um… 'Psychotic Love Song'…I was wondering…"

"Yeah." She smiled sheepishly, not wanting to spark another bad chord with the older brunette.

" 'I've been sitting here with dreams of red.' 'Makin' love an impossible game.' 'I'll never feel your touch, and I'm goin' mad with pain.'"

"Okay. I'll give you that." They smiled at each other again, more playful. "So…this is what you do on Friday nights."

"Know the game. Then, a certain redhead changes everything. She really does make an impact on people. Buffy's luckier than she realizes."

"Yeah. I've never actually been to this apartment that often, and when I am, Will's usually alone, or you're here, but never Buffy."

"Well, she's about yay tall." Faith held her hand up to a distance that was in the ballpark of Buffy's height. "She has bottle blonde hair, hazel eyes, and works at an art magazine."

"You'll meet her eventually. Red was introducing her all night to some big wigs, and she's still here. Maybe they'll take a water break or somethin'."

"They've been attached at the hip lately, so I'm sure if you see Red, you'll see B." Kennedy nodded, and they moved the conversation elsewhere. After a long evening of comfortable

conversation, and laughing, Kennedy's eyes started to droop. Noticing this, Faith motioned her to get up from the couch. Looking at the clock, they noticed it was already one in the morning. "You can stay here. I don't bite. The bed's pretty big." Kennedy arched a tired eyebrow. "No grabby hands."

"Yeah but you were the one that was thinkin' it. Hands off the goods tonight." They playfully continued a conversation, as they got ready for bed. Faith gave Ken a pair of boxers, and a wife beater to sleep in, and noticed that the younger brunette was quite fit. Handing her one of the extra toothbrushes that Willow keeps in the small bathroom closet, they finished brushing their teeth, said their goodnights, and crawled under the covers in hopes of a restful sleep.

Finally exhausted from hours of making love, the two girls snuggled under the covers, still sweaty and trying to calm their breathing. They both brushed the sweaty hair that was matted to the other's forehead, and enjoyed a few more firm and gentle kisses before relaxing completely into each other. Sighing in contentment, both lovers held on tight to the other before releasing the death grip.

"Oh, yeah. I'm glad you put that subject to change clause in your oath. It definitely paid off."

"Well, yeah…but not just the touching. Just being around you. It seems that I can't stand being away from you…even for a moment."

"What is it, baby?" Buffy took a deep breath, and leaned over her to stroke her sex-

"No…I love all of you. Everything, and I don't want to spend another night alone."

"Well, no…not exactly. I don't think I'm ready for that exactly…making it official, and all.

It's just…well…I want you to be the last thing I see when I go to sleep every night, and the first thing I see every morning."

"I know." Buffy leaned up from her shoulder, and kissed her sweetly. "What would you

say if I asked to spend every night with you? Not just for sex but just to sleep next to you."

"Oh, there'll definitely be some major Willow loving going on but I mean that…well, we don't always have sex. Sometimes we just cuddle, and I want that. I want that all the time. Every

"We could go back and forth maybe. I'm not ready to give up the house. That's my mom's house, ya know?"

"Yeah, you do." She kissed her sweetly again. "You could move more of your stuff in there, and I could move more of my stuff here, and we could maybe rotate…I don't know…maybe it's a crazy idea. I just know that I'm not ready to completely move in together but that I want you near me every night." Willow averted her gaze, her expression showing that she was deep in thought for a moment, processing everything the blonde just presented. She relaxed her features, and smiled lovingly at her girlfriend, moving to kiss her gently.

"Is that a yes?" Her face showed hopefulness but fear that she was being rejected, not wanting to believe that it was possible for Willow to agree to her proposal.

"Oh, well…um…I don't know. More clothes, for sure…I could bring some of my writing materials over here, and you could take some of your gadgets over there."

"Yes, it does." They kissed again before snuggling in for the night, both thinking of the many things that they could transfer from one place to the other without actually moving in to the other completely. Finally, sleep became highly needed, and they drifted off with Cheshire grins, full of promises for what the future would bring.

Time flies when you're having fun, and that's exactly what it felt like for the two lovers. They had moved more of their things to the other's residency, and settled more readily into the house. Buffy finally made Willow a key to the house, and things were going great. Every night, they fell asleep next to each other, and every morning, they woke up beside each other. No major fights were in the works. More discussion about possible past events that would probably come up was had, and both girls were so in tune with the other, that they sometimes finished the other's sentences. It was almost sickening the way they were around each other, and that only grew as the days passed. Month after month flew by without warning, and neither girl could believe that they were still utterly happy, thinking that the initial passion would have worn off, but it kept getting better and better.

They took a few more weekend vacations to the cabin, and Buffy had actually started writing again. She was currently talking to an editor about a book she had recently finished, and she wouldn't tell Willow until she heard back from him. Wanting to surprise her if the book was going to be published, she kept it a secret from everybody but Charles. The redhead knew that she had been writing but had no idea that she had finished a complete work of fiction. If the book was picked up, Buffy wanted to celebrate big time with her girlfriend, and she already had a few ideas concocted.

On the other side of the love nest, Willow had been working up the courage to ask Buffy to take a trip with her away from Sunnydale. It would be four days in another state, and she didn't want her girlfriend to be in trouble for taking off work. Plus, she knew the blonde was heavy into her writing now. Even though she wouldn't tell her what she was writing, she had managed to coax her into showing some short stories that she had written in the past. After reading them, she had a new element of awe pointed at her. Apparently, Dawn wasn't kidding when she said that Buffy had major talent in the creative writing department. She just wished that her girlfriend would try to publish something in a journal, or something. At times, she felt more eager about the blonde being successful than she herself was. She just chalked it up to wanting her girlfriend happy, and she knew that writing made a happy Buffy. 'Nine months. I can't believe we've been together for nine months already. It just feels like we've met.'

Nervously fidgeting in the hospital waiting area, Buffy was waiting for Willow to meet her there after work. When she got the call, she was astonished that Anya was in labor two weeks early. Both lovers, and Xander were more than happy that the pregnant woman finally decided to let Johnny tend to things at the shop. She'd decided that the baby was more important than money, and for some reason, Xander had cried when she said that. The four of them actually started hanging out more often, and this gave Buffy the opportunity to get to know her girlfriend's best friend, and his wife, and vice versa. Now, she found herself checking back and forth between the delivery room, and the elevators, willing that something would happen. She'd already been there for two hours, and Anya'd been in labor for five.

Hearing the ding on the elevator, she turned her head, and stood up to see a head of red hair behind a giant balloon that read 'It's a Baby!' Knowing that only her girlfriend would buy the world's biggest baby balloon, she rushed over to help her with the other gift bags she was having trouble carrying. Taking a few bags, she received an exhausted 'thanks' from the redhead, and they moved over to the waiting area, where the plethora of bags were on the floor.

"Well…we still don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so I went the safe road, and got gifts for both. I figured that way, I'd be prepared for sure."

"None. I've only been here two hours, and I haven't seen Xander pacing the hallway for about an hour."

"Do I need to give you the talk?" Buffy looked at her smirking girlfriend, and kissed her lightly. She put on a playful grin of her own.

"We'll see…" They both tried to relax but both were silently nervous for Anya, knowing that the poor doctors were getting a tactless mouthful, and Xander was probably going crazy with worry for his wife, too. "No word?"

"I'm sure they are." Buffy grabbed her girlfriend's hand, and squeezed her hand gently, letting her know that she was right there. She knew that Willow thought the world of Xander, and even if she had her little grievances with Anya, she still was completely fond of the woman because he made the young Harris man happy. "How was work?"

"It was okay. Nothing really exciting. Signed papers, approved more tour dates for a couple of bands, met with a few executives. What about you?"

"I finished an article, and sent it to the fact checkers. Other than that, played solitaire on the computer." Willow giggled, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "How is Faith? Did she call today?"

"Yeah. She's excited that the tour's almost over. Said that she couldn't wait to see us all again, and was excited about the baby. She said the band has a lot of new material to start working

"Oh, you're definitely sexy all the time…you have no problem in that department whatsoever." Willow cupped Buffy's cheek with her free hand, and kissed her sensuously again.

"You're not too shabby yourself." She kissed her again before removing her hand. "I have something for you." She picked up one of the gift bags, and handed it to a shocked Buffy.

"Yep. I was down at the bookstore at lunch, checking on things, and picked up a few books. I saw this, and thought you'd like it." Buffy pulled out a tiny bookmark that had a tan cocker spaniel puppy on it. "You always dog ear your books when you're reading, and I thought this way, you could keep your pages perfect."

"Thank you, Will. It's adorable…just like you." Buffy cupped her cheek this time, and kissed her sensuously. "I will put this to good use."

"I hope so for the sake of your books. I can feel their pain when you fold their little page

corners. They cry." Willow mock pouted, and Buffy couldn't help but kiss the pout away from those gorgeous lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She moved her hand away from her cheek, and placed the cute bookmark into the tiny gift bag, moving it beside her purse. Turning back to the redhead, she saw the perfect grin that meant she was overly happy. Her tongue sticking out slightly from between her teeth. Buffy loved that smile, especially when she caused it.

"What for?" Buffy's face fell, already missing the redhead in her bed. "How many days?"

"Four." Willow sheepishly smiled, knowing that she was maybe hoping too much to ask the blonde to go to New York City. "Glory's new album release party, and there's going to be interviews, and publicity shoots. I need to be there for the release, and since Xander's going to be busy with the baby, I'll be the one going this time."

"What? Will?" Buffy's eyes scrunched up in confusion, sure she didn't hear correctly.

"Tuesday through Friday. We can spend the rest of the weekend there if you'd like. We could make it like a real vacation. Just the two of us…well, other than the work and stuff but most of the time, it'd be just us. Think about it…we can shop on Fifth Avenue, and drink a mocha from all of the Starbucks on one street."

"Oh, well, if you can't get off work, that's okay, too. I just thought I'd ask."

"No. I mean, yes, I'd love to go…with you…but no problem with work, I don't think." She looked at Willow's smile, and stared at her lovingly. "You really want me to go with you?"

"You're going to love it. I'll take you to the Statue of Liberty, and let you ride the subway. We'll go to Greenwich Village. You'll love it there…it's all aesthetic-like…artsy. All kinds of writers, artists, and musicians live around there. OH! I can take you to a movie premiere. They're always having those."

"Okay…maybe we'll nix the movie premiere. I've always wanted to take one of those dinner cruises. Mom always told me that Dad would take her on one that went under the bridges, and around the Statue of Liberty when they visited New York."

"I'll do one better. I'll get a private boat, and it'll be just us. No people other than the captain to bother us. Just you and me…floating on the water at dusk…candlelit dinner…stars shining. The lights of New York City in the background…"

"Wow…a real vacation…away from Sunnydale. I haven't had one of those in…ten years."

"Yeah…after the divorce, mom could never afford to take off from the gallery long enough to take us on a long vacation. We'd always go to Disneyland for a day, or she'd drive us down to San Francisco for two days to stay with family."

"I'm sorry, Wills. I wish your parents paid more attention. They just didn't know how amazing you are; it's their loss." Willow smiled shyly at Buffy, kissing her sweetly for being so wonderful. Truth was, her mother had only met her twice in the past few months. When she was in town, Willow would take Buffy over for dinner, and even then, the conversation wasn't heartfelt like a family but more basic like mere acquaintances. Buffy had been perfect, and assured Willow that she had turned out amazing given the circumstances she was raised in, and that she was sorry that her mom hardly ever paid attention to her. "Well, I guess that just means that this will be your first family vacation, and I'm glad to be a part of it."

"Well, to me…you and Dawn are my family. A little swayed from society's norm but perfect in my opinion."

"Okay, Jerry Maguire, and if I recall correctly, you were trying to steal my strawberry the first time we met. Hellos weren't involved."

"No. I find them mirroring my own, actually." They just smiled at each playfully, and giggled from their banter, remembering the meeting affectionately, like they did every time. "Do you think that…I don't know…I mean, it's been three months since we've been doing the living together but not living together thing. Do you think that…"

"Yes?" Willow smiled sheepishly, hoping that she hadn't crossed the line but feeling that they were more than ready. They'd been ready for a month but neither wanted to say anything.

"I've been thinking the same thing lately. I just didn't want to ask in case you didn't."

"I'm not sure. Maybe we should talk this out, and figure something out together. I don't really want to get into that with other people around." They both looked, and noticed that nurses, doctors, patients, and guests alike were moving about, some noticing them, some not.

"That's a good idea. We can talk about it while on vacation, and come back with a decision. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah…" Both girls turned their attention back to the other, and just gazed at each other lovingly, more than excited about the following week. Just then, Xander came out, blood on his blue hospital shirt, and a huge grin on his face. He was crying, and both girls immediately panicked but calmed when they saw that they were happy tears. That only meant one thing, and when Xander reached them, they both stood simultaneously, and pulled him into a huge hug.

"The doctor has to do the stats, and Anya needs rest. When she finally got everything out, we held her, and she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"I can tell. Xander Harris is crying. You're not hiding behind humor. You only cry when something makes you so happy you can't control it."

"Oh, Will…she's so beautiful." He pulled her into another tight hug, and released her, pulling Buffy into a hug. "I can't wait to take her home, and play with her."

"Oh, I've never heard her use so many curse words in her life. She seems tired now, and the doctor is bidding her rest. It was rough in there for a while. The baby was bridged."

"Yeah. That's it. Well, it was a little more difficult, I think, than what was expected, or how the tapes described it."

"You know me and books, Will. I see words, and my eyes stop working." They just smiled at each, and Buffy laid a hand on the small of Willow's back, rubbing light circles with her palm. The redhead leaned into the touch, and turned around to smile gently at the gesture. The three moved over to sit down in the waiting area, and Xander still had this look of awe and love plastered on his face. "You should've seen An's face when she held the baby. She was so beautiful. Both of them were."

"I miss him, too." He nodded his affirmation, and both remembered briefly their childhood friend that had died their sophomore year in high school by heavy blood loss.

"Joyce was my mom's name." The two looked over at Buffy, and Willow looked sadly at her girlfriend, knowing that her mother meant the world to the blonde.

"Anya mentioned it. She wanted a good strong name, and that name came up. That's strange that it happens to be your mom's name. It just sounded perfect."

"Jessica Joyce Harris. I like that. She better be prepared for Aunt Willow spoiling her rotten."

"I'll get her lots of books, and I'll teach her how to read. Oh! And when she's old enough, I'll show her how to use the computer, and do math!" Buffy just smiled amusedly at her girlfriend's enthusiasm to teach the kid. She wasn't even a day old yet, and Willow was already planning her academics. Xander just shook his head, knowing that his best friend was serious. "And Buffy and I can babysit a lot!"

"Well, I'll be with you, of course." Buffy just giggled, and took Willow's hand in hers, rubbing the top with her thumb.

"Well, ladies. I need to go back, and see if there's anything else the doctors need. I just wanted to come out, and see you guys. Go on home; visiting hours are over, and I think Anya's going to be asleep awhile. Come back tomorrow. You closed the office tomorrow, right Will?" She just nodded. "Okay. Yeah, come by tomorrow. Go have a nice dinner."

"Oh, these are for you from us." Buffy just looked her in confusion, and watched Xander smile as he took all the bags, and the giant balloon. "Do you need any help?"

"Bye, Xander. Congratulations." He nodded, and trotted down the hallway, back to his wife, and hopefully his new baby. The tapes weren't that inclusive about this part of the process, so he wasn't quite sure. Watching him go, Willow completely let go the fact that she gave him all the presents, for both genders, and grasped Buffy closer, hugging her tightly before grabbing their purses, and moving towards the elevator to spend a quiet Wednesday evening together.

"She was sooooo cute. With her little fingers, and baby dimples…and the smile." Buffy and Willow were in New York City. They had arrived the night before, and all Willow seemed to talk about was Jesse. She was as excited as Anya and Xander were about the baby coming home. She dragged Buffy over to the Harris's house everyday just to see her surrogate niece. The album release party the night before was interesting. Buffy finally got to meet Glory in all her well…glory. She still stood by her opinion that the singer was a hell god, and didn't understand why her sister practically idolized her. Glory far outweighed any diva before her, making crazy requests, and Willow (being a good businesswoman) made sure that things were perfect. After all, for some odd reason, Glory made a crapload of money for the label, and she had minions following her around like crazy, doing whatever she bid them to do. Willow made sure that she was comfortable, though, never letting her leave her side for a moment, knowing that Buffy was uncomfortable in that particular environment. Glory's requests were…unique, and her parties were somewhat…even more so.

The next day, there were photo shoots, and interviews that Willow had to go to, and Buffy stayed by her side full force. It was a crazy life, and she could see how exhausting it could truly be…but if you're doing what you love, then she could also see the sway towards the music life. While Willow was in an interview, she got a phone call on her cell, and it was her publisher. They had picked up the book, and would start publishing it in September, having it on the shelves by October. She had been smiling secretly all day, and couldn't wait to tell her girlfriend that night at dinner, on the private cruise she was promised. Now, they had just finished eating, and were finishing a bottle of wine on the small deck, appraising the lights of the city, and the stars that were shining overhead.

"I take it you want kids." Buffy was just beaming at her girlfriend, thinking how beautiful she looked in her loose flowing, semi-dressy red dress. She was wearing a similar type of dress, only it was white with little cherries that matched the color of Will's.

"Maybe we could…I don't know…plan on kids in the future? What do you think?" Willow had that hopeful look on her face, hoping that she wasn't crossing a line again but knowing that she planned on living out the rest of her life with Buffy.

"Well, we'll have to see when we get there." Buffy leaned into Willow, and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind after discarding their wine glasses on the table. She started to sway them both together to the soft jazz tunes that the redhead had placed in the boat's stereo, and Willow leaned back into her, twisting her head to the side towards Buffy's, and wrapping her arm around her head, kissing her sensuously. After a few minutes, they broke the kiss, and moved back in a few more times, kissing with fervor, and aware that it was one of their more romantic nights. They moved apart, and returned to the quiet swaying, listening to the swishing of the boat against the mild weather, and returning their gaze to the lights surrounding them. "I do plan on getting there. You know that, right? That I plan on spending the rest of my life with you?"

"I love you, too." Buffy kissed the side of Will's neck, and tightened her hold around her body, gripping her fingers between her girlfriend's, and pulling their joined hands to the redhead's abdomen. Playing with their fingers, she kissed her neck gently a few more times, and laid her head on her shoulder, taking in the scent that permeated her every sense, and sent her reeling every time. "Buffy…"

"I'm happy, too." Their voices were still whispers, both understanding that the beauty of the moment was peace. Heaven. A place where dreams come true.

"Marry me?" Buffy's body tensed, slightly caught off guard from the question, one that she never thought she'd ever hear, and one that she never thought she'd say yes to but when she got over the initial shock, she relaxed her grip, and moved Willow's body around to face her, kissing her solidly, exemplifying her answer through that mundane act, and when she went to deepen the kiss, she began to cry, and could taste the salt from the her tears between their locked lips. She just kept kissing Willow; she couldn't stop. She never wanted to stop…she wanted to be doing this for eternity, and she refused to let go. The thought of actually making it official completely passed her mind, and while wholly off guard by the question, the thought and feeling that those two words sent through her body made her realize that she was in the right place. Breaking apart the kiss, she decided that Willow needed a verbal answer, even though she was pretty sure that her girlfriend completely understood. Breathless, Willow beat her to the punch with her eyes still closed. "Please tell me that was yes, and I wasn't getting the wrong answer by that…" Buffy smiled with more love, more awe, more love, and more joy than she had ever felt in her entire lifetime, and seeing the redhead's hopeful look on her expressive face, she waited until one of her eyes popped open tentatively. The other one joined, and Buffy just stared at her lover with that smile that said everything, and Willow mirrored the same smile when seeing her.

"I don't know. I just felt it, and it came out of my mouth. It felt perfect. You're perfect." The tears of utter happiness and love were flowing freely from both sets of eyes: hazel and green, darkened to a degree of lust and wanton desire.

"We all have our flaws but I love you for all of those, too. Okay, so you're not perfect but you are perfect for me."

"Willow…this is the most amazing…I've never…you are…god, I love you so much." She pulled her into a tight embrace, as if her very life depended on holding her lover just this once. "I'll never let go, Will."

"Okay, not funny with the 'Titanic references.' You promised." They giggled into each other's necks.

"I couldn't help it. It was too good to pass up." They pulled away slightly to look at each other's giggling face.

"Haha. Very funny. See me laughing?" Willow pointed to her face, and Buffy leaned in to kiss the sides of her neutral mouth. "Are we really…"

"Nine months. We've been dating for nine months…it doesn't feel like nine months."

"I know. It's like it wasn't but yesterday that we first made love, and now look at us. We're going to move in together, you just proposed, although I don't see a ring anywhere." Willow looked down at her hands, and pulled off one of her silver rings, placing it on Buffy's left hand ring finger, and kissing her hand before pulling it around her neck. Pulling the other arm around her neck, she pulled Buffy in close, wrapping her own arms around her waist, slowly swaying them to and fro to the quiet. The stereo had turned off, and they hadn't moved into the pit to change the CD. They just danced to their own music.

"I can give you this ring for now. I didn't plan on that happening. It just did."

"Yeah?" Their grins were permanently plastered on their faces. Buffy noticed that the captain was parking the boat at the dock, which meant their dinner cruise was finished. The night was still young, though, and Buffy just leant in to kiss her passionately, letting her know that she was in for quite the night, especially since she didn't have to be up and ready to be anywhere until late afternoon. Neither could wait to get back to the room, already about to pounce on each other in the open. There was just something in the air that was screaming romance, love, and passion, and it had definitely reached the two lovers, who were not complaining one bit.

As soon as they were in the door, Buffy slammed Willow against the door, tearing at the strings of her dress to start the long night's first act of a several act play. Making it from the suite's couch, then catching their breath briefly before crashing together on the floor, and finally reaching the bedroom. They broke apart spent completely…endorphins running high, and hearts pounding swiftly. Their lovemaking was at an all-time elevation. New York was truly magickal, and it seemed the two had completely fallen under its spell, and it had only been two days. There were still 4 days to go. Rolling over to kiss Willow's neck, Buffy wrapped a bare leg across her girlfriend's naked form, and an arm pulling her tighter to her own nude body around her torso. Kissing her collarbone, she rested her head on Will's shoulder before both breathed out a sigh of contentment, still feeling their hours of activities all over their bodies. There were quiet shakes, and throbbing veins and bundles of nerves. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day, and looking at the rising sun through the window, noticing that it was the perfect beginning to another day.

"Through all the excitement that was last night, I completely forgot to tell you something." Willow finally found some control to her limbs, and started stroking Buffy's blonde locks through her still shaking fingers.

"I wrote a book, and it's going to be published." Willow leaned her head back from their lying position, and looked at her smiling girlfriend, studying her face. "I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure. I would've but you get more excited, and I didn't want my hopes up that high just yet. Next time, though…you'll know everything. I promise. Can you understand that?"

"Sure. It's scary for you. I understand that. After being away from the scene for so long, you just didn't want to let me down, or more importantly yourself. You always think that you don't deserve happiness…and that's the silliest thing. Buffy Summers, whether you like it or not, you've found happiness, and it's not going anywhere."

"I love you, too. This is great! Tell me everything. I didn't even know you finished anything. You never let me read it."

"I know. Just a little overly critical while I'm writing it, I guess. Don't want anybody to read my stuff until it's somewhat completed. Well, you'll get to read it when we get back home, though, for sure."

"You'd better let me read it. I'm your biggest fan! That entitles me to certain rights and privileges."

"Oh, well, there's the getting to read your work before others…that's a major one. I get to watch you in action…and then, I get to kiss you, and give you massages when your neck starts to cramp, and bring you tea and mochas when it looks like a long night of creativity, and sit with you when you need company while you write, and even when you don't, and…"

"What if I'm not tired yet?" Buffy arched an eyebrow at her smirking girlfriend, and knew just what to do. She snuck back under the covers, and the next thing visible above the covers is a very, very happy Willow clutching Buffy's head overtop the sheets, and gripping the headboard of the suite's bed.

When they returned to Sunnydale, plans had been discussed, and two giggling lovers were constantly holding hands, or touching one another's body. First thing they did when they returned home was head to Buffy's house, and started moving furniture around. They decided to keep Willow's apartment in tact, since it was for business parties, and whatnot, and they decided that Willow would move in completely to the house on Revello Drive, moving all of her clothes and belongings there. Faith had bought an apartment by herself down the block in a nice apartment complex that Xander had lived in the years that the redhead was in college, and the apartment was going to be the girl's getaway when Dawn moved back into the house in December. The redhead's apartment was for playtime, and their main house was going to be the Summer's residence.

Willow decided that she and Buffy would only buy matching white gold bands with personal inscriptions to the other on the inside. They wanted something simple but elegant, and even had talked about the name issue, deciding to just keep their maiden names to make things easy, especially since Buffy's name was already in process of being printed, and Willow's name was already established in the music industry. Deciding on a small ceremony, they didn't want the typical big white wedding with the dresses, and the things that girls are supposed to dream about when they're little. No, they wanted simple, white dresses…nothing too long, nothing too short, nothing too poofy. No veils to hide their faces, and Willow suggested they even get married barefoot on the beach, which Buffy immediately added to doing it at sunset, right when the sky started to turn the color of the redhead's hair. Things just felt too perfect. Now, all they had to do was set a date, and tell their family. They were making the ultimate commitment to one another, and seemed that they couldn't wait to announce it to the world.

After making a few trips from Will's to the house, they managed to get her laptop set up (she left her big computer there to go for business things), and Buffy finally moved the furniture from her mother's old bedroom, since it was the biggest, and they decided to make the blonde's old room the guest room. After a day of full hard labor, they settled down on the couch, and snuggled on their first day back to Sunnydale. The shops weren't open, so they grudgingly had to wait to search for wedding bands. They called Xander, and found out that Anya and the baby were sleeping, so visiting was out of the question but Willow missed her baby niece, and couldn't wait to see her, either, and share the good news of their unexpected engagement. Amazing things happen when you least expect them but they were both more than ready to fully make that commitment. Something neither thought would ever happen to them. It was sweet.

"You tell me." They sat there for a few minutes before Buffy got an idea. "Okay, I have an idea. We can watch 'Moulin Rouge,' and we'll even stop it at chapter 32 this time so that it's a happy ending." Willow kissed Buffy excitedly, letting the blonde know that her idea was a successful one. Last time they watched it, Buffy made her watch it all the way through because she had never seen the actual ending, and she had to snuggle a crying redhead to reassure her that she didn't have tuberculosis, and that she wasn't going to die in the end when they finally got together again. She said there was a chance that she'd break out into song randomly but that it'd still be a happy ending.

They watched the movie, with the happy ending, and fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch, jet lag finally taking its toll on them. When the sun began to shine through the windows, Buffy woke up to find them spooned together on the spacious sofa. Smiling, she yawned, and stretched her body as best as possible. Looking at the clock, she noticed that they both should've been at work an hour ago. Chuckling slightly into Willow's shoulder, she kissed it before waking her. The redhead awoke startled, unaware of her surroundings at first, and then relaxing when she realized where she was.

"We kinda have to." Willow groaned, and Buffy chuckled at her girlfriend's usual morning moods.

"No…get up…we're late." She was trying to push her up but to no avail. "Wills…baby, come on…please, Tim's already going to get on me for being this late."

"Tuesday. I called, and told him that the vacation was until Monday. You weren't kidding when you said he had an attitude."

"You're still surprising me…" She leaned over her body, and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "What do you want to do today, then? We already have all your stuff moved in…"

"Well, we have rings to buy, and friends to visit…not to mention, a new baby niece to play with…plus, there's this little thing called rest that I've heard is actually kind of nice. We didn't really get much of that in New York…"

"I can't help it. You look good in the buff, Buff." They giggled tiredly again, and kissed each other sweetly once more. "Anything you can think of we need to do?"

"I know…um…we can have a picnic down at the park with Anya, and the baby. That would be fun, and Xand's at work, so I'm sure she wants to get out of the house. She's been cooped up all week."

"Then, you'd better up your ante, if you expect me to move from this very warm, very comfortable spot, next to a very warm, comfortable Buffy."

"Okay…you had me at naked Buffy…" They went upstairs, and while Buffy was preparing for their shower, Willow called Anya, confirming the picnic plan would be good. After stripping all of her clothes, she went into the bathroom to find her girlfriend already in the shower, beckoning her by name in a seductive tone.

Two days later, they finally managed to get everybody together for a family dinner at the Summers home, and planned on making their announcement. They bought their rings after the picnic with Anya and the baby, and they were currently being displayed proudly open on the dresser, waiting the day when they would depart from the boxes, and join the girls' hands. It was so hard not to tell anybody individually but they wanted to do this right. Now, the Harris family, Dawn, Faith, and the two lovers were sitting around the dinner table, finishing a bottle of full-bodied Cabernet. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, the two stood up together, and joined hands. The others just looked at them like they were crazy, and Buffy rubbed her thumb across Will's palm to calm both of their nerves.

"Well, Dawn…we have something we want to tell you guys." Buffy stole a loving glance at Willow, who nodded, and they both turned their gazes on the awaiting crowd.

"Well, spill Will." Xander folded his hands in front of his face, and the signs of joy from the baby were still evident on his face. Anya was just rubbing his back gently, just in a loving manner. Dawn was sitting next to Faith, who kept bickering back and forth the whole way through dinner. Willow commented that they acted like an old married couple, and Buffy worried for a moment about her sister's relationship status, until she realized that Dawn mentioned something about a new boyfriend the other day.

"…and it was amazing." Buffy stole another adorable glance at Will before continuing. "A lot of things happened that neither us were prepared for…"

"No but we're both more than ready to do this full force, and we want you guys to be there to celebrate with us." Everyone had shocked faces, taken off guard by the announcement but knowing full well that it would work out between those two. If not, Cupid seriously fucked up this time, and the gods were cruel for taking their strong love away from them. If anyone deserved happiness, it was these two, and they had found it in each other, and even though the announcement time came as a shock, the eventual outcome of the commitment was not. Dawn was the first to speak.

"OHMYGOD, BUFFY!!!!!!" She jumped up from her seat, and pulled them both into a hug, which prompted the others to do the same, even though Faith and Anya did so somewhat awkwardly. Sitting back down, they all said their congratulations, and the questions started rolling. "When are you going to do it?"

"What kind of ceremony do you want? Xander and I had a lovely ceremony full of flowers, and traditional wedding attire. I can give you the number of a very nice man that makes the cocktail dresses that the bridesmaids wore." Willow made a face that let Buffy know that that was in no way an option whatsoever, and internally giggled.

"Wow, Wills…you're getting married. You're all grown up. You're not that little girl anymore that used to play doctor with me." Buffy arched an eyebrow towards the redhead, knowing full well what playing 'doctor' meant. Xander caught on, and wanted to reassure her that Will's idea of doctor was not the same game that little children play. "Don't worry there, Buffster…Willow's idea of doctor was pulling out her dad's medical books, and diagnosing me with things."

"That's so cute." She squeezed Will's thigh gently, and smiled adoringly at her. Buffy leaned in to whisper in her ear, and got close enough that she knew would send shivers down the redhead's spine. "I'll have to teach you how to play the real 'doctor' later." Willow gulped slightly, and her blush was extremely prevalent on her face.

"Wow…this is so…Buffy, I can't believe my sister's getting married. Have you told Charles yet?"

"Well, I'm going to call him tomorrow. Willow called Fred and Cordy earlier today, and they were both excited. We just didn't wanted to tell you guys on the phone. You're all like family to us, some actually are of blood but those that aren't still make up our family. I mean, look…we're even expanding…" They all smiled at the sleeping baby in its carrier that sat in the chair beside Anya that she had an arm wrapped around for protection.

"We're not sure all the details yet. It's still new. We did buy rings the other day, so that's one step down, and we know that we want something simple…a beach wedding at dusk, preferably."

"Who came up with that idea?" Dawn was in awe, and was more than excited to see both girls happy, happy herself that she would finally be able to call Willow her sister-in-law.

"Actually, it was a collective effort." The two smiled lovingly at one another, thumbwrestling under the table in a playful fashion.

"We just want it small…just our family. All of you, and the gang in LA. Willow's going to call Giles in England, and I'll actually finally get to meet him."

"Oh, and Xander can be the maid of honor!" Everyone laughed but Xander who shook his head in amusement, knowing that fighting for his masculinity in this crowd had been a fight he'd lost long ago. He just had to stick with the teasing but he wouldn't give it up for the world. They were family. All of them. These were the moments that made memories: sitting around a dinner table with all of your family, enjoying each other's company, whether they be new or old friends, people you've known a lifetime, or those that you've only recently met, these are the people that make life worth living, and each person at the table just relaxed completely in the company held, and took a mental snapshot to keep this moment embedded in their minds for the rest of their lives.

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Red Series: New and Old

by Rin

Copyright © 2005

rin_wag@hotmail.com