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Author's note at bottom.
Chapter 19:

 
The weekend finally arrived, and Christmas along with it. Having William with her for the holiday only made Buffy that much more excited. She had decided to close the gallery for the next three days, so on Christmas Eve morning, the three woke up and spent the day together cooking, putting the finishing touches on any remaining decorations and getting ready for her friends to come over later that evening.

It had become an annual tradition for everyone to celebrate Christmas Eve together at Buffy's apartment. They would exchange their gifts that night after dinner, spending the rest of the night relaxing with plenty of egg nog for the entire group.

"How's dinner coming along?" Dawn asked, walking into the kitchen. She sat down at the table and looked at the place settings, nodding and smiling in approval. Mom would have been proud to see how we're doing, how we're continuing to get through each major holiday without her, Dawn couldn't help but think. It definitely wasn't the same as it had been with Mom around, but Buffy was definitely making the best of it each year.

"Pretty good. Don't you think so, William?" Buffy asked. She stirred the pot of turkey gravy once more before setting the spoon aside and wiping her hands off on the towel to her left.

"Yes, however I didn't know that cooking with Buffy would wind up being so...dangerous," he joked, winking at Dawn.

"Hey, I am not a bad cook," Buffy said defensively.

"Right, you only left the pot holder on top of the burner twice and then came this close to ruining the sweet potato casserole by adding the ingredients used for the stuffing. All of this because you are an excellent cook," William answered sarcastically.

Buffy looked at him with a mixture of shock and amusement. Hearing William talk back to her was always a delight. It was a definite sign that he was becoming more accustomed to himself and his surroundings. It meant he was adapting to 2004. And for once, she didn't have anything smart to say to him in response.

"You should have seen it last year," Dawn said as she played with the silverware placed in front of her. "It was not pretty, at all. Fire bad."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," William answered. He smiled at Buffy, letting her know that his teasing was meant in good humor.

"But everything looks really great this year," Dawn continued.

"Well, thank William for that," Buffy grumbled, trying to appear hurt that both of them were ganging up on her. Okay, so she wouldn't be winning any chef awards anytime soon, but that didn't mean that Dawn had to keep bringing up the Christmas when she'd almost burnt the apartment complex down. "He's made some suggestions for my recipes that he and his family use."

Actually, William had written down some of the recipes that he remembered from his time. He and Buffy had spent the entire afternoon together working on making this a perfect dinner. From what Buffy had test-tasted so far, all of her friends were going to be very impressed this evening.

Or, more realistically, they would simply know that she had gotten a lot of help in the kitchen this year.

Not that it mattered to her. Spending time with William was important to her, no matter what they were doing. With each passing day, she could see that they were becoming closer. And she honestly loved it.

"Do you want to help out?" Buffy asked her sister.

Dawn shook her head in response. "No, thank you. I still have some presents I have to wrap for tonight actually. I just wanted to check up on things and make sure that the place was still standing."

"Thanks for having so much faith in me," Buffy sarcastically muttered.

"Not a problem." Dawn set the fork and knife back down on the napkin and headed back to her own room.

"What did you do last year?" William asked when Dawn had left.

Buffy shook her head, muttering, "nothing."

William smiled. "Buffy, I hardly doubt Dawn said 'fire bad' without having good reason behind it."

"Fine. I was toasting some rolls in a different toaster oven and left them in for way too long," she explained. "By the time I came back, just about the whole counter was on fire...not of the good."

"No, not at all," he agreed.

"It didn't really ruin our dinner...we just didn't have any rolls," Buffy said. "Dawn has never let me live that one down. I don't think she ever will."

"Well, nevertheless, hearing this news will not change the way I think of you," William said, half-teasingly. He wanted to let her know that although she wasn't the most conscientious cook, he still did love her.

"Thank you." Buffy walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, taking a second to relax from the busy day of cooking and decorating, to simply be with William.

William closed his eyes and felt the tension automatically leave his body. It was amazing what simply holding Buffy could do to him - how it could make him feel as if he had no worries or concerns in his life. When they held each other it was just...Buffy and William.

At hearing a bubbling and sizzling noise, William opened his eyes and looked towards the stove. The pot of gravy was beginning to heavily boil and actually spilled over the edge of the pot.

"Buffy..." he started, regretfully pulling away his hands and stepping back. "It appears as if we do have a situation now."

Buffy looked behind her at the overflowing gravy and softly cursed. "Looks like an accident is bound to happen every year."

William patted her back before rubbing her shoulder. "Do not worry. At least it isn't as bad as what happened last year."

Buffy laughed. "Please. We still have forty-five minutes before anyone will be here. That gives me plenty more opportunities to destroy this place." She hugged him once more and went to the stove. "Don't worry, William, I'm just joking with you."

I hope.

Truth was, she hadn't even heard the gravy bubbling or the sound of the sauce hitting the burner. She had been so wrapped up in feeling, smelling, and touching William, that all of her other senses had been closed off. Every time she touched him, Buffy could fell herself fall just a bit more.

And for once, Buffy didn't think that was a bad thing.

 
~~~

 
Willow and Tara were the first to arrive at Buffy's apartment. Dawn, who was ecstatic over getting to see Buffy's friends after spending four months away at college, opened the door with a wide grin on her face. She saw that the two women were carrying three bags filled with presents, and Dawn couldn't help but become a bit giddy as the holiday spirit overtook her. She just loved spending her favorite holiday with all of her best friends.

"Hey Dawnie!" Willow greeted, walking up to hug her after setting the presents down beside the door. "I've missed you so much! How was your first semester?"

"It was awesome," she replied. "My grades still haven't been posted yet, but I feel pretty good about all of my finals." Dawn turned and waved to Tara. "Oh, I've missed you two so much."

"We've missed you too," Tara said softly, hugging Dawn in greeting as well. "Bronze nights just aren't the same without you there."

"Yeah, they're more fun!" Buffy joked from inside the kitchen.

"You know you miss me!" Dawn replied, which was the truth.

"How is the feast coming along?" Willow asked as she took off her coat and hung it by the front door. "It sure does smell good. And here I was thinking Buffy was just an average cook."

Dawn nodded. "Oh, trust me, she is most definitely an average cook-"

"Hey! I can hear what you two are saying!" Buffy cried out.

"But William has been helping her all day," Dawn continued. "And this guy can seriously cook, you guys. It's like...old fashioned, made from scratch cooking."

"That's great," Willow said. "So, you approve of William?"

"Yes, he has the official Dawn seal of approval. I spent a lot of time with him this week, and he is such a nice guy. So polite and generous. He holds the door for me all the time and insists that I sit down first when we eat," Dawn gushed. "He's totally into my sister, which is just nice to see. And she's been like...pod-person-happy all week long."

Willow nodded, understanding what Dawn was saying perfectly since she had seen the same "pod-person-happy" Buffy at work. Both she and Anya were certain that her change in personality was due to William's presence. It had been a long time since they had seen Buffy act so excited about going home for the evening or simply picking up dinner, and if William was the reason for it, then he was officially on Willow's good side.

Willow was about the close the door when a hand reached out to stop it from moving.

"Hey, hey, let's not close the door quite yet," a voice said on the other side of the door. "I come bearing tides of good joy...or what we call presents in this day and age."

"Xander!" Dawn shrieked, moving forward to pull the door open.

Xander walked in the doorway and held open his arms to hug the brunette. "And how is my favorite college girl?"

Anya, who was standing behind him and holding the gifts muttered, "She'd better be the only college girl you know, Harris."

Xander smiled; the holiday atmosphere completely prevented a pessimistic mood. "It's so great to see you Dawn. We've missed you around here."

"Me too," she said. "Well, come on inside, everyone. You can place the gifts over there." She pointed towards the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "Buffy and William are in the kitchen finishing up dinner."

Everyone followed Dawn into the kitchen and warm words of welcome and greetings were spoken throughout the room from everyone.

"Hey, guys," Buffy said. "Dinner is almost done. We just have a few finishing touches left."

"Hello everyone," William said from beside Buffy. "It is wonderful to see you all again."

"It smells great," Xander said.

"Well, you should all thank William," Buffy said. "He's been helping out a lot today. I think I might have burned down the kitchen if it wasn't for him being here."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time that happened," she muttered.

"And there is no 'might' about it," William added. "Buffy would have burned down the kitchen if I had not been here, that's without a doubt."

"William!" Buffy tossed the hand towel towards his face and laughed when he failed to catch it in time.

"C'mon, everyone, take a seat," Dawn said, pulling out a chair for herself and sitting. Everyone else did the same, leaving two seats for Buffy and William.

Buffy's best dinner china and her mother's silver were laid out on the table for the group of seven. The lights were turned to their lowest setting and several festive candles were lit around the turkey that was sitting on a large tray in the center of the table.

Anya looked around the table with a satisfactory look on her face. "You really outdid yourself this year, Buffy," she said in approval. "Things look different than last year...not that it's a bad thing."

"Thanks Anya," Buffy replied, a bit surprised that Anya of all people had complimented her on all of her work. William had helped her throughout most of the day, offering little tidbits of advice on what he and his family did on their holiday. Buffy hoped that by incorporating some of his traditions into her own she had made William feel a bit more comfortable celebrating Christmas in an environment that was still unfamiliar for the most part.

"Everything really does look gorgeous this year," Tara said softly.

"Yeah, Buff...I've never seen the place look so festive," Xander agreed.

"Thank you," Buffy repeated, grateful that her friends had noticed how much time and effort she had placed in decorating the apartment this year. However, with William here to help out, things had gone even faster than usual.

Buffy set the stuffing down, which was the last dish needed to be added to the table, and then went around the table to take the covers off of the other dishes. After making sure that everything else was in place, Buffy sat down in her own chair at the head of the table. Dawn was to her right and William sat to her left, and the other two couples sat together on opposite sides of the table. She looked at everyone, watching her friends talk back and forth, and was immediately overcome with feelings of gratefulness. Buffy didn't know what she would do if she didn't have her friends in her life.

She turned to William, someone else she was grateful to having in her life - although for different reasons than all of her friends, of course. The last week had brought them even closer together. While decorating the apartment, the two had shared stories, secrets, and generally learned even more about each other in the process, more than they ever would have learned if they had only been writing to one another. Buffy smiled at him and he returned the gesture; she always loved watching his eyes light up whenever he smiled.

"Hungry?" she asked, leaning closer towards him. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

William grinned again and shortly chuckled. "I am quite famished, I do admit."

"Good." She smiled brightly at him once more, before turning her attention to her friends and clearing her throat. "Are we all set?"

Everyone quieted down, a few nodded, and they all looked at her expectantly.

"Well, first of all, merry Christmas Eve, everyone," Buffy began. Everyone repeated her words, and Buffy couldn't help but grin when she heard William say, "happy Christmas Eve."

"It's always great to have all of us get together for nights like these," she continued. "Having all of us together...Dawn back with us, and William here, reminds me of how lucky I am to have all of you in my life. So...who wants to say grace?"

No one spoke for a second and finally Dawn spoke up and said, "I will."

Everyone closed their eyes and slightly bowed their heads in prayer.

"Lord, thank you for this food that we are about to eat," Dawn started. "Tonight we celebrate Christmas Eve with food, gifts, laughter, and good company. We thank you for all that you have given us, for watching out for us, and giving us guidance and blessings. We ask that you..."

As Dawn continued speaking, Buffy opened her eyes and looked at William. His head was slightly bowed and his eyes were tightly closed. She slowly reached out and took his hand that was resting on the edge of the table. She turned his hand over and tightly wrapped her hand around his own.

At the feel of a slender hand touching his, William opened his eyes and looked over at her. When he met Buffy's eyes, he instantly smiled at the warmth he saw in her hazel orbs and returned the squeeze to her own fingertips.

William looked at her and then cast a quick look from one end of the table to the other. For some reason right then, everything hit him at once. As William looked at Willow and Tara sitting so closely together to his left, and Xander and Anya sitting together on the other side of the table, he suddenly realized that he truly did belong with this group. For the first time in his life, William belonged somewhere.

He had never felt like this before, but having the security of knowing he belonged to a group of friends, was just astounding. If only those idiots in the London of his time could see him now, they probably wouldn't believe that this was the same William that they had seen make a fool of himself at parties several months ago.

And his mother would be thrilled, that was without a question. She would have been so proud to see him fit in with a group of friends and to be dating such a wonderful young woman. His mother and sister would have loved Buffy, William knew that without a doubt as well. So, even though he missed his family all the time, William got through the day knowing that his mother had given them her blessing, and as long as Buffy was with him then everything would work out.

He turned back to look at Buffy again, and she made a face clearly letting him know just how hungry she was. He forced himself not to laugh and instead tried to reply with a "be serious, your sister is giving the blessing!" expression. She understood immediately and straightened her head before closing her eyes. William did the same and went back to listening to Dawn.

"So, thank you for all that you have given us. Amen," she finished.

The group all sat back up and waited for whoever would speak up next.

"C'mon, I'm hungry," Buffy complained. "Xander, you should do the manly thing and cut up the turkey."

"Yes ma’am," he said, standing up and picking up the cutting knife and fork beside the turkey. "Let's get this bird cut into."

"Alright everyone, help yourself," Buffy said.

They didn't need to be told twice. Everyone started serving themselves a helping of whatever was the closest to them. Dishes and plates were passed back and forth and everyone started talking about whatever came to mind.

And throughout it all, William couldn't remember having ever had such a fun time.

 
~~~

TBC


Thank you all for the lovely reviews last chapter! I hope you enjoyed the newest one - please leave a review and let me know.

This was originally suppose to be much longer, but I decided to split up the next two chapters because it was just SO long. The next chapter will be filled with plenty of Wuffy love - it's the Christmas spirit, everyone! :) But honestly, I do hope that everyone enjoyed the newest chapter and will let me know any comments, thoughts, complaints, etc.

Oh, and THANK YOU to whoever nominated me at Love Last's Glimpse Awards! AH!! Talk about "no pressure" - but I'm very excited to be nominated at so many places with so many other great authors. So thank you to the folks who are my nominating elves - it's a real thrill, let me tell you!

Thanks everyone and take care! Until next time.





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