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Part thirty-nine.....

I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You


~~~~~~~~~~
"Moon so bright, night so fine
Keep your heart here with mine
Life's a dream we are dreaming.."
~~~~~~~~~~


"Go inside and get your things," William said,
giving Buffy a slight nudge. "We'll leave right now.
Driving straight through to Mexico, we can be there
by early evening."

Buffy smiled hugely and turned to run up the
staircase, his coat dragging on the steps behind
her. Halfway up, she stopped and turned
around, looking down at him with a dismayed ex-
pression.

"Problem?" he asked.

"Well," she said fretfully. "Maybe a small one. I don't
think my mother will let me get married just yet."

He gave her a shrug and a shake of his head. "I'm
sure she won't. That's why we can't stop and ask her
permission." He came up the steps after her. "Buffy,
you can't tell your mother about this until it's over."

Staring at him with wide eyes, Buffy wrung her hands
together. Another secret to be kept from her mother.
Another lie to add to all the ones she'd already told
her...both necessary and not.

But, there was a larger problem than that particular
one. Her mom had been planning imaginary weddings
for her almost from the day of her birth.

Joyce and Hank Summers had married young, just
barely out of school. Parental disapproval had forced
them to sacrifice any hope of a huge, splashy wedding.
Instead, they had eloped to Las Vegas, and their marriage
ceremony had been performed in a faux wedding chapel on
the strip, right next door to Circus-Circus.

Everything had been fake. The flowers provided
were plastic and in serious need of dusting. The music
was canned and tinny, emerging from a cassette player
that kept sticking. They'd purchased their rings in a
pawn shop, cheap gold bands that had been left there
by some unlucky gambler in need of funds and never
reclaimed.

Even though the couple had gone on to lead a happy
life together for several years, Joyce had never really
forgotten the seedy chapel that had carried a slight smell
of vomit and Lysol, an aroma left over from the extremely
nervous and very drunk couple who'd exchanged vows before
them.

Her parents had always planned to renew their vows, to
do it properly when they could afford it, but the marriage
fell apart and the dream died with it.

Joyce had told Buffy this sorry tale more than once over
the years, promising her that when the day came for HER
to marry, the wedding would be everything she herself
had always wanted, but never achieved.


~~~~~~~~~~
"Race the moon, catch the wind
Ride the night to the end
Seize the day, stand up for the light.."
~~~~~~~~~~

Now, history was repeating itself.

Logically, Buffy knew that her wedding would be a
far cry from what her mother had experienced. William
would see to it, and would probably spend a small
fortune to make it so.

The ring on her hand was proof of that.

He would find some exotically beautiful location,
would outfit her in a gown meant for royalty, and
would buy every flower in the country of Mexico,
never counting the cost.

But the cost would be exceedingly dear, all the
same. Emotionally as well as financially.

Buffy didn't even want to imagine the look on
her mother's face if she were to suddenly drop
out of sight, then reappear with a husband in
tow.

William's voice jolted her out of her gloomy train
of thought.

"Darling...we have to leave now. The sun will be up
soon," he said, urging her up the stairs.

She had never felt so completely pulled in opposite
directions.

On the one hand, there was nothing she
wanted more in the world than to be properly married to
her lover. Just the thought of being Mrs. William
Hamilton was enough to make shivers of pure
happiness chase through her.

Then there was the other hand. The one that was
waving a frantic S.O.S., telling her that setting this
plan in motion would have repercussions that she'd
never dreamed of and was not prepared for.

The question was, which hand should she listen
to?

It was an agonizing decision, one which would
bring her to tears any moment now, she just knew it.

**This is SO not fair! Why does being an adult
about things have to be so hard?**

Not knowing which way to turn, she began
unconsciously throwing up road blocks.

"I'm not exactly sure how this will work," she said,
gazing at him appealingly. "I don't think you'll be
able to pass a blood test."

William smiled at her. "That's why we're going
to Mexico. We won't need them."

"Oh. Okay, that's...good." She climbed another
step, then stopped and turned back around. "Will
it be legal?"

He nodded. "Mostly."

"But not totally?"

"Well, sweetheart...I AM a vampire. I'm not up on
all the necessary criteria for getting married, but I'm fairly
certain that both parties have to be alive."

"I suppose that's best." Another step...and another
halt. "A license! What about a license?"

"We'll have one," he assured her.

"Yeah, but..."

"False papers." He supplied the answer before she
could finish the question.

Buffy was surprised. "You have those?"

"Mm-hmm," he replied. "I update them every few
years. They aren't hard to get, if you know the right
people."

"Really?" She swallowed hard. "Which papers do you have?"

William leaned against the railing. "Birth certificate. Pass-
port. Medical records. Whatever I need to conduct
business in your world."

"Business?" Buffy asked. "You have a business? What
kind of a business?"

"Financial business, for the most part," he explained. "I
have a lot of money. I can't carry it around with me, or
stuff it in a mattress. Now," He looked at her speculatively. "Tell
me why you're stalling."


~~~~~~~~~~
"I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do.."
~~~~~~~~~~


"Stalling?" she asked, sounding as though she couldn't
believe her ears. "Who's stalling? You think I'M stall-
ing? I'm not...really. I'm just...I'm..." She ran out of steam
and had to fess up. "I guess I'm stalling."

William sat down on the step, taking her hand and
pulling her down beside him. "Buffy," he said earnestly,
kissing her fingers. "I love you very much. I always
will. As far as I'm concerned, you're already my
wife."

He smoothed her hair back from her face. "I know
it's hard to wait. But we're going to have a long life
together, baby. I swear I'll make it happen, whatever
it takes."

Buffy scooted closer, then climbed into his lap
without waiting to be asked. His arms wrapped
snugly around her, and he nuzzled her hair.

"I'm not going anywhere," he went on. "And when
you're a bit older, we'll talk to your mother and
make sure she knows that I'll take very good care
of you."


~~~~~~~~~~
"Heroes rise, heroes fall
Rise again, win it all
In your heart, can't you feel the glory?"
~~~~~~~~~~


The relief on her face was almost comical, and
he had to struggle to keep from laughing.

William had never had any intention of whisking
Buffy out of the country for some quickie marriage on
the other side of the border. When the time came for
them to be married in the eyes of society, he was
going to make sure that his bright eyed princess had
a dream wedding, the sort of extravagant gala befitting
her beauty.

But, he'd had to make her understand that such
things were worth waiting for, and that they would have
all the time in the world together before they made a
final commitment.

Being older and far more experienced, he knew that
once she felt secure in his re-appearance in her life,
her fearful anxiety would begin to taper off.

Then, in another year perhaps, when she was seventeen,
they would be married.

There was nothing in the world that would stop it from
happening.

~~~~~~~~~~
"Through our joy, through our pain
We can move worlds again
Take my hand
Dance with me...."
~~~~~~~~~~

"William?"

"What, baby?"

"Were we really going to Mexico tonight?"

He smiled against her soft hair. "If that had been what
you truly wanted, we'd be on our way now."

Buffy sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I
want to marry you. I want us to be together all the
time...but I want my mother to be there when it
happens."

"I know you do." William eased her off his lap and tugged
her to her feet. "Now...you go inside and get some
sleep. I'll call you this afternoon and we'll make plans
for tonight."

Buffy handed him his coat. "Tonight?"

He nodded and cupped her chin in his hand. "I think
it's time you introduced me properly to your mother,
don't you?"

She looked worried and relieved at the same time.

"Yes. I've told her a lot about you, but...I'm just afraid
that she'll think you're too old for me."

William had been concerned about that as well. He'd
given the problem sincere consideration and had only
been able to come up with one possible way of dealing
with it.

"Buffy," he said hesitantly, pulling his coat on. "I think
maybe it's time to tell your mother everything."

Her head jerked up, and she stared at him with her
mouth slightly open. "Everything?" she said, her
voice squeaking with alarm. "You mean...everything?"

He knew what she was thinking, and he quickly
spoke to calm her. "No. Not everything about us, love.
I'm certain she's not ready for that," he said, rubbing
his hands up and down her arms. "I meant that it's time to
tell her that you're not an ordinary sixteen year old girl."

Agitated, she ran one hand through her hair. "Actually,
it might be easier to tell her everything about us," she
said doubtfully.

"Baby, you can't keep it from her forever. I think that if
she knows how special you are, she might not be as
worried about...other things."

Buffy sighed heavily. He was right, as he always was. The
only way she would be able to be with him required total honesty
on her part. She would have to sit her mom down and....

"Will you be there with me?" she asked, hanging on
to his arm. "When I tell her? Please?"

He pulled her into his arms. "Of course I will. You think
I'd let you go through that alone?"

Buffy burrowed her own arms beneath his coat, wrapping
them snugly around his waist, and pressing her cheek
against his chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

William smiled and tilted her face up to kiss her.

"You're welcome."


~~~~~~~~~~
"I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime loving you..."
~~~~~~~~~~


TBC....





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