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“Marriage means commitment. Of course, so does insanity.” ~ unknown


“We want you to get married.”
“You want me to what!?” Buffy squealed in response. Her eyes nearly doubled in size as she stared at Giles. He winced at the shrillness of her voice. Fortunately it was not often a tone that he heard. “Have you completely lost your mind? What could that possibly solve?”
“It would mean that you are living with someone who could hopefully protect you should anything happen. It would also make you unavailable romantically. This would hopefully either deter him, or draw him out of the woodwork so to speak.” Giles kept his voice as calm as possible. He had expected this sort of reaction, he only hoped that she didn’t storm out of his office when she heard the rest of it.
“Couldn’t someone just move in with me?” she asked, trying her best not to comprehend why marriage seemed like the best option to Giles. “I don’t see why they have to marry me. That just seems so….permanent.”
Giles sighed. Of course she would see it that way. “This isn’t a permanent arrangement, Buffy. Once this man is caught the charade will be over. An annulment is, or at least should be, easily achieved due to the nature of the situation.”
“I still don’t see why it has to be marriage, Giles.”
“Buffy, how many of your friends would believe that you suddenly decided to move in with someone?” Giles asked eyeing her. He saw her shoulders slump in defeat when she realized he had made a valid point. “This is something that we have considered from several different angles. This seems to be best possible solution. As I already mentioned we are hoping that this will either cause him to make a mistake so we can catch him, or perhaps even deter him.”
Buffy scrunched up her nose in annoyance and thought about what Giles had had said. “I still don’t see how getting married will stop this guy from writing crappy love notes to me and following me around.”
Giles again removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be more difficult than he had thought. “Since this person has a fascination with you we feel that it will either cause him to lose interest in you, or perhaps it will make him angry. If he’s angry he may slip up somehow and the authorities will be able to apprehend him.”
“So I can’t just be dating someone? Or living with them?” The idea of getting married did not appeal to Buffy. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in ages. Who was she supposed to marry?
Giles shook his head. “I don’t believe that would be enough.”
“Why?” Buffy was starting to get over her shock and was now prepared to argue her point to Giles. She was not going to just give in without proof that there was no other option.
“Getting married will ruin his fun. Right now he believes that he has a chance with you. If you were to get married you would be unavailable. You are not the type of person to have an affair, and he must know that. I assure you that this man is not going to be happy with the idea that he has lost you. He will make a mistake and he will be caught.” Giles sounded far more confident than he felt, but he knew it would do no good to let Buffy see that.
“I guess that’s logical.” Buffy reluctantly conceded. It was true that given her history it would be farfetched for those who knew her to believe that she suddenly had moved in with someone that she had just met. Then again it would be just as illogical for them to believe that she suddenly got married as well. Deep in thought she reached out to take the rose from Giles’ desk. She absentmindedly began picking at the leaves while she thought.
“It’s very logical,” he agreed.
“Okay, but how will he be caught if this plan deters him?” Buffy needed to find flaw in this plan, and fast before Giles had her married off and having kids. It would no longer surprise her if he tried.
Giles regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before he spoke knowing that he would need a convincing argument. “To be honest, Buffy, it will not in all likelihood deter him. Right now, doing nothing, he has all the power. We need to take that away from him. He needs something to cause him to slip up and this seems to be a good option. If it were to stop it, I can’t exactly say that it wouldn’t have been worth it.”
“Worth it?!” Buffy screeched and Giles winced again. Perhaps he should have invested in some earplugs for this conversation. “Giles you’re asking me to get married! I don’t want to get married! Hell, I don’t know who I would marry. It’s not like I have candidates lining up around the block just waiting to marry me. Tell me how can this be worth it?” Buffy couldn’t believe that Giles, of all people, had come up with a plan like this. It didn’t sound like him. In fact, Buffy had always thought that he would be happy if she never married. He had always told her that no one was good enough for her. That was one reason she had stopped telling him about anyone she had even considered dating…he would never approve. And it wasn’t as if she had had the time for a relationship anyway.
“Buffy, your safety is our first priority. I’m not asking you to marry a man off the streets, and you’re not being asked to stay married. This is only a temporary arrangement.”
“This just seems like an awful big deal over a few lousy love notes.” Buffy countered, a pout starting to form on her face.
Giles let out a sigh. “A few?! Buffy, there have been more than a few. And your safety is extremely important to me. There is nothing that would be as you say a ‘big deal’ if it means keeping you safe.” Buffy looked up shocked at the outburst from her pseudo-father. “This man is obsessed with you, Buffy. He fancies himself in love with you, and he firmly believes that you belong to him. I know that perhaps getting married is a little extreme, but I have to agree with those whom we have consulted. It just might work.”
“Fine.” Buffy said sharply. “But honestly, how am I supposed to get married when I don’t even have a boyfriend?” She was not about to get married to a total stranger, no matter how convincing Giles was in his argument. She smirked as she sat back in her chair thinking she just might have outwitted him. There was no way he would make her marry a man she didn’t know. Of that she was absolutely sure. Her smirk faded quickly when he quickly cleared his throat and looked away from her. That was not a good sign.
“Oh, no! Giles you so did not….” Buffy was suddenly sitting up straighter in her chair as she started at Giles. She didn’t like it when he wouldn’t look her in the eye. It meant he already had a plan, and that it was going to go the way he wanted it to. It was impossible to argue with him when he did this. Suddenly it became clear to her that he had already chosen someone for her to marry and she wasn’t going to have much choice in the matter. Damn him!
“I did,” Giles confirmed, returning his gaze to her. He noticed how her eyes had dulled in defeat and he sighed. He hadn’t wanted it to go this way.
Buffy slumped back in the chair in defeat and groaned. It couldn’t get much worse. There was no way it could get worse…but then again stranger things had happened. She tossed the rose back on Giles’ desk, completely devoid of leaves, having nervously picked them off while listening to him.
“What’s the damage?” her voice had turned meek as she had lost the energy and will to protest further. She knew it would be futile. Perhaps if she went along with it, it would be over soon.
Giles didn’t respond immediately, which worried her. She had been sure that he already had chosen someone, but he seemed reluctant to tell her.
Leaning back in his chair, Giles contemplated the best way to present this to her. Perhaps if she felt that she had choices, this would go over better. Not that she really had a choice in the matter, but he knew that she would immediately shoot down the first two options he had very briefly considered. That he was absolutely sure of.
“I had several options in mind,” he said slowly. “Should we go over them?”
Shocked Buffy just nodded her head. Relaxing slightly, Giles leaned back in his chair. “The first option that I considered was Riley,” He knew it would come as a surprise to her that he knew about her brief relationship with him, but word often got back to him. It would probably shock her to know how much he really knew. He wasn’t quite as out of date or oblivious as they all thought.
“Absolutely not, Giles. I barely know the man. We went out on like two dates.” She tilted her head thoughtfully and belatedly asked, “How did you know about him?”
“Buffy, the things that get back to me would astound you.” Giles told her. He gave her a smirk of his own at her annoyed look. “Well if he is off the table I suggest we move on to the next option.”
“Bring it on,” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, which did not amuse Giles in the slightest.
“Xander.” Giles said the name and waited for the outburst he knew would come.
“Ewwww!” she said with a disgusted snort. “There is no way! Xander is like my brother.”
Giles smirked inwardly having known that would be her response. He hadn’t honestly considered Xander, knowing that it would never be convincing to the people closest to her. Xander and Willow had grown up together and were the best of friends. When Buffy and her mother had moved to Sunnydale when she was just barely a teen she had instantly bonded with the two. People around the three of them often commented on the close sibling like relationship that they had. But he had offered to give her options so he was.
“Well then, I guess you will just have to settle for our final option, if you find the first two so unfavorable.”
“It can’t get much worse than what you already suggested, so I guess I don’t have much choice.” Buffy said mentally preparing herself for his response. Oh how she suddenly wished she could take that back. What had possessed her to say that? It could get worse, much worse, and she was only beginning to realize it.
“So it’s settled, you will marry Spike.”

If Buffy could have taken back her statement about it getting worse she would. It had definitely gotten worse. Giles actually wanted her to marry Spike. The man she had secretly crushed on for years. The man she had to admit deep down that she knew she loved. It should be like a dream come true, but instead it was like her worst nightmare. She would never be able to get out of it with her heart intact.
“Nope, no way!” she cried out. “I’ll marry Xander.”
“Buffy, it doesn’t have to be a marriage in every sense of the word, you know that. It just needs to be convincing. I know you two can pull this off.” What he didn’t want to admit to her was that Spike actually played an integral role in her security. Perhaps it would have gone better had he presented it to her that way, but he had felt that keeping her in the dark about the specifics behind Spikes sudden return would work out to their advantage for the time being. He also knew that she had fancied Spike for quite some time. He had been privy to the knowledge that they had started forging a relationship 3 years ago. That was, in part, why he was certain that this would work. They had chemistry, he couldn’t deny it.
“Giles, you know our history. This can’t end well for me.” Giles steeled himself against the pleading sound in Buffy’s voice. It wasn’t often that he could deny her when she pleaded with him like that, but today was not a good day to give in.
“Buffy, I offered you three options. Trust me when I say that, while at times it may pain me to admit it, Spike is a good man and the best option. He can blend in. Most of your friends already know him. They know how you have felt about him.” He ignored Buffy’s gasp of surprise. How could she not have known that nearly everyone at the rink knew about her crush on Spike? “If you truly believe that you cannot make this work we can try to figure out another plan, but believe me when I say that I honestly feel that this is our best chance to catch this man.”
Buffy stayed silent, her eyes not meeting Giles’. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she contemplated her options. A part of her inside was excited at the opportunity to possibly get close to Spike again, but another part of her was petrified of what it could mean. It had broken her heart when he left 2 years ago, and when it was all said and done she was sure he would leave again. She wasn’t sure if she could handle that.
“Buffy,” Giles said quietly tearing her from her thoughts. She looked up and saw the concern in his eyes. He was only trying to do what was best for her. She realized that. “I know this is a lot to take in. If it weren’t for the fact that this stalker is getting closer and closer to you, I would try to postpone this. The fact remains that he is getting more and more fixated on you. I’m afraid of what may happen if we don’t act now. If you agree, you and Spike will go to Las Vegas this weekend. That seems to be the best option in order to expedite things.”
“Giles….please.” Buffy pleaded one last time. “There has to be another way.” She wasn’t sure she could survive being married to Spike. It was like dangling a plate of food in front of a starving man. She was being given the chance to marry the man of her dreams, and yet she just knew it was only going to be snatched way at the last minute, leaving her brokenhearted.
“I gave you options, Buffy. However, I guarantee that Spike is the best choice. I know the two of you aren’t exactly close anymore. I don’t pretend to understand what happened when he left two years ago. But whatever happened, the fact remains that he is back, and he is the best choice. He’s the perfect match.”
“And how exactly are we to going to explain this to everyone? It’s not as if we have an existing relationship. Do you honestly think that people are going to believe that Spike and I just suddenly decided to take off and get married? Hell, just believing that Spike got married is going to be a hard sell! It’s so not his style.”
“In a word…yes.” Buffy’s jaw dropped, she had been sure that at the very least he would admit that it would be difficult to convince people that Spike had chosen to get married. Giles grinned at her surprise. “Buffy, what you don’t know about Spike would surprise you. As to what we will tell people, we will simply say that you two decided to elope. The public will be none the wiser about the situation and those that are close to you will understand. Everyone has always seen the obvious attraction between the two of you. It seems to be a rather reasonable situation.”
“I’m sure that if there is any attraction it is completely one sided. I don’t see why he would have feelings for me…anymore.” Buffy said the last word so softly that Giles almost missed it. Not looking at Giles, Buffy completely missed the soft smile that he gave her. Instead she seemed to be intently interested in something in the far corner of his office.
“I do believe the attraction is still mutual,” he said softly watching Buffy’s head snap up, her eyes wide in surprise. That had come out in the many conversations he had had with Spike as they were consulting with others about their various options. Spike worked hard to hide his attraction, something that Giles never quite understood. He had also adamantly stated that he would continue to do so even through this charade. Giles had actually laughed at him when he said it. That had earned him a glare from the young man.
“I can’t believe that, Giles, but I guess it doesn’t really matter right now. So tell me how this is going to work? When does this all take place?”
Giles felt as if a weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. He had prevailed; Buffy was going to go through with the plan. “The plan is for you to leave the day after tomorrow, Thursday. The two of you will fly to Las Vegas, get married and then return here. Spike has moved into Angel’s old place. I believe it should work for the two of you. If you feel that strongly about it you can maintain your apartment. You will of course have to move a number of items to the house. Once we catch this guy you will be able to file for an annulment.”
“Do we have to get married for real? Couldn’t we just fake something?” Buffy asked in a halfhearted attempt to protest one final time. She could probably handle a fake marriage, and what the crazy guy stalking her didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. I take that back, Buffy thought; I probably wouldn’t handle any type of marriage to Spike very well right now.
Giles had been prepared for that question. It actually surprised him that she hadn’t brought it up sooner. “This needs to be as believable as possible, Buffy. Since we don’t know much about this man, we don’t know how close he may be to you already. It isn’t worth the risk of him finding out that it is a charade. If you are legally married, he shouldn’t have any doubts. And I assure you, when it is all over we will work to make the dissolution as painless as possible.”
Buffy snorted. Painless, yeah right! But she had to admit, it was a pretty convincing plan. And while she had only known about her stalker less than an hour the idea of how close he seemed to have already gotten scared her. And she trusted Giles. She knew that he wouldn’t push her to do something that he didn’t firmly believe was absolutely necessary.
“Okay,” she sighed. “I really don’t see that I have any other choice.”
Giles smiled warmly at her. “This will keep you safe, Buffy.” He got a sly look on his face. “Perhaps it will also give you and Spike the opportunity to explore some possibilities.”
“Giles!” Buffy exclaimed nearly shooting out of her chair. “What is it with you people? Why does everyone think that Spike and I should get together?”
“It is just a suggestion. I know that I normally don’t get involved in your personal affairs, but I have to admit that I think given half a chance you might be surprised at what you and Spike could achieve together. Now why don’t you go speak to your future husband? I do believe there are a few details that he felt you should have the opportunity to give an opinion on.”
“He already knows?!” Of course he already knows, Buffy thought almost immediately. How could Giles have arranged everything if Spike hadn’t been in on the plan before? Gee, I wonder who else knows about this. It truly pissed her off to think that everyone knew what was going on but her. Hmm, I wonder if Willow knows. Then again how could she? She seemed just as surprised as me when she read the note.
“As I said, Buffy, most of this has already been planned. Arrangements had to be made with the authorities and the security firm that we consulted with had to work out a number of details. All I needed was to get your approval. Spike has also insisted that you get to plan a few things concerning your wedding.”
“Great, thanks Giles.” Standing, Buffy moved towards the door, knowing that their meeting was over. She might as well go and see Spike. Her day was just getting more and more interesting. And she had thought she had problems deciding what to do about the upcoming season.
“Buffy,” he called before she could disappear out of the office. Buffy turned, her hand poised on the door knob. “Please don’t discuss this with anyone, not even Willow. It is imperative that everyone believe this. The only people here at the rink that know about this besides myself, is your coach Lorne, Tara and of course Spike. The fewer people who know the better, they need to believe that you and Spike are truly married and that you did it of your own accord. I don’t even want to tell Dawn unless it becomes absolutely necessary.”
“I don’t want to lie to my sister, Giles.” Buffy said softly.
“It’s important, Buffy. The fewer people know the better it is. If it becomes a problem we can discuss it with her together.”
Buffy nodded and twisted the handle. “And Buffy,” the tone of voice he used made her pause and look back. She had never seen Giles look so worn out. It made her wonder exactly how worried he truly was. “Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it is a large inconvenience, but hopefully it will all be over soon.”
“I’m only doing this because I trust you, Giles. I know you have my best interests in mind. If this will work and help catch this creep, I guess it will all be worth it.” She admitted quietly.
“It will be okay, Buffy. I promise.”
Buffy nodded and slipped out of Giles’ office quietly closing the door behind her. Taking a deep breath she walked down the hallway past the two doors that separated Giles’ office from Spike’s. Thankfully the door was closed when she got there. She paused wondering if she should knock or just walk in. Taking a deep, calming breath she opted to knock.


Chapter End Notes:
Hmmm, I didn't realize trying to keep this updated on more than one site would be so crazy! I will keep trying my best to keep it up to date. Hope everyone is enjoying it so far!



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