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Chapter 22


“So how did it go last night?” Willow asked from the other side of the
curtain that acted as a dressing room. “Considering Spike ran after you
like his hair was on fire.”

Buffy smiled at her choice of words before speaking. “Well, let’s see…the
man who is the father of my child chased after me to confront me in an alley
and confess his love for me but didn’t even mention the child he’s never
seen. So, peachy with a side of keen, that would be me.”

“Well, to be fair, Buffy…it’s like you said, he’s never seen Michael,”
Willow called out. “Not that I’m saying it’s right,” she added as an
afterthought. “It’s just I think you were his first priority.”

“I guess,” Buffy said softly.

“So what are the chances that you two will-“

“Willow, don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Buffy said, pacing around the
dressing area, watching the reflection of three other Buffy’s pace with her
as she walked in front of the mirrors. “You know things are different now.
You can’t just go back to the way things were, and I…I wouldn’t want to.”

“Really?”

“Things are different now,” Buffy repeated in a much softer voice, her resolve cracking.

Willow decided to drop the subject as she opened the curtain. Buffy gasped
at the sight of the redhead. Her hair spilled around her shoulders in soft
curls, the white A-line dress accentuating all of her best features.

“Oh my God, Wills, you look gorgeous!”

“Really?” Willow asked nervously as she walked over to the mirrors to
examine her reflection.

“Yes ‘really’! You look stunning! Xander’s not going to know what hit him.”

“What about my hair?” Willow asked, gathering it up at the base of her neck.
“I was thinking about wearing it up.”

“Don’t you dare,” Buffy said with a smile. “The curls are perfect with that
dress. Oh, I can’t believe in a week you’re going to be married,” she
continued with tears in her eyes. “It’s just too much.”

“Don’t you start crying, Buffy Summers, or I will have to kill you for
making me cry.”

Buffy laughed at her friend, brushing the tears away as the seamstress
walked up. “You look lovely, Miss Rosenburg. Let’s get these final
alterations, and then we’ll see to Miss Summers.”

“Ooh, I haven’t even seen my dress,” Buffy said excitedly. “You don’t have
me in some lovely little radioactive number, do you?” she asked with a
wicked grin.

“No, but now that you mention it, I still think something in green would be good
for your skin tone. You know, they say you’re supposed to make the
bridesmaids look horrible so the focus is on the bride.”

Buffy laughed. “I guarantee the focus will be on you,” she assured her
friend. “I’ll just be the window dressing.”

“You couldn’t be window dressing even if you tried,” Willow said with a
laugh.

“Well then, don’t put me in anything too horrible or I’ll be taking the
focus off you, but not in a good way.”

“Don’t worry,” Willow said with a smile. “You’ll be wearing a tastefully
simple black dress.”

“Sounds good to me,” Buffy said, sitting down in one of the plush chairs and
flipping through a bridal magazine.

Both were quiet for a few minutes until the seamstress walked away to get
some more pins.

“Buffy,” Willow said quietly. “I have a confession to make.”

Buffy put down the magazine, worried from Willow’s quiet tone. “What is it,
Wills?”

“Well, you know how Michael is the ring bearer?”

“Considering he’s my son, yes, Willow, I know that he’s in the wedding,”
Buffy said with a smile. “Even if he is a little young.”

“He’ll be adorable,” Willow said, waving her hand dismissively. “But
actually…I kind of invited Spike.”

Buffy’s eyes widened as her heart rate skyrocketed. “What?”

“Well, his son is in the wedding. I thought it would be the nice thing to
do,” Willow said in a meek voice.

“A son he’s never seen, Wills.”

“Now to be fair-“

“Yes, Willow, I know that I’ve never given him a reason to see him, but
that’s not the point! He hasn’t seen him for the past eighteen months, why
would he care to see him in the wedding?”

“If you want me to uninvite him, I will.”

Buffy took a deep breath, knowing that she was being selfish. “No, don’t do
that. I don’t want you to have to worry about hurting his feelings just
because I’m acting like a teenager.”

“To be fair, you were a teenager just a few months ago,” Willow said with a
smile, giggling when Buffy picked up a discarded veil and threw it at her
friend.

* * * * *

Buffy spotted his car even before she pulled onto Revello. “Perfect,” she
muttered, throwing her car into park and stepping out. Spike got out of
the Desoto, staying where he was.

She stood next to her car for a moment. It was clear that it was up to her
to make the next move. Either go into the house and put the past behind her
for good, or give him the chance to talk to her. With a sigh, she took a few
hesitant steps toward the street, letting him walk the rest of the way.

“Buffy,” he said with a nod of his head.

“Hello, Spike,” she said quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you,” he said softly, looking into her eyes.

“Okay,” she agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Where’ve you been?”

“School,” Buffy said softly. “Dad surprisingly pulled some strings and got
me enrolled in Pepperdine.” Spike’s eyes widened as Buffy continued. “I’m
working on my Bachelor’s degree. I’m halfway finished.”

“That’s…that’s wonderful, Buffy.”

Buffy nodded, unable to make eye contact with him as she crossed her arms
over her chest.

“What about money?” Spike asked, guilt lacing his words.

“Another shocker…Mom talked to Dad and he paid for all the prenatal care.”

Spike’s eyes widened. That was the last thing that he’d expected to hear.

“She said that it was the least he could do and he apparently agreed,” Buffy murmured.

Spike hung his head, knowing that it was the least he could do, not Buffy’s father.

“And…the baby?” he asked quietly.

“Michael,” she whispered, finally looking at him. “His name is Michael.”

Spike gave her a gentle smile. “How is he?”

“He’s amazing,” Buffy said with a soft smile, forgetting who she was talking
to while discussing her pride and joy. “The sweetest, most loving little
boy in the world. He’s really smart, knows just how to test people. He’s got my mom
trained to do anything he wants. He knows he can get away with it.”

Spike felt the lump in his throat. “Do you think I could…”

“You want to meet him?”

“If you’re okay with it,” he said softly. “I don’t want to do anything to
upset you.”

Before Buffy could answer, a silver Mercedes pulled in the driveway. Spike
looked at it questioningly as the door swung open, revealing a tall,
dark-haired man in a suit.

“Hey, babe,” he said with a smile to Buffy as he took off his sunglasses. “Sorry I’m late.”

Spike’s brow furrowed as the man approached. He felt as if his heart
shattered when he saw the man take Buffy in his arms and leave a tender kiss
on her lips.

Buffy pulled back with a flushed face.

‘I really didn’t want to go through with this right now,’ Buffy thought to herself. ‘It was going to happen sooner or later, but could he have worse timing? He was supposed to be here this morning.’

“Spike,” she said softly. “This is Angel.”

That was it. No other introduction was needed. Spike understood the role
this man played in her life, and he felt the last remains of hope drift away.





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