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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to everyone. All the readers here and everyone who reviewed this fiction. It was very special to me and I hope it was special to all of you.
Luv, Spuf
YOU NEVER CAN TELL


Epilogue: ‘You Never Can Tell’ (Reprise)


‘Sunnydale, California 1989’

“Everybody,” the groom, dressed in a rather unique, all black tux, shirt, tie, etc., tapped on his champagne glass, gently with a sterling silver spoon.

The two-hundred and fifty guests at the Petroleum Club of Sunnydale halted in their partying and turned their attention to the newly married young man.

“My ‘wife’ and I,” the groom began, a little nervous all of a sudden. Especially when he realized that he was indeed a now married man, with a ‘a wife’ that was sitting next to him at the head table.

“My wonderful, beautiful, exquisite bride,” the groom continued, visibly calming himself, “of just a little more then three hours now,” he added with a slight chuckle. This caused most of the two-hundred and fifty guests to laugh or titter, at least, in warm comraderie with the nervous young man.

“Well,” he stammered, then suddenly took heart and continued, strongly, “Jennifer and I would like to thank all of you, especially Jen’s parents, William and Buffy Giles for everything today. For the wedding, the love they’ve always given Jennifer and her brothers. For accepting ‘me’ into their family, so graciously and…” the groom, Jake Jesse Green, choked up a little, as he tried to fight his happy tears.

“My own Dad, Jesse, who passed away last year,” the groom continued carefully, “and William Giles were good friends. Just as Jen’s mother, Buffy and my own mom, Winnefred are to this day.”

Jake smiled, warmly at his mother, who sat next to Buffy Giles and her sister, Dawn Crawford. Buffy patted Fred’s arm, affectionately and beamed up at her new son-in-law, then over at her daughter, Jennifer Joyce Giles-Green.

“Dad would be so damned pleased about all this,” Jake continued, his voice shaky with emotion. Buffy was pleased to see her Jennifer place her own tiny hand on her new husband’s to comfort him.

“We’re all pleased, son,” Spike Giles piped up from next to his wife of twenty-five years, Buffy Summers Giles.

“Thanks Dad,” Jake grinned at his new father-in-law, happily.

Jennifer Joyce Giles-Green stood up and wrapped her left arm about her new husband. “What my tongue tied groom is trying to say, Dad, Mum, Winnefred,” she gazed at her still beautiful parents and Jake’s mom, lovingly. “He’s trying to say that ‘we love you’ and that we are truly blessed to have you in our lives.” The bride finished by standing on her tip toes and kissing her rather tall groom full on the lips.

“Here here!” cried a near balding Hank Summers, who sat next to Dawn’s husband, Connor.

“Quite!” a silver haired Rupert Giles toasted the couple with his glass of bubbly and winked at his wife, Jennifer.

“They’re just perfect together,” Joyce Summers sighed in contentment. She too was silver haired by now and the grandmother of the four offspring of William and Buffy’s, and Connor and Dawn’s brood of three children.

“They better play some decent music at this shindig,” Spike muttered to his wife, discreetly. “If I hear any crap from one of those lousy grunge bands? I’m going home and…”

“For God’s sake, Will,” Buffy hissed, but smiled in spite of it, “I suppose our folks thought ‘our’ music was horrid.”

“Your mum loved Elvis, you told me that, Princess. Remember?” Spike whispered as he took his wife’s tiny hand in his and brought it to his lips. For a tender kiss.

“Yes,” Buffy murmered, “I forgot about that,” she sighed with a warm, soft smile.

“It’s just that this crap that passes for music today? Christ, it sounds like a bunch of wailing mourners and…” Spike was shushed by Buffy, who was not grinning, affectionately at her last born child.

Sean William Giles, seventeen years of age, flopped down next to his mum and dad’s chairs. He wore the look of a young man in deep inner turmoil.

“What’s wrong dear,” Buffy asked, concerned by the sad look on her son’s face. And on such a happy occasion, too.

“Yeah, what’s the problem, son,” Spike chuckled, “lose your ear stud? Nope,” he continued, eyeing Sean’s left earlobe, “it’s still there.” Spike realized he sounded almost disappointed at this.

“Ha, bloody ha, Dad,” Sean mumbled, his blue eyes downcast and dark. “It’s Candy,” the teen sighed and kicked the table leg nearest him. “She’s flirtin’ around that loser, Liam Crawford. Just tryin’ to make me jealous and shit. I’m sick of this shit,” the young man hissed, dejectedly.

“That’s enough of that talk, young man,” Buffy growled at her youngest child. “Who cares if the little brat flirts with your cousin, just go flirt with some other girl. There’s plenty of pretty girls around here for you to dance with and spend time with. Right baby?” She turned to Spike, who for some reason, found this all rather funny.

“I spose,” Spike muttered, his brows scrunched together in thought. “But…”

“But what?” Sean asked, his indigo blue eyes were wide and glassy from unshed tears.

“I don’t know,” Spike stammered, “but if it were me? I’d go tell your own girl to straighten up. Then, I’d go kick your cousin’s arse for even encouraging your woman to flirt with him. Of course,” Spike smirked, “with a dad like my cousin Angel? Poor Liam is probably doomed to be a bloody ponce for life, eh, Sean?”

Sean thought about ‘that’ for a moment, then broke out in the most dazzling smile. “Right Dad,” he nodded, his expression suddenly brightening.

“Maybe if you lost the earring, the leather duster and the ‘big bad’ look,” Spike needled his boy, “Candy would consider sticking with you. What do you think, baby?” He grinned at Buffy, a wicked gleam in his own blue eyes.

“I seem to remember a certain teen that owned a leather jacket and had a particular ‘big bad’ rebellious personna, once,” Buffy giggled, allowing her William to plant a kiss on her lips.

“Yeah, Dad,” Sean nodded, gleefully, “me and my friends? We’re not traditional, we’re rebels.”

“No, you all look like bleedin’ idiots,” Spike retorted, good-naturedly. “Now me and your Uncle Xander? We were rebels.”

“Yeah, that’s right, Dad,” Sean laughed, “you and Uncle Xander. The big rebels that married their high school sweeties, settled down and knocked out a bunch of rugrats over the years. You,” Sean continued merrily, “help run a big corporation, Dad. There’s rebeling, there’s stickin’ it to the Establishment all right!”

“I grew up?” Spike stammered defensively. “I mean, I had to provide, for your mum, you brats. What was I supposed to do?”

“Dad,” Sean chuckled, “you did good, okay?” The teen reached over and patted his dad’s shoulder, gently. “No complaints Dad, or for you, Mum, either,” he added.

“Now, Uncle Xander, on the other hand,” Sean began with an evil smirk, “he’s the epitome of middle class, that’s for sure. He runs a construction company, kisses Aunt Anya’s ass and still probably even votes straight Republican on every ticket.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Xander asked defensively as he joined the little group at the head table.

“Nothing, Xander,” Spike offered sympathetically. “My wild child is just talkin’ out his arse, as usual. And it all started because I stated the fact that today’s music is shit,” the older Giles mumbled.

“True, it is shit,” Xander agreed with his old friend. “Oh, hey, Buff,” the graying Harris added, “the eats are great!” he exclaimed, happily.

“Thank you Xander,” Buffy smiled at her beloved cousin. “Is Anya going to stay for the cake cutting?”

“She’s hell bent on getting over to our construction site and going over those accounts by tonight, Buff,” Xander shrugged in defeat. “You know my wife? Can’t keep her away from figuring out the money status on our construction business.”

“By the way,” Spike leaned over to ‘whisper’ to his son, Sean. “For the record? I kiss your Mum’s arse too, constantly, but don’t go on about it, understood?”

“Yes, Dad,” Sean sighed, “too bad your cousin, Angel can’t learn from you and Uncle Xander,” he shook his blond head sadly. “Maybe he wouldn’t be on his fourth marriage, huh?”

“Who knows?” Spike chuckled, wickedly. “As long as I’ve got your Mum by my side? I could give a rat’s arse what my cousin does.”

“You know, Will,” Buffy sighed in frustration, “I wish you would just forget about what Angel did to me and all,” she scowled slightly at her husband.

“Oh, I have, Princess,” Spike chuckled softly. “This is just left over contempt, for old Angel that is,” he continued with a smug grin. “The bloody fool lost you and he hasn’t been ‘right’ since. That’s okay though. I won you.”

“Yes, you did,” Buffy giggled, like a girl again and snuggled into her husband’s arms.



“Yes, Dad,” Sean chuckled in reply, “you did win Mum, didn’t you? Thank God.”

“Your father might be right, Sean,” Buffy suddenly blurted out, her brows scrunched up in thought. “Maybe you should march yourself right over there and take Candy Finn into line. After all, your Dad had to do that with me, more then once. Isn’t that right, baby?” Buffy smiled, coyly at her husband of twenty-five years.

“True,” Spike nodded and sighed heavily, “but it was worth it,” he added with a mischieveous wink at his beautiful wife.

“I think Mum had to kick some of your British ass, once or twice, Dad,” William Henry Giles joined his parents and little brother. At twenty-one, William was the taller of the three Giles’ boys, and the one that most resembled his father. Jennifer, the oldest was a clone of their mother, Buffy. Houston James, who was nearly twenty, was a mix between Spike and Buffy, as he had his mother’s green eyes. Sean was the shortest boy, but had his father’s moxie, his blue eyes and his fair hair.

“I remember one time, Sean,” William (the son) continued, a wicked grin on his handsome mouth. “Mum found out that Dad had invested some of their savings, in some stupid business venture that Uncle Xander and Riley Finn had put him up to. She literally…”

“That’s enough, William,” Buffy hissed, clasping her eldest son’s arm, in a vice like grip. “We don’t talk about ‘that’ fiasco, remember?” She shot a look of warning at William, alerting him to the fact that his mother was about on her last nerve, today, anyway.

“Yes mother,” William Henry replied with a brief chuckle and a smirk that matched his father’s. “We don’t talk about ‘that’ at all,” he finished.

“I’ll tell you later,” William mouthed to his younger brother, behind his mother’s back.

Spike signalled his eldest son, warily, trying to give the boy some warning to the consequences if he was caught out by his Mum.

Jennifer and her new husband, Jake Green, took that opportune time to intercede, dragging Houston and their Aunt Dawn with them.

“Uncle Connor’s going to make the first dance announcement, Mum!” Jennifer exclaimed, excitedly. “We, Jake and me, want you and Daddy to have the first dance, together!” She explained giddily.

“Aren’t you and Jake supposed to have a go first on the dance floor?” Spike asked, puzzled by this break in tradition.

“Yes,” Jennifer nodded quickly, “but we want you and Mum to go first, together. It’s real important, Daddy, honest.”

Spike, who could never, ever turn down his first child and only daughter’s wishes, sighed deeply and nodded. “Okay then little one,” he mumbled, a blush appearing on his face. “It’s just that your old Dad isn’t much of a dancer, not to the crap they play now anyway.”

“You’re a very good dancer,” Buffy interjected with a scowl at her handsome husband. “You’ve always danced well, for me anyway,” she giggled merrily. “We’ve never had a problem, following the steps together,” she finished with a suggestive little smirk of her own.

“Yeah but that was a different kind of dancing, sweetheart and…” Spike tweaked Buffy’s pretty cheek and waggled his dark brows.

“Too much info here, parents,” Sean groaned out loud. “We don’t need to visualize Mum and you getting’ horizontal you know!”

“Ewww,” Jennifer suddenly groaned, “do you have to be such a total geek, Sean? Besides,” the now married sister murmered with a sophisticated tone, “it’s called making love, not getting horizontal. Just because your girlfriend, Riley and Cordy Finn’s youngest child, Candy, is a loose, free wheeling little…”

“That is enough!” Buffy cried, standing up and grabbing her Spike’s hand at the same time. “Let’s get this dance around the floor started,” she ordered, firmly. “Your Dad and I have a date, later,” she finished with determination. “And we are not going to miss it!”

“That we do,” Spike chuckled loudly as he allowed his wife to pull him onto the dance floor.

“Uhm, I’d like to make an announcement,” Connor, Dawn’s husband began, carefully. “In a break with tradition, tonight,” he continued, bashfully, “the bride and groom have asked that their parents, Buffy and William Giles have the first dance together.”

Connor continued, “after the first two verses, Jennifer and Jake request that Mrs. Jesse Green, the groom’s mother, escorted by Houston Giles, join the couple on the dance floor. Next to be followed by Xander and Anya Harris, Grandpa and Grandma Summers and Giles and then, everyone who wishes to join in the dancing.”

“Jennifer, my lovely neice by marriage, has requested a very special song. One that she feels best describes her feelings for her parents, Buffy and William Giles.”


Strains of ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ began to play through the large ballroom of the Petroleum Club.

“Oh, bloody hell,” Spike groaned, low enough for just Buffy to hear, “this is the sappiest song that…”

“It’s a lovely song!” Buffy countered, letting her husband snuggle her closer to him as they slow danced together. “I just wish I could have had a song like this, at our wedding and…”

“You regret it, don’t you Princess?” Spike murmered, sadly, “I mean that we had a runaway marriage? In a podunk town in Texas when we could have had the wedding of your dreams? If we’d just waited longer and not…”

“I don’t regret a damn thing, William Giles!” Buffy hissed, softly, so just her husband could hear her. “Not a damn thing!”

“Me either,” Spike chuckled, happily as he snuggled his little wife closer to him. “I’m bloody proud of this family,” he chortled, smugly. “We’ve got the best marriage, best kids, best life that anyone could have. Don’t we Princess? And, I love you, so very much.”

“We do,” Buffy giggled, sounding forever like the young girl that had mesmerized Spike over twenty-five years before this. “And I love you, so very much, too.”


After the first two verses and the chorus of Wind Beneath My Wings played out:

‘Did you ever know you were my hero
And everything I would like to be…
I can fly higher, then any eagle,
For you are the Wind Beneath My Wings…’


“Jen means it, Will,” Buffy whispered, lovingly, into her husband’s still yummy ear. “You are our daughter’s hero,” she whimpered, her emotions bubbling to the surface. “And mine,” she added, almost shyly.

“So are you,” Spike murmered in reply, kissing his wife’s still luscious, pouty lips with his. “You’re the hero here, Princess,” Spike whispered, silkily into his Buffy’s left ear. “I know you’re my hero(ine) anyway.”

Once the chorus had played out, other older couples joined the bride’s parents on the dance floor.

Hank and Joyce Summers, Connor and Dawn, Rupert and Jennifer all began to twirl around the dance floor. Soon, Riley Finn and his wife, Cordelia joined the others, along with Faith and her companion of twenty years, Wesley Pryce. Xander had coaxed Anya into sticking around, at least for a quick dance together and after Houston Giles escorted Jake’s mother, Winnefred to the dance floor, a lot of couples joined them.


Later, after everyone had departed from the wedding celebration and the bride and groom had left for Hawaii? The Giles, Buffy and Spike that is, headed for their own little get away. Their special date that they had planned for some time now.

Spike had parked the old DeSoto by the ocean’s shore, in the exact spot that he’d taken Buffy, years before. The place where they had gone to console each other, so many years ago. The place where their first child, Jennifer, had been conceived.

This time, however, there would be no pleasant little surprises from their tryst, as things were quite different now. There would be no more babies for Spike and Buffy, unless they were grandbabies of course. Which Buffy couldn’t wait for, and truth be told? Neither could Spike.

Buffy sipped the champagne that her husband had so generously poured for her, into the little plastic glasses from the reception of earlier. They toasted each other, their family and their friends warmly.

“Well, let’s see,” Buffy sighed in contentment. “Jen and Jake should be near Lanai by now, right?”

“Right, as always, Princess,” Spike chuckled in contentment, snuggling up to his lovely wife. He sipped more of his champagne and nuzzled his Buffy’s funny little nose with his.

“W.H. (their nickname for their son, William Henry) is probably somewhere close to LA, headed back to school,” Buffy sighed, wistfully. Their oldest son was studying at USC, but since this was a Saturday night? Spike and Buffy concluded there must be a special girl there, distracting him, somehow.

“Hmmm,” Spike scowled slightly. “As long as he’s doing okay with his grades and all? I guess we can’t fault him, huh?”

“No,” Buffy sighed again, “we can’t and we won’t,” she pouted, prettily.

“Houston had that gig, at the Bronze with Danny Osbourne Jr.’s band,” Spike chuckled. “Hope they play decent music, at least,” the father snorted.

“Last time I saw Sean,” Spike began, cautiously, watching his wife’s reaction. “He was snoggin’ Candy Finn and coaxin’ her to let him take her home.”

“Hmph!” Buffy grunted, snootily, “that girl isn’t good enough to kiss our son’s…”

“Buffy,” Spike warned, lovingly. “Remember ‘who’ else everyone thought wasn’t good enough? For you, I mean? It goes to show you, baby,” he chuckled as he snuggled her closer to him. “It goes to show, you never can tell.”

“Well,” Buffy giggled, “everyone was wrong, Will. At least about you that is. You’ve always been good enough for me Will. In fact, I came to a pretty bizarre conclusion, just yesterday. Want to hear it?”

Spike grinned at his beautiful wife, took in her wide, animated green eyes and nodded, eagerly. “Shoot,” he replied evenly.

“I realized, not for the first time,” Buffy assured her wonderful husband, “but actually put it into words. In my head,” she added in explaination. “I figured it out! We, William Giles, you and me? Our family? Our life together? We are one, great big, huge success!”

Buffy finished her statement by saluting her husband with her champagne glass and then draining the glass dry of the bubbly.

“That, my lovely wife,” Spike whispered as he leaned in to kiss his Buffy’s sweet lips, yet again. “That is the truest, most sensible thing you have ever said.”

Once he’d finished kissing his wife’s delectable lips, for that moment, anyway, Spike set his glass down, on the floor. Then he took Buffy’s glass and set it next to his.

“What do you say,” Spike purred to Buffy as he opened the car door. “Care to find ‘our’ spot, on the beach and recreate that magical night, from twenty-five years ago?” He winked at her, suggestively and tugged on her hand with his.

“You better believe it Mister!” Buffy replied, eagerly following her mate out onto the sand.


‘You Never Can Tell’ (by Chuck Berry)


‘It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well,
You could tell that Pierre did truly love the madamoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the
Chapel Bell…

“C’est la vie”, say the old folks,
It goes to show you never can tell…
Oh, “C’est la vie”, say the old folks,
It goes to show you never can tell’


FINIS


A/N: Thank you, to everyone who read this. Thanks to all of you who reviewed (they inspired me). I hope you don’t fault me for throwing in ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ in this. It just wouldn’t be a Spuffy fic without that in there, right?

Now, with this finished, I feel I can start my new WIP.

Thanks again, and please review. Luv, Spuf







“





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