Chapter 35 Epilogue
“What do you think? How’d it feel?”
“Very nice and pleasantly…rumble-y,” Buffy answered, arms still hugged around William’s waist. “Snuggling while driving is both Buffy-tested and Buffy-approved. I should’ve got you one of these things ages ago.”
Yawning, she brought her head up and pried her eyes open for the first time since they’d left the police station’s parking lot. “Hey, we’re not home yet,” she said, taking off her helmet and shaking out her hair. “Why’d we stop?”
“Breakfast.”
“Oh, good idea.”
“Summers, you slept through the entire ride, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t sleep. I rested my eyes and then—okay, I kinda dozed off, but I couldn’t help it. I was cold and you were so warm. I didn’t want to wear those stupid goggles, so I hid my face against your back and closed my eyes…”
“You missed the bloody sunrise.”
“Yeah, I was wondering how it got so bright out here all of a sudden. Sorry,” she said, hooking her chin over his shoulder. “Was the sky pretty, baby? So much for our romantic first ride together. Least I didn’t drool down your back…much.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Sorry,” she repeated, playing with his hair and dotting the side of his face with kisses. “Hey, are we actually going inside the diner or are we just gonna stay out here?”
“I guess we could get a table. Amongst your snores I phoned Tara. She and Willow’ll be here shortly with the baby brigade.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“Want to swap seats while we wait?”
“You read minds too? Am I a lucky girl or what?” With a little laugh, Buffy settled in front of William once he scooted back. She closed her hands around the handlebars and her smile grew. “Shiny. Can I drive home?”
“No.”
“Why not? You can hold on to me, hug your thighs around mine… I’ll let you feel me up.”
“As if I need special permission for that,” he snorted. To prove his point, he cradled her breasts in his hands. “You can barely drive a car, kitten, what makes you think I’d let you drive this?”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” Buffy sang, moving his hands down to her waist. “The diner has really big windows, honey. If you expect to eat in there, let’s skip giving them a pre-show.”
“But you said I could.”
“Then I can drive?”
“No, absolutely not.”
“Then keep your hands to yourself.”
“Baby doesn’t like not getting her way.”
“Well, duh. Just how long have we been married? You should be well aware of that by now.” Huffing, Buffy crossed her arms. “Six years, and you’re still a big dope.”
“Six years, and you still can’t drive properly,” William whispered directly into her ear. When she gasped, he restrained her with his strong arms. “Don’t do it. Mind the prior injuries, sweetheart.”
“You-you big--.”
“And you were afraid of giving the diner a pre-show before…” Smiling, William kissed her silent. He kissed her until she couldn’t remember any of the nasty names she wanted to call him.
“Oh, look, we have company,” he said, breaking away from her lips as their SUV pulled into the parking lot.
***
“Owie.” Sarah said, touching the cushion in the middle of William’s band-aid. “Owie,” she repeated softly, traveling up his arm from bandage to bandage. Once she ran out of band-aids on one side, she crawled into William’s lap and investigated the other arm.
“Maybe you should’ve kept you jacket on.”
“It’s alright, love, let her poke at each and every one. Most of them are just for looks. Gratuitous as they may be,” he added, giving Buffy a wink, “they make a bloke quite popular with the birds around here. Can’t remember the last time I’ve been this fussed over.”
“My dad beat the bad guy up!” Jamie announced proudly just as the waitress came to their overcrowded corner booth. “He—he killed ‘em!”
“No, he didn’t,” William told the nervous-looking girl with a charming smile. “Roughed him up a bit, but it was all by the book. Sunnydale PD at your service.”
Buffy snorted once the waitress scurried away with their orders. “Cool it,” she said, settling Jamie into his booster seat. He decided to sit, but threw a punch in the air followed by a frantic mess of hand gestures.
“My daddy chopped his head off!” he declared with a wild giggle.
“No, he didn’t,” Buffy sighed. “William, what have you let this kid watch on TV?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary: Big Bird, SpongeBob, Power Rangers, the occasional episode of Days of Our Lives.”
“It’s the Power Rangers,” Willow determined with a short nod. “Gosh, I used to love that show. I had a huge crush on Billy…and Trini.”
“The pink one was my favorite,” Tara chimed in.
“Yeah, and Tommy used to rock my socks,” Buffy added with a roll of her eyes. “With that nerdy blast from the past out of the way, William, can you tell your son that you didn’t kill anyone.”
“Sorry, mate, but the bad guy’s still breathing.”
“And?”
“And, uh, you shouldn’t fight with people. Someone’ll get hurt and your mother will get upset with you.”
“Very, very upset,” Buffy agreed. “You’ll have your nose in the corner so long, Jamie, you have no idea.”
“But-but…bad guys, um…”
“Let the police handle the bad guys and if that doesn’t work—,” Buffy exchanged a grin with Willow, “You just let them handle the bad guys, okay?”
“Okay,” he shrugged, suddenly more interested in coloring his paper menu.
“So…Angel?” Tara begin after a minute of silence. “Is the case closed?”
“Not at all,” William huffed into his coffee. “It won’t be for a long, long time.”
“Hopefully your spell has stamina,” Buffy agreed. “Our luck, we’ll have his confession, but he’ll claim he confessed under duress thanks to Mr. Fighty here.”
“My spell, it was...” Willow tried not to smile, but she was failing miserably. Buffy noticed her hand move under the table and she had a hunch it was settling on Tara’s thigh. “Well, you see it was more like a curse.”
“What does that mean?”
“Angel won’t be telling lies for a very long time. She gave him a conscience,” Tara answered, beaming proudly. “His first confession might’ve been given under duress, but he’ll give it again and again.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive,” both witches answered in unison.
“Well, guess that’s all we need to know,” William shrugged, noticeably pleased.
***
“William and I will try to get as much sleep as possible before our doctor’s appointment. Tara said she’d watch the kids, while you try to return all that magic shit—that magic stuff to the Magic Box. William will call his friend in LA and hopefully we can see him ASAP about new jobs.” Buffy spoke with Joy in her arms as she led everyone into their house. “No matter what, we’re going to treat the kids and ourselves to some fun at D-I-S-N-E-Y, um, land.”
“The coast is clear,” William said, an oblivious kid hanging on to each one of his hands.
“It’ll be a day, maybe two.”
“Sweet.”
“I know,” Buffy agreed with her friend while walking up the stairs. “Jo needs a change. I’ll do that then meet you in the bedroom, alright, honey?”
If William responded, she didn’t hear it, too busy cooing into Joy’s ear. “My baby’s never been to Sleeping Beauty’s castle. She’s gonna fly with Dumbo and eat a sweet cream cheese-filled pretzel. We’ll get you some Mickey ears…”
She continued to babble as she placed Joy on the changing table. She wiped, powered and taped her up with ease. “You’ll see those big stuffed walking characters and, maybe, if you’re lucky, you can yank on Cinderella’s hair instead of mine for a change.”
“That’ll be a sight, our baby defacing one of those bloody princesses by pulling at her wig.”
“It couldn’t be any worse than what she did to Santa Claus,” Buffy laughed, turning her head to give William a kiss after he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I thought you’d be waiting for me in bed. Aren’t you sleepy?”
“I’m exhausted.”
“Then get under the covers. I’ll just reunite Jo with her brother and sister and then I’ll--.”
“When was the last time you stepped foot into our room, pet?”
“Um, this afternoon, why?”
“Ah, when you were poking around. So it was you and not one of the kids.”
“Oh. You found my mess.”
“I did.”
“I…sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. We can probably make it to the bed without tripping and killing ourselves. It’ll just take a little finesse.”
“And, honey, there’s a mess in the guestroom too. The bed’s been…used.”
“It has,” William said, placing a kiss on her neck. “But I’m not too concerned about that. Doubt we’ll have anymore overnight guests for a bit.”
“You noticed them too? I wonder if Willow’ll come back to California.”
“Who knows,” he shrugged, more interested in slipping Buffy’s bra strap off her shoulder.
“William, baby, we need to sleep. Our appointment is before noon.”
“Then I suggest we hurry.”
***
When Buffy woke hours later, she was floating on a cloud, warm and safe, her naked skin covered with soft sheets and the body of the man who was curled along her backside.
“Mmmm,” he hummed, purring in her ear, causing Buffy’s toes to curl. She stroked her husband’s long, slender fingers that possessively held her stomach and whispered, “This feels like heaven.”
“Does, doesn’t it?”
“That was the first thing that popped into my head when I woke up before Christmas Eve without my memory: I must be in heaven. I didn’t know where I was or who you were, but it was heavenly being with you, waking up with you like this.”
“Is this before or after you tossed me off the bed?”
“Oh, way before,” Buffy laughed. “But let’s not bring that up. I was trying to make a point here.”
“Sorry, carry on.”
She closed her eyes and sighed happily as he nuzzled her neck. “You should stop that. We have an appointment.”
“They won’t tell me anything I don’t already know. My wife’s gonna give me another baby. Lucky number four.”
“Hey,” Buffy protested halfheartedly as a hand slipped between her thighs. “Point! I had one and it was going to be profound!”
“How about you just tell me you’ve been madly in love with me from the very beginning and you’ll always feel that way? Memories or no memories. Angel or no Angel. Three kids or forty. Forever and ever, amen.”
“Forty?” she laughed. “And did my big bad just quote a song title by--.”
“Just say it.”
“Love you. Forever and ever, amen.”
“Love you too.”
***
The End.
A/N: It’s been a long, long time coming, but it’s over. Thank yous go to slackerace, the super beta, and those of you who have commented through the years. Special thanks go to those of you who have emailed me to let me know you still care about my little abandoned story. I love this family and it’s wonderful knowing that a lot of you do to. Thanks again, Jennifer
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