Chapter 32
“You need to relax, Spike. You’re a nervous wreck. Just keep taking deep breaths.”
Spike nodded and did as Xander said. “I think I have a right to be nervous. It is my wedding day. God, I never thought this would be happening to me again.”
“Are you having regrets?”
He shook his head. “No, I couldn’t be happier. I want nothing more than to marry Buffy. It’s normal for the groom to be nervous. I’m sure you would feel the same way when it’s your wedding.”
Xander had a look of fear on his face. “Yeah, let’s not talk about me getting married. I don’t plan on popping the question just yet. This is your big day, let’s just focus on that.”
Spike sighed when Xander finished fixing his tie. “You know Anya is bound to bring up the subject of marriage. You can’t get away from it forever. I know you love her, Xander. You have to get over this fear of commitment that you have. You’ll never be like your father.”
Xander should have known that his friend would see through his actions. “I’m just not ready yet, but I know Anya’s the one for me. That’s all I care about.”
Spike smiled and knew that Xander would make a great husband. It was only a matter of time.
* * * * *
“Are you nervous, honey?”
Buffy nodded at her mother’s question. “So nervous that I have bats flying around in my stomach right now.”
Joyce smiled. “You’re going to do fine.”
“I just never would have believed this was possible. I didn’t even think marriage was for me. It’s good that I got over that phase. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.”
Joyce stepped back to take a good look at her daughter, feeling tears in her eyes. “You look so beautiful. It means a lot that you decided to wear my wedding dress.”
Dawn walked into the room with the bouquet of flowers that Buffy would be carrying. “Wow, you look hot. Spike is going to flip when he sees you.”
Buffy took the flowers from her. It was about a month ago that her parents decided to adopt the teenager, making them sisters.
“Sweetie, you could use a better word than that. Your sister looks lovely.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “That sounds like something old people would say. No offense, Mom.”
Joyce glared at her youngest. “Now, why would I take offense to that? Come on, let’s give her some space.”
Buffy watched her family leave the room and glanced back at herself in the mirror. “Okay, you can do this. Don’t be a wuss now.”
The door to the room opened again and her father entered.
Buffy could tell that he had tears in his eyes. “Don’t cry, Daddy. I got enough of that from Mom.”
Hank moved closer to her. “You’re just so grown up. Are you ready, princess?”
Buffy nodded and took her father’s arm. “Let’s get me married.”
* * * * *
Spike stood at the altar with Xander and anxiously waited for the ceremony to start. The music began a moment later and he took a deep breath when Dawn walked down the aisle, followed by Willow, Tara, and Anya. Spike felt the breath knock out of him when he saw Buffy. She was a vision in white.
Buffy smiled when she laid eyes on Spike. He looked amazing in his tux.
Hank released his daughter when they got to the altar, placing a kiss on her cheek.
Spike then took Buffy’s hand in his.
They both turned to the minister and were ready for the next chapter of their journey together.
* * * * *
It was Christmas Eve and the reception area was full of decorations. It was the perfect time to get married.
Buffy and Spike could barely take their eyes off of each other all night. They couldn’t wait for the honeymoon.
Joyce was bouncing the twins on her knees, and Dawn was dancing with Emma.
Hank was talking with Jacob and making plans to get together more.
It was soon time for the newlyweds to have their first dance as man and wife, so everyone moved off of the floor to give them room.
Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy.
She rested hers around his neck as they both moved to the music.
Hello, good morning, how you do?
What makes your rising sun so new?
I could use a fresh beginning, too
All of my regrets are nothing new
So this is the way that I say I need you
This is the way; this is the way that I’m
Learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall
I'm living again, awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies
Hello, good morning, how you been?
Yesterday left my head kicked in
I never, never thought that
I would fall like that
Never knew that I could hurt this bad
I’m learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall
I'm living again, awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies
So this is the way that I say I need you
This is the way that I say I love you
This is the way that I say I'm yours
This is the way; this is the way that I’m
Learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall
I'm living again, awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies
Everything around them faded away when they were in each other’s arms. They didn’t even notice most of the guests join them on the dance floor afterwards.
Spike smiled at Buffy and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, Mrs. Pratt.”
Buffy smiled as well. “The feeling’s mutual, Mr. Pratt.” She rested her head against his chest and continued their dance. There was no doubt in Buffy’s mind that Elizabeth was smiling down on them from Heaven. She never felt such bliss and knew that her sister would always be with them in spirit. Buffy then wondered if this would be a good time to tell Spike that she was pregnant again. Nah, that can wait.
The End
Yes, that is an evil place to leave it, but I think the time has come for me to end this story. It sounds like there could be a sequel, but I have no plans for one at the moment. You never know when I might be inspired, though. The song was “Learning to Breathe” by Switchfoot. I obviously got the title from the song and I thought it would be good for their first dance. I really had a lot of fun with this one. I never imagined that it would have turned into this when I started. Well, this was supposed to be my last story, but I’ve been working on a new one that I plan on posting soon. I guess I’m not quite ready to retire yet. For some reason, I’m dreading posting that story. I’ve gotten some encouragement from a few great authors about it, so that helps make me feel a bit better about posting. It won’t be much longer now. I just really hope others would like it. Thanks for reading=)