Buffy walked into the homeless shelter that she and Spike had just bought on the opposite side of the city from Anne's. She put a big box of donated clothes on the table and giggled when Spike wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
“We open up tomorrow, luv,” he said and brought his hands up to cup her breasts. “Want to have a go here before all the kids come in?” he whispered huskily in her ear.
“Spike! No, wait till we get home. I have things I need to do before we open!” She giggled and swatted his hands away so she could turn around and kiss him. “I can't believe how far we have come! I'm so happy. You saved me.” She smiled and kissed him again.
“This is only the beginning,” he said and took her hand. “I want to show you something.” He led her out to his car and drove them to the park where they first met.
Leading her over to the tree, there was his amp and guitar and a small group of teens from Anne's shelter.
Anne stood up and hugged Spike. “I'm proud of you. Go get your girl,” she whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek. Anne went to stand by Buffy and Spike went under the tree.
“This song, I wrote for my beautiful girlfriend. I hope you enjoy it, Buffy.” He smiled and picked up his guitar.
He took a deep breath and started to strum. Feeling the song rush over him, he started to sing.
That dream we're dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step we're taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith was shaking but We
Got to keep trying
Got to keep our head held high
There's always going to be another mountain
We're always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes we are going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast we get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
Buffy couldn't take her eyes off of him. He wrote this song... everything that they had been through in the first few months of their relationship. The ups and the downs came back; what happened, what they felt and how they handled it. She smiled up at him and mouthed 'I love you' to him and swayed to the sweet song.
The chances we're taking
Sometimes they knock us down but
No we're not breaking
You may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And you and I,
We got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause
There's always going to be another mountain
We're always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes we are going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast we get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
He smiled at her and winked. He could never get enough of her. She was going to be his. She was going to be his wife. He couldn't picture it any other way. They had been through hell and back and they were still strong. He loved her more than anything and that was never going to change.
We're always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes we are going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast we get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about
It's all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith
He finished the song and Buffy ran up to him and attacked him with her lips as the Anne and her teens clapped for him. “That... was... beautiful.” She told him in between kisses.
“There is more.” He told her and gently pushed her away for a moment and got down on one knee before her. “Buffy... 23 years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy. Will you be my wife?" he asked and held out a beautiful silver ring with a diamond in the middle and two smaller diamonds on each side.
“I... I don't know what to say,” she said, overly shocked and happy at the same time. She totally didn't expect this.
“Just say yes, and make me the happiest man in the world.”
“Yes! My answer is yes!” she said and jumped up and down, happy tears flowing down her cheeks.
She settled down and allowed Spike to pick her up and spin her around as the clutched at each other. The group behind them erupted into applause once again as the laughed and kissed each other.
“Take me home, Spike.” She told him and he carried her back to the car, leaving his equipment with Anne to take to her place for the night.
He had to give his fiancé a good seeing to.
~~~~~**
Joyce stepped back into her house after she finished her tea on the porch and locked the door behind her. She was finally free. Hank had found her once and told her he was going to kill her, but she called the cops before he could do anything to her and he was put away in jail for domestic violence for the last 10 years and attempted murder. She wouldn't be seeing him again.
She went up the stairs and turned into the first door and smiled at the sleeping little girl. About a week after she got settled into her apartment that Spike helped her out with, she found out that she was pregnant with Hank's child again. Instead of getting an abortion, she decided that the baby could be like her second try. Her second chance at being a mother.
She smiled widely and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, Dawn,” she whispered and walked to her own room.
She had her own house, an art gallery down the road, a beautiful baby girl, and an nice life ahead of her. This time, she wasn't going to screw it up.
She took her earrings out and placed them on her dresser. She still hadn't talked to Buffy, but Spike called her once a month to give her updates about what was going on in their lives. Joyce looked at the picture of Spike and Buffy that he had sent her a while back and teared up. She kissed her fingers and blew it at the picture. Everything that led her to where she was now, she owed it all to them.
THE END