By Cricket
Bridal Shop. 15 til 4pm.
By the time the two girls arrived Cordelia was tapping her foot impatiently.
"Its about time you two got here. What took you so long?" Cordelia asked annoyed.
"You said to be up here at 4. Its 15 til." Willow said checking her watch.
"I know..but...I've been up here forever. You know me. I'm getting the jitters. I'm way excited, and I'm starting to regret that I drank that coffee this morning." Cordelia wined.
"What time did you wake up?" Willow asked. Cordelia looked up guiltily.
"Well...you see. I couldn't get to sleep last night. So...I guess I woke up around noon yesterday." Cordelia replied impishly. Willow and Buffy gasped and smiled the same time. Willow's mouth hung open wide.
"And still you manage to keep the bags out from under your eyes." Willow said taking off her own sunglasses.
"Its called make-up. I'm going insane. Its Wedensday, and I'm getting married on Friday, and I just can't sleep." Cordelia said exasperated.
"I think what Cordelia needs is a couple of muscle relaxers. She'll be asleep in no time." Buffy said.
"Ooh...hold on. I've got a few in my bag." Willow said reaching into her purse.
"I think its wise to wait until after Cordelia's dress has actually been fitted. You don't want her to pass out on the floor....hey...since when do you use muscle relaxers?" Buffy asked.
"Stress. You get alot of it in NewYork." Willow said. Buffy mouthed the word 'Kevin?' and Willow shook her head no.
"What kind of stress?" Cordelia asked.
"Dreams. I've been having alot of bad dreams lately. These help me relax. A few flashbacks too. Xander will tell you sometime." Willow said gesturing towards the bottle.
Just then Xander and Oz walk up behind the trio. Xander over heard the conversation.
"Dreams? Why would our Willow be having bad dreams?" Xander asked in a lower sympathetic fatherly voice as he began to hug her.
"Eh...the stuff that happened when I was 10." Willow said in a non-chalant voice, as if the subject really didn't bother her at the moment, but Xander could feel how tense Willow was under his arms. He knew what happened when she was 10 as well. So did Cordelia, but he knew his fiancee had enough decency to be discreet and keep her mouth shut.
"Damn...those were some times." Xander said. He let go of Willow and stepped aside. Willow saw Oz and proceeded to hug him. He whispered in her ear.
"You doing okay?" Oz asked Willow.
"Yaah." Willow said smiling. Oz could feel her ease up a bit. He could tell she was smiling just a little. Oz smiled as well as he ran his hands lightly over her back.
"Good." Oz said relieved. He pulled back and proceeded to hug Cordelia and Buffy.
"I thought you boys were getting suited around noon." Cordelia said furrowing her brow.
"We were, but uh...they ended up cancelling on us because a more expensive wedding was in order. So...we get to suit out with you lovely ladies." Xander said grinning. Oz smirked and the other girls just nodded there heads. A lady from the back called.
"Ms. Rosenburg? Is there a Ms. Rosenburg in here?" The mid-50's british looking woman asked.
"Thats me." Willow answered.
"Good...come with me. We have your dress in order." The lady said crooking her finger in a come here gesture. Willow looked at her companions one last time before she stepped forward to face her doom. She hated playing dress up. She just wanted to get things over with and go home.
Oz's fittings were done sooner than Willow's, and eventually he found himself walking about looking for a decent pair of shoes. He walked up to the desk lady, still clad in his tuxedo only without the jacket.
"Excuse me Miss? Could you tell me where I could find some shoes for this suit?" Oz asked.
"Well didn't they give you any?" The lady asked.
"No mam. They didn't." Oz said politely.
"The display shoes are up stairs, 2nd door to your right. When you find what you are looking for, take down the number and bring it to that gentleman over there." The lady said looking up through her eyes and pointing her finger towards the man on the other side of the room.
"Thankyou." Oz said nodding his head and heading for the stairs. He found himself a pair of shoes that he thought he liked and were decent, and took down the number. Than he proceeded down the stairs. Mid-way down the stairs he could hear the girls laughing. He smiled, wondering slightly what the silliness was all about. One glance in their direction though, shot Oz's thoughts out of orbit. All he could see was the beautiful vision in front of him, 20 feet away holding her arms out as if she were flying so they could get the sleeve at the correct size. Her smile was heavenly. It was exactly the way Oz imagined her in his dreams. He'd remember her, a field, a house, and two children, and a whole lot of peace. Then he'd often wake up to the harsh reality of his rich and famous life. But this time it was the real thing. She was right there, in front of him, smiling for everyone to see.
Willow stood there laughing when the woman kept dropping the needle everytime she tried to make it go through the soft fabric.
"I just don't get it. This dress material is just like satin, but this damn needle won't go through." The lady said smiling slightly. Willow could feel Buffy in the back of her, playing with her hair, and Cordelia checking out her nails, and circling her to make sure there were no errors. Cordelia smiled.
"Your gorgeous." Cordelia said in a resigned/happy tone.
"Well a compliment like that from you Cordelia must be a really good thing." Willow said smirking. She stepped off of the wide stool to make her way over to a mirror. Oz watched her as she admired her complexion. Her hair was down and wavy again. Her gold chain loop earings shimmered in the mirror. The dress was nothing but elegant and simple. No lace. It was more like a sun dress to the casual observer, but not something you'd actually wear out. The entire body was loose, about and inch worth of space around the shoulders where the arms were cut off, and then the rest of the dress ran to the bottom of Willow's feet and into a pool of shaded white satin. Her hand delicately raided her elegant neck and then she turned around to see what everyone else thought.
"Very, very, good." Cordelia said while nodding her head, most definately satisfied. Willow noticed that Buffy had wide eyes at the very sight of her. Willow walked up to Buffy and waved a hand in front of her face. *Buffy at least had the curtousey to blink.* Willow thought in amusement.
"You doing okay there Buffy?" Willow asked. Buffy gulped slightly and nodded her head. Buffy's dress was the same way, only a very light shade of lavender instead.
"Your gorgeous Willow." Buffy said. A tear springing into her eyes.
"Whats wrong Buffy?" Willow asked. Why was Buffy crying?
"Nothing. I'm just thinking." Buffy said smiling. "Its one of those happy content moments I get when I feel all cozy and right at home." Buffy said. Willow smiled at that.
"So...now what?" Willow asked turning to Cordelia.
"Now...we get opinions from a guy." Cordelia said quirking her eyebrows as she grabbed Willow's hand.
"Oh..and just a small question. What are we going to do with my hair?" Willow asked.
"Leave it like that. Your hair always looks better down. Especially with those blond highlights and wavy hair now." Cordelia said as she entered the mens' fitting room. Cordelia hollered for Xander. "Xander!!!" Cordelia hollered to find her fiancee.
"Right behind you sweety." Xander said tapping her on the shoulder.
"Oh hey." Cordelia said giving Xander a quick kiss on the cheek. Cordelia pulled away and then gestured her eyes towards Willow standing next to her. Xander followed her gaze and nearly jumped back in his feet at the site of Willow so dressed up. Xander's eyes went wide at the look of her and he couldn't help but stutter the first few words out.
"Okay...which one am I marrying again?" Xander asked jokingly, grinning as he turned to face his soon to be wife. Cordelia held a look of shock and amazement at Xander's audacity.
"He's kidding Cordy." Willow said smiling.
"He better be." Cordelia said in mock anger.
"No...I wasn't." Xander said grinning wickedly. That earned him a hard jab to his ribs which he inwardly groaned at. He looked over to Cordelia and gave her a look in his eyes that said...'you are so going to pay for that on our honeymoon.' Cordelia just smirked. Willow and Buffy rolled their eyes. Oz walked up behind the two girls and whistled in a surprised manner. He grinned when he saw Willow turn around and then smile at him and blush. Buffy got behind Willow and hugged her around the neck and look over her shoulder.
"What do you think Oz?" Buffy asked grinning. Willow, thankful that she had something else to focus on other than Oz's reaction, just smiled, held on to Buffy's arms and looked at him. Oz waited a few moments, looking Willow up and down with his eyes and then sighed.
"I don't know Buffy. I'm thinking the next 20 Miss. America's here." Oz said grinning devilishly at Willow. He stepped forward to talk to Xander, that way he could save Willow the embarrassment of being stared at and proceeded to talk to Xander about the upcoming plans.
"I need to know what the two of you think about these shoes." Oz said. Cordelia looked down at his shoes and made a satisfied nodd.
"Perfect." Cordelia said.
"I'll second that." Xander said hugging Cordelia from behind around the waiste and kissing her cheek. Cordelia smiled at him, turned her head just so, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
"So...what are we going to do?" Oz asked.
"Oz my man...its time for the batchelor party." Xander said slinging an arm around Oz's shoulder. Oz grinned, and the women rolled their eyes at the two.
"Which leaves us to shop with Xander's credit card." Cordelia said smiling wickedly. Xander turned around quickly and looked at her in shock.
"You...my..credit card?" Xander asked in a voice full of devistation and hurt. Cordelia and the girls smiled at him wickedly.
"Yes Xander...and at the mall no less." Willow said slinging her arm around Cordelia and Buffy's shoulders.
"but..but..buh" Xander began.
"Didn't you have that batchelor party to be at?" Buffy said. Without Xander noticing, Oz went from behind him, grabbed his wallet, pulled out his Visa and hid it in his white sleeves.
"Come on Xander. Lets go." Oz said putting his arm around Xanders neck and leading him towards the door. He turned his head quickly and handed Cordelia the card. In doing so Cordelia handed him an identical card and smiled at him. She mouthed the words thankyou to Oz, and the entire process went on without notice from Xander.
Once the two men were in Xander's van and safely on the highway Oz spoke up.
"You do know she was kidding don't you?" Oz asked.
"Cordelia? Kidding? What on earth makes you think that that is even remotely possible?" Xander asked.
"Well check your wallet man." Oz said smiling inwardly.
"Do you really want me to try that while we are on the highway?" Xander asked.
"Well wait until we are off of the highway." Oz said.
"Fine...I will. So, what else do you want to talk about?" Xander asked. He looked over to Oz to see him shrugg which usually meant that he wasn't going to get a word out of him. "Well what about Lisa?" Xander asked.
"Lisa..." Oz sighed, annoyed at the thought of her.
"Yaah man...she is after all..supposed to be here with you." Xander said.
"I'm really starting to wish that I never brought her." Oz said annoyedly.
"Why is that? Is it because of Willow thinking that you have a girlfriend? Or is she just a real mean bitch underneathe that public routine she went through at dinner last night."
"Both. I mean..yaah she's my girlfriend you know. But..." Oz sighed again in dispair. "Willow..." Oz said again. "Its like...I have to be near her you know. I really, truly, desperately wanted to take her home last night." Oz said.
"I thought you did." Xander said.
"I did. but its like...the entire time through dinner..." Oz started shaking his head at the memory. "that was the only thing I thought about. It felt like old times." Oz said smiling.
"Yaah..I know what you mean. Did she ever tell you why she left?" Xander asked.
"She said it was because of her parents. She didn't tell me what exactly they did. All I know is that she says that the very thought of them reminds her of hell." Oz said looking out the window to see the sun getting ready to set. It was 5:30pm. 30 minutes until sundown. Xander smirked at the mention of it. "Whats so funny?" Oz asked.
"What Willow said. About her parents." Xander said.
"I didn't think it was that funny." Oz said.
"It isn't. I just...she used to think the world of her parents when she was younger and when Rose was with her, but..." Xander started and then began to shudder at the way his best friend used to be when she came back and was forced into therapy.
"Who was Rose?" Oz asked. Xander decided to be truthful.
"Promise not to tell Willow I said anything about it?" Xander asked.
"Promise." Oz said. Xander took a deep breath, thinking just exactly how he was going to put the situation in to words.
"Rose...was Willow's older sister. She died when Willow was 10. Willow saw it happen, and for years, she had nightmares about it. She kept on saying it was her fault until the therapy broke through when she was 12."
"Why did she think it was her fault?" Oz asked concerned. Xander bit his lip.
"...Rose fell...she... fell down a canyon in Arizona. Willow said she tried to help her but when Rose was finally on her feet, the rock in front of her broke off and Rose wasn't able to grip anything. Willow often blamed it on herself because she thought that if she helped Rose all the way up Rose would have lived. I honestly think though that if Willow hadn't of backed up against the gate...I have a pretty strong feeling that she would have gone down with her." Xander said looking over to Oz as he made his way off of the exit ramp. Xander could see that the concern on Oz's face was audible. He could also see that the other man had tears in his eyes for the one he loved so much.
"That actually happened?" Oz asked.
"Yaah. You okay?" Xander asked.
"Yaah...sort of. She almost told me something about it about a month before she...before she left me." Oz said in a saddened voice.
"You still love her don't you?" Xander said. It was more of a statement then a question. The older man let out a soft chuckle. Than he sighed.
"Well I should think it quite obvious. I told her before. I always will, but the fact that Lisa is in the way could probably change the way she feels about me." Oz said sadly.
"Nothing is going to change the way she feels about you Oz. You should know that...christ, you dated her for 4 years, and not once did she say she didn't love you. and Besides..." Xander started trying to reason with the man as he entered the parking lot to Fermosa Cafe. "can you honestly tell me...that you don't think she had a good reason for leaving? Trust me when I say that it must have been one hell of a bomb shell in order for her to leave...especially with you around." Xander said shrugging. "and if she didn't tell you why, then she was obviousley trying to keep other people from getting hurt...that or...she had so much damn Faith in you that she didn't want to make it harder on herself." Xander said peering at the other man as he jumped out of the van.
"Maybe" Oz said feeling more depressed. "but..its just...its Willow you know. She'd tell me everything. I just can't shake the feeling off that it was my fault that she left." Oz said as they walked through the door.
"Well...what would you do if it turned out that she wanted you back?" Xander asked. Oz looked at him with a bundle of dignity, pride, and self-confidence. He smirked slightly at Xander's perplexed look.
"I'd take her back." Oz said as the two men walked over to the bar and took their seats.
"Even with Lisa in the way?" Xander asked. Oz pondered the thought for a moment.
"I don't know what I'd do with Lisa, but I would most definately find some way around her so I could be with Willow." Oz said smiling to himself. "but do me a favor Xander?" Oz asked.
"Whats that?" Xander asked.
"Don't tell Willow we talked about this...if things were going to happen between me and Willow..they would happen. So I don't want you meddling through her brain okay. Cut her some slack." Oz said.
"Sure thing man...anything you say." Xander said.
"and don't go talking to Buffy or Cordelia, or anyone else about it." Oz said. Xander looked taken aback and surprised.
"How did you happen to read my thoughts?" Xander asked.
"I've known you for almost 10 years. What do you think? Promise me though. What you and I talk about Willow...stays between you and me. No one else." Oz said.
"I promise man."
"Thankyou." Oz said.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night was uneventful. The girls went to the mall, tossed as much money out of Xander's credit card as possible, stuffed their faces and shopped through every store in the vicinity of the 3 biggest malls' in SunnyDale. Willow, of course ended up buying loads of computer equipment, a mid length tube dress that ended at mid-thigh, 3 new pairs of Jeans, a black swaide leather jacket, 2 new pairs of sandals, and 362 dollars worth of T-shirts and mini skirts. To some people that would sound like alot but that was nothing compared to what Cordelia or Buffy spent. Lets not go there.
"So Willow...what are you planning on wearing out to the beach tommarow?" Cordelia asked as the girls proceeded to the food court for the second time of the day.
"I really haven't thought about it. I basically just wear something out of my closet like I used to do, only now I have a different choice in wardrobes."
"Well don't forget to bring a jacket. Its supposed to be in the 50's tomarrow." Cordelia said.
"Well in that case, I'll bring the leather jacket Samantha gave me, my Adida snap pants, and one of my long sweaters." Willow smiled. There was silence for a few moments before Willow decided to start something new. "I feel cozy." Willow said hugging herself as she sat down at one of the tables and smiled.
"I wish I felt like that. I still haven't gotten any sleep, and its killing me." Cordelia ranted.
"Sorry Cordelia. Your the one getting married. Not us." Buffy said smiling.
"I can't wait until you have children Buffy. I can't wait to see you at the hospital raking your nails through the wall just because of a small labor pain. I can't wait to see you chattering your teeth away because your so nervous before the wedding night that thats the only thing you can do." Cordelia said in mock warning.
"Catty much?" Willow asked.
"Look. I need a muscle relaxer and if there isn't one in this hand on the count of 5 I'm going to...to...make Willow the maid of honor." Cordelia said. "Now I'm going to close my eyes and on the count of three..when I open my eyes there better be a muscle relaxer pill in this palm. Do you understand me?" Cordelia asked. She got no response and she proceeded to close her eyes. Willow looked at Buffy reluctantly. Buffy nodded towards Cordelia to go ahead and give her one.
"I'm getting impatient here. 1...2...." Cordelia began. Willow quickly put a pill in the palm of Cordelia's hand.
"Uh Cordelia...I really think you should wait until your home before you take that. I don't want to have to carry you to the car." Willow said. Cordelia huffed in frustration. The bags under her eyes were now visible as the make-up began to wear off.
"Okay." Cordelia said sounding very depressed.
"I think we are done for the day. Lets go ahead and get Cordelia home so she can sleep and be refreshed for the beach party tomarrow, and you and I can go raid the store for some Baskin Robbins, and eat all the mint chochlate chip we want." Buffy said enthused.
"Sounds like a plan. Lets go." Cordelia said picking up her shopping bags. The girls did like wise and they headed out to Cordelia's van.
1 hour later Cordelia was at home, sleeping peacefully, and Willow and Buffy were pigging out on all the ice cream you could imagine while swooning over Kevin Bacon rock away in Footloose. The girls eventually fell asleep with laughter in their eyes and for once, Willow had a good dream in a long time.
Continues
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