SERIES: Sequel to Never Thought. Don't have a title for the series, so if you have ideas, please help me here!
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Remember how Buffy said she was ready to get married at the end of Never Thought? Well, guess what...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters. Perhaps in my dreams.
DISTRIBUTION: Leah, Jessi, Jessica, anyone else must ask first. :)
AUTHOR'S NOTES: More is coming, I swear. This series will be finished by the end of next week. Thank God for Spring Break!
Angel slammed on the brakes, his car screeched to a halt. "Now?"
"There's no better time than the present. I'm ready, Angel. I've been ready for four years," explained Buffy. "I want this more than anything."
He resumed driving back to the mansion. "Don't you want to think about it? This is a big decision."
"Are you backing off, Mister? You don't want to marry me now?"
"Of course I want to marry you. But wouldn't you rather wait a few days?"
"I don't want to put this off," she said. "I want to wake up tomorrow morning and be your wife. No amount of thinking or waiting is going to change that."
At a red light, Angel turned to Buffy. "There is a lot to do. Blood tests, paper work, finding a minister...it could take weeks." He was trying to be realistic, not talk her out of it.
"Not if we elope," suggested the pregnant Slayer. "We can drive to Los Angeles. Or Vegas. We'll get married and spend the day at the hotel."
"What about your family? And friends? They should be there." Angel couldn't imagine the two of them getting married without the presence of the gang.
"This has nothing to do with them. If they can't be happy for us, then I don't want them there."
"Buffy..."
"Don't 'Buffy...' me. I have made up my mind. Nothing's going to change it."
Angel knew better than to argue with the often-stubborn Slayer. He couldn't deny her anything, especially when he wanted it too. If Buffy would be willing to wait one more day, they could marry. But he wanted it not to be just the two of them. Their friends and family should be there to share this special occasion with them.
"It is awfully late. "We'll go tomorrow after sunset," promised the vampire. "I promise."
She relented. Knowing his promise made her willing to wait only one more day.
*****
Wearing a white, flowered sundress and a pair of white sandals, Buffy left the bathroom. When she entered the living room, she spied Angel sitting in front of the television, watching "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." He looked so handsome in his dark suit, she just had to smile. In a few short hours, she would be his wife. She crept up behind him, putting her arms around his neck.
He turned his face upwards to look her in the eyes. "Hello."
"Hi."
"Nervous?" He certainly was. Angel had metaphorical butterflies in his stomach. Never in his long life had he felt so nervous.
Buffy shrugged. "I'm more excited than anything else. You?"
"I'm nervous," the vampire admitted. He stood up to see his bride-to-be. "Buffy, you look amazing."
"Thanks. You're a bad liar, but thank you."
Angel bent down to kiss her forehead. "I don't lie."
"You won't be saying that in three or four months when I weigh two hundred pounds and I'm getting up at three in the morning with cravings for cottage cheese, apples and olives."
He made a disgusted face. "Just stay away from my blood."
"I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"Are you ready to go? It's almost sunset," he asked, stroking her upswept blonde hair. He resisted the urge to run his hands through it.
Buffy nodded. "Yep. I'm ready to get married."
*****
At five-thirty, Buffy and Angel walked through the front entrance to Sunnydale Town Hall hand-in-hand. The courthouse was located on the second floor. Despite Buffy's insistence to the contrary, Angel made her take the elevator up there. She knew him to be protective, but never this overprotective.
They reached the courtroom and the first thing Buffy saw was the judge standing in the middle of the room, waiting for them. Angel had made special arrangements with the man to perform the ceremony.
As they walked in, she saw other people in the room. They turned to face her. Gasping with surprise and delight, Buffy saw Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Xander, Giles and her mother standing in the first row of seats. "Angel?" she asked.
"I couldn't let us get married without your family and friends here," he explained.
She smiled at him. "Thank you." They approached the judge.
"Buffy, Angel, I am Kenneth Marsters. Would you like to begin now or wait a few minutes?" Angel looked down at her. The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. "I think we've waited long enough." He took Buffy's hands in his as the judge began the ceremony.
*****
An hour later, the group gathered back at Angel's mansion. They were feasting on the catered meal Angel had arranged to arrive while they were at the ceremony.
Mrs. Summers went up to her daughter. "I am glad Angel invited me. I couldn't miss my daughter's big day. Congratulations, honey." She hugged Buffy, but received no response. "I am so sorry."
Buffy stared at her coldly. Her mother would not be getting off that easily. The things she said about Angel and their child, Buffy couldn't forgive. "I am glad you're sorry. And I'm glad you came to my wedding. But I can't forgive you. You can stay for now, but once you leave here, don't ever come back."
From across the room, with his keen vampire senses, Angel heard the entire conversation. He could not understand Buffy's hostility toward her mother. With their wedding, he figured the two would have patched up their differences. He watched as his bride walked away from her mother and made his way over to her. "What's the matter?"
"She thinks I'm just going to forgive her."
"And you're not?"
"No! She could never accept me for who I am, who you are, and she'll never accept our child. I don't want to have anything to do with her. She will not be a part of our child's life," Buffy replied vehemently.
"You aren't giving her a chance."
"Don't start, Angel. I want to celebrate, not fight with you." Buffy kissed him. "You know, I never would have pegged you for the marrying kind."
He smiled at her. "It only took 246 years and the right girl to make me settle down. And I'm glad I waited. It was worth the wait."