destructo-girl.com

Author: Pamela
Contact: destructo-girl@cox.net
Notes: The song "Here With Me" belongs to Dido, not I... please don't sue!

"Jesus," Chris whistled as he held up Buffy's jeans, "How the hell is someone this tiny going to be able to pop out a kid without splitting in half?"

"Yeah, especially since it's Riley's… the kid is bound to be kind of big," Nathaniel commented, still digging around for a suitable top.

Joseph stopped admiring a pair of her lacy black panties and asked, "How do you think they even had sex? I wouldn't call my experience limited, but I have never had sex with anyone this small. Plus, I'm not as bulky as Finn."

Joseph smiled at the image of that until Chris smacked him on the back of the head. "Let's get out of here, man. Mike can't keep them out of here too long."

Thomas attempted to appear casual as he strode into the kitchen, slightly nodding at Mike, who breathed a sigh of relief. They were done; his job was over. Of course, he had already made a total ass out of himself.

Not noticing, Riley sighed and said, "Mike, look, we can hang out tonight, okay? I really need to get ready."

Shaking his head, Riley shared an amused look with Buffy before leaving her in the kitchen with the other two guys so he could hit the showers.

"So Buffy," Thomas began, taking the chair formerly occupied by Riley, "What's your style?"

"He means, like, do you like empire waist, a-line, capped sleeves, long sleeves, do you like to show some leg or do you prefer long dresses?" Mike told her, than added, "I'm not gay, I just have three sisters and a seamstress mother."

"Oh," Buffy replied, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with these guys. Something very very strange was going on in this house.

"Wow!" Buffy exclaimed as Riley entered the living room in his service dress. "I'm getting 'An Officer and a Gentleman' flashbacks!"

"I'm actually surprised that you knew anything about 'An Officer and a Gentleman'. You don't seem like you'd like that type of movie," Buffy commented as she turned her body so she was sitting sideways on the couch and facing him.

Riley shrugged and considered sitting down next to her, but decided it was worth it to stand and keep his uniform nice and crisp. "My older sister got the video of it when she was thirteen. I was only ten so she babysat my brother and I afternoons when my mother played bridge and stuff... we had to endure that film a good dozen times."

"That explains it," she laughed, then added, "You look very nice. The only uniform I have ever seen you in was the whole cammo thing… which isn't bad, persay… but you look quite… wonderful in this one."

Buffy took a deep breath, "This is really happening, huh? I mean, you're all dressed in your fancy clothes to go tell some important guy that you got a girl pregnant and want to marry her. You're going to *lie*, Riley! This could destroy your whole career. I think this is even illegal. We could end up in jail."

"Calm down, Buffy," Riley said, "Everything will be fine. They'll never know the truth. Besides, if they manage to someday find out I am not the father... we lie. Look at all those women on talk shows who lie to a guy and tell him he's the father of their baby when it's actually some other guy."

"I know… and I would hate pretending that was the truth… but that is our worst case scenario," he assured her. "Now, you aren't backing out on me, are you?"

"Hey… you know I don't mind," he replied, stroking her cheek when she stood in front of him.

Standing on her tip-toes, she gently kissed him on the cheek. "You're positively the most amazing guy I have ever met."

Riley was pleasantly surprised by the kiss, even if it was as chaste as possible. Giving her a confident grin, he took a few steps back. "I'd better be on my way. The Colonel will appreciate me being early. Hey, have you noticed that we appear to be the only people here?"

Buffy nodded and answered, "Yeah, well, I know some of the guys had to go… do their duty thing… and it seems like everyone else just disappeared a little bit after you went upstairs. Nobody said anything to me, so I have no clue where they went."

"That's odd," Riley commented, then shrugged. Something was up, but it didn't seem overly evil.

"I can't believe I let you guys drag me here," Forrest complained, "I am not at all involved in this, just so you know. All I am going to do is stand here and look on with disapproval."

"Whatever, man," Thomas replied as he and a group of other guys from Lowell House invaded the clothing store in the mall. They really had no clue what they were doing, but the store had some nice looking dresses in the window, and that's what they needed.

An overwhelmed salesgirl approached Thomas, since he appeared to be the leader, and said "Welcome to Contempo Casuals, can I help you?"

"Yes!" he replied enthusiastically, holding up Buffy's jeans and blouse. "I need a dress for a girl who wears these sizes. A wedding dress… so we need white or some other light color."

"Well, this is Contempo *Casuals*," the girl repeated, "We don't have wedding dresses."

"Yeah, but you have dresses, right?" Waylon piped in, disappointment on his face. They couldn't fail now, after all they had gone through. "It's not a big wedding, so she won't want a really fancy dress."

"Okay, but our dresses are too casual for even a small wedding. Besides, since it's the middle of winter, we don't have any light colors."

"But we have to surprise her with a wedding dress!" Mike explained, gesturing towards the clothes in Thomas's hands, "We stole her clothes to get the right size and everything!"

"Wow, that's very… cool… I guess," she replied, then felt a pang of sympathy for them. After all, they seemed to be pretty sweet, trying to buy a wedding dress for a girl. Although, she had to wonder why the in the hell a girl would need a bunch of guys to buy her a wedding dress, but still… "Have you guys checked out Windsor?"

She shrugged and replied, "They have a lot of dresses. Nice dresses… maybe they'll have what you need."

"Colonel Nichols," Riley greeted, saluting the older man as he entered the office.

The Colonel saluted as well before taking his seat behind the desk, gesturing for Riley to sit in the chair on the other side, "Special Agent Finn, how are you doing this afternoon?"

"I'm very well, Sir. And you?" Riley replied, trying to appear as calm as possible while sitting up straight and being respectful. No matter how much experience he had at it, meeting with his superior officers always made him nervous as hell.

"I'm doing fine," the Colonel said, "Now, let's get to the matter at hand. I was quite surprised to hear from you so early on New Years Day, so when you told me you really needed to meet with me as soon as possible, I had a feeling it was something very important."

"Yes, it is," Riley told him, taking a deep breath. "There's a girl… we've been seeing each other for a while. Last night we decided to get married. We want to do it right away because, well… she's pregnant."

"I see… that's quite a situation. On one hand I am happy to hear you are taking responsibility. Too many times men stop being men when things get tough. On the other… this is a story as old as time. Are you *sure* you want to marry this girl? I know that right now it seems like the best idea, but if you take an unplanned pregnancy for two young people and add to it a marriage between two people who possibly shouldn't spend their lives together… it's just making the situation worse."

"We have both thought about it long and hard and we've decided this is what we want. To be perfectly honest, I have always thought she could be the one, I just hadn't planned on making her the one so soon," Riley assured the older man.

Riley nodded and continued, "The reason I am coming to see you about it right away is that this affects my living situation greatly. You can't have a wife and child in a frat house."

"And you heard that we make accommodations for these circumstances," the man concluded.

"Yes Sir," Riley admitted, "One of my fellow officers told me about it when we were talking about what I was going to do."

"He's right; we can get you two into an apartment of your own, you will get a raise due to the cost of living with a wife and child and we'll get her some health insurance- she will have to use a civilian doctor since, of course, we don't want her coming down here for her check-ups."

Riley leaned forward in his chair and asked, "Another thing, Sir, is that I thought I saw something a while back about a program where the military will fund the education of spouse's. Some sort of scholarship."

The Colonel nodded and asked, "Your… fiancée is a student at the university?"

"Yes, well she was. If she can get this scholarship she will be still… it's just that her parents were paying for the tuition and they didn't take the news of her… condition too well. She's just a freshman… only completed her first semester. She's doing so well… I would hate for her to miss out on an education, but with the baby, I don't know if we could afford it."

"I think we could take care of that," the older man said, "Now, why don't we get started on the paperwork?"

"Shut up Forrest!" seven of the guys yelled at once. None of them were in the mood for any more of his unsolicited comments about their buying Buffy her wedding dress. They had spent the past three hours going to eight stores and finding only dark colored dresses. Finally they had found a new small shop that specialized in formalwear. The few wedding dresses they had were far too fancy for what Buffy would need in a quickie wedding, but the salesgirl showed them a prom dress that was very simple and came in white. Satisfied that it would work, they bought it before walking back out in the mall and collapsing on the benches that surrounded the fountain.

"You know what I just realized?" Joseph asked no one in particular, "We didn't get her shoes. Do you think she has shoes?"

"Well, when we stole her clothes I did notice her shoes. She has a ton," Mike told them.

"Yeah, but all girls have a ton of shoes, and they still always seem to need a new pair for every occasion," Chris sighed.

"Well, she'll deal," Thomas said, "Buffy will be happy we got her the dress... Right Graham?"

All heads turned to Graham since he seemed to know her better than the rest of them. Besides, since he was quiet, they all pegged him for the sensitive guy. Graham nodded and assured them, "Buffy is going to be thrilled with the dress. We'll give it to her tonight and if she really needs shoes, we can take her to get some tomorrow morning."

Joseph sat up straighter as he was struck with an idea, "Hey guys, should we go to Victoria's Secret and buy her something for the wedding night? I know we're all tired, but the mere thought of it gives me the energy to go on."

Once again, all heads turned to Graham, who replied, "No, I think it would be entirely inappropriate for a bunch of guys to buy their friend's fiancée lingerie."

"He's right," Waylon agreed, standing up. "Besides, it's almost four. We need to get home so we can all get ready to go out for dinner. Then we can give them their presents!"

Enthused, the guys dragged their tired bodies off the benches and headed to the parking lot. It was going to be a hell of a night!

"Okay, so Monday morning, we're going to have to call and see what we have to do to get the license. There's no waiting period or blood tests… so then it's just a matter of getting married," Riley explained.

Buffy nodded, trying not to look scared. After all, they were discussing their *wedding*. "Yeah, and that's just going to be as cheap and fast as possible… where are we going to do it, anyway?"

"Well, churches are ruled out immediately. They require all kinds of other things, like classes. Besides, you have to book months in advance. I was thinking justice of the peace. You know, a courthouse wedding," Riley replied, "We need to get married as soon as possible, the paperwork is already going through, but nothing 'official' can happen until we have a marriage certificate."

"All right… so I guess we should just make a list of things to do and start calling around Monday morning," Buffy said.

"Hey you two!" Waylon greeted enthusiastically as he entered the kitchen and found Buffy and Riley sitting at the kitchen table. Loudly, he added "How nice it is to see *both* Buffy and Riley in the *kitchen*!"

Buffy and Riley exchanged confused looks as they heard the thud of feet going up the stairs. Again, they were reminded that something very odd was going on.

Waylon tried to look casual as he opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a can of coke. "We just had a few errands to run and stuff. Mostly we hung out."

"Oh," Buffy replied, frowning. They certainly were acting like something was going on. Then again, she didn't know them that well.

Riley was positive that Waylon was lying, but he wasn't going to push it. He was far more concerned with getting everything taken care of so that they could be married and Buffy could have health insurance as soon as possible. "I wonder how long it takes to go to a judge and get married…"

"Weeks!" Waylon exclaimed before rushing over to the table. "I knew a guy who wanted to get married and the waiting list is weeks!"

Buffy sighed sadly and looked at Riley, "That means it'll be weeks before we can even get all the paperwork in to get an apartment. We'll be here for at least a month."

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Riley assured her, "Besides, if we spend the next month here, it'll be okay. I told you, the guys don't mind you being here, right Waylon?"

Waylon nodded and gave her a bright smile, trying to cover the guilt he felt. In reality, he had no idea if there was a two day or two *month* waiting list to get married. Even though it had made Buffy sad, it was for her own good. She and Riley would be thanking him for not letting them mess everything up by running off to a lame courthouse later.

Graham gave Riley his most innocent look as the rest of their party left them in the foyer of the restaurant while following a hostess who led them to their table. "What do you mean, Ri?"

"You know exactly what I mean! All of you are acting very very weird. Something's up. Now what is it?"

"All I can say is we're feeling very festive about your engagement to Buffy. The guys really like her so they are happy for you," Graham replied, "Is that what you mean?"

"No, it's not!" Riley sighed, "I just hope that you are good enough of a friend that whatever they are up to isn't bad even if they don't mean it to be. Buffy isn't marrying me for anything remotely romantic and I worry that if they make it *seem* romantic it'll upset her."

"Don't worry; I *am* your friend and I don't want to upset Buffy," Graham assured him before hurrying towards the table. He should have known better than to give Riley the chance to try and grill him.

Reluctantly, Riley followed, hoping Graham was right. He knew that Buffy was far from a weak girl, but she'd been through a lot, and he couldn't help but feel that Angel's decision not to be a part of her and the baby's life had left her really vulnerable. The guys might have the best of intentions, but Buffy could end up hurt. Besides, they thought that the two of them were going to be a normal husband and wife, so any little surprises they had in story could be really embarrassing for the both of them.

When he reached the table, Riley took the seat that had been saved for him next to Buffy and tried to look casual and happy. After all, everyone else thought that he was engaged to the mother of his unborn child. In reality, he was scared. Not just scared because he was about to be a *married* man, but scared about what marrying Buffy would lead to. He just wasn't sure he could live in the same apartment with her for a year, watch her stomach grow as she carried her baby, be there when she gave birth, all without feeling something dangerously deep for her. As it was, he adored her so much that the thought of never seeing her again made his heart ache. How was he going to be able to let go after all that?

"So, are you having any weird cravings? I'd like to know, because if you're going to order something really strange, I want to switch seats so I don't have to see it," Chris teased Buffy.

Buffy smiled and shook her head, "Nothing bizarre yet. No pickles and ice cream or anything else. I'm not even hungrier than I was before, so you're safe."

"I heard one time that some pregnant women crave *dirt*," Waylon commented as he looked through the menu.

"Maybe only women from Georgia or something crave dirt," Nathaniel said, then turned to Chris, "What do I usually get here?"

Riley dipped his head down so he could whisper in Buffy's ear, "Do *not* find them cute or in any way endearing. They're up to something, I can tell. The little disappearance today, and the extremely bizarre way they've been acting... definitely. Don't trust them."

Buffy smiled up at him and shook her head. "They're sweeties, don't be so suspicious."

Riley opened his mouth to swear to her that these were not simply frat guys she was dealing with, but men trained by the best on how to go undercover, military men who were not to be taken lightly... But he was hit in the head with the wrapper Forrest blew off his straw. Watching his friend laugh hysterically at the look on his face, Riley decided it was probably not the best time to tell her that and expect her to take him seriously.

Buffy had to remind herself not to drool as the waiter set the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake in front of her. She'd seen it on the menu when she'd been trying to decide on an entrée. Knowing that she *had* to have it, she'd ordered something light for her meal and politely declined everything the guys had offered her from their own meals.

"Buffy's in love," Chris teased, "Riley, you should be jealous of that dessert."

Riley chuckled as Buffy blushed, "Leave her alone, Man. She's eating for two now."

"Riley!" Buffy admonished; even if it was true, she'd made it clear to him earlier that day that she didn't need to be handled like a fragile flower. She especially didn't want little comments made constantly about her being pregnant.

"Hey, don't worry," Chris said, gesturing to the chocolate mousse in front of him, "I have a sweet tooth too."

As Buffy looked stunned, Riley leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Finally, he was going to find out what the guys were up to.

"You guys got me a present? What did you get me a present for?" Buffy asked, looking around. "You didn't have to…"

"Stop, you're ruining the moment," Waylon told her. "We've worked really hard for this so let us enjoy our excitement, okay?"

Buffy nodded and smiled at them as she accepted the wrapped box from Thomas. Being a girl, she was careful not to rip the paper and drove all the boys crazy with anticipation for her to see what they got her. Finally, the paper was off and she was opening the box. Pulling out the dress, Buffy gasped in amazement.

"It should fit you- we stole… er… borrowed some of your clothes to match it up," Nathaniel told her.

"But we didn't look at your underwear or anything," Joseph assured her, "I swear!"

Riley narrowed his eyes at him while Chris smacked him in the arm, but Buffy was too busy trying not to cry to notice.

"Oh my God, this is a wedding dress, isn't it?" she asked, overwhelmed by how sweet they were.

Waylon nodded and bit his lip nervously. "We just figured you wouldn't want a… big wedding dress. The girl at the store said you would probably want this style. Do you not like it? We can take it back!"

Buffy shook her head and smiled at him, "I can't believe you guys did this. It's just… amazing!"

"She's happy," he replied, not taking his eyes off her. Even if this wasn't a real wedding, Buffy honestly was touched by the gesture, and that pleased him.

"Thank you all so much," she said, giving everyone at the table a grateful smile. "I can't believe how kind you are. This is so above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined you doing."

"Good, we are very glad you like it," Waylon replied, pleased. "Now, for the rest of your gift. This part is for both of you."

"You got us something else?" Riley asked, stunned. He'd always known that the guys he lived with were true friends, but he'd never imagined them going all out for him like this. Then again, they really liked Buffy...

"Hey, you only get married once!" Graham piped in, grinning shamelessly at the two of them since he knew neither had any intentions of this being their only marriage… or at least a marriage that would last for the rest of their lives.

"First of all, you two have reservations at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for Monday. We also made reservations for you at Little Church Of The West Monday evening at seven," Waylon informed them. "We've done our research and you guys can drive to Las Vegas Monday morning… it'll take about six hours. We looked into plane tickets, but it was impossible on this short of notice. Anyway, we figure you will get there in the early afternoon. That'll give you plenty of time to check in at the hotel and get your marriage license. There's no blood test or waiting period in Vegas, of course, so you guys can go do that in half an hour or so. You two can get married that night and we made the reservations through to Wednesday so you guys can be alone and have a little honeymoon. Oh, and we checked and you can use the hotel's fax machine to send us a copy of your marriage certificate Monday night and we can get that in to Colonel Nichols so they can get all the paperwork in. This way you get your quickie wedding and some time alone."

"Yeah, and everyone says Vegas is a blast," Mike added as they all waited for Buffy and Riley's reactions.

"Wow, it's really cool of you guys to do all this for us… but, I don't know… I mean Caesar's Palace is really nice. Are you sure we can afford it?"

"Well, we're paying for it, of course!" Thomas exclaimed, "That's our gift to you, not just the arrangements."

"It's nothing," Chris assured her, "For one thing, there is a bunch of us sharing the cost. Plus, Kevin's cousin works at Caesar's. He hooked us up with a room for a great price, and he's the one who set up the wedding for you two," he explained, then added, "It's a pretty famous chapel. Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford got married there!"

Joseph punched him in the arm. "Dude, they got divorced! I told you that wasn't a good example! Besides… all that gerbil crap… it's just a *bad* idea."

Riley looked down at Buffy and sighed. As great as it sounded, it was wrong. He and Buffy weren't a real couple. They couldn't do this- the guys thought they were setting up a fun wedding for their friends who were in love. "This is so great of you guys, but we couldn't…"

Buffy looked up at him and shrugged, "Why not, Riley? We'll get our marriage certificate a lot faster this way… and it sounds fun. It'd be nice to go experience Las Vegas while I can still see my feet."

Riley could tell that she really meant it and saw her point. Sure, they were only marrying each other to help Buffy out, but why couldn't they have some fun. Besides, the guys had gone to such great lengths... it would be rude to say no. Looking up, he nodded and smiled, "We'll do it."

Buffy looked over at Riley and gave him a grateful smile as he pulled up to the curb in front of the coffee shop. "Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it."

"Okay, well call me if you change your mind," he told her as she opened her door and stepped out.

After Buffy has shut the door and Riley saw her join Willow and Xander at one of the tables, he pulled back out onto the street so he could go run his errands. Forrest remained silent, just making eye contact with Riley whenever he looked in the rearview mirror.

"Fine, I won't remind you that you completely out of your mind and just asking for trouble by letting yourself believe in this little fantasy you created to trick everyone else," Forrest replied, looking out the window. "I'm your friend so forgive me if I am not leaping for joy at the news of your impending nuptials. I *knew* it was a bad idea for you to moon all over a freshman and you know what's going to happen? You're gonna have a grand old time being married to Buffy and playing husband and daddy and then a year from now it's going to be over and you'll be all depressed. We'll have to listen to you moon over her even more and then you'll probably adore the baby too. You are going to want to smack yourself for this colossal mistake for the rest of your life."

"Thanks for not saying anything, Forrest," Riley said sarcastically, "I need all the support of my friends right now so any negative comments right now aren't appreciated."

"Hey, if negative comments are going to possibly make you see reason, I have plenty more where that came from."

Forrest rolled his eyes, but held his tongue. He and Riley had been friends long enough that he knew when not to push it. He just wished there was something he could do to stop him!

"Hey Buffy!" Willow greeted eagerly as the blonde joined her and Xander at the table in the coffee shop.

Buffy smiled at the both of them, a nervous smile, but a real one nonetheless. She was so glad to have their support. Even if they hadn't really backed her at first, they did now and that was important. However, she'd asked them to meet her so that she could tell them she was marrying Riley. Buffy wasn't sure how they would take it, but if she waited until after she got back and it was all said and done, they'd take it a lot worse.

"We love spending time with our Buffy," Willow said, then asked "You're not going to have coffee, are you? Because that would be bad for the baby."

"No, I don't want anything. I actually wanted to tell you guys something," she said, taking a deep breath, "I'm marrying Riley."

Willow and Xander stared at her with twin looks of shock on their faces. She frowned as she realized that she probably should have worked up to her news just a bit instead of blurting it out.

Finally Xander said, "I think I speak for the both of us when I say 'huh'? I mean, Buffy, we just found out a week ago that you're having a baby… then you get kicked out of your mom's and start staying with a guy you went on a couple dates with… and now you're marrying him? This is a really big week, even by your terms."

"I know," she laughed, then stopped herself. They were still adjusting to the news and if she did her 'laughing instead of crying' thing, they'd probably have her committed. "It's not a real marriage, not in the sense that we love each other and want to spend our lives together. It'll be legal and we'll live together, but we're getting a divorce in a year."

"Riley found out if he marries me and claims this is his baby, the military will help. I can have health insurance, they'll pay for an apartment for us and they'll even pay for school for me. This way I won't have to quit. I can get a degree and get a good job, so I can have money to give my child a decent life."

"Riley's, believe it or not. He's actually willing to do this… he doesn't gain a thing… he's just helping me out."

"Are you *sure*?" Xander questioned suspiciously, "There's no catch? You have to admit, this sounds way too good to be true. I know he's always seemed nice in the past, but you don't know him all that well. What if he's got ulterior motives?"

"He's going to be your hero… he could want to get in your pants! I'm a guy, trust me, we will sometimes go to insane lengths for sex. I slept with *Faith*, if you recall."

"Xander, I am pregnant. That's like the biggest turn-off in the world to a guy."

"Some guys," he said, "Besides, there are other things. This Initiative thing studies demons and stuff, right? What if they want to use you as a lab rat? Or your baby?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, it's not that. If they wanted to do that, they could have just taken me down. Sure, I'm strong, but I am way outnumbered by them. They could have tied me up while I was sleeping. Besides… Riley's not like that. I know you guys think I am being naïve, but I have strong instincts about people and Riley is for real. He's not doing this to hurt me or to help himself… he's a nice guy and he's willing to do a huge favor to really make a difference in my life."

"I'll say," Willow commented, "For the record; I agree that Riley is a nice guy. I think it's possible… probable, even, that he's for real. But if he's not… I'm busting out my shovel! If he's messing with you, he'll regret it."

Forrest looked at the delicate gold ladies wedding band with a small leaf-like design etched in it that Riley was holding up. "It's very nice, I'm sure Buffy will love it. Hey, why don't we just go all out? We can catch a plane to New York and pick out something for her at Tiffany's."

Riley ignored the last comment and told the salesman he wanted that ring and handed him the ring that belonged to Buffy that he borrowed, copying the idea that the rest of the guys had come up with to use something that was already hers to get the size right.

"I know you don't like this, but it's happening regardless," Riley told Forrest as they waited to pay for Buffy's wedding ring and the simple gold band Riley had picked out for himself. "Maybe you're right and maybe you're wrong, we won't know until a year from now. Your sulking isn't going to make me decide not to go through with this, so will you please just knock it off?"

"I'm sorry, but my best friend is about to ruin his life, so I'm not in the best of moods."

"Why do you think I am *ruining* my life? You act like Buffy's evil or something. Why do you hate her?"

"I don't," Forrest argued, "I know that this wasn't her idea and I don't blame her for this, not really. I know it's all you and your stupidity that caused this… but she's messing everything up."

"Life… less than a week ago, everything was great. All of us were having a great time… being in college, kicking demon ass, partying, drinking, having only cool responsibilities… and then she comes along. Now you're moving out. We'll only see you around the school and on patrols. No more hanging out… no matter what you say, I know that you're not just going to sleep and eat at that apartment and be at Lowell House whenever I look for you. I just know that you're going to love doting on Buffy."

"Are you jealous?" Riley asked, amazed. "You are! You're like an only child, upset that your parents are bringing home a little brother or sister."

"That's ridiculous," Forrest disagreed, "If this was for real… if she was really having your kid and you were going to marry her for the reasons you're supposed to… I would accept it. But she's not and you're not. What you're doing… it's not a Riley thing to do. You're giving up a lot and putting even more at risk for these lies and I'm freaked out. She'd got power over you and she may not even know it, but she does. And a year from now when you two are supposed to just go your separate ways, she may be able to with ease, but you won't. I don't want to have to see what you're going to be like then."

Riley sighed, "Look, you may be right. I may be asking to *really* hurt myself here… but it's my choice. I'm an adult and capable of making my own decisions. I know the risks and I am willing to do this. Can you please respect that?"

"How're you doing?" Riley asked his passenger as they headed down US-101. They were an hour into their trip and it had been problem free so far, but he still worried.

Buffy gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine… are you worried that I'm going to freak all of a sudden and throw myself from the car?"

"Actually, I was afraid you might be feeling a little ill… you know, morning sickness. But now that you mention it..."

"No freaking here," she replied, shaking her head firmly, "And also, no nausea. I promise to tell you. I won't ruin your upholstery."

"Well, I figure we'll get to Barstow in about an hour. Do you think you'll want breakfast then?"

Buffy nodded, "Most likely, and even if I'm not, we have a ton of food that the guys packed us. I won't starve."

"Okay… if you're sure," he said, then tried to think of something else to say. They'd been pretty quiet since they had left the house and the silence was starting to get to him. He wasn't sure if she was being uncharacteristically quiet due to nerves like he was, or if she was just tired.

"You've never been to Las Vegas either?" she asked suddenly, relieving Riley of the chore of starting a conversation.

Riley shook his head, "My grandparents go every year in the spring and I know it's always sounded fun, but it never even occurred to me that since I was living in southern California I should make the trip. I guess we're always so busy with the Initiative and school that we never have a few days just to take off. Plus, I usually spend all vacation time back in Iowa. The only reason I came back so soon this time is for the Initiative… I had no idea how slow things get, though."

"Are you going to get in trouble? You didn't get to give them a lot of notice. Things have been slow, but there is always the chance something big will pop up."

"It's cool," he replied, "I informed my superiors and under the circumstances, they agreed. Besides, we have a house full of soldiers who don't have to worry about school or anything else for weeks. They can deal without me for three days."

"Good… I know you told me not to, but I really feel guilty that you're doing this for me, and I would hate myself if you even got in trouble for it."

"I won't… and I want you to stop it. Look at it this way, you're my friend and I care about you. If you're suffering, it'll make me sad. By helping you not only do I get to feel good, I also get to make your situation not so bad and see you happier… with makes me feel even better. In a way, this is totally selfish of me."

Riley smiled at Buffy as she rolled her eyes. Little did she know that he truly was being selfish. He wasn't just doing this to help her… he was partially doing this because a part of him liked the idea of being her husband. For her, this was just a marriage of convenience. She was desperately in need and this was her lifejacket. It sort of made him taking advantage of her… but he insisted to himself that since he *was* helping, and his 'taking advantage' was simply mental and he wasn't going to expect her to be his wife in all senses of the word… there was no harm done.

"You okay?" Riley asked as Buffy scooted in to the booth across the table from him.

They'd stopped at an International House of Pancakes in Barstow not a moment too soon. As soon as they'd gotten out of the jeep, Buffy had been hit with a wave a nausea and had made a run for the bathroom inside. Riley was starting to get used to that particular pregnancy symptom, so he took it all in stride, going inside the restaurant and getting a table. Hopefully Buffy would want to eat afterwards, or at least have a drink while her stomach settled. If she could at least stand the sight of food, they could stay... since he was ravenous.

"Much better," she nodded, "It goes as quickly as it comes on. I'm already hungry."

Buffy took it, but didn't look at, instead she stared out the window and sighed. Riley noticed and deduced that she had something else on her mind.

Buffy turned her head and looked at him in surprise. Realizing he'd seen that she was thinking, she smiled shyly and said, "I just realized… today's my wedding day. Twelve hours from now… we're going to be married."

"Yeah, that *is* pretty… wow," Riley replied, fathoming the significance of what she'd said.

"But I'm not saying this is something dreadful or anything… it's just that it's a big deal. We're going to make a huge change in our lives… something that will *always* be there," Buffy explained, "It definitely requires one to sit back and say 'Hey, look what's about to happen'."

Riley smiled at her, the woman he could call his wife in the very near future. He was thinking about what was about to happen… and it made him happy.

Riley held Buffy's hand as they walked through the enormous lobby to check in to their hotel room. She'd been pretty quiet since they'd reached the Las Vegas Strip about twenty minutes earlier, when she'd become awestruck by all the lights and buildings and people. Riley had to admit that it was all very impressive… and it wasn't even nighttime yet. He also feared that since they had reached their destination, any anxiousness she felt about their impending nuptials had multiplied. She probably wouldn't run off... but he thought it would be best to hold on to her.

Buffy soaked in her surroundings as Riley talked to the man behind the registration desk so they could check in to their room. She couldn't believe this was really happening. So recently her life had been absolutely normal, for her, anyway… and now she was in Las Vegas to elope with her Psych TA. Life had a funny way of knocking you on your ass and laughing at the confused look on your face.

"Our room won't be ready for an hour or so. Do you want to just take our bags back to the jeep and go get our marriage license?"

"Our marriage license," Buffy repeated, awestruck, "Um… yeah… that'll be fine."

"You're alright, aren't you?" Riley asked, growing more and more worried about her. Even if getting married was the best thing she could do as far as providing for the baby, and they had come all this way, he didn't want Buffy pushed into anything she wasn't ready for.

"I'm fine," Buffy replied, getting herself together. She had stuff to do, and if she was acting like a simpering female it wasn't going to happen! Taking a deep breath, she reassured Riley that what she said was true with a confident smile. Satisfied, he returned the smile before the both of them headed back towards the parking garage.

They found themselves in line at the Marriage Bureau fairly quickly. As they waited, they filled out the required paperwork, neither believing how easy it was to get a marriage license... Not that they actually had expected some concerned government official to question them until sure they would make a good couple or something. It just seemed odd that something that was such a big deal was so easy to do.

Before they knew it, Buffy and Riley were standing at the counter staring a clerk as she glanced through their paperwork and made sure everything was in order. Looking up at them, she smiled and said, "Looks like everything is fine, just give me a moment to print this out."

"We have one king size bed. I should have thought of this… the guys think we're a regular couple, of course they'd think we're sharing a bed," Riley explained as he walked the rest of the way in the room, depositing all the suitcases on the floor.

"I know they did, of course Graham could have *attempted* to do something about that," Riley said, then shrugged, "We've been doing fine with me sleeping on the floor at home, I can do it here too. Maybe I can order a cot. It'll look weird, but we don't care what the hotel people think."

"Yeah," Buffy replied absently, looking around the room. The guys had really been wonderful, it was a very nice room. Across from the big bed was a large screen TV. There was a small table and two chairs in one corner near an honor bar and a mini-refrigerator. On the other side of the room there was a big sliding glass door that led to a balcony with two chairs on it, so the both of them could sit out there if they liked.

"You hungry?" Riley asked her, trying to think of something they could do so they wouldn't both sit there for hours and think about what they were doing.

Buffy moved to stand in front of him, "You know you can back out of this anytime, right? I'll understand. If you want, you can even tell the guys that we got here and I changed my mind so they won't give you flack."

Riley shook his head without hesitation. Sure, he was nervous, and he had his moments of asking himself what the hell he was doing, but he knew in his heart that he wanted to marry her, "How about you?"

"No… I'm nervous, but everyone gets the jitters, right? Even people who have real weddings."

"Absolutely," he agreed, "If you were totally calm about something this important, that would be strange."

Relaxing with the knowledge that he was just as scared as she, Buffy sat down on the bed and picked up the remote, "Think we get any good channels?"

Riley sighed and glanced at his watch before staring at the bathroom door, willing it to open. If Buffy didn't get done soon, they'd be late to their own wedding.

At long last, the door creaked open and Buffy apprehensively stepped out. Riley's breath left his body as he was taken aback by her beauty. She had her hair loose and cascading over her shoulders like spun silk. The dress that the guys had gotten her fit perfectly, making her look nothing short of gorgeous.

Of course, he wouldn't be making love to her on their wedding night, or any other night for that matter. He couldn't look at her and know that he was the lucky guy who got to be in her bed every night… but he could pretend.

"I can't believe I took so long, we're going to be late," Buffy sighed as she saw the clock on the nightstand. She quickly grabbed her jacket and put it on, "I know it doesn't match my dress, but it's cold out."

"You still look wonderful," Riley grinned, grabbing his own coat and putting it on. He opened the door for her so that the both of them could leave the hotel and head to the wedding chapel.

"I was thinking after this we could go somewhere for dinner and maybe walk around for a while… look at stuff. Unless you want to just go back to the room… and watch TV or something," Riley told Buffy while they drove to the chapel.

Buffy smiled and laughed sardonically, "God, 'after this'? It's almost like we're not getting married, but just running an errand."

"No, don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. It's just that this whole situation is… almost funny."

Riley nodded slightly, not really knowing what to say. She was scared, depressed and nervous… and so was he. He had no idea how to make himself feel better, so what could he do to help her?

Before they knew it, Riley was pulling into the small parking lot of the chapel. The both of them leaned forward in their seats once he had stopped the car and checked out the site of their wedding.

"Wow, that's actually pretty," Buffy commented, "I'd pictured some gaudy thing with neon lights."

"Yeah, it almost looks like a church," Riley agreed, then smiled at her, "Maybe if I tell my mom that when I tell her what we've done, she won't kill me quite as much."

Riley shook his head, "I don't know how she'll react to this. I seriously doubt she will jump for joy, but she may just deal. However, there is the chance she'll freak and forbid me… so if I were to do this…"

"You would be directly disobeying her, which makes doing this ten times as bad. If you don't tell her, you're technically not going against her wishes," Buffy concluded.

Buffy grinned, "That's why I didn't tell Giles. I figure after we get home I will go over and we'll have a long talk… clear the air… get him all caught up. I hope he doesn't hate me."

"I can't imagine anyone who knows you finding anything to hate about you. From what you have told me, Giles is a very smart man… he won't give up his relationship with you."

Buffy smiled at him, wishing things were different. He was so… amazing. She could totally see them getting married… for real… if only they weren't in this situation.

"Same," Riley replied, glancing at their surroundings. Everything was happening so quickly. Once they had entered the building, they'd been busy signing papers and showing their license before Buffy had been handed a bouquet and the both of them had been shown to the chapel. Now a minister was preparing for the ceremony and a friendly older woman who was going to act as their witness was sitting in one of the empty pews. This was not at all how he had envisioned his wedding... but Riley found that when he looked at Buffy… he really didn't mind it that much.

The minister smiled at the young couple as he moved in front of them. They both looked rather petrified, but he was used to it. He'd been performing ceremonies in Las Vegas for nearly ten years, and he'd gotten to be rather an expert at judging people. Most of the couples he saw were older than these two and had either planned the wedding out before heading to Las Vegas, or had decided to do it once they'd arrived. However, he saw a lot of kids getting married for various reasons… quite often because the girl was pregnant, he suspected. This one wasn't showing… yet, so he wasn't sure, but that was very possibly the case. At least they weren't at each other's throats or looking like this was the last place they wanted to be... these two stood a chance.

The minister cleared his throat and began, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony. Into this estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace."

Nobody spoke up, not that they really expected an objection from their only witness, although Buffy did have a daydream of Angel rushing into the chapel after realizing what a fool he'd been and begging her for another chance.

"I require and charge you both, that if either of you know any impediment, why you may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, you do now confess it. For be you well assured, that if any persons are joined together other than as these words allow, their marriage is not lawful," the minister continued.

Riley felt blood rush to his face as he listened to the words the minister was saying. He prayed he wouldn't go to Hell. Sure, this marriage was a lie… but he *was* performing a good deed.

Satisfied that the couple felt they were doing the right thing, the minister said, "Riley, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as you both shall live?"

Turning to Buffy, he said, "Buffy, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"

The next thing they knew, Riley was pulling a couple of ring boxes out of his pocket. Buffy was dumbfounded; she hadn't even thought about the jewelry that was required. Then again, he was constantly so thoughtful- why should she be surprised?

Holding her hand in his, Riley slid a ring on her finger and said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

He handed her a larger ring, which she soon concluded was to be his. Nodding, she slid it onto his finger, despite her shaking hand, and said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Riley and Buffy have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a Ring, and by joining hands; I pronounce that they are Husband and Wife," the minister declared, grinning, "Please, kiss the bride."

Numbly, they looked at each other for a moment before Riley dipped his head down and kissed her. He was so… overwhelmed that he didn't even think about the fact that she wasn't really his girlfriend… or wife. Riley kissed her like he had before, on that night when they had no voices. Buffy let him, getting caught up in the feelings he invoked in her when their mouths met.

Breathless, they pulled apart and looked each other in the eye as a realization hit them- they were married.

"This is beautiful," Buffy commented as she watched the water shooting in the air. They'd been standing in front of the Bellagio hotel for a while, at first just watching the calm waters and enjoying the serenity, then observing their impressive water show where the water to shot up or sprayed in a certain direction while Italian opera music played in coordination.

"Yeah," Riley agreed, awe-struck as he watched the water shoot several hundred feet in the air.

They had both been very quiet since leaving the wedding chapel, both feeling rather numb and not quite grasping the fact that they were married. Riley had driven them back to Caesar's Palace, and when they were getting out of his jeep in the parking garage, the both of them had agreed that they'd rather not go back to their room right away. And since neither had an appetite… they were checking out the sights.

As the show came to an end, they looked at each other to decide where to go next, but were interrupted by the cold spray of water that hit them, apparently from the last time the water had shot in the air. Riley gasped in shock while Buffy laughed.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's cold enough without getting wet. Where should we go now?"

"Well, there's the Mirage, which has a volcano… and Treasure Island, which has a pirate show. Those are next to our hotel. And *at* our hotel, there's all those nice shops we heard about," Riley informed her, since he had spent quite a bit of time reading about all the attractions Las Vegas had to offer.

"Yeah, but I don't think you're supposed to ride any roller coasters in your condition," Riley replied with a small smile.

"I'm thinking if we go look at those shops, it'll take hours, and I'm kind of getting hungry. So, if you feel up to it, we can grab some dinner and just check out the volcano and pirate show tonight," he suggested.

"Lets check this place out," Riley said, walking towards the entrance of the casino, "You craving anything? I know how pregnant women are."

Buffy smiled at his teasing, "Nothing yet; pickles still aren't any more appealing than normal."

After wandering around for a while, finding only bars and really fancy restaurants as well as a buffet with an exceedingly long line, they came across a café with a nice, normal menu. Satisfied, they decided it would suit their needs for their wedding dinner.

Once they were seated, they busied themselves by checking out their menus and deciding on what they wanted to eat. After their waiter had taken their orders, they shared an awkward moment of silence until Buffy thought of something to talk about.

Riley thought it over, "Well, I am pretty sure Colonel Nichols is going to make things happen as fast as possible for me, so that will help. I'll fax our marriage certificate to them tomorrow, so as soon as we get back we can submit the rest of our paperwork, which probably involves some things I will need you to sign, by the way, and they can send it back to Virginia so that it can be documented and verified. Then they have to do the paperwork to get the funds for out apartment and put in my pay raise and all that. I think it'll be the end of next week before that's done. Odds are, they'll pick the apartment for us, so I'd give them a week or two to do that… then it's just a matter of a moving in date."

"Oh, that's not it at all," she protested, "The guys are so incredibly sweet, it's just that you have to sleep on the floor in your own room! Plus… as nice as they are to me, I feel like I'm cramping their style."

"Trust me, they all adore you… they don't mind at all. I'm expecting a lot of phone calls and visits from them after we do get our own place," he told her.

"Yeah, since they know about the baby, they won't make us spend six months or something in a one bedroom, then move us into a two bedroom. I was thinking I would have one room and you could share the other with the baby… then you'd be close to him or her… and we get our own rooms."

"Sounds perfect," she said, "Oh, but what about furniture? I didn't think about that at all! I mean, the baby stuff I can worry about later, but I have *nothing*. I could see if my mom will let me have my bedroom furniture, and you have yours from the fraternity… but we need couches and a table and stuff!"

"Well, I have quite a bit of money saved. I get a paycheck for my job, you know. I don't have to pay rent, or for food or school or anything. I have my jeep all paid off, so I just have minor expenses like gas, clothes and a few other things. Everything else I have made for years has been put into savings."

Buffy shook her head, "Absolutely not! I am not going to let you spend your hard earned money on me. This was my mistake, and my decision to go the difficult route."

Riley smiled, not surprised by her vehement protests, "Look, the furniture in my room belongs to the house, not me. I'm going to have to buy that anyway. Plus, I like sitting on a couch when I watch TV, and eating my meals at a table, so it's in my interest to buy that stuff anyway. If you'd prefer, it can be all my furniture that I will allow you to use."

"Buffy, you don't need one. I'm getting extra money for you two, and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't *spend* it on you two. Besides, I *want* to do it."

"I still need a job," she insisted, "It's just that now I can get a part-time job. I don't have to worry about paying rent and stuff, and now I can go to school, but babies aren't cheap. When I was looking on your computer the other day, I found a site with baby furniture and clothes and all the other equipment… it's expensive. And that's not including the crib and all that. Plus, after the baby comes, I have to buy diapers and when they are a few months old I am on my own, so it would be nice if I have some savings set up."

Riley sighed, "Look, right now you are basically just as healthy as before you got pregnant, but in a couple of months you're going to start showing and getting bigger and bigger and moving around fast is going to be a problem. I… well, I hate the idea of you running around for hardly any money when you are six months pregnant."

Buffy conceded that waitressing may not be the most fun job to have when she was pregnant, "I'll look around for other stuff. I know you're very against me working in my condition and you'd like me to let you take care of me, but I can't. I'm independent… and besides, even though you know everything, I feel like I am taking advantage of you. It's not like I am telling you it's *your* baby, but you're very generous and for me to let you be so generous to me is wrong. You want to give too much and I would feel wretched guilt if I let you. Please, can you just let me do this without arguing?"

Riley nodded reluctantly; knowing this was ultimately Buffy's decision… and he had seen she could be very stubborn when she wanted. Their food was served right then, so the subject was dropped at they began eating and only conversed about light subjects.

Riley stepped out of the bathroom and couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate how beautiful Buffy was as she sat cross-legged on the bed and brushed through her hair. It was only nine in the evening, but the both of them had been exhausted from getting up early, making the long drive, the sightseeing they'd done after dinner… and of course, their wedding.

Buffy looked up at him and smiled, forcing him to stop staring at her. Awkwardly, he moved through the room and dumped his dirty clothes on top of his suitcase, praying she hadn't noticed his odd behavior.

"Do you want to sleep right now, or do you want to watch some TV first?" Buffy asked, setting her brush on the nightstand. "Now that I've had a chance to get off my feet and take those heels off I feel a lot better… and not really exhausted."

"I don't know… but we have HBO, so maybe we can get some movie our mothers won't want us watching," she joked.

"Good idea… because they'll probably be pissed off at us enough as it is with the whole eloping thing," Riley grinned, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

Buffy smiled sadly, "I really hope this doesn't mess up your relationship with your family."

"It won't, I swear," he assured her, "My mom would prefer that she actually be present at my wedding, and get to meet my bride before, so she might freak when I first tell her, but she'll understand after a little time. I'm going to tell her the whole truth, and I really believe that she'll approve. She's always raised me to believe that when you see a woman who needs help, you give it to her. This may be a little extreme… but she will accept it."

"How's she going to feel about a divorce, though? I've never been really religious, but I know that goes against the Christian beliefs."

Riley nodded, "I just figure the part where I elope with you will be the big shocker… the divorce will be small potatoes… and kind of inevitable."

"Yeah," she sighed as she picked up the remote and turning on the TV. After a few moments of channel surfing, the two of them agreed on watching The Breakfast Club.

After an hour and a half, the both of them were completely relaxed, sitting side by side with their backs against the sideboard. As the end credits began to roll down the screen, Buffy yawned and Riley realized he was pretty tired himself.

Grabbing two of the pillows, Riley stood up and started walking to an empty spot on the floor to make his bed. Buffy leaned forward and bit her bottom lip as she considered her idea.

She shrugged nonchalantly and said, "We're adults… we both have an agreement that our relationship is purely platonic and the only reason we got married is for the financial help. We know that we aren't going to have sex or anything… and this is a really big bed. Why can't we just sleep next to each other? I really see nothing wrong with it."

Riley considered what she said and slowly nodded, "I'm fine with it if you are."

Riley turned around and climbed back on the bed, putting the pillows back before pulling to covers over him as Buffy settled herself on the other side of the bed. Simultaneously, they turned off the lamps on their nightstands.

After a moment of silence in the darkened room, Buffy quietly said, "Goodnight, Riley."

Riley jerked awake and opened his eyes, finding the room still dark. A few seconds later, he realized why he had woken up in the middle of the night as Buffy once again ran her hand over his chest.

He could barely make out a smile on her face from a small amount of light filtering in through the blinds covering the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. Somehow, he could also see an almost dangerous look in her eyes… that intrigued him.

"I was having second thoughts," she said, "Maybe being your wife in every sense of the word is a better plan."

"Shh," she replied, sitting up slightly so that her lips were less than an inch from his.

Buffy chuckled before dipping her head down and capturing Riley's mouth in a searing kiss. Every time their lips met, he was overwhelmed by the sensations that assaulted his body. To him, this girl was more potent than any drug, sweeter than any candy, more wonderful than anything else in the world.

Before he knew it, Buffy had pulled back and was on her knees on the bed, unbuttoning her nightshirt. Following her lead, Riley sat up and pulled his t-shirt over his head and began pushing his sweatpants down his legs. Buffy abandoned her task when only half done with her own clothing and began helping in the effort. Soon both Riley's pants and boxers were off and he was left nude in the bed with his erection straining against his belly. Buffy smiled serenely down at him and returned to unbuttoning her nightshirt. At long last, she was done, and slowly pulling the two sides down her arms, revealing to Riley the most beautiful pair of breasts he had ever seen.

They weren't the largest, but she was a very small girl and for her frame… they were quite voluptuous. Perfectly rounded, creamy white and just aching to fill his palms. So he did just that, gently squeezing both with his hands, smiling at the way Buffy's eyes closed as a moan came from deep in her throat.

"I've wanted you for so long, Riley," Buffy sighed, opening her eyes and smiling at him before leaning over to kiss him again.

Riley returned the kiss eagerly, moving his hands to the back of her head, to keep her against him. She always seemed like she was just out of his grasp, all he wanted to do was hold on to her tightly and never let her go. He felt her body move on top of his and moved his hands down to run over her smooth back while he lifted his hips in a silent plea for her to give him permission to enter her.

Buffy broke the kiss and sat up again, but before Riley could protest, he felt her hand grasp the base of his erection and knew it was time. Slowly, she slid down on his length, making him see stars at the intense pleasure of feeling her warmth surround him. For a moment, she remained still, and he went along with it, knowing her experience was limited, and not wanted to hurt her. Instead, he was content to put his hands on her hips and gently caress her skin.

She settled herself back down against his chest and kissed a path over his jawbone as she began rolling her hips back and forth and moaning her pleasure. Riley was lost, only able to thrust his hips up to increase their contact, while grunting and gasping as waves of pleasure swept over him.

As they both grew closer to climax, Buffy pulled them both into a sitting position so that she could move her hips more without losing contact with him. They mouths and hands were wild, moving everywhere over each other's bodies as they raced to the finish line. Riley was so close… just a few more thrusts and he knew he'd be coming. He wanted her to come with him, so he moved his hand where their bodies met and found her tender pearl. Gently, so as not to overstimulate her, he rubbed it with his index finger, almost immediately bringing her to orgasm. Feeling her strong muscles milk him, Riley let himself go, spilling his seed inside her.

Riley panted as his body shook with his release, barely registering Buffy as she called out his name.

"Riley," she repeated, and he realized she didn't sound like she was crying out his name in ecstasy, but was instead speaking in a concerned voice.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and found the room flooded with light and Buffy leaning over him. Her hair was soaking wet and upon further inspection, he saw she was in nothing but a towel, standing beside the bed with her hand on his shoulder.

"Riley, are you okay? I just came out here because I needed my brush and I you looked like you were in pain or something. Plus, your face is all red."

Riley realized how truly naïve she was. She had no idea how a man looked when he was having an orgasm. It made him feel all the more guilty for the dream he'd just had about her… and the evidence of that dream that had caused his underwear to be soaking wet.

Buffy sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Riley didn't dare look down to see if it was possible for her to notice the wet spot. He wasn't sure it had gone through the bedspread, and she'd freak if she found out the truth. "Is it because you just realized you're married?"

Riley smiled and shook his head, "I just had a dream. A dream I called my mom, actually."

"Oh… you know, I was thinking about that. Maybe if you say 'Hey Mom, I just got back from eloping in Vegas with this knocked up freshman, but the good news is it's not my baby and after a year it'll be like it never happened.' she'll be so relieved by the last part that the first part won't upset her so much," Buffy grinned.

"Well, I better go get my hair dry," she said, getting up and walking around the bed to grab her hairbrush from the nightstand. "Are you in a big rush to get in the shower? I can just get dressed and dry my hair out here."

"Okay, that'll work. Then we can go get some breakfast sooner… I'm already starving," he said, eager to clean himself up. He couldn't believe he had a wet dream! He hadn't had one in *years*.

Buffy smiled at his sentimentalism and looked at the fountain, trying to pick just one thing to wish for. When had life gotten so difficult? A year earlier, her choice would have been easy- to spend the rest of her life being happy with Angel. Now it seemed so much less important, something that sounded nice, but wishing her baby would be born healthy and stay that way seemed a lot better. Looking at Riley and seeing how he took everything in with wide eyes, almost like an innocent child at times, yet a man in every sense of the word when it really mattered... she knew what she wanted. Silently wishing that this whole make-believe life they had created for everyone so that her baby would have a better life would stop being make-believe and start being reality, Buffy tossed the coin into the fountain.

"Nice shot, I bet it comes true," Riley commented, winking at her. "What did you wish for?"

"Sure," he replied and followed as she led him into the Virgin Megastore. He quickly saw that it deserved it's name. The megastore part, anyway. It was a lot bigger than most of the other stores in Forum Shops that were a part of Caesar's Palace. CD's with headphones lined the walls, so that you could preview before buying, and there were so many CD's that he wondered if there were any they *didn't* have… and what they could possibly have on the second floor.

Realizing he'd already lost Buffy, Riley began wandering around, looking for her blonde head. Finally he found her by the wall, with some headphones on as she listened to a CD. Seeing him, she smiled and pulled the headphones down.

"Dido," she answered, "She is an incredible singer, and I love this CD. My mom actually bought it for me for Christmas, but I doubt I'll ever see it again."

Riley was quiet as Buffy looked down for a moment and tried not to think sad thoughts. The whole morning they had been wandering around the shops, having a genuinely fun time together, and Riley had been so sweet. She instantly felt bad for spoiling the mood.

"Hey, you hungry? It's after one, so I'm kinda famished," Riley said, trying to get her mind off things again. He really wanted her to enjoy herself while they were out of town. Once they got back it would be the 'real world' again and their lives would most likely be chaotic. Plus, with the whole situation of informing their loved ones about their marriage, getting ready for their apartment, and setting up a life together, Riley was planning on being extremely stressed.

"I could eat," Buffy replied, hanging the headphones back on the hook where she had found them and following Riley through the store. If only she had a credit card… she could do *major* damage in this store.

"So, what should we do tonight?" Riley grinned as Buffy practically collapsed into the booth across from him in the Mexican restaurant they had chosen for their dinner.

"I'm thinking sit around and watch my feet fall off. We did a *lot* today," Buffy sighed.

"Too bad we didn't bring bathing suits or we could go for a swim in the hotel pool."

Buffy lowered her menu and gave Riley a look that would have made him shiver had he not been so amused, "Them is fightin' words. Don't tell me you want me to go jump in a pool in my underwear just to prove a point to you."

Actually, the idea of that didn't sound too horrid to Riley. He didn't want her getting sick or anything… but the image of her in her underwear was almost irresistible to him.

Satisfied, Buffy went back to her menu, while Riley picked up his own and prepared to do the same. He realized that he was rather wishing the guys had booked their hotel room for a few more days… he was having a great time with Buffy. Even when they'd been going through the shops, a pastime Riley had always disliked, he'd enjoyed himself because he had been with *her*.

At least he had the knowledge that they'd be living together for the next year. That was an entire year of seeing Buffy every day. Eating meals with Buffy, talking to Buffy… hanging out with Buffy. He knew without a doubt that he'd enjoy every minute of it. After a year, though.... Forrest was right, in a way, he had gotten himself into a huge mess. But it really hadn't begun with marrying Buffy… as soon as he'd set eyes on her, he was lost. He might as well have fun with his downward spiral.

"So, are you ready to go back to our room?" Riley asked as the two of them walked through the casino in the MGM Grand, having just left the restaurant.

Riley stopped as well, watching to see what she had found. Buffy stood and held up a coin.

"So, it's only a dollar! Besides, it's not really mine since I only found it and if you lose it, I won't care," Buffy argued, "Maybe you'll have beginners luck!"

Riley sighed and nodded his head. After all, it was her money, if she wanted him to waste it…

They wandered around for a few moments until Buffy decided on a machine. Riley had no idea how she could tell which one was a winner, but if it made her happy, he'd go along with it. When she directed him to take a seat, he tried to protest because she had picked a dollar machine instead of a nickel or quarter one, so he would only be able to play one hand. Buffy wouldn't hear of it, though, and Riley found himself wishing she was three years older so she could play the damn thing herself.

Sighing, he put the coin in and pulled the lever. The machine starting dinging and the light above began flashing. Riley's eyes widened as the credits on the machine went up and up. Turning, he saw Buffy jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

Riley was completely numb to everything around him. Only one fact permeated his brain… they'd won.

Riley just shook his head and smiled down at her before tossing his jacket on one of the chairs.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, she said, "I know it's not all the money in the world, but to think I just *found* a dollar and we ended up with *five hundred*. Just think, it's like being handed five hundred dollars for doing nothing, Riley."

"How are *we* planning on spending it," she corrected, "It's *our* money. I found the dollar and you played the machine."

Buffy shook her head, "Riley, it will make me happy and I will feel a little bit better about this whole thing if I can at least share five hundred dollars… and I know the first thing I want to use my 250 for!"

Riley watched her stand up and pick up a twenty from the pile of bills the cashier had given them for the win before walking to the door.

Riley reluctantly nodded, letting her walk out the door alone before climbing on the bed and grabbing the remote control. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was after seven and wondered how soon it would be before Buffy went to sleep. Hopefully she'd be conked out early enough for him to sneak out and complete his task, because he was pretty sure they'd be so busy the next morning checking out that he wouldn't be able to get away from her long enough to do it then.

He'd finally settled on watching 'Murder in the First' when Buffy reappeared with two ice cream sundaes in hand. Sitting up, he gave her a grateful smile as she handed him one.

Buffy shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed, "I know it probably wasn't the most responsible thing for me to spend my money on, since I am going to need every cent I can get for the baby… but it's our honeymoon… and it was only a few dollars."

"I don't think it was irresponsible at all," Riley told her, shoving a spoonful of the delicious treat in his mouth, "Nobody expects you to spend everything on the baby. You *have* to spend it on yourself too."

Buffy nodded, "I know… it's just that I don't want my baby deprived of anything."

"They won't," Riley said confidently, "I know you, and I am positive that you will always put that baby first. It will have everything it needs."

Buffy smiled at him, appreciating his reassurance. He honestly did have absolute faith in her… she really didn't know what she'd do without him. Everyone else who loved her had doubted her, but not Riley. She scooted up onto the bed and leaned her back against the pillows so she could watch TV with him.

"Yeah.. I've seen it a bunch of times, which wasn't easy because it was rated R and I was only fourteen when that came out," Buffy replied, "But I was in love with Christian Slater, convinced that I would marry him, so I sucked it up and flirted with Franklin Beaderman. He was a total dork, but he had a crush on me and worked the box office at the movie theater in the mall, so it worked."

Buffy nodded, "I was seriously a jerk back in the day. I was the popular girl… and I treated all those that were beneath me like dirt."

"So true… like, the whole Christian Slater thing. Okay, he's a cute guy, but I was all *crazy* for him."

"They fought as far back as I can remember," Buffy said, "Now that I think back on it, I'm surprised it lasted so long. It was their fighting that got me all obsessed with ice skating and Dorothy Hamill… basically as a way to get away from reality, and I was only four then."

"Well, even though your father was actually there, you probably liked Christian because you needed a father figure. Since your parents were fighting, you probably had a sense of rejection from your dad."

"Sorry," he apologized, looking down. He tended to do that to people; go from a normal conversation into a psychological analysis and make them feel completely uncomfortable.

"It's okay… and you're probably right. I do have a tendency to fall for guys that are way too old for me. Angel's over two *hundred*."

"Are you serious?!" Riley exclaimed, "I mean, I knew he was a vampire, so there's the whole immortal thing, but that is really really old."

"Yeah, but he doesn't *look* that old. Besides… we were in love. Age really didn't matter," she sighed.

"Hey, it's okay! I'm fine, see," she said, giving him a big grin for his benefit. "I've resolved to stop being The Amazing Hormonal Crying Girl and instead be the girl I have always been- strong and unflappable."

"That's alright," he said, patting her leg, "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Buffy gave him a mock glare and grabbed one of the pillows next to her before flinging it at his head and hitting her target dead-on. Riley laughed and put the pillow under his chest so he'd be more comfortable lying on his stomach on the bed.