"Whatcha thinking about, darling?" Her lover asked as he sneaked up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Nothing much," she lied. She kissed him back. It was a pleasant surprise to see him. "How'd you find me?" She asked, curious as to what the special occasion might be.

"I have something to ask you," he confided. With that he dropped to one knee and held out a tiny, black, velvet box he had been hiding in his pocket. "Buffy Summers, will you marry me?" He opened the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring with a big diamond in the middle flanked by two smaller diamonds.

Buffy gasped. She hadn't been expecting this. In fact, she had never expected to get married at all, being the Slayer and all. Tears welled up in her eyes and she smiled down at the man. He certainly wasn't her first love, or her most passionate love but he made her happy and that was what was important, right?

She took his hand in hers and helped him to his feet. "Of course I'll marry you, Carl." She beamed.

"So that's how it happened?" Willow asked. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Buffy grinned. She turned around to show her future maid of honor the long, white dress she was now modeling.

"I liked the second one better," Willow admitted. And that statement had more meanings than just the dress. The redhead didn't have the heart to tell her joyous friend that she didn't really like Carl. Not that she really knew Carl. His and Buffy's courtship had been like a whirlwind. Buffy had broken up with Riley Finn, for reasons still unknown, and she met Carl almost the next day. Willow had thought that it was just a rebound thing, but then a few months later Carl proposed and Buffy accepted.

Willow sighed. Who was she to pass judgment? Carl wasn't a demon or anything and he was a nice guy and all...he was just so average. So normal. So...boring. Yep, that was it, boring. Willow often feared that Buffy was marrying him, not because she loved him, but because she couldn't find anything really wrong with him.

And to add to the badness, Willow was almost positive that Carl didn't know anything about Buffy being the Slayer. She'd always tell him she was out with her friends or over at Giles' and he'd just up and believe her! He was so trusting it was sickening.

Buffy emerged from the dressing room for a fourth time, this time the dress was all poofy and kind of off white. Willow made a face. Buffy looked like a human tablecloth.

"Oh! Aren't you a vision! Oh Buffy, darling, I think we've found it!" Willow turned around to look at the plump woman who had spurted these words out. Was she nuts? Bonnie, Carl's mother and Buffy's future mother-in-law, stood towards the rear of the store and gushed. Willow may not have had that much of an opinion on Carl but Bonnie she definitely didn't like.

The jolly woman rushed forward and enveloped Buffy in a big bear hug. She squeezed the smaller girl so much that she almost popped her head off. Willow groaned inwardly. Buffy caught her eye. Willow shook her head to silently show disapproval of the dress. Buffy agreed with her whole-heartedly.

"Buffy, honey, there are some shoes I want to show you over there..." Bonnie's words drolled on. Willow had this tendency to tune her out when she talked. It made life so much easier. As Buffy and Bonnie looked at shoes Willow was once again lost in thoughts of other men Buffy should be marrying.

Hell, even if she married Angel, had sex with him and he turned evil killing everyone in his path, it would be better than spending the day dress shopping with the mother of the groom. Joyce Summers had already thought up a list of excuses not to come so she wouldn't have to put up with it. Willow envied her. She wished she had thought of that.

Willow sighed for umpteenth time. What happened to Riley? She always liked Riley. He had a job, hobbies, a normal mother and he never turned evil. But she hadn't seen him since the infamous breakup. Willow wondered what he was doing...

"Riley, for God's sake, if you don't get out of bed today I'm going to kick your ass!" Forrest screamed from outside the heavy, mahogany door. Riley's reply was muffled by the pillow his head was buried in but Forrest was sure it was something snide.

Forrest groaned. He didn't know how much more of this sulking he could take. Riley had been at it for weeks. "You're not helping anything you know!" He yelled to the despondent figure behind the door. Of course, he didn't know exactly what it wasn't helping, but that was beside the point. This wouldn't help any situation. All any of the guys knew was that something bad was going on with Buffy and Riley was all mopey about it. It was odd, when things happened, Riley usually took sprung into action and took charge of the situation, instead of springing into despondency and moaning about it.

Inside his room, Riley closed his eyes trying to shut everything out. It was just easier to stay there and that way he wouldn't get hurt. Unless of course he actually tried to get out of bed and tripped over something because it was so dark. All the shades were drawn and the lights were off, just how he liked it. Calm, quiet, peaceful, and alone with no disturbances. Unless you count Forrest, which he didn't.

Riley's quality wallow was interrupted by a soft knock his door.

"Go away!" Riley yelled.

"Rye, it's me!" The voice of the perpetrator called. Riley sat up. Graham. Graham was back. He had been home with his family when this whole thing happened.

"Come in!" Riley changed his tune.

Slowly, Graham pushed the door open and poked his head in. "You okay?" He asked. Riley didn't answer. It was obvious. "What happened?"

"She's getting married," Riley said flatly. There was no point in saying whom exactly, everyone knew.

Graham gasped. "But she just met him!" He protested.

"That's what I said!" Riley fell back on the bed in frustration. He groaned and once again put his blankets over his head. "My life sucks." Graham could barely hear him through the fabric.

"What are you going to do about it?" Graham asked.

Riley sat up again and glared at Graham. "Do? What am I going to do?" He yelled in disbelief. "I'm not going to do anything! What can I do? She hates me!"

"Why?" Graham asked quietly. Riley had told him that they broke up and that it was his fault but he never said why. It was all very vague.

Riley looked at his friend in defeat. He realized now that he was going to have to admit it sooner or late. Graham probed him on with a nod of his head. Riley mumbled something incoherently.

"Come again?" Graham asked. Riley wasn't going to get out of it that easy.

"I told her we shouldn't see each other anymore," Riley whispered.

"Why!?!" Graham thundered, which was quite uncharacteristic. Sometimes his friend could be so dense, it was irritating. And desperate times called for desperate measures; if that meant Graham had to speak more than a syllable in a row, then so be it.

"I don't know," Riley groaned letting Graham know that he knew now that it had been a mistake. "I thought I'd be better without all the Slayer/Initiative conflict. You know, make things easier for both of us."

"But instead, you've made yourself miserable and driven her into the arms of another man," Graham picked up one of Riley's over-used pillows and started to beat him over the head with it, "you big, dumb, idiot!"

"Stop it!" Riley cried from under the deluge of pillow. "Jeez, you'd think you'd have more sympathy-"

"Sympathy?" Graham stopped hitting him in sheer disbelief. "This is your own damn fault. And now all you're doing is growing mold when you should be out there trying to get her back!"

"She doesn't want me now..." Riley protested.

"How do you know?"

"Because she's marrying someone else!" Riley roared. Wasn't it obvious?

"You don't have to get snippy with me. I wasn't the one who let her get away when I knew damn well that I was in love with her."

"I know," Riley admitted dejectedly.

Graham sat next to him on the bed. "All right. I'm only going to tell you this once, but if you sit here and mope until she's got four kids it's only going to make things worse. But if you go to her, right the hell now, and tell her that you love her and you're sorry, yada, yada, yada at least you'll have a shot. And it might make you feel better."

Riley nodded his head. "You're right. But what should I say?"

"Tell her the truth: you're a big, dumb, idiot," Graham said flatly.

"When's your next train to Los Angeles?" Riley asked the lady at the ticket office impatiently.

"It'll leave in 2 hours and 4 minutes," she said with a cheery smile.

"Two hours?" Riley cried in disbelief. "I could walk there faster!"

"Now, now, Sir, I'm sure that --" But Riley didn't hear the rest of the Up with People speech she was about to give, he was already gone looking for an alternate route to Los Angeles.

He didn't have much time. He had found out from this guy that had been a friend of Buffy's in high school that had been invited but couldn't go that the wedding was today. No big, Riley had thought, that still gave him plenty of time to find her. Then the guy, Jonathan his name was, told him that it was going to be held in LA so Buffy's father could be there. Of course, Riley had no car and the train station had been a bust.

Riley racked his brain thinking of other ways to get there in time. The wedding was at noon and it was already nine. He looked at his watch, 9:19 to be exact. He felt as though his whole entire life was slipping away with each passing second and he couldn't do a thing about it. The trip to the train station had been a big waste of time. Riley fidgeted. He had to find some way to get out of there.

Just then Riley heard a loud horn honk about thirty times behind him. Who could be so obnoxious, he asked himself and turned around.

Forrest sat proudly in the driver's seat of a beaten up, orange VW Bug. "Hey, baby, need a lift?" He called to his friend.

"Where'd you get this?" Riley demanded. Forrest didn't own a car.

"You remember that cute chick I met at the bar the other night, oh whoops that's right you were in your room. But then again, where else would you be?" Riley shot him an angry look. "Well, she lent it to me when I told her your pathetic story. I guess she felt sorry for ya. Hop in!"

Riley climbed into the cramped passenger's seat. Cramming 6'2" Riley Finn into a VW Bug was like trying to force an elephant through your front door. It was tight, but it would get him to Buffy and that was all that mattered.

"Why are you doing this?" Riley asked as they sped away, rather, putted away. "I thought you hated Buffy."

"I do," Forrest admitted proudly. "But don't I make a fine knight in shining Bug?"

"Oh come on! Move it man! If you're not gonna shit get off the pot!" Forrest yelled at the immobile cars in front of him that seemed incapable of making a turn. He turned to his increasingly worried friend. "You just knew we were going to hit a mess of traffic, didn't you?"

Riley just nodded mutely. If this didn't let up he'd never get to Buffy before he wedding. He checked his watch, again, 11:02. He had less than an hour. Things were not looking good.

Forrest's heart went out to his bud. He had to do something or they'd have one boring Riley on his hands for the rest of his life. Not to mention, the stink of the room was starting to effect Forrest's own love life. Forrest racked his brain; he simply could not let this happen.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. "What about one of her friends that's there. Maybe they could stall the wedding!"

Riley looked at him with hope in his eyes. "You think they'd want to help me?"

"It's worth a shot. Do you have any of their numbers?"

After calling Graham on his cell phone and making a tiny breaking and entering request, Riley found out the locks at Stevenson weren't that hard to open and that Willow's address book was very well organized.

Graham read off names and numbers to Forrest who relayed them to Riley who made the call. Technically, none of them were supposed to use their Initiative cell phones for personal matters but Forrest figured this was for the sake of humanity. If Riley didn't stop moping, Forrest was likely to go on a rampage.

"Anything?" Forrest asked after Graham asked it.

"No. None of them are home. Which one would assume because their friend is getting married. And even if they were home there's no way they could get to LA faster than we could." Riley was nearing the end of his rope. This was so irritating, there had to be something that they could do, Riley just couldn't figure out what.

Forrest listened closely to his phone. Graham was saying something. Then Forrest turned to Riley. "Graham says: "Didn't you tell me once that Buffy used to live in LA? Does she have any friends there that would help you?""

The phone rang out in the dimly lit offices. Once, twice. "Hold your horses! I'm coming." The girl who was supposed to be answering the phones grumbled. It rang again. This time, she answered. "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless," Cordelia sang.

"Helpless huh?" Said the voice on the other end. "Well, that's me in a nutshell."

Buffy glanced at herself in the mirror in her father's bathroom. She looked like a princess, exactly as she had always dreamed. The church looked beautiful, all her family and friends were there, everything was perfect except... Buffy squared her shoulders. She would not think about that now. She loved Carl. It was just the nerves that were making her doubt it. She was sure. Pretty sure. Almost sure...

"Buffy, honey, are you okay in there?" Her mother called. Joyce had been a lifesaver the last couple of weeks. Between thinking up creative ways to get rid of the future in-laws, helping to get everything right and having more heart-to-hearts with Buffy than ever before, she had been one busy mother.

"Yeah! Coming!" Buffy yelled back. "I'm ready!" She added, but she wasn't so sure.

Out in the hall, Joyce and Willow sat nervously awaiting Buffy's appearance. After this they would get in the limo to the Church and then Buffy would be married.

"Do you really think they're ready for this?" Willow hissed.

"She says they are," Joyce whispered back. "And she sounds so sure."

Joyce, on the other hand, wasn't sure at all. She liked Carl but that threw her off entirely, Buffy didn't usually want to spend any amount of time around boys Joyce liked. It was creeping her out.

"What are we going to do?" Willow asked. She didn't want to ruin any happiness Buffy might have a chance at but she wasn't sure this would make her happy. Rock. Hard place.

"We're going to stop this...sham!" Willow and Joyce whirled around to face a very determined Cordelia. They exchanged confused looks. "I got an interesting call earlier today. First, I learned that my supposed ‘friend' was getting married here in a LA and I was not invited. Then I realized that the reason I was not invited was because I would never let Buffy marry someone so boring! God, have you met him? I only talked with him on the phone to find out where you three where and I thought I was going to pass out!"

"Cordelia," Willow began, "we can't just tell Buffy to stop this. It's what she wants."

"Oh come on! When's the last time Buffy ever knew what she wanted. Oh I'm Buffy and I want to kick the crap out of demony things but don't want to kick the crap out of demony things ‘cause I might break a nail."

"But we don't have any reason to stop it!" Willow protested.

"Maybe you don't. But Riley Finn does," Cordelia announced proudly. She enjoyed being the bearer of new and useful info.

"You talked to Riley," Joyce and Willow both asked excitedly in unison.

"Yes. And may I say that boy is very...articulate. Is he rich and does he have a brother?"

"Brother, yes. Rich, no." Willow explained.

"Damn. Oh well. Anyway, he's on his way here right now but he's stuck in traffic so we gotta stall until he gets here and sweeps Buffy off her feet or something."

"We have to tell the guys at the Church!" Willow exclaimed happily.

"Right, you should. I sent Wesley there, but you know Wes, he'll probably need help." Cordy nodded her head.

"Wes?" Willow asked in befuddlement.

"Nevermind that. Just go!" Cordelia ordered.

"Shouldn't someone take care of the groom?" Joyce asked on their way out the door.

"Yeah. Angel's on it," Cordelia explained.

The pair stopped dead. "Angel?" They both asked in horror. It was hard to imagine Carl and Angel in the same room. They were polar opposites.

"Yeah. I thought if worse came to worse he could just bite him." Joyce and Willow gave her looks. "What? It's not like it'd be a big loss!"

Carl straightened up his tux and looked himself squarely in the mirror. He was a very handsome man, and he thought himself handsomer. He was completely calm and collected about the prospect of marrying Buffy. She was great. Smart, funny, beautiful and everything else he had always looked for in a woman. And best of all, they had no secrets between them.

He looked behind him in the mirror. The room was littered with flowers and gifts for the newlyweds. Other than that, it was empty. Carl was happy. Nothing could ruin this day.

Carl turned around and was surprised to come face-to-face with a tall, dark man. Carl gasped in shock. The man just smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"Who...who are you?" Carl asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Angel, a friend of Buffy's."

Angel's deep, penetrating stare was unnerving the boy and Angel knew it. That's why he kept doing it. Truthfully, it didn't matter to Angel whether or not Buffy married Carl or got back with Riley, it broke his heart either way. But as long as Buffy was happy, Angel had done his job. He didn't know much about Carl or Riley for that matter. But he did know that if Riley was going to drive out there completely willing to make a fool out of himself for her, then he at least deserved a shot. And so far, Carl hadn't shown that kind of commitment.

Carl began to recompose himself. "Really? She never mentioned you."

Angel smiled. This boy was going to have a rough day; he'd never know what hit him. Angel wasn't completely sorry about it either. "I'm sure you'll get to know me better after the ceremony. But this isn't my day. It's about you, and Buffy," Angel put his arm around the younger man as if to welcome him to the family. "There are some things you have to know about Buffy before you get married, though."

"Uh," Carl was confused. What hadn't Buffy told him? "Like what?"

Angel wasn‘t exactly sure what to say to this guy to stop him from marrying Buffy. All he knew was what worked for him. "Well for starters, you can't have sex with her..."

"Hi, Buffy!" Cordelia barged into the bride's room and gave her a hug. "How are you?"

"Cordelia! How did you...I didn't..." Buffy sputtered.

"Invite me?" Cordelia suggested.

"Yeah, but about that..." Buffy did feel bad about it. She just didn't want Angel to show up.

"No need to explain. I get it," Cordelia smiled sweetly. "You look beautiful by the way."

Buffy looked down at her dress. "I do?" She asked. "I mean, I do. But you never think that I look good."

"Yeah I figured just this once I might say something nice. It's your wedding and all."

"Thanks. I think." Buffy was a little thrown off by the civil treatment from Cordelia. She was up to something. Buffy just knew it.

"So, how've you been?" Cordelia asked.

"Fine. Engaged in fact. And I have to be on my way now," Buffy tried to disentangle herself from Cordelia and make a speedy exit.

Cordelia thought quickly. She had to come up with something that Buffy wouldn't be able to walk away from. There was only one way to go: guilt trip. "Well, I haven't been fine." She flipped on the acting switch and started to cry a little. "Doyle died." She sighed deeply. Buffy looked guilt ridden and sorry for having tried to leave. Score! Cordelia continued. "And I didn't even realize that I loved him until it was too late. That's why it's so wonderful that you found Chuck-"

"Carl," Buffy corrected.

"Whatever." Cordelia cut her off. "Anyway, it's wonderful that you found him when you did. You know, that special someone who makes your heart pound, your hands sweaty and your...well you know."

Buffy sunk to a nearby chair and fidgeted. Did Carl really do any of that stuff? Cordelia, completely in character, didn't notice Buffy's growing discomfort.

Or at least she acted like she didn't. Inwardly, Cordy smiled. And they said she was a bad actress. "It's great that you and Chuck are going to spend the rest of your lives together. Forever. And ever. You‘ll never be with anyone else. Did I mention forever?"

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce hurried up the steps leading to the large, Gothic church. He glanced at his watch briefly; the wedding should be starting about then, but with Cordelia and Angel on the job he was sure it wouldn't be starting anytime soon. It was Wes' job to inform Buffy's other friends what was going on. He didn't exactly enjoy the prospect of seeing them all again, but sacrifices had to be made.

He pulled open the heavy doors and glanced into the Church. All the people were bathed in multicolored light from the large stain glass windows that adorned the walls. But perhaps most notably, the congregation was restless and angry. Wesley imagined they were a little peeved that the wedding hadn't started yet, or that the bride and groom hadn't even arrived yet.

Wes searched frantically for the rest of the Scooby Gang but saw no one he knew. He was about to start walking up and down the aisles when he was shoved from behind by two ladies rushing into the church in a grand hurry.

He turned around to glare at them, but that thought was lost when he realized who it was. "Willow!" Wes cried excitedly.

"Wesley," she was excited too, but it wasn't about seeing him. It was more about seeing Riley.

"Where is everyone? We have to tell them what's happening," Wesley began.

"Giles should be back here somewhere. He's giving Buffy away." Wes looked hurt for an instant that pushed it out of his mind. He wasn't her Watcher anymore. "Xander should be up by the altar because he's best man. I guess Carl doesn't have any friends of his own," Willow explained. "But don't worry. I'll explain it to them."

"What should I do?" Wesley asked. He didn't want to be useless.

"Umm..." Willow drew a blank. What could Wesley do?

"Why don't you try to keep the crowd under control," Joyce suggested after looking into the church and finding them even more agitated than before.

Wesley smiled proudly. His job was very important, or so he thought. As Willow and Joyce rushed off to fill in the rest of the gang, Wes scurried up the aisle to the microphone.

"Excuse me," he tapped the microphone. "Excuse me. May I have everyone's attention? It seems that the bride and groom are running a bit late and the wedding will not begin on schedule. "I thought we could take this fabulous opportunity to find more about each other." He gazed out at the crowd; all of them looked very confused because no one knew who he was. "Does anyone have any hobbies?"

Meanwhile Buffy had managed to detangle herself from Cordelia after listening to her cry about her lost love for nearly half an hour. Buffy was on her way to the church and Cordelia was in hot pursuit. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Angel's number.

"The Eagle has...flown the coop or something," she told him.

"Same here," he informed her. "Carl got away from me. He's a sneaky little bastard; told me he was going to go to the bathroom then climbed out the window."

"Uck!" Cordelia fumed. "That is so rude. Angel, I would never marry a guy who would crawl out of a bathroom window to get away from you. I mean public bathrooms are so gross, it would at least have to be a closet or something."

"Thanks. I think." Sometimes you just had to smile and nod with Cordelia.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked.

"Hopefully the others can find some other way to stop this but Riley better hurry up or he's going to miss his chance."

Cordelia silently prayed that Riley would hurry the heck up. She didn't want to be doing this all day.

Unbeknownst to her, and the rest of the schemers, Riley and Forrest were out of traffic and speeding toward the location.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Riley demanded.

"Dude, you're lucky it's going at all," Forrest explained.

The crowd was not pleased with Wesley.

"Madam! You achieve nothing by throwing things at me. I'm just the messenger," Wesley explained as he dodged someone's shoe.

"You suck!" Came the general consensus from the congregation. Some of them stood and hurled things at him, others just sat and booed or hissed.

From the back, Willow saw the unruly multitude was about to have Wes' head so she called in reinforcements. "Xander, go help him," she told her long time friend. She knew if anyone could keep the crowd amused it was him, but she feared even Xander's antics couldn't solve this problem. "You too," she hissed to Spike.

The blonde vampire groaned. He didn't even want to be at the Slayer's wedding but Willow had forced him to drive her. He grumbled and headed up with Xander to the front, thinking that if the crowd wanted to bash Wes' head in then he'd let them do it. As long as that Bonnie woman didn't get too close to him. He hated her. She was all happy and bubbly; he hated that.

"Okay, okay. Everyone calm down," Xander tried to reassure the mob. "The wedding will be getting underway shortly. We hope," not. He added to himself.

"Get on with it already!" An unnamed person called from the back.

"You annoying!" Someone else shouted.

"Hey!" An offended Xander yelled back. "Don't make us break out the shadow puppets!"

The throng hushed at the threat.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he muttered. No one wanted Wesley to do shadow puppets, but if it was necessary then it had to be done.

"Hey!" The mother of the groom yelled. "I don't want you subjecting my guests to this. Get off the stage!" Bonnie glared at them.

Xander was hurt and offended. He gapped at the woman. He wanted to say something vile but knew he shouldn't. She might end up being a member of Buffy's family. Besides, she was paying for the food.

"Down in front, Tubby!" Spike didn't have any such hang-ups.

Bonnie whirled around to stare the vampire down. "Who asked you?" She hollered.

"Oh," Spike walked toward her pew and stuck his face in hers. "You want a piece of me? Bring it on, bitch!"

Buffy rushed into the church. God, Cordelia could talk your ear off! She looked around for Carl but didn't see him. What the heck was going on? She spotted her mom, Giles and Willow all huddled in a corner watching the happenings of the church.

"...they can't hold them off much longer..." she heard Joyce whisper.

"...I think Wes is going to lose extremity. Maybe two..." Willow hissed.

"...he better get here soon," that was Giles.

"Who?" Buffy asked. They all spun around like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Um...uh..." Willow sputtered. "Carl!" She cried as he entered the back door of the church looking disheveled and disoriented. For the first time in her life, Willow was glad to see him.

"Ohmigod!" Buffy eeped when she saw his appearance. "Where were you?" She asked.

Carl stopped. "Uh, I was," he didn't want to tell her that he had fled from one of her friends. "I...uh..."

"No time for that now!" Giles cut him off. "The crowd's just a mite, oh let's say, livid. You two better do something."

"How about we get married?" Carl asked. Buffy's friends were a little slow on the pickup.

"But, um, you, uh, see. You're all twirly looking," Willow informed him and made a hand gesture indicating his tousled look.

"It won't take long to fix," Carl assured Buffy.

"Damn it." Willow muttered under her breath.

"What are we going to do now?" Joyce asked as Buffy and Carl went off to clean themselves up and to let the Priest know they could begin.

"I'm sure there are other options," Giles began. Just then, Cordelia and Angel ran in.

"We lost ‘em," Cordelia told the other three.

"We got it." Willow smiled.

"What's the plan?" Angel asked.

"Well, when the walk down the aisle," Willow began then paused because she didn't have a plan. "We could...trip them? And then rush them to the hospital...therefore giving Riley enough time to arrive."

Cordelia nodded. "Or! We could lead them outside, throw rice on them, stick them in a limo and tell them it's already over. It just went by so fast..."

A loud crash from inside the church interrupted the rest of Cordy's inane plan. Seconds later, Wes and Xander emerged from the hall each of them holding one of Spike's arms and dragging him away from Bonnie.

"You're lucky they're here!" Spike yelled up to her. "I would've ripped you limb from limb."

They threw him down on the ground. "Stay," Xander commanded through ragged breaths.

"What now?" Willow asked again. This whole plan was rather vague and there was only so much they could do.

"Is everyone ready?" Buffy called as she and Carl reappeared. Angel and Wes quickly hid before she could see them. The rest of the gang swore under their breaths.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so," Xander sputtered.

Buffy suddenly noticed Spike lying on the floor. "Spike what are you doing?"

He hurried to his feet. "I'm, um uh, checking out the ceiling. You can't get married in a church with a crappy ceiling. It's good. Sturdy." He assured her.

"Okay," Buffy turned her attention from the very strange vampire. "This is it you guys, everybody get in their places." With that the gang slowly assumed the positions they had practiced the days before.

Giles threaded his arm through Buffy's and stood with her at the double doors that would lead her to the rest of her life, if everything didn't go smoothly. The music began to play and there was a collective sigh of relief from those gathered. But Buffy didn't hear any of it. She looked at her former Watcher, whose opinion she valued over all others.

"Giles," she said in a small, weak voice. "Am I doing the right thing?"

The older man turned to his Slayer. His heart went out to her. "Do you love him?" He asked.

"I think so," her voice nowhere near sure. "He's nice and he's a good man," her voice wavered. "He'd never hurt me."

"Is that enough?"

"It has to be. I don't have any other options." Buffy was saying these things more to herself than to anyone else. She needed to make herself believe them.

Giles mentally prodded Riley on. She did have other options; she just didn't know it yet. He looked down at the scared girl on his arm. He so badly wanted to tell her to stay there and not to walk towards Carl because Riley loved her. But he knew that no one but Riley would be able to convince Buffy that he loved her.

The music changed and the crowd stood, signaling Buffy and Giles' turn. She looked to him for comfort, and he reassured her with a smile. Giles walked very slowly, trying to buy Riley more time. There were whispers in the crowd about it being more like a funeral march than a wedding. But he paid them no attention.

They passed Spike, Anya and Cordelia sitting in the back. Giles looked over and saw Angel and Wesley hidden behind them. As they continued forward, faces Giles didn't recognize seemed to wiz by. Willow and Xander were up front wearing worried expressions. Joyce was sitting next to Hank with a similar expression. Giles allowed himself a peek at Hank who he had feared would be upset that Giles was the one walking Buffy down the aisle. He didn't seem to mind. So Giles returned to the problem at hand.

As the pair reached the altar, Carl smiled at them. He was a nice boy, Giles thought. But little things like that wouldn't stop the Slayerettes. Carl reached out to take Buffy from Giles, but Giles didn't give. He stood right where he was. If he never gave Buffy to Carl then the wedding couldn't happen, right?

"Giles," Buffy hissed. "The point of giving me away is to actually give me away." She yanked her arm from his.

"Sorry. I blanked," he lied and moved to sit in his assigned seat next to Hank and Joyce.

"Nice try," she whispered.

"Thanks."

The Priest began to speak but none of the Scooby Gang heard him. They all looked around at each other, silently trying to form a plan. Somehow, they all cam to the conclusion that if worse came to worse, Joyce would pretend to pass out before the sacrament could be administered. Then Willow would start screaming a lot and they'd rush her to the hospital. Buffy would be so worried of course she wouldn't have time to get married. But they were going to give Riley every possible moment to get there.

They weren't listening intently, but when the Priest said "If there is anyone present who has just cause why these two can't be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace..." the Slayerettes' ears perked up.

"Should we say something?" Joyce whispered to Giles.

In the back, Wes poked Spike, "do it."

"I'm not going to fall on the sword for you wankers. If I say something now, the Slayer will kill me."

There were a few rumblings in the church, but it was basically silent. The Priest was about to move on when a voice spoke up from the back.

"Oh! I have one!" Everyone turned around to look at the speaker.

Buffy's face went from surprised to confused. "Anya?" She asked.

The former demon bowed out of her pew and took the floor. "Yeah, hi. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't say something. See, you're making a big mistake. And you could throw yourself off a bridge for all I care, but I feel personally involved with this one. I can't let you marry, this, this...*man*. I mean, have I taught you nothing? They're all evil!"

"Anya!" Buffy cried out in embarrassment. "Be quiet."

"Well fine," Anya huffed. "But if one of these days you want his head to explode don't come crying to me." She took her seat.

The church turned its focus back to the Priest who began speaking once again.

"Wait!" Another voice called from the back of the church. "I have a reason too!"

Once again, everyone turned to look and see who dared disrupt the ceremony again.

Cordelia waved at Buffy. "Hi. Um. I don't like his shoes..."

"Cordelia!" Buffy yelped in horror. Anya laughed and gave Cordy a five.

"Well if you want to waste you life with a guy who can't dress," Carl looked himself up and down. He thought he had looked pretty nice, "then it's no skin off my back. But I wouldn't suggest hooking up with fixer uppers." She nodded her head in Xander's general direction.

"Hey!" Xander protested.

"Sit!" Buffy commanded. Cordelia grudgingly returned to her seat next to Anya.

"We tried," Anya whispered. Cordelia nodded her head. When Buffy was going through a messy divorce, they wouldn't have anything to be sorry over.

"All right," the bewildered Priest started to resume the Mass but decided against it. "Does anyone else have a reason?" He sighed. It was better to check.

"I do!" Yet another voice called. The entire church groaned in unison.

"Spike," Buffy began to chastise the vampire but stopped when she realized it wasn't Spike. "Riley," she whispered.

"Yeah!" Forrest announced from behind Riley. "And his is the best reason yet! So everybody pay attention."

"Buffy." He smiled at her. "I'm sorry to intrude everyone," he apologized to the disbelieving mob. "But I have something I have to say."

"It's about Goddamn time," Xander groaned. Carl turned and glared at him. Xander stuck his tongue out.

Riley sighed as he gathered his thoughts. "Buffy," he began. "I'm sorry." He slowly began to walk towards her. "I was an idiot."

"A big, dumb idiot," Forrest added. Riley glared at him. "Graham told me to say it," Forrest protested.

Riley resumed his heartfelt speech. "The only reason I broke up with you is because I thought it would be easier for us. That it would save us both some pain. But being away from you has caused me more pain then I ever could have imagined. Ever since I found out you were getting married, I've barely gotten out of bed."

"Yeah!" Forrest called again. "It smells like he hasn't even moved to go to the bathroom!"

A tear trickled down Buffy's face. Riley smiled at her, knowing he was getting through. "What I'm trying to say is, everything hurts without you. And I wish it hadn't taken your wedding to another man for me to see that. I love you." By then Riley had reached the altar and took her hand in his. "Please, don't leave me," he begged and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I love you too," she whispered in a tiny voice. Riley smiled and pulled her into an embrace.

"I will never let you go again," he promised. "Never."

"You better not," she laughed as she took his mouth in hers. As the pair kissed the church erupted into frenzy. The Scooby Gang all cheered because they were proud of themselves and the guests cried out in surprise.

Carl stood with a blank, disbelieving expression on his. What had just happened? Xander patted him on the back. "You're goin' feel that one in the morning."

It was peaceful out that night, not a demon in sight. Buffy looked up at the clear night sky and thought about her love life. The past week had been one big roller coaster of emotions.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Riley asked as he came up behind her and wrapped her in a bear hug.

"Mostly about you," she admitted.

"Only good things I hope."

"Mostly." She smiled as he dropped kisses all along her neck. "I can't believe I almost married Carl."

"Me neither," he laughed. "How did we get so far apart?"

"I believe that was your doing, big, dumb idiot."

"Right. And I am really sorry about that." Then it dawned on him. "You're never going to let live it down are you?"

"Maybe if you buy me presents. Lots of presents. Then we'll talk." She giggled.

Buffy realized now that she hadn't been really happy with Carl because even the best times didn't compare to these little times she spent with Riley. In fact, when she had been standing in front of the priest she had some serious doubts and was thinking about not going through with it. But she would never tell Riley that. Sometimes you had to let them think they won.

Riley turned Buffy around so she faced him and kissed her for the millionth time that week. He had to make up for lost time.

"So," Buffy began. "I guess this is the part where we live happily ever after, huh?"

"I should hope so."

The End