Disclaimer: Joss owns all, blah blah blah. You know the rest. Oh, and this idea isn't exactly mine in the strictest sense. I saw an ep of Boy Meets World(one of the only eps I actually watched, it's right before Buffy, and right after Sabrina, that's the only reason I watch it at all) and I took some stuff from it, but some of it is mine too.
Summary: Totally AU. Set in 2010. B/A, S/W, X/C
AN: Spike takes Oz's place, simply because I think Spike's better for the story, and cause I just love him so much these days, I can't write a fic without him :P
AN2: MIDTERMS ARE OVER!!!!! YAY!!!! So expect some more of STNC and Talking :P And several more short fics. Big hugs to Sara-Lee and my bestfriend, Daze :P
Feedback: Yes! Yes! Please?

Xander fixed his tie."What am I supposed to say to these people?" He asked his wife, Cordelia. Cordelia gave him an exasperated smile. "You'll smile superficially, say "Hi, how are you?" and they'll smile back just as superficially and say the same thing." Xander smiled at her, then looked at the banner hanging on the wall. "Happy Retirement, Mr. Rupert Giles. Beloved teacher 1975-2010" He sighed, overwhelmed by memories, but he soon shrugged it off.

"I heard you were writing for magazines. Travel a lot?" Giles asked Angel McFilan, one of his pupils. Angel smiled, but Giles had seen many smiles like his. His eyes weren't smiling. "Yeah." "I actually have some of your articles, I tried to collect them as much as I could." Giles said. It was true, and he had some articles of another student of his that Angel was probably dying to see. But he didn't bring it up. "Thanks." Angel said. "Have you found anyone special?" Angel shook his head, but in his heart, he knew that it was a lie. He'd found someone special, but he'd let her go, and he was paying for his stupidity. "Not yet." "Any thoughts of settling down?" Giles asked again, and Angel shook his head again. "Not yet." "Are you happy?" Angel chuckled sadly, shaking his head yet again. "Not yet." Giles nodded, indicating that their conversation was over for now. Angel walked away.

"Giles, it's great to see ya, G-Man." Xander hugged Rupert Giles, his college history professor. "Xander! It's quite nice to see you as well." And Xander knew Giles meant it, for he had let Xander call him "G-Man". "Cordelia." Giles greeted Cordelia as well. Xander was a succesful business man now, and he was very happy with his wife and daughter, Elizabeth Willow. But as her name suggested, there was something missing in his life.

"Hey, Xander." A quiet voice made him turn around. When he saw the face he'd missed for the last 7 years, he had to fight to keep his calm. "Angel." They hugged, for a brief moment, feeling as if they were on the UC Sunnydale campus again, only boys. But when they pulled away, they were at Giles's house, 7 years past UC Sunnydale, and grown men. "What are you doing these days?" Xander asked. Angel shrugged. "Writing for magazines. I travel a lot, I'm not usually in the country." Xander nodded. "I heard about you. Congratulations." Angel said, referring to Xander's business. Xander nodded again. "Thank you." Awkward silence fell over them.

"Buffy?" Cordelia asked cautiously. The blonde whirled around. "Cordy." She breathed. "I am so glad to see you." Cordelia hugged Buffy. She meant it. When they had graduated from college, somehow they had drifted apart. When Xander married Cordelia, Xander had been torn between his wife and his best friend. He had chosen Cordelia, and Angel had left, hurt. Buffy and Angel had a fight, and to this day, no one really knew why. They had both left Sunnydale after that. Willow, their other best friend, had moved to New York after graduating, and why they had stopped calling each other was the biggest mystery of all. Spike, working with his band, the Dingoes Ate My Baby, was travelling all over the world. Buffy hugged Cordelia back, feeling so many memories rushing back to her from the hidden corner of her mind that she never looked in. They chatted together, somewhat cautious and withdrawn, but slowly thawing. But when Cordelia showed Buffy a picture of her two year old daughter, Buffy couldn't help a feeling of envy. She took a short, well-timed, cautious glance at Angel, then quickly looked back at Cordelia before she allowed herself to feel anything. Inwardly, she sighed.

Xander noticed Angel was staring at something. He turned to look, then smiled sadly. "She's still as beautiful as ever, huh?" He said. Buffy was laughing with Cordelia, and Angel was obvious still in love with her. "Yeah, she is." He whispered. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He didn't even remember why they'd fought. But God, he wished he could turn back time. His heart clenched and unclenched crazily. She was writing for magazines as well, travelling much the way he did. He fought fiercely to keep himself under control.

Willow watched them from the shadows. She felt guilty for not calling from New York. Guiltier than the rest. The others had fought, and left in anger, but she had left with promises of calls and letters. She sighed. She didn't know when it had happened, but suddenly the calls had stopped and letters weren't written. She sighed again.

Spike walked in. He was late, because the plane had been delayed, due to a storm. Heads turned. He was the lead vocal for the Dingoes Ate My Baby, and he was a big star these days, but he knew that wasn't the reason those heads had turned. "Spike." Angel whispered, pulling the peroxide blonde close. He shared hugs with Giles, Xander, and then the girls, but all the while he was searching for a redheaded goddess that would elude him, no matter how hard he tried to catch her. Willow shrank further back into the shadows.

When Spike walked in, the girls had joined Giles, Xander, and Angel. Buffy had been avoiding him all evening, only allowing herself short glances, but she had no choice but to join the guys. It was the entire gang again, except for Willow. "Have you guys seen Willow?" Buffy asked, desperately trying to keep her mind off Angel. They all shook their heads. "She went to New York, and she's working for the New York Times." Willow said, finally building up enough courage to emerge from the shadows. "Hi, guys." When Buffy say Willow, tears she'd been fighting to keep inside for so long found a crack in her hard-built walls, and came leaking out. "Will." She hugged Willow tightly. God, she'd missed them all so much. She wondered why she'd never called. Fear? That they wouldn't care? She didn't know. "It's so good to see you." She pulled back, looking at Willow. She hadn't really changed much. Her kind eyes were the same, her hair just as red. But she looked a little sadder, maybe. Buffy realized they all did. Herself included. "I'm sorry." Willow said, looking down. "I should've called you guys, but..." Buffy shook her head. "It's ok." She said firmly. Willow offered a weak smile. Willow shared hugs with the others, then they all lapsed into broody, awkward silence.

Buffy sighed. "When did this happen?" She asked. "When did we all drift so far apart? Why?" The others didn't answer. Even Giles could not answer her question. They all wondered why those stupid fights had led to 7 years in silence. But they couldn't understand.

Xander looked down, his expression sad. But when he looked back up, he was cheerful, his smile genuine. "Hi. My name's Alexander Harris. Old Giles here was my history professor back in college, that's why I'm here today. Guess he was yours too, huh? Don't know why I didn't see you guys in class. But then again, my memory isn't that notoriously known for being that good, and it's been 7 years since I graduated and all." Xander grinned. Everybody else stared at him. "I run Harris Management just down the street." He pulled out his wallet. "If you call me, I'll probably be free most of the time. The boss never has much to do." He handed them some business cards. "Oh, and this is my wife, Cordelia." He said, putting an arm around Cordelia.

Spike smiled, catching on. "Hey, it's great to meet ya, Alexander Harris." He shook Xander's hand. "Oh, no, call me Xander. Everybody does." Xander laughed. "The name's William Kenton, but everybody calls me Spike. I *think* it was the hair back in high school, but I'm not sure." He smiled. "I'm the lead vocal for the Dingoes Ate My Baby, maybe you've heard of us?" "The Dingoes Ate My Baby? God, I thought you looked familiar, but I just couldn't place you." Xander exclaimed. He was playing his part very convincingly. The others smiled. Spike laughed. "Yeah, I'm on tour a lot, and out of the country more often than not, but you can always email me. I, uh, made these special for tonight." He grinned sheepishly, handing them cards with his cell and email address.

"I'm Elizabeth Summers. But you can call me Buffy." Buffy said quietly, smiling. "I write for magazines, and I travel a lot too, so I guess email would the safest bet." She said, handing out her own business cards. Her hand trembled almost imperceptibly when she handed one to Angel, and no one noticed it, except for Angel himself. "I'm Angel McFilan. I write for magazines too, and I travel a lot. Don't you just hate how people don't stay put?" Angel laughed, fishing around for his business cards. He successfully hid the torrent of emotions he'd felt at her touch. "Willow Rosenberg. I work for the New York Times. A lot of us are in the journalism biz, huh?" Willow smiled almost shyly, as she took out her own business cards.

Giles watched his pupils with a smile. "It's nice to know some of my most remarkable student have met each other." "Oh, it's Fate, Giles. We were destined to meet each other." Xander said with a knowing smile.

Buffy checked her watch. "I'm really sorry, I just met you and all, but I told you I travel a lot, right? I have to catch a plane." She said apologetically. "Oh, no, it's ok. If you have to go, that's ok, but just remember to call us, 'k?" Willow said, smiling. Buffy smiled back. "Yeah. I'll call you guys. I promise." She left, waving. The others waved back, all except for Angel, who was too busy staring at her, too sad to see her go to move. Spike looked at him with a sad smile. "You're Angel, right? I just wanna give you a piece of good, general advice. Don't let go. Don't give up when you know you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Angel thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'll give you some advice too, Spike. Practice what you preach." He grinned, then ran out after Buffy. Spike watched him disappear out of sight, then looked at Willow. He smiled sadly. "Practice what I preach... " He half-laughed, half-sighed.

"Well, Giles, the night's a little mature, and little Buffy's waiting for us, so we'd better go." Xander said. Willow turned to him. "Little Buffy?" She asked. Xander smiled proudly. "Our daughter. She just turned two last week. Her name's Elizabeth Willow, but she's little Buffy around the house." Willow smiled, her eyes expressing her pride and thanks in a way words never could. "She's with my mom, but you know. She ignored me for about 23 years, and I'm still not really too trusting when it comes to her." He grinned. The happy couple left, leaving Giles, Spike, and Willow alone. "Maybe you should talk. Angel's advice was very appropriate." Giles smiled, and went to his room. Spike and Willow just looked at each other.

"Buffy!" Angel shouted. Buffy stopped, looking up in surprise. "Angel." His name rolled off her tongue with an alien taste. 7 years ago, it had been the most beautiful and natural thing in the world to her. To say his name. But hadn't allowed herself to think of him, much less say his name, and now it seemed so foreign. He ran up to her and did the last thing she expected him to do. He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She was too surprised to react. She couldn't see his face, but his voice was thick with emotions. "Don't go." He whispered. Buffy sternly told herself she wouldn't melt into a puddle. "Angel." Her voice didn't really sound normal either. "I have a plane to catch." She managed to say. "You know that's not what I meant." "Angel." She said desperately, but her traitorous heart and body didn't want to pull away from him. "I was an idiot. Just... give me a second chance." He begged. "Please." Buffy felt a splash of warm liquid on her neck. Buffy sighed, deciding the plane wasn't that important, and hugged him back tightly. They stood there for quite some time, washing away the hurt of 7 years with one embrace.

"We screwed up, didn't we?" Spike asked, smiling sadly. Willow's smile mirrored his. "Yeah, I guess we did." Spike looked at Willow squarely. "Can we make it right?" "I don't know." Willow answered truthfully. "Well, can we at least try?" Spike asked again. "Yeah, I think we can." Willow answered. Spike smiled and pulled her close. "I'm sorry." He whispered. Willow shook her head. "Haven't you even watched Love Story?" Spike shook his head. "Love is never having to say you're sorry." Willow whispered, then hugged him tightly. Spike smiled. His romantic, silly, unpredictable, beautiful, with a just a pinch of impractical Willow. He loved her, that he did.

Xander smiled the entire way home. "We fixed some things tonight, didn't we? And you said we would all just smile superficially and say meaningless things." He grinned at his wife. Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Well, you did at first." He smiled. "Well, everybody's stupid at one point in their life. Stupid about one thing. I'm stupid about you, remember? Sometimes I still wonder how I ever proposed to you, when you kept snubbing me, and saying I was a moron, a loser, and a dimwitted guy destined to remain in poverty forever." He grinned. Cordelia wanted to hit him, but he was driving, so she refrained. She contented herself with saying, "Sometimes I still wonder why I accepted." Xander grinned. He knew better. They loved each other, they just had a funny way of showing it, he decided. Many people did. A lot of people made mistakes. But he decided the world usually fixed things for them. Or maybe he was a hopeless optimist, who'd been lucky all his life. He didn't know. All he knew was that he'd finally fixed the biggest mistake of his life, and he thanked God he had.

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