They drove home in silence, both of them being rather in shock. Buffy held onto William's hand the whole time, forgetting her own rule of two hands on the wheel, as he was still a 'new' driver this time around.

William pulled up in front of the house and turned off the car. He looked down at her hand, linked tightly in his, then up at her face. Their free hands went around each other and they kissed for a few minutes, until with exact timing, both stopped, nodded to each other and got out of the car.

William carried in the bags from Edna in one arm, his other held onto by Elizabeth.

They still didn’t speak as they quickly put away the food, or as she took his hand and led him into the bedroom.

There was a shyness between them, that belied the fact that they’d been living together for the past eight months, as if something had shifted, which of course, it had.

A leap of faith, despite all they knew, and didn’t know, commitment to an unknown future.

Buffy released his hand, once inside the bedroom and they stood there staring at each other for a moment. Her eyes never leaving his face, she began to undress until she stood naked before him.

William stood watching transfixed, his mouth gone dry, as he watched her, looked at her body, saw the rise and fall of her chest. His own heartbeat increased and he felt himself harden at the sight of her.

His gaze traveled back up to her face and he shook his head slightly in wonder, as he crossed the space between them and pulled her into his arms.

"I love you," he said, kissing her softly, "be mine."

She looked at him quizzically for half a second, before he added, "Valentine?"

Buffy giggled a little, remembering seeing the forgotten card on the kitchen table, when they were putting away the food, "I will. I am...yours."

She put her arms around his neck, and she kissed him, as her body molded to his. Their kisses grew more passionate and tongues vied for dominance, as both the friction of his clothes and his desire against her bare flesh, increased her level of excitement, which served to make her all trembly in the knees.

Not to mention the deliciousness of being the only one naked at the moment,

He smiled and arched his eyebrows in a most self-satisfied way, when he heard her little gasping noise, when he suddenly swooped her up and carried her over to the bed.

He followed her down, as she pulled him on top of her, legs locking around his, as her hands went under his shirt, pulling it from his waistband, coming around to undo the buttons. That finished, he shifted, arm to arm, as she helped pull off his sleeves. He felt her smile as he kissed her, as the process became awkward, and he smiled, too, matching the shape of his mouth to hers, while their bodies melded together, as well.

Legs still locked around his; he pulled them over, until she was on top. She sat up, as they both worked on the belt, button, and zipper of his pants. She pulled them down his legs, watching his face, as she did so.

William’s eyes were half closed as she moved her hands down his thighs, then over his calves, his feet, ever so gently, ever so sensually; fingertips barely dancing along his skin, but enough to make him harder, still, at the anticipation.

Pants removed, Buffy came back up his legs slowly; hands, body, mouth, until she was sitting on top him, the only thing between them now was his soft black boxers. He groaned, as he felt her wet heat centered on top of him, rubbing him in all the right ways. He opened his eyes and pulled her down to him, kissing her, while they still rocked together.

His mouth sought her breast and he sucked her nipple into his mouth, his teeth just barely rasping against the soft flesh of it, as she liked, causing her to gasp as she both tried to pull away and urge him on, simultaneously. He switched sides, his hand holding onto the underside of her breast, guiding it, other hand cupping her bottom, while her hands pulled at his hair, ran along his face and neck.

His face came up to hers, seeking her mouth, and they rolled to their sides. He pulled off his boxers and pressed himself against her and her leg automatically went up around his hip, maneuvering for the best position.

Buffy reached down and grabbed hold of him, guided him, until she felt him starting to slowly slide into her. She made a little hitching sound in her throat, as she was completely filled by him, as they both pushed together. She arched slightly backwards, to give him the right leverage. William’s head went down to her breast, suckling it, as the lower half of their bodies moved in perfect rhythm.

She was always amazed by the power of her desire for him; from the moment he touched her just so, to the act itself. Her body seemed to have a memory of its own, as if it could only be pleased by him, and never enough, all jumbled up together.

From the short amount of time she had studied psychology in college, she could surmise that it was her id, the pleasure center that wanted what it wanted. She could also surmise, that it was this id, which had been at work mostly, when she’d first began the torrid affair with Spike, after she’d been resurrected, which nearly destroyed them. Want. Take. Have. That was pretty much her id’s motto at the time.

But the feelings she had now, every time they made love wasn’t like that at all. It was deeper than id alone, it was what it felt like in her heart, her soul, her mind, as well as the deep pleasure it gave her body. It was being loved, totally. It was love.

William gasped softly at the exquisite feeling, as he slid into her warm depths. As always, he had to steer himself to not lose it completely right then and there. Every time was like a first time for him, discovering her body’s secrets within the depths of her womanly embrace. William knew that he’d never tire of discovering them. Never. Knew that her body was made for his, from the moment she’d come into his arms in the hospital, and obviously, before that, too. Knew that God, in his infinite wisdom, had led them to each other again, given them a second chance. Knew that she was meant to be his, to love, adore, protect, and all that, above all others. Knew that his pathetic poetic expressions and fantasies he’d had as a young man could never do justice to the look on her face when he made love to her; when he’d see the beauty of her heart and soul in her eyes, see the love for him there.

"Love you...William...love you," Buffy cried out, orgasm shaking her body. A few moments later, William followed her into bliss.

He lay still on top her for a few moments, as she still tightly gripped him. As she relaxed, he rolled off onto his back and pulled her towards him, until her head lay against his chest. He put his hand to her face and cradled it, as he reached down and kissed the top of her head.

"Happy Valentine’s Day, Elizabeth," he whispered to her, "love you."

"Happy Valentine’s...Day...you, too," she mumbled, lulled to sleep by the beat of his heart.

END CHAPTER 118

FEBRUARY 15, 2009

SATURDAY

9:00AM

"You sure you don’t mind if I go to the restaurant this morning?" William asked over breakfast.

Buffy shook her head, "Of course not, you should go help her."

"Because I don’t think she’d mind at all if I didn’t come today, considering..." he said, winking at her.

"No, go. It’s fine."

"Trying to get rid of me, already then?"

"Only if you keep asking me if it’s alright," she said, throwing her napkin at him across the table.

He laughed.

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"When?"

"Huh?"

He motioned between him and her, "Um...when do you want to get married?"

"Uh...I...I don’t know, I haven’t really had a chance..."

"I know. Nevermind. We’ll talk about it some other time; I’m not trying to rush you, Elizabeth. You know that, right?"

She looked up at him, "I know. Thanks."

"Well, guess I’ll be going then," William said, reluctantly, as he was putting his coffee cup and plate in the sink. He slipped on his jacket, then came over to where she was sitting and bent over to give her a kiss.

"I won’t be gone too long today, luv."

"Good," she said, touching his face.

Leaning into her touch for a moment, he closed his eyes, then groaned as he opened them and looked at her adoringly, shaking his head.

"Bye."

"Bye William, drive carefully, okay? Watch for any snowy patches."

"I will," he said, as the door closed behind him.

She walked over to the door just in time to see him driving off.

Buffy sighed in relief, then hurried to put her clothes on.

Five minutes later, she was running up the trail behind the house.

"Well, Buffy, this’ll teach you what not training for five years will do to you," she said to herself, as she tried to catch her breath, when she arrived at the clearing beyond ‘their’ tree.

She had kept it together all morning, but as soon as William had left, she felt the uncontrollable urge to get up here to think. It had always been a place she’d come to over the years when she wanted to talk to Spike.

"Is that what this is?" she wondered, her missing Spike?

Buffy bent over and cleared some snow off of an area of the rock, pulled her coat around her legs and sat down. She would meditate like she used to do, and hope that she could still find him to talk to. Closing her eyes, she tried to envision his face, the way he had looked before. It was hard now that she’d been living with, and looking at William for so long. The same face, yet different. But it was him that she needed to talk to now.

She closed her eyes and cleared her mind of everything. After about fifteen minutes, she finally began to see an image of him. He was sitting on a bench, not far from where his crypt had been in Sunnydale. As she stood staring at him, he turned to her.

"Hello, Buffy," he said, softly.

"Hello, Spike," she said, sitting down next to him.

Spike looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face, "Come to tell me the news, then?"

"The news?"

He cocked his eyebrow at her.

"Oh...oh." She laughed, "Yeah, it is pretty crazy me coming to tell you, isn’t it."

"You said it, luv, not me," he chuckled.

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking down.

"Hey, look at me," he said, reaching over and taking her chin in his hand. She shivered at the cool touch as she looked into his knowing eyes, "what’s wrong?"

"I...I don’t know. I’m happy, really happy, ecstatic even."

"Liar," he said, softly.

She shook her head, "No, Spike. I’m not, it’s just..."

"He’s not enough for you, is he?" Spike said, a hurt look on his face.

"No, no, no! That’s not it, he, I mean, William is wonderful, you’re wonderful. You know how much I love you, er...him," she said, rolling her eyes. "God, this is really an insane troll-logic conversation, isn’t it?"

"And a Kewpie Doll goes to the girl who states the obvious," he said, with a slight smirk.

She gave him a look, then continued, "I just feel in order for William and I to move forward, I have to let you go, because sometimes I still miss that part of you. Does that make sense?"

"Still need a little monster in your man, pet?" Spike teased, cutting to the chase.

"No, it’s not that. I mean, I wouldn’t want to see William turned into you again. Oh, shit! That came out all wrong," she said hurriedly, seeing his pained expression.

"Bloody hell, Slayer! What do you mean then; and be very specific."

Buffy took a deep breath, "I miss the man that you’d become Spike," she shook her head in wonder, "all the changes that you made to be a better man, to become a man. Sometimes I miss sharing our past with you. We have so much you know, and it’s a part of me that I can’t share with him, er...William. But I love him, as much as I love you, I mean, he is you, he always was a part of you and that part of you saw me, knew me, called to me...you were him, but he’s not you."

"I’ll still always be inside you, luv," Spike said, "you know that, so the question is, is William enough for you?"

She turned on the bench and reached over entwining her fingers with his, while her other hand came up to caress his face. It was cool under her palm and she ran her fingers gently over his lips before leaning in and giving him a tender kiss, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, walking back down from the ridge at a much more leisurely pace, Buffy felt at peace with herself. She could do this.

"Just a bit of buyer’s remorse," she said, smiling at the metaphor.

It had snowed while she’d been walking; big, fluffy flakes floated down from the skies.

She was glad to see William’s car already back.

"Hey," he said, waving to her from the doorway, "was just about to go out looking for you."

"Here I am," she said, smiling as she walked up to him, "just went for a walk."

He pulled her to him, and brushed the snow out of her hair, then kissed her, "Missed you," he said in a low voice.

"I missed you, too," she said, and she had.

"Let’s go in, I’ll make us some something warm."

"You go ahead, I want to do something first," Buffy said.

"What’s that? Need some help with something?"

"Nope. It’s a surprise. Go on, go in, I’ll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay," he said, giving her a benevolent grin.

She watched as he walked to the house and waved to him as he closed the door. As soon as she was sure he wasn’t looking at her through the windows she got busy.

"Ta da!" Buffy said, about 10 minutes later, setting the smallest part of the snowman she’d just made on top of the other two sections for the head.

She went to the back door and called inside, "William, come look!"

William put down the book of poetry he’d been looking at, and got up from the couch, "Coming!" he said, as he walked through the kitchen to the back door.

"What is it?"

"Look," she said, pointing.

"A snowman! You made a snowman!"

"Yeah, you showed me how the first time I ever came up here with you. I’ve been making them about this time of year ever since," Buffy said. "But you have to help me make his face, okay?"

William nodded, "What do we use?"

"Um...carrots for his nose. Some burnt wood pieces for his eyes and mouth. Oh, and I need a hat and a scarf, too."

"Be right back," William said, hurrying to get the things she’d wanted.

He was back in 5 minutes with all that they needed. She took them from him as he put on his coat and boots.

Once outside, she let him put on the finishing touches.

"Would’ve helped you with all of it," he said, pouting a bit.

"Just wanted to surprise you. Don’t worry, he’ll probably melt in a couple of days, then we can build another one."

Finished with the snowman’s face, William put on its hat and tied the scarf around his neck. He also gave him some buttons going down his front.

"There!" he said, proudly. "Now, what shall we call him?"

"Um...well, he already has a name."

"He does?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, smiling, "kinda like Frosty the Snowman. He comes back every year."

William wouldn’t have known from Frosty, except it had been on the television over the Christmas season, and he’d watched it. That, Rudolph, and lots of the holiday specials. It’s a Wonderful Life was his favorite, followed by A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

"What’s his name then?" William asked, grinning.

Buffy picked up a handful of soft snow and sprinkled it over the snowman’s head, "I hearby christen thee, Snowman Spike."

"Snowman Spike?" William asked, rolling his eyes.

"The seventh, to be exact. Or would you rather I christen him, Winter Wonderland William?" she asked, laughing as she tossed some snow at him, "because I can do that. I can sooo do that!"

His eyes widened at her, then narrowed, "Winter Wonderland...oh God! That’s just...God awful. How about...? Darn, nothing goes with your name!" he said, frustrated.

"Doesn’t mean you’re not going to get it still!" he said, lunging at her. She quickly dodged away and William wound up falling into the snow, sans Elizabeth.

"Hoo-hoo!" she cried, laughing, "that’ll teach you."

He quickly got up and reclaimed his dignity, by whooping loudly and running at her full speed. Before she could turn around and run, he tackled her and they both fell into a heap in the snow.

They laughed, throwing snow at each other, him succeeding in getting some down the back of her jacket and top, making her scream from its iciness.

"Surrender! Say you surrender!" he said at her, threatening to do more of the same.

"I surrender, I surrender!" she giggled.

He rolled them over in the snow a few times, her winding up on top of him. Laughing still, she kissed him, "Umm..." she said, "my very own snowman!"

Finally she got up, extending her hand to him. One last time, he pulled her back down and he pinned her and kissed her hard, then looking satisfied, got up and pulled her with him.

As they walked into the house, she felt inside her pocket jacket to the two burnt wooden fangs that she’d always used to make the snowman into her lover's namesake.

She took one last look before closing the door, "Sorry Snowman Spike, you'll have to make due with regular teeth this year," she whispered.

END CHAPTER 119

MARCH 21, 2009

FRIDAY

NOON

CAPISTRANO SEASIDE INN

"Bet that's them," William said, starting to reach for the phone next to their king-sized bed.

"Hello?" he said, listening. "No, just got here about half an hour ago ourselves. Sure, here she is."

Buffy turned away from where she’d been looking up at the sky to see if she could spot the newly arrived visitors from the patio door, which looked out onto a private fenced, landscaped terrace and sporting their very own Jacuzzi.

Because of work, they couldn't be here on March 19th, the day the swallows were suppose to arrive in San Juan Capistrano after their 7500 mile flight, which was always the same every year. Luckily, they had today off were able to come and see them still, and enjoy the rest of the festivities for the weekend.

"Hi Dawn," Buffy said, picking up the phone on the desk.

"Hey Sis, we just checked in. Want us to come to your room?" Dawn asked.

"Sure, come on over," she answered Dawn, giving her the room number.

"Oh, and isn’t this place just the coolest?" Dawn asked happily.

"Yeah," Buffy said, smiling, "it sure is."

Buffy belly flopped down on the bed next to William, "Um...so, you think we should tell them here or at the restaurant?" she asked, leaning her head on her hands.

"I don't know, wherever you want to, luv," he answered, smiling at her.

"Guess it's about wherever you want to hear Dawn squeal, in private or in public."

William grinned, well aware of what that would sound like.

"I'd say it's a choice between setting off high frequency alarms or having everyone in the restaurant looking at us."

"I'll leave that up to you, Elizabeth," William said, as he fell back on the pillow laughing, in good humor.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Come on in," Buffy said, opening the door.

The four of them greeted and hugged each other warmly.

"I’m so glad you guys could make it," Buffy said.

"Me, too. I’m glad you guys waited until now. This is the first long weekend John’s had off since Thanksgivings Day weekend."

"Ooh," Dawn squealed, "You’ve got a fireplace, too! Isn’t that just the most bitchin’ thing?"

Buffy smiled at her.

"Oh, I forgot, you and William are used to having a fireplace," Dawn said, sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, but it doesn’t make it any less cool, Dawn. I’ve never had a hotel room with one. Or with a private Jacuzzi outside the door. We don’t have a Jacuzzi, like some people," she said, looking at Dawn.

"Yeah, but it’s for the whole apartment complex, so it’s kinda eww, if you know what I mean. Probably full of...nevermind. I don’t even want to think about it.

"And it has it’s own tropical garden!" Buffy proclaimed.

John had walked over to William while the girls were still going on about the amenities of the place.

"So, how you doing, William? School coming along?"

"Yes, it’s fine. Sort of hard to get back into the swing of things, but I’m enjoying the professors I have, if not the homework."

John nodded, understanding. "This was a good choice, William."

William smiled, "Yes, it appears to be quite nice, and the girls seem to be enjoying it, what small amount of time they’ve been here. You do know that Dawn had to make the reservations, because I don’t have a credit card, don’t you?" William asked, embarrassed.

"Quite alright. I’m sure you’re good for it," John said, patting his arm. Not that he was in charge of anything financial as far as Dawn was concerned, as they didn’t quite live together full-time, but it seemed that William wanted him to be okay with it, since he was her significant other.

"Which reminds me," William said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He opened it up and took out a check made out to Dawn Summers and handed it to John, "could you give this to her, please?"

"Be glad to, William," he said accepting the check and discreetly putting it into his pocket.

They decided to drive over to the Mission and swallow watch, while exploring it. Neither Dawn nor John had been there before, but Buffy and William had for his birthday, so they would act as their tour guides.

Tomorrow they would come back for some of the festivities, but instead of being swamped by the weekend crowds, they’d drive over to Dana Point, and do some browsing around there, and even go to the beach, which was right across Pacific Coast Highway.

They spent the next few hours discovering the Mission ruins. Buffy and William also got to see some of the ones they’d missed the first time around. Late in the afternoon, the swallows seemed to all ascend for at once, before settling back down to their temporary roosts for the night.

"Wow," Buffy said, "what do you think that was all about?"

"I don’t know, maybe a last hurrah before nightfall?" Dawn said.

"Define hurrah," William said.

"Probably looking for a last meal before nightfall," John added.

They all looked at him and nodded.

"That sounds good. Maybe we can check it with one of the staff around here tomorrow, but I bet you’re on the right trail. Either that or they just want to show off," Buffy said, grinning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They went back to the hotel to dress for dinner, having settled on a somewhat fancy restaurant named L'Hirondelle, which was French for "The Swallow," although the food claimed to be Belgian. "A Little Bite of Belgium in Capistrano," the advertisement had said.

They had thought about going to Cafe Mozart again, since they had been pleased overall with the food and atmosphere when they’d had lunch there on William’s birthday, but decided that it wasn’t everyday that one got to try Belgian food, waffles aside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Think I ought to mention it to her this weekend?" Dawn asked.

"Is this about the phone call you got from overseas?"

Dawn nodded.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I hate when you give me that psychologist crap, you know? Or is it just basic man crap? If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you!"

John sighed. He was actually guilty of that sometimes, "Okay, what are your pros and cons of telling her about it this weekend, then?"

"Oh, much better!" she said, rolling her eyes, but then quieted down to actually think about it.

"Okay, on the pro side, number 1, it may be important since it’s happening soon, so it will give Buffy more time to decide what she wants to do. Number 2, I hate keeping secrets and it will make me feel better to tell her sooner, rather than later," Dawn said, sticking her tongue out at John.

"And on the con side?"

"Number 1 is that it may very well upset her and then she won’t have as nice of a weekend as she would otherwise, because she’ll be all worried, if I know Buffy."

John nodded, "I’d say that, if it’s not an emergency, you might just call her on Monday and let her know then, also telling her why you didn’t tell her over the weekend."

Dawn put her arms around John, and kissed him, "You’re okay for a psychologist, you know that?"

"And you’re a pretty good sister. And girlfriend," he hurriedly added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Driving in John’s car, they arrived at the restaurant at 7:30pm. The hostess took them through the main dining room and outside to the patio. The ten tables or so were set up around the center of the room, which was a flower garden with a cascading fountain made of stone in the middle of it. There was a loosely framed lattice roof over the whole room, and along two sides more latticework, draped in Bougainvillae. Candles graced each table, and small lanterns provided soft light from overhead.

The view from the patio was the Mission itself, which was directly across the street. As the sunset drew near, the lights across the street came on, bathing the it in light.

They ordered Champagne Cocktails and appetizers first. John decided on the Escargots de Bourgogne, with garlic butter. Dawn and Buffy decided to share the Mushrooms Farcis, mushroom cups filled with shrimp, crab, and cheese, baked in Hollandaise sauce, and William ordered the

Smoked Mackerel, imported from Holland.

After about 20 minutes, the waitress came back for their dinner orders. Buffy ordered the Poulet Marie Antoinette; boneless chicken breast, with cheese and mushrooms baked in a sherry-cream sauce. William ordered the Poulet aux fines Herbs, boneless chicken breast marinated in herbs and oven baked. John ordered New York Steak, baked with mushrooms in a Merlot wine sauce, and Dawn got the Shrimp Maison, sauteed in garlic butter, white wine and cream.

They talked about school, cars, and the upcoming Shakespeare plays they were to see. John and William still argued over which was the funniest of comedies.

The waitress took their plates after dinner, and asked if they wanted dessert. Buffy asked her if she could come back in a little while.

After she’d left, Buffy looked at William, and he caught her meaning. He smiled at her and reached for her hand.

"Dawn, John...Elizabeth and I have something to tell you," William said, as he squeezed her hand.

William looked at Elizabeth, giving an almost imperceptible nod. She smiled and squeezed his hand back, then turned to look across the table at Dawn and John.

"Oh my God, I’m going to be an aunt, aren’t I?" Dawn asked, her voice rising in pitch.

"Dawn!" John said.

"No, you’re not going to be an aunt yet," Buffy said, a funny feeling coming over her as she said it that way, as if it was an inevitability. Swallowing back that bit of stomach flutters, she continued, "What we wanted to tell you is that we’re engaged," she said, holding up her hand to show them the ring, which now had a diamond in it.

"Oh my God!" Dawn squealed loudly enough to attract the attention of the tables nearby, as had been predicted, "Oh my God, oh my God!"

"Congratulations you two," John said, putting out his hand to shake William’s and getting up to come around the table to kiss Buffy’s cheek, "that’s just wonderful!"

"Yeah, wonderful!" Dawn said, giggling, "I’m so happy for you both! Oh my God!" she squealed again.

Buffy and William laughed at her giddiness.

John motioned to the waitress and ordered a bottle of champagne.

"Isn’t that the ring that William bought you for Christmas?" Dawn asked.

"It is. I liked it so much, we decided to have it be my engagement ring."

"We added a diamond to it," William said.

"I like it!" Dawn said, "nobody else will ever have an engagement ring just like this. That’s so cool."

"And you were there when I got it," William reminded her.

"Yeah, I was. Were you thinking about it that way, back then?" Dawn asked.

"No. Yes. I’m not sure," he answered.

"In any case, Dawn," Buffy said, "I’m really glad that you took William to the antique store and he found this. I like it so much better than the other rings we saw at the jewelry store. It suits me better too, don’t you think?"

"Definitely," Dawn said, and they all nodded their heads.

"So, when did you get engaged and when are you guys tying the knot?" Dawn asked.

"Valentine’s Day," she said, and hurriedly added, "but you’re the first ones to know. As for when...maybe around next Christmas time we’re thinking. Or next Valentine’s Day."

"Why not this summer?" Dawn asked.

"I just don’t think I can plan it all in 3 or 4 months," Buffy said.

"What’s to plan? Get some invitations, I’ll help. Oooh, we can go shopping for a dress for you and shoes, other..."

John kicked her underneath the table.

"What?" Dawn asked, glaring at him.

"Sorry Buffy. You have it whenever you want to. I’m just so excited!"

"I know. And I will need your help Dawn, believe me. I’m definitely not great planning girl here," she said, relieved that Dawn had let go of the summer wedding idea so quickly.

William watched the interchange among the girls and could see that Elizabeth was beginning to tense up. He tried to catch Dawn’s eye, but she hadn’t been looking at him. He was glad when John had noticed and had gotten Dawn to stop pushing the subject of a sooner wedding date.

It was enough that Elizabeth had agreed to marry him. He knew that, and that was why he’d agree to whatever date she wanted to set, however far in the future. He would marry her tomorrow, if she wanted, but for her to have agreed at all was miracle enough for him; he wasn’t about to push it any further than that. It hadn’t been so long ago, that he’d thought he would never, ever have someone love him in return. That had miraculously changed when Elizabeth had come into his life. Not only did she love him in return, but had brought such passion and purpose to his life that he’d only dreamed of before. And, although he didn’t think his memories were real, he was pretty sure that the insecurities he remembered were.

The bottle of champagne arrived, and Dawn and John made toasts.

John toasted them first, "To William and Buffy, I’m glad to have gotten to know you both. You’ve made me feel welcomed into your lives and Dawn’s. I wish you all the happiness that you hope for," he said, raising his glass.

They all drank, then it was Dawn’s turn.

"To my sister Buffy, you know how much I’ve wanted you to be happy for so long, even when it seemed impossible because of...all the things that you had to do before...all the responsibilities you had. But now you’re finally getting that chance and I couldn’t be happier for you. For both of you."

She turned towards William, "William...you’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember," she said, which was actually the truth, seeing that the early parts of her childhood memories had been ‘implanted’ by the monks. Never-the-less..."Back when I knew you as Spike, you gave a young teenage girl some pretty sage advice, which saved me from making some really big mistakes. And you took care of me, when you didn’t have to."

William looked down, embarrassed.

"I’m so happy that Buffy found you again, and that not only are you back in her life and about to become my brother-in-law, but that you’re back in mine, too," Dawn said, starting to get teary eyes.

"To Buffy and William," she said, ending her toast.

They all took another drink, after clinking glasses.

The waitress came by right then, "Dessert?"

They took a moment to look at the menus again, and then ordered desserts and coffees. Espressos for the John and William, Cappuccinos for Dawn and Buffy. For dessert, William and Buffy split the Belgian Chocolate Torte ala mode, John got the Caramel custard, and Dawn the Custard Brulee.

"I love the name Creme Brulee," Dawn said.

Buffy nodded, a piece of chocolate cake and ice cream in her mouth, "Um-hmm...definitely has a sexy sound to it, "Bruuuleeee," she giggled.

"Creme Bruuuleeee," Dawn added, in a low voice, turning to John and batting her eyelashes, "Would you like some Creme Bruuuleeee, lover?"

Buffy giggled, and William rolled his eyes.

John looked at Dawn in the way that he often did, which was part amusement, part exasperation, but he took her hand under the table and put it on the bulge in his crotch, watching as her eyes widened in surprise. Creme Brulee, indeed!

"Sexier than, asking, ‘Would you like some chocolate torte, lover?’ in any case," Buffy said.

"Yeah, torte, sounds like tart. Hee! A chocolate tart!" Dawn said.

"Well, that could have possibilities. Besides, chocolate is sexy just because it’s chocolate," Buffy said.

John and William looked at each other and shook their heads, as the girls went on taking about the implied sexiness of desserts.

"So, William, what do you know about soccer...?"

END CHAPTER 120

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