Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon. All the money is his too.
 
Thanks ever so to all the faithful reviewers. Here is another chapter for your perusal.
 
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Chapter 13
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Tara was curled up on her couch with a book when she heard a knock on the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone in particular, so she put an eye to the peephole. There on the doormat was Willow, with a forlorn expression on her face. Tara opened the door. “Willow?”
 
“Hi, Tara,” said Willow in a nervous voice. “Can I come in?” She twisted her purse in her hands while she spoke.
 
“Sure,” said Tara noncommittally. It had been ten days or so since the wedding, and Tara hadn’t spoken to Willow in that time. Willow had left a few messages on the machine, but Tara had refused to reply to them. Now that Willow was standing on the doorstep however, she wasn’t able to avoid this conversation any longer.
 
Tara sat down on one end of her couch while Willow perched awkwardly on the other end. “I just wanted to explain what happened,” Willow began.
 
“I’m listening,” said Tara. Truth be told, Tara was still rather fed up with Willow, but was too kind to not hear her out.
 
“When Xander told me that she was getting married, I wasn’t sure what to think. I just called Giles to get some advice. I didn’t realize at first that he was going to come out here. And I didn’t think we should go barging into their wedding, it just all sort of… happened.”
 
Tara sighed. “Willow, were you really worried about Buffy, or worried about yourself?”
 
Willow shook her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”
 
Tara took a deep breath. “Willow, I know you’re still feeling guilty about pulling Buffy out of heaven. I just think that maybe you were worried that somehow Buffy came back wrong, and that’s why she was marrying Spike. It wasn’t about Buffy – it was about clearing your own conscience. Instead of talking to Buffy first or just, I don’t know, staying out of it, you and Xander went running off to Giles.”
 
“But we don’t know if something really did happen to her,” Willow said. “Since she’s been back…”
 
“Since she’s been back she’s been struggling, yes,” Tara interrupted. “But since she and Spike joined forces she’s been happy, Willow. After all she’s been through she deserves to be happy, and if Spike makes her happy then we should respect that.”
 
“I know,” Willow said quietly. “It just seems so wrong.”
 
“Willow, two women dating is wrong to some people,” Tara said. “But when we dated, Buffy respected that. She didn’t try to talk you out of it, or interfere. We owe her the same courtesy.”
 
“But I wasn’t dating someone who ate people!”
 
“Willow, Spike can’t hurt humans. And even if he could, he wouldn’t, because he loves Buffy. They have this claim thing going, and if she dies, he dies and vice versa. He won’t do anything to make her have to stake him, and she won’t allow it anyway.”
 
Willow didn’t respond right away, but sat staring at her hands. Finally she said, “Tara, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for the magic, and I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry I almost ruined Buffy’s wedding day. What can I do?” She looked up at Tara with eyes filled with tears.
 
Tara wanted nothing more than to take Willow into her arms and comfort her at that point, but she held firm. “What you need to do, Willow, is go talk to Buffy and Spike and tell them you are sorry. They’re the ones you need to ask forgiveness from.”
 
“Will you… Will you come with me?” Willow asked.
 
Tara considered for a moment. Was Willow being sincere, or was this a ploy to try to win her back? Finally she decided that in either event, getting Willow and Buffy talking was probably for the good in the long run. “Alright,” she conceded. “I’ll come with you.”
 
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Never get tired of this view, love. Spike was on his back watching Buffy as she lowered herself again onto his waiting cock. They sometimes found themselves making love in silence, even when Dawn wasn’t home, as a way of concentrating more deeply on the sensations. Golden goddess, you are.
 
Makes me wish Dawn was in boarding school sometimes, Buffy responded, closing her eyes and stilling for a moment to feel every inch of her man inside her. I could do this all day. She tossed her hair back and worked her inner muscles, squeezing him deliciously until he groaned.
 
Probably going to crush the kid with those muscles, he thought.
 
Well I guess I’ll have to practice my… control. She made him groan again until he couldn’t stand it any longer. With a growl he rolled them over, hoisting her knees onto his shoulders and thrusting deep into her.
 
“Fuck, Spike, yes, oh so good, oh yes,” Buffy babbled aloud, losing control in her ecstasy.
 
“My girl, my Slayer, my wife,” he chanted as he pounded into her again and again.
 
“Don’t stop oh God gonna come gonna…” Buffy shrieked out her pleasure as the orgasm took her.
 
“Shit, Buffy, ah fuck, yes,” Spike shouted as he convulsed and shot inside her. He collapsed on top of her, both of them panting and shuddering with the aftershocks. “My sweet Mrs. Pratt, that was…”
 
Spike’s post-coital ramblings were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. “Who the fuck could that be at this hour?” Spike grumbled.
 
Buffy laughed, “What, you mean one o’clock in the afternoon?”
 
“Exactly! Prime shagging time.” The doorbell rang again. “I guess I’ll go see who it is,” he sighed, reluctantly letting her go and heading toward the bedroom door.
 
“Um, Spike? Pants?”
 
Spike looked down. “Oh, right. Although I suppose that would get the point across that this is not a good time.” He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and went downstairs, bare-chested with his hair completely untamed. He opened the door just as the doorbell rang a third time. There on the doorstep stood Willow, looking nervous, with Tara behind her looking as solemn and stern as the gentle witch could muster. “Glinda? Red? What are you doing here?”
 
Who is it? Buffy asked from upstairs.
 
The witches. Both of them.
 
Willow spoke up saying, “I w… wanted to talk to you and Buffy. C… can I come in?” Her stutter was almost as bad as Tara’s had once been.
 
Do you want to talk to them, love? Spike asked, as the witches looked at him curiously.
 
I suppose I should. Let them in, I’ll be down in a sec. Buffy sighed and got up to find some clothes.
 
To the witches Spike said, “Come in. Buffy says she’ll be down in a minute.” The two women looked at each other, puzzled, having heard nothing. Noticing their confusion, Spike added, “Telepathy. Drives Dawn batty. Anyhow, come into the kitchen and sit down.”
 
Willow followed Spike and sat down, blushing a bit at his half dressed state. “I hope we didn’t interrupt something,” she said with considerable embarrassment.
 
“Nah, we were just getting up anyhow,” Spike said. “Tea?” Tara and Willow both assented, and Spike busied himself with the kettle. Buffy came in a moment later in sweats and a t-shirt with her hair in a careless ponytail. “Hey,” Buffy said in a neutral tone. “What’s up?”
 
Tara once again noticed that odd shade in the center of Buffy’s aura. If I didn’t know it was her, I’d swear she was pregnant or something. Like another person inside her. “Hi, Buffy,” Tara said.
 
“Hey,” said Willow awkwardly. They all sort of looked at each other, not sure what to say. The kettle whistled and that provided a welcome distraction for a moment while Spike poured tea for everyone.
 
“Is this a hen party, or should I stay around?” Spike asked, trying to lighten the mood.
 
“No, stay, I… I need to talk to both of you,” said Willow. Spike sat down next to Buffy and they waited for Willow to collect herself. “I wanted to apologize to both of you. I shouldn’t have tried to interfere with your wedding, and I shouldn’t have let the others do it either. I’m so sorry.”
 
Neither Buffy or Spike knew how to respond. The silence stretched out until finally Willow couldn’t take it anymore and blurted, “Look, I know I screwed up! But I’m so lonely, and I don’t know how to make this right! Tell me how to fix this, please!” She looked at them with tear filled eyes.
 
Buffy finally responded, “Willow, I know you thought you were doing the right thing. Bringing me back from the dead, I mean. But it was, and sometimes still is, hugely painful. Then I almost lost Dawn, and that still stresses me out. You put me in a coma and…”
 
“I know it was all my fault,” Willow whispered. “I… the magic is like a kind of high. That power… I convinced myself it was for your good, but it was for me. To make me feel good.” She covered her face at the admission.
 
Buffy leaned forward and gently pulled Willow’s hands from her face. “Willow, I want you to listen to me.” Willow sniffled, but focused on Buffy’s intent green eyes. “I want you to look at this man beside me.” Spike’s blue eyes were also intent on the red-haired witch. “Spike saved me. I couldn’t have gotten through all that without him. He loves me, and we will quite literally die without each other. I will defend my right to be with him to the death if need be. If you want back into my life, then I need your absolute assurance that you can deal with that. If you can’t, then you need to leave now, and we’re done. One chance. What’s it going to be?”
 
Willow paled a bit at the steel in Buffy’s voice. She looked at Spike, and tried to see beyond her memory of the vicious killer. His eyes never wavered, waiting for her to make her decision. Buffy held her breath, and Spike gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. It was that silent gesture that made Willow’s mind up for her. “I can deal,” she said quietly.
 
Buffy stood up and went over to Willow, pulling her from her chair into a tentative hug. “I missed you too, Wils. Can we start over?” Willow nodded, sobbing and unable to speak. Tara got up and rubbed Willow’s back, causing her to release Buffy and hug Tara as well.
 
More to break the mood than anything, Spike grumbled, “Feeling left out here.” Willow laughed a little and gave Spike a quick hug as well. “Sorry, Spike,” she said. “No worries, Red,” he replied, patting her back awkwardly.
 
Buffy made a decision right there. “Tara? Willow? I am going to have Giles over for dinner on Christmas Day. Would you two like to join us?”
 
“I’d love to,” said Tara warmly. She was amazed that Willow had actually admitted her guilt and had apologized without reservations. It was a definite start.
 
“I’ll be there too,” said Willow. Buffy hugged her once more, while to Spike she silently said, I guess we only need to deal with Xander now, huh?
 
We’ll bring him round. We need the allies, pet, Spike responded. Buffy agreed, looking at him over Willow’s shoulder. The witches soon gathered themselves to go, but for the first time in months everyone present felt connected once more.
 
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The air in the alley shimmered as before, but this time two figures appeared. One Kratash had taken on the appearance of a Latino man, with short cropped black hair and light brown skin. The other appeared to be a medium height Caucasian woman with brown hair in a short bob. They both had the dark, occasionally swirling eyes that betrayed their demonic nature. The woman spoke first, “When did the first agent make his last report?”
 
“A week ago,” the man responded as they headed out of the alley. The controller had waited for a further report from the first agent, but after being unable to contact him, had sent two more spies to investigate this Slayer.
 
“Who are we looking for again?” the woman asked. They walked swiftly down the streets of Sunnydale. It was about five o’clock in the morning, and the town was unusually quiet. Sunrise was still an hour or more away, but they seemed to be the only creatures stirring.
 
“Her name is Buffy Summers,” said the man. “Her house is on…” here he checked a note out of his pocket, “Revello Drive. I take it that the house is protected by magical wards.”
 
“And apparently she lives with a vampire,” added the woman. “Perhaps he is the reason we haven’t heard from the first agent.”
 
“It’s a distinct possibility,” agreed the man. They continued walking until they reached Revello Drive. They found the house and studied it, carefully noting cover nearby, and the fact that the wards did not seem to be up.
 
“They must need to take the wards down when they come home, to let the vampire in,” mused the woman. “Perhaps they could be overpowered when the time comes.”
 
“We still need to find out if this Slayer is with child,” the man said. “If she isn’t, then we’re looking in the wrong place, regardless of what the controller thinks.”
 
“We’ll have to keep watch for a while then.”
 
“Agreed.”
 
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“Anya, honey, it’s been two weeks. How long is it going to take until you forgive me?”
 
Anya had come home on the day of the wedding furious, having heard about the disruption from Tara in hushed whispers during the celebration at Buffy’s house. She had absolutely refused to allow Xander into the bedroom that night, locking him out and turning a deaf ear to his pleading. She had spent two weeks now getting up early and going to the store, coming home and barely speaking to him. After the first night she had grudgingly allowed him back into the bedroom, but he might as well be sleeping on the couch for all the affection she had shown him. Now he had decided enough was enough, and he had called in sick at work in order to come to the Magic Box and try to find some way to get back into her good graces.
 
Anya stopped, and decided it was time to try to get through to his thick skull once and for all. “I will forgive you when I honestly, truly see that you understand that what you did was wrong. Not a mistake, not an accident, wrong. ´
 
“Anya, we’ve been over this. I was just trying to look out for Buffy. She’s been so weird since she got back, I just thought something had to be really wrong.”
 
Anya rolled her eyes in complete exasperation. “Xander. Can you just once explain to me why it is your job to look out for the Vampire Slayer? I mean, seriously?”
 
“She’s my friend! I worry about her!”
 
“Then act like her friend! Support her! Don’t try to wreck her wedding and threaten to stake her husband!” Anya yelled. “Let’s say you had succeeded in breaking up her wedding. Do you honestly, really think she would thank you for it later? Did you imagine that she would come to you and say, ‘Yes, of course, you were right to stake the man I love. Thanks so much’?”
 
Xander was about to reply when the shop door rang and the door opened. They both turned to see Buffy, the aforementioned Vampire Slayer, stalking in with a determined step. She had gone to his job site, but on hearing that he had called in sick had gone to the Magic Box on a hunch. Xander edged unconsciously backward as she advanced. “Buffy, hi!” said Anya. “I haven’t seen you since you got back. How was the honeymoon?”
 
“It was really great,” Buffy said with a small smile. “Thanks again for that awesome party.”
 
“My pleasure. What brings you here?” Anya wondered.
 
Buffy turned to Xander. “We need to discuss some things. Now. Once and for all,” she said menacingly.
 
Xander gulped. His nose still ached on rainy days where she had broken it when he tried to kill Spike, and he had to fight the urge to rub it now. “What… what sort of things?” he asked nervously.
 
Buffy pulled a photocopied piece of paper from her back pocket. “Read this. Tell me what it is.”
 
Puzzled, Xander took it. It was a copy of the marriage certificate for Buffy Anne Summers and William Henry Pratt. His last name is Pratt?? Xander tucked that thought away for future reference. “This is your marriage certificate.”
 
“Right,” said Buffy. She stepped forward until she was right in front of him and held up her left hand. “And this is my wedding ring. Spike. Is. My. Husband. Do you understand that?”
 
“Y..yes,” he said, wondering what was coming.
 
“Good. Now do you see this?” she pulled aside her hair to reveal the mark on her neck. “That’s a claim. That means that I am mated to Spike. Bound for all time. We read each other’s thoughts, and if one of us dies, the other can’t survive. Got it?”
 
“Um, yeah. Giles explained all that after… after the wedding,” he stammered.
 
“Good. Glad you understand,” she said. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. “Do you also understand that if you ever hurt him, try to hurt him, or even think about hurting him, I will kill you?”
 
Xander’s eyes got wide and frightened. All he could manage was a frantic nod.
 
“Fine,” Buffy said, releasing him. “Now that we have laid all that out on the table, I have an invite for you both.”
 
“An invite?” Anya asked. On the one hand, she was a bit alarmed by Buffy’s fierceness. On the other hand, someone had to shake some sense into Xander where Buffy was concerned. Might as well be Buffy.
 
“I am having Giles, Tara, and Willow over for dinner on Christmas Day. I would love for you to join me, Anya.” She turned to Xander. “I would also like to have you join us, but only if you can be civil to the man I married.”
 
Xander started to reply, but then caught a fierce glare from Anya. Swallowing he said, “Buffy, I’m… I’m sorry for the way I acted toward you and Spike. I don’t know if I’m ever going to learn to like him, but I really don’t want to be your enemy anymore.” At that point the doorbell rang again, and they all looked to see a man and a woman walk in. The dark skinned Latino man said, “Do you believe this stuff?” in a low tone to his companion, who giggled as they browsed.
 
Buffy turned back to Xander. “You don’t have to like him, Xander,” she said in a softer tone. “But I won’t have you insulting and threatening him. Especially in our house.” She turned and walked toward the door. Over her shoulder she said, “The invitation is there. Come if you feel you can.” Then the door opened with a jingle and she walked out.
 
Xander sat down, shell-shocked. “What brought that on, do you think?”
 
“I have no idea,” Anya replied, shaking her head. “But it seems to me you’ve been given a chance to redeem yourself. Don’t blow it by running your mouth, or you’ll be on the couch for a month.” Xander sighed and hung his head, defeated by two of the scariest women he knew. The browsing couple took another cursory look around the store and left, their swirling black eyes scanning the street for their quarry.
 
TBC