A/N: Thank you so much, LadyForAsh, for betaing.
One of the things that really bothered me about Season 7 was how everyone except Spike betrayed Buffy. Forgive Faith for turning to the dark side and trying to kill Buffy? Kick Buffy out and follow Faith? Seeing their non-forgiveness of Spike, I doubt it, especially not Dawn. I toyed with the idea of having everyone (minus Dawn) betray Buffy over her relationship with Spike, but I’m happier if they don’t, so in my world it doesn’t happen. The potentials didn’t know either her or Faith very well, so it would have been in character for them. This was as far as I was willing to go in that direction.

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Chapter 7 – Mini Mutiny

The next morning was a chaos of wedding preparations. Buffy had awakened early, full of plans for the next day, when Spike had arranged for the local Justice of the Peace to marry them. She dragged him down to the kitchen where Willow was making a pot of tea. Spike suppressed a pleasured moan and wrapped his arms around Buffy as she plopped down on his lap. He smiled as he remembered her enthusiasm in planning their wedding the first time, during Red's ‘My Will Be Done Spell'. He'd thought all the fuss was silly, but had considered it a small price to pay to enjoy having her firm bottom wriggling happily against his danglies, making them decidedly less dangly.

He'd had to wait several years for it to happen again, but here he was, finally enduring the same blissful torture. His eyes flashed back and forth between blue and gold as he suppressed the desire to dip into her throat - and other delectable places. Luckily for his sense of dignity, no one noticed his discomfort, and he forced his thoughts back to wedding preparations.

Since Buffy had let it slip that she'd have liked a fancy dress and seating arrangements to squabble over, he had regretted that their real wedding, the mating, couldn't have been a fancy one. But vampires didn't do public weddings, and there was no way he was inviting the masses to a mating. Spike was determined to make her "human wedding" special for her.

"Oh, I bought a Wedding Planner our first time around and wrote down a bunch of ideas. I wonder where it is," Buffy said, shifting positions and eliciting a groan from Spike. She glanced at him and caught a flicker of gold in his eyes. Comprehension dawning on her face, she grinned and nipped him quickly on the lips.

"You still have it?" Willow asked curiously, oblivious to the tension building between the two. "I'd have thought you'd chuck it the moment the spell was over; and by the way, sorry again about that spell."

Buffy smiled slyly, shifting her weight again. "No worry, Wills, it's just a fond memory now. I never threw anything away that had to do with Spike. You'd think that would have given me a clue, but nooo, I was Queen of the Clueless. I'll go look for it now." She jumped up and ran toward the stairs, pausing partway to glance back and throw Spike a little smile as he crowded close behind with, "I'll help."

Locking the door behind Spike, Buffy laughed teasingly and whirled away from his reach. She found it hard to believe she was planning her wedding for real. Granted, it was a one day whirlwind prep before The First launched his next salvo against them, but she was actually planning her own wedding! ‘I must be dreaming, or maybe under another spell...things just don't turn out so happily for me,' she thought with dawning cynicism. Spike caught her up in his arms and vamped, tossing her down on the bed with a laugh. Buffy forgot her pessimism in a wash of heat.

-----

Later, after breakfast, Buffy flipped through the wedding planner, discarding most of her old plans as juvenile or unrealistic in her present world, but chuckling fondly at the memories they brought her. Dawn, Willow and Anya were anxious to help with the planning, and Buffy had thankfully included them, finding that she wasn't very interested in seating arrangements after all. Spike covertly passed Dawn a roll of money to make sure the arrangements could be done right. His instruction that the three of them all buy themselves bridesmaid dresses had Dawn whooping with excitement.

Xander noticed the exchange and quipped, "Wow, Captain Peroxide passing the dough rather than pinching it? Are we in the Twilight Zone or something?" To Xander's disappointment, Spike didn't rise to his bait, having other things on his mind. He was drowning in the happiness on his woman's face. He just couldn't get used to seeing it there.

Spike took Buffy by the hand, raised it to his lips, and said, "How'd you like to go shopping, sweetling?" She gave him a blinding smile and threw her arms around his neck. "Why, darlin', you surely do know how to make a girl happy!"

Spike's eyelids dropped to half mast. Pulling her flush against him and studying her intently, he agreed quietly, "That I do, lamb." He bent to taste her lips, savoring her, resisting his own need to devour and consume. Then, pulling her more tightly into his embrace, Spike abruptly decided resistance was futile, and the shopping trip could wait for a couple more hours.

"Eww, get a room again, would you?" Dawn protested, diverted from her debate with Willow and Anya about the wedding dinner and the merits of going "all chocolate". Anya looked up interestedly, and he reluctantly loosed Buffy.

Walking outside into the sunshine, Spike paused, turning his face into the sun and enjoying its gentle warmth. ‘Mmm,' he thought, ‘I could stand here and soak up rays all day. How have I lived so complacently in the shadows for so long?'

"Come on, Mr. Sun Worshipper. Shopping, remember? Must hurry, the ‘Call of the Mall' is upon me," Buffy urged, pulling him over to his Desoto, where she stopped short in surprise. "Why, Spike, you washed your car! I hardly recognize it." Buffy walked around the battered old auto, staring with admiration at the sparkling windows, unblacked for the first time in her memory, garbage cleaned out, interior vacuumed, exterior waxed.

Spike ducked his head and grinned shyly. "A bride should have a nice ride," was his only explanation. Smiling in return, she kissed him softly on his full lips. "My Big Bad is a romantic. Thank you."

The drive through town saddened Buffy. Her good mood dampened, she noted that a few months ago, the streets would have been bustling with shoppers. Teenagers skipping class had been sipping sodas and gossiping, and mothers pushing strollers watched children playing in the park. Now the few people she saw wore frightened expressions on their faces, looking nervously around as they hurried along. Shadows flitted between buildings, and questionable beings lounged on street corners. Litter blew, pushed along by the wind. Several stores were closed and shuttered. Sunnydale had an unkempt and forlorn feel.

They stopped first at the floral shop. With many of the town's residents gone, demand for flowers was non-existent. The wizened little florist packed vases into boxes as she spoke with them. She promised wedding flowers for the next day at an exceptional price, as long as they took what was on hand. Spike and Buffy were happy to do so. "The poor things will just go to waste, otherwise," she mourned. Shaking her head, she hauled a bucket of lilies into the back room to begin arranging them. As they left, they heard her mumble, "Pshaw, wedding flowers with one day's notice! What has the world come to?"

Finding a wedding gown was even easier. The Bridal Shop was deserted, the door left hanging open. Much of its inventory was missing from the show room, but a back room was filled with formal wear, and unbelievably, Buffy found what looked like the very dress she had admired during her abortive engagement with Spike. She studied herself in the mirror and considered whether or not it was still in style. Spike's blue eyes darkened so dramatically though, and he looked so passionate with suddenly flared nostrils, hooded eyes and pursed lips, that she sighed happily and wrapped it up to take home while he found a severe black tuxedo that suited him.

Buffy smiled with approval as he left a scrawled note and payment on the shelf under the counter, in case the shop owner showed up later. Spike shook his head at himself for feeling the need to pay for the gown and tux. Another side effect of the mate and merge he assumed; a rather poncy one, but he had no inclination to ignore it.

Back in the car, Buffy turned to Spike with a worried frown, "I don't have a ring for you, Will. What am I going to do?" She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ease the incipient ache forming there.

Reaching over and lifting her into his arms, he replied, "I don't need one, pet. Marrying you is more than enough." Spike was pleased that she wanted to give him a ring, but was aware that there was no way she could afford one, and he knew better than to offer to pay for it.

"No," Buffy pulled away and folded her arms adamantly, "I have to find a way to get you a ring. No husband of mine is going without one. I want every woman in the world to know you're taken!"

A slow grin bloomed on his face and he straightened out in his seat. Stretching his arms up and then lacing his fingers behind his head, he kicked back cockily and smirked, "Jealous, babe?"

"What!?! Conceited much?" Buffy cried indignantly. "No way!" Then looking into his mocking eyes, she admitted, "Oh, all right. Now that I'm no longer avoidy girl, yeah, jealous. Don't think I haven't noticed how other women's eyes follow you wherever you go! And, Mister Smarty Pants, you'd be wise not to stir up that jealousy!" She glared at him warningly.

Spike laughed, raised his hands in front of himself defensively, and pretended to be cowed. "O.K., O.K. sweetheart, we'll figure out a way for you to buy me a ring." He wondered what she had that they could hawk for a wedding band. Perhaps he could put some cash in a shoebox somewhere in the house, arrange for her to find it, and pretend that it must have been Joyce that left it there...hmmm.

Her face lighting with sudden excitement, Buffy exclaimed, "I know! I'll trade in the claddagh ring Angel gave me! Do you think it's worth anything?"

Spike was surprised with her choice. "I'm sure it is, Buff, but are you sure you want to do that?" He looked at her seriously, not wanting her to ever regret buying him a wedding ring. "Maybe your mum left a stash somewhere," he added innocently. "We should check it out."

It was Buffy's turn to look at him sardonically, seeing what was on his mind. "Mom didn't leave a stash, Spike. After you left last summer, Dawn and I cleaned the whole house from top to bottom."

Still worried about her regretting selling Angel's ring later, he continued, "Well then, maybe we should trade my skull ring, instead."

"Absolutely not! You gave it to me, I'm keeping it forever, and how do you even know I still have it, Spikee?" Buffy drawled his name slowly, frowning at him suspiciously.

Spike quirked an eyebrow at her. The only other time the Slayer had called him ‘Spikee', she'd been seriously annoyed with him. He humorously remembered her birthday last year, when the whelp had shown up with a date for Buffy, and Spike had threatened to eat him. She'd called him Spikee while railing at him about it. In spite of claiming it was a joke, it hadn't been funny at the time. The Slayer was his, and no puling human was taking her away from him. He suspected that if she'd pursued a relationship with the boy, he would have proven he was still evil by arranging for an accident to befall "poor dainty Richard". Luckily she hadn't, and he hadn't been put to the test.

Spike smirked, "You just told Red this morning that you never threw anything of mine away, remember?" When she continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes, he shrugged, thinking, ‘If she gets brassed off at me for eying her trinkets, so be it. It helped the niblet at the time.' Looking at her blandly, he said, "The bit and I took a gander at your jewel box a few times when she was depressed and grieving for you. It cheered her up to try on your pretties."

That stopped her short. "Oh...well anyway...of course I want to trade the ring Angel gave me and not yours. Like you just said, I keep everything of yours!"

Pleasure rushing through him, Spike silently marveled at her new ability to admit her feelings for him. He pulled her in for a quick snog. It soon erupted into flame and Spike lost his train of thought, pushing her back into the seat and pulling her under him as fire raced through him.

Buffy gloried in her new tactile sensitivity, the feel of his soft lips caressing hers, his tongue thrusting and stroking. His weight covering her and pressing her into the seat had her shivering, and she instinctively molded her body to fit his. His erection surging against her, the rough texture of his hands roaming over her back, and his silky skin covering firm muscles as she slid her hands underneath his shirt thrilled her. She wanted to drown in his emotions as well, and almost succumbed to the temptation to bite him. With a great surge of will power, she broke away and commanded imperiously, "Home, now! Before the jeweler leaves town with everyone else! You can bet he won't leave his inventory behind, like the bridal shop owner did."

Sitting up and running his hand shakily through his hair, Spike nodded regretfully, and ran her home to get the ring, then on to the jeweler's to make the trade.

Afterwards, he stopped at the mall and escorted Buffy into Victoria's Secrets. When she glanced at him questioningly, Spike flashed an eyebrow at her, and said, "We're here to buy you some pretty things for me." He curled his tongue up to touch his upper lip and regarded her with hooded eyes. She laughed and waded into lingerie shopping with enthusiasm.

Back at home they made last minute plans, and Buffy laughed and cried with delight to see the transformed yard.

At breakfast that morning, she had mentioned in passing that she'd always wanted a garden wedding, except that since her mom had died, she'd had no garden. By the time Buffy and Spike returned from their shopping expedition, Xander had paid a visit to the local nursery, and he and the Potentials had planted a veritable paradise of flowers and shrubbery. Faith had even cajoled Robin into helping, and the two warriors had strung fairy lights through the trees.

Anya indignantly informed Buffy and Spike that they had had to pay full price at the Hilton. "Their excuse was that three quarters of their employees had left town and they'd have to work all night to get the baking done in time. They had no appreciation of the fact that with the state Sunnydale is in, they were lucky to get our business at all!" Anya's eyes flashed with irritation, giving the impression that the hotel had insulted her bargaining skills by not giving them a price break.

On a happier note, she, Willow and Dawn described the wedding buffet they had planned for after the ceremony, and how they had chosen a ‘Chocolate Decadence' theme, as one of Buffy's few weaknesses was chocolate. She and Spike shared a private vision. She dipped him in chocolate, and he retaliated by dunking her in hot wing sauce. They intrigued the others with their laughter and heated looks, but wouldn't explain.

Remembering the disaster of Anya and Xander's wedding that wasn't, the girls had decided to have a garden buffet afterwards instead of a dinner at the hotel's restaurant with prearranged place settings. Everyone would be happier choosing their own seats. Buffy agreed; she wasn't big on formality, anyway.

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After Buffy and Spike had left that morning, Xander had sat down with Dawn and planned how to make Buffy's garden wedding dream a reality. Dawn brought out Spike's currency roll and offered to foot the bill, but Xander declined. He wanted to do this on his own. A quick trip to the local nursery, and he came back loaded down with flowers and shrubs of every description. But when he had approached the Potentials about helping him plant them, Kennedy had balked. "Forget it. I'm not lifting a finger for them. It's disgusting that she's boffing a vampire."

The rest of the Potentials milled around uncertainly, and Xander's face darkened, with mixed feelings evident in his expression. ‘As much as I want to agree with the snotty little twit, I recognize jealousy when I see it, being something of an expert on the subject.' He opened his mouth to retort, but Faith, who was sitting nearby, beat him to the point. She turned to Kennedy and asked astutely, "Been bitten by the green eyed monster, have you?"

Kennedy indignantly denied that. "Gi'me a break! He's a filthy vampire!"

"And a really hot number, too, wouldn't you say? Although, since you don't swing that way, the sticking point must be that she's ramped up her Slayer powers several notches," Faith concluded, eyeing the potential shrewdly.

A tell tale flush crept along Kennedy's cheeks. "It's not right that she gets even more power! Wasn't just being a Slayer enough for her?"

Faith took pity on her and said, "I have to admit that I was a bit peeved at first, too, Ken. But last night I dusted an uber vamp without superman speed and strength, so normal Slayer power does just fine."

"We don't even have normal Slayer power," muttered Kennedy. "How are the rest of us supposed to survive the upcoming fight? We might be strong for human girls, but we're no match for uber vamps. We can barely handle bringers!"

A chorus of agreement and nods came from the rest of the potentials.

"Giles and Willow will figure something out," Faith answered complacently.

That offered little comfort to Kennedy, even though Willow could accomplish pretty much anything in her eyes. "But will there be time for them to figure anything out? That's the problem. Buffy and her lover boy should be here planning! Just look at them, they're out shopping today, instead of preparing for The First." Shaking her head with disgust, she continued, "and instead of doing something constructive, we're supposed to plant flowers for them? Faith, you should be leading us, not her. It's obvious she's been subverted by Spike. Don't you all agree?" Kennedy stared fiercely around at the other potentials, willing them to side with her.

Xander stood immobilized in shock that they had a potential mutiny on their hands. He scanned all their faces to see who agreed with Kennedy. He saw a few shake their heads in obvious disagreement and while the others looked unsure, he thankfully didn't see any clear support for her.

Faith broke into the awkward silence with a forceful, "Nuh uh," and shake of her head. She'd worked through this last night, and had no doubts now. "No way. B's in charge here. She's the senior Slayer. Her mating with Spike gives us all more chance of surviving, not less! We should be glad that she was able to finesse the vampire mating ritual, not hold it against her. Don't you think for one minute that she's not fully aware of us at all times! And now they say that Spike's just as committed. On top of that, they both have superman strength! How can you not think that's a plus?"

Kennedy mulishly said nothing, not ready to give in, but inwardly she admitted that perhaps envy did have a part in her feelings.

"There's nothing Buffy could do this morning to get ready for The First. I for one don't blame her for trying to get her mind off it for awhile. Giles says there's nothing we can do right now to help with research. So in the meantime, you all need something to distract you too, for a bit, now don't you?" Faith picked up a container of flowers and looked each of them in the eye.

Kennedy looked doubtful, but the others all nodded thoughtfully. Yes, they could use something to keep them all busy today, to keep their minds off the thought that they'd likely be dead in a few days. Those potentials that still had reservations about Buffy's mating tended to look to Faith for direction, and she had all but told them to help Xander. They picked up shovels, spades and flats of flowers and asked Xander where he wanted them to start.

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Kennedy acquiesced sulkily and before long the yard had been transformed into a lush garden. Xander flashed Faith a smile of gratitude for averting the crisis. After directing each girl where to start with the garden's makeover, he and Faith exchanged a few words. She would alert Giles to Kennedy's outburst.

-----

Giles had spent the day researching. He was beginning to despair at ever finding the secrets of the amulet. Perhaps they'd just have to enchant their weapons with strength and power, and hope for the best. He had reluctantly given the others permission to prepare for the wedding, as he only had so many books, and they'd all been gone over several times. Faith had led a salvage operation to find abandoned computers from nearby homes and businesses, but had been unsuccessful. Apparently they were high priority items and people had taken them along when they left town. He was using the only available computer, Willow having taken hers with them on the wedding preps.

Faith came in and warned him of Kennedy's attempted insurrection, reminding the Watcher that he hadn't had Willow give her speech to the whole group of potentials. The minute she walked in with Dawn and Anya, he called her aside and they called a break in the gardening long enough for their meeting. They answered general questions and then opened a discussion focused on giving reassurance, telling facts about and dangers of the mating, explaining how now Buffy and Spike were both primarily committed to the potentials and defeat of The First; dealing with envy and fear. They let the potentials vent and examine their feelings. Afterwards, Willow and Giles conferred, agreeing that it had been therapeutic for the girls.

-----

Upon Buffy and Spike's return, Xander didn't tell them about the mini mutiny, as he thought of it. With a new sense of discretion, he left that up to Giles. He just told them that the newly landscaped yard was their wedding gift, and an attempt to say he was sorry for being such a busybody. Spike nodded, silently accepting the apology and forgiving the boy's past insults, for he had made Buffy happy. Buffy wiped tears from her eyes and hugged Xander, whispering, "Thank you, best friend."

Anya, Willow and Dawn looked back and forth between them, and Anya put her hands on her hips and asked, "Alright, Busybody Harris, what did you do this time?"

Xander cleared his throat and said, "I've done a lot of things over the years. It's time I made up for them, don't you think?" He smiled sheepishly at Spike and Buffy and they nodded and smiled back, not mentioning his latest faux pas.

Tbc...