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Chapter 34

"I really don't want to have to do this," Buffy grumbled as Spike headed to her parents house the next morning. They were all packed up, just had to make a few stops before they could finally get back home.

"You know you have to."

"Doesn't mean I want to though. This is like. . . I feel like I'm headed
toward the guillotine."

"Tad melodramatic, don't you think?"

"You were here for the weekend right? You were aware of what happened
at the church yesterday right?"

Spike grinned, "Not all of the weekend was bad if I recall."

She smiled, blushing slightly. "No, not all bad. I do remember—"

"Yeah?" he urged.

"Meeting Lorne. That was fantastic."

"Brat."

"You like it."

He nodded, "Yeah," he agreed wistfully.

Silence fell and Buffy nibbled her bottom lip. "So," she started
conversationally. "My parents really liked you."

"I liked them too. I can see what you mean about your mom being a
control freak and all that, but I liked her."

"Yeah, Angel liked you too."

"He's a good bloke."

‘Too bad he's gonna have to hate you soon huh?" She braced herself for
what he would say. Would he agree with her and say ‘yeah, too bad' or
would he say ‘there's no reason why they have to hate me because I do
plan to stick around'. And was that expecting too much? It'd been weighing
more and more on her mind as the weekend came down to a close. Soon,
they'd head back to their lives – albeit together—and she was sure it'd be
an adjustment. Spending time away had almost seemed unreal. Like time
out of time. Certainly everything that had happened that weekend was
fodder for a novel or a comedy. Yep, that was her life all right. One gigantic
sitcom. Unfortunately, she was always on the receiving end of the
punchline. She just really hoped this time she wouldn't be. Sure he'd said
things like ‘forever' and ‘always be there', but didn't everyone say that stuff
in the beginning of a relationship? What it all came down to is that she
wanted to know what to do. Was she supposed to tell her parents they'd
broken things off or not? Or—

"Long engagement!" she blurted out. Originally, she had poo- pooed the
idea because she knew how her mother would be breathing down her neck
to finally get married and with the baby on the way. Oh God. What if they
DID break up? What if it was a nasty break up and they were forced to go
their separate ways because they could not stand to be in the same room
with each other? Then the baby . . . her poor baby.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking. Unfortunately, it's coming out of my mouth in
random spurts. It's like I have Tourette's."

"Where exactly are your thoughts going is what I'd like to know."

"Oh, nowhere," she sighed whimsically. A beat. "Where are your thoughts
going?"

"I'm wondering why your parents have to hate me."

"Our break up remember? You're supposed to leave me jilted with a kid to
raise on my own."

"Oh yes. I'd forgotten about that."

"You'd forgotten? How could you have forgotten?"

"I think I've been too caught up in getting the girl than thinking about
letting her go."

"Oh. Well, do you think it's something we should talk about?"

"What was this about a long engagement?"

"We're together now so it would seem weird if two weeks from now I told
my parents we split. So I was thinking we could tell them we're having a
long engagement, but then I don't want to be in the middle of our long

engagement when the baby is born—"

"Breathe, Buffy."

"I am breathing," she said haughtily. "It's just coming out in short gasps."

"What kind of wedding had you dreamt of when you were a kid?"

"Huh?"

"What kind of wedding had you—"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you." Okay, not a little bit confusing and off topic. And
yet not off topic, she thought. "Uh, I guess I never really did."

"Come on. I thought all little girls planned their wedding."

"I planned my honeymoon instead. I guess I always knew I'd never have

any say in my ceremony."

"Who did you think would?"

"Who do you think?"


"Your mother."

"Bingo."

"Now that you've met Lorne, wouldn't you want him to plan your

wedding?"

"Well, yeah I'd like him to –but no, I don't want to plan a wedding. I'm
burnt out from it."

"So, where did you envision your honeymoon?"

"Europe."

He brightened. "Really?"

"Yep. Always wanted to go. All that history you know?" Pause. "Well of
course you know," she muttered.

"So London specifically."

"Right. Maybe Italy too. And France. Even though they hate us dirty
Americans."

"Here we are!" Spike announced as he pulled into the driveway.

Buffy's heart dropped. Not only because she had to face her family once
again after yesterdays fiasco, but because she wanted to continue their
conversation. They hadn't come to any conclusions and she didn't know
how to just lay it all out on the table when it was still fresh and new in their
relationship. She wanted to scream her frustration. Why did they have to
go and come up with this white lie that had somehow grown and spun out of
control. Well, not so badly out of control except now she didn't know what
to do. Would Spike think she was pushing him for something if she opted
not to tell her parents that they'd broken up? Would he be freaked out by
it? Thus far, not much had freaked him out. However, would the ‘M' word
send him running for the hills?

"Coming?" Spike asked, opening her door.

She nodded and climbed out. They walked in silence to the front door and
she took a deep breath. "It was nice knowing you," she told him just before
she pushed the door open.



"Mo-om! Buffy's here!" Dawn shouted as soon as she spotted her sister
step over the foyer.

"Thanks, Dawn. Hearing wasn't really important to me at all," Buffy told
her. Dawn ignored her and ran up the stairs. "I'm glad we could have this
talk! It means a lot to me that we were able to bond the way we have. You
know a sisters love is—" the door slamming, stopped Buffy's diatribe. She
looked up at Spike. "I'm gonna miss her."

Spike started to laugh.

"Well. There she is."

Buffy braced herself. "Mom," she greeted her and it felt very reminiscent
of when she'd arrived home just two days prior.

"I was hoping you'd stop by before taking off and say good bye. Your
father would be very upset if you hadn't."

Buffy stared at her mother. At her SMILING mother. "Oh my God."

"What?" her mother and Spike asked.

"You're a pod person. I have in fact entered Invasion of the Body
Snatchers."

Joyce rolled her eyes and shook her head at Spike. "You have your work
cut out for you."

"Don't I know it," Spike agreed.

Buffy elbowed him.

"Did you eat? I have leftover waffle mix."

"How can I say no to that? Where's Daddy?"

"Eating still and reading the paper."

Buffy smiled. That meant her father's waffles were probably freezing cold.
He tended to get caught up with the paper and forget that he had food in
front of him until her mother would remind him.

Her mother headed for the waffle maker and Buffy gave her father a peck
on his cheek to which he beamed at her before. Seeming to realize he had
food in front of him, he took a bite and then went back to the paper. Spike
sat down next to her and poured some juice for them.

"Okay mom, I'll bite. What happened after we left yesterday?"

Her mother let out a heavy sigh. "Well, Harmony was beside herself. She
was in hysterics, ranting about how Jonathan left her and how was she
going to pay for the salon now."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "So the fact that the man she was supposed to
be in love with had just left with another woman didn't really phase her."

"Apparently not." Joyce closed the waffle maker and it let out a hiss as she
turned to them. "Buffy, what kind of hand did you have in this?"

Buffy looked her at her mom sheepishly. "I kind of had a hand in setting
the groom up with said woman he ran off with."

Joyce sighed. "What else?"

"I did some investigating. I mean come on mom. Jonathan and Harmony?
I knew there had to be something she was after. My question is how could
you not have seen it?"

"I don't think that way. I know Harmony can be shallow—"

"Can be?"

"Okay, yes, she is. I just never thought she'd stoop that low to do that. She
always spoke so highly of Jonathan."

"And his wallet," Hank muttered.

Buffy giggled.

Joyce frowned. "I suppose I was blind. I was too interested in her getting
married off that I didn't put it all together."

"So did she finally admit it?"

"Not really. That's all she would say. Then as an afterthought mention how
you'd ruin her wedding day. Nothing ever about how she lost the man she
loved."

"So she never did the scorned woman thing. Instead she was embarrassed
that she'd gotten jilted and that she was going to lose her salon."

Joyce nodded. "Yes," she said wearily.

"And where is the girl now?"

"She's gone to Europe."

Buffy's eyes widened. "What?"

"She contacted her father last night and begged him to take her in. I'm
surprised he even agreed since he couldn't have been bothered to make her
wedding at all."

"Maybe he felt guilty?"

"Maybe. I doubt it, but whatever the case, she left. Packed up and left for
an indefinite amount of time."

"And how do you feel about it?"

"Relieved," Hank put in.

Buffy laughed.

Hank grinned and continued reading the paper.

"In a nutshell," Joyce agreed. "I'm thinking if he does in fact feel guilt, then
he should foot the bill for the rest of the wedding."

"For the rest? Did he help with some?"

"Most, actually."

"So then he probably did feel bad. What do you know? If Uncle Richard can
feel guilt over abandoning Harmony, then maybe there's a chance for
Harmony to one day grow a heart too."

"Don't count on it," Hank added.

"Honestly, Hank if you're going to be listening in on the conversation and
adding in your two cents then why don't you put the paper down?" Joyce
asked him, exasperated.

Hank looked up. "It's what I do. I jump in, I jump out and no one expects
me to stay."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Joyce muttered and turned back to the waffle
maker.

Hank leaned in to Buffy and pointed at Joyce. "Did you see the vein start to
throb?" he whispered, grinning.

"You're awful Daddy," Buffy scolded him, chuckling.

Hank nodded toward Spike. "Take lessons boy. I got the way to drive the
Summers women round the bend."

"He doesn't need lessons. He's got it down to an art form all by himself,
Dad," Buffy said dryly.


Hank beamed at Spike. "Welcome to the family, son."












TBC...





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