An Unaccomplished Fate
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: I don’t own most of these characters, and I’m not making any money off of the ones that are mine.
Summary: The sequel to Avocation and Under the Sun. Spike and Buffy’s relationship is on solid ground at last, but a new prophecy threatens everything they hold dear. The bonds of family and friendship will be tested, lives will be threatened, and the entire world will hang on the choice of one vampire.
A/N: Any resemblance to canon is pretty
much
accidental.
Epilogue
“How do I look?”
Spike raised an eyebrow.
“Dashing. Relax, Wes.”
“I’m getting married!” Wesley
protested. “I don’t think I’m
supposed to relax.”
“That’s right; you’re getting
married. So, take a deep breath
and remember that Willow asked you first, so I doubt she’s going to do
a
runner.”
Wesley shot him a dirty look,
then turned as Joyce poked her
head inside Buffy’s old room. “Are you ready? The justice of the peace
is
here.”
“Yes, I think so.” Wesley
wiped his palms on his suit pants.
“Yes.”
Joyce smiled and entered the
room, adjusting Wesley’s tie
with a motherly gesture. “You’ll do just fine.” She turned to Spike and
did the
same for him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You both look wonderful.”
Spike gave her a sharp look.
“Now, don’t start the
waterworks, Joyce. You need to save the tears for our wedding.”
“You haven’t set a date yet,”
Joyce countered.
Spike shrugged. “What’s the
hurry?”
Joyce shook her head and led
them out of the room. Spike could
hear voices and women’s laughter coming from the master bedroom, but he
couldn’t understand the words. A year ago, he would have been able to
make out
every word, but he’d grown used to it.
In truth, Spike had begun to
hate his undead status; being
immortal wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, especially when all those
he loved
were human. Being human was something of a relief.
In spite of a forecast that
threatened rain, the sky was
blue and clear, and the spring day was warm, but not uncomfortably so.
Spike spotted Dawn sitting on
a blanket in the corner of the
yard, attempting to keep Tommy occupied. All of her efforts to keep the
little
boy distracted failed as soon as he saw Spike. “Pike!”
He toddled over on chubby
legs, and Spike swept Tommy up into
the air, grinning at the boy’s squeals of delight. “Again!”
“I can’t,” Spike said
regretfully. “I think your dad might
have something for you, luv.” Spike put him down and pointed him in
Giles’
direction. Giles was talking to Oscar O’Mara, holding Tommy’s favorite
stuffed
bear.
Dawn rose from the ground,
smoothing her skirt. “Hey. You
look great.”
“So do you,” Spike replied,
putting a brotherly arm around
her shoulders. “I’ll be beating the boys off with a stick.”
She turned bright red. “Yeah,
well, as long as you don’t
beat my boyfriend off with a stick.”
Spike looked at her. “When did
this happen?”
Dawn shrugged. “Yesterday.
Mike asked me to go to prom.”
Spike could tell that she was
nearly bursting to tell the
news, but didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal. He grinned.
“Good for
you, Bit.” He frowned. “And if he doesn’t treat you right…”
“I know.” She shrugged. “You
showed me how to get rid of
unwanted attention, remember?”
“So I did.” Spike saw Joyce
motioning him over, and he gave
Dawn one last hug before joining Wesley to stand next to the justice of
the
peace. Wesley appeared calmer, and Spike thought the credit for that
went to
Joyce.
“We’re nearly ready to start,”
Joyce said, with a
sympathetic look at Wesley. “I’m sorry your parents couldn’t be here
today.”
Wesley shrugged. “My family is
here. That’s what’s
important.”
And that said it all, Spike
thought, as Joyce hurried away
to let Buffy know she was to start walking out. He watched as Tara
slipped
outside and moved to stand between Quinn and Robert, slipping her hand
into
Quinn’s. Xander and Anya stood side by side next to Quinn, Xander’s arm
around
Anya’s shoulders.
A moment later, Buffy was
walking out of the house, the
skirt of her dark green dress fluttering in the slight breeze. She gave
him a
bright smile and stood on the other side of the justice of the peace.
Willow
followed her in white, her smile almost blinding. She had opted for
walking
herself down the aisle, since her parents hadn’t been thrilled with the
idea of
a non-religious wedding.
Willow had used the same words
Wesley had,
however—that her family would be there, and that was all that mattered.
As Wesley reached for Willow’s
hand, Spike turned to face
the justice of the peace and caught Buffy’s eye. This was what he had
saved the
world for, and all the battles, all the blood on his hands—it was worth
it.