The Wedding
Author: Katie Email: [email protected] Disclaimer: Joss and NBC own Buffy and ER. I own Liam and plot... Rating: same as show. Spoilers: Up to Buffy 5, Angel 2 Note: 8th in T&T series. Summery: Buffy's thoughts on her wedding.
Buffy's Thoughts: Buffy was not nervous. Not at all. She stood in the brideroom of the church in her wedding gown, one hour away from becoming Buffy McFladgery. The road had been long and uphill but it was worth it. Being able to be with a human Angel was worth all the fights, angry words, and estranged times. It was worth the pain of her junior year of high school and the awkwardness of her senior year, the bitter hatred that had accompanied Angel leaving for Los Angeles. This moment was worth the jealousy she had felt seeing Angel hugging and defending Faith. She knew that if one thing had or had not happened, she probably wouldn't have Liam and she wouldn't be marrying the man that had captured her heart by following her to the Bronze. At that point, he was the mysterious and cryptic man that showed up every once and a while to save her with some info. Then she had discovered that he was a vampire, cursed with a soul. They had tried to stay away, deny what they both felt. They had their cup of coffee after Halloween and began their relationship. It ended with Angel losing his soul after their first time on the night of her 17th birthday. She had to send Angel to hell for all eternity, but he had returned and at the end of the school year, left Sunnydale and Buffy behind for Los Angeles. Buffy had jumped into bad relationship after bad relationship, first Parker, then Riley, Eddie, Michael, and finally, Carlos. Riley had dumped her at the beginning of her sophomore year of college and the forces of darkness had killed the latter three. She had been unable to protect them and they didn't know what she was. Buffy remembered when Angel came back to her, during her senior year of college. She had been sitting on a bench, crying silently over Carlos' death when she saw Angel. She thought she was imagining things but then he wrapped his strong arms around her and instantly, Buffy knew. She had felt his heartbeat, seen him in the sunlight (A.N. I don't think Buffy would be dumb enough to cry on a bench in Sunnydale at night, do you?) And felt his breath against her skin. There was a knock on the door, jarring Buffy from her thoughts. Willow, Dawn, Cordelia, Carol, Elizabeth, and Liam entered the room and Buffy twirled around to greet them. "Oh my God, Buffy, you look stunning," said Maid of Honor Willow. She did look stunning. Her gown was pure white silk, satin, and Irish lace. The bodice was decorated with little sequin flowers while the skirt was smooth Chinese silk except for the bow that tied around the back. Hank entered the room. He looked from his gorgeous daughter to her bridal party. Willow had on a pastel green and white dress and her hair was curled into tiny ringlets around her head. The rest of the bridesmaids wore navy blue gowns with a white sash curling around the top of the dress to drape behind. Buffy looked in the mirror one last time; her veil was placed over her perfectly crimped hair. She brought part of the veil over her head and walked out on her father's arms. Angel's Thoughts: Angel was a nervous wreck. It was an hour until his wedding to Buffy. He paced up and down the small room until Doyle complained that he was getting dizzy watching him. He looked down at the cross Buffy had Liam give to him. The same one he gave Buffy the first night they met. It reminded him of a time when he couldn't hold the antique cross that his mother had given to him when he reached 18. How it would burn him. He was then reminded of the time right after he killed Darla the first time. They had met up at the Bronze and kissed. Buffy had been wearing his cross and he could feel it burn his chest as they kissed. There was a knock on the door as Liam entered the room. "Dada! Tis prom Mama!" Angel scooped up his son as the boy opened his hand to reveal the silver Claddagh he had given to Buffy on her 17th birthday. "Thank you, little man." The toddler, already so much like his father, had on a tuxedo exactly like Angel's except smaller. The groomsmen, Doyle, Spike, Oz, Doug, and Mark were all as cool as cucumbers. Liam laughed and squirmed in Angel's arms. The baby played with the ring around his neck. Angel still couldn't believe what was happening. Always, in the furthest part of his mind, he thought his life was a dream. It was too perfect. Him and Buffy having a son and getting married. It was always something he dreamed of after he would see Buffy during the 5 years they were apart. Never in a million years would he have thought that those dreams would someday become reality. He thought back to the day he became human again. FLASHBACK Angel had fought his last demon and had actually come so very close to dying on several occasions. But the thing that always brought him back was Buffy. The last demon he had to face was his own: Angelus. Through a spell, Angel and Angelus had been split into two separate entities. One human and one a vampire. Angel had to stake his own face; his own body and acknowledge that he and Angelus were 2 completely different beings. After the battle, he had gone to see Buffy. Things hadn't gone too well, Cordy hadn't informed Angel that Buffy was going to get married. So, with a heavy heart, he watched as Buffy promised herself to another man. But Jason treated her horribly, beat and raped her whenever he felt like it. Buffy couldn't stop him because he mixed a compound in with her food, sapping her strength so she couldn't fight him. Buffy had shown up at his doorstep one night, sporting a nasty bruise in her cheek. Angel had let her in and asked what was going on. Buffy told him everything and Angel had told Kate so she could arrest Jason. Angel was the only man Buffy trusted completely and soon, things got too hot to handle. "Mr. O'Connor? Are you ready?" The priest's voice jarred him from his reverie and brought him up to the present from the memories of two years ago. "Yes, I am." And suddenly, Angel felt no fear. He, Buffy, and Liam were three parts to the same whole. And he hoped that he and Buffy could make more parts to that whole. Angel longed for a daughter. The End
