Aurelius raised his eyebrows. "Yes."

"And your name is Marcus...Aurelius?" asked the watcher.

"That would be correct," he said with a challenging look.

Giles looked over at Buffy, who chatted with Tara. He caught Spike's gaze. The blonde vampire nodded. "How very interesting," said the Englishman as he drained his Scotch. They made their selections and ordered.

The band took the stage and began to play "I've Got You Under My Skin". Xander stood up abruptly and held out his hand to Willow. "Let's dance," he said seriously. Both witches gave him a startled glance. The redhead met his gaze and took his hand. He led her through the sea of dancing couples on the dance floor, and brought them to the edge of the stage. They moved into each other and swayed to the music.

"I thought you didn't want to dance with me in front of everyone," she said.

"Anya's been lying to me," he said. "She's not pregnant."

She looked shocked. "But the sickness, the way she looked..."

"Some kind of spell," he explained.

"Tara did a little spell herself," she said. "That's what started this thing between you and I." She looked away. "It was just a little magical wackiness. It didn't mean anything."

He gently pulled her chin and forced her to look at him. "No, no," he said adamantly. "What we have, it's not just a spell. I'm in love with you."

She looked relieved. "I'm in love with you too. And the spell is over and done." They were quiet for a minute as they considered that. "Tara and I split up."

"I'm sorry," Xander said sincerely. "It wasn't because of us, because of this?"

She shook her head. "Things are different. Something broke between us, and it just wasn't the same."

They looked at each other, realization dawning. "We can be together now," said Xander jubilantly. He picked her up and swung her around. The couples around them scurried out of their way. She laughed, breathless. He pulled her close and they kissed, a fervent one full of love and promise. He cupped her face in his hands as she smiled at him. "Marry me," he said.

Spike and Buffy danced together. "This is better," she sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "All this craziness has worn me out."

He rubbed her abdomen. "You should rest, Buffy. You have to take care of Tinkerbell."

"I need to go out later," she said tiredly. "For the bachelorette party. They're kind of not so fun when the guest of honor is in her room sleeping."

He stroked her back and kissed her forehead. "If it was up to you, pet, what would you do tonight?"

She smiled. "I'd have a nice, hot bubble bath, and then eat chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream while you rubbed my feet."

He laughed. "You're the bride, sweetheart. This wedding, its all about us. We should do whatever we want."

She lifted up her head. "But you have to go out with the guys. It's your last night as a bachelor. You're supposed to go get drunk and look at naked women."

"I'd rather just sip on some champagne and look at you," he said sincerely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed.

"I must say, Tara," said Aurelius. "I wouldn't have been so quick to help you get your spell components if I knew the affects that it would have."

"The spell went wonky," said Tara. "I wasn't trying to cause a big orgy or anything."

"It was an extremely stupid and dangerous thing to do," said Giles harshly. "I had no idea you were capable of doing anything half so rash." Stunned, Tara burst into tears and ran out of the room.











Under My Skin
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1