Headers in part one December 25, 2001 Willow awoke to Xander's mouth on her own. "Merry Christmas, Will," he said cheerfully. She smiled and stretched languidly underneath him. "Merry Christmas, Xander," she said drowsily, arching to reach his kiss. He pulled back and dragged her with him. "Ready to open presents?" he asked, bouncing on the bed next to her. She shook her head, dazed. "Xander, what time is it?" she asked in disbelief. "Six," he told her, grinning boyishly. "Mel and I have been up for about an hour, but decided to let you sleep in." "You're insane," she informed him, and laid back down. He laughed. "No, I'm not. Come on, let's go." He dragged her out of the bed and pulled her into Melanie's room, where she was sitting up in her crib waiting for them. "I told you she wouldn't disappoint us," Xander told his daughter as he picked her up. The trio headed downstairs, where the tree was set up in the living room. "Xander, you do realize that she's not even seven months old, and we're probably completely overwhelming her," Willow pointed out, yawning. "In the last 2 weeks, we've had eight days of Chanukah and gifts, and now Christmas." "Will, it's every kid's dream. Nine days of presents, two religions of holidays. Trust me, she'll thank us when she's older." Xander set Melanie down on a blanket where he and Willow had piled her new toys the night before. None of them were wrapped or in boxes, and the infant rolled over to play under her new jungle gym, happily ignoring the people she had come to know as her parents. "Okay, she's set. Now it's time for your presents," Xander said cheerfully. They exchanged the few gifts they had bought for each other, and opened them with great relish, with even Willow waking up and getting into the holiday spirit. When they had finished, Willow offered to get breakfast if Xander cleaned up the wrapping paper. "Um, not quite yet," he stopped her. "You're not done opening your presents yet." She looked at him in confusion. "But there's nothing left under the tree." "You didn't check your stocking yet." He led her over to the staircase where he had hung a red vinyl stocking that had her name written on it with a silver fabric pen. "Oh, Xander, I forgot! I didn't get you anything for yours. I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling awful. "Don't worry about it. These presents are really for both of us," he told her. He handed her the stocking and they went to sit on the couch. She reached in and first pulled out a long, narrow box. She glanced at him quizzically, and he motioned for her to open it, which she did. "A pen?" She was clearly confused. "It's a nice pen, Xander." He tried to laugh, but was visibly nervous. He licked his lips. "It has to do with the big envelope." "Okay, then." She pulled the manilla envelope out next and opened it. Her eyes widened and she pulled a sheaf of papers out. "Xander?" she asked, her voice trembling. "A few weeks ago, I got a letter from my lawyer. After six months, Megan's petition to give up custody of Melanie was finalized. There's no way anymore that she can ever come back and say that she's the mother. And we already talked about how Mel will call you Mama, so I thought you might want to make it official," he finished in a rush. "You want me to adopt Melanie?" Willow asked, still staring at the papers. "If you want to?" he said nervously. "If I want to?" Her eyes filled with tears. "Xander, I don't think you could have possibly given me a better present. Give me the pen." He gave her the pen, which he had been clutching in his hand, and she signed her name with a flourish. "There we go. What do we have to do now?" "Give it to my lawyer, go to court and tell them how wonderful you are and how much you love Melanie, and wait to get you approved, which I'm sure you will. And that's it." "And then I'll be Melanie's mommy." She leaned over to look at the child still playing with her toy. "Did you hear that, Mel? I'm going to be your mommy." "Willow, you've always been her mommy. You know that," he said gently. She turned to face him and he saw that she was crying. "I love you, Xander," she said, throwing her arms around him. He pulled her close. "I love you, too," he smiled, trying to hold back his own tears. He had made mistakes before, and now things were finally right. Just the way it should be. Willow pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I'll get us breakfast, and then we'll head to the shop to do the present thing with the others, okay? You clean up and get the presents together." An hour later, they were ready to go. Willow was carrying Melanie and the diaper bag, and Xander had all the presents. They stuffed everything into Willow's new car and drove to Giles' shop, where everyone was gathered. They walked in, bells on the door jingling. "We're here, let the party begin," Xander called out. Giles, Katherine and Buffy were setting out various snacks while Spike was trying to eat them all. "It's about time you got here," Buffy chided them. "I want my presents!" Willow laughed. "Sorry. But you'll never believe what I got for Christmas," she said excitedly. "Jewelry?" Buffy asked, just as excited. "Better. Adoption papers! I'm going to be Mel's legal mother," Willow announced. "Congratulations!" Giles and Katherine chorused. Katherine gave her a hug while Giles took the baby from her. "That's wonderful, Willow. And it's wonderful for you, too, Melanie," he told the girl, who cooed back at him. "Yes, it's great," Buffy agreed. "Exactly the way things should be. Now let's open presents!" "What makes you think you got any, love?" Spike drawled. "Because if I didn't, you're not getting anything. And I do mean anything," she said sweetly. "Right, then. Presents for the Slayer, piled right here!" Spike announced, grinning at Buffy. There was a flurry of activity, with oohs and ahhs as they passed out the gifts and opened them. An hour later, the last visible present was opened. "Is that it?" Buffy asked, from her perch on Spike's lap. "Not quite," Xander spoke up. "One more, for Willow." "Another one?" she asked in amazement. "Xander, I can't think of anything else you could have possibly gotten me. There's so much already." "I can think of something," Katherine whispered to Buffy, who nodded in agreement. Willow ignored them, keeping her eyes focused on Xander's. "Remember when I told you that some presents were for both of us?" She nodded. "This is another one of those." He pulled a small velvet box out of his jacket pocket and swiftly bent down on one knee as Willow gasped, her hands flying to her face. "Willow Rosenberg, will you marry me?" She burst into tears for the second time that morning and nodded violently. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" She flung her arms around his neck briefly before pulling back to look at the diamond ring that he slid onto her finger. "Wow," she whispered. "I love you," she breathed softly, leaning her forehead on his. "I love you, too," he said just as softly, his breath tickling her face. They shared a quick kiss before turning back to the group. "We're getting married!" Willow squealed. Amid more congratulations, Giles called for their attention. "Ahem. Yes, I also have some news that I would like to share, although it is not quite as. . .big as Xander and Willow's." He cleared his throat again and reached for Katherine's hand, pulling her to stand in front of him. "Starting next week, I'll be closing down the shop for a month. Kate and I are going on a vacation to England together, to visit my parents. We will then be staying at my family's house in the countryside," he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Katherine and kissed the top of her head. Buffy, Willow, and Spike exchanged bewildered looks. "You guys are. . .dating?" Buffy asked, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. "Oh, thank God," Xander said in relief. "Finally, I can stop worrying about keeping this secret." "You knew and you didn't tell me?" Willow hit his arm. "Well, it wasn't my place," Xander protested. "Besides, no one ever told me, either. It was just really hard to not know after awhile." His eyes met Giles' and they looked away very quickly. "Giles, I had no idea," Buffy said, still stupefied. "How long have you guys been together?" Katherine and Giles exchanged nervous looks. "It's been a long time," Katherine informed her. "Nearly a year, in fact. My birthday, last February. We didn't mean to keep it a secret, we just never knew what to say." "Wow. Well, congratulations to you guys too, I guess," Buffy said. She smiled. "This is going to take getting used to, but I'm happy for you both." "Thank you, Buffy," Giles said softly, their eyes meeting. They had always had a special connection, and Buffy didn't have a very good record of sharing, but she let him know that she was going to try this time. "Well, Spike and I have to get going," Buffy said regretfully. "We're spending the rest of the day with my mom." "And Rupert and I must also take our leave," Katherine admitted. "We've been invited to have dinner with my friend Shelley and her husband David. Congratulations again, Willow." Willow gave her a beaming smile. "Thanks, Katherine," she said as she packed up Melanie's things. "Ready to go?" she asked Xander. "Ready and willing. Bye, guys," he waved with Melanie. "Buh!" Melanie called, to the delight of everyone assembled. "Call me tomorrow, Will," Buffy instructed. "We have a wedding to plan!" Willow grinned happily at Xander, the room disappearing for them as their eyes met. "Yes, we certainly do." THE END Thanks for staying with me long enough to get here. : ) Now why don't you hit the reply button and tell me what you thought?