Buffy tried to stretch her body higher than it was willing to go as she stared at her reflection. Even in heels, she felt too short; not as tall and grown-up as she'd always wanted herself to feel on a day like this. Being taller isn't going to make you feel any more ready, Buff…

Giving up, she instead adjusted the ankle straps of her shoes yet again and stood, her hair nearly touching the floor when she bent down. Granting Spike's unspoken wish, she had grown it out over the past year, and it now was within an inch or two of reaching her waist, getting even closer than usual since Dawn had spent all morning helping her straighten most of it, only allowing a few face-framing tendrils to remain wavy. They had pulled most of her hair back either way, partially to avoid catching it in the beads adorning the neckline of her dress, and partially because Buffy knew she wouldn't be able to stand constantly pushing it out of her way for hours on end.

Despite her nerves, she was in desperate need of a distraction, and was about to call for Dawn when she heard a knock on the door.

"Dawn, get in here! Do we have any taller shoes? I feel too short in these!"

"Er, not Dawn, but may I come in?" The door opened tentatively, Giles waving his hand through the gap.

"Oh! Of course, Giles." Buffy rushed to open the door, revealing a uncomfortable-looking Giles shifting his weight between his feet. He'd had the same look on his face all day, and it was beginning to worry her. It was close to how he used to look when they'd discovered a new 'Big Bad', back in the old days, but not quite. Buffy hoped it was excitement that he felt, rather than apprehension, but she'd settle for somewhere in between if she must.

"Whatcha got there?" She pointed to a thin black box, clutched tightly in his other hand, but he acted as if he hadn't heard her. There was a certain order to this conversation, when he'd rehearsed it in his mind, and he needed to stick to it closely for his own sanity.

"Buffy, dear, you look absolutely beautiful, really." He smiled warmly, bringing her into his arms for a careful yet affectionate hug. "I'm not an expert on such things, but I really don't think you need taller shoes, if that means anything. You are already far closer to my own height than I'm used to."

"Giles, hun, you're doing that thing again," she tapped him lightly as she pulled out of their hug. "You know, where you scare me half to death by avoiding questions?"

"I'm sorry Buffy, I certainly didn't mean to cause you any stress, but this is quite meaningful to me and I wanted to make sure I did this right," he swallowed, steadying himself. Where's a scotch when you need one?

"You know I've always thought of you as a daughter to me, and I would have happily adopted you along with Dawn, had you been of that age… But since it seems that you've moved on from the phase of your life where you truly need me- No, don't give me that look, it's true…" He paused nervously, trying to resist the urge to clean his glasses. He couldn't take Buffy's laughter at the moment. "...At the very least, I wanted to give you this. It's been in my family for over a hundred years, and I would like you to have it. As my wedding gift to you."

Buffy stared at the box as he handed it to her. She was terrified to look at him; her makeup had taken hours, and she knew that if he had the look in his eyes she could feel was there, it would be ruined in seconds. Silently, she slipped off the small red ribbon, opening the box as gently as she possibly could. At the sight of the contents, she could feel her eyes welling anyway; it had to be one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. The chain was silver, intricately crafted, and seemed almost too delicate to support the weight of the beautiful diamond pendant at its center. Holding it up, it seemed to catch every color in the room, almost glowing against the pink light of the fading sun.

Lost for words, she threw her arms around Giles, trying as hard as she could not to cry. Having no such motivation, she caught a couple of tears running down his cheeks as they hugged.

"Would you put it on for me?" she asked. "I'd like to wear it today."

"I was hoping you would," he laughed. "It's considered good luck to bring 'something old', is it not?"

"You're forgetting," Buffy grinned mischievously. "I've got that already."

"Right, yes, the groom." Giles pulled her in for another quick hug, laughing as he wiped his eyes. "Shall I get you some champagne?"

"Yes, please!"

Still chuckling as he bowed out of the room, Giles wistfully remembered the first day he had met Buffy. It was hard to believe that his little Slayer was old enough to drink.

As she raised her hand to knock on the door, Willow was even more terrified than Giles had been, though for a very different reason. Her hands nervously played with her own gift, hidden in the the front pocket of her overalls. Buffy will probably kill me, if she finds out that I haven't changed yet… At the very least, that was one worry she needn't have when it came to the occupant of this room.

"Come in, Red." He called. "I can hear you breathing out there. I don't know what's got you so worked up, you know I don't bite anymore."

"Hi, Spike..." Willow pulled on her hair nervously. This could very possibly end badly… "I just-"

"Actually, would you mind giving me a woman's opinion?" He interrupted hurriedly, worrying he might lose his own nerve. "I don't think I've done this right…" He gestured to his his hair, gelled back into its usual style. "I did it like I normally do, only this isn't a normal day, and I don't know if I'm supposed to have done it different… oh, bugger this." He ruffled his hair nervously, which looked so boyish and ridiculous that Willow's nerves melted almost completely.

"You look fine, I promise! Maybe just-" she smoothed his hair back down a little. "There, good as new."

"Thanks." He finally stopped pacing, dropping himself melodramatically into Giles's armchair. Buffy had gotten the guest room for her preparations, and he'd been stuck with the study, since he didn't require a room with a mirror. He wouldn't have minded the arrangement so much if it weren't for how close she was, just across the hall… He could smell her, sense her nearness, but he couldn't see or touch her, which is lately exactly what he'd done when he was this on edge…

"Maybe I should come back later?" Willow half-whispered, apprehensively. He was still staring towards the blacked-out window, clearly lost in thought, smoothing his shirt absentmindedly. Her words seemed to jolt him, reminding him that he wasn't currently alone, and he locked onto her with beautiful eyes that made her skin crawl with their intensity.

"No, you were saying something earlier… go ahead and get on with it. Don't mind me, I'm just a bit knackered. Was up all night..." he drifted off again, waiting for her to speak.

"Yes, of course…" She pinched herself, trying to awaken her own resolve. Luckily, it worked. "Okay, so I know you and Buffy keep saying that you'll 'deal with things as they come', and you don't care that you two aren't exactly, well, the same…" she closed her eyes as she rushed through her sentence, knowing how angry Spike probably looked at the moment. He always hated it when people mentioned that, especially lately. "-but today is kind of all about the future, and I think you guys need to think about it instead of just ignoring it. So, here."

She pulled a small glass vial from her pocket, thrusting it into his hands. He didn't seem to know how to react, just raising his eyebrows at her and waiting for an explanation that wasn't following as quickly as he'd have liked.

"What's all this then?" He didn't have to examine too closely to know that it was blood, but something was definitely off about it. Definitely wasn't human, or anything else he could recognise. If he wasn't mistaken, it radiated power, which only confused him more. "... is this poisoned or something? You trying to off me, give Buffy a chance at a normal future?"

"No, no!" Willow looked stricken. "Well, I am trying to give Buffy a normal future, but I don't want to hurt you… It's mostly Mohra blood."

"Is it really?" Spike's eyebrows raised further, eyeing the vial with interest. "I would imagine then, that Buffy hasn't explained to you exactly why we decided against going after this? We couldn't last, me as a human… She can't always be protecting a weakling, and I may have a soul, but I don't ever want to resent her for how strong she is. I always want to love that about her."

Willow nodded solemnly. "No, she has... But I don't know if she told you… she only brought it up with you because the Watcher's Archives had quite a bit of it stored… and I've had months to tinker," she smiled wickedly. "And I hope it doesn't sound too ego-having, but I've done it! I think I've gotten the enchantment perfect, with a little help from the coven. This batch should 'suspend' you instead of resurrecting you completely… you should still have your strength, and most of your extra abilities, but you won't need blood, or need to worry about sun… should be the best of both worlds, assuming you're okay with getting some gray hairs eventually."

He was silent, staring between her and the small vial in his hands. Willow couldn't quite pick out a singular emotion from the many that seemed to be fighting for expression.

"Of course, I'm happy to play with it more whenever you need, I know it's not…" she trailed off, not sure where she was going with the sentence she'd started. "... Spike?"

Finally, Spike burst into a wide smile, laughing to himself.

"See if you can find little Andrew, I want to see if he can switch our flight. To hell with Dublin, I'll be taking my girl somewhere sunny."