The next morning, she led him downstairs, and they announced to everyone that they were engaged. Every one made a big deal out of it, and everyone was happy for them, except Spike, who was nowhere to be found.

The days passed unchecked, as they planned for Buffy's big day, as Dawn called it. They set the date for the middle of June, almost two months after the battle had ended. There was so much to plan, and a ton of shopping to do. Buffy reveled in it all, she had never been so happy in all her life.

A week before the wedding, Monday, Buffy woke up early, sick to her stomach. She stayed in the bathroom pretty much for the rest of the day. She had to hand over the last bit of planning to Willow and Dawn, which she wasn't happy about. Her stomach seemed to have gotten an encore, because it repeated its performance for pretty much the rest of the school week.

"Oh, great, the Flu's going to wreck my perfect day!" Buffy wailed to Willow. They were sitting on the floor in the bathroom, going over last minute details for the wedding the next day.

"Oh, Buffy! This really isn't my business, but have you missed your…" she whispered the last word, "period?"

"It's only a day or so late, and it's never very consistent. Just like vampires, I can't rely on it," Buffy told her, trying to encourage her.

"Have you and Angel…" Willow let her sentence trail off, she knew that Buffy knew what she was asking.

"Well…" Buffy said awkwardly, "Yeah,… I mean… we've," She took a big breath. "Ok, we're both big grown up girls here, we can say all those naughty words we were told not to. Yes, Willow, Angel and I have…" she chickened out " Slept together."

"Buffy, have you ever thought that you could be…"

"Of course not, Willow! I can't be, because it would totally ruin my slaying! No. Of course I'm not!" Buffy said, without conviction.

"See, I told you."

Buffy looked at the test in her hand in shock. She then had to throw up again.

"I've got to tell Angel," she murmured in disbelief, in between bouts, when her stomach had calmed down a bit. She made to get up, but another bout overtook her, and she stayed on the floor.

"You stay right here, I'll go get him for you," Willow ordered, once she realized Buffy wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

"Buffy, honey, what's wrong? Willow said you needed to see me. Should we set back the wedding awhile?" Angel asked, coming in, closing the door behind him, and kneeling beside her. He waited for her to stop throwing up, then wiped her chin and mouth gently with a washcloth.

"No, we don't have to set the wedding back, I hope. I was hoping I would be telling you this sometime, but not this soon, not right after I've gotten you back. Maybe after we were married awhile, but I guess I wasn't given a choice in the matter. There's no easy way to say this, Angel, I'm pregnant." She quickly turned back to the toilet.

"That's great news, Buffy! I was also hoping for this, not this soon, but that's okay. We're not a young and immature couple, we can deal with this. And I'll do my best to support us all, I promise you that," he said, rubbing her back.

"Angel, who exactly is going to hire you! You don't have a résumé, you don't have an updated education, how is this going to work? I don't know how long I'll be working at the school, I was hired for my slayer knowledge, not my college diploma!" she cried, close to tears, once she had finished.

"Shhh! Shh! It'll be ok! I might not have a school education, but I lived through some major events, ok? I was turned before the American Revolution. I lived through it, as well as the Civil War, and the Boxer Rebellion, and many other big happenings. I can go to school, or, maybe Willow could procure a diploma for me. Then I could go to Sunnydale U, studying might be a problem, but Willow can help me with that. We'll be okay, Buffy, we'll be fine."

He tried to stay with her for the rest of the day, until Willow remembered where he was, and came and kicked him out, muttering something about it was bad luck for a groom to see his bride the day before the wedding. He was shipped off to Xander's for the rest of the day, and night, until the wedding. Xander, even if he didn't go through with it, he had the most experience with weddings.

As soon as he set his overnight bag in the door, he was gone, saying he had to do something. He was going to go for a walk, but he found himself inside a church. On a whim, he entered the sinners box, waited for the priest to enter.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned," he said, the words rolling off his tongue without thought.

"How long has it been since your last confession, my child?" the man in the connecting box asked.

"Father, I have sinned in so many ways, and not in the normal human sense," he said, feeling awkward.

"It's ok, my son, I was told of your coming, I know who you are, what you were. Now tell me all, and you'll be one step closer to forgiveness in the eyes of our Father, the Lord." So Angel sat there in that small booth, for almost the whole night, confessing to every murder he had ever committed, of everything he had done. Sometime, during the night, he felt as if a great burden had been lifted. Once he left, only hours to go before the wedding, he felt relieved that he had finally found forgiveness.

The next morning, after drinking some herbal tea, she felt better. She drank some more tea, chamomile, and lavender, and other things, with Giles' insistence, as well as Willow's. No one knew yet, except Willow and Angel, but she would have to tell them eventually, after the wedding.

Dawn was staring at her across the table while she sipped her tea.

"What!" Buffy snapped, her hormones and pre-wedding jitters getting the best of her.

"Your not sick, are you?"

"No, I'm not, Dawn."

"I knew it! I just knew it! You haven't been using that cot you dragged into your room!"

"Dawn, I slept on the cot till he proposed. Mostly because I didn't feel comfortable, but also because of the memories of the first time, what he did. Those memories still haunt me sometimes. But, yes, after he proposed, the cot was shoved into my closet, forgotten."

"I knew it! See, I'm smarter than you think!"

"Yeah, whatever."

For a "spur of the moment" wedding, theirs was rather nice. They had decided not to get married in a church or chapel, to many bad memories for Angel, and to many crosses for him to be comfortable around, so they chose, of all places, the mansion Angel had lived in when he was in Sunnydale. They had cleaned it up, aired it out, and kicked out any vampire that was persistent enough after all the crosses any holy water were set up to deter them, and Buffy thought it was perfect.

There were to be married by the fireplace. Angel looked gorgeous in the tuxedo he'd rented, and Buffy looked stunning in her white, nearly strapless dress. She had her hair pulled back in a simple bun, and she was wearing diamond earrings, her mother's. She had on the cross he had given her so many years ago. Wisps of hair had started to fall out of place, framing her face in golden highlights. She had on a simple veil.. It floated about her face. The straps were there only as decoration, they were pearls on a thread, trailing over her beautiful skin, and the train was enormous, Dawn had a hard time carrying it.

Dawn looked so mature in her dress, it was pink, and it was two layers, one of silk, and the tope layer was of white lace. There were snowflakes, or stars embroidered in beads that caught the light as she moved. She sleeves were off the shoulder, puffy straps.

Her Dad had shown up the night before, and after talking to Angel in private, had decided that Angel was good enough for his daughter. He stood nearby now, beaming at his happy daughter.

They had decided on a simple ceremony, and had written their own vows, which, as Willow put it, sighing, was very romantic.

"Buffy Ann Summers, by saying that we've been through a lot doesn't begin to cover what we've been through. And by saying we have a love that can, and has withstood the test of time doesn't begin to describe what we have. And I swear, that no matter what happens, there is nothing that we can't handle together."

"Angel, I've dealt with a lot of demons, inside and out, as well as other things, and I've been loved by a lot of people. But I thank the gods, by name, that I decided to save my heart for 'the one,' and I believe with all my heart, I've found my soul mate in you. I know that nothing could stand between us, no matter what, and nothing can break us apart, as long as we don't let it, and we have love in our heart."

Then they kissed, standing there by the fireplace, with the sun streaming in through the windows and doorways, bouncing off the golden highlights in her hair, and Angel knew that, after his time on Earth, searching for forgiveness, and a place where he could live eternally, he had finally found heaven.

Angel had picked the music for their first dances as newly weds, and as the first notes of the pop ballad "Don't Tell Me it's Not Worth Fighting For" By Bryan Adams, and he took her in his arms. Then as they faded into "God must have spent a little more time on you" By NSYNC, and her eyes lit up, he knew he had made the right decisions. Angel had obviously taken the time to memorize the lyrics. He sang them to her as they danced on the empty dance floor.

"He must have spent a little more time on you, and I'm glad that I waited, even if it seemed like forever, because the wait was more than worth it," he whispered as the last note of the song faded away.

Everybody clapped, some cried, like Anya, and Piper. The D.J, Xander, put on a song that they normally listened to, one with a faster beat, but they stayed in each other's arms, oblivious to the rest of the world around them, dancing to their own tune.

Eight months later, Buffy was a wreck, and understandably so. And contrasting to her wedding, she felt hideous! Her hair was pulled back, unbrushed and sweaty. Her face was also sweaty, with sweat running down her face. She had never been in so much pain before, no matter what demon she'd faced. She was tired and crying.

"Come on, honey, one more push! Just one more, last one! You can do it, sweetie!" Piper called, from her left side. They had been conversing back and forth, because Piper knew about the dangers of bringing a child into an already dangerous environment.

"No! I can't!" Buffy screamed in agony. She was gripping Angel's hand with slayer strength, on accident, and he had lost feeling in it awhile ago, after it had cracked.

"Last contraction, honey, come on! One last push! Push now! Push as hard as you can!" The nurse told her.

She pushed with all her might, then lay back, breathing heavily. She was rewarded for her efforts by the wail of a baby.

"It's a girl!" the nurse said, wrapping her baby up in a blanket. She brought her over for her to see, and she was so happy. Life these past eight months hadn't been easy, she had had to rely on Spike of all people to patrol, after she was just to heavy too do it. Angel, after applying to take the test had been refused once, but then he was able to take it. He was now working at night, his preferred time, and studying to go to college. Sometimes she hadn't been sure she could make it work, this having a real life thing.

But looking at her baby girl, and then staring into the eyes of her lover, her soul mate, her husband, she knew from that moment, that everything would be all right.

The end