Chapter Text
Epilogue
“Buffy, calm down,” Willow tried from her place in the Summers’ living room, as the nervous blonde paced back and forth in front of her.
“I can’t. I’m freaking out over here,” Buffy cried.
“Yes. Thus why I told you to calm down.”
Buffy took several more laps around the living room before she turned to her friend. “But what if she doesn’t really want this? What if it’s all wrong?”
“She asked you, didn’t she?” Willow asked, seeing the other girl nod her head in agreement. “Nobody can make Faith do something she doesn’t want to. She wants this.” The redhead stood and walked over to Buffy, placing hands on her shoulders to hold her in place. “Now, you’re going to go out there and marry the love of your life, and your best friend.”
“She’s not…” Buffy started, but was interrupted.
“She is. You spend every spare moment you have with her and with Nevaeh and its okay, Buffy. The person you marry should be your best friend. And as much as I love you, and your new found gayness, you’re just not my type.” The two girls laughed about that. “If Tara and I decide to marry someday then I’ll be marrying my best friend. Doesn’t mean we still won’t always be friends.”
The two friends hugged each other tightly, careful not to wrinkle the white spaghetti strap dress that Buffy has picked out for today. “Now go out there and marry your girl,” Willow ordered.
Buffy looked at the clock, noting it was indeed time. “Thank you,” she whispered to her friend, as she walked over to stand behind the front door. Willow followed, going to take her place in front of Buffy and behind Dawn and Nevaeh, who had watched the whole exchange from the sidelines. The double doors were pulled open by two of the younger Slayers as the Wedding March began to play.
Nevaeh led the way with a basket full of flowers. She had spent every day the last week practicing for this important task her mothers had given her. Her dress was a miniature version of Buffy’s except that it was white on top and faded to black at the bottom. In her hair was a mix of black and white flowers. She was careful not to trip, as she threw the flowers to the floor and made her way towards her Mama at the other end of the yard.
As Buffy made her way down the stairs and the aisle they had created in their front yard, she couldn’t help the smile that came across her face, as she took note of the entire Slayer Academy there to support them today. And then her eyes found her lover and she smiled even bigger to see the beautiful girl she was proud to call her own, dressed in a sexy black dress.
They’d spent the last three months planning this wedding in every spare moment they could find. They knew it wouldn’t be legal, but to them it didn’t matter, it was real in every way that mattered. They’d lucked out and it was surprisingly warm for mid October, so neither girl had to wear the matching jackets that came with their dresses.
As Faith was often referred to as the Dark Slayer, they decided to make that a part of their wedding theme, the light and the dark. Buffy knew whatever Faith was wearing would be black as her own was white, but she was not prepared for the strapless dress that draped her like a second skin. Faith told her she didn’t like dresses, but she wouldn’t tell her fiancé what she was planning on wearing.
The only thought that was on Buffy’s mind at the moment was getting through today so she could take it off her.
They had decided to let Giles and Willow each have a part in performing the wedding, combining tradition with a little bit of supernatural. But when it came to vows, that part was all for them alone.
“When you and I met, we were just a couple of stupid kids. We didn’t know what was right there in front of us, and we let it tear us apart. I couldn’t understand where you were coming from, what had happened to you before you came to Sunnydale. But I know that everything that happened was leading us to this moment. And I will be forever grateful that we not only share a daughter, but that she made it possible for us to be here together. She saved us. I will spend the rest of my life loving you, Faith.”
Faith choked back the emotion taking residence in her throat, as Buffy slid a ring on her finger, knowing her turn was next. When Buffy had stepped out the doors and made her way towards her, she wanted to pinch herself. This all felt like a dream to her, but if it was, she never wanted to wake up.
“Before you, Buffy, I never saw myself as the kind to settle down. Before Nevaeh, I never saw myself as the kind to have any kids. But you Summers girls have a way of changing a girls mind. I could never imagine my life without either one of you. Everything I had to go through to get here was worth it, because I get to be here with you, loving you. I plan on spending the rest of my life showing you just how much, and protecting you both until my last breath,” Faith finished sliding a matching ring on Buffy’s ring finger.
Tears were freely flowing down both girl’s cheeks as they looked at each other. Their hands both simultaneously reaching up to wipe the other girl’s tears with their thumbs. Still holding each other’s faces, they leaned in, kissing lightly.
“Yes, well I guess we pronounce you Wife and Wife, and I don’t need to tell you to kiss the bride,” Giles told them, knowing neither was listening, as the kiss between them became more intense. Applause filled the audience, but the newlyweds didn’t notice, too wrapped up in each other.
--
“Hey, can I dance with my sister?” Dawn asked Faith later, during the reception.
“Sure,” Faith said easily, kissing Buffy quickly on the lips. “I’ll just go find our daughter, see if she wants to take a turn on the dance floor.”
Buffy smiled at the mischievous look on her wife’s face, as she went in search of their child. She was already teaching Vaeh some of her dance moves. The tot soaked them all up, she was gonna be a heart breaker just like her Mama.
Watching her sister’s eyes still on Faith, Dawn asked her, “You’re really happy, aren’t you?”
Buffy turned to Dawn, pulled out of her thoughts. “Yes, I really am. I have everything I could ever want.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, Dawnie.” The two sisters weren’t as close as they used to be since moving to Cleveland. Dawn had opted to stay in the dorms when they’d moved here, not wanting to intrude on the new family. “I’m sorry we haven’t spent as much time together anymore.”
“It’s okay, Buffy. You needed this time with your new family.”
“You will always be my family too, Dawn. You know that, right?” Buffy asked, suddenly afraid that she didn’t.
“I know. It’s cool though. I like living here and living with the other girls. I know you’re within a walking distance if I need anything.”
Buffy pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. “Ok, so long as you know that. I love you Dawnie.”
“Love you, too. Now let me go so I can go dance with Kennedy.”
Buffy raises a brow. “Kennedy?” Buffy questions carefully, wondering if her sister was saying what she thought she was saying. The young Slayer was a bit of a brat Buffy thought, she knew the two girls were friends, but was it more?
“Yes, Kennedy, we’re friends and she wanted a dance.” That pacified Buffy’s interest, but she knew it was all she was getting. She watched her little sister walk over to Kennedy and pull her onto the dance floor, all the time thinking what they put in the water around the Hellmouths.
--
Faith and Buffy walked into the hotel room and looked around the Honeymoon suite that Giles had given to them as a wedding present. Dawn had offered to look after Nevaeh for the weekend, with some help from some of the Slayers so that the newlyweds could have at least a little bit of a honeymoon.
“It’s so quiet,” Faith spoke, sitting on the bed, still looking around the room.
“I know,” Buffy agreed, sitting beside her new wife, taking her hand in her own. “But we might as well make the most of it while we can,” Buffy smirked, pulling the brunette into a deep kiss. They shed their clothes quickly, enjoying this uninterrupted time they had for the first time since they became lovers.
It was more than four hours before they were satisfied enough to just lie together in peace, trying to catch their breaths. Buffy was curled into Faith’s side, her hand lightly running over the young girl’s stomach, massaging the scar there from time to time.
“I’m so happy.”
Faith pressed a kiss into the blonde hair, “Me too, B. I love you.”
Buffy looked up into the intense eyes staring down at her. “I love you too, Faith. So much I could never tell you.”
Faith lightly ran her hands along Buffy’s arms, pulling her even closer if that was possible. “If someone would have told me we’d be here when we met, I would have called them crazy.”
“Me too. Hard to believe huh?”
“Yeah it really is. But I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”
“Me either,” Buffy agreed. Her life had changed the day a newborn had shown up on her doorstep. They both knew how hard life could be sometimes, but sometimes it could also give you the best surprises, even if they came in little packages. Little surprises that changed your life forever.
“I always thought girls who got pregnant as teenagers were idiots,” Faith admitted. “Ruined their lives, then it happened to me. At that point I’d already ruined my life by doing something even more stupid though. Suddenly it wasn’t such a bad thing, because I knew there were worse things.”
When Faith stopped, Buffy didn’t say anything, knowing that she wasn’t finished with whatever it was she felt she needed to get off her chest.
“And then, one day when I was heading to the mess hall to get lunch, a pain gripped me, and my water broke. I knew that was it, my time with her was running out. I didn’t even know the name of the doctor who delivered her. Prisoner’s don’t get things like a regular doctor, you get whoever is working when you get there. Ten hours of labor with four guards standing guard the whole time.
But then she slipped out and cried out for the first time, and I wanted to cry with her. Amazingly enough they let me hold her for a few minutes. Just until Angel got there to take her. After telling her how much I loved her, I handed her to him, not knowing if I’d ever see her again. A part of me died that day.”
Buffy unwrapped herself from Faith’s arms so that she could switch their positions, so that she was holding her lover. “Oh, Faith, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“The first day you walked into the prison with her, it fixed the part that died. I was afraid to let it show, afraid you’d take her from me again, but when I saw her in that room with you, I wanted to jump for joy. You bringing her to me, meant more to me than I could ever say. It made me so open to loving you.”
Buffy smiled, placing a kiss into Faith’s hair, before laying her head to rest on top of Faith’s own. “Seeing you with her, it did the same for me.”
“I love so much that you gave me that chance to know her. But I wish I wouldn’t have missed so much of her life. I missed her entire babyhood.”
The older Slayer let those words fill her mind. There was something that had been on her mind since they had gotten engaged, well if she was truthful, since they got together. She didn’t want to scare Faith by bringing it up, but maybe it would be the perfect time to venture into the topic.
“Well, I have an idea. It won’t change all that, but maybe it’ll help you feel better about it.” Buffy paused, waiting until Faith was looking into her eyes so she knew she had her full attention. She took a deep breath. “I was thinking, maybe someday we could have another baby, give Nevaeh a brother or sister.”
“Another baby?” Faith whispered, letting the words roll around in her mind.
“I’m sure Willow could help us out, find a way to create a new spell to have a baby that’s just ours. If not we could always figure something else out, or even adopt. I just thought it was an idea to explore.”
The taller girl let her mind wander around the idea of having another child. At least if something happened to them both Nevaeh wouldn’t be alone, she’d never be fully alone with the family they’d created around them. But that wasn’t the same as having an immediate family she knew. Plus Nevaeh would have one child in her life she could freely be herself with, who might even be her equal.
“Another baby,” she said again, this time later. “Well since I had the last one, if you have the next one, then I’m game.” Faith smiled, kissing Buffy deeply. She couldn’t imagine a better life if she tried. She had found true happiness.