Might Have Been: Something Blue
“Mom? Dawn?”
Dawn jumped up from the couch as her sister burst through the front door. “Buffy?”
“Dawnie!” Buffy shrieked excitedly as she pulled her sister into a hug. “You’ll never believe what’s happened!”
“What? Is something wrong? No. You’re smiling, so what…?”
“I’m getting married! Can you believe it? Isn’t it wonderful! Where’s mom? Is she here? I have to tell her…”
“You’re what?” Dawn asked quietly, shocked by her sister’s revelation. Tears burnt the backs of her eyes as her small hands clenched into fists.
“I’m getting married,” Buffy repeated, oblivious to Dawn’s pain. “Oh, I can’t wait to see you in your bridesmaid dress…”
“No.”
“Oh this is the most perfect day of my life. Suddenly everything just feels right, you know. Like something that had been missing from my life just slipped into place and I’m whole again.”
“He came back then?” Dawn asked through clenched teeth. Anger started to burn within her. It seemed as though Buffy was incapable of realising when she was better off. How dare he come back and do this to her? Dawn doubted very much that things would be as happy and perfect as Buffy seemed to expect them to be.
“Who?” Buffy’s question brought Dawn’s attention back to her.
“Huh?”
“Who came back?”
“Angel.”
“No.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“But you said… You said you were getting married.”
“I am.”
Dawn shuddered as the only possible alternative hit her. “You’re marrying Riley? You want to be Mrs Finn? You’ve only been out on one date!”
“Dawn what are you talking about?” Buffy frowned at her sister. “Are you feeling ok?”
“Of course I’m not feeling ok! You’re marrying Riley!”
“No I’m not.”
“What?”
“I’m not mar…”
“Buffy, for the sake of my sanity and yours, please tell me, once and for all, who are you marrying?”
“Spike,” Buffy breathed dreamily, staring at a spot over Dawn’s shoulder as though the object of her affection were standing there.
A wave of relief unlike anything the teenager had experienced before passed through Dawn. A giant grin of true happiness blossomed on her face as her sister’s words registered. “Spike?”
Buffy nodded. “Mmm,” she sighed. “He asked me tonight. It was so romantic. And he gave me his ring, see.” Buffy held out her left hand for Dawn to inspect.
“It’s a skull,” Dawn observed, watching in amusement as the Slayer pulled her hand back offended and proceeded to softly stroke the engagement ring adorning her finger.
“It’s beautiful,” Buffy argued, her pout disappearing as she gazed at her ring. “He said it made me his.”
Dawn’s eyebrows quirked at this. “Well yeah. What have I been saying for the last year? He loves you.”
“I know.”
“And you love him right?” Dawn asked, feeling the need to ensure Spike wasn’t going to get hurt. She knew for a fact Spike would never hurt Buffy. She wasn’t so sure of Buffy. Besides, that morning Buffy had been dancing around with her ‘I hate Spike’ hat firmly in place. Now they were getting married?
“I love him,”
Buffy told her sister seriously and Dawn, staring into the Slayer’s green eyes
saw nothing but the truth of that statement there.
****
"Hiya Nibblet. How's my girl today?"
“Spike.”
Upon hearing her fiancée’s name. Buffy tried to grab the phone from her sister. “Is that Spike? Let me talk to him.”
Dawn wriggled away from her, holding the phone out of reach. “Enough of the pleasantries. Is it true?”
"I'm wonderful Dawn, thanks for asking.”
“Spike!”
“Oh alright. What do you want to know? Yes Buffy and I are getting married. Yes you were right. Yes I do love her.”
“Spike!” Buffy called out, still trying to reach the phone. “I love you too sweetie.”
“Buffy enough,” Dawn snapped. “You can talk to him when I’m done.” She shook her head as her sister moved back to sit on the couch.
Spike was laughing on the other end of the line. “I’ve never felt like this Dawn. I feel complete.”
“That’s what Buffy said.”
“She did?”
“Yeah."
Overall the vampire had been expecting a far more excited response to the news from the teenager. He frowned when Dawn fell silent. “Nibblet? You ok princess? Aren’t you happy for us? I thought you’d be pleased. Giles is moaning and I doubt Harris or Red will have two nice words to say between them, but I expected you to be…”
“No Spike. I’m sorry. I am happy for you. Of course I am. It’s just a bit of a shock. I mean yesterday she hated you and you were still floating along on the river of denial. What happened?”
“I don’t know.
One minute we were fighting and the next…we just looked at each other and we
knew. And I asked her straight away to marry me. And she said yes. Just like
that she said yes. I mean I know I don’t deserve her, and not even in my wildest
dreams have I ever let myself believe that she would love me and want to be
with me, but she does. It’s like I’ve been given this amazing gift…”
Dawn closed her eyes and smiled as she listened to her friend. She didn’t really understand what had happened, but Buffy and Spike were together and that was all that mattered.
30th
November 1999
11pm
So Willow
rang and told me that I shouldn’t freak out about all the wedding stuff because
it was just some stupid spell. Why would she care that it wasn’t stupid to me?
It wasn’t a spell for me. And they don’t see what I see. They’re supposed to
be her best friends and they don’t understand that she’s never been that happy
before. How could that spell make her THAT happy if there wasn’t some feeling
behind it? I just wish…
Hey,
who’s slamming the front door at this time of night? Buffy? What’s she doing
here? Geez, her bedroom door’s probably off its hinges now. It’s a good thing
we’re used to the Slayer temper tantrums or we’d… Wait. I hear something.
She’s
crying.
Oh
God.