Title: Love is All
Author: Ped (sturdevk@calweb.com)
Series: Songs For Secret Lovers (Sequel to "All For Love")
Couple: Willow/Graham
Rating: PG-13 (Because some language is inappropriate for young readers)
Disclaimer: Everything B:TVS and A:TS related is owned and copyrighted
to Joss Whedon and his many minions. The song belongs to Arnie Roman
and is sung by Marc Anthony. I own some pretty decrepit looking
sneakers and a fabulous hair accessories collection. Anyone thinking
*I* own these characters needs to stay off the blue, crack-flavored Pixy
Stix(tm), okay?
Spoilers: Season Four stuff, set after "Restless", Ped-version
Summary: They're married, everyone knows... or do they?
Distribution: List archives, Charity, Temptation Embraced, Triad, My
Site, Jesmin, Sammer, Mara (You really want my outpourings? M'Kay, just
lemme know where I can visit.)
Note: The lyrics are courtesy of Marc Anthony's Pad,
http://home.att.net/~marcanthonyspad/home.htm
Note 2: Yes, *another* W/Gr songfic from me! Besides, that's the way
the series was written, as songfics. And besides, this concludes the
series... nope, don't even *think* about it! I wanna finish a series,
and this one can only go wacky from here on out!
Note 3: I decided on *this* song as the one for post-"Restless" because
it's all about how a couple survived everything to become happy in
marriage and that everything in marriage is about the love they share.
An appropriate ending to a series that started about this pair of lovers
meeting (and loving) in secret, non?
Note 4: Song lyrics are between the // //
Note 5: As always, thoughts are within the <>
Dedication: To all the people who wanted another part, but couldn't
suggest a song!
Willow inhaled and stretched feeling the warm body at her back. She
smiled and turned to look at her husband.
will *ever* get tired of calling him *that*! She began to lightly
trace the contours of his face with her fingertips, wondering just how
long it would take him to wake up.
Graham awoke a few moments later to feel a slight tickling sensation on
his face. He cracked open an eye and glared at her. "What do you think
you're doing, *MRS.* Miller?"
"Waking you up, *MR.* Rosenberg."
Graham rolled until he had pinned his wife to the bed, his weight
pressing her into the mattress. "I thought it was traditional for the
woman to take the man's name."
Willow wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly, while
thrusting up into him at the same time. She smiled at his groan.
"Usually it is. But since we didn't talk about the name thing, I
decided to play with your head this morning, Tiger."
"Which one?" Graham kissed her again and began to move his hands up
from her hips.
//When you hold me like this
So many memories fill my eyes
The first time we kissed
The times we nearly said good-bye
But still here we are
Tested and tried and still true
And stronger than we ever knew//
Willow climbed into the airport shuttle, glad she had only brought two
bags with her. < Graham's luggage is enough for three men! Goddess!
And I thought *Giles* was bad about packing. She smirked as her
husband climbed into the shuttle with her.
Graham raised an eyebrow at her. "What amuses you so much, Scarlett?"
He punctuated his question with a kiss.
"You do, Tiger. You pack like *Giles*!"
"I'll take that as the compliment I *know* it to be. So when did
everyone else return home?"
Willow snuggled into his embrace and was patient as the driver finished
up with their luggage and swung himself into his seat. "We've only got
one more pick-up. One of those conferences was in town last week, and a
few of the docs are at the Luxor still."
Willow smiled at him, and replied. "That's okay. We're just heading
back to classes anyway."
"University students?" The driver happened to notice the twin flashes
on their left ring fingers and smiled to himself.
Monday. Hope they make it.
Graham looked up from his inspection of their entwined fingers. "Yes,
we are."
The driver nodded his head and began a spiel. "What college you kids go
to?"
Willow and Graham grinned at each other, and Graham indicated that
Willow should answer the driver. "We attend UC Sunnydale."
"That a Division I school?"
Graham fielded this question. "No, I think we're Division IA. Can't
remember our conference though."
"That's a real shame. My boy goes to UNLV, swimmer. Good coach they
got here, he turned down a scholarship at U of Michigan to swim at
home. I personally think it was the idea of getting to live at home,
while still getting a full ride. But the Missus? She thinks it's
because he didn't want to leave his job as a blackjack dealer."
Willow smiled at Graham, and spoke to the driver again. "How long have
you been married?"
"The Missus and I got married in 1972. Our youngest is the swimmer, and
the eldest is currently at some hoity-toity school over in England.
Still don't know how she managed that, she never struck me as the fog
and cold type. Eh. To each his own, I guess. Here's the Luxor." He
pulled into the long driveway and got out to store the luggage of the
passengers.
As the door opened, Willow snuggled into Graham's arms and finally
answered his earlier question. "Angel, Wes, and Lia left right after
the ceremony, Angel's got that sun allergy after all. Giles, Anya,
Tara, Chad, and Xander left this morning, seems our resident 'man of
leisure' has a pretty good gambling system and he and Chad raked it up
at the tables."
"What about the others?"
"By others I assume you mean Slutty and her boytoy, Agent Lilac?"
Graham snickered at Willow's derisive use of Riley's call sign, and
Spike's favorite nickname for the Slayer. "Yeah, them. When'd they
leave?"
"I've no idea when, or if they've left yet. I let Lia handle everyone's
return flights. She probably did something nasty like book them on a
flight that gets to Sunnydale Airport by way of Cleveland."
Graham looked down into his wife's face and smiled at the malicious grin
she gave him. "I thought you forgave Buffy when you were rappelling
down that elevator shaft."
"I *did*! I just haven't forgiven Riley yet, and it was *you* that
invited him to *our* wedding, not me."
"Well, he *is* my best friend. I had to have *someone* stand up there
with me, and the only other person I would have trusted up there with
me, you already had bringing you to the altar."
"Giles will be happy to know that my husband thinks so highly of him."
She leaned up to kiss him.
"Willow Ann Rosenberg!"
Willow closed her eyes in pain and looked over Graham's shoulder. "Hi,
Mom."
//Love is all
The laughter and the tears that fall
The mundane and the magical
Love is all
All is love
The careless word, the healing touch
The getting and the giving of
All is love//
Graham was in Hell. He could feel it in his bones. If it wasn't Hell,
it was a damn good copy.
a way to scare men. Damn! I wish it wasn't true in my case. He
looked back at the table holding his wife and her parents, their silence
punctuated only with blazingly angry glares. He picked up the drinks
he'd ordered and moved towards the table.
Willow smiled up at him as he put a glass of tea in front of her and
took a sip. She winked at him when she realized that he'd gotten it
exactly as she liked, two sugars, no milk. She looked back at her
parents, gathering her courage. "Okay, we're in the airport. What's so
ruddy damn important that you just *had* to speak to us?"
"Willow Ann!" Her mother admonished, as she looked to Ira Rosenberg for
support.
Ira just raised his hands in surrender and tossed a casual glance to
Graham, then he looked back at his wife. "Don't look at me, Sheila. I
lost any real power over Willow's life when she was thirteen, needed a
woman to talk to, and I sent her to Mrs. Anders. I thought she'd be
scarred for life from whatever that woman said to her about sex and the
reproduction process."
Willow chuckled at the memories she recalled at her father's statement.
Graham raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled and shook her head. He
just pinned her with a glare in return, and she sighed and rolled her
eyes. She nodded her head in agreement and looked back towards her
parents. "What?"
Ira Rosenberg was grinning broadly at his daughter and her husband. < My
little girl got married. And if she followed the pattern she developed
in High school, I'll be paying for it anyway. Good job, Willow! He
turned his full attention to Graham and nearly smiled when the younger
man squirmed under his gaze. < I've still got it!
Sheila opened her mouth to speak again, but the hand on her thigh warned
her to be respectful. She just glared at her husband of twenty years.
"Were you planning to tell us that you were involved with a man to the
degree that marriage was an option? Whatever happened to that short
guitar player?"
"MOM!"
Graham for his part had to contain his laughter at his mother-in-law's
obvious diversionary tactics. < She'd make a good strategist. He laid
his hand on Willow's arm, effectively silencing her with a single
squeeze of his hand. "Daniel Osbourne cheated on Willow and left town
last fall, Mrs. Rosenberg. She and I met for the first time not long
afterwards, and it took me until nearly January to convince your
daughter to actually admit that our frequent, arranged meetings were, in
fact, dates and that I wasn't anything like Oz."
Willow mumbled under her breath, "Well, duh! You're actually human."
Graham ignored her and continued telling her parents some of the facts
of their life. "We kept our relationship a secret from nearly everyone
in our lives until late April. The only person who knew we were seeing
each other as regularly as we were is my friend, Chad Kent."
Willow interrupted Graham, before her parents could. "In case you're
wondering, it was *my* idea to keep our relationship a secret for so
long. Graham was pushing for going public since we..." she paused for a
moment and smirked at her thoughts. "Well, honestly since we started
having sex in February, also my decision. But due to circumstances
beyond our control, we stayed silent. Then it got to us both, and we
let everyone in our lives know, except you two and *his* parents, about
us. There, the whole sordid affair. Happy now?"
"No. Who is Chad Kent?"
Willow rolled her eyes at her father's question. "He's my lab partner
in Physics. He's also a friend of Graham's. He was our chief alibi
provider between February and April. Poor guy, hope he forgives us."
"Didn't you hear him talking last night, Scarlett?"
"No, what about? I mean besides saying that it wasn't fair that because
we were married now, *his* chance of stealing me away from you was
nearly gone." Willow punctuated her statement with a sweet kiss to
Graham, not caring that they were in a public restaurant at the Las
Vegas airport or that her parents were sitting at the table with them.
"He thinks fondly of his time as our, and I'm quoting him, 'Love
facilitator'."
"Oh Goddess! You mean William wasn't kidding about that conversation he
overheard the other day?"
"Between Kent and Random Friend #6?" Graham teased her lightly.
"Yeah, that one. William said that it was a real shocker to hear *Chad*
talk about you and me with respect and longing. You *did* notice the
way he was checking out Tara, right?"
Graham rolled his eyes at Willow's matchmaking attempt. "It won't work,
Scarlett."
"Why in the name of all Christendom, won't it?" Willow noticed her
mother sit straighter in her chair and her father just smirk at her
choice of words.
"Because I've got this feeling that Sp... er, William and Tara will be
hooking up any day now."
"Providing Buffy, or Angel, doesn't kill him first."
"There is that," Graham ended their discussion with a kiss.
//There's a me you've always known
The me that's a stranger still
The you that feels like home
And the you that never will
But still here we lie
Tender and trusting and true
With everything that we've been through//
A fairly long hour later, Willow and Graham accompanied her parents
through the airport to their plane. Willow and Sheila were walking
ahead of the men, having the longest conversation of their lives
including the infamous "patriarchal bias of the Mister Rogers Show"
chat. Graham nearly smirked when Willow corrected her mother on some
obscure Psychology matter.
"So how did you meet my little girl, Graham?"
"Sir?" Graham turned worried eyes to his father-in-law.
"I know she's not telling me something, so I thought I'd ask you."
Graham straightened his shoulders and looked down at his father-in-law.
"Willow doesn't reveal everything she's thinking. Xander thinks it's
one of the signs of the apocalypse if she does. I tend to agree with
him. And I'm pretty sure if she did, the skies would turn blood red,
and the Earth would begin rotating backwards." Graham nearly smirked at
Ira's sudden discomfort at the way he was being spoken to.
right, you think that suddenly showing interest in her *after* she's
gotten married and become her own woman that you'll somehow win *me*
over? Don't think so, pal.
Ira Rosenberg stopped and pegged the younger man with a glare. "Who do
you think you are, to speak to me in a manner?"
"My full name is Graham Phillipe Miller, and I am an Officer in the
United States Marine Corps. I was lucky enough to be sent to Sunnydale
last year, where I was fortunate to meet your daughter. After rescuing
her one night, when her depression over that Guitar player your wife
*barely* remembers caused her to stop paying attention to her
surroundings, she and I became friends. Eventually we became more, and
two days ago your daughter agreed to marry me. Yesterday we were wed
with all of our friends in attendance, and the wedding was better
planned in that one day than some of the weddings I've attended the last
few years of my High School buddies have been, and those were planned
for months."
"I'll be paying for this wedding, won't I?"
"Yes, Sir, you will. Willow's friend Lia Chase planned everything and
charged it all to you. Apparently she and Willow went shopping crazy at
some point in High school, and you paid the bill without blinking. So
she knew the numbers from that experience."
"Ah yes, that would have been shortly after Willow's eighteenth
birthday. I remember those bills well. I never told Sheila about
them. I thought Willow deserved financial if not emotional support from
her parents."
"She would have rather had the emotional support, Sir."
"That I know, Miller. But my job does not allow me the luxury of being
able to see my daughter as often as I would like. In fact, I think this
is the first time I have seen her for any length of time since we all
celebrated the High Holidays together her Freshman year of High school.
Before Jesse Anders died, before Willow became interested in and
interesting to boys, and well before she rejected my religion." Graham
gasped at the statement the man walking next to him spoke, and Ira
grinned at him. "She doesn't think I know, does she?"
"No, Sir, she doesn't. Scarlett was concerned that you wouldn't like me
because I'm Catholic."
"Nothing wrong with worshipping the One God, even if you're not totally
of the faith. But Willow's total rejection of everything we brought her
up to believe, that hurt when I found out. But I understand, I can
remember shocking my parents back in college by announcing that I was
going to be a Hare Krishna."
Graham chuckled at the mental image of his father-in-law with a shaved
head passing out flowers at an airport somewhere. "Doesn't look like
that plan worked out, Sir."
"No, it doesn't. I met Sheila soon afterwards, and things snowballed
from there. Much as I imagine has happened between you and my
daughter." Ira Rosenberg made sure his daughter wasn't listening in on
the conversation he was having and looked at Graham. "What are your
plans?"
"Right now we're going back to Sunnydale and the last two weeks of
classes then finals. After that, we'll see where I'm to be
re-stationed. Willow has already told me that no matter where I am
stationed, she'll be transferring to UCLA in the fall."
"UCLA? Why would she want to do that to herself?"
"Because she feels that no matter where I'm transferred, they've *got*
to have a flight to the greater Los Angeles area there. Plus she needs
to get out of Sunnydale, and she already has a support system in LA."
"And do you support this move of hers?"
"Yes, Sir, I do. All of her credits transfer, and the tuition is about
the same. Housing costs will be less because her friend Lia has already
offered her the spare room in her apartment. I don't want Willow alone
and having her live with Lia and be under the watchful eye of Wesley,
Lia and Angel will ease my mind if I'm not in California."
"The two of you already have this planned out, didn't you?"
"As much as we can, Sir."
Ira pinned Graham with a look and spoke coldly. "If you ever do
anything to hurt my little girl, Marine or not, I'll throw you to the
demons Willow doesn't think I know about." With that parting shot, Ira
Rosenberg walked away from his son-in-law and turned in his boarding
pass to the woman at his gate.
Graham just blinked after his father-in-law.
DAMN! He was still standing there in shock when Willow rejoined him a
few minutes later, having seen both her parents to their plane. She
wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a funny look. Graham
finally looked into her concerned face. "What?"
"What were you and my father talking about so intensely?"
"Nothing important. Although, I think you'll find that the wedding will
be paid for in full."
"I'd expect nothing less of my father. He was always the more attentive
of my parents. I honestly think that if his job hadn't made him travel
so much the last seven years, he'd have known exactly what was happening
in my life, the moment it happened. I'm surprised at the stuff he knows
in our weekly e-mails to each other. I think he's got spies somewhere."
"Yeah, they're called your teachers and neighbors." Graham grinned at
his wife and steered her towards their gate. "So what did your mom have
to say?"
"She likes that I'll be going to UCLA in the fall, even *if* you're not
stationed anywhere in California. But she thinks we should have waited
a little while to get married, and was greatly relieved to hear we got
married so quickly because of your upcoming transfer, not an impending
pregnancy. She's not ready to be a grandmother yet! Which is of the
good, I'm not ready to be a mother yet."
"Speaking of, how many children would you like, Scarlett?"
"Four," she answered without hesitation. "Two is tough because of the
older child/younger child aspect. Three is *evil* because then you've
got middle child syndrome. And let's not even mention what I think of
having an only child."
"So, four children is a good number for you?"
"Yup. Why?"
"Well, have I mentioned that identical twins run in my family?"
"Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"
Graham nodded his head at a group of people disembarking nearby.
"Because you're about to meet my sisters, and their entire cheerleading
team."
"WHAT?"
Willow's shriek of surprise was soon drowned out by a pair of female
voices screeching, "CRACKER BOY!"
Graham managed to get Willow out of the way, moments before he was hit
by twin bundles of energy. He grinned at the way his sisters began
talking over each other.
"What are you doing here?" "Yeah, Mom and Dad said you were all busy
with that stupid assignment that kept you away for Christmas."
"Speaking of, what kind of a present is, a year's subscription to
'Running Magazine', anyway, Cracker Boy? Are you trying to tell me I'm
fat?" "If the shoe fits, wear it Kitty-Kat." "Shut up, Jingle head."
"Why don't you make me?" "I don't make monkeys, I just train them."
"Bite me, Little sis!" "No thanks, I don't think you're Kosher."
Willow snorted at that last comment and blushed when all three Miller
siblings turned to face her. "What? It's an honest reaction from
someone raised Jewish!"
Graham pulled Willow to his side and held her, while smiling at the
confused looks on his sister's faces. "That it is, Scarlett, that it
is."
"Her name's Scarlett, that is *so* cool!"
"You just think so because you're a Windy, Isabelle."
"So? At least I actually read the novels assigned to us in English.
Unlike someone else I could mention."
"Let's not bring, Graham into this conversation, okay?"
"Katherine Janelle Miller! That is quite enough out of you!" The girl
that had just been yelled at cringed at the tone in her brother's
voice. Her sister smirked, then flinched when her brother turned his
angry gaze on her. "And that goes for you too, Isabelle Jennifer
Miller! What kind of impression are you making on Willow, do you
think?"
Willow silenced Graham and calmed him down, just by placing her index
finger over his lips. "Hush, Tiger. Your sisters were just reacting as
siblings are wont to. Now, don't you think you should make
introductions, as I'm sure the Barbarians are at the gate? Or in our
case, our airplane."
"You're right, or course." He turned Willow to face his sisters and
they kept quiet marveling at this woman who could silence their brother
with a simple gesture and some softly spoken words. "Willow, these are
my sisters. The one with the ponytail is Isabelle, and the other one is
Katherine. Brats, this is my *wife*, Willow Rosenberg-Miller."
"You're married!" Isabelle yelled, drawing nearly everyone in the
terminal's attention
"Mom's gonna shoot you!" Katherine sing-songed.
"Is that why you're in Las Vegas? God! Dad's gonna an have aneurysm, I
can tell."
"Don't forget that Granny will probably boil him in some really hot
oil."
"Ooh! And Uncle Marc will definitely tease him about marrying *Jewish*
Girl."
"At least he didn't marry an *Asian*! Grandpop would have definitely
not talked to him for a while because of that!"
A piercing whistle broke through the twins' discussion of what their
family would do to Graham when they found out he was married. Both
girls turned surprised looks at Willow, who was lowering her fingers
from her mouth. "What? It's a handy skill to have growing up with two
best friends who are *boys*. Besides, Graham and I *really* need to get
to our gate. We were only in this part of the airport because my
parents had a plane to catch to London."
Both of Graham's sisters turned angry glares at him. But it was
Katherine who spoke first. "Ooh- I *see* how it is! *Her* family was
allowed to come to your wedding, but us? Not even a phone call to let
Mom and Dad know you were dating someone for long enough that marriage
was in the cards."
"Shut up, Kat! I proposed Sunday and we got married yesterday.
Willow's parents were in the same airport shuttle as us, so we had lunch
with them here at the airport. The only people at the wedding were our
mutual friends, and Willow's mentor, who gave her away."
Willow dragged her husband behind her as she made a concentrated effort
to get to their gate. She left him with his still arguing sisters as
she checked them in. She smiled when the gate attendant congratulated
her on her recent marriage and she went back to the still arguing Miller
siblings.
"That's enough! All of you!" The three tall brunettes all turned to
the diminutive red head and all flinched at the look on her face. "By
the Goddess! You three are all over sixteen, act like it! Graham,
apologize to your sisters for that last remark. Isabelle, apologize to
Graham for the derogatory remark. And Katherine?" Willow waited for
the youngest Miller to look her way. "Bite me! I'm a Wiccan by choice,
but a Jew by upbringing. And the only reason so many of *our* friends
were able to attend the wedding *your* brother wanted, is because my
friend Lia is a planning phenom."
Graham's mouthed twitched in a near grin, but he turned to his eldest
sister. "I'm sorry for what I said, Bella. Forgive me?"
"Only if you forgive me, Cracker boy."
Graham hugged his sister and felt her relax into his body. "Done." He
looked at his other sister, still staring in awe at his wife. "What
about you, Kit Kat?"
"You let me know the details in a long, money expensive phone call, and
all will be forgiven. You'll get bonus points if I get it while I'm
still in Las Vegas."
Graham engulfed his other sister in a hug. "I think I can arrange
that. Which hotel?"
Kat looked at her sister. "Circus Circus, Jingle head?"
"Yes, Kitty Kat, we're staying there. I'd be at the Sands or the MGM
but I was out voted."
"Cost is always an issue when you take a cheer squad across the country,
you know that Bella."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it, Gippy. Now, call us before we go
home. Do we have to stay silent until you tell the parental units?"
"I'd appreciate it. Although, you *can* tell Mom and Dad that you saw
me here in the airport, and I was with a stunning red head."
"Graham!" Willow swatted his chest.
"Willow!" Graham kissed her as his sisters cheered them on.
They broke the kiss as the heard the boarding call for their flight.
Willow blushed at the looks his sisters gave her. "Remind me to kill
you later, okay?"
"As you wish."
Willow rolled her eyes at his antics and smiled at her sisters-in-law.
"It was a pleasure to meet you both. Excuse me, but it's back unto the
breach once more." She walked away, getting into the boarding line.
Graham smiled after his wife and turned to look at his sisters. "Well?"
"She seems nice, but I'm sure she's right for you, Gippy. But I need to
speak to her again, she got e-mail?"
"Willow's one of the foremost hackers this side of the Atlantic, Kit
Kat. I should hope so!"
"You coming home after this assignment is over?"
"I honestly don't know, Jingle head. Which is one of the reasons I
proposed to Willow, that uncertainty in my life. But I'll let you guys
know where I'm going, or at least how to reach Willow if it's
classified."
Both Miller girls kissed their brother's cheeks and hugged him. "Stay
safe, Gippy. You've got a *wife* to think about now! Whoa! My
brother, the married guy. Wacky!"
"What Kat said, Cracker Boy. And remember to always watch your six,
okay?"
Graham kissed both his sisters and said, "I will. And you two, knock
those stupid West Coasters on their prissy butts, okay?" He smiled at
their nods and ran to join his wife in line.
Kat and Bella Miller watched until their brother's plane left forty-five
minutes later. Then they went to get their luggage, and receive the
lecture they *knew* was coming from their coaches and chaperones for
running off without telling anyone where they were going. But both
decided for getting a chance to see their brother and meet his new wife,
it was worth any lecture they would receive.
//Love is all
The laughter and the tears that fall
The mundane and the magical
Love is all
All is love
The careless word, the healing touch
The getting and the giving of
All is love//
Willow simply moaned as Graham picked her up from her airplane seat.
The flight attendant was kind enough to carry their carry-on luggage out
of the airplane for them.
Well, unless you're on a long flight with a VIP and you've got a staff
sergeant from the "airdales" taking care of you.
"Graham!"
Graham turned to look for the person that called his name and smiled to
see Chad Kent walk towards them. He passed off Willow to his friend and
had to fight his smile when Chad nearly fell down in shock at the hand
off. He turned to the flight attendant. "Thank you for helping me,
Tucker. Not many people would be so considerate."
Tucker handed over the luggage he was carrying and smiled at the
attractive
blessings to you and your wife on this happy occasion." < They're going
to need it in a city like Sunnydale. With that, Tucker went back into
the plane to help his fellow flight attendants disembark the other
passengers.
Chad looked from the face of the sleeping woman in his arms to her very
tired looking husband, and couldn't resist the jibe. "Willow keeping
you up at night, Miller?"
"I'm not the one asleep, Kent. Why don't you make the call?"
"Right, logic. I *hate* it when you do that." The two men walked
through the airport, neither caring about the strange looks they were
getting because of the sleeping Willow.
Willow nuzzled into Chad's chest and he shuddered slightly. When her
eyelids fluttered open she smiled dreamily up at him. "Was it good for
you too?"
Graham started laughing as his friend's eyes widened and his wife
grinned evilly. "That was *bad* of you, Scarlett."
Willow tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked at Graham. "Would
you expect anything less, Tiger?"
"Of course not. But tormenting the person who's here to pick us up from
our mini-honeymoon is rather impolite."
"Mmmm, so it is. Can I make it up to you, Chad?" She purred at the man
*still* cradling her to his chest.
Chad swallowed nervously and then smiled at his friend, and Physics lab
partner. "That depends..."
"On?" She kept her voice low and throaty, knowing the effect it had on
both men listening to her.
"On whether or not your friend Lia is still single."
"Unless she hooked up with someone in the last twelve hours, which would
be something of a record, even for Lia, she is."
"Can I get her phone number from you?"
"I don't see why not. But she's got a couple of male roomies who are
*very* protective of her. I mean, Dennis wouldn't even let Graham into
the apartment when he came to pick me up after Spring Break." She
cuddled back into Chad's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Sleepy now.
Wake me up when we get back to my parents' house."
Graham shook his head in wonder at Willow's antics and nodded his head
towards the exit. "I'll get the bags, you go get the car and pull it
around front."
"What's this about her parents' house?"
"Her Mom and Dad told us we could use it until everything settles down,
so we could be together at night and not have to worry about anything
like that."
"When'd you talk to them?"
"In Las Vegas. Seems Willow's Mom was in Vegas for a convention and her
Dad was there with her. Something of a rarity I understand. We met up
and talked before their flight left. Then as we were walking to our
gate, my sisters and their cheer squad arrived in Vegas."
"So, except for your parents, all the in-laws know about the wedding
now?"
"Pretty much. Now get! Willow is really tired, hence the snoring I now
hear coming from her, and I'm pretty beat as well."
"Okay, okay, I'm going. Word of warning though, Finn is pissed as
hell. Seems he and Buffy are stuck in Washington without a return
flight home."
"Poor guy. I bet the Slayer has *no* idea why that would have happened
to her, huh?"
"Probably not. Well, now that your wife is drooling on my *new* shirt,
I'm off to put her in the car and bring it around to the front. See you
in a few Miller!"
//All the glory
All the pain
All the passion
That turns to ashes
Only to rise again//
The shrill ringing of a phone under her cheek woke Willow up. She
looked around her childhood room bleary-eyed, trying to figure out where
the ringing was coming from. She noticed that Graham was out for the
count, so she picked up his cell phone and answered it, "Hello?"
"The lion quacks at the silvery dawn."
"Yeah, and the grizzly bear has really groovy sneakers."
Willow gets ready to hang up the phone,
computerized voice say, "Correct password sequence. Please hold for
secure connection."
he looked at her. "Secure connection happening. Somehow I guessed the
password correctly."
Graham sat up and put the phone to his ear, waiting for the connection
to finish. He looked at Willow and smiled. "What was the phrase?"
"*It* said that, 'The lion quacks at the silvery dawn.' And well, you
can probably guess what *my* response was."
"Yeah, I can. Stay with me?"
Willow cuddled into his chest and let his breath lull her into total
relaxation. "Until our threads are cut and the wheel of Fate spins us
again, my love."
"So basically, that's a 'forever' kind of a statement?"
"Yes, it is. I *really* need to get you taught in the Wiccan myths,
don't I?"
"I wouldn't say no." He leans down to kiss her, and is stopped by
Willow's finger over his lips.
"You like to end discussions by occupying my mouth with yours, don't
you?" She smiled as she pulled her finger away from his mouth.
He leaned down again and just before his lips brushed hers, he said,
"You complaining, Mrs. Miller?"
"I wouldn't *dream* of it, Mr. Miller," she replied as she closed the
small space between them and kissed her husband for all she was worth.
They were separated when a voice growled over the phone, "Private
Miller?"
Graham broke the kiss and spoke into the phone. "Yes Sir?"
"You are hereby put on paid leave by order of the Joints Chiefs and the
Congressional Oversight Committee. You are ordered to appear at the
main gate of Quantico Marine Base in Virginia in sixty days, by nine AM,
Eastern Daylight Time. Do you understand these orders as I have given
to you?"
"Yes sir!"
"Very well, Private. Enjoy your honeymoon." The call disconnected and
Graham soon heard the secure transmission end.
Graham shut his phone off and stared at Willow in disbelief. "What
happened, Tiger?"
"I'm on leave for sixty days. I have to report to the main gate of
Quantico at the end of it."
"That's it?"
"Yeah, that's it." He tossed his phone onto her nightstand and smiled
down at his wife. "You complaining about having me for the next two
months?"
"By the Goddess no! But that's in August, and classes don't start up
until late September. What am I gonna do for two months?"
"Well, you could always come play the beautiful Marine wife until they
start."
"Don't you mean, dutiful wife?"
"Nope, you're too stubborn to be dutiful. Loyal, honorable, and
charitable, sure, but *never* dutiful."
"You're a *pig*, Graham!"
"Oink, oink." Graham rolled until he was pinning Willow to the bed.
"Now, I think we're both wearing too many clothes, don't you?"
"Of course."
//Love is all
The laughter and the tears that fall
The mundane and the magical
Love is all
All is love
The careless word, the healing touch
The getting and the giving of
All is love//
The next day, Graham and Willow ere walking across campus, blissfully
unaware of what was waiting for them at Lowell House. They walked
through the doors, and that's when it happened.
"You Bitch!" Buffy slapped Willow across the face, and the force of her
blow knocked Willow and Graham to the floor.
Willow jumped to her feet and glared at the Slayer. "You've got a lot
of nerve showing your face here, Slayer."
"Oh, now I'm just *Slayer*. I think hanging out with Spike has warped
your sense of reality, Witch."
Willow's eyes turned pure white and the air began to crackle with her
power. "Watch thy tongue, Slayer. I'm more powerful than you could
*ever* imagine."
Graham groaned when he recognized the cadence of Willow's words. He got
to his feet and grabbed Buffy, restraining her with no effort. "I
wouldn't Buffy. That's *not* my wife you'd be facing."
"Then who would it be?"
"Her Goddess. I've only met Willow's Dark Lady once, but that's who is
visiting us now. You piss her off, and say goodbye Sunnydale."
"She deserves whatever I do to her!"
"Why? Because you and Riley got misdirected by *Cordelia Chase*?
You've got to realize that Angel's Secretary and Willow's friend would
likely not be as forgiving as my wife. And if you even *think* about
striking her again, I'll personally re-arrange your internal organs."
"Threats?"
"A promise. Go back to your boy toy, Slayer. My wife and I are sick of
your attitude towards us, and we'll be leaving Sunnydale after finals
anyway."
"You're stealing her away from me?"
"Hardly. You're pushing her away, Buffy. Striking her across the face,
days after a reconciliation is probably *not* the way to go about
staying her friend, anyway."
Buffy broke out of his hold and turned to glare at him. "I hope any
children you have, have Autism."
With that parting shot, Buffy ran from the house and Graham grabbed
Willow before she could hit the floor. He carried her up to his room
and laid her on the bed. She came around a few minutes later. "Hey."
"Hey yourself. You gonna make it a habit to be possessed by your
Goddess?"
"Only when attacked by crazed super powerful beings."
"Okay, so basically only on Alternate Thursdays then, right?"
"Yup. You gonna kiss me soon?"
"We still need to talk about what'll happen after finals, Scarlett."
Willow wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at him. "Later.
Kiss me now."
"With pleasure, Madame."
End Series