"Good morning," Wesley said as he approached the kitchen.

"Hi, Daddy," Zane replied with a big, syrupy smile.

Wesley smiled and kissed the top of Zane's head before moving to kiss Lindsey, who had looked up from the newspaper, good morning.

"Good morning," Lindsey replied once Wesley pulled away, though he didn't move his hand from the juncture of Lindsey's neck and shoulder. "Sleep well?"

"As always," Wesley answered with a smile.

"Daddy, can I watch cartoons?" Zane asked.

Both men looked at Zane and his plate, which had a few pieces of pancake and a lot of syrup left, and Lindsey replied, "Yes, but wipe your hands and face first," as he handed him the damp wash cloth. Zane dutifully did so before Wesley picked him up and cuddled him before setting him on the ground. "Don't forget your juice," Lindsey replied as he handed Zane his sippy cup and picked up the remote and turned to turn on the TV for Zane, who settled on the couch, his back to them.

Wesley retrieved his plate of pancakes and cup of coffee before removing the booster seat, pushing Zane's plate out of the way and sitting in the now vacant chair. After taking a sip of his coffee, he asked, "What's on the agenda for today?" as he began preparing his pancakes.

"Zane has a play date with Tyrell this morning, which'll give us time to go grocery shopping. Then he's got a swimming lesson this afternoon. Other than that," Lindsey gave Wesley a warm smile, "it's looking pretty free."

"Good," Wesley replied before taking a bite of his pancakes.

Wesley was vaguely aware of someone sitting down next to him and looked up to see who it was. He smiled when he saw it was David. "Hey, you," he said with a smile.

"Hey yourself," David replied. "How's Zane doing with the swimming lessons?"

"Like a duck to water. What brings you out here this afternoon?"

"Field trip with some of my youth group." He motioned to some teens on the other side of the pool. "It's part of the mini-retreat we're doing this weekend."

"And where's Jonathan?"

"At home paying some bills. He claims he doesn't want to blind anyone with his pale legs."

Zane came running up, dripping wet and not heeding Lindsey's "Don't run!", and Wesley wrapped him in a towel before pulling him into his lap and toweling him off. "Look who's here, Zane," he said.

"Hi, Uncle David," he said with a grin.

"Hey, kiddo," David replied, returning the smile and ruffling Zane's hair.

After a few quick laps, Lindsey joined them, toweling himself off as he exchanged hellos with David. Sitting on the end of Wesley's lounge chair, he asked, "How's Jon?"

"He's doing good. Wondering when we're going to have our first barbeque of the summer."

"How about next weekend?" Wesley asked. "I’m almost positive Marty and Dory will be free."

"Sounds good," David replied. "Come over around 2 or so on Saturday. And," he added, before they could ask, "if you want to bring anything – bring dessert. And tell Marty and Dory to bring a side or two or something."

One of the girls from David's group came up. "He's cute," she said. "How old is he?"

"I'm three and a half," Zane replied, beaming.

"Wow," she replied with a smile. Turning to David she asked, "Is it okay if we go get a soda?"

"Yeah. Just be back sooner rather than later, okay?"

She nodded and as she stood, Zane asked, "Can we go on the swings?"

"Sure," Wesley replied and they stood, "but we have to get changed first." They gathered their things and he said to David, "We'll see you next Saturday if not sooner."

"Definitely," the other man replied.

The girl from David’s youth group waved to them as she passed by on the other side of the public pool and Zane waved back. Wesley could've sworn he felt something wash over him akin to the first time he had met Buffy and Faith, but it passed quickly and he thought nothing more of it as Zane started babbling happily about his swimming lesson.

Lindsey and Wesley both exchanged a questioning look and Wesley simply shrugged, meaning he also had no knowledge of the appointment. "Sure, Leslie," Lindsey replied.

Leslie nodded and pulled the door shut behind her, only to reopen it fully a moment later to admit a small brunette who looked to be no more than 18. Both Wesley and Lindsey stood and crossed to meet her – Lindsey from his desk across from the door and Wesley from where he had been by the filing cabinets.

"Hi, I'm Lindsey McDonald and this is my associate, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," Lindsey said, as they extended their hands.

Shaking their hands, she replied, "Stacey Davis."

“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Wesley said, “but do I know you from somewhere?”

Stacey smiled. “We kind of sort of met at the pool the other day. I’m in David’s youth group.”

“Ah, yes. Enjoying your summer?”

“For the most part. David’s actually the one that referred me to you two.”

"So, how can we help you, Stacey?" Lindsey asked as he gestured to a chair across from his desk.

"I need a restraining order," she replied, sitting down.

Wesley grabbed a pen and pad of paper from his desk in front of the filing cabinets and sat in the other seat. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well, the past about year or so, I've been having weird dreams and I've been seeing weird things out of the corner of my eye. And I've been attacked a few times."

"By who?" Lindsey asked.

"I don't know," she said, exasperated. "But they had these bumpy foreheads and fangs and golden eyes."

Wesley stopped taking notes and studied the young woman sitting next to him. His mind whirled as he took her in, noting that she did appear to fit the bill. He had heard rumors that Buffy and the rest of her group had turned the world's potentials into full-blown Slayers in a bid to stop a Torak-han uprising, but he had dismissed it as idle gossip. But now proof seemed to be sitting in the office with them.

"…that we can't put out a restraining order unless we have a specific person or group and a legitimate reason," Lindsey was saying when Wesley pulled himself out of his reverie.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" she asked plaintively. "I don't know what these *things* are and I *know* I didn't do anything to have them all of a sudden attacking me."

"What if I told you," Wesley spoke up, "that what's been happening is part of a birthright that's been assigned to you that's just recently come in to play?"

She looked at him. "Ask if I can trade it in for a new one? Because, seriously? This one kind of sucks from what I've seen of it."

"If you're interested," Wesley continued, "we could refer you to someone who could give you your options and some training and help you make sense of this."

She seemed to visibly relax and smiled. "That'd be cool. How soon can I get that info?"

"Would Monday morning be good?"

"Yeah, that'll be great." She stood. "Thanks for your time." Both men stood and she shook their hands again before heading out.

After they got out of the truck and headed up to the apartment, Wesley said, "Yes, I was. Emphasis on was. That part of my life is over now."

"Okay, I'll admit that I didn't read enough of your file to know what happened pre-L.A. and I'm getting the vibe that it wasn't good –"

Wesley opened the door. "I'm not going to do it, Lindsey." Seeing Jonathan sitting on the couch watching "Blue's Clues" with a just-waking-up Zane, he said, "Hey, Jon," as he continued into the kitchen area to get a drink of water.

"Hey, you two," Jonathan replied.

Lindsey added a "hey" as he followed Wesley and continued the line of conversation quietly. "I'm sorry, I guess I just don't understand why you would pass this opportunity –"

Wesley slammed his glass down. "No, you wouldn't understand," he replied icily.

"Are you mad, Daddy?" Zane asked from where he stood in the doorway, where he was still rubbing an eye.

"No, I'm not angry, pumpkin," Wesley replied, scooping Zane up. "I'm just frustrated." He kissed Zane's temple. "Did you have a good time with Uncle Jon?"

"Yes." Zane beamed. "We went to the park and for a walk and read a book and only watched two shows and had a snack."

"My, my, my. That sounds like a very busy day," Lindsey said, coming up behind Zane and tickling him. When the boy finished squealing in laughter, Lindsey kissed Zane's other temple and, hitching his hands under Zane's shoulders, said, "Why don't you say goodbye to Uncle Jon?" before setting him on the floor. As Zane ran off, Lindsey moved in and wrapped his arms around Wesley's waist, Wesley's coming around Lindsey automatically. "At least think about it, okay? Whatever happened before, that's over and done with and this is a completely different situation. Consider it while you're getting her the info you promised and if you still don't want to do it come Monday morning, then give her the information and I won't say anything else about it, okay?"

"Okay," Wesley agreed. "I'll *think* about it."

"That's all I ask." Lindsey smiled as he leaned in and kissed Wesley.

Wesley yielded easily to Lindsey, a hand coming up to tangle in Lindsey's hair, but he cut it off quickly. "We still have company," he reminded.

"I'm not company, I'm family," Jonathan said from where he was making his way across the room. "I'll see the three of you tomorrow." Bending down to look in Zane's eyes, he said, "Be good now, you hear?" before tickling him with one hand. Zane laughed and hugged him. He leaned heavily on his cane to straighten up. Clapping Wesley on his shoulder on the way by, he said, "Have a good evening."

"Bye, Jon," the two adults said as he crossed the threshold and Lindsey shut the door behind him.

"So, how's work, Lindsey?" Dory asked as they sat down to eat. Marty, her husband, worked at cutting up their 2-year-old son, Max’s food, while the boy valiantly tried to sneak pieces of food off the plate.

"It's good," Lindsey replied as he cut up Zane's hot dog. "As we all know, Wesley has been a godsend over the past four years. If it wasn't for him, I'm sure I'd still be wandering around my office with a dazed and confused look on my face."

"Any fun cases come up?" David asked. "Or are you not allowed to discuss them?"

"Nothing as of late, but Wesley had something interesting happen to him yesterday."

Wesley blushed as the adults looked at him. After swallowing a bite of potato salad, he said, "Apparently, the rumors going around that there's more than one active Slayer are true. One came into our office yesterday asking for help."

"Are you going to help her?" Jonathan asked.

“I hope you don’t mind me sending her on to you,” David interjected.

Wesley waved him off. "Don’t worry about it. And I, uh, I don't know. I haven't had the best experiences with Slayers and – Zane, stop that." He tapped Zane on the shoulder. "If you don't eat your food, you won't get any dessert. You can make faces at Max once you're both done."

Zane started to whine and looked at Lindsey who only shook his head and said, "Eat."

"But I have contacted my resources," Wesley continued, "so she can get the help she needs."

"But if you're qualified, why don't you help her?" Marty asked between bites of a burger. "From what I've heard, Watchers are in short supply these days – especially good ones."

"I –" Wesley started to reply.

"Wes," Jonathan interrupted, "if you're thinking of going on about how you don't think you'd be any good, you may as well just stop before you even start because then I'd have to come over there and smack you upside the head with my cane. My accident trumps any problems you *think* you're going to have. What's *really* stopping you from doing this?"

"Well, the fact that I haven't done it in seven and a half years." He took a sip of his iced tea. "And things didn't go very well with my last two charges."

"Was it completely your fault?" David asked.

Wesley thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "No, but I think I exacerbated the whole situation."

"You think or you know? Could it have been prevented if you hadn't been there?"

"I honestly don't know, but if I hadn't acted the way I did, I highly doubt things would've gone the way they did."

"Maybe you could consider this a second chance from God to atone for whatever part you did or didn't have in what happened with those two Slayers," Jonathan said as he gave Wesley a steely gaze, before digging into his potato salad and thus ending that topic of conversation.

As the kids ran around after the meal, Dory sat down next to Wesley. "I think you should give it a shot," she said as she handed him a cup of coffee. "You're a great guy and a wonderful dad. Who's to say you won't be a great Watcher as well?"

"Well, the other Watchers, for one," he replied with a wry smile.

"They aren't here, now are they?" she replied with a warm smile of her own.

"Are you two talking about me?" Lindsey asked with a grin as he came over carrying his own cup of coffee as well as two dessert plates.

"Only in your dreams, studmuffin," Dory replied. "We were actually making plans to run away together and leave you and Marty with the boys." As he fixed her with a glare as he put one of the plates down in front of Wesley, she added, "But only for the weekend. Though, we may have to extend it, once we see how it goes."

Lindsey sat down. "I'll keep that in mind if he ever suddenly disappears."

Wesley leaned over and gave Lindsey a peck on the cheek. "I'd leave a note first. I might write it in a foreign language to confuse the hell out of you, but I'd leave a note."

Lindsey smiled. "Well, thank you for that small consideration." Digging into his slice of pie, he said, "Now, about helping the Slayer…"

After the third ring, a familiar voice answered the phone. "Rupert Giles, here."

"Hello, Rupert," Wesley replied. "It's Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

"Oh, hello, Wesley." Wesley was almost positive he could hear a smile in Giles' voice. "How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry that I'm calling so late, but I was approached yesterday by a Slayer who wanted some help. And, while I’ve heard vague rumors, I was still under the assumption that we were operating under the assumption of ‘one girl in all the earth’.”

Giles chuckled. “That actually hasn’t applied for some time now. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but we had – considering it’s Buffy we’re talking about – an ‘apocalyptic incident’ a few years ago in which most of the Council was destroyed and all of the potentials were activated in order to avert it. I’ve been stationed in England, for the most part, since then to see what I could do in salvaging what’s left of the Council.”

“Ah. I hope you don’t mind me not voicing any regret at the loss of the Council. And I’m sure it’s safe to assume that the surviving Watchers are stepping things up, then? Would there be someone I could pass her off to?"

“I think we’re in the same boat there.” And there was a slight pause before Giles continued, in some confusion, "The Los Angeles person should've made contact with you, since I let him know you were out there. He's been stationed there for two years now."

"Oh, well…I guess that would be a problem," Wesley replied. "I should've mentioned that I'm not in Los Angeles any more – haven't been for about four years now. I'm currently in Oklahoma."

"Yes, that would be a good reason as to why you wouldn't have made contact with him." Giles chuckled again. "But, aside from the fact that we don't have anyone in Oklahoma right now, why would you want to pass her off? I know that things didn't go very well in Sunnydale, but you *were* trained as a Watcher and I'm sure that you can understand the value of that in our current situation."

"Well, I – uh…" Wesley desperately didn't want to appear weak in front of Giles after all these years, but he was, quite frankly, still terrified of being responsible for a Slayer. "Honestly, I wasn't sure of what the new protocols might be and –"

"The new protocols are quite simple, actually," Giles interrupted, saving him. "Especially since you already have the training. Train her to be the best slayer she can be. And if you honestly think you're not the right person for the job, let me know and I'll see about getting someone up there from Texas to help her get on her feet."

Lindsey appeared in the doorway to the kitchen carrying a sleepy Zane. "I think I'll attempt a go at it and let you know."

"Okay. Thank you for letting me know, Wesley," Giles said. "It was good to here from you. Keep in touch."

"You too," Wesley replied before hanging up the phone. At Lindsey's questioning look, he went over to them and said, "Apparently they're completely willing to have me back on board as a Watcher and willing to give me free reign in that regard."

"Is that good or bad?" Lindsey asked as the three of them made their way to Zane's room.

"I honestly don't know," Wesley said thoughtfully as Lindsey placed Zane on his bed and helped him get under the covers and Wesley got the copy of Treasure Island that they were working their way through. He stretched out on the bed and Zane snuggled against him, with one of Wesley's arms around him so they could both look at the book, even though Zane couldn't read yet and there weren't any pictures in the book. Lindsey lounged across the foot of the bed.

After they had read a chapter, Zane smiled sleepily and snuggled under the covers as Wesley put the bookmark in its place and placed the book on the nightstand. Lindsey moved up so he was laying across Zane's legs. Wesley leaned against the headboard and watched them.

"So, what shall I sing tonight?" Lindsey asked with a smile.

"My lullaby," Zane replied with a smile.

"Again?" Lindsey replied with a showy sigh of exasperation. "Are you sure? We sing that *every* night." Zane nodded vigorously. "Okay, okay," he replied in mock defeat and began singing softly. By the time he was finished, Zane's eyelids were closed and he was asleep. Both men kissed Zane good-night and quietly left the room, along the way turning off the lights, turning on the Snoopy nightlight and shutting the door most of the way.

Outside their son's room, Lindsey pulled Wesley to him and captured his mouth in his. Wesley kissed him back with an equal intensity as he tangled a hand in Lindsey’s hair and the other wrapping around Lindsey’s waist. Lindsey cupped Wesley’s face with his hands as his tongue delved into Wesley’s mouth. Wesley groaned as he willing submitted.

He pulled away and murmured, “Bedroom,” as he tugged on Lindsey’s hand.

Curled together afterwards, Lindsey asked, "Have you thought some more about having another one?"

"Yes," Wesley replied with a small sigh as he stopped nuzzling Lindsey’s neck and shifted slightly away from Lindsey. "And I’m still not sure. I would love to have a child that's completely ours, but I'm worried about its safety. The risks are high enough as it is for a normal woman at my age to have a child. I honestly don't know what it would be like if it was me."

Lindsey closed the distance and began gently caressing Wesley’s bicep. "Why don't you talk to your mom and/or Dr. Gonzales and see what they say? We both know that even though I love Zane like my own, how much I want to have one that's completely ours – but not at a risk to you. I love you too much."

Wesley reached up and placed his hand over Lindsey's and squeezed. "I know." When he relaxed his grip, Lindsey turned his hand so they were palm to palm. "I'll talk to them both and see what they say." He smiled. "I think Zane would like to have a little brother or sister too."

Lindsey laughed. "Although, after being over at Tyrell's, I think he wants a puppy more."

"Maybe one of these days," Wesley whispered as he leaned in to capture Lindsey's mouth with his own in a tender kiss.

***

The next morning, as the boys ran around the park and playing with the other kids, Marty asked, "So, have you decided what you're going to do about the Slayer?"

"I think I'm going to help her," Wesley said and saw Marty nod in agreement out of the corner of his eye as he watched Zane climb precariously up the side of the jungle gym. "But I honestly don't know how to do it. I mean, I know how to train her and such, but we both know what the demon population is like here. There's no real need for her here."

"What about going down to Oklahoma City?" Marty asked. "I'm sure they'd need help down there."

"We could do that, but she wouldn't get the training she'd need to survive up here and it wouldn't be possible for me to go down there with her until she got set up."

Marty shrugged. "You could always just go down there for a weekend or something to let her do her thing. I'm sure she'd enjoy it and the city would be appreciative, even if they didn't know what was going on. And even though we don't – Max! Be careful!" They watched as Max and Zane carefully jumped down from the bottom of the slide, both looking a bit contrite. Marty continued, "And even though we don't have a lot of problems and police ourselves, to be honest – the help would be appreciated."

"But in what capacity? Sure, we could go around staking new vampires, but wouldn't that get the community riled up?"

"It might," Marty replied thoughtfully. "Or you two could be like cool ninja assassins."

Wesley sputtered and stared at Marty before letting out a full-blown laugh. "'Cool ninja assassins'? Should I even ask?"

"Probably not, but we've been trying to figure out alternatives to our prison system, especially since it's starting to get crowded – especially our Death Row. And in our case it's not really bureaucracy, it's just that we have no idea how to kill them."

"Well, that could be a start," Wesley considered. "But what about after we finish with them?"

"Could always thin out the rest of the population – take out the life-sentences and such."

"Dare I ask how you know so much about all of this?"

"I'm on the demons' city council. It's been a big topic of discussion."

"While it is a good idea, I'm still not sold on it. I think mostly because of the fact that they'll be locked up. While it might be good for you, she wouldn't get the practical experience of fighting them out in the open."

"I'm sure we could figure something out – like letting them loose in the yard or something." As the boys came over clamoring for ice cream, Marty said, "Think about it, talk it over with her, do research, whatever, and let me know and I'll see what I can do on my side."

"Thanks, Marty."

Leslie handed Lindsey a sheaf of papers as he and Wesley entered the main office and said, "These are for you and your 9:00 am is already in your office. And if you don't mind me saying, she looks rather," Leslie dropped her voice, "*normal*."

"Ah, but looks can be deceiving," Wesley replied with a smile as he patted Leslie on the shoulder.

"Don't I know it?" she replied with a smile and a shake of her head as she went back to her desk.

"Good morning, Stacey," Wesley said, as they entered the office, looking over the young woman who was sitting in one of the guest chairs a little nervously. "How are you?"

"Good," she replied with a smile. "You?"

"Very well, thanks." He sat down in the other chair and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lindsey set up their coffee maker and then pick up the sheaf of papers to start going through them as he wandered over to the window by the filing cabinets.

Before Wesley had a chance to say anything, she asked, "So, about this whole vampire business? How's it going to work? And do I get a title and membership into a nifty club?"

Wesley smiled, remembering some of the things Buffy had said to Giles. “Well, the quote-unquote official title is Vampire Slayer, but they’re not the only things you’ll be slaying. And, while you won’t be getting a membership card at this time, you are part of a very elite group of women.” He cleared his throat and, looking Stacey, realized that this was going to be easier than he had thought. He shifted in his chair to get more comfortable. "First off, I want to let you know that I was trained as a Watcher – which is what people who train and guide Slayers are called. I haven't done it actively for a number of years and since then a few things have changed, so I talked with my contact over the weekend and he said that it would be perfectly fine for me to be your Watcher, if you were willing."

Her eyes brightened. "I tried to do some research of my own over the weekend and couldn't really find anything aside from the normal vampire legends, so I have all these questions and stuff and I figured that I’d wait to start freaking out until I got some more concrete information. But any way you can help me get my life back to normal would be exceedingly amazing.” She glanced at her watch as she took a breath and Wesley smiled. “Crap. I’ve got to get going. When can we start?"

Not even thinking about it and easily slipping into Watcher mode, Wesley replied, "Tonight, if you'd like."

Lindsey cleared his throat and said, "Wesley, can I borrow you? I need your opinion on something."

"Excuse me for a second." Wesley stood and went over to Lindsey. "Yes?"

"Invite her over for dinner. She's going to need to know sooner rather than later if you're her Watcher."

"'Invite her over for dinner'? I thought you wanted my opinion."

"I do, but it can wait until later. Ask her." Lindsey had a determined and somewhat impish gleam in his eyes that Wesley knew not to say no to.

"Okay, okay." Going back over to Stacey, he said, "How about you come over for dinner first, and then we'll train?"

"That would be great!" She grinned. "I'm getting tired of cafeteria food. What time?"

"How about six?" He grabbed one of Lindsey's business cards off of the desk and wrote their home address and number on the back. Sitting on the edge of Lindsey's desk and handing the card to her, he said, "Here's the address and our office info is on the front, in case if you need to get in touch with me during the day."

Looking it over, she nodded, before sticking it into her pocket. Standing and shouldering her messenger bag, she said, "Thanks. I have to get to camp."

"Can I interest you in some coffee before you go?" Lindsey asked, gesturing to her travel mug with his papers.

She grinned. "Yeah, that'd be great." She filled up the big mug and added a liberal amount of sugar before snapping on the lid. "Okay, I'll see you at six. And thanks again, Wesley."

As the door shut behind her, Lindsey said, "Now, about that opinion –"

"I don't know whether or not to strangle you or thank you for giving me an easy out there," Wesley interrupted from where he was still perched on the edge of Lindsey's desk.

"I would assume a thank you would be in order at least this way, a) she won't go getting a crush on you or b) try to set you up with anybody."

Wesley blinked at him. "Now why would…" he trailed off.

"Wesley, Wesley, Wesley." Lindsey came over and put his papers down on the desk. "I grew up around here, remember?" He ticked off on his fingers, "You're good-looking, you have a foreign accent, and you're not wearing a wedding ring. That makes you prime meat." He put his arms around Wesley. "And, this may make it sound like I'm getting a little jealous, but I'd like to keep you and Zane all to myself, if that's at all possible."

"You know we'd never leave you," Wesley replied with a smile.

"Good." Lindsey kissed Wesley's forehead and picked up the papers. "Now, if we could get to work…"

Once the lasagna was in the oven and the bread prepared as garlic bread and waiting to be toasted, Zane asked, "What’s for dinner?"

“Lasagna with vegetables and garlic bread,” Wesley replied. “We’re having a guest for dinner."

Lindsey added, "After which, you and I are going to watch a movie and Wesley's going to be teaching her some new things."

Zane looked at Wesley. "What is she learning, Daddy?"

Wesley smiled at Zane's curiosity at what was going on. "I'm going to be teaching her how to protect herself and other people from bad things. Just like I'm going to do with you when you're a little bigger."

"I want to learn now."

"We'll see, okay?"

Zane nodded, seriously. "Can I show her my toys?"

"Yes, you can. But only for a few minutes before dinner, okay?"

Zane nodded happily and went back to his coloring, curiosity satisfied for the time being.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Wesley went to answer it and Zane slid off of his chair and ran over to be the first one to meet her. Opening the door, Wesley said, "Good evening, Stacey. Come on in."

She smiled as she stepped over the threshold. "Hey, Wesley." Seeing Zane, she crouched down and said, "Hey Zane. We met at the pool, remember?”

Zane stared at her for a moment before nodding and, smiling, giving her a hug.

Standing she said, "Something smells good."

"Lasagna," Wesley replied, "and it's got a couple minutes yet before it's done."

"Great, I love lasagna." Putting her bag down by the door, she said, "Hey, Lindsey."

"Hey," he replied, as he stuck the bread in the oven. "Can I get you something to drink? We have milk, juice, water, and soda."

"Water's good," she replied with a smile as Zane tugged on her hand.

When she looked down at him, he said, "Daddy said it was okay if you want to see my toys."

Wesley and Lindsey caught each others' eyes and shared a silent laugh at Zane's well-intentioned, yet wrongly delivered, offer, deciding to not correct him this once as Stacey replied, "That would be really cool," and let herself be led toward his room.

After setting the tables, Lindsey went to get the younger two as Wesley pulled the lasagna out of the oven and put it on the table. He smiled at Stacey as she came over to the counter and Lindsey helped Zane wash up.

"He's a cute kid," she said. "If you don't mind me asking, which one of you does he belong to?"

Wesley fell into a momentary fear at being found out for going against Council regulations, but immediately quashed it. "Biologically, he's mine," he replied as he moved to put the bread basket on the table. "But he's really ours.” He decided to not elaborate any more as, thankfully, Zane and Lindsey joined them.

"You can really tell," she said with a fond smile.

After they cleaned up and Wesley promised Zane that he would be home in time to read, which Wesley, in fact, had no doubt of, he and Stacey headed down to the YMCA. Once they had both changed into more comfortable clothes, they found a quiet spot on some mats in the gym.

As he led her through some easy warm up stretches, Wesley asked, "So, how much do you know in the way of martial arts?"

"I studied karate from the time I was five up until this past summer," she replied. "And I've watched a lot of that type of movies, though that probably doesn't count," she added with a laugh.

"Well, it's a start. But the karate will help out a lot with some of the things I want to teach you, since you'll already be familiar with some of the basic forms." He raised his arms above his head and stretched. "Though, we'll probably have to move somewhere else once we actually get into weaponry."

Her eyes got wide. "Weaponry? That would be *so* cool."

Wesley laughed. "I'll have to remind you of that when I'm making you go through everything over and over and you start telling me you hate it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, how did you get into this whole Watcher business?"

"It's something of a family thing. Didn't really have a choice." Wesley swung his arms in and out a few times.

"That sucks. And this whole Slayer thing?"

"Some sort of genetic anomaly – we're still not sure how exactly it works. Up until about four and a half years ago, there was only supposed to be one Slayer at a time, even though there were two at that specific time – which is a really long story, but then all of the potential Slayers were activated in a bid to avert an apocalypse, so here you are."

"So you mean I have a choice in this whole Slayer thing?"

"To an extent, yes. And if you don't want to do it, that's perfectly fine. There are enough other girls – women – out there that it shouldn't be a problem. But I do strongly suggest that you at least get some sort of training, since there are things out there won't understand that you've chosen not to be an active Slayer."

She nodded. "Well, then let's get down to it. I'll decide after I've had the free trial." She straightened up and gave him a quick bow.

Wesley couldn't help but smile as an involuntary memory of Buffy's quips hurried through his mind. He returned the bow and began testing her, throwing in a few dirty tricks to test her ingenuity and response time. After a few minutes of sparring, he stopped them and they were both panting a bit. He was pleasantly surprised that he was still in good shape. Raising a child was obviously of some help – as well as hitting a gym or going for a run whenever he could. The occasional tussle with Lindsey when Zane was away on a play date obviously hadn't hurt either.

"Good," he replied with a pleased smile.

"Did I pass?" she asked with a cheerful smile.

"If it was an actual test, then, yes, you did. I think that'll be all for tonight training-wise. I just wanted to see where you stood with your fighting skills and such." He started stretching out again. "But we can talk some more if you'd like. I can tell you about the demon population in the area and how it's different for a Slayer than most places. I can tell you how I'm thinking of structuring your training. You could ask me questions."

She followed suit as she said, "Well, an actual definition of a Slayer would be nice. And I've grown up here, so I know what the demon population is like and since the active part of 'Slayer' is 'slay', I think it would be good to know what that's going to entail." When done, she sat down on the mat.

Wesley felt a little sheepish for not actually explaining it to her. He chuckled before saying, "Our old spiel went something like – 'In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer'." He dropped down on the mat next to her. "Obviously, there's more than one now. A Slayer is always a woman and she has superior strength and reflexes, faster healing, and is usually sought out by demons. I suspect it has something to do with genetic her make-up as well as the demons'."

"Do you think that more things will start happening now?" she asked, a little worried.

"Well, you've been an active Slayer for about four and a half years now and haven't had more than a few run-ins with some fledgling vampires, so I'd say, no, probably not – unless you decide to move out of town, and then it would depend on where you went. Though, there's always the chance that one or two passing through town might decide to take a swing, or the 'bad apple in the bunch' type, but overall, I don't think you'll have to worry too much."

"And since the demons are pretty peaceful, what's there for me to do here as a Slayer?"

"My friend Marty said he'd get in touch with the demon prison and see about possibly setting something up where you could help them out with some of their death row inmates – the ones they can't kill by human means – if both sides are interested. I know it goes against a lot of what being a Slayer is, but it'd be better than nothing. And there will always be the random vampire fledgling or 'bad apple'." As she nodded, he continued, "We could also always go down to Oklahoma City for a weekend or something and help out there."

"Cool." She looked at her watch and stood. "We better get going so you can get home to tuck Zane in." She smiled. "Wouldn't want to miss Treasure Island."

Wesley stood as well. "No, we wouldn't. Let's get changed and I'll drop you off."

As they pulled up in front of Stacey's dorm, she said, "I had a really good time tonight."

"So did we," Wesley replied.

"Say good night to Zane and Lindsey for me?"

Wesley nodded. "I will."

Stacey grinned as she got out of the SUV and shut the door. "Good night."

"Good night." Wesley waited until she got inside the building before driving off.

"It's good," Wesley replied with a smile, "though we haven't done much aside from set up a schedule and testing out some of her fighting skills. She already knows karate, her reflexes are good, and she's good at thinking on her feet. I think she's got a lot of potential."

"Who's got a lot of potential?" Stacey asked, plunking herself down into an open chair at their table. "And before you ask, I went over to the office to see if I could take you and Lindsey out to lunch and Leslie said you were already gone and Lindsey was in a meeting."

"Hi, I'm Marty," the chaos demon said, holding out his hand. "And before you ask, I'm a chaos demon with a gland problem."

Stacey shook his hand with a confused smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Marty. Though, and I'm sorry, I have to ask –" she looked at Wesley, "a who-ah with a what?"

Wesley looked somewhat bemused. "Marty's a chaos demon, which is actually a misnomer – since they're a rather gentle species of demons. And a chaos demon's antlers usually ooze a slimy, viscous material."

"Oh, okay." She smiled brightly. "Sorry, Marty. It's just that aside from the crazy vampires, I haven't met any other demons."

"It's okay," he replied with a smile of his own. "I'm used to getting stares anyway from people who don’t know what I am." After taking a bite of a chicken tender, he asked, "So, how are you adjusting to the whole Slayer thing?"

"I'm adjusting. It's just a lot to take in – especially without a handbook." She looked at Wesley. "Is there a handbook?"

He chuckled as he put down his hamburger. "There was one that was used up until a few years ago, but it's hopelessly outdated, so it's thankfully fallen by the wayside. Besides, I honestly doubt how effective it was – especially given how the ones who didn't have it were the ones who survived better and lasted longer."

The waitress came over and Stacey quickly ordered a sandwich and a soda. When she was gone, Stacey asked Wesley, "So, have you found anything else out about the whole slaying-prison-execution thing?"

"That's part of what we were going to talk about," Wesley replied. "Marty's the one in charge of finding out all the information for us."

Marty wiped his mouth with a napkin. "The prison board's obviously interested. Especially considering how a high number of their death row inmates are immune to the human ways of execution – which are the only ways the officials are allowed to dispatch them and most of the other inmates are too scared to get near them for an 'accident'," and on that word he used air quotes, "to happen, so they're willing to look into an sort of alternative to help them out. And they're willing to pay you for your services."

"And what makes you think I'm the right Slayer for the job? I hardly even know what I'm doing."

"Because I know that Wesley's damn good at what he does and he'll make sure you're damn ready before he sends you anywhere to fight anything."

The waitress set down Stacey's plate and she set into eating. Between bites, she asked, "So, what all are you planning on teaching me, Wesley?"

"Various hand-to-hand fighting techniques, weaponry, types of demons – everything you'd need to know to go out and fight them, whether it's in a prison or on the streets of some city or town. And just as a word of caution – even though there will be various precautions set in place if you do decide to accept the offer from the prison, it's still essentially going to be a one-on-one fight between you and a demon. It'd be unwise to assume that there'd be no risks."

She nodded as she chewed. "Is it okay if I get back to you once I see how things are going, Marty?"

"No problem. It's going to take them a while to figure out the logistics on their end anyway."

She smiled. "Sounds like we got ourselves a plan."

After Lindsey's first set, Stacey came bounding up to them, grinning. "Oh, my god," she said, excitedly, once she had made her way through the crowd to where Lindsey was holding court.

"God's actually busy right now, can I take a message?" Lindsey replied with an amused smile.

"I didn't know that was you! I mean, I *did*, but I never actually connected this you with the other you and my friends didn't believe me when I told them that I knew you."

Lindsey put his hands on Stacey's shoulders. "Breathe, girl."

She did so and then said, "We've been coming to see you since we moved in last year. You're, like, a celebrity in the music department."

Lindsey laughed. "Thanks, but I highly doubt that. How are you guys enjoying it tonight?"

"It's great – as always."

"Good, good. Bring them over after the next set, okay?"

She grinned. "No problem. They're gonna die."

Lindsey finished off his drink and stood. "We wouldn't want that, now would we?" He quickly squeezed Wesley's hand and they shared a smile before he went up to the stage again for his second set.

When he came back from doing a few covers, as well as trying out some of his own stuff that he'd been tinkering with for a few months, Stacey and her friends were waiting at the table and chatting with Wesley, Jonathan, and David. He greeted them warmly as he slid into his seat. While taking a drink, he found Wesley's hand and gave it a squeeze. Wesley's gaze lit on him for a second and Wesley couldn't stop a smile from warming his features. He enjoyed watching Lindsey "hold court" as they had dubbed it, especially since this, playing music and interacting with fans, was where he was truly in his element – not in a court room arguing cases or in an office researching laws, no matter how much he enjoyed those things.

Wesley was also glad he got a chance to watch Stacey and see how she interacted with others. She was all smiles and when she got into the conversation, her curvy body went into it as well. And just seeing the delight on her face on being able to finally "meet" Lindsey after attending so many of his shows was amusing in and of itself. She also seemed to know when they had monopolized enough of Lindsey's time and bid them all good night before ushering her friends away. After they chatted with a few more people and were kicked out of the bar, the two couples said their good nights in the parking lot and headed their separate ways.

"Hey, guys," she said with a grin. "That was a great show last night, Lindsey."

"Thanks, again," he replied with a self-conscious smile.

"Hi, Stacey," Zane said with a grin, waving from where he was sitting in the cart.

"Hey there, kiddo," she replied, ruffling his hair. "Having fun grocery shopping?"

"Yeah. And Daddy said we could make brownies later." He pointed proudly to the box of brownie mix in the cart.

"Very cool," she approved. "How do you two know which dad he means?"

"You just know," Wesley replied with a smile.

"And if you're not completely sure, you toss for it and see what happens," Lindsey added.

Stacey chuckled. "So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

"Swimming lessons and laundry," Lindsey replied very matter-of-factly. "Did you two want to get together for a while to train?"

"Can I come too, Daddy?" Zane asked, looking completely hopeful.

"We'll see," Wesley replied. "You were going to meet Max and Tyrell at the park after your swimming lesson, remember?"

"Oh," Zane replied, looking a little sad that he wouldn't get to play with Stacey too. Brightening, he asked, "Can Stacey come too?"

Wesley and Stacey looked at each other. "Well…we could do a little bit of training while they're playing," he said. "There's enough room that I don't think it'd be a problem."

"And it's a nice day out," she agreed. "What time and which park?"

"We're meeting them at three at the park by the elementary school," Lindsey replied.

"I can do that," she replied. "I'll let you guys finish, since it seems like you're going to be having a busy day after all. Bye, kiddo." She ruffled Zane's hair again and he smiled at her.

"Bye, Stacey," he said, waving. She waved back and set out in the direction she had originally been going.

They went home and Lindsey and Zane put the groceries away and prepared lunch as Wesley dealt with the laundry. Then they gathered up their swimming gear and headed down to the Y for Zane's lesson.

Once they had all gotten their swimming time in, and had an ice cream sandwich from the snack bar, they changed and headed over to the park. Zane ran over to play with the other kids as soon as they got there, and Wesley and Lindsey found a bench where they could watch him easily.

"Hey, guys," Stacey said, a little while later, as she perched on the edge of the bench. Wesley scooted over so she could have a little more room. "How's it going since this morning?"

"Good," Wesley replied, and Lindsey flashed her a quick smile as he watched Zane climb the jungle gym. "You?"

"Not too bad.” She paused slightly before continuing, “I’ve been wondering about this and I hope you guys don’t mind me asking, and if you don’t want to answer, that’s totally cool. How long have you two been together?"

"A little over three and a half years," Wesley replied.

She smiled and nodded slightly. "I thought you had been together for a while. You two just seem to really gel and click and I’m getting really mushy and sentimental, aren’t I?"

Wesley colored slightly and Lindsey smiled. "Thanks, darlin'," he drawled.

Not wanting to put her foot any further in her mouth, she asked Wesley, "Want to get started?"

"Sounds good." He patted Lindsey's thigh. "We’ll be right over there.”

"Okay," Lindsey said as they stood. "Don't hurt each other too much."

"We'll try not to," Stacey laughed.

Going out a little ways, Wesley said, "We'll start off by going through some basic and generic forms and then move up to the more advanced ones. The hand-to-hand fighting 'style', if you want to call it that, that's taught by the Watcher Academy is a mixture of a few different fighting styles, so some of them will be either familiar, or at least vaguely familiar, from your karate training."

"Okay," she said, going a few steps past where Wesley stopped and swinging around to face him. She straightened up and bowed, before getting into the ready stance.

"A word to the wise, a demon that wants to fight you isn't going to wait for you to do that. They don't usually care about propriety at that point."

"And they probably won't give me lectures either, so let's have at it."

Wesley smiled. "And since this is the only time I'm going to ask, how much mercy would you like?"

"None," came the reply.

Wesley chuckled. "I think you *have* been watching too many martial arts movies."

He showed her a few forms before they sparred. They started off slowly and sped up, Wesley correcting her as they went along, a few of the kids coming over, but staying a safe distance away, to watch them. As they went along, Wesley could see Stacey was thinking about what she was doing too much and trying to keep everything perfect.

When they finished the sequence, he said, "You're thinking too much. It doesn't have to be perfect. Ninety-nine point nine times out of a hundred it won't be – it'll be dirty, hard, chaotic, and dangerous. You know what you have to do up here," he tapped her forehead, "so do it. Trust your instincts and feel free to improvise. This isn’t a symphony where you have to get all the notes just so.”

She smiled. "Okay."

"And one other thing – always be ready."

He took a swing at her. She easily blocked it and they went through the same sequence again. This time Wesley could tell the difference – she was more relaxed and definitely relying more on instinct than knowledge. He even threw in some extra stuff and she was able to adapt fairly easily, even if she hesitated, usually only for a split second, more than he liked. When they finished, he called it quits for the day, knowing that Zane would want to go soon.

He couldn't help but laugh when he heard a small voice proudly stage whisper from the group that was watching them, "That's my daddy."

As they headed back to the play area, herding the kids before them, Stacey asked, "I know this is an oddball question but, since you and Lindsey have been together for a while – if you two were legally allowed to get married, would you?"

Wesley shrugged. “I don’t know, really – it’s never really come up between us. Maybe. But at the same time, if it’s broke, why fix it?”

“True,” Stacey replied. “I was just curious, since you two have been together for quite a while and, with being lawyers and all, I wondered if you had any sort of stance on it.”

Before Wesley could reply, Zane suddenly broke away from the pack and hugged Wesley's leg. "That was *so* cool, Daddy." Letting go, he said, "Can you teach me?" and tried to imitate them.

"I will, baby," Wesley replied, picking him up. "Are you ready to go home?"

Zane nodded. "Are you coming too, Stacey?"

"Not today, kiddo," she replied. "But I promise I will another time, okay?"

He nodded. "Bye, Stacey."

She waved and headed off. After gathering up their things, Wesley, Zane, and Lindsey went home as well.

That night, after they had put Zane to bed, Wesley stood out in the hallway, leaning against the railing, thinking about what Stacey had said. It wasn't that he didn't want to get married, but at this point it seemed irrelevant. They both knew who the other belong to, and so did their friends, and they had all the legal documents drawn up that they thought would be necessary – co-parenting, domestic partner agreement, wills, power of attorney – earlier that year. A ceremony was just…

"Penny for your thoughts," Lindsey said softly, as he joined him and wrapped his arms around Wesley's waist.

"Just thinking about something Stacey said earlier," Wesley replied, crossing his arms over Lindsey's and hooking their fingers together.

Lindsey rested his head against Wesley's back. "Oh?"

"She had asked if we had ever considered getting married if we were legally allowed."

Lindsey snorted and Wesley could practically hear his eyes roll. "Like that’s going to happen any time soon.” There was a slight pause before he said softly, “But if you wanted, we could have a commitment ceremony."

"I don't know. I don't think we really need to. Do you want to?"

Wesley felt Lindsey shrug against him before the other man replied, "I agree that we don't need to, but it might be something to think about – getting up in front of all of our friends and publicly saying what we both know."

"And what would that be? That you make a damn good omelet and that I can't function in the morning without a cup of coffee?" Lindsey's laughter rumbled against Wesley's back.

"You know what I mean."

Wesley squeezed his arms. "Yes, I do. Neither one of us is going anywhere."

"Well, it's definitely food for thought and an intriguing idea." There was a pause. "Besides, who would be the bride?" At that they both laughed and Lindsey pulled Wesley inside and onto the couch. As they sprawled there, Lindsey said, "But it might be nice to make honest men of each other. Besides, if we have a child together, I don't want him or her to be born out of wedlock. What would the neighbors think? It would be scandalous!"

Wesley couldn't help it anymore and dissolved into a fit of laughter, resting his head against Lindsey's chest. "You're enjoying this far too much, aren't you?"

"Just a tad," Lindsey replied as he carded his fingers through Wesley's hair. "But it'll be nothing compared to when you have to pick out the bridesmaids' outfits."

"Oh, so suddenly I'm the bride?" Wesley asked indignantly, looking up at Lindsey.

"Well, you *are* the one that’s got the equipment."

"Oh, you –" Wesley scowled at him as he leaned in and kissed him.

The next morning, Wesley struggled out into the kitchen and flicked on the coffee maker before making his way back to the bathroom. A few minutes later he returned to the kitchen feeling refreshed and a little more awake. He poured a mug and took a contented sip before taking it with him as he went out to get a newspaper. After looking at the headlines on the front page on his way back in, he flopped it on the counter and picked up the phone to call his mom.

"Hello?" she answered the phone in Gaelic.

"Hi, Mum," he replied in the same language.

"Oh, Wesley!" she continued in Gaelic. "How are you, sweetheart?" Wesley was sure she was beaming on the other end of the phone.

"I'm doing good. How are you?"

"I'm just great. We've been having a wonderful streak of weather this past week and I've been able to get a bunch of gardening done. And how are the other men in our lives?"

"They're doing just great. Zane's been loving going to the pool –"

"Like a duck to water, I’m sure," Elisa cut in. "You were the same way."

Wesley smiled. "Lindsey and I have been busy at work, but in a good way. He had a show last night – which went very well."

"I'm glad to hear it. And what about you – has anything spectacular happened to you since we last talked?"

"Well…" Wesley refreshed the coffee in his mug and filled another one for Lindsey, adding sugar and cream like he liked, and headed towards their bedrooms with the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear. "I now have a Slayer."

"That's great, sweetie! And how did that come about? From what I remember, you weren’t too keen on getting a new one after what happened in California.”

"Well, from what I've heard," Wesley set the mugs down on his nightstand and carefully laid back down on the bed, curling up next to Lindsey and speaking a little softer, "about two years ago Buffy's group was facing another apocalypse and the only way to defeat it was to activate all the potentials. I talked with Rupert Giles about it the other day and it sounds like they're doing what they can to get help to them, but it's slow going with the number of Slayers and the number of Watchers."

Lindsey slowly began to wake up and slowly stretched.

"I'm sure it would be,” Elisa said. “The Council was put in a bad way when that explosion hit. Not that I can say I felt very badly when I heard the news."

"I'd have to agree there, Mum." Wesley gave Lindsey a quick peck on the lips before reaching behind himself to grab Lindsey's coffee mug and carefully hand it over to him. Lindsey smiled and scooted up into a sitting position before taking it.

"But I'm sure you'll be great as a Watcher. We both know you were put in a bad position with Buffy and Faith and you did the best you could." Quickly switching gears, she asked, "Am I ever going to get another grandchild?"

Wesley laughed. "You might, one of these days. Lindsey and I were just talking about that the other day. And I wanted to ask you about that." Lindsey finished taking a sip of his coffee and set his mug down on his nightstand before snuggling back next to Wesley.

"At your age, if Dr. Gonzales gives you the go-ahead, I see no reason to worry about it. In the instances like yours, there weren't any problems conceiving second, or even third, children if the parent was healthy."

"Thanks, Mum."

"You're welcome, sweetie. And you'll have to tell me more about your Slayer the next time we talk. So, have the sleepy-heads woken up yet?"

"Lindsey's up and," Wesley looked at the clock, "Zane should be up any moment. Would you like to talk to Lindsey?"

"Would you be a dear and put him on? You know I enjoy talking to my son-in-law."

Wesley smiled at the term of endearment as he pointed at the phone and Lindsey nodded. "Okay, Mum, I'm going to hand it over. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

Wesley handed the phone over to Lindsey and only vaguely listened to their conversation as he gently rubbed a hand over Lindsey's stomach and wondered how he got to be so lucky. As their conversation was winding down, Zane ran into the room and jumped on the bed. He clamored up and gave Wesley a big kiss on the cheek before Wesley started to tickle him. Zane tried to laugh quietly, but to no avail.

"Do you want to say hi to Mum-Mum, Zane?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes!" Zane replied happily. He pulled away from Wesley and practically grabbed the phone. Lindsey held it away from him and gave him a hard look, to which Zane carefully reached for the phone. Bringing it up to his ear and holding it carefully with both hands, he said, "Hi, Mum-Mum!" Lindsey and Wesley looked at each other and laughed quietly as Zane chattered with his grandmother. When he was done, he asked, "When's Mum-Mum coming to visit again?"

"She'll probably be here for Christmas, like she was last year," Lindsey replied. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Zane beamed.

"Pancakes? You *always* want pancakes," Lindsey replied in mock exasperation as he tickled Zane.

Zane giggled and said breathlessly, "Because yours are the best."

"And how do you know I make the best pancakes?" Lindsey grabbed Zane and pulled him into a hug. "Have you tried all the pancakes out there?"

"No. I just know."

"Oh, well. Then I guess that settles it, doesn't it?"

Zane nodded. "Can we have scrambled eggs too?"

"If we have enough eggs, we can."

"Can Max come over to play?"

"We'll see."

Wesley’s cell phone rang that afternoon when they were getting in from a walk and he answered it as he set out a small snack for the boys.

"Hey," Stacey said after he answered. "I've suddenly got a few hours free this afternoon. Anyway you could skip out of work early or something so we could train?"

Wesley smiled. "As tempting as that sounds, not today. I've already taken the day off, but I'm here with Zane and I'm also watching Max for the afternoon. And one of them is enough of a handful, much less the two of them together." An idea suddenly hit. "But come on over anyway, if you'd like. We could start going through various demons and folklore and such, since that's as much a component of being a Slayer as fighting is."

"The whole 'what's the good of trying to kill it if you don't know what it is, and therefore how?'. Gotcha. Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes, then."

"Goodbye, Stacey."

As he settled the two boys at the counter for a snack, Zane asked, "Can Stacey play with us?"

"We'll see," Wesley replied with a smile, once again relieved that Zane had taken to her.

"Stacey's cool – she likes my toys," Zane confided to Max. The young chaos demon simply smiled as he sipped his juice. Chaos demons were mute until they were four and Wesley had been glad that Zane had seemed to understand this when he had had to explain it to him because Zane had gotten frustrated that Max wasn't talking back. Since then, Zane talked enough for both of them.

There was a knock on the door as the boys were finishing up and Zane slid off his seat and ran over to try to answer it. The task was still a bit beyond his ability, but Wesley admired his tenacity as he continued to try as Wesley made his way over there and helped him.

The boys went to Zane's room to play after saying hi to Stacey and Wesley went into his and Lindsey's bedroom to grab a few of his books so he and Stacey could get started. He had been thankful that it had been easy to get Angel and the others to ship his books, or at least a good portion of them, out here.

He smiled wistfully as he scanned the spines. He talked to Gunn, Fred, and Lorne every two or three months, but anymore it was just a cordial "checking in" phone call for both sides. And since Zane's birth, he had only talked with Angel twice – both of which had been him calling Angel. He knew that Lindsey had religiously filled out the baby book that Angel had given them and then sent it back and since then had taken it upon himself to send short missives and a picture or two every few months to keep Angel up-to-date on their son.

He finally chose three books and took them out to the dining room table and, after checking on the boys and offering Stacey something to drink, they sat down and got started. An hour and a half later, both of their eyes were starting to cross as Wesley finished his introductory spiel about the various types of demons. Though, it had taken so long because Stacey had been attentive and had asked a lot of questions.

Leaning back in her chair, Stacey asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to Zane's mom?"

Wesley shrugged half-heartedly as he also leaned back in his chair. "Things just didn't work out between us. As much as I might have wished at the time of Zane's conception for us to stay together, I wouldn't trade a second of it now."

Stacey glanced in the direction of Zane's room. "It's interesting that you’ve got custody of him. Usually it's the other way around."

Wesley snorted in amusement. "I doubt Angel would have been able to handle it. As much as he wanted a son, he isn't exactly father material." Wesley realized what he had said after it had left his mouth.

Stacey's eyes got wide. "Okay, I think we just entered the Twilight Zone. There is a world where what you just said makes sense, right?"

Wesley nodded. "I'm half-Selkie – on my mother's side.” He briefly outlined the traits of his mother’s species and how it related to him before asking, “Following me so far?"

Stacey took a sip of her juice and nodded. "And what about Zane, is he…?"

"Aside from being a quarter-Selkie, he's perfectly normal. At least as far as we know at this point. Angel's a vampire. And while vampires actually procreating like normal humans is something akin to a miracle, he had a son the natural way before Zane who basically had all the vampiric strengths, but none of the weaknesses. So far Zane hasn't shown any inclination towards that, which I'm thankful for."

"And how exactly did you and Lindsey get hooked up?"

"Sheer luck,” Wesley replied with a smile before regaling her with the tale of how he had come to live in Stillwater and hook up with Lindsey. As he finished up and took a sip of soda, he heard Lindsey's key in the lock and said, "And the rest, they say, is history."

Lindsey came in, a huge grin on his face. After shutting the door and depositing his things, he came over to them. Greeting Stacey, he put his hands on Wesley's shoulders and deposited a kiss on the top of Wesley's head.

"Someone's in a good mood," Wesley remarked, looking up at him.

"You have *no* idea," Lindsey replied, his grin getting even wider, if possible. "Give me a second to say hi to Zane and I'll tell you." He disappeared for a moment before reappearing and asking Stacey to keep an ear out for the boys as he practically dragging Wesley out into the hallway and pulling the door most of the way shut behind them. "I had such a good day today."

Wesley leaned against the railing. "So, are you going to tell me, or am I actually going to have to guess?"

"Well, first off we had the all-staff meeting this morning which was as boring as hell –"

"Which they usually are," Wesley interjected.

"And Gary pulled me aside afterwards and said that our work has come to the attention of the higher ups in Oklahoma City and once the conference in November is over, it’s very likely we’re going to be getting a call about instructing everyone else in the firm in our field."

Wesley grinned, knowing that this was finally a bit of validation of what they had been doing all these years. “That's great! And what's the other thing?"

Lindsey gave him a 'you know me *way* too well' look and, coming closer and threading his pointer fingers through the front belt loops of Wesley's jeans, said, "I got a call this afternoon. From a talent agent. It's not a big label, but they're interested."

"That's *amazing*!" Wesley pulled Lindsey to him and kissed him.

"Yeah. Apparently the agent had been in town on Friday on personal business and had heard me. They want me to let them know the next time I'm playing so a few of them can come up and hear me and discuss things some more."

"I’m really happy for you."

"For *us*," Lindsey replied.

"And I have some good news for you. I made an appointment with Dr. Gonzales for Friday when I took Zane in this morning."

"That's great." Lindsey grinned. "And how is our firstborn doing, might I ask?"

"He's a perfectly normal and healthy three and a half year old."

"I had suspected nothing less." Tugging on Wesley's belt loops, he said, "Let's go rustle up some dinner. Are we keeping the other munchkin for dinner?"

"As far as I know, either Dory or Marty should be over any minute to collect him."

"Okay." Lindsey leaned in and stole a quick kiss. "Want to ask the girl if she wants to stay?"

Wesley shrugged. "Sure."

Marty showed up right after they went back inside to collect a very-happy-to-see-him Max. Stacey left at the same time to do some planning for her camps. Once they were gone, Lindsey and Wesley worked together to make a chicken stir-fry as Zane sat at the counter and colored.

Wesley nodded. "Yes, he did."

"Good. The ‘Powers That Be’ want a bit more time to follow your case load to see what’s normal and the like. And also to see what might be the best way to implement this new program. Obviously, you’ll both be brought fully on board to help with the planning and follow-through. Any questions?”

They both shook their heads.

"Then go on and get out of here. I'm sure you have something to do."

"Yes, sir," Lindsey said as they stood.

"I think you'll be fine," Wesley replied. "Besides, sometimes just getting out there's the best way to learn. You remember what I told you about using a stake, right?"

"Yep." She self-consciously touched where it was hidden against the small of her back.

"And don't worry. I've faced worse things than what we're going to see here tonight and I'll have your back."

"You have no idea how good that makes me feel." They entered the first cemetery, having been given the go ahead to dust any new vampires, given their unruliness when they first rise and a recent rise in population. "Tell me about you and Lindsey."

Wesley shrugged. "What's to tell? We met in L.A. a number of years ago through work, didn't really get along, re-met when I showed up here in Stillwater about four years ago, he gave me a hand when I needed it and helped me through my pregnancy –"

"That's still freaky to think about," Stacey interrupted. "Sorry, go on."

Wesley dipped his head in thanks. "And then when Zane was born, he just jumped in with two feet. Though, he technically did that while I was still pregnant."

"Well, what about your first kiss?"

Wesley smiled fondly. "I was five and a half months pregnant, stomach out to about here," he gestured in front of him, "generally feeling like crap, and he had been trying to cheer me up from a confrontation I'd had with Angel and it just kind of came out that we liked each other and we kissed and it was rather romantic. Then I completely broke the moment."

"How'd you do that?"

"I wasn't completely sure at that point how I felt him and I didn't want to lead him on, especially after how good he'd been to Zane and I."

"And yet, it all worked out in the end."

"Yes, it did." There was some rustling in the earth nearby. "A vampire's about to rise. When it first climbs out, it's disoriented, so use that to your advantage, but be careful because it'll recover quickly."

"Okay." Stacey pulled the stake out of her waistband and got into a relaxed fighting stance.

"And it's going to be harder than you think to drive the stake in, so make sure you put a lot of force behind it."

She nodded, eyes fixed on the spot where the demon's hand appeared out of the earth. As soon as it had finished climbing out of the grave, she ran up and plunged the stake into its heart. The vampire looked surprised, blinked, and exploded into dust. "Oh, ewww. That's nasty," Stacey said as she brushed herself off.

"Good job. And congratulations on dusting your first vampire."

Stacey smiled. "Thanks." As they started walking again, she asked, "Is patrol usually quiet like this?"

"Normally, yes. At least back in Sunnydale they were – and it was on top of the Hellmouth." At her questioning look, he added, "It's a place that has a lot of mystical power and therefore usually draws a lot of demons to it. Some nights we didn't see anything."

"Have you heard anything else about the prison gig yet?"

"Not yet, but I do have something else for you to consider. Since things are rather quiet here, I think it might be a good idea for us to go down to Oklahoma City for a weekend, or something similar, so you can get some more experience. Think you might be interested and/or able to skip a couple days of class to go?"

She nodded. "Maybe. I'll have to see what my schedule's like, okay?"

Wesley nodded. "Of course."

"Hey, Wes, it's Gunn."

Wesley swallowed the bite of sandwich he had in his mouth. "Hello, Charles. How're you?"

"I'm doing good. Been busy with cases. How're you?"

"I’m doing well, thank you. Is it that time of the year again?"

Wesley heard a sigh that he thought was tinged with a bit of wistfulness and regret. "I guess it is. Or, at least according to Fred it is."

"How's everyone there?"

"They're doing good. Fred's been in heaven lately – she got a new piece of equipment that's supposed to be really high tech and cool. Lorne's having a ball with all of his clients. Harmony's a surprisingly good secretary. We had our doubts there at the beginning. Spike's been…Spike. He's been here for about three years and I'm still not sure what it is that he does here."

"And how's Angel?"

"Angel's been Angel. He's been brooding a lot. Distant too. Seems like the only things that have gotten him going lately are fighting against Wolfram and Hart, the stuff he gets from Lindsey about Zane, and seeing this woman named Nina. I wasn't supposed to tell you that, was I?"

Wesley smiled. "It's okay, Gunn. I'm happy he's found someone."

"You certainly have one cute kid. Angel has a habit of showing the new pictures off when he gets them."

"That's good," Wesley replied, thankful that Angel was at least somewhat interested in Zane.

"He's, what, two now?"

"Three and a half," Wesley corrected. "He'll be four on Christmas Eve."

"Wow."

"You could definitely say that."

"How're things out there?"

"Good. Zane's getting big and he's got enough energy for about four three year olds. Lindsey's doing good. Work’s been going well. And he's gotten a call from someone interested in his music."

"That's good."

"It is. And I also have a Slayer now."

"I'm sure that's interesting."

"It's actually not that bad. Or, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Should be interesting, though, since the demon population here is much different from the one in L.A."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. You always did." There was a pause and it sounded like Gunn was talking with someone with his hand over the receiver. "Look, man, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. It was good talking with you, though."

"You too. Take care." Wesley hung up the phone, feeling a tad bit remorseful at what he had left behind. But before he could wallow too long, the phone rang again. He answered it with another, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jonathan. How've you been, stranger?"

"Busy. How're you?"

"Good. Look, we're having another barbeque this Saturday. Bring Stacey with you guys, okay?"

Wesley smiled, the sound of Jonathan's voice enough to put him in a better mood. "Okay. Want us to bring anything else?"

"I'd say an appetite, but that's standard. I'll let you know, okay? And I'm sure you've got to be getting back to work."

Wesley glanced at his watch. He still had a few minutes to go. "At some point it would be nice, but I'm not in a rush."

"Okay, good." Wesley could hear the smile in the other man's voice. "I heard you and Lindsey got some good news. Congratulations."

"Thanks. It's nice to know that someone is noticing what we’re doing and its positive impact.”

"I’ll bet."

Wesley looked at his watch and saw that it was time to head back in. "Hey, I've got to get back to work. We'll see you Saturday, though."

"Great! Talk to you then."

"She said that everything looks great and that once we're ready, to let her know so she could take out the Norplant." Wesley didn’t mention that he had voiced some concern to her about how he felt like Lindsey was pushing him to do this. Lindsey had always made it abundantly clear that it would be up to Wesley, but sometimes Wesley wasn’t so sure if it was completely his decision.

"That's great!" Lindsey came out of the kitchen and pulled Wesley into a kiss. "So, now that we've gotten the all clear from both your mom and Dr. Gonzales, what can I do to convince you that we should start right away?"

"Daddy!" Zane practically yelled as he ran out of his room. Wesley scooped him up and gave him a hug. Zane squirmed out of Wesley's arms and grabbed his hand. "Come see what I drew!" He pulled Wesley over to the refrigerator and pointed it out.

Wesley took it off the refrigerator and crouched down while he looked at it. "This is great! Let's see…that's you, me, Daddy, Max, Aunt Dory, Uncle Marty, Uncle Jonathan, and Uncle David, right?"

"Yep!" Zane replied proudly. He pointed to the other figure and said, "And that's Stacey."

Wesley smiled and looked at it for a few more seconds before putting it back on the refrigerator.

"Go get washed up, Zane," Lindsey said, wiping his hands on a towel. "We're going to eat in two minutes."

"Okay." Zane ran off.

Lindsey came over and stood next to Wesley to look at the picture. "He was working on that all afternoon. I had to practically drag him away from David and Jonathan's."

"And they spoil him rotten as it is."

"Not like we wouldn't, if the situation was reversed. Besides, I think it's a god-parental right to spoil the kids rotten if the grandmother lives a few thousand miles away."

Wesley smiled as the timer dinged. "True."

Lindsey moved to get the pork chops out of the oven and carefully set the dish on the pad on the bar. Zane came running out from the bathroom and Wesley helped him up into his booster seat as Lindsey finished putting the rest of the food out.

The following afternoon, after collecting Stacey, they headed over to David and Jonathan's for the barbeque.

“You know, it’s going to be weird seeing David out of context," Stacey said on the ride over.

"How do you mean?" Lindsey asked.

"Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be a good weird, but still weird, since I really only see him either at church or on church-related trips. Not, you know, at home with his partner."

Once there, Zane zipped off, disappearing around the back of the house, as soon as he was on the ground. The other three followed, Lindsey carrying a box from the grocery store with a pie. Out back, Stacey was introduced to the others, and Max was pointed out to her, as he was too busy running around with Zane.

"So Dory's what chaos demons normally look like?" Stacey asked Wesley when the group broke up.

"Yes. And we're not sure which one Max will favor until he gets older, since the antlers don't start growing in and the slime doesn't start getting produced until puberty."

"Could be interesting," Stacey commented. "What if one side of him's dry and the other's all slimy?"

Wesley couldn't help but smile. "I doubt it'd happen like that specifically, but I'm sure they'd figure out a way to deal with it."

"So, Stacey, how do you like this whole slaying business so far?" Jonathan asked while they were eating.

"It's definitely interesting so far," she replied before taking a sip of her soda. "Definitely makes you think twice about some all of the monster stuff you hear while you’re growing up."

"It certainly does," David replied. "I remember the first time I came out here to visit Jonathan and we drove through the demon section of town – it was the first time I had seen a demon period, let alone such a variety of them. And he's so blasé about it and I'm freaking out because he'd gotten so used to it, that it hardly made him blink. Now I'm the same way."

"I’m mostly just worried about the part where I'm actually supposed to fight them and kill them. And even though Wesley and I went out on patrol the other night and I bagged a vampire, I doubt everything's going to be like that. I'm not looking forward to fighting the linebacker types that can shoot fire or whatever."

"You don't have to take the deal with the prison if you don't want to," Marty said. "It was just a suggestion that I thought might be mutually beneficial for both sides."

"Just because I'm worried, doesn't mean I'm not going to try it," she replied with a grin. "I just want to get some more experience under my belt first."

"It's always worse when you're first starting out," Wesley said. "And if it's any consolation, you're already light years ahead of where I was when I started to be a Watcher."

"Well, that's different, you're not the one directly facing the demons."

"A Watcher's supposed to offer back up and assistance, if needed. Not just training and researched information. There are a few times that I'm not proud of where I ran screaming like a little girl." The adults in the group laughed. "You'll be fine."

After dinner, Stacey played a sort of tag with Zane and Max – which mostly resulted in her chasing them around the yard with Zane shrieking in laughter. Wesley watched them and smiled, happy with – and a little amazed at – how good his life was at this very moment.

David sat down next to him. "You look good," he replied.

"Thank you," Wesley replied, though he was a bit perplexed as to what would make David say that.

His confusion must have showed because David continued, "Jonathan told me that when you first came here, you seemed haunted. And when I first met you, I would have agreed, though I didn’t think that you seemed that bad off." He looked away to watch the kids as well. "I can definitely tell the difference now." He glanced at Wesley before looking away again. "It’s interesting how God works, isn’t it? He takes what can appear to be something terrible, such as an unwanted pregnancy, or a bad situation at home, or even both, and use it to bless you beyond measure."

Wesley smiled and let out a small chuckle. "You have no idea. If you had asked me four and a half years ago where I saw myself, it would be a far cry from this. But in the end, I have no regrets about how things have turned out."

"And you have an active Slayer – which, from what I’ve heard, is a bit of a crown jewel for a Watcher." David smiled, then turned serious, "But at the same time, I sense that something’s troubling you." He glanced at Wesley, to see if he had guessed right, but Wesley’s expression gave away nothing. "If you ever care to talk about it, you know that Jonathan and I are here for you."

"I know and thank you. But I need to sort some things out first in my own mind. And I think I need to talk with Lindsey, since these things involve him as well."

David patted Wesley’s knee. "Good for you. You’ve got a better handle on a key part of relationships than some people do after fifty years. If the two of you can communicate, it’ll save you a lot of heartache in the long run."

Wesley smiled. "Speaking from experience, are we?"

David grinned back. "Maybe just a little bit. But those first few months after the accident were a godsend. I honestly think that it saved our relationship, even if there are things Jonathan will never be able to do again. And there’s no denying that I’d rather have him the way he is than not have him at all."

Wesley nodded in agreement. "I can completely understand. If anything ever happened to Lindsey, I don’t know what I’d do. Part of me knows that I’d find a way to go on because I’d have to – for Zane’s sake, but…" He trailed off and shook his head.

"Let’s move on to happier topics, shall we?"

Wesley grinned. "Sounds like a great idea."

"The plan for today," Marty said to Wesley and Stacey, "is mainly for the two of you to get an idea of what we'd like to have happen here, as well as a lay of the land. And, hopefully, for us to all hash out any other details that might come up. Any concerns before we get started?"

Stacey tentatively raised her hand. "Well, I’ll admit that I don’t know if I’m ready to face the demons. Do they know that I’m planning on killing them?"

"That’s something we haven’t decided on as of yet," answered the warden. "Though, they’d probably catch on quick enough."

"And what if I can’t kill them?"

"Then we’ll figure something out."

"What if the demon gets the upper hand?"

"We’ll have guards posted around the perimeter to step in if such an event happens."

"And I’ll be there as well," Wesley replied.

"I’m sorry, sir," the warden said to Wesley, "but what exactly is your status? Mr. Meshenak has explained it to me, but I’ll admit that I don’t quite understand."

"I’m Stacey’s Watcher. I train her in fighting techniques and demon lore and types. I’m also her backup when she’s fighting."

The warden nodded. "Okay. I foolishly assumed that the entire Council was wiped out in the explosion a few years ago. I’ll get you a pass as well."

"Thank you," Wesley replied. "And a large portion of it was, but a few that were in the field or out of the building at the time managed to survive and are in the process of slowly rebuilding, as well as making some much needed changes."

"Now, here’s what we wish to have happen," the warden said to Stacey. "We understand that, while you’ve been training with Mr. Wyndam-Pryce and have reached a high level of proficiency in both weapons and hand-to-hand, you haven’t had much experience with actual fighting."

"That’s right," she replied.

"We would like to propose that, prior to your starting on the death row inmates, we schedule some time for you to spar with some of our minimum security inmates. This would be with the mutual understanding of both sides that ‘to the death’ is not an option and that even serious injury should be avoided at all costs."

Wesley could tell that Stacey liked the idea. "Okay," she answered, "but I’d like at least a little time to think about it."

"Of course." He stood. "If you’d like to follow us, we’ll take you out and show you the yard, so you can get an idea of what sort of space you’ll be working with."

The group stood and followed the guards into the yard. "This side is where you would be doing your sparring," the warden said. "Guards are on the perimeter wall at all times whenever inmates are out here. And over there," he pointed across the yard to a section of it that was fenced off, "is where you’d be fighting the death row inmates."

Wesley surveyed their surroundings. Everything looked like a normal prison, but he detected an undercurrent of magic as well. "Is the perimeter magically enforced as well?" he asked.

"It is," the warden replied. "We also have the fences between the two sections of the yard electrified as well. We take as many precautions as we can to keep our inmates where they belong."

As they made their way back inside, they passed through the minimum security cellblock, which brought a number of catcalls from the inmates.

"Is it supposed to tingle like this?" Stacey whispered to Wesley. "Because since we got near here it was a light tingle and now it’s like a definite hum."

"Yes, it is," Wesley replied. "But you’ll get used to it after a while."

"Good, because it’s kind of weirding me out right now – even more than the catcalls."

"I’m sure that as soon as they realize that you mean business, that’ll stop."

"It better."

As they made their way out, there was one particular catcall that was directed at Wesley. Wesley's expression betrayed no reaction as Stacey leaned in again and commented, "Just the reason why you and Lindsey need to have a commitment ceremony."

"I highly doubt the catcalling in a place like this would stop just because of a ring on my finger," he replied tersely as they exited.

After dropping Stacey off, Wesley wandered down onto campus, having the odd luxury of a few hours to himself. He knew that he needed to sort at least one of his dilemmas out and that it needed to be done with as few distractions as possible.

He let his mind wander for a few minutes as he walked amazed at how quiet it was at that time of day. When he was a child he had hoped that he would get married one day – until he realized his inclinations tended towards men the majority of the time. And now that he had found Lindsey, the idea of committing himself to Lindsey for the rest of their lives before his friends, was starting to become appealing again. Was it an ultimately necessary move? No.

He supposed that the main reason for *not* doing it was that things would change and he had never been a big fan of change. Sure, it would mostly be in subtle ways that in the day-to-day would mean nothing, but it would mean that their relationship was permanent. And while Wesley knew deep down, that their relationship already was permanent, he liked clinging to the illusion that he still had a way out. But the more he examined the idea of marrying Lindsey, the more comfortable he became with it.

But…who would propose to whom? Would they even propose, since they had already discussed it? What if they ended up having to pick a date in which they couldn’t use Dory and Marty’s backyard? Where would they have the ceremony and reception then? Did they even need to have a reception? And how big of a ceremony was Lindsey thinking of having? Personally, Wesley preferred a smaller gathering with just their closest friends but he knew deep down that it wouldn’t fly because even *he* could think of too many people that he would want to include.

That night, after Zane had gone to sleep, Wesley was curled up on the couch reading. Lindsey came over carrying two glasses of wine and, after handing one of the glasses to Wesley, sat down next to him. Lindsey held Wesley’s gaze as he took a sip of his wine, as if he had known all evening that Wesley had wanted to talk to him and was now trying to draw it out by sheer force of will. And Wesley supposed that Lindsey had gotten to know him well enough since they had gotten together that he would know when Wesley wanted to talk about something.

"I’ve decided that I want to go through with the ceremony, if you do," Wesley finally said.

"As far as proposals go, that one rather sucked," Lindsey replied before laughing and putting his hand on Wesley’s knee, "but I’ll take it."

"So you were expecting me to propose?" Wesley asked, not sure if he should be indignant or not.

"Not necessarily, but it would make more sense, since you were the one who had the most reservations about the whole thing."

"And are you planning on accepting or not?"

"Well…" Lindsey drew the word out and pretended to think it over. "I think I’ll accept."

"You *think*?" Wesley gently kicked him in the thigh. "And what would I have to do to convince you?"

"Promise me your second born." He paused to let it sink in. "Just kidding." He sobered and, after studying Wesley's face for a few moments, he said, "This is a *huge* step for us. Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with it? Because I'm planning on taking the whole ‘til death do us part’ thing *very* seriously. Babe, I’m willing to wait until you're completely ready – for this and the baby." He gently squeezed Wesley’s knee. "And if you never are, I'll still be here."

Wesley wasn't completely sure how to respond.

As if sensing his apprehension, Lindsey said, "How about this? We both take this next week to think about it and then we see where we stand this time next week and go from there?"

Wesley nodded. "Okay."

Lindsey smiled and held up his glass. "A toast, then. To whatever we decide, whenever we decide it, however we decide it."

Wesley clinked his glass on Lindsey's and they both drank. "Thank you," he finally said. "You're more than I deserve."

Lindsey grinned. "I think that works both ways, baby." Taking Wesley's glass from him, he set their glasses down on the coffee table and leaned in to kiss him.

Stacey grinned. "With a teacher like you, it'd be hard not to."

Wesley smiled. "But that doesn't mean you can be careless out there. Just as you can feel that they're demons, they can feel that you're a Slayer. While there are certain boundaries on the fight, they won't be pulling any punches, and they might even fight dirty. Trust your instincts even if your head's telling you something different. Nine times out of ten, they're more accurate."

Stacey let out a breath. "Okay."

"Remember what you learned about this guy?"

She nodded. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Wesley nodded and adjusted the strap of his weapons bag before they went out into the yard. The yard was full with demons milling about as they waited for things to get started and guards were patrolling on the wall. As the pair went deeper into the yard, a buzz started, and demons started to gather around them. Once they hit the center of the yard, another demon stepped up to face them, having his own group of demons behind him.

"I see we're all here," the head guard said, as he also came up – having been appointed the 'referee' for the fights. "Now, remember, no death and no serious injuries allowed. Only two people allowed per fight – the Slayer and the challenging demon. There will be *no* tag-teaming. Weapons are allowed. The fight ends after a twenty count." To the group, he said, "Now, give them some room."

Wesley handed Stacey the weapons bag and backed up with everyone else. He watched as she set it on the ground, opened it, and rifled through it, even though she had watched him pack it earlier that evening. Once she was satisfied, she straightened and she squared off with the demon. They sized each other up and after a moment, the demon made the first move. Stacey easily blocked and they danced around each other for a while, trading light blows to test each other. When they did finally start fighting in earnest, Wesley watched her with a close eye, critiquing her style and her moves, watching for flaws in her fighting style. She was doing quite well and was able to easily hold her own, though he knew that she was up against an easy opponent and that, from here on, it would get tougher.

She easily bested him and after she was declared the winner, she came back to Wesley amid hoots, cheers, boos, and catcalls with a smile. "How'd I do?" she asked.

"Quite well," he replied. "Though, you tend to leave your left side open more often. Be careful about that or someone's going to catch on and we don't want it to be the wrong person. How do you feel about it?"

"Good, but it felt like it was almost too easy. I think you've been harder on me." They both smiled.

Wesley happened to catch the eyes of the head guard who motioned as if to ask if Stacey wanted to go another round with someone else. "Feel up to another fight with someone else?"

"Sure," she replied. "But maybe a *little* tougher this time?"

Wesley nodded. "Okay, let's see what we can do."

They conferred with the guard, who called another demon out of the crowd. As it was busy posturing, Stacey pulled Wesley aside and said, "Okay, give me a quick rundown."

Wesley sized the demon up. "Moderately strong, tough skin like an alligator's, agile. Its fighting skill isn't much to speak of – goes more on bravado and trying to psych its opponent out so it can run away, but it will fight when cornered."

"Any claws or anything like that I should worry about?"

"No, but it's got a tongue like a frog's and it'll more than likely use that in the fight, since it's not big on handheld weapons."

She nodded as the guard motioned her over. "Any last minute stuff?"

Wesley squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck."

As she fought her second demon, Wesley could see that she was conscious of not keeping her left side open, but did her best to not let it show, knowing it was something he'd have to work on with her. But she did have an innate talent for fighting that he knew would come in handy later. She was also able to think fast on her feet – more than once she used the demon's tongue against it.

After Stacey had bested the second demon, it stood and held out its webbed version of a hand. Stacey glanced at Wesley, who gave a quick nod, and she shook with it. As they left, she asked, "So, do I get a gold star?"

"I think that can be arranged," Wesley replied with a smile. "How do you feel?"

"Good. Tired. But a good tired." Wesley nodded as he turned a corner. "And a little sore."

"That's to be expected," he said. "Kind of comes with the territory."

"So Mr. Heating Blanket and Mr. Advil will become my best friends soon?"

"Along with the wonderful people in the medical profession – in your case probably the attending physician at the prison."

"Oooh, fun. But let's hope not too much. Unless he's cute and 100% human."

Wesley chuckled. "At least you're looking on the bright side of things."

She looked out the window. "I try. It's helping me get through the whole, 'I just fought two demons in a demon prison and won' weirdness since it just eclipsed the whole 'I staked a *real* vampire and it exploded into a cloud of dust' weirdness."

Wesley nodded. "Good idea. And sooner or later, something will come along that'll eclipse all of this in the weirdness scale and make the whole demon/Slayer thing seem normal."

"And I'm going to keep my mouth shut before I jinx myself," she said as they pulled up in front of her dorm. "See you later, Wesley."

"Bye, Stacey."

The next day, after Zane's swimming lesson, Lindsey took Wesley and Zane out for lunch at Eskimo Joe's. As Zane happily colored on the kid's placemat, and after the waitress took their food order, Lindsey took Wesley's hand, which had been resting on the table.

Wesley knew what was coming, and couldn't help the twin waves of excitement and fear, as time seemed to slow down for a handful of seconds. But the feel of Lindsey's hand in his, and his thumb gently stroking the space between Wesley's thumb and pointer finger, kept him grounded and he didn't say anything, just kept hold of Lindsey's gaze. He was vaguely aware of Zane's gaze going back and forth between them for a moment, as if he knew something was up, before going back to his coloring.

Lindsey cleared his throat and said, "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Wesley looked at the man Lindsey and then looked at their son and knew that, no matter what insecurities he might have about doing such a thing, there was no way he would ever be able to say no and have a duly sufficient reason. "Yes," he finally whispered.

Lindsey grinned and squeezed Wesley's hand before pulling away so the waitress could set their food down on the table. Once she had gone, he grabbed Wesley's hand again and said, "Thank you." He pulled out a slightly rectangular box, which Wesley had no idea had been smuggled into the restaurant – let alone anywhere else – without his realizing it. He slid it across the table. "I know it's customary to get a ring in this situation, but I kind of figure that that wouldn't exactly be appropriate."

Wesley chuckled. "No, probably not."

"What's that, Daddy?" Zane asked, curious.

"I don't know," Wesley replied. He moved the box so it was between them. "Want to help me open it?"

Zane nodded and they opened it together to reveal a watch. "Wow," Wesley replied. "This is beautiful." He gently took it out of the box to look at it closer and engraved on the back of the face were their initials. He put it on. "I love it."

"And I’m sure you're going to need it with all the planning we're going to have to do."

Wesley laughed. "Very true."

"And I have something for you too," Lindsey said to Zane, handing him a gift-wrapped object. Zane opened it to reveal a copy of Swiss Family Robinson. As he studied the picture on the cover, Lindsey said, "It's for us to read after we finish Treasure Island."

Zane looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."

"I think it would be safe to toss the 'rule' that an engagement should be at least six months long," Wesley said as he poured some ketchup into Zane's meal basket for him, "since that was to help the bride and groom to make sure they knew what they were getting into."

"Yeah, because if we haven't learned in three and a half years, I doubt we will," Lindsey replied with a laugh.

Wesley smiled. "I completely agree. Not that I think we should rush into this half-cocked, but at least we don't have to bow to tradition on that part."

Lindsey let out a laugh. "I think the book of tradition is still being *written* for people like us."

"What's going on, Daddy?" Zane asked between bites of a chicken nugget.

"We're going to have a party to show people how much we love each other," Wesley replied.

"Oh.” Zane wrinkled his brow. “But you and Daddy already show people how much you love each other. Can we have it now?"

"Not yet," Lindsey replied. "We have to get everything ready and make sure everyone can come. Would you like to help us get the party ready?"

Zane grinned. "Yes. Can we have cake?"

"Definitely," Wesley replied.

"And ice cream? And balloons?"

"We'll see," Lindsey replied. "But let's finish eating first and then we'll decide when we're going to have it, okay?"

"Okay," Zane replied. "But not Saturday, that's Trey's birthday party."

"Don't worry," Wesley replied with an amused smile, "it won't be Saturday."

As soon as they got home, Wesley called Elisa to let her know the good news. After receiving her congratulations and arguing with her over the plane ticket, he handed the phone over to Lindsey.

"Your mom's going to be over here from just before Thanksgiving, to just after New Year's right?" Lindsey asked after he got off the phone.

"Correct," Wesley replied.

"Well…" Wesley could practically see the wheels turning in Lindsey's head. "Do you think we could throw something together between those dates? Or did you want something really big?"

Wesley laughed. "Smaller is definitely better." He thought for a moment or two. "I *suspect* we could. But we'll be dealing with Thanksgiving and Christmas as well."

Lindsey flipped their wall calendar to December. "Well, the second weekend of December is about smack dab in between the two holidays. We could ask around and see what people think."

Wesley nodded. "And while it may be verging on crazy with getting things ready for Christmas, I'm sure that people would enjoy an excuse to relax and party for an afternoon or an evening."

Lindsey nodded. "Since we're just over five months away, we better get moving on this."

“Athough, how are we going to tell Stacey without getting her too excited?”

“Is that even an option?” Lindsey asked with a smirk as he moved closer to Wesley.

“Probably not,” Wesley replied with a smile as he captured Lindsey’s lips.

"Just don't let anyone else know just yet, okay?" Lindsey asked. "We're still trying to figure a few things out before we start announcing it to everyone."

"Having answers to the obvious questions would definitely be a good idea," she agreed. She paused, her eyes widened slightly and she grinned. "I could *so* be your wedding planner if you want. I know a few people who wouldn't mind helping out with different things – like photography or doing the music at the reception. Plus, with Zane and me and everything, I'm sure you two will be busy."

"Probably not any more than normal," Wesley replied.

"Please let me do this? It'll be, like, part of my wedding present to you guys."

"Let us think about it, okay?"

"Okay. Does Zane know?"

"He knows that we're having a party and he's excited about that, but I doubt he'd get the whole concept if we tried to explain it to him."

"True. He's so good and articulate that sometimes I forget he's three and a half. Okay, I'll let you two go, since I know there will be other people wanting to talk to you."

Lindsey smiled as Wesley said, "I'll see you tomorrow, correct?"

"Correct-o-mundo. Three o'clock at the Y."

Wesley nodded. "I'll see you then."

She smiled. "It's a date. Well, not a *date* date, but –"

"You better get going before inquiring minds will want to know," Lindsey teased.

She blushed slightly and as she left to find a table for her and her friends, Wesley said quietly, "It might be a good idea to have her help out. Especially if we do end up having it in December with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Zane's birthday, and my mum coming over."

Lindsey nodded. "What do you think about David doing the ceremony?"

Wesley nodded, thoughtfully. "I definitely like the idea. I think that talking to him will definitely help us pin down a date. And what about a location? I don't think it'd be a wise idea to have it at Dory and Marty's in December – as perfect as their place might be."

"I’m sure we'll be able to find a place to have it."

Just then Lindsey was called up to the stage for his second set. He gave Wesley a quick peck on the lips and headed up.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both,” Lindsey replied as they all shook hands, “and this is my partner, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.”

They settled into a booth as Hollister continued, "We're very impressed with your talent, Mr. McDonald, and we're interested in offering you a contract." He opened the briefcase he had placed on the table, pulled out a few sheets of paper and slid them across the table.

Wesley waited quietly as Lindsey read over the contract, not sure what to say or expect in a situation like this, and watched his facial expressions as he read over the contract. Wesley could see excitement, and a little bit of trepidation, and what could only be described as ‘kid in a candy store’ flit across his face before Lindsey schooled his features again. When he was done, Lindsey neatly set it down on the table and Wesley knew that he was in business mode and was prepared to negotiate. He shifted slightly to settle in and watch his partner work.

Lindsey went through each clause of the contract with the lawyers – such as asking about specifics of what would happen during the demo recordings, copyrights, what sort of say he would have in the instrumentation of the songs.

"The contract looks sound," Lindsey finally replied, "but I do have a few stipulations of my own before I sign it."

"Okay," Hollister replied as Jones poised to take notes on the legal pad he had pulled out while Lindsey was reading over the contract. "We're willing to listen and negotiate."

"Firstly, I'm in a committed relationship with Wesley and neither of us is inclined to hiding that fact if we feel it's necessary to reveal it."

Jones scribbled on his pad while they nodded, expressions schooled. "Duly noted, Mr. McDonald. And secondly?"

"We have a son together and so I would, obviously, like to spend as little time away from them as possible. I’d like to have the option of having them with me at all times – whether I’m recording or on tour.”

There was more scribbling and nodding. "All right." The men looked like they were waiting for Lindsey to continue.

"That's it – for now."

Jones started to put his things away and Hollister picked up the contract. "We'll make the necessary addendums and fax the new copy to you. What's the number?" Lindsey gave the office number to him and once the agents had put their things away, the four men stood and shook hands. "We'll be in touch."

"It seemed like that went well," Wesley said once the agents were out of earshot and as they made their way out.

"I think it did," Lindsey agreed. They climbed into the truck and he turned to look at Wesley. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Wesley furrowed his brow. "No, why would I be?"

"Well, I took this opportunity without consulting you. We talked over your decision to take on Stacey as your Slayer."

"Lindsey, we both know that you love your music. If you hadn't taken this opportunity, I would have pushed you into it. And the situation with Stacey was different – I was terrified of what might happen if I took her on and things turned out horribly again."

Lindsey grasped Wesley's hand in his. "I don't think you could mess up with her – not like before. Stacey adores you."

Wesley looked out the window. "But there's so many other ways for it to happen."

"I know, but it won't." Lindsey squeezed Wesley's hand. "You were just a pawn in their game and put into a bad situation – you've said so yourself. Be thankful you're getting a second chance. One that looks like it's got bumpers in the gutters."

Wesley gave Lindsey a small smile. "I'm sorry, this shouldn't be about me."

"Don't worry about it. So, you're really okay with me doing this?"

"Yes." Wesley squeezed Lindsey's hand back. "You're getting a chance to do something you love. You're happy, so therefore I'm happy."

Lindsey nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "So, how traditional do we want to do this?" he asked with a smirk, while setting down his mug. "I'm assuming that having the ceremony done at the courthouse isn't exactly going to work in this state. Do we want to take the traditional route as much as possible or do we want to decide on things as we go along?"

"Well, I doubt flying by the seat of our pants will help us very much in the long run.” Wesley tapped the butt end of his pen against the paper. “But I do like the idea of having at least *some* of the traditional aspects of the ceremony. Though, I think that dispensing with the flower girl and the whole 'being walked down the aisle by a father or father-like figure ' would be a good idea." Wesley gave a smirk of his own. "That reminds me – which one of us is going to be the bride?"

"That would be one of the things I'd *gladly* throw out."

"Agreed. And we are both agreed in talking to David about officiating, correct?"

"Correct. I wonder if his church would let us have the ceremony there. They're pretty tolerant as far as denominations go. And it'd solve the problem of the location."

Wesley jotted a few things down on the tablet. "Good idea. What about decorations?"

Lindsey shrugged as he leaned against the counter to take a look at the paper. "Maybe a couple tasteful arrangements of flowers or something? I don't want a lot of decorations."

Wesley nodded as he made a few more notes. "I'm sure that flowers would be more expensive then anyway, considering it'll be December. Plus, we don't want to trigger anyone's allergies with a profusion of flowers."

"Daddy, can I have some more juice?" Zane asked.

While Lindsey got Zane more juice, he asked, "Do we want to have the whole bridesmaids/ groomsmen thing? Well, um, groomsmen/groomsmen, I guess."

Wesley shrugged as he took a sip from Lindsey’s mug. "It's up to you. I think it would be nice for us to each have at least a best man."

"But then that would mean there'd be two best man toasts at the reception. Can we do that?" He stood next to Wesley and casually draped an arm over his shoulder and swiped his mug out of Wesley’s hand as soon as it was clear of his mouth with his other hand.

Wesley thought about it for a moment. "I guess we could. Or talk to who we choose and see if they have a preference or not. But I doubt it's something that needs to be resolved right now."

"True. I think we should talk to David about the ceremony and see if there's anything that *has* to be in there aside from the vows because if we have a bit of creative power, then we can see about including other people in the ceremony."

"Good idea. How many people are you thinking for the guest list for the ceremony?"

"I don’t know." Lindsey got a teasing look on his face. "Though it may be hard to narrow it down, like whether we should exclude my family or yours."

"Oh, please. Aside from my mother, my family's not worth it."

Lindsey did an eyebrow shrug. "Not that my family's worth that much. I haven't heard from them in years – not since before college." He shrugged, as if to roll it off his back. "It's probably better that way."

"How about we both make a prospective list of who we want to invite and go from there?"

"Sounds like a good idea. What were you thinking of for the reception?"

"Daddy, can I have another pancake?" Zane asked.

As Wesley got Zane another pancake, he replied, "Well, it depends on when we have it. If it’s going to be in December, I was thinking we could rent a reception hall, or something, where we'd have enough room to eat and dance. And I like the idea of having a buffet dinner in that situation. Otherwise, I think we should go with our original plan."

"Okay. And I think we should talk to Stacey about her friend being the deejay." Wesley nodded. "She mentioned a photographer too – at least for the formal pictures, maybe?"

"And what were you thinking in the way of pictures of the reception? Just getting a bunch of disposable cameras and letting people take the pictures for us?"

"I like the idea. That way it would be more personal and I’m sure we could save some money by doing so."

After Zane finished and got down to go watch cartoons, Lindsey asked, "What about a honeymoon? Do you want to do that?"

"It might be nice to just get away for a while. I don’t know if we could do it right away, though – if we do it in December, there’s Christmas and Zane’s birthday and my mum would still be here. Plus, Zane would be in preschool, remember? We could go somewhere in the summer and take him with us kind of combine the honeymoon with a family vacation."

"And our wedding night?"

Wesley gave him a small leer. "I’m sure we can arrange something for that night."

"We’ll also need to get tuxes and rings. Do we want to rent the tuxes or buy?"

Wesley made a couple more notes. "I don’t know. I think it might be a good idea to just rent, since we don’t have that many chance to wear a tux around here."

"Maybe not, but once I start winning my awards, we’ll need them."

Wesley stuck his tongue out at Lindsey and then purposely not acknowledging the comment, he asked, "Do we want to have Zane be the ring-bearer, or do we want to give that duty to our best men?"

Lindsey munched on a piece of pancake before saying, "I think we should give it to Zane. It’ll make him feel included and if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here."

"This is very true." Looking over the list, Wesley said, "I think we’ve got a good start here."

Lindsey nodded. "So do I. Though, I think Stacey would be upset to find that we started without her. It’s up to you if you want to let her help us."

Wesley half-shrugged. "I know things are going to be crazy with Zane starting preschool, the conference, and now your recording contract. It might be good to have the help."

"I’ll see what I can do about keeping the bulk of the music stuff until after the ceremony," Lindsey replied, picking up some of the dishes to take to the sink.

In between looking at reception halls – and deciding on the last one they visited – meeting with caterers, Stacey’s training, enrolling Zane in preschool, and talking with Lindsey’s record label, Wesley and Lindsey hardly had any time to themselves. So, it was with some surprise that one evening, Jonathan and David showed up unannounced, proclaimed they hadn’t seen their godchild in forever, and promised to bring him back before bedtime.

Wesley and Lindsey had been left staring at each other for a few long moments, not sure what to do. Lindsey had finally broken the silence by asking Wesley what he wanted to do for dinner. They rummaged around in the pantry for food and took their time preparing the food together. After they finished eating, they cuddled on the couch, enjoying each other’s company and the quiet – talking about whatever crossed their minds. Unexpectedly, Lindsey leaned forward and captured Wesley’s mouth with his own.

They didn’t get very far as a key was heard in the lock just as the kiss was starting to deepen. They quickly pulled apart just before Zane bounded in, followed a little slower by David and Jonathan.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Zane exclaimed as he ran over to them and launched himself onto the sofa between them. "We ate pizza and went to the playground and Uncle Jon pushed me on the swings and Uncle David took me on the big slide." After taking a breath, he kissed them both on the cheek.

"I hope he didn’t tire you two out too much," Wesley said.

"We had a great time," Jonathan said as he sagged onto one of the bar chairs. "And it’s a lot of fun to wind him up and then bring him home."

"Very funny," Lindsey replied. "Would you two like something to drink?"

After they had been served dessert, Jonathan asked, "So, how’s the planning coming?"

"For what?" Wesley asked. "The ceremony or Lindsey’s first CD?"

"Either," David replied.

"I’m going down to Oklahoma City week after next for some preliminary things for the album," Lindsey said.

"And the ceremony?" David pushed.

"It’s coming," Wesley replied. "We’ve found a reception hall and a caterer, Stacey got her friends to agree to deejay and do the formal photographs for us. Have you heard anything about the church?"

"They agreed to let us hold the ceremony there," David said. "And the date won’t be a problem."

"That’s great," Lindsey said. "And, Jonathan, I’ve been meaning to ask you – will you be my best man?"

"Sure," Jonathan replied with a grin. "I’d be honored to."

"Yay!" Zane said from where he was eating a piece of pie. "Uncle Jon and Uncle David are coming to the party!"

The four adults laughed. "He’s heard us talking about it so much that he knows that when we say ‘ceremony’, it means ‘party’."

"There’s more than a grain of truth to that," David said with a smile.

"We are *not* inviting them," he said as he stood to get another beer out of the fridge.

"Why not?" Lindsey asked, turning to look at him.

Wesley leaned back against the counter and twisted the top off the bottle. "Because we’ve hardly spoken in the past four years or so and things had been going steadily downhill for a few years before that. I think that hardly deserves an invitation."

"Then I’ll accept cutting Fred and Gunn off of the list. But you have to admit that Lorne was good to both of us and he’s as much my friend as yours, if not more. And I want Angel to be here. I know it goes against every convention of not inviting an ex, but I think it would be a good way for the three of us to make some sort of peace. Plus, he’ll be able to actually meet Zane. And, at least this way, we’ll be able to do it on our own territory. And I think it’ll be good for both of you – and Fred and Gun if you later decide you’d like for them to come as well. It’ll give you all a chance to put all the bad stuff behind you and maybe even end it for good." Lindsey stood and crossed over to Wesley, putting his hands on Wesley’s hips. "I think it’d be good for you," he said quietly. "I see that haunted look you have after you talk to one of them or when you see my letters to Angel."

Wesley shrugged him off and moved back over to the bar, not wanting to start an argument, but at the same time unwilling to just let it go. "Honestly, I don’t care how good it would be for me, or if it defied tradition, or if it would be the most sensible and logical decision in the history of the world. I don’t want them to come." Once the words came out of his mouth, it was like so many things were rushing to the fore that he hadn't realized were itching just under his skin to get out.

Wesley sighed. "I know that since we’ve come into your life and you and I have gotten together, you’ve wanted a child that was biologically ours. And while I would love to have a child with you and give Zane a sibling," his voice became harder and had a bit of an edge to it, "I feel like I'm being pressured to do so and I *do* *not* want to do it just so you can feel like you have the final word in whatever pissing contest you and Angel had back in L.A. He was behind me as soon as I left Los Angeles and there is no reason for you to let it continue."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lindsey’s eyes were definitely flashing now and his voice, though quiet and collected, was brimming with anger. "I have *never* wanted to have a child for that reason. Yes, I’ve always wanted a son, but," he pointed towards Zane’s room, "Zane fulfilled that desire when the two of you came into my life. You said it yourself – I love him as if he was my own flesh and blood and *nothing* will ever change that." His voice started getting louder. "The only reason I want to have a child with you is to have a living breathing expression of our love, as if Zane being a healthy and happy three-year-old wasn’t enough of one. It was never about Angel, what went on between Angel and I, what went on between the two of you or Zane being his blood instead of mine."

"Daddy, are you mad?" asked a small voice.

"No, baby," Lindsey replied, his voice and expression immediately softening as they both looked to find Zane hovering in the entrance to the kitchen, looking as if he was about to cry. Lindsey went over and knelt in front of him. "Daddy and I were just having a discussion." He took Zane into his arms and gave him a tight hug.

"Do you still love me?" asked the small voice and Wesley was sure he heard a note of doubt in it.

"Always, baby. Always." Lindsey kissed the top of Zane’s head before releasing him. "Daddy’s going to go for a walk, okay? But I’ll be home in time to say good night."

"Okay, Daddy." Zane kissed Lindsey on the cheek then ran off back to his room. Lindsey stood and, without looking at Wesley or saying anything else, grabbed his keys and left.

Wesley sank back against the counter, worn out from what had happened. As he started to make dinner, and for the rest of the night, he replayed the fight and wondered what he could have done differently. But each time, he still felt as though he had valid reasons for being angry with Lindsey. Bedtime came and Lindsey still wasn’t home. Wesley considered calling him, but as he picked up the phone, he knew that Lindsey needed the time to himself and would come home when he was ready. He just hoped that Zane wouldn’t be too upset with Lindsey.

During the night, Wesley woke up and thought he heard singing coming from Zane’s room, but figured he was still dreaming and went back to sleep. In the morning, Lindsey’s side of the bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in and he, along with the small duffel bag he had packed earlier in the week, was gone. The only way Wesley knew he had been home was on a piece of paper propped up against the coffee maker: "I Love You".

Thursday night the phone rang and Zane ran to get it, yelling, "I get it!" As Wesley watched from where he was making dinner, Zane pulled himself up onto the stool next to the phone and picked it up. Placing it against his ear, he said, "Hello?" There was a pause and then Zane grinned. "Hi, Daddy! I miss you." There was another pause as Zane seemed to listen intently. "Okay. I love you." He looked at Wesley and said, "Daddy, Daddy wants you," and he held out the phone.

Wesley took the phone and, after putting it against his chest to muffle the sound, said, "Go wash up for dinner." After Zane ran off, Wesley put the phone to his ear and said, "Hello, Lindsey."

"Hey, Wesley," Lindsey replied. "I’m really sorry about last night – for the things I said and for not coming home until after you both were asleep. I really miss you."

"I miss you too," Wesley said almost reflexively, but he knew that it was true. He did miss having Lindsey there with him. And the small taste of what it would have been like if he hadn’t literally landed in Stillwater was a bitter one. "Where did you sleep last night?"

"The couch, since I didn’t want to wake you. And I thought it fitting, since I was sure you were still mad at me."

Wesley let out a breath. "I’m not mad at you. I was just very unhappy with how you had decided to deal with some of these situations. I felt like you were manipulating me."

Lindsey let out a small laugh. "And that couldn’t have been further from the truth. While things came out completely wrong, I swear my intentions were completely pure. I’m sorry that you had to think that and I wish you had told me how you felt before. Damn, I’ve got to go – it looks like our break’s over. Besides, a phone call isn’t the way to make up. I’ll be home tomorrow night in time for dinner. I’ve gotten them to agree to postpone a few things so I can get out of here. I miss you and Zane too much. I love you."

"I love you too and I’ll see you tomorrow evening." Wesley hung up the phone feeling immeasurably better and knowing that some things needed to be done.

When Lindsey got home the following evening, he was greeted by an armful of Zane – who wanted to know everything about his trip. Setting him down and seeing that Wesley was putting dinner out on the table now that he was home, Lindsey said, "Go get washed up and then I’ll tell you about it while we eat dinner."

After Zane had run off, Lindsey embraced Wesley from behind, who twisted around to face him. Their lips met in a hungry kiss.

"Mmmhm," Wesley said, as he slowly broke it off and let his forehead touch Lindsey’s. "I missed you, love."

"I missed you too, baby," Lindsey replied. "I think I’m going to have to change my contract so that you *have* to be with me wherever I go. I missed you *way* too much for it to have been solely regret from the fight."

"I know what you mean."

"That being said, they want me to go down in October to actually talk about the album, as well as take some pictures so they can start putting together a preliminary advertising campaign."

"Zane will have school."

"It’ll only be a few days – not even a week. I don’t see why we couldn’t take him. It’s not like he’ll be missing a week of advanced physics or anything."

"We’ll talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

"I’m hungry," Zane said from his spot at the bar.

"We're coming," Lindsey replied with a smile. “Since when has he gotten so good at sneaking up on us?”

“I have no idea,” Wesley replied as he pulled away. “But I know he didn’t get it from me.”

As the two men sat down, Zane asked, "Are we going on a trip?"

"We're thinking about it," Wesley replied.

"Yay!" Zane replied as he picked up his fork.

“The whole recording process has been *amazing* - even if it’s just been demos so they can get a feel for me and my material,” Lindsey said.

“Is it just you, or do you have any back-up?” Wesley asked before taking a drink of iced tea.

“It’s mostly just me, but we’ve gotten some studio people who’ve had some free time to come help out.” Lindsey was practically vibrating, just remembering. “The studio’s just – *wow*. State of the art. It’s going to turn out great.”

“I think Daddy’s excited about his new friends,” Zane not quite stage-whispered to Wesley.

“I agree,” Wesley replied with a grin.

"Twenty-six," Lindsey said.

As she started writing that down, Wesley said, "Thirty."

Lindsey looked at Wesley with confusion etched in his face and Wesley nodded slightly as Stacey paused and asked, "So, which is it?"

"Thirty," Lindsey replied.

"Okay." She scribbled out the first number and put down the second. "Remember that we're meeting with Shaun on Thursday to go over music for the reception – general likes, dislikes, things like that so he can start getting things together. Next on the list are rings and tuxes. Have either of you two done *anything* for that?"

"I've thought about it in passing," Lindsey replied with a smile.

Stacey reached across the desk and swatted him with her notebook. "Not funny. You two have about two and a half months for these two things and that's probably pushing it, since this stuff needs to be sized and all." She stared at both of them. "This evening – promise me."

"We promise," Wesley replied.

"Swear?" she asked, glaring at them.

"Swear," Lindsey replied, crossing his heart.

"Good, because I've already double checked with Jonathan and he's already got his tux. And have you decided on anyone yet, Wesley?"

"Marty," he replied, sheepishly.

Stacey wrote that down. "Okay. And make sure he's got a tux too."

"Have you ever considered the fact that you're taking this a little too seriously?" Lindsey asked.

"Nope," she replied after taking a last bite of her salad, "because if I didn't, you two wouldn't be having a commitment ceremony."

"Well, not one that would be happening this December," Wesley commented lowly to Lindsey before taking a sip of his soda.

"I heard that," Stacey commented. She glanced at her watch and slid her notebook back in her bag. "I've got to get to class. We still on, Wesley?" she asked as she stood and slung the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder.

"Yes," he replied.

"Okay." She grabbed her salad container. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then. Bye, guys."

"Bye," they both replied as she dropped the container in the trash and headed out, pulling the door shut behind her.

As they looked in the case and quietly conferred, one of the sales associates came up to them and asked, "Can I help you gentlemen with anything tonight?"

When neither Wesley nor Lindsey said anything immediately, Zane beamed from where Wesley was holding him on his hip so he could also see into the case and said, "Daddy and Daddy are having a party."

"Oh, well," she seemed momentarily flustered as the two men looked up, but quickly recovered her composure, "is there anything specific I can show you gentlemen?"

"What about this one here?" Lindsey asked, pointing out the one he meant.

She brought the tray out of the case and handed the ring to Lindsey. "It's not one of our most popular pieces," she said, "but it a beautiful one, isn't it?" Both men nodded as they studied the two rolling interlocking bands – one of yellow gold and one of white gold. "So, what do you two think?"

They both looked at each other and smiled. "We like it a lot," Lindsey replied as he handed it back to her.

"Have you made your decision?" she asked, when she saw them come in.

"We have," Wesley replied, "and we'd like to order a pair of that wedding ring." "Wonderful," she beamed as she pulled out an order form. As she began filling it out, she said, "Just to let you know, we are having a sale this week – 20 percent off on all of our rings." After measuring their left ring fingers and taking their information and calculating the price, she said, "It usually takes about a month for the rings to be ready, will that be okay with you?”

“The ceremony isn’t until December eighth, so that should be more than enough time.”

“All right, how would you like to pay?” "I'm sure this is an odd request," Lindsey said as they both reached for their wallets, "but can we split it evenly?"

"We want to buy each other's ring," Wesley clarified.

"Sure, not a problem," the sales lady replied, trying to look as if this was a normal, every day occurrence. She took their cards and went to run them through the machine. When she came back and handed them the slips to sign, she said, "We'll give you a call when the rings are ready."

After they both pocketed their receipts and credit cards, Lindsey picked up a tired Zane and said, "Thank you for your help."

As they were trying to decide which accessories to include and colors, Jim, the tailor/clerk who was helping them and who was also Zane’s swimming instructor, said, "Lindsey, you're last name's McDonald, correct?"

"That would be correct," Lindsey replied. "Why? Do you have something in mind?"

"Well, I was just thinking – I have some extra fabric in the back and this time of year is pretty slow. I'm almost positive I have something close to the McDonald tartan, if not exact. I can make something up for you – both of you – if you would like."

Lindsey smiled. "That might be interesting. Can I think about it?"

"Sure, sure. Wesley?"

"I would," Wesley said, but he shrugged as if to say he couldn't, "but my mother's a Gordon."

"I have some of that as well, I think. Let me go check."

As he disappeared into the back, Wesley asked, "Do you really want to do this?"

"I don't know," Lindsey replied. "It might be an interesting way to incorporate something traditional into this very non-traditional event – even if neither of us is big on our biological family aside from Elisa and Zane."

Wesley nodded. "And I think my mum would enjoy the touch. But just cummerbunds, otherwise I think it'd be too much."

Lindsey nodded. "I agree."

Jim came out triumphantly with a sample of each cloth. "I knew I had them back there!" he said as he laid them out on the counter. "What do you think?"

The two men studied the material. "I like them," Wesley said. "I think we should do it."

Lindsey nodded. "I think so too. You think Stacey will freak out too much once we tell her?"

Wesley laughed. "A – I think she'll just be happy that we actually *did* it that she won't care too much. And B – who really cares? This is supposed to be our day."

"I thought I had heard a rumor or two about that. Mostly from Zane telling Andy that 'Daddy and Daddy are having a big party'." Jim smiled as he made some notations on their order form. "And when is the special day?"

"December tenth," Wesley replied.

"Congratulations." As he finished up, he asked, "And how will we be paying today?" To which they responded the same way they had the night before with the rings.

"Good," she replied. "Excited, nervous, confident, scared to death – pretty much the whole gamut. You?"

"A bit nervous too, but I know you’ll do great," he replied. "Lindsey and I ordered our rings last night and our tuxes today."

"Great! What do the rings look like?"

"They're called rolling interlocking bands – they're the kind that have the two thin bands that are interlocked – and one's white gold and the other's yellow gold."

"Cool. I can't wait to see them."

As they went into the prison, instead of going their normal route, they were lead in the opposite direction. Sensing the tension that was building inside of Stacey, Wesley said nonchalantly, "Take a slow, deep breath." She did so. "Now, slowly release it." She did as she was told. "Now do it five more times." After she had finished, he said, "Can you think of something to get mad about?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked, a little bit of confusion creeping into her voice.

"Because, it'll help steady your nerves if you picture this demon as the thing or person that made you angry."

"Have you done it?"

"Numerous times. Still do."

"Okay." She pursed her lips and focused as they entered the yard and the tension eased from her body. "I'm ready. This guy killed puppies and kittens, right?"

"Well, not technically, but if that'll do it for you –"

"You have no idea." Sizing the other demon up, she said, "Remind me again how to kill it."

"Go for the throat. You'll need to decapitate him to kill him completely." He handed her an ax. "But be careful – he's quick and he's got sharp claws and teeth. And stay away from the drool."

"Is it poisonous?"

"No, it's just very sticky."

The guard in charge of “refereeing” waved the two fighters into the center. “On my count of three, the fight will start,” he said. “Good luck to both of you. One…two…” he got out of the way, “three.”

Wesley watched Stacey as she and the demon fought. Her form had improved considerably since the first time she had fought another demon and she seemed to be much more in tune with her surroundings. She gave the demon a fair fight, but ended it quickly and as mercifully as possible.

"Good job," he said when she came back to him and handed him the ax and he started to give it a quick cleaning.

"Thanks," she replied. "So, there's no chance of being able to fight another one tonight?"

"Not that I'm aware of – something to do with the paperwork and such. But I'm sure it could be arranged, if you wanted to do more than one in a night."

"Well, let's see first. This guy might be the exception to the rule for the perps on this side."

"Good idea," he replied with a smile.

Just then their liaison came over to get their input on the fight.

“I won’t,” he replied with a smile as he put his shirt back on.

Leaning against the counter to make some last minute notes, she asked, “Have you and Lindsey talked things through? I know you expressed some concern over feeling pressured to try for another child.”

“We’ve talked about it some,” Wesley replied. “I don’t know if we’ve come to a complete decision, but it’s in a much better place.”

“Good. Now, remember, if you feel *any* irregular changes in your body between now and December, you get your butt in this office, okay?"

"I promise," he replied with a smile.

“All right. Now, get going and have a great time in Oklahoma City with the family. And don’t let Lindsey spend all his time in the recording studio.”

"Yep," Lindsey replied. "Though, if you play any Barbra Streisand, we will be forced to kill you."

Shaun laughed. "No worries there. Besides, you two aren’t gay enough for Barbra."

"Well, thank you for that," Wesley said as he set the pot of brewed coffee on the table. "That’s one fact that we pride ourselves on immensely."

Lindsey came up behind Wesley and put his hand against the small of Wesley’s back as he bent over to put the pie on the table. "Can you get the plates and forks?" he asked quietly.

Wesley nodded and the two of them returned to the kitchen to get the rest of the items. When they came back, Zane was happily babbling to Stacey and Shaun was dividing his attention between watching Stacey and Zane and Wesley and Lindsey.

As they ate dessert, Shaun said, "You know, I think it’s really cool how much you guys love each other – especially considering how blasé most people are about the whole romance thing these days."

"Thank you," Wesley replied. "So, do you have someone special, Shaun?"

"No, not yet. But I’m sure that one of these days I’ll find her." For some reason, Zane found that funny and giggled. Shaun looked over at him and smiled, his gaze lingering slightly on Stacey, who was sitting between them. Wesley and Lindsey shared a glance and a smile of their own.

After Shaun left, Stacey stayed behind to help the guys stuff envelops with invitations and address them, since they wanted to get them out before they left for Oklahoma City. Zane happily colored quietly as they did so. "Thanks again for helping us, Stacey," Lindsey said. "I don’t know how you were able to fit this into your schedule – between training, slaying, classes, theatre, the band, and mentoring."

"It’s easy," she replied as she finished stuffing and sealing one envelop and moved onto the next. "I had a friend retrofit an insulin pump to work for caffeine and I alternate between that and an IV drip, so I just don’t sleep." They laughed and Zane looked up and grinned, obviously not getting the joke, but obviously glad that his parents and his friend were happy. "But, seriously, I’m happy to do it. I want the two of you two to be happy and I want to repay you for what you’ve done for me. And I get the added bonus of getting experience for planning my own wedding – if and when that day ever comes."

"Oh, I’m sure it will," Wesley replied.

"Yeah, if the general single and straight part of the male population got its collect head out of the sand," she said with a sigh.

"You’d be surprised how things work out. Lord knows, I wasn’t looking for a relationship when I came here and look where I am now."

"Well, I guess I should be thankful – if I really thought about it, it’d be crazy for me to want to get in a relationship now anyway, considering everything I’ve got on my plate."

"And that’s usually when it’s bound to happen," Lindsey replied.

"Don’t I know it," she replied. "Besides, I doubt the one guy I am interested in is interested in me."

"Who? Shaun?"

"Yeah. How’d you know?"

"It was kind of hard to miss all the glances coming from both sides," Wesley said with a smile.

“Both sides?”

“Yes, *both* sides,” Lindsey replied with a grin.

Stacey blushed as Wesley said, "Give it a shot before you both chalk it up to being worthless and move on."

She smiled. "And then I *really* wouldn’t get any sleep. But I’ll definitely keep it in mind."

When they finally got to the last few invitations, Lindsey stole them and their corresponding envelops from Stacey. Lindsey held up one and said, "I feel like a personal note is warranted in these. So, what should we say to the former coconspirators of the now defunct Angel Investigations? Because I’m doubting ‘your attendance is requested so we can put the past behind us’ is an applicable note."

"We should see if they can make it out for Thanksgiving as well," Wesley replied. "Because, honestly, I doubt that what needs to be said would be said within the couple of days they would otherwise be here for the wedding – or, in fact, *could* be said in that window of time."

"Are you sure?" Lindsey asked. "Because I want this to be totally up to you. If you really don’t want them here that long, they don’t have to be."

"I think they should. I think it would be good for all of us, regardless of the outcome."

"Okay." Lindsey slid the invitations over to Wesley. "I just want you to be comfortable with this decision."

"Don’t worry," Wesley smiled as he took the invitations and opened the first one so he could write in it. "I’ve thought this through and I think that this is the most acceptable way to bring this to any sort of closure."

"Can I ask what’s going on?" Stacey asked. "Any possible fights I should be aware of so I can break them up, if necessary?"

"We’ve invited some old friends-slash-coworkers of mine and Zane’s biological father," Wesley replied, dropping his voice on the word ‘father’ as he paused in writing his note, "who is also an old rival of sorts of Lindsey’s. When I left L.A., a lot of things hand been left unsaid between us. So, Lindsey and I decided to invite them, both to share in this, since they were an important part of our lives, and also to clear the air as much as possible."

She smiled. "That sounds like a great idea. I hope they come." "So do we," Lindsey replied with a smile.

"I’m absolutely fine with it," Wesley replied. "We both have more than enough time to cover it, Zane’s teacher said that he’ll be fine for a week as long as we keep up with working on his colors, numbers, and alphabet with him. It’ll be great for the three of us to get away for the week. Besides, at this point we’ve already made all the other arrangements for it, so we might as well go."

"You’re right." Lindsey stopped what he was doing and went over to loosely embrace Wesley. "I’m just trying to make sure you’re not feeling pressured to do this."

"I know." Wesley smiled reassuringly. "And you’ve been doing a great job of it and you’re not. You can stop second guessing yourself." He kissed the tip of Lindsey’s nose. "This trip will go great, you’ll wow everyone there, and the world isn’t going to end."

"And do you have that last bit on good authority?"

"The best. I’ve checked all the texts. There’s absolutely no way an apocalypse can happen this week. Well, unless Angel came to town and started making unrealistic demands."

Lindsey laughed. "Okay, I believe you. Though, I guess I’d have to, since I can’t read half of those languages anyway."

"Besides, we’re only about two hours away from home, if we really need to come back home at the drop of a hat."

They made good time getting to the hotel. Once they had made it to the hotel that the record company was setting them up in, Wesley and Lindsey tried not to gape at exterior of the accommodations. They hadn’t expected something quite so nice.

When Lindsey came back out after checking in, he said, "Okay, we’re all set. They’ve even left a stipend for us to do valet parking."

Wesley placed the bookmark in the book he had been reading to Zane and said, "Okay." They unpacked the SUV and a valet appeared out of nowhere to take their vehicle and gave them a stub for it. Wesley watched Lindsey talk to the valet as he took a hold of one of Zane’s hands and asked almost absently, "Do you have Boo, Zane?"

"Yes," came the reply as Zane looked around, drinking everything in. Wesley glanced down and saw the bear clutched to Zane’s chest with his other arm.

Once they got set up in the room, which was much more opulent than they had expected, Lindsey looked at the itinerary that had been faxed to him previously. "Okay, so we’re free until this evening. They want to have dinner with us tonight."

"Okay," Wesley replied. "Do we want to go to the museum for the rest of the day?"

Lindsey nodded. "I think that’ll be good. It looks like Zane would have fun there."

The week passed for them in a blur of activities with Zane – who seemed to really enjoy being in the city and away from home – and Lindsey doing things with the record label. Wesley and Zane were able to sit in the studio and watch as Lindsey recorded the songs that had been decided on during the previous trip. Wesley was surprised at how much material Lindsey had actually accumulated. He had become so accustomed to Lindsey scribbling ideas on scraps of paper, trying things out during his shows, and whatnot, that he hadn’t realized how many songs there were.

Near the end of the last recording session, Steve, the man in charge of Lindsey’s album, said, "Okay, Lindsey, we’ve still got enough space for one more track. Do you have any ideas of what you’d like to do for it?" "I think so," he said. “I have one song left.” He looked at Wesley nervously. “Would you mind stepping out for a couple minutes?”

“Why?” Wesley asked.

“Because it’s a surprise.”

“Oh.” He started to gather up Zane, knowing that even though the kid had been very good and attentive, that his attention span had to have started wearing thin. “Come on, Zane. Daddy’s almost done.”

“Can I wait in here?” Zane asked almost plaintively. “I like watching Daddy play.”

Wesley looked up at Lindsey who just shrugged. “Okay. But remember you have to be very quiet, okay?” Zane nodded with a smile and a finger to his lips.

“You got it, kiddo,” Lindsey replied with a thumbs up.

“I’ll be right outside,” Wesley said before slipping out. As he heard the door shut, he heard Steve say, “All right, let’s hear it.”

“Daddy!” Zane yelled, bursting through the door and into Wesley’s arms about fifteen minutes later. “Daddy wrote a song for you and it’s very pretty.”

“He did, did he?” Wesley asked with a quirked eyebrow as Lindsey came out.

“Yes. But I’m not supposed to tell you until the party.”

Wesley laughed and put Zane down as he looked at Lindsey with a smile. “You do know this means I’m going to torment you until the ceremony, right?”

“You can try all you’d like,” Lindsey replied with a smug grin.

They’d been back home a week when there was a knock on the door. “Expecting anyone?” Lindsey asked from his spot on the couch.

“Nope,” Wesley replied as he fit a puzzle piece into place, “your turn, Zane.” He got up from the dining room table and opened the door. “Mum!” he exclaimed. “You’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow.”

“Mum-Mum!” Zane said excitedly as he hopped off his chair. He ran over to her and threw his arms around her legs.

“Hello to you too, Zane,” Elisa said as she picked him up and gave him a kiss. “My, you’re getting big. And I know I’m here early, dear,” she said as she entered and Wesley grabbed her bags from outside. “But I was able to take advantage of an earlier flight and I wanted to surprise you all.”

“You could’ve called us from the airport and we would’ve picked you up,” Lindsey said as he crossed over from the couch.

“Can’t you two just let an old woman enjoy her surprise?” she asked with an amused smile as she let Zane down. “I’m here now, and that’s that. Now, where are my hugs from the two of you?”

As Lindsey hugged her, the phone rang. “Hey, sweetcakes," Lorne said when Wesley answered the phone. "How are you and the family?"

"We’re doing well, thanks. My mum just got here, actually. How are you and the others?"

"We’re doing fabulously. Still trying to fight evil without becoming evil and all that – same as we have for the past four and a half years. And we all love the pictures and letters regarding the munchkin that Lindsey keeps sending Angel. I’d love to chat about the precious fruit of your loins, but I’m on a very tight schedule. I was calling to tell you we got the invites to the shindig you and Lindsey are holding."

"Yes, and?"

"First off – congratulations from Fred, Gunn, and I. I think the jury's still out with Angel. And secondly, we’ll be there – all four of us. There are few things that would keep us away."

"Good. And Thanksgiving?"

"We’ll be there for that as well. Honestly, as good as some of the perks of this place are, it’ll be good to get away from this town for awhile." Wesley laughed. "So, is the other half around?"

"Yes, he is. Let me go get him for you."

"Good. I want to congratulate him as well."

After Lindsey hung up the phone a couple minutes, he said, “Well, that went well. Lorne’s excited –”

“Which really shouldn’t be a surprise,” Wesley replied.

“Definitely not. And it seems like Gunn and Fred are at least mildly interested. And Angel – who knows.” He sat down on one of the bar stools. “I had hoped that all the letters and photos would engender something in him, but I guess I was wrong.”

Wesley covered the hand that was resting on the bar. “I don’t think so. When I talked with Charles last, he told me that Angel was always very excited about the letters. I think that this was just more than he had ever expected and it’s probably thrown him for a loop.”

“Last nail in the coffin and all that?” Lindsey asked with a weak smile.

“Something like that, I’m sure,” Wesley replied, patting Lindsey’s hand.

During the phone call and ensuing conversation, Elisa had been helping Zane with his puzzle. “So, I take it he’s coming?” she asked as she fit a piece into place.

“Yes, ‘he’ is, Mum,” Wesley replied, leaning more fully against the bar.

“I hope you’ve both thought this through,” she said archly as she got up and crossed over to the other side of the counter. “There’s a reason why people don’t invite exes – especially significant exes – to their weddings.”

“And what’s he going to do? Throw me over his shoulder and take me back to Los Angeles?” Lindsey casually dropped his other hand on top of Wesley’s. “Granted, Angel’s never been much of a logical thinker when he doesn’t get his way, but he’s not a brute.”

“Then – what? Are you hoping for closure?”

“Something like that.”

“Wesley, honey,” she gently put her hand on his forearm, “aside from what Angel is in the larger picture, aside from what he was in the past, he was a very negative force in your life,” she held up a finger to stop him from interrupting, “even if it ended up bringing you to a very positive place. Is it really such a wise decision to let him and the rest of your old group to come here? This is supposed to be a happy time for both of you and I fear that only bad things will come of it.”

Wesley put his free hand on top of his mother’s. “Mum, Angel and I have been not dealing with this,” he lowered his voice, “with Zane – since I was still pregnant with him. This will more than likely be the only chance we’ll ever have to completely clear things up and move on. Considering the circles we move in, I doubt we’ll ever be truly free of each other and I’d prefer for it to be easy for us to be civil to each other. And I do want him to have access to Zane if he wants it. I doubt that Zane will ever know Angel’s his real biological father, but I do want him to know that he’s part of the family.”

She pursed her lips before saying, “Fine. I’ll hold my tongue as best I can, but please don’t expect too much.”

“As long as you’re civil,” Wesley replied, patting her hand.

“Are any of you going to help me?” Zane asked, sounding exasperated.

"Everything will be fine," David said as they were getting ready to leave to go home. "They'll come, we'll have a great dinner on Thursday, you all will talk and sort out whatever you need to sort out, they'll promise to send your stuff out when they get back to L.A., we'll all enjoy the ceremony, they'll go home, and everyone will be as happy as clams."

"I certainly hope so," Wesley said, letting out a sigh.

"Oh, it will," David replied, adjusting Wesley's coat. "You'll see. Now, keep your chin up and remember that they're on your turf now and that you are master of your domain."

Wesley laughed. "I'll do my best, sir."

David smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Now, what are you planning for Thanksgiving dinner?"

“You just ate, David. You couldn’t possibly be hungry again.”

“I didn’t say I was, but my stomach always likes to be reassured of where its next meal is coming from.”

“You’ve got a few other meals to worry about first then,” Lindsey said, poking him in the ribs as he passed.

“I wish Elisa would have come out with us,” Jonathan said as they exited the restaurant. “She’s one neat lady, Wes.”

“Believe me, we tried to get her to come out,” Lindsey said, “but it was a lost argument when she started in on grandparental rights and how we probably never get any time to ourselves.”

“Hey, Wes, it’s Gunn. We just got into the airport in Oklahoma City. So, we'll be up there in a few hours."

"Okay," Wesley said as he juggled some of Zane's toys that he was cleaning up from the living room so that he could pull out the sofa bed for Elisa. "Do you lot know where you're going once you're in Stillwater?"

"Yeah, we've printed out directions."

"Good."

"So, what time do you want us there tomorrow?"

"Around noon will be fine, though we probably won't eat until later in the afternoon."

"Okay. It'll be good to see you again, Wes."

"You too," Wesley replied absently before hanging up the phone and sitting down on the newly made-up bed with a sigh.

Elisa came out of the bathroom toweling her hair dry. "Was that them, dear?" she asked as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah," he replied flatly. "They just landed in Oklahoma City."

"Regardless of how I feel, this really isn't the end of the world, you know."

"No, but the reasons for why you shouldn't invite exes who happen to be the biological father of your child to your wedding to someone else are there for a reason."

"Oh, sweetie." She gently rubbed his shoulder. "Take deep breaths and try not to worry about it. Everything will work out in the end, I just know it."

Wesley gave her a small smile. "I know."

“You just have to remember to stand firm and not let Angel suck you in to anything.”

“I doubt he could at this point.”

“Good. Now, what channel is that show on that Lindsey was raving about?”

When the knock on the door finally came, Wesley let out a ragged breath, smoothed his shirt, and steeled himself before he went to answer it. "Come on in," he said, voice tight, to the foursome standing outside.

As they came in and took off their coats, adding them to the already full coat rack, Fred grinned and said, "You look great, Wesley," and, as soon as he was finished helping adjust the coats, gave him a hug.

"Thank you," he replied with a tentative smile.

"You do look fabulous," Lorne said, the next to give him a hug.

"Hey, man," Gunn said with a smile as they shook hands, then leaned in for a quick hug.

"Hi," Angel said shyly.

"Hi," Wesley replied, not sure what to say. They stood there for a moment, before Wesley cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Well, come in and meet everyone." He made the introductions between all of the guests and as he did so, Lindsey and Zane came out of the kitchen from checking on the turkey. Picking Zane up, Wesley said, "And this is Zane. Zane, this is Fred, Gunn, Lorne, and Angel. They're friends of mine from a long time ago."

Wesley watched his old friends as he introduced his son. Fred, Gunn, and Lorne each said ‘hi’ to Zane and gave him a big smile and he replied back with a ‘hi’ and a grin of his own to each of them. Angel had been intent on studying his child and was a bit unfocused in saying hello to Zane. Zane seemed to catch on and gave him an uncertain ‘hi’ of his own before wiggling his way out of Wesley's hold and going over to sit on Stacey's lap as they watched the football game. Angel continued to watch him as Zane talked with Stacey. He only broke off long enough to acknowledge Lindsey’s greeting.

"Gunn, right?" Lindsey asked as he held out his hand to the black man.

"Right," Gunn replied as he shook Lindsey's hand. "Thanks for the invitation."

"You're welcome. And you must be Fred," he said as he held out his hand to her. She smiled and nodded as she shook his hand. "Lorne!" He grinned as he and the demon hugged tightly. "It's great to see you, man."

"It’s great to see you too, sweetcakes!" Lorne replied. "It looks like coming home’s agreed with you," he said as he pulled away.

"Well, honestly, it didn’t really start agreeing with me until Wesley showed up." Lindsey unconsciously moved closer to Wesley and rubbed the small of his back. "But, generally, you’re right – Oklahoma is better for me than Los Angeles. Can I get any of you a drink or anything?" Fred and Gunn took Lindsey up on his offer and followed him into the kitchen.

"And, I must say it again, you look *fabulous*, Wesley," Lorne commented. "Who would’ve thought leading a family life in Stillwater, Oklahoma, would agree with you so much?"

Coming from anyone else, Wesley may have considered taking offense to the comment, but he knew that Lorne had meant it with the best of intentions. "Thank you, Lorne," he replied with a smile. "You look like you’re doing quite well yourself."

"Well, what can I say," he said with a small chuckle, "being an agent to the stars is definitely a calling for me – even if most of them are evil. But I do what I can with them. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a drink and I’d like to go chat with Marty and Dory."

"You do look good, Wes," Angel said. "I’m glad you’re happy."

"Thank you," Wesley replied. "And how’ve you been?"

"Good – still trying to work in the system. And it’s still as hard as it was." He brightened. "I’m still seeing Nina – you know, the werewolf."

Wesley smiled. "Yes, I remember. I’m happy for you."

"Zane looks happy," he commented, looking at the three year old who was happily sitting and bouncing on Stacey’s lap. "He’s normal, right?"

"Completely," Wesley replied. "At least as far as we can tell at any rate. I don’t know if anything will manifest later or not, though."

"I hope it doesn’t – for his sake," Angel replied. "I really need to thank Lindsey for all the stuff he sent me. It made it…a bit easier – especially after Connor."

“Look, we really need to talk, but this isn’t the time or place for it.”

“You’re right. Whenever you want this week – just let me know.”

“I will, thank you.”

The rest of the afternoon went very well and everyone enjoyed themselves and ate much more than they should have before returning to watching the football games.

While putting the last few dishes away that night after everyone had gone home and while Elisa was reading to Zane, Lindsey said, “I think things went well for the first day of our ‘festivities’. Everyone got along and your mother didn’t kill Angel.”

“Though, some of the looks she gave him could have,” Wesley replied as he put a plate away. “Did you see how Angel kept watching Zane?”

“Yeah, it was like he was the most intriguing thing since sliced bread.”

“I think he was trying to see if he could tell if there was anything different about Zane.” He hung up the dish towel. “I told him we’d get together later on this week and talk and I want you to be there.”

“Are you sure?” Lindsey closed the last cupboard.

“Yes. You have every right to be – especially since we’ll be talking about our son. And I think that presenting a united front to Angel will help more than anything.”

Lindsey nodded. “Okay. Ready to go see how Elisa’s doing in putting Zane to bed?”

"It’s definitely been interesting," Gunn said. "When I helped you guys with that first job there, I never thought *we’d* actually be running the place a few years later."

"But we’re doing what we can to bring it down," Angel said, "bit by bit."

"Yeah and most days it feels like we’re pulling the bricks down with our bare hands. But we are starting to gain some ground."

"Don’t you miss it, Wes?" Fred asked, innocently.

"Now and then," he replied, "but the feeling passes quickly. Especially when I look at Lindsey or Zane."

"Or Stacey calls you about another one of her ideas," Lindsey replied with a laugh.

"Very true," Wesley replied with a chuckle of his own.

"Now, how did you get hooked up with Stacey?" Lorne asked. "At first glance she doesn’t seem to fit into the little group, but – "

"She’s my Slayer," Wesley said. "She actually came to us a couple months ago worried about some weird occurrences. After some discussion, I took her on for training and such."

"That’s great, Wes!" Fred said with a grin.

"But how exactly does that work?" Lorne asked. "From what Dory and Marty told me, the demon population isn’t exactly in need of a Slayer."

"We’ve got an agreement worked out with the demon prison here where she executes the death row inmates." Wesley looked down into his drink. "It’s not ideal for a Slayer, but," he shrugged half-heartedly. "It serves its purposes."

"We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do, right?" Angel asked as he took a sip of his beer. They paused for the waitress to serve their food. Once she was gone, Angel said, "You know, I’ll admit that on our way out here, I was still trying to think of ways to make you three come back with us. But now that I’ve seen you guys here, I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would make you."

"You’re right," Wesley replied, a bit defensively, "there isn’t.”

"I’m just glad you’re happy," Fred said. "And you too, Lindsey. Not that I knew you before, but…"

"I know what you mean," Lindsey said with a smile. "I was in a similar boat a while back, so I’d say it still applies."

The conversation moved on with Fred and Lorne asking questions about the ceremony and Gunn wanting to know more about the town. Lindsey squeezed Wesley’s thigh and Wesley couldn’t help but smile. Here he was with an opportunity to return to his old life, and he knew now for certain that there was no way he’d ever do it. This was where he belonged.

"So do I," Wesley agreed. "I feel a lot better now that we’ve been able to have that sit-down with them. Even though we didn’t really resolve anything in my relationship with them, I feel like the air was definitely cleared."

"Or something," Lindsey added jokingly.

"Yes, ‘or something’," Wesley replied with a laugh.

Elisa came out of Zane’s room. "Did you lot have a good time tonight?" she asked.

"We did," Wesley replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How was Zane?"

"An absolute joy," she replied with a smile. "He reminds me a lot of you at that age." She kissed them both on the cheek. “Good night, you two. Sleep well.”

Following Wesley into their room and closing the door behind them, Lindsey said, “So, when do you want to meet with Angel?”

Wesley half-shrugged as he took his shirt off. “I don’t know.”

Lindsey sat down on the bed to take his boots off. “I think it’d be good if we did it before the seventh. That way it’s behind us before the wedding.”

“Being symbolic, are we?” Wesley asked as he got their pajamas out.

“Yes. Besides, I want you to get this over sooner rather than later. Since Stacey’s next slaying gig is on Thursday, you’ve got either tomorrow, Tuesday, or Wednesday to do it. At least call him tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Believe me,” Lindsey said as they got under the covers, “it’s going to be hard, but it’s for our own good.”

Wesley shrugged as they entered the park and headed to the swings. “I don’t know. It just seemed fitting, some how.” He caught sight of a lone figure coming from the other side of the park. “There’s Angel.”

“Wes. Lindsey,” Angel said when he reached them.

“Angel,” they replied in unison.

“Zane looks good,” the vampire commented. “He looks happy.”

“He is,” Wesley replied.

“You’ve both done a good job with him.”

“Thank you.”

Lindsey detangled his hand from Wesley’s. “Obviously, my being here isn’t helping as much as I had thought, if the two of you are just going to stare at each other. I’m going to take a walk and you two talk things out, come to blows if you need to and I’ll be back.”

“Lindsey –” Wesley replied quietly.

“I’ll be back,” he reiterated firmly before kissing Wesley on the cheek. “*Talk*.”

Wesley watched Lindsey until he was out of earshot and then sat down on one of the swings. “I’m happy here, Angel,” he finally said. “What we had back in L.A. never would have worked in the long run.”

“I thought we were doing pretty good,” Angel replied, coming a little closer and standing in front of Wesley.

“Sure, in a very maladaptive way.” Wesley began swaying back and forth. “You were using me both physically and for my expertise and I kept hoping for something more. Sooner or later, something would have exploded. It was better for all of us that I got out of there.”

Angel’s voice took on a plaintive tone as he said, “But you left without even saying good-bye. You didn’t even tell me you were pregnant.” He became angrier, accusing. “You didn’t even tell me you *could* get pregnant.” He began pacing.

“And I’m sorry about that, Angel. For so long, I had had to deal with what I am alone, that it was just second nature by the time I started working with you and Cordelia. It’s just a part of who I am – same with you being a vampire. And it was an honest, stupid mistake on my part in letting myself become pregnant.”

“So you didn’t want to become pregnant?”

“At that point in time? No, I didn’t. But in time – after the initial shock wore off – I did want it. Because it was a part of you that no one else could have and that no one could take away from me.”

“Why didn’t you call me and tell me what was going on?”

“I *did* call you and you never called back. You also never called before I called you – which was *two months* after I left. Fred and Gunn called me all the time to see how I was, but I didn’t get anything from you – not even a ‘hey, no one’s heard from you and that’s not like you and you’re not at your apartment, where the hell are you?’ call. What was I supposed to think?”

Angel shrugged helplessly, not having a good response.

“Honestly, I don’t have anything for you any more, Angel. There were a few months there in the beginning where I still hoped that you would just show up one day and promise to do better and we’d go back to L.A. and be a family. But when day after day came and went and there was nothing, that dream slowly died. Then when you showed up on our doorstep unannounced five months into the pregnancy, I started to hope again. Not for myself this time – but for Zane. That he would know his dad, have a better relationship with him than either of us ever did with ours. But aside from the baby book, there was nothing for the next two and a half months. Then I thought that maybe you were just waiting until Zane was born to start. And then Lindsey started being the good parent and reaching out to you – first with the completed baby book and then with the regular correspondence. But we never heard anything from you. What was I supposed to think, Angel?”

“You never said you weren’t coming back,” Angel said feebly.

“And you also said that you would be involved. We both know I wasn’t looking for money, Angel. Even something as simple as a phone call or a card saying, ‘thanks for the letter – my, he’s getting big,’ would have sufficed.

“Well, if you had come back to L.A. –” Angel continued.

“If I had come back to L.A., what?” Wesley replied bitingly. “We would’ve been a happy family with a dog and a white picket fence? You would have been an attentive father? I know how you were with Connor, Angel, but would it have been different with Zane since there are two of us?”

“I don’t…I don’t know.”

“Look, I’m happy here. Zane’s happy here. Lindsey’s happy here. We’re not moving just because you like having ‘your’ people close to you. We’ve been doing great here and we like it. You can stop worrying about us.”

“How can I tell you that I do want to be more of a part of Zane’s life?”

“You can’t because you did before and nothing happened. You’ll actually have to do something. He doesn’t need big, grand gestures. Little things will work just fine. And you know now that he’s met you, he’s going to ask about you in the future, want to know if you’re going to come visit.”

Angel nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“What will you tell Zane I am?”

“When?”

Angel shrugged. “Whenever.”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t need to know right now, does he? Especially since he’s just met you. As far as he’s concerned, Lindsey’s his other daddy and that’s all he cares about.” Wesley paused for a minute to think. “If, in the future, it seems like it’s important to tell him, we can discuss it and figure something out. Until then, I’m happy leaving things the way they are.”

Angel nodded and smiled slightly. “You know, Lorne’s been telling me for a while that I need to get over myself and start talking to you again and get to know Zane.”

“Smart demon,” Wesley replied. “You should have listened to him.”

“Here comes Lindsey.” Angel gestured with his chin over Wesley’s shoulder. “I should get going. You two need to get back to your family.”

“Okay,” Wesley replied. “I’ll see you in a couple days.”

Angel nodded. “Okay. Goodnight, Wesley.”

“Night, Angel.”

“How did it go?” Lindsey said as he came up.

“Okay,” Wesley replied, standing and moving into Lindsey’s embrace. “Even if I felt like I was talking to a brick wall.”

“Do you think he’ll actually keep in touch this time?”

Wesley half-shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so – for Zane’s sake.”

“As long as you’re happy with it, I am.”

Wesley smiled. “Let’s go home, shall we?”

Lindsey smiled as well and stole a quick kiss. “Sounds good to me.”

“How are you feeling?” Wesley asked, as he did before each of the fights.

“Doubly nervous,” she replied with a smile, “because I so don’t want to end up in the hospital or with some nasty gash on my forehead before the ceremony.”

“You’ll be fine,” he replied, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Deep breaths. These two are going to go just like all the other ones. I’ll be over on the sideline, like always, and Marty and the warden are going to be up in the box watching over us.”

She let out a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, give me the five second rundown on the first guy.”

Stacey went through the first guy easily. It probably hadn’t helped that the demon had been resigned to the fact that he was going to die and didn’t put up much of a fight.

“Good job, Stacey,” Wesley said when she was done. “Don’t let yourself get complacent, though. We both know this guy was an exception to the rule.”

She nodded as she rolled her shoulders. “Who’s up next?”

As if to underline Wesley’s point, the next demon was a fireball and put up a fight. There were a few close calls, but Stacey pulled herself out of them gracefully.

“Good work,” Wesley replied when she came to him at the end. “You did very well tonight and I’m very proud of you.”

She blushed a little and said, “Well, I had a good teacher.”

Marty and the warden came down and also gave her their praise, which caused Stacey to blush even more. After helping Wesley to quickly clean and pack the weapons, he took her home.

"How did you do that?" Wesley asked.

"Years of performing," Lindsey replied. "And a really bad case of stage fright that Lorne helped me get through. Just think of something good and keep it in your mind's eye."

"And what do you keep there?"

“Nowadays?” Lindsey smiled. "You and Zane."

Wesley took a couple of deep breaths and tried picturing Lindsey and Zane. After a moment, he felt better and said, “Yeah, I’d say it works.”

After checking to make sure the sanctuary was ready, they went to the changing room. As they were adjusting each other's ties, Elisa came in.

"Oh, look at you two! Aren't you just a picture?" Taking in the sight of the two of them together, she simply smiled at them for a moment. Seeing the tartan cummerbunds, she said, "I love the tartan touch. A little bit of tradition in a rather untraditional setting."

They put their boutonnieres on each other, and Wesley looked at his watch. "Well, I guess it's show time."

Lindsey nodded and the three of them moved to the door. Wesley grabbed Lindsey's hand as they exited and walked to the doorway of the sanctuary. Elisa went in and took her seat. Both men took a deep breath and took in the crowd of people that were there to witness their commitment. Making eye contact with Marty, Wesley nodded slightly and "Chapel of Love" by the Dixie Cups started playing. Wesley and Lindsey looked at each other and smiled and as the audience stood, started down the aisle.

Wesley couldn't keep his eyes off of Lindsey. How he had been able to catch the eye and capture the heart of this beautiful, kind man was beyond him. But somehow he had, and he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Stacey got up to do the first of two readings, and said, "The first time I read this poem in my Lit class, two people came to mind – the two in front of us today, celebrating their love. The poem is 'i carry your heart with me' by e.e. cummings."

"i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
"my heart) i am never without it(anywhere
"i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
"by only me is your doing, my darling)
"i fear
"no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want
"no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
"and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
"and whatever a sun will always sing is you
"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
"(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
"and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
"higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
"and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
"i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)"

As Stacey read, Wesley couldn't help but feel his heart begin to ache with happiness, the words of the poem resonating in him. And he could tell by Lindsey's expression, that he felt the same way.

As she stepped down, Dory got for the second reading. "My reading comes from Kate Chopin's The Awakening. 'Are you in love with Robert?' [Mademoiselle Reisz asked.]

"'Yes,' said Edna. It was the first time she had admitted it, and a glow overspread her face, blotching it with red spots.

"'Why?' asked her companion. 'Why do you love him when you ought not to?'

“'Why? Because his hair is brown and grows away from his temples; because he opens and shuts his eyes, and his nose is a little out of drawing; because he has two lips and a square chin, and a little finger which he can't straighten from having played baseball too energetically in his youth. Because –'

'Because you do, in short,' laughed Mademoiselle. 'What will you do when he comes back?' she asked.

'Do? Nothing, except feel glad and happy to be alive.'"

Wesley's smile grew as he listened because there was truth in what she had read. There may have been many reasons in the beginning for him to not have fallen in love Lindsey, but he had and now he could think of so many reasons why he should have.

"Before we get to the part of the ceremony everyone's been waiting for," David said, "I have a few Bible passages I would like to read. The first comes from 1 Samuel 18:1-4. 'After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king's son. There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends. From that day on Saul kept David with him at the palace and wouldn't let him return home. And Jonathan made a special vow to be David's friend, and he sealed the pact by giving him his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt.'

"The second reading comes from the book of Ruth, 1:16-17. 'But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!"

David closed the Bible and smiled. “And now it's time for the recitation of the vows. Lindsey and Wesley have both written their own vows for this occasion."

The two men smiled at each other and tightened their hold on each others' hands. Lindsey gave Wesley a slight nod to go ahead.

Wesley cleared his throat and said, "I, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, take you Lindsey McDonald, to be my wedded husband because you love me for who and what I am. To have and to hold from this day forward, because I know that no matter what happens, I am safe with you. I will be with you for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. And I will love and cherish you because of how you have loved and cherished me and mine," he gave a quick smile to Zane, who was standing next to Jonathan, before looking back at Lindsey. "Until death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness forever." He looked at Zane again and took the ring that Zane was holding up for him and slipped it on Lindsey's ring finger.

Lindsey grinned. "I, Lindsey McDonald, take you, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, to be my wedded husband because you have touched my life in ways I never could have imagined. With you, I feel a profound sense of belonging and a love deeper than I could ever have imagined. Therefore, I pledge from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as well as to love and to cherish, because without you, my life would be less than what it's become, and until death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness forever." He glanced at Zane and took the ring that Zane was now offering him and slipped it on Wesley's ring finger.

They both smiled and looked back at David, who was smiling as well. David said, "In the presence of God and these witnesses, it is my joy to announce that you are now partners for life, bound by your love for each other to walk the rest of this journey we call life together. And, as tradition dictates, it is now time for the kiss."

The crowd applauded as they kissed. After the recessional, they went outside with the wedding party for the pictures as the rest of the guests made their way over to where the reception was being held.

Once Lindsey and Wesley arrived at the reception hall and found their seats, Marty and Jonathan stood up. "We've decided that we're going to be quick about it and do the toasts to the lucky couple now and get them out of the way so we can get on with this shindig," Jonathan said. "So, if you all wouldn't mind raising a glass with me…" After everyone did so, he looked at Wesley and Lindsey and continued, "May God grant you both have long lives, a love that conquers all, and the sanity needed where necessary to raise Zane to become the man he's meant to be. Cheers."

After everyone had drunk, he sat down and Marty said, "I hope that you two will never lie, steal, cheat, or drink – which may be hard, given that you're both working in the legal system." He paused for the smattering of laughter to die out. "But if you must lie, I hope that you lie in the arms of the one you love. And if you must steal, steal away from bad company. And if you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away." He held up his glass again and smiled at Wesley and Lindsey.

Both men were a bit teary – their friends’ words having touched them deeply. After putting their glasses down, they kissed again to their friends’ cheers.

The reception was officially underway. Food was distributed and everyone talked and laughed as they ate.

Once the plates had been cleared away, and before the cutting of the cake, Lindsey went up to the small stage and picked up the guitar that had been sitting on one side of it. “I hope y’all don’t mind, but I’ve been working on something special for Wesley for the past few weeks and I’d like to play it for him now, since I don’t think I’m going to get a better time to do it.”

He quickly tuned it before starting to play a song Wesley hadn’t heard before, his eyes closing in concentration.

“Living with me – it ain’t easy / How do you do it every day / Sometimes even now I want to run away / There you are, you’re trying to please me / You stand your ground / It’s more than I deserve

“I've taken more than I've been given / I take it for granted this life I'm living / And I don't know why heaven above blessed me with your sweet love / I know I never tell you what you're worth / It's more than I deserve

“It’s just your style to wear a smile / Oh, baby, you wear it well / If I had my way, I’d dress you in nothing else / Come over here and lay down a little while / Because you right now are more than I deserve

“I've taken more than I've been given / I take it for granted this life I'm living / And I don't know why heaven above blessed me with your sweet love / I know I never tell you what you're worth / It's more than I deserve”

During the interlude, Lindsey opened his eyes and met Wesley’s gaze. All the love he felt was broadcast in that gaze. He sang the chorus one more time, and this time it was for Wesley only.

“I've taken more than I've been given / I take it for granted this life I'm living / And I don't know why heaven above blessed me with your sweet love / I know I never tell you what you're worth / It's more than I deserve”

As Lindsey sang, Wesley was bowled over again by how much he loved the man. When Lindsey was finished, there was wild applause and Lindsey colored a bit as he set the guitar back on its stand. Wesley kissed Lindsey as soon as he sat back down.

“I love you,” he murmured, touching his forehead to Lindsey’s.

“I love you too, babe,” Lindsey whispered back.

Zane’s fourth birthday and Christmas came and went and before they knew it, it was time for Elisa to head home. And Angel actually did start corresponding with Zane. It wasn’t much – sometimes a postcard with a short note scrawled on the back or a cheesy kids’ card with a note inside and a picture of the L.A. gang. Zane was always thrilled to be getting mail and was determined to always send something back – usually a picture he drew himself.

The next big date on the calendar was the release of Lindsey’s album. As the date crept closer, Lindsey became more on edge, sure something was going to go wrong. A few days before they were due in Oklahoma City for the official release party – an unofficial one having been planned for the following night in Stillwater – Wesley had an appointment with Dr. Gonzales, which went according to plan.

The party itself was crazy. Wesley and Lindsey had left Zane with Marty and Dory for the night before heading down to Oklahoma City. The venue holding the party was packed with a number of executives and socialites hoping to be seen. Wesley and Lindsey were surprised to find that a number of their friends had also traveled to show their support for Lindsey.

The couple was swamped almost from the moment they walked through the door with people asking for autographs and wanting to talk to Lindsey. Wesley hung back, letting Lindsey do his thing, happy to watch his partner doing something he loved.

After doing a set of songs and some more networking, Lindsey and Wesley were able to slip away and back to their hotel.

“What a night!” Lindsey said as they landed on the bed with a laugh. “That was insane!”

“But it looks like you enjoyed every minute of it,” Wesley replied with a smirk.

“Oh, I did,” Lindsey replied as he rolled onto his stomach and pressed against Wesley’s side. “But I think I’m going to enjoy this even more,” and he captured Wesley’s mouth in a hungry kiss.

They undressed each other quickly before resuming their kissing, the adrenaline from the evening fueling their passion. They made love with an intensity that hadn’t been there before the wedding, but that had fueled each of their couplings since.

Afterwards, Lindsey spooned up behind Wesley. "I do have one more surprise for you," Wesley said.

"Oh?" Lindsey replied as he tightened his arms around Wesley and nuzzled and kissed his exposed neck. "And what would that be?"

Wesley intertwined the fingers of one hand with Lindsey’s and laid them over his stomach. "I'm pregnant."