I finally looked at her, tears shining in my eyes. Me? She had been talking about me? Oh God. That meant...
"You have a daughter, Xander. A beautiful little girl named Alexandria Joyce Chase. She looks so much like you that my heart breaks whenever I look at her."
I gathered her to me once again. The tears were flowing freely now. I had a daughter. Suddenly, I laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"You know, when I saw her today, I thought that's what our children would have looked like."
She joined me in laughing. The irony of it all.
I held her for a few minutes more, then reluctantly pulled away. "I guess we should join the others. I'm sure the gang will want a shot at me, and George will want to know everything about you."
She smiled and held onto my hand. We were almost out of the stacks when I remembered something else. The most important thing. I stopped so suddenly that she ran into me.
"Xander?"
I reached into my shirt and grabbed the chain and pulled it over my head. Then, I unclasped it and lifted the rubber wrapped ring from it. I actually took the time to refasten the chain and put it back on before attacking the rubber.
"Xander? What's wrong?"
I realized that she couldn't see me or what I was doing. I was in too much shadow for her to see. That made me grin. It wasn't how I had originally planned to propose, but then again, my life hadn't turned out like I had planned, either.
The ring, now free of the rubber, reflected what little light there was back at me. I hid it in my hand, then stepped closer to her, where she could see me clearly.
"That night, on the beach, I never got to finish what I was going to say."
"Neither did I. I was going to tell you about Alex."
"Really? I would have been scared to death at the time, but, I would have been thrilled too."
I got down on one knee. She looked at me in confusion. I could tell this was not what she was expecting.
"Cordelia, I love you. I think we could make a life together. Will you marry me?"
I held out the ring for her inspection. She just stood there, not saying a thing. Oh, God. Please, let her say yes. Please.
"Cordy?"
She was crying. I hate it when she cries. I could resist anything but a woman's tears.
"Please, say something..."
Instead, she launched herself into my arms and started kissing my neck and face. I gently grabbed her head and forced her to stop moving long enough for me to seal our lips. Honey had never tasted sweeter than her. Please, God, let this mean yes.
"Yes! Oh, Xander, I love you so very much!"
With a rather watery smile, I slipped the ring onto her finger. It looked beautiful there, but not any more beautiful as the love and happiness I saw in her eyes. I could sense someone else nearby, but ignored it until I heard sniffing coming from that area.
It was Buffy and Willow. They had gotten away from Giles and George long enough to sneak up here. I didn't know how much of the proposal they had heard, but it had obviously made them both happy. I just grinned and held out my arms to the both of them.
They rushed to me at the same time. Why had I stayed away so long? I had missed so much. Willow's wedding, Alex's first everything. I didn't want to miss anything else.
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