Standing in front of the spare bedroom door, Buffy tugged nervously at the collar of her favorite jacket. Picking something to wear for dinner and later had been more difficult than normal given the events of the past few days. What did you wear for your first date with your soul-mate, she wondered. Or was it even a date?

While she thought things were off to a good start between Jenny and herself, Buffy wasn't really sure that she was ready for more than that, especially with Willow, and now apparently the 'Powers that Be', trying to push them closer with the whole bonding thing. When someone pushed, she tended to push back.

And the whole woman relationship thing? As more than the bit of slaying induced, hormone driven groping between Faith and herself years ago? She was having a hard time really wrapping her head around the idea. Okay, the kissing was great. The feeling of Jenny's lips against hers could even be described as fantastic. There was definitely some kind of sparkage between them at that level. But even though they'd essentially been given permission to go further, Buffy wasn't sure if she could.

And that was just her. What about Jenny? She'd willingly participated in their earlier make-out session, but, remembering how she'd done things herself, just to be able to feel anything, Buffy had to wonder if some of that was a reaction to the shock of being resurrected. Even if she figured out the mess in her own head, she didn't think pushing Jenny for more was a good idea. And not just because her energy seemed to only last for hour long spurts before she needed a quick nap.

And that was the physical aspect. Soul-mates or not, Buffy knew she really needed to spend some time adjusting to their obvious connection. After the disaster that was her so-called romance with Angel, she'd decided that having a soul-mate would lead to extreme angst-ness. Or potential world ending, as in the case of Willow and Tara. Even with Willow's spell and the freaky rings making it impossible to deny, this wasn't remotely a normal situation. And discussion about them being soul-mates needed to be had.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy knocked on the door.

"Hey," Jenny said, opening the door on the third knock.

"Hey!" Buffy echoed, looking her over as subtly as possible. She didn't think Jenny needed to be leered at, though she couldn't resist the small grin her appearance caused. "You look good."

"I hope this is 'sexy' enough for Willow," Jenny murmured.

"If it isn't she'll just have to live with the disappointment," Buffy said. "I think you're far enough on the elegant side of sexy that I won't have to beat them off with a stick when we go dancing."

"Is that good or bad?" Jenny asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I have a special glare I can use instead," she said. "It'll give us more time to dance and get acquainted."

"Where are we going?" Jenny said, taking her jacket from the chair it was draped over.

"Your choice. There's a small Russian place two blocks from here and an Italian restaurant across the street from it," Buffy said, guiding her out of the flat door. "Both are good."

"How did you know what to order?" Janna asked curiously, stopping at the bottom of the steps. She could tell that she was going to have to seriously adjust her ideas about Buffy and culture. The Buffy she'd known in Sunnydale had been the quintessential Valley Girl in taste. Knowledgeable about fashion and pop culture, but not much else.

"Well, I spent a month in Moscow last year while we set up the local Council office there. One of the local slayer's family owns a restaurant and her mother insisted that they feed us almost every night," Buffy said. "It was a very educational experience, like being on one of those foodie shows on the Travel channel."

"That was generous of them."

"Yes," Buffy said, taking her hand. "I think they thought it would get them the contract for the Council cafeteria there."

"Did it?"

"It was a consideration," Buffy said, shake her head in amusement. "But their connections to the Russian Mafia was just as important. You can't do business in Russia without dealing with them, which complicated things a little. We didn't want them crawling all over our business but we couldn't keep them completely out of it."

"How'd you deal with it?"

"We compromised," Buffy told her. "We don't exactly pay protection money but that's because we were creative. The Mafia guys get their cut but it doesn't come directly from us."

Janna looked at Buffy, trying to see remaining signs of the girl she'd known in this complicated person. "You're really different," she said.

"Huh?" Buffy gave her a puzzled look. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

Janna smiled at her. "I'm hoping good," she said. "In Sunnydale, I would have said you were interesting because you were so different from what I expected a slayer to be. But now, there's so much more to you."

"Okay..."

"More than okay," Janna told her, squeezing her hand.

[dancing]

Buffy whisked Jenny past the line towards a door marked 'Private'. She paused in front of it just long enough for it to open.

Willow's only reaction when Cordelia appeared next to her in the booth was a grimace. For a brief second, Cordelia wondered if she was becoming too predictable, before dismissing the idea as unimportant.

"You did a good thing," she said, waving at Buffy and Jenny slow dancing out in the middle of the dance floor.

"Huh?" Willow frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"Hooking up Jenny and Buffy," Cordelia said, shaking her head.

"They're soul mates," Willow said. "What else would I do?"

"You could have had Buffy for yourself," Cordelia said, pointing out the obvious alternative.

"We're just friends," Willow said.

"And soul mates," Cordelia said.

"Not the same thing," Willow protested. "Our connection is more friend-ish. Like Hermione and her boys."

"You know it doesn't have to work that way," Cordelia said, winking at Willow. "The soul mate connection is there. It's the intent that really matters. Just a little push and Buffy would have been yours, not Jenny's."

"No," Willow said firmly. "They deserve to be happy. Together. Connection or not, Buffy would never have seen me the same way. She can start fresh with Jenny."

"No regrets?" Cordelia asked.

"None."

"Good!" Cordelia said, giving Willow a hug.

"Testing me?" Willow said, her voice sharp.

"No," Cordelia said. "Not officially, anyway," she added at Willow's look of disbelief. "Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

"The 'Willow isn't allowed another soul mate' page?" Willow asked sadly.

"No! The 'Jenny's gonna mellow the Slay-bimbo out' page," she said smirking at Willow's outraged look. "Hey! They'll both live longer, if it's any consolation."

"They will?"

"Yup," Cordelia said. "Besides, it isn't true."

"What isn't?"

"That you've used up your one 'soul mate' card," Cordelia said. "There's someone else out there for you."

"Who?"

"Can't tell, it's a secret," Cordelia said. leaning close and whispering in her ear.

"Not fair!" Willow said, pouting. "Why not?"

"You're going to have to earn this one," Cordelia said. "Backup soulmates aren't so easy."

[Willow does the groveling bit to Giles]

Willow peered nervously around the door. She'd had Giles' assistant block out several hours in his schedule that morning but that didn't guarantee his attention.

He was standing in front of the large window that faced south, towards the river.

"Hey Giles."

"What can I do for you this morning?" he asked, waving her to a seat in front of his desk.

Shaking her head, Willow walked around his desk. Opening a drawer, she pulled out the bottle of Scotch and a glass he kept hidden there.

"A little early for that," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You're going to need it," she told him, pouring a generous amount into the glass before handing it to him.

[Lady Penelope has her say.]

[The Wedding]

[The Reception]