Title: Dreaming?
Author: Michelle
Rating: FRC
Pairing: Buffy/? - You'll have to read to see who it is.
Summary: Buffy gets a wonderful surprise, but is it real?
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Spoilers: None
Setting: Sometime after season 7
Thanks to opalescence_ and alwaysjbj for catching my many typos.

Buffy stretched and groaned but didn't open her eyes. If she was dreaming, she wanted to make it last as long as possible. So far, she was enjoying herself far too much for it to end. She'd been whisked away to a cabin in the middle of nowhere by the man of her dreams. The previous evening had been spent sipping hot chocolate by a cozy fire while talking about nothing of importance. They talked until the fire died and she could barely keep her eyes open. She vaguely remembered being carried to the bedroom and hearing his softly murmured goodnight wishes before falling asleep.

Now it was morning, and she wondered what the day would hold. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. She was alone in the bedroom, and the house was quiet. "He's probably still asleep," she mumbled as she stood and walked to the dresser. There was a plush robe draped over the chair in front of it. A note sat atop it.

"Change into the bathing suit and robe and follow the trail," she read aloud.

She looked down at the robe suspiciously. "Huh? I didn't bring a bathing suit, and besides, it's winter. Where would we swim?" She picked up the robe and saw a bathing suit under it. "Sneaky."

After taking time to brush her teeth and hair, she changed into the bathing suit and threw on the robe. "Now. Where's this trail I'm supposed to follow?"

Buffy looked around and didn't see a thing. Finally, she wandered into the hall and noticed the flower petals on the floor. A smile spread across her face as she followed them. The trail led to the back door of the cabin where she saw her fuzzy slippers sitting in front of the door. Another note was stuck to the door.

"To keep your feet warm," she read.

With a sigh, she slid her feet into the slippers and opened the door. "This is crazy." She stood in the doorway looking at the path before her. The flower petals lined the stone walkway that disappeared into the woods. It was clear that someone had carefully cleared away all the snow from the trail before dusting the trail with flowers. "But where does it lead?" she wondered. "Only one way to find out."

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin, and she gasped at the feel of the stones under her feet. They were warm. She didn't know how that could be, but she guessed that magic was involved somehow. "Okay. Not so bad. Still confused, though."

Buffy walked for several minutes through the woods. It was chilly but not cold. The heated path and the heavy robe kept her warm enough.

When she reached the end of the trail, she stopped and stared at the sight before her. There was a large Jacuzzi in the middle of the clearing. Steam was rising from the water. "Oh. My. God. A bubble bath? Here? Surrounded by snow?" She had trouble believing it. "This has got to be a dream."

She slowly walked to the edge of the tub and leaned over. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Ooooh. It smells good too, like oranges and cinnamon." She opened her eyes and looked around. There wasn't a note that she could see. "Well, of course, there's no note. It's obvious what I should do now." She took off the slippers and robe before slipping into the warm water. She closed her eyes and moaned at the sensation. The warm water was such a big contrast to the cold of winter around her. She kept her eyes closed, just enjoying the unexpected experience.

It felt like she'd been there for hours when she noticed a change in the air. "I was wondering when you would show up," she teased.

"You've wanted a bubble bath for weeks now. I thought I'd leave you alone to enjoy it for a while."

Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Thank you. I can never find the time for it."

He slipped into the water. "I know," he said. "That's why I brought you here."

She moved so that he could wrap his arms around her. "How did you do this anyway?" she asked.

"I can't reveal all my secrets," he whispered in her ear. "I still want to be able to surprise you from time to time."

"Gonna be hard to do," she said, laughing. "Slayer here, remember? Takes a lot to surprise me. You've been my Watcher for almost ten years. You should know that by now, Giles."

Giles reached behind them and picked up something from the edge of the tub. "I know, Buffy, but I certainly don't think you expect this." He held a small black box in front of her. "We met on a Hellmouth. I thought it best to do this as far away from one as possible. This seemed the best spot."

Buffy was speechless as he opened the box to reveal an elegant diamond ring.

"Buffy, will you marry me?"

She held out a shaking hand as she nodded and managed to mumble, "Yes."

Giles placed the ring on her finger before kissing her.

"If this is a dream, I never want to wake up," she whispered.

"It's not a dream, Love."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

***The End***