Heaven, it is never like you have imagined it. Green fields, a cloudless sky coloured with the most beautiful light blue with only a bright sun in the middle disturbing it. Wonderful smells of a thousand of the most gorgeous flowers existing in the universe mixed with the purest fresh air. Breathtaking sounds coming from birds chirping, intrigued puppies barking softly to little white lambs and other animals, making the mixture complete.
It was crowded by happy, laughing, friendly people of course. They were those who once were the heroes who'd sacraficed their lives for a for them now forgotten world. Time and space had no meaning for them as they lived their uncomplicated lives by the day, eating and drinking to their heart's desire, never getting any fatter than at their deaths.
A young woman - blond hair, grey eyes, ran over the green fields as her little girl, six years old, ran in front of her, giggling as she was able to stay out her mother's grip. The young woman fell to the ground as she leapt in a desperate attempt to catch her lovely daughter. The woman glared up at a laughing man watching from the crest of a near-by mound.
"Oh shut up, Xander," she replied, the anger in her tone belied by the happiness shining in her eyes.
She saw the brunette trying to stop laughing, but understood that a single look at Jenny's amused face was more than enough for him to continue laughing with even more force. Finally her heart's desire regained himself and tried to speak. "I-I'm sorry, Buff," he apologized.
With one hand on her hip she looked sternly at him. "Alexander 'Lavelle' Harris, are you laughing at you wife's discomfort?" She saw him switching his face between her and their daughter and how they both nodded.
"Well?"
"Uh, you're sure, Jenny."
"Yes, daddy."
"Buffy?"
She looked at him with impatience. "Yes?"
"Can I ask you a question?" She rolled her eyes and waited impatiently. "Is that a yes or a no? . . . Uh, a yes, I guess."
She saw him standing up, his smile disappeared as he went serious. Then he went to one knee and took her hand as he looked up at her. "Would you like to marry me?"
Buffy stared at him and a warm smile lit up her features. "Of course, Xan."
A loud cheer interrupted their wonderful moment, making it even more special, and Buffy turned her gaze to their daugther, who was jumping on her feet. "They are going to marry! Marry! Marry! Marry!"
Buffy turned her gaze to Xander again and smile widely at the happines that radiated from his eyes as he watched his daughter. She waited 'till he had his face turned towards him, before she spoke. "Let's tell the others than we can prepare the party."
"Party! Party! Party!"
"Party! Party! Party!" Xander's best friends yelled.
"Oh, man, do you what you get you self into?" one of them asked.
"Oh, like you have to tell me, Jess? You have more experience than I ever could handle. Don't you agree, Tar?"
Jesse and Xander waited patiently as their friend with the flaming cheeks tried to speak.
A young woman stared at the shy girl. "Don't listen to them, Tara," she warned her.
"Oh, come on, Ann, let her speak."
The bartender gazed at Xander and his friends as they were all drinking a huge pull of beer. "You still have to marry today,you still know that, don't you?" she replied sternly.
"Of course I do. I have already bought the most beautiful Ring you could ever imagine."
She shrugged. "I only hope you still have enough money left to pay for all the beer."
"Hey, I'll let you know that I have saved all my money for this a long time ago."
"Uh, Master Xander," Sam Gamgee interrupted, "That was for the journey, remember?"
"Sam, my dear friend, marriage is a journey. It's like riding over a rocky path with all the obstacles that life can throw at you."
Anya smiled at Xander's friend as he looked dazed at him. "Oh." She felt funny feelings for the polite and decent young man and her heart flip-flopped when he turned his gaze to her asking for a refill of his glass.
Yeah, some would consider the place to be Hell.
From a distant a stranger looked at those mysterious, peaceful and funny looking creatures as he stared over the green land of hills and fields as they prepared for the party.
"Bugger . . ."