Chapter 8

Dawn, Xander, and Giles stood near where the house used to be and watched the landscape. It was slowly returning to normal. The lava was shimmering and disappearing and the land that had been brutalized was mending together. The entrance to the cave, which had become bigger, was still there. They couldn't tell if it was shrinking or not.

"Oh God." Xander said, covering his mouth.

"Where are they?" Dawn asked frantically.

"I'm sure they're fine." Giles said. "It's Buffy. She'll get them out of there." The land continued to change, but still no sign of the others.

"What if…."

"They're fine. Willow can get them out of there."

"Wait…." Xander pointed. "Is that….?"

At the entrance to the cave, which had finally started to shrink, a small gathering of shapes moved towards the mending land. Some were limping and the others were helping the badly injured to walk. Buffy, Legolas, Aragorn, Spike, and Willow led the group of 19 Slayers towards where the house used to be. The darkness of the woods was gone, taking with it the dangerous creatures that had hidden there. Buffy noticed the trees starting to bend back up towards the sky, but patches of the woods were gone.

Dawn ran up and hugged her sister tightly and then looked at the others. "Where's Angel?" Buffy looked devastated. "Oh no!" Dawn covered her mouth to hold back the sob that threatened to escape.

Buffy shook her head. "It was his choice. He wouldn't let me..." She turned away to look at Legolas. He was in pain, but he was trying not to show it. His eyes showed grief, but not for Angel. The grief was for Buffy. He felt the grief and sadness that rolled off of her and it affected him. He opened his arms to her and she buried her face in his chest and began to cry.

"Thala lin long hûn, meleneth. Awartha-avon le. (Stay your heavy heart, my love. I won't abandon you.)" Legolas whispered in her ear.

Buffy held onto him tighter. "Im ista-le ava. Le-en Legolas. (I know you won't. You are my Legolas.)"

"I don't mean to interupt the water works, but the sun will be up soon and I need to find an indoors quick." Spike said. "Otherwise, poof goes the Spike... again."

"He's right, Buffy." Giles said. "We need to go."

Buffy looked at them. "Yes. We do need to go. Xander..."

"There's a hotel in town." Xander said. "It's about a mile away."

"Will they ask questions?"

"I doubt it. They're pretty laid back around here. That or they're pretty drunk most of the time."

Buffy looked up at the entrance to the cave. It was almost completely shut. She didn't want to leave, just in case... "Buffy?" Willow asked.

She turned back. "Right. I guess we need to start walking then." Legolas took Buffy's hand and held it tightly. Her injuries were finally starting to catch up to her and her leg began to throb where the hook had tore into her. She tried to hide the limp, but it made her leg hurt worse. Spike came up on her other side and together, Legolas and Spike helped her walk. It was amazing that after a brutal, nasty fight, two people in love with the same woman could come together to help her out, no questions asked.


Buffy sat with her back against the headboard of the bed, one leg drawn up under her chin while the other, wounded one was stretched in front of her. Legolas was wrapping her wound up in the gauze that Xander had brought them. He had gone out to the nearest 24 hour pharmacy and cleaned them out of first aid supplies. Dawn was asleep in the bed next to Buffy's and Legolas'. Her forehead was bandaged from a cut that Buffy had no idea how it had gotten there. Her wrist was also wrapped up tightly. She had sprained it when Dyrinia had tossed her across the room.

"She will be fine." Legolas said quietly. "As will your leg."

"Still hurts." Buffy said.

"It's going to."

"What about your shoulder?"

"It will be fine." He smiled tightly at her, unsure of what to say.

"What about your heart?"

"What about it?"

"You seem... Hurt."

"I am hurt. My shoulder..."

"Legolas."

He sighed. "Your grief for Angel, it..."

"Makes you feel like you've lost me to him and the only reason I'm with you is because he's not?"

"How do you know everything I'm going to say?"

"Luck." Buffy scooted closer to Legolas and placed her hand on his cheek, gently stroking his soft skin with her thumb. "I loved Angel. Loved. But I LOVE you. I'm going to marry you. I don't want anyone else. Angel was a very dear friend to me. Loosing him... It's hard and it hurts more than I thought it would."

Legolas took her hand from his cheek and held it tightly. "Then you do not wish to leave me?"

"No! Of course not! Have I ever given you any reason to doubt my love for you?"

"No."

"Then don't. If there's one thing that really irks me, it's when the people I love doubt my love for them."

"Forgive me?"

Buffy smiled. "Already forgotten." Legolas leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"God, who can get any sleep around here with you two mooning at each other?" Dawn said from the other bed. "Might as well be listening to you doing it!"


Buffy stood on the hill where the entrance to the cave once was, her beautiful blue dress lightly blowing in the wind. After two days of rest, she, Aragorn, and Legolas were finally returning home that night. Buffy had requested to be alone on her trip up here to say goodbye to her old love. She carried a single white rose in her hands, watching the petals move in the breeze. Quietly, she sat down on the ground and watched the trees and the night sky. It was almost like home here. The land was almost restored to what it once was. Only a few patches of trees that were missing told something had happened here.

Then Buffy looked at the ground where somewhere, Angel's ashes were buried deep below her. She had once loved him with every fiber of her being. Once they had gone their seperate ways, she had harbored a lot of her heart that was only devoted to him. Maybe that's why she had pushed Riley away. Maybe that's why she didn't run as hard as she could to stop him from leaving. Maybe that's why she had been with Spike. Maybe, in the back of her mind, he was a poor substitute for her long lost love. But in the long run, it hadn't been Angel that she ended up with. Despite her cookie dough speech, when Buffy had finished baking, it was Legolas that had pulled her out of the oven.

"Goodbye, my lost Angel. Maybe we'll see each other again one day." She placed the rose in front of her and stood up. As she turned, she brushed off the back of her dress and headed back for the clearing. Unbeknownst to her, the earth below her was shifting and a hand burst through the ground.


"Everything ok?" Willow asked as Buffy emerged from the woods.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah." She looked at Aragorn and Legolas. "You ready to go home?"

"Are you?" Aragorn asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I am!"

"I can't believe I get to go with you!" Dawn said.

"But you're coming back when the wedding is over with. You're not ready for Middle Earth yet." Buffy turned and looked at Giles and Xander. "I guess I'll see you guys in a few weeks, huh?"

"You will be the one walking up the aisle, right? Just so I'm all clear." Xander beamed at Buffy playfully.

"Yes. That will be me." Buffy hugged Xander tighty. "I'll be seeing ya." Giles cleared his throat and cleaned off his glasses. "I'll miss you too, old man."

"Let's be nice." Giles said. "I'm not old..."

"Just well preserved. Gotcha." She hugged him tightly and then turned to Spike.'

"I don't want any sappy goodbyes." He said.
"Neither do I." Buffy shrugged and punched Spike in the shoulder. He looked angry for a minute, but then he smiled and nodded at her.

"Have fun. Don't forget to write."

"It could take a while to get to you. I hear interdimensional mail is horrible." Willow finished the preperations for the spell and waited for Buffy to turn to her. "Ready when you are, Wills."

Willow hugged Buffy. "See you in a few weeks."

Buffy took Legolas' hand and faced Willow. Aragorn and Dawn stood behind them and waited. Willow spoke a few words in Latin and then a portal appeared. With a final wave, Buffy, Legolas, Aragorn, and Dawn stepped into the portal and disappeared. They landed in the Great Hall at Gondor.

"Wow!" Dawn gasped loudly, causing her voice to carry throughout the large room. "This place is huge." She said more quietly. "I can't believe you live here."

"Aragorn?" Arwen said from behind them. She rushed up and kissed Aragorn passionately then turned to Buffy and Legolas. "It is good to have you home. You all have been thoroughly missed here."

Buffy hugged Arwen tightly. "I missed you too. How's Gandalf? Have you talked to the dress maker? Is everything set for the food?"

Arwen laughed. "Do not fret, my friend. I have seen to everything while you were away."

Dawn cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry. Arwen, this is my younger sister, Dawn Summers. She'll be staying here for the wedding."

Arwen shook Dawn's hand. "I am very pleased to meet you."

"You too. Buffy's told me lots about you." Dawn said.

"Good things, I hope."

"Nothing but." Buffy said.

Then Arwen and Buffy switched to Elvish and lost Dawn. They laughed for a second and then got serious. Buffy seemed upset for a minute, but Arwen must have reassured her because she sighed and smiled. Then Aragorn stepped up and took Arwen's hand. "Forgive the intrusion, but I would like to spend time with my wife after being apart for so long."

Buffy waved. "Have fun."

"Ew." Dawn said.

"Oh, you'll get into it one day." Buffy paused. "After you're married, of course."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "So, I'm not staying in the same room with you and Legolas, no way, no how."

"Come on. I'll show you to your room. Legolas..."

"I will meet you in our room when you are ready." Legolas said.

"I want to go riding, so it won't take long."

"It's dark outside." Dawn said.

"That is when your sister loves to ride most." Legolas said. He smiled at Buffy. "I will get Mellon ready." He walked away and Buffy led Dawn towards the living quarters.

"You named your horse Mellon?"

Buffy laughed. "No. Mellon. It means friend in Elvish."

"Oooh."

"I told you, you weren't ready for Middle Earth."

"No, I'm not ready for my older sister in Middle Earth. Look at you! You're speaking the language and wearing the clothes and you know your way around this huge place!"

"I've lived here for over a year. Of course I know my way around."

Dawn stopped and Buffy turned to look at her. "We've only been here less than fifteen minutes and it's like you're a completely different person."

Buffy sighed. "Well, you're stuck here for the next five weeks. So, get used to it."

Dawn shook her head. "At least tell me I have a bathroom."
"Well... You can't flush it. There isn't any plumbing here. Sorry."

"Starting to regret my decision."

"Don't. As gross as it is, someone actually comes and cleans out your bathroom daily. Poor guy." Buffy shook her head and looked at Dawn. "Any way, I know it's hard, but you get used to it. And you won't be here that long."

"What am I supposed to do in the five weeks I'm here?"

"Help me get ready for this wedding."

"Besides that."
"Well, you know how to ride. Go out and take one of the extra horses. I promise one of these days I'll take you to Hobbiton so you can meet Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin." Buffy stopped in front of two large doors. "Well, here you go." Dawn opened one of the doors and stepped inside. "I know it's small, but..."

"Small! Buffy, this totally is bigger than my apartment in London!"

"Oh."

"Wait, is your bedroom bigger?"

"Uh... Maybe."

"And this is considered small?"

"You should see Aragorn's room."

"He's the king."
"I know."

A man walked up to Buffy. "Milady, Prince Legolas wishes to know if you plan to join him soon."

"Oh. Right." Buffy looked at Dawn and then back at the servent. "Uh, can you make sure she's all set up? You know, make sure she gets some nice clothes and is comfortable." Buffy turned to Dawn. "I'll check in on you later, ok?"

"Uh, ok." Dawn said.

Buffy hugged her and then walked away towards the stables. Legolas smiled to himself as his soon-to-be wife's arms wrapped around his waist and she laid her head down on his back with a sigh. "Is everything all right, meleth?"

"I'm just happy to be home." Buffy said, releasing Legolas enough so he could turn in her embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his head down on her head, breathing in the unique scent of her hair.

"As am I. Shall we take Mellon and Arod for a ride? I believe they missed us." He smiled down at her, but saw the sadness that still lingered in her eyes.

"I miss him." Legolas was startled by her sudden confession. He hadn't expected it this soon. Buffy noticed the quick look of hurt on her fiance's face. "What did I tell you? It's just really hard. You know, he's supposed to be immortal. Always there. He wasn't supposed to give his life for me... The world, I mean."

"No, you mean for you." Legolas let go of Buffy and sat down on the bench near Mellon's stable. "He gave his life for you and no one else. He gave his life to give you yours."

Buffy sat down next to him and sighed, taking his hand. "Yeah. He did." She was quiet for a minute. "Do you think that he's at peace?"

"I believe he is. I believe that giving his life to free you brought him the peace he needed."

Buffy smiled slightly. "God, I hope you're right. He deserves it."

Legolas looked at Buffy and smiled. "Meeting Angel... It made me realize something I thought I'd already known."

"What's that?"

"You. Meeting him answered a lot of questions I didn't know I needed answered. Seeing you with him, seeing you be so kind and loving towards him... You're the most compassionate woman I have ever met and it made me love you even more. And it made it that much harder to consider the fact that you could have gone back to him."

Buffy brushed Legolas's hair out of his face and placed her hand on his cheek, gently rubbing it with her thumb. "I love you, Legolas Greenleaf." She kissed his temple and laid her head down on his shoulder.

"I love you even more, Buffy Summers."

"Soon to be Mrs. Buffy Greenleaf."

Legolas laughed. "Maybe you should consider staying with just Buffy. I never realized how... strange that sounded."

Buffy snorted. "Princess Buffy sounds better."

"No second thoughts?"

"None." Buffy kissed Legolas gently and then stood up. "Now come on, let's go riding before Mellon gets even more restless."