Chapter 27
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' Apartment
5:30 pm
Cordelia knocked on the door, and Anya opened it. "Oh, you again,"
Anya muttered but let her in. Cordelia saw Xander standing nearby, to
her right, next to Anya. He was glaring at Buffy, who was standing in
the entrance to the living room from the kitchen. Buffy was staring
at the floor, a guilty expression on her face. Giles was standing
next to her, obviously at a loss for words. Oz and Willow were
standing to Cordelia's left, Oz with an arm around Willow's waist.
Willow was looking at Xander sadly.
"Hi, Cordy," Xander said quietly.
"Xander, if you don't want me here just say so," Cordelia replied.
"No, you can stay," Xander answered. "Buffy was just about to explain
how it is that Angel is among the living, and not just in the undead
sense."
Cordelia sighed and said, "My fault, Xander. I took Buffy to find the
cure, and it ended up curing him much better than we'd hoped."
"Did you know it would?"
"It did in the past," Cordelia replied. "All I hoped for this time was
that it would bring his soul back, though. "
Xander nodded, silent for what seemed like forever. "If you had known
what he did to me before you got to the mansion, would you still have
thought he deserved to be saved?" Xander asked Cordelia.
"That's a tough one, Xander. I told you before, that Angel's my
friend. He has saved my life more times than I can count. But I also
wouldn't have hesitated to destroy him if it was necessary. That's
why I didn't stop you when you tried to stake him," Cordelia said.
"At least you've been honest with me, which is more than I can say for
_some_ people," Xander replied, looking pointedly at Buffy. "Why
didn't you tell me he was back yesterday? Because you knew I wouldn't
go in for the 'let's save his soul' plan? So instead you put my life
and Anya's in danger, by keeping vital information from me?"
"That's not fair, Xander. You know I didn't want to see you hurt. If I
thought you were in danger, I would have told you. And I did intend to
tell you, but I got distracted by the fact that I couldn't find
Riley. I honestly thought that he was in more danger from Angelus
than anyone else. And then I...forgot to tell you," Buffy shrugged.
She knew her reason was awful, but it was the truth.
"Somehow, 'I forgot', doesn't reassure me about the state of our
friendship," Xander said bitterly.
"I'm so sorry, Xander. If I could change it...."
"You'd change _some_ of it, right? But not the parts where you get
your precious Angel back," Xander said. Buffy didn't reply to that,
and he continued, "That's what I thought. As I said to Wills earlier,
I'm tired of playing along with your obsession with Angel, Buffy. He
goes evil, you move heaven and earth to save him, and consequences to
the rest of the world be damned. I hit my limit last night, when I
saw just what evil is. He didn't, _doesn't_ deserve to live, much
less be human. I don't know if I'll ever be able to accept the choice
that you and Willow made in saving him. I understand why you did it,
But it doesn't make me feel any less betrayed.
"I said it before, and I mean it: I need time and space to deal with
things. I don't know how much time, but I think I know how much space.
So I'm leaving town."
"What?" Willow said. "Xander, you can't just give up like this. It's
not like you!"
"Willow, this is what I have to do to keep _from_ giving up," Xander
replied. "And this isn't open for discussion. I've made my decision
already, I'm just here to let you know about it."
"Xander, don't shut us out. You need friends right now," Willow
pleaded.
"Friends," Xander repeated with a laugh. "Willow, the three of us
haven't been real friends for a while now. You and Buffy have your
college lives, and I don't fit into those lives anymore. I'm not
feeling the love and haven't for a long time. I'm not important to
you two."
"That's not true, Xander," Buffy insisted. "You are important to us. I
know we've drifted, but this hasn't been an easy year for Willow or
me. But you've been there for us through all of our stuff. Let us be
there for you now and help you with your stuff."
"Buffy, are you back together with Angel?" Xander asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"If he wasn't around, maybe I would stay," Xander said. "Maybe the
three of us could manage to salvage our friendships. But he is going
to be around, and with you. I don't want to be anywhere near him,
Buffy. If I saw him, I'd probably have the overwhelming urge to kill
him. That wouldn't go over too well, since he's human now. So, not
much wanting to face a murder rap, I have to stay away from where he
is. Since you two are together, that means hanging out with Buffy is
off the agenda. It's not enough just to avoid you two, I don't want
to play 'dodge Buffy and Angel', not in this small town. So I'm
getting out of here for a while. It's better this way."
"Don't be ridiculous, Xander," Willow replied. "It's not better for
you if you're alone."
"He isn't alone," Anya said. "I'm going with him."
"Where _are_ you going, if you don't mind my asking, Xander?" Giles
asked.
"I'm not sure, really," Xander shrugged. "We're just going to head
east and keep moving until we find a place without too many demons."
"So that's it? So long, have a nice life?" Willow asked.
"There's nothing more to say. And I won't bother to promise that I'm
coming back because I don't know for sure that I am," he said. He
looked over to Cordelia and said, "No protests from your corner?"
"I know you're doing what you think is best," Cordelia replied. "I
also know that some time away from Sunnydale will be good for you.
Just be careful, and take care of yourself, okay?" Looking at
Anya, "Take care of him." She turned to the door and opened it. She
turned back to Xander saying, "You've got my number. But I'll see you
when you get back."
When Cordelia was gone, Buffy said, "Am I the only one who feels like
she's stuck in an episode of the Twilight Zone? Since when are you and
Cordelia best friends, Xander?"
"She's grown up a lot since she left Sunnydale, Buffy," Xander said.
"She's not the same self-absorbed person she used to be. She's learned
how to be concerned about more than what's going on in her own life.
She actually had the decency to apologize for the way she treated me
after the breakup. Can you believe that? After what _I_ did to her,
she still apologized. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't have to
explain what I think or feel to you. Not anymore." He turned and
opened the door. He didn't look back as he walked outside with Anya
and closed it behind him.
&&&&&&&
Motel 6
6:00 pm
"He's gonna want that back, isn't he?" Doyle asked, as they passed
Spike's car on their way to get Wesley.
"Oh, I'm counting on it," Angel answered. "And when he comes looking
for it, I'm going to end what I started a century ago when I turned
him."
"You really think you can do that?" Doyle questioned.
"Let's see, he sent that Witch after me to turn me back to Angelus, he
bit Buffy and nearly drained her dry, before that, he's done nothing
but make Buffy's, my, everyone's lives miserable....I don't care if
he is, or was, my childe. He's dangerous and if anyone should end
this it's me," Angel replied. He arrived at the hotel room and
knocked, opening it when he heard Wesley's invitation.
"Wes, we're going to dinner. Join us?" Angel asked.
"I'd love to, but if we can wait about ten minutes, I just got a call
from Cordelia saying she's on her way back. She sounded like she
needed cheering up, I gathered that the situation at Giles' house
wasn't a good one," Wesley said, trying to be as non-guilt inducing
as possible with Angel. He knew that Angle blamed himself for the
conflicts between Buffy and her friends, and was already beating
himself up for it worse than anyone else could have.
"Fine," Angel said, pulling over a chair and retreating to his own
thoughts. Wesley sighed, wishing he had some magic answer for all of
Angel's problems.
Doyle and Charlotte entered and made themselves comfortable, and
Doyle, characteristically, decided Angel moping was a bad
thing. "Snap out of it, Man! You can't change the past, so just let
it go," Doyle said.
"Uh-huh," Angel said skeptically. "You don't have a clue, Doyle, what
it's like to live with the memories of murdering and torturing
thousands in the last almost three hundred years. So keep your 'get
over its' to yourself," he finished angrily, jumping up from his
chair.
"Now that's more like it," Doyle replied, walking up to him and
challenging, "Get mad, yell, punch me, I don't care! Show _some_ sign
of life, but don't retreat, Angel! Not this time, not when you have
too much to be live for now.
"You caught a raw deal, okay? I realize that, we ALL realize that!
Two hundred and forty years ago, some bitch vampire decided she
wanted a boy-toy and vamped you. You had no control over that, your
life ended before you had a chance to do anything with it. The demon
took over then, though, Angel!
"You're right, I have no idea what it's like to know what Angelus did
using your body. But it wasn't you, Man. Angel, you have risked your
life for over a hundred years to help people in trouble. You're the
guy who taught me about sacrifice, and inspired me to the one
selfless act of my life. You're the one who never let me give up on
the dream of loving Cordelia and her loving me back. And you were
right, it looks like Cordelia and I might make a future together.
"So if you think I'm going to sit back and watch you give up now out
of some misguided sense of guilt, when you've got the chance of
everything _you've_ ever dreamed of, you've got ANOTHER thing
coming!"
Doyle stopped for breath as Angel just looked at him in shock.
"Bravo," Cordelia said from the doorway. "I couldn't have said it
better," she added. She walked up next to Doyle and put her arm around
him, leaning her head on his chest.
"Bad?" Angel asked softly, noting the sadness in her eyes.
"Oh, no you don't," Cordelia answered. "I see the guilt-trip fun
you've got going, and we're not going to discuss the saga of the
Scooby Gang right now. Everyone's still standing, metaphorically
speaking of course, and that's all you need to know right now.
I'm starving, though, so what's the dinner plan? As long as you
promise me to control yourself with the rediscovering-food thing, you
can come," she said to Angel.
He looked at her shocked, "How could you possibly remember that?" he
said.
"I guess it's something about these visions. A few days after you told
me and Doyle about the reversing the day, I had a flash, not as
painful though. I distinctly saw you run for the refrigerator in the
office and start eating everything in it. Something about chocolate
ice cream, too?" Cordelia shook her head. "That's all I got."
Angel was incredibly relieved that was ALL Cordelia had seen in her
vision. And nothing of he and Buffy in his apartment.
"Anyway, enough gab. Let's eat," Cordelia said.
&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' House
6:30 pm
When Xander closed the door behind him, Willow felt like all the air
rushed out of the room. She fought to stay calm, not to have the
crying fit she so wanted to give into right now. She looked over at
Oz, and saw that he was watching her with a worried expression on his
face. *Not helpful.*
She looked over to Buffy, and saw that expression mirrored there as
well. *Okay, that's not good either*. When she saw it again on Giles'
face, she realized she was incredibly claustrophobic suddenly. She
closed her eyes, willing herself to continue to take slow deep
breaths, and then asked herself to wake up, just in case it was a
nightmare. When she dared to open her eyes, she realized with a sigh
that it _was_ a nightmare, but of the not-wake-up-from variety.
"Willow?" she heard Buffy say.
"Don't," she whispered, not looking at her. "There's nothing you can
say that would possibly make me feel better right now. What I need
from you, from all of you, is if we just move on. Life goes on, and
we've got important stuff to do." She looked at Buffy then.
Buffy nodded, saying, "Fair enough, Willow. What would you say is
first on the important stuff list?"
"Well, I think..." Willow moved toward the couch, but her world went
black. She vaguely realized that Oz had caught her, but the next
coherent thing she was aware of was lying on the couch, and Oz, Buffy
and Giles were hovering. "I'm okay," she muttered, sitting up. "I just
got dizzy, that's all."
"Willow, when is the last time you ate anything?" Giles asked,
worriedly.
"Ate?" Willow said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"That wasn't supposed to be a difficult question, Willow," Giles
sighed. "I think that explains the fainting spell, though."
"Why don't we all go get something?" Buffy suggested. "It would be
good to get out together, and try to do a normal thing for once. You
too."
"I think it's a good idea," Willow said.
"I'll drive, I've got the van," Oz said as he helped her up.
"I really don't think I--" Giles was trying to think of a nice way to
refuse. He didn't think they would really want him around.
"Giles!" Willow and Buffy yelled in unison. Buffy giggled, and said,
"You're coming with us, no argument. You need to unwind just like the
rest of us."
"I ... I suppose I could use some dinner," Giles conceded.
"Okay, then. Let's go! The more I think about it the hungrier I am,"
Buffy said as she herded her friends out the door.
&&&&&&&&&&
The Bronze
7 pm
"Why are we here again?" Wesley yelled to compete with the band on
stage.
"Hey, as I recall, you had no suggestions to offer so don't complain!"
Cordelia replied. "There's a table!" she yelled and left the others in
the dust as she dove for a free table. When the rest of the group had
caught up, Cordelia was already abusing a waitress, explaining to her
that they weren't going to tolerate an hour wait, because she hadn't
eaten all day. When the put-upon girl was finally allowed to leave,
Cordelia noticed Angel's look. "What?" she said innocently. "Don't
look at me like that, you'll be thanking me when we get decent
service."
"Some things never change, huh?" Doyle asked Angel with a grin.
"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked with a raised
eyebrow.
"Just that you're perfect and that hasn't changed," Doyle replied,
putting his arm around her waist.
Charlotte groaned and put her head on her arms on the table in a
gesture of resignation. She looked up though, "I haven't eaten yet,
Doyle, would you mind not making me lose my appetite?"
"Oh you've so gotta be kidding me." Angel looked up at Buffy's voice.
Buffy, Willow, Oz and Giles were standing there. "Of all the places
that all of us could have gone for dinner, how unlikely is it that we
would have chosen the same one?" she asked.
"Not that unlikely," Cordelia said. "Old habits die hard, I guess. We
did spend most of our lives here, you know."
"What do you mean 'did'?" Buffy said. "Unfortunately, Willow and I
and.... well, we always come here." Giles, Willow and Oz went in
search of more stools to pull up to the already crowded table.
Angel gave up his stool, and Buffy took it. He moved to stand behind
her and put his arms around her.
"Miss me?" Buffy smiled at him.
"Definitely," Angel replied and kissed her.
"You know how you were saying some things never change?" Cordelia
turned to Doyle. "Well, welcome to the Angel and Buffy show. It's
something I've seen many times in the past. Everything other than
them has now ceased to exist. When they do come up for air, you might
be able to get a coherent sentence out of one of them, but don't
count on it."
"I heard that," Buffy said as they broke the kiss, but she continued
to gaze at Angel.
"I wasn't whispering or anything," Cordelia shrugged. "Besides, I was
just stating the reality that is you two."
"Can we not argue?" Willow asked wearily. "And if we're on the train
of how some things never change, why don't we add to that the fact
that you" looking at Cordelia, "and Buffy have been at each other's
throats since the first day you met and you haven't stopped yet."
"Sorry," both girls mumbled.
The silence was broken by the return of the waitress, and when the
orders had been placed the mood was considerably lighter. "So,
Charlotte, how do you like our boring Sunnydale so far?" Buffy asked.
Charlotte and Angel exchanged a smile, and Charlotte said, "Oh, I
think I'll find things here to amuse me."
"I'm sure we could exchange stories of all the icky things we've come
into contact with," Buffy said. "I bet you have some interesting
stories too, Cordelia."
"Let's see," Cordelia said. "There's the guy who was able to detach
his body parts. He was fun to dispose of. Of course there was also the
"Talking Stick."
"Not the talking stick, Cordelia, please," Angel groaned.
"Oh, I think that's just too good to keep to ourselves, Cordelia,"
Doyle said with a chuckle.
To Angel's mortification, Cordelia and Doyle proceeded to give a very
good accounting of Angel's encounter with the stick, including his
insistence on a group hug. When everyone had stopped laughing, Willow
said, "I think that's almost as funny as the Halloween demon thing.
You remember that one, Buffy?"
"Oh, God, yes. He's still stuck to one of my favorite pairs of shoes!"
Buffy muttered.
As the group exchanged the more amusing demon stories, Giles
smiled. He was relieved that Buffy and her friends had survived the
latest serious conflict intact. *Well, somewhat intact,* he amended
that. *But I think Xander will be back, and in the mean time, Buffy's
remaining friends have stuck by her. We just may be able to defeat
Adam after all.*
&&&&&&&&&
Xander's House
7 pm
"Are you sure about this, Xander?" Anya asked. She was watching him
pack a duffel bag, her house was the next stop before they left that
night.
"Very, Anya," Xander replied. "I actually can't wait to put some
distance between me and Sunnydale. It's exactly what I need. But I
really don't want you to feel obligated--"
"Xander, you've given me every opportunity to _not_ go with you, and I
appreciate it. But I go where you go, okay?"
"Okay," Xander said. "Thanks, Anya."
"For what? Being a good girlfriend and wanting to take care of you?
That's not something you need to thank me for, Xander. Besides, I'm
thinking this trip will be the chance for a new adventure. This town
was getting old," she said.
"Just as long as you don't pack so much stuff we won't be able to fit
in the car," Xander joked. "It is a compact, Anya, and that means
light on the packing. Okay?"
"I know that," Anya said with a shake of her head. Mentally, though,
she was frantically going through her list of things to take. *Damn,
now he tells me* she thought, trying to decide what she could live
without.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Highway 5
7 pm
Spike and Dru were in a black Mustang which had been modified for
vampire use. Patrick had covered all the windows, to protect Spike and
Drusilla until the sun went down. Now the two vampire lovers were
driving to the California coast.
Spike was in a better than normal mood. Despite the loss of his car,
this new one was quite a catch. He would never admit it out loud, but
he was happy for the first time since Drusilla had left him over a
year ago. Dru was actually tolerating his Nine Inch Nails CD which
was at maximum volume as he drove, which proved she was rather happy
too. Spike pulled her close, putting his right arm around her. She
purred contentedly and relaxed against him.
"Say goodbye to Sunnyhell, Pet. Spike and his Princess are going
somewhere without slayers or bad things. Just plenty of stupid humans,
ripe for the picking."
"I can still remember Paris in the summertime, Will, even though it's
been ages since we were there last. Do you think it will be the way it
was?" Drusilla asked, looking up at him.
He glanced over at her and kissed her quickly, and replied, "Paris is
one of those cities that always stays the same, Dru."
"Just like us!" Drusilla said with a smile
"Yes, Pet, just like us," Spike chuckled.
&&&&&&&&&&
The END of The End
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' Apartment
5:30 pm
Cordelia knocked on the door, and Anya opened it. "Oh, you again,"
Anya muttered but let her in. Cordelia saw Xander standing nearby, to
her right, next to Anya. He was glaring at Buffy, who was standing in
the entrance to the living room from the kitchen. Buffy was staring
at the floor, a guilty expression on her face. Giles was standing
next to her, obviously at a loss for words. Oz and Willow were
standing to Cordelia's left, Oz with an arm around Willow's waist.
Willow was looking at Xander sadly.
"Hi, Cordy," Xander said quietly.
"Xander, if you don't want me here just say so," Cordelia replied.
"No, you can stay," Xander answered. "Buffy was just about to explain
how it is that Angel is among the living, and not just in the undead
sense."
Cordelia sighed and said, "My fault, Xander. I took Buffy to find the
cure, and it ended up curing him much better than we'd hoped."
"Did you know it would?"
"It did in the past," Cordelia replied. "All I hoped for this time was
that it would bring his soul back, though. "
Xander nodded, silent for what seemed like forever. "If you had known
what he did to me before you got to the mansion, would you still have
thought he deserved to be saved?" Xander asked Cordelia.
"That's a tough one, Xander. I told you before, that Angel's my
friend. He has saved my life more times than I can count. But I also
wouldn't have hesitated to destroy him if it was necessary. That's
why I didn't stop you when you tried to stake him," Cordelia said.
"At least you've been honest with me, which is more than I can say for
_some_ people," Xander replied, looking pointedly at Buffy. "Why
didn't you tell me he was back yesterday? Because you knew I wouldn't
go in for the 'let's save his soul' plan? So instead you put my life
and Anya's in danger, by keeping vital information from me?"
"That's not fair, Xander. You know I didn't want to see you hurt. If I
thought you were in danger, I would have told you. And I did intend to
tell you, but I got distracted by the fact that I couldn't find
Riley. I honestly thought that he was in more danger from Angelus
than anyone else. And then I...forgot to tell you," Buffy shrugged.
She knew her reason was awful, but it was the truth.
"Somehow, 'I forgot', doesn't reassure me about the state of our
friendship," Xander said bitterly.
"I'm so sorry, Xander. If I could change it...."
"You'd change _some_ of it, right? But not the parts where you get
your precious Angel back," Xander said. Buffy didn't reply to that,
and he continued, "That's what I thought. As I said to Wills earlier,
I'm tired of playing along with your obsession with Angel, Buffy. He
goes evil, you move heaven and earth to save him, and consequences to
the rest of the world be damned. I hit my limit last night, when I
saw just what evil is. He didn't, _doesn't_ deserve to live, much
less be human. I don't know if I'll ever be able to accept the choice
that you and Willow made in saving him. I understand why you did it,
But it doesn't make me feel any less betrayed.
"I said it before, and I mean it: I need time and space to deal with
things. I don't know how much time, but I think I know how much space.
So I'm leaving town."
"What?" Willow said. "Xander, you can't just give up like this. It's
not like you!"
"Willow, this is what I have to do to keep _from_ giving up," Xander
replied. "And this isn't open for discussion. I've made my decision
already, I'm just here to let you know about it."
"Xander, don't shut us out. You need friends right now," Willow
pleaded.
"Friends," Xander repeated with a laugh. "Willow, the three of us
haven't been real friends for a while now. You and Buffy have your
college lives, and I don't fit into those lives anymore. I'm not
feeling the love and haven't for a long time. I'm not important to
you two."
"That's not true, Xander," Buffy insisted. "You are important to us. I
know we've drifted, but this hasn't been an easy year for Willow or
me. But you've been there for us through all of our stuff. Let us be
there for you now and help you with your stuff."
"Buffy, are you back together with Angel?" Xander asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"If he wasn't around, maybe I would stay," Xander said. "Maybe the
three of us could manage to salvage our friendships. But he is going
to be around, and with you. I don't want to be anywhere near him,
Buffy. If I saw him, I'd probably have the overwhelming urge to kill
him. That wouldn't go over too well, since he's human now. So, not
much wanting to face a murder rap, I have to stay away from where he
is. Since you two are together, that means hanging out with Buffy is
off the agenda. It's not enough just to avoid you two, I don't want
to play 'dodge Buffy and Angel', not in this small town. So I'm
getting out of here for a while. It's better this way."
"Don't be ridiculous, Xander," Willow replied. "It's not better for
you if you're alone."
"He isn't alone," Anya said. "I'm going with him."
"Where _are_ you going, if you don't mind my asking, Xander?" Giles
asked.
"I'm not sure, really," Xander shrugged. "We're just going to head
east and keep moving until we find a place without too many demons."
"So that's it? So long, have a nice life?" Willow asked.
"There's nothing more to say. And I won't bother to promise that I'm
coming back because I don't know for sure that I am," he said. He
looked over to Cordelia and said, "No protests from your corner?"
"I know you're doing what you think is best," Cordelia replied. "I
also know that some time away from Sunnydale will be good for you.
Just be careful, and take care of yourself, okay?" Looking at
Anya, "Take care of him." She turned to the door and opened it. She
turned back to Xander saying, "You've got my number. But I'll see you
when you get back."
When Cordelia was gone, Buffy said, "Am I the only one who feels like
she's stuck in an episode of the Twilight Zone? Since when are you and
Cordelia best friends, Xander?"
"She's grown up a lot since she left Sunnydale, Buffy," Xander said.
"She's not the same self-absorbed person she used to be. She's learned
how to be concerned about more than what's going on in her own life.
She actually had the decency to apologize for the way she treated me
after the breakup. Can you believe that? After what _I_ did to her,
she still apologized. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't have to
explain what I think or feel to you. Not anymore." He turned and
opened the door. He didn't look back as he walked outside with Anya
and closed it behind him.
&&&&&&&
Motel 6
6:00 pm
"He's gonna want that back, isn't he?" Doyle asked, as they passed
Spike's car on their way to get Wesley.
"Oh, I'm counting on it," Angel answered. "And when he comes looking
for it, I'm going to end what I started a century ago when I turned
him."
"You really think you can do that?" Doyle questioned.
"Let's see, he sent that Witch after me to turn me back to Angelus, he
bit Buffy and nearly drained her dry, before that, he's done nothing
but make Buffy's, my, everyone's lives miserable....I don't care if
he is, or was, my childe. He's dangerous and if anyone should end
this it's me," Angel replied. He arrived at the hotel room and
knocked, opening it when he heard Wesley's invitation.
"Wes, we're going to dinner. Join us?" Angel asked.
"I'd love to, but if we can wait about ten minutes, I just got a call
from Cordelia saying she's on her way back. She sounded like she
needed cheering up, I gathered that the situation at Giles' house
wasn't a good one," Wesley said, trying to be as non-guilt inducing
as possible with Angel. He knew that Angle blamed himself for the
conflicts between Buffy and her friends, and was already beating
himself up for it worse than anyone else could have.
"Fine," Angel said, pulling over a chair and retreating to his own
thoughts. Wesley sighed, wishing he had some magic answer for all of
Angel's problems.
Doyle and Charlotte entered and made themselves comfortable, and
Doyle, characteristically, decided Angel moping was a bad
thing. "Snap out of it, Man! You can't change the past, so just let
it go," Doyle said.
"Uh-huh," Angel said skeptically. "You don't have a clue, Doyle, what
it's like to live with the memories of murdering and torturing
thousands in the last almost three hundred years. So keep your 'get
over its' to yourself," he finished angrily, jumping up from his
chair.
"Now that's more like it," Doyle replied, walking up to him and
challenging, "Get mad, yell, punch me, I don't care! Show _some_ sign
of life, but don't retreat, Angel! Not this time, not when you have
too much to be live for now.
"You caught a raw deal, okay? I realize that, we ALL realize that!
Two hundred and forty years ago, some bitch vampire decided she
wanted a boy-toy and vamped you. You had no control over that, your
life ended before you had a chance to do anything with it. The demon
took over then, though, Angel!
"You're right, I have no idea what it's like to know what Angelus did
using your body. But it wasn't you, Man. Angel, you have risked your
life for over a hundred years to help people in trouble. You're the
guy who taught me about sacrifice, and inspired me to the one
selfless act of my life. You're the one who never let me give up on
the dream of loving Cordelia and her loving me back. And you were
right, it looks like Cordelia and I might make a future together.
"So if you think I'm going to sit back and watch you give up now out
of some misguided sense of guilt, when you've got the chance of
everything _you've_ ever dreamed of, you've got ANOTHER thing
coming!"
Doyle stopped for breath as Angel just looked at him in shock.
"Bravo," Cordelia said from the doorway. "I couldn't have said it
better," she added. She walked up next to Doyle and put her arm around
him, leaning her head on his chest.
"Bad?" Angel asked softly, noting the sadness in her eyes.
"Oh, no you don't," Cordelia answered. "I see the guilt-trip fun
you've got going, and we're not going to discuss the saga of the
Scooby Gang right now. Everyone's still standing, metaphorically
speaking of course, and that's all you need to know right now.
I'm starving, though, so what's the dinner plan? As long as you
promise me to control yourself with the rediscovering-food thing, you
can come," she said to Angel.
He looked at her shocked, "How could you possibly remember that?" he
said.
"I guess it's something about these visions. A few days after you told
me and Doyle about the reversing the day, I had a flash, not as
painful though. I distinctly saw you run for the refrigerator in the
office and start eating everything in it. Something about chocolate
ice cream, too?" Cordelia shook her head. "That's all I got."
Angel was incredibly relieved that was ALL Cordelia had seen in her
vision. And nothing of he and Buffy in his apartment.
"Anyway, enough gab. Let's eat," Cordelia said.
&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' House
6:30 pm
When Xander closed the door behind him, Willow felt like all the air
rushed out of the room. She fought to stay calm, not to have the
crying fit she so wanted to give into right now. She looked over at
Oz, and saw that he was watching her with a worried expression on his
face. *Not helpful.*
She looked over to Buffy, and saw that expression mirrored there as
well. *Okay, that's not good either*. When she saw it again on Giles'
face, she realized she was incredibly claustrophobic suddenly. She
closed her eyes, willing herself to continue to take slow deep
breaths, and then asked herself to wake up, just in case it was a
nightmare. When she dared to open her eyes, she realized with a sigh
that it _was_ a nightmare, but of the not-wake-up-from variety.
"Willow?" she heard Buffy say.
"Don't," she whispered, not looking at her. "There's nothing you can
say that would possibly make me feel better right now. What I need
from you, from all of you, is if we just move on. Life goes on, and
we've got important stuff to do." She looked at Buffy then.
Buffy nodded, saying, "Fair enough, Willow. What would you say is
first on the important stuff list?"
"Well, I think..." Willow moved toward the couch, but her world went
black. She vaguely realized that Oz had caught her, but the next
coherent thing she was aware of was lying on the couch, and Oz, Buffy
and Giles were hovering. "I'm okay," she muttered, sitting up. "I just
got dizzy, that's all."
"Willow, when is the last time you ate anything?" Giles asked,
worriedly.
"Ate?" Willow said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"That wasn't supposed to be a difficult question, Willow," Giles
sighed. "I think that explains the fainting spell, though."
"Why don't we all go get something?" Buffy suggested. "It would be
good to get out together, and try to do a normal thing for once. You
too."
"I think it's a good idea," Willow said.
"I'll drive, I've got the van," Oz said as he helped her up.
"I really don't think I--" Giles was trying to think of a nice way to
refuse. He didn't think they would really want him around.
"Giles!" Willow and Buffy yelled in unison. Buffy giggled, and said,
"You're coming with us, no argument. You need to unwind just like the
rest of us."
"I ... I suppose I could use some dinner," Giles conceded.
"Okay, then. Let's go! The more I think about it the hungrier I am,"
Buffy said as she herded her friends out the door.
&&&&&&&&&&
The Bronze
7 pm
"Why are we here again?" Wesley yelled to compete with the band on
stage.
"Hey, as I recall, you had no suggestions to offer so don't complain!"
Cordelia replied. "There's a table!" she yelled and left the others in
the dust as she dove for a free table. When the rest of the group had
caught up, Cordelia was already abusing a waitress, explaining to her
that they weren't going to tolerate an hour wait, because she hadn't
eaten all day. When the put-upon girl was finally allowed to leave,
Cordelia noticed Angel's look. "What?" she said innocently. "Don't
look at me like that, you'll be thanking me when we get decent
service."
"Some things never change, huh?" Doyle asked Angel with a grin.
"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked with a raised
eyebrow.
"Just that you're perfect and that hasn't changed," Doyle replied,
putting his arm around her waist.
Charlotte groaned and put her head on her arms on the table in a
gesture of resignation. She looked up though, "I haven't eaten yet,
Doyle, would you mind not making me lose my appetite?"
"Oh you've so gotta be kidding me." Angel looked up at Buffy's voice.
Buffy, Willow, Oz and Giles were standing there. "Of all the places
that all of us could have gone for dinner, how unlikely is it that we
would have chosen the same one?" she asked.
"Not that unlikely," Cordelia said. "Old habits die hard, I guess. We
did spend most of our lives here, you know."
"What do you mean 'did'?" Buffy said. "Unfortunately, Willow and I
and.... well, we always come here." Giles, Willow and Oz went in
search of more stools to pull up to the already crowded table.
Angel gave up his stool, and Buffy took it. He moved to stand behind
her and put his arms around her.
"Miss me?" Buffy smiled at him.
"Definitely," Angel replied and kissed her.
"You know how you were saying some things never change?" Cordelia
turned to Doyle. "Well, welcome to the Angel and Buffy show. It's
something I've seen many times in the past. Everything other than
them has now ceased to exist. When they do come up for air, you might
be able to get a coherent sentence out of one of them, but don't
count on it."
"I heard that," Buffy said as they broke the kiss, but she continued
to gaze at Angel.
"I wasn't whispering or anything," Cordelia shrugged. "Besides, I was
just stating the reality that is you two."
"Can we not argue?" Willow asked wearily. "And if we're on the train
of how some things never change, why don't we add to that the fact
that you" looking at Cordelia, "and Buffy have been at each other's
throats since the first day you met and you haven't stopped yet."
"Sorry," both girls mumbled.
The silence was broken by the return of the waitress, and when the
orders had been placed the mood was considerably lighter. "So,
Charlotte, how do you like our boring Sunnydale so far?" Buffy asked.
Charlotte and Angel exchanged a smile, and Charlotte said, "Oh, I
think I'll find things here to amuse me."
"I'm sure we could exchange stories of all the icky things we've come
into contact with," Buffy said. "I bet you have some interesting
stories too, Cordelia."
"Let's see," Cordelia said. "There's the guy who was able to detach
his body parts. He was fun to dispose of. Of course there was also the
"Talking Stick."
"Not the talking stick, Cordelia, please," Angel groaned.
"Oh, I think that's just too good to keep to ourselves, Cordelia,"
Doyle said with a chuckle.
To Angel's mortification, Cordelia and Doyle proceeded to give a very
good accounting of Angel's encounter with the stick, including his
insistence on a group hug. When everyone had stopped laughing, Willow
said, "I think that's almost as funny as the Halloween demon thing.
You remember that one, Buffy?"
"Oh, God, yes. He's still stuck to one of my favorite pairs of shoes!"
Buffy muttered.
As the group exchanged the more amusing demon stories, Giles
smiled. He was relieved that Buffy and her friends had survived the
latest serious conflict intact. *Well, somewhat intact,* he amended
that. *But I think Xander will be back, and in the mean time, Buffy's
remaining friends have stuck by her. We just may be able to defeat
Adam after all.*
&&&&&&&&&
Xander's House
7 pm
"Are you sure about this, Xander?" Anya asked. She was watching him
pack a duffel bag, her house was the next stop before they left that
night.
"Very, Anya," Xander replied. "I actually can't wait to put some
distance between me and Sunnydale. It's exactly what I need. But I
really don't want you to feel obligated--"
"Xander, you've given me every opportunity to _not_ go with you, and I
appreciate it. But I go where you go, okay?"
"Okay," Xander said. "Thanks, Anya."
"For what? Being a good girlfriend and wanting to take care of you?
That's not something you need to thank me for, Xander. Besides, I'm
thinking this trip will be the chance for a new adventure. This town
was getting old," she said.
"Just as long as you don't pack so much stuff we won't be able to fit
in the car," Xander joked. "It is a compact, Anya, and that means
light on the packing. Okay?"
"I know that," Anya said with a shake of her head. Mentally, though,
she was frantically going through her list of things to take. *Damn,
now he tells me* she thought, trying to decide what she could live
without.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Highway 5
7 pm
Spike and Dru were in a black Mustang which had been modified for
vampire use. Patrick had covered all the windows, to protect Spike and
Drusilla until the sun went down. Now the two vampire lovers were
driving to the California coast.
Spike was in a better than normal mood. Despite the loss of his car,
this new one was quite a catch. He would never admit it out loud, but
he was happy for the first time since Drusilla had left him over a
year ago. Dru was actually tolerating his Nine Inch Nails CD which
was at maximum volume as he drove, which proved she was rather happy
too. Spike pulled her close, putting his right arm around her. She
purred contentedly and relaxed against him.
"Say goodbye to Sunnyhell, Pet. Spike and his Princess are going
somewhere without slayers or bad things. Just plenty of stupid humans,
ripe for the picking."
"I can still remember Paris in the summertime, Will, even though it's
been ages since we were there last. Do you think it will be the way it
was?" Drusilla asked, looking up at him.
He glanced over at her and kissed her quickly, and replied, "Paris is
one of those cities that always stays the same, Dru."
"Just like us!" Drusilla said with a smile
"Yes, Pet, just like us," Spike chuckled.
&&&&&&&&&&
The END of The End