Interlude 11: Winning… At What Cost?

Interlude 11: Winning… At What Cost?


         "Oh my God… they won!" said Fred.

         "The network's evil…?" mused Lorne.

         "They did it!" said Wesley. "She almost… but he saved her… stopped her…"

         Cordy looked at Wesley, amazed. "Spike did. Spike stopped her. He saved…"

         "But then who won the contest?" asked Gunn. "I mean, there was Buffy, Spike, Tara and Anya left…"

         "Contest…? Who cares? They won!" cried Fred.

         "But it's not fair! They need to choose a winner!" argued Gunn.

         "Winner? No, Gunn, that doesn't matter," explained Wesley. "What's important is they defeated the bad."

         Lorne looked at Wesley and added, "And that they got all that off of their chests, I mean, woo-hoo, were they keeping back some big things!"

         "But I thought you said it was dangerous, Lorne," asked Fred.

         "Dangerous, yes. Look, Buffy almost combusted!" he pointed out. "But singing is healing as well, letting off steam that would eventually consume you bottled up…"

         "So, it all turned out well, then, huh?" asked Cordy.

         "Yes, except for one thing," said Angel who thus far had been silent.

         "What?"

         Angel looked at them and said, seriously, "Buffy died and went to Heaven. They tore her out. How… how is she supposed to get over something like that?"

         They all sat silently, thinking about that, the quiet hum of the Mazda commercial in the background. Then Wesley said, "They know now. Now, they get through it… together."

         Angel didn't look at Wesley, but nodded as if that made sense. Then he whispered, "She never told me. We told each other everything. But when I went to see her, after she came back… she didn't say anything."

         "It was her burden to bear, Angel," Lorne said. "She hurts. So much. This isn't easy for her."

         Angel turned to Lorne and asked for the hundredth time, the feeling of trepidation roaring through him, "Will she be okay?"

         Lorne looked away, unable to lie. "I don't know. She has a rough road ahead of her. I don't know…"