A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed throughout the story. It means a lot. Hope you stick around for the next one. Now, without further ado, the last chapter:
The teenagers were greatly relieved when they found themselves in the living room of the penthouse. "I have never been so happy to be on this couch, and that's saying a lot," Sarai declared, thrilled.
"I know," Ryan agreed before noticing the time on the cable clock. "It's only 5 pm? That only took a few hours?"
"Well, good. It wasn't a complete waste of the day. And I haven't missed the new Trading Spaces. Another plus. You know, one day I want dad and I to go on that. Maybe with Spike and Dawn or Wes and Fred. I haven't thought it out yet. But I'd so kick ass. I should even be a designer." Ryan stared at her. "What?" she asked, confused.
"H-how can you be like this?"
"Like what?"
"All... calm and jokey. After what we just went through."
Sarai shrugged. "Don't know. Just used to weird shit I guess. OH! but your not. You're a newbie. Why are not okay?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I guess. It's just... a lot you know? Not what I'm used too. Okay, yeah," he sighed, "we need to talk."
"About what?" she didn't like where this was going.
Ryan took a deep breath. "This little... experience of ours, has made me realize a few things. Mainly how extremely different we are. Your life has been so complicated, it still is complected. But you're so... passive about it. Despite how you might over react to a lot other things at times. That's not me. I could deal that easily. I'm not exactly dealing that easily over our trip... trips."
"Hey... I understand," Sarai said, trying not to sound like she wanted to die as she listened to her boyfriend speak. She braced herself for the 'we should break up' words.
"Which has made me realize just how much I'm in love with you," he finished.
"Ryan you don't need to give me a whole speech if you want to - wait...what?" she questioned, shocked.
"I love you, Sarai," he repeated.
"OH!" she yelled as she jumped to her feet, "YAY! You love...YAY! I so need to call Dawn, she's gonna flip. And Harmony! And Lorne, and Faith and Fred and Willow... and everyone I have EVER met! I..." her rant was interrupted vy her boyfriend's fake coughing. "What? OH!" she slapped her own forehead. "I love you too! I so completely love you too, oopsie." The next thing Sarai did was jump on her boyfriend's lap and french kiss him. Shockingly he eventually responded by pushing her off him. She ended up falling on the floor, shocked. But her shock turned to nervous once she saw his reason. "Hi daddy," she said as innocently as possible, looking at her father standing in the door, clearly not liking what he saw.
"Care to explain yourself, young lady?" Angel asked, darkly. Her nerves grew, 'young lady' was never a good sign.
"Ryan has asthma, he was having an attack. I saved his life," she lied, meekly.
"And here I thought breathing and not tongue was involved in CPR," Doyle replied, coming from behind Angel. Sarai shot him a 'shut up' glare, as Ryan dived behind the couch... just in case.
"It's okay, dad, really. He loves me!" Sarai squealed, excitedly.
Doyle snorted, "how many time has a guy used that one to get a little..."
"Shut up!" Sarai demanded.
"He has a very good point," Angel stated, eyeing the couch.
"I'm sorry," Ryan apologized. "Just don't take the weapons out ... please."
Angel walked over to the couch and leaned over it, looking at Ryan on the floor, "get up," he demanded. Ryan listened. "Did you really tell my little girl, my only little baby, that you love her?" he interrogated. Ryan nodded. "Did you only say it to get... to want more from her?" he shook his head. "So, did you say it because you really meant it and truly don't want anything else right now, or did you say it meaning it, but being too scared of me to want to... go on?"
"Both," Ryan honestly choked out.
Angel was silent for a few seconds. "Good answer," he eventually said. "Stay scared..."
"Daddy!" Sarai whined, interrupting Angel's cryptic threat. One he had been working on in preparation for this day since she and Ryan started dating. It was a real good one. "Stop threatening him!"
"I have too! It's my job," he argued.
"Well, I'm giving you the night off."
"You can't do that."
"Can too."
"Can not."
"Can too."
"Okay, how about I save the night off for the next time you decided to cook?"
Sarai's eyes darkened and she glared at her father angrily, "what's that supposed to mean? Are you mocking me or something?"
"I wasn't mocking... just saying you have a tendency to be a little... reckless. Which reminds me, I don't feel like cooking, so you can order a pizza if you want, my treat."
"PIZZA!" she yelled. "Oh yeah, I'll just order another like a sane person would in stead of resorting to magic! Why don't you just come out and say it!"
"As usual, I have no idea what you're talking about," a highly confused Angel replied.
"Right, sure. Just like you claim there's something wrong with my tonsils. I know the truth though."
"And what is the truth?"
"That they've got you too. You're now part of the conspiracy. Along with the AIM people who always sign me offline a bagillion times, and the radio people who never play my song requests, and all the other members."
"Don't forget the government," Doyle added.
Sarai pointed to him, "yes, thank you. Good lookin' out."
Angel rubbed his forehead, "what the hell are you talking about?"
"Something that would confuse you long enough that it would make your little rage against Ryan subside. Worked, didn't it?" Sarai answered proudly.
"Damn," Angel swore, realizing she was right.
"Instead of allowing you to rage against Ryan. I should be raging against you. With you...and your drinking and hitting on people... scaring me and all."
Angel looked over to Ryan, "what is she talking about?" he asked.
"W-we got sucked into the past while you were out. It even involved seeing you at some bar when you were human, you offered to buy her a drink. Now she's trying to claim she's traumatized for life, but... before you came in she was okay with it, or so she said. Sir." Ryan explained, trying to make Angel's hate for him go down even more.
Doyle began to laugh. "You... what?" Angel stuttered.
Sarai shrugged, "we got sent into the past. Saw me being bitchy, well supper bad bitchy I mean, not the good kind of bitchy I am now. Ah, there was the night I was born, only wasn't born yet. By the by," she paused to go over to her father and flick his forehead with her fingers, "that's for me having to discover your 'relationship' with the Fury sisters, sicko. Oh, there was moody you. Funny trying to hard version of Wesley. You practically being a statutory slayer rapist, there was some Angelus-ness and drunk human you. It was all very odd, in the usual, average day wackiness kinda way."
Angel tried to wrap his mind around what he was just told. Then, Sarai's pizza rant entered his head and it all clicked together. "You tried to use magic to make a pizza because you didn't want to order one, didn't you?"
Sarai shook her head, "you know me far to well for both our own goods."
"Don't I know it," he agreed.
Sarai turned to Doyle, "speaking of the Wesley, he was with you when you left. What happened to him?"
"He passed out in the car ride home, so we dumped him on Fred."
Sarai giggled, "I hope it was cause of me and my genius."
"Has she been talking about that all day?" Angel again turned to Ryan for answers.
"I lost count. But I am pretty sure it's over twenty times," he replied.
"I think I am going to go check on Wesley... and leave you guys to talk." Doyle said, leaving.
"Are you both okay?" Angel asked the teens. They nodded. Sarai began to explain more about their trips. "I see," Angel summed up after she finished.
"That's it?" she gasped.
Angel shrugged, "gee, sorry if I am not as sympathetic as you want me to be about you being too lazy to order a pizza, resorting to magic despite knowing better, and having to deal with consequences."
"Well, sure if you're going to use parental logic. But see, parental logic sucks there for, you should be damn sympathetic," Sarai replied. Angel patted her head. "That's better."
Ryan looked down at his watch, "I think I'm going to get going. My parents are probably wondering where I am."
"Bull. You want to go home and watch Saturday Gilmore Girls reruns," Sarai called his bluff.
"Gilmore Girls are on now?" Angel questioned, hopefully.
"The Family Channel," Ryan replied. Angel turned on the TV and Ryan told him what channel number it was. The two sat down together and began to watch the program. Some might even say getting a long.
"Now, that is just weird," a perturbed Sarai said aloud to herself as she saw them watching the TV show, before going into her room.
Later on that night, Angel entered Sarai's room. "Show good?" she asked.
Yeah," he answered sitting on her bed. "Ryan left. He said he said bye to you. And... just because we watched TV together doesn't mean I like him."
"I know."
"I don't like him."
"I know."
"I hate him."
"I know."
"He's not good enough for you."
Sarai laughed, "daddy, I get it."
"Just making sure." Angel began to play with her hair. "In all seriousness, are you okay? I mean... some of the things you saw..."
"Daddy, I'm fine. I'm a little disturbed at just how long your ex-list is, but I'll live."
"You it's really not that long if..."
"No," she shivered, "please. I can't talk about that with you. Unless of course you want me to get into my list of guys, aka cute actors. And I will get into them all, from Adrian Grenier all the way too Zach Braff."
"Okay, no talk then. But you know, alphabetical order is done by last name, not first."
"Not in the Sarai alphabetical-order it's not."
Angel laughed. "Have I ever told you that you're the oddest person I know?" She nodded. "Good. Okay, if you're really okay, I am going to bed."
Sarai look at the clock, "it's ten."
"So? I'm tired. Goodnight, princess."
"Nighters," she waved as he left. When he was gone she sighed and tried to figure out just how okay she really was.
Meanwhile, in higher realm of existence, an Oracle was watching over it's territory, when it was interrupted by one of it's servants. "What was that for?" Darla demanded, approaching the Oracle.
"How dare you come in here and question me like that," it replied.
"Why did you just put her through all that?" she continued.
"If you must know, it was because of you."
"Me?"
"Yes. I did that in an effort to prepare her for what personal issue's may occur for her and the people around her."
"Occur when? Prepare her for what?" Darla tried to understand.
The Oracle looked at her, and gave her a look of trust, "for when I finally allow you to return to her permanently."
Finished.
A/N: That's it. Story over. I hope you all enjoyed it. You can tell me in reviews (hint, hint.)
A one-shot Sarai story should be up soon, adding a new, small, member to the gang, that will be appearing in the next longer/multi-chaptered story.
A preview of what to expect in the next multi-chaptered Sarai story, probably titled 'It's A Return': Darla finally comes back. Willow's around. 5 year old Sarai pays her older self and everyone else a visit. The tonsil conspiracy comes to an end. And that's not all. More surprises and maybe surprise guests will pop up as well.
Hope you'll all stick around for it.