Author's Note: Wow. This is it. I'm so sad to be leaving this story, but after all this time, kind of relieved too.
Thank you. Everyone who read & reviewed. I can't say that enough. So, instead of gushing my thanks, I'm giving you this chapter. I hope it adequately expresses my gratitude for all your kindness and support.
Epilogue - Thank You
Cordelia felt warm. Not hot – exactly. But it was warmth that spread from deep within her, emanating outwards. If she had opened her eyes, she felt sure that the light would be blinding, but with her eyes closed, there was simply a soft glow behind her tired lids.
It was like something was drawing her, tapping into her Power – into her soul. It was a similar feeling to when she ascended to be a Higher Power – like she was being drawn upwards, floating. Ascending.
A stab of regret went through her then. She had never told him what she had agreed to. She hadn't prepared him. That wasn't fair, she now realized. This would affect him just as much as her – more even. She should have told him.
She hadn't even really given herself a chance to make her peace with her decision. With her choice. And now it was too late. She felt the Powers that Be drawing her and she knew it was time. A bargain had been struck.
The light intensified and Cordy felt herself gasp. This was it…
Hours later, Angel awoke.
Something was wrong.
Maybe wrong wasn't the right description. But something was… different.
And then he heard it – a heartbeat. And it wasn't Cordelia's.
His heart was beating.
He sat up, not sure if he was dreaming or, if it were possible that this was…
Real.
He was alive. His heart was beating. He was… human.
The excitement and sheer joy rushed through him at an almost unbearable level. It couldn't be happening. But if it was…
He turned to the other side of the bed, desperate to share the moment with Cordy. She alone would appreciate the magnitude of this. She alone had been with him through every step of his atonement. She alone had shared his hopes and dreams connected to the Shanshu prophecy.
She wasn't there.
Her side of the bed was empty. Angel frowned. There was something really off. The single biggest moment of his long and eventful life and she was missing it. The one person in all the world that he'd want to share it with.
"Cordy?" he called out.
There was no answer.
"Cordy?" he said a little louder, his worry growing. Surely if she was just in the bathroom, she'd have heard him.
Getting out of bed, he went to the bathroom door and knocked. When no one answered, he opened the door and found the room empty.
Where was she?
A little voice of panic began within him. He was human and Cordelia was no where to be found. What if…?
It was ridiculous, he told himself. She wouldn't… not without telling him.
But what if…?
It wasn't fair – if this was the price for his mortality, then it wasn't fair. What was the point? He'd finally become human, and what? He couldn't share it with the woman he loved? What was the point in receiving his reward? He didn't want it. Not without her.
His dark thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.
"You awake yet, sleepy head?"
His eyes widened. "Cordy?"
"Who'd you think it'd be, silly?" she asked, joining him by the bed. "I wanted to stay, but I thought you'd want this when you woke up."
She proffered a brown bag that smelt suspiciously like a breakfast burrito and a take-out cup of coffee. He looked from them back to the beaming smile upon her face.
"You know?" he asked.
"Well, duh," she replied in her own Cordelia-esque manner, setting their breakfast down when he didn't take it from her. "Of course I know. You're a real live boy, Pinocchio."
She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. God, this was real. He was real. She could feel the warmth of his skin, hear his heart beating.
He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.
"What did you do, Cordy?"
"Who? Me?" she batted her eyelashes and feigned innocence and he was having none of it. "I made a deal. But for once, it wasn't with the devil."
Drawing her back over to the bed, he sat her down, making it clear he wanted more of an explanation that that.
"When the Powers told me they needed me to come back for this battle, I told them there was only one way I'd agree to it. For them to allow the Shanshu prophecy to come true."
"But I'd already signed it away," Angel interjected, prompting Cordelia to nod.
"Right. So I needed to offer them something in return," she told him. "Angel, this battle? Destroying the Circle of the Black Thorn and fighting in the subsequent war? That was the destiny the prophecy foretold. When the battle was over, you were supposed to become human."
"The Circle knew," he realized. "That's why they got me to sign it away. They knew it was about to happen."
"And I couldn't let you give it all up," she replied. "Not when you came so close. Not when you did everything the Powers that Be had asked of you. So I offered them a trade."
"What did you…?"
When she smiled this time, it was tinged with the merest hint of wistfulness.
"Well, it's not as though I'll need them, now that you're not a super Vamp detective any more."
Angel's mouth opened in shock. "Your visions?"
"Visions. Demony Powers. Higher Being-ness. Everything. I'm just a regular human being now." She ran a hand across his chest and let it rest above his heart, relishing the feel of its beat. "Just like you."
"Just like me," he repeated, still in totally shock. Everything seemed so unreal. "Cordy, I…"
She cut him off mid-sentence, swooping in and capturing his lips in a kiss. This was it. After everything they'd both been through, finally things were the way they were supposed to be. And it was perfect.
They sank back onto the bed, Angel covering her face and neck with kisses, showering her with love and affection.
"You don't mind?" she asked him. "That I didn't tell you first?"
"Mind?" he laughed. She'd given him everything. A life. A future. Love. How could he ever put into words how grateful he was for all those precious gifts?
"I love you, Cordy," he told her. "How can I ever thank you for..."
She looked deep into his brown eyes and saw not only love. She saw their future.
"I love you too," she told him. "And I can think of many ways for you to thank me."
She kissed him again to emphasis her point.
"We have the rest of our lives to thank each other."
THE END.