The Wheel
Book Three: The Fool
by Cynamin

It had been exactly a week since the battle, and most of Sunnydale had returned to normal. Even those who had lost loved ones in the days prior were settling back into their normal routine.

It had been four days since Buffy had returned from the dead, and her family and friends were still scrambling to adjust.

It had been two days since Riley had parted ways romantically with Buffy so that she was free to be with her first love once again. No one had seen Riley since, and it was assumed he was hard at work with the Initiative.

It had been one day since Angel had awoken to a world changed for the better, his love returned to life and returned to *his* life such as it was, and a hellmouth permanently sealed.

Everyone was doing their best to adapt to the changes of the past three weeks, but things had just happened too fast. The group of them had now gathered in the mansion, supposedly to celebrate their victory, but the conversation was awkward at best. They’d been fine while everyone was eating. But now the food had run out and uncomfortable silence prevailed.

The group sat around the mansion’s great room in odd, fractured clumps. In the center of it all, yet somehow the farthest removed from the rest, were Buffy and Angel. Angel had not yet fully recovered, and sat back in the couch tired and still bandaged. Buffy leaned into his uninjured side and he lay his arm across her shoulders. A couple of attempts had been made at leading conversation, but they consistently fell flat.

Buffy sighed and leaned farther into Angel’s side. “I can’t stay,” she muttered, but not quiet enough that her statement was missed. The entire room’s attention was suddenly on her.

Angel pulled away from her slightly in alarm. “What?” he asked, looking her in the eye with a hint of desperation.

“Oh!” Buffy gasped, grasping Angel’s arm strongly. “No, Angel. I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, realizing that her words could be misinterpreted. “You made a deal, and I’m going to have a long life as a result. With any luck I will die an old, old woman.”

“Then what *are* you saying?” Giles asked in concern.

“I can’t stay *here*,” Buffy tried to explain. “And I don’t mean today, this party. I mean Sunnydale.”

Confusion prevailed among the gathering. “But…why?” Willow asked, obviously upset. “Is there something we can do to make you

stay?”Buffy shook her head. “It’s nothing anyone did or anything,” she said finally. “But…haven’t any of the rest of you noticed how awkward this is? I’m legally dead. By god, I have a *gravestone.* What exactly am I supposed to do now if I stay

here?”Angel shifted uncomfortably and Buffy turned to face him. “No guilt!” she said sternly. “I told you – I’m happy to be here. Look at it this way: you gave me the chance to travel.”

Angel frowned, an expression mirrored on many other faces. “Buffy…” Mrs. Summers began to protest unhappily.

“What?” Buffy asked before her mother could even begin the guilt trip. “I never had a chance before. I never had a chance for a lot of things. Now the hellmouth is closed. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still evil out there, though. Dispersed, wandering. It may not be as strong as before, but I can’t just stop fighting. It’s not in my nature any more.”

Silence still filled the room, so Buffy continued. “I can’t just go on with my life like nothing happened. I can’t waltz into classes again like I hadn’t been declared dead. This is my second chance – a new beginning. And I can’t have a new beginning if I stay

here.”“But,” Willow said at last, clearly quite upset, “to never see you again…”

“You guys!” Buffy exclaimed, seeming slightly amused. “It’s not like I would never visit! Goodness, you’re my family. I plan on dropping in unannounced quite often! You make it sound like I’m abandoning you.”

Nervous laughter met her protest. Buffy laughed as well, and soon the entire group was laughing. It was awkward and somewhat forced, but it was needed to release the tension in the room. They all needed the laugh and felt better for it.

With one notable exception. Angel did not join in the laughter, nor did he so much as smile. He sat very stiffly, looking straight ahead with a slightly pained expression that he couldn’t hide. Buffy noticed his immobility and turned to look at him in

confusion.“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

Angel shrugged and sank back even further into the couch. “It’s…I thought…” he faltered, searching for the right words.

Confusion stayed on Buffy’s face a moment longer, then she began to chuckle again. She gave Angel a playful shove in the side, startling him. Looking at her friends, she said amused, “Forgive me while I knock some sense into this…*silly* vampire next to

me.”“Silly?” Angel asked, quite confused now.

Buffy leaned close and said into his ear, “I want you to come with me.”

Now Angel was well and truly flabbergasted. “What? I…”

Buffy couldn’t help but chuckle. “I can counter all of your arguments,” she said with certainty, “so you might as well start packing your bags.”

Angel looked a bit helplessly around the room. This was too much too fast. Did he want to run off with Buffy? Travel the world, show her all the places he’s been? Of course. Could he? He just didn’t know.

His wandering eyes met Cordelia’s, and she grinned at him. “Don’t look at me,” she said easily. “You’ve been ‘released from your duty as a Warrior,’ remember? Whatever you do now is your choice.”

Angel looked at Buffy again and found her smiling at him expectantly. “It doesn’t necessarily mean forever,” she explained. “Sunnydale is home to me now. Maybe someday we’ll live in some little house with heavy drapes and pretend to be normal people. But for now…” she paused and sighed. “Let’s have a fairy tale ending, Angel. You be Prince Charming and I’ll be the beautiful damsel and we’ll ride off together on your great white horse.” She chuckled then and grinned at him. “Well, big black car as the case may be,” she amended. “And we can’t exactly ride off into the sunset, but I was always partial to moonlight myself…”

Angel silenced Buffy’s babbling with a kiss. When he pulled away and she sat there open mouthed, he grinned. He could not help but feel the rosy, unfamiliar glow of hope. “Happily ever after?” he asked with a smile.

Buffy smiled back at him. She seemed to have completely forgotten that they had an audience. “I think we deserve a happily ever after, don’t you?”

For once, Angel allowed himself to believe her.

On to "Aftermath: The World"

Feedback All that's left are 2 "happily ever after" parts for Aftermath: The World. Coming soon, I promise!

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