Willow awoke in her hospital bed. She opened her eyes
experimentally, pleased that no pains shot through her head.
She hadn't
really gotten much sleep. She and Oz had had a helluva time
sneaking her
back in, but they had done it. Once in her room, they'd talked
for a long
while about how people can take other people for granted. How
easy it is
to believe that the sun would come up in the morning. How even
they, who
lived a lot closer to death than most had taken everything for
granted.
There had been a lot of smoochies too. Their kisses had been
long and
sweet. Oz had tenderly kissed her goodnight and told her how
much he loved
her. How relieved he was that she was going to be okay. They
had each
wanted to ensure that the other knew how they felt. Just in
case. Willow
had told Oz she loved him for the first time. She would never
have
believed that someone's face could light up that much. And his
ears had
turned that cute shade of red. He left shortly after that. He
wanted her
to get some rest after their ordeal.
She sighed and wondered idly how everyone was doing. Giles had
been
going to keep Buffy over at his place overnight. He didn't think
she
should be alone, and her mother was away for the weekend buying
art
somewhere. Willow tended to agree with him. Although Xander
had forgiven
her -- and in truth there was nothing to forgive – Buffy by
her nature
would harbor some guilty feelings for a little while. But destroying
Angelus last night had gone a long way to starting her healing
process.
And destroy him they had. Maybe not in the way that they originally
planned, but Angelus was dead. Permanently. Giles seemed different
too
somehow. To Willow, it seemed almost as if he had finally accepted
his
position as an emotional stabilizer for Buffy. He had accepted
his Watcher
duties with some trepidation, she knew, but he'd been even more
afraid of
loving his Slayer. The fear that someday he would lose her distanced
him
from Buffy for a long time, but he'd been slowly opening up
to the teens
over the last year. And, Willow admitted to herself, a lot of
that was due
to Jenny Calendar and everything she'd taught Giles. She'd taught
him
that you had to love while you can, because no one could predict
the
future.
Cordy had been elected to drive Xander home. His parents knew
nothing
of his ordeal, and it seemed the best way to continue the charade
was to
just have him arrive home like normal – which meant in Cordy's
car. Willow
smiled slightly and imagined that they probably parked for a
while first.
Life threatening situations tended to bring out the hormones
in their
relationship. Actually, everything brought out the hormones
in those two..
Cordelia had certainly revealed some strong feelings tonight.
Willow was
thrilled that Xander was happy with Cordy. His happiness had
always been
important to her. And she knew now in her heart that they were
meant to
be only friends. But the greatest of friends. Oz was right when
he said
she'd never given up on Xander. To her, that was never an option.
And she
knew that if their positions had been reversed, Xander would
never have
given up on her either. She owed him the same faith he'd had
in her. She
recalled fondly how she felt when she held the orb with Xander's
soul in it
in her hand. In those moments, she had felt all the love he
had for her.
It wasn't romantic love, but that didn't mean it wasn't just
as deep and
meaningful. In those seconds, she'd known how important she
was to Xander.
She'd felt his faith that she would find him and free him. She'd
known it
all. Everything he'd ever wanted to say to her about his feelings
for her.
And she would never forget how it felt to have all that wash
over her. In
truth, she was glad she got to have the experience, even though
it happened
as a result of the worst circumstances.
She sighed happily and turned to the window. The sun was streaming
in
through the open blinds. She wondered if Angel had watched his
first
sunrise in over two hundred years this morning. She knew it
would only be
a matter of time before Angel approached them and asked forgiveness.
He
would need that forgiveness to regain some equilibrium. Now
that he was
human again, everything he'd done could very well drive him
insane. It
wasn't as if he could go into therapy and talk about his problems.
He
would need Giles and Buffy to forgive him, and maybe he'd ask
for their
friendship later. Willow wasn't sure if Buffy could ever love
Angel again.
She knew Buffy still had strong feelings for him. Maybe now
that he was
human they could have a relationship.
She looked at the clock on the wall in her room. Almost eight
thirty.
She grabbed the phone on the small nightstand and dialed her
parents'
number. She wanted out of the hospital. Now.
***
Giles awoke to a feeling that something wasn't quite right. He
retrieved his glasses from their place on his nightstand and
sat up in bed.
Eleven am. There was sunlight streaming through the window,
and he
quickly recalled all the events of the previous night. Buffy
was staying
with him. There should be more noise than birds singing. She
should be up
and clattering through his kitchen right about now. Or at the
very least
abusing his television or stereo system.
He grabbed his robe and pulled it over his nightclothes. He headed
downstairs slowly. He stopped abruptly on the stairs as he saw
his empty
sofa. His empty sofa where Buffy should have been sleeping,
seeing that it
was so quiet. "Buffy?" he called, he checked his bathrooms,
but they were
vacant. He began to panic. Buffy had gone through a lot last
night, and
they'd been up until almost dawn discussing her feelings of
guilt and then
both of their feelings of relief that it was all over. Giles
uttered a low
curse and prayed their talk helped her. Prayed that she didn't
awake and
think of doing something stupid. He knew she still blamed herself
for a
large part of the pain they had all experienced. He grabbed
his phone from
its cradle and hit the speed dial number to Buffy's home. He
waited
impatiently for five rings and then slammed it down again.
He hurried upstairs and dressed. Where could she have gone? Willow,
she could have gone to check on Willow. He headed to the hospital,
only to
find out that Willow had been discharged and gone home with
her parents
earlier. He than went straight to Willow's house. He spoke to
Mrs.
Rosenberg under the pretense of stopping by to make sure Willow
was all
right. She told him that Willow was feeling wonderful. So good
in fact,
that she had headed straight over to Xander's as soon as she
got home.
Giles thanked her and hurried back to his car.
At Xander's house, he rang the bell several times. No answer.
He
experimentally tried the doorknob, and sighed with relief when
the door
opened easily. "Uh, hello? Is anyone home?" Again no answer.
He
looked briefly around the first floor of the house and found
a note in the
kitchen from Mrs. Harris to Xander, saying that she would be
out all day
and would bring home dinner at six. Xander must still be in
the house if
he hadn't picked up the note yet. So Giles began to climb the
stairs,
intending on finding Xander and asking him if he'd heard from
Buffy.
He stopped dead in his tracks as he pushed open Xander's door.
There,
on Xander's bed, was Xander. With Willow curled up on his left
side. And
Cordelia on his right. And Oz snuggled in next to Willow. And
Buffy.
Buffy was lying near the foot of the bed across all their feet.
They were
all sound asleep. They all had small contented smiles on their
faces.
Giles almost cried with relief and like a proud parent, wished
he had a
camera. He settled into the easy chair near Xander's bed and
watched them
sleep, thinking how wonderful it was that they had each other,
and how
strong they were as a group. He smiled to himself and prepared
to wait for
them to wake up. Soon, he was asleep too.
Outside, reveling in the sunlight, an Angel looked towards the
window
and guarded their sleep.
The End