Part 21

 Angel came in to find Willow asleep on their bed. He smiled at the peaceful expression that was on her face, glad to see that the events of the past month had not taken a toll on the women he loved. Buffy’s attempts to win back Angel had increased since their return from San Diego. One night she had actually shown up after Willow and the girls had gone shopping wearing nothing but a lace teddy and a leather coat. It took all of Angel’s strength to get her to leave before his family had come back. That was when he had finally told Cordelia that Buffy was no longer allowed in the restaurant, his patience with her finally at an end.

 "Hey there," Willow said sleepily. "When did you get home?"

 "Just a few minutes ago." Angel walked over to join Willow on the bed, leaning over to give her a kiss. "I’m sorry if I woke you up."

 "You didn’t. I wanted to wait up for you," Willow told him, moving to get more comfortable on the bed, leaning against the head board.

"You didn’t make it," he teased. He had gotten used to Willow waiting up for me. It was a habit she had taken up when Buffy had returned to Sunnydale. It was one that he was actually grateful to the slayer for.

"I know, the girls kept me running tonight. Barely had a chance to breathe," Willow said as she watched Angel undress for bed. "Come here." Angel grinned at Willow as he saw the desire in her eyes. He went over to her, bending over her and kissing her deeply. "Yup, that was definitely worth waiting up for."

 "I’m glad to accomadate you, my love," he said, laughing as his wife grabbed him and pulled him down on top of her. "Where did you get all that strength of yours?"

 "Needed it to keep up with my wonderful husband," she answered, wrapping her arms around him. The two of them kissed again, losing themselves in it. When they finally broke apart for needed air, Angel rolled onto his side, taking Willow with him.

 "Buffy called today," Willow told him. Angel stiffened in her arms, but Willow snuggled closer to him. He had told her about Buffy’s attempts to seduce him back into her bed. And Willow had told him about Buffy coming over to the house. "I didn’t pick up the phone, just let the machine go."

 "What did she want?"

 "To say congratulations, that I won." Angel looked at his wife, surprised. He had actually become convinced that Buffy was never going to give up on trying to separate the two of them, no matter how obvious he tried to make it to her that he loved Willow. "She’s leaving town again. She said she wasn’t coming back this time."

 "Do you believe her?"

 "Yeah, I do," Willow replied. "There was something in her voice. A combination of sadness, hurt and resignation. Things I never thought I would hear. She said that she understood that she had let too much time go by and that she had lost any chance she had to claim your heart."

 "Did she apologize to you for what she’s been doing?"

 "No, she didn’t," Willow admitted. "I don’t think she really believes that she did anything wrong. I think she still feels justified for her actions. I think the only reason she’s leaving is because she has finally been convinced that, no matter what she does, you won’t leave me and the girls." Angel could hear the sadness in his wife’s voice. He knew how much pain she had been going through at the thought of her former friend wanting to hurt her.

 "You wish things were different don’t you?"

 "Yeah," Willow told him. "I wish she hadn’t left in the first place, although her leaving brought the two of us together. I wish she hadn’t felt the need to try and break us up. I wish she had accepted the two of us together and be happy for us. I wish there was some way that we could have salvaged our friendship." Willow broke down and cried at the thought of all the might have beens that were lost because of Buffy’s unwillingness to accept the changes in her friend’s lives.

 "I know, kitten, I know," Angel kissed the top of Willow’s head. "I wish she did to but it’s too late for that now. Buffy made her choice when she left eleven years ago. The fact that she couldn’t accept the consequences of her actions is her own fault. I wish all of those things had happened to, but they didn’t."

 "I know," Willow sniffled, her tears subsiding.

 "When is she going?"

 "Tomorrow morning. She didn’t want to stay in town any longer than necessary."

 "I know this sounds like a stupid question, but did you want to see her off?"

 "No. And, as far as I know, other than Giles and Xander, none of the others are going to either," Willow informed him. "I called them after I got the message and found out that I was the last one she called. She had already informed them of her decision."

 "How did they take it?"

 "Well, Faith and Oz were glad that she was finally leaving," Willow explained, "but they never really knew her so that was only because of what she was doing to us. Same with Anya. Xander is glad that she isn’t going to be bothering us anymore, although he is also sad at her leaving again instead of trying to stay and work things out. And that goes for Cordelia and Giles. Giles always thought of Buffy as a daughter and he hates how she has changed so much. He said he doesn’t even recognize her anymore."

 "Well, I hope she finds what she’s looking for. She deserves some kind of happiness," Angel finally stated.

"Well, if she just finds half the happiness that I have, then she would be very lucky." Willow said, looking up at her husband. He leaned down and kissed her.

 "Enough talk about Buffy. I have a much better topic we can discuss," Angel told her.

 "What did you have in mind?" Willow teased She squealed as Angel’s hands started tickling her, before turning into moans.

Buffy looked around the bus stop, wondering if any of her former friends would even bother to come and say good bye to her. She knew that they had been angry with her for what she had tried to do to Willow and Angel, although she still felt justified in her actions. Buffy mourned the loss of her friendships, knowing that it was her fault for it. She shouldn’t have left all those years ago, but it was too late to change anything. As she found out this past month, you can’t go back.

 "Buffy." Buffy turned to see Xander and Giles standing in front of her. She smiled at the two men.

 "So you’re really leaving," Giles said.

 "Yeah, I think it’s time." Xander nodded at Buffy’s comment. While he would miss the blonde, he was happy that she had been unsuccessful in her attempt to break apart Willow and Angel.

 "I will miss you Buffy," he told his old friend, going over and giving her a hug.

 "I’ll miss you too, Xander." Buffy turned to Giles. "Giles, I’m sorry for disappointing you."

 "You have never been a disappointment," Giles told the girl as he also went to hug her. She held onto him tightly. "You have been the daughter that I had always wanted. You just lost your way."

 "Do you think I will be able to find it again?" Buffy asked him.

 "I hope so. I think you’re taking the first step now," Giles said, pulling her away from him, looking into her eyes. "You have to move on now. Let the past lie where it belongs, in the past. You’ll find that one person who is meant for you. Never lose faith in that."

 "I had him, Giles. I lost him to someone else," Buffy replied sadly. Giles looked at the girl, realizing that while she might be finally stopping her attempts at separating Willow and Angel, she still hadn’t fully accepted the fact that Angel and her were never meant to be. Giles knew that until she did, Buffy would never be able to move on with her life.

"Bus 163 to Philadelphia boarding at Gate 15."

 "Well, that’s my bus," Buffy said as she picked up her suitcase.

"We’ll walk you down." Buffy, Giles and Xander walked in silence to her bus. When they reached it, they hugged one last time.

 "Buffy, feel free to call or write. Don’t let so much time pass between us okay?" Xander asked.

 "I will," Buffy answered, knowing that they wouldn’t keep in touch.

 "You better," Giles told her. Buffy nodded at them before turning and boarding her bus. She smiled sadly at the two men that had meant so much to her in the past, knowing that she was never going to see them again. She waved to them once more before turning away from them.

Xander and Giles watched as the bus pulled away from the station before turning away. They saw the other couple standing in the shadows. They walked over to them.

 "She’s gone," Giles said, taking one last look at the fading taillights.

 "I know," Angel said, holding Willow close to him. While they hadn’t been able to say good bye to Buffy, they had been unwilling to just let her leave. "We had to come."

 "I know," Giles told them. He looked over at Willow. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she said, glad that the nightmare of the past month was finally over. "Giles, do you think she’ll come back?"

 "No, I think we have just seen and heard the last of Buffy Summers." The four people who had known her the longest smiled sadly as they thought of the girl they had known since sophomore year in high school. They remembered her smile and laugh and the way she lived life. That’s how they wanted Buffy to remain in their memories. They didn’t want the image of the woman who had disrupted their lives to taint those memories.

 "I could use a drink," Xander stated.

 "Same here."

 "Count me in."

 "I’m buying."

 Willow, Angel, Xander and Giles went to the nearest bar and relived the past for one last evening, knowing that it has finally been buried on a bus that was leaving Sunnydale with the girl that had brought them all together.
 
 
 

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