7.23

Episode 7.23

"Epilogue"

written by: Doyle

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Buffy and Angel return from their hilltop kiss to visit Willow at the hospital. Xander and Willow are talking to the baby and before walking in, Buffy happens to overhear them call the child "Makale". She smiles as she and Angel enter the room. Buffy asks how Willow's feeling and she says she's never felt better. After a moment Buffy comments that they named the baby Makale after all. Xander looks at her and explains that it seemed right for the child to be named after a hero. For a moment she remembers her partner sacraficing himself to save both her and the human race. Willow asks if Buffy would like to hold Makale. This gets her attention and she accepts. Willow then inquires if Angel would like a turn of nursing the baby. Before he can decline, Buffy unloads the child into his arms. He looks unskilled in the art of holding a new-born baby to begin with but soon adjusts. Buffy queries Willow on when she's going to be able to go home. Xander answers for her saying they will be going home with him by the end of the day hopefully.

As Buffy and Angel are about to leave, Willow politely asks Angel if he would mind giving the baby back before they go. He hands Willow back the infant. Buffy says goodbye and escorts Angel out. Once they're in the hallway, Angel mumbles something like he just forgot he was still holding the baby. Buffy smirks and says yeah right. She tries to get Angel to admit he thought the baby was cute and wanted to keep him. Trying to maintain his cool image, he denies it. They spot Tara walking towards them holding on to some balloons. She hugs Buffy (who's eyes show surprise) and congratulates Angel on his new mortality. She quickly says goodbye and leaves to go visit Willow. Buffy and Angel watch her go then hop into an elevator. As the doors close Buffy remarks, "We should have brought balloons."

Opening Credits.

When we return, we're on a beach...or rather Buffy and Angel are on a beach. Buffy's reading a book while Angel takes off his shirt, "Wanna do me?" he asks. Buffy places a bookmark in where she's read up to and puts it down. She squirts some sunblock onto his back and massages it in. After she announces, "Done." Angel does her back. Once he's finished, Buffy removes her sunglasses and runs into the surf. Angel runs in after her. They splash around for a while acting like a couple of children but eventually start acting their age. Buffy comments that she's only been able to dream about this moment until now. Angel says this is no dream. Buffy lures him in to kiss her by telling him she will need some convincing. They spend a long, long, long, long...long...long time at the beach. Well, it's implied they do as we fade to night. The slayer plus her ex-vampire boyfriend are moonbathing. As Angel sleeps buffy discovers he *does* infact snore. She's slightly distracted, however, by a visit from the First Slayer.

The First Slayer compliments Buffy on her averting the apocolypse and saving the world once again. Buffy says it wasn't really *her* who saved the world...she just helped. The First Slayer asks her how much she knew about the First Evil. Buffy's eyes go wide and she demands to know if the First Evil still isn't dead. The First Slayer confirms the First Evil's death. Buffy sighs with relief. The primal slayer proceeds to explain that the First (without the "Evil") was a being which split at some point in the past into the Slayer's power and the "First Evil". It needed to do away with the slayer to get back that part of its power and become whole again. The First Slayer *was* the original Slayer Source from that one being. She then goes on to say that because of her demon origins she was shunned by the desert tribe she protected. The primal slayer disappears and Buffy just blinks.

Commercials.

Back from commercials Buffy and Angel have finally got off their 'assi' and left the beach. They stand outside the Summers home and take a moment to mourn its untimely ruination. Angel asks where the others would be and Buffy guesses probably the magic shop so that's where they head for next. When they arrive the gang greets them both and Dawn asks where they've been. The two of them just look at each other. Giles saves them from having to explain (and himself from having to hear about their antics) by announcing that he's going back to England to stay. Everyone shows varying degrees of shock in their expressions. Buffy appears to be the most astounded at the news and comments, "So this wasn't just a social visit." Giles says regrettabley no, he came to help Buffy out (which he did) but now must return home. Dawn asks how soon and he tells her in the morning. Since it's already late at night Buffy and Dawn are surprised by how close morning is. Buffy states that they have to throw Giles a going away party before he leaves but Giles tells her not to worry about it. She says they want him to stay but he just smiles and hugs her while telling Buffy that she will be fine.

At Xander's apartment both him and Willow (holding the baby) enter. Xander apologises for the mess which is his apartment. Willow comments that it's amazing the landlord she and Buffy met once hasn't evicted him yet. Xander says that he *did* get evicted but managed to get it back after paying for the damages and reassuring the landlord that there will be no more trashing of the apartment. They go into Xander's room and Willow notes just the one bed. Xander tells her that she can have it, he'll sleep on a couch. Willow points out the bed is big enough for the both of them.

Next morning at the airport everyone's saying their goodbyes to Giles. He wishes everyone good luck, hopes Buffy and Angel have a wonderful life together then leaves. Afterwards, everyone returns to the magic shop and sits around pondering what they're going to do. Wesley mentions that himself and Cordy should probably be getting back to LA. Cordelia asks, "To do what? We're out of a business now that little Miss Save-the-world has...saved the world, there's no more evil demons to vanquish ergo we're out of a job." Buffy just looks at Cordelia for a moment then Cordy smiles and says her and Wesley should probably be going now. Once they're gone, Buffy happens to mention that her house is in serious need of renovating. Angel gives her a sideways glance.

Through a montage style of thing we see them fixing up the house. Buffy's directing Angel what walls she never liked anyway and wants knocked out. Tara and Dawn are helping too. They bring in some new furniture to replace the old stuff that got broken. Then it's on to re-painting. While browsing through a colour chart, Dawn points to one and jumps up and down saying they should paint the rooms that colour. Buffy obviously disagrees but manages to find a colour she thinks would be perfect for Dawn's room. Dawn sticks out her tongue in disgust. As the montage finishes the camera pans back to reveal the outside of the newly repaired house. Buffy and Angel sit on the porch looking worn-out. Tara's left and Dawn announces that she's going over to Josh's. After Dawn's left Angel asks who Josh is. "Some dork." Buffy fills him in. Angel admits he's starting to feel the aches and pains from working. Buffy smiles, rests her head on his shoulder and says, "Welcome to being human."

Commercials.

Back inside the house now, Buffy and Angel are watching TV when Dawn comes inside, slams the door, storms upstairs and slams the door shut in her room. Angel says out loud to go easy on the doors. Buffy walks upstairs and enters Dawn's room. She asks what all that was about and after some glaring Dawn tells Buffy that Josh cheated on her. When she went to his place no one answered the door so she went and checked to see if anyone was inside by looking through the window and saw Josh and some girl necking on the couch. After a moment Buffy simply says, "Oh." Dawn goes on to clarify that she got him back, though. Buffy checks whether she hit him, Dawn says no then Buffy finishes, "'Cause that would be okay."

After having a chat with Dawn, Buffy walks back downstairs and rejoins Angel on the couch watching TV. He asks if she fixed whatever the problem was and Buffy answers, "Dawn fixed it." Angel then asks if she would like to go out for dinner. Dawn immediately runs downstairs and begs to be allowed to come along. Buffy questions her sister's remarkable hearing.

At some fancy restaurant the three of them eat dinner. Angel's commenting on the fantastic taste of his meal (rather loudly). Dawn tells him they haven't even gotten to the best part yet, dessert's still on the way. Buffy's dinner doesn't seem to agree with her, however, and she quickly has to excuse herself. Angel watches her leave then turns back to look at Dawn. She tells him that she's so glad that he is back and with the added bonus of being human, Buffy can finally have a normal life. Dessert arrives and Dawn smiles with glee saying now he's in for a real treat.

Buffy eventually walks back to the table looking a little queasy. After sitting down and saying no thankyou when Angel asks if she wants anything, Buffy notices something. "Someone ate my dessert." she pouts. Angel and Dawn exchange a sheepish look. Dawn quickly explains that it would have melted by the time she got back. Angel adds that after the way Buffy was feeling they figured she probably wouldn't have felt like it anyway. "So we kinda...shared it between us." Dawn finally admits. Buffy looks a little disappointed but maintains that it's alright. A waiter delivers the tab and Angel reaches into his pocket for his wallet...or so we thought. He pulls out a small box and opens it to reveal a large diamond ring. Buffy's eyes go wide as Dawn barely manages to contain her joyfulness.

Commercials.

Angel asks Buffy if she wants to get married. As he does so he places the ring on her finger. Buffy says she doesn't know what to say and Dawn encourages her to say yes! After a moment Buffy does say yes, her and Angel kiss and Dawn remains overjoyed. They walk home and Dawn insists that she be allowed to call Xander, Willow and Tara to tell them the good news. Buffy says no and Dawn asks why not? Buffy explains that it's late and they're probably asleep. She says they will tell them tomorrow then suggests Dawn go to bed. Deflated, Dawn walks up to her room and closes the door. After a little while Buffy and Angel walk upstairs and go to bed also.

Buffy wakes up the next morning and wonders where Angel's gone. As she starts to look a little worried he appears complete with breakfest on a tray for her. Buffy asks, "You made all this for me?" He admits Dawn helped. They felt guilty about eating Buffy's dessert the previous night so they decided to make it up to her with breakfest. There's a knock at the door downstairs and Dawn yells out that she'll get it. Buffy wonders aloud who it is and continues to wolf down breakfest. After putting on a robe she and Angel walk downstairs and are surprised to see Xander, Willow and Tara. Buffy asks, what's up? Willow explains that Dawn called them all, saying that Buffy had something important to tell them. Dawn grins but Buffy's not impressed and her sister's smile soon fades. Angel announces him and Buffy are now engaged. The gang congratulates them. Buffy finally shows off her ring, Willow and Tara are stunned by the size of it and Xander says he's happy for the both of them.

The screen fades to a church. It's the day of the wedding. Everyone is there including Giles, Gunn, Fred and even Lorne. Dawn, Tara and Cordelia are Buffy's bridesmaids, Wesley is Angel's best man and Giles is the one to give Buffy away. They exchange their vows and are pronounced husband and wife. Angel is told he may kiss the bride. He does so. As they emerge from the church and are showered with rice, Buffy spots Spike standing under the shade of a tree. She tells Angel she'll be right back. Everyone (including Angel) is a little unsure what to say or do as they watch Buffy run off.

Buffy eventually stops running and walks up to Spike. He's also a little stunned (to say the least). Buffy asks him what he's doing at her wedding. Spike apologises and says he just wanted to see her...happy. She is thankful for his showing up it turns out and notes that he doesn't look too shabby in a suit. He acts all uncomfortable in it and says he'll be taking it all off soon. Buffy gawks at him until he explains his car is parked nearby with a change of clothes in it. He just came to say goodbye to Buffy before leaving. She asks where he's going to go. "Don't know." he sighs, "Maybe go to Australia and get a taste of that crocodile hunter everyone talks about." Buffy laughs but says she knows he would never do that. He's good now. "You think I'm good?" Spike asks. "You have been for a long time," she tells him, "I was just stupid and didn't see it." He thanks her and says he should get going. Before he leaves Buffy gives Spike a kiss on the cheek and farewells him. She watches the vampire run to his car, holding a blanket he had with him over his head to protect him from the sunlight. He drives off out of her life forever.

Commercials.

The newly married couple drive to LA. Buffy's asleep, her head resting on Angel's shoulder. He wakes her up when they arrive at their destination. It's a mansion and inside are various demon girls. Buffy points out that they're in a demon brothel. A woman greets them and says, "You must be the newly-weds." Buffy looks down at her wedding dress that she's still wearing and rolls her eyes at the woman's highly developed powers of deduction. Angel hands the woman a wad of cash and she leads them to a reddish room. They walk into it and the woman's parting words are, "It will take effect soon."

Angel closes the door while Buffy sits on the bed. She asks what's going to happen and he tells her that the room will be enchanted. Buffy hasn't got a clue what that means so he sits down beside his wife and explains that once the room is enchanted every emotion they experience, every touch they feel will be extended to give them the maximum amount of pleasure. They undress themselves and get underneath the sheets on the bed. Wham. The kissing starts which leads to more kissing which leads to sex and they don't appear to be stopping for air. It's all very intense until everything becomes slow (well, to *us* it seems slow) but in reality it's the enchanted room working it's mojo. The room suddenly becomes a far more intense red.

Fade from the red room to a rainy night. As they're driving home in the pouring rain, Angel looks over at Buffy (who's asleep again) and watches how the lightning illuminates her features in the gloom. She seems to be emitting an afterglow (though that could just be from the lightning). Angel gets caught up in how radiant she's looking until he is woken up by...Buffy. She screams, "Look out!" and he realises the car is veering off the side of the road. He quickly slams on the brakes and attempts to steer the car back on to the road. With the road being wet, the tyres don't grip properly so the car starts to spin then is suddenly hit by an oncomming vehicle. Glass shatters as the car Buffy and Angel are in rolls onto it's roof.

Commercials.

The smashed car exudes smoke while the driver of the other vehicle gets out and cautiously wanders over to inspect the wreckage. He bends down to look in the broken driver's window. Through his eyes we can see Angel with deep gashes all over his face, blood is everywhere and he's hanging upside-down with only the seatbelt securing him in place. We can't see Buffy yet because Angel's dangling in the way. The man runs around to the other side so that he (and we) can see how Buffy's faring. Not too well apparently. When we get a look at her, she's got a large wound that runs from above her right eye, across the bridge of her nose, down to her left cheek. There is also a shard of glass embedded into the right side of her chest. The other driver looks around anxiously then slowly backs away from Buffy and Angel's car before turning around and running back to his own vehicle. He hops in and drives off.

Back to Buffy and Angel. One of them groans. It's Buffy. Her eyes flutter open and she looks dazed. After putting a shaky hand to her face and feeling the laceration she looks at the blood on her hand. She tries to move but grimaces at the pain she feels in her chest. She looks down (or rather up since she's upside-down) at the source of the pain. Slowly she removes the large portion of glass from her body. After that she braces herself with one hand while unfastening her seatbelt with the other. Buffy ungracefully drops out of her seat and drags herself out of the fragmented windscreen (cutting up her hands in the process). As soon as she gets out from underneath the car Buffy runs around to the driver's side. Angel's still unconscious. She simultaneously supports him and disentangles his seatbelt. Like her, Angel unskilfully tumbles out of his seat. Buffy hauls him out of the car and manages to get him a fair distance away before she's unable to go on any further. Buffy collapses beside him and as tears begin to trickle down her blood-soaked face, she breathlessly whispers, "Angel".

End Credits.

"The end of a story is always sad. This is first, because at the end of a story we are sent back to a reality that more often than not is boring; and second, because when all is said and done, all true stories end sadly. The world, after all, is a vale of tears, full of sorrow, sickness, injustice, hopelessness, and tedium. A story with a meaningful end is deceptive; there is a death at the end of every true story."

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