Epilogue
“Am I back?” Cordelia asked as she saw the
familiar faces gathered around her.
“Cordy?” Angel asked at first tentatively, and then, with a broad grin on
his face, he rushed up and gathering his Seer in his arms, hugged her tightly.
“Angel…” Cordy smiled as she winced slightly, “Oxygen…becoming a
problem now, baby…”
“Oh…sorry, Cordy.” Angel smiled sheepishly as he gazed fondly down on the
lithe brunette. Then, a serious look on his face, he said, “You look just as I
remember you.”
“Well…duh!” Cordelia quipped, “Of course I do…I’m wearing the same
thing, dork!”
“Umm...” Xander stammered slightly as he saw the gold and silver scaled
mini, silver hat, and silver go-go boots his ex-girlfriend was now wearing,
“That’s some outfit, Cordelia.”
“Yeah.” Tara said with a shy smile. “It looks really…good.”
“I wore something like that once.” Anya remarked wistfully. I was in London
in ’68. A girl wished that her old boyfriend would turn into a…”
“Uh…that’s ok, Anya.” Xander quickly interrupted. Then, turning back to
Cordelia, he asked, “So…how did it go? How was old Sunnydale?”
“Well…” Cordy smiled mischievously, “Let me tell you this…your dad and
Uncle Rory were even bigger spazzes then they are now.”
“Uh?” A confused Xander asked.
“She says your dad and Uncle Rory were even bigger dorks back then than
now—and she’s probably right.” Anya helpfully translated.
“I got that, Ahn.” Xander said. Then turning to Cordelia he asked, “You
ran into my dad and Uncle Rory?” Seeing his old girlfriend nod her head, the
lanky construction worker slapped his forehead, “Oh…my…God…”
“What?” Anya asked, confused.
“Ummm…Cordy…” Xander stammered, “Uh…did you have a job back then?”
“Of course I did, Xander.” The Seer shook her head in exasperation, “How
else did you think I could afford this?” She then pirouetted, showing off her
outfit. Then, chuckling gently, she said, addressing everyone, “And you’ll
never believe where I worked…” Seeing that she had everyone’s attention,
Cordy flashed a brilliant smile, “I was the assistant librarian at the high
school!”
“Wait…” Xander then said, shaking his head in disbelief, “Your not…it
makes sense though…you’re HER!”
“Who?” Tara interjected, baffled by the turn in conversation.
“That explains everything! That’s why dad always looked at you kinda funny
like!” Xander then laughed as he made everything clear. “Dad used to talk
about this librarian at the high school when he went there.” He then turned
towards Tara and smirked, “Dad used to always say that she was this real…”
“XANDER!” Cordelia interrupted, sending a glare at her ex. “You better not
say it!”
“Okay…Okay…” Xander conceded, then chuckled, “So…you’re THAT
assistant librarian…who’d have thunk it!”
Returning to the subject at hand, Wesley then inquired, “I take it from your
return that you’ve successfully repaired the time line.”
“Oh, yes.” Fred interjected. “Everything’s okay, now.”
“Yeah.” Cordelia said with a sigh. Then she turned towards Angel and placed
her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you in time,
Angel—I’m sorry you had to go through all that pain.”
“It’s okay, Cordy.” The dark haired vampire smiled warmly. “You, Edmund,
and the others got there when it counted.”
“Edmund?” Wesley then asked, “As in Edmund Giles?”
“Yup.” Cordelia smiled fatly as Tara and the other Scoobies looked on
curiously, “I got to meet Rupert’s father—and let me tell ya girls—he
was one cool cat.”
“Cool cat?” Tara said, smirking at the sixties slang. “Sorry…I
wouldn’t know about that…”
“Really?” Anya then asked, “So…did he have Giles’…”
“ANYA!” Xander, seeing where this conversation was headed, quickly
interrupted.
“We’ll talk later, Cordelia.” The former vengeance demon smirked, giving
the seer a conspiratorial wink.
Before anyone else could say anything, the bell over the door rang. Turning
towards the door, the group saw two women enter—one, a attractive lady in her
mid-fifties, her strawberry blonde hair now touched with traces of grey; and the
other, a lovely raven haired woman apparently in her late-forties—early
fifties. “Cordy?” The strawberry blonde, seeing the young seer standing next
to Angel and Tara, smiled as she approached.
“Licia?” Cordelia smiled back as she recognized her old roommate.
“Jenny?” She smiled again as the dark haired lady smiled back. “Come here,
you two—I want hugs!”
“I missed you, roomie!” Felicia cried as she hugged her old friend. Then,
cracking a grin, she added. “I took care of your clothes like you
asked—they’re in the car…” Then, the still mischievous woman looked
coyly at the men in the shop, “That is if I can get one or two of these good
looking guys here to help me…”
Flashing a conspiratorial grin, Cordy then asked, “Angel…Wesley…you two
wanna help my roomie get my clothes?”
Coming back a few minutes later bearing boxes, Anya pointed towards an empty
area of floor where the two men placed their burdens. Grinning, Cordelia then
asked her former roommate, “You didn’t pack ALL my dresses, did you?”
Flashing an evil grin of her own, Felicia went to one of the boxes and, opening
it, produced the see-through mini. “Yep…I sure did—and I brought the
pictures.”
“Wait a minute!” Xander interrupted, “Cordelia—in a see-through
mini—and you’ve got pictures?” Chuckling, he then said, “Let’s see ‘em!”
“Later…” Felicia grinned back at the younger man. Then, turning towards
Cordelia, she smiled, “Gotta be one of the Harris’ kids…right?”
“Yup.” Cordy smirked back. “Tony’s…”
“Figures.” Jenny chuckled, joining in the good natured joking.
Turning towards Angel, Cordelia then fixed him with an accusing glare, “You
knew…you knew I was gonna wear that dress before I even left—and you
didn’t tell me!”
“Ummm…” The tormented vampire floundered, “I…didn’t want to risk
damaging the time line…” He explained quickly, ‘Yeah…that’ll work.’
He thought as he hoped in vain to avoid his seer’s wrath.
“Oh no, Buster!” Cordelia said as she maintained her glare, “You’re not
getting off the hook THAT easy!” Then, turning back to old roommate, she
asked, “So…you brought all the pictures?”
A sad look crossed Felicia’s face as she answered. “Yeah, I brought ‘em
all—including the one of all of us—you know the one that Edmund took—with
you, me, Angel, and…Donny.”
“Yeah…I know.” Cordy said as she placed a gentle hand on top of that of
her friend’s as Angel quietly explained to everyone else what had happened.
“Damned Hellmouth…” Xander muttered softly as he gave Felicia a
sympathetic look while memories of Jesse flooded back into his mind.
“It’s been thirty five years, Cordy…but sometimes…it feels like just
yesterday.” Then, looking at how her old roommate was dressed, the strawberry
blonde cracked a sad smile, “But then, to you…it did just happen, didn’t
it.”
“Yeah.” Cordelia replied sadly. “I really am sorry about Donny, Licia—about
what I had to do…”
“No…don’t be Cordy.” Felicia said, gently shaking her head. “You did
the right thing—you didn’t kill Donny—you only killed that thing that took
him over—you freed him.” Then, forcing a smile, she asked, “So…now that
you’re back home—what do you plan on doing?”
“Well…Cordy grinned as she looked in a mirror. “I had dressed to go out
dancing, so…I’m thinking…Bronze…dancing…” She then smiled warmly at
Jenny and Felicia, “And catching up with old friends.”
***********
Take the last train to Clarksville
And I'll meet you at the station
You can be be there by four thirty
'Cause I made your reservation
“Busy night.” Buffy said to her best friend, the redheaded Willow, “Four
vamps and a demon all in the same night…” Then, seeing Cordelia, along with
Wesley, Angel, Xander, Anya, and two middle aged women on the dance floor
dancing to an oldies tune, she shook her head in disbelief as she took in the
scene. “What IS going on in this town tonight? Major slayage, then I come to
the Bronze to unwind and they’re doing oldies night or something and Angel’s
here with Wesley and Cordelia…and Cordelia’s dressed like she just came off
an Austin Powers movie or something…and who are those two women they’re
dancing with?”
Don't be slow, oh, no, no, no!
Oh, no, no, no!
Seeing Tara seated, watching everyone’s purses and drinks at the normal
Scoobies table, Willow sighed mournfully, “I guess she’s back…” The
fallen Wicca said in soft voice as she caught the lyrics of the old Monkees’
song
'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning
And I must see you again
We'll have one more night together
'Til the morning brings my train
And I must go, oh, no, no, no!
Oh, no, no, no!
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.
Take the last train to Clarksville
I'll be waiting at the station
We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses
And a bit of conversation
“Who’s back?” Buffy, confused by her best friend’s remarks, asked.
Oh... Oh, no, no, no!
Oh, no, no, no!
Flashing a sad smile, Willow placed a gentle hand on her friend’s arm. “Why
don’t you go on and join Tara…I’m sure she’ll fill you in.
“You sure, Will?” The Slayer, her face reflecting her concern for her dear
friend, asked.
“Yeah.” Willow smiled. “Go ahead…I’ll be okay—I’ll just head on
back to the house and check up on Dawn.” Smiling in the direction of Cordelia,
the young redhead then added, “And, tell Cordelia…thank you for my
dad…she’ll know what I’m talking about.”
A genuinely mystified Buffy shrugged her shoulders, “Okay…I’ll seeya
later, Will.”
Take the last train to Clarksville
Now I must hang up the phone
I can't hear you in this noisy Railroad station all alone
I'm feelin' low. Oh, no, no, no!
Oh, no, no, no!
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home
Take the last train to Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville
Willow watched as her friend joined her estranged lover at the table, chuckling
as she saw the blonde Slayer’s initial reaction to what was undoubtedly
Tara’s explanation of what had happened.
“She still loves you, you know.”
The gentle masculine voice of her former boyfriend startling her, Willow quickly
turned around, “Oz! I didn’t know if you’d show up or not…”
“Had to see how it all ended.” The young werewolf said with a sad smile as
his eyes took in the celebration. “You know, she does love you.” He
repeated, placing a gentle hand on his old girlfriend’s shoulder.
“I wish I could be as sure…” Willow sighed deeply. “Sometimes…like
yesterday…I think she does…but other times…”
“Give her time…give yourself time.” Oz replied. “She has to love
you—she has no choice—you’re Willow. Once someone falls in love with
you—that’s it—we’re in love with you forever.”
“Thanks, Oz.” The distraught young redhead smiled warmly as she hugged her
ex-lover. “So...how’s about the two of us old friends getting a cup of
coffee?”
“Sounds good to me.” Oz smiled back as the two former lovers, now good
friends, left their friends to their party.
***********
“You know…” Cordelia sighed as she lay on Angel’s bed, the ensouled
vampire on the other side with Conner in the middle, “1967 was nice and
all…but it’s good to be back home.”
“I know.” Angel smiled back as the radio began to play. Hearing the tune, he
made as if to get up. “I’ll turn it.” He offered, “I had it on the
oldies station…I’m sure your probably tired of hearing those songs.
But, as she heard the lyrics of the song, the lovely brunette smiled warmly.
“No…leave it on…”
Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night, it's only right
To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
So happy together
If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me and ease my mind
Imagine how the world could be, so very fine
So happy together
I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together
End.
(Special Note: I want to thank everyone for reading this, my first
“Angel” fic. I know that this story really is more Cordycentric than
Angel—but, to be honest, I found her to be much easier to write than the
broody vampire. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it,
and I hope everyone enjoyed this little trip into the sixties.