Everyone was all smiles at dinner that night.

Buffy and Spike were downright giddy and it was affecting the whole room. Even Giles caught himself smiling a few times.

They sat at a very large, very old dinner table that looked practically mideval. Wesley found it in one of the big storage rooms in the basement at Wolfram and Heart and had it brought over to accomodate the multitude of guests at the Hyperion. He thought the idea of everyone eating together was just what the group needed to heal from their various losses. Of course, it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that deep down he secretly wanted to run a bed and breakfast.

Faith and Gunn were laughing and talking loudly down at one end of the table, opting against proper table manners to the horror of both Robin and Giles. Oz and Willow chatted with Buffy, Spike, Wesley and Fred, while Xander and Dawn played table football with their little potatoes. Andrew was relaying all of the day's gossip to Lorne and a few of the new slayers, embellishing here and there and making himself the key figure in the events that transpired.

No one mentioned the conspicuous absence of Angel. It was pretty much understood that he wouldn't be making an appearance that night.

Angel, in fact, was still in the hotel... he was in Cordelia's room, sitting by her bed and telling her about the conversation he had with Buffy the night before. He was simply pouring out all of his feelings about what Buffy had told him, his thoughts on Spike, the prophecy, Connor, the situation in Iraq... everything he'd been keeping to himself these past few weeks. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Even if Cordelia couldn't hear him, it felt so much better to get everything off his chest. To not be the strong silent type, even if it was just for a little while. When he finally stopped to take a breath he took Cordelia's hand, held it and watched her face. To the casual observer, she was just a beautiful girl, sleeping peacefully, but after a while even the most casual of observers would notice that her body was too still, her eyelids didn't move to reflect dreams of being a famous Hollywood actress one day and her breath was too shallow and rythmic. Angel wondered if the Cordelia he knew was even in this body anymore. With tears welling in his eyes he whispered, I miss you, Cordy. He laid his head on her chest and for the first time since before even he could remember, Angel cried.

It was a while before the sobs became sniffles, and he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Who knew that letting emotions out also meant letting them go? Not that he was going to make a habit of this crying thing. He certainly wasn't going to turn into to a big flaming pansy like a certain ex-vampire he knew and hated. He sat up, wiped his eyes and instinctively checked around the room to make sure there were no witnesses.

Okay, that ought to do me for a hundred or so years. He stood up and turned to leave. He took a couple of steps, stopped and turned back to place a soft kiss on Cordelia's lips. Thanks for listening. He turned again, toward the door, and was about to leave when he heard:

Thank God you kissed me.

Angel spun around. Impossibly, Cordelia's eyes were open. She was looking at him. I was afraid you were gonna talk me to death and then leave without so much as a twenty on the night stand.

Was this real?

Slowly and with great care, Cordelia pulled herself up to a sitting position. Ugh, I feel like I've got rickets. Except I don't really know what rickets are. She started to teeter backward again and Angel snapped out of it. He ran to her and steadied her.

When he was confident in her ability to sit upright, he plopped down next to her on the bed, staring at her with amazement. This is unbelievable. Are you... how do you feel?

Like I've been asleep for five months.

Do you remember anything? Of what happened?
Even the parts I wish I didn't.

This is amazing. You're... I have to go get the others. Angel started to stand but Cordelia grabbed his sleeve.

She urged him to sit beside her once more. Just a sec, okay? I don't know if I'm quite ready for the whole press conference just yet. Let's just... sit here for a minute and talk.

Angel could only stare at her, his mind was a blank.

Cordelia chuckled hoarsely. Or do you only like to talk to me when I'm in a coma?

Oh. Holy. Mother. You heard that?

She put an arm around him and pressed her forehead to his. Every word. So... were you crying for me or her?

Angel was having a complete mental breakdown. Cordelia was awake when he thought he'd lost her for good... sure, that was a biggie, but he had never been caught having feelings before. That was huge. He stammered for a while, but couldn't think of a cover. The jig was up, so he decided to tell the truth. Both, I think.

Rough couple of months, huh?

It's getting better now.

She smiled at him. It was the famous Cordelia smile that, he realized now, his heart had ached for all this time. Thanks for waking me up, Prince Charming.

Thanks for waking up, Sleeping Beauty.

Okay, due to extreme circumstances we are allowed to be cheesy just this once, but that's gonna have to be the end of it.

Angel smiled and laughed,

Good. Why'd you kiss me?

That was abrupt. Uh... I don't know. I just... wanted to.

Do you want to again?

And again, he was thrown. Instead of wasting time searching for the right answer, he leaned in and kissed her a second time. This time, she kissed back. It was slow and deep and a long time coming. When they finally pulled apart, Cordelia giggled and covered her mouth. I'm sorry, must have the worst morning breath in history.

Angel grinned, I didn't notice. He leaned in to kiss her again, briefly, then pulled away and swept her now much longer hair out of her face. Welcome back, Cordelia.
***