Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the universe. They belong to Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Mutant Enemy, etc., etc.

Chapter Six: Epilogue

She comes here every night as the sun sets to watch the sea. It's not just the hypnotic rhythm of the waves breaking against the cliffs upon which she stands drawing her here, nor is it the surprisingly intoxicating scent of sea itself. She comes here because here, in this foreign place, she can feel Angel.

It's strange, she thinks. There are no memories of him here—not for her, anyway. There are no tangible reminders of romantic evenings spent together walking along the beach or stealing kisses while on patrol. She had never even really thought about this land, excepting for the occasional mention by Angel of his human life here. But here, and only here, does she feel as if Angel is not completely gone.

She had been in England with Giles when she made the decision to come to Ireland. After the desperate rush to L.A. and the discovery of what Angel and his team had done, there had been nothing left to do but bury the dead, and go back.

Giles' look of devastation when he met them at the airport had broken her anew. Sobs, quieted in the alley behind the Hyperion, broke out once again. Giles had taken her in his arms and rocked her like a baby, right there in the middle of the airport. After the disaster with Spike the previous year, she hadn't thought things would ever be the same between them again. And though she had been right about that, they had come to terms with one another. He had tried to apologize to her for doubting Angel, and for other things as well, but she had told him that there was no need. She had done horrible things, too.

Giles insisted she stay with him after that, and she agreed. Dawn was already there waiting for her. Willow and Xander stayed at the Slayer facility, which had been untouched by the First's attack against the Watchers, and barely left her side for weeks.

Faith also stayed close by, surprising her. The dark-haired Slayer came by every day with coffee and snacks. They sat together in Giles' sunroom watching the rain—and occasionally the sun—as Faith talked. She told stories about her time in prison, and about her life in Boston, and sometimes, she'd talk about Angel. The times he had visited her in prison, her jaunt through his memories, conversations they'd shared...

On one occasion, she had been so caught up in relating a conversation to Buffy that she didn't notice she was crying until she felt Buffy brushing tears away and then gently putting her arms around her shoulders.

Willow eventually traveled to Eastern Europe to learn from an aged witch of whom her coven often spoke. There was no electricity or computer access there, so letters arrived every few weeks detailing what she was learning from the ancient woman and what her day-to-day life was like. The letters were full of vintage Willow ramblings, and made Buffy smile.

Xander stayed in England for most of the summer and then flew back to California. He missed home he said, and though there was no grave to visit, he wanted to be close to Anya. He called on the weekends to ask after her and Dawn, and told her of his successes in the small contracting business he had been able to build. There was no one new in his life, but he was happy—or at least getting there anyway.

Dawn stayed with her through the summer, but wanted to finish her education in Rome. She felt as if the ancient city was her home now, and she wanted to return. Giles was able to make arrangements for Dawn to attend a boarding school not far from where she had been attending school before. Dawn had squealed in delight over being "just like Harry Potter!" Giles had looked rather bewildered. Buffy just smiled.

Faith took up training the Slayers with ease and enthusiasm. She had told Buffy on one of their afternoons together that she felt like this was an opportunity to give back some of what Angel had taught her, as if this was a chance to pass on his legacy. The other Slayers knew to give Faith her space, and some of the younger girls were rather wary at first, but all grew to respect the escaped con who had taken down the infamous Angelus and befriended the legendary vampire with a soul.

Giles, being the only remaining Watcher, began recruiting others to the cause. It seemed that when the PTB had stepped in, the release of power to take down the army unleashed upon Angel and his team also took the majority of the vampire and demon population with it. Though Angel had been successful in cutting off the Senior Partners from this dimension, there still existed pockets of vamps and demons to take care of. Slayers were still being trained and they needed Watchers. The population of dark creatures was dwindling, however, and Giles sometimes wondered how long Slayers and Watchers would be needed.

The books had been a surprise. Two weeks after returning from L.A., a delivery man had showed up at the Slayer facility with a truckload of what turned out to be rare and impossible to find texts, scrolls, and prophecies; in short, the entire collection owned by Wolfram and Harm. A gift from the company's CEO.

Along with Wolfram and Hart's library was a note from Angel, and a receipt. The note explained that the collection now belonged to the Watcher's Council and the Slayers. Angel's usually beautiful script looked hastily written, making it almost illegible.

The receipt detailed a transfer of funds from Wolfram and Hart to a private account in Buffy's name. How he'd managed to do that she didn't know, but the amount in there meant that neither she, nor Dawn, nor any of the Slayers and Scooby gang needed to worry about money ever again.

Giles had stared at the receipt open-mouthed for almost a minute. He had looked at her then and smiled. But it was a sad smile, and spoke of his regret. He had put the receipt on his desk and walked from the room without speaking.

When summer came to a close, and Dawn moved away, she knew the time had come. She was ready, and told Giles of her intentions. It was something she needed to do to heal she had said. He had hugged her then and whispered that he wished he could have spared her this somehow. That had made her cry and hug him harder.

Faith traveled with her all the way to Galway and even stayed with her for the first few days in the cottage she had rented for this purpose. When it came time for Faith to leave, the other Slayer surprised her with a bundle of herbs, a lock of her own hair, and a list of instructions written in Willow's hand. It was a spell that would allow her to see all that Faith had seen during her trip through Angel's memories. Faith had hugged her quickly and turned away, but not before she had seen tears shining in the other girl's eyes.

It wasn't until she had been there for almost a week that she discovered the sea. Needing fresh air, she had walked out her front door, but instead of walking into town as she usually did, she instead walked in the opposite direction. It was then that she had seen it.

It was majestic and alive and wild and dangerous. She walked perilously close to the edge of the cliff and listened to its rhythm, inhaling deeply of its perfume. It was then that she felt him for the first time.

And so she returned every night. She had tried different times of the day, but it was only as the day was ending and the sun set the sea on fire that she felt him with her. It was as if he was standing here with her every night, telling her all that was in him just as she did years ago. It was comforting to her, but frightening as well. The pain seemed to ease as the days went by.

She has been here for almost six months now. She is a regular fixture walking through the streets during the day, making visits to the local shops, browsing the library, and sometimes, popping into the pub for a Guinness.

Her hair is no longer the golden blonde she strove so hard to perfect with coloring after coloring. The effort proved too much, and she simply stopped. It is dark now, making her look more like the Irish women around her. She wonders sometimes what he would have thought about it.

She stands here for the last time as the sun sets on a cold February afternoon. The wind chaps her lips and freezes the tears on her face, but she stands resolute and watches for the last time as the sun dips beneath the sea. She doesn't expect to feel him this time, and when there is nothing but the howling wind cutting through her wool coat, chilling her, she isn't surprised. There is only peace.

finis

Author's Note: I wrote this epilogue because, for a long time now, I've felt badly about leaving these characters in such a dark place. They needed closure, and I wanted to give them that. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks again for your support and, of course, your reviews.