__Catching Up__
By Adrian
A year after your death and things haven't changed.
Well, not much anyway. The good fight continues, as
always, and, as always, sometimes it seems like we're
getting in over our heads. But the world hasn't
ended, so I guess that's a good thing, right?
We still argue about things like how much we're going
to charge for our services. And how we're going to do
things. And who's really in charge. But otherwise,
life still goes on basically the same way it has since
we've started the agency. And like Fred likes to
comment, "...and they still serve tacos."
Remember how *that* night we went to Caritas and
dragged you up onto the stage - much to the protests
of you, Lorne, and most of the audience as well? I
never got a chance to tell you that you actually
weren't half bad for once. And it was a lot of fun
for all of us to just have some "group" time. Not "us
being together to save the world" time or "us being
together to stop a demon on a rampage" time or "us
being together to save a damsel in distress" time, but
real "just us" time.
Well, Cordelia has actually started taking a couple
classes at a local college - mostly in business and
econonmics. She's been doing quite well. She keeps
reminding us every day that we aren't getting rid of
her just because she's taking some classes.
Gunn has been teaching some self-defense classes at
the local community center and he's really enjoying
it. He's also doing some mentoring and he's really
great with the kids.
Fred seems to finally be totally adjusted to being
back in this dimension. She enjoys helping out at the
agency and also helping Lorne out at Caritas.
And I'm doing what I almost always do - make sure no
one kills anyone else in the agency and all the other
1,001 "little things" that need to be done day to day.
We still haven't totally been able to get over your
death. Maybe it's normal - and maybe it's not - but
how do you get over the death of your best friend, and
the one that, even when we didn't realize it, kept us
all together and reminded us what we were supposed to
be doing? Every once in a while one of us will make a
comment to remind to tell you to do something or get
something - and then catch ourselves. At least we've
gotten to the point where we don't have to excuse
ourselves because of "allergies", but it's still raw
for all of us.
While things don't seem different for the most part
and life seems to be going on as usual, I think the
world is different because of your death. Sometimes
the shadows seem a little longer, the things lurking
in the corners a little darker, and the "nasties" a
little nastier. The world definitely lost a hero when
you were taken, even if most people didn't know how
much of a hero you really were.
******
Wesley squatted and laid the plain white envelope
against the plain gravestone. He stared for a moment
at the name and dates that had been inscribed on the
stone. He gently ran his fingers over the words -
"Angel, 1727-1753/1753-2002, Friend, Hero". He smiled
at how the range of dates gave the carver quite a
pause and how he still sneaked "you all are crazy"
glances at them after they explained that it was an
inside joke. Then he stood and slowly left the
cemetary.
* * *