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"It's too bad the Sword was lost." Willow sympathized, holding her books tightly as she took the last few steps down to the school's paved walkway. "I mean it would have been nice to know that the Hellmouth was gone forever."
"Not to mention all the badness that went with it." Buffy agreed, "I guess it could have been worse. Giles says that things work differently in the demon dimension and the Sword is useless on that side."
"That's relief. No new Hellmouths popping up is a good thing. I wish we could have done it, that's all. You know, so you could get your life back. I'm really sorry."
"Don't sweat it, Will. It was almost two weeks ago. Besides, my life is still pretty good." Buffy reassured her friend as they strolled slowly along the sidewalk. "I thought it would mean a lot more to me than it actually did. I guess having control of your life isn't all it's cracked up to be. When it came down to it, there were things that were way more important on the line and the rest just didn't matter after that."
"Speaking of which . . ." Willow nodded across the street to where Gabriel strolled unhurriedly along the sidewalk. One hand dangled limply out of a pristine white cast, the other was buried deep inside his pocket. His back was turned to them as he walked.
Buffy stopped and gestured offhandedly to Willow. "I'll . . . catch up with you later, okay Will?"
"Sure." Willow answered brightly, "Take all the time you need."
Buffy ran across the street and cut in front of Gabriel.
"Hey." She greeted happily, "How's the arm?"
He looked down at his wounded limb and moved it slightly. "Better, I guess. Itches sometimes, though."
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you. I guess I don't blame you for taking it easy for a little while. I mean with the multiple brushes with death and all." He didn't smile at her attempted joke, he wouldn't even look at her for more than an instant.
"It was a bad one." She nodded thoughtfully, "At least everyone made it out okay."
"Not everyone." He whispered, his lips thinned and his jaw muscles twitching at the reminder.
"I-I'm sorry." Buffy apologized, "I didn't mean to-"
"No." he said, raising a reassuring palm. "It's all right. You didn't mean it."
There was a palpable silence between them that was almost painful. He pursed his lips and looked around at everything else but her while she mustered her courage.
"Weeellll, " Buffy fiddled with her hands nervously, "Since you're up and around again, I was thinking maybe we could do something together tonight. Just us. Maybe a movie or something."
She had rehearsed what she was going to say to him a dozen times but it came out much less cool and smoothly than she had envisioned. He paused, looking guiltily at her for a brief moment, his unfettered arm fidgeting about nervously in his pocket. "I can't." he answered finally. "I-I have this thing. Um, with Rupert. You know, uncle/nephew stuff." He tried, unsuccessfully, to soften the refusal with a weak smile.
Buffy's heart sank. "Well, maybe we could do it some other time." She suggested, unconsciously taking a few steps backward. All she wanted to do was flee at this point. "When neither one of us has . . . a thing."
"Sure, " he said half-heartedly. "Some other time, maybe."
Buffy reached out and laid her slender fingers on his arm. "Gabriel, are you okay?
He shrank from her touch. "Yeah, " he lied, "I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. I'll see you around."
He walked around her and continued down the sidewalk.
"Bye." She half waved, watching him go.
Gabriel pressed forward steadily, his heart feeling like it would implode. He kept going until he reached the corner and stopped. Confident that she was out of sight, he withdrew his hand from within his pocket and opened it slowly. Nestled like a dark pearl in the center of his palm was a small black pill. Clenching his fingers slowly around it, he jammed his fist back into his pocket and began walking again.