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The rest of the weekend seemed to pass in a flash, even though Ivory spent most of her time with Kenyon with a guilty conscience and Chase was forced to watch from the sidelines. Early on Sunday evening, Kenyon went home to Sunnydale, and the new lovers were at last given their first opportunity to really talk.
They had driven out to the desert on the pretext of slaying vamps, and Chase wasn't sure if that story was meant to fool Angel or themselves. Nevertheless, he and Ivory had yet to exit the jeep; they had just been sitting there in silence for a few long moments, looking anywhere but at each other. Finally, Chase said, "What's happening to us, Ivory? What are we doing here?"
Ivory looked at him now, although briefly, with slightly startled green eyes. Giving it some thought, she replied, "Honestly, I don't know, Chase... I thought I was okay with this, but then... Then Kenyon showed up." She bit her lip. "I don't want to hurt him, Chase, not any more than I already have. God, if this ever got out..." Ivory looked towards him again, forcing her eyes to stay locked on him. "That's why I believe that when this is over, and I know it will be in a matter of days..." Ivory trailed off, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Once my Mom is safely out of the caverns, I think it would be better if you just left. Just packed up silently and walked away... Problem solved, and memories will fade with time. And Kenyon will never have to know what I've done."
Chase bit back tears, determined not to cry in front of her. He moved to touch the side of her face, but Ivory brushed his hand away, saying, "Don't! It will just make it worse."
Chase nodded grimly. He may not agree with Ivory's declaration to leave, to never see each other again, but he knew it would do no good to challenge her. All he could do was mourn the fact that he'd never get to kiss her again, never get to share a heart-to-heart... He'd never even told her he loved her, not to her face. How unfair that he would never get that chance. But, out loud, Chase merely said, "I understand."
They returned to the apartment complex shortly thereafter, without the usual slaying. Angel didn't question them when they came in, for which Ivory and Chase were glad; in fact, the vampire was immersed in watching a creature feature about his very race on TV. Looking up at his daughter as she sat next to him, Angel gave her a quick hug. "Hey, honey," he said casually. "Glad to see you made it back early and in one piece this time."
Ivory half smiled. "Yeah, I did," she replied, unconsciously shifting to feel the newly formed scars on her back; she had always been a fast healer. "Zero activity tonight, to be honest... So, what are we watching that's got you so hooked?"
Angel leaned his head on one hand, eyes darting towards her. "Some vampire flick. Didn't catch the title." He laughed ironically. "And not too exciting. I swear, we could watch thousands of such films, and not a single one would have anything on us."
Ivory chuckled. "Ain't that the truth," she replied, thinking briefly of Leeloo. For a moment, looking at her father, she wished she could come clean, but figured it was best left to her mother. Instead, she settled with, "I imagine someone could make millions on our story!"
Angel gave a slight smile, moving to turn off the television. "I wouldn't go that far," he answered. "Thousands, maybe. But not millions. And in either case... I doubt it's something we'd want to see in print. Our lives are complicated enough without adding notoriety to the list."
Ivory bit her lip to keep from bursting into laughter, turning to look at him. Before she could get another word out, Chase broke in, stepping forward and holding a vibrating pager in one hand. "Hey," he stated. "Check this out, guys. Cordelia's signaling us."
Slightly flustered, Ivory took the pager from him, tilting it to look at the viewscreen. And right there, highlighted by a fluorescent green background, were the words, "IT'S TIME." Raising her eyes to meet Angel's, shaken by the news, Ivory said, "He's right. Everything's finally set."
Angel studied her face intently. "Are you?" he asked seriously. "I know we've been waiting a few weeks for this, but... Ivory, are you truly ready?"
The Slayer took a few moments to pull herself together, searching the depths of her soul for an answer to that question. It took her a while to find it, but she believed it with every fiber of her being. "To be honest, I'm a little scared and... and I'm a little uncertain as to whether or not we'll actually pull this off... But, yes." She looked at her father with a determined light in her emerald eyes. "Let's go get Mom out of there..."