Wolf was very happy. They'd won. Good had triumphed. And the creamy girl of his dreams had said she would marry him. Not only that, but he and Virginia were going back to New York for a while, and even though he didn't particularly like the stuffy city, he liked the fact that his future father-in-law was going to be in a whole other dimension during their "honeymoon". Life couldn't get much better.

They were as of now sitting on a bridge in the big park. Virginia was by his side, staring at the sky in a way which reminded him a bit of his mother. He then reached over and rubbed her stomach, feeling the warm presence of his soon-to-be-child.

Suddenly, he felt pulled away from this blissful scene and into the strange place which he had named, with a redundancy similar to that of his own name, THERE. Every member of the little crew were waiting for him, their heads bowed as if respecting a dead man.

"How'd I get here?" asked Wolf, who was a little surprised to see them all. Usually to reach this place, he had to concentrate on it. "And who died?"

"No one. No one ever dies here..." answered Nick. It always seemed that Nick took care of him, like he felt responsible for the newbie since he'd had been there the longest, "But your 'series' has just ended, I see."

"'Series'?" asked Wolf. They had explained almost everything to him that first day, but this was something he hadn't heard about. From the way they looked, it seemed they had kept it from him so as not to scare him.

"Your series. The link to the other dimensions in the multiverse. After your series ends, you come here much more permanently than you did when you were still 'on the air' as they say," answered Duncan, putting his hand on the confused half-wolf's shoulder.

"So, you mean, I'll be here forever?" said Wolf, who was not very joyous at that prospect. He liked the guys and all, but they were no substitute for Virginia.

"Well, you'll leave once you get to be revived. Get more of the series. Until then, you're here and in the 'hopeful land'," continued Nick, who had also stepped over to comfort the crestfallen Wolf.

"What's the 'hopeful land'?" asked Wolf with an excited jump. That sounded promising.

"It's the happily ever after, the finally joy, the what-should-happen-in-a-perfect-world," put in Benton, "We all have them. At least, all who have lost their series. That would be Nick, myself, and Duncan. You can visit there whenever you want, but you never remember what happened when you come back. And you always come back."

"That sounds cruel!" muttered Wolf.

"Not really," countered Nick. "At the end of my series, there wasn't really a 'hopeful land'. It's amazing what some of the fanfic has done for my life. Not to mention Duncan's..."

"Or mine!" pipped up Doyle, who had sat down on something that was either a hydrant, a stump, or a Hershey's bar. "Lots of people have brought me back, and I definately appreciate that!"

"Bloody good use it's done me!" muttered Spike, who hadn't been with the rest of the group when Wolf had entered, "She always seems to dream up stories and never write them for me!"

"What about people who have a series still?" asked Wolf, looking back at Spike who was still muttering.

"We live like you used to, half here and half in our reality," answered Angel. It was one of the rare times the visibly young man spoke.

"Yeah!" said Tommy enthusasticly, "We come here every once in a while. I do it to get away from my would-be girlfriend troubles. Not to mention all the times Merton feels like going on about stuff I don't understand. Or that I have no interest in... Or that involves ancient texts..."

"Ancient texts have their uses..." defended Angel.

"Unless they're in the hands of a buncha gypsys you just depopulated..." smirked Spike. Angel didn't respond.

"So I- argh!" Wolf suddenly felt a great deal of information crash into him. His reality flipped upside down and backwards, then did a triple lutz on his mind. He felt like he had a sister. Like he had betrayed Virginia, just to later come back to her. Like he was burying the Huntsman. Like he had twin cubs. He absorbed it, then shook his head.

"After-series fics just hit you, did they?" Nick asked, trying to be as gentle as he could. Nick knew what it felt like to lose your series, Nick having lost his a good number of years ago, and in a particularly brutal way.

"Yeah..." Wolf said, a little woozy, "And you guys were right. She is nice. It seems I got a sister, a king brother-in-law, and two cubs! I think I like that one. But the other..." Wolf shook as if he were a dog getting rid of water.

"That rush won't happen again. It only happens after your series ends and all the stuff hits you at once," said Duncan. "I remember mine. I've never seen so many 'what ifs' in my life..."

"So, what now?" Wolf asked, finally fully recovered from his ordeal, I just stay here!? I want to get married!"

"Well," said Doyle, "If you're wantin' to get married, I suggest you go over to the AIN and sell your idea!"

"What?"

"The Author's Idea Node. That little white thing that never changes, unlike the rest of this place. Go over, tell it you want to get married, and sell it for all your worth. Hey, she resurrected me, didn't she? I think she can pull a wedding..."

"Okay..." said Wolf slowly. He walked over, all the rest following him, to the little white node. He then proceeded to tell his entire plan for the wedding and such. The white thing seemed almost as if it was listening, then flared a bright purple.

"What does that mean?" asked Wolf, backing away as it if was some sort of explosive.

"She accepted the idea!" cried Nick, who promptly ran over (though he moved so fast no one could see if he ran or flew) and gave Wolf a big hug.

The entire crew, minus Spike, who was trying to kick one of the little squirrels that had appeared as part of the scenery just then, broke out into a cheer. They each slapped his back in congratulations. Obviously, Wolf thought, acceptance was a rarity.

Then, since they were all healthy humanoid males, they began to plan the bachelor party.

"Oh, I wish you guys could be there!" Wolf cried, thinking about all the wonderful things that were going to happen.

"We can!" exclaimed Tommy, "Ask for what's called a 'crossover'."

"Crossover?"

"It's when people from different dimensions in the multiverse meet up in a fanfic. The fanfic is then called a crossover," explained Benton in that polite way of his. "They can be a great deal of fun, and extremely interesting."

"He's never met up with a demonic Barney before in one, has he?" Nick asked Angel under his breath. Angel chuckled softly, then shook his head. Benton didn't seem to notice.

"Anyway, pitch it also. You seem to be the current favorite," suggested Doyle with a smile.

Wolf did as asked, and was delighted to see the node turn purple once again.

"Okay, then!" Wolf exclaime, feeling the pull on him even now, "See you at the party!"

Wolf stood at the end of the aisle in a particularly nice tux. He was so nervous, he felt like he was about to howl like a cub on his first hunt. He noticed he was bouncing, and his tail, which he had chosen to leave out for the ceremony, was wagging anxiously. Cripes, when would the music start!?

It seemed as if the organ player had heard his thoughts, for it was then that the strains of "Here Comes the Bride" flowed through the organ pipes and into the small church. Wolf looked down the aisle to see the bridesmaids (who included Candy, whom he'd met that first night) step out. They were going at what seemed to be, at least to Wolf, an agonizingly slow pace. Finally, Wolf saw Virginia.

She was gorgeous. Her hair, which hadn't grown back yet, looked a vision of dark chocolate, and her light blue eyes sparkled in the light which slipped through the stained-glass window. Her face was filled with hope and joy, and seemed to glow. Her dress, which was tailored to lesson the pregnant look, was nonetheless beautiful, and Wolf knew then that he was the luckiest half-wolf alive.

Wolf then turned his attention quickly to a dark little section in the back of the church, where three particularly uncomfortable, but (well, two were) happy-looking men and their fiancees sat. Next to them were a Mountie, a wolf, a dark haired Irishman, his date, two teenage boys (one tall and wolfish, the other short and impish), and an olive skinned man with a ponytail who was holding onto a short blonde. They were all smiling at him, waving, and shouting encouragement to the bride and the groom.

He was, Wolf reflected again, a very lucky person.

The wedding went just as he'd planned it. Everything was perfect. Afterwards, they all moved to a little resturant and partied for while. When it came time to make a toast, Wolf stood and held his glass high.

"To friends," a wink at the guys and their dates, "To family," a smile at his wife, father-in-law, and soon-to-be-child, "To happiness," Wolf smiled at all assembled, "And to the one who made this all possible!"

I smiled.

Nick then stood up. He was holding a glass full of red liquid which Wolf knew wasn't wine.

"To happily ever after!"

"Indeed!"