CHAPTER TEN:

The truth shall set you free…

Hank sat on the sofa staring off into the distance.

"Coffee?"

"Huh?" he said as his mind tried to refocus.

"Coffee… Would you like some coffee?"

Hank finally snapped out of his daze and he saw Faith holding a coffee cup in front of him. After a moment he reached out for it and took it slowly, "Thanks…" he mumbled.

Kevin looked at his dad. He'd never seen his dad look this way before and it bothered him. He leaned in closer to whisper to Adriana, who he was sitting with in a big lounger chair, "Did I look like that?"

She tried not to laugh as a smile came to her face, "You handled it a lot better."

Adriana's smile faded as her father and Aunt Buffy walked into the room. They had done a check around the house and made sure it was clear of vampires. Her mom had managed to get her brother and sister settled back down in their bedrooms. For now the danger had past.

Faith looked towards Buffy and Michael as they came into the room, "Are we okay?" she asked still concerned and worried over the attack on her family.

"The perimeter's clear. We cleared the pile and I used the hose to dilute and wash away the gas. I'll go back out at random times to keep an eye out until sunrise, but I don't think they'll be back…at least not tonight." Michael said.

"I've called Xander and Giles… They're relieved everyone is unhurt. They want to meet to discuss what we're going to do about this threat." Buffy said, but she could still see the look of worry and concern on Faith's face.

Michael saw Hank sitting holding his cup of coffee staring blankly at the far wall and he saw Adriana and Kevin sitting together. He let out a little sigh as he could see how close the two had become.

We need to tell her, was the thought that flashed through his mind.

Michael pushed the thought down as that issue was something that could be dealt with later as there were more pressing problems to deal with.

"Hank? You going to be okay?" Michael said as he moved over to stand by Hank.

Shock… He's in shock, Michael thought as he looked over Hank.

Hank finally looked up at Michael, "Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

"We will… Faith can you get me a coffee please? This will take some time." Michael said as he took a seat.

oOoOo

After several long hours of explaining everything to Hank or at least everything that they wanted him to know, Hank and Kevin left to return home. Buffy tagged along with them to make sure they got home safely and then she was going to do a quick patrol of the area and head home.

Michael was in the bedroom with Faith. He was getting changed into some more proper attire to walk the perimeter around the house. He could tell she was still upset and worried from the attack as she was pacing around the room like a caged tiger. He saw her face and could see the anger and the need to strike back at whoever was responsible for the attack.

"You okay?" Michael asked hesitantly.

"No… I'm not okay! I'm pissed!" Faith said angrily as she turned and stopped her pacing to face Michael.

"Everyone's safe… We'll be okay…" Michael said trying to find some words to reassure her, but as they came out of his mouth he knew how weak they sounded.

Faith's anger just increased, "Those bastards tried to kill my babies! Why aren't you angry?"

This caught Michael off guard, "I'm angry too…"

"You don't look it!"

"Trust me… I'm livid inside, but me stomping around shouting will not help or change the situation… We need to look at this calmly and rationally to deal with this situation."

"Calm! Rational! They tried to set us on fire! They were going to turn Adriana!" Faith said taking her anger out on Michael.

"…and I will deal with it!" Michael said slightly raising his voice looking directly into Faith's eyes.

Faith saw that look and she knew Michael would deal with the attack, those vampires would pay for what they tried to do. She moved and hugged Michael tightly. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes.

This is what I was worried about coming back here! she thought trying to feel some comfort and safety in Michael's hug.

They hugged for a very long time and Michael finally spoke again, "We have another problem…"

Faith pushed away from Michael. She was tired and after the night's events she couldn't handle anything else. "Can't it wait?" she asked tiredly.

Michael shook his head "You saw Adriana and Kevin together?" he asked.

"What about it?" she asked as a tired smile came to her face as she recalled seeing Adriana and Kevin holding hands.

One problem resolved… A million more left, she thought tiredly as her smile faded.

"We need to tell her." Michael said in a serious tone.

"No…we don't and she doesn't need to know!" Faith said as her tiredness weighed on her.

Secrets on top of secrets, she thought.

"She'll find out…one way or another. If she finds out by herself… She'll hate us and she'll feel like a freak."

"She's not a freak! She's my baby and she's normal!" she said as she raised her voice and her anger returned.

"I didn't say she was a freak…and I think I have a little expertise in this situation." Michael said calmly.

The problem they were discussing was that when Faith had found out she was pregnant with Adriana, there had been complications and it had taken Virgil using Forerunner medical technology to save the unborn child. The procedure used saved Adriana's life, but the result had been to give Adriana her strength and other abilities. Faith and Michael had never told Adriana about the procedure and she just assumed that she had "inherited" her abilities naturally.

Faith and Michael had argued over the years about how and when to tell her. Faith didn't want to say anything whereas Michael wanted to tell Adriana everything. He was adamant about his position due to the augmentation process he had undergone in the Spartan Program. Seeing how close Adriana and Kevin had become and made this discussion move to the forefront again as far as Michael was concerned.

"Can we not discuss this now?" Faith asked tiredly looking at Michael with pleading eyes.

Michael hugged her, "We can't put this off forever…" he said.

"I know… I know…" Faith said as she returned his hug tightly trying to find shelter from the outside world.

oOoOo

"So what do we know about these vampires?" Giles asked as he sat down. He could feel his age as his bones and joints creaked.

Fighting vampires is a game for the young, he thought.

Giles looked around the living room at the assembled group. Faith and Buffy were sitting together as Michael stood over in the corner. Xander was sitting across the room. Anya had taken the younger kids and teens out for breakfast, so they wouldn't be in the way during this meeting. Everyone in the room had concerned looks over last night's attack.

"Not much, but they knew Faith and I were here…" Michael said as he started pacing across the room.

"Yes quite…"

Buffy spoke up, "I called Willow this morning and she is checking into any spells that she can do to help keep vampires further away from the house."

"If…and I say if she finds anything, that may be a long term solution, but we have the immediate problem of this pack of vampires running about…" Michael said.

"…and how the hell they knew we were back in town!" Faith finished in an angry tone.

Giles sighed looking at Faith and Michael, "…It appears that more people know that you two have returned than we wanted."

"So what do we do?" Xander asked.

"We locate these vampires…" Michael said.

"Then what?" Xander again naively asked.

"Then I have a little chat with them." Michael replied in a dark tone.

oOoOo

Kevin opened the door as the doorbell rang again, he was greeted by a smiling Adriana looking as hot as ever wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He quickly returned the smile.

"Hey…" he said.

"Hey…how you doing or should I ask how is your dad doing?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"I'm doing fine, still finding it a little hard to believe it's all real… Dad is still trying to get a grasp on it all." he said with a smirk.

"Your mom know?"

"No… Dad didn't want to worry her. He said it was just a bunch of kids going wild with some firecrackers last night."

"Wanna go for a walk and maybe talk…or maybe…continue off what we were doing before we were interrupted last night?" she said with a sly smile as she held out her hand to him.

Kevin had a puzzled look on his face, but then what she'd said sank in and another smile came to his face, "Maybe we can do all three?" he said as he took her hand and they headed off.

oOoOo

Faith watched as Michael got his MJOLNIR battle armor and loaded it on to a cart along with some weapons and ammo to load into their SUV. They had gone to the warehouse as he had stored most of his equipment there as it was more secure than the house and he'd hoped that he wouldn't have had a need for it.

She saw him load a box marked "DANGER - C4" and her eyes went wide.

"Explosives! Don't you think that's a little bit much?" she said somewhat stunned.

Michael didn't look up as he continued to work, "For a Spartan, there is no such thing as too much…especially when it comes to firepower." he said in a matter of fact way.

Faith sighed as she watched Michael continuing to pile equipment on the cart. Her emotions were all over the place. She was angry and scared. She had known there was a risk coming back to Sunnydale, but things had gone bad so fast.

We came here to make things better and avoid problems, not make things worse! she thought wearily.

She knew what else was bothering her. When Hank showed up trying to arrest her. That had made all the old bad memories and guilt feel fresh again. Yes, she had murdered people… Yes, she had escaped prison… She had done all those things she had been accused of. But hadn't she fought against evil and defeated it? She had helped people… Hell she'd even helped save Cleveland from becoming a smoking hole in the ground. She had tried to live a good life. She had tried to become a better person. She had found a good man to love and she was a mother. Even with all those pluses, she still sometimes felt the weight of the bad things she'd done.

"Why?" she said out loud before she even realized what she had said.

Michael stopped and looked at Faith. He had known her long enough that he could read her. He was angry and tired. He had become used to living and not having to fight and kill to survive and now they were back in Sunnydale fighting once again to stay alive and protect their children.

"I've seen so much death… I survived countless battles and operations where others died… I asked that question many times and I've never found an answer. It seems to be the way it is. It's how our lives are and we have to live them." he said.

"I'm tired of the fighting and death Michael! We got spoiled back home feeling safe. Maybe we made a mistake wanting to come here?" Faith said.

"You pushed for us to come here. I outlined the risks, but you were determined and vocal that we had to come here. I felt there was another reason that you wouldn't tell me, but I never pushed you because I trusted you…"

Michael had said it in a matter of fact tone, but to Faith it felt like he had slapped her. Yes she had pushed to come back to Sunnydale and she did have her reasons. She could feel the guilt build up because she had lied to Michael—the one person she never had ever wanted to lie to.

Secrets on top of secrets, she thought as it all weighed on her.

"I… Tala and I were worried…" she started to say.

"What were you and Tala worried about?" Michael asked somewhat puzzled.

"Michael… I promised Tala I would never say anything to you…" Faith said in a scared panicked voice.

"What did you promise?"

"We were worried about how close Adriana and Makya were getting… We were worried what would happen if they…did something!" Faith said as she tried to find the words to explain her main reason for moving back to Sunnydale.

"You were worried about Adriana and Makya having sex together? He's a nice boy. I like him..." Michael responded still confused.

"Damn it Michael! Makya is your son!" Faith yelled out as she could no longer keep the truth from him.

There was a moment where time stood still and Michael had a shocked look on his face and then the realization of what would have happened if Adriana and Makya had developed a more deeper and physical relationship.

"My…my son?" was all that Michael could say.

Faith now had an outlet for all her anger, "You slept with her! You knocked her up!" she said with anger.

Michael's arms dropped to his side and he suddenly felt very old and tired as the weight of his life pushed down on him. "How long have you known?" he said quietly.

"She told me before he was born that you were his father."

"Why?"

"It was just after I found out I was pregnant… I was scared and unsure about it and then I found out that I was going to lose her unless Virgil did his procedure…and you weren't there! You were off playing soldier on Reach and I was alone and scared! She told me to help me and reassure me that you loved me and whatever I decided would be for the best."

Michael was at a loss for words. He felt his strength leave him and he felt unsteady. He found a chair and sat down as he was unsure that he could keep standing.

"All these years? You both kept this a secret?" he said.

Faith saw Michael's face and her anger started to fade and she could only feel his pain at this revelation. She loved him so much and to see him this way hurt her.

There was another long moment of silence. Faith watched Michael, but he didn't make eye contact with her. She could tell he was thinking hard about everything.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Faith said in a quiet pleading voice.

There was another long moment of silence and Michael finally spoke, "You both should have told me… I had a right to know."

"What would have that accomplished? Were you going to be with her? She asked me not to and I respected her wishes." Faith said suddenly feeling defensive.

Michael's tone gone harder, "I can probably forgive Tala for this, but you know what happened to me… You know that I was taken from my family… I told you how many times over the years what it was like not to have any memory of my parents and what I had gone through!"

Faith was surprised by how Michael was reacting, "Please Michael…" she found herself saying.

"I've never lied to you…"

He said it in such a quiet tone, but it struck Faith like a sledgehammer and she got defensive again, "Yeah… you never lied…" she said sarcastically, "…but you had no problems having sex with other women…Tala and an alternate me in an alternate universe!"

Michael could see that Faith was just trying to hurt him now by digging up ancient history. He was hurt and he wanted to hurt her back.

He thought about bringing up how she spent her time in LA, when she thought he was dead, to throw it in her face. But warning bells went off in his head. If he did that he knew that he would be crossing a line that they couldn't go back over. He paused for another long moment as he considered what he was going to say. He finally decided what he was going to do.

"I'm going to tell Adriana everything."

Faith exploded, "NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" her voice echoed through the empty warehouse.

"She needs to know… You would continue to lie to her?"

It was like she had been slapped again, "Please Michael… Don't do this… It will destroy her!"

"What do you think is better? Her hearing it from us or finding out on her own? What happens if she gets older and goes back to the village and sees Makya and something happens then?"

There was another moment of silence as Faith considered what Michael had said. He continued.

"I lived most of my life as a secret and in the shadows… I look at you and I can now see how this secret has eaten at you."

Faith could feel the tears form in her eyes. She had betrayed the most important man in her life. She could feel the shame and guilt start to overwhelm her.

"You must hate me?" she said trying to hold back her tears.

There was another long pause.

"No… I could never hate you. I've loved you since I first saw you. I crossed universes for you and I would do it again… I'm hurt, but I don't hate you." Michael said with love and pain in his voice.

Faith moved to Michael and he stood up and they hugged. They had been through too much to throw what they had away. Even after all the years they had been together, they found out that relationships were a strange and difficult thing that no one could master. They both had their share of baggage when they had met and they had accumulated more over the years, but they both still felt that they belonged together. Their love had been forged in the heat of battle and even though it had been scorched it was still strong.

Faith looked up at Michael, "So what do we do now?"

He smiled at her, "We do what you always say… We take it one thing at a time… We deal with the vampires first and then we figure out how we tell Adriana everything."

Faith finally conceded to the fact that they would have to tell Adriana everything. It would be painful, but as Michael had said it would be better in the long run that she hear it from her parents than finding out on her own.

She returned his smile with her own, "So what do you think of Kevin?" she said changing the topic.

"He seems like a nice boy and Adriana likes him even though he is a year older than her…"

Faith got a sly smile, "She takes after her mother in that she likes older men… If she is anything like me we'll have to warn him."

Michael had a quick recall of memories as he'd actually had a chance to experience what Faith was like as a teenager and he suddenly got a very protective fatherly feeling, "Yes… I'll have to have a little talk with him."

oOoOo

Adriana and Kevin had walked for a while. They had held hands, but hadn't done much talking. They had found a quiet secluded spot in one of the parks and they found a spot to sit down.

Again they sat in an awkward silence for what seemed like a very long time. Finally Kevin found his courage to speak.

"What was it like living on a different planet?"

"It wasn't like it was an alien planet… It was Earth…just in another dimension. It was different. There was only our home and the village. If there were other people on the planet, we never saw them.

"I just find it hard to imagine that you lived in an alien building on an alternate Earth…"

"It was my home… I miss it."

"Did you have lots of friends?"

"Yes… There was one that was a really good friend. His name is Makya…"

Kevin heard how Adriana said that name and he felt a surge of jealousy go through him.

Adriana didn't see the change in Kevin's face as she continued on, "We used to do everything together. He was always there for me… I trusted him…" Adriana turned and looked at Kevin, "I get the same feeling with you."

This made Kevin feel a little better and relieved, but his self-confidence had still taken a hit knowing that she was close with someone else. Those thoughts were quickly pushed to the back of his mind as Adriana leaned in and kissed him softly of the lips.

As they pulled away, Kevin was struck by the thought of how much he cared for Adriana and how important she was to him. The thought that she could have been killed—or worse—last night caused him to shudder. Adriana picked up on his concern.

"What's wrong? You didn't like the kiss?"

"Oh God no! The kiss was…it was awesome!"

"Then what's wrong?"

"What's going to happen with those vampires running around? They could come back tonight or tomorrow night…" Kevin said with obvious concern.

He was surprised when Adriana laughed. "What's so funny about this?" he asked a little confused by her response.

He saw her face get very serious and it looked like her eyes got darker. The look was very similar to the look she had after she had killed those vampires and he let out another shudder.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about those vampires after my dad finishes with them." she said in a now very serious tone which for some reason caused Kevin to shudder again.

oOoOo

Across town, in the basement of a two story building a group stood off to the side as a huge bright pulsing light appeared. The people watching didn't have to look away as their helmet visors automatically polarized to keep their wearers from being blinded.

The light faded and twenty armored figures and crates were now in the middle of the basement. A figure stepped towards this new group.

"Captain Espino?"

An armored figure stepped towards the speaker, "Yes…"

The speaker came to immediate attention saluting, "Sir! I'm Lieutenant Paula Wood… I'm in charge of this recon base."

Espino returned the salute, "At ease Lieutenant…"

The Lieutenant removed her helmet and Espino did likewise. "It's good to see you sir! I was wondering if they forgot about us back home." Wood said with a small smile.

Espino smiled back, "Hardly…"

"Would you like a tour of our humble home and I can provide you a status update… Sir?"

"If you don't mind, I want to get my men and equipment squared away first and then we can do that tour and you can bring me up to speed." Espino replied.

"Yes Sir! I'll get Sergeant Moen to show you where you and your men can store your equipment and bunk… We can meet up in the conference room in twenty minutes and we can start with the tour." Wood said again as she came to attention and then signaled one of her men to come forward.

"Thank you Lieutenant. I look forward to it."