Ambivalence

Chapter 29: Future

By: Knowledge Eater

Disclaimer: Ubisoft owns Far Cry 5, I just like to play with their world and characters.


Despite Faith's confidence that the Angel reversal would work, she was still nervous. Growing up in general fear from her parents or classmates left her very vulnerable to anxiety even into adulthood. When she panicked or became fearful or nervous, it took root in her very core and twisted her insides where she often became ill. With her stomach already weakened from her withdrawals she succumbed to another bout of nausea while she waited for Aiden and Jess to arrive.

She sipped at the mint tea that Aiden kindly kept bringing her. It helped ease her stomach ever so slightly. After a moment her heart sped up when the door opened, Aiden, Jess and another man stepped inside. He was one of the resistance men that appeared to have been in charge of the group occupying the hotel.

"Hope you don't mind the extra company," Aiden explained. "It was requested that the cure attempt be witnessed."

"To make sure you're not makin' a new type of the Bliss or somethin,'" the man blurted.

He was shorter than Aiden, arms thick, but not muscular. Wisps of black hair poked out from under his Hope County Cougars baseball cap, his cheeks and upper lip were dusted with small black hairs. His thick bushy eyebrows made his small eyes appear even smaller as he openly stared at Faith with contempt. She failed to suppress the shiver that tickled down her spine.

Aiden's face darkened and inched closer to place himself between Faith and the man. Her heart somersaulted at his display of protectiveness.

The only thing a person like you deserves is to be loved, cherished and protected.

Faith swallowed the emotion that seemed to have built up in her throat. She tilted her chin up and met the man's glare.

"Jess, lay down on the bed, please."

The other woman complied, she laid on the mattress, her milky eyes stared unblinking towards the ceiling.

Faith felt terror at the possibility of the cure not working. Would the resistance doubt her intentions if it didn't work? This was her very first attempt at creating the cure. It would be better to test it first, if it wasn't enough she would have to go back and figure out what went wrong and how to adjust it. But they didn't have that amount of time. If the cure failed she would disappoint Aiden. What if it somehow made Jess worse? He would never forgive her.

Her chest began to hurt at the idea of Aiden becoming angry with her. Then she began to feel nervous, and consequently nauseous again, Faith swallowed the excessive saliva in her mouth as she stepped towards the table and reached for one of the empty syringes they brought from the jail. She carely filled it with the light blue colored liquid, the syringe shook in her hands as she expelled the air bubbles.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice Aiden step in front of her, blocking her view of the other man. Her shoulders immediately felt warm when he placed his hands on them. A small smile was on his face when she looked up at him.

"Do you have any ounce of doubt it may not work?" He asked her.

She shouldn't confess her doubts, not in front of the other man, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to Aiden. "Yes. But we don't have the time to test it. What if it doesn't work or makes it worse? I'll have to figure out where I went wrong and we don't have that kind of time—"

Aiden tightened his hold on her shoulders to shush her. His smile never faltered. "You poured everything you had into the research and you put even more into making it. I trust you, Faith."

The woman swallowed the lump in her throat. No one had expressed trust in her, even more so in the recent years due to her reputation. The Father was different, he trusted her devotion to him and that she wouldn't disappoint him, but Aiden's words nearly brought tears to her eyes. With a deep breath her hands shook a little less.

The new determination that coursed through her veins fought off her anxiety and nausea. She nodded at Aiden and stepped out of his grip and towards Jess.

Faith was unsure where the cure should be injected, amongst her books she left her more in depth medical books at her gate, but she guessed the same injection site she used for the anti-Bliss solution should work. With her breath held, she rubbed Jess' exposed upper arm with an alcohol wipe before she inserted the needle and injected the cure.

Then they waited.


The moment the light blue liquid within the syringe disappeared, Aiden held his breath. Despite what he told Faith, he still was fearful to see if some of her doubts came true. He wasn't sure how Jess would physically react, but in case it was similar to when she was turned into an Angel and she were to start thrashing, he stepped beside Jess in case he had to hold her down.

Jess' white eyes continued to stare at the ceiling, she would blink slowly every so often.

His heart sped up as he noticed a shift in those eyes. After a few blinks she blinked more often and longer, her pupils steadily grew in size. Her whole body twitched and then her eyes shut tightly.

As if underwater, in the brink of drowning, and then coming up for air, Jess took a deep, gasping inhale. When her eyes opened they were blue.

Aiden felt his heart soar, it took all of his willpower to remain still.

"Jess?" He asked softly.

The woman's blue eyes roamed everywhere, and upon hearing her name she turned to look at Aiden. She looked at him. As an Angel her gaze would always remain unmoving even when she was directly called.

The woman frowned as she studied him and Aiden felt his heart drop. Did she not recognize him? Her eyes resumed to dart around the room, they lingered on Faith and Bernard, the man in charge of the hotel.

She blinked hard several times before she focused on Aiden again. Her eyes softened after a long moment.

"Aiden?" Her voice was rough and a little raspy from unusage. Her usual frown formed as she continuously blinked. A weak groan escaped her parted lips and then she shut her eyes.

Aiden couldn't help himself. He grabbed Jess by the shoulders and pulled her into a bone crushing embrace. His voice shook from the flood of emotions that tore into his chest.

"You're okay!" He cried. "You're okay."

A long moment passed. Jess remained still, but he could feel her squirming. Another groan escaped her which tore him out of his euphoric state. He gently placed her back on the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

The huntress lifted a shaking hand to her head, her eyes remained closed. "Who the hell hit me over the head? The world is spinnin'."

Faith spoke then. "I'm assuming she'll feel like she's had a concussion."

Jess was quick to recognize the Bliss heralds voice. She began to lift herself off the mattress, but the dizziness must've forced her to lie back down.

"What the hell happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Aiden asked. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, his cheeks were hurting, but he didn't care.

Jess didn't answer immediately. She held both hands over her face and her chest moved with each inhale and exhale. Then her hands drifted to where she was shot, she fumbled to feel for the wound. It was still bandaged, still healing, so she winced when she touched it.

"That damn Peggie shot me. Then, I was stuck in the Bliss."

Aiden felt his breath get caught in his throat. "You were stuck?"

Jess took another deep breath. She sounded winded. But at least she wasn't gasping. When she was an Angel her breaths were calm and even.

"Yeah, I was stuck in that damned place. Nothing to do, but forced to hear you both bark orders at me like some dog."

"You could hear us?" Faith asked. Curiosity must've gotten the best of her and she was suddenly standing beside Aiden, her full attention on the woman lying on the bed.

Jess rubbed her face and groaned. Then she realized who was speaking and she growled. Her hands fell from her face and she forced herself to sit up.

"You did that to me!" She yelled. "It's your fault I was stuck in that hell!" Her movement was automatic, she reached for her torso, but her hand only touched the belt at her waist. She didn't have her knife.

Faith took a step back, fear clearly etched on her face. Even though Aiden knew Jess was currently no threat to her, he still stepped between the two women.

"Faith turned you into an Angel to save your life, Jess."

"Bullshit!" Jess roared. She blinked hard and lifted a hand to her head with a grimace. She cursed again and collapsed back onto the mattress. Her throat moved as if swallowing rapidly.

As smart as Faith was for figuring out the Angel reversal, Jess was the first one to be brought back as an Angel, the after effects were mostly unknown. Aiden turned to Faith and led her towards the door.

Once they were outside he told her, "why don't you wait in my room? It's the next one over. I'll...talk to her. Let her vent so she can cool off."

Faith's eyebrow twitched and she looked towards the door. No doubt she wanted to question Jess more, but she turned back to him and nodded. Howard followed her into the next room.

Before Aiden could step back into the room Bernard exited. The frown on his face was gone, in its place he looked relieved with a small hint of a smile on his lips.

"She really did it," he muttered.

Aiden nodded. "It won't be easy for us to trust her, not with everything she's done for the cult. But she's trying."

The shorter man nodded. "This is a start," he said before he walked away.

Aiden felt a smile of his own grow on his face as he stepped back into the room, Jess was still on the bed, her arm over her eyes. He remembered that Faith said she would have concussion like symptoms, so he moved towards the window and covered most of it with the curtain so a little light could brighten the room enough so they could at least see each other.

"So it's true?" Jess asked slowly. "I was...an Angel?"

The junior deputy looked around the room for an unopened water bottle. He remembered bringing Faith so many, but now there wasn't one in sight.

"You were. It was to save your life."

Jess scoffed.

Finally, with a new bottle in hand he stepped next to Jess and handed it to her.

"We've fought against the Angels before. You've seen how they get right back up. Only if we shoot them in the heart or the head do they stay down."

"Was it your idea to turn me into a zombie?"

"No," Aiden answered. "It was Faith's idea. I was against it, but she promised if you were turned into an Angel you would survive the bullet wound. You were shot in the lung, you know."

Jess took an experimental deep breath and promptly winced. "Yeah I feel...sore. Still hurts a bit too."

"You should have died, Jess," Aiden whispered. He promptly shut the memories of her blood all over his arms and shirt out of his head. "But as an Angel you would have been good as dead anyway, so I refused to turn you into one of them. But Faith promised to make the cure. And she did. Despite everything you did to her."

Jess looked at Aiden with her blue eyes slightly narrowed. Aiden recognized that expression back when they returned to the jail with medical supplies, she had a painful headache.

"And no, she still refuses to tell me what you did to her. But I'm not blind, nor am I that stupid."

"You know she's only helping to save her own skin, right? She can't outlive her usefulness."

Aiden shrugged. "Faith isn't like you or me, Jess. She's not a fighter. She's never shot a gun before. Some people have other means to survive."

Jess was silent. She sipped a little water before she handed the bottle back to him and laid back down.

"You said you were stuck in the Bliss."

"Yeah," Jess replied. She rubbed her temples. "I couldn't get out, couldn't do anything in there. I couldn't even break off a branch from any of those damn trees. Couldn't catch any of those weird animals. It was beyond boring, Aiden. I felt like I was going crazy."

The junior deputy didn't know what to say. But it seemed like his theory was right, how could anyone know if an Angel was truly at peace if they couldn't communicate? Burke may have enjoyed the Bliss, but for a person like Jess peace was maddening.

"I think I was able to hear other people talking, but their voices were distorted. It was only you and flower bitch that I could fully understand."

"I'm sorry to have put you through that," Aiden said, "but if the cure hadn't worked...I decided I would have put you out of your misery. I couldn't...it killed me to see you like that."

Jess stopped rubbing her temples and looked at him. She was never one for intimate and sentimental moments, so they simply gave each other their familiar look of understanding. Finally she nodded and closed her eyes again.

"How do you feel?" Aiden asked.

"Headache, dizzy, and it hurts to take a deep breath. But other than that I'm just...glad to be out of that hell." She was silent for another moment. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Aiden grinned. "It wasn't my idea and I didn't do anything to make that cure."

Jess snarled. "I ain't thanking her."

"I'm not asking you to," Aiden defended. "Just rest. Please. However you're feeling please tell me. This is new for everyone. We don't know what to expect. So please take it easy."

Jess waved a hand at him lazily. "Yeah, yeah. "

Aiden left the room to let his friend rest. He would check in on her later. Knowing Jess once the dizziness wore off she would undoubtedly push herself to start walking around.

Outside in the hall he inhaled deeply and tried not to whoop in excitement. Jess was okay! He was so close to losing her, and it had killed him little by little each day when he saw her blank white eyes. But now she was the same old Jess. Still angry and cursing up a storm.

It was all thanks to Faith that he had his friend back.

She's important to you. I didn't want to see you sad.

His chest swelled with an array of emotions, happiness, gratitude, admiration and something much deeper. Aiden rushed into the other room Faith was waiting in.

He paused when he saw that she was surrounded by Howard and Bernard. His earlier feelings were quickly squashed by the overwhelming urge to protect her and he charged forward. But as he drew nearer, he saw that Faith explained something while she wrote on one of the hotel's notepads before she handed it to Bernard. The man appeared civil with her. He didn't glare at her, didn't use his height to tower over Faith's much smaller frame. He accepted the notepad, nodded to her, and headed for the exit. He thumped his hand on Aiden's shoulder on the way out in a friendly gesture. Howard bowed his head to Faith and thanked her before he too left.

Once the other men were gone, Faith noticed Aiden and her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

Faith nodded. "Now that we have the cure I gave that man a list of all the locations that Angels were assigned to. He'll arrange for some people to seek them out and bring them back."

"He didn't threaten you, did he?" Faith frowned in confusion. "Bernard. The guy with the cap, he's the one in charge of the resistance here. What did he want with you?"

"Oh," Faith responded nonchalantly, "I was the one to ask him to see me so I could give him that list. And I needed his phone to record my voice on it so his people aren't attacked by Angels."

All worry evaporated from Aiden and his feelings for her grew instantaneously. She had promised to cure Jess and Howard's family, but she took her own initiative to help the resistance in curing more people.

"You are amazing, Faith," he muttered. His voice was thick and slightly raspy. Her eyebrows drew close for a second in a frown before she lowered her gaze and a very light pink tint colored her cheeks.

After a moment she looked back up at him. "How is Jess?"

He quickly studied her eyes and could only see honest concern in them.

Aiden couldn't fight it any longer. His body moved on it's own and he was suddenly pulling Faith into a near crushing embrace. Holding her in his arms felt like he could finally breathe after not being able to do so in a long time. She didn't stiffen, she didn't even try to pull away. When he felt her arms wrap around his waist he tightened his embrace. He had wanted to do this for a long time.

He was drunk off of the many emotions that continued to surge through him. Embracing Faith suddenly didn't feel like it was enough. He desperately needed more. Against his better judgement, he pulled away from Faith and placed his hands on her cheeks. There was no fear in her eyes. Her blue orbs were filled with a tenderness he had never seen before. The tiny voice in his head that continuously reminded him that they had no future together got smaller and smaller until he completely snuffed it out.

Aiden could fight the temptation no longer and he pressed his lips against hers. They felt so soft and warm against his own and she tasted like mint tea. When she kissed him in return it was like an electric current traveled through his veins. Their chaste kiss became more forceful and when his tongue brushed against her bottom lip she quickly parted her lips and met his tongue with her own.

All too soon just kissing her wasn't enough and she felt the same way. His back straightened by reflex when he felt her fingers snake under his shirt. By then his lungs screamed and begged for oxygen and he reluctantly pulled away from her. Heat flushed through his body and he could see the intense desire in Faith's eyes. But that one moment apart his stupid inner voice of reason finally kicked into his brain. He didn't know if he should regret stopping now before they took things further or if he would regret giving into his desire. Then he remembered the conversation he and Faith had the other day.

A child can't be raised in prison.

He wanted just one special moment with Faith before they would be separated, but that voice of logic in his head grew louder and reminded him it would only take one time. He would never forgive himself if he robbed his child of a life with a mother. After having experienced it he didn't wish it on anyone.

With that thought in mind, Aiden gained control of himself. It worried him that he should feel ashamed for losing control of himself in the first place and leading Faith on. The nightmare that was Hope County was nearly over. Nothing stood in his way of arresting the Father now, and that meant Faith would pay for her crimes in prison. But he didn't feel ashamed. He just felt relieved that he could kiss her and she kissed him back.

When the high wore off, that relief turned into guilt.

Aiden pulled away completely and it hurt him to do it, even more so when he saw the hurt in Faith's eyes. He hated feeling this way. And he felt like he would only regret it if he let her walk away from his life. Even if they couldn't spend their life together like a normal couple, they would only have borrowed time, but it was better than nothing. He cared too much for her to just cut her out of his life completely. If he could have short periods of time with her then it would be enough.

"I don't know how, Faith, but we'll figure this out."

"Figure what out?" She asked.

"Us. This." He gestured to them both. "You're different, Faith. You are special, no one can compare to you. I'd be an idiot if I let you get taken away from me. What you've done so far to help us, the miracle you've accomplished from saving Jess' life, that has to be taken into consideration. That note you found, and what you said about Joseph threatening you, you can defend yourself, to survive you had to play along. I'll talk to my father, he has connections. We can figure this out."

Faith's eyes were swollen with tears. "What are you saying, Aiden?"

"I care for you, Faith. I shouldn't, but I do. No one took the time to learn how much of an amazing woman you are. I want to get to know you, the real you. The kind, strong and crazy smart woman that could probably light me on fire with her brain."

A small smile grew on her face and the tears finally shed from her eyes. Aiden reached for that dimple on her left cheek.

"That is if you want to give us a chance."

More tears rolled down her cheeks. Her throat moved as she swallowed before she scoffed. "You're the only one that ever gave...me a chance." She leaned into his touch and covered his hand with her own. There was a small hint of sadness in her eyes. "But you'll regret this. You'll see other normal couples and will want what they have. You'll meet someone deserving of you and you'll forget...me. And what about Jess?"

That caught Aiden off guard. "What about her?"

"I thought you two were together."

The junior deputy frowned. Why would she think that? Then he realized she must have witnessed the moment when Jess kissed him.

"No, we're not together. She's a dear friend, but nothing beyond that. She may feel differently, but I don't share her feelings."

Aiden gripped her hand, it felt so small in his own. "And I could never forget you, Faith. But if those other scenarios happen, well, we'll cross that bridge IF it comes to it. Say we do try and it doesn't work out, who knows maybe you'll find yourself a great prison wife and forget about me."

Faith rolled her eyes, the small smile still on her face, and she gently slapped Aiden on the chest.

Aiden grinned back and then cleared his throat, his face became serious again. "I'd rather we have tried than go on wondering for the rest of our lives that what if."

He squeezed her hand. "But I don't want you to agree to this because it'll make me happy. If you agree to give us a chance I hope you'll do it because it'll make you happy. For once be selfish."

Faith kept his gaze, her eyes darted side to side as she peered into his own. He didn't blame her for feeling hesitant. Finally she spoke.

"You make me happy, Aiden. Only you."

The junior deputy felt his heart skip, but as he thought about it he realized it wasn't because he was afraid of his conditioning kicking in upon hearing those words. Those words only immediately reminded him about the song they worked on together, it reminded him of Faith. He smiled and leaned down towards her for another kiss. He meant for it to be a quick one before he lost control of himself again, but the kiss turned into another one that left them breathless. After they caught their breath he couldn't help but steal another one. When he tried to pull away she gripped his shirt in a fist and pulled him in for another one.

He had never felt so happy. The real smile was on Faith's face, he could look at that smile all day. He pulled her into another embrace and they held each other, not wanting to let go. The top of her head fit under his chin perfectly. Her shoulders tensed ever so slightly when he gently ran his fingers along her back. It took him a moment to remember that her back was still tender, the welts were healing, but they still hurt her when he would accidentally touch them every time he rubbed her back when she was ill.

Aiden wrapped his arms around her tightly as if his embrace alone could shield her. No one would hurt her again. Not Jess, not Tracey, no one.

He kissed her forehead before he reluctantly pulled her to an arms length.

"We'll have that chance, Faith. For now, you have more important things to do, more cures to make. Friends and families to reunite. And I really need a cold shower." He would also need a new room now that Jess occupied Faith's.

"Wait," Faith announced. "What did Jess have to say about being an Angel? What did she mean about being stuck in the Bliss?"

Aiden relayed what Jess had said, the boredom and misery of the peace the Bliss brought. The news looked to have upset Faith. He knew she honestly believed peace was something everyone desired. And maybe it was something some people wanted, but who knows how long they could stand it.

As much as Aiden didn't want to leave Faith's side, he had to leave the room before he gave into lust. It was a small miracle he had the sense to stop them from going further, but that kind of self restraint wouldn't happen again.

Instead of a cold shower, Aiden decided to step outside. The day was cloudy and a gentle breeze made the air feel chilly. He took a deep breath to welcome the fresh air into his lungs. Thanks to all of the trees in Hope County the air was always fresh. It wasn't until now that he realized he was on the verge of feeling stir crazy from being inside the hotel for the last three days.

Was it really three days? Since they arrived he had been by Faith's side during her withdrawals and he lost track of time.

In that brief moment thinking about Faith brought a smile to his face. He yearned to use her real name, but he promised himself he wouldn't until she acknowledged her own name again. Despite everything she was doing to redeem herself, something in his gut told him she wouldn't be able to accept her real name back until she had her own confrontation with the Father.

Speaking of which, Aiden pulled out his radio to speak to the sheriff. Before he checked if the sheriff would answer he thought better of it and decided he could wait until later to contact the sheriff and catch him up with everything. Right now it was important that Jess recovered and Faith be allowed to create more cures.

Aiden sat on the flat rock and decided to enjoy the scenery. His attention kept drifting back to the fish that swam towards the pillars that supported the bridge. He had noticed plenty of fishing equipment at the hotel. An idea formed and Aiden headed back to the hotel.

He checked in on Jess. The first thing he had noticed was that Faith's lab equipment was missing. Then he realized that Jess was sleeping peacefully. Like him, she suffered through nightmares frequently. But now he had never seen her look so peaceful while sleeping. He quietly shut the door and headed towards Faith's new room. She sat on the edge of the bed, her body hunched over as she wrote furiously in another notepad. She heard the door open and glanced up, a tired smile immediately grew on her face.

"Hey," Aiden grinned. He still felt his breath get caught in his throat when she smiled. "What do you have there?"

She looked back at the paper and continued writing. "It's the instructions on how to make the reversal. I've made more," she pointed towards the table where there were indeed several more flasks of the light blue liquid. "But it may not be enough. And if I'm...unable to make more then you'll at least know how to do it yourself."

Aiden eyed the amount of flasks on the table. There were a lot. And Faith looked and sounded exhausted. He almost took the notepad from her and suggested she get some sleep, but Aiden wanted to steal one more moment with her.

He waited until she finished writing before he grabbed her hand. "Come on, I have something to show you."

Howard still stood outside of Faith's room, but Aiden volunteered to take over his shift so the older man could rest. Then he led Faith outside and towards the very spot he found earlier by the lake. Before he checked in on Jess and Faith he took a few trips to take some fishing rods and folding chairs from the hotel.

"Have you ever fished before?" Aiden asked.

Faith eyed everything before she shook her head.

"It's very relaxing," Aiden pulled her towards the two folding chairs. "I noticed a group of fish that like to swim about by the bridge. Here, I'll show you."

He grabbed one of the fishing rods and handed it to her. He explained the basic mechanics of the rod and then showed her how to safely throw the baited hook onto the water.

"Then you just wait."

"How do I know if a fish is on it?"

"You'll feel something pull on the rod. From there you're going to be using this to reel the fish towards you. You want to pull in the opposite direction of where the fish is swimming to tire it out. But be careful not to snap the line."

"How long will it take for a fish to bite?"

"That depends really, the type of fish there are, the time of day, the type of bait you're using. But to sit out here and just enjoy the scenery," he smiled at her, "or enjoy the company, is the relaxing part. You've pushed yourself hard these last few days, I think your big brain deserves a little rest."

He watched her as she experimented with the rod and threw the bait further out.

"Oh, I can see the fish from here. And those ripples, are they from the fish?"

"Yep, see if you can get the bait to land over there. If you catch a fish we'll eat it for dinner. And I can show you how to fillet a fish."

He looked at her. "How's your stomach, by the way?"

"Much better," Faith sighed in relief, "I think I've passed the worst of it." She glanced at him before she looked away. "And thank you. For being there with me. I don't think I could have gotten through it alone."

Faith was still focused on holding her fishing rod correctly, her attention was on the water. Aiden placed his palms on her cheeks and turned her head so he could kiss her. And like that the fishing rod was dropped and forgotten.

As they kissed Faith tried to tell him something, but Aiden took it upon himself to try to find ways to get her to forget what she was saying. It was the most fun way to get to know what Faith liked and hated. A kiss on her neck made her gasp, a gentle bite on her earlobe made her tongue tied. She grew still and pressed her lips together if he applied too much of his body weight on one of her bruises or ribs.

But in one of their quiet moments Aiden's ears perked upon the sound of a rock falling into the water with a loud splash. It wasn't an uncommon sound to hear the water splashing, especially with the fish, but Aiden thought he heard the sound of rock hitting rock before the splash.

"What is it?" Faith asked him. They were both sprawled on the grass.

Aiden climbed to his knees and peered around the area. There weren't trees, but there were plenty of large rocks and bushes to hide behind. His hand slid closer to his holster. His eyes darted towards the flat rock where he heard the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping. Then Aiden felt his heart drop at the sight of two pairs of eyes looking at them. They were very human eyes, not animal.

Before Aiden could pull out his handgun the two pairs of eyes moved and materialized into two male Peggies, both were dressed in white camouflage coats, black pants, and red ski masks with the cult's symbol painted onto the mouth area, both carried rifles and were aimed on Aiden.

"Don't even think about touchin' that, sinner!" One of the Peggies shouted.

Aiden cursed and moved his hand away from the gun. Then he heard movement behind him, his heart sped up as he watched Faith stand up. Aiden's eyebrows rose up to meet his hairline in surprise when the two Peggies adjusted their rifles to aim at Faith as well. Maybe they just didn't recognize her?

Faith paused and lifted her arms up. The fake smile was on her face. "Do you not recognize me?"

The man closest to Faith promptly stepped up to her and shoved the rifle in her face. "We know who you are," he gestured to the ground with his weapon, "on your knees."

Faith was too lost in her confusion to immediately obey. The man lost his patience and backhanded her. She fell back with a yelp and Aiden immediately saw red. His face heated up in fury and his handgun was suddenly in his hands. The other Peggie yelled at him, but his yell was cut off by the loud pop of Aiden's gun going off. The man collapsed onto his knees for a moment before he fell backwards and ceased to move.

"Drop it or she dies!"

The other Peggie moved fast and already had an arm wrapped around Faith's neck and his rifle awkwardly held so it was aimed at her head.

"Drop it, now!"

Faith grimaced as the barrel of the rifle pressed against her flesh. Aiden slowly bent over to place the handgun on the ground. They were close enough to the hotel for his shot to have been heard. He hoped the people that would investigate had the sense to be silent. He hoped he could stall the Peggie at least.

"What do you want?" Aiden asked. He stood straight and lifted his hands a little higher than his head. He hoped whomever would investigate the shots would see his posture first before they charged in.

The Peggie unwrapped his arm from Faith's neck and then gripped a handful of her hair. The sight made Aiden clench his jaw and he desperately willed himself to remain still.

"The Father wished to have his sister returned to him before she could be corrupted by sin further. And you," the Peggie motioned towards the hotel. "You head on back to the hotel. Near the front entrance you'll find a radio in the bushes. Turn it on."

Aiden frowned at the command.
"Do it!" The Peggie kicked at the back of Faith's knee to force her down. He pulled on her hair to expose her neck. Then he suddenly stopped moving. The man dropped his hold on his gun and Faith, his hands lifted up to his neck and then he gargled. Blood spewed out between his fingers.

Aiden took advantage and quickly rushed towards Faith. She rushed behind him just as he grabbed the Peggie's dropped rifle. Now that he was closer to the man he saw the arrow that stuck out of his neck. Finally, the Peggie dropped.

The junior deputy didn't have to look at the darkened shape hidden in one of the bushes. Once he saw the arrow he knew it belonged to Jess. Still, it was a sight he missed. He glanced up and watched as Jess jogged towards them, her bow nocked with another arrow in case of another attacker.

"Are you okay?" Aiden checked Faith for any injuries. He could feel she was shaking, but she looked unharmed.

"I'm fine," she told him. "Are you?"

Aiden grinned and fought the impulse to kiss her. With Jess nearby he didn't want to throw too many surprises at her at once.

Jess caught up to them, a grin plastered on her face. "Should I put that on your tab as well?"

Aiden grinned. He was very glad to have Jess back and watching his back as always. "I take it you heard that gunshot?"

The hooded woman nodded. "The others did too, but they're not very good at figuring out the location of a sound."

"How's the head?" Aiden asked. He was more than happy to see that Jess recovered so quickly.

"Dizziness is gone, I still have a bit of a headache though." She paused to look at the dead Peggies. "I heard that order they gave you."

Aiden's smile faded. "It was a very distinct order." He glanced at Faith. "And it doesn't sit well with me that they waited until we were gone from the others before making their move."

"The Father knows I'm still alive," Faith whispered. Confusion still showed on her face. "And he knows I'm helping you."

Aiden rubbed the bridge of his nose. "First, let's check out that radio the Peggie wanted me to turn on. I'm mostly afraid it could be some sort of explosive."

By the time they were ready to return to the hotel they were joined by more Cougars.

"Finally you all show up!" Jess scolded the small group.

With a promise to report to Bernard, Aiden and the two women headed for the very spot the Peggie described. It didn't take them long to find the radio that was mentioned. Jess practically tore it apart, but there were no explosives inside of it. When they did turn it on, Aiden felt the edges of his vision turn black as the song Only You began to play.

Then he remembered the lyrics of the song Faith wrote. His mouth moved automatically and he began to whisper the song quietly to himself, all while he pictured in his head that it was Faith's beautiful voice singing the song to him.

Jess had quickly turned the radio back off and she began to step away from him, but when she realized that Aiden wasn't moving, wasn't looking to destroy everything around him, she looked at him in confusion.

"What? How are you just-"

Aiden laughed and he looked at Faith beside him, offered her a smile before he turned to look back at Jess. "Faith helped me counter Jacob's conditioning." He looked back to the radio on the ground and stomped down on it. "I don't like this," he muttered. "Those Peggies waited for us to be alone. They meant to take Faith back to Joseph and tried to have me attack the people here."

Did that mean the Father had someone spying on them? Was it someone in the resistance or did he have a very good tracker? Jayce set explosives at the jail and tried to rescue Faith. At the brewery they were attacked by a group of Peggies, but he remembered one tried to give Faith the opportunity to run away. And now Faith was to be taken more as a hostage rather than rescued by the Chosen.

Aiden sighed and fished out his radio. The longer they delayed from confronting the Father, the more likely his ambushes and traps might succeed. And now that he knew Faith's loyalty to him has been shaken up Aiden feared what Joseph may try to do to her.

The radio crackled to life and the sheriff's voice erupted. "What's going on, rook?"

"We're ready," Aiden announced. "Faith is able to make us immune to the Bliss, and she made the cure to make an Angel human again."

"She what?"

"We're ready," Aiden repeated, "there's no need to wait to confront Joseph now. We're going to rest up for the night and then head over to his island first thing in the morning. Whoever wants to go with us is welcomed to. But we're done waiting."


A/N: And, ladies and gents we finally have a song! The song that Faith and Aiden worked on anyhow. Well, I may have kinda sorta had it for a few weeks now, but was a totally awful person and forgot to post the link to it on my profile and give a heads up about it. So I'm doing that now. A totally awesome reader from AO3 was inspired to return to song writing and wrote their own interpretation of the song that Faith wrote. When I read it I thought it was absolutely perfect and it felt very suiting to how I would imagine the actual song would be. And since I was thinking of either attempting to write the song or finding someone to do it for me, it was perfect timing when this person reached out to me with their song. So it's official, for anyone curious as to what Faith's song is feel free to check my profile for the deeds. And the reason why I don't put any song lyrics in the story, including the one specifically created for this story, is for copyright reasons.