YELLOW BRICK ROAD
By: Lisette (lisette@chaletian.co.uk)
Rating: PG-13 so far - might change later on.
Distribution: Want, take, have. Just e-mail me first.
Summary: Faith is released from prison - but there's a catch.
Feedback: God, please.
Angel, Buffy, the whole lot, belong to JW, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else who officially owns them. I don't. Big surprise.
Okay, a few notes. Firstly, I haven't seen any of season 3 yet, though I know vaguely what happens. So, definitely after "Billy", and Fred and Gunn are getting with the happy, but "WITW" never happened.
Please, please review - I need to know what people think! I have a fragile ego and it needs bolstering!
*** *** ***
Chapter Eight - Meeting, Swiftly Followed by Plan
The following morning Faith awoke, once again, in an unfamiliar room. The sun streamed through the window, and for a moment she felt that deep sense of contentment that comes as you drift into consciousness. Then she realised where she was, and most of it - but not all - faded. She sat up, and looked around the room Angel had brought her to the night before. The wallpaper was dire, and the bed mildly lumpy, but it was, well, nice. Her bag was carelessly slung into an armchair, her jeans, top and bra on the floor at the foot of the bed. She stood up and stretched, uncaring of the fact that she was clad only in a pair of yellow knickers. She was midway through getting dressed, when a knock at the door made her jump.
"Faith? Are you up?" It was Wesley.
"No! I mean, yeah, but I-"
"Come downstairs when you're ready. We're having a meeting." Footsteps echoed down the corridor, fading into silence, and Faith was left, clutching a t-shirt to her chest, feeling breathless and flustered, and then angry at herself for behaving like an idiot. She pulled the t-shirt on slowly, then rifled through her bag to find her hairbrush.
A meeting. Was that good or bad? Would it be "So long, Faith, thanks for trying to kill us!" or would they try and help. Faith found herself surprised at how much she wanted their help, now, in the cold light of day. She wanted to be normal; to go out shopping, or bake a cake, or not to have to worry that she would kill someone. Her hand hovered over her hair, then she lowered the hairbrush. Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door and walked out into the rest of the hotel.
They were all sitting in the foyer. Gunn and that weird girl, Fred, were talking to each other quietly. Angel was holding the baby, with Cordelia sitting beside him, playing with one small foot. Even the bizarro green demon with the suit fixation was there, admiring his reflection in a small mirror. And standing at the desk, apparently engrossed in some ancient manuscript, was Wesley. Faith hesitated half way down the stairs, wondering what they were all planning to do. It was Wesley who looked up first, and gestured her down before heading for the others in the middle of the foyer. She descended slowly, then more quickly, irritated by having all eyes upon her, ending up propped against a pillar.
"Wolfram & Hart have again stepped up their efforts to kill Angel." The speaker was Wesley, and Faith noticed that all the others seemed to take his authority in their stride. "However, given what research I've done, and the reports we're getting from our sources, it seems likely that the source isn't Angel at all, but Connor."
"The kid?" As heads turned towards her, Faith regretted her exclamation, but Wesley continued.
"It seems as if Connor has a large part to play in the future. Wolfram & Hart, obviously, want as much in their favour as possible, which includes having Connor either under their control or…" He trailed off.
"Or dead," Angel finished, looking grim.
"Unfortunately, we don't really know what their plan is, which, obviously, leaves us at a disadvantage. However, I have thought of a plan that might help us there." The others looked at him expectantly, and Faith wondered if she was the only one who noticed how uncomfortable he looked. "Now, this may seem a little…radical, and I can quite understand if you all feel it to be too extreme, but…"
"Wes, tell us the plan!" broke in Cordelia, impatient as ever. "Don't worry - if it's stupid, we'll tell you."
"Thank you, Cordelia. Very well. Faith is going to go back to Wolfram & Hart, and tell them that she has succeeded in killing Angel." He turned to Faith. "You will stay in their employ for as long as you can, and find out what they want with Angel and Connor. Angel will stay here in the hotel, and see no-one. Lorne will take Connor to Caritas and Cordelia will go with him - that's probably the safest place, and the least suspicious. Gunn will go with them in case anything happens. I'll stay at the hotel, and ostensibly keep the agency running."