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! Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed - you have made me a happy person!

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Chapter Twenty-Eight - Hell to Pay

Wesley was once again tucked away in his office, but the optimistic attitude of an hour earlier had vanished. Several phone calls to his flat had reached only his answer machine, and after leaving a message for Faith to call him, he had given up. Reminding himself that Faith was, of all people, perfectly capable of looking after herself did nothing to alleviate his increasing feelings of anxiety. Somehow, deep in his gut, he knew that she was in danger. Angel in a fervour of parental paranoia would not have been discreet, and there was almost no chance of Wolfram & Hart being unaware of the small fact that their recent arch-nemesis was still alive.

"Sod this!" he exclaimed bitterly, and he was reaching for his jacket when the door to the office opened, and Cordelia's head popped round.

"Hey, Wes," she said softly, stepping further into the room as her boss made no reply. "Look, do you think…"

"What I think, Cordelia, is that Faith could be in serious danger, thanks to Angel, and I am going to find her."

"About Angel - he was just worried…" Wesley interrupted her again.

"There were half a dozen people who could have gone after Connor, which, had he bothered to think about, Angel would have known perfectly well. If he'd given it a moment's thought, he would have realised the risk to Faith. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look for her." He made to walk past Cordelia, but she moved in front of him.

"Well, you're being just as bad, charging off on your white horse!" she declared, somewhat recklessly given Wesley's current mood. He turned an icy gaze on her.

"I'm the only one Faith has." He stalked round her, and a moment later she heard the clang of the hotel doors as he left. She sighed. It was bad enough that Wesley and Angel were at outs with each other, but there was now a growing concern about Faith. She walked slowly into the foyer, where Fred and Gunn were sitting quietly. Angel was walking Connor, cooing into the baby's ear. She went up to him. He looked down, started to smile, then stopped as she punched him in the arm.

"You are such an idiot, Angel!"

"What?!" He looked at her in disbelief. "Cordy, Connor disappeared. What, you thought I was going to sit here and not do anything?" Though Cordelia could appreciate how he felt, she wasn't going to let him slide off the hook.

"Oh, and none of us could have gone after him?" she asked, conveniently overlooking the fact that she had been what could only have been described as a basket case. "Like Wes said, you could have waited, like, two seconds. And they weren't going to hurt him anyway."

"Cordy…"

"I just hope Faith is all right, 'cause there's going to hell to pay if something's happened to her. And I'm not just talking about Wes, okay?"