*A/N: Thanks again guys for your patience and for your feedback!! Brightens my day!!*

**********

Wearing one of Wesley's undershirts, Faith slept peacefully-- her dark hair fanned out over the pillow.

Sitting up on his elbow, his cheek propped up against his palm, Wesley couldn't help but watch her. To think that it had been Lilah who had been in that spot so many nights before. Lilah with her cold heart and their unemotional sex. He had almost forgotten what it had felt like to feel a true connection with the other person. To feel more than just anger and guilt and lust when his fingers trailed the skin of the woman he was with. A connection....

Wesley had to stop himself from laughing out loud. No wonder everyone seemed to be questioning his sanity lately. Sleeping with Lilah was one thing-- just something to keep his mind off the hell his life was slowly becoming, just something to satisfy his primal needs. But to sleep with Faith and actually feel something? Not even three years had passed since she had tried to slit his throat and yet here he was. Sleeping with her. Resisting the urge to run his fingers gently through her hair. Watching her sleep and thinking about where they could go from here....

Faith's eyes opened slowly, and all he could do was smile softly at her. She smiled back. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied.

"Were you watching me sleep?" she asked, squinting her eyes at him.

He waited a moment before admitting, "Yes, I was."

"And that's not at all creepy," she grinned. Wesley simply smiled in response. "Don't you have a certain diabolical job to be getting ready for?"

He glanced over his shoulder at his alarm clock. "I still have time."

"Really?" she asked playfully as she sat up. She gently pushed Wesley onto his back and straddled him. She rhythmically tapped her fingers on his chest as he grasped her hips.

"So your plan worked, huh?" she smirked.

Wesley ran his hands down to Faith's bare, toned thighs. He squeezed them gently before running his hands back up under her shirt, his warm fingers tracing lines across her hips.

"Plan?" he asked.

"The whole give-the-girl-a-place-to-crash-for-the-night-and-someone-to-confide-in-and-then-make-your-move plan...."

Wesley chuckled quietly. "Is that the official title of the plan?"

"It's a working title," she shrugged.

"Well, I didn't think I was using a plan, but now that you've mentioned it, I'll be quite sure to use it next time."

Faith leaned down and grabbed Wesley's earlobe gently between her teeth. She pulled slightly before releasing it and whispering, "Who said there'd be a next time?"

"How rash of me to assume," he smiled wryly.

"Maybe this is your next time, huh?"

"Well, in that case...." In one fluid motion, Wesley wrapped his arm around Faith's waist and flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the mattress. "I should probably make the most of this, huh?"

"Most definitely," Faith purred.

Wesley leaned down to kiss her, and the alarm clock went off. They both turned to it as the morning DJ described the traffic situations on the major streets and highways.

"So what's it gonna be?" Faith asked.

Wesley looked down at her before turning his gaze back to the clock. Untangling himself from Faith's embrace, he reached over and yanked the cord out of the wall.

"I can be late every once and a while," he smiled. He sidled back up to her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

**********

"Sorry, I couldn't make it by last night."

Lilah leaned against the edge of Wesley's desk, watching as he searched his bookcase. When he didn't reply, she continued. "I'm sure you were disappointed."

His back to her, Wesley pulled a journal from the shelves. He flipped it open as he mumbled absently, "Yes, highly disappointed."

Lilah cocked her head at him, a sly smile on her face. She approached him slowly and lingered over his shoulder. She gently traced her fingers back and forth across his shoulders as she replied, "I hope you were able to keep yourself entertained in my absence."

He glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Quite entertained."

"Hmm," Lilah simply replied.

Wesley flipped to another page in the journal before turning to Lilah again. "Is there a reason you're hovering? It's rather distracting."

"Aren't we grumpy?" she smiled. "Someone didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Lilah, I really don't have time for this this morning," he sighed as he made his way to his desk.

"You're the one who decided to sleep in," she shrugged.

"Yes, and now, I actually need to be doing my job. You know-- that thing you hired me for?" With a slight roll of his eyes, he turned his attention back to the journal open on his desk.

"I should be going anyway. Big meeting in a bit."

Wesley simply looked up at her, and she laughed quietly in response.

"What?" he asked.

"Just find it amusing. All that time you spent denying that you would ever work for us-- that you were too good for us. Well, look at you now, dear Wesley. You fit in perfectly around here."

She chuckled again to herself as she strolled out of the office.

**********

Fred flipped through the bills with a sigh. She wasn't sure what was worse-- the cloud of debt that seemed to be hovering over all of them or everything that was going on with Angel and Wesley....

"Babe, you okay?"

Fred looked up to see Gunn standing in the office doorway. She threw him a weak smile as she replied, "I'm fine. I was just wondering exactly how many of our organs we would have to sell in order to pay all our bills."

"Look, babe, we'll get through this," he said as he approached the desk. "Angel's back now, and we can finally start taking on some real cases. We'll be back to slightly above broke in no time."

Fred smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but a voice from the lobby interrupted.

"Hey, anyone home?"

Gunn gave Fred an I-told-you-so look as they walked out of the office, Fred leading the way. Standing in the lobby was a young woman-- not much older than Fred herself. Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her hip hugger jeans and her wavy dark hair cascaded over her shoulders onto her basic white T-shirt.

"Hi, welcome to Angel Investigations. How can we help you?" Fred habitually replied.

"I need to talk to Angel."

"Maybe we can help you."

"Yeah, I don't think you can. This is between me and Angel. Just tell him Faith's here to see him."

Fred's eyes widened and Gunn replied, "You're the one who shot him?"

"Yeah, I am," she admitted without hesitation. She removed her hands from her pockets and crossed her arms over her chest. "Kinda didn't leave me any choice. So is he around, or are you guys just going to keep staring all morning?"

"Faith?"

Angel descended the staircase and approached them. He and Faith simply stared at each other. Fred took Gunn's hand and gently pulled him away to the office. They hovered in the office doorway, listening, as Faith finally spoke.

"How's the shoulder?" she asked.

"I've had worse," Angel replied nonchalantly, crossing his arms and unconsciously mimicking Faith's stance.

"Look, I'm gonna get straight to the point here, Angel. I don't know what your beef with Wes is or why you want his blood so badly, but lay off. He has his reasons for doing what he's doing."

"Faith, do you know who he's working for? He's working for...."

"Wolfram and Hart. Yeah, I know that. And I know he has his reasons so I'm telling you to lay off."

"You're telling me," Angel scoffed, slightly amazed by Faith's tone.

"Yeah, I am. Just like I told you last night. But trust me, Angel, you try that shit again, and I won't miss."

"So you are protecting him...."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Faith, you're on the wrong side here," Angel sighed. "Wesley is not the same man who you remember." He paused, studying her for a moment. "But you know that already, don't you?"

"Just lay off. That's all I'm asking," Faith said as she turned and made her way out of the hotel. She pulled open the door before turning back to Angel and adding, "He does have his reasons, Angel."

And with that, she was gone.

Angel frowned deeply as the intermingled scent of Wesley and Faith continued to linger in the air.