SECOND CHANCES

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I create.

Author's Note:  I'll write an epilogue if enough people want one. 

CHAPTER 20-ENDINGS…ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

After a few agonizing seconds of silence, with everyone still in the lobby either staring at Faith or at Gunn, Angel was the first to react.  Dawn had slipped behind Buffy and kept looking around at everyone, expecting someone to step up and do something.  Spike was just beginning to come to when Gunn had first hit Wesley and when Faith made her declaration he had just staggered back into the lobby and as such was pretty much unawares of exactly what was going on.  Connor seemed extremely tense, as if he expected a full blown war to break out at any second.  Buffy, meanwhile, stood as still as a stone, partially because she couldn't come up with a concrete plan of action and because she was torn between making sure Spike was alright and waiting for Angel to do something. 

"Faith…stop, you don't want to do this," Angel stammered out quickly as he brought a hand up and started to take a cautious step towards Faith.

"Do what…teach this Denzel wannabe a lesson…or dare to do the one thing that you couldn't…," Faith shot back with more than a touch of venom in her voice before Wesley stepped up and laid a hand on her shoulder. 

"Easy Faith," Wesley started to say with a very stern tone to his voice as he started to pull Faith back towards him but her slayer side, coupled with the parts of her that had developed to help her survive in prison, rose to the surface.

"Let go of me," Faith shouted angrily as she spun around and slammed her fist squarely into Wesley's stomach, causing him to choke for breath and instantly go down in a heap.  Seconds later a look of such shame, shock, regret, and fear leapt onto Faith's face as she seemed to consciously realize what she had just done.  A small solitary tear forced itself down her cheek as she dropped to her knees beside the gasping Wesley, suddenly looking more like a frightened child than the rogue slayer easily capable of killing everyone in the lobby.  "Oh God…Wes…Wes…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…Wes," Faith mumbled almost incoherently with now a small torrent of tears cascading down her cheeks as she scrambled to give Wesley as much aid as she could, reminding a scared Dawn of a terrified servant begging the king to not have him executed. 

"What the hell," Gunn sputtered out with a combination of confusion and fear in his voice, with the anger that had initially touched off the confrontation forgotten for the moment. 

"Hkk…Faith…I…I'm…fine," Wesley choked out through many abbreviated gasps as he tried to pull a sufficient amount of air back into his lungs. 

Everyone stood in a stunned silence for several moments, completely mesmerized by the sight in front of them.  Faith the rogue slayer, the woman who a few years earlier had tied her former watcher to a chair and took great joy in causing him tremendous amounts of excruciating pain, helping Wesley back to his feet and then over to sit in a chair that she hurriedly flipped over.  The whole time she acted as if she and Wesley were the only two people in the world.  For a moment Buffy wondered if it was all for show, as Faith did have an ample talent of showing fake emotion to gain sympathy and confidence before she'd turn around and stab you in the back.  But one glance at the look shared between the former watcher and the rogue slayer touched off a spark in her head, for she remembered having looked at Spike that same exact way only hours earlier, when she had found him sobbing quietly in the old kitchen.  Although she hadn't had much experience with that look herself she knew it well, mostly from watching it being displayed on the faces of other people, people who were oblivious to the constant danger in which they lived their lives, people who had the freedom to live their lives, people who didn't have to wake up every morning and leave the house wondering whether or not they'd be alive by the end of the night, people that were in love.

Close beside her Angel seemed to be getting the same impression of watching Faith and Wesley together as Buffy was.  But for him he discovered a small shower of pride welling up inside him, as he had tried more than most to get Faith to change, to show her the error of her ways.  And now that it looked like a great deal of his words had finally gotten through to her he was almost ecstatic about it, save for like Buffy the lingering doubt in the back of his mind whether or not Faith was playing them or not and the fact that in the end the person that seemed to have finally snapped Faith out of her road to hell was Wesley.  He slowly took a few steps towards Gunn and was just about to bend down to help him up when Buffy spoke up.

"What's going on here…Faith…what are you doing here, why aren't you in prison," Buffy said with a slightly fearful hitch to her voice caused Spike to snap his head up to attention and stare at her with a very worried look on his face from his vantage spot in the center of one of the holes that the overly large demon had created. 

"Not now B…," Faith muttered impatiently as she cast Buffy a quick glance over her shoulder before she knelt down in front of Wesley with one hand on his shoulder and the other on his knee.  The next few seconds ticked by with the tension in the air being almost palpable and it probably would have continued that way for some time had Wesley not raised his head and gasps filled the lobby as Buffy and Dawn saw the scar on Wesley's neck.

"Wesley…what happened," Buffy stammered out with a very concerned look on her face as she looked back and forth between the former watcher and Angel, who at the asking of the question seemed to shrink back a bit and look away.

"See…that's where Faith cut him…," Dawn started to say with a look of triumph on her face as Angel shook his head and Faith visibly cringed at the words. 

"Faith didn't do that…I swear," Angel said as calmly as he could as he turned to Buffy with a serious look on his face and his hands now only lightly holding the sword.

"What…but if she didn't then…," Buffy started to say with a look on her face as if she didn't know who or what to believe at that moment.

"Justine did…don't bother asking who she is because if she's smart then she's long gone by now," Wesley said finally finding his breath as he sat up in the chair and looked directly at Buffy, with Faith following his gaze as she wiped away a few tears and sniffled a bit. 

"But…," Dawn stammered out with a completely lost look on her face as she looked around at everyone in the lobby, seemingly asking for one of them to clear up her confusion.

"Buffy…remember when I told you about Holtz taking Connor to Quartoth…," Angel began to say with an almost regretful tone to his voice as he turned to look at Buffy.

"Yeah…so what…," Buffy sputtered out slowly as she was starting to fit a few pieces together but still had a few glaring questions left unanswered. 

"Wesley made a deal with Holtz so that when they attacked us Connor would be far away from here…but Justine double crossed Wesley and took Connor from him…," Angel said with a sad look on his face, almost as if he partially blamed himself for allowing the situation to have gotten to that point.

"But not before slitting his throat and leaving him for dead…," Faith said interrupting with a worried look on her face as she slowly rose to her feet and kept her left hand on Wesley's shoulder. 

"Until Gunn and Fred found me and got me to the hospital in time…as for Gunn's aggression towards me…he let his fears control him," Wesley said with a slightly pained scowl on his face as he hadn't full gotten his breath back. 

"Funny…this coming from the guy that lied to us and went behind our backs to make a deal with our enemy…," Gunn said angrily as if in a challenge as he took an aggressive step towards Wesley but stopped suddenly when a very determined Faith stepped in between him and Wesley.

"Then answer me this Gunn…why didn't any of you do anything…that whole time I was researching about Connor and Angel you and Fred were to wrapped up in each other to see give a damn about me, Angel was to wrapped up in Connor and Cordelia…well she  was to busy with Gru to notice that I was a mere shadow of my former self, what happened to me didn't happen overnight, and you only had a problem with it when it inconvenienced you…," Wesley said very forcefully and with a determined look on his face as he stood up and against Faith's unspoken wishes took a step towards Gunn, ending up almost toe to toe with his former friend. 

"Keep talking English…keep talking…," Gunn said, his face an emotionless mask, as his fist clenched and he looked like he was about ready to throw another punch.  After several silent moments of Wesley and Gunn staring each other down Gunn chuckled a bit and started to turn away and everyone began to slowly take a collective sigh of relief but Gunn suddenly lurched back towards Wesley and took a swing at his head.  Seeing the punch coming before almost everyone else Faith started to shift her weight from her back foot to her front one to leap to Wesley's aid but he lifted his left arm and blocked the punch before throwing one of his own, landing his fist squarely into Gunn's nose.  He would have taken a second or two to revel in his actions had not a further complication arose that he knew was coming but had hoped wouldn't happen until much later.

"Charles," Fred shouted almost in a scream as she rushed into the lobby and headed straight for Gunn, with an exasperated and panting Lorne stumbling after her.  Wesley allowed Faith to pull him back a step and position herself in between as Fred dropped to her knees at Gunn side, who was holding his nose with one hand and pushing himself up off of the floor with the other. 

"Faith…what is going on," Buffy exclaimed now more confused then ever as she took a step towards Faith and didn't even notice the warning look that Angel was giving her.  With a sly smirk on his face Spike came up beside Angel, and kept the smirk even after Angel elbowed him with a furious glare on his face. 

"Be careful Peaches…you know what they say…you leave your face like that for to long and it'll freeze that way…course for you I'd say it'd be an improvement," Spike said widening his grin as a few feet away both vampires missed the stifled chuckle that Dawn caught just in time. 

"It's quite simple really…Wolfram and Hart got Faith out of prison to help them in their efforts to evict Angel from this hotel, but rather than help them she went to Wesley and together they formulated a plan that would both thwart that planned attack and also free her from at least some of the demons of her past," Giles said with his best Watcher explaining everything voice as he slowly walked through the hole that had been the Hyperion's front doors, the broken glass crunching underneath his feet. 

"Giles what…," Buffy said with a less confused look on her face than she had just a few minutes earlier as she met Giles at the base of the front steps. 

"After Lorne came to me and told me that Wolfram and Hart was planning an attack at the party tonight I knew that I had to do something, and then when I learned that they had planned to have Faith be here to cause a disruption I…amended the plans a bit, although I didn't know that all of this was going to happen," Wesley said in a commanding voice that almost matched the one Giles had used when he first came in. 

"Lorne…why didn't you tell me about this," Angel said trying to reign in the sudden burst of anger that he was feeling at the empathy demon. 

"Angel…I uh…I was going to…and then the party…someone asked me to sing a song or two…and then they attacked and…," Lorne stuttered out with a combination fearful and apologetic look on his face as he cringed slightly and took a step back towards the lobby exit. 

"What about the demon's of her past…what does that mean…," Connor said finally speaking up as he walked forward and aimed his usual confused glare at Wesley and Faith.

"Well that…um…well you see…," Faith said verbally stumbling as she tried to come up with a convincing explanation that wouldn't give to much away, but she was stuck for the ending.

"It's none of your business Connor, Faith isn't bad anymore and neither am I…that's all I'm going to say about that…," Wesley stepped in to complete Faith's earlier beginning as he unconsciously slipped an arm around Faith's shoulders. 

"Wesley…why can I smell you and Faith all over…," Angel began to say with a look of confused worriment before Giles cut in.

"Isn't it obvious…," Giles said with a contemplative frown on his face as he took a few more steps towards Wesley and Gunn, as the latter let Fred help him back to his feet.

"Wait…you don't…," Angel started to say with his brows furrowed as he glanced back and forth between Giles and Faith, as if he was expecting one or both of them to explain. 

"Now you're catching on Peaches…," Spike said butting in with a big smirk on his face as only a furious glare from Angel kept him from laughing.

"What do you know Spike…," Angel shot back with a look on his face as if he didn't know exactly what to do and wanted to get away to think on the subject.

"I know what those two have been doing…but from the looks of things they don't want it to be public knowledge…so you wanna make an ass out of yourself and let the cat out of the bag then go ahead I'm not going to stop you," Spike said with a cheery smirk on his face as he stepped around Angel and walked over to stand beside Buffy and Giles.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here…," Dawn almost yelled out with an overwhelmed look of desperation on her face as she tried to look everyone in the face.

"The good guys won and the baddies lost…that simple enough for ya Bit," Spike said with a restrained smile on his face as he ran a hand through his dust filled hair before shaking his head and letting the dust fly all over. 

"I guess so…," Dawn mumbled slightly as she nodded her head and looked back towards Buffy, who now edged a little closer to Spike.

"Giles…how did you know about…all of this," Buffy said with a look on her face as if the question had just come to her mere seconds before as she turned to Giles, who remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"Well…you see, before I came to the party I paid Wesley a visit to discuss a few things and I ended up barging in on one of their planning sessions, so they told me what was going to happen and how they planned to stop it and thus I agreed to help them…but I fear that Lilah jumped the gun a bit so the plan didn't go exactly as scheduled," Giles said with a serious scowl on his face as he looked back and forth between Wesley, Faith, and Buffy. 

"So what happened to Lilah," Fred interjected calmly as she kept a wary eye on Wesley and Faith, who retreated back to lean up against the desk. 

"She's dead, Wolfram and Hart don't look to kindly on failure of any kind," Wesley said with an odd look on his face as to those who really knew him they could tell that the words affected him much more than he was letting on.  Faith patted him on the shoulder with a look of consolation on her face and would have hugged and kissed him had they been the only ones in the lobby, but as it was she stuck with that simple reassuring touch. 

"So what do we do now…," Buffy started to say with a somber look on her face even though there were almost a million more questions that she wanted to ask but at the moment she was too tired to worry about asking them.

"I don't know…we barely had enough money to keep this place going before the party…now look at it…," Angel said with a defeated frown on his face as he looked around at the devastation in the lobby. 

"I wish I could help Angel I really do, but I have enough money troubles back in Sunnydale," Buffy said with a frustrated look on her face before Spike gingerly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close, an act that set Angel's nerves on edge. 

"Of course we could always just use this check," Lorne said with a shocked look on his face as he was shaking slightly with the money collection box nearby. 

"What check," Gunn said with a confused but non-expectant frown on his face as he kept one hand on his nose as he made his way over to Lorne. 

"The one that I'm holding in my hands right this second," Lorne gasped back as a suppressed smile spread quickly across his face. 

"The one for a million dollars…," Fred gasped out, looking as if she were about to faint, as she looked up at Angel with eyes as wide as silver dollars.

"What…that can't be right, let me see," Angel said, completely flabbergasted, as he rushed over and took the check from Lorne and then spent the next several moments silently staring at the check while everyone else in the lobby, save Connor as he didn't understand what the big deal was, stared at each other with confused looks on their faces. 

"Who would have that kind of money…," Faith interjected with a wondering look on her face as she turned to Wesley with a look on her face that seemed to be expecting him to know the answer or at least shed some light on it. 

"Better yet who would have that kind of money…and give it to us at a party," Wesley said with a confused but thoughtful scowl on his face as he lightly squeezed Faith's shoulder. 

"Who's it from Angel," Dawn said after finally finding her voice in the confusion as she took a wary step towards Angel.

"Glargaratchhoooo…," Angel muttered with a questioning tone to his voice as he turned the check over a couple of times almost as if he expected to find a joke on the other side.

"Bless you," Lorne said with a confused but trying to be helpful look on his face as he lightly patted Angel on the shoulder.

"Glargaratchhoooo was a Grapiolen demon that we helped out a few months back," Wesley said with a very straightforward tone to his voice as he leaned a bit more on Faith, causing his arm to now be completely around her shoulders.  For her part Buffy was shocked to notice that Faith seemed to relish in being the shoulder that Wesley was leaning on. 

"Wait…I remember him, the little guy with gas problem right," Gunn said with a hint of a smile spread across his face as for a moment he seemed to forget his injured nose. 

"Charles," Fred exclaimed in a scolding manner as she lightly glared at Gunn, who tried not to act to hurt or put back.

"It's okay Fred, Gunn's right…Glargaratchhoooo's home became infested with Jirelal demons…who as we all know produce a rather pungent odor when they exhale," Wesley said calmly in a way that made everyone else in the lobby feel as if they were back in elementary school and Wesley was their teacher, explaining to them something that to him was as simple and straightforward as his multiplication tables. 

"Wait a minute…I remember them now…that whole place smelled worse than rotten eggs and vinegar, I'm still airing out the suit that I wore that night," Lorne moaned with a look of regret and uncomfortable ness on his face as he looked back over at Angel.

"But I still don't understand, how did he get all of this money…and why give it to us," Angel said with a confused scowl on his face, still unsure of exactly how and why he had received the check. 

"He kept saying that he was really rich and had a lot of money stored away and that we shouldn't worry about getting paid…," Wesley stated with a small grin on his face as Faith reached her odd hand up and interlocked his fingers, on the hand that he had draped around her shoulder, with hers. 

"But he paid us…didn't he…," Fred interjected with her usual look of a combination unsure but hopeful frown on her face, the look that had at first endeared almost everyone to her when they pulled her out of Pylea. 

"Well maybe he just wanted to give you guys a bonus…or something," Faith said with a helpful sigh and light shrug of her shoulders as she looked over at Fred. 

"Or maybe he had a feeling that you all would be needing it one day…like to pay Cordelia's hospital bills," Giles said with a serious look on his face as both Angel and Connor turned to him with worried looks on their faces. 

"Of course Cordelia…Giles, how is she," Angel said with a very worried look on his face as he completely turned towards Giles. 

"I think she's going to be fine…but I must admit that I left before the doctor's could get done examining her…and I think that it would do her good to see you…both of you," Giles said with a slightly sheepish look on his face before he finished by holding his hand up and momentarily stopping a very eager Connor so that Angel could be included as well. 

"Of course…come on Connor let's go," Angel started to say with a slightly conflicted look on his face before he lightly patted Connor on the back in a reassuring way and was glad that the young man didn't flinch away. 

"What do we do now," Dawn said through a poorly stifled yawn as she took a step over and lightly rested her head on Buffy's shoulder.

"You getting sleepy Bit," Spike asked softly with an almost fatherly smile on his face as he glanced over at Dawn, who then tried to respond but fell mostly silent as she didn't try to stifle a second large yawn. 

"Maybe you should all stay here…at least for the night…there's plenty of room…right…da…Angel…," Connor said very nervously as he tried to politely smile at everyone in the lobby before he slowly turned to Angel.

"You're right Connor…you're all welcome to spend the night here and then get a fresh start in the morning…free of charge of course," Angel started to say with a relieved look on his face, that seemed to ease Connor's nervousness a bit, as he looked at everyone in the room.

"Thank you Angel…I think that it would be for the best," Giles said with a thankful look on his face as he looked over and saw that for all their fortitude and stubbornness all that seemed to be keeping Buffy, Spike, and Dawn on their feet was each other and their unwillingness to show weakness.  Giles felt a slight pang of worry as he saw Buffy turn her head and lay her forehead down onto Spike's shoulder and mumble something softly that made the recently soul enforced vampire smile warmly. 

"Thanks for the offer Angel, but if it's all the same to you Wes and I are going to go back to his place," Faith interjected wearily as she and Wesley began to slowly make their way towards what was left of the Hyperion's entrance, hoping that no one would stop them and ask why they were leaving together.  All they got was a small snicker from Spike that caused Buffy to lift her head up a bit and cock an eyebrow as she gave him a confused look.  In turn Spike leaned over and softly whispered a few words into her ear, words that made Buffy almost gasp in shock as she watched as Wesley and Faith slowly left the hotel unopposed with everyone just watching them go with confused looks on their faces. 

"Hey Angel…you want Fred and me to come with you," Gunn said with a curious look on his face as he lightly wrapped an arm around Fred. 

"No it's okay, they probably won't let very many people see her tonight and it'd be best if Connor and I just went…you guys get some sleep," Angel said with a tired look on his face as beside him Connor looked ready to object if he heard something that he didn't agree with, but when Angel finished Connor just frowned and nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay then…tell her hi for us," Fred interjected sheepishly as she leaned into Gunn and tried to stay awake. 

"Will do…," Angel shouted back as he and Connor almost ran out of the hotel and headed towards his car. 

*                     *                      *                   *                 *               *              *              *

After Angel and Connor left Spike slowly led Buffy and Dawn up the first flight of stairs and opened the first door that he came to.  He started to tell Dawn to take this room but by that time the teenager was almost asleep on her feet, forcing Buffy to help him lay her on the bed.  Next Spike helped Buffy nearly stumble out of the room and shut the door before getting to the next one.  Buffy opened it with one hand while stifling a large yawn with the other.  After helping her over to the bed Spike reluctantly turned to leave, but stopped when he felt Buffy's hand on his arm.

"Spike," Buffy mumbled softly as Spike turned back around.

"Yes luv," Spike mumbled softly back with a small smirk on his face that masked his fear at the moment.

"Stay with me," Buffy softly said back with a very tired smile on her face as she looked up into Spike's eyes.  When he started to very reluctantly protest Buffy stopped him with an equally pleading and soft, "Please."  For a split second Spike debated whether or not to comply, but then a second look into her eyes sealed his fate.

"Of course pet…," Spike said softly with a smile as he walked over and closed the door before returning to the bed and sitting down beside her.  Soon she was fast asleep, wrapped in his arms.  For his part Spike tried to stay awake and fully take in what was happening, but barely an hour later he succumbed to sleep as well.

*             *                  *                  *               *               *               *               *            *

After they left the Hyperion Wesley had begun to get into the drivers seat but Faith glared at him until he relented and slipped into the passenger side seat, letting her drive.  On the drive back to his apartment neither spoke more than a few words, mostly their being relieved that everyone had made it through the night.  Upon getting back to his apartment Wesley stumbled into the bathroom and forced himself to take a shower before he went back into the living room, allowing Faith to slip in and take a shower of her own.  After she finished her shower Faith slipped into the bedroom and shut the door, leaving Wesley sitting on the couch with a confused look on his face.  He could hear her rummaging around for something but he didn't want to bother her so he remained on the couch, debating whether or not to turn the television on or not.  He got so far as to be holding the remote when he heard her voice waft into the living room.

"You can watch that later Wes…it's time to celebrate," Faith said with a seductive tone to her voice as Wesley slowly turned around and was surprised and excited to see a still glistening Faith leaning up against the doorframe clad in only her clown nose with a come hither look on her face. 

"If you say so luv…," Wesley mumbled out with a growing smile on his face as he awkwardly set the remote down on the coffee table and stood up before making his way over to Faith, letting his bathrobe slip off in the process.

"There's that accent again…you trying to get me all riled up watcher…," Faith quipped with a hungry look in her eye as she lifted her head and smiled seductively at Wesley, who reached a hand up and ran a finger idly down from her ear to her chin and then down to her collar.

"How am I doing…," Wesley said with a smile that he knew to be cheesy but didn't care on his face before he leaned down and gave Faith a soft kiss.

"Let me show you," Faith said almost breathlessly as she grabbed Wesley by the arm and pulled him into the bedroom before wrapping her arms around him and the pair set about trying to devour each other with only their kisses.  The last thing Wesley remembered before ecstasy overtook him was how good Faith smelled and how soft and smooth her skin was.  Faith's last memories of that same time were of how good it felt to be with someone that loved her every bit as much as she loved him.

END OF CHAPTER 20