A/N: Faithful was written right around two years ago and there are eight.
It takes place fifteen years into the future of 2001.so 2016. This means
Dawn is all grown up, and Faith has just been released from jail. This
story will eventually be a Faith/Angel story.but it doesn't quite start out
that way.
I'm rating the whole series as rated R, but some parts are more R than others.lol. I'll warn you ahead of time. As always, these characters belong to Joss Whedon and all the fine folks who bring us Angel.
If you want to put this story on your website, please email me and let me know. I never say no, but I want to know who's supporting my work. Thanks!
*~*~*
The atmosphere in the hotel was tense. Faith had been there a week and a half and it was starting to wear on Wesley. He slammed around his office, going through the farce of filing and working, his mind not on what he was doing.
"If you slam the filing cabinet a little harder, she might actually hear you in her room." Cordelia's voice came from behind him. Wesley looked at her over his shoulder.
"It's very hard to deal with her here."
"Yeah, tell me about it. After what she did, I can't believe Angel's letting her stay here."
"I can." Wesley looked slightly upset, yet resigned. "Kindred spirits, as they say. I shant be surprised if she becomes a permanent fixture here at Angel Investigations."
Cordelia gave him a disgusted look. "So do something about it. You're still the boss here, remember?"
"Cordy, you and I both know that isn't true."
In truth they were both right. In the past fifteen years of working together they had melded well into a fighting force that relied upon them all, and was in part, led by them all. Wesley kept the 'official' position as the leader of the group, but he suspected that was more for his self- esteem rather than for truth.
"Still, I think you should be able to put her out."
"Angel would only let her back in, and it would start a confrontation that I'm not prepared to handle."
"Prepared? Watch as I handle it.unprepared." With that Cordelia shot out of her seat and stormed out of his office. He got up and went to the door in time to see her legs disappear up the stairs.
Cordelia found Faith sitting on her bed, doing her nails. She was wearing some God-awful orange color that strangely reminded Cordelia of a prison garment. Cordelia smiled from the doorway.
"Got used to the color orange, did you?" Faith couldn't miss the sarcasm in her voice. She didn't even look up from her nails.
"Well we can't all marry nerds for there millions, can we? Then we'd all be Queen C, and the world really is a lot better off with only one."
Cordelia walked in, her eyes narrowed.
"I didn't marry David for his money. And besides, it isn't a crime to enjoy money you have. Not that you would be familiar with much that wasn't a crime."
Faith looked up.
"What do you want?"
"You to leave." Cordelia met her gaze. Wesley was one of her best friends, and family besides. There was no way she was going to let this bitch torture him all over again, and just her being here was doing that. Cordelia really didn't care how much she had changed or how redeeming her qualities were now. They had been doing fine without a slayer for long enough not to need one.
Faith held her stare for a moment.
"Look I know I call you Queen C, but that don't mean I'm gonna bow down to your every order. Angel wants me here. When he tells me to leave, I'm gone. Not before."
Cordelia narrowed her eyes. If that's what it would take, then that's what it would take. When you work with someone as long as she has with Angel, you pick up a few tricks on how to work him.
**~**
"That girl is destructive. She tortured Wesley! Hello!" Cordelia looked exasperated. She had been trying to convince Angel to give Faith the boot for nearly an hour and he hadn't budged a bit.
"How many times do I have to tell you? She's changed."
"Yeah, something about a leopard and his stripes come to mind."
"Spots."
"What?"
"A leopard doesn't change his spots."
"See?! Exactly my point!" She looked exasperated and Angel resisted the urge to smile at her.
"Cordelia, I think you're being harsh. We help people every day. We have for a long time, now. Haven't you learned the art of forgiveness by now?"
"The art of forgiveness? If I want art I'll buy a damn Picasso!" And with that she stormed out of the room.
Angel shook his head as he stared after her. This was starting to get out of hand. What those girls needed was bonding time. But how was he going to accomplish that?
**~**
"Augh!" Cordelia grabbed her head and lurched forward on the couch where she had been ranting to Wesley. Wesley shot forward and grabbed her before she hit the ground.
"INCOMING!" He yelled.
"Uh! Don't yell in my ear!" She smacked his arm with her free hand while the other gripped her head. She had hoped that as the years went on the pain would lessen, but she was starting to doubt that would happen after going so long without easing up.
Angel and Lindsey appeared and loomed over Cordelia. Faith came down the stairs, but stopped halfway down and watched from a distance.
"Scary looking demon attacking a couple of college aged guys."
"Where?"
"What does it look like?"
"Why not ask me all at once?" Her voice betrayed irritation. "I don't know.some alley. And it's tall and hairy and slobbery with big teeth. Somehow I don't think you'll miss him."
"If we know were to look" Lindsey said.
Cordelia furrowed her brows in concentration.
"I just.. there's a bank nearby, but I'm not sure.oh! There at 51st and Gabriel!"
Everyone scrambled into action, piling into vehicles and taking off. No one seemed to notice when Faith climbed into Lindsey's truck with him. He grinned and sped off in the direction of the demon.
"So how long you been in the light?"
Lindsey chuckled. "You make it sound like Star Wars. I've been working with Angel for about ten years now. I left LA for about five years and got myself straightened out. Then I came back to see what kind of good I could do."
"And what good can you do?" She studied him.
"Lots. Like I said, I've been with Angel Investigations for a while. My unique understandings of Wolfram and Hart have been invaluable."
Faith stiffened at the mentioning of the law firm.
"There's a place that should have been made a bomb site by now."
Lindsey chuckled.
**~**
Faith saw Cordelia fly across the alley. She ground her teeth together and hoisted herself up, flinging herself, football player style into the legs of the demon. The demon folded, giving Wesley the perfect opportunity to behead it. If he weren't so busy pointedly ignoring her that is.
Faith looked to Wesley in astonishment as he purposely kept his back to her.
"Wesley!"
Wesley didn't look her way. The demon flipped itself toward Cordelia's unconscious body, heading straight for her. Faith leaped up and shouldered Wesley aside, taking his sword from him, easily. That made him react. With swears and exclamations, Wesley ran after Faith.
Cordelia opened her eyes in time to see the ragged teeth located in the opening jaws of one smelly, hairy demon. Cordelia screamed as the head came close to her and then flipped at an impossible angle, rolling into her, severed from the body. Cordelia looked up to see Faith, sword in hand, standing over the now dead demon.
Cordelia opened her mouth to say thanks when she caught a flash of something from behind Faith.
"Look out!"
But it was too late. Just as the words left her mouth, Faith started to turn, bringing the sword with her. The tip of the sword sliced into Wesley's arm as Wesley slammed into her, knocking her hard against the wall. There was a sickening smack as her head hit the wall of the alley, and Faith thought she heard Angel's voice in the far distance calling her name. But the blackness beckoned her, and she sank into it calmly.
**~**
"You're behavior was INEXCUSABLE! Not only could you have gotten Cordelia killed, or Faith killed, but you could have gotten yourself killed and been the reason that demon got past us!" Angel bellowed at Wesley.
Wesley sat rigidly in his chair, his arm patched up, and stared straight ahead as he listened to the lecture he knew he deserved.
"This has gone beyond childish. I don't give a fuck what you feel about her when we aren't fighting demons or the like but when we're fighting, we're a team, so long as she's hear and even after she's gone. And that is final. Understood?"
Wesley just nodded. Part of him wanted to fly out of his chair and demand who the hell Angel thought he was treating like a 3 year old. But the part of him that knew he had acted like a 3 year old kept him in his place.
Angel sighed in frustration.
"I just don't get you lately. I don't think we've had this bad a fuck up in years, Wes. Just talk to me, WILL YOU?" Angel looked at the end of his rope. Wesley was feeling a little in touch with that emotion.
"You want me to talk? Really? How about this for talk? You bloody hurt my feelings, you ass!" Wesley did stand, and now it was his turn, whether he deserved one or not. "The girl who tortured me and made me think I was actually going to die at the hands of my own slayer waltzes in here and what do you do? Do you talk to me about how this makes me feel? Do you even seem to care about the fact that I'm now daily facing the face in every nightmare I've had since then? Do you even show a little bit of care toward a 'friend' who has been fighting with you and for you for over a decade? NO! Instead, when you see her you run to her, scoop her up and throw the bloody chit around like she's a long lost sister visiting from Ireland! You hug her and smile at her all the while, I'm HURTING! Is that clear enough for you, you ass? You made me HURT! Because you were too busy trying to make her feel accommodated to spend one moment, one small fraction of a moment, to say, 'You must be going though something, here. I care.' Or just 'I care' would have sufficed." Angel was stunned into silence and Wesley took the opportunity to continue. "Yes I know I fucked up. It figures that the first fuck up in years would be because of me. I'm a FUCK UP! Ok? Make you happy? I know I'm a fuck up. I've ALWAYS been a fuck up!" He couldn't help the tears, even as he felt ashamed for letting them go. "Just ask my father. At point blank he could improv a list of my fuck ups for you and probably write an essay on the ways his son IS A NO GOOD FUCK UP AND ALWAYS WILL BE!" Wesley threw his fist into the nearest wall and then fell to his knees, shaking. Crying.
Angel didn't know what to say. He remembered the day when he walked into the lobby and Faith was sitting on the floor with Wesley. But he couldn't remember even thinking that Wesley might have a legitimate bitch to her being here.
"I'm sorry. I.I don't know what to say." Angel got up and tentatively walked toward a weeping Wesley. "Just say the word and she's gone. No. Wait. She's gone, ok? You don't have to choose, I'll just tell her this isn't working out." He felt helpless. "I'm sorry I yelled so much. I was scared about how close Cordelia came to getting hurt this time. I'm sorry."
Wesley looked up at him. He wiped tears with the back of his hand and stood.
"Do what you want. I don't care." He turned and left the room.
**~**
Cordelia walked to Faith's room and knocked on the door.
"Open."
After taking a deep breath, Cordelia walked in.
Faith was sitting on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Cordelia sat on the bed and watched Faith for a moment.
"Come to stare or talk, C?"
Cordelia cleared her throat.
"I appreciate what you did for me. Thank you."
Faith looked at her, judging her for sincerity. When she found no evidence of false sincerity, Faith smiled.
"You're welcome."
They smiled at each other and Cordelia opened her mouth to tell Faith about how 'not bad' she really was when there was a knock on the door, followed by Angel stepping in.
Angel saw Cordelia, but he didn't acknowledge her as his eyes met Faith's.
"I'm sorry Faith, but this isn't working out. You'll have to find another place to stay."
Faith felt her stomach sink to her feet. Angel was giving up on her.
**~**
Wesley watched Cordelia pull a file from her desk and flip through it, absently. She looked like her mind was a million miles away. But he knew that wasn't true. It was only a couple miles away on one brunette slayer who was currently staying in a hotel.
Wesley looked around the room. Lindsey. Angel. Pretty much the same thing. Part of him felt bad for Faith having to be thrown out. What if she had changed, and because of this, because of him, she reverted back to her old ways? What if he trusted her and she hurt him again? Or worse, hurt one of his friends?
Trust had always been a strong suit for him. Too strong. Maybe he needed to talk to someone who didn't trust so easily.
**~**
Wesley pulled the collar of his trench coat up around his neck, in part to ward off the chill of the night, and also to keep a barrier, however small, around his neck. He knew he was deep in vampire country.
"Hey! James Bond! Over here."
Wesley smiled and turned to face his long time friend, Charles Gunn.
"Well if it isn't Gunn. Charles Gunn." He smiled as he did his James Bond impersonation.
"Hey, English, what's crackin'?" Gunn smiled as he exchanged a complicated handshake with Wesley. Wesley remembered when Gunn first taught him this shake. It had taken him forever to learn it.
"Well, not much is going on, I was just wanting to see how things were in your neck of the woods."
"I'm getting along just fine. Me and my crew just crashed a nest of vampires who all looked like members of the Jackson 5. Scary shit."
Wesley smiled.
"And Fred?"
Gunn smiled the special smile he always got when he thought of Fred.
"Fred's cool. She misses ya'll though. You don't come visit often enough. Course she's pretty busy with Justy."
Wesley smiled as he saw evidence of obvious fatherly pride. Justy, short for Justice, was about two years old now, and the most important thing in both her parents' life. Wesley thought back to when Gunn left the group. Lindsey had just signed on, and the rate of vampires and death by vampires had steadily increased in Gunn's old neighborhood. With someone to take his place, he felt he could go back to doing what he started out doing, saving his little corner of LA from vampires. At first everyone was upset and tried to make him want to stay, but in the end it was the right thing for Gunn to do.
It wasn't until Gunn tried to leave and Fred said she was going with him that Wesley realized the love they had for each other. When you did nothing but fight vampires and demons all day, it's hard to remember there is more to life, and just as hard to recognize it, even when you come into contact with it daily.
Since then their relationship steadily increased in intensity until they knew they couldn't be without each other. Winifred Gunn was hard to get used to, but in the end everyone was happy that they were so happy together. Justy just completed them.
"You ok, English? You seem a little, distracted." Gunn took in Wesley's expression. "You didn't just come to shoot the breeze, did you? Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Wesley took a deep breath.
"I need your advice."
To his credit, Gunn tried not too look too surprised.
"You need MY advice?" Gunn smiled and gestured to his truck, all decked out for slaying. "Step into my office."
Wesley smiled and they made their way to Gunn's truck. After getting settled, Gunn looked at Wesley.
"So.wassup?"
"Faith is back."
"You're shittin' me! Faith, the girl you said tortured you? Wow. Man, that's harsh. So, is she like causing trouble again? You need me to get your back? Hey, I may have left the hotel, but I ain't desertin' my friends, you know that."
Wesley smiled. He was glad he came to Gunn.
"No, no, nothing like that. Actually she seems quite adjusted now. Hasn't tried to kill anyone good and helped us slay a demon, saving Cordelia's life."
Gunn looked confused. "Oh. Ok, then what's the problem?"
"The problem is, she waltzes in here after fifteen years, fresh out of prison and everyone has seemed to accept her, and I'm having a hard time doing that. I can't seem to get over what she did to me, and frankly it's quite bruising to the ego to think that my friends, my family, has accepted her so readily."
Wesley looked at Gunn, trying to decipher what he was thinking.
"So you're upset because they have forgiven her and you haven't yet, am I right?"
"Correct."
"So you must want to change something if you're here. What is it you want to change?"
Wesley thought about it, trying to pick his words well.
"I guess, I wonder how you would handle such a dilemma."
"Wes, man, if some chick were to do to me what you said she did to you.nah, man, I would kick her ass to the curb as soon as I saw her again."
Wesley smiled. "That's what I did."
Gunn looked surprised.
"So.what's the problem?"
"I feel just awful about it, Gunn. I don't know what's come over me, but the last couple of days since Faith's been moved out, I've felt terrible. What if she's going bad right now because of me? What if she does something stupid like try to hurt herself? What if."
"Whoa, man!" Gunn gave him a side-glance. "Seems to me, you aren't upset at her anymore. Seems to me like you're more upset at them for not considering you first."
Wesley shook his head slowly. "I guess that's it part of it. I mean I don't trust her. I still have nightmares about her." Wesley swallowed the lump in his throat. "I still think there is reason to be cautious with her." He took a deep breath. "I guess I just wish the others would be more understanding about my feelings about this girl."
"Want me to talk to them?"
Wesley thought over the tempting offer, but in the end shook his head.
"I think it best if I take matters into my own hands. But thank you Charles. That means a lot to me."
Gunn smiled and clasped him on the shoulder. "It'll work out, bro. It always does."
**~**
Faith flipped through the channels on the television. Her mind wandered, though. Should she call them? Would they need her?
Faith sighed and turned off the television. She eyed the phone and then picked it up. She nearly jumped when there was a knock at her door.
Faith walked slowly to the door and looked through the peephole. She saw the back of someone's head.
"Who is it?"
"Faith? It's me, Wesley."
Faith frowned. What was he doing here?
Wesley heard the lock click and soon saw the door slide open.
"Wesley. I'm.surprised to see you here."
"Yeah, well.may I come in?"
Faith regarded him for a moment and then opened the door wider, moving back. Wesley walked into the dark room. When Faith turned on the light, he saw a small table and chairs, with apartment complexes and jobs circled. He saw the bed was slightly mussed, probably from her laying on it watching the tele. He turned and looked at her.
"This is an agreeable place." His tone and mannerisms seemed to try to reassure himself.
"Yeah, its great. So what's up?"
He searched her face. She was guarded, but somehow she seemed nervous.
"Faith, I guess it's no secret to you that I had a little difficulty with your previous living arrangement."
Faith couldn't help it; she smiled. Now this was the Wesley she was used to. Stiff upper lip, head high, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he unconsciously slipped into watcher mode, pacing slowly back and forth, looking for all the world to be the most studious and important person possible.
"Yes, I was. aware."
"Right. And while, I did not intend to hurt your feelings or cause you to revert back to your unseemly ways, I felt that some distance between the two of us was necessary."
Faith lost her smile.
"Revert?"
"Well, yes. Revert. To relapse, regress, slip back."
"Wesley." He stopped and looked at her. "I know what the word means."
"Right. Well." Suddenly he was at a loss for words.
"So lemme get this straight. You came over here to tell me there is no reason to go back to hack-n-slash just because you couldn't deal?"
Wesley's eyes searched the floor, seemingly to look for what to say next. Faith didn't give him a chance.
"You know, if it was so easy for me to 'revert' I doubt they would have let me out of prison. You know, you give yourself too much credit. It's not like I've been sitting here plotting your 'unseemly' death or anything because I don't get to live in Angel's hotel."
"Well that's a relief."
"Wesley. I'm different. I've changed. I wish I could make you see that." She looked down. "And.I'm sorry. For what I did to you. Afterwards, you reacted pretty much like you did when I first saw you a couple weeks ago. But you didn't let them kill me. Thank you."
Wesley was taken aback. He was not expecting an apology, or appreciation.
Wesley took a deep breath. If he was wrong about this, he could be jeopardizing everyone. Wesley took a few steps toward Faith, and on instinct she stepped back. He caught her wrist gently, and her eyes went from her wrist to his face, question written all over it. She didn't resist when she felt a slight tug on her wrist and before she knew it, Wesley had wrapped her in up in a hug. Faith stood rigid, unsure. Wesley almost withdrew, but he waited. Soon her body relaxed, and he could feel her hands slid around his back as she hugged him back.
**~**
Angel, Cordelia, and Lindsey looked up when the door to the lobby opened. They smiled a little when they saw Wesley, but their usual greetings died on their lips when they saw who he was with. Carrying her suitcase, Faith stepped in behind him, looking unsure.
Angel walked over to Wesley, slowly. Cordelia and Lindsey followed.
"This mean what I think it does?" Angel looked from one to the other.
"It means I am trying forgiveness."
Angel smiled. Faith was struck by the beauty of that smile. The Angel she remembered from before didn't smile, and when he came to visit her, he rarely found an occasion to smile. Prison wasn't the smiling kind of place, anyway.
Silence enveloped them, and everyone searched for something to say next. Suddenly Cordelia broke the silence as she yelped in pain and held her head.
Everyone looked at each other.
"Incoming," they said all at once. Time to go back to business as usual.
I'm rating the whole series as rated R, but some parts are more R than others.lol. I'll warn you ahead of time. As always, these characters belong to Joss Whedon and all the fine folks who bring us Angel.
If you want to put this story on your website, please email me and let me know. I never say no, but I want to know who's supporting my work. Thanks!
*~*~*
The atmosphere in the hotel was tense. Faith had been there a week and a half and it was starting to wear on Wesley. He slammed around his office, going through the farce of filing and working, his mind not on what he was doing.
"If you slam the filing cabinet a little harder, she might actually hear you in her room." Cordelia's voice came from behind him. Wesley looked at her over his shoulder.
"It's very hard to deal with her here."
"Yeah, tell me about it. After what she did, I can't believe Angel's letting her stay here."
"I can." Wesley looked slightly upset, yet resigned. "Kindred spirits, as they say. I shant be surprised if she becomes a permanent fixture here at Angel Investigations."
Cordelia gave him a disgusted look. "So do something about it. You're still the boss here, remember?"
"Cordy, you and I both know that isn't true."
In truth they were both right. In the past fifteen years of working together they had melded well into a fighting force that relied upon them all, and was in part, led by them all. Wesley kept the 'official' position as the leader of the group, but he suspected that was more for his self- esteem rather than for truth.
"Still, I think you should be able to put her out."
"Angel would only let her back in, and it would start a confrontation that I'm not prepared to handle."
"Prepared? Watch as I handle it.unprepared." With that Cordelia shot out of her seat and stormed out of his office. He got up and went to the door in time to see her legs disappear up the stairs.
Cordelia found Faith sitting on her bed, doing her nails. She was wearing some God-awful orange color that strangely reminded Cordelia of a prison garment. Cordelia smiled from the doorway.
"Got used to the color orange, did you?" Faith couldn't miss the sarcasm in her voice. She didn't even look up from her nails.
"Well we can't all marry nerds for there millions, can we? Then we'd all be Queen C, and the world really is a lot better off with only one."
Cordelia walked in, her eyes narrowed.
"I didn't marry David for his money. And besides, it isn't a crime to enjoy money you have. Not that you would be familiar with much that wasn't a crime."
Faith looked up.
"What do you want?"
"You to leave." Cordelia met her gaze. Wesley was one of her best friends, and family besides. There was no way she was going to let this bitch torture him all over again, and just her being here was doing that. Cordelia really didn't care how much she had changed or how redeeming her qualities were now. They had been doing fine without a slayer for long enough not to need one.
Faith held her stare for a moment.
"Look I know I call you Queen C, but that don't mean I'm gonna bow down to your every order. Angel wants me here. When he tells me to leave, I'm gone. Not before."
Cordelia narrowed her eyes. If that's what it would take, then that's what it would take. When you work with someone as long as she has with Angel, you pick up a few tricks on how to work him.
**~**
"That girl is destructive. She tortured Wesley! Hello!" Cordelia looked exasperated. She had been trying to convince Angel to give Faith the boot for nearly an hour and he hadn't budged a bit.
"How many times do I have to tell you? She's changed."
"Yeah, something about a leopard and his stripes come to mind."
"Spots."
"What?"
"A leopard doesn't change his spots."
"See?! Exactly my point!" She looked exasperated and Angel resisted the urge to smile at her.
"Cordelia, I think you're being harsh. We help people every day. We have for a long time, now. Haven't you learned the art of forgiveness by now?"
"The art of forgiveness? If I want art I'll buy a damn Picasso!" And with that she stormed out of the room.
Angel shook his head as he stared after her. This was starting to get out of hand. What those girls needed was bonding time. But how was he going to accomplish that?
**~**
"Augh!" Cordelia grabbed her head and lurched forward on the couch where she had been ranting to Wesley. Wesley shot forward and grabbed her before she hit the ground.
"INCOMING!" He yelled.
"Uh! Don't yell in my ear!" She smacked his arm with her free hand while the other gripped her head. She had hoped that as the years went on the pain would lessen, but she was starting to doubt that would happen after going so long without easing up.
Angel and Lindsey appeared and loomed over Cordelia. Faith came down the stairs, but stopped halfway down and watched from a distance.
"Scary looking demon attacking a couple of college aged guys."
"Where?"
"What does it look like?"
"Why not ask me all at once?" Her voice betrayed irritation. "I don't know.some alley. And it's tall and hairy and slobbery with big teeth. Somehow I don't think you'll miss him."
"If we know were to look" Lindsey said.
Cordelia furrowed her brows in concentration.
"I just.. there's a bank nearby, but I'm not sure.oh! There at 51st and Gabriel!"
Everyone scrambled into action, piling into vehicles and taking off. No one seemed to notice when Faith climbed into Lindsey's truck with him. He grinned and sped off in the direction of the demon.
"So how long you been in the light?"
Lindsey chuckled. "You make it sound like Star Wars. I've been working with Angel for about ten years now. I left LA for about five years and got myself straightened out. Then I came back to see what kind of good I could do."
"And what good can you do?" She studied him.
"Lots. Like I said, I've been with Angel Investigations for a while. My unique understandings of Wolfram and Hart have been invaluable."
Faith stiffened at the mentioning of the law firm.
"There's a place that should have been made a bomb site by now."
Lindsey chuckled.
**~**
Faith saw Cordelia fly across the alley. She ground her teeth together and hoisted herself up, flinging herself, football player style into the legs of the demon. The demon folded, giving Wesley the perfect opportunity to behead it. If he weren't so busy pointedly ignoring her that is.
Faith looked to Wesley in astonishment as he purposely kept his back to her.
"Wesley!"
Wesley didn't look her way. The demon flipped itself toward Cordelia's unconscious body, heading straight for her. Faith leaped up and shouldered Wesley aside, taking his sword from him, easily. That made him react. With swears and exclamations, Wesley ran after Faith.
Cordelia opened her eyes in time to see the ragged teeth located in the opening jaws of one smelly, hairy demon. Cordelia screamed as the head came close to her and then flipped at an impossible angle, rolling into her, severed from the body. Cordelia looked up to see Faith, sword in hand, standing over the now dead demon.
Cordelia opened her mouth to say thanks when she caught a flash of something from behind Faith.
"Look out!"
But it was too late. Just as the words left her mouth, Faith started to turn, bringing the sword with her. The tip of the sword sliced into Wesley's arm as Wesley slammed into her, knocking her hard against the wall. There was a sickening smack as her head hit the wall of the alley, and Faith thought she heard Angel's voice in the far distance calling her name. But the blackness beckoned her, and she sank into it calmly.
**~**
"You're behavior was INEXCUSABLE! Not only could you have gotten Cordelia killed, or Faith killed, but you could have gotten yourself killed and been the reason that demon got past us!" Angel bellowed at Wesley.
Wesley sat rigidly in his chair, his arm patched up, and stared straight ahead as he listened to the lecture he knew he deserved.
"This has gone beyond childish. I don't give a fuck what you feel about her when we aren't fighting demons or the like but when we're fighting, we're a team, so long as she's hear and even after she's gone. And that is final. Understood?"
Wesley just nodded. Part of him wanted to fly out of his chair and demand who the hell Angel thought he was treating like a 3 year old. But the part of him that knew he had acted like a 3 year old kept him in his place.
Angel sighed in frustration.
"I just don't get you lately. I don't think we've had this bad a fuck up in years, Wes. Just talk to me, WILL YOU?" Angel looked at the end of his rope. Wesley was feeling a little in touch with that emotion.
"You want me to talk? Really? How about this for talk? You bloody hurt my feelings, you ass!" Wesley did stand, and now it was his turn, whether he deserved one or not. "The girl who tortured me and made me think I was actually going to die at the hands of my own slayer waltzes in here and what do you do? Do you talk to me about how this makes me feel? Do you even seem to care about the fact that I'm now daily facing the face in every nightmare I've had since then? Do you even show a little bit of care toward a 'friend' who has been fighting with you and for you for over a decade? NO! Instead, when you see her you run to her, scoop her up and throw the bloody chit around like she's a long lost sister visiting from Ireland! You hug her and smile at her all the while, I'm HURTING! Is that clear enough for you, you ass? You made me HURT! Because you were too busy trying to make her feel accommodated to spend one moment, one small fraction of a moment, to say, 'You must be going though something, here. I care.' Or just 'I care' would have sufficed." Angel was stunned into silence and Wesley took the opportunity to continue. "Yes I know I fucked up. It figures that the first fuck up in years would be because of me. I'm a FUCK UP! Ok? Make you happy? I know I'm a fuck up. I've ALWAYS been a fuck up!" He couldn't help the tears, even as he felt ashamed for letting them go. "Just ask my father. At point blank he could improv a list of my fuck ups for you and probably write an essay on the ways his son IS A NO GOOD FUCK UP AND ALWAYS WILL BE!" Wesley threw his fist into the nearest wall and then fell to his knees, shaking. Crying.
Angel didn't know what to say. He remembered the day when he walked into the lobby and Faith was sitting on the floor with Wesley. But he couldn't remember even thinking that Wesley might have a legitimate bitch to her being here.
"I'm sorry. I.I don't know what to say." Angel got up and tentatively walked toward a weeping Wesley. "Just say the word and she's gone. No. Wait. She's gone, ok? You don't have to choose, I'll just tell her this isn't working out." He felt helpless. "I'm sorry I yelled so much. I was scared about how close Cordelia came to getting hurt this time. I'm sorry."
Wesley looked up at him. He wiped tears with the back of his hand and stood.
"Do what you want. I don't care." He turned and left the room.
**~**
Cordelia walked to Faith's room and knocked on the door.
"Open."
After taking a deep breath, Cordelia walked in.
Faith was sitting on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Cordelia sat on the bed and watched Faith for a moment.
"Come to stare or talk, C?"
Cordelia cleared her throat.
"I appreciate what you did for me. Thank you."
Faith looked at her, judging her for sincerity. When she found no evidence of false sincerity, Faith smiled.
"You're welcome."
They smiled at each other and Cordelia opened her mouth to tell Faith about how 'not bad' she really was when there was a knock on the door, followed by Angel stepping in.
Angel saw Cordelia, but he didn't acknowledge her as his eyes met Faith's.
"I'm sorry Faith, but this isn't working out. You'll have to find another place to stay."
Faith felt her stomach sink to her feet. Angel was giving up on her.
**~**
Wesley watched Cordelia pull a file from her desk and flip through it, absently. She looked like her mind was a million miles away. But he knew that wasn't true. It was only a couple miles away on one brunette slayer who was currently staying in a hotel.
Wesley looked around the room. Lindsey. Angel. Pretty much the same thing. Part of him felt bad for Faith having to be thrown out. What if she had changed, and because of this, because of him, she reverted back to her old ways? What if he trusted her and she hurt him again? Or worse, hurt one of his friends?
Trust had always been a strong suit for him. Too strong. Maybe he needed to talk to someone who didn't trust so easily.
**~**
Wesley pulled the collar of his trench coat up around his neck, in part to ward off the chill of the night, and also to keep a barrier, however small, around his neck. He knew he was deep in vampire country.
"Hey! James Bond! Over here."
Wesley smiled and turned to face his long time friend, Charles Gunn.
"Well if it isn't Gunn. Charles Gunn." He smiled as he did his James Bond impersonation.
"Hey, English, what's crackin'?" Gunn smiled as he exchanged a complicated handshake with Wesley. Wesley remembered when Gunn first taught him this shake. It had taken him forever to learn it.
"Well, not much is going on, I was just wanting to see how things were in your neck of the woods."
"I'm getting along just fine. Me and my crew just crashed a nest of vampires who all looked like members of the Jackson 5. Scary shit."
Wesley smiled.
"And Fred?"
Gunn smiled the special smile he always got when he thought of Fred.
"Fred's cool. She misses ya'll though. You don't come visit often enough. Course she's pretty busy with Justy."
Wesley smiled as he saw evidence of obvious fatherly pride. Justy, short for Justice, was about two years old now, and the most important thing in both her parents' life. Wesley thought back to when Gunn left the group. Lindsey had just signed on, and the rate of vampires and death by vampires had steadily increased in Gunn's old neighborhood. With someone to take his place, he felt he could go back to doing what he started out doing, saving his little corner of LA from vampires. At first everyone was upset and tried to make him want to stay, but in the end it was the right thing for Gunn to do.
It wasn't until Gunn tried to leave and Fred said she was going with him that Wesley realized the love they had for each other. When you did nothing but fight vampires and demons all day, it's hard to remember there is more to life, and just as hard to recognize it, even when you come into contact with it daily.
Since then their relationship steadily increased in intensity until they knew they couldn't be without each other. Winifred Gunn was hard to get used to, but in the end everyone was happy that they were so happy together. Justy just completed them.
"You ok, English? You seem a little, distracted." Gunn took in Wesley's expression. "You didn't just come to shoot the breeze, did you? Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Wesley took a deep breath.
"I need your advice."
To his credit, Gunn tried not too look too surprised.
"You need MY advice?" Gunn smiled and gestured to his truck, all decked out for slaying. "Step into my office."
Wesley smiled and they made their way to Gunn's truck. After getting settled, Gunn looked at Wesley.
"So.wassup?"
"Faith is back."
"You're shittin' me! Faith, the girl you said tortured you? Wow. Man, that's harsh. So, is she like causing trouble again? You need me to get your back? Hey, I may have left the hotel, but I ain't desertin' my friends, you know that."
Wesley smiled. He was glad he came to Gunn.
"No, no, nothing like that. Actually she seems quite adjusted now. Hasn't tried to kill anyone good and helped us slay a demon, saving Cordelia's life."
Gunn looked confused. "Oh. Ok, then what's the problem?"
"The problem is, she waltzes in here after fifteen years, fresh out of prison and everyone has seemed to accept her, and I'm having a hard time doing that. I can't seem to get over what she did to me, and frankly it's quite bruising to the ego to think that my friends, my family, has accepted her so readily."
Wesley looked at Gunn, trying to decipher what he was thinking.
"So you're upset because they have forgiven her and you haven't yet, am I right?"
"Correct."
"So you must want to change something if you're here. What is it you want to change?"
Wesley thought about it, trying to pick his words well.
"I guess, I wonder how you would handle such a dilemma."
"Wes, man, if some chick were to do to me what you said she did to you.nah, man, I would kick her ass to the curb as soon as I saw her again."
Wesley smiled. "That's what I did."
Gunn looked surprised.
"So.what's the problem?"
"I feel just awful about it, Gunn. I don't know what's come over me, but the last couple of days since Faith's been moved out, I've felt terrible. What if she's going bad right now because of me? What if she does something stupid like try to hurt herself? What if."
"Whoa, man!" Gunn gave him a side-glance. "Seems to me, you aren't upset at her anymore. Seems to me like you're more upset at them for not considering you first."
Wesley shook his head slowly. "I guess that's it part of it. I mean I don't trust her. I still have nightmares about her." Wesley swallowed the lump in his throat. "I still think there is reason to be cautious with her." He took a deep breath. "I guess I just wish the others would be more understanding about my feelings about this girl."
"Want me to talk to them?"
Wesley thought over the tempting offer, but in the end shook his head.
"I think it best if I take matters into my own hands. But thank you Charles. That means a lot to me."
Gunn smiled and clasped him on the shoulder. "It'll work out, bro. It always does."
**~**
Faith flipped through the channels on the television. Her mind wandered, though. Should she call them? Would they need her?
Faith sighed and turned off the television. She eyed the phone and then picked it up. She nearly jumped when there was a knock at her door.
Faith walked slowly to the door and looked through the peephole. She saw the back of someone's head.
"Who is it?"
"Faith? It's me, Wesley."
Faith frowned. What was he doing here?
Wesley heard the lock click and soon saw the door slide open.
"Wesley. I'm.surprised to see you here."
"Yeah, well.may I come in?"
Faith regarded him for a moment and then opened the door wider, moving back. Wesley walked into the dark room. When Faith turned on the light, he saw a small table and chairs, with apartment complexes and jobs circled. He saw the bed was slightly mussed, probably from her laying on it watching the tele. He turned and looked at her.
"This is an agreeable place." His tone and mannerisms seemed to try to reassure himself.
"Yeah, its great. So what's up?"
He searched her face. She was guarded, but somehow she seemed nervous.
"Faith, I guess it's no secret to you that I had a little difficulty with your previous living arrangement."
Faith couldn't help it; she smiled. Now this was the Wesley she was used to. Stiff upper lip, head high, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he unconsciously slipped into watcher mode, pacing slowly back and forth, looking for all the world to be the most studious and important person possible.
"Yes, I was. aware."
"Right. And while, I did not intend to hurt your feelings or cause you to revert back to your unseemly ways, I felt that some distance between the two of us was necessary."
Faith lost her smile.
"Revert?"
"Well, yes. Revert. To relapse, regress, slip back."
"Wesley." He stopped and looked at her. "I know what the word means."
"Right. Well." Suddenly he was at a loss for words.
"So lemme get this straight. You came over here to tell me there is no reason to go back to hack-n-slash just because you couldn't deal?"
Wesley's eyes searched the floor, seemingly to look for what to say next. Faith didn't give him a chance.
"You know, if it was so easy for me to 'revert' I doubt they would have let me out of prison. You know, you give yourself too much credit. It's not like I've been sitting here plotting your 'unseemly' death or anything because I don't get to live in Angel's hotel."
"Well that's a relief."
"Wesley. I'm different. I've changed. I wish I could make you see that." She looked down. "And.I'm sorry. For what I did to you. Afterwards, you reacted pretty much like you did when I first saw you a couple weeks ago. But you didn't let them kill me. Thank you."
Wesley was taken aback. He was not expecting an apology, or appreciation.
Wesley took a deep breath. If he was wrong about this, he could be jeopardizing everyone. Wesley took a few steps toward Faith, and on instinct she stepped back. He caught her wrist gently, and her eyes went from her wrist to his face, question written all over it. She didn't resist when she felt a slight tug on her wrist and before she knew it, Wesley had wrapped her in up in a hug. Faith stood rigid, unsure. Wesley almost withdrew, but he waited. Soon her body relaxed, and he could feel her hands slid around his back as she hugged him back.
**~**
Angel, Cordelia, and Lindsey looked up when the door to the lobby opened. They smiled a little when they saw Wesley, but their usual greetings died on their lips when they saw who he was with. Carrying her suitcase, Faith stepped in behind him, looking unsure.
Angel walked over to Wesley, slowly. Cordelia and Lindsey followed.
"This mean what I think it does?" Angel looked from one to the other.
"It means I am trying forgiveness."
Angel smiled. Faith was struck by the beauty of that smile. The Angel she remembered from before didn't smile, and when he came to visit her, he rarely found an occasion to smile. Prison wasn't the smiling kind of place, anyway.
Silence enveloped them, and everyone searched for something to say next. Suddenly Cordelia broke the silence as she yelped in pain and held her head.
Everyone looked at each other.
"Incoming," they said all at once. Time to go back to business as usual.