THREE STRIKES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 7-HEALING-THE CHALLENGE IS PUT FORTH
Faith had woken up three days later, still very stiff and feeling cold, a little startled to find herself wearing only her bra and panties. Initially a great fear captivated her but when she rolled over her fears were put to rest as she saw Wesley lying there. Even though she still felt ill she made sure that he was still alive. She checked him all over for any injuries, grimacing sickly at the wounds from the zombies, before nestling up closer to Wesley and laying her head down on his chest, directly over his heart. She took comfort in the slow and even beating of his heart. In the end it served almost as a lullaby, and the next thing she knew it was morning. This time when she awoke and looked up at Wesley's face her heart swelled when she saw him looking back at her with a very thankful and relieved look on his face.
"Hey…," Faith mumbled sleepily with a smile on her face as she tightened her grip on Wesley.
"Hey yourself…," Wesley responded weakly as he brought a hand up and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"You sure know how to show a girl a good time," Faith choked out trying to sound all big and bad, but ended up sounding like a very small child.
"Well I try," Wesley replied softly before the two ended up laughing for the first time in days, finally stopping when Wesley pulled Faith up closer to him and silenced her with a kiss.
"How about next time you forget the zombies," Faith mumbled softly before yawning widely and trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes.
"I'll try and remember that…," Wesley started to say with a tired sigh before he was interrupted as Lorne walked into the room with a drink in his hand.
"Hey you two crazy kids…you're finally awake, how do you feel," Lorne asked with a hopeful look on his face before he took a drink.
"Like I've been run over by a bloody Fyarl demon…," Wesley mumbled loudly in response before Lorne began chuckling softly to himself.
"You look like it to you know," Lorne exclaimed with a joking smirk on his face before a smile spread across Faith's face, a precursor to the former rogue slayer bursting out laughing.
"Very funny Lorne…but how did we survive, there were so many zombies and…," Wesley asked with a confused and tired frown on his face as he lazily began to draw small circles on the back of Faith's shoulder with his index finger.
"Ten buck says it was Angel…," Faith mumbled softly with a small smile on her face as she laid her head back down on Wesley's chest and closed her eyes.
"You're right…but like usual he tried the tough guy routine and said that the zombie's venom wouldn't affect him…right before he passed out in the lobby," Lorne replied with a worried sigh and shrug of his shoulders before Faith's eyes shot open and she quickly lifted her head and gazed over at the empathy demon with a worried look on her face.
"He's alright though…right," Faith asked quickly as there was a lot of not so well hidden worry in her voice.
"Angel-cakes will be fine, he just got a bigger dose of the venom then he thought he did, Connor and I got the antidote for him and he'll be up and brooding again in no time…Cordelia's with him now," Lorne answered with what he hoped was a calm look on his face as he held a hand up as if to tell Faith to calm down.
"Good…," Wesley and Faith chimed in together before the two suddenly drifted off back to sleep in each others arms.
"Now all we need is a few days of peace and quiet for you three to get back on your feet…," Lorne said softly with a hopeful look on his face before he took another drink and quietly slipped out of the room, leaving the two lovers to their dreams.
* * * * * * * *
When Angel came to he was happy to see Cordelia sitting in a chair next to his bed. At the time she was fast asleep and as he was feeling better Angel decided to let her sleep. Quietly he slipped out of bed and made his way out of the room and then head down the hall towards the stairs. Still feeling a little woozy the stairs were an adventure; he was forced to lean heavily up against the wall to keep upright. When he got to the bottom of the stairs he rested for a short time before he staggered over to the counter and flipped through the message, glad to find that Fred had left one saying that she and Gunn had gone to get groceries. Right now he wanted to be alone, mostly so that he could process what had happened to him over the last few days and finish healing. He was about to fall asleep right there, leaning on the counter, had his enhanced vampire hearing not alerted him to the fact that someone was coming. From the sound of his voice Angel could tell that it was Lorne that was walking down the hall on the floor above. Not ready to answer the hoard of questions that the empathy demon would undoubtedly have Angel made his way to the basement as quickly as he could, half stumbling down the stairs.
* * * * *
The next time she woke up she found a pile of women's clothes next to her bed with a small note on it that told her to feel free to use the shower and then change into the clothes. She took a moment to filter through the pile of clothes. While they weren't exactly designer clothes they did look to be about her size and would be a nice change from the outfit that she had on. Yawning deeply she pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. After a long hot shower she returned to the room and changed into the clothes, which she was glad to find had all been very recently washed. After she had gotten dressed Kate went back to check on Oz and Groo. She found Groo flopped onto his bed, snoring loud enough to wake the dead and Oz about ready to fall out of the bed.
She thought for a few seconds about waking them up but her stomach growled and she decided to get something to eat first. She searched through the house a bit before finally finding the kitchen. Along the way she had stopped to look at some of the pictures and paintings that hung on the walls. The paintings were all of nature scenes, with only a couple of them being of animals. The pictures were all of what Kate guessed was the man's family. A faint smile had crossed her lips as she looked at the pictures of what once had been a happy family. A small tear escaped as she thought about the life that the man was now enduring without that family. She had shaken those thoughts out of her head and continued on towards the kitchen.
She entered the kitchen half expecting the man to be there. But finding the kitchen empty she slowly made her way over to the refrigerator to see if there was anything to eat. When she opened it she was surprised to see it almost overflowing with food, seemingly way to much for a single man. Fishing around she found some eggs and set about making herself breakfast.
* * * * *
He still didn't know her name or anything else about her other than what she looked like and the sound of her voice. Over the past two days she had been in to see him only twice, both times repeating her earlier statement that she swore to help him and that he should trust her. She had used both trips in to see him to make sure as to exactly what he wanted her to tell Angel and even getting a few descriptions, mostly so that when she finally went to tell Angel she'd tell the right people. He had grown ever weaker while his doppelganger had grown stronger. Other than the young woman on whom he was placing all of his hopes Lindsey had been forced to talk to two people. One of those had been his double; it mostly wanted a recharge, an act that made Lindsey feel like he was in a giant oven that was turned on high. The other had been a man that Lindsey didn't recognize. He had come in alone and after speaking a few arcane words he had turned and left as quickly as he had come. Lindsey spent much of the time that he was alone hoping that the young woman wouldn't be caught and be able to get to Angel, allowing the vampire to at least attempt a rescue. Those hopes were usually followed closely behind by the question in his mind about whether or not Angel would even believe the young woman, let along care enough to try and help him. After the young woman's second visit Lindsey had tried to stay awake but the spell that was holding him surged and sent him back into the world of dreams.
* * * * *
The next time Faith woke up she was initially terrified to find herself alone in the bed, with Wesley's side no longer warm. Fearing that something bad had happened to him, or that her earlier awakening had only been a dream, she was about to leap out of bed when she heard the shower running from the bathroom. Silently chiding herself for her initial fear Faith threw off the covers before climbing out of bed, shocked at how stiff her muscles had become in only three days. She started to walk towards the bathroom but ended up having to limp slightly because of her stiff muscles. As she entered the bathroom the blast of warm air hit her full force, along with a sound that she had come to instantly recognize, that of Wesley singing softly in the shower. Stifling a short laugh she stripped off her bra and panties and looked at herself in the mirror. With a finger she lightly traced the bite mark on her neck, grimacing slightly as she touched a tender spot. As best she could she inspected the rest of her body to see where the rest of the bites were. She lightly dabbed at a bite mark on her leg before she turned to her hair and wasn't happy about how greasy and dirty it was.
"Fuck…," Faith grumbled softly as she worked the grease and dirt from her hair in between her fingers, mixing it together into a sickly paste.
"Faith…is that you," Wesley asked hesitantly as he peeked around the edge of the curtain with shampoo in his hair.
"The one and only," Faith replied with a smile as she shut and locked the door behind her before she pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped into the shower in front of Wesley.
"Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up but I had to take a shower to get all of the filth off…," Wesley began to say with an apologetic frown on his face as he started to rinse his hair out but was stopped when Faith pushed him back out of the spray and stepped into it herself. "Hey…," he protested with a fake scowl of anger on his face as he play glared down at Faith, who only shrugged her shoulders with a sigh and went about letting the spray wash away the dirt and grime on her body.
"Hey…you snooze you lose Wes…," Faith started to say with a joking smile on her face before she turned her face into the warm spray of water.
"Not this time," Wesley replied with his voice slightly raised before he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Faith, under her arms, and then began to lift her up.
"Wes…what the hell are you doing," Faith asked in a voice that lay in between anger and possible excitement as she tried to get Wesley to let go of her.
"You want the bloody shower then you'll have to fight me for it," Wesley exclaimed with a daring smile on his face as he let Faith momentarily escape his grasp.
"Fair enough…," Faith said back with at first a serious frown on her face before a sexy smile spread across her face and she leapt into Wesley's arms before the two lost themselves in each other.
By the time Faith and Wesley got out of the shower it was a quarter past noon and they found that Lorne had left a note to them on their bed along with a fresh change of clothes. Not really caring how the clothes got there they changed into them and then left the bedroom, intent on stretching their legs after three days of rest. Quickly they discovered that the clothes that Lorne had brought for them had been the clothes that they had taken off right before they had come to the Hyperion and then went out with Angel. They were only able to go a short distance before they ran into Fred.
"Wesley…Faith…you're awake," Fred said almost as if it were a question as she tried to force a smile up onto her face, but it was evident that it was a losing battle.
"Hey Fred…you okay," Faith asked with a slightly concerned frown on her face as she took a step forward and laid a hand on Fred's shoulder.
"Yeah…I'm fine…I just haven't gotten to much sleep the last few days…taking care of you two and Angel," Fred answered in between deep yawns as she reached a hand up and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Thank you for helping us Fred…," Wesley said back with a sincere smile on his face that seemed to, if only momentarily, lift Fred's spirits before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
"Yeah…what he said," Faith mumbled with the biggest smile that Fred had ever seen on Faith's face.
"Is Angel awake yet," Wesley asked with a slightly concerned look on his face as he let Fred go and looked back at Faith.
"I don't know…Cordelia volunteered to stay with him, Gunn is out getting supplies, Connor's been gone all day, and Lorne…," Fred said with a frustrated sigh as she counted off on her fingers to make sure that she got everyone.
"We know…played fashion consultant to the stars…but if you don't mind Wes and I are going to go for a walk…," Faith interjected with a pent-up look of frustration on her face, a look that Wesley knew all to well.
"No…go, you two need…oh wait Wesley, there's something that I need to talk to you about after you guys get back, it's about an amulet that Angel found when he went back to investigate the zombies after we left with you two," Fred started to say with a tired frown before she perked up and smiled with delight as she finished. For as long as Faith had known her any small trinket or scroll that had ancient writing on it was enough to get the Texan into a tizzy to research.
"An amulet…you know Faith, maybe we should…," Wesley started to say with an interested smirk on his face before he noticed the look on Faith's face that seemed to say, -Don't even think about it-.
"Get going on our walk before hell freezes over…," Faith finished for him as she grabbed Wesley's arm and pulled him along after her down the hall towards the stairs.
"You two have fun…and watch out for any zombies," Fred called out after the two lovers before they rounded the corner and disappeared.
* * * *
He didn't remember falling asleep but when Angel awoke he found himself lying in the basement under the stairs. He had been sleeping on his side with one hand placed directly underneath his hip, so when he tried to stand up he had to pause for a moment or two as he tried to work out the knot in his thigh. Luckily for him no one seemed to have ventured down during his slumber. He didn't know how long he had slept and the one main thought that ran through his head was how Cordelia had taken to waking up and finding him not lying in the bed. He expected her to have immediately started worrying before sending Connor out through the sewers, never expecting that he was still so close. With a tired grumble he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and began to trudge up the stairs. When he had ascended to the lobby he was partially glad and partially sad that the large room was empty save him. He started to head off towards the room that he had been in and where he guessed that Cordelia was when Faith and Wesley slowly walked down the stairs, deep in conversation.
"Hey guys," Angel said loudly with a glad smile on his face as he began to walk across the lobby towards the stairs. At first neither responded, but then Faith turned her head slightly his way and smile her usual half smile, the joy at his being alright as well easily visible.
"Angel…," Faith said with a glad tone to her voice as she quickly walked across the lobby towards him and looked as if she were about ready to hug the soul possessing vampire when she stopped and finished her sentence, "you're okay."
"Looks that way…how about you…you guys okay…you looked pretty bad when…," Angel started to ask with a worried frown on his face before Wesley got the hint and jumped in.
"You know us Angel, a good meal and a good shag and we're just dandy," Wesley said with a tired but happy smirk on his face as he caught the sexy stare that Faith was giving him.
"Uh…yeah…exactly…anyway I just thought that you two should know that attack by the zombies was no freak accident…it was more like a trap," Angel added with a grim look of doom on his face as he stared at the floor before Faith spoke up.
"Great, just what we needed…so any idea who's behind it all," Faith asked with a growing look of unhappiness on her face as she looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel.
"I'll give you three guesses…and they're all Wolfram and Hart…and more importantly Lindsey McDonald, with him back I should have known that something like this was going to happen…I just didn't expect it so soon…," Angel growled angrily as he clenched his hands into fists at his sides and stared at the floor. Faith was about to ask another question when the trio turned at the sound of the front doors opening. A young brown haired woman walked slowly into the lobby, looking as if she were on a hair trigger. The young woman reminded Angel instantly of Cordelia, although the young scared woman in front of him looked to be more athletic than Cordelia.
"Is…is this Angel Investigations…," the woman asked timidly with a look on her face that made Faith half expect her to bolt back out of the hotel without uttering another word.
"Guilty as charged…what can we do for you," Angel replied with his kindest salesman smile as he brushed his hands off on the front of his jeans before he reached up and shook the young woman's hand.
"I'm supposed to give a message to a man named Angel…are you him," the woman inquired, still with a very nervous look on her face and in her eye as she looked back and forth between Angel and the two lovers.
"That's what they tell me…yes…my name is Angel…what's the message," Angel started to say with a small laugh before he noticed that he was laughing alone and he replaced the smirk on his face with a serious look.
"It's a message from a man named Lindsey McDonald…he needs your help," the young woman mumbled softly, looking around the room as if she expected someone or something to suddenly appear out of thin air and attack her.
"That fucker...after what he pulled, why should we help him," Faith exclaimed angrily as she glared at the young woman and averted the glare that Angel was giving her.
"No…you don't understand…," the young woman said back with an impatient and scared scowl on her face as she nervously ran a hand through her hair and turned slightly back towards the front doors.
"We understand…Lindsey sent you here to lure us into a trap…well you can go back and tell him that…," Wesley started to say with a very confident frown on his face as he crossed his arms and looked back at Angel before the young woman interrupted him.
"No…you're wrong, the Lindsey McDonald that you met wasn't the real one…please you must believe me, the Lindsey that you met was only a magical creature that only looked like Lindsey, the real Lindsey is being held prisoner in a secret room in Wolfram and Hart," the young woman said pleadingly as she took a large step towards Angel, momentarily forgetting her initial fear.
"Okay…let's say that we believe you…why would you come to us," Angel asked with a very unimpressed scowl on his face as he slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Because he told me to…please you must help him…they cast a spell on him to get everything right…it's killing him…the real him," the young woman replied with a very worried look on her face as she walked over and sat down on the circular sofa in the center of the lobby.
"What do you think Angel…it's your call," Faith asked with an unsure frown on her face as she turned back to Angel, the questioning look in her eye mirroring that of Wesley's.
"Guess it couldn't hurt to check it out…I doubt that they'd be stupid enough to think that I wouldn't expect this to be a trap…but if there's even the slightest chance that she's telling the truth then I have to go…," Angel answered slowly and thoughtfully as he began to slowly pace around the room, deep in thought.
"So when do we leave," Wesley interjected with a tired look on his face as he nervously reached a hand up and scratched his chin.
"We…we don't leave…you two haven't recovered enough yet…," Angel exclaimed with a very serious look on his face as he locked eyes first with Faith and then with Wesley.
"So when has that ever stopped us…we going or not," Faith shot back with a very determined look on her face and her hands on crossed in front of her. Angel and Wesley both knew that when Faith got like this it was no use arguing with her. It was better to simply answer her question and go from there, no matter what price that they would be made to pay later on.
"Why are you helping him like this…most of the employees at Wolfram and Hart would sell their own mother to get ahead…," Angel asked with furrowed brows as he turned back to the young woman sitting quietly on the couch.
"Because I'm not like them…I don't want to work there anymore…and what they're doing to him isn't right…," the young woman responded with a determined frown on her face as she looked up at Angel.
"Angel…," Wesley stated blankly as he ruffled up his hair a bit with one hand and slid the other into his pocket, absentmindedly fishing around for his keys.
"I just know I'm going to regret this…we go…," Angel started to say with a sarcastic look on his face and tone to his voice as he shook his head before he turned around and came face to face with a very angry Cordelia Chase.
END OF CHAPTER 7