THREE STRIKES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones that I created.
CHAPTER 14-THEY'RE BACK AND BIG NEWS
Her initial euphoria at the sight of Angel rushing towards the front doors of the Hyperion soon took a nose dive and turned into worry and eventually panic. As he neared the front doors Cordelia was shocked to see the presence of bruises and the look of almost utter desperation on Angel's face. She was about to go and help him when she noticed that he was helping a very badly limping Connor towards the doors. As she turned to yell back for help she failed to see a bloodied Wesley and a weary Gunn struggling to carry if not drag an unconscious Lindsey in between them towards the front doors.
"They're back…," Was all that Cordelia could get out through her extreme level of fear and panic before she turned back around and rushed to the doors. The look on her face had said it all and Oz rushed to the front doors with a nervous Groo close behind. Kate let out a short yelp of astonishment coupled with anger as Groo's movements had been so sudden and she hadn't had time to cope, falling over onto her side on the circular sofa.
"Angel what…," Oz asked with a worried and concerned frown on his face as he opened the front door to let Angel and Connor in, just as the first few rays of morning filled the courtyard behind them.
"Oz…," Angel mumbled out with an astonished frown on his face before he continued on his way and set Connor down on an open seat on the couch before collapsing down beside his son. Fred started to rush to Gunn's side, who looked like he had been run over by a Mack truck before she remembered Faith and rushed up the stairs.
"Faith, Faith wake up…they're back...Wesley's hurt…you'd better come quick and…," Fred started to shout nearly at the top of her lungs before he concern about Gunn and the others overwhelmed her and she spun around and took off back towards the lobby. In her room Faith had been startled awake by Fred calling out her name and had basically blotted out the rest until she had heard Wesley's name in conjunction with his being hurt. Throwing the covers full off of the bed she rushed to the door and was about to open the door when she glanced down and noticed that she wasn't wearing any pants.
"Fuck…," Faith cursed loudly as she let go of the doorknob and rushed back into the room and grabbed her jeans. She jammed her feet into the pant legs and hopped her way back towards the door before she threw open the door with so much force that it was ripped from its hinges. She buttoned up and zipped up her jeans as she stumbled her way down the stairs as fast as she could. When she got to the lobby Angel and Connor were still on the circular couch, Fred was trying to make sure that Gunn was alright. But Wesley was nowhere in sight. "Where's Wesley…," Faith shouted in anger and a sizeable amount of fear as she looked first to Fred and then to Cordelia, who through a concerned glare pointed back towards the kitchen. With a look of desperation on her face Faith rushed towards the kitchen, for the moment completely ignoring the presence of Elaine, Kate, Groo, Oz, and Arthur. "Wesley…," Faith shouted again this time partially in a panic and partially in relief as mid yell she spotted her former watcher by the sink.
"Over here…," Wesley replied with a painful grimace on his face as he had the water running in the sink and was holding a wet and bloodied washcloth up to the side of his head. Faith silently passed the distance between them in mere seconds before she threw her arms around him and nearly squeezed the life out of him in an earnest bear hug.
"Oh thank God," Faith whispered almost unconsciously as she pulled back from Wesley and her jaw dropped open when she reached up and pulled the washcloth back from the side of Wesley's head and got her first look at his injury. "What the hell happened…," Faith asked now with an angry tone to her voice as she pulled a stool up next to Wesley and sat down.
"We ran into a small problem…," Wesley replied with a nervous grin on his face as he pulled up a stool of his own and let Faith take the washcloth from him.
"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one…," Faith grumbled back with a less than pleased scowl on her face as she tried to rinse out the washcloth underneath the jet of water before returning it to the wound on Wesley's temple.
"We were trapped on one of the upper floors…surrounded by Kungai demons, zombies, and a few other vampires before I cast a teleportation spell…that unfortunately teleported us directly over the fountain…," Wesley started to reply with a tired and weary frown on his face as he laid his left hand on Faith's knee.
"Yeah…then what…," Faith asked with a concerned scowl on her face, not taking the opportunity to add in a joke or sarcastic comment, as she took the wet washcloth away from the wound on Wesley's temple.
"After that we thought that we were home free…clear sailing…then some guards showed up and did a pretty damn good job of kicking our asses from here to Sunday…," Wesley added with a body-wide wince and shudder as Faith returned the now clean washcloth to his temple. Faith visibly cringed at the pained look on Wesley's face before she edged her stool closer.
"Wait…are you trying to tell me that a bunch of shitty Wolfram and Hart guards laid the smackdown on you…why didn't Angel and Connor just…," Faith started to say with an angry and confused frown on her face as she pressed the washcloth harder against the wound on Wesley's temple.
"They tried…," Wesley interjected with a quick hiss of pain before he continued, "But even though they looked it the guards were anything from human…now I don't have a bloody clue what they were but…."
"This just keeps getting better and better…," Faith muttered angrily under her breath as she took the washcloth off of Wesley's wound and was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped, if only momentarily.
"So what's new with you…how'd your checkup go…," Wesley asked, glad to change the subject, as he sat still and let Faith put a gauze patch over the wound. The look of sudden terror in her eyes was one that Wesley had never seen before, a look that he wasn't sure that he wanted to know the cause of. "What…what is it, what's wrong," Wesley asked, his voice now full of concern and worry, as he stood up and laid one hand on Faith's right shoulder and the other at her left elbow.
"Wrong…why would you…heh…nothing's wrong…I'm as fit as a fiddle…as…," Faith started to say with a nervous smile on her face, a smile that only grew as she started to babble. Wesley stopped Faith by placing a soft kiss on her lips and running a hand through her unkempt and unruly chocolate curls.
"Because you're babbling Faith…you never babble, Buffy and Dawn babble…but…," Wesley said softly with a tender smile on his face as he sat back down on his stool and pulled Faith close so that their foreheads were touching. Faith thought for a second and tried to come up with a plausible explanation that would satisfy Wesley, something that she could put her usual sarcastic spin on, but she was coming up empty every time. Finally she just decided to face the music.
"I'm pregnant…," Faith whispered very softly at first, so softly in fact that Wesley almost missed it, chalking the sound up to being a loud sigh. But Faith erased any doubts that were in his mind when she picked her head up and looked Wesley in the eye and repeated her diagnosis, "I'm pregnant."
* * * * * *
"Let me get this straight…you had them surrounded, their only avenues of escape cut off and still they managed to somehow elude you…," The golem Lindsey shrieked in frustration and anger as it grew so angry in the end that it reached out and snapped the neck of the nearest vampire, instantly producing a cloud of grey dust.
"It wasn't our fault…," One fat vampire mumbled out as a reply before shrinking back behind Penn, who didn't seem to happy to have anyone trying to use him as a shield.
"They used magic…the watcher used magic…," Another vampire added with a nervous tapping of his foot before he too was reduced to a cloud of dust by an angry golem Lindsey.
"They used magic…that's the best that you simpleton's can come up with…my plans are finally coming to fruition and you let the only ones in this world that have even the slightest chance of stopping me go because they used magic…," The golem Lindsey growled in anger as it continued to pace around the room, with the assembled vampires shrinking back visibly as it came near. A few of the vampires gulped back their fear and nodded. The golem Lindsey looked about ready to stake them all before it shrugged its shoulders and laughed a bit. "No matter…no amount of magic and trickery will save them, or the wretches of this entire city, from the next phase of my plan…," The golem Lindsey added with a wicked grin on its face before it slowly walked away from the assembled vampires and disappeared around a nearby corner.
* * * * * *
He could have sworn time itself stopped for several seconds, if not eons. Over the years he had thought of what this moment would be like many times but when it had finally come his mind instantly went blank. He could see the fear and desperation in her eyes, even through the strong as stone veil that she hastily threw up to defend herself. He could tell that she wanted more than anything for him to take her in his arms and cast one reassuring phrase after another her way. But his arms felt like stone, completely unavailable for action. His mouth instantly dried up and against his will a tear slipped out, causing Faith to pull away slowly.
"Wes…please…say something…," Faith mumbled with a completely shattered and defenseless look on her face as she sat back down on her stool.
"F…," Wesley tried to reply but he couldn't get more out than a single solitary letter. His heart started constricting painfully as he saw Faith start to shake, almost unnoticeably at first but easily visible only seconds later. His heart was nearly shattered at the sight that came next, a side of herself that Faith had only shown to one other person in her life, the sight of the formerly tough as nails rogue slayer blubbering like a baby. She had shown the side to Angel after the vampire with a soul had interrupted her torture session of the man that now she didn't know if she could ever live without. That time had been about coming to grips with who she was and where she was going. This time however was about something equally as terrifying to her and equally as serious.
"Wes…," Faith blubbered out through the tears with a sniffle thrown in as she came dangerously close to hyperventilating before Wesley was finally able to force his body to obey his beleaguered mind and do something about what he saw in front of him.
"I love you…," Wesley finally whispered softly at first before he calmed his voice down, and made sure that he was looking Faith straight in the eye, and pulled his love into his arms. A flood of shared fear and relief swept over the pair as soon Wesley's tears intermixed with those of his loves.
"I love you to…," Faith managed to mumble out as she finally released all of her defensive barriers and released all of her fears and let the reservoir of built up tears flow freely. Neither Faith nor Wesley noticed the lithe Texan, overjoyed tears running down her own cheeks, silently staring at them from the doorway on the other side of the room.
* * * * * *
Upon their arrival back to the Hyperion, and Wesley lumbering off into the kitchen where Faith ultimately found him, Lindsey had barely moved other than to breathe. Elaine had been at his side almost instantly, but needing a great amount of assistance from a very concerned Lorne to keep herself from fainting. With Gunn and Groo's help they were able to carry the unconscious former lawyer into one of the rooms closest to the stairs. Cordelia had rushed around the lobby and a few other rooms and was finally able to produce two icepacks, one for Connor's knee and the other for Angel's shoulder that he swore didn't bother him. However Cordelia had seen the wince on Angel's face every time he moved that shoulder and knew better.
"What happened…," Oz finally asked with a concerned and worried scowl on his face as he helped a nervous Connor sit up. Connor was just about to recoil in fear at the gesture of aid from an unknown person when the young woman that had helped him get Lindsey out of the building finally walked through the front doors of the Hyperion, looking very much afraid.
"I wish I knew…but when Penn…," Angel started to say before he shifted his weight a bit and winced as the act pulled on his sore shoulder.
"What, Penn…but I thought…didn't you…I mean…," Cordelia stuttered out with a confused and alarmed frown on her face as she did her best to keep the icepack on Angel's shoulder.
"Didn't I stake him you mean…no…Kate did that…had to drive the board through me to do it but…," Angel started to say as he gingerly touched the bruises on his face before Kate cut it.
"I did it…I killed that bastard…," Kate said with a very confidant and very serious frown on her face as she walked around the circular sofa and looked down at Angel.
"Yes…yes you did…," Angel replied softly with a weak grin on his face before he was again interrupted, but this time by Arthur.
"Uh miss…may I help you…," Arthur asked with a kind smile on his face as he walked up to the young woman that had helped Connor earlier.
"N…no…thank you…I just…," The young woman stammered out as she shied away from Arthur and looked fearfully to Connor for help.
"I'm sorry did I frighten you…," Arthur asked with a nervous and slightly embarrassed look on his face as he took a step back and turned just as Fred walked back into the main part of the lobby, smiling and wiping away a few tears.
"N…," The young woman mumbled out quickly with a nervous look on her face before she hurried over and sat down beside Connor, who at first didn't register that she was there in his actions. "Here…let me help you…," she said with a worried look on her face as he jumped up out of her seat walked away, soon returning with a chair for Connor to prop his leg up on.
"Thank you…," Connor replied softly with a painful grimace on his face as he gingerly propped his leg up on the chair.
"You're welcome…but…," The young woman said with a nervous smile on her face as she averted her gaze from Connor's face and stared at the floor.
"You're hurt…," Connor said with a concerned tone to his voice and look on his face as he slipped his hand beneath the young woman's chin and lifted her head up until their eyes met.
"Oh this…it's…it's…," The young woman mumbled back in reply with an even more nervous smile on her face than before as she lightly touched the darkening bruise on her cheek.
"Nothing…no, it's not nothing…it's something…," Connor finished for her with a slightly worried scowl on his face as Angel only momentarily looked on in confusion before Cordelia pulled him back to other matters.
"Angel…we have some good news and some bad news…which do you want first…," Cordelia asked with an unhappy look on her face as she sat down beside Angel while Kate crossed her arms and stood nearby.
"The good news…," Angel replied after thinking for a few seconds as he looked first over at Cordelia and then up at Kate.
"I wish we could Angel…but we promised that we wouldn't…," Fred said with a nervous look on her face as she tried her best to keep from letting a sniffle out along with a few more tears.
"Fred…what's wrong…what happened…is Faith okay…," Angel demanded with a slowly growing scowl of anger on his face as he started to stand up but Cordelia pulled him back down with a serious look on her face.
"She will be once she tells Wesley the good news…," Cordelia replied with a happy smile on her face that seemed to infer that she having a hard time in keeping the secret.
"What good news…," Angel asked, brows deeply furrowed, and a very concerned look on his face before he was interrupted for the third time.
"That Faith is pregnant…," Wesley answered with a nervous smile that was equaled by the one on Faith's face as the two walked into the lobby arm in arm. For the first time in a very long time Angel found himself wanting to jump up and hug the two, showering them with well wishes. But as far as a response Oz beat him to it.
"Cool…," Oz said with a happy smirk on his face as he nodded his head slightly and leaning back in his seat beside Connor and the young woman.
* * * * * *
All over the world it had been happening for weeks. It started out as isolated cases, cases that soon became an epidemic, of sorts. No one knew who was behind it, only that whoever it was knew what they were doing and had friends in high places. Small family cemeteries were the first to be hit, sometimes with every grave unearthed and the remains of dearly loved deceased family members strewn about all over the ground. Next had come the city wide cemeteries and mausoleums, no matter how many security personnel had been present in the attempt to stop such an event. No police force or government in the world could figure out exactly what was going on, only that someone, or something, was digging up and stealing the remains of at last count in the thousands of bodies. For what purpose no one was certain. A few key political figures had been able to keep the disturbing news out of the front page headlines. But even those that had accomplished that task knew that they couldn't keep it up for very much longer, those responsible had to be found. The only clue as to who had committed the heinous acts was when a night watchman had found a small tie clip lying on the ground that bore only three letters, W, R, and H.
END OF CHAPTER 14