THREE STRIKES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
Author's Note: This story is almost done, with only a couple more chapters or so, maybe an epilogue to. After I finish this part of the story I'll return to writing my others.
CHAPTER 23-LITTLE RED RIDING WITCH
The last few miles to the Hyperion Willow had been forced to resort to almost yelling at Wesley to keep him awake. Early on in their trek back to Los Angeles she had noticed that he had begun to yawn an awful lot and asked him when he had last slept. He had only briefly cast his blue eyes her way before shrugging his shoulders in a weak lie. She had decided against calling him on it when Wesley had launched into a full story of exactly what was going on, leaving out only the most sensitive details that he was sure that Angel didn't want everyone to know about just yet. When Wesley pulled Angel's car up in front of the Hyperion Willow was already formulating exactly what she was going to do once she got inside. No sooner had Willow walked into the lobby before the true gravity of the situation smacked her upside the head.
"Nice Wesley…you guys redecorating…," Willow asked with a confused and joking smile on her face as she slowly made her way into the old hotel's lobby, careful not to turn her ankle on the loose rubble that had once been the hotel's front wall and doors.
"I wish, redecorating would be a dream compared to the nightmare that we're facing at this point," Wesley replied softly through a yawn as he slowly made his way over towards the counter.
"It's really that bad huh," Willow asked with a concerned frown on her face as she walked up beside Wesley and laid a hopefully comforting and supportive hand on his back.
"Worse, I didn't tell you everything on the way over here, if we don't find that totem…before sunset…we could very well then have front row seats to the apocalypse," Wesley answered with an almost sarcastic smirk on his face before he was forced to stop talking momentarily and stifle a large yawn.
"Then I'd better get to work," Willow added with a worried expression on her face as she slowly walked around the counter and pulled her laptop out of her bag and set about getting everything ready.
"Yes…you should, meanwhile I'll…," Wesley started to say with a tired look on his face, as he rubbed his eyes, before Willow interrupted him with a fair amount of concern clearly evident in her voice.
"You'll fall asleep at the wheel before you get to the corner and get yourself killed, leaving Faith to raise that kid of yours all alone," Willow interjected with a serious look on her face before she walked back around to the front of the counter and looked up at Wesley.
"That won't happen Willow, I'm not going to…fall asleep at the wheel…and die," Wesley mumbled back his reply softly as he started to make his way back towards where the front doors had been situated.
"Whoa there mister…looks like you've given in to the grumpy side of the force again, how long has it been since you've gotten any sleep, a day…two…three…," Willow began to say with a very serious and somewhat worried look on her face before she added a question at the end with now a full look of concern on her face as she kept herself in between Wesley and the front doors.
"I think that I'm up to about two days…or so, lately I'm afraid that there hasn't really been much time for sleep, we've all been to busy trying not to get ourselves killed to…Willow I'm fine…really," Wesley replied with at first a short lived laugh before he slowly sat down on the only piece of furniture in the lobby that the previous nights battle hadn't overturned.
"You could've fooled me Wesley, do you realize that you've been yawning and rubbing your eyes pretty much ever since we left Sunnydale, I can't in good conscience let you walk out of those…doors…and get behind the wheel, now give me Faith's cell phone number and I'll call her and let her know that you're alright and you can get some sleep," Willow stated with a sarcastic frown on her face as she crossed her arms and sat down beside Wesley, holding her hand out for the phone number.
"Willow I don't…fine, but don't come crying to me if when you reach her she's not in a good mood," Wesley yawned back with a tired frown on his face as he absentmindedly began to softly scratch the back of his head. As Wesley slowly began to ascend the stairs, a slightly startled looking Groo and Kate descended the stairs.
* * * * * *
He didn't know how long he had been out but when he awoke he found Cordelia still snuggled up against him, snoring softly in her sleep. Given this golden opportunity Angel softly and carefully brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. Cordelia barely seemed to notice the act in her slumber and kept right on sleeping. Angel was to busy in his up close study of Cordelia's facial features to notice what everyone else in the waiting room was doing. On the other side of the room Connor and Jocelyn were snuggled up together, fast asleep, with Connor's arms wrapped protectively around the slender redhead. Arthur sat nearby that couple with a nervous Fred at his side, the two locked in conversation about the elder's days at Wolfram and Hart and what the law firm would do to him when they found out what he had done. Oz paced the entire area of the room like a caged animal, unsure of exactly what he should be doing. He had been in a waiting room before, and the utter feeling of helplessness had haunted him since that day. There had been nothing that he could do to help Willow that night and at least this time the wounded parties weren't those that he loved dearly. But they were still important enough for Angel and the others to be willing to die to protect them so Oz had kept his cool. Faith had taken to walking up and down every single hallway in the hospital in the hope that the physical activity would grind away some of her nervousness at not hearing from Wesley. By the time Angel woke up she had gotten through two levels and was still as wound up as ever. Gunn had only exited Lindsey's room twice, both times a quick trip to the waiting room to make sure that everyone was still there and to give a progress report.
Elaine had come out of surgery well enough and as the morning stretched on into afternoon the doctors left her chances of survival as even at best. They had said that she had lost a lot of blood and was possibly paralyzed, an assumption that they couldn't be sure about until the swelling had gone down some. Angel eyed the clock wearily for a few moments after tearing his gaze away from Cordelia's face, sighing as he discovered that he had been asleep for almost five hours. He began to wonder if Wesley and Willow had arrived safely back at the Hyperion and meant to call but Cordelia was sleeping so peacefully and he knew that she needed her sleep, they all did.
"So what do we do when we find this totem anyway Fred…if it's as big as Angel and Wesley think that it is it's going to be like impossible to destroy with anything that we have," Oz asked with a concerned and somewhat confused frown on his face as he finally stopped pacing around the waiting room and sat down beside the hopeful physicist.
"I don't know…but I'm sure that Angel has a plan, he always has a plan," Fred replied with a nervous and slightly scared smile on her face as she looked over at Angel, who was still shifting his gaze back and forth between Cordelia's face and the clock.
"Well he'd better, because it's another full moon tonight, and with the way that our luck's going I don't know if I'll be able to keep from transforming again," Oz said with a very serious frown on his face before Faith walked back into the waiting room.
"Please tell me that Wesley has called…anybody," Faith asked with a frustrated and slightly angry frown on her face as she put her hands on her hips and glared around the room.
"Sorry Faith, we haven't heard anything from Wesley yet, or Kate and Groo for that matter," Arthur replied softly with an unsure look on his face as he instead of looking straight at Faith glanced over at Cordelia, who stirred a bit but did not wake up.
"Fuck…where is he…," Faith cursed through an angry mumble as she stomped her foot on the floor and took the nearest open seat.
"Calm down Faith, Wesley probably got Willow back to the Hyperion and fell asleep on the couch or something simple like that…," Angel whispered loudly to Faith as she eyed the soul possessing vampire with an unconvinced look on her face.
"If you're that worried about him Faith maybe you should catch a cab back to the hotel…better yet drive back there yourself," Fred offered up with a nervous look on her face as she shied away from Faith's initial glare.
"Good idea Fred…except I'm going with you, I need…want to see Willow again," Oz started to say with an approving smile on his face as he slowly rose from his seat before he brushed an obnoxious hair off of his nose.
"Whoa there slick…who said that you could," Faith started to say with a serious look of anger and reservation on her face as she quickly spun up and out of her chair to stand in front of Oz before Angel stepped in as he wrapped an arm tighter around Cordelia.
"Just go Faith…and take Oz with you, we'll keep watch here," Angel said with a serious and tired look on his face as Faith looked about ready to shout an angry denial but instead simply nodded her head towards first Oz and then the doors.
* * * * * *
True to Angel's prediction Wesley was indeed asleep on the couch, not waiting until after Willow had called Faith. Willow had waited until Wesley fell asleep before slipping the small piece of paper with Faith's cell phone number on it into her pocket. She fully intended to call the formerly rogue slayer but decided that there were far more important matters to attend to first. Wesley had stumbled and yawned through an introduction as Kate's expression had changed from one of a nervous smile to one of a serious and concerned look when Wesley mentioned that Willow was a witch. Groo seemed to hold Willow in awe, almost as if he expected her to cast a spell on him at any minute. Willow said nothing but did notice that the buttons on Kate's shirt were off one and Groo's shirt was on inside out. She had answered a few of Kate and Groo's questions as she sat back down behind the counter and turned her laptop on.
"So…you're a witch…," Kate asked with an almost confused and unsure frown on her face as she leaned up against the counter.
"Yeah…for the fifth time, I'm a witch, but not the kind that cooks brew in cauldrons and flies through the air on magic broomsticks…okay sometimes I cook up the occasional spell in a pot but…I've never ridden a broomstick…," Willow started to say with an annoyed frown on her face as she ran her hands through her hair before she was interrupted by an amused voice from the doorway of the Hyperion.
"But only because you're afraid of getting splinters…," Oz exclaimed with a nervous and kind smirk on his face as he walked into the lobby, hands deep in his pockets.
"Oz…Oz," Willow mumbled softly at first, as if in awe and not sure that she had heard him, before she lifted her gaze up and met his, exclaiming the last part of her abbreviated statement.
"Yeah nice to see you to Will…now where's…ah there he is," Faith started to say with an angry scowl on her face before she looked over and saw Wesley sleeping quietly on the couch while a nervous Willow stood up and stepped around the end of the counter.
"Oz…you didn't tell us that you knew a witch," Groo asked with a confused and somewhat concerned look on his face as he turned around and leaned back up against the counter.
"Yeah…uh sorry about that, I kinda got distracted by all that was…going…on," Oz replied with a nervous and almost spaced out look on his face as he slowly made his way across the lobby towards Willow as she did the same, all the while keeping his gaze locked onto Willow's.
"You didn't put a spell on him or anything did you," Faith asked with a serious and threatening frown on her face as she lifted up her head and glared across the lobby at Willow.
"N…no…he was really tired so I…ah crap, I had him give me your number so that I could call you…but then I forgot to…but I swear that I was going to…really," A very nervous Willow stuttered out quickly as she half turned towards Faith and hung her head a bit.
"Yeah well…next time…don't forget," Faith said with still a very serious look on her face and her jaw set before she couldn't hold back a large yawn any longer.
"I'll remember that," Willow mumbled back with a nervous and scared smile on her face as she and Oz continued to inch closer to each other, seemingly afraid of getting to close to each other.
"See that…you…do," Faith said back through a bevy of yawns as she curled up beside Wesley on the couch, lying her head on his chest.
"You know what Faith I…oh…," Oz started to say with an angry look on his face as he spun around to face Faith, but found that she had already fallen asleep and looked quite happy snuggled up next to Wesley.
"They make a cute couple," Kate said softly with the faintest traces of a smile on her face as he eyed the sleeping pair before composing herself and looking away.
"Just like a couple of other people that I know," Oz interjected with a sly smirk on his face as he looked away from Kate's angry glare before Willow cut in.
"Oz…what are you…Wesley didn't say much," Willow asked with a slightly shaken look on her face as she looked first to the slumbering couple on the couch and then back to her former lover.
"Yeah well, there really isn't that much to say, Wolfram and Hart kidnapped us and did God knows what to us before Fred's uncle rescued us and brought us here, then came last night and the attack, we've all just been a bit busy…," Oz replied with a nervous look on his face as Kate and Groo both blanched a bit at the mention of their time spent as captives of Wolfram and Hart.
"But…," Willow started to say with a confused and worried look on her face before an odd beep from her laptop snapped her back to what she was doing.
"Willow…your computer's making noises…is that a good thing," Groo asked with an unsure look on his face as Kate stepped away from the counter and made her way over to the circular sofa before sitting down.
"Very…it means that I'm ready to start to search through California's power grid to figure out where that magic totem is that you guys are looking for," Willow answered with a slightly cheesy grin on her face as she hurried back around the corner of the counter and slid into her seat.
"But how are you going to know when you've found it…it's not like there's going to be a big flashing neon sign saying giant totem here…come destroy," An unhappy Kate said with a skeptical look on her face as she leaned back and crossed her arms.
"Way to be supportive of Willow's efforts Kate, if I didn't know better I'd think that you wanted her to fail," A nervous Oz said softly before he joined Willow behind the counter and cautiously looked back up at Kate.
"When it comes to computers I don't know where to begin, even though I've been living in this dimension for a few years I still can't…," An almost bored Groo started to say as he stood back up and made his way over to the circular sofa and sat down beside Kate, letting her lean her shoulder into his.
"You two fight a clothes demon or something…because…," Oz asked through a repressed grin on his face as he tried not to stare at the condition of Kate and Groo's clothes.
"No…Oz what…shit…," Kate started to reply with a confused look on her face before she realized what Oz and Willow were staring at and tried her best to curse only under her breath. Without another word Kate quickly stood up and dragged a confused Groo back out of the lobby.
"What is it with those two…," Willow asked softly as she raised her eyebrows in some confusion as she then tilted her head to look up at Oz, who shrugged his shoulders before answering.
"Kate used to be a cop and Groo came into this dimension from Pylea, not a place you'd want to take a vacation in anytime soon let me tell you…Groo used to date Cordelia but then they split up when she realized that she was in love with Angel, then Wolfram and Hart grabbed Groo, Kate, and I and I guess somewhere during that time…," Oz replied with a nervous smile on his face as he laid one hand on the back of the chair that Willow was sitting in and the other on the counter beside her laptop.
"It all sounds like a bad plot from a soap opera or something," Willow mumbled softly with a slightly shocked and overwhelmed frown on her face before she also shrugged her shoulders and then set about her work.
* * * * * *
By the time that Cordelia finally woke up Angel was positive that he no longer had a left arm, as the entire extremity had gone numb almost an hour earlier. Arthur had taken Gunn's place in Lindsey's room; keeping watch to make sure that no one took the former lawyer by surprise. It hadn't taken long since Gunn had sat down beside Fred before he was fast asleep. Jocelyn and Connor had stayed by themselves in the corner, with every so often Jocelyn wincing as if in pain and Connor comforting her. Angel still puzzled at how close the two seemed to be, after never seeing his son take to someone so quickly. But he guessed that their situation was one similar to how he and Buffy had started out, although he wasn't sure if Buffy had been as eager in the beginning as Jocelyn seemed to be. With Faith and Oz having left a couple hours earlier the waiting room seemed to be a somewhat quieter place.
"Here's some more coffee…how's your arm," Cordelia asked through a tired yawn as she leaned down slightly and handed Angel a refilled cup of coffee, while he tried to shake the lethargy out of his left arm.
"Thanks…still numb, but it'll be fine before to long, one of the advantages of being undead I guess," Angel replied meekly with a tired smile on his face before Fred's cell phone rang out loudly.
"Hello…Willow, how are…yes…okay…I'll tell him, bye," Fred said with a nervous and slightly timid look on her face before she looked over towards Angel.
"What did Willow have to say," Angel asked with a concerned and serious look on his face before he took a quick sip of coffee.
"She said that she's found the totem," Fred answered with a nervous look on her face as she tried to smile.
"That was quick," Cordelia added with an impressed and surprised look on her face before she sat down beside Angel and rubbed one side of her neck.
"Let me guess, just what we thought it was…," Angel said with a deadly serious frown on his face as Fred then meekly nodded her head and leaned in a bit closer to Gunn. "Then it's settled, this all ends tonight, I want everyone to gather in the Hyperion's lobby exactly one hour before sundown, after that…we bring down the beast," Angel added with a tone of voice drenched in malice before he tilted his head back and drained the cup of coffee, ignoring it's temperature.
END OF CHAPTER 23