FUTURE IMPERFECT
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones like Hope, Callie, and Nick.
CHAPTER 5-EXPLANATIONS
Silence. Several seconds of the most terrifying silence that either Fair or Wesley had ever heard followed Dawn's arrival in the room. Callie and Nick stood, open mouthed and with horribly confused looks on their faces, side by side alternating their stares between the young woman that had just entered the room and the two people that they had come to know at Alex and Elizabeth Windholm. Even though she urgently wanted to look back at Wesley and gauge his reaction to what had just happened Faith found it suddenly impossible to move her head or neck, forcing her to just stand there and stare at the blank computer screen, as if searching for answers in its blank appearance. Wesley desperately tried to busy himself with carefully arranging every square inch of the inside of his briefcase, uninterested in looking up and trying to explain himself. Across the room Dawn stood in a stunned silence, a thousand and one thoughts running through her overwhelmed mind. Memories of the impromptu funeral that Buffy and Angel had demanded that they give for Faith seeped back into her mind, that along with the way that Angel and the others at Angel Investigations had talked about how much they missed Wesley and wondered where he was and if he was doing alright. The thoughts of what Buffy and the others would say if they found out that not only was Faith apparently alive, but alive and very well off, and shocker of all in a college lecture hall beside Wesley, who reminded Dawn of her fourth period history teacher.
"Wesley, Faith…Alex…what's going on," Callie asked, finally breaking the eerie silence that hung in the room, as she took a step closer to Wesley, her eyes never leaving him.
"Well you see…," Wesley sputtered out as his mind feverishly tried to come up with some explanation, some line of reasoning, that wouldn't end up with he and Faith coming across as horrible people, and for the life of him he couldn't.
"We thought you were dead…wait you were dead…how," Dawn gasped out with a look of total unbelief, covering up an underlying layer of joy, on her face as she hesitantly took a step closer to Wesley and tried to calm her nerves.
"Hell if I know…one minute I'm a stiff and the next Wesley's crouched over me with tears in his eyes…telling me that I was dead, and now alive again," Faith exclaimed without a touch of feeling in her voice as she kept her body rigid, still staring straight ahead at the blank computer screen.
"Wait a minute…you died…but you're here…what," Nick stammered out quickly as he took a couple of steps back and sat down in one of the chairs in the front row.
"Callie, Nick…we haven't been entirely truthful to you…and I'm sorry about that…but we thought…we thought it best that you didn't know about our lives before coming here," Wesley said, using every spare iota of courage that he still had, as he slowly closed his briefcase and sighed deeply.
"Your lives before here…what were you…murderers…," Callie exclaimed with still the look of disbelief on her face as she joined Nick in the front row of chairs. Luckily neither Callie nor Nick had been watching Faith to see just how right Callie had been in her question, for at the mention of the word murderer Faith's blood ran cold and she started to sweat nervously.
"No…they weren't…well Faith…but that was an accident…I can't believe it…you're here," Dawn said almost fearfully at first before her guarded enthusiasm got the best of her and she rushed over and hugged Wesley tightly, before having to let go of him lest she snap him in two.
"I don't…remember you being this strong Dawn…," Wesley gasped out between breaths as he tried to keep his composure while Faith finally found the strength to turn around before she walked over at laid a hand on Wesley's shoulder.
"So B's kid sister is the new slayer…always wondered who got the calling…guess it makes sense," Faith chimed in with a look of subtle disbelief on her face before she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
"The slayer…wait I've read about them…always thought they were just a myth…," Nick said, with his eyes wide and a thoughtful scowl on his face, as she sat up straight and turned to stare at Wesley and Faith.
"Nope, we're real alright…the chosen one and all, endowed with the power and responsibility to protect humanity from the things that go bump in the night," Dawn said, seeming very proud of herself, as she crossed her arms and leaned back up against the desk.
"You mean…you…and Eliza…Faith…are slayers," Callie exclaimed with a fearful look on her face as her hand found Nick's and he squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Yep…the two of us and Dawn's older sister," Faith said with an almost bored look on her face as she took a step to the side and leaned forward onto Wesley, laying her chin on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his waist, giving Dawn the impression that she was using her former watcher as a life preserver.
"But the text's say that there's only supposed to be one slayer…and you're saying that there's actually three…," Nick stammered out with a thoroughly confused look on his face as he looked back and forth between Callie and Wesley.
"Well…things don't always go exactly as planned, so yes I guess that there is…are three slayers active at this time," Wesley said with a tone to his voice that reminded Dawn of Giles and Faith of the first time she had met him in the old Sunnydale High School library.
"But why the deception…why the fake names…Windholm isn't your last name…is it," Callie exclaimed strongly, now seeming more hurt and angry at being lied to then being confused about the whole situation.
"We wanted a fresh start, and we knew that if anyone found out that Faith was alive the council would try and order her around like a trained seal, and I wasn't about to let that happen, then Hope came along and Faith and I knew that we needed to keep her as far away from our old life as we possibly could, and no Windholm isn't our last name, actually we're Wesley and Faith Wyndham Pryce, with Hope of course, who…," Wesley said with a look on his face as if part of him was terrified to be explaining everything and another part of him was excited to finally get the secret off of his chest.
"Just woke up from her nap and is one awfully cranky little lady," someone said from the doorway that caused everyone in the room to turn and look that way. Standing in the doorway was Wesley's secretary, holding a very upset and crying Hope. Within seconds Faith walked by a very startled Dawn and took her daughter into her arms.
"Thank you Clarice…I'll take her," Faith said with an almost relieved look on her face as Clarice nodded her head and left the room. "It's okay Hope, momma's got you now," Faith cooed softly into her daughter's ear as Dawn's eyes grew even larger as the full extent of what she was seeing dawned on her.
"Momma…you mean…she's…you're her…," Dawn stammered out as her mouth tried to keep up with all of the figuring that her mind was doing.
"Mother…and I'm her father, Hope is our daughter, just one of the reasons that we got married when we did, and kept our past a secret," Wesley said with a soft tone to his voice, as Faith walked over to him with a slowly calming Hope in her arms, before he reached a hand up and his face brightened considerably as Hope reached a chubby hand out and wrapped her fingers tightly around his index finger. The last thing that either Faith or Wesley heard before being enveloped in a huge hug was Dawn suddenly squealing with delight.
* * * * * * * *
Angel hadn't been having a very good time in New York City, as if being unsure of exactly where to begin wasn't bad enough he had a very strong willed Gwen talking in his ear every five seconds. They had found a nice enough hotel room for their needs and Gwen had closed and pinned the curtains closed, allowing Angel to move about the hotel room freely during the day. Gwen had tried more than once to advance her position with Angel, going so far as to buy Angel expensive paper and pencils so that he could keep himself busy during the day. When Lorne had first told him about the danger that he had sensed in New York Angel had thought about taking Cordelia along with him, giving the two a chance to finally either break off any chance the two ever had of becoming a couple or burying the hatchet once and for all and coming back from their mission a strong item. However Gwen had interceded strongly and now Angel, against his better judgment, was beginning to wonder about whether or not being in New York with Gwen instead of Cordelia was some sort of sign, a way for the Powers That Be to help him in his decision.
But even if Gwen accompanying him to New York was indeed a sign from the Powers That Be Angel had dealt with them enough to know that nothing was ever as it initially seemed. Gwen had tried her best to not use room service, as Angel had repeatedly told her that the pair were trying to spend their time in the city as cheaply as possible. Using a phone card Angel had dialed up the Hyperion and had been glad when Lorne had answered, at least at first. Over the next hour he had been flooded with one story after another that Lorne had found interesting, and absolutely nothing about how things were going back in California. After that hour Cordelia had arrived back at the hotel after taking Liam out for some sun, Connor had gone with her and upon hearing that Angel was on the phone he had sullenly refused to talk and escaped to his room. Cordelia had almost ripped the phone from Lorne's hand and took the first part of their talk trying to determine just what Gwen was doing to try and horn in on her territory. After that the two old friends talked mainly about how thing were going back at the hotel and how Liam and Connor were doing. All in all Angel was about ready to hang up when Gunn and Fred arrived back at the hotel after finishing a job and during the rest of his call Angel talked to Fred and found out what she had discovered after researching what Lorne had told her. When he finally hung up the phone Gwen was standing nearby with a very determined scowl on her face.
"Finally…I swear if you weren't already the undead I'd…," Gwen said with an impatient scowl on her face as she straightened up and sat down on the edge of a nearby bed.
"Yes…Gwen…what do you want, I had to make sure that everything was going alright and to see if Fred had found anything," Angel said with a tired look on his face as he nervously ran a hand through his hair and tried to not look at Gwen, whom he suddenly realized wasn't wearing as much clothes as she had been when he started talking to Lorne.
"You need to get ready if we're going to make the show…it starts in a few hours and I want to get there early…and don't bitch and moan to me about the sun…it'll be down well before the show starts," Gwen said forcefully as she stood up and grabbed Angel by the arm, hauling him up out of the chair that he was in and pushing him towards where the bellhop had set their luggage down.
"A show…Gwen we don't have time to see a show, we're here to stop an apocalypse and save the world…or have you forgotten," Angel almost growled back as he lightly wrenched his arm out of Gwen's grasp.
"Hey, the world isn't going to end tonight and from the look on your face you didn't find out very much when you called L.A., so unless I'm mistaken you're free tonight, and I have two tickets to a show I've been dying to see, so get in there and get ready," Gwen exclaimed with a very commanding look on her face and tone to her voice as she shoved Angel into the bathroom and tossed one of his bags in after him, closing the door when she was done and returning back to the bed that had some of her clothes laid out on it, trying to decide what to wear that night.
* * * * * * * * *
Buffy had gotten sick shortly after the crossed the New York line and so Spike had quickly found the first reasonably priced hotel that he could and paid for a room. As gently as he could Spike helped Buffy up to the room and then into her pajama's before he ushered her to the bed and didn't leave until she was as comfortable as she was going to be and on her way to sleep. Before leaving the room Spike took a few spell components out of one of their bags and recited the incantation that Willow had given him as he cast the spell that would protect their room for the night, allowing Buffy to get a full nights sleep and Spike to go out and pick up a few supplies. It wasn't until Spike returned to the lobby that he sensed the familiar feeling that he knew could only mean one thing, vampires. With a final look back over his shoulder at the stairs that led up to his and Buffy's room Spike disappeared into the city, intent on staying up all night if need be to keep anything outside of their hotel room from disturbing Buffy's slumber, even if it killed him.
* * * * * * * * *
For the next several hours after admitting to who they truly were Wesley and Faith had spent the entire time relating to a stunned Callie and Nick nearly everything that had led them to this exact point in their lives. At first Callie and Nick had been somewhat resistant to believe anything that either said, but for some reason Nick seemed to trust Dawn and several times during their talk he had tossed a confused glance her way and she had either nodded her head in agreement with Faith and Wesley or gave a short and simple explanation that seemed to satiate his question. During most of the time Dawn had walked all over the room, Hope in her arms, after having incessantly begged Faith to let her hold the one year old. At first both Faith and Wesley had seemed uneasy about letting Dawn hold Hope for that long but after a short time it was apparent that Hope didn't mind being held by the newest slayer, in fact she almost seemed to enjoy it, and Dawn seemed to be having the time of her life. Only once did either Wesley or Faith have to take her back to calm her down, and Dawn had waited until Hope was calm before taking her back and continuing her walk around the room. When it became late enough Faith hugged Hope tightly and placed a kiss on the top of her head, with a few loving words along with it, before quickly kissed Wesley and then caught a ride home with Clarice to get ready for her radio show. After Faith left Wesley tried to gauge Callie and Nick's reaction to what he was telling them. Callie seemed to just be overwhelmed with it all while Nick seemed to be confused on many things, a sure sign that Wesley would most likely have to sit down with him later and thoroughly explain things to him. But all in all neither one seemed to be as angry at the end as they were at the beginning.
"But how could you…and Faith, after what she…," Callie asked with an almost fearful look on her face as she looked intently at Wesley, seemingly gauging his every action.
"It wasn't all her fault to begin with…and over the years I've made more mistakes then I'd really care to admit…ones that hurt those that I loved, and in our line of work forgiveness is an inevitability, whether you like it or not…then after Faith got out of prison…I don't know…she was just…different, I was different…we went from there," Wesley said, obviously embarrassed about having to talk about very private details, as he stood up and slowly walked around to the front of the desk.
"Wait a minute…I can't believe I didn't think of this before…you were there…the three of you…at my graduation…weren't you," Dawn said, her eyes wide in both astonishment and realization, as she stopped showing Hope a poster on the wall and turned back towards Wesley.
"You saw us then…yes we were there," Wesley said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face as he hung his head a bit and began to study the tops of his shoes intently.
"But why didn't you stop by…everybody missed you two so much, they would have loved to see you…and Hope, Giles would have had a field day with her," Dawn started to say with a slightly hurt look on her face before it was replaced by an almost amused smirk as she thought of how Giles would have reacted to the news of Faith and Wesley, watcher and slayer, having a child together.
"We were happy in our new life and the lot of you looked happy enough, besides it was your day…not ours, speaking of which you should get back to your dorm room, your roommates are probably wondering what happened to you…do they know that you're the slayer," Wesley said with a somber frown on his face as he stood back up and walked over to Dawn, before taking Hope into his arms and giving her a kiss on the top of her head, causing her to coo with joy and Dawn to tear up at the happy sight.
"They know I'm different…that's all I'm going to tell them for now, and they're all going out to a big freshman party, I doubt they'd notice if a Fyarl demon came crashing through the front door," Dawn said chuckling out loud as she took a seat at the end of the front row and tried to calm her laughing.
"I've know people like that…but you really should be going, the janitor's will be here in a few minutes and I need to go home and feed Hope or else she'll get cranky, and Faith will kill me if she has to help get Hope to bed after work," Wesley said with a very fatherly tone to his voice as he turned away from Dawn and walked back towards the desk, finally picking his briefcase up with his free hand.
"We'd better get going to…we have a lot to…think about," Callie said nervously as she stood up and pulled Nick up with her before the pair nodded to Wesley and Dawn and left the room.
"I hope I didn't screw things up to badly for you and Faith…I never meant to," Dawn exclaimed sadly, giving Wesley her best puppy dog eyes while she unconsciously began to rub the pendant that Andrew had given her.
"Don't worry about it Dawn, it's not like you exposed us over the radio or television…now c'mon, I'll give you a ride back to your dorm," Wesley said with a serious but tired look on his face and tone to his voice as he walked to the door and started to turn off the lights.
"Okay…it'll give me a chance to grill you with more questions," Dawn said with a fair amount of glee in her voice as she grabbed the tome that she had come for, and after shoving it deep into her bag, she walked past Wesley out of the classroom as he held the door open for her with his foot as he turned off the last few lights.
"I can hardly wait…," Wesley said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and followed a now giggling Dawn down the hall towards the parking lot.
END OF CHAPTER 5
