FUTURE IMPERFECT
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Callie, Nick, and Hope.
CHAPTER 6-FAMILY TIME AND AN OLD FRIEND
She got home a little later than usual that night, after having one of the worst nights of her young radio talk show hosting career. The callers had been merciless in their opinions of something that a star had done the day before and she had indirectly ended up being the person that everyone had ragged on. She was nearly fuming when she parked the car and shut the engine off. As she stormed into the house the words to her anger were already forming before she dumped her things in an easy chair by the door and saw a sight that at the same time made her heart melt and made her anger seem as inconsequential as caring whether or not she had enough change for the toll the next day. For reclining in his favorite easy chair in the living room, with a peacefully slumbering Hope lying on top of him with her small head rising up and down with every breath that he took, lay an obviously deep in sleep Wesley. Taking advantage of this moment of true domestic bliss Faith went about getting herself ready for bed while at the same time cleaning up the small mess that Wesley had made and obviously forgotten to clean up. After she had washed her face, brushed her hair and teeth, and changed into her nightgown she slowly made her way back into the living room. With a gentle smile on her face Faith knelt down beside her sleeping husband and young daughter and began to softly draw circles on first Hope's cheek and then Wesley's with her index finger. After noticing that neither Hope nor Wesley stirred Faith advanced her plan and leaned in close to Wesley and, starting with his shoulder, began to slow kiss her way up to his lips before she crushed her lips against his. For a few seconds she was the only one doing any of the kissing, but then as if some unseen force had alerted him to her presence Wesley sleepily returned the kiss while trying his best to not disturb the little angel sleeping peacefully on his chest.
"Hey," Wesley mumbled sleepily as he blinked his eyes open and carefully brought a hand up to try and rub the sleep from his eyes, all the while never taking his gaze off of Faith's face.
"Hey yourself Wes, something good on tv," Faith whispered back softly before she planted another kiss on Wesley's lips and was encouraged by the vigor with which he kissed her back.
"Something like that…our little angel wanted to wait up for her mommy…I tried to tell her that you wouldn't be getting home till very late…but she's just like her mother…got a bloody stubborn streak a mile long," Wesley softly whispered back with a content smile on his face as he brought the hand up that had been rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and softly began to caress Faith's cheek.
"She did huh…yeah I'll bet you did…," Faith almost cooed back softly with a very sleepy smile on her face as she very cautiously picked Hope up off of Wesley's chest, being very relieved that all the Hope did was begin to fuss before quieting back down and returning to her peaceful slumber. Almost reluctantly Wesley returned the chair to its normal position and rose to his feet before allowing Faith to take him by the hand and lead him back to their bedroom. Upon entering the bathroom Faith softly and gently laid Hope down in her basinet and then turned back to find a yawning Wesley standing at the foot of the bed with a content smile on his face. "What are you smiling at," she asked trying to keep from laughing out loud for fear of waking Hope.
"Oh nothing…it's just something that Dawn said when I gave her a ride back to her dorm room…it didn't hit me until now," Wesley whispered loudly with a broad smirk on his face as after one last quick look at Hope sleeping peacefully Faith walked up in front of him and laid a hand on his chest as she gazed up into his soft brown eyes.
"And just what pray tell was that my dear husband," Faith asked in her mock southern accent as she smiled sleepily up at Wesley.
"That you could give Buffy pointers on a slayer pregnancy…what to expect and all," Wesley whispered back with a calm look on his face before it changed into a smile as he saw first the shocked look on Faith's face and then it change to one of excitement.
"So B's pregnant huh…guess Angel finally found a way to get past that happiness clause and…," Faith started to say softly with a small chuckle before noticed the confused look on Wesley's face.
"Angel isn't the father…Spike is…apparently after we left he and Buffy got back together…and then just about a year or so they returned to Africa and Spike underwent more tests, and after he passed them he became human…well almost human, it appears that he's the first male slayer," Wesley explained slowly so that Faith could take it all in without feeling overwhelmed, although he expected that she would be anyway.
"Spike…a slayer…how'd Angel take it, he couldn't have been to thrilled to lose B to Spike," Faith asked with her nose scrunched up a bit as she thought of how she expected that Angel had taken the news of losing whom he had previously explained as the love of his un-life to his childe.
"From what Dawn said not to well, although he had enough worries of his own with Cordelia and Connor's son Liam…from the way Dawn told it Angel doesn't have a clue what to do next…she said that last time she visited them in Los Angeles he barely said a word to her, Buffy, or Spike," Wesley replied softly with a very concerned frown on his face as he slowly sat down on the bed, an act that Faith quickly duplicated.
"Wait…Queen C and…Connor, they have a kid….shit…that ain't right," Faith started to say with a confused and shocked scowl on her face before a split second after swearing she worriedly glanced over at Hope to make sure that she was still sleeping before she then continued. "But now that Dawn knows that we're alive I doubt that it'll take her to long before she tells B about us…then she'll tell Angel and…," Faith said with a slightly worried look on her face as she slowly looked back and forth between Wesley and the sleeping Hope.
"And then Hope's going to get to meet all of her aunts and uncles…along with her…cousins…Christopher and Liam," Wesley said back with a look on his face as it was painfully obvious that he wasn't looking forward to the day where everyone would be back together.
"I wonder what they'll all think of us…Giles will probably say that we shouldn't be together because I'm the slayer and you're my watcher…," Faith said with a small shudder as she thought about the alternative to her present way of life.
"I don't care what Giles or anyone else says Faith…in truth it's none of their bloody business…," Wesley exclaimed as softly as he could while still getting the forcefulness of his point across.
"You're right…it's not…," Faith started to say with a somewhat relieved smile before Wesley leaned down and softly kissed her. Before she knew what was happening she reached up and pulled him into a more passionate kiss, all that moments before even though they were tired their passions overtook them.
The next morning dawned a gloomy gray, with low lying clouds causing the fog to be quite thick. Unlike the usually bright Monday mornings Tuesday mornings usually worked more like a factory in the Wyndham Pryce household. Faith usually got up first and was out of the shower by the time Wesley got up. Then Wesley would sprint through the shower before trying to help Faith give Hope her breakfast and get her dressed. More than once had Wesley been forced to change his clothes after Hope had redirected some strained carrots his way. When that happened Faith would barely make a nose, but the look of sheer mirth on her face told him everything that he needed to know. On a few occasions the morning meal had turned into a food fight between the three, with whoever was losing using a giggling Hope as a food shield. By the time Hope was ready to go both Faith and Wesley hurriedly finished getting dressed themselves and rushed out the door. On Tuesday's Wesley didn't have a morning class and they only hurried so much because they wanted to get to their room quickly enough so that they could both spend some quiet time with Hope and also to catch up on anything, supernatural in origin or otherwise, that they may have been unable to earlier.
But on this morning they received a shock that they were not ready for, because sitting quietly in the front row, wearing a light blue pair of jeans with a dark black belt topped off with a black turtleneck, was Dawn. The whole ensemble that she wore was joined by a small gold locket that Wesley thought he had seen her wearing the day that she had graduated. Her bulging book bag was sitting on the floor at her feet. Wesley slowly walked through the room with only a polite but slightly confused smile to Dawn before he set his things down on his desk. Faith walked in carrying a somewhat fussy Hope in her arms along with Hope's diaper bag and other supplies. Dawn's face brightened up at the sight of Hope.
"Hey guys…," Dawn said with a nervous smile on her face as she leaned forward in her chair and clasped her hands together in front of her on the desk.
"I didn't expect to see you this morning, is there something wrong," Wesley asked with a somewhat worried frown on his face as he pulled out his chair and sat down before taking Hope off of Faith's hands for a bit.
"Wrong…why would there be anything wrong…I mean I wouldn't be here if there wasn't something wrong…but nothing's wrong and…," Dawn exclaimed with a scared and unsure look on her face as she seemed to grower tenser with every passing word.
"Something's definitely wrong…she's babbling…B's the same way," Faith interjected with her usual interested smile on her face as she cleared a place on one of the corners of Wesley's desk and sat down with her legs and arms crossed.
"Why don't you calm down Dawn and tell us what's wrong…whatever it is I'm sure that we can help you with…," Wesley started to say with a slightly tired smile on his face as he let Hope wrap her little hand around his index finger before Dawn abruptly interrupted him.
"Buffy and Spike are here…well in town…they just showed up, said that they were here to help me move in…I swear I didn't know that they were coming, I told them not to come…but you know Buffy…I swear that they don't know about the two of you," Dawn said as she continued to ramble as it seemed obvious that her mouth was moving much slower than her mind. From what little Wesley had seen of her he noticed that becoming the slayer had realistically not changed Dawn very much, other than to give her a small air of confidence that had been just youthful enthusiasm before.
"Fuck…oops I mean…what do we do now Wes…," Faith asked her husband with a worried look on her face as she turned back around slightly. Even Hope seemed to understand the importance of the situation as she clammed up after fussing just seconds earlier.
"We help Dawn out with whatever aid that she requires and then hope that Buffy and Spike only stay for a short time before going back to Sunnydale, with any luck nothing will have changed," Wesley replied with a small sigh as he leaned back in his chair and repositioned Hope.
"Earth to Wes…we have the worst luck in the known universe remember…now we'll be lucky if we only have to run into Spike and B," Faith said with a slightly worried look on her face as she slid off of the desk and walked towards the computer.
"It'll be okay…really, I'll make sure that they stay in town while they're here…with Buffy being pregnant and all they probably won't stay to long," Dawn added with a hopeful smile on her face as she pulled out the Dringogen text and opened it up to somewhere in the middle.
"I hope you're right Dawn…the last thing that I need is to try and explain all of this to your sister," Faith said with a slightly unhappy scowl on her face as she squatted down and turned on the computers power.
"Is there a translation that you need help with Dawn…," Wesley asked softly as he stood up and let Hope bounce a little with each step, an act that she seemed to like, that he took as he walked towards Dawn.
"No…it's just that I don't understand a few things…like this book doesn't say where the demons came from or even why they left…all it says is that they appeared in the cities one day and began to kill…and then one day just as suddenly as they had appeared they left…supposedly never to return," Dawn said with her nose scrunched up with her usual confused look on her face as she flipped through a few pages and ran her finger along a few passages.
"Maybe they ate their fill…or ran out of time and had to return to wherever they came from," came Faith's bored voice from across the room as she continued to boot up the computer.
"More likely someone or something was alerted to their presence and stopped them…perhaps an earlier slayer…although I don't remember reading anything about a slayer in this area at that time," Wesley said with a deep in thought look on his face, one that Hope seemed to try and copy, as he paced back and forth in front of the front row of desks.
"Thanks a lot Dawn…," Faith grumbled with an unhappy frown on her face as she shook her head and cast a glance back at Dawn over her shoulder.
"What'd I do…," Dawn asked with a slightly confused and defensive look on her face as she looked up from the Dringogen text.
"Thanks to you Wesley won't be able to rest until he gets to the bottom of your little dilemma, he'll be up at the computer all night instead of where he's supposed to be…," Faith answered clearly as she typed in the password and then began to bring up Wesley's notes for his first class.
"Wait…I don't…where is he supposed to…," Dawn stammered out nervously as she began to shift her gaze back and forth between Faith and Wesley, who had stopped pacing and was now fixing one of Hope's socks.
"In bed right next to her…but Faith's right Dawn…this is going to bother me until I get to the bottom of it, was there anything in there that says what the demons look like or how to kill them," Wesley said with a slightly nervous look on his face in between big smiles as he tried to get Hope to smile.
"What they look like sure…it even has pictures…well not real pictures more like drawings and things like that but…see," Dawn said with a lost look on her face at first before she brightened up and she smile as she found the right page and turned the book a bit so that Wesley could see the drawings.
The images on the page seemed to be to Wesley images that one would expect to find in a science fiction movie. The demons were depicted as seemingly a cross between human and some demonic form. The image reminded Wesley of the cover of one of the old records that his father had ordered him never to buy. In fact the demons looked like a slightly smaller version of the Beast that had blotted out the sun in Los Angeles three and a half years earlier. During the fight to defeat that Beast both Wesley and Faith had felt the first few awkward feelings and hints that would later turn into love. They had both been far to nervous at the time to do anything about it but those feelings had been a large amount of the reason that Wesley had gone to Sunnydale, against Angel's orders, to help fight and ultimately beat the First.
"Hey Wes…earth to Wesley…," Faith said with a slightly annoyed scowl on her face as she turned fully back towards Wesley and waved her hands in front of her face.
"Y…yes Faith…," Wesley mumbled softly at first before more forcefully as he looked up and shook his head a bit.
"Do you want me to print both sets of notes…or just the one," Faith asked with a frustrated and impatient scowl on her face and with her hands on her hips looking none to pleased.
"Both…please…and thank you Faith," Wesley said with a frustrated look on his face as he set about pacing back and forth again.
"Whatever you say honey," Faith answered with a very sarcastic look on her face and tone to her voice as she set about printing the notes.
"Let me ask you this Dawn…who's your watcher," Wesley asked with a sudden look of realization on his face as he stopped pacing mid-step and turned around.
"Uh…a watcher…I…uh…I don't have one," Dawn replied with a very embarrassed smile on her face as she purposefully avoided looking at either Wesley or Faith, who looked up at her answer and stared with a confused look on her face.
"You don't have one…wait…I thought that all slayers had to have a watcher," Faith said from across the room as she pulled out the computer chair and sat down.
"They're all supposed to…Dawn, what did Giles say," Wesley asked with a concerned look on his face as he sat down in the front row a few chairs away from Dawn.
"That she needed a watcher and that I, against my better judgment, would be happy to serve as her watcher…but she said no," Giles said from the doorway as he opened the door and entered the room.
"Giles," Wesley and Faith exclaimed in unison as both froze in their tracks, eyes as large as silver dollars, as Hope just let out a giggle as she seemed to find the whole situation funny.
"It's good to see that the two of you still remember who I am…Faith…it's good to see you…alive," Giles said with a calm smirk on his face as he walked up to the desk.
"Giles…how," Faith muttered with a very shocked and very worried look on her face as she awkwardly stood up and pushed the computer chair in.
"I swear I didn't tell him…," Dawn said nearly in a yell as she sat fully up in her seat and quickly slammed the Dringogen text closed.
"As to how I found you well…the Dean here is an old associate of an old friend of mine, he sends my friend the campus newsletter, needless to say I was shocked to see your faces in there…and that you have a daughter," Giles said with a look of at first some pride before his look changed to a big smile that would befit a grandfather as his gaze shifted from Wesley and Faith to Hope.
"Damn…I knew we shouldn't have let them take those pictures," Faith muttered angrily under her breath as she pulled the computer chair back out and sat down.
END OF CHAPTER 6
