FUTURE IMPERFECT

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Hope, Liam, and Nick.

CHAPTER 15-TEA TALK AND GETTING READY

Over the stretch of the entire time that he and Faith had lived in New York Wesley didn't think that he could remember a single Thursday that could have been considered to be a nice day.  Sure there had been good events that had happened on that day, such as Hope's first birthday party and their one year anniversary.  Both events had been two of the happiest moments in the young family's life.  Contrary to her usual abhorrence to have any pictures taken to remember a special day, other than there wedding day, Faith had nearly filled up a photo album with the photo's of those two important days.  And on this particular Thursday morning the dawn found Faith and Wesley snuggled up together on the couch, Wesley's arms wrapped protectively around her and her head resting on his chest, with a softly snoring Hope nestled comfortably in between them.  They had started showing Angel and a skittish Gwen some of their old family movies that Wesley had taken with his digital camera before everyone but Angel had fallen asleep.  The two and a half century old vampire had stayed up nearly the entire night, replaying every single second of tape, over and over again, trying to gleam every single detail that he could out of them.  He took note of how happy Faith and Wesley looked as compared to how he had remembered them first in Sunnydale and then in Los Angeles.  Through the viewing of the tapes he found himself watching not one but two people grow up.  He saw their frayed nerves and suspicious glances at the beginning; as if the two were not sure that they were doing it right. 

But as the night, and home movies, wore on Angel began to notice that those once frayed nerves were mended and even improved upon.  The suspicious glances became a thing of the past and Angel quickly found himself thinking that if he hadn't know about their past the two could easily have passed for any other normal, happy couple.  At special moments during the films Angel would lean back in his chair and glance over towards the couch.  He'd watch Faith mumbled something softly against Wesley's chest before Hope would fidget a bit and then settle down.  More than once Angel found himself wishing more than anything for the chance to live the life that Wesley and Faith were now leading.

As the first few rays of the rising sun filtered into the living room Angel stood up, popping nearly every joint in his body from inactivity, before slowly walking over to the windows and lowering the blinds.  Throughout the night Gwen had tossed and turned in her chair and during a couple of times that she seemed about ready to wake up Angel had reached over and softly began to brush the hair off of her face.  During one of those times he had fallen asleep and woken up an hour or so later when one of the tapes had run its course and the screen had gone blank, blanketing the room in a soft light.  Angel was just about to sit back down in his seat and continue going through the tapes when Gwen picked her head up and looked over at him.

"What time is it…," Gwen asked with a sleepy yawn as she tried to curl up into a tighter ball in her chair.

"Dawn…," Angel replied with a soft frown on his face as he sat back down and turned to Gwen.

"To early for me…," Gwen started to mumble back with a sleepy frown on her face as she laid her head back down. 

"You can say that…again…," Angel replied softly with a bored look on his face before he noticed that Gwen had fallen asleep again.  He was about to resume watching the old home movies when his stomach growled and it dawned on him that he hadn't consumed any blood for hours.

*                    *                      *                           *                        *                            *

Buffy awoke hours after dawn to find Spike's arms wrapped protectively around her.  She could vaguely remember when he had come back after spending most of the day with Dawn.  He had slipped into bed beside her with only a soft declaration of his love and an apology for being so late before she had fallen asleep.  Ever since she had told Spike of her pregnancy she had awoken many a day to find herself in the same position.  At first it had been a bit unnerving but after a few days she had grown to love waking up, wrapped in Spike's arms.  Even though Buffy was awake Spike was not and she took the opportunity to let her gaze slowly wash over the man that had come to mean the world to her.  Gently she freed one of her arms and hand enough so that she could trace the line of the scar about his left eye with her fingernail.  He had never really told her the where and how the scar had come about, but she got the impression that he really didn't fully remember. 

She could still remember their first day together after he had passed the demon's second slew of trials, and healed from his injuries, and become human again while retaining all of the bonuses of being a former vampire.  She had woken up that day to find herself alone in their bed and almost instantly began to panic.  She started to shout Spike's name before she rolled over and caught one of the funniest sights that she could remember.  Spike stood in front of full length mirror, naked as the day he was born, looking himself up and down.  He took great interest in his hair as he kept picking stray strands out and trying to make himself look presentable, or at least as close to presentable as he could given the circumstances.

Because he was to busy studying the few lines around his eyes Spike hadn't noticed her as she slipped out of the other side of the bed and walked around to stand beside him.  He almost jumped out of his skin when she touched his shoulder and smiled.  Together the two had continued Spike's assessment of his reflection, neither caring about their complete lack of clothing.  The two had agreed to commemorate that day every year, with a day in which they'd spend the entire day in bed together, before returning back home to face the music.

*                        *                          *                           *                     *                          *

The arrivals from Sunnydale and Los Angeles were not having such a good morning.  Willow had slept well enough and the morning found her meditating in her room while in the next room Cordelia was trying on one outfit after another, almost forcing Connor and Liam to assist her in her choice of what to wear later in the day.  Connor had to bite his nails to keep his level of frustration in check, an act which Liam seemed eager to copy.  Xander and Anya were still asleep in their room, restlessly tied up in the sheets while Christopher slumbered peacefully nearby.  Fred and Gunn were almost awake at dawn, mostly because Fred had awoken on the verge of a nervous breakdown from her excitement at finally seeing Wesley and Faith again.  Gunn ended up spending most, if not all, of the morning trying to calm her down.  By the time that lunchtime came around everyone had made their way down to the lobby of the hotel and sitting comfortably near the elevators.

"How…many hours…," Fred mumbled out softly with a nervous look on her face as she spun her watch around her wrist while trying not to look to nervous.

"About three, three and a half hours…," Gunn replied with an equally nervous look on his face as he put an arm around Fred's shoulders and drew her close.

*                        *                   *                      *                     *                               *

"Ugh Wesley, where'd you get this blood, it tastes terrible," Angel asked with a sickly look on his face as he looked up from the table.

"From the butcher that we get all of our meat from Angel, I'm sorry if the blood is a little old but you did catch me off guard earlier," Wesley replied with a nervous frown on his face as he set a couple cups of tea into the microwave and shut the door.

"Forget about…I'll just have to stomach it…," Angel said with an unhappy frown on his face as Wesley punched in a time for the tea and started the microwave.

"I'll get you some fresher blood today when I go into town okay…," Faith interjected with a slight yawn as she walked into the kitchen, using a light blue towel to try to dry her hair after her shower. 

"Thanks…but do you have any clothes of your own Faith," Angel asked with a sly grin on his face before he forced himself to take another sip of blood.

"What do you mean…of course I…," Faith exclaimed with a slightly angry frown on her face as she looked down at her clothes.

"It's just that ever since I got here you've worn Wesley's clothes most of the time, I guess it's just odd seeing you wearing normal clothes when all that you used to wear…," Angel replied with a stifled laugh that he let out even though Faith glared back at him before Gwen interrupted.

"Made you look like one of those…," Gwen started to add with a daring grin on her face before Angel laid a restraining hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat loudly as he shook his head.

"I still have those old clothes…some anyway, but after Hope was born I just felt that I needed a change, I wasn't a carefree slayer anymore, I was a mother and wife," Faith said with still an angry glare at both Angel and Gwen as she cocked an eyebrow and looked at Wesley as she nodded her head towards the microwave.

"You were never a carefree slayer Faith," Angel mumbled softly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear as Wesley nodded his head and smiled in reply to Faith's silent question.

"So…can't I dream a bit…did you put any cinnamon in it…," Faith started to say back to Angel with a slight shrug of her shoulders before she turned her gaze back to Wesley.

"Of course dear…of course," Wesley replied softly with a tired smile on his face before he half turned and smiled down at Hope, who had crawled over from where Angel had set her down with some toys and had used the chair to stand up.  For a few moments everyone in the room remained silent and just watched as the youngest Wyndam-Pryce slowly did her best to walk from chair to chair, finally ending up beside Angel.

"Way to go Hope," Angel said with a happy smile on his face as he leaned down and picked Hope up.  Most of the time when someone would pick Hope up like Angel had she would get cranky and fuss until she was put back down where she was.  But with Angel, as with Dawn earlier Hope didn't seem to mind. 

"Yes sir…she's definitely our little daredevil, pretty soon we're going to have to baby proof the entire house, not to mention out in the barn," Wesley said with a mock frown of unhappiness on his face that Faith saw through as she lightly elbowed her husband in the ribs.

"So…have you two thought of any names for the new kid," Gwen asked a little more bluntly than she had intended as she was trying to change the subject.

"We're a long ways from picking a name…besides I'm sure the others are going to have plenty of names for me," Faith answered with a slightly overwhelmed frown on her face as the microwave's timer ran out and it started to beep.  "I'll get…," Faith started to say softly before Wesley laid a hand on her shoulder and acted first.

"No…I'll get it," Wesley said quickly with a slightly nervous look on his face as he stood up and took the two cups of steaming hot tea out of the microwave after grabbing a hot pad for himself and Faith to use.

"You don't have to baby me Wes, I can get the tea out of the microwave," Faith said with an annoyed tone to her voice as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair before Wesley set her cup of tea down in front of her on the hot pad.

"I know, but I like to do it," Wesley whispered back softly as he sat back down beside Faith and blew away some of the steam.

"Since when did you drink tea Faith," Angel asked with a slightly confused look on his face as he let Hope wrap her small fingers around his thumb.

"Since I found out that I was pregnant with Hope, Wesley had to almost force me to drink it at first, but after awhile we started experimenting with adding some cinnamon and other things like that and…," Faith replied with a slightly carefree shrug of her shoulders before she stopped to blow away some of the steam radiating up from her cup of tea.

"And now she drinks it about as often as I do…every great once in a while we'll put a little scotch in, but mostly for special occasions," Wesley added with a calm look on his face before he took a small sip of the tea.

"Your parents are very strange, you know that Hope," Angel whispered loudly to Hope, as he was trying to make a joke of it.  The looks of confusion that he received from Gwen and Faith were ones that he would remember for years while Wesley just leaned back in his chair and grinned.

*                        *                         *                           *                     *                           *

"Are you sure we're going the right way," Anya blurted out with an impatient frown on her face as she held up the map in front of her face, nearly blocking half of Xander's peripheral vision.

"I…think so, but Anya…could you fold that map back up, it's getting in my way," Xander replied with an exasperated look on his face as in the back seat Christopher let out a short giggle.

"Fine, but if we get lost, run out of gas and get eaten by trolls it'll be all your fault," Anya exclaimed with a defiant and frumpy frown on her face as she slowly folded the map back up and laid it on her lap.

"We're not going to get lost Anya, we're following Gunn and Fred and they know where they're going, Fred had Angel on the phone for like an hour making sure that she had the address right and how to get there," Xander said with a nervous and frustrated frown on his face as he lightly tapped the brakes.

"But what if she heard him wrong…," Anya pleaded with a slightly pouting look on her face as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

"An…," Xander mumbled softly under his breath with a frustrated frown on his face before he turned the radio on and resumed following Gunn and Fred.

"So…should we all rush in at once or wait for them to invite us in," Willow asked with a nervous look on her face as she looked out of the window.

"I think we'd better wait outside," Fred replied with an equally nervous frown on her face as she looked back over her shoulder at Willow.

"So have you been able to get in touch with Buffy or Giles yet Willow," Gunn asked with a bored look on his face as he tried to break the tension in the car.

"N…no, no yet, I don't know why Buffy hasn't picked up yet," Willow answered with a confused and slightly worried look on her face as she took her cell phone out of her pocket and stared sadly at it.

*                        *                          *                       *                       *                           *

At that same exact moment Buffy and Spike were in the midst of getting ready to leave the hotel and travel to the meeting, but were forced to wait on Giles and Dawn. Spike, like he had boasted earlier in the day, was ready in less than half an hour.  Buffy on the other hand had, like the night the two had decided to go out on their first official date, one where there would be no patrolling or demon fighting of any kind, she had spent almost two hours trying to decide on what to wear. Dawn had finally almost been forced to hogtie her sister to get her out the door on time.  Buffy could still remember the look on Spike's face as she slowly descended the stairs.  Had he not already been dead she would have thought that all of the color would have drained from his face in awe.  Spike had tried to keep up his usual cool as ice demeanor but his lack of being able to form anything more than a single syllable coupled with the outpouring of love that she saw in his eyes gave him away.  The first line of words that he had been able to string together into a sentence had been accompanied by a quick string of small tears that he could no longer hold back.  Dawn felt as if she would explode before the two finally left.  As they pulled away in Spike DeSoto Dawn had closed the curtains and went into a fit of exuberant jubilation.

"Aren't you ready yet luv…," Spike asked softly with a hurried smile on his face as he pushed the bathroom door open and peeked inside.

"No…and it's not wise to rush a pregnant woman…," Buffy answered with a frustrated scowl on her face as she tried to get her hair to do what she wanted it to.

"But Rupert and the Bit will be here any minute, and I…," Spike started to complain with an impatient frown on his face before he quickly jerked his head out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut.  Seconds later a curler bounced harmlessly off of the closed door.

"That bird has issues…," Spike thought with a nervous frown on his face as he shook his head on his way back to the bed.  It was nearly twenty minutes later before Buffy finally stepped out of the bathroom, looking every inch the goddess that Spike had always prophesied her to be.  Almost instantly upon seeing the look of awe on Spike's face she mistook it to mean that he didn't like how she looked she started to step back into the bathroom.

"No luv…wait, it's fine, you look fine…," Spike shouted with a frustrated tone to his voice as he leapt up off of the bed and rushed to wedge himself in between the bathroom door and Buffy.

"You sure…you don't think that I should change…maybe the skirt and the blue top…," Buffy asked with a nervous and unsure frown on her face as she looked back and forth between Spike and the bathroom door.

"You're beautiful pet…you don't need to change a thing…," Spike replied with a somewhat nervous smile on his face before someone knocked on their hotel door.

"Buffy…Spike, are you guys ready yet, if we don't leave soon we're going to be late…," Dawn's voice nearly shouted through the door as she and Giles waited impatiently outside of the room.

"Don't worry Bit…we're ready to go…," Spike shouted back in reply with a frustrated look on his face before he took Buffy by the hand and the two joined Dawn and Giles in their venture to a meeting long overdue.

END OF CHAPTER 15