FUTURE IMPERFECT
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Hope, Liam, and Christopher.
Author's Note: Reviews, as always are appreciated, and The End Is Only The Beginning now has 14 chapters.
CHAPTER 16-PREGAME WARMUP AND NERVOUS RAMBLINGS
Reunions. Faith had always hated reunions, even the few that she could remember going to with her mom. She had even gone so far as to hate the word reunion. Her reasoning's were that most of the time reunions didn't turn out very well and the discretions and painful events of the past were brought up and made all too new again. And after the new live that she and Wesley had built for themselves in New York she really didn't know if she was ready for all of that. Wesley had tried his best to calm her fears, continuously reassuring her that no matter what happened or how bad it got that he was there for her and always would be. Letting her catch a quick nap Wesley had taken it upon himself, as well as Angel and Gwen, to set everything up in the commons area of the barn. Angel had to move most of the weightlifting and training equipment out of the area himself as Wesley was to busy trying not to throttle Gwen for her whining. Wesley quickly removed the weapons and locked them in the closet, thinking ahead that when and if Cordelia found out about what happened between Angel and Gwen that she'd want to do Gwen harm. Gwen had defiantly argued that if Cordelia wanted a fight then she was more than willing to give her one, but Angel had quickly diffused the situation by surprising her with a kiss and asking her to help him with something. That distraction gave Wesley enough time to slip out of the barn and make his way back towards the house, hoping to find Faith and Hope still napping and maybe even curl up beside them for a short nap himself.
Instead he slipped into their bedroom to find a cheery Hope sitting up on the bed giggling happily while Faith was on her hands and knees, searching under their bed, presumably for Hope's other sock. Wesley stood motionless for a time watching Faith, who had apparently stopped dressing herself halfway through her attempt to dress Hope, as the sight of her wearing only a pair of panties forced him to almost grind his teeth to stay where he was. He was about to take a step forward when a sinister thought came to him. "Hey…," Wesley called out in a gruff tone of voice before he broke down into a silent chuckle.
"Huh…ow," Faith started to mumbled back in reply before her head shot up and slammed into one of the metal supports on the underside of the bed.
"Find anything," Wesley asked softly with a huge smirk on his face as he squatted down and looked under the bed.
"No…," Faith grumbled with an angry frown on her face as she crawled back out from under the bed and glared at Wesley while rubbing a spot on the top of her head.
"Want me to kiss it and make it better," Wesley asked with a joking smile on his face as he crept up next to Faith.
"Fuck you…," Faith mumbled softly back with an angry glare cast up at Wesley before he slipped an arm under her and pulled her into a long and passion filled kiss. "Y…you sure we…," She added with an energized spark in her eye as she couldn't help but allow one of her sexiest smiles to creep upon her face.
"I wish we did…but we have to get ready…they'll all be here soon," Wesley replied with a knowing smile on his face, punctuated only by a quick kiss in between each section of his answer, one that Faith had grown to know and love to see. If she hadn't been pregnant, trying to dress Hope, and needing to hurry to get ready for their old friends she would have thrown Wesley down onto the bed and had her way with him.
"Damn…," Faith whispered softly with a sexy pout on her face before Wesley pulled her into a hug. They stayed clasped together for what felt like an eternity before Wesley released his grip on her as they stood up.
"I'll get Hope ready while you get some clothes on," Wesley said with a content smile on his face before Faith turned away to go look for something to wear. She hadn't gone far when Wesley leaned forward and swatted her but hard enough to sting.
"You'll pay for that Wes…," Faith growled sexily back with one of her trademark winks before she pulled open her underwear drawer and began to try to find a bra that matched her panties.
"We'll see Faith…you say that, but so far you're just all talk," Wesley joked back with a laughing smirk on his face that almost instantly infuriated Faith.
"All talk am I…," Faith growled in fake anger before she turned around, threw Wesley down onto the bed and jumped on top of him, before pinning his arms down at his sides and straddling him. "See Hope…daddy's been bad and mommy's going to punish him," Faith added with a killer smile as she looked over at Hope, who's only response was to sink into a fit of giggling and fall over onto her side.
"Save me Hope…before mommy…," Wesley started to shout in fake peril before Faith leaned down and began to trail kisses up his neck from his collarbone to his ear, finally ending up nibbling on his ear.
* * * * * *
"What's taking him so long…," Gwen growled with a frustrated scowl on her face a she glanced at her watch.
"Don't worry Gwen, it hasn't been that long," Angel said with a slightly frustrated frown on his face as he let his gaze peruse over the food and refreshments on the table.
"It's been almost two hours Angel, maybe you should go make sure everything's okay," Gwen retorted with a perturbed frown on her face as she walked over and sat down in one of the chairs nearest to the table.
"Right…but only after you promise me that you and Cordelia won't claw each other's eyes out," Angel said with a very serious frown on his face as he leaned down and rested both of his hands on the chairs armrests, forcing Gwen to look him in the eye.
"But…," Gwen mumbled back with a defeated pout on her face after seeing the serious look in Angel's eyes.
"Promise me Gwen, like I said earlier you both mean a lot to me and I don't want to have to take either one of you to the hospital anytime soon," Angel added with a continued serious frown on his face before Gwen sadly nodded her head. "Good…now I'm going to go find our hosts," Angel added with only a slightly relieved smile on his face as he leaned down and kissed Gwen before turning and leaving the barn. As he left the barn Angel cursed softly at his not remembering that the sun was still up. With a slight glare skyward Angel hopped, skipped, and jumped his way in between the open patches of sunlight and shade on his way towards the house. He was about to make his final dash through a patch of sunlight when three vehicles slowly came around the corner of the house. He debated what his next move would be when an overly nervous Fred almost exploded out of the car.
"Angel…," Fred exclaimed, happy to see a familiar face, before she turned back and helped Willow fish some bags out of the back seat. Gunn simply nodded his head in silence before taking a quick look around and nodding his head again, this time in approval. Anya and Xander were next out of their car as Anya jumped out and almost instantly went over to appraise the garden while Xander pulled Christopher out with him.
"Now don't run off, I don't want to have to chase you," Xander said with a stern look on his face as he set Christopher down to shut the door. The young Harris only grinned smugly before taking off as fast as his little chubby legs would take him in the direction of the garden, probably hoping to dive into the dirt and make a mess.
"Oh no you don't…that outfit cost me twice as much as it should have and I'm going to get my money's worth out of it," Anya shouted with a very motherly scolding frown on her face as she caught Christopher just in time and swooped him up into her arms.
"Angel," Cordelia shouted with a relieved sigh and shrug of her shoulders before she opened the back door and got Liam out of his car seat. Connor on the other hand barely registered Angel's existence and looked around with an unimpressed frown on his face.
"Did you guys get here okay…," Angel managed to get out before Willow rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Almost instinctively Angel let his arms wrap around the witch and hug her back.
"Pretty much," Gunn declared with a carefree shrug of his shoulders as he walked up to Angel and set some of the bags down.
"Anya almost made me lose control fiddling with the map though…," Xander added with a somber frown on his face before receiving an angry glare from Anya.
"I was not fiddling…I was tracking our progress," Anya defended herself with a serious frown on her face before she handed Christopher over to Xander.
"Whatever, you were swerving all over the place," Connor said with a monotone grumble as leaned up against the side of Gunn's rental car and held fast to Liam's hand, despite his son's earnest pleadings.
"This coming from the guy that…," Xander started to say in his defense, with an angry scowl on his face, before Willow noticed the building tension and cut in.
"So where's Wes and Faith," Willow asked with a curious look on her face as she let go of Angel and jammed her hands deep into her pockets.
"Still getting ready, I was just about to go and get them when you guys pulled up, everything's set up in the barn over there so why don't you all go and relax while I get the happy couple," Angel said with a slightly nervous look on his face as he nodded his head towards the barn, eliciting a slightly angry glare from Cordelia.
* * * * * *
"Get the bloody lead out Rupert, we're going to be late," Spike growled angrily from the back seat before abruptly ceasing his complaining when Buffy cast him and angry glare.
"I will not get a speeding ticket because of your impatience Wil…Spike," Giles said with a frustrated and tired frown on his face as he lightly pushed down a little harder on the accelerator.
"Are there slowpoke tickets…," Dawn asked with an amused grin on her face as she tried to keep from looking at Giles for fear of breaking out in a fit of laughter if she did.
"I don't know Dawn, now Spike, are you sure that I look okay," Buffy said with almost a carefree tone of voice as she looked up at her younger sister before it changed to a more serious one as she turned to Spike.
"You look fine pet…relax, everything's going to be fine," Spike said with a reassuring smile on his face as he laid a hand on Buffy's shoulder and made her look him in the eye so that she'd see that he was serious.
"He's right Buffy, besides I highly doubt that Faith will do anything to bad with Hope and Wesley around, you two will probably end up over a cup of water telling old slayer stories," Dawn added with an almost smug grin on her face as she looked over at Giles and ignored the looks that Spike and Buffy were sending her way.
"I know…everything will probably go just fine, but I just have this funny feeling that something big…and bad, is coming," Buffy said with a slow nod of her head and a sad frown on her face before Spike leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"A new big bad's coming…well then let it come, we'll be more than ready, except if the whelp gets in the way," Spike started to say with a very confident look on his face before his expression changed to a more mocking smile.
"Spike…I thought I asked you to stop calling Xander that," Buffy chided Spike with a scolding frown on her face as she leaned back and crossed her arms.
"Sorry luv, I couldn't resist," Spike said with a slightly defeated frown on his face before he turned and looked out the window as Giles drove the car out of the city and into the country.
"Well it won't be much longer before we're there so do I have to ask you all to behave," Giles exclaimed with a nervous and almost fatherly look on his face as he looked first over at an overly grinning Dawn before spying Spike and Buffy in the rearview mirror.
"Giles…," Both Dawn and Buffy exclaimed with slightly annoyed frowns on their faces as Spike held in a good natured snicker as best he could.
* * * * * *
After being surprised halfway to the house Angel had managed to corral everyone into the barn without having too many problems. Anya had wanted to go on her own unguided tour through the house but Xander had been able to distract her with questions about her past as a vengeance demon. Connor had acted indifferent, as usual, and Cordelia cast the house a somewhat worried frown before carrying Liam out to the barn. For her part Willow seemed to genuinely love to be out in the country, she had excused herself and taken a short walk around the ground, promising to be in the barn if and when Wesley and Faith showed themselves. Gunn had edged an overly eager Fred towards the barn as he struggled to carry all of the bags that Fred and Willow had brought with them.
After a final look himself towards the house, and a few overheard shouts coming from the barn, Angel turned on his heel and did his hop, skip, and a jump dance all the way back to the barn before sliding through the open door and immediately being pelted by a plastic cup thrown by an angry Liam.
"So what's taking them so long," Gwen asked with an angry and nervous frown on her face as she deftly weaved her way through the small crowd to stand beside Angel.
"They'll be here in a minute, they're waiting for everyone to get here so that they don't have to do or say anything twice," Angel replied, trying his best to make his answer sound truthful even against the fact that he hadn't asked Wesley or Faith at all.
"Whatever…just don't get mad at me when this all goes to hell," Gwen said with a frustrated and somewhat worried frown on her face before she sent a light jolt of electricity into Angel's shoulder.
Willow had spent her walk well, feeling closer to the earth here in Wesley and Faith's back yard than she had in most of Sunnydale. She had knelt down near to the ground and helped a struggling dandelion to bloom. In fact she had become so entrenched with what she was doing that she failed to notice when a nervous and slightly confused Faith walked up behind her with a calm Hope in her arms. "Hey Will…," Faith said with a nervous hinge in her voice as she edged closer to Willow and shifter Hope from one arm to another. Willow was caught so much off guard that she nearly screamed as she spun around before coming eye to eye with Faith.
"F…Faith…uh, hi…," Willow stuttered out with a shocked and embarrassed smile on her face before she regained her bearings and gave Faith and Hope a quick once over. After much deliberating, and more than one change of clothes, Faith had finally decided on an outfit that best suited her new state of being when compared to her old way of life. Never one to wear frilly dresses she had settled on a slightly faded old pair of blue jeans that were very comfortable but still looked good enough accompanied by a black belt with a gold buckle that Wesley had gotten her on a whim. Her ensemble was topped off by a denim shirt that she had unbuttoned about halfway with a creamy colored short sleeved shirt underneath. Her sleeves were rolled up, a beautiful golden cross hanging from a gold and silver chain adorned her neck, and she had pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, mostly in the end to keep it away from Hope's prying fingers. After much discussion Wesley had finally decided on one of Hope's Sunday dresses and so now mother and daughter looked far better than Willow had expected.
"Hi yourself…so uh you good," Faith asked with a nervous smile at first before her mind went blank as to exactly what to say in this situation.
"Y…yeah, I'm good…this must be Hope…she's so beautiful…can I," Willow stammered out with an exuberant and nervous smile on her face as her whole face brightened up before she motioned that she wanted to hold Hope.
"Thanks…sure you can," Faith answered with a noticeable sigh of relief through her smile as she handed Hope over to Willow. Willow stayed silent for several moments, mostly taking the time to get a good look at Hope and vice versa, before she turned back to Faith.
"She looks just like you…," Willow mumbled softly with a happy smile on her face as Hope started to fuss a bit but then calmed down when Willow tickled the bottom of her foot.
"Yeah…we kinda lucked out there…," Faith joked with still a nervous smile on her face as she was quickly running out of things to say.
"Where's Wesley…," Willow asked with a slightly concerned frown on her face as she looked all around but didn't see the former watcher.
"Oh he's changing his shirt, he was all ready but then Hope spit up on his shoulder," Faith answered with a laughing smirk on her face before she and Willow shared a nervous laugh.
"Uh…sorry if this is a little too personal but…how'd you and Wes…you know…," Willow sputtered out with an embarrassed and nervous smile on her face as she looked back and forth between Faith and Hope.
"Don't worry about it Will…I have a funny feeling that everyone's going to ask us that question…as for an answer…we just spent so much time together and opened up…I mean really opened up to each other that after awhile we realized that…," Faith said with an unsure look on her face as she slipped her hands into her pockets but left her thumbs out.
"That you were in love…kinda sounds like a fairy tale…," Willow said softly as she finished Faith's answer before a short bit of awkward silence fell upon the trio.
"Yeah…it was kind of a little to good, for a while I kept expecting something…everything…bad to happen, and then I found out that I was pregnant with Hope and all of my fears and hang-ups went into overdrive…I so totally wigged out," Faith said with a sheepish smile on her face before she used her heel to smash a cricket.
"Oh I almost forgot…congratulations on the good news…," Willow added with an almost mad at herself frown on her face before she cheered up and beamed a happy smile towards Faith.
"Thanks…Angel heard the heartbeat and…shouldn't we go see the others…," Faith started to say with a calm smile on her face before her nerves gained hold and she took Hope back from Willow.
"Yeah…we should probably do that," Willow agreed with a quick and nervous nod of her head as she shrugged her shoulders and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress.
"Not without me I hope," Wesley said with a cheerful smile on his face as he walked up to the trio. He was dressed similarly to Faith but whereas she had buttoned up half of the buttons on her denim long sleeved shirt Wesley had left the shirt out and unbuttoned. A few small red marks on his jaw line gave away the fact that he had hurriedly shaved and gotten a bit careless.
"Perish the thought," Faith said with a relieved smile on her face as it seemed to Willow that some of Faith's nerves subsided and her confidence grew with Wesley at her side.
"Of course…Willow…it's good to see you," Wesley added with a happy grin and small laugh as he took a step forward and hugged Willow.
"Yeah…you to," Willow replied with a happy smile on her face as she fought back a few surprising tears.
"You look good," Wesley said softly with that same happy grin on his face after he quickly gave Willow the once over.
"Yeah, you to…," Willow returned with a nervous smile on her face while Wesley leaned down and first kissed Hope softly on the top of her head before leaning in closer and kissed Faith.
"Thank you…maybe later after everything calms down…," Wesley started to reply with the first few signs of his slightly frayed nerves before his attention was drawn away by the car that pulled into the driveway and pulled to a stop beside Gunn's rental car. Seconds later Buffy nervously got out and almost instantly her gaze locked with Faith's.
END OF CHAPTER 16
