FUTURE IMPERFECT

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

CHAPTER 20-SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The remaining time left in class passed by quickly enough, although not to Faith.  Ever since her short talk with Wesley earlier she hadn't been able to get the translation of her head, no matter how hard she tried.  She had sworn to him that no matter what happened they would both make it through the battle that they were both sure was coming.  The two didn't speak as they gathered their supplies and then deposited them in Wesley's SUV before venturing to the murder scene.  Wesley walked out first, acting as if he were only an innocent bystander instead of a detective, of sorts, trying to determine what caused the fire and why it happened.  Faith stood back up against the hard stone of the library, waiting for her cue to begin her trek.  They had played this spy game many times since leaving Sunnydale, with each taking turns being the leader and the other being the follower.  Faith had always excelled in being the follower however had always failed in being the leader as she'd either get impatient and forget the signals or ignore them altogether and just try to do everything herself. She didn't have long to wait before she saw Wesley wave her over with a grim frown on his face.

"Found anything Wes," Faith asked with a serious look on her face as she cast a quick look around before returning her gaze to her husbands face.

"Not yet…the ground around this tree is charred…," Wesley replied with an unsure frown on his face as he looked up at Faith while crouching down near the police tape.

"Uh hate to wet the papers for ya Wes but…the tree was burned…charring is to be expected in this situation," Faith added with an openly sarcastic look on her face and tone to her voice before she did her best to withhold a chuckle.

"I'm aware of that Faith, but I was trying to make the point in that the charring extends so far out, farther even than the extent of the farthest root, all the way to the cement walkway…this fire wasn't natural, someone or something set it and murdered the man, whoever he was," Wesley said with a very serious and grim look on his face as he shook his head and looked back down at the ground.

"Okay…so do we have a case of simple arson…or is there something much more insidious going on here…because it could be just some stupid college prank that went way out of control…things like this have happened before ya know, although nobody actually died in those," Faith interjected with a thoughtful look on her face as she took a step back and let her gaze slowly ascend the trunk of the tree.

"I don't believe that this was some sort of college prank Faith…or arson…exactly, it seems to be more that the fire began and ended in this exact spot, but the fire was not started here…I don't see any signs of any accelerants that could have been used, it's almost as if someone were to have shot a flaming arrow into the tree from a rooftop," Wesley said with a look of disbelief on his face before he and Faith slipped underneath the police tape.

"That's easier said that done Wes, I mean look how far the tree is away from any of the buildings, that'd have to be one hell of a bow to fire an arrow that far," Faith said with a deep in thought and slightly confused look on her face and her hands on her hips as she stared back and forth between the tops of the surrounding buildings and the burnt tree.

"Hmm…you're right…," Wesley mumbled softly under his breath with an impatient frown on his face before he could only roll his eyes and sigh as Faith broke in with a chipper smile on her face.

"Aren't I always…," Faith chimed in proudly as she crossed her arms across her chest and rolled forward on her toes, a sexy smile spread widely across her face.

"Most of the time yes…but there was that time last week…," Wesley started to reply with a slight sigh and shrug of his shoulders before he almost visibly cringed as he waited for the backlash.

"Hey whoa now…don't start that…yeah I knew it was tuna but it said Chicken Of The Sea…Jessica Simpson got it wrong to…," Faith pouted with an unhappy frown on her face as she walked forward and poked Wesley in the ribs with her index finger.

"Yes…but she's a mass marketed pop queen and you're…well you're…," Wesley began his reply in earnest as he tried his best to hide his sarcastic smile before Faith caught on and stepped in.

"And I'm…what…exactly…," Faith asked with a very serious frown on her face as she leaned down and let out a breath directly into Wesley's ear, eliciting a slight shiver from her former watcher turned husband.

"The love of my life dear…," Wesley replied with a nervous smile on his face as he turned his head back around to look up at Faith.

"Exactly…and don't you go forgetting it," Faith added with a spunky grin on her face before she leaned down and pressed her lips against Wesley's in a soft kiss.  Soon the two were walking back towards Wesley's SUV, a quick trip to the daycare to pick Hope up, and the trip back home to talk to Angel.

*                      *                         *                              *                   *                         *

Spike barely touched his lunch, spending most of the meal staring in amazement at the future mother of his child, nearly shoveling heaping plates of food into her mouth.  During the entire run of the almost ten years that he had known her Spike had never seen Buffy eat anything close to this amount.  But with the baby coming and all he remembered that Dawn had told him that this was to be expected.  Even through that advice though Spike had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something before the two left the restaurant and headed back towards Wesley and Faith's house.  During lunch Buffy had gotten a call from Giles saying that he was going to talk to Angel about the apocalypse that he and Gwen were in New York to prevent.  Taking the opportunity to figuratively kill two birds with one stone they had agreed to meet later.

"Bloody hell…alright luv…I promise I won't stake Peaches on sight…," Spike grumbled softly with an annoyed look on his face as he kept his eyes glued onto the road as he directed their car off of the highway.

"Good…because that's the last thing that I need right now…urk…scratch that, the last thing that I need right now is for you to hit any more bumps…," Buffy said with a nervous and slightly tired look on her face before she had to fight back the urge to vomit as Spike violently rolled over a bump in the road.

"I'll try not to pet…your stomach still bothering you," Spike asked with a worried look on his face as he snuck a quick peek over at Buffy. 

"Yeah…but not like before…now I'm just queasy Buffy…ya know maybe I shouldn't have had that last burrito…," Buffy managed to get out before her stomach made an odd noise and Spike pulled the car off onto the shoulder.  Spike had only just put the car into park before Buffy had thrown off her seatbelt and rushed down into the ditch.  He started to go and see if she was alright but a loud retching sound told him everything that he needed to know.

"Feel any better…," Spike asked softly with a gentle look of concern on his face as Buffy slowly willed herself back into the car and let Spike buckle her in.

"No…creating new life sucks…," Buffy mumbled back her answer with a sickly pout on her face as she hung her head and curled up against her seat, looking almost as if she were trying to get comfortable to go to sleep.

"It does at that pet…at least for now, but pretty soon…," Spike started to say, with the intent of cheering her up, with an optimistic smile on his face as he got himself situated again before Buffy cut in.

"But pretty soon I'm going to be as big as a beached whale…or bigger…I'll be retaining more water that the Titanic," Buffy moaned with a distraught look on her face before she turned her attention back to the window for the rest of the trip.

*                        *                            *                            *                        *                        *

After making his call to Buffy Giles had continued on his way to Wesley and Faith's house, hopeful to discuss the upcoming apocalypse with Angel.  The scene that he had walked in on was anything but hopeful, at least in his eyes.  He walked into the barn expecting Angel and Gwen to be taking care of Wesley and Faith's new puppies, not to be in the position that they were in.  As he entered the barn Giles was in the process of wiping a bit of perspiration off of his brow.  Gwen lay on the floor with Angel on top of her.  That position in and of itself wasn't what nearly gave the old watcher a heart attack, that almost reaction came from the fact that Gwen was next to naked, clad in only a thong pair of panties and a cut off white shirt that was stained through with sweat and clinging ever so tightly to Gwen's toned body.  Angel was a bit more clothed but sans shirt.  The moment that Giles caught sight of Angel and Gwen in what looked like a wrestling embrace he turned away and loudly cleared his throat, hoping that the two would get the message, luckily for him they did.  Angel half stumbled back to his feet, carrying a shaken and shocked Gwen with him, before he deftly grabbed his coat and swung it around her slim shoulders.

"I don't even want to know what it was that the two of you were doing, honestly I don't think that my heart could take it," Giles said softly, with a great deal of energy being used to keep himself calm, as he slowly entered the barn and walked past a visibly nervous Gwen and Angel.

"We were just…," Gwen started to stutter out with a flabbergasted and well hidden embarrassment frown on her face before she turned to Angel and glared at him for an answer.

"We were just doing a little…uh…sparring…you know, trying to keep fit…," Angel quickly stammered out his reply as if vampires could blush his face would have been a deep red.

"Well Ms. Raiden looked quite fit to me Angel, I really don't see how any more training of…that…nature would have helped…," Giles chimed in with a suppressed smirk on his face as he stared at the ground and once again wiped the sweat off of his brow.  "Bloody hell it is hot in here…," Giles mumbled with a weary frown on his face before being interrupted by Angel.

"See Giles it is hot in here, we were sparring and Gwen started to get hot…so she…," Angel started to say with one of his usual cheesy smiles before Giles tiredly waived him off with a short wave of his hand.  "Right…so you wanted to see me about something…or maybe Wesley or Faith," Angel added with a less than thrilled smirk on his face as he brushed a little bit of dirt off of his hands and pulled his shirt on.

"I can wait until they get home, actually I was hoping to talk to you about the vision that you said that Lorne had that brought you and Ms Raiden here in the first place," Giles said with a little bit more serious look on his face as he leaned back up against the wall.

"Sorry I can't really help you with that, Lorne just told us to come here and stop an apocalypse, now if the two of you don't mind I'm going to go inside and take a shower," Gwen interjected with a nervous smile on her face before she grabbed a gym bag and rushed out of the barn, Angel's coat pulled tight around her.

"Lorne didn't tell us much actually, all that he said was that there was an apocalypse that was going to take place in New York City within the next week or so and we had to come here and stop it, I'm not exactly sure what the apocalypse that we're supposed to stop is but something's telling me that it has something to do with that article in the newspaper this morning," Angel said softly in the follow up as he began to slowly walk back and forth around the barn, casting a weary eye towards the puppies when they whimpered and whined. 

"So you read it as well…the pictures and article seemed to be lacking in actual facts, it's almost as if someone censored what was released, this does not bode well for our efforts," Giles said with a very serious look on his face as he reached up and scratched his chin. 

"Well hopefully Wesley and Faith will have found something in their inspection that we can use," Angel said with a thoughtful look on his face as he reached down and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Well when I talked to Buffy she said that she and Spike were going to check the area out as well, but even with them giving the location a once over I think that it would be prudent if after nightfall you were to go there yourself, scout the area and see if you can pick up anything…a scent that the police would obviously have missed because they weren't looking for it," Giles said with a very serious look on his face before he reached down and opened up the cooler at his feet.

"Don't worry Giles, I won't be able to rest until I've looked that site over, but when are Spike and Buffy…wait, they're here," Angel started to say with almost a bored look on his face before he stopped abruptly and turned back towards the door and then finished.

"They are, how can you…," Giles asked with a surprised frown on his face as he stood up and took a step towards Angel.

"I'd know their scents anywhere Giles," Angel replied with a nervous look on his face before he turned around and started walking back towards the interior of the barn, casting the two young puppies an awkward glance as they whined a bit.

"Oh yes…of course," Giles mumbled softly under his breath with a slightly embarrassed look on his face before he couldn't help but smile.

"Giles…Angel," Buffy shouted, still with a sickly look on her face, as she and Spike walked towards the barn.  She had started to feel better but was still a bit queasy and hoped that Spike and Angel could control their emotions and keep the discussion a calm one.

"We're in here Buffy," Giles called back with a serious look on his face as his smile slowly faded into a worried frown as he saw Spike push the barn door open a bit further and almost coddle Buffy inside.  Even though it upset him how Buffy looked to not be feeling very well Giles had to admit that it did warm his heart to see Spike doting over her like he was. 

"What's wrong…," Angel asked, almost immediately upon seeing her slightly pale face, as he rushed forward but stopped as he neared Spike.

"She's fine Peaches…mostly, just ate something that didn't agree with her is all," Spike said with a worried look on his face, and without taking his gaze off of Buffy.

"Here…Buffy, sit here," Angel said with a shaky tone to his voice as he rushed over and set up a small spot on one of the hale bales for Buffy to sit, not moving an inch though as Spike guided her over to the spot and then sat down beside her.

"Thanks…," Buffy mouthed more than said softly as she sat down and closed her eyes while Giles circled around.  Impatiently Angel glared down at Spike and asked silently with his eyes and expression on his face what was really wrong with Buffy.  In response Spike only cocked his head to one side and mouthed the word baby. 

"Did you find anything of use at the site of the murder," Giles asked with a worried look on his face as he reached down and took a bottle of water out of the cooler and handed it to Buffy.

"Not really…only that Buffy and I think that whoever was up in that tree was keeping an eye on someone…or something, and that this whole thing smells a bit to much like the Initiative…bloody wankers…," Spike replied quickly before Buffy could as he twisted off the top of the bottle, all without looking at anyone but Buffy.

"The Initiative…who…what would they be doing here," Angel started to ask with a confused look on his face before he remembered the long discussion that he and Buffy had about the secret government agency a year earlier.

"Who knows…the Initiative does what it wants, whenever it wants, and doesn't tell anyone why…," Buffy stuttered out softly with an uncomfortable look on her face before she leaned into Spike a bit and took a sip of the bottle of water.

"Sounds like you Peaches…," Spike started to say with a daring grin plastered across his face while wrapping a supportive arm around Buffy before he felt her stiffen and he relaxed his rhetoric.  "They could be after Wesley or Faith," Spike continued with a little bit more look of worry on his face as he looked up at Angel and Giles, both of whom only furrowed their brows and scowled heavily.

"I don't think so…if they were after Wesley or Faith why haven't they made their move yet…it's been almost three years…and if they were going to put surveillance on why would they have put that guy up in the tree to get flambéed, we're missing something," Angel thought audibly with a concerned look on his face as he slowly began to walk around the barn, preferring not to look at how cozy Buffy and Spike were together.

"Maybe they read a hotspot but can't get a fix on it and are monitoring anyone that they think could lead them to it…Wesley did say that his friend Nick had done some deciphering of some of the school's ancient texts…," Giles concluded with a growing look of concern on his face before Buffy broke in.

"They probably thought that he knew something and decided to follow him, but that still wouldn't explain our friend in the tree," Buffy said with a little bit calmer look on her face as she looked up from her seat beside Spike.

"Angel…could the apocalypse that Lorne sent you and Gwen here to stop be somehow connected to the Initiatives activities…maybe you're after the same apocalyptic event," Giles wondered out loud with an impatient frown on his face and hand on his chin as he turned to Angel, who could only shrug his shoulders and shake his head through a frown.

"Speaking of Gwen…where is that bird…surprised that she's not out here…," Spike asked with a bored look on his face as he looked up and then around the barn.

"Gwen…she went inside to take a shower," Angel exclaimed quickly with a nervous look on his face and a quick glance Giles' way, hoping that the old watcher wouldn't say anything. 

"We should wait for Wesley and Faith to get home and talk this over with them before doing anything," Buffy said with a tired look on her face before she laid her head on Spike's shoulder.

"A wise decision…if the Initiative is here then it's best that we don't jump into anything until we know all of the facts," Giles said with a somewhat relieved look on his face as he shuffled his feet a bit.

"Rupert…if the bloody Initiative is involved we'll never know…all of the facts, no matter how hard we try," Spike interjected with a serious and almost angry scowl on his face as he hugged Buffy tightly.

"Quite right…," Giles mumbled back in reply with a very serious look on his face before he walked towards the door, finally stopping as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"Well we won't get anything further done until they get back so I think that until then Buffy should go inside and lie down," Angel said with a very determined and worried look on his face as he looked down at Buffy, half expecting either Spike or Buffy to challenge his opinion.  But that was not the reaction that he got.

"Angel's right luv…you should get some rest," Spike whispered softly into Buffy's ear before he ushered her out of the barn and back towards the house, leaving a tired and weary Giles and Angel to await Faith and Wesley's return.

END OF CHAPTER 20