FUTURE IMPERFECT

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

CHAPTER 27-THE PLOT THICKENS AND-INCOMING!

After a rather strenuous morning, what with being woken up by your second best friend in the entire world laughing off a couple dozen gunshot wounds to his torso and all, Faith had retreated back to the master bedroom, letting Wesley watch Hope while she took a shower.  As Angel healed and kept the peace in the living room Wesley had followed Faith's shower with one of his own, an affair that took a bit longer than usual as he gave Hope a quick bath at the same time.  Afterwards the family Wyndam-Pryce lay together, clad in their oversized bath towels, resting comfortably in their large bed. 

"What are you thinking about," Wesley asked lazily as he stared up at the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan spin around on its axis.

"How this all still seems a bit too easy…Angel being lucky enough to happen across the right warehouse on the first try, Sam oh so conveniently being ready to switch sides and fight for the greater good no matter what it does to her marriage…and if I left the oven on…," Faith replied, adding the last bit with a sly smirk on her face as she cast a quick glance across the pillows at her husband, who let out a soft chuckle. 

"This all does seem a bit to easy…and I do believe that you did leave the iron on, but since Dawn was going to cook something I think that she'd notice, unless of course she's to in the middle of telling her story of what happened to her last night," Wesley added with an odd frown on his face as he reached a hand up and took the ends of several strands of Faith's chocolate tresses in between his fingers and squeezed a bit of water out of them.

"She'd better not burn anything…I forgot to replace the batteries in the smoke alarms…," Faith mumbled softly with a fake look of worry on her face as she turned her head to the side and pouted a bit.

"You forgot again…I swear if…," Wesley started to say with a slightly flabbergasted look of glee on his face before Faith held a finger up to his lips and interrupted him.

"You don't want to finish that thought honey," Faith mumbled back softly with a backless glare in her eyes before Hope tipped over and fell down onto the pillow's in between them.

"You know we're going to have to find someone to watch Hope when the big battle comes, and I'm not sure that I fully trust Anya with our daughter," Wesley questioned with a concerned look on his face as he gently helped Hope back up to a seated position before he pushed himself up to a seated position in the bed, an act that Faith soon copied, making sure that her towel was still in the right place.

"Me either…but we could always ask Giles if he could watch her, after all he'll have to stay behind and take care of Gwen when the battle finally does come…right," Faith replied with a nervous look on her face as she began to absentmindedly smooth out the wrinkles that were begging to form in Hope's hair.

"This was all so much simpler back in Los Angeles…there was a problem, I hit my books, Angel…brooded, Gunn…well he…actually I'm not really sure what he did, Fred tried her best to help but usually ended up trying to find a scientific explanation for…," Wesley said with an almost nostalgic look of awe on his face before Faith reached over and lightly punched him in the shoulder, drawing a confused look in return.  Rather than try to explain Faith reached out and pulled Wesley close before gently pressing her lips to his as Hope fell over backwards again but didn't get immediately helped up this time.

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"That's a nice look for you Peaches…all weak and reserved…," Spike joked with a muted smirk of amusement on his face as he gently nudged Angel's shoulder with his elbow. 

"You think so…if I had an uzi I could…," Angel started to return with an equally muted smirk of amusement on his face with his clear intent doing the backstroke in his gaze before Buffy stepped in between the two and forcefully grabbed Spike by the arm and pulled him away.

"Over my dead body…I swear we've been here less than five minutes and already you two have resorted to acting like children," Buffy moaned with an angry and frustrated frown on her face as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Just doing what comes natural pet," Spike mumbled softly with a daring smile on his face as he avoided Buffy's glare while Angel tried his suppress a smile of his own.  In response Buffy started to say something as she squeezed Spike's arm very tightly but stopped when Sam slowly stepped into the living room.

"Uh…hi…again," Sam spoke up with a nervous smile on her face as she briefly waved hello and then sat down on the couch and stared at her hands.

"Hello Sam…," Buffy said softly as she returned the greeting while trying to keep her emotions in check and not do anything rash like snap the other woman's spine.

"Must be feeling pretty proud of yourself right now huh, pulled the wool over Captain Cardboard's eyes…or maybe the wool's not over his…but ours," Spike added with a deadly serious expression on his face as he slowly walked towards Sam, who shrunk back slightly into the cushion of the couch at his approach.

"Leave her alone Spike, she's here to help us stop Riley and…," Angel interrupted with an angry tone to his voice as he went to move to stand up but stopped at the enormous amount of pain that tore through his torso. 

"That's what she says she's here for anyway, me…I'm not totally convinced that Mrs. Cardboard here is telling us everything, maybe this is all part of some plan to…," Spike started to wonder aloud with a very serious look on his face as he towered down over Sam, who quickly scooted to one side to get out from under his shadow.

"Lay off Spike, so far she's our best lead to finding Nick and Callie and stopping this apocalypse," Dawn grumbled with an annoyed frown on her face as she slowly walked into the living room, hands rammed deeply into her pockets and hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. 

"Might convenient is all I'm saying…," Spike mumbled softly with a defeated pout on his face as he turned away from Sam and walked back towards Buffy.

"Shouldn't someone get Faith and Wesley…if we're going to have a meeting don't you think that they should be here…since it is kind of their house and all," Dawn added with an almost bored look on her face as she plopped down on the couch but kept her distance from Sam. 

"I'll do it…," Spike began to exclaim with a sly smirk on his face before Buffy pulled his hand down and cleared her throat softly.

"No William, you'll stay here and play nice with Angel while I go and get Wesley and Faith," Buffy stated with a  very serious look on her face as she quickly stepped away from Spike and headed down the hall, giving the former vampire absolutely no time to come up with a response.

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"We should be in there…," Gunn grumbled with an unhappy frown on his face as he leaned back up against the tree while scratching one of the puppies behind its right ear. 

"Charles…," Fred chided with the angriest glare that she could summon up on such short notice as she clutched the other puppy tightly.

"It's only been an hour, and no matter what they decide we can't do anything until tonight, we just have to hope that Nick and Callie will be safe until then," Willow chimed in with a relaxed tone to her voice as she gently coaxed a dandelion to open up and bloom.

"And what if they aren't, by now Riley knows of Sam's deception and is probably coming here right now to kill us all, we should take the fight to them," Connor interjected with a serious frown on his face as he watched Liam bend down and pick up a large leaf that had fallen from one of the trees.

"We will…but when the time is right, it won't help any of us to attack them when they have their defenses up, and besides if they keep their word all that we have to do is take out a few of these scaly demons and they'll leave us alone," Xander joined in with an almost goofball like smile on his face as he squatted down beside Liam and Christopher, who had now begun to fight over the leaf.

"Xander…when have you ever known anything to be that easy…," Cordelia chided with an unhappy frown on her face as she kept a watchful eye on Liam.

"And I trust the Initiative to keep its word about as much as…," Willow started to add with an unhappy frown on her face as the dandelion began to wilt in front of her before everyone outside was silenced by a large fireball that passed mere inches above their heads and slammed into Buffy and Spike's rental car, causing it to explode in a large fireball and be thrown into the air like a toy.  Instantly Xander dove on top of Christopher and Connor threw Cordelia on top of Liam before he covered her with his body.  Anya and Willow quickly ducked behind the nearest tree before daring a peek.

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"Yeah well may I be the first to say…look out," Spike started to mumble with an angry scowl on his face before his eyes widened at the sight of the fireball streaking towards their rental car and he screamed the warning before ducking for cover.  Wesley pulled Hope closer to him and turned his back away from the window as Faith rolled off of the couch, just as the windows shattered, showering everyone with glass.

"Spike…," Buffy shouted with a panicked and worried tone to her voice as she looked up and shook the glass out of her hair.

"I'm fine…Angel," Spike replied with a very serious frown on his face before he cocked his head back to one side and stared back at his former grandsire.

"Never better…what happened," Angel exclaimed with an overwhelmed look on his face as he struggled back to his feet with Sam's help while Wesley and Faith huddled together and made sure that all three members of their small family were alright.

"Giant fireball, hit our rental car…guess we won't be getting the deposit back…," Spike groaned softly with a dejected frown on his face as he cautioned a glance out of the shattered window.

"Spike…," Dawn shouted with an angry expression on her face before she caught sight of the action that was taking place out in Wesley and Faith's backyard.

"Everyone stay down…we have to…," Angel started to shout with a commanding frown on his face before another fireball slammed into one of the larger trees and it burst into flames.

"Do something other than die," Faith shouted with a worried look on her face as she got up and took Hope from Wesley before handing her to Giles and placing a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead.  The old watcher slowly nodded his head in a grim acceptance of the situation.

"It has to be the demon's that we're supposed to destroy," Wesley exclaimed with a nervous look on his face as he ducked and dodged his way to the door with an almost panicked Sam wishing that she had a gun. 

"But what are they doing here…how'd they find us," Faith shouted out her question with a worried look on her face as another of their trees went up in flames.

"I'm not…," Wesley started to answer with a confused look on his face before Spike reached up, turned the knob, and threw the door open.

"Does it really matter luv…what do you say that we leave the questions like that until after we've kicked their asses," Spike growled with a deadly serious scowl on his face before he rushed through the doorway and down the stairs, with a nervous Buffy close behind.  With only a quick and longing glance back towards Hope Wesley turned and followed Spike and Buffy outside, with Faith close on his heels.

"Time to…hey," Dawn started to exclaim with a happy smirk on her face before Angel reached out and grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go.

"No Dawn…you have to stay here, I can't go out there and help them fight so you have to stay here and help me protect Gwen and Hope," Angel stated with a pained wince on his face as he slowly stood up and made his way over to the window, careful to stay out of the direct rays of sunlight in the process. 

"What am I…uh don't answer that," Sam started to ask with a slightly hurt glare in her eyes before she realized the full weight of what she was saying and shut up.

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"Get them inside," Gunn shouted to Connor as the latter scooped up Christopher in one arm and Liam in the other. 

"I know…," Connor growled back with an eerily calm look on his face as he handed Liam to Cordelia and Christopher to Xander and Anya, who all immediately took off towards the house while Willow did her best to concentrate on getting the words right to the spell that had suddenly appeared in her head.

"This is bad…," Fred shouted with a scared look on her face as she huddled behind one of the larger trees and did her best to clutch the two growing puppies close to her and keep them from charging their attackers.

"We're well aware of that Fred," Faith shouted with an angry scowl on her face as she ran up and knelt down beside Fred just as another fireball seemed to come from out of nowhere and slam into another tree.

"Ah…that was my favorite…," Wesley moaned softly with a slightly sarcastic frown on his face as he watched the tree begin to burn. 

"I'll get you one just like it from the nearest nursery when this is all over…," Spike joked with an impatient scowl on his face as he passed Fred and the others on his way to the barn, with Buffy close on his heels.

"Is everyone alright…is…," Fred tried to ask but her nerves got the better of her and she couldn't finish the question fully.

"Everyone's fine Fred…at least for the time being…," Wesley replied with a nervous and slightly scared look on his face as he ducked behind one of the larger trees with Faith scurrying his way.

"Let's hope it stays that way," Faith added with a nervous and grim smirk on her face as she finished the crossing and knelt down beside Wesley.

"What's going on," Fred asked with a worried and panicked expression on her face as another fireball rocketed in and barely missed the barn before fizzling to a stop in the driveway.

"I believe that the demons that we were contracted to destroy have decided to bring the fight to us…," Wesley replied with a nervous and angry scowl on his face before he and the others were forced to duck for cover as another giant fireball roared in over their heads. 

"In other words unless we gets some weapons we're fucked," Faith growled with an angry tone to her voice before Spike and Buffy rushed back out of the barn, arms full of weapons.

"Which is where we come in," Buffy interjected with a serious look on her face as she and Spike ducked another fireball before kneeling down beside Wesley and Faith and handing Wesley an axe and Faith a sword.

"Thanks…now how are we going to do this…straight on rushing them would be futile…and I'm not about to leave Hope as an orphan before she's two…," Faith wondered aloud with a concerned expression on her face as she tried but failed to catch a glimpse of their attackers.

"Faith…you and Buffy will slowly make your way forward to draw their fire while Spike and I circle around on either side and surprise them from behind," Wesley said with an utterly grim frown etched upon his face as he half stood up and peered through the trees.

"Hey now…who died and made you…," Spike started to ask with an unsure look on his face before a grunt from Buffy cut him off and he closed his mouth and silently nodded his head.

"And just what am I supposed to do in the meantime Custer," Gunn asked with a slightly angry at being left out of the plan look on his face as he rushed over to stand beside Wesley.

"Stay back near the driveway and kill anything that gets past us," Faith replied with a nervous look on her face as she took a sword from Spike and handed it to Gunn as she stood up and leaned slightly into Wesley.

"Fine…good luck…you're gonna need it," Gunn grumbled softly with an unhappy and worried frown on his face as he took the sword and headed back out of the trees, uttering the last quartet of words under his breath as a prayer to a deity that he wasn't even sure that he still believed in.

"Now don't either of you go and get any bright ideas and try to take them on all by yourselves, anything happens we fall back to the house and evacuate everyone to our hotels," Buffy declared with a very serious and commanding look on her face before placing a possibly final kiss on the lips of the man that she loved and headed forward. 

"Don't go dying on me Wes…I'm not going to raise these two on my own…," Faith whispered under her breath to Wesley with a clearly pleading and worried tone of voice before Wesley pulled her into a kiss that would have lasted longer had the situation not been as dire.  Soon thereafter Faith got a better grip on her sword and followed off after Buffy.

"Well mate…what say we tempt the fates and reap the whirlwind…," Spike asked with an amused and invigorated smile on his face, one that oddly enough Wesley shared, before the two nodded and parted ways, venturing forth into combat.

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"Nobody move…I…I lost a contact…," Whistler exclaimed with a panic-stricken expression on his face as he tilted his head back and rounded the corner in front of a pair of Initiative soldiers.

"Hey…who are you," One of the guards demanded loudly in a very gruff tone of voice as he took the safety off of his gun and elbowed the other guard.

"Stop right there…," The other guard shouted as she put her gun up to her shoulder and aimed it straight at Whistler's heart.

"My…a lady…and here I was thinking that the Initiative was a guys only kind of club…guess you learn something new every day," Whistler added with an impish chuckle and smile on his face as he lowered his head and smiled at the two guards before finally tipping his hat to the two in a greeting.  "Speaking of which…got any plans for tonight…," Whistler started to ask with an amused smirk on his face as he took a step forward before both guards acted upon their earlier threats and fired off a few shots, striking the demon with every shot.  "Hey…what was that for…do you know how hard it is to get bullet holes out of shirts…," Whistler asked with an only half angry frown on his face as he inspected the holes in his shirt while the guards stared on in disbelief.

END OF CHAPTER 27