THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 13-HEALING AND A SLIVER OF HOPE
Ten minutes later Knox returned with the healers that he had told Faith about. It took nearly all of them to pull Wesley off of Faith, but the former rogue slayer insisted on getting Wesley to the couch by herself. Knox quickly picked up everything that was on the small table near the couch and then helped Faith move the table and pull a chair up close. Faith initially seemed weary of the healers but was soon more focused on Wesley and his steadily worsening condition.
"Help him…," Faith shouted with an angry scowl on her face as she gently lifted Wesley's head up and laid a small pillow behind it. Several of the healers looked about ready to wet themselves for a few seconds before they regained their composure and took up positions around Wesley.
"Uh Miss Faith…you know now that I think about it maybe we should leave and let them do their work…it…," Knox mumbled out with a nervous frown on his face as he glanced around at the healers.
"I'm not going anywhere until I know that Wesley is alright," Faith replied with a very stern and serious frown on her face as she took Wesley's right hand into hers and interwove their fingers. "Well…what are you waiting for…," Faith shouted with a frustrated tone to her voice as she glared at the healers, who only looked to become more nervous at her outburst. Almost instantly after she had shouted at the healers the small group closed their eyes and began chanting softly. To her surprise Faith found herself becoming unable to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids had for some unknown reason become as heavy as granite. She fought for what she felt like hours to stay awake before she couldn't do it any longer and succumbed to the spell.
* * * * * *
The cloud of dust and dirt stirred up by Angel's descent into the crater had yet to come to rest before Cordelia clamored up to the edge. Her heart was beating so fast and loud that she was having trouble hearing anything else. She leaned dangerously over the edge of the crater and began to frantically search for any sign of the man that she loved but was incapable of saying more than a few simple words to.
"Cordy…," Xander shouted with a concerned frown on his face as he rushed to his former girlfriend's side and knelt down.
"Where is he Xander…do you see him, Angel…," Cordelia asked Xander with a nervous and almost frantic look of worry on her face before she decided to take the more direct approach and screamed out Angel's name.
"Where is he," Anya asked with an uncertain look on her face as she ran up beside Xander and gazed down into the crater.
"That's what we're trying to find out An…Cordy wait here, I'll see if I can find him," Xander replied at first with a nervous frown on his face before he finished speaking with an unsure look on his face as he slowly began to climb down into the crater that had once been his hometown. Xander had only gone a few feet down into the crater before he half turned around to make sure that no one was following him. Anya stood at the crater's edge with an impatient and worried frown on her face while Cordelia didn't seem to have moved or even heard him. She still leaned dangerously over the edge of the crater in her frantic search for Angel. "Great idea Harris, sending the guy with the depth perception problem down into the crater to find the undead…in the middle of the night no less," Xander mumbled softly to himself with a sarcastic frown on his face as he started to slowly pick his way through the rubble. Back up on the edge of the crater Anya and Cordelia continued to look for Angel and watch Xander before the latter disappeared completely into the night.
* * * * * *
It had taken some time for Buffy to finally pull Spike and Molly apart enough and make them promise to not go at it again. Molly's solemn nod of acceptance reminded her greatly of how Dawn would have responded in the same situation. Spike had hung his head and agreed softly before the trio had taken off towards the high school. Luckily for them the streets were empty enough that they were able to make good time in their journey. Many times during the trip the trio was forced to stop as Spike would abruptly stop walking and clothes his eyes and just soak in the warm rays of the sun. By the time they got to the school lunchtime was in full effect. They tried their best to get through the halls without being noticed but many of the guys stopped and stared at Buffy, a few sending their gazes Molly's way, as many of the young women imitated their male classmates and instead stared at Spike.
"This is getting us nowhere fast pet," Spike muttered under his breath to Buffy as he leaned in closer and took her by the hand.
"Tell me about it, I don't remember the halls ever being this crowded…," Buffy mumbled back in reply with a nervous and slightly confused frown on her face as she tried to keep from looking anyone in the eye.
"Uh…I think that we should get to the library…," Molly said with a nervous frown on her face as she tried to hide herself behind Spike and Buffy. With a nervous nod of his head Spike began to slowly lead the trio towards the library, sometimes utilizing the wall of lockers as a buffer to get by the throng of students. It took some doing but the trio finally made it to the library, with Spike gentlemanly holding the door open for both Buffy and Molly.
"Whew…we made it," Buffy sighed with a slightly worn out frown on her face as she sat down in the nearest chair.
"Finally," Molly added with a soft mumble as she leaned up against the counter with a nervous yawn.
"Excuse me may I…ah Buffy, good…you're back," Giles said with at first an almost annoyed frown on his face before he looked around the corner of the bookcase and saw who it was that had entered the library.
"What, you think we'd just up and leave without telling anyone…shame on you Rupert," Spike chided back with his usual cocky smirk as he sauntered over and sat down beside Buffy, throwing his feet up onto the top of the table.
"Of course…uh could you please take your feet off of the table, this is a library you know, not a saloon," Giles shot back with a frustrated scowl on his face as he slowly walked down the stairs and adjusted his glasses. Spike started to come up with a clever response but a stern look from Buffy stopped him.
"Fine…," Spike mumbled softly with a slightly defeated look on his face as he slid his feet off of the table and moved his chair a bit closer to Buffy's.
"So Giles…have you found out anything that could help us get back to our time…a little sooner preferably," Buffy asked with a nervous look of hope on her face as she laid her hand out flat on the top of the table. Giles stood silently in thought for a few seconds before answering.
"I'm sorry Buffy but from all of the research that I've done the three of you cannot go home any sooner, however I can help you get started in finding someone with the ability to cast the spell, I stayed up all night looking through some of my older volumes and came up with a name," Giles replied softly with an unhappy frown on his face as he walked over and sat down at the opposite end of the table to Spike and Buffy.
"So spill already Giles…," Molly demanded with an impatient frown on her face and her hands on her hips as she stood back up.
"Molly…," Buffy growled softly under her breath as she shot the new slayer an icy glare before turning her head back to Giles and smiling.
"Sorry," Molly mumbled back sadly with a pout as she slowly walked over and sat down beside Spike, making sure to not look Buffy in the eye.
"Anyway…the name that I found was Noxon, it's said that she is an ancient being that has the power…more than enough actually, to cast the spell and get the three of you back home where you belong," Giles said with a serious tone to his voice after initially loudly clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Good, so where do we find this…Noxon, I don't suppose that we'd be lucky enough and she'd have an add in the yellow pages, ya know…Noxin the mistress of time travel spells in big letters with her address and number underneath," Buffy quipped back with a slightly cheesy smile on her face, one that seemed to dim increasingly at Giles' lack of mirth.
"I wish…unfortunately the book said that Noxon's whereabouts have been a mystery for the last couple of centuries, she could be anywhere, if she even still exists…," Giles said with a nervous and sad look on his face before he looked out through the windows and ran a hand through his hair.
"Great…so we're looking for a possibly nonexistent needle in a bloody haystack," Spike grumbled with an angry scowl on his face as he leaned forward and laid his hand overtop of Buffy's.
* * * * * *
When consciousness returned to her world the first emotion that presented itself was panic. She threw open her eyes and frantically began to look around the room, feeling nervous at the emptiness of the room. As she finished her sweep around the room she turned her attention back to Wesley, who seemed to be resting peacefully on the couch. Faith was relieved to see that she still held Wesley's hand in hers. With a nervous yawn she stood up and laid Wesley's hand back down at his side before returning to his desk to try to pick up the mess. She picked up the files quickly enough and pulled open one of the drawers to put it away before she stopped abruptly. Sitting far back in the drawer, looking completely inconspicuous on its own, was a rather hefty file with her name clearly printed on the tab. Almost unconsciously she jammed the file that she had picked up into the front of the drawer before removing the file with her name on it with hands that she was shocked to see were shaking.
"Let's see…," Faith mumbled softly with a concerned frown on her face as she set the file down on the top of the desk and pulled Wesley chair up close before sitting down. The first few papers that Faith saw when she opened the file were some of the correspondence that Wesley had received in his attempts to get Faith a pardon. Pressing on Faith hastily ignored the opinions of the several psychologists that had been to see her in prison before something caught her eye. She quickly flipped over a few more pages before she got a good look at it. It was an old photograph that at first Faith couldn't remember having been taken. It was one of all of the Scoobies sitting around Buffy with a nervous looking Angel standing directly behind Xander and Buffy. That in and of itself wasn't what caught her eye; instead it was the two people standing at the back. Moving her head a bit closer to the picture Faith peered at the pair in the back. Wesley stood there looking ready for an official photo, all gussied up in a suit and tie while beside him sat her younger self. From the picture she could see that the photographer had taken the picture at possibly an inopportune moment. Squinting at the picture Faith was amazed to see that not only was Wesley glancing over at her through the proud smile that he wore but that she was staring right back at him. But instead of the proud smile that he wore on his face she wore one of her best come hither smiles that she had used so many times before. "That's weird…," Faith said with a nervous tone to her voice as she set the picture back down on its top so that she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
"What is…," Wesley asked softly through a yawn as he slowly picked his head up off of the pillow.
"Wesley…," Faith shouted in both alarm and relief as she looked up from her place behind his desk.
"Is something wrong Faith…you look…," Wesley mumbled back in reply as he gingerly rolled over and pushed himself up to his feet.
"N…no…I was just…," Faith stammered back as a reply at first before she pushed back away from Wesley's desk and nervously rushed to his side.
"Snooping around through my desk…," Wesley shot back at first with a stern and almost angry scowl on his face before he couldn't hold the look anymore and started to laugh at the sight of the worried and almost scared look on Faith's face.
"Jerk…," Faith grumbled with an embarrassed and slightly angry smile on her face as she lightly punched Wesley in the shoulder before helping him to sit down in the chair that she had just vacated.
"Delinquent…," Wesley shot back with a daring smirk on his face, one that he couldn't help but allow to grow ever larger as time went on.
"Ooh Wes…you really know how to hurt a lady's feelings…," Faith replied in a mock shocked southern accent as she played up her part.
"You're not a lady Faith…anymore than I'm George Clooney…," Wesley exclaimed with an expectant smile on his face and shrug of his shoulders as he pulled back up close to his desk.
"Well you know if you let your hair grow out a little bit who knows…maybe you could…," Faith said with an equally expectant smile on her face before she plopped down in the plush chair that sat on the other side of Wesley's desk.
"Bet you'd like that wouldn't you Faith…," Wesley asked with a quick glance up at Faith before he turned his gaze back down to the file on the desk in front of him.
"Sure, but that's not what's important right now…what's important right now is that you're okay…so…are you," Faith relented at first with a nervous smile on her face before her countenance became much more serious and almost worried as she looked back up at her former watcher.
"Other than feeling a bit tired…yes Faith I'm fine…and thank you for all that you did," Wesley replied with a very thankful smile on his face as he looked back up at Faith.
"You're welcome…just don't do that again okay, you're too heavy for me to be carrying you around everywhere…," Faith answered with a restrained snicker before she couldn't help but let out a short laugh. Before long the two were caught up in a fit of gentle laughter that seemed to break the tension.
* * * * * *
"Well I called over to Wolfram and Hart and Lilah said that Wesley and Faith are in his office and have been since early this morning," Fred announced with an uncertain frown on her face as she hung up the phone and turned to Giles and Robin.
"Did Lilah say…what they have been doing all of this time…," Robin asked with a concerned and somewhat disappointed frown on his face as he scratched the back of his head. In response Fred meagerly shook her head.
"Knowing Lilah she'd probably lie to you anyway," Gunn added with an unimpressed scowl on his face as he leaned forward over the counter and laid a hand on Fred's shoulder.
"No…but from what she did say it sounded like the two had a pretty wild night, and that they were so hung-over that they couldn't remember anything about what happened," Fred added with a nervous frown on her face as she pushed a stray lock of hair behind hear ear and looked down at her shoes.
"So what are we waiting for, shouldn't one of us go and…," Robin asked with a nervous and impatient frown on his face as he reached for his coat.
"No one's going anywhere…," Angel exclaimed loudly as he walked forcefully back into the Hyperion, shielding everyone's prying eyes from a dirty and disheveled Cordelia.
"Angel good you're…Cordy," Fred started to say with a large sigh of relief before she almost screamed out the last bit as her eyes began to water. Angel hesitated slightly before allowing Fred to rush past him and envelope the former cheerleader in a bear hug.
"What happened…," Gun asked with a worried and slightly confused look on his face as he rushed around the corner of the counter to help a weary Angel stay on his feet.
"We got lucky…but not how you're thinking…," Andrew exclaimed loudly at first before he blushed a deep red and squeaked out the last part.
"Hey everybody…miss me…," Anya called out with an excited smile on her face as she waved to everyone assembled in the lobby as Giles brushed past her and head for the kitchen.
"Anya…," A startled Dawn choked out with an overwhelmed look on her face before she hopped down the last few steps and gripped first Anya, and then Xander, in the tightest bear hug that she could muster.
"We found Cordy and Anya…Riley and Sam to…," Xander hacked out through a short fit of coughing as Dawn released him from her bear hug.
"Riley and Sam…what were they doing there…," Willow asked with a nervous and slightly worried frown on her face as she slowly descended the stairs, followed closely behind by an unhappy Kennedy.
"Apparently trying to figure out what happened to Sunnydale…and using Spike as a punching bag enough to scare Molly into telling them what they wanted to hear," Giles replied with a very concerned scowl on his face as he walked back into the lobby with a damp towel in one hand and a dry one draped over his shoulder.
"Spike…," Dawn asked softly, her eyes wider than silver dollars, as she fought back the tears and tried to keep from sobbing.
"Yep he's back…but he's not dead anymore…and he's like Buffy now…only male," Anya answered with a proud smile on her face as she crossed her arms and looked around the lobby at all of the confused stares of the newly made slayers.
"But why…how…," Willow stammered out with a confused and overwhelmed frown on her face as she walked up next to Xander.
"Don't ask me about the how…but I can answer the why…he's back to protect you and Buffy from some coming evil…so where is the ole Buffster anyway," Cordelia started to say with an impatient frown on her face as she accepted the towel that Giles handed to her.
"Uh…she's not here, exactly…," A very nervous Willow answered softly as she refused to look Angel in the eye.
"Willow…," Angel asked with a quickly growing tone of worry to his voice as he turned towards the witch and furrowed his brows.
"We found a portal…bottom line she's lost somewhere in the past…," Willow answered with a very nervous and scared look on her face as she stared at the tops of her shoes rather than glancing around to see the full impact of her words.
END OF CHAPTER 13