THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Joyce and Noxon.
CHAPTER 23-FACE TO FACE
Faith and Wesley had taken slightly more than thirty minutes to assemble in Wesley's living room fully ready to make the trek back to Wolfram and Hart. Cordelia had waited impatiently for the two lovers to emerge from the bedroom, half expecting to have to go into the bedroom and actually physically pull them out of it. Faith came out first, messing with her hair with one hand while trying to button up one of Wesley's smallest shirts with the other. Cordelia didn't even want to fathom why Wesley had clothes small enough to fit Faith and so because of this she quickly moved on to Wesley, who almost staggered out of the bedroom with a pained grimace on his face and a casual looking pair of khakis and, like Faith, and open in the front button up shirt. Although Cordelia found herself wondering still if Faith had stored some clothes at Wesley's apartment earlier in the night because she could have sworn the bra that Wesley had quickly shoved deep into his pocket had been black, and the one that Faith now wore was red.
"Aren't you two ready yet," Cordelia moaned with an impatient stomp of her foot as she pursed her lips and glared lightly at the two.
"Give us a minute C, these things take time ya know," Faith softly growled back with an angry frown on her face before she winced in pain as she was still a bit drunk and only beginning to hit her hangover.
"It would help matters as well if you didn't yell so loud Cordelia," Wesley added with a tired yawn as he began to button up his shirt.
"I am not yelling Wesley…THIS IS YELLING…see the difference," Cordelia responded softly at first before she actually shouted for a bit before quieting down and laughing at Wesley and Faith's harsh and pain filled reactions.
"Yes…," Wesley replied with a pained look on his face as he pinched his nose and took a deep breath.
"Please don't do that again," Faith stuttered out in between aborted attempts to try to correctly button up her shirt, but her hair kept getting in the way.
"Here Faith, let me…," Wesley whispered softly, with a touch of humor in his voice, as he walked around in front of Faith and unbuttoned a few buttons before he aligned the buttons properly and began again.
"Thanks…stupid hair," Faith muttered with an annoyed and slightly embarrassed smile on her face as she pulled her hair back and watched Wesley button up her shirt. Cordelia watched the two with a rapt interest. She vividly remembered what Wesley had looked like the night that she had driven him to the hospital after Faith had spent the better part of that same night trying to make him scream and beg for mercy. She remembered the haunted look in his eyes and the listless tilt to his step. But looking at him now, helping button up Faith's shirt, he looked nothing like he had that night. His hands no longer shook at being in such close of contact to the slayer that had nearly been his death, instead they appeared gentle and reassuring as Cordelia caught site of the dark slayers almost timid eyes flitter back and forth between Wesley's face and his hands slipping the small piece of formed plastic through its corresponding slot in the other side of the shirt. Once Cordelia saw Wesley miss the hole and pull a hand back to rub his eyes. She would have laughed at the gesture had Faith and Wesley not picked up the slack and done it for her. The laugh was not one of girlish or childish glee but of contentment and trust. Wesley's next attempt succeeded and he quickly finished the rest of the buttons off and stood back up and smiled as Faith tucked her shirt in while trying to keep her hair out of her eyes.
"Could you two be any more obvious…," Cordelia mumbled with a sarcastic smile on her face as she crossed her arms, shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and shook her head.
"Give it a rest Cordelia would you please…," Wesley returned softly with a hint of aggravation in his voice, with his gaze set firmly on the former cheerleader, as Faith took the opening and tucked Wesley's shirt in for him, the playful smile on her face widening every time her hand slipped beneath the waistband of his khakis.
"Alright children, keep the hands where I can see em…otherwise I'll make you ride back with Andrew," Cordelia said with an impatient look of annoyance on her face as she tapped her foot and glared at the pair.
"Relax Cor…it's not like we're going to go at it right here and now…no matter how much we're tempted to…," Faith returned with a fake pout of hurt on her face as she reluctantly pulled her hands back to her sides and slipped them into her pockets.
"Thank you Faith, for giving me yet another mental image that I could easily live without ever possessing," Cordelia moaned softly as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, trying her best to remain calm and not get into a war or words with Faith, at least not until she'd had some coffee.
"What do we do about Dawn and Andrew, we can't let them see Faith and I together just yet…," Wesley asked with a concerned frown on his face as he rubbed a hand along his cheek and made a mental note to shave the next opportunity that he got.
"You can ride with me and the gruesome twosome in the limo while Faith hitches around in one of the other cars, I'll distract them long enough for Faith to jump in and we'll be off, granting that those two haven't done something that I'd have to kill them for…," Cordelia stated with a very pessimistic look on her face before she turned around and flung the door open before walking out of Wesley's apartment and around the corner.
"I'm thinking that she wants us to follow her…," Faith guessed aloud with an odd smirk on her face after she and Wesley stared at the empty doorway for a few seconds.
"That sounds good," Wesley chipped in through a tired yawn before he ever so politely bowed to Faith to invite her to go first. Faith's only response was to shake her head with an amused grin on her face before she headed out of Wesley's apartment. The two followed Cordelia down to street level quickly enough but Faith held back when they got to the front doors, not wanting Dawn and Andrew to see her. Mere seconds before Cordelia took him by the arm and dragged him out into the murky gray of the day Wesley leaned in and captured Faith's lips with his own in a kiss that left Faith wish that they didn't have to leave so soon.
"Okay you two…you'd better not have…," Cordelia started to say with a bored frown on her face before stopping to listen to something.
"I swear they must be related somehow," Andrew exclaimed from within the limo, a statement that caused Wesley and Cordelia to stop and look on in wonderment.
"What…you're insane Andrew…there's no way," Dawn's voice quickly followed, filling in the counterpoint to whatever point the nerd was trying to make.
"Yes they are…Klingons and vampires must be related somehow, the forehead ridges and sharp teeth are proof…," Andrew started to state back in defense of his argument before a feminine shriek was heard from inside the limo, along with sounds of a scuffle.
"Shouldn't we…," Wesley asked with a perplexed frown on his face as he looked first to the limo and then back to Cordelia, who looked about ready to blow her top.
"Alright you two…what the hell is…," Cordelia growled with an angry scowl on her face before she ripped open the door and nearly gasped at the sight that greeted her. Andrew and Dawn were in the midst of an ill timed wrestling match, with Dawn clutching a handful off Andrew's hair and the nerd's one hand on Dawn's arm in a feeble attempt to get her to let go while the other hand Cordelia could only guess at its location.
"Having fun," Wesley asked with a short chuckle as he slipped in by the two startled teens, affording the two time to try to compose themselves if they could. He wasn't even going to ask why he caught site of Andrew's once hidden hand being quickly pulled out from under Dawn's shirt and her rather embarrassed face.
* * * * * *
"Well…did it work…are we back," Jenny cautioned softly with a nervous tenor to her voice as she looked around in a quick check to make sure that everyone was still present and accounted for.
"I…I think so…everybody okay…," Buffy stated softly before she instantly reached over and grabbed Spike's arm, her smile widening as he smiled back and pulled her into a congratulatory kiss.
"Hey…some of us are trying to keep our bloody lunches in our stomachs…," Molly exclaimed with a look of fake disgust on her face as she made a sick face and tried to hide her smile.
"Buffy…Spike…look…we're here," Jenny said with a happy tone to her voice as she pointed out a sign in front of them.
"Los Angeles California, next five exits…well at least we're in the right place, but how do we know that we're in the right time," Buffy stated with a half sigh of relief as she smiled and read the sign aloud.
"Well let's find out shall we…onward to LA pops," Molly joked with a sneaky but playful smile on her face as she spurred the van on. While on the way to Los Angeles Buffy tried to pick up any radio station that would tell them the date, but stopped when she noticed as they got closer to the city the sky grew steadily darker.
"Yep…home sweet hell…," Spike quipped with an amused grin on his face before his countenance sobered at the sight of the condition of the city.
"Angel and the others must really have their hands full trying to keep the peace," Molly observed with a scared look on her face as she reached down and loosened the ties that bound the two sacred weapons together. After gaining them Molly had spent the remaining time training nearly day and night with the spear while Buffy had helped Spike get the feel for the sword, which was almost exactly like the scythe except the obvious differences between a sword and a scythe.
"We should go to them immediately instead of finding somewhere safe and sticking to the plan," Jenny said with an imminent look of worried foreboding on her face as she leaned back in her chair and took in some more of the scenery. Unlike when they had left the streets of Los Angeles had now been overrun with vampires and almost every manner of demons and deities known to man. Spike was forced to keep his attention focused entirely on the road to keep from running over the carcasses of what looked liked a small pack of Fyarl demons.
"Wait Spike…stop here…there's something that I want…I mean we need to do here before we go to see Angel," Buffy shouted loudly, an act that nearly caused Spike to steer the old van straight into an electric pole, as she pointed to an old brick building that they were starting to pass by.
"Why…what's so important about…oh…," Spike started to ask with a very angry tone to his voice before his gaze met Buffy's and he all at once understood.
* * * * * *
"This had better be good Cordelia…I've got Giles and Robin breathing down my neck trying to find Wesley and Faith and I have to get to the Hyperion to open the portal to try to get Buffy and the others back," Angel said with an overwhelmed look on his face as he sat behind his desk, furiously scribbling away in his day planner.
"Well I got some bad news…and some worse news…which do you want first," Cordelia almost whimpered back her reply with a hesitant frown on her face as she took a seat in front of Angel's desk and straightened out a crease in her jeans.
"Does it really matter…," Angel started to ask softly before he let his voice trail off as he leaned back in his chair and prepared for the worst.
"Well, yeah kinda…okay no not really, look Angel it's like this Wesley and Faith wasn't just a one time deal, they went out last night and did things that even I don't want to think about…and that's the bad news…," Cordelia replied with a nervous look on her face while she looked everywhere around the room but into contact with Angels gaze.
"And what's the worse news…," Angel dared to ask with a hesitant expression on his face before he dropped his head into his hands in frustration.
"Believe me Angel…it gets worse, I'm afraid that Buffy's going to hate you when she gets back for letting her little sister fall in love with the king of the nerds," Cordelia answered with a worried look of panic on her face as she angrily rubbed a dry patch of skin on her arm.
"Dawn and…Andrew…no, wait, you're wrong, I didn't…let…her fall in love with anyone, and how do you know that she's fallen in love with him, you've been wrong before," Angel stammered out in his defense with a flustered expression on his face as he tried to use hand gestures to further defend his point of view.
"Yeah well let's hope I'm wrong now, because if I'm not then there's going to be trouble, on top of the scourge coming to kill us and the Beast and…," Cordelia joked sarcastically with a nervous frown on her face before Angel stood up and interrupted.
"Alright already Cordy…I get the point, where are Wesley and Faith now," Angel interjected with a frustrated expression on his face as he gazed sadly out of the window.
"They're in his office, hopefully not doing anything that I'm going to make them regret later," Cordelia replied with a nervous and hesitant frown on her face as she leaned back in her seat and looked up at Angel.
"Do Giles and Robin know that they're here," Angel asked softly, without taking his gaze off of the window and the apocalypse that was in its early stages occurring outside.
"I don't think so…not yet, because when I came up here they were still standing around in the lobby," Cordelia replied with a nervous frown on her face before she stood up and walked over to Angel, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"They're not going to be happy when they find out what Wes and Faith were doing last night you know…," Angel muttered softly with a somewhat worried look on his face as he turned his head to look back at Cordelia.
"Yeah…I know, but as strange as all of this is Wesley and Faith are adults…one more than the other I'll admit but…neither one of us is in any position to tell them who they can and who they can't be with…so if they make each other happy then I'm okay with them being together, but we shouldn't keep them waiting to long because you need to get back to the Hyperion and get Buffy back before the Scourge and the Beast attack us while I try to get Wesley and Giles to have their little conversation without anything going wrong and just hope that Faith can explain the situation to Robin without setting him off…," Cordelia added with a sincere look of frustration on her face as she gave Angel a one armed hug and laid her head on his shoulder, quietly smiling as she felt him slip an arm around her waist and return the act of affection.
* * * * * *
Molly quickly skipped her way through the clogged city streets on her way to the Hyperion. When Buffy had wanted to make the stop earlier Molly had been the first to fully realize her reasoning's. When the quintet walked back out of the courthouse Elizabeth Ann Summers had become Elizabeth Ann Wilmington, with Spike and Buffy both using the faked papers that they had used many times before in the past, and Molly serving as the witness since Jenny was still technically dead. Molly had started to get back into the van but Spike had stopped her and rummaged under the seat for a bit before he produced the spear and handed it to her. When she and Buffy had asked what he was doing Spike had answered that he had an uncanny feeling that their friends would need help sooner rather than later and at least one of them should go. Molly had reluctantly agreed and quickly pulled the curtains over the windows in the van and pulled out her special bag. Inside she found the clothes that she had been saving for more than a month. When she had stepped out of the van a few minutes later she looked the part of a death dealer. Dressed from head to toe in black, very much imitating the look that Spike had worn so well years earlier the first night that Buffy had come face to face with him. With a deep sigh she looped the strap of her favorite satchel over her head letting it come to a rest on her right hip, before she took the spear back from Buffy and headed out. After she had left Buffy had jumped back into the driver's seat and soon the three were back on the road to finding a hotel.
"Why did Buffy have to pick a courthouse so far away…," Molly grumbled to herself with a nervous and frustrated scowl on her face as she quickly crawled overtop of an overturned car. Her trek through the city lasted almost thirty more minutes before she kicked in a locked door and raced up the stairs before she took position on the far corner of the roof. From her vantage point she could see the courtyard of what she had guessed was the Hyperion, buzzing with activity. Fishing her half sized binoculars out of her satchel Molly knelt down as close to the edge as she could and trained her sights on the courtyard. The first person that she sharpened into focus on made her heart leap with joy. Over the course of the three years in the past Buffy, Spike, and Jenny had gone on and on about stories of their pasts, describing in vivid detail the Scooby gang and those that Angel had assumed the leadership of. From the slightly fuzzy look that she got through the binoculars Molly guessed that she had spotted Angel. When Buffy had talked about Angel she had often gotten a long and far off look of nostalgia in her eye, as if remembering the happy times. But almost to a fault every one of those times Buffy had just as quickly changed her expression to one of anger and bitterness. The few times that Molly had asked about the sudden and dramatic change Buffy had almost bitten her head off. She had ended up turning to Spike to get more of the answers, as she was forced to because for most of the time spent in the past every time she brought up Angel's name Jenny would try to change the subject as quickly as she could. Over those years Molly had finally learned enough about Angel to know why Buffy had initially fallen hopelessly in love with him while at the same time come to later move past him and try to put aside the terrors that he had perpetrated in his earlier years. Spike had admitted many an atrocity to Molly over the years, with some of those admissions his look had barely changed, but with others the grief and self loathing had washed off of the former vampire as if he had bathed in the emotions themselves. She would have continued to bask in her memories of the past if she hadn't spotted movement in an alley a block away. Training her binoculars on the alley Molly's heart went from skipping a beat to almost stopping in an instant.
"Bloody hell…they're here…," Molly gasped out in shock before she slammed her binoculars back into her satchel and was off back down the stairs.
END OF CHAPTER 23