A/N: A few things that I need to mention to you guys. First, thanks so much for all the feedback. Second, to those reading She's A Wild One, I won't be able to update it for at least another few days. My computer caught a virus and I lost all my work on that fic. Luckily, I wrote this fic on paper.

This third one concerns Faith and this fic. My sources tell me that Faith has been in prison approximately two years, a little close to three. Anyone who knows if this is wrong, tell me. also, it's my opinion, that although Faith served time in prison and seems to have spftened (when we saw her in the episode Salvage) she still has some issues to resolve. This is just a fair warning to you readers for future references.

(More at the bottom of the page.)

Here's the second chapter. Enjoy.

You labeled me

I label you

So I dub thee Unforgiven

from The Unforgiven by Metallica

"Who's Faith?" Fred timidly whispered to Gunn as they watched Lorne usher the very pregnant and soaked slayer to the nearest seat. Faith tried to wave him off, insisting that she was fine but Lorne refused to hear her.

"I only heard of her. She's a slayer." Gunn replied as everyone circled Faith.

Fred frowned; slightly confused. "I thought that was Buffy."

"There are two of them now. Something wonky happened and it screwed with the one in every generation deal. I think it was Buffy who did it. Kept dying and coming back." He clarified. "From what I hear Faith had a crazy phase. Killed a bunch of people."

"For the record, it wasn't a phase and I wasn't crazy." Faith drawled, startling Gunn and Fred. "Let me guess. You two are newbies."

Fred chuckled shyly. "Oh, hi. I'm Fred."

"And I'm Gunn."

Faith nodded quietly as Lorne excused himself to get some bandages. "Nice name."

"Never mind that." Cordelia interrupted them. "Faith, what are you doing here? You have a gazillion years left to serve in prison."

"Nice to see you too, Cor."

The other woman huffed. "Angel, what is she doing here? Do you know anything about this?"

The vampire shook his head, looking troubled. "No. Faith, how did you…when did this happen?" Angel looked unmistakably stunned to see her pregnant.

"Last night." Faith replied. Everyone looked at her suspiciously. "Mystical pregnancy."

"You too?" Fred uttered. "Wow."

"What? No, wait-" Faith tried to explain but Cordelia quickly cut her off.

"Don't tell me that you're carrying Angel's child." Cordelia drawled.

Faith sighed. "Oh, glad to know someone's been updated."

"What?" Everyone exclaimed in unison. Lorne, who just returned with the first aid kit and towel, dropped what he was carrying. The room burst into questions, everyone speaking on top of each.

"Okay, so you didn't know." Faith uttered dryly.

"You boinked her too?" Cordelia hissed at Angel who tried to explain but was somehow at a loss of words. "That is just great!"

Wesley pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, dear. This is not good."

"Not good at all." Lorne agreed as he sat next to Faith and began cleaning up her wounds. "One baby missing and another one found. You've been a busy little beaver, Angel." He paused, waving a finger at the vampire.

"I didn't!"

"How is that possible? Angel can't get all happy." Fred softly declared.

Angel frowned. "I can get happy. Just not-"

"Hey!" Faith shrieked as she abruptly rose from her seat. "You all need to shut up and listen to me. You are all panicking for no apparent reason."

The room fell into a stunned silence. Wesley shuffled his feet uncomfortably before speaking. "You're only partially right."

Faith shot him a look. "Okay, first thing's first. This baby is not mine."

Cordelia looked utterly confused as did everyone else in the room. "But you just said-"

"No." Faith argued. "You all jumped to conclusions before I even got to explain anything. Here's the deal, people. This baby I'm carrying is not mine, at all. It's Angel's and Darla's."

"You have my son? Are you sure?" Angel whispered in disbelief and Faith nodded. The rest of the gang exchanged baffled looks.

"Okay, how?" Gunn asked.

Theories, prophecies and doubts were suddenly rapidly running through Wesley's mind. "Faith, an explanation would be nice." He said.

Faith nodded as she sat back down. "Do you want the long or short version?" She asked.

Angel folded his arms. "We should hear it all. This does not make sense at all."

"No, it doesn't." Faith agreed.

"Go on." Wesley murmured, sighing loudly as he took a seat. He had a feeling this was going to be long. Cordelia followed his lead and waited.

"Last night, I was summoned by the Powers that Be." Faith began.

Wesley frowned. "The powers?" He echoed, looking intrigued.

Faith nodded. "Yes, them. They came to me or I was brought to them; to the Stillness-"

"The Stillness?"

Faith shot him an irritated look. "A place where space does not exist and time stops. Anyway, there was a little boy. He was a messenger."

"Messenger?" Cordelia whispered dubiously. She was having trouble taking it all in.

Faith sighed sharply. "Are you and Wesley my echo?" She snapped heatedly just as the baby gave her one good, hard kick. Unaccustomed to the sensation, Faith flinched.

"Are you okay? Do you want some water?" Fred asked.

"I'm fine. I'll get used to this." She replied as indifferently as possible.

Angel cleared his throat. "Who was the little boy, Faith? And what did he want?"

"I didn't get a name. He said he was a messenger of the Powers that Be and that I am the Vessel." Faith continued. "I was needed."

"What's the Vessel?" Angel asked. "Wes, do you know?"

Wesley nodded solemnly. "I've read of it years ago during my time as a watcher." He cast Faith a brief look before continuing. "The Vessel carries or houses a supernatural being. Its definition was rather vague. I've always thought it was an object, not a person."

Faith smirked. "Well, that's the long and short of it. After my nice little chat with wonder boy I woke up on a bus headed here like it was all a dream."

"This is good, right? Angel's baby is back." Fred stated optimistically.

"It's kind of hard to believe that the Powers would just hand you Angel's baby. How do we know you're telling the truth, Faith?" Cordelia asked.

The other woman shrugged. "I guess you don't."

Cordelia didn't look pleased with her answer. "We need to talk." She said, turning to Angel.

"Now?" Angel asked.

"Now." Cordelia firmly stated and Angel sighed as he followed her into the other room. Wesley went as well, muttering a curt excuse me.

Typical. Faith thought. "Go on. I'm sure you want to take part in it too." She said to Gunn and Fred who looked at her sheepishly. They exited the room and Faith turned to Lorne who was still sitting next to her, looking awfully relaxed and pleased.

"I'll stay." He said, offering her a smile. "I'm Lorne, by the way."

Faith gave him a small nod. "You a new member of Hero Inc. too?" She asked.

The Host chuckled. "Nah. Saving the world on a daily basis isn't my kind of thing, sweetie pie. I serve the people of L.A. the best way I know how. Entertainment."

"You're a…stripper?" Faith asked hesitantly, her eyes roaming his body as if to check.

Lorne guffawed uncontrollably and then settled down a few seconds later. "God, no. Me? Taking my clothes off? Let's not go there." He replied. "I own a club, Caritas, which is as crispy as a burnt KFC right now." Lorne looked truly unhappy as he momentarily thought of Caritas. "Hey, how about you sing me a piece?"

She shot him a puzzled look. "I don't think so." Faith replied dryly.

"I'm an empath. I read auras, take a little peek inside you head but no invasion of privacy whatsoever. They're deliberating in there, probably on whether or not you're telling the truth. It'll help you big, kiddo." Lorne said and Faith watched him suspiciously.

"Fine, whatever." She relented grudgingly, not looking too delighted.

The gang gathered in Wesley's office to contemplate about what Faith had just conveyed to all of them. Wesley had already situated himself behind his desk, flipping through the pages of the book in hand, looking some more proof in the slayer's words. Fred sat next to him, rapidly typing on her laptop while Gunn retreated on a nearby chair leaving Cordelia and Angel standing.

Angel sighed, took a quick glance at Faith, who was currently being occupied by Lorne, and turned back to face his friends.

"I can't believe it." He whispered, a small happy smile gracing his lips.

Cordelia frowned as she folded her arms in front of her. "Angel, she could be lying." She voiced. From the way Angel looked, Cordelia could tell he believed every word Faith had just said.

"If she is, she sure made up one elaborate lie." Gunn drawled.

Fred looked up from her work. "Guys, maybe it's not her at all. Maybe it's some demon or thing in her form."

"It's possible."

Angel shook his head. "It's her." He said with finality.

"How can you be sure?" Wesley asked without looking up from his book.

"Everyone has a distinct scent. I can tell people apart through them, human or otherwise." Cordy quirked an eyebrow at Angel, slightly disturbed.

"Right, enhanced vampire senses." Gunn uttered.

Angel nodded. "Yes. Wesley, did you find anything?"

"Nothing I didn't already know, which isn't much." Wesley said. "This requires more research."

Cordelia frowned. "Faith could have read about it."

"In prison?"

Cordelia shrugged. "Does the book mention anything about the Vessel being evil or works for evil?"

Wesley shook his head as he readjusted his glasses. "It says that the Vessel is a neutral force but can be swayed by either side. There's no mention of who or what summoned the first Vessel so it could be anyone. Who Faith works for now is who we should worry about."

"Who says Faith has to be working for somebody?" Angel asked.

"Well, she didn't do it on her own, Angel." Wesley declared.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "She could be working for Wolfram and Hart." Fred suggested.

"Or Holtz." Cordelia added grimly.

"Or the Powers that Be, just like Faith said." Gunn pointed out.

Angel sighed sharply. "It doesn't matter who did this to Faith or who she works for. At least not right now." He declared. "My son is alive. That's all that matters to me."

"It does matter. We're not even sure that Faith is really carrying your son. For all we know this could be some sort of trap." Cordelia stubbornly insisted.

Wesley concurred with a slight nod. "A Trojan Horse. Cordelia has a very good point. It would be very easy to deceive you by giving you a gift-your son-and then destroy you when you least expect it."

"We want to find your son too, Angel, but we have to look at all the angles here." Cordelia pressed. "Wolfram and Hart has the resources to do this kind of dark magic. They've hired Faith before. She has the power and will to destroy you. With Faith carrying your child, you're not likely going to hurt her no matter what she does."

"Cordy, that was two years ago. Wolfram and Hart paid her. She was going through a rough time."

She shook her head at him. "You're not helping your case here, buddy."

Angel heaved a sigh. "She's changed. Faith went to prison."

"Two years in jail is hardly enough time for a psychotic rogue slayer to change." Wesley pointed out.

Angel glared at him. "Whose side are you on?"

Wesley pursed his lips. "No one's side, Angel, but I must admit that I'm slightly biased on this seeing as how Faith mercilessly tortured me and tried to kill you before." He said somewhat bitterly. "If she was willing to assassinate you for a few thousand dollars, it's likely she won't hesitate giving it another try if the fee was raised."

"Like a get out of jail ticket." Fred whispered.

"Yeah." Gunn murmured.

"But Faith could be telling the truth. This could all be the Powers' work." Fred continued.

Wesley sighed, looking exasperated. "There are so many unknowns to this, Angel, that I simply don't know what's right. I need more time to research."

"Why don't we ask Faith then?" Gunn suggested.

Cordelia scoffed. "Right. Faith will just suddenly tell us the truth because we asked nicely. She's not going to change her story."

"If Faith wanted to kill me, she would have been more direct about it." Angel insisted. "She's not the kind to go sneaking around, pretending to be on my side. It's not her style."

"She could have changed tactics." Gunn suggested. "Learned a few new ones in prison?"

A knock interrupted them and Lorne stuck his head into the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt, gang, but I've got some news."

Angel suddenly looked worried. "What is it? Is Faith okay?" Cordelia shook her head disappointedly.

Lorne nodded. "As okay as anyone in her situation can be. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you all is that there's no need to worry. Slayer girl is telling the truth." He declared and Angel looked immensely relieved while everyone in the room asked questions simultaneously.

"She is?"

"How can you be you sure?"

Lorne raised a hand to silence them. "Empath, remember? Anyway, I asked her to sing me a little piece since you guys were getting nowhere with the debates and let me tell you, Faith has some nice set of pipes-"

"Lorne, your point?" Angel interrupted him.

"I was getting to it. She sang and I saw the whole event-visit to the messenger-boy, the disturbing speech and suddenly blowing up in less than a second. No evil vibes at all. Just creepy." He briefly made a face before continuing. "I saw all that but something was blocking me from seeing anything about her future. Strange."

"Good." Angel declared, looking pleased. "Where's Faith now?"

"She's right there, Angel face." Lorne declared.

Angel frowned, looking around. "Where, Lorne?"

Lorne turned to where Faith was. "Well, she was there two seconds ago. Maybe she's stretching her legs."

"Angel." Cordelia interrupted before he could leave the room.

Angel paused. "Cordy, I understand. Really, I do." He solemnly said, his eyes traveling to where Wesley was and to Fred and Gunn. "I get it. We're all worried. This Faith could be some evil shape shifter or just her trying to kill me, I could die but that's nothing new and my son could already be gone. Like Wes said, there are too many unknowns. But Lorne read her and he says that she's telling the truth. So, until we find some proof that she isn't, Faith stays. Okay?"

Everyone nodded quietly and Angel looked momentarily appeased as he exited Wesley's office to find Faith. A few minutes later, he found her in the kitchen, propped up on a stool and eating a sandwich.

Faith turned when she sensed his presence. "Hey. I got hungry." She casually said, showing no signs that she overheard their little conference. She hadn't expected them to welcome her with open arms and open minds, so Faith wasn't the least bit surprised that the Fang Gang along with their newbies, dashed to the next room to talk in private.

"Hey." Angel greeted back somewhat awkwardly. "How's your arm?"

Faith shrugged as she raised the arm that Lorne had bandaged earlier. "Fine, already healing."

"Good."

Faith nodded as she bit into her sandwich. "What was that thing that hit me?"

"A locator spell to find my son. Sorry about that." Angel said, slipping his hands in his pockets and looking solemn.

Faith shrugged coolly. "I've been hit by worse. No drama. So, you're having a boy. Congratulations."

"Thanks." An awkward silence fell between them and Angel cleared his throat as he walked to the refrigerator. "Do you want some blood with that?"

Faith looked up and arched an eyebrow. "No, water or OJ is fine."

"Oh." Angel murmured as he pulled out the carton of orange juice. "I thought you'd be craving blood too. Darla was." She gave him a slightly curious look. "Look, Faith, I don't know how to do this. It is just unexpected and strange."

Faith chuckled wryly, arching an eyebrow. "What's more strange is you and Darla having a baby. Vampires are supposed to be infertile."

"I can't complain. However I look at it, this baby is a great gift."

"Must be, since the Powers are going through so much trouble trying to make sure Angel Junior is born. Listen, I'll protect your son until he's ready to be born. You don't have to do much. All I ask is that you feed me and maybe give me some money for an apartment. I need someplace to crash for the mean time." She grinned as she accepted the glass of orange juice that he handed her.

"You're not staying?"

Faith shook her head. "I don't think it's a good idea. This isn't exactly friendly territory."

"No. You have to stay. Wolfram and Hart and Holtz and a bunch of other people are going to be after you. Faith, I don't want you and my son in any danger." Angel insisted. "We can keep an eye on you here."

"Just because I'm a few pounds heavier-okay, a lot of pounds heavier-doesn't mean I can't fight." Faith stated, looking slightly miffed. "I can still kick ass."

Angel smiled. "I'm sure you can but it would be easier if you stayed here."

Faith nodded. "Right. Strength in numbers."

A/N: I know that cordy is being really bitchy to the wole Faith situation, more than she was with Darla being pregnant and there is a reason for this. You'll all know later on. A few comments.

Questions first:

Does anybody know the name of that guy who translated that prophecy for Lilah? Also, we all know that this is AtS Season 3 but does anybody know what season BtVS is during this time? And who was Buffy dating then? Does anybody know if Lilah and Sahjahn are in cahoots with each other already or if they ever were or will be?

Comments:

Darklight, Faith won't get the short end of the stick on this whole delio. Just wait and see. You're right though, Faith has to do this on her own way but for right now, they have too compromise. Plus, she's broke.

Abiscom, thanks for the suggestion but no thanks. As much as I love Cordy, she has to many things going on with her already. Being a seer with those deadly visions, Cordy doesn't need more on her palte. Plus, she has already been pregnant twice (if we cound the Jasmine part) and getting pregnant for the third time is simply overdoing it. I'll try to find a way to incorporate her more into the story but just remember that this is a Faith-centric fic. Also, the challenges doesn't belong to me. Gidgetgirl came up with its premise and even if for some odd reason I can change it, I won't. I just came up with the idea of The Vessel.

A few other things. The direction of this story hasn't been finalized so if you have any suggestions, let me know. The pairings also have not been decided but I'm a 100 sure it won't be B/A. (Rest assured, Whitetighter16. D).

Again, thanks for all your reviews.