Note: I really do need to get them into LA and on with the last part. It's taking me a lot longer than I ever imagined. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far.
Quote of the chapter:
Lindsey: "Sorry I'm late. Hope I didn't worry anyone."
Cordelia: "We just figured you were dead." From "Blind Date" Angel Season One
Chapter Twenty-one – No Way
Faith didn't care any longer if the food was tainted, she had to have something in her stomach. So she devoured the food and drink that had been brought not ten minutes before. At least now her stomach had quieted somewhat.
That bastard knew she'd freak out about Bri. Why on earth had he done it? Once she escaped, he'd pay for that tenfold. The girl had been her responsibility.
Too many responsibilities now for an ex-con slayer who preferred to do things her way. Things she couldn't have dreamed of a year ago. She had a job, a purpose for living, where before she just did what felt good, even if it wasn't the right thing to do.
Want, take, have had been her motto for so long, it had taken prison to beat that out of her. There were no wants at all, only schedules inside. And you did exactly what they wanted you to do. There had been no way in hell either Wesley or Giles could have handled her in the state she was in before. Her path had been set. She just wished she had veered off that path a little and hadn't taken anyone down with her, most of all Wes.
Past was past though. They both had changed significantly over the last couple of years. As much as he said he loved her, in some respect she felt he was still frightened of her on some level. Not exactly a way to build a stable, honest relationship, because, oh boy, were they in way deep.
No man had ever told her that he loved her. Sure, some guys had said it, but not really meant it. Because as soon as something went wrong or they got what they wanted from her, they left. That's what she wanted from guys though. A good screw, then scram. Things always went wrong with her in the picture.
The relationship with Robin started going wrong as soon as they left Sunnydale. Every time he did something to annoy her, she'd fly off the handle. It got to the point when Giles asked for the favor, she welcomed getting out of Cleveland.
The night before she was to leave was the kicker. He had told her that he had to patrol with one of the new slayers, training her. So when she went looking for the two of them, she'd found them locked in a passionate moment. Robin and eighteen year old Brianna.
She never said a word to anyone that she had seen it. Leaving the next day to contact Giles had been the best thing to ever happen to her.
So here she was screwing around with her ex-watcher. No room to talk, she supposed. She and Robin had been history long before her leaving, but now she knew what it felt like to be in his shoes. In the heat of battle, sometimes people get thrown together who would otherwise never hook up. Take for example, her and the English guy. So not her type. No two people could be so different in likes and backgrounds. Yet something drew them together.
Opposites attract? Ha. She'd never believed that myth. Usually it was opposites annoy the hell out of each other and they went back to their neutral corners. Which was exactly what happened in Sunnydale to the two of them. Being evil at the time probably had more to do with it than anything.
She should make a list of all their opposites. He had more books total than she had of everything that she owned. The man's vocabulary was enormous, while hers consisted of the f word way too often. She'd have to add some of his more colorful British swear words to her vocab. Fashion sense, from suits to button-down shirts, the man probably never owned any leather to speak of. Although he certainly liked the red leather top she wore on several occasions because she caught him staring at her chest a few times in Sunnydale.
If she made a list of opposites, she should make a list of similarities. They both definitely liked a good fight, at least the new Wes did. The old Wes would just scream like a girl at the first sign of trouble. He could hold his own, she found out in LA, knew his weaknesses and strengths. He also liked being dominate. She knew he liked being in charge over herself and Buffy in Sunnydale, because of his duty to the Watchers' Council. But that new Wes in LA had been in charge because he exuded confidence and the intellect. He'd earned it the hard way. That she understood. She also liked being in charge of her own destiny too. She learned in prison just how precious that was.
So she'd file away all these little thoughts til later. They'd have to come up to be discussed. She'd be ready with the answers.
Just because the sex was more than great was not a reason to have an honest to goodness relationship. Sure, a prerequisite in her book, but it was just one part of the whole picture. She missed his touch the most right that instant. Since they had to be touching almost constantly because of the link, she had come to depend on it in just a few short weeks time.
Her skin itched a little just thinking about his hands. Maybe she'd tell Willow not to find them a spell. And here she thought that he had become way more dependent than she was.
She needed to feel him, talk to him in the worst way. Their link was getting stronger. She knew he had moved that much closer to her.
Hey, you.
She could feel her mind touch his, not unlike the way she liked to feel him all over her, all the way down to her toes.
Hello.
I miss you.
Better?
More stable you mean. I ate finally. Calmed myself down a little.
Good. You had me concerned.
I was just thinkin' about your hands.
Faith, I'm in a vehicle going 50 miles an hour with a bunch of slayers and soldiers. Not the time to think about that. But it would be so lovely to hold yours.
Soon enough. I really miss the handholding.
Among other things.
Very funny. Yes, among other things. You certainly do lots of other things with those skilled hands of yours.
I aim to please.
Which you have like no one else.
Comparing me to others, heh?
Not exactly. Hey, not many guys can keep up with me.
No pun intended.
Of course not. Be here soon.
Changed your mind about me rescuing you?
With you, I don't care who's on top.
We're talking about your rescue.
So am I. I should let you rest.
Faith?
Yeah.
We, I, I'm not sure what to say other than I love you.
I know you do, big guy. I love you, Mr. Sappy Englishman.
"Hey," a hand shook Buffy awake. It was still dark outside, and quiet which was so of the good in her book.
She looked up to see Lindsey crouching over her. How did Cordelia deal with working with all these macho, good-looking men? Except for Lindsey, Angel seemed to surround himself with big guys. At least Lindsey didn't tower over her. But compared to Spike's lean physique, Lindsey's arms were as large as her thighs. And Gunn was even taller than Angel from what she remembered.
Guess you had to be built to fight demons in LA.
"You awake?"
"No, Mr. Macho Man, but I am now. What's up?"
"I think we have a line on our military boys. Two vehicles crashed through one of the vamps roadblocks a couple of hours ago. Looks like they're headed to the outskirts of LA."
"Can we intercept them yet?"
"Soon."
"Just be very careful. We need every ally we can find."
Lindsey snickered in the darkness. "Yeah, I guess we do."
Buffy stopped him from leaving by touching his arm. "Why are you here, doing this?"
"Not sure exactly. I guess I finally saw the light, as they say. Being evil took too much work, too much sacrifice."
"Like being on the side of good doesn't. Lots of people that I cared about have died over the past year. I'm just so tired of it. It stops here. I'm taking this guy down hard."
"Sounds like fun."
Buffy could see his smile even in the darkness. The man obviously had some issues, but he was on their side now.
"Thanks for listening to me ramble. I do that lecture thing sometimes. Ticks people off."
"Not sure why. I like it when your eyes get all fired up."
Was this guy flirting with her? So, one ex was being held prisoner, while the other was speeding to save them, and here she was flirting with someone entirely new. And it felt good not to have all that baggage lying around, complicating things.
"Well, not that I haven't seen you all posturing when there's a tough assignment to take on."
"Nah. I'm just a simple country guy."
"Who used to work for Evil Incorporated as a lawyer? Simple my ass."
"And you chastise your sister for her language. I'll let you go back to sleep."
"Thanks, Lindsey. It's nice to be a little normal in all this craziness."
Before Lindsey pulled away from Buffy, he lightly grazed his lips over hers. "You're welcome."
The sun arose again, Wesley thought, and we haven't gotten to Faith. His patience was virtually non-existent at that point. But, he held it together. For everyone else's sake. No good fight for quite a while though. If he could pace around, he would.
One of the soldiers was talking on one of his fancy toys, but Wesley thought of them as walkie-talkies. "We're stopping. Everyone needs a break," one of them called out.
Maybe he'd get out and run all the way to LA. Fifty, sixty miles, no sweat with the energy he had pent up.
As they all climbed out of the vehicles, the air was cool and crisp. Well, as cool as you could get in this area, which meant in the 60s. It was welcome though to cool his body somewhat. Fog still hung in the air, blotting out the early morning sun. What Wesley wouldn't give for one demon to pop up and menace him.
"Where are we?" Connor asked.
"Still too far out." One more day was almost too much for him to take.
"Riley says we're on the outskirts of Santa Clarita right now," Xander told them.
"Not close enough."
"We should be able to contact one of the resistance cells soon according to Lorne," Riley answered back.
Connor touched Wesley's arm to still him. "What?"
"We're being watched," Connor whispered to Wesley.
"By what?"
"Not sure. Could be human. Should we tell the others?"
"Let them have all the fun? How about we find out for ourselves."
He'd been itching for a fight. Even if whatever was watching them was human, at least they'd get in a good workout trying to find them. Connor took off one way and Wesley in the exact opposite direction.
"Guys, where are you going? Deep in enemy territory here," Xander pointed out quietly as Connor passed him by.
"What's going on?" Riley asked, walking over to Xander.
"Don't know."
Then the two disappeared from sight. The terrain they were in was a bit rocky, but with some trees and a few industrial buildings. Nothing had been destroyed here. Just deserted. Riley motioned for four of his men to fan out to track the two demon hunter's movements.
"Riley, need I remind you," Giles started.
"They won't shoot. Giles, my men don't hurt humans. They're much better trained than the ones in Sunnydale were."
"Not much of a comfort," Giles answered, reliving all the things that went wrong with the government's little experiment.
Wesley didn't see Connor at all, although he knew the boy was close. But up ahead, he could sense the presence of something, just around the corner of a building.
What he didn't expect was to be taken down from behind. His whole body hit the dirt-packed earth hard. His teeth rattled in his head. Whatever tackled him had him at a disadvantage. Not a lot of room to maneuver. So he slammed his already rattled head back into the creature that had taken him down.
"Ow," he heard from behind. Since the last time he'd seen action was the incident in the car, he was itching for a good, long fight.
His elbow connected with the figure behind him. The grunt of pain satisfied him that the attacker was at least momentarily stunned. So when he scrambled up to give it a good roundhouse kick, the figure went down on its stomach. And stayed down. That was much too easy.
As Wesley looked at the prone figure on the ground, it did look human. No wonder the person went down so fast. But as he bent down to check it out, the human elbowed him in the jaw, knocking him backwards.
Before the human could regain his footing, Wesley dove for him, crashing them both to the ground again. He landed a couple of good blows to the man's body, each with that satisfying grunt. The man, whom he figured out, was a man because of the build, also got a few blows in too, but not slowing Wesley down a bit. The adrenaline was pumping too hard and too fast.
He heard off in the distance feet running towards him, but he ignored it to concentrate on the fight. It's when Wesley jerked the man over to face him, that he got the shock of his life. His fist stopped its downward motion just before it connected. Underneath him, with a bloody lip and the makings of a black eye was Gunn.
So now he was beating up on ghosts. His mind had finally cracked under the pressure.
"Oh, damn. The kid was right." Gunn obviously knew who he was. At least two of Riley's men had their weapons drawn, pointing them at Gunn. So they saw him too.
Every time Wesley's brain tried to form a coherent thought, it flew on to the next. He thought about using every curse word Faith would use in a situation like this. He even thought of a few choice ones himself.
But there was no mistaking that the man on the ground below him was either Charles Gunn or his exact twin. So his fist still hung in midair.
"English, you can put that fist that's ready to smash my face away now. It's me."
Wesley lowered the arm, but still stared at him. This man had been his best friend once upon a time. "You're . . . ."
"Alive. I know that. Now, let me up."
Wesley slowly raised himself up, putting his hand down to help Gunn up from the ground.
"Bloody fucking hell." Faith would be proud of him.
"OK, I know you've lost it, 'cause those ain't words I've ever heard comin' from that mouth." Gunn grinned at him. Wesley never thought he'd ever see him again.
"Say somethin'. You're freakin' me out here." Instead of saying anything else, Wesley pulled him into a fierce hug that of course only lasted for a few moments and contained a lot of thumping on each other's backs.
"You . . . ."
"Never thought I'd see the day when you were speechless. Now, could you tell these guys to lower their weapons?"
Wesley motioned for the soldiers to stand down.
"You have hair."
Gunn burst out laughing. "Yeah. I am so glad Cordy's not here to hear you say that. What, it took you two weeks to notice her new do that one time."
"No one will ever let me live that one down, will they?"
"Nope."
"I thought you were dead. The hotel."
"I know. Same here. I need to signal my other people. We have you surrounded, you know."
Connor came tearing around the corner to defend Wesley, coming up short when he saw Gunn standing next to him.
"You're alive," Connor said, shaking his head.
"And I intend to stay that way, kid. Hear you've been takin' care of my man?" Gunn asked Connor.
"He gets in way too much trouble. And how did you know?"
"Some girl about this high, brown hair, nice right cross by the way."
"Dawn?" Connor's eyes lit up.
"Thank goodness." One less burden on his shoulders to worry about. The girl had gotten to safety after all.
The three men plus the two soldiers headed back to the vehicles. Gunn gave a loud whistle. At least twenty people appeared out of nowhere.
"They're good," Connor commented.
"How many did you take down?" Gunn asked.
"Only three."
Wesley laughed. He could see three people limping their way towards the vehicles.
"Riley Finn, meet your resistance." Riley and Gunn sized each other up for a moment. "My associate, Charles Gunn."
"Hey, aren't you dead?" Xander pointed out.
"Wes, did you tell everyone that I was dead?" Wesley glared at him instead of answering. "So, I'm going to get that look from everyone you introduce me to."
Riley finally put his hand out to shake Gunn's. "Major Riley Finn. My team is here to take out the leader of the demon rebellion. How many people do you have at your disposal?"
"Oh, we pretty much ring the city now." Now Wesley was impressed. Gunn had taken on a different type of leadership role. One he wouldn't want in a million years. "Still lots of bad guys out there though. We need to move."
"As I live and breathe, Charles Gunn." A green hand waved out the window.
"Lorne? Is that you?" Gunn went over to say hello to the demon. Wesley slumped against the bumper of the vehicle. Things were turning out better than he ever hoped or imagined.
"Let's roll, man. We have a long way to go."
Gunn had moved back over to Wesley. That familiar pat on the back made him smile. Things were different between the two, but maybe they could pick up the pieces this time. They'd put away their animosities for the time being. The good guys needed to take a stand and take back their city.
TBC
Next up: Gathering of the troops, revealing the bad guy and what he might want, and Wes finds out the truth about his friends. Angst abounds.
