Note: I've gone and done it to myself again. I have to update not one, but two stories. And I have another idea for another story. Very dark fic too. These plot bunnies need to hop away and quickly. Another update for you guys and gals!! Italics are their thoughts to each other. Enjoy!
Chapter Two – Do We Ever Get a Break?
Wesley awoke with a roaring headache the size of New Hampshire. He opened his eyes to find that he had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor. At least he had the sense to get a blanket. When he looked down, he noticed that he wasn't clothed. Now that was odd, he thought. Reaching up to touch his face, he felt what was now a great, big bump on his cheek.
He staggered as he lifted himself up off the cold tile floor. In the mirror, he could see the bruisey bump in all its glory. It covered almost all of one side of his face. He must have run into the doorjamb late last night coming to the bathroom. His stomach did flip flops as he reached around him to pull the blanket tight.
As he walked into the bedroom, something tugged at the back of his mind. There was something that he should remember, something that he did yesterday. As he looked at the clock, he noticed that it was almost noon. He never slept in that late. Must have been a rough night, he thought to himself.
The room was making his head a little dizzy, so he sat on the edge of the bed to collect himself before finding some clean clothes. Sitting down on the bed, the dizziness increased in strength until he collapsed on the bed, closing his eyes to try and stop it. Then the vision of last night hit him full force. His hands around Faith's neck, her trying to stop him, her fist meeting his face, his retreat into the bathroom. No wonder he felt dizzy. And no wonder the woman in question wasn't there when he woke up.
"Hey, big guy. You OK?" the woman in question asked him quietly.
"Faith, what happened last night?"
"You had another episode."
Wesley opened his eyes to see the bruising on her neck. He had put that there. His hands had almost strangled her to death because of some damn withdrawal. He reached up to touch the spot that he had abused just the night before.
"I did that to you?"
"Can't deny it. Yeah. But it's OK. Willow did a protection spell. No violence against me."
Wesley closed his eyes again, grateful that the witch was here in Cleveland and not some far off country. If he couldn't protect Faith, then Willow was the next best thing.
"We never get a break, do we?"
"Don't worry. It'll come. It has to."
He was glad she was so confident with that statement. Although when he looked into her eyes, he noticed that she wasn't.
You're not sure about that, are you?
No, not. Just wanted to say it out loud.
"Hungry?"
"Yes, a little."
"You should be after being Mr. Barfo last night. Go take a shower. Then we'll scrounge up some grub. You'll feel like yourself in no time."
Faith pulled him up gently and placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I haven't felt like myself in quite some time."
"Well, I'll just take better for now."
Wesley shook his head to clear the cobwebs as he walked to the bathroom to do as Faith ordered.
"Oh, by the way. Willow thinks you have a cute butt. Just thought you'd like to know."
His eyes widened with shock. Why should it surprise him one bit that Willow had been called after his episode? She was the expert in these matters. He didn't know if he could look her in the eye now that she'd seen him unclothed. And Faith had found it quite funny at his duress. He guessed that was payback for the fact that he had tried to kill her the night before.
Hell on earth, was all he could think of as he and Faith arrived in what was the kitchen for Slayer Central. Girls, everywhere. Screaming, screeching, laughing, singing, talking, all very, very loud. No wonder it drove Faith up the wall. Wesley winced as Faith pushed him down in a chair to get them some food. Eyes turned his way, several pointed, but the noise didn't lessen much.
"Oh, boy," Willow said as she walked up to him.
Wesley started to blush, not knowing what to say to the woman in front of him. "Willow. How are you this morning, I mean this afternoon?"
"Fine. Peachy keen. You?" she stuttered.
"Like a truck ran over me. Or a slayer put her fist through my face."
"Well, it looks OK," Willow grimaced as she sat down across from him at a table.
Faith slammed down two plates full of food in front of him. She dragged a chair over and sat down very close to him, digging into the second plate with gusto. The thought of food at the moment turned his stomach. But since Faith was eating for two, she ate with abandon. He swallowed hard, remembering that no one else knew their little secret.
"Damn straight," Faith answered in turn. "Now eat. It'll help the queasies."
"Yeah. Fernando's a great cook," Willow chimed in, trying to lighten the situation.
Wesley took a tentative bite, agreeing with Willow's assessment of the cook. "Sorry about the, you know," he told Willow.
"Yeah. I'm not the one you should apologize to. But we all know that it wasn't your fault. You went a little crazy. No more crazies, I promise."
"Willow, you cannot promise something like that. You do not know what this thing will manifest itself into."
Willow ducked her head, not wanting to look the ex-watcher in the eyes. "I do know. And I do promise that it'll get better. Just eat, and then we'll go over exactly what kind of magicks you used." The two ate quietly while Willow watched and asked questions about their trip.
"Faith. Glad to have you back in one piece," a very masculine voice said from behind Wesley.
"Glad to be in one piece. It was touch and go there for a little while."
Wesley's muscles tensed, knowing exactly who the man behind Faith and he was. Faith took a hold of his hand underneath the table to steady him. She was blocking all but the most innocuous emotions from coming out, but Wesley knew her better than that. She wanted to avoid a confrontation at all costs with the man behind them.
"So who's this guy that all the ladies are talking about?"
Wesley sneered a little, moving Willow back a little from the table with just a look.
"Hey, good sneer. Much better than Giles's by a mile," she whispered.
Faith scooted her chair out from underneath the table to make the proper introductions, or just to put herself in between the two men. He couldn't tell which. He'd be civil to the man because of Faith's condition. At least when she was around to see.
"Don't even try it, buddy," she told him as he got up to join her.
Fighting alongside Gunn and Angel had prepared him for a bigger opponent. Gunn, especially since he was built like a tank. The man in front of him was built very much like Gunn in every way. But he knew from Faith's stories that Spike had taken him down in a fight. Wesley could too.
"Robin, this is Wesley. Wesley, Robin."
Robin stuck out his hand in a civilized fashion. "Robin Wood."
"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." Wesley took his hand and shook it, dropping it after the prerequisite time. He could be civilized too, for the most part. Damn, why couldn't he be Xander's size.
"Nikki's boy. She was a lovely lady."
"You met my mother?"
"Briefly. When I was very young. She made quite an impression on me."
"Yeah, she was like that."
They had some common ground. That didn't mean that Wesley liked the man just because his mother had been a slayer.
"Faith? Ready to train?"
Faith coughed slightly, not knowing what to say. "I can't. Still recovering. Actually I have an appointment with the doc this afternoon, for a check-up."
Wesley looked into her eyes, knowing that she was worried about everything. She had taken some hits to the stomach during the last fight, plus with the knife wound, she hoped that nothing had jeopardized the little bundle.
Would you like me to come with you?
Hah, of course. You got me into this, you horny SOB.
He had to smile at that. Not like he didn't have help in that category. As they stared at each other, the other two adults shifted around uncomfortably.
"So, I, um, talked to Brianna's mother. She wasn't too happy with what happened. Not that she ever cared about the girl in the first place. She's thinking of suing."
Faith suddenly started rubbing her palms on her jeans, like she was getting nervous about the conversation. Tears formed in her eyes. Then she bolted from the room as fast as a jackrabbit.
"Hey, what . . . ?" Willow called as Wesley headed off to catch Faith.
"Faith?" Wesley looked all around for his ever-disappearing slayer. Since he didn't know the building very well, he didn't know the first place to look. As he walked through the corridors, he finally heard sobs coming from a deserted stairwell off to his right.
"Faith?" he quietly called out, not wanting to alert anyone else to her whereabouts.
As he opened the stairwell door, he saw and felt Faith's anguish at not being able to save the young slayer. Guilt racked her mind.
"You were not responsible," he immediately told her as he sat down beside her on the stairs.
"But I didn't protect her. She wasn't ready. Dammit, Wes. She wasn't ready." Faith leaned her tear-streaked face into his chest, sobbing out her guilt with each tear.
"We'll just make sure it doesn't happen again," he whispered into her hair.
Faith climbed into his lap, holding tight around him to the point he almost couldn't breath. But the feelings that he felt coming from her were strong. Who knew that this woman could feel these things, where not more than four years ago, she had not known how to handle the least little problem? He was so glad that she had changed her tune for the better. They wouldn't be together if she hadn't.
"I heard that," she told him as she raised her head to look at him.
"I am proud of you." He kissed her tear-stained cheek. Faith was his now, withdrawals, connections and ex-boyfriends be damned.
"OK, now what was that about?" Robin asked as Faith exited, quickly followed by Wesley.
Should Willow tell the man that Faith was head-over-heels or let him find out for himself? Willow knew that the two were not only linked mentally and physically, but most other ways as well. Yay for Faith, she thought. Now why did she feel like such a dolt? Her heart was breaking and no one knew anything. Robin would feel what she felt not two weeks before very soon.
Kennedy was gone. Told her to go take a flying leap and never see her again. Well, not that she hadn't seen it coming, but the words had made it all seem too real and raw. She'd pick up the pieces very slowly, one at a time.
Maybe helping Faith and Wesley would take her mind off of it somehow. And Giles was coming to help. He always made her feel special. And she'd get to see Dawnie and Angel's son. Only, Giles would know just by looking at her that something was wrong. He knew her too well. She'd not be able to keep it from him. He'd be there for her, like he had every other time there had been a crisis in her life. But would he stay for long enough? He was the pat on the back type, and then he leaves when everything seemed to be going great. That was usually when all hell broke loose. She'd just tell him he'd have to stay longer and help her fix the great, big, gaping hole in her heart.
Faith had escaped one great big loud girl fest for one great big, screaming children fest at the doctor's office. Children could be loud and obnoxious. She knew that. Had been around some of that. But did they have to scream while they were sick? It was probably just the hormones that made it bother her, she thought.
"OK, I can do this," she whispered encouragement to herself.
Wesley was parking the car down the street, so Faith had decided to go in by herself to tell them she had arrived. Would have been much better with the big guy by her side to steady her, she thought. Hindsight, twenty, twenty and all that now. She waved to the receptionist to tell her she was here.
She found a seat with another right beside it and eased down in it. A child with a doll toddled on over and plopped down right in front of her and grinned.
"Hey ya, kid," she asked. The child just stared back. "Probably can't talk to strangers. I get it."
"No, but you're pretty. Just like a princess."
Well, that was nice. Girls can be nice when they want to be. "So why are you here?"
"My brother's getting his shots today. He'll scream. That's what babies do."
"And you know something about babies?"
The girl showed Faith her doll, which didn't have any clothes on and looked to have been dragged through the dirt a few too many times.
"This is my baby. You have to take really good care of babies, so they don't cry and stuff."
The little girl was so cute. She talked a little too much, but cute nonetheless.
"Sari, don't bother the nice woman," the girl's mother called.
The girl grinned again, then walked back to her mother and baby brother. Wesley entered not two minutes after. Overwhelmed much, as Cordelia would say. Wesley stood at the door, like a deer in the headlights, looking for Faith. And he had taken care of Connor for months. Oh boy, they were doomed.
He waved and made his way over, dodging two boys wrestling on the floor. He sat down beside her, looking around at the chaos in the waiting room.
"Did you check in?"
"Yeah, I waved to Judy on the way in. She knows me."
"Faith, this is not a pediatrician is it? Isn't it a little early for that?"
"No, doofus. This is the clinic where I bring all the baby slayers. It must be shots day or somethin'. Explains the level of noise."
Wesley winced at the same time she did.
"It can't be that bad, you know. Havin' a kid and all. Do they really make this much noise when they're little?"
"They can be loud. Connor was a good baby, but add up all of the confusion, and chaos is bound to reign."
"Huh?" Her mind was so not on translating the Wesley-speak she had just heard.
"Lots of children, all waiting for shots. Not a good combination."
"So when this one needs shots, then you'll take it," Faith said with finality.
Wesley's eyes opened wide at the concept. "Yes, I believe that I could do that. I think," he said.
"Hey, Faith. Doc told me to tell you to come on in," Judy the receptionist waved to her.
"Do you want me to come in? I mean, if you don't, I can wait out here. That is, if that's what you want, because I can."
"You're babbling Wes. Get your ass up now."
One of the children looked up at her and frowned. "You're not supposed to say bad words. That's what my mom says," the boy told her as she walked to the door.
"Cute kid," Wesley said as he grinned back. "He's right, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Faith conceded, knowing that he was totally right. She'd have to change her methods of dress, her language. She'd get fat and flighty. What the hell was she doing? Wesley grabbed her hand and opened the door for her to enter.
TBC
Next: A little Cordy guilt time and the doc makes an announcement.
Author thanks: Woohoo. Every time I check my e-mail, I have more reviews. That is so great. Thanks to all who have been following. I didn't mean to start off the fic that dark, but it came out that way. I'll have some lighter chapters, and maybe not so light too. Thanks to qkith, Steph, Illyria639akaAnn, tp96, pari106 and any others out there for reviews.
Steph: No, not Hope. Lots more Willow/Faith friendship on the way. Wes/Willow friendship also.
Tp96: They will get a little break, I think? You never know.
Pari106: a little bit of Angel on the way, but not much for the fic. I can't forget about him. He's too cute to forget.