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Chapter Four – Pinky Swear
"I set up in the library. I brought lots of goodies from Giles's library in England. I just hope it's enough."
Wesley wasn't really listening to Willow ramble on about the books. Typically he would be the one rambling on about the books too. Since Willow was a fellow bookworm, they had something in common, along with the ability to ramble.
Another problem had come up. He felt through the connection that Faith was having a fight with someone. She was trying to stay her anger, and had been successful somewhat.
"Is there a room here with lots of mirrors, Willow?"
"Yeah, the training room right down the hall. Why?"
Wesley took off at a run, not worrying if Willow followed him. He had to get to Faith. He could feel the danger run through her. As he passed a room, he backed up quickly when he saw the flash of dark hair.
"Fuck."
"Wesley, don't," Willow told him as he went rushing in the room.
Just like Gunn or Angel, Robin didn't go down softly. The man had him on weight that was for certain. Robin took the first swing, missing his face by mere inches. They each grappled on the ground for leverage until Wesley was able to flip Robin off of him. Wesley scrambled up, watching the man for any openings. Robin was just as fast, standing quickly.
"Wes, no," Faith yelled at him.
The first blow that Robin landed was on his shoulder because Wesley somewhat blocked the fist from landing on his face. The second blow landed hard on his stomach. The kick that he threw that did not miss, knocking Robin back.
"You can't," Faith screamed at the two again, but Wesley wasn't paying attention.
He blocked another couple of blows from Robin, ducking at the kick he sent Wesley's way. He was good, Wesley thought. The uppercut to the man's chin had already started to bleed, making the floor around them a bit slippery.
"Willow, make them stop," Faith implored the witch.
"I can't just throw a spell their way to make them stop fighting."
"Please," Faith pleaded. "If you don't, it'll hurt me too."
As Willow racked her brain for some kind of spell, a calm voice called her name behind her. Oh, thank God, Willow thought. He'll stop this nonsense before someone really got hurt.
Giles trotted over to the two men circling each other and stood in between, wanting the madness to stop. Willow breathed a sigh of relief, until she saw Wesley try to get around the older watcher.
"Man, he's fast," she said to no one in particular.
"God, he can't keep out of trouble," Connor said as he entered the room to help Giles.
Good, the cavalry, Willow cheered. Faith didn't look too good, so Willow decided that Giles and Connor could take care of it and she could take care of Faith.
"Faith, are you OK?"
"I don't feel so good, Willow." Her face was ashen, which scared Willow even more than the fight.
Faith leaned up against Willow, trying not to fall down. Willow took the smaller woman's weight, putting her arm around her middle. Dawn came up from behind, helping Willow lead the slayer over to a chair on the side of the room.
As Willow watched the scene unfold, she hoped that whatever had possessed Wesley that he would soon stop. Both Connor and Giles were now between the two combatants.
"What's wrong with her?" Dawn asked as they set Faith down in the seat.
"I don't know. I was talking to Wes one minute, then the next all chaos."
"The story of my life."
Both Wesley and Robin had backed off each other, Connor taking Wesley's arm, whispering in the older man's ear.
"Why is it I'm always pulling you off of someone? Haven't you learned your lesson old man?" Connor chided him as he glared at the other man.
"Very funny, Connor. He was attacking Faith. I didn't start it."
"I think Faith can take care of herself," Connor reminded him.
"No, she, Oh God." Wesley turned to see Faith slumped in a chair, face a chalky white.
He ran to her, sliding down on his knees in front of her.
"Wes, something's wrong," Faith told him as tears started to fall.
"I think we should take her to the hospital," Willow suggested.
Wesley took a crying Faith in his arms, lifting her gently. Willow and Dawn followed the two out the door, with Connor bringing up the rear.
"He just attacked me for no reason," Robin blurted out to Giles.
"Did you touch her in any way?" Giles was not pleased at the younger man.
"We were having words. I, we were angry."
"You fool. You have no idea what is happening between those two right now."
"I am her watcher. She does what I tell her to do."
"Wrong. You have never been her watcher. And if you do not make some changes around here, you will not be one at all. Understood?"
"Crystal," Robin answered, eyes hooded from Giles.
"I just hope she isn't injured badly," Giles threw at him as he ran to catch up with the others.
"No more fighting."
"No more fighting, I swear."
"Pinky swear?"
Faith was joking around with him at the moment, which meant she was feeling better. She lay in the hospital emergency room, looking tired but beautiful. And he had made the biggest mistake by taking on Robin Wood. He had completely forgotten about their link, thereby jeopardizing her and their babies in a few short minutes time.
"Did he hit you?"
"Nah. I was handlin' it."
"I just felt the anger and I was afraid."
Just like he'd been afraid when he saw her on that altar not two short weeks before. The demon had stabbed her. He hadn't been there to protect her. As he sat beside her, he still wondered what he had done to deserve her. She was the one doing all the work and he just watched. Even now, their relationship hadn't changed from that dynamic.
"It's OK," she assured him as he lay his head down on her stomach, wanting to connect with the life growing inside of her.
Willow watched the scene from the doorway, not wanting to disturb the couple in their quiet moment. How the two of them were actually a couple was a complete mystery to her. Faith was surely not the most reliable of people to be hanging with, but she had gained a certain respect for the slayer from their time fighting together. Obviously so had Wes.
"How are they?" Giles asked from behind her.
"OK, I guess. I'm not sure why Faith collapsed the way she did though."
"Have you found anything more regarding the link?"
As Willow turned, Giles looked down at her expectantly, like she was Answer Girl now. At least he trusted her now, unlike his attitude right after her world-ending spree had happened. He was the one person that she had regretted hurting the most. Buffy could take it, but Giles had been beaten down to the point that he had almost died. And if that had happened, she wouldn't have been able to come back from the place where she had gone. Her grief would have been insurmountable. Tara's had almost crushed her. Giles's would have ruined her.
"I need Wes's translating skills. How was your trip?"
"Please remind me that teenagers actually do grow out of the whining phase."
"Dawn almost drive you to commit homicide?"
"As always. And she has a partner this time. The boy seems to relish in tormenting her to the extreme."
Oh boy, Willow thought. Teenager crushes and hormones. She hoped that she wasn't like that as a teenager. Thinking back to that time only a few short years ago, she remembered many times driving Giles crazy with her actions too.
"Sounds to me like Connor has a crush on her. What is it with Summers women?"
Giles grinned at the thought, knowing Buffy's love for Angel. "So where is Kennedy? I fully expected to see her in the middle of that boxing match."
Willow's eyes widened and she turned so Giles couldn't see the moisture forming in her eyes. "Couldn't take the time off," she mumbled, totally knowing that if Giles caught her in the lie he would not be happy.
"We'll need someone to come take over the duties until Faith is well enough to lead."
"Yeah. Those two are out of commission until we break the link. Wes had another episode."
"Was it bad?"
"Thoroughly bad. I did a protection spell, but those wear off in a couple of hours and they're so specific, and if I do it too often, it won't work anymore, and I don't know what else to do."
Giles took her shoulders, turning her to face him. "I am here now, and we will figure this out together."
"I can't believe I'm actually going to help Faith. Hello, used to be psycho and tried to kill me."
"Well, she tried to kill Wesley also. And look at them now."
"OK, not liking the visual. Let's go look at books. Books are safe to look at."
Giles chuckled at her words. His hold on her shoulders had not been taken away. Willow wished that he would just hold her and tell her that things would get better, like only Giles could. She was even more confused at the visual she was getting in her brain now, and it had nothing to do with the couple in the next room.
He led her down a corridor, out into the fresh sunshine of the late afternoon. The air was nippy, but Willow had come to like the change of seasons, unlike what Sunnydale experienced. She pulled her jacket around her tighter.
"Now that we're out of the hospital, do you want to tell me what is really wrong?"
Oops, busted, Willow thought as she hugged herself even tighter.
Cordelia didn't know what she would be solving by coming to Cleveland; she just knew it was the right thing to do. Two people she loved, no, one person she loved and the other she tolerated, were suffering for something that she had done. Maybe something in her brain would trigger something in Willow's brain, and they could put their brains together to solve the problem.
As she walked into the building, a receptionist who looked like she could take on Faith and win greeted her. Since the woman had the sourest expression on her face, Cordelia knew she would have to turn on the charm to get into the building.
"Hi, I'm looking for Willow Rosenberg."
"Do you have an appointment?" the battle-axe asked.
"Well, no, but Willow needs my help."
"No appointment. I can't just let you roam the building. School policy."
"Is there a way to call her? I'm an old friend from high school."
"She's not here."
Man, much with the cryptic. Cordelia didn't think that if she asked for Wesley or Faith they would even let her in, much less talk to her.
"How about Rupert Giles? He was on his way here."
"No, sorry."
Dammit, people jumped when Cordelia wanted something. This woman wasn't any help at all.
"Margaret, I'm going out," a tall, very handsome African American man told the receptionist.
Cordelia immediately walked over to him, thinking that he must be someone in charge. "Hi. I'm looking for Willow Rosenberg. You don't happen to know where she might be."
"No clue." Cordelia could see the makings of a mean black eye and some dried blood on his shirt.
"You didn't happen to run into a fist connected to a dark-haired woman with the thirst for violence did you?"
The man's eyes focused on hers more fully. "No, just the mother fucker who's attached to her hip."
Oh good, Cordelia winced. Wes was going around beating up on people now. When had he turned that violent?
"Good looking English guy with blue eyes?"
The man glared at her. "You know him?"
"Well, I used to work with him. Cordelia Chase." She stuck her hand out to shake. The man reluctantly took it into his.
"Robin Wood. And I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"That you had to work with that asshole."
Asshole was never a word she would use to describe Wesley. Jerk, or dork, or doofus maybe, but never asshole. That word usually applied to Angel.
"Yeah. Listen. You wouldn't happen to know where that asshole might be, do you?"
Dawn folded and unfolded her hands, looking around for Connor in the hospital. When she finally found him, he was brooding by a fountain out in front.
"Hey, broody boy. Why'd you run off?"
"Wanted to be alone."
Dawn sat down beside Connor, close enough where they were slightly touching legs. He didn't flinch at the contact, so maybe all was good.
"I understand that need. I lived in a house with about twenty people and one bathroom. I thought I would kill someone practically every morning. Not fun to live with that many girls."
Connor smiled at her, taking her hand in his. She really liked it now that he was trying to be affectionate. But that was all he was doing. Handholding was nice, but the guy really did not know or maybe didn't want to go any further. Their time in the California hell had seemed to be forgotten once they were out of danger. Gone were the hugs and caresses that she had wanted to continue.
"I only had to deal with Fred or Cordelia."
Jealousy roared through Dawn's mind, but she suppressed the need to smack the guy upside the head. She still hadn't asked him about his relationship to Cordelia, although she knew the highlights of their short affair. Did he still have feelings for the older woman?"
"I'm sure that wasn't easy," she told him. "Why did you come with us?"
Connor frowned at her, resting his head on his free hand. When he didn't answer her for a moment, she visualized the worst. She wasn't the reason, was the only thought that gripped her.
"I'm not sure. I just, I felt the need to protect you."
Dawn smiled at that. That was not what she had expected. "Not much going on in Cleveland."
"Well, you do seem to have this ability to get yourself into all sorts of trouble. I just thought I'd tag along. You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all. Thanks."
"For what?" he asked as he moved closer to her.
"Being here," she told him as she squeezed his hand.
His head descended to hers, lips just inches away when a voice called out in the distance. Connor backed away, but still smiled her way.
"Let's go," Wesley called as he walked forward, Faith in his arms.
"She OK?"
"Yup. And that hospital was driving me crazy. Let's move, kid."
Connor got up, pulling Dawn as he did. Their hands were still linked as they walked to the parking lot.
"You know, I can walk," Dawn heard Faith mumble from ahead of them.
"No, you can't," Wesley answered.
"Can too."
"Not."
Dawn rolled her eyes, smiling at the couple ahead of them. If this were happiness, then she'd take it. Because right now, a cute guy who actually liked her was at her side and her friends were safe. What else could go wrong?
TBC
Next: OK, I hope you guys know that this fluffiness will not last. I just needed to set some things up. Now that all the players are in Cleveland, we can move forward. Now's the time for research and another threat rears its ugly head. What, you think that I'll actually give them a break? Oh, and maybe some smoochies. Not sure which couple yet.
Note: I hope I didn't offend anyone with the Giles/Willow interaction. I really do not like Kennedy. I think that Willow deserves someone who knows her and loves her for her (oh, cliché much?). I'm not sure how much further I'll take this, but we'll see what comes out in the typing.
Author thanks: To everyone who has stuck with this!! Yay for the great reviewers on this site. OK, I'll stop now. And no, I don't sleep much because I have too many plot bunnies running around in my head, enough to even scare Anya.
Slayerfan-yeah it would be funny if Willow got some slap action going. Maybe later.
Qkith- I had to have Wes faint. I know, very cliché, but knowing him, it would happen.
Pari106-yeah, moody Faith. I kind of feel sorry for Wes, uh, not.
Steph-I couldn't have them both faint. Someone has to wear the pants in this relationship.
Maineiac-yay, you reviewed. Nice to see you. You're great.
Insane Sketchbook—I don't even know what to say. ABBA? I really didn't do that intentionally, but now that you think about it, it's hilarious. And those early ultrasounds really do look like blobs, from experience, I know. Or tadpoles. Hmm, that gives me an idea. Willow, tadpoles. I must have laughed for fifteen minutes at your review. And now I can't get Dancing Queen out of my head. Ahh!!!