Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Hope and Dominic.
CHAPTER 2-NEVER A DULL MOMENT
"Just say it, whatever it is, you're obviously upset about something," Wesley said with a concerned look on his face as he slowed down and stopped at a red light, giving him a chance to glance over at Faith, who was staring lazily out of the window.
"I'm fine," Faith mumbled back in reply with a distant look on her face as she continued to stare out of the window.
"No Faith you're not, I know you well enough to know that, I know that you didn't appreciate Cordelia and Fred's interruption but you have to know that they didn't mean anything by it," Wesley said back softly as glanced up through the heavily tinted top portion of the windshield, waiting for the light to change colors.
"I know they didn't mean anything by it, it's just that…there's a part of me that wants to scream and there's a part of me that's angry because of the other part, I have everything that I ever wanted, loving husband, two kids, a stable home, but still…," Faith finally answered softly with a tremble in her voice after staying silent for several moments as the light changed and Wesley pressed on the accelerator.
"But still you're scared that you've got it so good that something or someone's going to come along and take it away from you," Wesley posed the question aloud with a concerned and worried look on his face as he glanced over at Faith, but this time she glanced back at him, nodding ever so slightly.
"Or I'll do something to mess it all up," Faith said back softly with a scared look Wesley's way before she started to turn back towards the window.
"I won't let that happen, and besides luv, you're not the same person that you used to be, I didn't marry a coward, I married the most beautiful, strong, passionate, and loyal woman that I've ever met," Wesley said back with a very serious and sincere tone to his voice before he took a hold of Faith's left hand and brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.
"Cut the overly romantic bull Wes, I'm barely treading water here, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know how to be a mother," Faith shot back with a nervous and uncomfortable scowl on her face as she ripped her hand back out of Wesley's grasp and tried not to look at him.
"Stop it Faith, stop it right now, do you think that anyone is ever ready to be a parent, compared to our parents so far I'd say that we're doing great, and you should have more confidence in yourself, doubting yourself isn't something that's reserved for slayers alone Faith, everyone doubts themselves at one time or another, all that matters is how you deal with that doubt, and you're to strong to be consumed by yours, besides…I won't let you," Wesley said back with a very certain and determined expression on his face as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Faith's hand once again but held on tight and made sure that she didn't immediately pull it free. Faith looked like she was ready to argue the point but then the fight seemed to go completely out of her and she settled down and let out a deep breath before speaking.
"Thanks," Faith mumbled with an embarrassed half smile on her face as Wesley pulled the car into their drive, put it into park, and then turned off the ignition.
"Don't mention it, besides someday Hope's going to want to be the coolest girl in school and I have a horrible fashion sense," Wesley remarked back with an amused grin on his face as he undid his seatbelt and turned to Faith.
"Shut up while you're ahead okay," Faith muttered back sharply under her breath with a contagious smile on her face before she slid out of her seatbelt and pulled Wesley into a fiery kiss, not caring about the grossed out look on Hope's face as it happened.
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"Where are they, the limo's almost here," Cordelia demanded with an unhappy and impatient scowl on her face as she checked the clock on the wall, for the twelfth time in the last fifteen minutes, before she turned back to Angel.
"They'll be here Cordy, it was hard enough for them to get Dawn to come up from Sunnydale to watch Hope and Dominic," Angel replied calmly with a subdued smile on his face as he tried to keep Cordelia calm, something that was becoming increasingly difficult as the moment of departure to the party was fast approaching.
"I called over there a half an hour ago and Wes said that Faith was just getting out of the shower and he was already putting his vest on, so they should be here any minute," Fred added with her usual hopeful and optimistic zeal as she hiked up her dress just enough so that she didn't step on it on her way down the stairs. She had chosen her dress because she had said that it made her feel like a fairy princess. It was a calming dark brown that did its best to trick the eye into thinking that her neck wasn't as long as it looked like it was. Cordelia had chosen a dress similar to the one that she had worn to the theater the night that Groo had shown up unexpectedly, although this time both had actually paid for their dresses with the full intent of keeping them. Angel and Gunn had gone to the old standards, but only because Fred and Cordelia hadn't given them any other choice in the matter.
"Knowing Faith she'll probably show up in some skintight barely there number that looks like it came off the discount rack," Cordelia joked with a sarcastic smirk on her face as she pushed a bouncy curl back off of her face.
"Vera Wang actually, and it's not to revealing, I am a mother now you know, got standards to keep, impressionable young ones at home," Faith interrupted with an almost amused tone to her voice as she walked through the Hyperion's front doors as Wesley was holding them open for her. Both Angel and Gunn stood up at her entrance, desperately trying to not to be to amazed at how good she looked.
"Faith, you look," Angel started to say with a happy smile on his face as he slowly nodded his head approvingly.
"Fine," Gunn added with an equally happy smile on his face as he took a step back and then turned to Fred to see her reaction, however it wasn't exactly what he expected.
"Thanks, I look damn good for a twenty five year old with two kids huh," Faith said back with an excited and proud smile on her face as she turned sideways and picked a hair off of the hip of her ankle length dark emerald gown. Her shoulders were bare leaving the top of the dress to be anchored by looping around her neck, plunging down her back, showing off a well-toned body. In front enough cleavage was showing to get noticed but also enough for those people to be aware that it was look but don't touch. Her hair was put up in the back slightly, leaving a tower for ringlets of chocolate tresses to cascade down her neck and shoulders to the small of her back, almost as low as her dress was cut in back.
"I'll say," Angel said with an appreciative smile on his face as he sat gently on the back of the chair and crossed his arms.
"Idiot," Cordelia mumbled angrily under her breath before she smacked Angel on the shoulder and started off towards the kitchen, leaving Angel to look completely confused and silently ask everyone else to explain to him what happened.
"Smooth move Angel, couldn't have done it better myself," Gunn added with a sly grin on his face before he walked over to Fred and gave her a quick kiss.
"A word of advice Angel…," Wesley started to say with an amused smirk on his face before he leaned in close and whispered the rest into Angel's ear. The look on Angel's face changed as he listened, starting off as confused before changing to one of frustration and then a bit of anger.
"I'll be right back," Angel said with an embarrassed expression on his face before he smiled and then left the room, following Cordelia's course out of the room.
"What did you say to him," Fred asked with a nervous look on her face as she walked over and sat down on the circular sofa.
"I just told him what he did wrong," Wes answered with a sly smirk on his face before he turned and helped Faith to steady herself as she hiked up her dress and walked down the steps into the lobby.
"How'd he take it," Faith asked with a sly wink as she let Wesley pull her close and slink an arm around her waist.
"About as well as you did when I told you that you couldn't smoke anymore," Wesley joked with a sly grin as he looked down at the scowl on his wife's face before he added, "From the looks of how fast he hurried out of here I'd say…rather well."
"You'd think that by now he'd be an expert at almost everything," Fred said with a curious expression on her face as she glanced up at the clock.
"Well two hundred and fifty or so years is nothing in trying to figure out the opposite sex, men have been trying to do that ever since the beginning of time," Wesley started to say with an amused smirk on his face before Faith broke in and finished his sentence.
"And I think it's safe to say that after all of that time men are still no closer to understanding women than they were when they started," Faith finished with an equally amused smirk on her face as Wesley laid her shawl across her shoulders.
"Right on," Fred added with a gleeful grin on her face before she couldn't help but start to laugh at how odd her outburst had seemed to be.
"That's my girl, one surprise after another," Gunn said into the odd silence with an awkward grin on his face before he stopped as he saw Fred's smile turn into a pout.
"We should get going, the limo will be here any minute, someone should get Angel and Cordelia," Wesley interjected with a slightly nervous look on his face as he directed his gaze towards Gunn, hoping to help his friend out of a jam and get the night moving again.
"I'll go, hopefully they haven't progressed to the throwing phase of their fights, Cordy can sure…," Gunn started to say with a slightly nervous smile on his face before Faith leaned away from Wesley slightly and cut him off.
"Just go," Faith interjected with a lightly stern frown on her face, mostly in a way that gave Gunn little doubt that it was an order and not a simple suggestion.
"Right," Gunn said with a somewhat nervous and unsure expression on his face before he stepped away and walked out of the lobby while Wesley pulled his arm from around Faith's waist and walked over to the counter to call Dawn and make sure that everything was going okay.
"Nice dress, looks a little tight though" Fred said with an excited and warm smile on her face as Faith walked over and sat down on the couch beside her.
"Thanks, it is, after what happened at last years policeman's ball with that dress that was a little to big for me…," Faith started to say back with a warm smirk on her face as she adjusted her shawl and glanced over at Wesley, who was explaining something to Dawn over the phone.
"What happened last year," Fred asked with a surprised and concerned look on her face as she glanced briefly at Wesley before turning back to Faith.
"Dominic, everything fine at home" Faith replied with a sly grin as she raised both eyebrows enough for Fred to get the joke and not be confused before she changed the subject as Wesley hung up the phone and walked back over towards them.
"Yeah, Dawn couldn't find Dominic's favorite toy and Hope wanted to watch Cinderella and Dawn didn't know where it was," Wesley replied with a slightly tired and glad to be out of the house smile on his face as he sat down beside Faith.
"God, I swear she watches that tape every single day, she's always wanting one of us to play it for her," Faith announced with an exasperated sigh at how much her daughter loved the movie Cinderella. At times Faith would take a step back and marvel at the fact that she even had a daughter, let alone a son as well. Add that to a good home and a husband that she knew truly loved her and she couldn't help but wonder how she had been so incredibly lucky. Her only hope was that her luck would continue and the new life that she had built up for herself wouldn't come crashing down on her head anytime soon, if ever.
"At least it's Cinderella and not Barney," Fred said back with an amused smirk on her face before she couldn't help but smile.
"There will be no Barney in my house," Wesley announced with a dead certain look on his face as he turned to Faith and Fred.
"Don't you mean our house Wesley, you're married remember, the house belongs to both of," Fred started to chime in with a small smile on her face before Faith jumped in.
"I'm fine with it as long as I agree with what he's saying, when I don't, then it's our house, and my way goes," Faith said with a joking laugh as Wesley's expression softened and he smiled along.
"Sometimes," Wesley stated softly with a fake look of hurt on his face before Faith leaned over and kissed him just as they could hear the limo pulling up outside.
"Someone should go tell them that the limo is here," Fred said with a slightly nervous look on her face as she looked back over her shoulder to where Gunn had went in search of Angel and Cordelia.
"Thanks for volunteering Fred," Faith stated with an overly eager smile on her face as she hopped up from the couch and began to pull Wesley towards the door, all before Fred could get a word in edgewise.
"That was mean," Wesley shot over with a sly smirk on his face even though Faith could tell that he was trying to sound like he disapproved of her actions, where in reality he agreed with it, as the two walked out the front doors of the Hyperion and Wesley helped her down the steps.
"Not really, you're the one that sent Gunn after Angel and Cordelia remember," Faith said back with an amused smirk on her face as she reached up and gently traced the line of his jaw with her fingers.
"Good point," Wesley whispered back softly under his breath with an equally amused smirk on his face before the two got into the limo and told the driver that the others would be out shortly.
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"Willow doesn't have any idea what could be killing these people, they didn't have a mark on them, did you see anything like this in Pylea," Oz asked with a bored look on his face as he and Groo sat at one of the tables at the far side of the ballroom and did their best to avoid Kate and Willow who would undoubtedly want them to dance.
"I am sorry, but I do not recognize this manner of killing, in Pylea other than the priests nothing killed without leaving marks and scars on the body," Groo replied softly with a look of regret on his face as he looked over at Oz and shook his head.
"It was worth a shot, I just hope that these few deaths don't continue, otherwise people will panic thinking that there's a serial killer on the loose, and just make our jobs that much more difficult," Oz said back with a tired sigh as he leaned back in his chair and stared out at the dance floor where many couples, Angel and Cordelia and Wesley and Faith included, were dancing to a slow song that someone had requested.
"And we certainly wouldn't want that, we have enough craziness in this city already," Gunn interjected with a content grin on his face as he pulled a chair out at the table that Groo and Oz were sitting at allowing Fred to sit down.
"Not to mention that we've seen evidence that Wolfram and Hart isn't as disorganized as we thought they were, we found recruitment fliers in the nest of a group of vampires that we cleared out last week," Fred added with a nervous smile on her face before she picked up a glass of water and took a drink.
"Wonderful, and here I was thinking that everything was going our way," Oz joked with an overwhelmed frown on his face as he shook his head in dismay and rubbed his eyes.
"You are all working to hard, your emotions are all over the map," Jocelyn, her once waist length dark crimson hair cut up at her jawline in a way that reminded everyone of Cordelia in her younger days, said in a weak voice as she cautiously approached the table, looking more like a beauty queen then Connor's live in love. Her dress was the same color of her hair and came down to her knees.
"Hey Red," Gunn said with a happy smile on his face, using his nickname for Jocelyn, before he pulled the young woman into a tight bear hug.
"Nice…to see you to Charles," Jocelyn stuttered back with a nervous look on her face before Connor appeared and rescued her, leaving her to almost melt back into his protective embrace. Though not as jittery as she had once been Jocelyn had been training with Willow to try and at least alleviate some of the effects that her powers had on her. Willow would help her be able to push out the feelings and pains of those that she did not want to read while Lorne was helping her to lessen the effects on her body. She no longer woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night three times a week. That number had been reduced to one night a week, and as her training went on she had found it easier to get back to sleep afterwards, partially due to the change in how she slept. For most of her life she had worn a nightgown to bed. But Willow had posed the idea of sleeping, like Connor did, in the nude. She had been hesitant to try it at first but later found it helpful as the sensations of the different fabrics and materials against her skin gave her body and mind something else to focus on instead of the feelings and emotions coming from the city.
"You two having a good time," Oz asked with a relaxed smile on his face as he sat up in his chair and closed the file in front of him.
"Haven't decided yet, it's still early," Connor replied with a bored sigh as he pulled Jocelyn into a tighter embrace. Out on the dance floor Wesley and Faith were doing their best to lose themselves in one of the few free nights that they had away from Hope and Dominic.
"Having fun dear," Wesley asked softly into Faith's ear as they slowed swayed back and forth to the beat of the slow song.
"Of course honey," Faith mumbled back with a content smile on her face before she pulled Wesley down into a kiss and then laid her head on his chest.
"I'm glad, this is just what we needed right now, a night to ourselves, a night that doesn't consist of changing diapers and reading the same collection of storybooks," Wesley replied softly with a light chuckle as Faith couldn't help but laugh along at their fortune.
"And this year don't even think about a quick trip to the coat room, the last time that we did that Dominic was the result," Faith shot back with a fake look of anger on her face as she pulled back and stared up into Wesley's eyes, finding herself quickly losing herself in the twins oceans of cerulean blue.
"I remember Faith, all to well…but it was your fault for wearing that dress, which wasn't nearly as tight as this one," Wesley said back with a sly wink as his hands slid down from her waist and he separated his hands long enough to give her butt a good squeeze. Faith tried to keep her cool and shoot back a witty and sarcastic retort, but something in Wesley's voice and the look in his eyes caused her more carnal side to outbalance her more cautious side and as the song was ending she was almost literally dragging Wesley off of the dance floor faster than he could move, the two heading towards the coat room.
END OF CHAPTER 2