Chapter Twenty-four
Angel was concerned and followed Crys. He knew she was worked up again and thinking about leaving. He should have warned her that he knew his crewmates would stand by her, no matter what she thought she had done or caused to happen. He had known that they would. Now he had to convince her that they knew what they were doing. "Crys," he called, "wait up."
"For what, Angel?" she asked, glancing at him from an imploring face with ice blue eyes where new tears shimmered. "For another talk? For another request for me to allow your friends and family to be killed, to be slaughtered!"
"What did you expect them to do, Crys -- turn on you and tell you to get lost? We don't do things like that. Each and every one of us, at one time or another, has had to be rescued, whether it was from Demons or even from ourselves. Maybe I should have warned you that they would all be supportive. You'll be allowed to tell your story, but I can tell you already what their reactions will be. They will all be willing to help you in any way that they can. Do you not want them to help you? Do you not want to be free, once and for all? Don't say a thing can not be done if everything has not been tried. Have you ever once had help other than yourself and your babies? Give us a chance to help you."
"Angel, how can I?" she questioned him. Reaching the railing, she draped her arms over it with a sigh. "I thought for sure that there must be at least one of you with a brain bigger than your or their hearts, but I think now -- after that, after Jack, after everything that's already happened -- that the best thing I can do for every one involved is to just get out. I know you want to help, and I appreciate that. I do," she insisted truthfully, "but how can I let you or the others when it will only result in more death?" She shook her head. "Call me selfish if you want to, but I can't stand the thought of having any more on my conscious."
Blue looked at his mistress. He could see the memories flickering in her eyes and knew all that she was remembering for he had been through almost everything with her. He also knew that, if left to her own devices, Crys would never give in. He lowered his head for a moment, sighing. He knew what he had to do. He hated it but realized that he was the only one with the sense to make her have to stay.
He glanced up at Angel with tears shimmering in his blue eyes. He knew he was about to place his life in danger, but Angel was more than willing to put himself in danger for them. Blue could already sense that, even if Crys left, neither Angel nor those who had learned about Frostbite would stop trying to find a way to defeat him. They'd go after him on their own with or without his family.
Blue's wings unfolded. Lifting into the air, he flew to Angel's shoulder and perched again on it. His scales gently brushed Angel's cheek as he leaned closer in and cooed softly.
Angel was relieved. At last he had something to use on Crys to make her stay! "Crys, I tell you now. If you leave, we still will fight against that evil thing. It does not deserve to live and cause more heartaches. I now have what I need to call him to me. If you leave, I'll call him." He looked at her, wondering what she'd do now.
She turned slowly, dreading what she would see. Her tear-filled eyes lifted to his solemn face, and she could not help seeing her dragon's face poking out from behind Angel's head. Her own face paled, going ten times a lighter shade than it normally was. Her eyes zeroed in on Blue. "You didn't -- !"
"Yes, he did," Angel said, reaching up and stroking the little dragon's head, "but he did it out of love for you. He knows you don't need to be out there on your own, not when you've got people who are willing to help you. Thank you, Blue."
Although the dragon leaned his head into Angel's touch, he dared not make a single sound. His heart broke at the fury and terror he saw in his mistress' eyes. Had he just lost his best friend, the woman who'd been the only mother he'd known since a baby?
"Don't blame Blue. If he had not helped me, you would have gone out and gotten yourself killed. We don't want you dead, Crys. You're no good to any one that way."
She was still standing as still as a statue, staring at them in horrid disbelief. Her heart pounded so loudly that it thundered in his ears. "What . . . " she managed to gasp out slowly. "What . . . exactly . . . did he . . . tell you?"
"Only the name I need to call to bring your enemy to me. The name is David, and he has the same last name as your Jack."
"Gods, Blue, you didn't!" she wailed, tears now streaming down her face. Her knees gave way underneath her, but Cindy and Elvira caught her together. She stared at the males in horror. "You just condemned him!"
Angel reached out and scooped Crys up into his arms. "You need to rest and get some food. When's the last time you ate, Crys? When's the last time any of you ate?"
She was quiet for a moment before answering in a meek voice, "We've been living on snow."
"Good Gods, woman! These are meat eaters, and you've been feeding them snow! Well, I'm going to take all of you to the galley, and we'll see if the new cook has managed to get anything edible yet! After you've eaten, I want you to rest for a while. We've got to get back to the Pearl after that. She's my home," he said by way of explanation, "and she would be yours if you would just let her."
He walked, carrying her high on his chest, to the galley only to see that all kinds of crap was going on in there. There were four women, brandishing any kind of weapon imaginable from fingers to wooden spoons, and they had cornered Autolycus up against a wall. He wondered just what Autolycus had done this time. He sat Crys on a nearby chair and looked around at the bedlam. "What's going on here!" he demanded.
"Angel," Autolycus was the first one to cry out, "get me out of here! They're trying to make me into an eunuch!"
"Actually," Phoebe snapped, "we were just thinking about killing you, but that sounds even better!" She thrust the fork she wielded closer at him. Autolycus recoiled in fear, pressing himself as tightly against the wall as he could get.
Angel asked, "What caused this commotion? What did you do this time?"
"Nothing much," he mumbled out. "Just managed to see a little ankle."
"That's not what you told us!" Piper exclaimed hotly. "To think you would stoop as low as to look under children's dresses!"
"WE'RE NOT CHILDREN!" Paige and Phoebe yelled in unison.
Angel looked at the women in their dresses before asking, "How is it possible that he could see under your dresses? They're all long, even touching the ground. Were any of you undressed at the time?"
"No," Piper was the first to answer hesitantly, "but he said he did."
"And he was cowering underneath the table!" Paige added.
Prue looked angrily at Autolycus. "He's a thief and good at getting in and out of places, so yes, he probably did it with very little problem!"
"Autolycus, did you or did you not look under the dresses?"
"No, but I wanted to so I just imagined what they had."
"You've been told to stop bothering the ladies. You need to report to Xena right away, and I'll be along shortly. If you haven't reported, I'm going to tell her."
"But I'm innocent, I tell ya!" Autolycus protested, hoping the ladies would let him through.
Prue moved back away from him. "You report yourself to the Captain right away," she demanded, "or I'll tell the Captain what you were doing!" She brandished a rolling pin she was holding in her hand. "I'll hit you with this too! Now get out of here!"
As soon as he saw a clear path, Autolycus ran for the door. Just as he ran out, he called back, "Paige has on flowery underwear!"
Paige's eyes almost popped out of her head at that comment. "He did!"
Piper heard her youngest sister's cry of dismay and reacted before she could even think. She grabbed a knife from the nearby counter and threw it straight for Autolycus' retreating form. The door swung shut just before it could hit him, and the knife embedded in the wood instead. Piper's eyes widened as she looked at the knife's quivering handle. "Did I do that?" she whispered hoarsely in surprised shock.
"Yes, ma'am, you did," Angel affirmed quietly. Then speaking at a normal tone again, he continued, "I think I'd better go after him and make sure he reports to the Captain. Miss Piper, do you have any food ready yet? Miss Crys is extremely hungry; in fact, the poor dear hasn't eaten in several days and neither have her pets."
Piper shook her head, an apologetic expression covering her shock at her own reaction to Autolycus. "I'm afraid not. I've been waiting for Lorne to get back," she explained. "However, there are some apples, other fruits, and vegetables."
"Crys, eat something please. I've got to go after him, but I will return as quickly as I can." He looked at her, hoping that she would agree, but her gaze only shifted away from him. He shook his head and looked at Piper again. "Her pets eat meat. You won't have to cook it. Just give them some. I know we have plenty of it in there. She won't eat until they eat something, and I'll make sure that your kitchen help gets to you right away."
Piper nodded and started to answer him only to be cut off by a shriek from Paige. "WHAT IS THAT!" Piper's questioning eyes turned to look at her sister only to find her standing in a chair and staring at something in absolute horror. Slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, Piper's gaze followed her sister's. Seeing the animals for the first time, she gasped and backed straight up into Prue. Prue stood there, gazing intently at the animals, even as Phoebe joined Paige in the chair.
"They won't hurt you," Angel said. "They're just hungry. Give them something to eat, and they'll leave you alone. I'm not sure what Blue eats, but try him on the fruit and then some meat. I won't be long. I promise," he said, looking at Crys again, and then rushed out the door.
Angel was lucky in that he found Joxer within five minutes of leaving the galley. His eyes were red, and he was wobbling around. "What's the matter with you, Joxer?"
"I'm just waking up, and I feel like I've been kicked in the head by a mule. In fact, I saw one not too long ago. He was walking around, looking into the rooms, and I swear he was talking to himself!"
"Get yourself to the galley and help Miss Piper. She hasn't gotten dinner going yet, and there are a lot of hungry mouths aboard."
"Yes, sir," Joxer said and gave him a half-hearted salute.
"I know you don't feel up to it, but you've still gotta help, Joxer. There aren't enough people around."
"But, Angel," Joxer told him, "the woman escaped!"
"I know that, Joxer. I have her back now. She's in the kitchen. Be nice to her."
"Why?" he demanded. "She wasn't nice to me, and I don't want to become dragon food!"
"Just get in there and do what you can to help Miss Piper. I'll be back soon." He continued to follow Autolycus, who was not going anywhere near Xena but was making a steady beeline for the crow's nest. "AUTOLYCUS!" he yelled.
"Oh cripes!" Autolycus muttered under his breath. "He's going to get me before I can get away!" Autolycus sped up and changed his destination. He kept moving as fast as he could, and since he had already had a headstart on Angel, managed to escape.
Angel decided he'd take care of Autolycus later as he had to find Lorne. Angel figured Lorne was still on the Pearl. Grabbing one of the ropes that Jack kept hanging all around the ships, he swung out toward the Pearl, let go when he was close, and landed on the deck. "Lorne?" he called.
Jack had been alone on the deck of the Witch, staring skyward and watching the Demon. He finally realized that the ships had outdistanced him, and that since he knew not which direction they had gone, he was not following them. After a while, Jack could not see him any more. He decided to head to the galley and see what was cooking as his stomach had made a rumbling sound and he realized that he had not eaten in a long time. He had to hold on to things to keep from being blown off the deck. 'Ro sure had powerful lungs, he thought, if she was doing all this blowing. He glanced upward but did not see her. He wondered where she was.
Howling winds were whipping so viciously around Faith that she had to fight her way to the railing at the back of the ship. She had nearly reached it when a panicked voice screaming for help caught her ears. She stopped, her dark eyes flitting around in search of any sign of the troubled being before finally coming to rest on black paws frantically scrambling for the railing. She smiled even as she folded her arms over her chest. "Well, well, Lewis, it seems your conniving ways got you after all!"
"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO," the voice thundered back, "BUT I'M NOT LEWIS!"
Faith stilled. The voice was male, not feminine as its screeches for help had originally sounded. She raced forward, the smile completely gone from her face, and was just in time to grab the paws as they slipped completely from the railing. The wind knocked her, tossing her hair in her face and almost blowing her overboard, but she dug in the heels of her boots even as she pulled the cat up. He pawed the air in his desperate attempt to grab hold to her, and though his claws sank into her flesh when he finally reached her, she did not say a word. Instead, she dipped with him, rolling to a sitting position on the deck, the railing at their backs.
The black cat breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you . . . " he started to say only to be interrupted.
She nodded in response to his gratitude but then asked, "Who are you? Actually, screw that," she continued on second thought. "If you're not a Lewis, what are you?"
"A man."
She scoffed, and her dark eyes slanted disbelievingly down at him. "Yeah, right."
"No really," he insisted with a twitch of his tail. "My name is Salem Saberhagan. I was trapped in this body."
She shook her head, looking at him, and for a moment, he thought she might actually feel sorry for him. Then, with another shake of her head, she told him, "Riiight. Look, Salem, if that is your name, you should be happy to be what you are."
"A cat!"
"Yeah," she retorted, "a cat. You've got more natural agility and grace than most beings will ever have, and if you get the right person and not an idiotic bitch, you can even be taken care of for the rest of your life."
He blew out a sigh as her words made him remember the women he had left behind in Port Royal, the insane trio who he had run from at long last and should have escaped many years ago. "Well, I didn't. I got stuck with three bitches who tried to sell me."
"Sell ya?"
He nodded.
Her blood ran cold. "Don't tell me they tried to sell you for food. Who are they? I'll cut their damn throats."
He cringed slightly at the ferocity in her tone and eyes. "That's okay. They were taken care of with the rest of the city." He paused then hesitantly added in a quiet voice, "Besides, that's not what they were going to sell me for even if that is where I ended up."
"Then what . . . ?" Faith asked, her head shaking and her brow creasing in confusion.
"Formyservices."
"What?" she asked. "I couldn't hear you for the wind." Even then, it was whipping her hair every which way, and she pulled a thick strand of it out of her face.
"For my services," Salem repeated, his voice rising. When she still looked at him in confusion, he clarified though his eyes could not meet hers, "For my stud services." He paused for a heartbeat of a second before concluding, "To humans."
"TO HUMANS!" Faith thundered. "I'LL KILL THEM!" Her angry eyes flashed on black.
"They're already dead."
"Maybe," she admitted, remembering what had happened to the city as it had been turned to ice and crashed down upon itself, "but evil has a way of coming back. If they're not dead and you run into them, all ya have to do is let me know. I'll be glad to rip their throats out." She growled the last between clenched teeth.
He studied her in surprise. "Are you always that protective of strangers?"
"Hell no!"
"Then what?" he asked. "Just cats?" She ignored him and glanced up at the sky instead. "Come on," he purred to her. "I know you're a bitch, but you like cats. We hit a chord with you. Why? I told you my story; you can tell me yours."
Lorne had been watching Brendan and hoping that he would wake up soon as he needed to get back to the galley and help with the cooking. He did not know how hard Jack had hit him but figured it must have been a good hit as he was still out. He got up to move over to check Brendan out and tried to shake him awake when the winds hit him so hard that it blew him against the railing. Fighting his way back to Brendan, he saw his friend rise from the floor, and he panicked. The winds were going to snatch Brendan away if he didn't do something quickly. He flung his body full-length on Brendan, trying to hold him down with his own weight.
Brown eyes opened slowly only to meet with a red horn nearly sticking him in the eye. "What the blazes!" he demanded. It was only then that he realized that Lorne's body was pressing down against his. "Well," he spoke hesitantly, "this isn't exactly what I thought I'd be waking up to."
"Sorry," Lorne said. "I know it's kinda awkward, but we have hurricane winds and they were about to blow you overboard! The only thing I could think of was to lay on you and hope my weight would be enough to hold you down."
"Thanks, but you can get up now. What's going on?" Brendan then asked. He could practically smell danger.
"We have been tracked by a Demon ever since leaving Port Royal. You do know how you got here, right?"
Brendan sighed at the memory; the sound was one of lust and awe but also of heavy disappointment. "No man could ever forget that."
"The woman's safe; Jack knocked you out. We left the harbor, and we're out at sea. She's with her sister. I know the story, Brendan. It kind of surprised me. Whatever did you do to make her want you so much? She's from a really nice family, and that's probably the first time she's ever did anything like that. She is head over heels for you!"
Brendan sighed. He could think of only one thing to tell his friend as Lorne got off of him and looked down at him imploringly. He grinned up at him, but his twinkling eyes remained darkened by the knowledge of what he could never have. "Just lucky, I guess," he answered at first. He then sighed and shook his head as he rolled to his feet. "I just don't know whether to call it good luck or bad."
"Well, she thinks it's good luck, and if you could have seen her reaction when she got to her sister . . . ! She's not scared of your wolf; she still wants you! Are you sure you didn't do anything to get her excited?"
"Lorne, I hadn't even noticed her until she came up to me, and then all I tried to do was ask her if I could help her! The next thing I knew, she was kissing me!" He had been shaking his head at that, but as the memory replayed itself and his lips again burned, he stopped shaking and only sighed in awe at the remembered feelings.
He shook himself again, trying failingly to force the thoughts from his mind. "I've got to talk to Jack about her. She can't do that again. She can't be around me! I'd -- I'd -- " He looked at Lorne, unable to complete the sentence but hoping he would understand what he meant.
"Jack knocked you out, and he'll stop you next time if things get out of hand again. You know you can count on him. I don't think he knows quite what to make of the Halliwells either, but you're not going to be able to get rid of her easily."
Brendan raked a nervous hand through his thick, shaggy mane of brown hair. "There has to be a way. I can not continue to endanger her!"
"Where there's a will, there's a way, but she is just as determined as you are. She wants you, man!" he said with a wink of his eyes. "She wants ya bad!"
Brendan shook his head in disbelief. "She's crazy!"
"Jack's on the Witch and hasn't returned yet. I've got to get back to the galley. I'm supposed to be helping to cook dinner, but I'll get you some clothes before I head back. Just stay here."
Faith continued to ignore Salem. When she finally spoke again, her statement had nothing to do with cats. "Looks like the wind's dying down." Releasing him, she rolled to her feet and turned back to the railing. She was just in time to see the other vessels taking off. Almost every one headed in a different direction.
Her sigh met Salem's ears as he leapt up onto the railing beside her. He turned to look up into her eyes, and he jerked his head back slightly in surprise at the sadness that shimmered therein. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"Nothing."
He shook his head, then stood and began to rub against her arm, purring deeply. "I wouldn't tell anybody." She didn't respond, and he tried again. "Look. Something's bothering you. That's clear. You saved my life; I'd like to be able to help you."
"I don't need anybody's help."
He nodded. "I usually don't, but I did today . . . " He placed a gentle paw on her hand and was finally rewarded with her casting a glance at him; his dark eyes caught and managed to keep her gaze. " . . . for the first time," he lied smoothly.
She laughed, but the sound was dull as her heart was not in it. She scratched his head even while telling him, "You're such a liar!"
"Maybe I am," he said, enjoying her gentle scratch and rubbing his head into her hand, "but so are you. Something's bothering you. Why can't you tell me? I'm a cat, and I know you like cats. Don't you trust us?"
She continued to gaze down at him for a moment but then forced herself to tear her gaze away. "I don't trust anybody."
"Best way to be," he agreed, "but I'm not asking you to trust me completely, just to trust me with this."
She sighed. "There's nothing that can be done about it any way. It's done, and it was for the best."
Salem's intent gaze followed hers back to the departing vessels. "You sent somebody away, didn't you?" She didn't answer, and he knew he was right. "Somebody started getting under your skin, so you sent them off before they could make you realize that you do have a heart. Nasty things, those are," he added with a grimace and a shake of his head. "It doesn't matter if you're cat or human. If you let yourself have a heart, it'll get you into trouble every time."
She snorted. "Got that right."
"And I've got the other right too, don't I?"
She sighed but slowly looked back down at him. "If you tell anybody, I'll cut your throat."
He smiled up at her, and the look almost brought a laugh from her. "I bet you say that to all the guys."
"Nope," she said with a shake of her head. "Just the annoying ones." She couldn't resist scratching his head again, however.
"So there was somebody?" he asked.
"Maybe," she relented slightly.
"And you're scared?" he added, his eyes searching hers for the truth.
She could feel him reading her and snapped her head away. "I'm not scared of anything."
"But you are," he insisted gently. "You're scared he didn't get on one of those ships."
"He was just a fuck who got in over his head and I had to bail him out! Why the Hell should I care whether he's living or not?"
Salem's head cocked to one side as he looked thoughtfully up at her. His tail swished silently from side to side. "Because you have a conscience?"
"Hell no!"
"A heart?"
"No more than the conscience."
"But he got under your skin."
"Cat," she ground out, one hand now gripping the railing so hard that her knuckles had turned white, "I think you'd better get the Hell out of here."
Dawson had been listening the entire time. He was close enough that he could almost reach out and touch Faith, but he did not make his presence known. He was not surprised at the talking cat although he had, at first, thought it to be one of the Lewises in trouble. He had recognized Salem as soon as Faith had rescued him, however, for he'd met him earlier at the auction. He was surprised at the truths that he was hearing coming out of both of them, and for the fact that he heard Faith actually admit that he had had an effect upon her. He continued to listen quietly.
Salem started to speak again but changed his mind upon seeing the darkness that had fallen over Faith's face. He had long ago learned how to tell when he pushed some one, especially a woman, too far. "All right," he told her, "but I'll be around if you want to change your mind." A growl was his response, and Salem bolted, leaping from the railing. Her teary eyes cut back after him, and she watched as he scampered out of her sight.
"Fuck it," she muttered, turning back around. She continued to talk to herself as she stepped away from the railing, took off her scabbard and boots, and dropped them to the deck. "If the kid's dead, he's dead. If he's not," she shrugged even as she pulled her shirt off, "good as long as he never shows up again." She dropped her shirt to the deck, shimmied out of her pants, and added them to the pile of her clothes.
Faith turned, bent, and picked up her scabbard. She withdrew her sword from it and glanced at the blood that covered its blade. The scabbard made a clanging sound as it hit the deck again. She turned back around, grabbed one of the ropes that was hanging down nearby, and hung it over the railing where she could reach it later. She then dived into the water, still holding the sword.
Faith quickly washed the sword clean of the blood that covered it. Had it been merely her regular sword, she would not have bothered, but she scrubbed every spot of blood off of it before tossing it back upwards. She listened, her head cocked to one side, until she heard it embed perfectly into the deck beside her scabbard, then set to washing herself.
She had to fight the entire time, however, to keep from thinking of Dawson. What had happened to him? Had he escaped alive, or had she condemned him to death? She told herself she shouldn't care and cussed herself aloud underneath her breath for doing just that.
Lorne was headed for the sleeping quarters when he heard his name called by Angel. "Yes, Angel, I'm coming," he answered. As soon as he reached Angel, he told him that Brendan had to have some clothes.
"I'll take care of that," Angel said. "You need to get over there and assist Miss Piper or we're not going to eat today!"
"Sure thing," Lorne replied, "but you take care of Brendan." He left for the Witch even as Angel went into the sleeping quarters and got some clothes for Brendan.
Lorne continued to rush on his way to the galley. He knew he was late, but he would never have left Brendan. He increased his footsteps, hoping Miss Piper would not think he didn't want to learn because he really did want to.
Angel returned to where he had last smelled Brendan, but when he got there, he did not see him anywhere. Just as he was about to call out, he saw a hand stick out of a barrel and heard Brendan said, "Over here!"
As he held the clothes out to Brendan, Angel couldn't help teasing him. "I don't know what was going on over here, but you were into more action than we were over there, and believe me, there's been plenty going on today!"
"She kissed me!" Brendan exclaimed in shocked disbelief even as his hand reached out, grabbed the clothes, and snaked them back into the barrel. "I never did anything to her, Angel, I swear! She kissed me!"
"Did you like it?" Angel asked, remembering how much he had enjoyed when he had kissed Cordelia earlier.
Brendan sighed even as he shrugged into his shirt, only his arms sticking out of the barrel as he did so. "Too much."
Angel shrugged. "Then don't fight it, man; work with it. Wolf controls his. You should be able to. Get with Wolf and find out what he does. Then go court your woman."
Though Angel could not see him, Brendan still shook his head. "Courting is not open to me, Angel." He paused in speaking as he flipped upwards. He exited the barrel for just a brief second, then fell back in, his legs sticking out this time as he struggled to pull on his pants. "Even if I could control it, which I can not, have never been able to, and will never be able to, I do not deserve such."
Angel was having a hard time not laughing out loud. Brendan was too serious, and yet his actions were funny at the same time! "You have to work it out, Brendan, or just let the woman go. Do you really want to do that?"
"What I might want doesn't really matter, Angel; I don't deserve it. What does matter is her safety, and that can not be accomplished if she is anywhere near me." He flipped out of the barrel again, but this time, he landed on bare feet on the dock.
Angel shook his head in disbelief. Only Brendan could get dressed in a barrel with barely enough room to turn around, have every button buttoned in the right place, and look as though nothing had occurred. "Your past is not your present, Brendan. With the right woman, you could work things out, but you, my friend, have got to be willing to try."
"Trying would mean endangering her in order to do so, Angel," Brendan answered, looking his friend directly in the eyes, "and that is something that I will never willingly do."
"Well, she's not going to give you up. You have excited her, and she wants you bad. I heard her say that.""So Lorne has also told me," Brendan admitted, "but it makes no difference. It can not."
"So the woman doesn't excite you?" Angel asked. "You don't mind if another guy gets her? You don't want her? Hmm . . . " His voice trailed off. "There's a lot of guys on this ship -- lonely guys."
Brendan reacted before his human mind could make one thought. Before Angel even knew what was happening, he had picked him up by his collar and slammed him into the railing. "If you touch her . . . " he growled out, but the threat and angry face were suddenly replaced by a look of confusion and sorrow. Brendan dropped Angel instantly. Backing up and muttering an apology, he turned and fled.
Dawson heard splashing as Faith bathed and watched as her sword flew back up onto the deck to land by the scabbard. She really didn't want him in her life, or at least, she thought she didn't. He knew that, but he also knew he would never leave, not willingly. He stood up and was about to leave his hiding place when he came face to face with Salem.
Salem peered up at him through knowing green eyes. "You're him, aren't you?" he asked. "You're the kid she's got it so bad for?" He kept his voice to a low whisper so that Faith would not overhear him.
"I'm the one she's wondering about, but she hasn't got it bad for me," Dawson said. "I've got it bad for her. She doesn't want me. I can't blame her, not when she has all these others to choose from. They've done so much, and I've done nothing. She's not getting rid of me, though, and don't you dare go telling her I'm here!"
"As long as you keep my secret, I'll keep yours. She actually thinks I'm just a normal cat!" he said, shaking his head. "Otherwise I never would have been able to get anything out of her. I know her kind, kid, and I have to tell you -- You're both wrong."
"Why do you think we're both wrong?" he asked.
"Simple," Salem answered knowingly. "You think she doesn't have it bad for you, that she really doesn't want you. She thinks she shouldn't want you, that she's better off alone. That's why she tried to send you away. She wants you gone so that you can't continue getting under her skin."
"I'm not going anywhere," Dawson said with a shake of his head, "but I don't want her to ever find out I'm here. Why, she'd probably kill Captain Jack and me both in our sleep!"
He shook his head. "She'd threaten you. She might even physically attack you both. But she wouldn't kill you. I've met her kind before," Salem reminded him. Hell, he added silently to himself, I've been her kind before. "She tries to make her own survival, wants, and needs her topmost and only priority, but there are a few who give her trouble. You're number one on that list. She doesn't know why, but she's got it bad for you."
"So you keep saying, Salem, but I don't see that. I wish she did. Well, I'd better go before she gets out of that water, but I'll be around so I can keep an eye on her just in case she needs me."
Salem shook his head. "I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't know it." He paused. Faith would kill him if she ever found out he admitted this. "I saw the tears in her eyes when she was thinking about you."
"Probably just gas," Dawson dismissed it immediately. "She really has very little use for me, but I'll love her till I die," he said with a sigh. "Help me keep an eye on her, Salem. If she needs me, you can find me. I'd appreciate it."
Salem stifled a sigh even as he nodded. He knew he was not going to get any further with either of them at the moment, but they would see with time. He wondered if he had ever been that young, in love, and foolishly blind.
Dawson took off to find another hiding place before Faith got back on, remembering for one brief second how beautiful she was naked. As soon as he found another hiding place, he laid down and waited.
Angel rubbed his throat gingerly and shrugged his shoulders to straighten his shirt. He called after him. "WAIT UP, BRENDAN! I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT ME! I'VE GOT OTHER PROBLEMS! COME BACK HERE! I'M NOT THROUGH TALKING TO YOU," he knew that Brendan could hear him, "AND I'M NOT MAD AT YOU FOR ATTACKING ME!"
Brendan paused. "Angel," he said, not bothering to yell for he knew the Vampire would hear him, "I can't stand around. I need to get below deck before something else happens." He shook his head, sorrow clouding his brown eyes. "Gods, I don't know what's wrong with me today!"
Angel finally caught up to him. "Hormones, my friend. Her hormones triggered your hormones, and low and behold, the wolf came out! I wish mine was that simple, and you can't get in the cage. It's broken."
"What!" Brendan almost screeched, whirling around to face Angel with a shocked expression and wild eyes.
"Yeah. It wasn't me. A woman did it."
Brendan's mouth fell open and hung there for a brief moment before he managed to close it and ask, "What woman?"
"The one whose wolf bit Lorne in the butt. Her name is Crys. Jack locked her in there, so she wouldn't run off for her own safety. Things got out of hand. I sent Joxer and Carl down to watch her -- "
"You didn't!" Brendan exclaimed, cutting him off. "Angel, you should have known better than to send those two! I don't know what that woman is, but she's definitely something!"
"I figured it was a job that even they couldn't mess up and they were the only ones available. Lo and behold, she knocked them both out, and then she broke the cage by freezing it!"
"Well, at least that explains one thing. I smelled the cold on her earlier but didn't know what to make of it. She must be an Elemental."
"An Ice Elemental, to be exact, but since none of us have ever dealt with one before, we didn't have a clue what she was capable of. She's at the galley too. Well, what do you want to do, Brendan? Do you want to come with me to the galley or find Doctor Doom so that he can work on the cage?" Angel asked.
"I'll find Wesley and get him to work. That cage has got to get fixed, so that I can get in it!"
"If you say so, but wouldn't you rather go to the galley?"
"NO!"
"Prue's there!"
"I know Prue's there! Why do you think I'm not about to go anywhere near it!"
"Okay. Then we'll find Doctor Doom and get him on the cage, although if we can get him to work on an empty stomach, we'll be doing something. That man loves his food!"
"We all do," Brendan replied, both he and Angel hearing the rumbling of his gut, "but I'm not going anywhere near that galley. You couldn't even drag my coat to it if you killed me."
"Brendan, I can't believe you're scared of a woman," Angel stressed. "You're going to have to face her sooner or later. Why not do it now when you're with me?"
Brendan shook his head. "Angel, you're not getting me anywhere near her. I refuse to endanger her any further! I'm going with you to Wesley only to make sure he fixes that cage so that I can get in it before I go crazy again!"
"Okay, my friend; let's go find Wesley." The two headed off together. Brendan was relieved that Angel appeared to have given up the argument, but Angel knew that he was only letting it rest momentarily.
