CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

Second Floor: Spartans, Slayers, Shackles

Michael carried Faith through the woods back to Angel's place. He had been torn at first where to take her, but he figured despite the attack on the house it was still safer and better than taking her back to his hideout at the warehouse.

As he entered through the broken door, he saw Angel still sprawled unconscious on the floor. That was a good sign since he wasn't a pile of dust—he would recover. Michael placed Faith gently on the sofa and knelt down beside her. His bio sensor readings showed she was stable, but she was still unconscious. He looked at her and the memories and feelings flowed and welled up in him. His hand moved slowly to her face and he lightly touched it with his armored gloved hand, he started stroking her hair gently.

Michael lost track of time as he continued to stroke her hair, but it wasn't that long when he heard Angel stirring behind him as he came to.

oOoOo

Angel felt himself come back to the land of consciousness. The first thing he was aware of was the pain in his head and body. He'd had electric shocks before, but this was more painful and extreme. It hurt even knowing that he would recover. He was trying to recall what had happened—it suddenly came back in a rush.

Faith… What happened to her!?

Angel started to raise his head quickly but a sharp pain slowed him down. His eyes were focusing and for a moment he thought he was still unconscious or hallucinating as he was greeted by the strangest sight. He found himself looking at a huge robot kneeling next to Faith lying on the sofa. She was shackled and was unconscious and had blood splattered on her face. What Angel found even stranger was the robot was gently caressing her hair.

Angel did a double take at the strange scene and he was trying to figure out what he was going to do when the robot spoke without turning to face him.

"She's just unconscious… She'll be fine. Do you have something I can use to clean her up before she wakes up?"

Angel found himself dumbfounded and for a moment he couldn't think or speak as he absorbed the scene. He eventually found his voice.

"Yeah… I'll get some towels and water…" he said as he stood slowly, still feeling the effects of the attack. He made his way to the kitchen, shaking his head slowly trying to believe what he was seeing.

A couple of minutes later, Angel returned with some towels and bottles of water. He placed them beside the kneeling robot, who was still looking at Faith. Angel was caught off-guard as the robot thanked him. Angel found that Buffy's description didn't do what he was seeing any justice. He found it hard to believe that there was a man inside that armor suit—it was hard not to look at him and not think he was some sort of robot

Angel watched as the man used the towels and water to clean up and wash the blood off Faith's face and hair the best he could.

Angel looked at the shackles restraining Faith, "Those look pretty strong… We'll need a hacksaw to cut those—"

He was interrupted and his eyes widened as he watched the man rip open the shackles on Faith's hands and then her ankles with what appeared very little effort. He watched as the man removed the shackles from her and tossed them over into a corner of the room.

Angel found himself transfixed as he watched the man reach under Faith and pick her up like she was a feather. He couldn't help but see the tenderness and gentleness he used handling Faith—like she was the most precious thing in existence.

The man spoke to Angel catching him off-guard, "I'm going to take her upstairs and put her into one of the beds… If you don't mind I'll hang around to keep an eye on things for a while."

Angel looked into the gold visor of the helmet. He couldn't see behind the visor, but he could feel power and strength there. He nodded his head again finding himself a little lost for words.

"Uh… Yeah… Go ahead… I'll be down here if you need anything." was all that Angel could say as he watched the man carry Faith upstairs.

oOoOo

Michael carried Faith upstairs. He quickly oriented himself to the house layout from his time observing outside. He found the bedroom she was using and placed her carefully down on the bed. He looked at her again, he had managed to clean most of the blood off of her face and hair, but her clothes would need a wash.

The memories of the firefight replayed through his mind as he looked at her unconscious form. He had meant what he'd said to Wesley—if the Watchers ever came near her again he would kill them all. Michael let out a sigh as he looked at her face and found himself at a loss of what to do next. A part of him knew that he should leave before she regained consciousness, but he couldn't leave her—not now. He moved over into a corner of the room, sitting on the floor resting against the wall. He leaned his head back against the wall—watching her and waiting.

oOoOo

Faith opened her eyes, it took a moment for them to focus and adjust to the darkness. She gathered her thoughts and tried to reorient herself. She had no idea where she was, but after a moment as she became more alert, the sights and smells came to her. She realized with some surprise that she was in the bedroom she used in Angel's place.

She moved slowly, looking around. She had no memory of how she'd gotten here. She did have flashes of explosions and blinding flashes, men storming into the house and then images of fire and bodies. She remembered that at one point she was falling, but someone had caught her. Now she was waking up in her bed like it was all a dream.

I must've clicked my heels three times… Now if only Auntie Em would show up, she thought as she moved slowly as her body still ached.

Faith started to sit up, she had to catch herself as a brief wave of pain and dizziness washed over her. Whatever had happened at least she appeared safe for now.

"I've got to go check and see if Angel is okay…" she muttered to herself.

Faith was startled when she got a response from a dark corner of the room.

"Angel is fine… How are you feeling?"

She immediately tensed up and tried to determine what the threat was and where to strike, but she quickly regained her composure. She reasoned out quickly that if anyone or anything wanted to hurt her, they would have done it already and wouldn't be asking how she was feeling.

Faith relaxed somewhat, but she kept her guard up, "Nothing that some aspirin and a hot shower wouldn't fix… You wouldn't have either one of those here would ya?"

She was surprised again when she heard a chuckle from the darkness.

"I'll have to check with Angel about the aspirin… I placed a bottle of water beside the bed. I thought you might be thirsty when you came to."

Faith looked and quickly found the bottle of water. She was a little leery of taking a drink, but again if anything was going to happen it would have happened while she was unconscious. She opened the bottle and took a swig of the water. It felt good on her throat.

"Thanks… Want some?" Faith said holding out the bottle to offer to her hidden benefactor. She wanted to try and draw out whoever it was in the dark. She wanted to see who or what she was dealing with. The voice was definitely a male voice, but there was something about the voice. She could have sworn she'd heard that voice before.

"No thanks… I'm okay for now." was the response from the dark corner of the room.

Faith had no idea where this was going, but she was getting a whole "Silence of the Lambs" vibe. She just hoped that no one ended wearing her skin as a suit.

"Can you tell me what the hell happened and what's going on?" she asked.

There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again, "It appears that Wesley brought in a team to haul you off… I stopped them."

It was bothering Faith that she couldn't place the voice. Her mind was still feeling a little sluggish, but she had an image flash in her mind of seeing Wesley with the group of men breaking into the house.

"Yeah… Wesley was with the bunch of guys dressed up like ninjas, but why did he do it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure… But I have a few theories why." the voice replied.

"You care to share?" she asked.

"Maybe later."

"You said you stopped them from taking me." Faith asked.

"Yes…" the voice replied in a very neutral tone.

It took Faith a moment as her mind started getting back into gear.

"Is Wesley dead?" she asked.

"Wesley is alive… The men with him are not." the voice replied.

Faith sighed as she was still trying to figure out what was going on and who the mysterious person was, "I guess thanks are in order." she said.

"You don't have to thank me… You were in trouble. I couldn't let them hurt you." The voice responded sounding a little more filled with feeling and concern.

Faith was starting to get tired of all the mystery and playing twenty questions.

"So I guess you're my knight in shining armor… Is this the part where I giggle like a silly school girl and say suggestively 'Thank you, however will I ever repay you?'" she replied mockingly batting her eye lashes.

She was surprised by another chuckle and the voice's response, "You were never a silly girl and yes… I guess I'm your knight in shining armor of a sort…"

Faith let out a gasp as she finally saw movement from the darkness where the voice was coming from. She was met by the sight of a huge man-shaped robot standing up and moving into the room. It was the same one that she had fought days ago and had been looking for. She looked at the head and the gold-colored visor. She couldn't see inside, but she could feel as if the robot was staring right into her. She shivered unexpectedly which surprised her as she wasn't afraid. She couldn't explain it, but she wasn't afraid of this robot. A part of her knew deep down that this robot wouldn't hurt her.

"So we meet again…" she said as she looked the robot up and down.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Faith spoke again, "So can I ask? What's your deal? Are you some sort of robot or evil terminator?"

"Nothing like that… Though I have been called a demon on occasion…" the robot replied again with a slight chuckle which surprised her.

There was another moment of awkward silence. Faith looked at the robot and she could almost swear that he was thinking—like he was trying to decide something. It still bothered her that she thought she recognized the voice—it was at the tip of her tongue.

Faith was surprised as she watched the robot reach and pull off his head. She didn't know what to expect, her shock and surprise was greater than anything she could have expected as she saw herself looking at the head of a man—a man she thought she would never see again.

"My god… It's you!" Faith said in utter and complete shock.

oOoOo

Michael had watched Faith as she laid there on the bed. His mind had gone through all his options. He tried to consider all the angles and ramifications. He should have left, but he couldn't—now she was conscious. As they had talked, he realized that he couldn't just walk away again. He knew that he'd already crossed the Rubicon and screwed up the time line seven ways from Sunday. If he was able to get back, it was all going to be different and he would be going into unknown territory. Thoughts flashed through his mind as he looked at Faith.

Would Faith and I still be together? Would Faith even be alive? Would Adriana still exist?

Michael looked at the face of the woman that he loved and realized that this could be his last chance to be with her.

Damn the consequences! he thought as he removed his helmet.

oOoOo

"Michael… Is that you? How? What?" Faith said as her eyes widened finding herself tongue-tied and in shock.

She got off the bed quickly and moved towards where Michael was standing. She got closer and looked into the smiling face of the man that she had fallen in love with. She had tried to deny that something like that was possible for her, but seeing him here and alive made her feelings so much clearer.

Michael had a smile come to his face as Faith approached, "There's a lot I have to explain and not much—" he started to say.

"OW!" Michael said as he felt the pain as he was caught off guard by how fast and hard Faith had slapped him across the face.

"That's for standing me up and making me think you were dead!" she shouted.

Michael was caught flat-footed and before he could even think or reply, Faith spoke again, "…and this is for you being alive!" she said as she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him down and kissed him hard and full of passion.

Michael was still confused, but he stopped thinking as he felt the kiss and the passion and force behind it. The kiss lasted for a long time before they finally parted lips. Michael and Faith looked deeply into each other's eyes. He saw a smile come to her face that he was very familiar with—he knew what was going to happen next.

"So… Do I need a can opener to get you out of that suit or what?" she asked with a sexy wicked smile on her face.

Michael returned the smile and moved away and started to hurriedly remove his battle armor…

oOoOo

Angel was sitting on the sofa resting. He was feeling better and was going over the events from the night. He had managed to clean up the mess from the attack, boarding up the broken windows and fixing the door the best he could. His mind was wandering as he was trying to not let his thoughts drift to what was going on upstairs. He was caught by surprise as his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar concerned voice.

"What happened?!"

Angel turned and saw at Buffy as she came into the house. He could see that she was looking at the damage with a worried look on her face.

"We had some uninvited guests… They tried to take Faith." Angel said.

Buffy got really worried, "Who did this? Is Faith alright? Did anything happen to her?"

"Not sure who was behind the attack, but they were human, so I don't think it was the Mayor. Faith got knocked unconscious, but she's fine… Better than fine…" Angel replied somewhat sheepishly.

"So you were able to stop whoever it was?" Buffy asked.

Angel looked around awkwardly before replying, "Uhhh… I wish I could take credit, but it appears it was Faith's guardian… The guy in the armor suit, he stepped in and saved the day."

Buffy's eyes widened, "Michael was here?" she asked.

"Michael… That's his name? At least I have something to call him by when he comes downstairs." Angel said again looking somewhat awkward and distracted.

"He's still here?" Buffy asked surprised about what was happening.

"Yeah… He took Faith upstairs... He's…keeping… an eye on her." Angel replied again with an awkward look.

"I guess I should go up and check on Faith to make sure she is alright." Buffy said as she turned and started to head towards the stairs.

"I don't think you should do that?" Angel replied looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Why would you stay that?" she asked puzzled by his behavior.

It was at that moment that both Angel and Buffy heard a female voice moaning loudly followed by a scream of "OH GOD! YESSSSSS…!"

Buffy got a look of shock on her face as she realized what was happening upstairs.

"Uhhh… I…guess I can wait for them to finish." Buffy said trying to hide her own embarrassment and looking awkwardly at Angel.

Angel looked even more awkwardly at her, "It might be awhile… By my watch they've been going at it non-stop for almost an hour…"

Buffy almost choked at the news, "An hour!" she managed to sputter out as she turned and looked upstairs. She heard some more moaning and abruptly turned back and found herself looking at Angel. There was a very long and awkward moment as they exchanged glances.

"Uhhh… Can I get you a drink? I think it may be a long night." Angel said hurriedly as he tried to keep his mind from wandering into dangerous territory.

"Yeah… A drink… That would be nice." Buffy replied quickly as she took another glance upstairs and tried to keep her mind focused from wandering into her wants and desires.

oOoOo

Faith had thought that sex with Michael might make her head explode—she was pretty close. She wasn't inexperienced with sex, but she'd never had sex like this before. She usually wore out her partner first with her Slayer strength and stamina, but Michael had the strength and endurance to keep up with her and more—taking her to new levels that she had never experienced before and didn't think possible. He touched parts of her body like she had never been touched before—like he knew exactly which parts and points of her body that caused the greatest sensation and pleasure. She lost herself in the moment and there were no thoughts of anyone else or of even the outside world—there was only the two of them.

oOoOo

Faith and Michael were lying in bed. She had snuggled up close into him, with one leg and arm draped across him. She was awake and was running her fingers across his chest, touching and tracing out all his scars.

"It looks like you've seen your share of fighting…" she said breaking the silence.

"You have no idea…" he replied with a smirk.

There was another moment of silence as they both savored the moment of what they had shared.

"I don't know what to say after what we just did… I hope that we didn't disturb Angel too much. I think if he had any neighbors they would have called the cops from all the noise." Faith said with a somewhat bashful smirk.

"I wasn't the one doing all the moaning and screaming." Michael replied still smirking.

Faith turned red from embarrassment, "You caught me by surprise… I've never been that loud before, but damn that was awesome! I don't think I'll be able to walk for a week."

Michael smiled back at her.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"Usually you give me a few more minutes to catch my breath and then…" he said with an evil grin.

Faith's eyes widened and then she smiled her own evil grin, "Hot damn!" she said and she moved in to kiss him as he wrapped his arms around her…

oOoOo

It was still dark outside as Faith and Michael laid together in bed. Even after all the physical exertion they were both surprisingly still awake. Michael tuned his head to look at Faith, he could tell that she was deep in thought, but she had a contented smile on her face.

"Wow… That's all I can say… Wow…" she said smiling.

Michael turned over to look at her returning her smile with one of his own.

"Is it like this with all you old guys?" she asked inquisitively.

"I wouldn't know myself about with other guys…" Michael said with a smirk. He was quickly met with a sharp elbow jab that knocked some of the wind out of him.

It was quiet for a few moments as their minds and thoughts drifted.

"Michael… What's your story? What's with the tin man costume?" She asked.

Michael sighed. He knew that she would eventually ask this question.

I've already gone this far and I'm in the deep end now… What's a little post-coitus confessional, he thought.

"It's a long story… Are you ready to hear everything?" he asked.

"Yes… I want to know everything about you…" Faith said with a happy contented smile.

oOoOo

Michael gave Faith the abbreviated story of his life covering off the basics of who he was and where he'd come from and more importantly how and why he was here with her now. It took a while, he saw that her attention never wavered, though he had to slow down at some points and explain them again as she got a little confused or unsure. When he started, he'd been somewhat reluctant to go into their current marital and family status, but he knew that he was in with both feet and he wouldn't lie or hold back anything from her. He saw a look of disbelief, hesitation and a little bit of fear cross her face as he told her that they would get married and have a child.

"So… Let me get this straight… You're some sort of super soldier guy from a future alternate dimension where you fought aliens and then you accidently got sent to this dimension and you lived in Sunnydale and then we met and fought these super scary 'Ubervampires'. Then you and I hooked up and then I got pregnant." Faith said with a somewhat expected look of disbelief on her face as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening.

Michael nodded, "Yes… That's the short and dirty version."

Faith shook her head still trying to comprehend, "…and we're living in an alternate dimension with our daughter and Buffy comes to ask for our help stopping an apocalypse and you end up back here in Sunnydale before you arrived the first time…"

Michael got a sheepish looking smile on his face, "When you say it that way… It does sort of sound crazy…"

Faith snorted, "Yeah… Well that all sounds perfectly sane to me… If I didn't kill vampires and demons for a living I would be sprinting for the door..." she said with a laugh.

Faith suddenly got a serious look on her face, "So what are you going to do?"

"I need to get the staff and get back to my time… I need to get back to you and Adriana." Michael said as a serious look came to his face.

He saw Faith mouth the name "Adriana" a couple of times. He could see that she still had a lot of info to absorb and it hadn't all sunk in yet. How she would react once it all sunk in—well that would be very telling.

There was another long moment of silence between the two of them.

"Why can't you stay?" Faith asked breaking the silence.

The question caught Michael off-guard. He hadn't figured for this contingency. The logically and emotional parts of him were raging a war with each other inside him.

I'm really deep in the shit now… What did you expect thinking with your little head…idiot! he thought.

He looked at Faith sadly as a small part of him longed to stay. The uncertainty of what he would be returning to weighed on him. He shook it off as he knew that he wasn't supposed to be here—at least this version of him.

"I wish I could… But this is not my time… I don't belong here. My place is with you and our daughter in the future."

Faith was still trying to come to grips with everything she'd been told and she started to feel the start of a panic attack, "I still can't see me as the mother type. It all just seems so wild and out there… I didn't even finish high school."

Michael reached out and gently touched her face. Even knowing that the future was going to be different now, he still had confidence and faith in her, "Don't worry about the future. It will be what it will be… You'll be an awesome mom… When the time is right."

As he thought about how different the future would be, he was suddenly struck by an important thought.

Damn it! When Faith became pregnant… We almost lost the baby if hadn't been for Virgil using Forerunner tech to save Adriana… I only stumbled across the installation by accident… The future is going to be different…I've made certain of that now. Maybe it's time to throw away the whole trying to save the time line plan and make arrangements and put in place contingencies to ensure at least certain events still take place…

Michael realized that to make his "new" plan a success, he would need to make another trip back to Virgil. He needed to tilt the playing field in their favor and he knew that he didn't have much time.

Faith could see that he was lost deep in his thoughts, "A penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"Huh… Sorry… I was thinking I need to go see a friend."

"A friend huh? Should I be jealous?" she said teasingly.

Michael laughed, "Nothing like that… I have to see an old family friend… I have to buy some insurance."

Faith got a slightly puzzled look on her face, but her thoughts quickly shifted gears, "Do you have to run off now?" she asked flashing a wicked smile as her hands and fingers moved slowly down his body.

Michael snorted and let out a little sigh, but as her hand moved lower a smile came to his face matching hers as his body responded to her touch, "I think I can find some time for you…"

oOoOo

Buffy and Angel were snuggled up together asleep on the sofa. It had been a long awkward and uncomfortable night for both of them, but they had both finally dozed off when the noise from upstairs had finally died down.

They both stirred as they heard a noise—it sounded like bare feet moving across the floor. They both opened their eyes sleepily and raised their heads. They were greeted by the sight of Faith—with only a bed sheet wrapped around her. She was bent over picking up the shackles that had been on her earlier. She got an awkward and somewhat embarrassed look on her face as her eyes met theirs.

"Uhhhh… I… We…need to borrow these…" Faith said blushing with an awkward smile.

Buffy and Angel just stared at her tiredly.

"Yeah… Uhhh… Right…" Faith said as she turned around and ran back upstairs wrapped in the bed sheet carrying the shackles.