CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

The morning after…

It was late morning and the sun's rays were streaming into the bedroom. Michael felt the warmth of the sun on his skin and slowly opened his eyes. It had been a long night for him and Faith. A smile came to his face as he saw Faith still snuggled up next to him asleep.

He was tired and didn't want to give any thought to how much sleep he didn't get. He may have been tired, but he hadn't felt this relaxed or happy since this ordeal had started. He watched Faith as she continued to sleep. He'd lost count of how many times he had done this since they had been together—it was different this time seeing her younger.

He was suddenly hit with a strange feeling of guilt. He'd slept with Faith, but she wasn't his Faith so would that be considered cheating? Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he could feel another headache coming from considering all the temporal paradoxes. He pushed those thoughts from his head—for the moment. He knew that he was so over the line now that he couldn't see it behind him anymore. His basic mission priorities were still the same—Keep Faith safe… Secure the staff… Kill the Mayor… Go home.

He knew that he had a unique opportunity to shape the future. He was going to take steps to shape that future, but he also knew that his changes could end up making the future actually worse.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions… rang through his head. He was also aware of Virgil's warnings about the effect of the "unintended consequences" factor.

He could tell that Faith was still trying to absorb everything he had told her and that it hadn't hit her yet. It was a lot of information to drop on her even if she is a Slayer. He was worried what her response would be when everything he'd told her finally began to sink in. He knew that she was caught up in the moment and was enjoying what they were doing, but she wasn't looking at the big picture—yet. That was a difference he noticed between this Faith and his Faith.

As all these thoughts raced through his mind, Faith began to stir and started to wake up. Michael watched as she started to stretch slowly and finally opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times and as her eyes came into focus a smile came to her face.

"Good morning…" she said.

"Morning to you too…" Michael said returning her smile.

She continued stretching with her smile firmly etched on her face, "If I was a cat I would be purring right now…"

"I'll remember to rub your tummy later…" Michael said with a chuckle.

"Meow…" Faith said adding her own laugh.

"What's the plan for today?" she asked as she switched mental gears.

Michael had been considering what course of action to take. He knew from history and intel he'd gathered that they had six days until graduation/ascension day. The plan was to have everyone lie low while Giles, Buffy and rest organized and prepared for that day. Michael would use the lack of opposition as an example of his efforts in providing security and showing his good faith to secure the staff from the Mayor.

Michael knew it was a very flimsy plan—like most "Plan B's" tended to be. The only other possible way he could make this work in the time he had left would be messy—very messy. He wasn't ready to go to a "Scorched Earth" type option—yet. On top of all this, he still had to take into consideration on how his actions would affect the future of this time line—that was the major reason he hadn't killed Wesley.

He quickly worked out what his plan for today would be, "Well… For some strange reason I'm exhausted and I'm going to grab a couple more hours of sleep… Then I'm going to do an equipment check… You are going to go to the school and meet with everyone to go over the plan and any problems." he said.

He saw a small frown come to Faith's face as he mentioned school and planning to fight off a potential apocalypse.

"What about later? We still have the shackles…" she asked with an anticipating and suggestive smile.

Michael had to focus to control the flow of blood that was being detoured to other parts of his body as he vividly recalled what they had done.

"Uh… Well I was thinking more about us taking a little trip…" he said as he regained focus, pushing the memories aside for the moment.

"A trip? Where are we going?" Faith asked getting an excited look.

"It's a surprise… Just meet me back here before sunset."

"It's a date!" Faith said as she smiled and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Michael watched her get up and head to the bathroom to clean up and get dressed.

Michael had another unstated reason for wanting her to leave before he left the house. He figured that the Mayor would have a new spotter planted outside and they would follow her when she left. He didn't want to be spotted in or out of his battle armor by one of the Mayor's people.

oOoOo

Mayor Wilkins was having a day of mixed emotions. There had been no recent interference or problems caused by the Slayer and her friends, so it was all quiet on that front—for once. He was troubled though, there had been that report, from one of his vampires, of men surrounding Angel's house and then nothing more. That vampire had disappeared like the others. On top of that, the police chief had informed him about what had apparently been a "gang" shootout on one of the roads with eight dead, which happened to be close to Angel's house.

There appeared to be a lot happening in Sunnydale and the Mayor didn't know who was behind it. He didn't like not knowing what was happening in his town.

Wilkins looked over his schedule. He had arranged to meet with some "gentlemen" this evening in order to discuss and deal with his robot problem. They had assured him that they had the right tools to take out any problem.

oOoOo

It was mid-afternoon as everyone gathered in the library. Buffy staggered in behind Willow and Oz. Her tired and bleary eyes saw Xander and Cordelia already sitting at the table and Giles standing watching everyone gather. She sat down and put her head down tiredly on the table.

"Rough night Buff?" Xander asked with some concern seeing how tired she looked.

"Yes… Please… Please don't ask me to explain…" Buffy mumbled out not raising her head from the table.

Everyone looked at her puzzled.

Giles was getting ready to start speaking, when the door to the library opened and a very happy looking Faith swept into the room.

"How's everyone doing on this beautiful day?" she said showing an uncharacteristic exuberance.

Everyone looked at Faith strangely and with some concern at her obvious happy behavior which for them—except for Buffy—was a complete reversal from when they had last seen Faith.

"Are you feeling alright?" Giles asked voicing the group's confused feelings.

"I'm feeling better than great! Oh… I'm sorry I'm late… I'll work on that." Faith said with a smile.

Giles was left momentarily left speechless from her behavior. "Uhhh… Yes… Thank you… Um…Faith." He shook his head as he tried to refocus and wonder if he had accidentally crossed over into a different universe.

Faith pulled out a chair and slid in to sit next to Buffy. Buffy still had her head resting on the table.

"Hey B… Why so tired? You look like you didn't get any sleep last night" Faith said still smiling.

Buffy raised her head slightly off the table and glared at Faith, "I wonder why that is…"

Faith blushed slightly, "Yeah… Sorry about the noise…"

Everyone else around the table looked puzzled at the exchange between the two Slayers and wondered what was going on.

Giles tried to regain focus and control of the meeting, "Um… Yes… Let's begin…" he started to say when Cordelia interrupted.

"Aren't we waiting for Wesley? I haven't seen him all day." she asked.

Giles hadn't seen Wesley since yesterday and he was a little puzzled as well over the missing Watcher. Everyone was caught off guard when Faith spoke up, "We won't be seeing Wesley anymore… He's gone."

"What? Something happened to him! Is he alright?" Cordelia said with some worry and concern.

"Your British boy toy is fine… He and a bunch of his Watcher pals crashed Angel's place last night and tried to drag me off!" Faith said with some anger in her voice as she recalled the attack.

A collective gasp was let out from everyone around the table, except for Buffy who barely raised her head from the table as she already knew what had happened.

"Are you alright? What happened?" asked Giles showing his concern.

"I'm fine and Angel is fine… But Wesley got his walking papers and we're going to be Watcher-less from now on."

"How did you stop him?" Giles asked with concern in his voice.

Faith didn't blink as she made direct eye contact with him, "A 'friend' of ours stepped in and stopped them." she said meeting his eyes.

It took Giles a moment to realize who the "friend" was as he also saw a tired but similar look from Buffy. He nodded his understanding about who Faith was talking about.

Giles could see the puzzled looks on the others, but this wasn't the time or place to talk about Michael. He was surprised by these turn of events that Faith now knew about Michael, but the situation must have been serious for him to reveal himself.

Giles started the meeting quickly to distract the others and went over the plan they were going to use against the Mayor and update where they were at in their planning. He felt satisfied at the progress that was being made as they had no really fallback on this plan other than Michael.

Michael… There was so much that they didn't know about him and still so many questions. Giles knew that the Spartan was extremely strong and powerful and that he was extremely motivated when it came to Faith, but they knew nothing of the world/universe that he came from. From the Spartan's actions and what he had witnessed, Giles deduced that it was violent and dangerous one. He wished he knew more.

oOoOo

As the meeting ended, Giles spoke up, "Buffy… Faith… Can I have a moment of your time before you leave?"

The two Slayers hung back as the rest of the group left the library.

"I wonder what old Giles wants?" Faith asked.

A still very tired Buffy shrugged and asked Faith, "Aren't you tired from last night?"

A big grin came to Faith's face, "Oh I'm exhausted B… But I would highly recommend finding your own super soldier guy… They can be unbelievable… Lots of staying power."

Buffy's eyes widened at the comment and couldn't think of a reply. Giles approached, he hadn't heard the exchange between the two Slayers.

Giles looked at Faith, "So I take it that you met Michael and found out who and what he is?"

Faith looked at Giles with her grin still firmly planted on her face, "…and then some."

Giles's eye brows arched at her statement and he was about to ask Faith to clarify her statement when Buffy quickly interrupted, "Don't ask…"

Giles looked at Buffy puzzled and then looked at Faith wondering what was going on. Faith started to blush. It took another moment for the realization to come to him. His eyes widened slightly.

"Oh my…" he said as realized the meaning of the cryptic statements.

Giles quickly shook his head to regain his focus, "Needless of what has occurred… We still have to realize that this Michael is an unknown quantity and has his own agenda and has no qualms about using violence to achieve his goals."

Buffy and Faith both looked puzzled at Giles's statement.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

Giles turned and pulled a newspaper off the counter and held it out for both Buffy and Faith to see. "How do you think Michael was able to stop the attempted abduction of Faith last night?" he asked.

The two Slayers looked at the picture on the front page. It showed a wrecked armored car and another car blown up and burnt out. The headlines on the paper said, "Gang Shootout Leaves 8 Dead".

Faith looked at the paper and shrugged, "Don't ask me… I just have some brief flashes of what happened last night with Wes and his ninjas… Though Michael did say he took them out." she replied with some concern at actually seeing some of the carnage that Michael caused.

"I'm worried about Michael... He is fighting to save and get back to the family he knows… That means he will not hesitate to do what he thinks is necessary to achieve his goals… You two are Slayers and have killed before, but this Michael is something totally different… He is a soldier, but he's not like anything I have heard of or seen before… He is a true predator and I believe there is nothing in this world that he truly fears."

oOoOo

Faith found herself trying to reconcile what Giles was saying with what Michael had told her and how they had spent the night together. She knew that Michael was strong and she knew that he was dangerous, but she felt that there was more to him than just being a killer. She could feel his emotions, passion and love when they kissed and touched each other.

Faith was following Buffy out of the library, but she found she needed to talk to Giles more. She turned around after telling Buffy she would catch up with her later. She found Giles sitting in his office.

"Giles…"

"Yes…" Giles said seeing Faith standing at his office door. He saw the look on her face and could tell that she had a lot of questions—and doubts. He couldn't imagine how she would feel after finding out about what her future was "supposed to be". He was still surprised that Michael had made direct contact let alone told her about their relationship.

"What you said about Michael… I can't believe it." Faith said.

Giles sighed as he felt a twinge of guilt at sowing any feelings of mistrust, "I'm not saying that we can't trust him, it's just that we should be careful."

Faith watched as Giles opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out an envelope. "This is what Michael is trying to get back to… He asked that you have them in case something happened to him, but I think that you should know what motivates him." he said.

Faith picked up the envelope and opened it. There were a pile of pictures. As she thumbed through the pictures, she was shocked as she found herself looking at herself doing things she hadn't done before. She realized that she was looking at herself from the future. She saw the pictures of what was evidently a wedding ceremony. She saw how much older everyone looked and her eyes widened as she saw how large her belly was. When she got to the pictures at the back, she stopped as she looked in shock at the picture of herself holding a baby—her daughter.

Faith felt her heart beat faster and the beginnings of another panic attack as she looked at the picture. She felt herself breakout into a cold sweat and twinges of fear start to pull at her as the reality of what Michael had told her started to sink in as she looked at the pictures. She found herself at a loss as she didn't know what to say or feel. She remembered how she'd watched those mothers dragging their kids around—being weighed down and that she'd sneered and felt contempt for them. She'd had such a horrible childhood that she swore that she wouldn't have a family—it wasn't in her plans. To this point, almost all her relationships had never lasted past the morning after and now she was being told and shown being married and having a kid.

She was shocked, but a part of her couldn't help but see how happy she looked in all the pictures, especially holding on to her daughter—Adriana. She found herself needing to think more about this and the path she was headed on.

Giles watched Faith stare at the pictures and could only guess what she was feeling and going through. It was a lot to be dropping on her in such a short time. She finally handed all the pictures back to him except for one—the one of her holding her newborn daughter.

"Thanks Giles." Faith said as she turned and left the library.

oOoOo

Michael waited at Angel's place for Faith to return. He had used the time to get some rest as she had been quite the handful and he wasn't as young as he used to be.

By late morning, he finally got moving performing his equipment checks and then armoring up. He tasked Junior to monitor all phone and email communications out of the Mayor's office. From the first intercepts, Junior confirmed that the Mayor had somebody new trailing Faith and that she was at the high school. Michael replayed his conversations with her and her reactions. He knew that he was probably pushing her too hard and fast with everything she was finding out about her future, the threat of the Mayor and that time was not on their side hung over them.

He wanted—had to show her what waited for her out there. Even with that a part of his mind was still sending warnings that this could all backfire on him and it could all crumble to ashes.

What choices do I have left? Michael thought as he waited for Faith to return.

oOoOo

As Faith made her way back to Angel's, her mind was filled with thoughts and found herself in a strange and uncomfortable position of having to deal those thoughts and others along with a large number of feelings and emotions that she'd never had to consider or worry about before. She found herself troubled as she felt the reality of everything come crashing down on her as the glow of last night's sex wore off. She felt awkward as she was not only having to take another deep look at herself, but also look at what she wanted from the future. She'd never given any thought to her future or what she wanted as the life-expectancy of a Slayer was short and she'd just wanted to party and enjoy the ride.

She pulled out the picture of her "future-self" cradling that very small and beautiful baby and looked at it again as she walked. She found herself feeling lost and unsure. She sighed as she knew she couldn't deny that she had feelings and cared deeply for Michael. They had made a connection together like she had never experienced before or thought possible, but being married and a baby. It seemed so unreal and impossible for her to have or even consider a life like that, but she couldn't deny the fact that in all the pictures—especially this one—she looked so happy.

Faith entered the house and she was a little disappointed that no one was around to greet her. She didn't start calling out as she figured Angel was sleeping. She started to make her way up the stairs, looking for Michael. She was caught a little off-guard as a voice spoke.

"Hey…how was your day?"

Faith couldn't help but smile as she recognized the voice and her eyes widened in awe as Michael walked out on to the upstairs landing all suited up in his battle armor, holding his helmet in his left hand.

"Considering I didn't get much sleep last night… I'm doing fine." she said letting out a small laugh. She found herself mesmerized looking at him in his battle armor—he looked like a real God of War. She shivered a little bit in anticipation.

"You ready to go on a trip?" Michael asked.

"Yeah… But I didn't pack anything… Not even a toothbrush." she replied with a mischievous smile.

"No worries… Where we're going it's four star service." he said smiling as he walked down the stairs towards her.

"By the way… Where are we going?" Faith asked as she watched Michael walk past her and went and stood in the middle of the living room.

Michael put his helmet on, "I think you're going to get a blast out of this." he said.

He could see a puzzled and confused look appear on her face. He held out his hand towards her.

"Take my hand… Trust me… You'll like this…" he said.

Faith shook off any doubts or reservations and a smile came to her face as she moved to him and took his hand. She was caught a little off-guard as he pulled her closer and she suddenly felt a little unsure.

"Hang on… Here comes the wild ride." Michael said as he activated his dimensional recall device, opening a portal back to the Erde-Tyrene Installation.

Faith's eyes went wide in surprise and shock as she saw a bright swirling light formed around them.

"What the—" was all that she managed to say before they were gone.