CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
I'm home…
Do I still exist? A white light is surrounding me. I think I'm still alive…it feels like I'm floating, but I have no idea where I am. Images are flashing through my mind…explosions and fire. I can't remember how I ended up here… Faith… I remember seeing Faith. She was young and beautiful, but she looked heartbroken and sad. I was hurt…there was so much pain. I remember seeing a snake and I was laughing. More images flash through my mind and it is all a jumble as I try and sort through them. I remember everything going white and what I was thinking…
"Even when you lose… You win…"
I feel heavy and I feel the pain shooting through my body. I'm finding it hard to breath. Maybe I'm dead… How long have I cheated death? There were so many times that I should have died, but didn't. I used to think that death would be a release and I would have peace. Maybe I am dead… Maybe this is my purgatory…my penance for my lifetime of sins for all the death, pain and suffering I've caused...
I feel tired and my body feels heavy…there's so much pain. The white light is starting to fade. Maybe it's time to let go and rest. I've lost everything I've cared about. What's left for me? I can feel that a part of me just wants to let go and try and find the white light again, but I can still remember Chief Mendez drilling it into us during our training, "You're Spartans… You never give up! Ever!"
I was… I am a Spartan… I've never stopped fighting and I've never given up. I just need to rest and try and catch my breath…it's so hard to breathe. Once I've had a chance to rest, I'll figure where I am and I'll deal with it as I always have.
The light is almost gone and the darkness was coming. I've seen so much darkness and death…so many faces… How many? How many am I responsible for? I've killed so many that their blood could fill an ocean… The only thing good I've ever created in my life has been Adriana. The darkness is starting to surround me, but I'm not afraid. I'll face whatever comes at me as I always have. I keep waiting as the darkness finally envelopes me… I'm alone…I think I'm alone as I thought I heard a voice. The voice is coming from the darkness…coming from all around me. I can't make out who the voice is or what they're saying. The pain is pulling me down, but maybe if I focused harder it would become clearer… There it is again! If I could only grab a hold of it maybe I could find my way out of here… I'll try again…maybe I can find my way out of the darkness…
"Michael!"
Michael slowly opened his eyes and he fought through the pain and fog in his mind to try and focus. His eyes adjusted to the dim light. His mind noted that his helmet display was a mass of yellow and red warning lights. His body felt like it was on fire from all the pain. He suddenly felt his head being lifted off the ground and then he felt his helmet being removed.
Michael wasn't sure where he was, but then he heard a voice filled with fear and love, "Jesus Michael! What the hell happened?!"
It took him a moment to focus his eyes and then he saw her—Faith—his Faith. He saw her face and how it looked so scared and worried. He saw her eyes glistening and red.
He was still trying to cut through the pain and fog to understand what was happening. He heard Faith scream, "BUFFY! I NEED HELP!"
Michael thought he was hallucinating again, but she looked so real to him. It was hard because he was in so much pain, but he managed to raise his left arm and moved his hand to try and touch her face. His hand was shaky, but he managed to touch her face. Even through his armored glove, she felt real and good to touch.
Michael could hear Faith talking—pleading with him as she grabbed his hand, "Michael… Stay with me… Don't you dare die on us…"
He smiled at his Faith. He felt so tired and he wanted to speak, but it took so much effort and he was in so much pain.
oOoOo
Faith was at a loss. One moment she was fighting the Quasit demons and approaching the Quasit demon priest. Next she got hit and thrown into the wall. Her body ached, but she was able to recover. She remembered seeing Michael killing the priest—then there was a bright flash and Michael was gone. She screamed his name and ran to where he'd been standing. Faith was on the edge of panic as she had no idea what had happened. She had screamed for Buffy's help and she had gone to do a quick search of the surrounding rooms and tunnels. Faith had stayed in the temple area as she didn't know what to do. Every minute that passed by felt like an eternity. It felt like hours, but she knew that it had only been minutes when there was another bright flash. She was shocked to see Michael lying on the ground and that he had been severely injured.
She quickly rushed to him. Her shock only grew as she saw Michael's condition. Wherever he'd been—it had been bad. His battle armor was battered and dented. What really caused her to panic was all the blood that was covering him and she knew it was his as she could see the wound bleeding on his lower torso. She propped his head up and removed his helmet. Her fear pulled at her heart as Michael had been non-responsive at first and she feared the worse and she kept saying his name hoping that he would respond.
Faith breathed a slight sigh of relief when Michael finally opened his eyes and raised his arm and touched her face. She was scared as she could see that he was badly injured. She screamed for Buffy's help, but she knew that there was no way the two Slayers would be able to move Michael's body—in his condition and in his armor—out of this underground temple to the surface and a hospital. He was too badly injured and heavy.
She kept talking to Michael to try and keep him conscious—keep him here with her. Her vision was blurring as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. Faith saw that Michael was trying to talk and say something to her. She leaned in closer to try and hear what he was saying.
"…Helmet…on… Portal… Virgil…"
Faith realized what Michael was trying to tell her and she could have kicked herself for not thinking about it sooner. She realized that Michael wanted to activate the inter-dimensional device to open a portal back to Virgil. She quickly put his helmet back on.
Buffy ran back into the temple area. She stopped in shock as she saw what was happening. She was alarmed at what she was seeing.
"What happened?! How is Michael?" Buffy asked not believing what she was seeing was real.
Faith looked at Buffy and she could tell by the look on Faith's face that it was bad.
"I don't know what happened Buffy. Michael just reappeared and he was like this. He's in bad shape. He's going to try and activate a portal back to Virgil. I need you to get Adriana and follow us as soon as possible."
Buffy nodded and headed out of the temple in a flash to get Adriana from Xander and Anya's place.
Faith found herself alone in the temple with Michael. She could smell the blood and the silence of the temple combined to cause her soul to shudder. She said a silent prayer hoping that Michael would be able to activate the portal home.
oOoOo
Michael was having a hard time keeping conscious, but he felt Faith put his helmet back on—she'd understood what he had said and wanted. He pushed through the pain to concentrate on what he needed to do.
"Junior… System status?" Michael coughed out with the heavy taste of blood in his mouth. He focused hard to just stay conscious for just a few minutes more.
He could feel his mind wander, but it managed to snap back as he heard Junior reply, "All systems at critical status… Battle armor will go into lock down mode in 6 minutes and 22 seconds and counting…"
"Can we open a portal back to Virgil?"
There was a pause, "Affirmative, There is enough remaining power, but opening a portal will exhaust all remaining power and your battle armor will go into immediate lock down mode."
Michael found it so hard to stay awake and his mouth was so dry. It took him a long moment, but he finally managed to croak out in a weak voice as he felt the darkness taking him, "Junior… Open the portal… Get us home…"
oOoOo
Faith let out a deep sigh of relief as she saw the portal form around them. As the portal formed around them, Faith had time to look down at Michael.
"You did it! We're going home!" she said. But before the portal had completely enveloped them, she became aware that Michael was no longer responding to her. The last feeling she had as the portal sent them home was one of panic.
It took Faith a few moments to regain her senses from the transport, but almost immediately the panic and sense of dread came rushing back. Virgil came rushing into the transport to Faith's screams and cries for help.
Faith felt absolutely helpless as she watched Virgil use his gravity systems to move Michael quickly to one of the medical labs and placed him on the scanning table. She watched as Michael was bathed in a bright light. Virgil was speaking as he hovered over Michael, he would occasionally ask Faith to assist him removing—very carefully—his battle armor. Faith had to fight to control her emotions as she helped to remove her husband's blood covered armor and when she saw the wound in his side. They finally got down to his bodysuit and Faith stepped away as she found she couldn't deal with it anymore. She moved off to the side, still watching, as Virgil kept working on Michael.
It seemed to take forever and Faith started pacing in the medical lab. For a brief moment she wished she still smoked as she felt the old craving and could have used the distraction from watching the bloody, beat up body that was her husband. She finally couldn't take the waiting any longer and spoke to Virgil to get an update on Michael's condition.
Virgil turned and looked at Faith. She could tell by his pulsating colors that it wasn't good. She swallowed hard and tried to prepare herself as the AI spoke, "It appears that Michael has four broken ribs, with one rib puncturing his left lung. He also has a broken pelvis, a fracture in the right femur, his right arm is broken in three places and the bones in his right hand are shattered. Michael also has what appears to be shrapnel fragments that have penetrated his torso and has damaged one of his kidneys and has caused internal bleeding. He is also suffering from a concussion and other head trauma…"
Faith's eyes widened as she heard the list of injuries. She felt her heart pounding as she looked at her husband. He was still not responsive. Her eyes glistened as she looked at his battered body, wondering what hell he had gone through that would cause that much damage.
"Jesus…" was all that she could say as she stared at Michael. She finally spoke without taking her eyes off her husband, "Will he live?" she said in a plain tone not sure if she wanted to hear or could take the answer.
Virgil sighed, but the change in tone caught Faith's attention and she looked up at the AI, "Yes… I have started treatment on all his injuries… I have removed the fragments and his kidney is being repaired. All internal bleeding has been stopped and I have immobilized those areas of his body while the bones are being repaired and knitted back together… I still must caution that it will take some time for him to recover. If you hadn't gotten him here when you did then Michael would have most certainly died. He has a strong constitution and if it wasn't for his augmentation and bio foam he would have been dead already." Virgil said in a more positive tone.
At hearing the news, Faith felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her heart and shoulders. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as her tears started to flow freely. Her voice caught and broke with emotion as she spoke, "Thank you Virgil… Thank you…" as her eyes turned back to Michael.
"There is something strange…" Virgil added.
Faith was caught off-guard and she turned back to look at Virgil. She didn't know how much more she could take today as her worried thoughts had now shifted to include Adriana and when she would be home.
"What could be stranger than what's already happened?" she asked.
"You stated that Michael was only missing for an estimated 10 minutes by your time keeping?"
"Yes…though it could have been a little more or less. I wasn't keeping accurate time." Faith replied not knowing where this was going.
"That's perfectly understandable, but when I accessed Michael's battle armor systems, the internal clock is showing that nearly sixteen days had passed for him." Virgil reported.
Faith's eyes went wide as what the AI reported sank in. She found herself at a loss, "How? Why?" she asked.
"I am not sure what has occurred, but I am currently downloading all data from Michael's battle armor and his AI. It will take some time to analyze and determine what happened to him." Virgil replied.
"Let me know what you find. I think I just want to sit and stay with Michael for now." Faith said feeling exhausted filled with mixed emotions and confusion over what had happened.
"Yes… you can stay with him, but I don't know how responsive he will be."
"Thank you Virgil…" Faith said as she moved closer and grabbed a chair to sit by her husband.
Virgil hovered there watching. He was relieved that Michael was going to survive, but he was confused as well about what had occurred. He continued hovering watching as Faith sat down beside the still unconscious Michael. It wasn't like he was doing nothing as he watched two of the humans that made up the small group of humans that were very important to him—his family. He was simultaneously monitoring Michael's medical status, all the installation's systems along with the data download from Michael's badly battered battle armor.
As Virgil monitored the download progress, he found himself unconsciously urging the data to download faster so that he could review and analyze it to discover what had happened to Michael. But, due to the damage the armor had taken it was taking longer than usual to access all recorded data and logs. He didn't notice at the time, but he was also feeling uncharacteristically impatient and frustrated with the situation. It would only be much later when he was reviewing these events that he discovered that he'd had these feelings along with one other surprising feeling—anger.
oOoOo
Faith sat down in a chair beside the medical scanning table that Michael laid on. She couldn't help but notice how helpless and battered he looked laying there. She found herself taking deep breaths as her anxiety grew even though she knew that Virgil had told her that Michael would survive and was being treated. Thoughts of how she and Adriana would manage without Michael tore at her heart as she looked at his unconscious face. She reached out and took his left hand in hers. She felt the warmth from it and she squeezed his hand, but there was no response. She looked at her husband and she couldn't remember feeling so helpless before. The longer she sat there holding his hand, wondering what had happened and who had done this, her sadness changed to anger. She wanted to strike back at those that had done this to her husband. She tried to keep her growing anger and frustration in check as she sat there holding his hand—hoping that he would wake soon. She lost track of time sitting there and only became aware of the time when Virgil informed her that a portal had opened in the transport room and that Buffy, Adriana and Giles had arrived.
Faith felt torn as she wanted to stay, but knew she had to go meet the others. She reluctantly let go of Michael's hand and stood up and left the medical area. As she made her way down to meet the others, she'd gotten a glance of herself and she tried to clean-up and compose herself. Fresh emotions hit her as she found herself now having to explain to their daughter what had happened and she didn't know if she could handle that task as she knew her emotions were raw and she was on edge.
Faith ran into the group, being escorted by Virgil, about halfway. She stopped as she saw her daughter's face as she was being carried by Buffy. It was obvious that Adriana realized that something had happened—she looked scared and was clinging on to her Aunt Buffy. Buffy saw Faith and put down Adriana, who immediately ran to her mother. Mother and daughter hugged each other tightly. Faith choked back a fresh wave of tears and she found it hard as she had to explain to Adriana what had happened to her father.
"Where's Daddy?" asked Adriana.
Faith fought back the tears as she didn't want to scare Adriana any more than she was. "Daddy… Daddy got hurt fighting the demons, but Virgil is taking care of him."
The look on Adriana's face as Faith tried to explain what had happened to her dad was hard and Faith found herself starting to lose her composure. Giles saw Faith's distress and stepped in to help.
"Adriana… Why don't we go to your room? I heard you telling the other children about all the interesting toys you have and I am very interested in seeing them. Will you show me?" Giles said in a gently voice with a small smile on face to convince the little girl.
Adriana had wanted to see her father, but the thought of showing her room to Uncle Giles also pulled her as she was very proud with how neat and tidy she kept it and of all her toys and learning games. There was a brief moment where she was going to dig her heels in as she saw the look on her mother's face and it had scared her. Her mother smiled weakly at her and encouraged her to go with Uncle Giles. Her mother promised that her father would be alright—Virgil was taking special care of him—and she could see him later. She reluctantly took Uncle Giles's hand and led him off to her room as she didn't want him getting lost in the installation.
Faith let out a huge sigh of relief as she watched Adriana take Giles away to her room. Before they'd left, Faith had managed to mouth a "Thank-you" to Giles which he replied with a small smile and understanding nod. Buffy came closer as Adriana and Giles headed away, she could see in Faith's face that whatever had happened to Michael was bad. As they made their way back to the medical area, Faith brought Buffy up to speed on Michael's medical condition and the fact that he had been gone for nearly sixteen days.
"Jesus… What happened? Where was he?" Buffy asked as she shook her head in shock as she tried to grasp what had happened.
Faith took a deep breath as she'd regained some control over her composure, "Virgil is still trying to piece the information from Michael's battle armor, but we have no idea. Buffy, he was only gone 10 minutes!"
When they arrived at the medical area, Buffy found herself shocked as she saw Michael's condition. Faith had told her, but it was different seeing it in-person and it was quite sobering to see the Spartan in a beaten and battered condition. Replaying all of his injuries through her mind, Buffy thought it was a miracle that he had survived and would actually recover. She moved closer and hugged Faith as they stood there watching helplessly.
Both Slayers lost track of time as they stood there, they were taken by surprise as Giles came into the medical area. Virgil had brought Giles up to speed on Michael's medical condition, but he was shocked as well to see the Spartan in such a state.
"Where's Adriana?" Faith asked worriedly.
Giles's eyes were still on the Spartan as he marveled at how he'd survived all his injuries, "She's in her room… She wanted to have some time to play with her toys." he replied.
Faith looked at both Buffy and Giles, "Thanks for taking care of Adriana and bringing her home." she said as she felt another small weight lift off of her—for the moment.
"Not a problem. I'm glad we were able to help." Buffy replied with a small smile.
Virgil's voice over the com system interrupted the group, "I have a preliminary report on what happened to Michael… If you will come to the conference room I can provide more details."
Faith was hesitant to leave Michael's side again, but Virgil reassured her that he was be constantly monitoring his medical condition.
oOoOo
Faith could only be having what could be describe as a surreal moment as she watched the video being displayed. She found herself completely numb and unable to speak as she saw a younger version of herself crying, pleading and then hearing Michael's voice telling her to leave him behind. The group had gathered in one of the conference rooms and Virgil had provided them with details of where and when Michael had been from the information he had been able to retrieve from his battle armor.
Faith, Buffy and Giles had sat around the conference table in stunned silence as they watched video highlights recorded by the battle armor systems. They watched trying to comprehend as Michael fought in the old high school—killing hordes of vampires and even punching Mayor Wilkins in his demon form.
The video ended and they still sat there in stunned silence just looking at each other as they tried to grasp what they had just witnessed. Faith was finally able to recover somewhat as her mind still raced, "He was in Sunnydale for all that time… He was with me." She said muttering to herself and shaking her head.
Buffy was still trying to understand what she'd just watched and heard, "So what you're saying Virgil is that Michael traveled back in time to Sunnydale before he even arrived the first time… That Michael fought the Mayor after he had ascended into his demon form and then killed the Mayor… Then when Michael destroyed this "Staff of Uman" he returned back to when he disappeared?"
"Yes… That is what the data I have retrieved so far indicates." Virgil replied.
"But… We know that particular battle didn't happen…because we don't remember any of…" Buffy pointed at the video display projection, "any of that happening that way." she replied confused.
Giles had processed the facts and he thought he had a handle on what had happened and he quickly interrupted, "I think Virgil has an idea of what happened."
The hovering AI replied, "Yes I do… Thank you… From information that I have accessed from Michael's battle armor, he had been in contact with an alternate version of myself. It appears that my alternate self had been able to figure out what had happened to him and with that information I was able to quickly able to locate the pertinent information here... According to the information I retrieved, Michael had traveled back in time when this "Staff of Uman" opened a bridge and transported him. The travel back in time created a new and separate time line existing parallel, but separate to our time line. When Michael destroyed the crystal on the staff in that reality, he was transported back to the same point in space and almost same time that he came from. Everything he did there would have no impact on us in this time line. According to the Forerunner research I was able to confirm the existence of the hole in the space-time barrier that Michael had traveled through. That hole is resealing as we speak and the barrier between ours and the other alternate temporal universe has been re-established. If you wish I can make the original Forerunner research and mathematical equations available for you to review."
The humans just sat around the conference table trying to take in and understand the implications of what had happened.
oOoOo
Adriana was playing in her room, she knew that something bad had happened and her Daddy was hurt. She felt some frustration that they hadn't let her see him. She put down her toys as she finally decided that she needed to see her Daddy and she would go find him.
Adriana wandered around looking for her father. She didn't know where he was and she spent some time as she went through the rooms and labs on each level of the installation. She finally entered the medical area and her eyes widened as she saw her father lying on one of the scanning tables. She ran over to him and stood there and looked at him. She felt a wave of fear shake her body as she saw that he didn't look good and he was asleep. She almost turned and ran away because of the fear and that she didn't want to wake her father while he was resting. She took a deep breath and tried to push the fear away.
"Daddy?" Adriana said as she hesitantly reached out and touched her father's hand.
Michael had lost all points of references. He had flashes of images and his brain was trying to make sense of the confusing images. His body ached all over and there was still pain, but it wasn't as bad as it had been—some areas felt numb. The images were like some crazed demented slideshow … He saw a younger Faith and then saw his Faith … He saw vampires and demons. It was a whirlwind of images and emotions and it felt out of focus.
Through this whirlwind he heard a very young and scared voice and then felt a small hand touch his hand.
Reality seemed to slam on its brakes and Michael heard a voice urging him to open his eyes. He struggled through the fog and lingering pain to open his eyes and gain consciousness. His eyes finally opened and the bright light that greeted him caused him to blink and squint groggily until they had adjusted and refocused to see normally. He took a couple of heavy deep breaths—a part of his mind noting that it didn't hurt as much to breath—and slowly turned his head. He was greeted by the face of a very scared and worried Adriana.
Michael blinked a couple of times to focus and make sure what he was seeing was real. He couldn't believe how much she looked like her mother, especially her eyes. It took a long moment to find his voice, "Hey…" he said as his voice cracked weakly.
"Daddy… Are you going to be okay?"
As he saw and heard his daughter, he knew that he was truly home and it wasn't a dream. He found his voice again, "I will be… It's just going to take Daddy some time before we can play together…"
Adriana smiled and moved hugging her father's arm.
"Do you know where Mommy or Virgil are?" Michael asked as he became more conscious and aware of his surroundings.
Adriana shook her head and replied, "No, but I think they are with Aunt Buffy and Uncle Giles."
Michael noted the information and was grateful that Buffy and Giles had been there for Faith and Adriana. He looked again at his daughter's face, "Are you scared?" he asked her.
Adriana squirmed a bit at the question and then nodded slowly.
"It's okay to be scared… Even Daddy gets scared sometimes." he said to reassure her.
Michael saw his daughter's go wide at this world shattering revelation from her father.
He took another deep breath as a small smile came to his face as he laid there and watched his daughter…
oOoOo
Faith had left the conference room to check on Adriana. When she couldn't find her in her room, Faith started to have a panic attack. She quickly checked with Virgil and he informed her that Adriana was in the medical area with Michael.
Faith hurried down as she was worried how Adriana would react seeing her father so badly injured. As she entered the medical area, she was surprised to hear giggling. Faith moved in and saw Adriana sitting beside her father's bed and talking to him and that he was conscious.
Adriana saw Faith and stood up and ran to her, "Mommy! Daddy's awake!"
Faith walked further into the room holding Adriana's hand. She tried to keep control of her emotions as she moved closer to Michael, seeing that he was conscious now.
Michael saw Faith enter the medical area. His small smile got bigger as he saw Adriana run to her and she came closer. He felt his body getting tired again and his eyes felt heavy. He didn't know how much longer he could stay conscious, but it was important to him to see and talk to Faith.
"Faith…"
"Michael… How're you feeling?" Faith said as she came up and took his hand in hers.
"I've had better days…" he said weakly.
A small smile came to her face and he could see a relieved look on her face.
Michael took a deep breath, "Faith… I thought I had lost both you and Adriana… I…"
Faith gave him a loving smile and touched his face gently and then stroked his hair, "Shhh… It's okay. You need to rest and heal. Sleep now. Adriana and I will be here when you wake up."
Michael tried to say more. He wanted to say more—he wanted to explain, but Faith stopped him, "Virgil told us what happened. I know you were in Sunnydale… I know what you did for me…"
Faith leaned down and kissed her husband. Michael smiled as they parted and he took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes and rested. His worries were pushed aside and his rest was more comfortable. He knew he would heal in time. The important thing was that he was back with his family.
oOoOo
It took several weeks for Michael's wounds and injuries to heal enough that he could move around out of the medical lab. He was able to walk around the installation without much pain, but he was walking with a limp—Virgil assured him that it would go away in time. It had been difficult and frustrating time for Adriana to understand that her father couldn't do a lot of the normal activities that they used to do. It took a lot of time to heal and Michael found out that he would tire out fast. Faith was more understanding and she hovered over him making sure that he was rested and didn't over exert himself.
On this day, Michael found himself sitting on the balcony outside their living quarters. It was a beautiful day and he had his eyes closed as he soaked up some sun. He opened his eyes as Faith came out on to the balcony with a cold drink for him. He thanked her for the drink and she sat down in the chair across from him. A smile came to his face as he took in the sight of her.
"Where's Adriana?" he asked.
"Our daughter is with Virgil… They're watching a movie together." Faith replied.
Michael arched an eyebrow, "What movie?" he asked.
"Uncle Xander provided us a copy of the whole Star Wars series on DVD… Virgil read the data off the DVD and created a full 3D holographic format of the movie to view… As Virgil put it, he feels it would be in his best interests to learn more about human entertainment and to make sure that Adriana is made aware of the 'scientific inaccuracies' in the movie…" Faith said shaking her head and smiling.
"Should we be worried?" Michael said with mock concern, but still smiling.
Faith laughed, "Actually I think Virgil likes those movies…especially the droids. I think he can relate to them."
Michael laughed, "So what do you want to do?" he said with a smile.
Faith got one of her mischievous smiles that Michael knew all too well and he felt an anticipation and hunger, "Well… They are watching a double feature and they just started the first movie…" she said with that certain tone he was very familiar with.
Michael didn't hesitate to take advantage of an opportunity. He stood up and walked over to Faith. He saw her wince as she saw him limp. When he got to her he leaned down and picked her up and started to carry her back into their quarters and to the bed.
"Are you sure that you should carry me?" Faith asked with some concern even though she was filled with anticipation and hunger as well.
Michael didn't reply. He just kept smiling as he carried his wife into their room…
oOoOo
Faith and Michael were spent, but had contented looks on their faces as they laid together in bed. They were both enjoying the momentary peace and quiet in their lives.
"I can see that you are feeling much better now…" Faith said with a smile.
Michael gently ran his hand through her hair, "Yes... I'm feeling much better now…" he said with a chuckle.
Faith's mind wandered into other areas and she then got a somewhat serious look on her face, "I know we haven't talked about it much... But when you were there with me… Did you think about staying there with that other younger me?"
Michael took a moment to think about his response. He turned and met Faith's eyes, "I won't lie to you… I did consider it…" he saw Faith's eyebrows furrow at him. He quickly added, "…For all about 30 seconds…" he said with a smile as Faith punched him somewhat lightly in the shoulder.
"That wasn't my time or my place to be… My place is here…now…with you and Adriana." he said with a more serious tone.
"I should be mad that you cheated on me with another woman, but it's really hard to be mad at myself…" Faith said in a half serious tone. She wasn't naive and she had quickly figured out Michael and the other Faith had engaged in a relationship. She'd been upset at first, but she had time to deal with her emotions and jealousy. She'd finally gotten a grasp of all the time travel and alternate reality theories after suffering through several major headaches as she wrapped her mind around that the other Faith was her, but not her. She finally reconciled that it was really hard to be mad at herself. She admitted to herself that if the roles had been reversed and she'd been in Michael's place, she would have ended up hooking up with Michael's younger other self.
"Hey it's not my fault if you find me desirable and attractive and throw yourself at me at any age…" Michael said jokingly.
"OW!" he said as Faith punched him not so lightly in the side.
"I should turn you in for 'contributing to the delinquency of a minor'. I can only imagine what depravity you inflicted on my younger self…" Faith replied with another mischievous smile.
"Me! Contributing! You showed me a pretty wild side… It was a good thing I left a warning for my other self… He'll probably faint from the things your other younger self will do to him…" he said in mock outrage.
Faith sighed and rested her head on my chest, "What do you think is going to happen to them? Will they be happy?"
Michael took Faith's head in his hands and he looked deep into her eyes, "That's the thing… I don't know what will happen… They will make their own path and life now… It's their choice. The one thing I do know… They will be together…"
Michael leaned in and kissed Faith deeply as they took advantage of the momentary peace and quiet in their lives…