"Sanctuary"
Based on the Angel Episode Written by Tim Minear and Joss Whedon
The following story is copyright © 2024 by Mark Moore.
Wet and slightly beaten up, Faith, Sunday, and Angel rode down the elevator to his apartment.
Angel stepped out of the elevator, then looked back. "Sunday."
Sunday didn't move.
Faith gently nudged her. "Come on. It's okay."
Sunday started walking. Angel led her over to his bed, and Sunday sat down, arms wrapped around herself. Faith stood in the doorway.
"It's okay. Rest here."
Sunday slowly lay down, and Angel covered her with a blanket.
"You rest now." He picked up Sunday's backpack and put it on a chair next to the bed. "I'll put your stuff here. I'll be close." He turned and started to leave.
"Angel."
Angel turned back. "Yeah?"
Sunday stared at him for a moment. "Nothing."
Faith and Angel left the room. They headed for the elevator.
"She was thinking of killing you just now."
"I know."
The next day, Cordelia was in the office, looking through some files, when Wesley walked in. She had a huge black eye.
"Bitch."
Cordelia gave him a look.
"Not you...obviously." Wesley sighed. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I allowed this to happen."
Cordelia sighed. "I believe it was Sunday who allowed her elbow to collide with my face. Not your fault."
"At least, you only got the elbow."
"Well, if it's any consolation, it really does look like you were...tortured by a much larger woman."
Wesley smiled a little. "She's still here, I assume."
"He gave her his bed!"
Angel walked in. "Wesley."
"Angel."
"I didn't expect to see you in today. How are you feeling?" Angel asked him.
"As well as can be expected."
"Good." Angel paused. "Good." He looked at Cordelia. "Doughnuts?"
Cordelia pointed, and Angel opened the box.
"Developed a sweet fang, have you?" Wesley asked him.
"You got jelly?" Angel asked Cordelia.
"Whole selection."
"Won't she find it difficult...enjoying delicious, jelly-filled doughnuts, if she is, one assumes, bound and gagged?" Wesley asked him.
"Wesley, we went through all this last night."
"Yes, you were right. She'll stay here for a while. You'll try to get through to her. Then Faith will take her back to Sunnydale. I understand. I do not, however, understand why the woman who brutally tortured me last night...this morning...gets pastries!"
"It's a gesture of goodwill. What do you want to do, Wesley? Treat her like a prisoner? She is not an animal."
"No?"
"She's a person."
"Since when?"
"Since I talked with Buffy. In case you've forgotten, we're not in the business of giving up on people."
"Don't you dare take the moral high ground with me after what she did. I believe in helping people. I do not believe in coddling murderers!"
"She wants to change."
"That girl is pure evil, Angel. It doesn't matter what she wants or says she wants; you set her free...she'll kill again."
When Angel didn't answer, Wesley picked up his jacket and left.
"He'll come around."
"Wesley? Sure! People always get a little funny right after they've been sadistically tortured. Well, you'd know." Cordelia put a book of business checks on top of the box of doughnuts that Angel was holding. "I need you to sign these."
Angel sighed and picked up a pen. "You understand why we have to help Sunday, don't you?"
"Totally." Cordelia pointed at the book. "And here."
Angel signed. "She's needed in Sunnydale, and, with Buffy constantly reevaluating the merits of vampires, especially since she befriended one-"
"Oh, I know! And this one?"
Angel signed.
Cordelia ripped out the page of checks. "Thanks."
Angel looked at the copies of the checks. "Wait. Those were all made out to you."
"Yeah."
Angel checked the book. "Paid vacation."
Cordelia stood up and put on her jacket. "Like I'm gonna stick around while psycho case is roaming loose downstairs with three tons of medieval weaponry? Not! Oh, and I'm thinking: sugar high? Maybe not a great idea." She left the office.
The police were inspecting the damage done to the apartment last night. Kate checked out the overturned chair.
Detective Kendrick sighed. "Kate. What are you doing here?"
"I'm a detective, Kendrick. See?" Kate held up a plastic bag with stuff in it. "I'm detecting. Heard we have a fugitive."
"Yeah."
Kate handed him a piece of paper.
"Arrest warrant from a place up north called Sunnydale. I've seen it. Who the hell is Faith Lehane, and why should we defer to her?"
"That'll take some explaining." Kate sighed. "So do we think she is the one who threw the party here?"
"The guy who lives here identifies her as the woman who mugged him. Put him in the hospital, stole his keys, his wallet. We're lifting prints now."
"Waste of time. Anything else?"
"That's it. You mind telling me why you're here examining a crime scene that wasn't assigned to you?"
"It looked interesting."
"Right. You've heard the rumors, haven't you?"
Kate played innocent. "What rumors?"
"You know what I'm talking about. This girl supposedly has some kind of supernatural powers?"
"Really."
"Come on, Kate. Everybody knows you've gone all Scully. Anytime one of these weird cases crosses anyone's desk, you're always there. What's going on with you?"
"Scully is the skeptic."
"Huh?"
"Mulder is the believer. Scully is the skeptic."
Kendrick scratched his head. "Scully is the chick, right?"
"Yes. But she's not the one that wants to believe."
"And you wanna believe."
"Oh, I already believe. That's the problem."
Cordelia's first stop upon being on vacation was lunch at Helen's Kitchen.
Faith refilled her coffee. "So where are you headed on your vacation?"
"I dunno yet. It's pretty sudden. I might do some sightseeing, try to attend a few Hollywood parties, make connections, maybe get noticed."
"Okay, good luck with that."
Cordelia didn't like Faith's tone. "Hey, it could happen. Anyway, how's it going with the vampire bitch?"
Faith frowned. "Her name's Sunday. And Angel's currently looking after her. I'll check in on her tonight."
Cordelia took a bite of her cheeseburger. "When are you heading back to Sunnydale?"
"I dunno. Whenever Sunday gets her shit together." Faith looked toward the counter. "Hey, Anne, I need to borrow your wheels at some point."
Anne closed the cash register and walked over to her. "Why?"
"Because I'm transporting a vampire, and I don't want her starting shit on a bus."
"Okay. Let me know when. I'll go with you."
"Why?"
"Well, you and a vampire will be in very close quarters. You might need backup."
"And that's you?" Faith asked.
"Hey!" Anne yelled.
Cordelia had a thought. "Hey, Faith, maybe Veruca can go with you."
"Werewolf chick?" Faith asked her.
Cordelia smiled and nodded, proud of herself. "Uh-huh."
"Uh, no offense, Cordy, but we're approaching the new moon. What use is she gonna be?" Faith asked.
"Oh, I didn't mean she'd wolf out in the car."
"That's a relief."
Anne nodded. "Tell me about it. Do you know what she'd do to the upholstery?"
Cordelia nodded. "Eep."
Faith looked back and forth between them in disbelief.
Cordelia smiled. "I just meant she could be there in case you need her, and a trip to Sunnydale will give her a chance to reconnect with Sandy."
"Yeah, okay. Ask her for me."
Anne looked at them. "Oh, girls, I was wondering if you'd both come with me after my shift today."
Faith smiled. "I dunno. Harmony might get jealous."
Anne smiled and playfully slapped her on the arm. "There's something that I wanna show you."
"What is it?" Cordelia asked.
Anne, Faith, and Cordelia walked up to the light yellow building in Crenshaw.
"What do you think?" Anne asked.
Faith stared at the building. "Looks worn down."
Anne nodded. "The riots and the Northridge quake took a toll. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's a start."
"Can you afford the rent?" Cordelia asked her.
"It's...doable...with your help."
"Our help?" Cordelia asked in surprise.
Anne wrung her hands. "I know you guys don't make much. None of us do. But I'm offering you two a silent partnership, a chance to make a difference, to help teens that are out on the street and have no place to turn-"
"I'm in." Faith stared into Anne's eyes.
Anne smiled. "Thank you, Faith." She looked at Cordelia. "Cordy?"
Cordelia shrugged. "Sure. I'm all about helping the less fortunate."
Faith made a face at her and then looked at Anne. "And, hey, I'll pitch in whenever you need help." She looked at Cordelia meaningfully.
"Uh, yeah, me, too."
Anne grinned. "Great! I'll place the call as soon as we get home." She faced the building. "The future home of the East Hills Teen Center."
Faith entered Angel's bedroom just in time to see Sunday packing her backpack. "Ready to head out already?"
Sunday just looked at her, then went back to packing.
"You're in no condition to leave here."
Sunday walked past her. "You know what? It doesn't matter."
Faith stepped between her and the door. "It does matter. It matters to me."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you being nice to me?"
"Because Buffy sees something in you. She believes in you. And if you matter to B, you matter to me."
"Just...stop it. You're gonna step aside, or do we throw down? I mean...am I your prisoner here?"
Faith hesitated. "You cried in my arms last night. Remember?"
"Yeah. I remember." Sunday stared for a moment, then looked anywhere but at her. "Help me?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah."
Cordelia was just finishing getting ready when she heard the door open. She walked into the living room.
Veruca closed and locked the door. "Heading out?"
"Yeah, just about."
"Cool." Veruca went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed the box of leftover pizza. She went into the living room and sat on the couch, placing the box in her lap.
"Listen, Ruc, there's something that I wanna ask you."
"So ask." Veruca opened the box and picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza.
"Faith will be taking Sunday back to Sunnydale soon. I was wondering if you'd accompany them."
Veruca took a bite. "It's nowhere close to a full moon."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean..." She paused. "She's also returning Sandy's ring."
Veruca paused in consideration. "I haven't talked to her in a while."
"And seen her in a bigger while."
Veruca thought about it for a while. "Okay."
Cordelia smiled. "Great. Don't stain the couch. See ya."
Sunday was leaning on the microwave in Angel's kitchen. The box of doughnuts was sitting on top of it, still closed. Faith shrugged, walked over, opened the box, and took out a chocolate doughnut. She munched on it as Angel came in.
"So...how does this...work?" Sunday asked him.
"There is no real simple answer to that. I won't lie to you and tell you that it'll be easy...because it won't be. Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to. The truth is...no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past, you may never balance out the cosmic scale. The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted - and may be for the rest of your life."
"I don't even know where to start."
"Maybe start with Wesley."
"Are you saying I got to apologize?"
"Think you can?"
"I don't know. How do you say 'Gee, I'm really sorry I tortured you nearly to death'?"
Faith wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Well, first off, I think I'd leave off the 'Gee'. And secondly, I think you have to ask yourself: are you?"
"What?"
"Sorry."
"And what if I can't say it? There are some things you can't just take back, no matter how sorry you are, right?"
Faith stared at her. "Yeah, there are. I've got some experience in that area."
Angel nodded. "Me, too."
Sunday rolled her eyes. "Right, but you've got a soul. And you've been doing this for a hundred years! I'm not gonna make it through the next ten minutes."
Faith looked into her eyes. "So make it through the next five, the next minute."
"I don't think I can."
"Yes, you can."
Sunday walked away. "If I can't just be a vampire, what the fuck can I be?"
Faith followed her. "Be whatever is needed right now. Then maybe you've got a shot at being free."
Sunday let out something between a laugh and a sob. "I've got to be the first vampire in history sponsored by a Slayer."
"Second."
Sunday looked at her.
"Buffy believes in Sandy. She spared her life, and Sandy's a nice person, and she doesn't have a soul either."
Sunday hesitated, then headed back to the microwave and took a strawberry-covered doughnut out of the box and bit into it.
At the police station, Kate was paid a visit by Lindsey McDonald, a lawyer at Wolfram & Hart.
"Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" Kate asked him. "I despise you - you and everything you represent. And when I say 'represent' and 'thing', I do mean your clients."
"Well, be that as it may, I believe that I have some information that will be of interest to you. Because, while it is true that we differ on a great many issues, we do have one thing in common."
"Uh, our bodies are both eighty percent water?" Kate guessed.
Lindsey lay a picture of Angel on her desk. "An enemy."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"No, of course, you don't. And we can't be completely clear, because...the law isn't clear on these matters, is it? I mean take, for example, those creatures that murdered your father. They could never have been brought to any kind of traditional justice, even if they had survived. And, personally, I feel that you were totally justified in taking whatever...extra-legal...measures you found necessary."
"What do you want?" Kate asked him, impatient.
"There are beings, detective. Beings that aren't governed by the laws and strictures that we as humans have devised." Lindsey pointed at Angel's picture. "This man is such a being. He feels he is above the law, which is why he...gives aid and comfort to his own kind." He got ready to leave. "The woman you're looking for? She's with him."
Kate looked at him in surprise.
Sunday and Faith were sitting on the couch and eating doughnuts while Sunday was flicking through the channels on Angel's TV. Sunday was also drinking pig's blood from a mug.
A wet and steaming Angel stuck his head out of the bathroom. "Is everything okay in there?"
Sunday rolled her eyes. "It was touch and go for the four minutes you left me alone, but somehow I got through it."
Angel went into his bedroom to finish dressing. Sunday changed the channel to a news report. A picture of Sunday was on the TV screen.
"Los Angeles police are looking for this woman tonight, a suspect from the California town of Sunnydale."
"Fucking hell! No, they didn't!" Faith exclaimed, upset.
Sunday reached for her drink and spilled it.
"The young woman has fled to Los Angeles in recent days."
"Faith?" Angel came into the living room. "Sunday. What is it?"
"Eyewitnesses identified her as being involved in several recent assaults. Police want your help in finding her."
Angel saw Sunday's picture on the TV and crouched down beside her. "Sunday, it's okay, all right?"
"A press conference was held earlier."
"Nothing's changed, all right? Nothing's-"
Kate appeared on the TV screen. "Anyone with any information about the whereabouts of this subject should get in touch with law enforcement immediately."
Angel looked over at the TV.
"Do not approach her. She is violent and unpredictable. I'll take a few questions."
Angel hit the power button on the remote. "Listen to me, Sunday. You're safe here. You hear me? You're safe."
Faith stood up. "Maybe we oughta head out."
Angel looked at her. "I don't think-"
Wesley came downstairs. "The police have surrounded the building."
"I'll check the sewers; if they're clear, we all head out. Sunday?" Angel asked.
They turned to look for her, but she was gone.
Wesley looked at Angel. "She must have slipped out."
"She'd head for the roof." Faith turned to go.
Angel moved to go after her. "They may have it covered."
Wesley stopped him. "We need a plan. Faith can protect Sunday."
Faith walked out on the roof to see Sunday standing there. They could hear a helicopter flying in the background.
The door to the roof burst open, and an armed officer stepped through, gun in hand. Faith tackled Sunday to safety as he opened fire.
Faith looked at Sunday. "I think we can make it to the other building."
"Go."
"Now."
They ran, but, before they reached the edge, an LAPD helicopter came to hover in front of them.
An officer was in the open door, gun in hand. "Surrender. Lie down on the ground, or we will open fire."
Faith and Sunday ran to hide behind a skylight. The officer started firing. He had to reload, and Faith and Sunday changed skylights.
Faith looked at Sunday. "I have to take this guy out. The guy with the gun up there will go for me. You stay here."
"Okay."
Faith lunged over the skylight and tackled one officer. They fought with the other officer unable to shoot without hitting him.
The other officer looked at the pilot. "Try and keep her steady."
Faith knocked one officer down and turned to face the helicopter just as Angel came shooting through the skylight, catching its left rung with his arms. He reached up and pulled the other officer out the door. He landed at Faith's feet while Angel climbed up to stand on the rung.
"Down!" Angel ordered the pilot. "Take it down."
Faith watched the helicopter leave, then turned around to face Sunday. "Let's get you back to Sunnydale."
A bunch of police cars drove up with lights flashing and sirens wailing as the helicopter set down.
Kate got out of her car and stormed up to Angel. "Where is she? You got one shot here, Angel; where is she?"
Angel just looked at her.
Kate looked at two officers. "Arrest him. Start with aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive."
The cops cuffed Angel and led him away.
Kate led Angel down a hallway. "I think you're gonna like the cell we have for you, Angel. It faces east. It'll give you a great view of the sunrise in about four hours."
Faith walked behind them. "What?"
Angel didn't look at her. "It's okay."
Faith looked at Kate. "You know what he is."
"Who are you?" Kate demanded.
Faith stepped between Angel and Kate as they reached her desk. "Wait. This is murder."
"Get her out of here!" Kate ordered.
Faith pushed the cop off her. "I'm Faith Lehane, the Vampire Slayer."
"So did you slay her?" Kate asked her.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because those were not my orders. My orders were to return Sunday Towne to Sunnydale."
"And you did that already?"
"No. I transferred her to the custody of another." Faith got in Kate's face. "Now, you let Angel go, or I, in my capacity as a temporary deputy of the Sunnydale Police Department, am gonna go to the Chief of Police and tell him how you interfered with a prisoner transfer and unlawfully arrested an innocent with intent to kill - all because of your personal prejudice. I can raise a big enough stink about this that'll make Rodney King look like amateur hour."
Kate stared at Faith. Faith stared right back at her. Kate eventually blinked.