Part One - Chapter Five
Chapter Five
As Wesley opened his eyes again he realized that he was in a hospital bed, an IV stuck into his arm. The nurse had cleaned and bandaged his wounds thoroughly. He had lost a lot of blood though, and his condition was serious. At least that was Dr. Stephens’ opinion. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Wesley could now feel the effects of the morphine running through his system. It was rather pleasant, and he felt strangely at peace for someone who was on the brink of death itself.
He wasn’t afraid of death. He had died before, after all, and it wasn’t as painful or frightening as many would believe.
But Wesley didn’t want to go. He had a reason to hang on-to fight against the darkness that threatened to swallow him.
Faith.
He wanted so much to be by her side in whatever battles may lay ahead. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been much help in defeating the vampire, Murray; but he wanted to stay and help her nonetheless. He wanted another chance to show her that he could be a useful ally. And there was something else he wanted to show her, though he himself wasn’t even sure what that was.
Dr. Stephens checked Wesley’s heart rate and, finding it weak, let out an audible sigh. He hung up his stethoscope and made his way from the hospital bed where Wesley lay to the hospital waiting room where Faith was waiting anxiously for news of the ex-watcher’s condition.
Faith paced the small expanse of the waiting room, cracking her knuckles nervously as she waited for the docs to work on Wes. She was still wired from the fight and had been running on adrenalin ever since. The last two hours had been kinda blurry. The journey here, the doctors' faces when they saw the bloody, battered pair arrive on Wes' bike, the nurses as they dragged Faith out of the emergency room, the doc who avoided eye contact as he stitched up her neck, to now. Alone in the waiting room.
Faith wrapped her arms around herself and sat down, only to get up seconds later and continue pacing. All this waiting around was driving her crazy. She should be in there with Wesley, not stuck in here, in a room that smell so sterile she thought she was gonna gag at any minute.
All of this was her fault. Why had she called Wesley when she was at the police station? If she'd have just dealt with it on her own, Wesley wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed trying not to die, and they never would have… Faith stopped herself right there. No matter how bleak everything was looking right now, she would never dream of taking back that time with Wes. Plus, it had been Wesley who had given her the strength to beat this vamp, without him she would have been sucked dry for sure.
Faith's eyes looked up as she heard the click of the doorknob and followed the doctor as he strode into the room.
“Your friend’s condition is rather serious I’m afraid,” the doctor said gravely as he looked into the brunette slayer’s eyes. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and there was some damage done to his internal organs when he was cut in the stomach. He is also suffering from a concussion. I’d say that at this point there is a 50/50 chance he can fully recover from this without any permanent damage.”
Faith sat in silence as he told her how about Wesley's condition. All the words that came out of his mouth were confusing and full of terminology Faith didn't understand, but she got the gist of it, and the gist of it was that Wes wasn't doing good. Faith could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes as she tried to keep hold of her emotions in front of this stranger.
But really, what had she expected? Faith had always known Wesley in relation to the world of demons and vampires; so for her to see him as human, when everything around him was supernatural, was difficult. Wesley wasn't a superhero, a demon or a slayer. Wesley was just a man. A watcher, yes…but that gave him no special powers or strengths to help him withstand the type of torture he had just endured. No wonder he was broken, and Faith felt that it was all her fault.
“The good news is that the surgery to repair the internal damage seems to have been successful. The greatest worry I have at this point is possible brain damage from the concussion. The loss of blood flow to the head could result in mental impairment. We’ve given him a series of blood transfusions, and he is now somewhat conscious, although he hasn’t spoken except to say one name over and over. Faith. Is that you?”
"Yeah, that’s me. I'm his… friend or whatever." Faith shifted, physically reacting to the personal question.
"Would you like to see him now?"
"Yeah… I just gotta make a phone call first. You got a phone I could use?"
†
Faith stepped into the room and slowly drew back the curtain to reveal Wesley. As soon as her eyes landed on him, she gasped and her hands instinctively covered her mouth. There were tubes everywhere, going in and out of his body, and he had about twenty different machines surrounding him, all beeping and flashing angrily at Faith as she stood frozen to the spot.
Slowly, Faith inched toward the chair by the side of Wesley’s bed, and slid into it, her eyes never leave Wesley’s for a moment.
Wesley regained a certain amount of consciousness when Faith entered the hospital room. As she closed the curtain behind her, he could see from her eyes that he didn't appear in very good shape. Worry was written all over her lovely face.
"Hey Wes," Faith tried to smile through her wet and worried eyes. The doctor had told her that the best thing she could do to help was to remain upbeat and positive in front of Wesley, but it was no good. Faith had never been a good actress and an even worse liar. She told it how it is, no matter what people thought. Plus Wesley deserved more than her crappy attempts at a happy ‘you’ll get through it’ attitude; he deserved the truth.
"You’re not lookin’ too hot Wes. That vamp really pulled out all the stops on you." Faith ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to find the words she knew she needed to say.
"I’m sor- sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner. If I had maybe you wouldn’t… well you know." He looked so fragile in front of her, weak even as he lay on the bed, covered in bandages and wires. It was a far cry from just hours before when she had been in his arms. Wesley had been so strong and alive, his energy and stamina had been insatiable, whereas now he looked like he’d barely be able to lift his hand off the bed. Faith turned away and tried to blink back the tears that were beginning to escape her eyes. Yeah that was just what Wesley needed right now, me getting all weepy.. Faith’s eyes wandered around the room to make sure that they were alone, before turning back to Wesley and tentatively touching his hand.
"You’re gonna be fine Wes, you’re gonna get through this. I mean, you’re the reason I got through this. If it hadn’t have been for you I would have never had the fight in me to beat that vamp. You’re the reason I got though it, I did it for you and I can’t lose…when I walked out of that bathroom and saw you weren’t there… God! I can’t do this! Why is this so difficult?"
Wesley managed a weak smile. All he could think about as Faith spoke was the time they had shared the day before at his apartment. It was more than just the best sex that he had ever had in his life. One of the reasons it had been so amazing was because there had been such passion between the two of them. It'd lit up his very soul...made him feel alive again. It made him care again...for her. She had been so raw, so real. He wanted her now more than ever, and Wesley hadn't wanted anything in a very long time. This very wanting was what was going to make him fight to get better. He had to. There was so much he wanted to tell her.
Faith sat forward and took Wesley’s hand in hers, and he mustered all the strength he could just to give it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. He was having trouble focusing on what she was saying, but her voice soothed him, and he was glad that she was here. He was glad that she was alive. And despite the state he was in at the moment, he was glad to be alive as well. It was ironic, but laying there on the hospital bed next to his former slayer, he was happier than he had been in a long time. She had stopped the vampire.
There was something more too. Wesley was still a little afraid to fully admit it to himself, but there was something more that made him happy as he lay there and struggled to remain conscious in the company of the brunette slayer.
She cared.
The fact that she was by his side right now meant a lot to him. He knew that there was a time when Faith wouldn't have cared who got hurt in the crossfire when slaying. At least that was how she had tried to act. He knew her better than she would ever know, however, and he knew that this woman was inside her somewhere. He even saw her in the slayer's eyes that night that she had tied him to a chair and tortured him. There had been a moment, after he had said something about being her watcher and knowing the real her, that she had looked at him with deeply soulful eyes. It was probably a moment in which he could have reached out to her. But instead he had insulted her. He had let his anger at her get in the way and had used the opportunity of her opening up to really hurt her. But all that seemed so far away now, as Faith continued to speak to him in soothing tones.
"I guess what I’m trying to say is after everything that’s happened, after everything that happened between us in your apartment yesterday, I just want you to know that I-"
Faith's words suddenly became less jumbled, and for a minute Wes thought that he was hearing things, that he was projecting his own thoughts onto Faith as she spoke. But the doctor entering the room made him forget what she had begun to say. His head was still rather woozy. He closed his eyes for a second to regain his composure.
"Sorry to interrupt, Miss," Faith dropped Wes' hand and quickly spun round to see a nurse standing in the doorway.
"But there’s a Mr. Angel out here to see you."
†
"How is he?" Angel asked, walking to the side of the Wesley's hospital bed. As he looked down, he had a moment's flash of the last time he had seen Wesley in a hospital. It hadn't been one of his finer moments. The thought was quickly banished as the vampire turned to the doctor.
"He's going to be ok, right?"
Angel had a bad feeling in his gut. He had been so preoccupied in his own sadness over the loss of the others...Cordelia included, that he had been working alone most of the time in the last few months...letting Wes stay at the hotel and do research. He hadn't paid much mind to the ex-watcher, but now he was worried that the man would be taken from him yet again.
The doctor walked to the other side of Wes' bed and took his pulse. "His condition appears to be stabilizing, but I think he had better stay one more night in the hospital."
"Is that really necessary?" Angel asked, a little annoyed. He knew that Wes would be happier at the hotel, without all those tubes sticking in and out of him. The doctor looked up from his clipboard and stared somewhat disapprovingly at Angel.
"I would highly advise it, sir," he said tersely, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.
Angel let out a sigh and turned to the slayer.
"Faith, it's good to see you again," Angel smiled weakly. It was good to see her again, even under the present circumstances. "You look pretty beat up too. What happened? Did you guys go up against a vampire or something?" The last time he had seen Faith this badly beaten was when he had been Angelus. He had been the reason for her being so bruised and mangled then...but who was responsible for this? Faith was a strong slayer, so that meant it must have been something pretty bad.
"Why didn't you guys call me?"
Faith smiled weakly over at Angel before turning back to Wesley. His eyelids were drooping as the machines continued to beep around him.
“Let’s take this outside. He needs his rest.” Faith got up and took Angel outside the room, quietly closing the door behind them. Faith rested her hands on the window ledge as she stared back through to where Wesley lay. How was she going to explain all of this to Angel? She’d spent so long trying to show him how strong she was and how she could handle everything that this crappy life threw at her, and now here she was. Broken and beaten up with a world of worry weighing heavy on her shoulders.
Not exactly the tough slayer image she was so used to projecting, now was it? Faith allowed a small, sad smile cross her face as she felt Angel gently brush the hair off of her face to reveal the stitched up bite mark lying on her neck.
“Tell me what happened, Faith. I didn’t even know that you were back in town and then out of the blue, I get a phone call from you saying that Wesley in the hospital? And then when I get here, I find that you’re in as bad as shape as him.”
“No big. I heal fast.” Faith shrugged Angel’s hand away as she continued to look through to her former Watcher. She watched his chest move up and down rhythmically. It was kind of relaxing. In and Out. In and Out.
“Talk to me Faith!” Angel spun Faith round to face him in frustration. He held onto her shoulders firmly and looked into her eyes.
“Just tell me what happened.” Angel tried to search Faith’s eyes for a clue to what was going on. When he’d first gotten her phone call, Angel had allowed his sub-conscious to think the worst-that Faith was in fact the one who had done this to Wesley. It had only been for a moment, but for that moment he feared that Faith had come off the road to redemption, the one he’d fought so hard to keep her on, and that he’d once again be faced with the task of bringing down a slayer. However, as soon as he’d seen the brunette sitting by the hospital bed, her eyes wet with tears and worry, Angel knew instantly that he was dealing with something else altogether very different.
“What do you want me to say Angel? I messed up, ok? I messed up! I got wailed on by vamp and got Wes nearly killed in the process!” Angel watched as her eyes drifted away from his and back towards Wesley’s bed. He let go of her shoulders and ran his had through his hair.
“A vampire. Again I ask, why didn’t you call me?”
“I’m a slayer, in case you’d forgotten, Angel. Kinda in the job description that I can deal with the undead. Plus, I thought I could handle it. It was just one lousy vamp. But I slipped up…let my guard down, and he got the better of me. I ended up at the station and if it weren’t for Wes getting me out I would have been thrown back in the slammer for sure. He took me back to his place and fixed me up as best he could and we…erm, talked. Once the sun was down I headed out again, with Wesley in tow, to finish the vamp.”
“And did you? I mean…”
“He’s dust.”
“Well, at least that’s something. I just don’t understand why Wes-Faith, are you crying?” Angel watched as she tried to control herself, crossing her arms protectively across her chest and avoiding any possible eye contact with the vampire.
“You think he’ll get through this?” she asked, shaking slightly. “I mean, look at him. I haven’t seen him this beat up since I… you know.”
Angel placed his hand on her cheek and turned her face to his.
“He’ll be fine, Faith. Wesley’s strong, strong enough to get through this.”
“But Angel, you don’t get it. He shouldn’t be here. I should never have called him. If I hadn’t then maybe he wouldn’t be lying half dead next door. That vamp had no beef with Wes… I never wanted him to get hurt. It’s… it’s all my fault. I can’t do anything to help him. He’s just lying there, and those machines… all those wires. I would do anything… I need him…”
Faith’s words were muffled as Angel pulled her towards him into an embrace. He held her tightly as she wept in his arms, kissing her on the top of her head as her body shook with emotion in his arms.
“Shhh… Faith, calm down. He’ll be ok. He’ll be ok… Look you’re wiped. I doubt you’ve had any sleep over the past few days. Go. Go on back to the hotel and Wesley and I will meet you there.”
“But Angel, Wes has got to stay-”
“Don’t worry about it. I know a guy that can help us out. He’s on his way now. A shaman. He owes me a favor. Just get yourself back to the hotel and cleaned up. Let me worry about Wesley.” Angel watched Faith’s face as she tried to decide what was best to do. She clearly didn’t want to leave Wesley alone, but Angel wanted to talk to Wesley alone. The fact that he could smell the watcher all over her meant that there was a lot that Faith hadn’t told him, and he needed to know what the hell they had been playing at; but that was question he couldn’t bring himself to ask her.
“Go Faith. We won’t be long, I promise.” Faith hesitated for a moment longer before she untangled herself from his arms, and stuffed her hands in her pockets as she began to walk away down the corridor.
“Faith?”
She spun round as she heard her name to look back at the vampire, her face streaked with tears and her eyes full of loss. Angel nervously gulped and ran a hand through his hair.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too Angel.”
With those words Faith smiled weakly, turned on her heel, and walked down the corridor and out of sight, leaving Angel alone. He slowly moved to the door and twisted the doorknob. He held the door shut for a moment, deep in thought, before entering Wesley’s room once again.
†
I would do anything… I need him…
Those words echoed in Angel's mind as he closed the door behind him and looked over to where Wesley lay. There was a lot that Angel needed to ask Wesley, but first he had to do something about the ex-watcher's condition. He had brought something with him. A spell. All Angel needed to do was say a few words of the incantation, and a temporal fold would appear in the same place that he was...in this particular case, a hospital room. The shaman would therefore be called upon to make good on a promise.
Three years ago, Angel's top lawyer as the CEO of W&H, Charles Gunn, had done an outstanding job defending one of the shaman's clan after a ritual sacrifice ended in his arrest. An ambassador of the Triuvna clan had given Angel the incantation as a thank you gesture...along with an assortment of Gavsna demon cheese...which was a bit on the pungent side in the vampire's opinion.
Not that he was really into the whole food thing.
The incantation, on the other hand, was a much more useful gift than the cheese. When the words were said, the shaman would appear from the fold, and would heal anyone that Angel wished. After losing Doyle, Cordelia, Fred, and Gunn along the way, Angel knew that this was one gift from an evil client that he couldn’t refuse.
And he wasn't going to give a second thought about using it on Wesley. Wesley was the only real person that had remained of their previous “family.” Gunn had died in battle ...as had Illyria. Spike set off for Europe after the battle, no doubt hot on the trail of a certain blonde slayer. It was just Angel for a while...back at the hotel, fighting for his sanity every moment as he tried to keep himself from drowning in the black, murky waters of loneliness. In that time he had begun to realize what it must have been like for Wesley those months when he had been estranged from the group. He realized the hell it was...to feel completely alone, and unsure if you even knew yourself anymore.
Everything that had happened at Wolfram and Hart…it was all like a bad dream. Angel had made choices that year that he now wished he could take back. He had been reckless, and it had cost the lives of people he loved.
As far as he was concerned...he and Wesley were family again. He knew in his heart that the ex-watcher had always tried to do right by him. He had taken Angel’s son, it was true, but he did it because he thought he was protecting Connor, and protecting Angel as well.
The time alone had given him plenty of time to think about the events of the past few years. Wesley had been a victim in the fight against evil. He had wanted to do the right thing so badly that he had been reckless...had kept things from the group because he was filled with fear.
Angel could certainly understand that now.
Angel looked down at the sleeping man lying in the hospital bed. No matter how he tried, he couldn't shake the image he had in his mind of Wesley's face when he had pushed a pillow into it and tried to suffocate him. He had forgiven Wes, but the emotion of rage at the loss of his son inevitably passed through him now as he looked at the familiar sight of the man in the hospital bed. Angel was able to shrug the feeling off though. It was the past. Connor was doing well wit his new family. Things had worked out.
Angel took a small piece of parchment from the inside pocket of his coat and began to read the words of the incantation.
Clan of the Triuvna,
I call upon thee.
Open the portal
and send thy healer.
Angel struggled with the translation, but sure enough, as soon as the words were said, a giant, flashy, bendy light ripped through the hospital room. Angel raised his hands to the level of his face to shield his eyes from the blinding light. A dark, cloaked figure emerged from the opening. The light faded as the portal closed behind him.
“Angel,” the demon greeted him.
“It is good to see you. I trust you are ready for my clan to repay their debt to you?” The demon lifted the hood from his face and pulled it back…revealing grey skin and piercing yellow eyes. His sparse white hair lay flat against his head and pooled slightly atop his bony shoulders. The brown robe he wore swished about on the floor as he made his way to the side of Wesley’s bed. Angel was a little alarmed to notice the emblem of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart on his cloak. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see it though…after all…the Triuvni were longtime clients of the firm.
“Ah. Yes. This must be the one that you wish me to heal?”
Angel got over the shock of the demon’s entrance and nodded his head. Opening portals always left him with a somewhat nauseated feeling.
“Yeah. He’s the one,” Angel answered. “Can you help him?”
The demon scoffed as he looked at Wesley and then Angel.
“Can I? Of course I can. He isn’t even dead yet. His revivification shall be quite simple.”
The shaman put his bony hand on Wesley’s fevered forehead and closed his fierce yellow eyes. Angel was somewhat relieved that he didn’t have to look into those eyes for the time being. They were truly horrific.
But Angel’s eyes soon began to widen as he saw a light pass through the demon’s hand and into Wesley. The wires that seemed to cover the ex-watcher’s body were lifted away…detached by some unseen force with delicate precision. The bandages unraveled and the man’s wounds were exposed once again; however, the blood dried up quickly and the skin began to regenerate, and before Angel could blink, Wesley was completely healed. He had never seen anything like it in all his existence. It was truly remarkable.
The light subsided, and the Shaman turned back to a smiling Angel once the process was completed.
“This absolves my clans’ debt to you, Angel. Do not call on me again,” the demon said matter-of-factly, before waving his hand in the air and opening the temporal fold once again, disappearing from the hospital room.
Wesley opened his eyes just as the Shaman left the room. He felt a little tired and drained, but he could move again, and he could speak again. He sat up in bed and looked around, settling his eyes on Angel, who was still in a state of shock at the strength of the magic that the shaman had used.
“Angel? How did I?” Wesley lifted his arms and noticed that the tubes were gone. “What did you do?” A look of confusion overtook his handsome features.
A sudden horrible thought entered the Englishman’s head.
“How long have I been here?”
“It’s ok, Wes. You haven’t been in a coma. It was a shaman…someone that owed me a favor. He came and healed you. I figured I owed it to you…what with you already dying once.” The vampire tried to be funny, but he wasn’t doing a very good job if the look on Wes’ face was any indication.
A queer feeling of both relief and trepidation overtook the man in the hospital bed. “A shaman? What kind of shaman?” Wes asked slowly, holding his hand in front of his face and marveling at how the cuts and wounds that were there before had been completely taken away. He turned to look at his right arm, and then his stomach…the wounds there had healed as well. He looked back to Angel for an answer.
“It’s just a guy I know. He owed me a favor,” Angel mumbled out. He really didn’t want to get into it with Wes right now; there were more urgent things to discuss. “It’s not important Wes. The important thing is that you are ok,” the vampire smiled. After a few moments, Wes’ furrowed brow softened and he smiled back.
“Well, then I believe a ‘thank you’ is in order.”
Wes looked about the room. He remembered suddenly that Faith had been here. But she appeared gone now. His heart sank a bit. He wanted very much for her to know that he was ok. She had looked so worried when she’d looked down at him in the hospital bed. Her last words started to come back to him as he sat there in the bed, staring blankly at the door, lost in thought.
“Wes…we’ve got to talk,” Angel began nervously.
Wes snapped out of his reverie.
“Talk? Of course. What do you want to talk about?” Wes looked worried. Had something happened to Faith? Where was she? He wanted to ask, but he wasn’t even sure if Angel would understand why he was so worried about her. After all, he couldn’t quite account for this worry himself. There were many feelings he was having for her that he couldn’t even explain to himself. In the end, however, his concern for her outweighed his conflicted emotions.
“Is it Faith? Is she alright?”
Angel nodded. “Yeah, she’s fine. Kinda shook up. She seemed real worried about you.” The vampire cast Wes a knowing glance. Wes caught it, but remained deadpan. Finally he looked away.
“Good,” he said quietly, as if assuring himself of something. “I mean…that she is alright. It’s good,” Wes let out a deep breath.
“Wes…what’s going on with you two?”
“I’m sorry?” Wes looked at Angel with surprise.
Angel wasn’t in the mood for effrontery, however. “Come on Wes, drop the act. Besides the fact that Faith couldn’t keep her eyes off you the entire time she was here, I can smell you guys all over each other.”
Wesley closed his eyes at Angel’s last statement. He should have remembered that Angel would be able to sense that they had been intimate.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Angel.”
“Just tell me what’s going on,” Angel said as he walked closer to Wes. “I know that you helped her out of a jam yesterday. She said you took her back to your apartment. I’m guessing one thing led to another. . .” the vampire trailed off. He remembered Faith’s look of concern and her tears for Wesley.
“Is she in love with you?”
Wes opened his eyes again. He frowned and looked down at his hands. “I wouldn’t presume to answer such a question Angel. We were intimate. I obviously can’t deny that now. But as for love? I highly doubt it.” The Englishman chuckled dryly.
“I just gotta know, Wes. I mean, this is the same woman who tortured you…for hours. If this is some sort of twisted way of getting revenge-”
“I would never hurt her, Angel,” Wes interrupted with a vehemence that surprised even him. He lowered his voice again, speaking more calmly.
“The past is past. I forgave Faith a long time ago.”
He swung his newly mobile legs over the side of the bed. “What happened between us…I can’t really explain it. And I really don’t feel I should have to. It happened. It may’ve been a rash thing to do, I’ll give you that. But I assure you that I have no secret revenge plots. I don’t wish Faith harm…if anything…”
Wes decided not to finish that sentence. It could wait for another time. If he was going to speak of his feelings, it would be to her. Not Angel.
Angel let out a sigh. “Well, she’s back at the hotel. I said we’d meet her back there.” He looked Wes in the eye once more. “I’ll let this subject go for now, Wes. But I don’t think I have to remind you that you’re playing with fire.”
“You’re probably right,” Wes replied in a strange, far off voice.
“So how do you propose we get out of here? I’m sure that the hospital staff will not look too keenly on my walking out of here after being a walking bruise only an hour before.”
Angel pulled some scrubs out of his coat and shoved them in Wes’ direction. “Put these on. This surgical mask too,” he tossed the mask at him. They won’t recognize you if we hurry. Just don’t make eye contact. Look like you are in a rush or something.” Angel knew it was risky…but he really didn’t want to deal with that snooty doctor. He just wanted to get Wes back to the hotel.
Wes complied and took the clothing into the bathroom, where he quickly changed. It felt good to be moving around again after laying in that hospital bed. He also knew that soon he would see Faith again, which made him feel better, and worse, and the same time.
†
The escape from the hospital went smoothly.
The drive back to the hotel in Angel’s black mustang, however, was spent in awkward silence. Wes knew that Angel thought that his being with Faith had been a foolish, if not dangerous decision. It hurt him in a strange way…that the vampire should feel this. But he regained his spirits as they pulled up to the hotel.
As Wes and Angel made their way through the garden entry and into the lobby, Wes scanned the room for the brunette slayer. His heart was pounding in his chest. He looked down at his clothes and realized that he was still wearing the scrubs.
“I feel a little ridiculous in this outfit, Angel. I think I am going to go to my room and change. Tell Faith…tell her…that I am feeling much better.”
Wes walked up the stairs to his room, where he closed the door gently behind him. He was overcome with emotion right now, and he felt uncomfortable about having it on display. He needed to catch a breather. Gather his bearings. At the very least…de-scrub.
“Um, ok,” Angel said, looking a little confused. He had figured that Wes would’ve wanted to see Faith right away…but he was acting odd…and distant. And speaking of Fatih…where was she?
“Faith?” Angel called out. “We’re back!”
†
A Few Hours Earlier
Faith’s hand wrapped around the door knob and twisted it carefully, pushing the door open as she heard the latch click. She stepped over the threshold and looked around the empty lobby. Everything was quiet and eerie, and yet familiar. The same smell and the same furniture, even that memorable sense of home was still resonant in the hotel’s walls. Memories and feelings moved and flickered through the atmosphere around the broken shell that was the slayer as she slowly walked towards the counter.
She eased herself onto the stool and looked around the vast space around her. If it was at all possible she felt more alone now than she had at the hospital. ‘Least there she had had Wesley to worry about and to distract her from her own thoughts. Faith sighed as she lightly tapped her dirt-ridden fingernails on the marble counter.
She’d done the right thing by contacting Angel, even though she was sure to an outsider it might look like she was palming Wes off on the vampire so she could relinquish her responsibility and the part she played in his latest round of torture. She just hoped Wesley didn’t see it like that. Faith wasn’t exactly adept with the helping. At times Faith could barely help herself, let alone the people around her, and what did she always do when the road got rocky? Run to Angel of course. And that was exactly what she’d done tonight. She’d been out of her depth, drowning in a sea of worry and, as always, Angel had held her tight and told her that he’d fix it. That he’d fix her.
Only problem with this scenario was that Faith didn’t want that from Angel anymore. Her action to call him had been instinctive; she’d reverted back to the role of the redemptive slayer that she’d been so accustomed to in the past, but that wasn’t Faith anymore. She’d changed, and had found another person to support her when she needed a helping hand. She found Wesley. Or at least found another side of him that had shown her nothing but loyalty and care.
If things had been turned around, Faith knew that Wesley wouldn’t have left her in the hospital, even with Angel there.
Faith sighed and allowed her eyes to wander over the counter top. It was covered in files, most with large ‘pending’ stamps on their covers. Carefully, she picked up a file, and another, followed by another as she flicked through their pages, until she came to a case she knew all too well.
Her eyes darted between the police reports to the photos of the victims and back again. Her fingers ran along the edge of the glossy photograph as Faith studied the victims’ wound, before bringing her hand up to her own little reminder of her and the attacker’s encounter.
Faith flicked back her hair off of her worn, tear-stained face and traced the raw bite wound with the tip of her finger. It had pretty much healed over now, leaving a raised scar as a memento along the side of her slender neck.
It had been close-too close, in fact. If it hadn’t been for…
Faith shook the ‘what ifs’ out of her head, knowing full well they wouldn’t be any use to her now. He was dust and that was all that mattered.
Well, not all that mattered.
Faith stood up and walked behind the counter, taking the file with her as she entered Angel’s office. She walked over to his desk and sat on it, still staring at one of the etchings of the vampire as she moved. Averting her eyes from the file for a moment, she looked down at the waste basket by her feet. She allowed the file to fall from her hand into the basket, along with all of her regrets and emotions linked to it.
“Case closed.”
Part Two - Chapter Six