Faithfully Dangerous- Chapter 18
On we go.
Previous parts can be found here.
Chapter 18
“Whoa. You really live here?” Abby heard her voice echo around the lobby, and she flinched slightly. She hadn’t meant that to come out so loud; everybody would think she was some hick who’d never seen a hotel lobby before.
She had, but she’d never thought to live in one.
“Yes. At least the others do. I’m-working on it.” Wesley glanced down at her, and she could see from his expression that he was distracted and doing his best to hide it. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll see if I can find some of the other Slayers. They can help you get settled.”
Abby nodded and willingly sat on the funny round couch in the middle of the lobby. She figured that some of Wes’ distraction had to do with the phone call he’d taken at the airport; that was when he’d gotten pretty quiet.
But still kind. He was nice in the way her science teacher had been-really interested in her, always treating her like she was important, but not being creepy about it. Wes was like that, and she thought that if the others were the same, she might be okay here.
“Hey.” The girl coming down the stairs was probably a few years older than her, with long dark hair pulled back into a braid. “You must be Abby.”
“Yeah.” Feeling suddenly shy, she glanced down at the small backpack sitting between her feet. Wes had said that her clothes would be taken care of, that she didn’t have to worry about it, which was a good thing, because there was no way she was going back inside her father’s house.
“I’m Caridad. Do you want to see your room?”
“Okay.” She glanced around, wondering if this was one of the Slayers, and if she was supposed to leave.
“It’s cool,” Caridad assured her. “Wes told us you were here. He’s just catching up with Faith right now. We’ll get you settled, and I’ll show you around.”
“It’s a really neat place.” Abby wanted to sound grownup, like she wasn’t scared, but she couldn’t quite keep the tremor out of her voice.
The older girl put an arm around her shoulders. “We’re all on the same team here. We’ve got your back, niña.”
Abby managed a smile, knowing that all she could do was to take things one step at a time.
~~~~~
“Bloody hell,” Wesley cursed, then continued, his swearing incredibly creative, even to Faith’s experienced ears.
“You’re telling me.”
“Where are they now?”
“They’re outside,” she said, jerking her head to indicate the hotel’s courtyard. “I don’t know what Angel decided to tell him, but I figured it was his kid, his call.”
“Of course.” He ran his hands over his face, looking out the window of the office.
Faith caught sight of Caridad with her arm around the new kid, and she gave a satisfied nod. Cari was good with people, and an experienced Slayer. Abby would be fine with her while they straightened out this mess.
“How did the flight go?”
“It was fine.”
“And the talk with daddy dearest?”
“I explained to him that he would be better off letting her come with me than in a jail cell. He got the picture.” Wes’ smile held no mirth. “I’ll have you know that I was a model of restraint.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she replied with a smile. “What do you think of her?”
“She’s surprisingly trusting.” Wesley shook his head. “She’s tough, though. I imagine she’s learned to be pliant, but only up to a certain point.”
“If she knocked her dad across the room, that’s probably a good guess.” She sighed. “Angel doesn’t think he’s going to make it out of this one.”
There was a long pause, and Wesley sat down on the couch. “I don’t know that he can.”
“What?”
“Angel sold his soul to the devil.” He met her eyes, and she could see the weariness there, the guilt that he bore. “To be honest, I’ve thought the same. I may not survive this fight.”
The thought of Wesley not being around did something to her insides that Faith didn’t like. “Hey, we’ve made it out of tight spaces before,” she said, sitting down next to him, unable to find the words to explain.
“Yes, we have.” He leaned back into the cushions. “We should probably find Angel and Connor. I’m curious as to what Angel’s solution to this mess is going to be.”
“Which mess? Connor or the law firm?”
“Both,” Wesley replied. “It seems to be one and the same.”
~~~~~
Connor’s head was still spinning with grief and confusion. In the last 72 hours, he’d discovered that he was nearly indestructible, found out that demons were real, watched his parents killed in front of him, and was told that they weren’t actually his parents. Instead he’d found out he was the son of two vampires.
It was unbelievable, and yet he believed them. He had to, after what Ellen had done, even though he didn’t understand how she’d accomplished it.
And now he was sitting next to the man-vampire-who was apparently his father.
“I’m sorry.” Angel broke the silence.
“For what?”
“Your parents. You were supposed to be safe with them.”
“Is that why you did it?”
“I didn’t think there was another choice.”
“Was there?”
“I still can’t see one.”
Connor looked at Angel, seeing himself and yet not at the same time. He had no memories of this man, other than those he’d received vicariously through Faith. She thought of him as a friend, a mentor, someone who had saved her. She believed that he was a good man.
“Tell me about my mother.”
“She died so that you could live.” Angel’s brief words didn’t tell him much, but Connor remained silent, waiting for him to fill in the blanks. “She was beautiful.”
“Did she have a soul?” He knew from Faith’s memories that that was the reason Angel wasn’t evil.
“She shared yours while she was pregnant. It’s why-” Angel broke off, before finishing, “she loved you.”
“Did you love her?”
“Yes. I did.”
Connor didn’t know what else to ask, what else he should know. “What am I supposed to do now?”
The man-no, vampire-sitting next to him shook his head. “I don’t know. To be honest, I think you should go back to school, let us handle this.”
“What about the things that killed my parents?”
Angel met his eyes. “You can go back, forget that this ever happened, trust that we’ll get whoever was behind it.”
“Or?”
“You could stay with Faith and Wes. They’ll look after you. They might even…” Angel trailed off, sounding as though he was choking on the words. “They might even be able to help you remember.”
“Angel?”
Connor turned to see a tall, thin man walking towards them.
“Wes.” Angel rose. “How was the trip?”
“I retrieved the Slayer safely,” he responded. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but I thought we might need to talk.”
Angel nodded. “We do. Cordelia wants to see you. I told her I’d call when you got back.”
“I’d like to see her as soon as possible.” The man’s voice was formal, but Connor caught the thread of anticipation. Whoever this Cordelia person was, it was fairly obvious that he wanted to see her badly.
“We should get Fred and Gunn here while we’re at it. There are some things we need to go over.” Their eyes met for a long time, and Connor could sense the tension between them. Finally, Angel ended the seeming impasse by walking over to Wesley and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Wesley nodded. “Of course.”
Connor had no idea what was going on, but he thought that it might be big.
~~~~~
Faith hadn’t yet been able to give Wes a proper greeting. In a perfect world, she would have been able to drag him upstairs immediately to scratch the itch that had been bothering her pretty much ever since he’d left.
Instead, she had a freaked out kid, a baby Slayer, and an apocalypse on the horizon. Figured.
Looking around the lobby, she spotted the Slayers on the stairs, close enough to hear what was going on, but not so close that they would be dismissed. Abby was flanked by Caridad and Leslie, and Faith could see both of them whispering into her ear on occasion, apparently explaining what they knew of the situation.
Wesley was leaning up against the hotel desk next to her, arms crossed, while Fred and Gunn sat on the couch. They were waiting for Cordelia and Lorne to show up.
Faith leaned closer to Wesley to whisper, “You okay?”
“Fine.” He glanced at her. “Really.”
“Connor seems like a decent kid. A lot better than what I remember.”
“He doesn’t remember, so it would make sense.”
“Can you make another one of those window things?”
Wesley frowned, considering it. “I suppose so. If the first one worked, I should be able to duplicate the efforts. You’re thinking of using one for Connor.”
“If he wants to.”
“If Angel allows him to do so.”
“I don’t think it should be up to Angel,” Faith responded. “It’s Connor’s decision.”
Wesley didn’t argue with her, instead making a humming sound.
The doors to the hotel opened, and Cordelia and Lorne walked in. Cordy headed straight for Wes, who opened his arms to her immediately. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, then Cordelia pulled back and looked at him. “You look good.”
“As do you.” He smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Cordelia.”
“You, too.” She stepped back to look at him, then at Faith. “It’s good to see you again.”
Faith raised an eyebrow, feeling more than a little skeptical. She and Cordelia had never been on the best of terms. “Yeah. Same here.”
Cordelia smiled, the expression on her face indicating that she knew exactly what had caused Faith’s hesitation. “I guess we should get down to business.”
It took time for everyone to get settled. Connor still hung back, at the edge of things, halfway between the lobby and the stairs, as though he wasn’t quite sure whether to join the Slayers or the small knot of people who were discussing demons and apocalypses as though they were everyday affairs.
“Why don’t you start, Angel?” Wesley was the one to take the reins, his voice deceptively calm.
Angel quickly explained what he’d learned about the Black Thorn and their connection to the Senior Partners, then continued, “The trouble is that I don’t know who they are. I have a few names, but not enough.”
“Not enough to do what?” Faith asked.
“A simultaneous strike,” Cordelia explained. “All of them get taken out at once.”
“That would include Vail,” Wesley murmured. “Which would ensure Faith’s safety.”
“At least insofar as the hit on her is concerned, yes.” Angel paced. “The problem is getting the rest of the names. It’s going to require me getting access to the members.”
“You’re going to join them.” Wesley’s voice was flat. “You know that’s not going to be a simple matter, Angel. It’s probably going to involve some sort of proof that you’ve gone over to their side in more than just word.”
“I realize that. It’s why I wanted to be sure that you were all on board.” Angel turned to face them, his expression bleak. “After this, we’re not going to be able to communicate. I’m going to cut ties with all of you, and you’re going to have to trust that what I’m doing, I’m doing because I have to.”
“And if that requires killing one of us?” Faith asked quietly. “If Vail’s a member of the Black Thorn, he might ask you to do something like that. Angelus would have no problem with it.” She spared a glance at Connor. “He wouldn’t have any trouble sacrificing his own son, either.”
“It won’t be Connor.” Cordelia spoke for the first time. “And it won’t be any of you.”
Gunn frowned. “You know?”
“I’ve seen it.” She looked at Angel, and their eyes met for a long moment. “We’ve already talked about it. They know I’m his last link to the Powers.”
Wesley straightened, his glare fierce. “No!”
Faith wasn’t surprised that he’d caught on faster than the rest of them, but his outburst told her what Cordelia had seen. “Angel-”
“We don’t know that’s what they’re going to ask me to do.” Angel’s voice was even, but Faith noticed that he didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, instead staring at the floor. “I can promise to get you the names, and the best time to strike, but I have to rely on you for the rest of it.” When he looked up, it was at Wesley. “I’m trusting you.”
Wesley turned away, staring at the wall behind the desk, running a hand through his hair, then over his face. Faith knew that Angel was asking for a lot, perhaps more than they could give. He then turned and looked at the others in the room, his eyes resting on each one individually before returning to Angel.
“We’ll need reinforcements,” he said steadily. “I don’t want to take on a bigger risk than necessary, and if what you’re saying is true, we’ll need to be prepared for repercussions.”
“We can call Giles,” Faith inserted. “I’ll bet he’ll be willing to send help.”
“What about me?” Connor stepped forward, speaking for the first time. “If what you’re saying is true, these people are responsible for killing my parents.”
“Connor-” Angel began.
“I need to know the truth. I want my memories back.” He looked at Wesley. “Faith said you could do that.”
Wesley nodded slowly. “I believe I can, yes.”
Faith watched as Angel closed his eyes, his head bowed, and she knew what he was thinking. After all he’d given up to save his son, for Connor to be in danger again, entering the same life that Angel had hoped he’d left behind-it was quite the blow.
It would have to be.
She watched as Cordelia put a hand on Angel’s arm, and the two shared a look that said more than words. Faith knew that expression; she knew that they both had seen the end that they were facing, and they’d made what peace they could.
Faith looked at Wesley and realized that she hadn’t; she wasn’t ready to go down, and she wasn’t ready for Wes to do it either.
And she decided right then and there that come hell or high water, they would both make it out of this alive.
~~~~~
Wesley found that he was bone-tired. The strategy session had seemed to go on forever, mostly because it would be the last one. There were decisions to be made now, and yet without all of the information, it had been more difficult.
In the end, Angel and Cordelia had gone back to Wolfram & Hart to put their plan in motion, with Lorne as the designated go-between. He would be the one to relay the names and locations of the members of the Black Thorn, and it would be up to Wesley and the others to decide on assignments and targets.
And, while Angel had clearly been unhappy with the decision, Connor had insisted on staying, and at least on getting his memories back. There was no telling what the boy would do after that.
Wesley was simply grateful that the other Slayers had seemed to take charge of Abby, because he didn’t have the energy to make one more decision.
As the door shut behind him, Faith walked out of the bathroom. “You okay?” It was an echo from earlier, and he gave the same response.
“Fine.” He began unbuttoning his shirt. “We should both get some sleep. We’ll have to get up relatively early to catch Giles while he’s awake.” Glancing at the clock, he added, “Considering what time it is.”
“Are you really that tired?”
Wesley found that his mouth had gone dry as Faith stripped off the t-shirt she normally wore to bed-at least, in theory. It rarely stayed on in his experience.
“I am,” he replied, striving to keep all emotion out of his voice as he continued to undress. “You ought to be as well from what I understand.”
“You really want to waste time, Wes?” She moved towards him, hips swaying, dark hair brushing her breasts. “You said it yourself. We don’t know how much time we’ve got.”
“No. I suppose we don’t.”
They came together with a desperation brought about by both uncertainty and knowledge-uncertainty about their future, knowledge of just how close death might be. Each of them had come within a hairsbreadth of a permanent end, and they had more reason than most to know how easily, how quickly, death could find them.
Words weren’t possible; neither of them expressed feelings easily, and so action would have to suffice. Fingertips tracing the jaw line, lips caressing and demanding, the sense of skin on skin, with no space between. Wesley could forget for a moment that there was a past or a future, that he had been both traitor and betrayed.
If only for a moment, he could believe that this-this moment, this feeling, this partnership-would never end.
Even if only for a moment.
Previous parts can be found here.
Chapter 18
“Whoa. You really live here?” Abby heard her voice echo around the lobby, and she flinched slightly. She hadn’t meant that to come out so loud; everybody would think she was some hick who’d never seen a hotel lobby before.
She had, but she’d never thought to live in one.
“Yes. At least the others do. I’m-working on it.” Wesley glanced down at her, and she could see from his expression that he was distracted and doing his best to hide it. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll see if I can find some of the other Slayers. They can help you get settled.”
Abby nodded and willingly sat on the funny round couch in the middle of the lobby. She figured that some of Wes’ distraction had to do with the phone call he’d taken at the airport; that was when he’d gotten pretty quiet.
But still kind. He was nice in the way her science teacher had been-really interested in her, always treating her like she was important, but not being creepy about it. Wes was like that, and she thought that if the others were the same, she might be okay here.
“Hey.” The girl coming down the stairs was probably a few years older than her, with long dark hair pulled back into a braid. “You must be Abby.”
“Yeah.” Feeling suddenly shy, she glanced down at the small backpack sitting between her feet. Wes had said that her clothes would be taken care of, that she didn’t have to worry about it, which was a good thing, because there was no way she was going back inside her father’s house.
“I’m Caridad. Do you want to see your room?”
“Okay.” She glanced around, wondering if this was one of the Slayers, and if she was supposed to leave.
“It’s cool,” Caridad assured her. “Wes told us you were here. He’s just catching up with Faith right now. We’ll get you settled, and I’ll show you around.”
“It’s a really neat place.” Abby wanted to sound grownup, like she wasn’t scared, but she couldn’t quite keep the tremor out of her voice.
The older girl put an arm around her shoulders. “We’re all on the same team here. We’ve got your back, niña.”
Abby managed a smile, knowing that all she could do was to take things one step at a time.
~~~~~
“Bloody hell,” Wesley cursed, then continued, his swearing incredibly creative, even to Faith’s experienced ears.
“You’re telling me.”
“Where are they now?”
“They’re outside,” she said, jerking her head to indicate the hotel’s courtyard. “I don’t know what Angel decided to tell him, but I figured it was his kid, his call.”
“Of course.” He ran his hands over his face, looking out the window of the office.
Faith caught sight of Caridad with her arm around the new kid, and she gave a satisfied nod. Cari was good with people, and an experienced Slayer. Abby would be fine with her while they straightened out this mess.
“How did the flight go?”
“It was fine.”
“And the talk with daddy dearest?”
“I explained to him that he would be better off letting her come with me than in a jail cell. He got the picture.” Wes’ smile held no mirth. “I’ll have you know that I was a model of restraint.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she replied with a smile. “What do you think of her?”
“She’s surprisingly trusting.” Wesley shook his head. “She’s tough, though. I imagine she’s learned to be pliant, but only up to a certain point.”
“If she knocked her dad across the room, that’s probably a good guess.” She sighed. “Angel doesn’t think he’s going to make it out of this one.”
There was a long pause, and Wesley sat down on the couch. “I don’t know that he can.”
“What?”
“Angel sold his soul to the devil.” He met her eyes, and she could see the weariness there, the guilt that he bore. “To be honest, I’ve thought the same. I may not survive this fight.”
The thought of Wesley not being around did something to her insides that Faith didn’t like. “Hey, we’ve made it out of tight spaces before,” she said, sitting down next to him, unable to find the words to explain.
“Yes, we have.” He leaned back into the cushions. “We should probably find Angel and Connor. I’m curious as to what Angel’s solution to this mess is going to be.”
“Which mess? Connor or the law firm?”
“Both,” Wesley replied. “It seems to be one and the same.”
~~~~~
Connor’s head was still spinning with grief and confusion. In the last 72 hours, he’d discovered that he was nearly indestructible, found out that demons were real, watched his parents killed in front of him, and was told that they weren’t actually his parents. Instead he’d found out he was the son of two vampires.
It was unbelievable, and yet he believed them. He had to, after what Ellen had done, even though he didn’t understand how she’d accomplished it.
And now he was sitting next to the man-vampire-who was apparently his father.
“I’m sorry.” Angel broke the silence.
“For what?”
“Your parents. You were supposed to be safe with them.”
“Is that why you did it?”
“I didn’t think there was another choice.”
“Was there?”
“I still can’t see one.”
Connor looked at Angel, seeing himself and yet not at the same time. He had no memories of this man, other than those he’d received vicariously through Faith. She thought of him as a friend, a mentor, someone who had saved her. She believed that he was a good man.
“Tell me about my mother.”
“She died so that you could live.” Angel’s brief words didn’t tell him much, but Connor remained silent, waiting for him to fill in the blanks. “She was beautiful.”
“Did she have a soul?” He knew from Faith’s memories that that was the reason Angel wasn’t evil.
“She shared yours while she was pregnant. It’s why-” Angel broke off, before finishing, “she loved you.”
“Did you love her?”
“Yes. I did.”
Connor didn’t know what else to ask, what else he should know. “What am I supposed to do now?”
The man-no, vampire-sitting next to him shook his head. “I don’t know. To be honest, I think you should go back to school, let us handle this.”
“What about the things that killed my parents?”
Angel met his eyes. “You can go back, forget that this ever happened, trust that we’ll get whoever was behind it.”
“Or?”
“You could stay with Faith and Wes. They’ll look after you. They might even…” Angel trailed off, sounding as though he was choking on the words. “They might even be able to help you remember.”
“Angel?”
Connor turned to see a tall, thin man walking towards them.
“Wes.” Angel rose. “How was the trip?”
“I retrieved the Slayer safely,” he responded. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but I thought we might need to talk.”
Angel nodded. “We do. Cordelia wants to see you. I told her I’d call when you got back.”
“I’d like to see her as soon as possible.” The man’s voice was formal, but Connor caught the thread of anticipation. Whoever this Cordelia person was, it was fairly obvious that he wanted to see her badly.
“We should get Fred and Gunn here while we’re at it. There are some things we need to go over.” Their eyes met for a long time, and Connor could sense the tension between them. Finally, Angel ended the seeming impasse by walking over to Wesley and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Wesley nodded. “Of course.”
Connor had no idea what was going on, but he thought that it might be big.
~~~~~
Faith hadn’t yet been able to give Wes a proper greeting. In a perfect world, she would have been able to drag him upstairs immediately to scratch the itch that had been bothering her pretty much ever since he’d left.
Instead, she had a freaked out kid, a baby Slayer, and an apocalypse on the horizon. Figured.
Looking around the lobby, she spotted the Slayers on the stairs, close enough to hear what was going on, but not so close that they would be dismissed. Abby was flanked by Caridad and Leslie, and Faith could see both of them whispering into her ear on occasion, apparently explaining what they knew of the situation.
Wesley was leaning up against the hotel desk next to her, arms crossed, while Fred and Gunn sat on the couch. They were waiting for Cordelia and Lorne to show up.
Faith leaned closer to Wesley to whisper, “You okay?”
“Fine.” He glanced at her. “Really.”
“Connor seems like a decent kid. A lot better than what I remember.”
“He doesn’t remember, so it would make sense.”
“Can you make another one of those window things?”
Wesley frowned, considering it. “I suppose so. If the first one worked, I should be able to duplicate the efforts. You’re thinking of using one for Connor.”
“If he wants to.”
“If Angel allows him to do so.”
“I don’t think it should be up to Angel,” Faith responded. “It’s Connor’s decision.”
Wesley didn’t argue with her, instead making a humming sound.
The doors to the hotel opened, and Cordelia and Lorne walked in. Cordy headed straight for Wes, who opened his arms to her immediately. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, then Cordelia pulled back and looked at him. “You look good.”
“As do you.” He smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Cordelia.”
“You, too.” She stepped back to look at him, then at Faith. “It’s good to see you again.”
Faith raised an eyebrow, feeling more than a little skeptical. She and Cordelia had never been on the best of terms. “Yeah. Same here.”
Cordelia smiled, the expression on her face indicating that she knew exactly what had caused Faith’s hesitation. “I guess we should get down to business.”
It took time for everyone to get settled. Connor still hung back, at the edge of things, halfway between the lobby and the stairs, as though he wasn’t quite sure whether to join the Slayers or the small knot of people who were discussing demons and apocalypses as though they were everyday affairs.
“Why don’t you start, Angel?” Wesley was the one to take the reins, his voice deceptively calm.
Angel quickly explained what he’d learned about the Black Thorn and their connection to the Senior Partners, then continued, “The trouble is that I don’t know who they are. I have a few names, but not enough.”
“Not enough to do what?” Faith asked.
“A simultaneous strike,” Cordelia explained. “All of them get taken out at once.”
“That would include Vail,” Wesley murmured. “Which would ensure Faith’s safety.”
“At least insofar as the hit on her is concerned, yes.” Angel paced. “The problem is getting the rest of the names. It’s going to require me getting access to the members.”
“You’re going to join them.” Wesley’s voice was flat. “You know that’s not going to be a simple matter, Angel. It’s probably going to involve some sort of proof that you’ve gone over to their side in more than just word.”
“I realize that. It’s why I wanted to be sure that you were all on board.” Angel turned to face them, his expression bleak. “After this, we’re not going to be able to communicate. I’m going to cut ties with all of you, and you’re going to have to trust that what I’m doing, I’m doing because I have to.”
“And if that requires killing one of us?” Faith asked quietly. “If Vail’s a member of the Black Thorn, he might ask you to do something like that. Angelus would have no problem with it.” She spared a glance at Connor. “He wouldn’t have any trouble sacrificing his own son, either.”
“It won’t be Connor.” Cordelia spoke for the first time. “And it won’t be any of you.”
Gunn frowned. “You know?”
“I’ve seen it.” She looked at Angel, and their eyes met for a long moment. “We’ve already talked about it. They know I’m his last link to the Powers.”
Wesley straightened, his glare fierce. “No!”
Faith wasn’t surprised that he’d caught on faster than the rest of them, but his outburst told her what Cordelia had seen. “Angel-”
“We don’t know that’s what they’re going to ask me to do.” Angel’s voice was even, but Faith noticed that he didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, instead staring at the floor. “I can promise to get you the names, and the best time to strike, but I have to rely on you for the rest of it.” When he looked up, it was at Wesley. “I’m trusting you.”
Wesley turned away, staring at the wall behind the desk, running a hand through his hair, then over his face. Faith knew that Angel was asking for a lot, perhaps more than they could give. He then turned and looked at the others in the room, his eyes resting on each one individually before returning to Angel.
“We’ll need reinforcements,” he said steadily. “I don’t want to take on a bigger risk than necessary, and if what you’re saying is true, we’ll need to be prepared for repercussions.”
“We can call Giles,” Faith inserted. “I’ll bet he’ll be willing to send help.”
“What about me?” Connor stepped forward, speaking for the first time. “If what you’re saying is true, these people are responsible for killing my parents.”
“Connor-” Angel began.
“I need to know the truth. I want my memories back.” He looked at Wesley. “Faith said you could do that.”
Wesley nodded slowly. “I believe I can, yes.”
Faith watched as Angel closed his eyes, his head bowed, and she knew what he was thinking. After all he’d given up to save his son, for Connor to be in danger again, entering the same life that Angel had hoped he’d left behind-it was quite the blow.
It would have to be.
She watched as Cordelia put a hand on Angel’s arm, and the two shared a look that said more than words. Faith knew that expression; she knew that they both had seen the end that they were facing, and they’d made what peace they could.
Faith looked at Wesley and realized that she hadn’t; she wasn’t ready to go down, and she wasn’t ready for Wes to do it either.
And she decided right then and there that come hell or high water, they would both make it out of this alive.
~~~~~
Wesley found that he was bone-tired. The strategy session had seemed to go on forever, mostly because it would be the last one. There were decisions to be made now, and yet without all of the information, it had been more difficult.
In the end, Angel and Cordelia had gone back to Wolfram & Hart to put their plan in motion, with Lorne as the designated go-between. He would be the one to relay the names and locations of the members of the Black Thorn, and it would be up to Wesley and the others to decide on assignments and targets.
And, while Angel had clearly been unhappy with the decision, Connor had insisted on staying, and at least on getting his memories back. There was no telling what the boy would do after that.
Wesley was simply grateful that the other Slayers had seemed to take charge of Abby, because he didn’t have the energy to make one more decision.
As the door shut behind him, Faith walked out of the bathroom. “You okay?” It was an echo from earlier, and he gave the same response.
“Fine.” He began unbuttoning his shirt. “We should both get some sleep. We’ll have to get up relatively early to catch Giles while he’s awake.” Glancing at the clock, he added, “Considering what time it is.”
“Are you really that tired?”
Wesley found that his mouth had gone dry as Faith stripped off the t-shirt she normally wore to bed-at least, in theory. It rarely stayed on in his experience.
“I am,” he replied, striving to keep all emotion out of his voice as he continued to undress. “You ought to be as well from what I understand.”
“You really want to waste time, Wes?” She moved towards him, hips swaying, dark hair brushing her breasts. “You said it yourself. We don’t know how much time we’ve got.”
“No. I suppose we don’t.”
They came together with a desperation brought about by both uncertainty and knowledge-uncertainty about their future, knowledge of just how close death might be. Each of them had come within a hairsbreadth of a permanent end, and they had more reason than most to know how easily, how quickly, death could find them.
Words weren’t possible; neither of them expressed feelings easily, and so action would have to suffice. Fingertips tracing the jaw line, lips caressing and demanding, the sense of skin on skin, with no space between. Wesley could forget for a moment that there was a past or a future, that he had been both traitor and betrayed.
If only for a moment, he could believe that this-this moment, this feeling, this partnership-would never end.
Even if only for a moment.