Faithfully Dangerous

Author: enigmaticblue

Rating: PG-15

Disclaimer: These aren’t my characters, as you all know. If they were, they’d all be living happily ever after by now.

Summary: Set during my story Latter Days. Faith is sent to L.A. to get information out of Angel and recruit Wesley—if she can. What she discovers is a scheme by persons unknown to take advantage of the imbalance, and an unlikely friendship.

A/N: Although this takes place during Latter Days, there isn’t a direct 1-1 relationship between the chapters. So, you could say that time is moving at a slightly different pace, although they will intersect.

Chapter 2

The archives had been a bust. There was nothing in there about the amulet, although they had stumbled upon the contract that Angel had signed when he joined Wolfram & Hart; that had been a revelation. Wesley hadn’t been sure that they would be able to get it out of the building, but they had managed to make a copy.

Faith hadn’t bothered trying to decipher the legalese; she never understood why lawyers had to make everything so hard to understand.

With their search of the archives over, they headed back to Wesley’s apartment for their much-deserved rest. Faith felt as though she hadn’t slept in days, and she was ready to crash.

“I’ve got the couch,” she announced to circumvent any gentlemanly actions on Wesley’s part. He was just the type to insist, and his couch looked comfortable enough, at least for someone who wasn’t over six foot.

A smile tilted the corners of his lips. “If you insist,” he replied.

“Only if I can get a shower first, though. I’ve been in these clothes for a while.”

Wesley didn’t bother showing her the way to the bathroom; Faith knew her way around his apartment at this point. It felt strange to be here again, under such different circumstances, but still very much the same. Still the two of them against the world, or at least whatever circumstances the world threw at them.

The hot water felt good, washing away the sweat and grime that had accumulated in the heat and humidity of Rio and Los Angeles. Faith didn’t mind the heat so much, but she would have preferred a hot body in the shower with her. Not that she regretted breaking up with Wood; that had needed to happen. What she did miss was the closeness, the hard body against her own, the release that came from sex.

Wesley might be able to oblige her in that area, but he was one of the few men that she hadn’t gotten that vibe from.

She came out of the bathroom in the t-shirt and shorts she wore to sleep usually—when there was someone around she wasn’t sleeping with.

Wesley was on the couch, looking at Angel’s contract. He was wearing his glasses again, and Faith assumed that he’d ditched his contacts. “Why don’t you take the bed?” he suggested. “I’m not that tired, and I’ll probably work on this for a while.”

She frowned. “I don’t—”

“Really,” he insisted. “I did change the sheets recently.”

Faith smirked. “I wasn’t worried about that. If you’re sure…”

“Go. You look like you could use the sleep.”

Her eyebrow went up. “Is that a slam on how I look?”

“If you insist.” Wesley had obviously decided that he wasn’t going to be baited.

She shrugged. “Yeah, alright. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

Faith wasn’t too disappointed at how things turned out. Wesley’s bed was a lot more comfortable than his couch, and the sheets smelled like him. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, and she found herself drifting off to sleep in no time.

~~~~~

Wesley woke up just before dawn with a stiff neck, and papers scattered across the floor. “Bloody hell,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, and then beginning to gather the contract pages together.

He was acutely aware that Faith was in his bedroom, and likely sleeping better than he had; the couch hadn’t been the problem, however. Wesley had always known that Faith was an attractive girl, but this time it had been even more apparent to him.

Not that he planned on doing anything about it. Whatever camaraderie there was between the two of them now was fresh and new, and likely fragile. It would be all too easy for him to use her again, this time to forget Fred, much as he’d done with Lilah.

Lilah—Wesley still didn’t know how he’d taken up with her; all he knew was that by the time she’d been killed, his feelings for her had been real. Perhaps it hadn’t been love, but he was no longer certain that such an emotion existed for someone like him.

He stared at the contract for a moment before rising to start the coffee. There was a part of him that knew that if he could only discover the reason behind Angel’s decision to take over the law firm, and what held him there, he would be well on his way to answering a number of questions.

Beyond that, however, Wesley knew that he would need to do his own research into why the amulet had worked the way that it had. The fact that Lilah had been the one to give it to Angel didn’t tell Wesley anything, other than its uses might be as complicated as her motives.

That information wasn’t much help, however.

“Did you sleep okay?”

Faith’s voice startled him; Wesley had been expecting her to sleep a lot later. From what he remembered, she’d always been a night owl, and her calling tended to reinforce that. “Fine. What about you?”

“Great,” she replied with a smile. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “We’d probably better go back to the office. I can’t seem to make heads or tails of the contract, and it might be best to start work on figuring out where that amulet came from.”

She frowned. “You couldn’t figure out the contract?”

“No, why?”

“Because you’re the brain.” Her tone implied that he should have already figured that much out for himself. “You ever thought that maybe the problem you’re having with the contract is the same problem we’re having with our memories?”

He swore fluently, ignoring her half-impressed expression. “Of course,” he muttered. “It’s no wonder if whatever Angel did to our memories…” Trailing off, Wesley thought about the one passage that had given him the most trouble; it was also the one that had seemed most important overall, initialed as it was with a broad letter “A”.

Striding out into the living room, he picked up the sheaf of papers yet again, flipping through and finding the page in question. “Read this,” he ordered, pointing to Angel’s handwriting.

“It’s an ‘A’,” Faith said, looking at him as though he’d just gone crazy. “So what?”

“The paragraph next to it,” Wesley replied, letting some of his own impatience shine through.

Faith didn’t appear convinced, but she shrugged. He watched as her eyes scanned the paragraph quickly, and then she slowed down. “Wait. Angel’s got a son?”

“Is that what it says?” he asked, looking over her shoulder. Now that she’d said it out loud, the meaning behind the words that had been escaping him all night long was finally clear. Angel had had a son who had been given a new life. That was why the vampire had agreed to join Wolfram & Hart.

It explained everything and nothing, however. Wesley had no memory of any of this, and the sort of spell that would need to be cast to accomplish the task was incredible. The power involved—

“I think we may have a problem,” he murmured.

“You mean the fact that Angel hid his kid?” she asked. “I get that.”

“No, our memories. Whoever cast the spell would have to be powerful enough to alter the fabric of reality. They created an entirely new set of memories.”

“For him,” Faith said, jabbing the paper to refer to Angel’s son. “We’ve just got gaps, and I have to say that’s really pissing me off. I don’t like people messing with my head like that.”

“I can’t say that I do either,” he replied, sinking down on the couch. Wesley had no idea if confronting Angel was even a possibility. “I have no idea what to do about this. If we go to Angel—”

Did he even want to go to the vampire? Could Wesley still trust him? What else was he not remembering? Could this be the reason for Angel’s coolness towards him? He had a number of questions, all of them likely to go unanswered for the time being.

“I say we find out what we can on our own. We don’t know if we can trust him.” Faith gave voice to his own concerns.

Wesley took a deep breath. “I don’t believe we’ll find any more information in the archives regarding Angel’s agreement. We’ll probably need to find an outside source for that. As for your Slayers, since you said that the coven was working on a magical solution, perhaps we ought to ask Fred for her help.”

She frowned. “Yeah, sure. When do you want to go?”

“As soon as I can get cleaned up.” He rose wearily. While Wesley wasn’t sorry to see Faith again, or to know the truth, it felt like too much to deal with at present.

~~~~~

Faith didn’t know what to think about asking Fred for help; besides Wesley, she wasn’t sure that there was anyone else from Angel’s gang she trusted.

Why she trusted Wesley, she had no idea, unless it was because they’d started being honest with one another a long time ago, while they’d still been enemies. She supposed that anyone who could offer his couch to someone who had tortured him deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Fred, though—there was something about her that Faith wasn’t sure she liked. While she couldn’t put her finger on it, that didn’t bother her, considering that she generally went with her gut.

Which was why she really didn’t like the other woman’s request. “You want my blood? What are you now? A vampire?”

“It’s not like that,” Fred insisted, looking a bit distressed. “We just thought that maybe your blood would give some indication as to why Slayers are different. If we don’t know why Slayers are different, or what makes them get chosen, then we can’t figure out a way to find them.”

“I don’t think you need to do a blood test to figure that out,” Faith objected. “We’ll know.”

“But if we figure out the science part, we might be able to incorporate that into a spell,” Fred explained. “I promise, we aren’t going to do anything bad with it.”

Faith still hesitated. Maybe Fred could be trusted, but her blood would be in the hands of the law firm, and that was the part she didn’t like. Something about that idea just didn’t feel right.

On the other hand, if this helped the Council find the new Slayers before they could be hunted down and killed, that would definitely be to their benefit. “Yeah, alright,” she finally agreed. “But I want you to promise me that you’re the only one handling it.”

“I promise.” Fred looked cheerful now that she’d given in. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

Faith didn’t believe her; she’d had blood drawn before. On the other hand, once you got stabbed in the gut with your own big-ass knife, a little prick just didn’t compare on the pain scale.

As the vial filled up, she glanced over at Wesley, who was watching the proceedings with a stony expression. Faith had no idea what was eating at him, then she caught him glancing over at Knox, hovering nearby. The way Wes’ jaw tightened, and the way Knox was watching Fred with hunger in his eyes, told her everything she needed to know about the situation.

Oddly enough, Faith felt a pang of something like jealousy, knowing that Wesley was pining after Fred. The scientist was definitely his type—all brains and sweetness, certainly nothing like Faith.

Not to mention the whole torture thing. Even if she’d wanted to jump his bones—which she didn’t—that would certainly prove to be an obstacle.

Suddenly feeling antsy, Faith stood as soon as Fred had finished taking her sample. “Is that all you need from me?”

“For right now,” Fred confirmed. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything else.”

“Yeah, sure.” Faith glanced at Wes. “I should check in with Giles.”

He got her meaning almost immediately. “Of course. Why don’t you use my office?”

Once they were out of the lab, Faith murmured, “I’ll call from my cell outside the building.”

Wesley looked as though he was about to protest, but thought better of it. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Maybe you should start working on those thick books of yours. I can’t spend all day stuck inside,” Faith responded.

He nodded. “If you’d like.”

Relieved, she gave him a quick grin. “See you.”

Faith headed out the doors of the office building as quickly as she could. Odd to be there when she’d worked for Wolfram & Hart, if only briefly. Odder still to think that she’d tried to kill Angel for them, and now he was the CEO. Life was funny sometimes.

As soon as she was a couple of blocks away from the offices, she hit Giles’ number on her speed dial. “Faith. How are things going?” he asked immediately.

“Good,” she replied. “Wesley’s been pretty helpful.”

“Are you staying at Angel’s hotel?”

“Wes’ place. He said that Angel pretty much shut the place down, so it’s not fit for humans.”

“I see. How is that working out?”

Faith could hear the skepticism in his voice, and she wondered if he thought she was that hard to live with, or if he expected her and Wesley to kill each other. “Fine. It’s only been one night. They’ll put me up at a hotel if things get too weird.”

“What have you found out so far?” he asked.

“That Angel has a kid, and he made a deal with the devil to protect him,” Faith replied, summing it up neatly.

She could almost hear him pull his glasses off and start to polish them. “Angel has a son? Why wasn’t I aware of this?”

“Because part of the deal with W&H was that they’d make the kid disappear, give him an entirely new set of memories, and make sure that no one else remembered him,” Faith replied. “Things started to feel weird yesterday. There were things I couldn’t remember from the last time I was here, but not the usual sort of gaps, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I do,” he said cautiously. “Is Wesley aware of this?”

“He knows as much as I do. I think we can trust him, at least.”

There was a pause. “And the others?”

“I don’t know.” Faith had never been very good at putting her feelings into words, although the prison shrinks had helped her with that. “Fred’s looking into a better way of finding Slayers for us.” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to tell him that she’d given a blood sample, but it was probably a good idea to get it out of the way now, so she spit it out.

There was a long silence after she dropped that bit of news. “I see.”

“I fucked it up, didn’t I?” she asked grimly.

Giles sighed. “You took a gamble, one that might turn out for the best. I’ll talk to Miriam about it. There may be a way to ensure that no harm comes to you because of it.”

“I’m sorry, Giles.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He sounded firm. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.”

“Should I send Caridad your way?” he asked.

Faith didn’t even have to think about it. “No, not yet. Things are kind of weird right now, and adding another Slayer to the mix is probably not the best idea.”

“You’ll let me know if you need help?”

“I will.” Faith was again warmed by the reminder that someone was concerned for her well-being. That hadn’t been true when she’d worked for the Mayor. “I’ll call soon.”

“Do that. Be careful, Faith.”

She said goodbye knowing that someone was looking out for her best interests.

~~~~~

Wesley would have much preferred heading out of the office with Faith than staying inside. Unfortunately, his position with Wolfram & Hart did not allow the kind of freedom that being self-employed had, and there were things he had to get done. The reports that wound up piled on his desk had to be sorted, fires had to be put out, and tempers needed to be placated.

He was admittedly still getting settled into his routine, and yet resisting the idea at the same time. The truth was that he wasn’t happy here; the firm made him uncomfortable, perhaps because he had come so close to giving in and joining the dark side when Lilah made the offer. Wesley had been determined to make the best of it, but with Faith’s arrival, he was seeing things in a new light.

He was, in fact, remembering every reason he’d had for not being a part of this place.

While he suspected that Faith was under orders to check them out, and to offer him a position with the Council if he wasn’t evil, Wesley didn’t know that he would take her up on it. Granted, the idea held some appeal, and he would certainly find it easy enough to leave. It was just that he was very good at what he did, and he didn’t want to accept a job offered out of pity, or dire need.

Then again, perhaps it was time to leave Los Angeles, to put some distance between him and Fred. It might be for the best.

Wesley flipped open the manila folder and read the first few lines of the report, which was usually enough to give him a good idea of what pile it belonged in. The words he read sent a chill down his spine, however, and he immediately picked up the phone. “I need to speak to Lorne,” he said when the operator answered. “Tell him that it’s Wesley.”

Putting the receiver down again, he went back over what he’d just read. Demonic activity was up—but he’d already been aware of that through Faith. What bothered him was the information his agent had gathered. There were indications that the Senior Partners were gathering their forces, at least in the other branches. Wesley had no idea what that meant for their office, since they were the ones in charge.

At least in theory.

The idea that they might only be puppets on strings was not a new one to him, however, and he was aware that it was entirely possible that they had been manipulated. The prophecies all indicated that the souled vampire would be in the center of the next apocalypse, but which side he would be on was unknown.

Now, of course, Wesley knew that the prophecy could apply to either Angel or Spike—or perhaps to both. There was nothing that said that a prophecy couldn’t have multiple fulfillments, which meant that the Senior Partners might be hedging their bets by ensuring that Angel would be on their side, one way or another.

Rubbing his eyes warily, he focused on the information at hand. Wesley needed to discover the source of that amulet, what the Senior Partners wanted, and whether they had anything to fear from Angel or the others—although maybe not in that order.

With any luck, Lorne would at least be able to tell him whether or not Angel had been different lately. The anagogic demon had sensed when the vampire was ready to wander off the path before; maybe he’d be able to do the same again.