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 23

“Did you get through?”

“You should try to get some rest.” Ellen continued bandaging Wesley’s arm. She’d sent Dana up for her kit before they’d fled the Hyperion, and she was grateful that she’d made sure to stock up on salves and first aid supplies before they had sent out the assassination teams.

He shook his head. “There’s no rest for the wicked, and that means no rest for us either. Did you get through?”

“No, but we’re safe for now. It appears as though the army is moving in, building a perimeter.” Ellen taped off the gauze. “They think they can keep the demons contained.”

“Can they?”

“Not without a great deal more firepower, and a lot more help.” Ellen sighed. “Which we can’t get until we manage to get a message out to Giles.” She picked up Wesley’s cell phone from the desk, looking at it thoughtfully. “Although…”

Ellen’s forte had always been the mind and the heart; she did very little with natural magic. There had been no need, because there were so many others who were better at it, and she was so very good at what she did.

If she could manage to boost the cell signal, however, make it possible for Wesley to get a call out—

“I got through to Kennedy,” Faith announced, entering the office Ellen had chosen to use as a makeshift infirmary. “She’s on her way with the other Slayers.”

“And Giles?” Wesley asked.

Ellen handed him the phone. “Try again.”

His look was questioning, but he quickly dialed the number with his good hand.

Ellen put her hand over his on top of the phone and focused. She wasn’t a techno-pagan, and therefore she could only pray that she was doing this right. It was true what they said; necessity really was the mother of invention.

~~~~~

Dana woke out of a deep sleep with a start, her dark eyes wide. “They’re coming.”

She was on her feet in the next moment, waking the other Slayers with a shake or a nudge; they all woke quickly. The dreams were in their eyes as well. Dana could see it.

“They’re coming,” she repeated.

The other girls didn’t question her. They simply grabbed whatever weapons came to hand, straightening clothing and pulling hair back into sloppy ponytails. “When?” Caridad asked her.

Dana shook her head. “I don’t know. Soon.”

“What’s up?” Faith called, coming into the room.

“Dana says they’re coming.” Leslie shrugged, shifting the scabbard so that it sat comfortably between her shoulder blades. “I say we listen to her.”

Faith nodded. “Let me grab my weapon.”

The building shuddered, and Dana jogged out of the room and towards the stairs. She didn’t bother waiting for the others; there was a fight at hand, and she needed to be there.

The gang of vampires had already broken through the glass doors by the time she reached the lobby of the abandoned office building. Dana threw herself into the fight with a will.

This was the only time that the chaos of her thoughts was stilled, when the past paled in significance to the present. Blood sang in her veins, air whistled through her lungs. Nothing mattered except the enemies before her and the dust they would become.

Two dusted on the end of her stake before the others joined her. Dana didn’t acknowledge them; she was too intent on the work at hand.

“Hey! Save some for us!”

A group of girls came out of nowhere, but Dana knew they were Slayers, and she didn’t pay them any mind. The only thing they could do was to reduce the number of enemies—and that wasn’t exactly a good thing in her mind.

“Kennedy!”

That was Faith’s voice, but even that didn’t break through Dana’s focus. She was death incarnate, and that was just the way she liked it.

This apocalypse offered plenty of work to keep her busy.

~~~~~

Wesley had never been so tired in all his life. Not even during the days leading up to Connor’s abduction had he been this weary. He heard pounding below, and he looked over at Ellen. “Giles is coming. He said that he’d handle getting through the army blockade.”

They had finally managed to get the call through, whatever good that had done them. “Let’s go.”

The fight was still raging when Wesley stepped outside the office building, but his eyes were drawn first to the girl’s body on the ground. “Ellen—”

“I’ll take care of her,” Ellen assured him.

Wesley didn’t stop to question. She’d performed all manner of miracles in the last 48 hours, only one of which was the fact that the salve she’d put on his arm was keeping the pain to a minimum.

As long as it wasn’t jostled.

Wesley swore fiercely as the pain went up his arm, and he felt a hand jerk him backwards just out of range of a vampire’s fangs.

“I don’t think this is the place for you,” Faith said. “Do you really want to get yourself killed?”

“I’m fine.” Wesley put a stake through the vampire. “We have a girl down. Ellen took her inside.”

Faith cursed. “We need a fucking breather, and reinforcements.”

“Giles is on his way,” Wesley replied. “I finally got through.”

Her back pressed against his as they faced their attackers. Wesley kept an eye on the others as they formed similar knots. “We can barricade ourselves inside.”

Faith’s suggestion made it clear just how bad she thought the situation was.

There was a shriek, and Wesley turned to see Dana fling herself into a group of demons. “Dana!”

“Go!” She fought like a wild thing, her lips pulled apart in a manic grin. Wesley realized that she was making sure that they could retreat safely.

Caridad and Leslie followed Dana into the fray. “We’ll cover you!” Leslie called.

Wesley knew they were buying time, and he had no choice but to let them.

~~~~~

Faith still wasn’t sure how Wesley had done it; from the chaos of the previous day, he had somehow managed to cobble together a semblance of order. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“Buffy and the others will probably be in the city by now,” he murmured.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about heading out, looking for them.”

He turned to face her. “I believe that Ellen was going to do a locator spell for that. You have some time.”

Faith shook her head. “Time is what we don’t have. We’re in trouble, Wes. We managed to break open the vending machines for food and water, but that’s not going to last long. We’ve lost three people already, and I don’t think the worst is over.”

“It’s not,” he acknowledged. “But there are reinforcements on the way, and we will just have to hope that it’s enough.”

Faith perched on the edge of the desk. “I’m sorry about Angel.”

She could see the sheen of tears in his eyes. “As am I.” He closed the distance between them and pulled her close with his good arm. They held onto each other, and Faith wondered if this was what it came down to—holding on to each other because there was nothing else to hold onto.

Silence filled the room, but it was comforting after the noise and confusion of the last twenty-four hours.

“How is Leslie?” he finally asked.

Faith took a deep breath. “Ellen said she’ll be fine. It’s a sprain, not a break. Hurts like hell, but with the Slayer package, she should be fully healed in a couple of days.”

“Good. We can’t afford to lose her.” Wesley sat on the desk next to her. “I was able to reach Fred. Gunn is out of the woods, and is recovering. She’s going to stay with him. I told her she probably wouldn’t be of much help at the moment.”

Faith shook her head. “No, she probably wouldn’t be. Giles will have plenty for her to do, I’m sure. What about Abby?”

“Not terribly happy about being out of danger, but I feel better knowing that she’s safe for the moment.” Wesley ran a hand over his face, and Faith noted that his stubble was very nearly a beard. She somehow doubted that he’d have time to shave in the near future.

That was okay, though; Faith could get used to a beard. There were worse things in life.

There was a brief knock on the door, and Ellen stuck her head in. “Miriam is in the area, and I would assume Giles and the others are with her if you want to meet them. I can show you on the map.”

Faith rose. “Yeah. I’m on my way.”

“Take someone with you,” Wesley said.

She shook her head. “The others are either hurt or exhausted or both. I’ll stay out of sight until I find them.”

He sighed but didn’t argue. “Be careful.”

Faith smirked. “As always.”

~~~~~

Kennedy knew that she was supposed to be sleeping. The other Slayers had dropped off immediately as far as she knew. Faith was with Wesley, and Buffy was in another part of the building, so it was possible that they were also awake.

Climbing the stairs steadily, she came out onto the roof, as she’d hoped. She’d needed the fresh air, but she wasn’t so stupid as to go outside the building. The roof, at least, would be safer.

“Hey.”

She turned to see Faith standing there. “What are you doing up here?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I guess you couldn’t either.” Faith walked to her side. “You okay?”

“We lost Jess today.”

Faith sighed. “I know.”

“She was really coming along, you know?” Kennedy thought of the hours they’d spent training together, the fights they’d had over whether Jess would finish out high school or get her GED.

“I could tell. You did a really good job with her, Kennedy.”

She laughed bitterly. “This is so stupid, you know? What are we even fighting for? We all know that eventually there’s going to be one of these apocalypses that ends the world.”

“We don’t know that.” Faith leaned against the low wall running around the top of the building. “That’s why we’re fighting.”

“You said it yourself,” Kennedy argued. “You guys killed the Black Thorn, but it didn’t do any good, and it probably made matters worse. Now we have a demon army to deal with.”

“What? You think a demon army under someone’s control would be easier to deal with than a bunch of demons without a plan running around trying to kill us and each other?” Faith snorted. “You weren’t there when the portal opened, but they were starting to turn on each other when we called a retreat.”

“I just—I hate this.” Kennedy looked out over the city, noting that a rather large section was pitch black. The electricity was out, and the army had shut off the water. Living conditions were going to be primitive for quite a while, but that’s not what she was talking about.

Faith seemed to understand, however. “It never feels like a victory if you’ve lost somebody.”

~~~~~

Ellen waited until she saw Buffy leave the room before entering. “How did she take it?”

“Not well, as I’m sure you’re aware,” Miriam replied. “The bowl showed her what needed to be seen, however. I think she has at least accepted that it had to be this way.”

“That’s not what I saw when she walked past me.” Miriam might be head of the coven, and for good reason, but she did not have Ellen’s skill at reading others and their emotions.

Miriam folded her arms across her chest. “What else could I have done? We sacrifice one for the good of the many.”

“Don’t quote Star Trek at me,” Ellen chided. “What if it had been Giles?”

“You noticed?”

“You’ve been alone for a very long time now. I’m happy for you.” Ellen paused. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

“If it had been Rupert, I would be just as angry,” Miriam admitted in a low voice. “Angrier, perhaps, that others had taken the decision out of my hands. To be honest, I am just as upset, although because I could not fix this for her. I could not change this outcome.”

“There are things we cannot change. You know that as well as I do.” Ellen laid a hand on Miriam’s arm. “Just as you have always changed what you could. We both know that acceptance is the final stage of grief, not the first.”

Miriam shook her head. “There’s no need for grief. Spike is not dead.”

“But he is not here, and I think you understand that as well.”

The head of the coven shrugged her shoulders, as though shaking off the weight that had fallen on her. “You’ve done a marvelous job with Dana.”

“She is a warrior at heart,” Ellen said honestly. “I only needed to show her the way out of the darkness.”

As one, they looked out the window into the night. “There is plenty of darkness to come yet.”

Ellen pulled her friend and relative into an embrace, doing what she could to take some of the burden. This was one of the reasons that she was very grateful to be just one more witch in the coven, rather than in charge.

The burdens of leadership were many, and Ellen had yet to see any benefits that would make it worthwhile to her.

~~~~~

When the sun rose over Los Angeles, Buffy was awake to see it. It tinted the sky red, and she murmured, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight.” Where Joyce had heard it, Buffy had no idea; she’d never asked, had never thought to ask until it was far too late.

Standing at the window, staring at the colors that lit up the sky, Buffy wished that Spike could have been there with her. He should have been there with her. He would have held her close and told her that everything would be fine, that they would get through it. Then, he would have made several very indecent suggestions for what they could do afterwards.

Everything felt wrong—Spike had disappeared, Xander was on the other side of the world, Angel was dead—as was Cordelia—and Willow had betrayed her.

It was ironic; Buffy was one of hundreds of Slayers now, and she was still alone.

“Buffy?”

Wesley’s voice was curiously gentle. “Yeah?”

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” She left the empty office and joined him in the hallway.

“Have you eaten?” he inquired.

She shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

“I won’t tell you that you should eat something, but—” Wesley handed her a granola bar. “We don’t know how long this is going to take.”

“Months.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“This—” She waved indicating that she was talking to the situation as a whole, and not just closing the portal. “It’s going to take months to undo this sort of damage. I was listening last night, Wes. I know how many demons have come through.”

He sighed. “Yes, well…”

“And I’m not leaving L.A. until I find Spike.” Her voice was hard. “We leave together or not at all.”

Wesley was silent for a moment, then he said, “You have my help if you want it. I’m sure that Faith will say the same.”

“I appreciate that.”

Wesley turned on a flashlight to navigate the stairs, and Buffy followed him down, watching the bobbing light in fascination.

When they exited the building, Buffy found the others waiting for them. Over half of their number had been injured in some way, and the sight of the bandages did not make her feel better. An injured fighter was a liability, but they needed every warm body.

“Okay,” Buffy began, looking at Miriam. “What do you need from us?”

Miriam’s face was serene. “We need to get close enough to the portal to send Dawn’s blood through, and Willow and I will need our full concentration. The other coven members will set up a shield, but we will need more protection.”

Buffy nodded. “You’ve got it.” She looked at the rest of them. “Listen, I know we haven’t all trained together before, but you guys need to look out for each other. Find a partner and stick together. Don’t let yourself get separated from the rest of the group. That’s easier said than done, but that’s how people get killed.”

“How do you want to play this, Buffy?” Faith asked. “Is each group taking a witch?”

“Good call,” Buffy acknowledged. “Pair up and figure out who you’re defending.”

She watched as the others found a partner, then a witch. When Buffy was certain that everybody was covered, she joined Wes and Faith.

“Want to form a threesome?” Faith asked with a smirk.

Buffy smiled for what felt like the first time in days, and she pretended to give Wesley the once over. “I don’t know. Do you think he could handle two Slayers?”

Wesley just raised an eyebrow. “I think you’d be surprised by what I can handle.”

Buffy met Faith’s eyes, and a moment of understanding passed between them. Buffy hadn’t felt this in tune with the other Slayer since Sunnydale—before Faith killed the deputy mayor and went off the deep end.

“It’s a tempting thought,” Faith teased. “But I’d hate to break him.”

Wesley shook his head. “Let’s go. We’re wasting daylight.”

“I think we scared him,” Faith commented.

Buffy’s smile broadened. “Good.”

They shared another look, and Wesley groaned audibly.

For just a moment, Buffy didn’t feel quite so alone.

~~~~~

Something finally seemed to be going right for them. They were unmolested as they headed for the Hyperion and the site of the fissure, and Faith wondered if it had something to do with the fact that there were so many of them, and they were all heavily armed.

She wouldn’t have wanted to mess with them either.

Wesley’s good arm brushed hers, and she stole a look at him. He offered a reassuring smile, which she returned. For the first time in a long time, Faith knew that she and Buffy were on the same footing. Before, Buffy had been the good Slayer—the one with a family and friends and a boyfriend. Now, Faith had everything she needed, more than she’d ever thought to have.

It was a lot easier to be there for Buffy now.

The blue light of the fissure was visible from a block away, and Faith was the first to pick up the pace. She started jogging, Wesley matching her stride easily with his long legs. Faith pulled out her knife, readying herself for the fight.

Around her, the others also began to pull out weapons. They had waited until now to avoid tiring arms and shoulders early. All of them had had a workout yesterday that no amount of training would have prepared them for, and Faith knew that she was sore.

The fissure came into full view, and Faith saw another demon come through like nothing she’d ever seen before. “Time to saddle up!”

The Slayers and Watchers who weren’t helping with the spell casting broke off into pairs, spreading out to clear the way. They had been unmolested on the way, but that was changing. Demons began to converge on their position, and Faith jumped into the fight, trusting that Wesley would have her back.

Buffy was at her right, her sword flashing in the early morning sunlight. The sound of a shotgun blast echoed over the clash of steel and fists on flesh, and Faith heard the distinctive sound of Wesley releasing one shell casing to reload. Shotguns might not have any effect on vampires, but they would take down a demon without too much trouble.

Which Wesley had just demonstrated.

Faith disemboweled a demon going for one of the witches and watched as Buffy did the same on the other side of her. Wesley had discarded his shotgun and was now using the ax that Gunn had left behind.

The battle was too chaotic for her to pay attention to any of the others. It was as much as Faith could do to keep an eye out for Buffy and Wes, and she knew that they were trying to do the same.

Suddenly, the figure of a young man flashed across her line of sight, and Faith’s eyes widened as she recognized Connor. He caught the blade a demon had meant for Buffy and disarmed it with an effortless flick of his wrist. Buffy ran it through immediately, throwing him a grateful look.

“Connor!” Faith called. “Where’s Spike?”

“He’s gone.” Connor jerked his head at the fissure. “I think one of them dragged him through.”

Faith was sorry she asked, because Buffy heard that and took two steps towards the fissure. “No!” she shouted. “Buffy, you can’t.”

Wesley grabbed for Buffy’s arm, but she pulled free easily. Connor seemed to realize what they were trying to do, because he snaked an arm around her waist, holding her fast.

Faith was never sure what would have happened had Miriam not thrown the vial of blood through the fissure at just that moment. She and Willow shouted the last words of the spell, and the portal closed with a crack like thunder, cutting the demon on its way through in half.

She heard Buffy’s cry of horror, but Faith didn’t have time to deal with the other Slayer’s grief.

There were still more demons to kill.

~~~~~

Wesley checked the doors of the hotel, making sure that they were secure. Now that the fissure was closed, the Hyperion was the only choice as far as a defensible location was concerned. Because the hotel was in his name, vampires wouldn’t be able to enter, and that was one worry they could cross off the list.

He looked around the lobby. They would need to get some cleaning done, however.

Wesley went back inside his office, finding Giles and Miriam leaning against the bookshelves, with Buffy and Faith seated on the couch. The blonde Slayer was holding the crystal Miriam had given her, staring at the glowing point of light pensively.

“He’s alive, Buffy,” Giles said quietly. “We’ll find him.”

“I’ll find him,” she corrected him. “You two are going back to England.”

The head Watcher winced. “Yes, but—”

“I need you to keep things on the right track, Giles. Our attention is going to be focused here until we’ve cleared out the demons.”

“She’s right, Giles,” Wesley said quietly. “We can keep the situation here under control, but not if we’re worrying about anything else.”

Giles nodded reluctantly. “I would agree. Miriam and I will set up a supply line before we leave.”

“As well as a better means of maintaining communication,” Miriam added.

“You’ll take care of Abby?” Wesley asked. “She’ll want to come back, but—”

“She’ll do well in England,” Giles said. “There are a number of Slayers about her age. We’ll be sending you everyone we can spare as they are trained.”

“That would be appreciated.” Buffy rose and tucked the crystal back in her pocket. “If no one minds, I’m going to get some sleep. You guys are leaving in the morning?”

She addressed her question to Giles and Miriam, who both nodded. “We’ll see you before we go,” Giles replied.

“Sure.” Buffy sounded as though she didn’t care, and she left after a murmured goodnight.

Giles rubbed his temples. “Well, that went well.”

“Come on, Giles, you knew that’s what was going to happen,” Faith said. “We’ve got little enough control as it is, and you basically took any choice she had away from her.”

“We had no choice,” Miriam asserted.

Faith shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t say you did. I just said you knew how she’d respond.”

“I take it you two are staying?” Giles asked.

“That arm should probably be looked at,” Faith said, giving Wesley a look.

Miriam shook her head. “I checked it. He’ll be fine, although I would suggest allowing Ellen to continue to put salve on it.”

Wesley noted that Faith didn’t look terribly happy about that, but she nodded.

“We should get some sleep ourselves,” Giles announced. “It’s going to be another long day tomorrow.”

When they were alone, Wesley sat down next to Faith on the couch. “If I wasn’t so damn tired, I’d jump you right now.”

“I’ll echo that.” He leaned his head back, feeling Faith collapse against him. “I have a feeling that we won’t have time for a lot of things.”

She snorted. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. You make time.”

There was a long period of silence, and he said, “Penny for your thoughts.”

“I wish I’d had the chance to make things right with Angel.”

“I know.” Wesley had the same regrets. He seemed to be accumulating them. “Did you talk to Connor?”

“Little twerp laid low knowing we’d be back, then popped out at just the right moment.” Faith shook her head. “I swear that kid has more lives than a cat.”

Wesley raised his eyebrows, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. In spite of her words, it was clear that Faith had a certain affection for the boy. He did as well, and he knew without asking that they would both do everything in their power to ensure he survived. Connor was all they had left of Angel.

“I think I might be recovering.”

Wesley’s eyes opened. “Oh?”

“You up for it?”

“For you? Always.” As Faith straddled him, Wesley gripped her hips, his eyes meeting hers. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but he knew that it would only scare her away. Still, he wanted to try. “Faith…”

Her gaze was intense, fierce, and then her whole face softened, and the kiss she pressed to his lips was almost gentle. “I know, Wes. We’re good. Even if the whole world is going to hell, we’re good.”

Wesley decided that he couldn’t have put it better himself.