Faith made herself a tea before coming over to sit beside Giles.
"Hey." Faith said sitting down.
Giles pulled his eyes away from the window, he had been watching the children playing in the park below.
"That's what we fought for." Giles said when he heard laughter coming from a little girl.
"Yeah." Faith said quietly.
"I miss her."Giles whispered a tear rolled down his cheek when he turned back and saw a little girl with red hair chasing a butterfly.
"I know. So do I." Faith said reaching over and grasping his hand and holding it tight.
"I miss them all so much." Giles said before he turned his pain filled eyes to Faith.
"I think I'd give anything to see her again. See them all again." Giles said in a choked voice.
Faith moved over and pulled Giles into her arms and rocked him back and forth while he silently cried.
"It's gonna get better. I promise." Faith said biting back her own tears.
When Giles composed himself he pulled back and stared out the window again.
"I have to start working again. It's what she would have wanted."
Giles said after a few minutes. "We can't keep going on like this."
"I know, you're right. We'll start tomorrow. Okay?" Faith asked him.
Giles just nodded his head in agreement.
Faith siped her tea and stared out the window and watched the same scene he was watching.
Zaaron had been watching from across the room. He knew it would happen. It was just a matter of time. He knew that eventually it would be time to move on. He didn't want to push and waited until they were ready to make that decision for themselves.
Though part of him wished what they wished for, he knew life had to be lived and by staying here, this way, they weren't living. They were existing, barely at that.
He watched for two months as Faith and Giles continued to lose weight from not eating. Lack of exercise and fresh air was wreaking havoc on their health and appearance.
He sat back wondering what tomorrow would bring. Would it bring happiness or would it bring yet more devastation that none of them would be able to take.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few weeks later Giles had gotten hired as a substitue teacher at the local high school. Within a couple of weeks it became a full time position when the teacher he was subbing for quit.
They'd been there almost four months when Faith had seen an empty store downtown. She took Giles and Zaaron to check it out with her.
Several weeks after that Slayer Tai Kwon Do had it's grand opening.
Faith had been the only instructor, but when her class began to grow larger. She made them smaller by adding extra classes. Even then she had to hire another instuctor to help out.
Zaaron filled his days with helping Faith and Giles when they needed it.
Still finding it hard to separate Faith would frequently call Giles when he was at school, just to check on him. To hear his voce always put her at ease.
If she didn't call him, he always called her, for the same reason.
Zaaron would always go and spend lunch hour at the school with Giles then go back to the dojo and help Faith.
After school Giles would stop off at the dojo and grade papers in the backroom while Faith taught classes until six.
Zaaron would teach classes occasionally, usually doing weapons training.
Some times Faith and Zaaron would put on demonstratins for the classes to show them what they could acomplish if they really wanted it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They had moved out of the hotel and into a small apartment until they found a permanent residence.
The apar
Part 5:
They grabbed a motel room and fell asleep almost instantly when they're heads hit the pillows.
Faith laid in the middle and Zaaron and Giles were on either side, both holding a protective hand on her.
Sometimed Faith would wake up laying on Giles chest or cuddled into his side. Other times it was Zaaron.
Zaaron never minded the fact that Giles and Faith had Grown close over the years. He knew Faith loved him and he was secure enough with himself and the relationship they all had to know jelousy had no place here and never would.
They stayed in their room for weeks, only leaving to eat and to pick something up at the store. They washed their clothes by hand as they had been doing for the past seven years and just hanging them to dry.
After a few weeks they began to venture outside. Faith was a little leary of people seeing her with all her scars. She did her best to wear clothes that covered her. She always wore one of Zaaron or Giles shirts over her tank tops.
At first it was for very breif periods of time before they returned to the motel. Faith and Giles would begin having small panic attacks and Zaaron would do his best to calm them and get them back inside.
After awhile it took longer for the attacks to happen and they were able to stay out longer. But they always remained together.
If Zaaron and Faith wanted to be intimate it was in the shower only. None of them wanted to be split into separate rooms. They were afraid if they couldn't see each other something might happen.
After two months Giles had got up and showered and sat in the chair at the small table by the window sipping a tea.
Faith came over and noticed the Giles had shaved. He hadn't shaved since they had left the cabin two months before.
He was looking like his old self, at least on the outside. Inside, he was far from it. His eyes looked far older than he was. In the last seven years he had aged. He looked like he had aged more in the last two months than the previous seven years.
Faith had aged as well. She still looked young, but it was in her eyes and the scars she carried physically and mentally.
They would never be the same people they were once upon a time.
Their lives took a dramatic turn and kept spinning, with no way out. Until now. Now they had what they always wanted, but there was no joy in it. The ones who they were to share it with were no longer there.
What had started out as eight, in the end was only three. Over half of them was missing. They all felt it was the better half of them.
But if roles were reversed and it was the others that survived, they would have felt the same wtment had two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen and a living/dining room. It was bigger than they were used to. The apartment was also fully furnished since thay had none of their own.
They still basically kept to them selves. They never talked to thier nieghbors. Other than being curteous, Giles never really bothered with the faculty at the school.
Faith never struck up friendship with anyone other than the casual ones with the people that worked for her.
After being in the apartment about a month, they were finally able to sleep in separate bedrooms sometimes. For the most part it was okay. But sometimes, Giles or Faith would wake up and run into the others bedroom and crawl into bed beside the other.
During the second month in the apartment, Zaaron wasn't needed to go to the school for lunch out of necessity. He still did several times a week.
The calls from Faith to Giles lessened some, as did Giles calls to Faith.
It happened about twice a week that Giles or Faith would wake up in the others bed.
The third month Zaaron quit going to the school at lunch. But still checked in on him.
Faith called Giles only two or three times a day. Giles called Faith twice day.
Giles and Faith only shared a bed twice that month.
They still never stayed apart other than work for more than an hour.
Zaaron had been spending alot of time looking around for a house for them.
Somewhere they cold stay for a very long time. None of them had any intention of leaving. This would be the place they would live out their lives, this would be the place where they died.
"This will be the place I die." Zaaron said to himself as he looked at at house with a for sale sign on the front lawn.
When Faith was no linger on this earth he would be leaving it to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, I saw the sign for someone to work the front desk."
Faith looked up to see a man about five ten, medium build and light blonde hair walk into the dojo.
"Who do I talk to about the job?" He asked.
"That would be me. Hey. I'm Faith. It's my dojo." Faith said as she got up off the mat.
"I'm John Spence. How much are you paying?" John said smiling.
"I haven't offered you the job yet." Faith said.
"When can I start then?" John asked as he looked around.
"Seem pretty sure of yourself. Do you have a resume? " Faith replied.
"Course I do." John replied handing her his resume.
"So if I call any of these, I'm gonna get a good report?" Faith said watching him.
"Not if you call the third one on he list." John said smiling wider.
"Why not?" Faith asked.
"Let's just say sleeping with your boss is never a good idea, but sleeping with your bosses daughter at the same time........even worse." John said shaking his head.
"No way." Faith said chuckling.
"I was eighteen." John said shrugging his shoulders.
Faith looked at him and smiled.
"Alright, you can start Tuesday. We open at ten. Be here by nine." Faith said as she moved behind the counter and grabbed out a set of keys. "You open the place and give it a quick clean if it needs it, which is rare, we always clean up after or classes. You lock up at night too. Last class ends at eight, nine on Saturdays. We're closed Sundays and Mondays. Wednesdays we don't open until noon." Faith said and then showed John around the dojo and told him his wage and anything else relevent.
"See you Tuesday." John said as he walked out to his car.
Faith looked around and finished cleaning before closing for lunch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you already a student or are you looking into taking classes?" John asked as Zaaron walked into the dojo.
"No, I'm not looking into taking classes. Where's Faith?" Zaaron asked.
"Just a minute I'll get her. Your name?" John asked.
"It's Zaaron and I'll get her, thanks anyways." Zaaron said as he walk through and went to the back room.
"Hey baby." Faith said giving Zaaron a kiss when he came into the room.
"Hey back." Zaaron said stealing another one.
"You're early." Faith said.
"Thought we could sparr a little before classes start." Zaaron said as he started to strip down and change his clothes.
"Sounds like fun." Faith said smiling.
John looked up when he saw Faith get thrown through the door and land in the middle of the dojo. His eyes moved when He saw Zaaron come out of the room smiling as he walked towards Faith.
He saw Faith get up and kick him so hard in the chest Zaaron flew back into the wall, landing on the floor.
He was about to run over to help Faith but stopped when he heard Zaaron laugh slightly.
"Losing your edge Faith. Thought you had more in you than that." Zaaron said smilng as he got up.
"Just warming up." Faith said as she walked over to him.
John stood there, mouth agape as the two threw punched and kicks that should have killed each other.
After about a half hour Zaaron and Faith quit sparring and started getting ready for the class that would be arriving soon.
"What the hell was that?" John asked worriedly when Faith came up to the counter.
"What?" Faith asked as her brows scrunched.
"I thought you were being attached. How come you don't have a mark on you, or him." John asked as he looked at Zaaron bar chest.
"Don't briuse easily." Faith said shrugging her shoulders.
"You two really wailed on each other. Some of those were death blows." John replied looking at her intently.
"Good eye. You know your stuff." Faith said.
"My resume did say I was a black belt. Why do you think I applied here for." John said.
"Good, you can take over some classes then." Faith said as she started to walk away.
"Faith, who is he?" John asked.
"That's Zaaron. He's my husband." Faith said then turned and walked back to Zaaron and helped him get the weapons out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles came into the dojo and stood at the counter waiting for Faith to come over.
Faith finished with a student then made her way to Giles.
"Giles, you done for the day?" Faith asked glancing at her watch.
"No, thought maybe we could have lunch." Giles said quietly.
This was the first break in routine that Giles had been able to do since coming to Angels Wing.
Faith smiled knowing how hard this is for him.
"I'll go change." Faith said as she ran back to the back room.
A few minutes later Faith returned.
"John. Take my next class. I'm going to lunch." Faith said as she came to stand beside Giles.
"Sure thing Faith." John said as he got up and went over to the students that were warming up on the mats.
"The last kick was done rather poorly." Giles commented as they walked out the door.
Faith shook her head and chuckled.
"I'll work on it." She replied as the door closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's for dinner?" Faith said as she came into the kitchen.
"Pasta and sauce." Giles replied.
"It's called spaghetti Giles.....spa - ghet - ti. Say it with me." Faith said as she sat at the table and started ripping the lettuce apart for the salad.
Giles just shook his head as he stirred the sauce.
Faith and Giles worked in silence while dinner finished cooking.
Zaaron came in a an hour later and sat across the table while they began dishing up the food.
Zaaron had taken to sitting at the dinner table and even eating most nights.
Whether he ate or not, he always joined them at the table where they always discussed the days events, no matter how minor. They kept no secrets about anything. There was no place in their lives for secrets or lies.
After dinner Faith and Zaaron did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen while Giles did the laundry.
They had quit doing their laundry by hand and started using the washing machines in the building.
When everything was finished they all sat in the livingroom and relaxed.
"I found a place a few days back." Zaaron said quietly.
"When do you want to go look at it?" Faith asked.
"I already did. But I want you two to see it as well." Zaaron replied.
"When?" Giles asked.
"Saturday morning." Zaaron said.
Giles and Faith nodded in agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zaaron pulled the car up to the curb and they all got out.
Giles and Faith stared at the house for a few minutes before smiling.
"This is it." Faith said quietly.
They walked up to the elderly couple who were standing on the porch waiting
for them.
Part 6:
Faith came into the house and draped her jacket over the chair in the living room.
"Hey I'm home." Faith said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hello dear. How was your class today?" Giles asked.
"It was fine. Zaaron not home yet?" Faith asked.
"He's downstairs. He came in a bit ago." Giles replied.
"How was your day?" Faith asked as she grabbed some juice out of the fridge.
"Same as any other." Giles replied quietly.
"I grabbed us a movie to watch on the way home. Do we have popcorn?" Faith asked.
"Yes, in the pantry." Giles said. "What movie did you rent?"
"Action movie. Jet Li." Faith said shrugging her shoulders.
Giles rolled his eyes and continued making dinner.
In the past year since settling in Angels Wing, they had relaxed. They felt comfortable enough that they all had jobs. But they still stayed together. They bought a house. Larger than they really needed. For some reason when they saw it, they knew that this was what they needed. It was a four bedroom house with four baths, finished basement and attic. It was too large for the three of them, but for some reason, it seemed like it had remained empty waiting for them to come along.
They had fallen into a routine they felt comfortable with.
Giles was still teaching at the local high school and was home first, he cooked dinner and Faith and Zaaron did the clean up.
Faith's self defense classes at the dojo became even larger and had to hire another trainer.
Zaaron who was wealthy from all the years he's been alive had no need of working. He did volunteer work at the local hospices and councelled youthful offenders trying to help them rather than let them fall through the cracks that society allows.
The chores always got done. Who ever happened to be there did it.
They always knew where the other was going to be at all times.
This was nescessary for them, they still felt the need to know at all times.
They no longer slept in the same room together, but still needed to know the other was near.
They relied on one another as much now as before, that would never change.
Faith was putting the equipment away then headed to the change room to change back into her street clothes when she hear the bell of someone entering the dojo.
She finished changing and came out to the front when she saw someone leaving. All she saw was the light brown hair and the small frame, but the feeling of familiarity washed over her.
"Hey John, who was that?" Faith asked as she scrunched her brows.
"Just someone wanting to know how much we charge for classes." John replied.
"What was her name?" Faith asked as she looked back to the door.
"She never gave it." John replied with a smile. "Though I tried hard to get." John added winking.
Faith rolled her eyes. "What would Nancy say about that?" Faith asked smiling back.
"Don't know. I don't think she'd care. She broke up with me a couple months ago." John replied.
"Oh shit. Sorry man I forgot." Faith replied mentally kicking herself.
"It's okay Faith." John said shrugging her shoulders. "How's Zare doing?" John said with a smile changing the subject.
"He's good. He really hates that nickname." Faith replied.
"I know." John replied smirking at her.
Faith inwardly shuddered when ever he did that.
"I'm outta here. See ya tomorrow." Faith said as she went to the door.
"Night Faith." John replied as he turned back to finish his paperwork before calling it a night himself.
Faith walked down the street as she passed the coffee shop that feeling hit her again. She stopped and looked around but saw nothing. She turned and kept walking, the feeling getting stronger.
Faith grabbed her head as she became dizzy, she leaned against the store front until it passed.
She stood up looking around for demons or something to explain the feeling, but found nothing.
She turned and continued walking home when the feeling disappeared.
When Faith went inside the house she went straight to the medicine cabinet and grabbed the bottle of aspirin quickly downing some.
She went to her room and laid down on the bed, closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly.
Faith woke up with Zaaron holding her and Giles hovering behind him.
Her eyes were stinging with tears and her throat was sore when she tried to speak.
Her whole body was shaking as she tried to breathe.
Faith ran a shaky hand through her sweat soaked hair.
"You were screaming." Giles said worriedly.
Faith just nodded knowing that was why her throat hurt.
"I was dreaming." Faith said quietly through a raspy voice.
"I know. You kept screaming their names." Zaaron replied.
Faith just closed her eyes as she started to cry. "I saw it happen again." Faith said brokenly.
"Why? Why now after so long?" Giles said confused.
Faith just continued to cry as Zaaron held her tight.
"In the dream they said they'd be right behind us, but when we turned around they were gone."Faith cried.
"It's alright Faith. It was just a dream." Giles said as he moved to the door. "I'll make you some tea, it'll help relax you." Giles added as he left the room.
Faith just nodded but had a feeling that it meant much more than just being a dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She walked into her apartment and went straight to the bathroom and downed some aspirin.
The headache had came on suddenly when she entered the dojo.
When it became dizzyig she left abruptly and headed for home. It had calmed down when she got about a block away but it still lingered.
She had no idea what caused it, but it definately came on with a vengence.
She moved arund her apartment and laid down on the sofa, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
She jolted awake bathed in sweat with the neighbors pounding on the wall.
"What the hell was that?" She asked herself as she tried to stop shaking.
Her hand came up to her forehead as her headache came back.
Shakily she pulled off the cap and swallowed a few more.
She closed the medicine cabinet and went to the kitchen and pulled out a yogurt, sat at the table and ate it.
Throwing the container in the garbage when she fnished she got up and grabbed her jacket and headed out for a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles walked down the street after he and Zaaron got Faith settled in for the night. It was rare he went out on his own other than to work, but after Faith shouting out their names, he needed to ger out, just for awhile.
It still hurt too much to hear their names. They speak of them often but just omit the name. Once in awhile Giles will find himself in the attic just sitting there, looking at the bags that was lining the one wall. They had kept them. They had never took anything out either. Everything in the bags was exactly the way they were when thay had packed them a year ago when they left the cabin.
Giles walked into the bar hesitantly grabbing a stool at the bar and ordering a scotch.
"You'll have to wait a minute. Alex just went downstairs to grab another bottle." The bartender replied.
Giles just nodded as he looked around at the crowd of people.
It was a small crowd so Giles relaxed a little.
Giles jumped slightly when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He turned to see Zaaron standing at his side.
"You should be with Faith." Giles commented before turning around.
"She was worried about you when you left. Something about the dream really got to her. She told me to find you, make sure you're alright." Zaaron said sitting beside him.
Giles just nodded as he looked down at his clasped hands.
Giles brought his hand up to his head as his head began to ache.
Zaaron shook his head slightly as his vision blurred a little when his head began throbbing.
Giles and Zaaron almost doubled over in pain as the bartender hurried over.
"Are you guys alright?" The bartender asked worriedly.
Zaaron tried to help Giles and wave the bartender off when they heard a loud crash of bottles breaking.
They all looked up to see broken glass and alcohol pouring out of the doorway that led downstairs.
The bartender ran to see Alex, the other bartender doubled over, gasping in pain as he held his head.
"Alex." He yelled as he came to his side. "What the hell happened?" He asked worriedly.
"Don't know Sam." Alex said painfully. Alex's face paled as the other bartender quickly led him to the staff washroom where Alex's stomach contents quickly emptied into the toilet. Alex wretched a few more times before he sat back on his heels catching his breath.
Alex got up shakily and went to the sink and rinsed his mouth a few times before standing up regaining his composure.
"What the hell was that?"Sam asked again.
"It just happened, all of a sudden." Alex said shaking his head as his vision returned to normal and the headache subsided to a dull ache.
"It happened to two guys at the bar at the same time." Sam said as he looked at Alex.
"I'm fine now." Alex said confused. "Maybe we should go check
on them."
Sam and Alex went out to the bar but they had already left.
"They must have just left." Sam said looking around the bar. "Unless they're in the restroom."
"I don't think you'll find then in there. I think they left." Alex said looking at the entrance to the bar.
"That was just weird." Sam said shaking his head.
"Yeah, weird." Alex said quietly as he turned and started cleaning up the broken glass.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith got up off the couch when she heard Zaaron and Giles come through the door.
"What happened?" Faith asked when she took in the haggard appearance.
Giles and Zaaron sat down and told her what had happened at the bar.
They told her about the headache and dizziness, how quickly it came on and then left.
"It happened to me today just after I left work." Faith said looking at them. "What the hell is going on?" Faith asked a little worried.
"I don't know but I sure as hell am going to find out." Giles said as he got up and left the room.
"All his books are in the pit that was Sunnydale, how the hell is he going to find out?" Faith asked.
"Willow." Zaaron said quietly, speaking her name for the first time in a year. " She scoured the web and downloaded anything and everything she could find of his books and copied them to cd." Zaaron said. "I remember him cussing about the blasted contraption one time on the phone when I needed some information on a demon we came across several years back." Zaaron chuckled at the memory.
"I could see them having...disagreements about that." Faith said smiling.
"Yeah, but he was damn happy to have his books back." Zaaron replied.
"I didn't think we'd need them again though." Zaaron said quietly.
"Me either." Faith replied.
Giles walked into the attic and over to Willow's bag, opening it slowly.
Tears came to his eyes as he shifted things around and pulled out her laptop and the box of cd's.
When he stood up he looked down when he heard something fall to the floor. He fell to his knees, setting the computer and cd's down and picking up her ring. Her wedding band had been in the bag all this time.
He hadn't even realized she hadn't worn it into the battle.
"Maybe some part of her knew." Giles whispered to himself.
He closed his eyes and tightened his fist around the ring.
After a minute he put the ring in his pocket and grabbed the computer and cd's and headed back to the dining room to set it up.
Two days later Giles stared blankly at the screen until he turned it off.
He rubbed his eyes and then went in to sit in the living room.
"Nothing?" Faith asked.
Giles shook his head. "No where could I find even a reference to the Gates of Old." Giles said wearily.
"Maybe it predates the written word." Zaaron said.
"I'm sure it does, but it being in the prophecy shouldn't we be able to find out something somewhere."Giles stated.
"I'll try the net later, see if I can find anything." Faith suggested.
Giled just nodded and stood up and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.
"Maybe we should think about updating the system."Zaaron said as he looked at Willow's laptop. "It is pretty old, we should probably get a new one."
"I guess. Maybe. I don't really know anything about them though. That was always Red's department." Faith said quietly.
"I'll take a look around and see what I can find." Zaaron said placing a kiss to her temple.
"We could make it a day of shopping." Faith said smiling.
"Anything you want." Zaaron said smiling.
"When do you want to do it?" Faith asked.
"Well you have a class in the morning, we could go check out a couple stores now. Bring dinner home when we're done." Zaaron suggested.
"Okay, sounds like a plan." Faith said as she got up and walked towards the kitchen.
"Hey Giles." Faith said poking her head in the door way. "Zaaron and I are heading out to look for a new computer. We'll bring dinner back with us." Faith said.
Giles just nodded as he watched her turn and leave. He leaned heavily against the counter when he heard the door close when they left the house.
Giles pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand and stared at it as his vision blurred.
Giles took the thin chain from around his neck and added the rin to it and putting it back on, tucking it beneath his shirt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He pulled his car to the curb and keyed off the ignition.
He climbed off of his bike and walked into the motel office and paid for a room.
He opened the door to his room and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Something about the name of the town caught his eyes when he saw it on the map. Like it was calling out to him. He had packed what meager belongings he had, threw it into the back of his bike and headed in the direction of Angels Wing.
Once he came into town, he felt at ease, like everything he ever wanted was right here waiting for him.
The air seemed to envelope him, embrace him, welcoming him home. Like he was meant to be here.
He closed his eyes and smiled.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been moving from town to town, searching, always looking for ...........something. He doesn't really remember much of his past. It's as if he woke up one morning and couldn't remember anything except what happened from that moment on. Always with the feeling he wasn't supposed to be there, that he needed to keep moving because out there, somewhere it was waiting for him to come and claim it. Take it as his own.
It had been a long time coming. He could feel it deep inside of himself. He was finally home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, you're still here? You should have been gone hours ago."
"I'm leaving, I just wanted to finish this one program. Don't worry Tim, I'm not trying to get overtime." She said laughing.
"Good thing, corporate might put my ass in a sling." Tim replied. "You know their new policy, no more overtime."
"I know, but they also wanted this finished by tonight, so they're gonna have to pay me." She said shaking her head.
"How much longer?" Tim asked.
"I'm done." She said tapping one final key.
"Have a good night. See you in the morning." Tim said as he turned and headed out the door.
"Yeah, don't forget the coffee in the morning. It's your turn." She said grabbing her jacket.
"I remember." Tim said as the door closed behind him.
She grabbed her bag and headed out the back entrance to her car.
She got behind the wheel and drove until she reached her building, parking in the underground parking lot.
She got in the elevator and pushed for the eighth floor.
She gripped her head and winced when the elevator came to the third floor. When it passed the pain seemed to lessen, when she reached her floor she felt only a twinge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She held her head while she waited for the elevator. The pain had came on suddenly and disappeared just as quick.
She looked down at the empty hallway, glad no one was there witnessing what had happened. This is the second time in as many days this as happened.
When the elevator doors opened she got in and pushed the button to go to the main floor.
She slowly walked down the street stopping when she saw she was standing in front of the cemetary.
She backed herself into a telephone pole when she started getting flashes of things that couldn't possibly be real. She saw images of her stabbing creatures with a wooden stick.
She closed her eyes and turned to run.
She ran into someone and when she felt herself fall, she felt strong arms around her, catching her before she hit the ground.
"Are you alright?" John asked. "You, I remember you." He added smiling.
She just looked at him. "Uh I'm fine. Just lost my balance." She said trying to regain her equalibrium.
"Where are you going too?" John asked.
"I was just out for a walk." She replied.
"I'm headed over to Coppers for a night cap. Care to join me?" John asked.
"I'm really not much of a drinker." She replied.
"You don't have to drink. You can have a soda or something." John said chuckling.
"Alright." She replied hesitantly.
"Great." John said leading the way. "So are you ever going to tell me your name?" John asked smiling.
Part Seven:
"So what do you do?" John asked when they
were seated at a table.
"I teach aerobics at the fitness club on Carlton." She replied.
"So you're looking into taking martial arts huh. I think you'd enjoy it. It's a great work out." John replied.
"I know. I've taken them before." She replied.
"Oh, so you're not a newbie to the sport." John said smiling.
She shook her head and smiled.
"So you skillfully avoided my question before. What do I call you?" John asked again smiling.
She smiled back feeling more at ease with him.
"Buffy Summers." She replied as she took a sip of her diet coke.
"Well it's nice to meet you Buffy Summers." John said.
The bartender looked up as he walked in, wearing a pair of faded balck jeans and black t-shirt.
"You here for the pick up order?" Sam asked.
"That would be me." He said nodding as he sat at the bar.
"It'll just be a few minutes." Sam replied.
"I'll take a beer while I 'm waiting." He said as he threw a bill on the bar.
The bartender set a bottle in front of him and handed him his change and then went to check on the order.
Buffy looked up and seen a shock of blond hair sitting at the bar. She closed her eyes as her head began to ache. It didn't hurt like the other times. But she saw flashes, images.
"Excuse me for a minute." Buffy said when she got up and made her way to the ladies room.
"You're order will be up in a minute." Sam said as he came out of the kitchen. "If I'd have known it was going to be this busy tonight I'd have had Alex stay longer." He mumbled to himself as he went over to make a few more drinks.
He just nodded and got up and headed to the rest room.
When he came out he bumped into a woman in the small hallway who was leaving the ladies room.
"Sorry luv. You alright?" He asked as his head throbbed slightly.
Buffy looked up into blue eyes.
His mouth fell open as he backed up into the wall.
They looked at each other in confusion, as they began to breath heavily.
Images flashed through their minds as they looked at each other.
"I know you." He said quietly as his brows furrowed in confusion.
Buffy brows scrunched as one word came to her mind.
"Spike." Buffy said quietly.
He just looked at her puzzled when she said the word Spike.
He looked away for a moment before turning back to her.
"Buffy?" He asked quietly.
She nodded when he said her name.
"Buffy Summers." He said more sure this time.
"You're Spike...........William." Buffy said as she thought harder. Her head hurt more the harder she tried to make sense of everything.
"William, yes................I don't know Sp........." His eyes widened in recognition. "Spike." He said softly.
'We're not all gonna make it.....' Spike gasped when he heard these words.
He looked back at Buffy and backed up as far as he could go, gripping his head tighter as his vision became blurred. His head began throbbing to the point the pain was blinding him.
"I have to get out of here." Spike said fearfully as he turned and went back to the bar.
Buffy came back out shakily only to see him leave through the front door.
Spike didn't even pick up his order that was sitting on the bar, he just left. He neded to get out. He couldn't breathe. Images, memories kept coming as he walked back to his motel.
He came in flopped on the bed as they poured over him.
He had no idea what was happening to him and it scared the hell out of him.
He laid there shivering, until the images stopped coming.
He slowly and clumsily got to his feet and jumped into the shower wishing the water would wash everything away. His skin felt like something was crawling all over it. He let his head sit under the running water and all he could think of was the name Buffy.
Buffy went over to John and bid him goodnight saying she wasn't feeing well.
She made it back to her apartment and sat on the sofa, tears flowing as she kept seeing things. When she saw them they felt real.
How could things like that be real, she tried to reason through the haze she was in.
She kept hearing someone call her slayer, it sounded like him. The one she called Spike. She gripped her head and laid back in pain and frustration.
She soon fell asleep exhausted, her last thought before drifting off was
Spike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith walked into work and changed he clothes.
She came out to stand at the counter with John as she pinned her hair up.
"Hey creep." Faith said smiling.
"Hey white trash." John countered as he smirked at her.
"I'm going next door to grab a coffee before classes start. You want one." Faith said needong to grab some air.
"Sounds good." John said as he picked up the ringing phone.
Faith nodded and headed outside and went nextdoor to the coffee shop.
"Hey Charley, two of the usual." Faith said when she got up to the counter.
"You got it Faith." Charley said as she turned and started to make up the order.
Faith waited for the coffees at the counter, leafing through Charleys magazine on the counter.
"Yeah, I'm getting them now. You're car better have broke down Tim."
Faith froze as her face paled and her head ached slightly. She slowly turned around to see a woman with her back to her talking on a cell phone.
"Now you owe me two." The woman said as she lowered her head slightly and brought her hand up to massage her temples.
"Here you go Faith." Charley said smiling.
Faith turned back and paid for the order. "Yeah thanks Charley."
When Faith turned around she saw the woman with red hair slowly turn around.
Faith dropped the coffee order, it landing on the floor, spilling everywhere.
"Willow.'' Faith said quietly.
The woman looked at her and dropped her phone as her hands came up to the sides of her head, wincing in pain.
Her legs buckled as she fell to the floor.
Faith caught her as she looked into her eyes, seeing recognition slowly coming to her.
"Rupert?" Willow said before she closed her eyes and went limp.
"Someone call 911." A patron yelled.
"It's cool. I got it. She's a friend of mine." Faith yelled back.
Faith reached over and grabbed Willows phone and put it to her ear.
"Sorry Tim, no coffee for you today." Faith said as she ended the call.
Faith hurriedly dialed home.
"Zaaron. Get Giles and get to the dojo like yesterday." Faith said hanging up on Zaaron.
Faith grabbed Willows limp form and carried her next door and put her in the back room on the sofa.
"Who is this? What happened to her?" John asked worriedly.
"An old friend. When Zaaron and Giles come in tell them to came back here." Faith said ushering him out of the room.
Faith sat in the chair across from Willow waiting for her to wake up.
When her eyes futtered slightly Faith came over to her side.
"Willow." Faith said quietly.
Willow opened her eyes and looked around in shock. She looked at Faith in confusion for a moment until she remembered.
"Faith?" Willow asked quietly as she slowly sat up.
Tears started to form in the corner of Faiths eyes.
"It's really you." Faith replied.
Willow smiled shakily, still a little confused.
"Giles and Zaaron should be here any minute." Faith said as she wrapped her arms around Willow in a tight embrace.
"Rupert." Willow said quietly as tears slid down her cheeks.
"Faith." Zaaron shouted as he entered the dojo with Giles on his heels.
"She's in back." John said.
They continued through the dojo and opened the door to the back room.
"What's going on? What happened?" Zaaron said as he entered the room, only to stop when he saw who Faith had in her arms.
"Bloody hell." Giles said as he tried to move around Zaaron large form to get through the door.
Giles came into the room and stood there staring, not able to move.
Willow stood up and and looked at him.
Giles fell to his knees as she started walking towards him.
Willow got down on hers as she knelt beside him.
Giles openly sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I got you baby, I'm here." Willow said as he tightened his hold around her waist.
Faith grabbed Zaarons hand and dragged him out of the room.
"John, call in Cathy to take over classes today." Faith said as she headed for the door.
"I'm on it." John called out as he reached for the phone.
Zaaron and Faith waited in the car until Giles and Willow came out several minutes later.
They got into the car and Zaaron headed for home.
"Do you know why you came back?" Giles asked as he held her hand.
"I didn't understand at first. But everything came back after I woke up. I remember everything. I remember my life before, my death, after my death and then coming here." Willow said pausing for a moment. " It was the Gates of Old that allowed us to come back." Willow said.
"The Gates of Old. We tried to find out about that but couldn't find anything." Giles stated.
"No. You wouldn't. It was never written about." Willow replied.
"Wait, us. You mean you're not the only one to come back?" Zaaron asked.
"No." Willow replied smiling.
"Buffy, Spike,Xander, Anya and Angel. They're all back?" Faith asked.
"No. Not all. We were given a choice of whether we wanted to return or not. Angel and Anya chose not to." Willow replied.
"What are the Gates of Old?" Giles asked.
"Long ago if a warrior was killed they were allowed to be sent down to live their life as they would have under normal circumstances. But it was only for those who were deemed worthy. It was only a select few. There was reincarnation, but this was different. You came back as you were before, you know who you are, but your past is erased from your memory. This gives you the choice of which way you want your life to go. If you're happy with the life you made, you'll never remember anything from your past. If you want to remember, something will make it come forth. Like seeing Faith today." Willow said.
"But it said it would reopen the Gates of Old. They were closed." Giles said.
"When the evil spread here, so many dying. They closed the Gates. Too many were tainted. It was to be that way until the darkness that was so easily embraced here was destroyed. When we destroyed the last hell mouth, we cast the final stone into place." Willow said.
"The Gates of Old isn't a place or dimension. It's our journey back here that it refers to. The Gates is like our passage back. Old means recapturing what we had lost, or leaving the old life behind and starting over. You would never have found anything written on this."
"So, they're all here too?" Zaaron asked.
"Yeah. Right here, in this town." Willow said.
"Why here?" Giles asked.
"The prophcy. Do you not remember?" Willow asked.
Giles got up and went up stairs, grabbing the prophecy from the desk in his room, he brought it back downstairs.
He sat down as he began to read it aloud.
"It will always be under cover of darkness. It is the only way to see the light. A band of Warriors will form and come together ridding the world of the evil that has come upon us, growing and overpowering us until we live and breathe the darkness. This Band of Warriors will consist of two champions of the earth. One of fair complexion, one of darker brought about by a false death. They will lead. Two Warriors will be Dark Angels. They fight for the love of the earth. One Warrior will be the Father. He will fight along side his children, guiding them until the light once again returns. One Warrior will be of the Power that life entails. Her power will heal and destroy at will. Her power will reach it's peak during the final stages of the last battle. Her power will never be acheived or surpassed by another living being. She will become infinite power. The last Warrior will have ties to heaven, blessed by the order, his help in the battle to overcome darkness keeps the solidity of the group. He will have loss during the battle, but he will remain in the light holding it steady for the rest to come through. There will be two Warriors who will fight alongside, but will fall before the final battle begins.
When all the other pits of hell are taken out, all their strength will be channelled to the one left remaining. Bringing the City of Angels to it's knees. For every demon that claws it's way from the earth and takes down a warrior for the cause, a feather from the angels wing would flutter to the ground, landing in rot and decay, trampled beneath the feet of darkness.
The Angels wings will break with the weight the darkness was causing.
The City of Angels warriors will dwindle, waiting for the Band to come and cast their light.
When the battle reaches it firey end, five Warriors will survive the night and greet the day. Three will fall beneath the earth, shining their light on the others. In the end, three Warriors will walk away to live in the light once more.
As stated by the stars and the seer of life, this shall come to pass. It is not possible to change or alter the outcome. It shall happen as it is written and the gates of old will open embracing the Warriors who will return, casting the final stone abolishing the dark for eternity. The warriors will find solace in a city for Angels. There they will live out there lives, basking in the glow and safety of the Keepers of the Light.
"Of course. The name of the town is Angels Wing. The warriors will find solace and peace in a city for Angels." Giles said.
"Wait. It said three will fall beneath the earth, five will greet the day, three will walk away. But only you and Xander fell in the hell mouth." Faith said brows scrunching.
"No, it was three." Willow said quietly. "Buffy."
"But Spike got her out, she died up above." Faith said.
"No. She recieved a death blow under the earth, she fell there. But she got to see the sun before her final breath. Technically, she died below." Willow said.
"How long have you been here Willow?" Giles asked as he grabbed her hand.
"Over a year." Willow said quietly.
Giles shook his head. "We've been here just over a year. How come we haven't seen you until today?"
"Living in different circles. Maybe we weren't supposed to find each other until now." Willow said shrugging her shoulders.
"It been a hell of a day." Faith said as she stood up.
"Have to agree with you there Faith." Willow said.
Willow turned to face Giles.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me." Willow said as she grabbed his ring finger.
"Yes I do. I think it's about time it's put back wher it belongs, don't you." Giles said as he took the ring off of his chain.
"Way past." Willow said as he slid it on her finger.
"I missed you so bloody much." Giles said hoarsley.
Willow moved in and captured his lips in a soft and loving kiss.
"Love you." Willow whispered in his ear.
Giles hugged her to him tightly as he buried his face in her neck.
"Love you too." He replied quietly. "Don't ever do that to me again."
"I won't." Willow replied as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Willow, where were you living?" Zaaron asked.
"The Skylark, the highrise on Fifth St." Willow replied.
"You do know you're moving in here right?" Faith stated rather than asked.
"Well......yeah." Willow replied smiling.
"Just checking." Faith said as she came over and sat beside her.
"So, they're out there. Not really knowing who they are or what they've done. Not remembering us." Faith said quietly.
"Yeah. Pretty much. I remember them telling us that we had a window of opportunity in which to regain our memories." Willow said thinking back.
"I thought you said it was just there, waiting for you to decide to remember or choose to forget." Faith said.
"Basically. But it came with a time frame. After so long, they asume you don't want to remember. The memories are wiped away. So if we were to run into them on the street, they would never know who we are. We would have to befriend them and start all over. Even things we do would hold no recognition for them." Willow said.
"How long is this time frame?" Giles asked worriedly.
"A year." Willow replied queitly.
"But you said you've been here just over a year." Giles said.
"Yeah, about a week over. I think that's why it hurt so much when I saw Faith. The memories were trying to erase themselves." Willow said.
"Wait, the headaches. I had one the other day when someone looking into classes came into the dojo. I didn't see her, but the feeling of familliarity was overwhelming. My head hurt like hell. I had it in the shop, when I saw you." Faith said.
"I'm guessing that would probably be Buffy. She was the slayer, physically adept. She'll look for things to keep herself in shape, not even knowing why." Willow replied.
"In the bar." Zaaron said standing up and walking around the room.
"Giles, you remember it happened to us in the bar. There was a loud crash of something breaking at almost the same time. The bartender went to check on .............. Alex. He said his name was Alex." Zaaron said as his eyes widened.
"Xander." Willow said quietly.
"Screw that. We're not losing him." Faith replied as she got up and grabbed her jacket.
Giles, Willow and Zaaron followed her out of the house and to the car.
"It might have already happened." Willow said solemnly as Faith started the car.
"We'll play it cool. If he doesn't remember......" Faith said.
"We start over." Zaaron finished.
Faith just nodded.
"Are they open yet?" Willow asked.
Faith glanced at her watch. "Yeah, opened about an hour ago."
They all walked into the bar and sat at a table close to the kitchen.
"What'll it be?" A server said coming over to them.
"Is Alex here yet?" Faith asked casually after they placed their orders.
"You know Alex?" The sever looked at her wearily.
"For a long time. Kinda grew up together. I've been in town over a year now and just found out the other day he was here." Faith said with a smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. He doesn't work today. He's in tomorrow night though." The server replied.
"Could I get his number or address. It's kinda important." Faith said.
"I can't give out that kind of information. I'm sorry." The server said apologetically. "But I can call him for you." She said smiling.
"Really? That would be great." Willow said.
"What's your names so I can tell him?" The server asked.
"I'm Faith." Faith replied then pointed around the table. "Willow, Giles and Zaaron."
The server wrote the names down. "Okay, I'll get your drinks first, then
I'll make the call." She said smiling as she walked away.
TBC..