A World of Their Own

Part 15

The Magic Box was closed for the night. Three people - well, two witches and one demon sat around reading through the newest batch of spell books Willow had ordered. They were all searching for a way to locate Xander and Spike so they could bring them home.

Clem had become a good friend to the witches; he had a lot of contacts in the demon community and was able to get books and scrolls that otherwise would have been impossible. Willow still couldn't understand how such a gentle being as Clem could be friends with such a brash vampire as Spike. Then again, she never understood how Xander had dated Cordelia, either.

"Hey, I think I found something." Clem held up his book and Willow came around the table to look at it. She read the passage several times, her Sumerian being a bit rusty, but she was pretty sure that with this spell they could open a portal to Xander and Spike.

"I think you're right. Oh my God! If this works, we can bring Xander home!" Willow was smiling so hard it looked like her face would split. Tara looked over the book and frowned when she came to one of the spell ingredients. This might work, but it wasn't going to be easy getting what they needed.

"Sweetie? You do realise we need the blood of the slayer for this to work, right?" Tara chewed her bottom lip as she watched her lover's face harden. Sweet Willow had just been replaced with determined Willow. She wouldn't want to be Trisha when faced with this version of her usually sweet girlfriend.

"I know. And one way or another, I'll get it." Clem looked up from his chair at Willow and was awed by the power and fierce determination he could sense in her. This was not a girl to mess with; he was glad they were friends. He could understand why Spike had allied himself with these humans; they were fiercely loyal to those they considered friends.

"Um, not to sound like a bad guy here, but I could probably get some of my poker buddies to help out on that front. You know, rough her up a bit, make her bleed." Even for a demon, Clem sounded apologetic for making the suggestion. Willow just couldn't understand how a demon got to be as sweet as Clem.

"Thanks, but we'll handle that part ourselves. I'm actually looking forward to it." And there was scary Willow. Tara wondered how many of her girlfriend’s alter-egos were going to make an appearance tonight.

"Er, okay. I need to get shuffling off, now. Meeting a couple of Vergishtas for a game of gin later." Clem smiled and stood up. Tara walked him to the door and smiled at him. She knew the real reason Clem was leaving. Willow was scary when she got like this.

"Thanks again for all your help. We'll be sure to let you know when we have everything ready. I assume you want to be here to see Spike when we do the spell?" Tara was watching Clem with a hint of a smile on her face. She was pretty sure the floppy-skinned demon's interest in Spike was more than just a passing acquaintance. It was sort of sad really, seeing as how Spike and Xander were together. She liked Clem and didn't want to see him get hurt.

"Oh, yeah. That'd be good. Maybe I'll see you before that, though. You never know." Clem hugged Tara tentatively and smiled when she hugged back. She was such a sweet girl.

After locking up again, Tara went back to Willow; she wanted to make sure her lover didn't do anything she'd regret later. And killing or even maiming Trisha was something that - eventually - she would regret.

"Why don't we go home. We found the spell and there's no way we can get everything we need tonight, so let's get some rest, okay?" Tara gently pried Willow away from the books and led her to a chair; she then quickly straightened up the shop so it would be presentable for business the next day.

Once they were in the car and on their way home, Willow suddenly squeaked in delight, almost causing Tara to run off the road. "Ooops. Sorry, sweetie. I just remembered the letter Dawn wrote. She said that Faith wanted to make things up to me, that she's trying to redeem herself. If she helps me bring Xander and Spike home I'll forgive her for anything."

"But isn't she in L.A.? In prison?" Tara worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she saw a spark flare in her lover’s eyes.

"Yeah, but that's nothing I can't get around." Willow smiled as she thought of several spells she could cast to break Faith out of prison, or even better, break herself in so she could get the blood she needed and then get out. Yes that was definitely a better idea.

~!~

Faith was surprised when she got the call to come to the visiting room. The only one who ever visited her was Angel, and then one time B's kid sister had shown up. The kid had balls, that was for sure. She was even more surprised to find her ex-watcher on the other side of the glass.

Faith sat down and looked pensively at Wesley before picking up the telephone receiver. "Wes. Long-time-no-see. What brings you to my dark little corner of the world?"

Wesley looked at Faith, trying to decide whether he was right in coming here. In the end, he didn't have much choice. It was this or take his chances. "Angel, or perhaps Angelus."

Faith looked shocked. She hadn't expected to hear that. "Angelus? You sure?" She watched as Wes pulled off the classic Giles manoeuvre, rubbing the lenses of his glasses, cleaning away imaginary dirt.

"No, I'm not. But I don't want to take any chances. Darla is back, and she's with child. Angel's child. If she gives birth... " Wesley cut off his own words; he didn't want to finish his thought. Faith did it for him.

"You think seeing his kid will make him perfectly happy. What do you want from me, Wes? You want me to kill Angelus if he shows up? Or you want me to off the mother, keep the kid from being born?" And there was the rub. She knew that he had no idea what to do, and was looking for an easy out. "I won't do it, Wes. I've changed. Whether you want to believe that or not, I won't kill Angel's unborn kid. Wouldn't be right."

"That's not what I'm asking. At least not yet. We don't even know what the child will be; it could be good or evil, a great champion for the powers that be or the bearer of eternal darkness. The point is I need someone I can trust to keep everything from falling apart until we know. I need you Faith. Angel needs you." Wesley knew he was playing an unfair game. Using Angel to get Faith to see things his way.

"Alright. You win. But I won't kill him, either of them, unless I have to. Angel didn't give up on me; I won't give up on him either. You have a plan to get me out?" Faith quirked an eyebrow at Wesley as he smiled at her. It was a truly wicked smile. Something that up until this moment she hadn't thought him capable of. Seemed like the world was changing while she was locked away.

Wes chanted a few soft words and the glass between them faded away into nothing, Faith didn't waste any time crossing over the non-existent barrier to his side. A few more words and everyone around them was still, completely unmoving.

"Hurry, this won't last for more than a few minutes." Wesley grabbed Faith's hand and began quickly pulling her down the hallway and out of the building. Once they were outside they sprinted toward his motorcycle and rode off.

Faith was impressed. This Wesley was confident and sure of himself. A long way from the man she had first met in Sunnydale and then tortured in L.A. If she had known he could turn out like this, she might have gone a little easier on him back then, maybe steered him around the curves herself.

~!~

Willow was not happy. She had driven all the way to L.A. only to learn that Faith had somehow escaped the day before. She was tempted to just drive back to Sunnydale and hunt down Trisha for a pint or two, but her conscience got the better of her, so here she was on her way to Angel Investigations to tell them in person about Faith.

Imagine her surprise when she walked into the old hotel to find Wesley, Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Fred and Faith in the lobby. Not to mention the very pregnant woman standing at the foot of the stairs - the very pregnant woman who looked like Angel's sire, Darla.

"What the hell is going on here?" Willow wasn't taking any chances, with both Faith and Darla in the same room. She pulled a lot of power to herself and was ready for just about anything.

"Ooooh, check out wicca chicka. Red's come into her own." Faith gave Willow a quick once-over and grinned her approval. This was not the shy little girl she knew from before.

"Faith. Angel? Explanations please?" Willow wasn't sure what was going on here, but she didn't have the warm fuzzies about it. Faith may have changed, she was willing to let that go, but that didn't explain the fact that the pregnant woman had just gone into game face.

"Willow, good to see you. Follow me, we'll talk in my office." Angel didn't even look to see if she followed. He simply walked away, confidant in his assumption that she would.

~!~

"So, let me get this straight. Darla is back, she's pregnant - by you - and Wesley broke Faith out of prison. Why exactly did he do that?" Willow was now pacing the floor of the small office. She didn't like the implications of this one bit. Vampires were not supposed to have children. This couldn't possibly be good.

"I\ot sot sure. I think he's under the impression that I'll turn into Angelus again. You and I both know that isn't going to happen. I'll never be that naive again, I know what would happen if I were ever truly happy again. I can't be." Angle sighed and wished he could get up and pace, as well - the office just wasn't big enough.

"Okay. I get that. But I'm still having trouble with the whole undead pregnancy issue. I mean how is that even possible? Um, no offence, but your sperm are dead. Even if Darla were alive this shouldn't be possible. Not even with magic. I know, I looked." Willow smiled a bit sheepishly at that admission. "Buffy was worried after, you know? 'Cause you guys weren't safe and all."

Angel smiled. He had always wanted that with Buffy. A chance to be Mr. and Mrs. Normal American. A home in the suburbs, a regular 9 to 5 job, a couple of kids running around the house. It was his dream, one that would never be fulfilled. "Why don't you tell me why you're here in L.A.?"

Willow filled him in on everything that had happened since they'd last spoken. How she had finally found a way to open a portal to bring Spike and Xander back home, but that she needed the blood of a slayer to do it. Angel listened intently, especially when she got to the part about Spike being in the sun, and that he and Xander were together.

"Ask Faith, she just might surprise you. She has changed, Willow; she's not the same girl you knew." Angel got up and left the office, Willow followed close behind.

As they entered the lobby, Darla cried out in agony and dropped to her knees. Angel ran to her side, as did Cordelia and Faith. The baby was coming. Willow watched as Angel picked Darla up and carried her to his room. She was curious, but not enough to follow. Wesley and Cordelia went after Angel, and Willow slowly approached Faith. "So, Dawn tells me she came to see you."

Faith smiled at that. "Yeah, kid’s got a pair. She reminds me of B." Faith grinned as Willow nodded. "She's a good kid; I told her not to come there, though. It's no place for a kid like her to be. Gives the other inmates ideas, ideas that I have to beat out of their heads. So, what's the real reason you're here?" Never one to beat around the bush.

"You want forgiveness? I want something from you in return. You do this, we're squared away. Clean slate." Willow waited to see if Faith would ask or if she would have to tell her straight out. After a few minutes’ silence, Faith finally asked what she needed to do.

"Bleed for me." At Faith's shocked expression, Willow explained about the spell and why she needed the blood. She told Faith about the new slayer and her watcher. How they were going to be dead inside of a year at the rate they were going, and how if she really had changed, she could do a lot of good in Sunnydale right now.

Their conversation was brought to a screeching halt as Wesley came down the stairs - ashes on his hands and a stricken look on his face. He addressed the room with a shaky voice. "It's a boy, and he's completely human. Darla is dust. She... she staked herself to save the child." Faith reached for him and drew him to a chair to sit before he collapsed.

~!~

Willow drove home as fast as safety would allow. She had Faith's blood in a cooler on the front seat beside her and was looking forward to finally seeing Xander again. She missed him so badly. She could hardly believe he'd been gone almost a whole year.