The Past Is My Present: Decisions
by faith_slayer89
A/N: I know the previous chapter was kind of rushed and might have felt a little choppy, but I wanted to put out a new chapter as soon as I could. Hopefully, this chapter has a better flow to it and is just better than the last.
Chapter Seven: Decisions
"Angel? Angel, did you hear me? We have to get Cordelia!"
The vampire snapped out of his reverie and regarded the ex-Watcher. "Huh?"
"I said, we have to get back Cordelia. We have to go to Pylea."
"Right." To his own ears, his voice sounded distant, far away. He had to choose between going after his daughter who he'd known for all of two weeks, or the woman who had been one of his best friends for nearly two years. He wondered why the Powers-That-Be were always pulling this kind of crap on him, because no matter who he chose to rescue, the other girl would surely die.
Katherine quietly unlocked the door and slipped inside. She had made sure that she had not been followed; she had even taken out a few vampires on her way back. Celia had gotten Venus. She would not take David.
The brunette could hear the loud spray of water and figured that David was taking a shower. She retreated to the basement of the old house to work out. Every night she had been patrolling the streets of Queens, hoping to find some vampire that knew where Celia was holed up. But it was clear that the Slayer's daughter now ran New York City, and if she didn't want to be found by her sister, she wouldn't be found.
An hour passed, and Katherine, worn out and ready to collapse into bed, had only just noticed that David had not come down. Surely he would have heard her in the basement and come to find out how her night went; it was what he had done for the past four months.
Uneasy, Katherine made her way up from the basement, crossbow loaded and in front of her. The old house seemed eerily quiet, and the sounds of the shower sounded ominous against the otherwise silence of the house. Katherine crept up the stairs as quiet as she could -she had long-since memorized which stairs creaked and easily avoided those ones- and slunk along the wall to the door. For some reason, she opted against calling out for David. She supposed it was a gut instinct of some sort, but that could only mean that trouble was near. She might not have her mother's famed Slayer sense, but she could feel danger when she was in the thick of it.
Inwardly, she counted to three before kicking down the bathroom door. She had accidentally walked in on David in the shower months before, and after the initial awkwardness and jokes at her expense, she had become used to, if not comfortable, with seeing David like that.
The door broke off its hinges and hit the floor with a resounding thud, and Katherine could see that, though the shower was still running, the water was ice-cold and David was nowhere to be found.
Her arrival now announced, she made no pretense to hide her presence in the house. She knew that there was someone else in the house besides her, someone not friendly. She knew that this person had David, because he definitely would have called out to her by now.
Katherine locked the bathroom door before making her way to the bedroom that was connected to the bathroom -her room- so she wouldn't be surprised from behind. The fight was her element. Hunting an unknown predator always made her terribly afraid, especially when a life was at stake. Aiming her crossbow into the room, she crossed it in three long strides, and just as she had decided to move on to David's room, a loud crash made her turn around.
There was a half-naked David, bound to a now-toppled chair. Her closet door was open, and she could see a figure in the shadows and the glint of moonlight on steel.
"Faith," he croaked out, "get out. She wants you. Go, please." Katherine's blood ran ice-cold. But she knew that in order for both she and David to make it out alive, she had to ignore her fear. Her hand had been behind her back, and so was the crossbow. But with one deft movement, she pulled it out and aimed it low, going for the hurt rather than the kill. She heard a grunt and the clank of metal falling on the wooden floor and knew that her bolt had found its target.
Using the precious seconds she had to her advantage, she untied David and dragged him to his feet.
"Come on," she groaned, "let's get out of here." She pushed him towards the door, walking backwards, her crossbow aimed at the shadowy closet. "Quick, before she-"
Katherine felt the searing pain of the hilt of the sword connecting with the back of her head, and then she was overcome by darkness.
Grey stood in the shadows, watching Celia stand guard over her sister's comatose body. He had to make sure that the younger twin wouldn't hurt her sister. The older girl now had tears streaming down her face and was clearly reliving something particularly painful. She looked pale and wan, the memory taking a great deal of energy from her. It was his fault that she was in there in the first place. He could have gone against Lilah Morgan, even if it meant the death of his clan. He could have done it, sacrificing thousands to save one.
One girl. One incredibly beautiful girl. He was more than smitten. He was in love. And he would save her, Wolfram and Hart be damned.
"Angel, please. We're running out of time," Wesley prodded, beyond exasperation, beyond worry, beyond scared. "Make your choice!"
"Might I suggest Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Moe?" Lorne spoke up.
"I-I can't! How do I choose?" The vampire slammed his fist down on the counter in helplessness. "No matter who I choose, the other one will die!"
"Angel, look at it this way," Gunn pointed out. "You don't pick one of them, both of them might die."
"How do I choose between my best friend and my daughter?" Angel demanded angrily. "How?"
"Uh, maybe I can make that choice easier?" The four men turned to see an uncertain, dark-haired young man standing in the doorway of the Hyperion.
"What do you want?" Angel snapped angrily. The young man opened his mouth to snap, but sensing the tense atmosphere, thought better of it.
"I want to help," he replied shortly. "From what I've heard, you've got a bit of a situation on your hands. No matter who you decide to save, Katherine can't stay in Wolram and Hart any lon-"
"What do you know?" Angel growled, pinning him against a wall. He could smell the not-so-human blood in the boy and knew at once who he must be.
Despite being held several inches above ground by an extremely pissed off vampire, Grey was surprisingly calm. "She's in one of Wolfram and Hart's holding rooms. They've got her immobilized, and they're going to break her down until she signs."
"Signs what? Explain."
Grey sighed wearily. "I'm demon -or, part-demon. My clan is in jeopardy just by me coming here, but I had to." He sighed again. "About a year back, there was this group called the Scourge that came through L.A. They were after anything with human blood in it." Angel dropped Grey, the memories of that painful day coming back all too clearly. "My clan was in danger. Wolfram and Hart said they had taken care of the Scourge, but that we now owed them."
"They said what?"
"That we were indebted to them," the boy repeated. "A couple of weeks ago, they came to collect their debt. They gave me a picture of a girl. Pretty thing," he smiled faintly. "I reailzed that I'd run into her in the park a few days before, and Lilah Morgan -my boss- was pretty happy to hear that I already knew her. Ms. Morgan wanted me to gain her trust and get her alone."
Wesley listened intently, and was surprised and rather proud that Angel was listening quietly without making intimidating threats. "Did she tell you what the girl was for?"
"No," he replied honestly. "All I knew was that she was important to Wolfram and Hart."
"Didn't you stand up to them?" Angel asked finally. "Putting a young girl's life in danger-"
"I wasn't the first person they asked," Grey argued. "My cousin, they wanted him. He said no. They killed him and half my clan. They promised that if I defied them, they'd kill the rest of the clan, too."
"And you."
"And me. But, I don't care about that. I care about Katherine, who's in a hell of a lot of trouble right now."
"What'd they do to her?" Gunn asked.
"Mental Manifestation Spell."
Angel rubbed his temples. "This is unbelievable."
"I don't think she'll survive another day in there," Grey began quietly, voicing his fears.
"She will," Angel argued. "If she's anything like...like her mother, she will."
"Anyway, what do you care? Way I figure it," Gunn interjected, "if Kat makes it out, you and your family are dead."
"If Kat dies, thousands more will, too. Wolfram and Hart wanted her to sign over her claim to some prophecy. When she refused, she was placed under the spell. But if she dies, the way I understand it, her sister gets some big mystical power, and the world goes to Hell." He took a deep breath. "If you'll trust me...you really have no reason to, but I swear to you, I'll get her back. I have an idea," he finished lamely.
"Why the hell should I trust you with her life?"
"Because I care for her. ...If you don't believe that I want to help her, believe that I want Wolfram and Hart to pay for what they've done to my clan."
Angel inhaled deeply, something he had long-since needed to do, but always brought him an odd sort of comfort when he needed it. "I swear to God, if she dies, Wolfram and Hart will be the least of your problems." Picking up a sword, he stormed out of the hotel, the others in tow. Which left Grey to formulate his plan.
When Katherine awoke, the first thing she was aware of was the smell of blood. Lots of it. The second thing she was aware of was being bound to a chair. The third thing she was aware of was David directly across from her, panic in his eyes.
"Goody, you're awake," Celia squealed delightedly. "See, I wasn't sure how long you'd be out, and you know patient I am." She chuckled mirthlessly. "But, anyway, you're up now. So we can start the show."
"Oh, God," Katherine choked out, seeing Venus' dead form, her eyes staring blankly ahead. "What did you do to her?"
"Cheer up, Faithy. She was dead the day she tried to seek me out on her own. Put up a hell of a fight, though. Guess it was that fiery Slayer-ness. Served my uses. Oh, I reanimated her body for a few moments," Celia added off Katherine's blank stares. "She was the one that knocked you out. But, like I said, she served her purpose, and now she's really and truly dead. She died quick, you know. But he won't." He smile was cold and cruel, just like her.
"Take me instead," Katherine commanded.
"There is no 'instead'. There's just first and second, and if you go first, you don't get to watch him die."
"Let him go."
"Now say 'pretty please'," Celia smirked. "Huh, as if."
"He has nothing to do with this, Celia."
"On the contrary. He has everything to do with this. We're twins, Faithy. But who knows your deepest, darkest secrets and fears? He does. Who knows you better than you know yourself? He does. Who fuckin' loves you more than anyone else? He does." She swiped her knife and cut him across the shoulder. David yelled, causing Katherine's eyes to well up.
"No, no, no, no, no..." she chanted it over and over again, trying to break free in vain, as Celia proceeded to torture and kill her best friend right in front of her. And she had to sit through it all, knowing that there wasn't a damn thing she could do but watch him die...
"That was a hell of a lot easier than I thought," Grey muttered, glancing down at the unconscious form of Celia. All it had taken was a few choice words and gestures, and she had left her sister's side to join him in one of the utility closets -where he had promptly knocked her out. Now, twenty minutes later, her hair was as dark as her sister's, and Grey washed away the remnants of the dye from his hands. Swapping the sisters wouldn't buy them much time, but it would be just enough for him to get Katherine out of Wolfram and Hart.
"No, no, no..." she muttered as he gently picked her up. Startled, he almost put her back, before realizing she was talking in her delusion. He set her down on the floor, then put Celia in her place before redoing the bonds. He picked up Katherine's still-limp form, and as inconspicuously as he could, made his way out of the building.
"B, you hangin' in there? Need me to call Giles?"
"I'm fine," Buffy assured Faith, sighing contentedly as she sat down. For as long as she could remember, she had been on her feet. For nine months, she and Faith had been on the run from Angelus. Angelus, -that bastard- had been brought back after yet another night of passion with Angel. A night, she had been assured, that was supposed to have had no repercussions.
No repercussions, my ass. Here she was, nine months later, about ready to give birth to twins, no less, with Angelus hot on her heels. One day, she was going to meet the Powers-That-Be. And when she did, she'd kick their asses.
Not that Buffy regretted being pregnant. Apart from the boost in her Slayer abilities that they had given her, Buffy had grown to love the two girls inside her. And Faith, of all people, was giving her mothering lessons.
For Faith had a child of her own. David Wesley Lehane-Harris, born on the twenty-second of April, 2005. Needless to say, everyone had been shocked when Xander and Faith returned from Africa engaged. But their falling in love had caused the Chosen Two to settle unresolved issues, and now both women felt comfortable and safe in each other's presence. Like friends.
But because Faith had a family of her own, something no Slayer -not even the original Chosen One- had managed to ever accomplish, Buffy had not wanted Faith as her companion. Faith, after leading such a hard life, deserved, in Buffy's opinion, to be happy with her husband and son. But Giles had insisted upon Faith staying with Buffy, and was strangely adamant about it.
"You miss them, huh?" Buffy asked quietly, taking in the sight of Faith leaning casually in the doorframe.
"So much," she admitted. "Day before yesterday, I talked to Xander. He said David said, 'fy buh fy'."
Buffy laughed. "Oh, my God. That's so adorable."
"Yeah," Faith grinned. Her eyes took on a farway look. "Wish I could've heard him."
Buffy's smile faded. "Go home, Faith. Go back to Boston. Xander and David need you."
"And you don't? B, you're as big as a house."
"Yeah, but I can still kick ass with the best of 'em."
"You can't take Angel, not in the state you're in. And besides, any day now, the girls are coming. You really think Vi or one of the others knows how to deliver a baby?"
"Faith-"
"B, look. We're not having this discussion again. We've had it about a million times before during the past nine months and I've won each time. I'm sticking with you till the end."
"Faith-"
"B," she said warningly, "drop it."
"Thanks, Faith," Buffy murmured.
"Anytime. ...We're Slayers, girlfriend. The Chosen Two." Her mouth formed a mischievous half-smile, reminding Buffy much of the Faith of old, the carefree girl who relished in the kill and lived life by the moment.
"Damn straight," the blonde smiled.
"B, can I ask you a question?" Faith asked tentatively after a while.
"Faith, I'm surprised you think you even have to ask that question."
"I'll take that as a 'yes', then. ...If Angel was here, if there hadn't been any...consequences from that night, and he'd managed to survive the battle, how do you think your life would be now?"
"Why do you ask?" Buffy replied lightly, hoping to put off answering the question for as long as she could.
"It's just...I sometimes wonder, is all. How different things would have been if Angel was around."
"I think...I love Spike," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I know I do. But at this point, I'm not sure if it's romantic love, but I trust him with my life and he's always been there for me. I think that if Angel were here...things would be a hell of a lot more complicated for me...but truthfully...when I picture the white picket fence and two-point-five kids running around in the yard...I see Angel. I see him, right there beside me, watching as our kids chase each other around and have fun. I see Angel there. I want him to be there. I can't think about him not being there."
"So...would you...?"
"Kill Angelus the next time we meet? Definitely."
"But what about all that you just said?"
"Faith, all that...it's so close. I mean, I'm actually pregnant with Angel's children. But Angel's not here. He's gone. Willow already tried to re-ensoul him, but it won't work. I think Spike said something about the Senior Partners intervening. Anyways, my point is, no matter how much I love Angel, I can't risk you or your family or anyone else, just because there might be a possibility that Angel will be himself again. ...He wouldn't want me to."
"Aw, lover, you talk about me like I'm dead."
"...He wouldn't want me to."
Grey looked up at the sound of Katherine's voice, hopeful that she had broken out of the spell. He sighed wearily and returned to his monotonous task of making stakes once he realized that she had begun to talk in her trance. She was now deeper inmmersed in the memories. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.
Buffy froze. Faith, who was shielding the pregnant Slayer from the vampire's view, carefully turned around, so that Angelus couldn't see Buffy's round stomach. The two Slayers had always talked about what they would do if Angelus ever managed to catch up with them, and to Buffy's dismay, Faith had volunteered to keep him at bay while Buffy retreated. Oh, all right. While Buffy ran away.
But now that the time had come, Buffy had no intention of abandoning Faith.
"We're Slayers, girlfriend. The Chosen Two."
"How'd you get in here, Angel?" Faith asked calmly, trying to distract the vampire from the blonde Slayer. "We didn't invite you in."
"Being CEO of Wolfram and Hart has certain advantages, Faithy," he grinned evilly. "In fact, with all my connections, I'm surprised it took me so long to find you two in the first place. 'Cause there's something that's been bugging me since the first day the two of you disappeared. Why the hell would either of you run? You were all too willing to fight me before. What's changed?" With lightning-fast reflexes, Angel smacked Faith into a wall, leaving Buffy in plain view. "Buff, you've really let yourself go."
"And you're really an asshole," she snapped. Buffy had enough of running away. She wanted to fight.
"Watch your language in front of the children," he scolded.
"Fuck off," came the reply.
Faith grinned inwardly. Unlike herself, who had been at the mercy of her hormones when she was carrying David, Buffy had been fairly level-headed. But when she got pissed off, all hell broke loose. Faith had had become an expert in ducking vases and anything Buffy could get her hands on to throw when she was in one of her moods. She wondered if Angel could do the same.
Angelus started for Buffy, but he hadn't taken one step when she recoiled and cried out in pain. He smiled. "Looks like the cookies are done. Think I'm gonna have a bite."
"Think again," Faith advised, aiming the crossbow and pulling the trigger. The arrow sailed and pierced his body within an inch from fatality.
"Missed the heart," he noted.
"Meant to." She hit him with the crossbow, causing a deep cut on the side of his face.
Crimson blood slid down his neck, and he became officially pissed. Angelus vamped out, while Buffy manoeuvered into a corner and began the breathing exercises Faith had taught her.
"B, you okay?" Faith called out, ducking a blow.
"My water broke," she gasped out in between breaths. "And I'm going into labour. Other than that, peachy with a side of keen. ...You?"
"Five by five, B."
"You might wanna rethink that answer," Angelus advised, backhanding her. He grabbed her by the throat and sank his teeth into her throat.
"FAITH!" Buffy yelled, eyes widening in shock and helplessness. "No, leave her! Leave her!"
"Whatever you say, lover," he replied indifferently, tossing Faith aside.
"No, no, no, no..." Buffy murmured, attempting to move over to her fallen friend. But the contractions began, and she was overcome with pain.
"Kid's takin' a long time to come out of there. How 'bout I speed things up?"
"You might wanna rethink those words," Faith replied horsely, one hand clamped on her neck.
"Not down and out yet, huh, Faithy? Lemme see if I can't fix that." Angelus lunged for her, but Faith sidestepped him and plunged a stake in his chest. He stopped for a moment, wide-eyed. Then, realizing he wasn't going to explode into ashes, grinned. "Missed the heart."
Faith's doe-eyes widened. She didn't mean for that to happen. The second her gaze left Angelus' chest and found his eyes, she knew she would die, and prayed for forgiveness from whatever higher power there was, for failing Buffy, Buffy's daughters, and her own family. She wept inwardly, realizing she would never see her son or Xander again. Then, all she saw was darkness, all she felt was nothing, as the blood loss overcame her and Angelus snapped her neck.
At that precise moment, even before the Slayer's body hit the ground, the door to the safehouse flew open. Willow strode in, eyes crackling fiercely with magickal energy. She took in the scene: Buffy in a corner, desperately trying to stay calm and find some way of defending herself while she was hurt; Faith, slumped on the floor in a heap, her brown eyes glassy and lifeless, crimson blood pooling around her; and Angelus, standing amidst it all, enjoying himself.
No more. It would end tonight.
"Willow," Angelus smiled, spotting her. "Haven't seen you in...what was it? Five years ago, when you came to the Hyperion to stuff a soul down me. ...Probably the best bit of magick you could summon up."
Willow smiled grimly. "Incendire." A gigantic wall of magickal transparent fire erected itself between Buffy and the two of them, protecting her.
"See you got a little stronger."
"Wrong. I got a lot stronger," she corrected, sending him flying across the room with a wave of her hand. She held Angelus against a wall, pinning him there.
"Red, what...the bloody hell is going on in here?" Spike walked in the chaotic living room and spotted Faith's dead body, then Angelus struggling to free himself. "You bastard," Spike murmured.
"Spike, this is no time for vendettas." Willow spoke calmly, crushing Angelus into the wall just a little bit more. "Get Buffy out of here. I'll hold Angel off until she's safely gone."
"No dice, Red. We can't move her. She's gone into labour."
"She's right here!" Buffy snapped, placing a hand over her stomach. "Oh...God!"
"Right. Red, you tend to the Slayer. I'll take on Peaches here."
"Spike, I said this is no time for vengeance. We have to do what's best for Buffy. I can hold Angel here all night if I have to. Days if I need to."
"You bein' with Buffy right now is the best thing for her. You can work your mojo, make it a speedy, pain-free birth, or something."
Willow thought for a moment, then sighed. She made a hand movement, and part of the wall of fire melted away, giving her entrance to Buffy. "I get behind the wall, Angel's free."
"Well, hurry it up, then."
Willow nodded and stepped behind the wall, sealing it up once more. She could hear the sounds of insults being traded and what promised to be a fight to the death beginning. But she couldn't look at the show. She had more important things to do. "Okay, Buffy. Just breathe. In. Out. In. Out. ...Remember what Faith taught you? ...Right, that's it."
Katherine began to make gasping breaths. "In. Out. In, out," she muttered. "Willow, I can't do this. God...I want Faith. Faith...she should be here..." Katherine began to cry. Grey looked on in pain. Not only was she remembering her most painful memories, she had begun to relive them completely. Not only that, but it sounded like she was becoming delusional as well, talking about herself in the third person. Angel was wrong. Katherine wasn't as strong as he thought. She was going to lose.
"Push, Buffy! Push!"
"I'm trying!" Buffy had refused Willow's offer of magickal assistance, so now she had to bear the pain that came with giving birth.
"I see a head!" Willow squealed excitedly.
"Oh...God!" Willow's joyous yell was mingled with Spike's shout of fury, as Katherine Faith Summers was born, and Angelus, Scourge of Europe, became nothing but dust.
But there was something wrong with this picture. How could these things be happening? Her mother and Spike and Willow and Faith - they all had died. They couldn't be here now. Besides, Katherine was not Buffy Summers. And didn't Katherine see Angel not too long ago? And he wasn't evil then, he was good. Like a dad.
The pieces snapped into place.
This wasn't real, none of it.
It might have been once, but it wasn't now.
Now, she lived at the Hyperion Hotel.
With Angel.
Her father.
The vampire with a soul.
She worked at Angel Investigations.
She liked the boy she had met.
He was cute.
But he sold her out to Wolfram and Hart.
The evil law firm.
Redundant.
They worked with Celia.
Sisters in blood and in name only.
Enemies in everything else.
Next time Kat saw Grey?
She'd kick his ass.
Asshole.
But he was still cute.
Katherine gasped and blinked. She slowed her breathing and looked around her. "Where the frickin' hell am I?" Slowly, she sat up and saw Grey looking at her with wide, shocked eyes. Anger passed through her. Rage. Hurt. Betrayal. He stood up and took a step to her, and she balled her fists.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, sitting back down, avoiding her eyes.
Katherine burst into tears.
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