Disclaimer: Faith, Connor, Spike, Dawn, and all other Jossverse characters are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and various other people who aren’t me.
It was raining in Boston. The random, but still almost rhythmic fall of water was almost the only sound in the car. Angel didn’t breathe. And Connor now breathed so quietly he barely made a sound. The two had little to say to each other any more.
“They’re spread out throughout the world,” Angel said quietly. “You’ll need to move every so often. But for now you’ll be staying with Faith. Do you remember Faith?”
Connor’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah,” he said a little too enthusiastically for someone in his position. “Yeah, I remember Faith. She’s kinda hard to forget.”
“Well she doesn’t remember you,” Angel said curtly. He didn’t really like his son’s continued infatuation with older brunettes. It had already brought enough heartache for everyone. “Sorry. I’m just disappointed. I kind of hoped that your new life might give you a different perspective on certain things.”
“It did,” Connor said quietly. “Just not everything.”
“I guess that’s fair. I just don’t think you understand the position I was in.”
“And I don’t think you understood mine. It just, it just keeps getting clearer. I can . . . I can feel it now. What I felt then. I was completely alone. You’d just told me that the man who raised me lied to me and used me. And you left me alone in this strange place that I didn’t understand with no one, no one to, to, to make me feel loved. Or teach me how to live in this . . .you know what, I don’t want to go over this again.”
“It’s called tough love, Connor. Look it up.”
"And look how well that turned out." Connor gave a derisive snorting laugh.
Connor looked out and watched the rainfall. “I still appreciate what you did, you know,” Connor said. “I know it was . . . difficult. All of it. Letting me go. Wolfram & Hart. After . . . you know. After that, I can't describe how comforting it was to know that someone loved me that much.”
For the first time since he’d found Connor again, Angel smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot to me. More than you could know.” He looked at the clock. Six in the morning. “We should go up.”
“Yeah,” Connor said. “I guess Faith’ll be waiting.”
“The last time Faith saw 6 a.m., she was coming home. But the sun’ll be up soon and I don’t have any spf 666 suntan lotion.”
Connor laughed. “Okay. Let’s go.”
**
Connor was holding the duffel bag with his remaining belongings over his head so it could act like an umbrella. The apartment building was dingy and dirty and disheveled. It was in an awful part of town, now so much the worse due to a serious shortage of police officers in the city.
Connor stepped to the door and waited for Angel to open it. “Can you go in?”
Angel nodded as he slipped the key Faith overnighted him into the lock. “She invited me over the phone. Invited me to do a few other things, too,” he said with a grin.
“Ew. I don’t want to know about that.”
“Sorry,” Angel said as the door sprung open. “It’s just that it’s been a while since anyone asked me to do those things. Especially the bit where I hang her upside down.”
“Come on!” Connor said as he stepped inside the apartment. “Instead of super hearing, why couldn’t you have given me super-un-hearing? Like, I could just not hear stuff. Disturbing stuff that scars and causes bad dreams and indigestion.”
“Hey, if it weren’t for me doing that, you wouldn’t exist.”
Connor laughed. “Oh. Yeah. That’s all there was to my conception, huh?”
Angel smiled. This was the kind of banter he would have liked to have with his son. But just as it was so wonderful, it was also painful. Angel would be leaving soon. His son could not come with him.
“I’ll stay until Faith comes,” he said. “Then I have to go. I can’t stay in one place too long.”
“I know.” Connor sat on a beat up couch that looked like someone had found it on the side of the road. “Think you’ll ever get clear of this? Possibly during my lifetime?”
Angel shrugged. “We’ll see. It took me ten years to build up a good enough crew to take on the Senior Partners once. Maybe over the next ten years I can manage another run at them. A few more runs over the next fifty, sixty years . . .” Angel smiled sadly. “No,” he said in a soft voice. “No, I don’t think I will. Not in your lifetime.”
Connor nodded. He turned toward the door expectantly.
“What?” Angel asked. “You hear something?”
“Faith.”
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” Faith said as she walked through the door and into the apartment. “Half of it anyway.”
She tossed her keys onto a table near the door. She looked like living hell, and it wasn’t just the rain. Her hair was stringy and her posture slumped. The sickly pastiness of her skin created a stark contrast with the dark black bags under her eyes.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she said, noticing the concerned look on Angel’s face. She gave Connor an appraising look. “This the kid?”
“Yeah,” Angel said.
Connor stood uncomfortably as Faith walked around him, looking him up and down.
“Scrawny as all hell,” Faith said harshly. She wasn’t being playful or flirtatious. She really didn’t like the idea of babysitting this bag of bones. “If this were anyone else asking, Angel, the kid would be out in the rain holding his duffel bag full of Gap clothes over his head again."
Faith came around and looked Connor in the face, internally laughing at the surprise that registered on his face. “I was across the street watching when you guys came in. Wanted to be sure you weren’t followed.” She turned to Angel again. “What’s with this, Angel? You said you were bringing me an extra hand, not a pet.”
“He a good fighter. Has some things to learn. But he’s smart and he listens to orders. Very competent.”
Faith nodded. Holding Angel’s gaze the whole time, she threw her elbow back, slamming Connor in the nose and knocking him to the floor. Faith snorted. “I hope he at least knows how to cook.” She turned her head slightly, but didn’t bother to turn and look at Connor. “Take your shit up the back stairwell. There’s about a dozen free rooms upstairs. Pick one. Shoo out any homeless people or junkies you might find. But they should know better than to crash here.”
Connor stood, feeling a little embarrassed at having been knocked on his ass in the blink of an eye. He grabbed his bag and walked to the stairs, heading up.
“So what’s the deal, here? How long do I have him?”
“I don’t know,” Angel said. “Probably about a year. I might have to move him before then, though. Wolfram & Hart. They’re going to want to get a hold of him.”
“Great,” Faith laughed. “So I’m Kevin Costner to his Whitney Houston? I’ll be his bodyguard, we’ll fall in love, and he’ll sing me a tune right before you whisk him off to wherever.”
“More like you’re Burgess Meredith to his Sylvester Stallone. I need you to train him.”
“Burgess who?” Faith asked.
“Meredith.”
“Never heard of her.”
“Haven’t you ever seen Rocky?” Angel asked incredulously.
“Yeah. The movie where the boxer who fought the Russian guy, right?”
“No that was Rocky IV . . . never mind. The point is, your sucker punch not withstanding, he can take care of himself. He just needs to be trained up a little.”
Faith held up her hand. “A, that was not a sucker punch, it was a sucker elbow. That’s a completely different thing. B, he should get used to it, because most vamps don’t walk up, tap you on the shoulder and say ‘excuse me, would you mind terribly if I did you bodily harm right now?' And C, if you want him trained for something, you need to find a ballet coach, because that skinny bitch is not the demon fighting type.”
Angel smiled. “You of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving.” He could see she wasn’t buying it. At least Faith was honest. She made no pretensions at having anything other than disdain for having to take Connor. Angel had no option but to use his last trick.
“Thank you for doing this, Faith” he said with the most meaningful look he could manage.
Faith broke out with a smile. It was her first sincere smile since Angel had arrived. In fact, it was her first sincere smile since she’d come to Boston. “No problem, man,” she said, grinning. “Anything for you. But I guess you knew that.”
“Yeah,” Angel smiled back. “I guess I did.” He patted Faith on the shoulder. “Been rough here?”
Faith nodded. “Yeah. But the cavalry is coming soon. I just hope it’s my cavalry. Last few vamps I staked seemed to have this shit-eating grin like they had their own backup on the way.”
Angel nodded. “So you have back up coming? Who?”
“New watcher, for one. Wood was with me, but, um . . . watcher and slayer intercourse is a bad idea. He’s taking over Rona in New York. I was hoping to pull Willow, she’s apparently pretty bad-ass. But she’s sticking with Kennedy and some other kids. Now Buffy and Giles have decided they‘re trying to match the least experienced watchers with the most experienced slayers and vice versa.”
“Oh, god,” Angel said. “Andrew?”
“I wish,” Faith laughed. “Andrew I can handle. But I get Buffy Jr.”
“Dawn’s a watcher?”
“Fresh from Giles and Willow’s academy o’ watchers,” Faith laughed. “Then a few weeks after that, I got Buffy coming by to check up on me. Also known as snooping. At least if it were Andrew here, he’d spend his time bugging Spike and leave me alone.”
Angel’s eyes went wide. “Spike?”
Faith blushed slightly. “You didn’t know he was coming here?”
“No. Guess he got sick of London.”
“Guess so. Does that bother you? Spike being here?”
Angel shook his head, then stopped and said, “Yes.” Since Wes had been killed by Cyvus Vail and Illyria had apparently died somewhere in South America, Eve, Connor, and Angel were the only three people in the world who knew Connor’s true identity. And as soon as Angel caught up with Eve again, he’d make sure she wouldn’t be a problem. But Spike had spent a lot of time with Angel over the years. If anyone could figure out Angel’s connection to Connor, it was Spike.
“Just keep him away from my k . . . my Connor.” He’d almost said ‘my kid.’ Granted, ‘my Connor’ wasn’t much better, but he could take Faith’s verbal jabs.
“Ewww,” Faith said. “I mean, I know he’s pretty, but he’s a bit young, no? Well, then again, I guess he’s not. I mean, Buffy was only what? 17?”
“Very funny, Faith,” Angel said. “I just need him taken care of. He already knows how to fight, but he’s rusty. Very, very rusty. Get him up to speed. I’ll be back for him before you know it.”
“He’ll be okay with me. But come back soon. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time."
***
“So, am I like your wheel man, now?” Connor asked with a smile.
“Whatever gets you hard, kid,” Faith said. She was staring out the window.
“Could you two cut the foreplay?” Dawn asked. “Because me? Not a big fan of Faith or her boy toys.”
“He’s not mine,” Faith said. “Angel dropped him off couple days ago.”
“Not a big fan of him either,” Dawn said.
“Wow,” Connor said. “I’m really feeling the love. If there were any more love for me in this car, I think I’d choke to death on it.”
“Fine by me,” Dawn said.
Faith spun around in the seat. “What the fuck? I thought we were past all this. What’s with the bug up the ass?”
“My sister said I should work with you, learn from you, and be polite to you. And I plan to do all three. But only barely.”
“Check the ‘tude, half pint, because two moody teens I don’t need,” Faith barked back. “What’s a girl got to do to get a clean slate around here?”
“Oh, let’s see,” Dawn said facetiously. “How about not screwing over Robin Wood, for starters.”
“You know, there’re two sides to that story,” Faith shot back. “Glad you’d do me the respect of hearing mine before passing judgment. You know what? I don’t give a shit. But I can see I’m going to need to call Buffy and get a transfer because this here, not working.”
Connor pulled the car over and killed the engine.
“Oh, daddy, please don’t pull over and yell,” Dawn said sarcastically.
“Why not?” Connor said, opening the door. “We’re home.” Connor got out and went around to the trunk.
“Not home for long,” Dawn said getting out the driver’s side door. She walked to the trunk. “Be careful. My luggage is delicate and worth more than you are.”
Suddenly, Connor shoved Dawn into the doorway of the building.
“What the fu-” Dawn was interrupted by the sound of gunfire and shattering glass. The back window had exploded, launching glass into Connor’s face.
An engine roared, followed by a loud crash. The grinding of metal on metal alerted Connor to the fact that the car was going to slam into him. He threw his hand on the trunk and pushed his body up. He brought his feet down, now finding the car had been pushed under his body.
Faith dove out the driver’s side onto the sidewalk. “Dawnie, stay down! Connor get . . .”
Faith looked up to see Connor spring from the back of the car, bounce from the road, and land on the car that slammed theirs. Gunfire rang out again, missing him, as he rolled down the back of the offending car.
Faith jumped up, grabbing the fire escape above her and pulled herself up. She scanned the street to see where the gunman was. The muzzle flash caught her attention and she saw him. Third floor of a building perpendicular to their street. The gunman was yards away, so he was obviously packing a rifle a bit better than your average street thug would carry.
On the street, Connor was pulling the driver through the driver’s side window while the car attempted to drive off. “Heinrich, Nehmen Sie das Rad,” the driver shouted.
The driver came lose from the car and pulled a pistol. Connor grabbed the driver’s arm and twisted it. The pistol dropped to the ground. The two threw punches at each other so quickly, Faith felt like she couldn’t see their hands move. Angel had apparently not been lying. The kid looked like he could take care of himself.
Faith climbed the catwalk, then took off across the rooftops toward the gunman in the window down the street.
“Vampires,” she heard Connor yelling behind her. “They’re vampires!”
Great Faith thought. An attack from gun-happy bloodsuckers was not her idea of a fun Saturday night. Faith began hopping from roof to roof. The last roof was of a long building parallel with the street. She picked up a lot of speed as she tore across the roof and, using her momentum, jumped over the street below, crashing through the window above the sniper.
Immediately, bullets shot up through the floor below her. Faith back flipped, landing in the window frame. She closed her eyes to avoid getting blinded by the shrapnel, dust, and wood chips flying through the air as the floor was torn to shreds.
Faith gripped the window frame and swung out of the window, then through the window below her. The gunman was still firing through the ceiling and couldn’t lower his rifle before Faith’s feet nailed him square in his face. The rifle dropped by the window.
Faith landed hard on her back while the gunman landed on his side. Both sprung to their feet almost instantly. The gunman pulled a knife from his belt while Faith pulled a stake from her hers. The two flung themselves at each other. The knife ripped her arm. She plunged the stake into the gunman’s chest, but it wouldn’t sink.
Faith spun to face the sniper, her back now to the door. Then, she felt arms wrap around her as another vamp entered and grabbed her. He pulled her up and off the ground. The sniper picked up his rifle near the window and took aim at Faith as she struggled to pull free of the vamp bear hugging her. Sirens were blaring in the background.
Just as the sniper was about to fire, Connor flew threw the window, drop kicking the vamp in the back. The rifle discharged, but into the wall behind Faith. Connor landed in front of Faith. He swept his leg under the vamp holding her, tripping him. Faith rolled free.
Connor jumped to his feet, lunged with his stake, and experienced the same problem as Faith. The stake didn’t sink into the vamp’s chest.
“He’s wearing Kevlar or something,” Faith yelled as she jumped to her feet. The sniper kicked Connor back into the wall. Faith spun and grabbed the vamp behind her. She pulled on his shirt, ripping it open and exposing his chest. Then, she threw herself forward and plunged her stake into the vamp’s heart. It burst to dust and Faith stumbled forward, slamming into the wall.
The sniper had Connor against the wall. One hand was strangling him while the other was attempting to plunge the knife into Connor’s right eye. The blade was less than half an inch from Connor’s eye.
Faith ran forward, swung her arm around the front of the sniper’s neck. She rammed her stake through the front of the vamp’s neck, pulling him back away from Connor. Faith could hear Connor greedily suck air into his lungs. Gripping the stake at both ends, she twisted as hard as she could. The wood slowly pushed through the flesh, bone, and sinew of the sniper’s neck. Finally, the head detached and the vamp burst to dust beneath her. Faith fell to the floor.
The sirens outside were blaring now. The police were almost on top of them. Connor stumbled over to Faith and lowered his hand to help her up. “Come on,” he said in a raspy voice. “We gotta go.”
A crash of trash cans outside announced that Dawn had brought the car up. “My weapons,” Faith said. “I have to get them.”
Connor shook his head. “No time. Maybe we can come back later.” He ran to the window and jumped out, dropping to the street below. Faith dropped after him and climbed in the back of the car.
“Go! Go!” Faith yelled. The street behind them lit up with the red and blue glow of sirens.
Dawn killed the lights and punched the gas. The car roared off the street and down an alley.
“Using firearms,” Dawn said, her voice oozing with disappointment. “These new vamps today. No standards at all.”
“Christ you sound like Giles,” Faith laughed.
“Um, yeah, that’s great,” Connor said nervously. “But does this alley actually go anywhere?”
“We’ll see,” Dawn said.
“Not what I wanted to hear,” Connor sighed.
The car shot out of the alley, over a sidewalk, and onto the street on the other side.
“So,” Dawn said, wiping her sweaty forehead while she drove the damaged car. “Am I like your wheel man now?”
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