Faith parked the car back in the empty spot in Angel's private garage. She grabbed her bag as she opened the door, getting out and flipping the keys in her free hand.
She stretched, then closed the car door and locked it, waiting for Sam.
Sam
Sam drive the impala in, bringing it to rest beside Faith's car.
He got out and fetched his laptop from the back seat.
"So how does it feel to be back?" he asked her.
Faith
"Guess we'll see when we go in."
Faith hitched her bag over her shoulder.
"On a brighter note, I can get fresh clothes."
She started to lead the way to the elevator.
Sam
"True," Sam nodded.
He followed her to the elevator and let her press the button.
"They don't know about us yet, do they?" he asked, almost worried.
Faith
Faith smiled faintly, swiping her card to activate the elevator.
"No, not yet."
She looked up at the numbers over the door.
Sam
"Ok," Sam took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Are we planning to tell them?"
Faith and Gunn
Faith laughed.
"I think you'll find Angel will be able to tell."
She didn't have time to elaborate as the doors opened to the lobby of Wolfram and Hart.
"Chuckles," she greeted, and Gunn turned and grinned.
"Faith," he returned, changing his course of direction and heading for the new arrivals. "Sam."
"New robot?" she asked, nodding at the package in his hands.
Gunn almost blushed. "No."
"Almost convincing. Big guy in?"
"Always."
Sam
"Hey Charles," Sam nodded in greeting.
He glanced idly towards Wesley's office.
Angel and Faith
Angel, Lindsey and Wesley stepped out of Angel's office, and the vampire stopped short when he saw Faith and Sam.
"Faith," he blinked. "It's good to see you."
"Yeah, but we even start and it's just going to lead to hugging," Faith replied, walking over.
"We can't have that," Angel smiled. He sniffed and then looked at Sam.
Sam
"Hey," Sam looked between them, looking about as awkward as he felt.
"It's been a while."
Angel and Faith
"Are we going to talk about that?" Angel asked, looking at Faith.
Faith grinned. "Maybe. Hey, Xander around?"
"Somewhere," Wesley said. "Hello Sam."
"Harmony, can you call through to Xander and Robin?" Angel asked his secretary.
"Sure can, boss!"
Lindsey rolled his eyes slightly. "Standards are slipping."
"Hey Tex," Faith nodded at Lindsey. "Must be, if you're allowed back here."
Lindsey held his hand out to Sam. "We haven't met. I'm Lindsey."
Sam
"Sam Winchester," Sam stepped forward to shake it.
"Pleasure."
Xander, Faith and Angel
"My favourite Rogue," Xander greeted, coming down the stairs.
Faith looked up and smiled when she saw her Watcher. "Hey! No longer a pirate, I see. I like. The two eyes. Very becoming."
"Dashing," Xander replied, laughing. "I take it you remember Robin?"
Robin and Faith looked at each other, unreadable expressions on both their faces.
"Yeah," she said finally.
"Well," Angel said, breaking the tension. "My office? Harmony, can you get us some tea and coffee?"
"Of course!"
Sam
Sam followed them into the office, staking out a spot in the back corner where he wouldn't be anywhere near the centre of attention. This was still all... new to him. And he wasn't exactly ready to socialise anytime soon.
Faith, Angel, Gunn and Xander
Faith settled down in one of the chairs in front of Angel's desk, Wesley taking the other.
"So," Gunn said, settling on the couch. "Anything new?"
Angel shrugged. "Few things in the pipeline. Spike's looking into one today."
"I was wondering where he was," Faith said, leaning back against her chair.
Xander grinned. "Trust me, you don't want to be here when he and Angel start fighting."
Sam
Sam's eyes darted between the speakers, half wondering what they were talking about and half wishing they'd cut to the chase.
Gunn, Faith and Angel
"Actually," Gunn spoke up, looking at Faith. "It's actually kind of great that you're back."
"I am flattered, Chuckles," Faith grinned.
Gunn smiled, but shook his head. "Lindsey and I have a bit of a tricky client. Or rather, she's not tricky, but her ex husband is."
Lindsey nodded. "He seems to have some unsavoury habits."
Angel leant forward slightly. "Of?"
"Likes his women vulnerable," Gunn continued.
"That's not really evil," Faith put in. "I mean, scratch the surface of any granola type and it's all naughty nurses and horny cheerleaders."
"It is when he kills for them," Lindsey spoke up. "And then tries to kill the girl. This one got away."
"And so coming back to... why is it great that I am back?" Faith asked.
"We may need you to help us trip him up," Gunn said. "With your consent, of course."
"You want me to play damsel?"
Xander snorted. "Am I the only one that thinks she can't pull that off?"
Sam
Sam chuckled under his breath, purposely not making eye contact with anyone in Faith's direction for a moment.
Angel, Faith and Gunn
Angel looked suspiciously in Sam's direction, then looked at Faith.
"It's up to you," he said to her.
"Eh, throw me in the lion's den," Faith replied, shrugging.
"I can brief you later," Gunn told her. "About the specifics. But we're thinking, you'll probably be a battered wife. He goes for them."
"You know me, I'm a giver."
Sam
"Does she have to get bruised up?" Sam finally spoke up.
"She could just say the guy's in jail and the wounds have healed."
Faith and Xander
"He likes them fresh," Lindsey said. "Likes to feel he's protecting them."
"Oh, fun. So one of you boys gets to hit me. Well... except you, Xander," Faith said.
"Why me?" Xander asked.
"Coz it's got to be hard enough to leave a bruise."
Wesley cracked a smile at that remark.
Sam
"Then what?" Sam asked.
"She runs into the guy and then...?"
Gunn, Faith and Angel
"We wait until he's about to do something questionable. Then we get him," Gunn said. "It still needs to be tweaked."
"I'll say," Faith replied. "What if questionable involves death? You know... mine. I'm all for helping, but I like being alive."
"Would I let you get killed?" Angel asked her.
"Hmmm."
Sam
"Is the guy human?" Sam looked between Gunn and Angel.
Angel, Gunn, Faith and Xander
"We're thinking no, at this point," Angel said. "Gunn?"
"He doesn't appear to be, no," Gunn replied. "But he does look human."
"Possession?" Wesley said, leaning forward. "Interesting."
"Can I just say that's not fun," Faith put her ten cents in.
"Here here!" Xander agreed. "He hasn't... eaten anyone, has he?"
All eyes shot to Xander.
"I didn't eat anyone either!"
Sam
"Could be a shapeshifter," Sam suggested.
"Unless you have intel that suggests otherwise."
Angel and Faith
"He's been... slippery," Angel said, glancing at Sam and wondering if either he or Faith were going to come clean about what had transpired between them. Sam, for one, was very much avoiding looking at him. "So we haven't got a firm grasp on what he is exactly."
"Pretty sure it's not human though?" Robin spoke up.
"Yes," Wesley replied.
"So, not human, can I kill him?" Faith asked.
Sam
"Yet, there is aways the off chance that he could just be a pscho serial killer. Because there have been quite a few good ones over time, that have been just as easily avoiding the system," Sam suggested.
"I suggest tighter surveillance before jumping to conclusions. And getting some background story."
Gunn, Faith and Angel
"We're working on bringing him to justice, not kill," Gunn assured Sam, pointedly looking at Faith. "We're representing his ex, after all."
"You people with the details," Faith said, waving her hand dismissively. "Alright, well, you guys get started on that. Personally, I need a shower and a change of clothes."
"Yeah," Angel agreed. "You do need a shower."
She grinned.
Sam
"I'll catch up with you later," Sam nodded to her.
"Wesley, can I see you in private?"
Faith and Angel
Faith nodded, and stood up, walking over to the door, pausing on her way to kiss Sam gently.
Angel narrowed his eyes slightly.
Wesley hid his smile. "Of course. My office."
He stood and waited for Sam at the door.
Sam
Sam kissed Faith back, then was the first to pull back due to their uncomfortable audience.
He followed Wesley to the door.
Faith
Faith picked her bag up again and head in the direction for her room.
Wesley lead the way across to his office, glancing at Sam.
"Well," he said. "That was... interesting."
Sam
"Sure... I guess," Sam frowned in confusion.
He made his way into the office and set his laptop on the desk.
Wesley
"Oh no, I just meant that Angel didn't dismember you," Wesley said, only half joking as he took his seat behind his desk.
"What can I help you with?"
Sam
"Why, would he try?" Sam looked up at Wesley, startled.
Wesley
"No," Wesley assured him, reaching for his glasses. "I think he'd be too scared of what Faith would do to him if he tried."
He pushed his glasses further onto his nose.
"What can I help you with?"
Sam
"Ok, um..." Sam frowned a little as he sat down.
"A few things. First off, I feel like I'm losing my mind right now. That I've reached every resource that I possibly could and gotten all the information on Lilith that I possibly could. Any luck with the trans-dimensional connections at all?"
Wesley
"To be honest, no," Wesley replied, rubbing his temple lightly.
"Not location wise. We did get some useful tidbits, but I suspect you already know them."
He opened one his his drawers and retrieved a manila folder.
"This is all we could come up with, I'm afraid. I don't know how useful it will be."
Sam
Sam flipped through it, then gave a disgruntled sigh.
"Thanks anyway," he shook his head, "I know I'm taking advantage of your resources and everything. I'm just really desperate. I guess I'll have to wait until she shows herself again. Even if it takes twenty years..."
Wesley
Wesley shook his head.
"It's ok. It's why we took on this place in the first place. To help people like you. Or at least, that was our first intention. We sort of became... corporate sell outs, as it were."
Sam
"Thanks," Sam nodded.
"Read for part two?"
Wesley
"Alright."
Wesley looked at Sam in curiousity.
Sam
Sam sat back in his seat and took a deep breath. He closed his eye for a second, and when he opened them again a book flew from a shelf behind Wesley and landed in Sam's hand.
"Or should I say 'act two'?" he mused a little, awkwardly.
Wesley
"Oh my!"
Wesley was shocked, to say the least.
"But ah... I assume this is a new skill?"
Sam
"One of a few, I'm afraid," Sam put the book down on the desk beside his laptop.
"Remember me telling you about the psychic kids that Azazel chose, and how we each had a different ability?"
Wesley
"Yes?"
Wesley was listening intently.
Sam
"Ruby said something to me, before she... you know. Before Lilith got to her. Something about me being able to save Dean by taking Lilith out without having to lift a finger," Sam explained.
"And I remembered that Ava - the girl that had visions like me - was actually able to control demons toward the end there. So she'd somehow accumulated this second power. Then I remembered when I met Max and how when I'd had the vision of Dean dying, I'd moved something telekinetically. Only I'd never done it again, so I figured it was a fluke thing. And since Azazel died, the only really supernatural thing that had happened was being immune to Lilith's powers."
He shook his head.
"So anyway. I figured I'd try the telekinetic thing out, and obviously it worked. Only now I'm also getting visions again, for no apparent reason, and to add to that... mind control."
Wesley
"Oh."
Wesley nodded slightly.
"So... I mean, we can run some tests if you're worried..."
Sam
"Privately?" Sam looked pained.
"Because I mean, fine if I'm getting these powers. But I'm not quite able to control them yet. And there's some - or one in particular - that I really don't want."
Wesley
"Of course," Wesley reassured him. "Fred can do it on her own. She's quite capable."
He looked dreamy for a second, then returned to business.
"If you don't wish to tell me, that's ok..."
Sam
"Tell you what" Sam asked, eyebrows raised.
Wesley
"The power you didn't want?" Wesley looked confused.
Sam
"Oh, no," Sam shook his head.
"One of the girls, Lily. When she touched people, their hearts stopped. She accidentally killed some people close to her, so... I'm not sure it's one that can be controlled. And I don't wanna kill anyone."
Wesley
"I could see how that would be inopportune," Wesley said dryly.
"Fred can run some blood tests through... well, she has a lot of resources at her disposal, not to mention her uncanny knowledge of science in the first place..."
He looked dreamy again.
Sam
"Can she isolate the demonic components?" Sam's eyebrows rose.
Wesley
"I confess I am unsure of what exactly she can achieve," Wesley said truthfully.
He thought for a moment.
"I can call her in, if you like? And you could discuss it with her?"
Sam
"Sure," Sam nodded, a little anxious.
This wasn't smething he wanted to keep from Faith, remembering what happened last time. But would she want to know that he could possibly kill her next time they... hmm.
Wesley
Wesley pressed a button on his phone.
"Knox here," the voice said.
"Knox, it's Wesley. Could you ask Miss Burkle to come to my office please?" Wesley asked politely.
"Sure."
Wesley nodded slightly, and returned his attention to Sam. "Would you like Faith to be here too? Or, does she not know about... all of this?"
Sam
"Oh no, she knows," Sam nodded.
"I almost hit her with a kettle once. But I'll fill her in on the finer details later."
Wesley
Wesley nodded slightly, then smiled at the new arrival in the doorway. "Fred."
"Hi Wes," Fred replied, closing the door behind her. "Knox said you..."
She caught sight of Sam and blushed slightly.
"Oh. Hello."
Sam
"Hi, Fred?" Sam leant forward in his chair a little and extended his hand.
"Sam Winchester. Nice to meet you."
Fred and Wesley
Fred blushed again and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too," she drawled, accent a little thicker than usual.
Wesley looked between the two, trying to keep his expression even. "Fred, we may need your expertise."
Fred seemed to snap back to reality, tearing her eyes away from Sam's, and she took the other seat at Wesley's desk. "Sure. What can I help y'all with?"
Sam
Sam decided to cut to the chase.
"I... may have demon blood in me," he explained.
"Not through birth, but through something that was done to me. And I have these... abilities..."
Fred and Wesley
Fred nodded. "Go on."
She was still blushing faintly, and Wesley was trying not to look jealous. And half failing.
Sam
Sam shrugged.
"That's about it," he said, "I'm not yet able to control them, and I know there's possibly a few more I might accumulate. SOme that I don't particularly want."
Fred and Wesley
"Ok," Fred said, nodding. "Well, I can run some tests through every spectrum I have."
She thought for a moment.
"We could probably isolate the demonic compenent."
Wesley smiled faintly. "Just the answer we were looking for."
Sam
"Great," Sam fought the feeling of relief, knowing that isolating wasn't the same as curing.
"When can we get started?"
Fred and Wesley
"Well," Fred said, thinking. "I have some things to do today, and I'm in a conference all of tomorrow. Maybe... Tuesday?"
Wesley sat back.
Sam
"That sounds great," Sam nodded with a smile.
"I really appreciate it Fred. Can I call you Fred?"
Fred and Wesley
Fred blushed again as Wesley shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Of course," she stammered. "I'd prefer it."
Sam
"Are you ok?" Sam asked, slightly concerned as he noticed her stuttering.
Fred and Wesley
"I'm fine," Fred said, looking away from him. "Um, so, Tuesday."
Wesley made a small noise. "Mmm. Tuesday."
He resisted the urge to give Sam a hateful look.
Sam
Sam noted, taking note of the sudden awkward silence.
"I... guess I'll go find Faith," he said, standing up and gathering his laptop.
"Thanks again for your time Wesley."
Fred and Wesley
"I saw her heading for the roof with Angel on my way here," Fred said helpfully. "I think she and Angel are doing that... thing they do."
Wesley let out a chuckle. "It is a little strange. And no problem, Sam."
"I can show you to Faith's room?" Fred asked Sam. "I don't know how long she'll be. They've been hours before."
Sam
"Sure, thanks," Sam smiled appreciatively.
He tepped over to the door and opened it for her.
Wesley and Fred
Wesley clenched his jaw and looked at his desk.
Fred lead the way out into the lobby, heading in the direction of the stairs.
"Um," she began. "I mean, I can take you to the roof, if you like? But they tend to be all private and stuff."
Sam
"No that's ok," Sam insisted.
"I won't invade Faith's privacy either way. I'm sure I'll find something to keep occupied with."
Fred
"Good idea," Fred said, climbing the last step and moving down the corridor.
"They can get scary when you've interrupted them. Well, Faith scares me a bit in general."
She babbled when she was a little nervous.
Sam
"It's ok, Faith and I get along... pretty well," Sam mused.
"We're sorta dating."
Fred
"Oh!" Fred said, glancing at him. "Well, good for both of you."
She paused outside a door.
"This is Faith's room."
Sam
"Thankyou," Sam reiterated sincerely.
"And I guess I'll see you Tuesday?"
Fred
"Sure."
Fred nodded awkwardly, and then left to go back to her lab.