Faith touched Sam on the shoulder as she came out of the bathroom. She sat down on the bed, and debated whether or not she should pack a bag, unsure of whether or not she would even want to stay, after hearing what Gunn had said.
"So, Angel's back," she said, getting the statement out into the open. She looked down at her feet, biting her bottom lip while she thought about the situation.
"Gunn said he'd send someone."
Sam
Sam glanced sideways at her, before continuing to put his socks on.
"For both of us or just you?" he asked calmly.
Faith
"For both, if you want to come," Faith answered, looking over at him.
"I'm not... not really sure what to expect."
Sam
Sam's eyebrows rose a little in surprise, but he nodded.
"Ok, I'll come," he said, "I'll call Dean later. He's probaby halfway to Tuscon already."
Faith
"Ok."
Faith looked like she was going to stand, but she just sat there for a second, before resting her head in her hands.
"I think he'll be here in about five minutes, if you need to grab anything."
Sam
"I might as well book us out. We don't know how long we're gonna be, right?" Sam asked.
Faith
"Yeah."
Faith nodded, rubbing her eyes.
"Guess so. I'll take our stuff outside."
Sam
Sam got his boots on and pulled on a jacket before quickly packing up his stuff.
He threw his bags near the front door, before giving her a nod and walking out.
He went up to the front desk to check them out, got a partial refund, and started walking back.
Faith
Faith blinked slightly, as the teleporter misjudged and ended up appearing almost on top of her.
"Sorry," he apologised.
"Five by five," Faith drawled. "I enjoy a bit of personal space invading from time to time."
"Just you?" he asked.
"Nah, Sam's coming too."
Sam
Sam reappeared in the room, not at all surprised to see the teleporter there.
"Ready to go?" he asked Faith, picking up his bags again.
Faith and Spike
"Not really, but let's go anyway," Faith murmured.
A half second later and they were at Wolfram and Hart.
"Hey," Spike greeted, obviously expecting them. "Pip. Slayer. Here for Peaches?"
Faith nodded. "How is he?"
"Crazy," Spike said bluntly. "Like... batshit crazy."
Sam
Sam stepped forward.
"I'll go dump our bags if you want to go on ahead," he offered.
Faith and Spike
"Ok," Faith said, glancing at him.
"We'll be in the basement level," Spike told Sam. "He's uh... not really responsive."
Faith took a deep breath, and the blonde vampire started to lead the way.
Sam
Sam rubbed Faith on the shoulder as a last moment supportive gesture, before heading for the hallway.
Faith, Spike, Gunn and Angel
Once they were down in the basement level, Spike let go of Faith's arm. She glanced at him, then at Gunn, who was standing near the cage, where Angel was chained up inside.
"Can I go in?" Faith asked softly.
Gunn nodded. "We have a trank gun just in case."
"I'll be ok," she replied.
Gunn unlocked the cage and she took a deep breath, before stepping inside.
Angel looked up at her, eyes feral and he growled angrily.
"Angel?"
Sam
Sam quickly dumped their bags in Faith's room before making his way back to the lobby. He asked for quick directions, and started heading down.
Faith and Angel
Faith stood still for a moment, waiting until Angel had calmed down. She took another step towards him and he remained still, watching her carefully.
He was crouched down, chained by the wrists to the top of the cage, the chains not allowing him much room to move.
Sam
Sam stepped out of the elevator, unsure of what he was walking into. He saw the group over in the corner and walked up behind them, careful not to interrupt anything but keeping an eye on what was going on.
Faith and Angel
Faith was right in front of Angel now, and he remained calm, deadly still.
"Angel?" she tried again.
She slowly extended her hand, fingers lightly ghosting over the gryphon tattoo on his back.
Suddenly, he lunged, and she backed up quickly.
Sam
Sam sidled up beside Gunn, head lowered and eyes dark as he watched the scene unfold.
Gunn, Faith and Angel
"That's the calmest he's been," Gunn murmured to Sam. "This is a good sign."
Faith knelt down so she was at Angel's eye level, still across the cage from him.
They locked eyes for a long moment, and Angel sniffed. He reached out for her, and she shuffled forward. He sniffed again, then growled, pulling his arm back abruptly.
Sam
Sam remained alert, barely hearing Gunn, as he readied himself to use his telekinesis if needed.
Faith, Angel, Spike and Gunn
Faith took another step towards Angel, and he grabbed her hand, bending it back as he pulled her towards him.
Spike raised the trank gun.
"Don't," Faith told him. "Wait."
"Faith," Gunn said, watching carefully. "I think it may be - "
"Don't," she repeated.
Angel's grip loosened for a split second and she made a move to pull away. He snapped and grabbed her again, pulling him against his chest, his nose in the crook of her neck.
"I'm shooting," Spike warned.
"No, just wait a sec..."
Angel sniffed along her neck, and just as he vamped out, Spike shot him.
The older vampire crumpled to the ground, and Faith stood still, half in shock.
Sam
"Faith, get out," Sam insisted, stepping closer to the door.
Faith, Gunn and Spike
Faith walked out slowly, and Gunn closed the door to the cage once she was out. She turned and looked through the bars, watching the unconscious vampire.
"Is there any chance he'll get better?" she asked, reaching for Sam.
"It's hard to say, ducks," Spike replied, unusually kind.
Sam
Sam enveloped her in his arms, his eyes on the floored vampire.
Spike and Faith
"He has shown signs," Spike said carefully. "Just then, before he lost control... that's the closest to calm he's been."
Faith's body was shaking lightly, and she clutched onto Sam with weak fingers.
"Sam, can we go?"
Sam
"Yeah, sure," Sam assured, slipping his hand into hers and starting to pull her to the elevator.
Faith
Faith took one last look towards Angel, then let Sam pull her away.
Once inside the elevator, she turned her face away from Sam, trying to hold herself together.
Sam
Sam watched her for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"Did you want to stay in the building, or leave altogether?" he asked, unsure.
Faith
"I think... let's leave," Faith replied softly.
"I'm not up to this."
Sam
"Do you want to stay in the area just in case?" Sam offered.
"I mean we don't have a car, but we could always catch a bus."
Faith
"I can get one of the cars," Faith told him. "And then a teleporter can come get it later."
She rubbed her eyes.
"If you get our stuff, I'll get the car."
Sam
Sam nodded.
"Deal," he said.
When the doors opened, he squeezed her hand before letting go and heading back to the room.
Faith
Faith walked into Angel's office, pausing for a moment. She went over to his desk, running her fingers over the smooth finish of the desk.
With a sigh, she opened the cupboard to see all of the car keys for the sports cars in the garage.
Picking one at random, she closed the cupboard again, hurriedly leaving the room.
Sam
Sam fetched the bags and met Faith in the garage.
"Hey," he nodded to get her attention, "are we good?"
Faith
"We're set," Faith said.
She glanced at the key, then around at all the cars in the garage. With a slight shrug, she held the key up and pressed the central locking button to find out which car she'd picked.
"Ah, over there." She pointed in the direction of a black sports car.
Sam
Sam headed in that direction, opening the trunk to put their bags in.
"You can drive," he offered.
Faith
Faith nodded and opened the door. She slid in, adjusting the seat so it was nearly all the way forward.
"Find a motel?" she asked.
Sam
"There is one not too far from here, but Dean and I have stayed there before so it's probably not safe. Just drive around for a while and I'll keep an eye out," Sam said as he got in and closed the door.
Faith
"Sure thing, Sammachu."
Faith started the car, listening to the engine for a second before backing out of the spot. She sped towards the exit, pausing only to tap her security code into the gate.
Once it was open, she sped out into the street.
"Hey, thanks for coming with me."
Sam
"Thanks for asking," Sam said sincerely, glancing acros at her before returning his gaze to the window.