Have A Little Faith, Chapter 39

Warning: Character death approaching. I like these character, but it had to be done for plot reasons.  If you don’t want to read the death scenes, skip this chapter.

Faith got home at dawn.  She had a long and painful fight with Angelus which ended when Angelus ran off because dawn was approaching.  She went into the apartment and straight to bed.
She was suspicious of why Angelus showing up, but she was to sore to think about it now.  It was something she could discuss with the others tomorrow.

She was glad to find Wesley not waiting up. She did not bother turning on the lights.  She did not want to wake him.  There was enough light so she could make it to her room without tripping.
She was so tired.  She passed out still wearing her clothes and sneakers.
 

“Do you have to work today?” Cordelia asked.  “It’s Saturday.  Even Wesley isn’t working today.”

“It’s a client,” Lindsey explained. He was feeling ecstatic.  He had received a call this morning from someone who actually wanted to hire him.  It was a divorce case, but right now he was grasping at straws.  They wanted to meet with him and anoth er divorce lawyer at 5 at their house. “And as you know, I’ve had—what one client in the last umm—month.  I have to take what I can get.”

“Just don’t take any Wolfram and Hart cases,” she said twirling his hair that he was growing even longer.   He did not know when he planned to stop.  Perhaps when he no longer looked like the Lindsey McDonald that worked for Wolfram and Hart.

“The word out about me is I deal with good people only and I’m affordable and will even work pro-bono on occasion.   I wish someone would listen.”

“They will hon,” she replied and kissed him.  “They’ll see you the same way I see you.”

Lindsey only smiled in response.

“Hurry back, soon,” she said.  “Remember we’re going out tonight?  It’s our three month anniversary.”

“I won’t forget.”  He leaned over and kissed her.  She grabbed him by the neck.  “Tonight, honey,” he whispered.  “Keep it pent up and we’ll go wild.”

She laughed.  She loved to hear happiness come out of his voice.  She wanted to hear that voice forever.
 

Faith woke up and was surprised to find that Wesley was already out.  Of course, it was 3 in the afternoon.  She was glad he let her sleep late.  She called Lindsey who happily told her about the case and that Wesley did not seem to have a major problem with her moving out.  He told her they could discuss what Angelus was up to tomorrow or Monday.  Faith agreed only because she liked giving Lindsey a break from Angelus.

Faith was then faced with an odd dilemma.  Alex was on a case.  Wesley was probably with her.  Lindsey was with Cordelia, then had to meet with a client.  Doyle had a day off and Gunn was doing things with his crew.

Which meant that she had absolutely nothing to do today.  Wesley would tell her that she should spend her time studying or training, but he was not here.

She thought that maybe she would sit around and watch movies. It would probably be the only time in a long time when she could just veg out for the day.

She was interrupted by the phone ringing.  She went to go pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” said Alex on the other end.  “Faith.  Is Wesley there?”

“Wesley?  I thought he was with you?”

“Nope. I had a quick break on my case and I wanted to call him.”

“Well, he’s not here,” Faith said, thinking about what movies she could rent.  “I’ll tell him to call you when he gets in.”

“Thanks, I guess I’ll see you tonight.  Wesley and I are going out.  I’m picking him up at 7.  It’s my turn to drive.”

“Oh, I’m going patrolling early today,” Faith said.  “Going at the crack of dusk to get some vamps.”

“Why so early?”

“They were out in force last night and so was Angelus.  I never got a chance to go out.  I wanna go out tonight.”

“You saw Angelus?  Did you tell Wesley or Lindsey?”

“Told Lindsey.  He said we’ll discuss it tomorrow or Monday.”

“What about Wesley.”

“Nope, I got home to late last night to wake him.  Didn’t see him when I got up, but then again I just got up.”

“That seems weird that he would just show up during your patrols.  He usually doesn’t do that.”

“He did it before we first met.  He used to stalk me in the park.  He probably wanted to spook me.  He said he would kill everyone I cared about and then kill me.  He was probably just trying to unnerve me.  He must still be pissed off from when we saved Lindsey.”

“Yes, probably,” Alex said, but she sounded a little nervous.  Faith understood.  Angelus always had a reason to do something.  “But that was four months ago?”

“Angelus can stay pissed for a long time.”

“You’re right.  Tell Wesley to call me on my cell when he gets in.”
 

Lindsey was bored.  He had been with this couple for two hours and he had not gotten anywhere.  He spent more time being a marriage counselor than a lawyer.  He had never done divorce cases with Wolfram and Hart.  The wife’s divorce lawyer seemed annoyed at the situation as he was.   She tapped her foot impatiently.

It at least made him grateful of the wonderful marriage he had with Cordelia.  He promised himself he would never let this happen to them.  Even if Cordelia got bored with him, he would let her go.  He wanted her to be happy.  That’s all that mattered.

He looked at his watch.  It was approaching seven.  Cordelia and him were supposed to go out to dinner at 8.  But at his rate he would be lucky if he actually got to divorce proceedings by then.

He tapped his fingers against the desk.  The couple, who had been bickering for the last few minutes, finally stopped.

“Mr. and Mrs. Braddock.  Can we talk about the house now?” he said, frustrated.  He debated making another meeting with them on Monday.

“I agree,” the other lawyer said.  She looked at Lindsey and smiled.

“I was the one who spent all the time there,” Mrs. Braddock said.  “All those lonely nights where Henry was supposedly working late.”

Lindsey sighed.  The woman was always whining.  The man was always just mumbling to himself.
He was glad when the cell phone rang.  “Hold on for a moment,” he told them.

“Hello.” The Braddocks started bickering at each other in the background while the other divorce lawyer tried to calm them down.  At least it was low enough that he could talk.

“Hey Shortcake,” said Faith’s voice, but there was something in her voice that he did not like.

“Faith, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Wesley-- I think he might be missing.”

“Missing?” he asked.

“Yep.  He wasn’t here when I woke up and he’s not with Alex or at the office.  I don’t think he even came home last night.  This isn’t like Wesley at all.  Alex and Doyle are out looking for him.  Cordelia says she’ll stay in the office in case he comes in, but can you search with me?”

“I’ll be right there.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Faith said.  “He’s probably out doing errands and he probably did tell me, but—  He isn’t answering his cell.“

“I understand,” he replied.  “I’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone.  He turned to the Braddocks, but did not have a chance to say anything because Mrs. Braddock had a gun on him.  The female lawyer smiled at him again.
 

He was glad to find the office empty when he came back.  This would become so much easier.

Wesley walked to the office and headed to the doorway of Lindsey and Cordelia’s apartment.  He knocked slightly. He heard the sound of footsteps.  A moment later the door opened and Cordelia stood in the hallway.

“Wesley!” she cried out.  “We were so worried.”

“I’m okay,” he said.  “I just talked to Faith.  I told her I would be out and she forgot.”

“She can sometimes be so strange,” Cordelia said and smiled.  “Are you sure you are all right?”

Wesley smiled.  “I’m dying for a cup of tea.”

“Of course,” she said.  “Come on in and I’ll get you some.”
 

“What is this all about?” Lindsey asked.

Mrs. Braddock smiled.  Henry actually looked nervous.

“Mr. McDonald,” the lawyer said.  “You’ve been great trouble to us.”

“I thought this was an acting gig,” Henry said.  “That we were supposed to keep this guy occupied?”

“Shut up, Henry,” Braddock said and turned around and shot him. Lindsey used the moment to push over the table.  It went crashing over Mrs. Braddock and the female lawyer.  Lindsey got up and ran.  He heard a shot followed by some pain in his shoulder.  He heard the lawyer scream.  “He’s not supposed to die yet!”

He ran out the doorway to the staircase, then slammed it shut to protect himself.   He ran up the basement stairs.   He heard more shots that sounded like they were going through the door at the bottom.

This was a set up.  So Wolfram and Hart could kill him.  But they should have used a better assassin.

What Henry and the lawyer said stayed in his mind:  ‘We were supposed to keep the guy occupied’ and ‘he’s not supposed to die yet!’
 

“Teas on,” Cordelia said.

“Wonderful,” Wesley said and took the cup.

“I know you English guys like fresh tea, but all I have is tea bags.”

Wesley smiled and sipped the tea.  “This is completely unacceptable,” he said and threw the hot tea in her face.

Cordelia screamed and Wesley grabbed her and slammed her against the table.

"I am so sorry about this, Cordelia.  I am very fond of you, but it is just business.”

“Wesley—what has gotten into you?” she cried out and tried to move, but Wesley seemed stronger than he looked.  “You’re hurting me.”

“I’m sick and tired of how you make fun of me especially from a whining bitch like you,” he said.  He pulled Cordelia up and made her face him.

He had a vampire face on.

Cordelia could do nothing at first but scream.  The Wesley vampire just laughed, but he also released her slightly.  Cordelia used that moment to grab the tea pot and crack it over Wesley’s head.  She pushed him away and scrambled to the next room.  Wesley did not follow after her.  He had to get the gem.  She would be taken care of later.
 

Cordelia ran to her front door.  She had to get to a phone.  She damned her cell phone that was sitting on her night table.

She ran down the stairs and out of the apartment.  She pulled the front door open and headed into the office.

When she got there, she stopped dead and another scream escaped her lips.

Angelus, Drusilla, Alonna, Penn and Lee were waiting for her.
 

Lindsey called Faith, Alex and Doyle and told them what happened.  He was rushing back to the office.  Alex and Doyle were heading to the office in her car and Faith was taking a taxi.

He had bad feeling about things.  It got even worse when no one answered any of the phones in the apartment or the office.  He had a great pain in his chest.  He did not know what to do if anything happened to Cordelia.
 

“Hello Cordelia,” Angelus said.  “How’s it going?”

“Umm,” she said, moving away from him slowly.  She hoped to get to her apartment.  She would rather deal with one vampire than five.  “Alright.”

“I am really sorry about this,” Angelus said.  “You are quite pretty and I don’t really have anything against you.  Except that I need the gem and you had to marry Lindsey.  So I arranged it on a day where everyone was off and that hubby would have a case.  Then it would only be you to worry about.”

“Lindsey—“

“He shouldn’t have crossed me, Cordelia.  He should have left.  I’m afraid I have to hurt him.”
Cordelia said and took a few steps back, but Angelus moved fast and grabbed her arms.

“He has to suffer, Cordelia.  No one does that to me and lives.  But first he has to suffer thinking that he killed you.  Guilt is such torment to you humans.”

“Got it,” said Wesley’s voice from the door.  He came into the room with the gem in his hand.

“Give it here,” Angelus said and he pushed Cordelia into Drusilla.

“Don’t fret, darlie,” she said.  “It will all be over soon.”  She touched Cordelia’s neck.  “Such pretty fear.”

Angelus took the gem and slammed it against the table.

This time it did not break.

“Excellent,” Angelus said. He turned back to Cordelia and smiled.
 

Lindsey pulled in front of the office about ten minutes later.  He rushed into the office.  The lights were all off.  He turned them on.  He found Wesley sitting at Cordelia’s desk.

“Wesley, you’re alright?”

This time Wesley did not try to do some play acting.

“Hello Lindsey,” Wesley said and put on his vampire face.

“Oh my god!” Lindsey cried out.  He did not think of himself at that moment, his thoughts were on Cordelia and that Wesley was gone.  Wesley charged at Lindsey and slammed him against the wall.  Lindsey always kept a cross in his pocket.  He grabbed it and showed it to Wesley.
Wesley pulled back for a moment, then grabbed Lindsey by his arm and threw him into the wall again. The cross dropped to the floor and far from Lindsey’s reach.

He jumped on Lindsey and grabbed Lindsey by his shoulder and pulled his collar down.

“Angelus killed her,” Wesley whispered.  “Killed her because of you.  Now I’m going to drink from you and make you drink from me.  Faith will be forced to stake you as you are still dying.  Isn’t that a marvelous plan?”

Lindsey cried out when he felt Wesley’s fangs sank into his neck and began to drink.  Lindsey cried out again.  Things began to turn hazy.  He began to hyperventilate.  All he could think about was Cordelia.  Was what Wesley told him true?

A moment later the pain went away.  Lindsey thought it was over.

Instead Wesley cried out.  Lindsey opened his eyes just in time to watch his friend turn into a skeleton and then to dust.

Faith was standing behind him.  She had a stake in her hand.  She did not move.  She seemed frozen in her spot.  The two of them made eye contact, but did not say anything until Faith fell to the ground.  She did not say anything.  No tears or crying appeared.  Instead she just touched the ashes.

Lindsey did everything he could to stay standing though he felt like he was about to pass out.  He wanted to comfort her, but she was at least physically okay.  He wanted to mourn Wesley, but all he could think of was how he had to find Cordelia.  He ran passed Faith and into the inner office, there was no sign of his wife.  He went into his office and turned on the lights.

Cordelia was slumped over in his chair.  There was blood all down her neck and dripping to the floor.

“Cordelia!” he screamed.  “Oh god!” he rushed over to her and pulled her off the chair and into his arms.  She was still breathing, but it was very shallow.

Lindsey picked up the phone from his desk and dialed 911.  “Please help,” he told them while he cradled her.  “I’m at 8 Wildorf Blvd.  My wife has been stabbed in the throat.  Please hurry, she’s lost a lot of blood.  Yes, I know.  I will do that.  Please, for god sakes hurry.”

Cordelia eyes opened after he hung up.  Lindsey got a napkin that was on his desk and put pressure on the wound.   Blood soaked through the napkin and all over his hand.

“Cordelia, please, hold on,” he told her.  “They are coming.  They’ll give you a blood transfusion.”

With her last bit of strength, she muttered out.  “Angelus.  Didn’t—drink--”

“I know.”  He said using his free hand to stroke the side of her head.

“Promise me—“ she said, grabbing a lock of his hair and pulled it hard.

“What?” He said and held the napkin with more pressure.

“Promise me that you won’t blame yourself--  I don’t regret any of it--” she said her voice trailing off.

“Cordelia, they’ll be here in a minute.  Just please hold on.”

“I love you Lindsey,” she said, her hand released his hair and then her head fell back.

“Cordelia,” he said.  But he knew what had happened.  “Cordelia!”  He pulled her close.  “Oh god, no!” he cried out, rocking her.  He would never let her go.
 

Chapter 40

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