__Who Watches the Watcher?__
By Ashley
"Omigod! Wesley!" Cordelia's face blurred in and
out of Wesley's vision as she bent down in front of
him. He could see tears streaming down her face.
"Wesley? Wesley! Speak to me!..." He heard it,
softer now, as the darkness surrounded him, as he
fell into unconsciousness....
"Wesley..."
*******************
He awoke with a blinding headache. The blinding
white light that surrounded him didn't help much.
Wesley pulled himself up off the floor. Or what he
assumed was a floor. He just seemed to be surrounded
by white. He stared into the nothingness before
making out a shape in what, one assumes, was the
distance. It was walking in his direction.
"Hello, Wesley..." The words seemed to float
around him. Suddenly, the shape in the distance
appeared in front of him.
It was a girl, Cordelia's age. Young, with pale
skin, with a light dust of freckles over her nose,
she wearing a long white coat and seemed oddly
familiar. Was it her hair? It shone like gold, and was
layered and wild. Or her maybe her eyes? They were
blue-grey, and...and..
And they were his.
"How are you, Wesley?" She smiled, friendly, like
she had known him for years. It was true.
"I, ah...wha...fine, thank you." Wesley shook his
head, desperately trying to figure things out.
She beamed. "It's so great to finally meet you. I
mean, I watch you all the time."
"Excuse me? Are you some sort of..." Wesley
trailed off.
"Dream? Guardian angel? You can believe what you
want to believe. All you need to know right know is
that I work for the Powers That Be. Oh, and that you
look hot in leather." The Girl grinned.
"I, um..." Wesley was distracted by her last
comment for a second, then managed to regain control
over his brain. "The Powers That Be? Is this some sort
of...prophetic message?" He paled suddenly. "It's
not...death, is it?"
"Oh, no, Wesley, no!" The Girl tried to comfort him.
"I'm so sorry! I should have made myself clearer...I'm
just here to give you a simple run-of-the-mill vision
about your destiny and send you on your way. No death
- you're just unconscious. Alright?"
"Yes..." He nodded, taking it all in. Amazingly,
his pain had disappeared with her touch. "If you are
who you say you are, do you think I could ask you some
questions first?"
The Girl rolled her eyes. "Mortals and their
insatiable thirst for knowledge. You won't believe
how many times I get asked that question...but yes,"
She spread her arms wide. "Shoot."
He paused, slightly unsure. Is this for real? Have
I gone completely insane? Those were the questions he
*wanted* to ask, but instead, went a simpler route.
"What's your name?"
The Girl grinned. "Zelda Pinwheel."
Wesley surprised himself by laughing. "Really? Or
is that just your maiden name?"
She laughed too. "No, neither. But I'm glad you
haven't lost your sense of humor...Actually, I'm known
by a few names - the Greeks call me Alexios, The
Protecter..."
"It fits." Wesley nodded.
She continued. "In Arabic, I'm Kismet, meaning
'fate and destiny'..."
Wesley smiled. "I'm beginning to see a bit of a
pattern here..."
The Girl nodded. "But most often, I'm Hope. 'Trust
and-"
"Faith." Wesley finished for her. He sighed
softly.
She looked at the floor. For the immortal life of
her she couldn't think of anything to say. Her eyes
welled up. "Oh, Wesley...I'm sorry...If I was that
girl's guardian, I'd...I'd kick her in the teeth!"
"Or maybe something a little more painful..."
Wesley stammered. "I-I didn't really mean that..."
Hope stroked the side of his face. "It's hard to
get over, isn't it? The pain she caused...yet you
didn't betray her to the Council. That's one of the
most...*good* things you've ever done. Your soul is
pure and innocent, Wesley. You did the right thing."
She blushed. "Although I still think the PTB came up a
little short when they were giving Faith a soul..."
Wesley just stared at the floor.
She lifted his chin. "Is there anything else you
want to ask me?"
He didn't say anything for a minute, just nodded.
Then Wesley whispered, "So...why did the Powers That
Be send you? I mean, prophetic visions don't just
come along every day." He smiled slightly, trying to
forget the pain, even for a second.
Hope snapped her fingers and two drinks appeared
in the air. She handed one to Wesley. "This is where
it
gets interesting. They've taken a shine to you. You're
their, ah, entertainment." She sipped her drink.
Wesley nearly spat out his. "Entertainment?!
What?"
Hope laughed. "Oh, don't be so pompous! They like
you. You're not like regular people, Wes. And you're
life's pretty action-packed. Better than most soap
operas. Although it *does* need more romance..." She
winked.
He chose to ignore the last comment. "Regular
people?"
She nodded. "Yes. Do you think that the Council
has the last word? Most of what they say nowadays is
bullshit. It's in your blood - you are a Watcher
unto death."
"Well, I certainly feel better now." Wesley rolled
his eyes.
Hope hit him lightly on the arm. "Hey! No sarcasm.
You're one of the special ones - if you mouth off, I
lose my job. And it's a cushy one, so keep your trap
shut."
Wes grinned. "Well, you *do* seem to be doing a
fairly adequate job...."
"Hey thanks, you too." She grinned.
They smiled at each other for a second, identical
eyes dancing in delight.
Hope finished her drink. "So, anymore off topic
questions for me?"
Wesley paused a second. Then smiled. "How old are
you?"
"Too old for you, junior." She grinned broadly.
"I've been around for a couple thou. I was actually
a mortal once. Human sacrifice, kinda sucked. Oh
well, I'm over it. 'Die young, stay pretty', isn't
that what Blondie says?"
"I honestly don't know."
Hope laughed. "Sorry. Couldn't come up with a
James Bond or 'Doctor Who' reference."
Wesley shrugged, relishing this carefree feeling.
Then he remembered.
He remembered Angel, the lawyers, LA, the office,
and
Cordelia. Cordelia...the last time he saw her, she
was crying over him...
Hope noticed his expression. "I know what you're
thinking. You have to go back." She sighed. "Maybe we
should get on with it..."
Wesley nodded. "Yes, we should."
She snapped her fingers again, and the empty
glasses disappeared. A simple chair appeared. White,
of
course.
"Anything else before...." She gestered to the
chair.
Wesley forced himself to smile. "Could you tell me
anything about the future?"
Hope shook her head. "What am I, your personal
Magic 8 Ball? No spoilers here." She grinned.
Wesley nodding, grinned back at her. "I
understand." He sat down. There was silence.
Uncomfortably, he said, "I guess I should be, ah,
closing my eyes now...Goodbye, Hope."
"Awwww, Wes. You're gonna make me start bawling."
She bent down and gave him a long hug. Without
letting go, she whispered, "I'll be looking out for
you, I promise. You're a large part of something to
come...so no offense, but I don't want to be seeing
you
anytime soon."
They both laughed lightly. She kissed him quickly,
then stood up, wiping her eyes.
"Thank you."
She pinched his cheek and ruffled his hair. "Love
ya, Wes. Always have, always will. You don't know
how important you are. Not yet, anyway." Hope winked.
He squeezed her hand.
She let go, and backed up. "Enjoy the show." She
turned around and started to fade, white light
surrounding her, taking her back into the fold.
Right before she was out of sight, he heard her
say:
"And Wes? Don't forget what I said about the
leather..."
* * *