Chapter 15: Well you do, so make up your mind to go on, 'cos when you woke up this morning everything you had was gone.

Part One:

Constantine gazed down on Faith, as she lay beneath him panting. His hands held her wrists, her arms spread above her on the bed. He moved forward with his hips again and caused her to gasp. Constantine noticed she was crying, it made him pause, confused.

"Kid, what's the matter?" he asked her concerned. He hated seeing her cry.

"I can't do this anymore John." Faith whispered to him. "It's so sick."

Constantine stopped and withdrew from her reluctantly. He released her wrists and lay back beside her on the bed.

"I thought you didn't care?" he said to her. "That's what you said before."

"The wrongness of this, is growing on me." Faith wept, "You know when I was a girl, a couple of miles outside of Boston, there was this quarry. And all the kids used to swim there and jump off the rocks. And there was this one rock forty feet up. I was the only one that would jump off it. All the older kids were too scared."

"Yeah, you had a death wish even as a kid. No surprise to me." Constantine told her. He held her in his arms comfortingly.

"I don't want to jump off the high rock anymore John." Faith explained to the only male apart from Angel, she had ever truly trusted. "Everyone is gonna find out you're my uncle, that I murdered two people. I can't live with it."

"What are you saying Faith?" Constantine said frightened for her. "You're not thinking of…"

"No, I'd never kill myself. What would that do to the kids when they grew up? Mommy didn't love them enough to stick around." Faith shook her head. "I'm destined for Hell anyways, why hurry the journey huh?"

"You're not going to Hell, you're a good person." He told her fiercely.

"John, I honestly don't think I can be here. The shit is going to hit the fan soon." Faith told him terrified. "I can't deal with deportation, going back to prison. The media attention, What if they find out we're related?"

"There's no way anyone would find that out. I trust Giles, J.C. and Dawn they'll keep their mouths shut." Constantine assured her. "I love you. I'll look after you."

"Oh baby, you can't, not for this." Faith leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "I'm so screwed John."

Part Two:

Constantine came home tired, after a frustrating day trying to track down the Powers That Be. There were news crews and journalists, waiting outside the Watchers Council building.

They rushed towards him. "John Constantine, do you know your wife is a wanted fugitive in California?"

"No comment!" John said brusquely, pushing them out of the way. He went inside the courtyard and ran to his and Faith's living quarters. The flat was deserted. Faith and their twins were gone.

Hellmouth jumped down off the couch, and mewed plaintively round his legs.

Constantine noticed an envelope with his name on it, on the table. He ripped it open, read the letter enclosed and threw it on the floor in disgust.

How could Faith have been so stupid?

Part Three:

The courtyard in the palace bustled with activity. It was market day and the palace square was filled with the town's populace and livestock.

No one really paid any attention to the human male and female, who entered the gates. The man was carrying a metal cage, with a howling animal inside. The human male was oddly garbed, and had an off worlder look about him. He walked up to another human. The young human female trailed behind him.

"I'm looking for my wife." The man said without preamble. "She's a slayer named Faith."

Faith came back from the dragon slaying, exhausted. As a champion, her strength on Pylea was increased. But a dragon was always a tough bastard to fight. Faith was looking forward to seeing the twins, and having a hot bath. It had been hard to ride her horse properly, she was so weary.

Faith went up to her rooms and flung off her armour, sinking into the hot bath provided for her. Faith scrubbed the dragon blood off her arms and applied a soothing salve to her burns.

Refreshed, she got out of the bath and put on a purple gown. She went into the twins' room. Their wet nurse was playing with them. Faith went over and hugged and kissed her babies.

"They need you in the throne room, my lady." The wet nurse told her. "A human male arrived looking for you, today."

"Damn,' said Faith disappointed. She had been so looking forward to spending some time with her children. "Alright I'll be back soon I hope, probably another stupid quest."

Faith hurried down the stairs. She walked quickly down the passage, hitching up her skirts. Long dresses were a pain in the ass, but expected in court. She couldn't be bothered with the belly dancer look, in such a draught ridden building. Faith thought her Morgan Le Fay look was the warmest solution.

The guards stood to attention and held the door open for her. Faith strolled in casually.

She saw immediately the magnificent Groosalugg on his throne, with his heavily pregnant princess beside him. Lorne was sitting on a chair in front of them making Cordelia laugh.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Faith asked cheerfully.

Constantine stepped forward from the shadows. He looked the same as ever and he was looking pissed off.

Faith's mouth fell open in shock. She had never expected him to follow her here. Faith had been sure leaving John had been the best thing to do, for both their sakes.

"Hello Faith, mind telling me, why you walked out on me without a goodbye and took my children with you?" Constantine asked her coldly.

"I left a note." Faith defended herself. She noticed Dawn, stepping forth from the shadows as well. She was holding a cat cage, containing a meowing Hellmouth. Well that explained how Constantine got here.

"Yeah, I have that note here. Let me read it out to their highnesses. Let me share it with everyone." Constantine said in his distinctive monotone, digging in his trench coat pocket and pulling it out. It was crumpled, as if he'd screwed it in to a ball and then smoothed it out again.

Constantine held the note in his hands, and proceeded to read it out loud. "Dear John, I am only going to bring you grief, and drag you down into Hell with me. I'm leaving you and taking the kids. They won't have to live with the shame of knowing their parents were uncle and niece. This is for the best John. I know you'll find happiness in God's plan for you. Please forgive me, all my love Faith."

"Uncle and niece?" Cordelia said considering. "A world of yuck, but you guys didn't know right?"

"Not till two months ago." Constantine told the Princess of Pylea. "We'd been together almost a year by then."

"Faith is your brother's child," Said Groo, to Constantine in understanding.

'Yes." Said Constantine triumphantly, "and that doesn't matter on Pylea does it?"

"No," said Groo, "It is common among us. If you'd married your sisters daughter, well that is disgusting of course."

"Huh?" said Faith and Cordelia simultaneously.

"We're a matriarchal society sweet cheeks'. Lorne told the princess and the slayer. "Only the mother's line counts. If you marry into your father's side of the family, it's just considered a good way to bond clans."

"Which if you ever read a damned book," Constantine said in frigid tones to to Faith. "You might have realised. Instead you write me this bullshit note."

"I, you were meant to be with Angela." Faith protested strongly. She'd sacrificed her happiness for his soul. Didn't he get that?

"I love you!" Constantine shouted at her. "I don't want any one else, even if I can't ever have you!"

"You say that now." Faith said anguished. "But you'll grow to hate me."

"I could never, ever hate you Faith." Constantine told her wearily. He obviously had never managed to convince her of that fact. "But I am so fucked off at you right now, for taking the kids with out telling me."

Groo nodded approvingly. "So you have come to this dimension to claim your wife."

"Faith left me, she obviously doesn't want to be with me anymore," Constantine said coldly. "I've come to this dimension to live permanently. Even if I have to live in a hovel by the woods, to see my children grow up."

"What about going to Hell?" Faith reminded him. He was willing to live in a hovel, he really did love the children not just her?

"Yeah, sign this." Constantine brought out an official looking document. "I've arranged with The Powers That Be to switch us over to the gods here. Just sign on the dotted line kid. There's no heaven and hell, just reincarnation in this Hell dimension."

"It's why charities are so hard to run here." Lorne explained to Dawn. "Everyone thinks you deserved it, to be born handicapped in any way."

"It's epic." Groo said approvingly, to Cordelia, referring to Constantine tracking down Faith. "Think how I crossed dimensions for you, my love, and how you returned, to be with me."

Cordelia smiled guiltily, not wanting to ever tell Groo the truth, about her return to Pylea. The Powers That Be had told her she had two choices to be Pylea's princess, or become an angel again. Cordelia sucked at being an angel.

Cordelia had taken a one way trip. The few visitors that travelled in between the planes, could never remember they had seen Cordelia in Pylea.

Faith signed the document and felt a divine shiver go through her body. Her soul had jumped religions, she had just felt it. She didn't know how Constantine had done it. Constantine had freed them both, from being pawns anymore in God and Satan's eternal chess game.

"How's the Watchers Council?" she asked Dawn manically, not prepared to look Constantine in the eye. "I hope the news crews, didn't cause people trouble."

"Making everyone think you ran away to Africa," Dawn told her. "Oh, and they found some ghouls last Thursday, near Wembley, same old, same old."

"Aren't you going to run into your husbands arms?" Groo said sternly, to Faith. The ruler couldn't believe Faith was hesitating. "He just saved your soul."

"I don't know if he really loves me, or is doing it out of family obligation." Faith said doubtfully.

"Sing then." The Groosalugg commanded Constantine imperiously. "Krevlornswath will interpret your motives for Faith."

"Can she go first?" Constantine requested. "If I really repel her I don't want to…"

"Fair," Said The Groosalugg, "Alright slayer. It is a royal command, sing."

Faith supposed this was the downside, of living in a medieval society. She cleared her throat. The only song she could think of off hand was Rob Zombies 'living dead girl'. It was her favourite song to dance to, and she could only remember the last part. Faith cleared her throat, checking there was no one in the throne room except themselves and began.

"Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Girl

Blood on her skin
Dripping with Sin
Do it again
Living Dead Girl"

Faith stopped embarrassed. "Do I have to go on?"

Groo looked startled. Cordelia and Constantine were just nodding to themselves, at her song choice. It was so Faith.

Lorne had tears in his eyes, but a happy smile. He looked at Constantine. "Your turn hon." He gushed.

Constantine tried desperately to think of a single song he could remember word for word, hold on yes! It was a Leonard Cohen song. He sometimes sang it to the twins as a lullaby.

"I bet it's Leonard Cohen." Faith muttered under her breath. She could read Constantine like a book by now.

Constantine heard her and thought furiously again. Right. Like his wife, he could only remember the chorus.

"Isn't this, one of the songs you listened to kid? As part of your background music to train Slayerettes," Constantine mumbled to Faith, hideously embarassed.

"It kind of imprinted on me, the one hundredth time you played it!" he accused her. Constantine cleared his throat, wondering if his cheeks were flushing with embarrassment Jesus, he hadn't blushed since he was a teenager.

"Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter"

Constantine noted that the ground had not opened and swallowed him up. Dawn looked like she was trying not to laugh. He should have gone with Billy Joel.

Lorne applauded him. "Good try with the contemporary, Constantine. Oh would you two love birds just suck face already." Lorne laughed delightedly, to Faith and Constantine. "You both are completely in love with each other."

Lorne turned to Constantine shaking his head beaming. "Faith only came to Pylea, because she mistakenly thought you'd be better off without her Constantine."

Lorne addressed a nervous Faith. "Sweetie you can relax, this man loves you with a passion I see rarely. Neither of you could ever stop loving one another."

Faith and Constantine fell into each others arms, kissing each other frantically. The month they had been apart, had seemed an eternity to both of them. Faith and Constantine could never be apart if they wanted too. They couldn't help themselves, there was never going to be anyone for them but each other. It didn't matter that they were uncle and niece. Even if they had found out they were father and daughter they could not have stopped themselves loving one another.

At last they parted. "Where are the kids?" Constantine asked her. "I want to see them. You left Charles favourite rattle behind."

Faith looked at Groo and Cordelia for permission to leave, and the rulers nodded.

Faith and Constantine left the throne room, hand in hand. Faith looked happier, than Groo or Cordelia had ever seen her before.

"Don't ever pull a stunt like that again." Constantine told Faith firmly, as they walked out the doors.

Cordelia pulled a face. "Well," she said to the remaining inhabitants of the throne room. "It might be a happy ending by Pylea standards, but I still think it's kind of yuck."

THE END.