Chapter 2

Dawn ran down the deserted streets, ignoring the rain that had been pouring down ever since she left the Bronze to go looking for Faith. She knew it was stupid, just like she knew she'd never catch up. But she couldn't let Faith go off by herself.

It was bad enough when Buffy did it, but at least if she got in trouble she had friends to back her up - not like Faith. There were days when Dawn thought that she was the only friend Faith had, just like Faith was the only one she had. Everyone else was Buffy's and they were just borrowing. Not that she'd ever heard Faith complain. No, Faith just took it all and said it was five-by-five.

Martyr complexes must be another Slayer gift, because it sure showed up in enough of them.

Anyway, after a half hour and a couple hundred dark thoughts about vampires and where they could go, Dawn finally caught up to Faith. But the dark haired slayer wasn't fighting, or toying with the vampire like she expected. Instead she found Faith lying curled up in the middle of someone's back yard, sobbing quietly with her eyes locked shut and her hands over her ears.

That was fifteen minutes and a quick call to Giles ago. He'd come running with Tara in tow and now the four of them were standing – well, except for Faith who was cradled in Giles' arms, in front of the front door waiting for Tara to find the right key.

"Hurry up!" Dawn snapped at Tara in an angry whisper, but she couldn't tare her eyes off Faith. She never realized how small the Slayer really was until now, or how fragile.

"I'm trying. Which one is it?" She asked Giles with a hint of panic in her voice as her fingers fumbled over the keys.

"The middle one. Sort of bronzish," Giles said.

"I don't…" Tara began, then shook her head and muttered a curse under her breath as she shoved the keys into her purse. "I'm an idiot. Exsolvo." With that the door opened with a click. Tara pushed the door open and ran for the stairs in the back, taking them two at a time.

Giles glowered at the door, which seemed to mock him as it swung back and forth on its hinges. "I really must get better locks."

"Save your visit to Better Homes and Gardens for later," Dawn said as she pushed the door wide open and held it there. "And watch her head."

"I have done this before, Dawn," Giles said with just a hint of Ripper as he carried Faith inside and carefully put her down on his couch. The second she was free, Faith rolled over on her side and curled up in a fetal position. "Far too often, as a matter of fact."

Dawn sat down at Faith's feet. "At least she's not whimpering anymore." She managed to make it sound like the worst was over, as if catatonia had so much more going for it.

"We still don't know what made her collapse in the first place." Giles put his hand to Faith's forehead and frowned. "And she's burning up.

"I'm surprised we're not all sick," Tara said as she came back down the stairs with a half dozen towels in her arms. There were also a few small plastic bags of what had to be magic supplies sitting on the top of the pile.

"There's always tomorrow," Dawn pointed out.

Tara ignored her and dropped the towels on top of one of the chairs. "We should all change into something dry."

"Can't we do that later?"

"No," Giles answered. "Tara's right. With Faith especially. Besides, I don't want you dripping on my books." He waited for the laugh that never came, then cleared his throat and continued. "I trust you two can…" He said and motioned at Faith.

Dawn and Tara shared and uneasy glance.

"Actually, I have something that might help," Tara said quickly and grabbed one of the bags. She opened it up and took a pinch of the dark brown powder inside. Then she muttered something old and sprinkled the stuff over Faith. The powder glimmered when it touched Faith. When the lightshow was done she was completely dry.

"Well, that worked out nicely," Giles said.

Tara grinned and nodded. "Yup. A little trick Rebecca showed me. The only real problem is keeping it all balanced…" Tara stopped mid-sentence and craned her head back, only to catch the next drop of water on her nose.

Giles stared up at the dark stain that was spreading across the ceiling and sighed. "Marvelous. Let's the rest of us do it the old fashioned way." Giles grabbed a pot from the kitchen and put it down to catch the water. Tara blushed and offered him an apologetic shrug as he straightened up, but he just sighed again and headed upstairs.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Tara offered, lamely.

Dawn shook her head. "Why don't you go get changed while I keep an eye on her?"

"I'll be quick," Tara promised, glad to be given an out, and all but ran up the stairs to the guest room.

Dawn got up to wet one of the towels in the kitchen sink and started wiping the dried mud off Faith's face. "Can't take you anywhere." Faith's only answer was to wince and pull herself into a tighter ball. Dawn pulled her hand back, afraid she'd somehow hurt her friend. She tried again a few moments later, only to see Faith wince again. She let the towel drop down onto her knees and just sat there, afraid to do anything, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a hair and spun around to see Tara standing behind her.

"You can go get changed. I'll keep an eye on her," Tara promised and smoothed down the front of her yellow blouse and long green skirt with her hands. She took the towel from Dawn and started cleaning Faith's face off with the same gentleness that Dawn remembered. It was nice to know some things stayed the same. "Do you want to use my room?"

Dawn stood up, though her body felt like it was made of lead, and grabbed another one of the towels. "Got some stuff in Faith's." Standard Scooby procedure. There were spare sets of clothes at everyone's houses and at the Magic Box, just for nights like this.

She got half way to the staircase when she stopped and looked down at the carpet. "I'm sorry I snapped. Earlier, I mean."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. You were just worried about Faith."

"Yeah. Well, that and the fact that people who can't use keys are a pet peeve." Dawn glanced back over her shoulder and watched Tara's mouth twist to fight down a smile.

"Brat."

Dawn just grinned and hurried the rest of the way to Faith's room. It was right off the living room, which gave both Faith and Giles at least the illusion of privacy. Dawn walked inside and was, as always, struck by the difference between this room and the rest of the house.

Every other room in the house looked either a library or a museum, what with all the books and knickknacks that Giles kept, while Faith's room was almost empty except for a bed and a dresser. There weren't even any pictures, which was always a shock because at her house they might as well have used pictures for wallpaper.

"I like it Spartan," was all that Faith would say the one and only time Dawn had asked about it. But it was more than that, it always seemed like the Slayer was just two seconds away from packing up and moving out. Like she didn't want anything weighing her down in case she had to leave.

Dawn knew it worried Giles – hell, it scared her – but there was nothing that either of them could do about it. And even if there were, it wouldn't help with the crisis right now.

So pushed the thoughts out of her head as she knelt down and opened the bottom right hand drawer of Faith's dresser. Inside was a small duffel bag that she'd stuffed in there months ago that had a pair of jeans and a Powerpuff Girls t-shirt.

"Of all the nights to leave Spike's coat at home," Dawn groused to herself as she pulled off her soaked clothes and wished she had time for a shower, or better yet, a bath. A nice hot bath would feel so good right now, especially if she could borrow some of Anya's bath salts. Her in-law might have been a thousand-year-old demon, but she knew where to get all the best stuff.

Instead she had to settle for a quick towel off that was nowhere near as relaxing. Then she pulled thankfully dry clothes and shoved the wet ones into the bag and went back into the living room, where Tara and Giles were already back at work.

Giles was hunched over the kitchen table over a book and the only thing that was different about his outfit was the fact that it was now dry. "Didn't you bother to get changed, Giles?" Dawn asked as she walked over, trying to keep the mood light despite the worried looks on everyone's faces.

Giles didn't rise to the bait though. "Yes, I just have thirty different sets of the same things. Quite practical. Unlike you lot."

Dawn didn't bite either; she just sank down on the arm of the couch and stared down at an even paler Faith. Who'd've thought the mud actually made her look more… alive? "Is she any better?"

Tara opened her mouth for what had to be a lie, but she didn't say anything. Instead she just shook her head. "No. I think she's getting worse."

"It's a spell, obviously," Giles said, sounding quite sure of himself. Then he exhaled noisily. "Or a poison, or some entity's invaded her mind. Was she acting at all odd the last time you saw her?"

Dawn shrugged. "Same old. She saw a vamp at the Bronze and was going to dust it. You'd really think they'd stop coming around by now. I mean, how many do we have to kill before they get the hint?"

"No one said vampires were bright," Tara said. Then her eyes fell to the floor. "Not most of them, anyway."

"She wasn't acting at all odd?" Giles asked again.

Dawn thought back. "Well, she acted jumpy when she felt him with her Slayer sense."

Giles looked like he bit into something sour. "'Slayer sense?'"

"Yeah, but I thought she was just kidding, 'cause Buffy never said anything about being able to sense vampires."

Giles somehow managed to mix worry and disappointment in his eyes. "She should have, as should Faith, but neither ever showed any sign… And I doubt the ability would show up tonight. So, why would she lie?"

"Lying? What lying? I never said…"

"To keep Dawn from worrying?" Tara offered.

Dawn nodded so fast she got dizzy. "Yeah! That's it!"

"Perhaps," Giles nodded. "But that doesn't explain how she knew about the vampire. Unless, was he dressed… oddly?"

"No," Dawn said after a moment's thought. "Just jeans and a long sleeve shirt like most of the guys there."

"So s… she recognized him," Tara said.

Giles nodded. "But from where?"

Dawn swallowed hard and knew he was right. That explained why Faith looked so… shocked when she saw the guy. Like he was the last person she ever expected to see. "Prison?"

"A woman's prison?" Tara asked, amused at the thought. "Not unless she went to the same place they're always showing on Cinimax. Wh…which I've never seen." She turned away, but not fast enough to hide her blush.

At any other time Dawn would have grinned, but not now. Now her stomach had too many knots in it. "Before prison, then? Like Mayor before?"

Giles nodded and sighed. "That would be most likely. Thought it doesn't exactly help us narrow down…" They all jumped when the phone started ringing. "Bloody hell," Giles said, his hand over his heart as he reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello? Buffy? Yes, she's right here."

Dawn winced when Giles held the phone out to her and knew without looking at the clock she was at least two hours past her curfew. She took the phone, swallowed hard, and walked into the valley of the shadow of death. "Hey, sis."

"Don't 'hey, sis' me," Buffy answered. "You were supposed to be home hours ago. I've been up waiting for you…"

"Faith was attacked," Dawn cut in.

Buffy's speech screeched to a stop. When she started up again the anger was completely gone, replaced by fear. "How bad?"

"We don't know. She doesn't look hurt, but she's been unconscious since I found her."

"Since you… What were you… Never mind. Hold on," Buffy said and clamped her hand over the mouth of her phone. Dawn could half make out voices, but not well enough to understand what they were saying. Finally Buffy came back on. "We'll be right over."

Dawn looked out the window at the downpour that was still pouring down. "Are you sure? You don't have to, not in your…"

Now Buffy was the one who cut Dawn off. "I already have two wives, Dawn. I don't need three," she said, her tone Sahara dry.

"Hey!" Xander shouted in the background.

"Oh, hush," Buffy said to him before she got back to Dawn. "I only have to get to the car and back, I doubt I'll even get wet. Besides, Faith's a part of the family."

"Since when?" Dawn asked with a bitterness even she didn't expect and knew Buffy didn't deserve. After all, even she'd been uncomfortable when Faith came back and the dark Slayer hadn't done half the things to her that she'd done to Buffy, who - despite it all - still made Faith a part of her wedding.

"Since a week last Tuesday, doofus. We'll be over in ten minutes," Buffy promised and hung up.

Dawn hung up too and turned back to Giles, who had pulled opened another book. "They're coming over."

"Good," Giles said as he turned a page. "Maybe Anya'll recognize something."

"It's a spell," Tara insisted as she stood up from the couch and rubbed her arms. "I can feel it."

"That only narrows it down to at least a third of my books," Giles pointed out without malice. "But at least it's a start."

Dawn grabbed a couple of books and went to sit beside Faith, just to keep her company, even though the older girl probably didn't know she was there. Still, she might and that would have to do for now.

Buffy lied, it took them twenty minutes. Anya was the first one in; she pulled off her raincoat and threw it onto Giles' coat rack with such force she almost knocked the antique wood stand over. "Where is the faker?"

"Over here," Dawn said, darkly.

Anya walked over cocked her head to the side as she looked down at the still unconscious Faith. "Oh. She really is sick." Her shoulder's slumped. "I had hoped she was lying. As in exaggerating, not the actual lying down, which she clearly is…"

"I know," Dawn said and cut off Anya's babbling. It had taken a few months, but she'd learned to deal with her sister-in-law's quirks. Most of them, anyway. She never thought she'd miss Bugs Bunny so much.

Buffy was the next one in, though she barely got through the door before Dawn almost knocked her over for a hug. "It'll be okay, Dawnie," Buffy said as she pulled Dawn as close as she could, what with the large bulge of Buffy's stomach between them.

"Yeah, we've got Giles and his big squishy frontal lobe working on it," Xander said as he followed Buffy in and patted Dawn on the shoulder. Then he got serious. "How is she?"

"Comatose," Tara answered without sparing a glance at her book. "Probably magic, but I'll be bollixed if I know what spell."

Giles raised an eyebrow at Tara in surprise, not that she noticed, then added, "Most likely something from Mayor Wilkins though. And I'll be thankful if you never refer to my brain like that again. Horrid image."

"Yet so apt. So what can we do?" Xander asked and slapped his hands together.

Giles just gestured at the books. Xander let out a sigh as he sat down at the other side of the table and grabbed the topmost book.

"I thought you put all these on a computer?" Anya whimpered with dread as she moved over behind Xander, but didn't actually pick up a book.

"I did, but I never figured out how to run the blasted thing," Giles admitted. He gestured over to a leather case that was sitting in the corner of his living room, gathering dust. "Help yourself."

"Goody," Anya muttered with slightly more enthusiasm than she'd shown for the books as she opened the back and pulled out the laptop, which surprisingly still worked. Anya had it running and was pecking at the keys in just a few minutes.

Buffy glanced over at the research party, then back at Dawn. "So, how're you holding up?"

"Gloomy with a hint of miserable," Dawn admitted. "You?"

Buffy made a face and put a hand on her stomach. "Same thrill ride as ever."

"Couldn't sleep again?"

"No," Buffy answered with a pout. "It's no fair. I used to get more sleep as the Slayer."

"Just wait until Jessie's born. Then we'll all be keeping you company. Did you try warm milk like the crazy lady down the street suggested?"

"Ms. Guliaz isn't crazy, she's just a little odd. And yes, twice. No good." Buffy let out a sigh. "Come on, we aren't going to help her if we're just sitting her gabbing."

It took them three hours to figure out what was wrong with Faith and another hour to begin working on what they hoped would be a cure. Unfortunately it was proving messier than the disease, at least as far as Dawn was concerned.

"I just got all the mud off her," Dawn groused.

"If it makes you feel better, this is magic mud," Giles said as he painted elaborate black lines over Faith's cheeks and forehead with a thin brush. Once he was done there he moved down to her forearms and hands.

"Really?"

"No, not really." Giles stood up and looked over his work before he gave it a nod and put the brush back into the pot. "I'm ready."

Tara dropped put her brush down and gave the much more artistic lines she'd drawn across Buffy's face a tough critique, then nodded. "So are we."

"I still don't like this," Anya said, her arms crossed tightly against her chest while her foot tapped on the floor. "What if something goes wrong?"

"Yeah. You don't have to do this, Buff. I could…" Xander offered.

But Buffy shook her head. "No. Let's face it, she's dealing with a spell that's making her relive her worst memory, so I'm probably already there."

"You can't be sure of that," Xander pointed out weakly.

Buffy didn't say anything; she didn't have to. Even Dawn knew about the bad blood between the Slayers, mostly through stories and fake memories, but she knew them. There was Buffy stabbing Faith, or the two switching bodies, or Faith poisoning Angel, or Buffy and Angel coming to blows over Faith in Los Angeles, or… the list seemed endless.

"Besides, there's already a link between them, which helps out a lot," Tara said as she crouched down on the floor between Faith and Buffy. Faith was still curled up on the couch while Buffy was sitting across from her in the best chair in the house. "Are you ready?"

"Are you sure you can do this? Connecting two minds can be very…" Giles asked Tara.

"Dangerous?" Anya jumped in to the conversation and moved closer to Buffy. "How dangerous?"

"Tricky, is what I was going to say," Giles finished.

"I can do it," Tara said with a confidence that Dawn never thought she'd hear from the shy witch. "I've done it twice before and Ms. Harkness said I was a quick study."

"But…" Anya began.

"I'll be okay, Ahn," Buffy promised as she reached over and squeezed Anya's hand. Even after all these months it still looked a bit odd to Dawn to see her sister and Anya holding hands, or – hell – her sister holding hands with Xander for that matter. Not wrong, or bad, just odd. Still, it seemed to calm Anya down a little, even though she didn't look any less worried.

"Faith would do it for any of us," Xander chimed in, but didn't look any less concerned as he took Anya by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way.

"Be careful," Dawn said to her sister.

"Don't have to worry about that. After all, I've got a date to keep," Buffy joked and patted her stomach.

Giles cleared his throat. "Just remember, only Faith can break the spell. You can advise, but you can't do it for her."

Buffy glanced up at her mentor. "But you don't know how to actually break the spell?"

"Sadly, no."

"Figures." Buffy stretched one last time and tried to find a more comfortable spot to sit before she gave up. "Okay, let's do it."

"Give me your hand," Tara ordered. Buffy took a deep breath before she took Tara by the hand. Then Tara reached over and took one's of Faith limp hands and closed her eyes.

Then the witch said something in a language that only Giles and maybe Anya understood and the three girls stiffened almost painfully and didn't move again except to breath.

"That's it?" Dawn asked, disappointed. She'd thought there'd at least be some lights.

"That's it," Giles confirmed. "It's all up to Buffy, now."

"Just like old times," Xander said and looked almost nostalgic. "So, who wants donuts?"