Chapter 3: Onto Faith and Wesley
Summary: Before she can leave Sunnydale, Buffy has some loose ends to tie up.
A/N: In response to Challenge 3064: conception by conspiracy *non-stargate* by shelli.
A/N2: Thanks to my betas: zigpal, JediKnight and AshDawnSoulmates.
Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
-----------------------------
Summers' home
The next day…
Buffy went to her OB-Gyn the next day and called the dad with the news. "Hey, it's Buffy! Just thought I'd let you know that I'm having amniocentesis done. The doctor told me that it can be used to determine paternity. Umm, just wondering if you wanted to have the results sent to you so you can match them against yourself or not."
-----------------------------
Little bit later…
"Hey, Wes!" Buffy chirped when her ex-Watcher answered his cell.
Wes smiled at the voice. "Buffy! It's good to hear from you again. How are your travels going?"
"All done. But there's some stuff I need to talk to you about. I have to go and see Faith today. Can we get together afterward? Giles will be coming with me," she asked hesitantly.
"That should be fine. Is everything alright? There isn't another apocalypse or anything?" Wes inquired, concerned at her tone.
Buffy shook her head, "Nope, but can we wait to get through this in person?"
Wes agreed, "If you wish. Do you want to meet at the hotel or is this not something you want Angel to know about?" he asked gently, remembering their talks during her trip.
Giving a rueful chuckle, Buffy answered, "Tough question there. Let's meet privately first. We'll have to talk to Angel about it afterward, but I'd rather get through it with you before having to deal with him."
"Just call me when you are done with Faith, and we'll arrange a meeting then," he offered.
-----------------------------
LA Women's Correctional Facility
Somehow Faith wasn't surprised to see her visitor. "Hey, B. Guess you're here about that freaky dream I had last night."
"Guy with a Bronx accent and a bowler hat, name of Whistler?" Buffy questioned, relieved that he gave her a heads up. It should make this easier.
Faith nodded, "Yep. Called Angel about it this morning."
Fighting to hide her irritation that Faith was closer to her ex than she was, Buffy managed to respond calmly, "Not surprising. I have to talk to him later anyway," she allowed.
"So what's going on? Why am I losing my powers now?" Faith asked, leaning forward in her chair.
Buffy wasn't sure how much she wanted to share. "How much did Whistler tell you?" she inquired instead of answering.
Faith shrugged, "Just that my destiny now was to pay for my crimes and that the Powers That Be were taking my Slayer-ness and giving them to somebody new. I mean, I guess I deserve to lose them after what I did," she said despondently.
"I'm not going to comment on whether that's true or not, because I'm not exactly the most objective person to ask. But the reason it's happening now is because I'm pregnant," Buffy confided, unsure as to why she didn't just let Faith believe she deserved it.
"Farm-boy knocked you up?" Faith guessed.
Buffy sighed, knowing that she'd have to explain to either Faith or Angel – probably both. "More like his boss did."
"Huh?"
"When you had my body, that was the only time 'I' had sex with Riley. I just wasn't ready after I got used by another guy," Buffy explained, silently thrilled at the guilt on the other girl's face. "Anyway, Riley's boss at the Initiative wanted to have a Slayer breeding program, so she inseminated me with some guy's sperm when I was unconscious in their infirmary one night. Since she was dead and all we had was a list of possible candidates, it took a while to figure out which one it was."
"Do you think she did the same thing to me?" Faith wondered out loud. She wasn't sure if Riley knew she was a Slayer or not.
Buffy shook her head. "There was nothing about it in her notes, and she's been dead for a few months now. Do you think it's possible you're pregnant?"
Faith breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the time frame. "Just got my visitor couple weeks ago, so no."
"Good," Buffy declared. No need for both of them to go through this.
"So what's the rest of the story?" Faith prompted the blonde.
Buffy picked the explanation again, "When Giles and I got back from tracking down all the guys, we got a visit from Whistler. Seems the PTB are giving me early retirement. They're calling a new Slayer, but since I'm more known to the demon community than you are, they're also letting me keep my powers. The new girl will be the active Slayer, and I'll do what I can while being a mom. But I was told to leave the Hellmouth."
Catching the tone, Faith questioned, "You think they're up to something?"
Shrugging, Buffy replied flippantly, "Wouldn't surprise me. But what can I do about it? I figure that I'll just accept the out they're giving me for now and worry about the rest later."
"I guess it makes more sense this way. Doubt I'll be fighting any demons in here anyway," Faith allowed. "So, you meet the new girl yet?"
"She hasn't arrived yet. The PTB are sending her directly to Giles before the Council can find her. That way she'll have a good Watcher instead of one of those Council drones," Buffy smirked at the idea of putting one over on the Council.
That surprised Faith. "G isn't going with you?" She didn't think anything would separate the dynamic duo.
"We haven't decided yet. I have to meet with Wesley when I leave here. See if he's willing to give it another shot. If he doesn't want to work with the new girl, maybe he'll go with me until the baby is born," Buffy said.
"That's gotta be tough. I mean, as much as you probably want to get away from the Hellmouth, this is a crappy way for it to happen," Faith sympathized.
Buffy shrugged again, "At least the dad isn't too bad."
"Ooo, is he a hottie?" she asked in true Faith-fashion.
"He's…okay looking," Buffy replied, not wanting to get into a girlfriend kind of discussion with Faith over the guy. She wasn't that comfortable with the brunette anymore. She just wanted to talk about the Slayer stuff, then leave.
-----------------------------
LA restaurant
Wes stood up as Buffy and Giles approached his table. "How did your visit with Faith go?"
"She accepted things a lot better than I would have in her situation," Buffy replied graciously.
Giles was quick to defend his Slayer, even to herself, "I think you have the more difficult situation to adapt to."
Buffy just shook her head though, "I don't know, Giles. Losing her Slayer powers is a pretty big deal."
"What?" Wes blurted out. He knew that something had happened to the dark Slayer, but he didn't know what.
Buffy went on to explain the pregnancy, the visit from Whistler and how it changed both her and Faith's lives.
After he absorbed the knowledge, Wes posed the question, "So, what did you need to speak with me about?"
With a nod from Buffy, Giles took care of the pitch, "Buffy will need somebody to go with her when she leaves that can protect her. And this new girl will also need somebody we trust to keep her safe. That wouldn't be anyone from the Council at the moment. We're here to see if you will either be the new Slayer's Watcher, or go with Buffy so I can."
Wes was stunned by the offer. "Me? Why on earth would you trust me?"
"Because you left the Council. And it sounds like you're doing better with the fighting instead of hiding thing here," Buffy said bluntly.
"I'm honored that you would believe in me like this," Wes commented, embarrassed to feel himself blush.
Giles just grinned as he assured the younger man, "You've earned it, Wesley. It's a hard thing to turn your back on something that's been drilled into you since childhood. It took poisoning my Slayer for me to do it."
That brought up a new question. "You actually think the Council would go for me being the new Watcher? After the way things were left last year?" Wes asked.
Buffy smirked. "I think there's a reason why Whistler and the PTB are doing things this way. They must know something we don't, or they have a trick up their sleeves."
"Will you do it?" Giles inquired.
Wes quickly accepted, "Of course! Thank you."
"We'll go with you to break the news to Angel if you want. I'll have to talk to him about Faith anyway," Buffy added with a grimace.
"Yes. He was quite upset this morning when she called. He may not be pleased to see you, you know," Wes felt compelled to warn the small blonde.
Buffy rolled her eyes, then grinned evilly as she remarked, "I bet he'll be even less happy when he learns I'm stealing you away from him."
-----------------------------
A/N: Next…Goodbye, Angel.