Smash Into You
Rating: M (Not in the early chapters but it will come later on)
Pairing: Willow and Faith. As much as I am a Willow and Tara girl if I have to accept the fact Tara is forever gone then I really like this pairing as a season 7 or post season 7 pairing. Was never much impressed with Willow and Kennedy, Joss should have well gone down the Willow and Faith joint redemption route!
Disclaimer: If Buffy was mine then Tara would never have died and Faith would have been in every episode! Amber and Eliza are good eye candy!
Summary: Nearly a year after the defeat of the first Willow organises Faith's early release from prison and asks her to join the gang in Cleveland. Ignores the comics and presumes that Faith would have actually gone back to prison to complete her sentence.
Chapter 4
The hotel was different to what Faith had expected and was nothing like Angel's. It was a low rise building with only two floors but it was spread over a large area. There was certainly plenty of space for several people to live in and then some.
Faith followed Willow through the front door and into a large dark space. Willow must have turned the lights on because suddenly the room was illuminated. It had once been the hotel reception area but had now been converted into a living room space with a large television, sofa's and a large wooden table and chairs. It was obviously lived in but was exceptionally tidy, probably because of that Chloe girl Willow had mentioned.
There was a noise from somewhere in the first floor and the sound of footsteps. Faith's apprehension rose again, wondering who was going to be the first person she had to deal with. Dawn, dressed in red pyjama's, burst into the room and came to a crashing halt at the sight of them.
"Willow!" She exclaimed "You're back! I thought you were Buffy."
"Why where is Buffy?" Willow asked with concern lacing her voice. The red head took a few steps towards Dawn but Faith stayed back by the doorway.
"She went out on patrol hours ago" Dawn was obviously worried "she's usually back by now."
"Alright well I'll ring Buffy and if she needs us we'll go help" Willow replied, giving the girl a reassuring pat on her shoulder.
Dawn looked relieved by Willows words and relaxed a little. It was only then that Dawn actually noticed Faith's presence in the room. She didn't looked quite as stunned as Faith had expected her too but then Dawn had never shown any real malice towards Faith.
"Faith, you got released!" It was more a statement of fact from Buffy's younger sister rather than a question.
"Yeah, Willow's doing" Faith replied, relieved by Dawn's cheery tone and body language. In fact the girl almost seemed happy to see her and was practically bouncing on her toes.
"It's good to have you back" the young girl finally declared, bounding across the room and giving Faith a hug. It took Faith by surprise and she dropped the bag of clothes she had been holding, but she didn't resist Dawn, she just patted her on the back and let her get on with it.
Faith watched Willow take out her mobile phone and ring Buffy; it seemed to take the blonde slayer a while to answer.
"Buff" Willow finally spoke "where are you? Dawn is having a hernia here!"
There was a long gap whilst Buffy must have been replying and Faith waited patiently to find out what was going on, Dawn on the other hand was pacing.
"That's miles away! I'll drive down and pick you up but be careful if there are loads of them" Willow seemed shocked by whatever Buffy was telling her.
"I'm coming, don't let Willow leave without me" Dawn turned to Faith and said firmly before dashing of in the direction she came. It looked like Willow was going to break away from her phone conversation and protest but then thought better of it.
"Okay, on our way, bye" Willow finished the conversation after a few more seconds and placed the phone back in her jacket pocket. She didn't instantly explain the situation to Faith but instead she went to a small chest by the door and opened it, taking out a couple of wooden stakes. She pocketed one and tossed the other to Faith.
"Vampires" Faith stated "you said something on the phone about loads of them, how many?"
"Buffy said she'd seen about five or six going into a disserted building" Willow replied "it's a road of old houses that's about to be ripped down and redeveloped."
"That really is miles away" Dawn joined the conversation as she appeared in the doorway. To Faith's amusement, the young girl hadn't wasted time changing and had merely shoved a coat and pumps on over her pyjamas. She was also carrying one of the huge crossbow's Buffy used to shoot wooden arrows from.
"You had that in your room?" Willow was clearly referring to the crossbow that Dawn was now swaggering across the room with towards the front door.
"For practise, how else do you think I got such a good aim?" Dawn replied cheerfully "Well come on!"
Willow gave Faith a horrified look but all Faith could feel was amusement at the idea of Dawn firing a crossbow in her bedroom. She just hoped the target wasn't on the girl's door or one day there was going to be a serious accident.
The fifteen minute drive through the city was spent with Dawn giving Faith a blow by blow account of all the demons and vampires they had faced since moving to Cleveland. Willow had kept quiet and just observed the interaction between the two, pleased at Dawn's positive reaction to Faith's arrival.
Faith seemed to be amused by Dawn's eagerness to tell the tales and Willow couldn't help but smile at the brunette slayer who was sat in the front passenger seat. It was a good job Dawn was in the back because some of her arm movements as she re-accounted some of the fights where on the dangerously wild side. If Dawn had been in the passenger seat she would have probably accidently knocked Willow unconscious.
As they reached the street Buffy was on though Dawn went quiet and instead occupied herself with looking out for Buffy. Faith was looking too but she seemed to be surveying the area more than seeking Buffy.
"Stop" Faith suddenly said about two thirds of the way down the street.
"What?" Willow braked and looked around but she couldn't see anything of interest, there was no sign of Buffy.
"That house is the only fully bordered up one" Faith pointed at the house just in front and to the left of them.
Willow wouldn't have noticed that even if she had drove up and down the road for an hour, it was the kind of small detail a slayer would pick up on though. If there was a vampire nest then they would have to ensure no daylight got in or they would be dust. So the vampires will have chosen a house that was fully bordered up or completed the job themselves.
Faith didn't wait for a reply and was already out the car and heading for the sidewalk by the house. Willow and Dawn clambered out the car after her and caught her up on the sidewalk, where the brunette slayer stood looking thoughtful.
"Something isn't right" Faith declared when Willow joined her "It's too quiet."
She was right, Willow hadn't thought about it until Faith pointed it out but it really was silent. In a disserted area like this you wouldn't expect vampires to be silent, in fact you'd expect there to be music and blood curdling screaming. That was without the presence of the slayer, with Buffy around there should be the sounds of braking windows and mayhem.
"Stay close" Faith instructed, grabbing the sleeve of Willow's coat and pulling her along with her as she made her way around the side of the house. Willow could feel the tension virtually dripping of Faith and knew the slayers senses were on red alert. Dawn followed right behind Willow, loading one of the arrows she had stored in her pocket into the crossbow as they walked.
Before they reached the rear of the house Faith suddenly stopped and gestured to them to be quiet by putting her fingers on her lips. She then pressed her ear to one of the planks that boarded up the large broken window they had stopped at and listened. Willow couldn't hear a thing but obviously Faith and her alert slayer senses had heard something or someone.
Faith glanced at Willow and Dawn and mouthed the word 'Buffy' at them. Willow decided to join Faith at the window and mimicked the slayer by putting her ear to the plank. She could faintly hear Buffy saying something but she couldn't make out what. Then she heard something much clearer, a threatening man's voice, telling Buffy she was outnumbered. He said that he had never had slayers blood before but was looking forward to it; he'd heard it was a delicacy.
Faith gestured for Willow to move back so she complied, stepping back to Dawn and giving the brunette slayer the space to do whatever she needed to do. Faith gave the two of them a wink before stepping back and jumping into the boarding feet first, sending it clattering into the room. Within seconds Faith had followed it into the room and was stood by the windowsill, with several shocked faces looking back at her.
Willow and Dawn stepped closer to the window so they could get a better view and block the exit of any vampires. Willow noted that although Buffy had looked shocked to see Faith, the look had almost turned to relief. Considering Buffy was stood in a room surrounded by nine vampires that was no real surprise.
"Does this even thing's up a bit B?" Faith smirked, sounding ultimately confident, like the Faith of old.
"Oh I reckon so" Buffy smirked back, throwing the vampire stood closest to her a smug look. Willow deduced that this must have been the threatening vampire she had heard speaking.
"Two slayers" the vampire declared "double the delicacy"
"Oh there is nothing delicate about me mate" Faith retorted and within a blink of the eye the stake that had been in her pocket was flung across the room and into his chest. There was a seconds pause as the vampire registered what had happened and then puff, he was dust. There seemed to be another brief pause whilst the other eight vampires reacted and then there was movement and the fight broke out.
It was hard for Willow to figure out what exactly was happening as there was a lot of movement in a small confined room but she did register that the first vampire that had rushed at Faith hadn't reached the slayer. Dawn had shot it through the heart with the crossbow and Willow was impressed by how quick Dawn had reacted. Dawn had shot another one that had been pushed in front of the window by Buffy and Willow herself had staked one as it tried to escape out the window after being flung across the room by Faith.
The two slayers seemed to be working in unison, an understanding still left over from the days before Faith had gone off the rails. Willow hoped that the two of them could at least put the past behind them and find that understanding completely again. She doubted the two would ever be friends, but if they could work together as a team then that would be good enough.
The fight was over within a couple of minutes and only piles of dust remained, scattered about the floor of the room. Faith didn't wait round and jumped back out the window to rejoin Willow and Dawn. Willow suspected it was because she didn't want to face Buffy alone yet, it would be easier to face her with less hostile company present.
"Nice shooting" Faith commented at Dawn as she reached them, coming to a stop next to Willow and turning to face the window.
"Nice entrance" Dawn counter complimented, taking a sneaky glance at Buffy as she slowly climbed out the window.
"Nice timing" Buffy added "if not unexpected"
The two slayers where now face to face and although Buffy didn't look angry or hostile she did look a little weary.
"Is this a hobby Will?" Buffy turned her attention to Willow "visiting LA and bringing Faith back?"
Willow wasn't sure what to make of the remark, it wasn't aggressive enough for Willow to react to it but it was disapproving enough to irritate her. It obviously irked Faith a little too because the brunette slayer shifted and gave Willow a frustrated look.
"No" Willow replied evenly "it won't be necessary now she is here with us, will it?"
She knew she was being a bit confrontational but she couldn't help it, Buffy was using a particular tone that Willow couldn't stand. It was the tone she used when mentioning Willow and anything magical together in the same sentence.
"You're staying?" Buffy asked Faith tersely, returning her attention back to the brunette slayer.
"Yes she is" Willow cut in, bringing Buffy's attention back to her again. Both slayers and Dawn looked at her in surprise, her actions where obviously unexpected.
"What?" she asked Faith "You didn't think I'd get you released, bring you here and then just let you fend for yourself did you? You're here, you're staying, and you're part of this group."
Dawn nodded approvingly at Willow, ignoring Buffy's glare and giving Faith a nudge with her elbow. Faith smiled at the younger girl before turning her gaze back to Willow and making eye contact with her. Willow could tell that Faith was trying to convey her gratitude without making a big seen and irritating Buffy.
"You got her released?!" It took Buffy a while to register what Willow had said but when she did Buffy's voice was raised for the first time.
"Yes" Willow replied firmly "is there a problem?"
There was a couple of seconds where Willow felt like she was standing of against Buffy, the idea didn't scare her as much as it once would have; she knew she could take Buffy after all. With that thought Willow scared herself that she was thinking about the black magic again, but before she could back off Buffy did. It had happened a few times before, Buffy backing of Willow with a weary look on her face; like she was worried Willow might snap. Faith had noticed the exchange too and was looking quizzically at the two of them, clearly not understanding what was going on.
"No" Buffy finally conceded "I'm just confused as to why you kept it secret and why...Never mind, welcome to Cleveland Faith"
Although Buffy had stopped that train of thought and changed subject it was obvious to Willow what Buffy was going to say, she was going to say 'why you did it'. Buffy was meant to be Willow's best friend yet she just couldn't understand her at all, it frustrated Willow no end.
"Maybe we should get back" Dawn cut into the awkward silence that was now forming "I mean I've got a test tomorrow and you guys must be tired from travelling..."
Dawn trailed off but her words were enough to break the tension slightly and suddenly Buffy laughed.
"Are you wearing your pyjamas?" she gave her younger sister an amused look.
"Yes" Dawn replied "Do we have a problem now?!"
Buffy just laughed and walked away towards the car, leaving the others to follow on. Buffy and Dawn sat in the back seat again on the way home and although the mood had improved Buffy was silent in the back, lost in her own thoughts. Dawn on the other hand continued where she left of earlier and continued telling Faith about the vengeance demon they had met that was truly horrible to Xander and upset him over losing Anya again. Willow tried to cut out the story and just concentrate on the road. Thinking about Anya's death was upsetting enough but it also always ended up with her thinking about Tara's, and that just meant no sleep and tears all night.