Authors note: Hi sorry for the delay in updating but I had that gastroenteritis bug, which is one of the job hazards when you're a nurse, and I had an assignment to submit for my degree. Add to that some frantic Christmas shopping and you have one hellish month. Anyway I finally managed to write another chapter, the next chapter will hopefully be following not long after if all goes according to plan :-) Thanks for all the reviews and please keep them coming they mean a lot to a poor wee buddy like me lol.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Joss owns everything.

Chapter 9

Buffy's house - Late Evening

Tara stood in the living room doorway, silently watching as Buffy tended to Faith. Not wanting to interrupt the tender scene she turned and headed for the front door, however before she could leave she heard Buffy calling her name. Taking a deep breath she gathered herself together before going to face her friend.

When she entered the living room, Buffy gave her a small smile and gestured for her to sit next to her and Faith on the sofa. "S-sorry I didn't know if you wanted t-to be left alone." Tara said apologetically.

"It's okay, actually I wanted to talk to you." Buffy said softly. She saw the look of guilt flash across Tara's face and smiled sadly. "You need to stop blaming yourself Tara, it's not your fault."

Tara looked at her in surprise, of all the things she had expected Buffy to say this wasn't one of them, "W-what, but I c-cast the spell, and I-I didn't close the portal." she stammered. "I let that t-thing follow us b-back."

Buffy sighed and looked at Faith, who sat oblivious to what was going on around her. "She didn't want to go through with the spell at first." she said, gently brushing a stray piece of hair from Faith's eyes. "It was me that talked her into it. So if you're guilty then so am I."

"B-but I - " Tara began to protest but Buffy silenced her with a look.

"You didn't know that this would happen none of us did, we decided to do the spell because we thought it was the best thing for Faith." she said gently. "All you're guilty of is caring for Faith, you didn't set out to do this. I don't blame you and I know that Faith doesn't either."

Tara nodded reluctantly knowing that what Buffy had said was true, however it didn't help ease her guilt. "I know you're r-right, but I won't feel better until this is all over and Faith's back to normal." she said softly, glancing over at her friend.

"Me too." Buffy said quietly.

Tara gave Buffy a small smile before standing up from the sofa, "I'd better go home a-and see if I can find anything that can help Faith, I'm not doing any good sitting here m-moping."

Buffy nodded, "Will you be okay getting home? I can get Giles to take you home in the car -"

"No, I'll be fine. The fresh air will help c-clear my head, besides I can take care of myself." Tara replied. "And I can run fast when I n-need to."

"Okay." Buffy looked at Faith before looking back at Tara, "You're a good person Tara." she said quietly.

Tara smiled gently and pulled Buffy into a hug, "If you need a-anything don't hesitate to call me." she said. She felt Buffy nod in reply and pulled back from the hug. Turning to Faith she saw that she was still staring off into space, reaching her hand out she placed it on Faith's shoulder and squeezed gently, "I'll see you later sweetie okay." she said gently. She sighed sadly at Faith's lack of response and quietly left the room, not hearing Faith as she whispered goodbye.

Initiative Compound

Riley jolted from his sleep as the phone next to his bed screeched in his ear. Groaning he threw his arm out and grabbed it from the cradle. "Hello." he mumbled groggily. He was surprised when he was greeted by Wesley.

"Agent Finn, Professor Walsh and myself would like to see you immediately." Wesley said. Riley sat up on the side of his bed, immediately coming to attention. "The tracking device you planted appears to be working efficiently, however the reason for the meeting is far more important." he explained. "A car will arrive to collect you shortly, please ensure that you are ready when it arrives. We will explain everything when you get here."

Before Riley could reply the phone went dead as Wesley hung up, sighing tiredly he dragged himself from his bed and began to get changed. It was at times like these he wondered why he didn't have a normal job.

Meanwhile - Buffy's house

Giles and Willow looked up as they heard someone padding down the stairs, not long after an exhausted Buffy appeared in the doorway. Willow pulled the chair out next to her and motioned for Buffy to come and sit beside her.

"How is she?" Willow asked in concern.

"She's sleeping upstairs." Buffy sighed tiredly and ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Have you guys found anything?" she asked hopefully.

"From the little information we have, we believe that the Entity has been present in her psyche since her fathers death, however it didn't make itself known until the incident with the slave disc, which was several months ago." Giles explained.

Buffy looked at him in confusion, "If this thing has been in her head for years how come it hasn't taken her over before?" she asked.

"As you recall when Faith was under the control of the slave disc she was forced to kill innocent people. This awakened the Entity which feeds purely on death and destruction. If she hadn't taken human lives it would have remained dormant." he said. "However by entering the dreamscape it allowed the Entity to posses her and follow her back through to our reality."

"What about getting rid of this thing? How do we do that?" Buffy asked impatiently.

"Buffy you have to realise that we have very little information to work with." Giles said. "With our ties to the council severed and everyone's reluctance to involve Faith's clan we've reached a dead end."

"I don't buy that." Buffy said firmly, "I mean there's got to be someone that knows how to get rid of this thing, there has to be a spell or something!" she exclaimed, looking at Giles and Willow pleadingly.

"At the moment we have nothing." Giles said quietly. "And until we find a lead as to how to vanquish this Entity we have to discuss what to do with Faith."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked flatly.

Giles sighed and removed his glasses, trying to figure out how to broach the subject gently. "Given her current condition I don't think its wise to have her roaming round the house unattended." he said softly.

Buffy stared at Giles incredulously as she realised where this was going. "I don't believe this!" she exclaimed angrily. "You can't expect me to chain her up, she's not an animal!"

"I'm not saying for one minute that she is. But you have to see it from our point of view. She killed a man tonight and injured God knows how many." he quickly raised his hand as he saw Buffy about to interrupt. "I know Faith is docile at the moment but there is no telling if or when the Entity will come back."

"If it comes back I can handle it." Buffy said firmly.

Giles looked at the bruises that had formed round her neck from where Faith had grabbed her. "Can you?" he asked knowingly, raising his eyes to meet her gaze he saw her flinch and look away. "This Entity could posses Faith when your guard is down, when you're sleeping. Are you willing to risk your own safety and that of your mothers?" he reasoned.

Buffy sighed sadly and looked down at her hands that where resting in her lap. Willow placed a comforting hand on Buffy's arm. "Giles is right Buffy." she said softly. "And you know that Faith wouldn't want to be responsible for any more people getting hurt. She would want you to do this." Willow said.

"I know, but it doesn't mean its right." she said sadly. "She only went to sleep because I left the light on for her, she's terrified that this things going to come back and there's nothing I can do to reassure her. She's like a child." she said softly. "I can't chain her up, she wouldn't understand."

Giles looked at her in understanding, "The last thing we want is to cause her any unnecessary stress, there are other ways to restrain her than using chains." he said reassuringly. "Mistletoe can be used to repel Lycanthropes. If we place it in the doorway of a room she will be unable to enter or leave the room. It works in the same way that vampires need an invitation to enter someone's home." he explained. "It acts as an invisible barrier of sorts."

Buffy rubbed her hands tiredly over her eyes before looking back at Giles. "Okay, but I want Faith to stay here with me." she said firmly.

"Buffy-" Giles started.

"No, I'm not having her locked up in the mansion, not while those Commandos are out there. You didn't see them Giles, they where determined to capture her and they knew who I was." Buffy stated. "I'm not letting Faith out of my sight, I want her here where I can protect her."

"Okay, I understand. But you can't leave Faith alone in the house with your mother when you patrol, it wouldn't be safe." Giles said.

"I know which is why I'm not going to patrol." she replied. "Faith needs me and I'm not leaving her alone, not when she's like this." she said her tone holding no room for argument.

"You can't shirk your responsibilities as the slayer Buffy, you will need to patrol at some point otherwise you will put innocent people at risk." Giles said rationally.

"The person I love is at risk, which is higher on my list of priorities Giles. The slaying can wait, I'm sure the vamps won't miss me." she said sarcastically.

Willow saw that Giles was only seconds away from giving Buffy a lecture about the slayers duty, and decided to interrupt before it turned into an argument. "We can help with the patrol for the next couple of nights." she offered. "I mean we managed when Buffy was on vacation, a-and it's been quiet lately, it'll give Buffy time with Faith." she said smiling at Buffy, who looked at her gratefully.

"Are you sure Wills?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah we'll manage won't we Giles." Willow said, looking at Giles meaningfully.

Giles sighed. "Yes I don't see why not. But you will need to resume your duties eventually. I understand that this is hard for you but you have to realise that Faith could be like this for weeks, even months. We don't know if or when we'll be able to find a way to exorcise this Entity." he said. "We may have to go against Faith's wishes and inform her clan, they seem to be the only people with the knowledge we require." he said gravely.

"Faith's clan are our last resort. I don't want them involved unless they need to be." Buffy said firmly. "I'll phone Drake in the morning, he has a right to know what's going on and we can trust him. Besides he's our closest link to her clan and he might know something." she said standing up from the table. "I'd better go and check on Faith, if you guys want you can stay the night." she offered. "My mom won't be back till tomorrow so there's enough room."

"I'll stay Buffy, just encase you need anything." Willow said smiling gently.

Giles nodded. "I agree." he said. "However I think I'll go home and collect some books first, they may contain something relating to our predicament."

"Okay." Buffy said, "Willow you can stay in the spare room, the beds made up. And Giles you can take my moms room." she said.

"It's quite alright, I'll just take the sofa, I'm not planning on sleeping." he said. "You go and get some sleep, I'll wake you if I find anything." he said gently.

Buff nodded and smiled sadly at the pair of them before silently making her way upstairs. Willow and Giles watched her go, neither of them saying anything, both equally exhausted by the days events, and both hoping that they would find some answers in the light of day.

TBC

A/N: There you have it, my minds back on track now and I know where I'm going with this fic. For a wee while I was considering stopping it cause I really didn't know what to write. The next chapter should hopefully be posted in the next couple of weeks.