CHAPTER TEN

"Fuck, did they all lose their goddamn minds or something?" Faith asked as she paced her apartment floor, her eyes darting everywhere but where Buffy was sitting on the edge of the unmade bed. "This is a bad idea, B. Really bad. I feel like I'm gonna be sick."

Faith clutched at her stomach, pulling at the soft material of her shirt and her stomach lurched. Buffy had been the one who all but forcefully dragged her home before Willow prepared the spell that would strip Angel of his soul. Faith didn't want to see it happen, she still didn't want them to go through with it, but it was too late. No matter what she said or did, it didn't matter. Angel—or rather Angelus—was the only way they'd get what they needed. It was his choice, not hers, not anyone else's but his own. Nobody could talk him out of it no matter how hard they'd tried—and she'd been really the only one who tried out of all of them.

"This is such a stupid idea," Faith murmured, feeling the bile as it rose in her throat.

"Come here," Buffy whispered as she reached out for Faith's hands and pulled her until she was sitting next to her on the bed.

"How did everything get so messed up, B?"

"I don't know."

"Would it have been better if—"

"No," Buffy said quickly, cutting her off and finishing it with a quick hard kiss. "Don't think for one second that things would be different or better if I never came back with you. I started this with Tarek in London, not knowing who he was. I'm the one he is after now. I'm the reason everyone is in this mess to begin with. But you know something? Even if I knew who and what he was, I still would've staked him anyway."

"Of course you would've," Faith laughed dryly and she felt the hot sting of tears as they rolled down her cheeks. "I'm finding it wicked hard to see a light at the end of this never-ending tunnel right now. What if releasing Angelus backfires, B?"

"You heard what Angel said, that he trusts that you'll be the one to put him down if that's what it comes down to."

"I don't know if I can."

"The last time you faced Angelus, it wasn't to put him down, it was to drug him, to lure him, to capture him just long enough for Willow to find his soul and to put it back inside of him. If it comes down to it, this time it'll be different."

"But just as hard, B. He's strong, you know that and—"

"You're far stronger than he'll ever be. Don't ever, for one damn second, forget who you are, Faith. You are the Slayer, and one hell of a strong one at that. I've seen you fight over the years, I've seen how strong you've come, not just with strength, but mentally as well. Stop doubting yourself, baby. If you can't believe in yourself, just remember that I do. Fully and completely."

"It's still a stupid idea."

"I know it is," Buffy sighed softly. "Do you want me to…help you take your mind off of it?"

Faith chuckled and shook her head no. "Don't think that's such a good idea right now, B."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked, playfully wiggling her eyebrows at her. "Absolutely positive?"

Faith swallowed hard as Buffy fluidly moved to straddle her legs. Her body, full of tension, started to relax as Buffy ran her hands gently up her bare arms and slipped under the straps of her black tank. Faith's own hands easily found their way to rest on Buffy's hips as their lips met, slowly yet surely in a soft kiss. It was far too easy for her to fall under Buffy's spell.

She had to stop turning to her to tune the rest of the world out. She had to stop falling into a world where only pleasure, not pain, existed. She had to stop turning to Buffy to forget everything else because outside the rest of the world kept on going, with or without her. She just had to stop and she didn't know how.

Buffy deepened the kiss as she buried her hands in Faith's hair. Faith slid her hands under Buffy's shirt, her fingers dancing over soft, warm, tantalizing skin. She found herself being not the one in control as Buffy pushed her back on the bed. She moaned into Buffy's mouth as they found themselves in an ever familiar position and one that had her body craving for more. Her hands moved from under Buffy's shirt and down the soft curve of her small yet curvy and hard ass. Faith abruptly sat back up, tearing their lips apart as they both gasped at the sudden movement. Faith used the momentum to kiss over Buffy's neck, one hand still on her ass as the other moved to push back her hair, her lips trailing soft, wet kisses over her pulse point.

"Change your mind?" Buffy whispered and Faith pulled back with a soft chuckle.

"Just want to kiss you, nothing more, B."

"Mmm? Is that right?" Buffy asked in a dangerously sexy voice that had Faith struggling not to lose control of her libido completely. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?" Buffy asked, a hand sliding between their bodies, between Faith's legs and she rubbed her hard through her jeans.

Faith pulled her in for a passionate and deep kiss as Buffy continued to tease her, to test the limits of her self-restraint and control she was so desperately trying to keep a hold of. It took everything she had to grab a hold of Buffy's hand that was between her legs and pull it away. Buffy grunted in protest, but didn't stop kissing her, choosing to otherwise keep her hands preoccupied by gripping at Faith's shoulders and running her short nails down her back.

The sound of a key sliding in the lock, however, caused them both to pull apart in surprise and alarm. Faith and Buffy shot up from the bed, Buffy standing near the edge while Faith grabbed the closest weapon to her, a knife that was usually sheathed inside her boots she wore on patrol. Cautiously she approached the door as whoever was on the other side tried to enter, the chain being the only thing preventing them from coming in uninvited.

"Who is it?" Faith asked as she shut the door and slid the lock back into place. She looked through the peephole and spun around to face Buffy. "It's Dawn," she whispered and Buffy nodded as she took a deep breath. "You want me to let her in?"

Buffy looked scared, but nodded yes anyway. Faith took a few deep breaths as she unlocked the door and slid the chain back. She barely opened the door herself before Dawn came rushing inside, panting as if she'd ran all the way up the stairs to Faith's floor. Faith barely had the door shut when it was pushed open by an equally breathless Xander.

"I tried to stop her," Xander said quickly as Dawn just stood there staring at Buffy stand at the edge of the bed. "Dawnie has one hell of a right hook on her."

"Just like her big sister," Faith muttered under her breath, yet Xander heard it and stifled the laughter that tried to escape. "You all right, man?"

"I'm fine. I'll be bruised for a week, but kind of adds to this whole pirate look I've been trying to perfect all these years, don't you think?"

Faith too had to stifle the laughter, their usual banter finding it's way between them even with a heavy situation lingering, the calm before the storm that was Dawn against her sister. Despite the fact that Buffy had been at Headquarters for a few hours that afternoon, she'd never once run into Dawn. Faith had hoped word of Buffy being there wouldn't reach her, but in a place like that, whispers traveled quickly. No secret that was in plain sight was kept for very long.

"Dawnie, I…"

Buffy's words were gone as Dawn rushed up to her and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Faith wasn't sure what she expected, but that certainly wasn't it. Faith looked at Xander as he nudged her shoulder with is own.

"Let's give them some space for a little while, yeah?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, man?"

"Probably not, but if anyone can hold their own against Dawn, it's Buffy. Come on, let's go grab a couple of beers and head up on the roof, watch the sunset just like we used to?"

Before he was married, before Annalee was in the picture, before Annalee became jealous of all the time that Xander spent with Faith alone. She didn't say it, but she thought it. She knew he was thinking it too. With a slight nod of her head, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of cold beers out of the fridge and all Faith could do was look over at Buffy and Dawn, her heart lurching as she watched the two of them hold on to each other tight, the tears spilling from both their eyes endlessly.

Xander led the familiar way to the fire escape just outside the largest window in her small studio apartment. She followed him out the window and up the creaky metal stairs to the flat roof of her building. The two crates that had always been there were still there in the very same spot as they'd been the last time she'd come up there with Xander more than two years ago.

"It's been a while," he said as he sat down on one crate and cracked open his can of beer.

"Too long a while is what you mean," Faith sighed and she too sat down on the crate next to him and opened her beer. "Uh, is Will—"

"It's done," Xander replied tightly. "Don't worry, Angel was already far from HQ when she took his soul."

"Now what?"

"All we can do is wait."

"It's a stupid idea."

"Yeah," Xander sighed. "It is, but it'll work."

"How can you be so sure when I'm not?"

"Trying to hold on to the last threads of positivity here. It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it, right?" He chuckled quietly, but he sounded so far away even from himself. "So, now that I finally got you alone for a few minutes, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"This thing with Buffy, how did it start?" Xander asked, the slightly boyish giddiness not hard to miss. Faith rolled her eyes and tried not to smile as Xander threw his arm around her. "Come on, you know how curious I am. Two slayers getting with the hot and sweaty action between the sheets—"

"Always a personal fantasy of yours, I get it," Faith laughed, rolling her eyes as she pushed Xander's arm off of her. "If you're fishing for details, you ain't gonna get any. I don't kiss and tell, not anymore."

"Clearly. Guess you could say I was the least and most surprised when I found out about you and Buffy. Didn't think you had it in you to keep something like that from us for five years."

"Remember when I went to Miami to pick up a slayer the coven found?" Faith asked him and he thought for a moment before nodding his head. "I ran into her down there. She seemed different and I just rolled with it. We ended up at a club, dancing and drinking the night away. Wasn't until I woke up alone and naked in a motel room the next morning that I realized what happened."

Xander had a dazed look in his eyes and she playfully smacked the back of his head. She knew what was going through his mind, yet she couldn't blame him. He laughed and rubbed at the back of his head before he cleared his throat, that dazed look disappearing as he turned to look at her, his look more serious than playful now.

"Was it her idea or yours to keep this from all of us?"

"You gonna get mad when I say it was a little of both?"

"A little bit," Xander admitted easily but he shrugged it off. "But I get it, I do. Kind of."

"Never meant to go behind your backs, not after you guys put your faith in me, learned to trust me after all that shit I did to all of—"

"Hey, remember what I told you years ago? It's over and done with, Faith. Let's just leave the past where it belongs, okay?" Xander asked insistently and she shrugged before nodding her head a little and lifting her can of beer to her lips. "It's hard not to fall for her, isn't it?"

"Wasn't until recently that I knew for sure that I was," Faith whispered and she shook her head sharply and stared down at the can she held in both hands. "But you're right. It's hard not to fall for her. I mean, it's Buffy, right? There's no one else quite like her, is there?"

"Yeah, there really truly isn't," Xander nodded and smiled sadly as they both turned to watch the sun as it began to get lower in the sky, almost disappearing behind the tall buildings of the city.

Angelus wandered the streets of downtown Cleveland, feeling fresh and free—finally—but knew there was a catch this time. There was always a catch, one way or another, but he didn't care, he was free again, free to feed, to fuck, to fight, to live. With a hop in his step, he turned the corner, not at all surprised to see Tarek standing by the limo, arms crossed over his chest and a look of indifference on his generally stoic face.

"Where have you been?"

"No place special."

"I see," Tarek said and he motioned for Angelus to get into the limo first. "Shall we?"

"Shall we what? Paint the town red? Quite liked it last night, you know?" Angelus chuckled as he climbed into the limo willingly under the orders of his dear old friend. "What's the plan for tonight? Find ourselves a couple of young, ripe slayers fresh for the killing?"

"Ah, so, he went to them," Tarek grinned as he sat down next to Angelus and locked the doors as the limo drove off quickly. "He was always quite observant. He knew that I knew you weren't really Angelus, didn't he? He panicked and ran straight to them."

"You got what you wanted in return, didn't you? Heh heh, a dog with a bite to match its bark."

Tarek laughed in delight. "Oh, how I've missed you, Angelus," he said as he patted him on the back, his excitement clearly growing hard for him to contain. "I trust you've overheard my plans?"

"Yeah, sure, sounds like a blast, buddy," Angelus cackled, his eyes darkening just the instant before he slipped on his game face. "But there's something I gotta do first. Never had much of a taste for rats, but there's one we're gonna have to get rid of first."

"Josef," Tarek said as he glared at Angelus. "I trust you can take care of that slimy little weasel while I take care of the summoning? Or do I have reason not to trust you either, hmm? Because I will not hesitate to stake you, Angelus."

Angelus held up his hands in protest. "Whoa, Tarek, let's not take it there, okay? I want to get rid of Josef as badly as you do. I was hoping you'd give me the honor."

"And at what cost to me will that be or shall I assume?"

"The only cost killing Josef is gonna be you losing your, ahem, ideal partner in crime. Thinking I fit that bill a lot better than he does, don't I?"

"Hmm," Tarek pondered as the limo came to an abrupt stop. "Kill the boy, do it however you like, particularly slowly and painfully. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a summoning to prepare for. Ta-ta for now, Angelus."

Tarek slipped out of the limo and into the cemetery the driver had taken them to. Angelus shut the door and rolled down the window, tapping the driver on the shoulder. He turned and looked at him with a sloppy grin on his blood-stained lips.

"Where to, sir?"

"Back to the hotel. Perhaps we can stop for a little snack on the way back, hmm?"

"Of course, Angelus, of course."

"Perfect. Hey, I like you," he laughed and he gripped the vampire's shoulder tightly. "Do we know each other?"

"No, sir," he shook his head as he turned the limo around and headed out of the cemetery.

"Good, let's keep things strictly on the business side. Never was much for making new friends."

The vampire kept silent as he drove through the streets of Cleveland, stopping only when Angelus spotted two young women walking alone on a quiet, deserted street. Angelus opened the back door with a flourish as the limo came to a stop beside the two young woman.

"Hey ladies," Angelus smiled his most charming smile that never failed him. "My driver seems to be a little bit lost."

"Oh yeah? Where are you headed?" The taller blonde-haired one asked and she snapped her gum loudly in her mouth as she bent down, cleavage on full display.

"Looking to party some place, new in town, and just looking for some fun, you know how it is."

"Boy do we ever," the other shorter blonde laughed and she and her friend tittered as Angelus stepped out of the limo and held open the door. "We know a place."

"Then step right into my office, ladies," Angelus grinned, watching as the two young women willingly climbed into the limo. "Ah, I still got it," he said to himself, chuckling as he climbed into the back of the limo and tapped the door, signaling the driver to go.

Willow sat at her desk, the light from her laptop the only light illuminating her dark office. Angel had agreed shortly before he left Headquarters before Willow did the spell, to have a tracking advice planted on him in a place that Angelus wouldn't immediately find. Because of the advancements the technology department of their organization had made, a tracking device was stuck under his skin just below the tattoo on his back. It was so small he'd barely feel it unless he was slammed hard against something, a wall or the ground.

"Where is he now?" Giles asked from beside her and he sipped his tea. "The beach?"

"He stopped twice since getting into a vehicle, the speed of which he moved shortly after I took Angel's soul from his body tells me that," Willow said and she typed a few commands in the new, unfamiliar program Andrew hooked her up with. "He's been stopped for ten minutes now, more than enough time for—"

"He has been feeding," Giles shook his head and muttered under his breath. "Perhaps we didn't thoroughly think this plan through, Willow?"

Willow laughed as she pulled out a small quartz crystal from inside her desk. "I couldn't tell any of you when Angel was still here, but I do have a bit of a back up plan."

"A quartz?" Giles asked as he admired the crystal Willow held in her hand. "As an aid to a spell I am not familiar with, I suppose?"

"It's kind of like telekinesis, only instead of an object, I'm going to be in control of Angelus."

"You cannot move someone that is—"

"Alive, exactly," Willow said and she grinned. "And Angelus is a vampire, so technically not alive, isn't he?"

"Isn't a spell such as that a dangerous one to cast?" Giles asked, clearly alarmed at learning of Willow's plan. "Willow, I cannot allow you to test you magic at a time like this."

"Oh, I've already tested and perfected it," Willow replied and she smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Giles, but not everything I do is reported."

"You do know there will be—"

"Consequences, of course, but right now I don't care. Right now I am willing to do whatever it takes to get my hands on that spell. Josef is the only one who knows where the rest of it is, or at least the last known locations. This is the only way, Giles."

"You should have informed me—"

"In front of Angel? Oh no way, mister, not with Angelus always listening. I couldn't take that risk."

Giles, clearly frustrated by Willow's plan, pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched her move to sit on the middle of the round table. She placed the crystal in front of her and turned to look at him in the darkness.

"Tell me when they're at the hotel," she said and she shook out her arms and inhaled deeply. "I need to start preparing now and I am going to need complete focus for a few minutes, Giles. Just, I don't know, tap on the desk when you see that little dot reach the hotel."

"And the hotel will be what color again?"

"The little green dot."

Giles sighed and moved to sit directly behind the laptop, watching the screen as the red dot, Angelus, began to move again. He sipped his tea and looked over at Willow, watching as the quartz crystal in front of her began to light up and spin, faster and faster as she chanted words to the unfamiliar spell. Time seemed to move slowly as he watched the red dot make it's way through downtown Cleveland, curiously sticking to the back streets and alleyways instead of the main roads. The closer he got to the hotel, the slower the dot moved.

"He's on foot now."

"Giles…"

"Right, sorry," Giles said with a fluster and he sipped at his rapidly cooling cup of tea. His vision started to blur a little and he blinked before reaching for his glasses sitting next to the laptop. As he put them on, the red dot overlapped with the green, finally. "Ahem," he cleared his throat and tapped on the desk, nodding at Willow as she looked over at him.

And he closed his eyes, hoping with a silent prayer this would work. For a man not of faith, he said the same prayer of hope over and over again as the room filled with a soft, bright white light, emanating from the crystal or Willow. Or both perhaps, he wasn't sure.

Faith had been sitting alone on the roof even long after Xander left. It was completely dark and the night was cooler than most nights in June. She knew Dawn had left when Xander did and she wasn't even sure how long she'd been up there for since she came up there to watch the sunset with him. She was lost in a world of her own thoughts, a world she'd much rather not be, and yet she couldn't bring herself to go back down inside.

"Faith?" Buffy called out quietly as she climbed up the fire escape ladder to the roof. "Hey, aren't you coming back inside?"

"Not yet, B."

"Oh," Buffy frowned as she walked across the asphalt roof, the light gravel covering crunching under her flip-flops. "It's nice up here," she lamented as she sat down on the crate next to Faith.

"Should see it when the sun is setting. Makes you feel like you're someplace else entirely."

"Hmm," Buffy smiled as she reached for Faith's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Come back down inside, Faith? I ordered Chinese. Dawn actually uh, told me it's your favorite."

"Mr. Fu?" Faith asked, a small smile curling over her lips as Buffy nodded her head. "Why didn't you say so in the first place, B?"

"Is there anything else that you love more than sex and food?"

"You," Faith replied easily, so easily it surprised her. It just earned her a sweet kiss filled with delighted giggles before Buffy stood up and pulled Faith up with her.

"You never fail to keep surprising me ever since we left London, Faith. I should've let you do this a long time ago, but I was so scared that it wasn't what you wanted."

"Are you nuts, B? If there's anything that I've wanted more of in the last five years, it has been what we've had together for the last week. Well, you know, minus the obvious shit-storm we're in the middle of, but you know what I mean, yeah?"

Buffy laughed and kissed her again. She turned on her heels and led Faith to the edge of the roof and started the climb down the ladder to the landing just outside the living room window. Faith took a deep breath before she followed her down, the sound of Buffy screaming out in surprise as soon as her feet hit the metal landing making her scramble quickly inside.

"What is it, B?"

"A bug!" Buffy yelped as a bug about the size of a thumb fluttered around the room.

"Jesus, B, it's just a bug. What are you freaking out for?" Faith chuckled and she ducked as it swung around the room and aimed straight for her head. "Hell, definitely never seen one of these before. Quick, B, get me something to kill it with."

"What? A baseball bat? A sword?"

"Just help me find something!"

Faith ducked again at the bug swept around the room again and bounced off the back of her head. She cringed and made a mad dash for the closet by the front door and pulled out a wooden baseball bat.

"Batter up, little fucker," Faith said as Buffy ran around the apartment, avoiding being within a half a foot of the strange looking bug that had found its way into her apartment through one of the open windows, likely the one by the fire escape which had no screen. "Make it come this way, B!"

"How?!"

Faith shrugged, bat at the ready and when the bug swept around Buffy's head and flew straight for her, she swung and she didn't miss. "And she hits it outta the ballpark," Faith chuckled as she ran over to where the bug had hit the wall near the bathroom door and knelt down.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like, B? Making sure it's dead," Faith replied and she held on to the middle of the bat tightly as she poked at the lifeless bug. "Huh?" Faith leaned in closer when she saw a face, a human looking face on the tiny and very human looking body. "What the fu—ahh!"

Faith jumped back as the tiny human looking bug leapt up to it's feet and glared angrily up at her. She backed away slowly, moving to stand where Buffy was and they exchanged a look. The bug flew up towards them, one wing obviously damaged from the hit it'd taken and it hovered in front of Faith's face, the tinny sounding voice clearly angry and cursing at her in some language she couldn't understand.

It blew a puff of black power at her face and she sneezed loudly, her vision blurring as the effects of whatever the power was started to kick in and they were kicking in fast.

"Oh fuck, this can't be good…"

And then there was nothing, yet she felt Buffy catch her before she could hit the floor. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't of the good.