A/N: First of all I want to thank everyone who is reviewing and reading this story, it's really quiet flattering, and a great ego boost. I think my head has actually gotten bigger! Thanks again to Constant Comment Tea for doing an amazing job betaing this for me!
It's Always You
Chapter 10
It was morning again and everyone was still asleep-everyone, that is, except Giles and Cordelia. They were sitting in the kitchen, talking quietly, a steaming pot of tea in front of them. Giles was shocked at the transformation the former cheerleader had undergone in the short time she had been in L.A. Gone was she shallow girl he used to know, in her place was a mature young woman, still with a sharp tongue but also a perceptive wisdom beyond her years.
"I saw them all Giles," Cordelia was saying. "Every person who needed help, everyone who had ever cried out in pain. I saw them all." She looked at Giles sadly. "That's when I realized why I was here, that I could help. Getting these visions has changed me, Giles."
"Cordelia, this is… extraordinary."
Cordelia ducked her head and smiled, taking a sip of Earl Grey tea. "If Angel hadn't given me a job, if Doyle hadn't kissed me and passed the visions on to me, I would still be the shallow girl I was in high school." She said softly.
The sound of footsteps announced someone walking down the hall and they both turned. Buffy appeared in the doorway, looking like she hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Shuffling into the room, she smiled, and perched on the chair next to Cordy. Giles smiled at the Slayer, poured her a soothing cup of tea, and pushed it towards her. Buffy accepted the cup gratefully and took a sip, wrapping her palms around its warmth and closing her eyes contentedly.
Cordelia glanced at the small Slayer, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and tousled hair; she was a wreck, exhausted. She frowned and reached out to place her hand on Buffy's shoulder in comfort. "I'm sorry about before," she told Buffy quietly.
Buffy blinked, confused. "Before? I don't understand, what happened before?" It was way too early for her brain to start working.
Cordelia blushed "About how I was acting towards Angel, Liam, whatever, I'm sorry. I….well, I know how he feels about you," she said, looking embarrassed.
Buffy blinked, startled, then shook her head. "I really wasn't expecting anything less Cordy," she told the Seer with a smirk.
Cordelia frowned and rolled her eyes, chuckling to herself. "Well you can't really blame me, can you?" She ginned, winking at Buffy. Buffy eyes widened at she stared at Cordelia for a few seconds, wondering if her hunch was right.
Cordelia glanced towards Giles, who was pointedly ignoring their conversation with an old occult book opened in front of him, before she turned back to the Slayer and smiled. "So what did you and Liam do last night?" she asked with a smile.
Buffy cast a swift glance at Giles. "Nothing," she hedged.
Cordelia smirked again, leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Is that why you didn't have a bra on?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
Buffy blushed. "Is it that obvious?" she hissed.
Cordelia chuckled. "Yeah, but I'm sure the others just think the Turok-Han pulled it off!" She smirked again.
Buffy made a face, looking sick. "Ugh," she muttered.
Cordelia laughed loudly, causing Giles to look up and glance swiftly between the two young women. He was absolutely positive he didn't want to know what they we're talking about. He turned to his former Slayer. "I have been reading up on the Turok-Han you mentioned…" he told her, indicating the book in front of him "…and I'm afraid it isn't good news,"
"When is it ever?" she asked him seriously.
"Well…yes, but that is beside the point. The Turok-Han is focused; its only purpose is to kill, feed and …mate" he added reluctantly. "It's also severely territorial."
"So I'm guessing as soon as it's night I'm going to get a social call?" She rolled her eyes. "Great, it's going to be high school all over again," she muttered. "Girl sitting inside, guy climbing in through the window…." She paused and glanced between Cordy and Giles, who were both looking at her strangely. "Not that I know anything about that!" she said with a nervous laugh.
Giles just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid so yes, all my research indicates that it doesn't need an invitation."
Buffy sighed and put her face in her hands. "Great, this is all we need!" she muttered. She sighed and looked Giles in the eye. "It's still affected by crosses and sunlight right? I don't want another surprise like that stake!"
Giles frowned and flicked through his book. "No, to all my knowledge it's still susceptible to sunlight and holy artifacts still hurt it." He frowned as he continued to flick through the ancient volume. "Ahhh… they have a surprisingly robust ribcage: twice the strength of a normal vampire's. It appears that you need an exceeding amount of force to reach the heart!"
Buffy frowned. "Crap." she muttered
Suddenly they all jumped as Liam appeared in the doorway. He had arrived silently, his presence going unnoticed by all of them. He blinked, smirked, and walked in to lean his elbows on the kitchen island. He fixed Buffy with an unblinking stare. "Good morning," he murmured huskily, his Irish brogue thick with sleep.
Buffy smiled hesitantly. "Morning," she blushed a little as she vividly remembered the night before.
Cordelia fell silent, suddenly feeling anxious as Liam walked in. She saw the way he smiled at Buffy, and she smirked, looking between Liam and Buffy, and started to relax. She shook her head in amusement at how they reacted to each other. Liam seemed to notice her presence at last and glanced in her direction; he looked her over swiftly and grinned. Cordelia found it was now her turn to blush slightly.
"So Liam?" she asked pointedly, relieved to hear that her voice gave none of her flustered feeling away. "Been having fun?"
Buffy hissed in warning as Liam glanced in her direction out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Aye, lass, been having lots of fun!"
Buffy cringed internally. At times like this, she wished Liam had just an ounce of Angel's tact!
Cordelia grinned, liking the vampire's honest, yet arrogant response. "Yeah, well. I'm finally me again, memory intact… no more stupid high school pranks." She grinned. "So you can forget what I said before," she chuckled nervously.
He quirked an eyebrow, amused, but shrugged as he turned and walked to the fridge, where he took out a packet of blood. He grabbed the same cup he used before, poured the blood into a cup and placed it into the microwave. As the appliance hummed and buzzed he turned and fixed Buffy with a cheesy grin. "I'm a fast learner," he told her proudly, smirking suggestively.
Cordelia chuckled again as Buffy quickly grabbed her cup of tea and took a sip to avoid Giles' eye when he looked up at her curiously.
The microwave beeped; Liam grabbed his blood and brought it to his mouth as his face slowly shifted. He guzzled the blood greedily and Buffy remembered with a twinge of guilt that he probably hadn't eaten anything the day before.
Giles was astonished, He had never seen Angel drink blood before. Angel had always stoically refused to drink in front of anyone, even Buffy. It made him wonder just how much becoming a vampire and being cursed had done to Angel's human soul.
Liam lowered the cup, burped loudly, and then rinsed it out. The back door opened and in walked Anya and Xander; the latter was nicely dressed for work. Anya looked around curiously, eyed Liam with interest, and then sat down next to Giles.
"So," asked Xander conversationally "You guys feeling okay?"
Liam smirked again while Buffy just rolled her eyes. "Peachy," she replied.
"Do we have a plan for tonight? About how we're going to deal with this Uber-vamp?" he asked again, looking a bit worried.
"You mean the Vampire Time Forgot?" Buffy sighed and put her head in her hands. "I don't know…" She looked at Giles. "What else does the Watcher Diaries say about this thing?"
Giles sighed. "Not much, I'm afraid, it's almost as old as the First and just as sneaky," he frowned.
"So, no plan?" Xander said. "This sucks…"
"There is one avenue we haven't looked at…" Giles offered.
"No!" shouted Anya, looking horrified. "Giles, you promised!"
Giles sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's called Beljoxa's Eye."
"Botox's eye?" Buffy frowned in confusion. "What is it?"
Giles chuckled, "Beljoxa's eye. It's an oracle-type creature that exists in a dark dimension."
"More like an internal vortex of hell," Anya muttered with a roll of her eyes.
Liam smirked. "Fun!"
"Not really, no," Anya said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Do we have to, Giles? I hate that place!"
"Wait a minute! What's the big dif?" Cordy asked.
Giles sighed. "The dimension can only be accessed by a demon." He smiled as Liam took a step back. "Only they open the gateway."
"Um…" piped up Cordelia. "I can access the gateway." As everyone turned to look at her she found herself blushing for the first time in ages. Her mouth felt suddenly dry . "I'm half demon now. The visions…there not meant to be in the possession of a human, Doyle was half demon and when he gave them to me…" She shrugged. "A demon called Skip told me a human is not meant to bear this burden; the visions are too strong. If I hadn't agreed to become half-demon I would be dead by now….or insane."
The others were silent as they listened to Cordelia explaining her reasoning for becoming half-demon. "So…. I can open the gateway if you would like," she said. "It's the least I could do…"
Liam blinked. "You're half-demon?"
Cordelia grinned. "Yeah. No tail, no spikes, or slime…I do this cool floating thing though when I get a vision!" she chuckled.
Buffy, however, had thought of something else. She turned to Xander with a mischievous grin on her face. "So it's official now: you are attractive to demons." She grinned.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Cordelia's only half demon, and that happened way after the thing with us!"
Anya glared. "I remember the wish you made-you better not still have feelings for him!" she snapped at Cordy.
Cordelia actually looked alarmed. "Oh no!" she smiled. "We're just friends." She looked Xander up and down, smiling appreciatively at his business suit. "Though you must admit, he is easy on the eye!"
Anya relented, relaxing as she nodded. "Yes, he is pleasing," she agreed. "I was very pleased last night, actually."
Liam eyebrows shot up while Buffy smiled. Giles cleared his throat loudly and Xander blushed. "Um…I'll just be going to work now," he murmured, giving Anya a quick glance and a warm smile before backing away and making a hasty retreat.
Cordy sighed. "Why is everyone having fun but me?" she paused and looked at Giles. "And Giles of course. I don't even want to think of that!" she shuddered.
Giles frowned at her. "Well…then. Moving on. Cordy, Anya, are we ready to visit the Belijoxa's Eye?" He got to his feet and looked down at the Seer, who shrugged.
"Fine by me." She looked at Buffy. "Are you going to work?"
Buffy shook her head. "No, I'll get Dawn to make up some excuse. I have more important things to do this morning!"
"Oh, like what?"
Buffy smiled and eyed Liam. "Like going shopping. Liam needs clothes: he can't keep borrowing Xander's things; they are too small." Beside her, Liam smirked and Buffy rolled her eyes yet again. "Besides, his black shirt is all ripped."
"I'm not wearing that shirt," he told them. "It looks like I'm going to a funeral!"
Cordelia's eyes widened and she actually gasped. "Oh my god!" she leaned forward and grabbed Liam's hand. "Did you actually say what I thought you did?" Liam just blinked while Cordelia smiled brightly. "Halleluiah!" she shouted "Do you know how long I've been trying to make him wear something other then black?"
Buffy grinned and shook her head. "Four years?"
Cordelia laughed. "You have to make sure you get him some colours! No black, please Buffy!"
Buffy laughed and held up her hands in a gesture of surrender, "Ok, ok…no black. Got it!"
Giles rolled his eyes. "So while Buffy is at the mall, shopping," he frowned and shook his head in disbelief, "Cordelia, Anya, and I will visit this Belijoxa's Eye and see what we can find out."
Buffy nodded. "That sounds alright to me." She turned and smiled at Liam, who looked a bit apprehensive. She took his hand as she led him to the door. "This is going to be fun!"
(v)
Buffy cruised around the underground car park, trying to find a space as far from any cars and columns as she could, she didn't really trust herself not to hit something. Finally, she found a spot that was exactly what she was looking for. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled into the car bay and parked. She turned the car off and told Liam it was safe to get out. He threw the blanket off and awkward got up off the floor and out of the car. Buffy hopped out of the big SUV and frowned as she looked down and noticed with dismay that she had parked crookedly. She sighed, rolled her eyes and shrugged as she shut the door with a click. She turned to Liam and held out her hand. He smiled down at her, took her hand and tucked it around his elbow in a gesture of the past. Buffy found herself grinning in pleasure at the chivalrous move, more then a little surprised, and quiet a bit suspicious as he grinned at her happily.
When they got to Rue 21, Buffy looked around and quickly made her way to the back of the store to the menswear department. There were racks upon racks of clothes, t-shirts and dress shirts, jeans, shorts and track pants. She started looking through the jeans, picking out a few different styles in a couple of sizes because she had no idea what size Liam was, and she was pretty sure he wouldn't know either. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and noticed him at the end of the rack, looking towards the other side of the store at the women's section with interest, in particular the area with the bra's and undies. She shook her head.
He turned to look at her. "The clothes of this time are so very strange," he told her as he walked towards her.
Buffy chuckled. "You don't actually wear those things in public you know; you normally put something on over them." She smiled.
He ran his eyes up and down her form. "Pity," he muttered. Then he looked at the jeans with interest. "These for me?"
Buffy nodded. "We have to get you a few T-Shirts as well," she murmured to him. Liam looked annoyed but followed her as she walked past the shorts and towards the back wall where there was a whole selection of shirts in various colours and styles.
"Alright," she told him. "Have a look through and pick out something you like."
Liam looked at the rack and carefully glanced through all the shirts. He seemed fascinated by all the different designs and colours. He held up a dark red button down shirt for her inspection.
Buffy grinned. "I like it!"
She held up a pale pink t-shirt. "How about this?"
Liam looked at it and made a face, shaking his head vigorously. Buffy chuckled and put it back on the rack. Then she saw a nice green shirt and held it up. It had a funky design down the front, Liam shrugged and Buffy put it in the pile of clothes she wanted Liam to try on.
Buffy kept searching through the shirts as Liam wandered away, looking around with interest. She heard him laugh and turned around to face him. "What?" she asked with a smile.
He grinned and held up a bright red belt buckle. Buffy frowned and took a step closer to read the white inscription. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Liam who had a wide smile on his face as his eyes twinkled in amusement
"You're not getting that!" she told him with an amused smirk.
He frowned. "Why not?" he asked.
Buffy snorted. "You don't really need any more advertising do you?" she asked coyly turning away. Liam frowned in confusion and sighed as he reluctantly put the belt buckle back on the shelf. "Is that all? I'm bored…" he moaned.
Buffy rolled her eyes, picked up the pile of jeans and shirts and handed them to him. "You need to see if these fit." she pointed to the fitting rooms. "There are little rooms just through there that you can change in." She jerked her head in the right direction and pushed him lightly.
He nodded and headed for the fitting rooms, the clothes held awkwardly in his arms. Buffy chuckled in amusement and wandered over to the female clothes. She thought she might as well have a look for a new dress and possibly a new bra while she waited for Liam. She had just finished looking through a pile of dresses a few minutes later, none of which were her size (typical) when Liam came trudging back, the clothes in his arms, an annoyed expression on his face.
She frowned at him. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "This isn't going to work, I can't see myself in the mirrors!" he snapped. "How am I meant to see if they fit or if it looks good or not!" He groused.
Buffy's eyes widened, she had forgotten about that. She sighed and glanced at Liam's clothes, then she got an idea. She grabbed his arm and pulled him around. "Come on," she hissed. "I'm coming in with you!"
(v)
Buffy closed the door to the change room and breathed a sigh of relief, nobody had noticed. So far, so good. She glanced behind her. Liam was standing in the middle of the room, looking awkward, the clothes still in his arms "Loose the pants!" she snapped at him quietly
He blinked. "What?"
"Come on, this is awkward, let's just see what fits and what doesn't then we can get out of here!" she pleaded to him, glancing behind her, listening to see if anyone had heard her or not. When she turned back around Liam was still staring at her. Slowly, he grinned a wolfish smile and his eyes darkened with mischief as he dumped the clothes on the chair in the corner, put his hands to his jeans and slowly started undoing the button and fly.
Buffy's eyes flicked down to his crotch as he slowly lowered the zipper then flew frantically to his laughing eyes as she started to blush. "Um…"
He chuckled, dropping his pants and kicking them off, Buffy refused to look at him as she frantically reached for the clothes, grabbed a pair of jeans and threw them at him "Here!" she told him frantically, "Try these on!"
Liam merely raised a dark eyebrow at her and pulled the pants up. They were much too big and slipped down to pool around his hips. Buffy cursed, waved her hand indicating he should get them off and reached for a second pair, a size smaller than the last he had tried.
Liam took them from her silently, his dark eyes meeting hers as he cool hand brushed against the warm, smooth skin of her palm. Buffy felt her breath hitch in her throat and she glanced away desperately as she shifted restlessly on her feet. She turned her eyes away, focusing on the mirror and looked at her own reflection; a blush still tinged her cheeks.
"I think these are a tad on the small side, lass," he murmured coyly when he had finished pulling them up. Buffy glanced over; he indeed couldn't seem to fasten them, though it had more to do with his hardening penis then the fact that he couldn't fit them around his hips. Buffy found herself unable to look away at the sight of the steadily quivering organ peeked out through the opening of his jeans.
She bit her lip and took a deep breath as she blushed again, and felt a sudden rush of heat through her body to her core. She took a step back and leaned against the door. "Oh…" she whispered faintly. "This was a bad, bad idea…" she moaned.
Liam chuckled softly, took a step forward and pressed his hips against hers, his hard organ rubbing against her belly and causing her to gasp with a sudden need. He bent down, placed his palms flat on either side of her and leaned down to kiss her. Buffy couldn't help but respond to him, her body unable to resist even the slightest touch and her mind unwilling to let him go ever again. She wrapped an arm around his neck, bringing him closer as her other hand reached down between them and gripped him hard. He gasped and moaned, his eyes closing as he continued to kiss her passionately, his tongue and hers entwining as they tasted each other. They needed each other.
Buffy gasped again, her eyes fluttering closed. Struggling to think clearly as his hands ran over her skin, her shirt was tugged up and thrown to the floor, her bra quickly following, with Liam smirking as he twirled it around his finger and threw it behind him. He bent down, put his mouth over her nipple, and sucked hard. Buffy's eyes opened wide, a strangled gasp escaping her lips as she threw back her head, causing it to bang hard against the door. She struggled to control her breathing as Liam quickly but efficiently pulled her pants off, chucked them to the floor, grabbed her panties, ripped them off and then hoisted her legs up so that they wrapped around his waist.
All the while, Buffy continued to stroke him, her small hand wrapped around his hard cock and bringing him closer and closer to release with each downward stroke. Both of them were gasping now, ready for each other. Slowly, she guided him into her wet dripping center, causing him to moan quietly; his breath hissed between his teeth as he sheathed himself within her. He paused for a minute, breathing heavily, and then he pulled out slowly and pushed back inside her, starting a steady shallow rhythm. Slowly, Buffy opened her eyes and looked into his dark heated orbs. He smiled at her. "Oh…Buffy, lass," he groaned in pleasure. Buffy gasped as he surged forward and her eyes fluttered. She glanced over his shoulder.
Her eyes opened wide as she stared into the mirror. It was the most bizarre sight she had ever seen: she appeared to be hovering in mid air, her legs spread wide and one arm down between her legs, the other held out in front of her as she held him close. Liam moved forward and fastened his mouth on her throat, breathing in deep and kissing his way down to the hollow of her throat. She sucked in a deep breath and tilted her head to the side, unable to look away.
Once she got over her initial shock of seeing herself floating in mid air, she began to notice little things; like the way her breasts moved slightly as Liam's hands and mouth moved over them. But the most curious thing of all was that when as she looked down she could see herself pulsating, and contracting as Liam moved in and out of her center. Her eyes opened wide and she started to blush furiously. She grunted softly, gasping as he pulled back and plunged into her again, burying himself up to the hilt and causing her curls to brush against the patch of hair surrounding his hardness. She groaned again anc closed her eyes. "Oh God!" she breathed, gasping.
Liam sucked in a deep breath and moaned as he surged inside her. "What?" he asked.
Buffy shook her head and clutched him tighter; she could feel the pressure building, a tingling all over her body. She knew she was close. Liam was close, too: his movements were coming faster now, harder as he worked up to his release. Buffy moaned. "Oh…oh…oh…Liam!" she screamed, her body shaking.
Liam moved his hand from her waist, pushed it between their surging bodies, gripped her clit with his fingers, and rubbed it vigorously.
Buffy screamed her release, her juices flowing out of her pulsating center with a sudden rush and running down her legs as her powerful orgasm rippled through her core. She moaned. Liam gasped as her inner muscles quivered and surged around him. He pulled out one more time and pushed back inside her, burying himself deep as he finally found his own release. He quivered, breathing hard, and he continued to move, riding out his own orgasm as he released his dead seed inside her.
Finally he was still, breathing hard he leaned against her. Buffy leaned her head back against the door and sighed contentedly. She heard a patter of footsteps then a hesitant voice from the other side of the room. "Um….are you guys ok? Do you need help with any sizes?"
Buffy blushed a bright crimson and pushed Liam away so she could slip to the floor. "No…no we're good!" she replied as she glanced at Liam. He pushed his now softened penis into his jeans and zipped them up. Buffy just rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look as he spread his arms and shrugged, a satisfied smirk on his face.
(v)
It was early afternoon by the time Buffy and Liam made it back to the Summers home. Liam came barging into the room, a blanked draped over his head, and everyone in the dining room turned to look at him. He lowered the blanket and glanced around as Buffy came in behind him.
"Hey guys!" she smiled brightly. "What's…up?" her face fell as she looked at the somber glances of everyone.
Willow slowly rose to her feet, looking stricken. Buffy moved towards her friend, dumping the shopping bags on the floor as she stepped into the room. She was dimly aware of Liam standing beside her and of the AI team moving forward to stand in the doorway.
Willow gulped. "It's Eve," she whispered.
Buffy's eyes widened as she glanced around and noticed that the blonde-haired Potential she had met briefly the night before was missing.
"Where is she, what happened?" Buffy caught site of a new face: a strong African-American girl with a mop of dark curls and a grim expression on her face. "And who are you?" Buffy asked.
Willow place a hand on the new girls shoulder "This is Rona. We got a call from her Watcher that she would be arriving a few minutes after you left."
"There was a welcoming committee," Wes added from his place in the doorway. Buffy turned to the former Watcher and noticed his hard expression as he stared at her.
"Oh…what…?" she started to ask.
Wes shrugged. "Just a bit of a scuffle. Gunn and I took care of the Bringers." He grinned. "There's nothing like a traditional Hellmouth welcome!" he chuckled.
Buffy sighed. "And what about Eve?" she whispered, dreading the answer.
Willow sighed and glanced down. "We had a call this morning, from the coven. Apparently a Potential Slayer arrived in town three days ago"
"What? Why didn't we know about this?"
"Bringers killed her Watcher before he could tell anyone. Anyway, that's not the issue!" Willow explained, looking worried "Xander and Gunn went over there and…"
"It was Eve," finished Xander softly. "And she was dead, it looked like she had been there for days."
Buffy blinked "But I just saw Eve last night, you introduced us…" suddenly her eyes widened and she gave a small gasp in recognition. "Oh no," she breathed.
Willow nodded. "It was The First, Buffy, it was here, in our house." She glanced at the scared Potentials. "Talking to us, who knows what it might have learned."
Vi looked around frantically. "It could be any one of us!"
Buffy shook her head. "No, The First can only take the form of someone who has passed away, and it's incorporeal." She frowned in concentration. As all the Potentials glanced behind her towards Liam, she rolled her eyes.
"He's not the First, he's quiet touchable." Then Buffy blushed a deep crimson. "Ugh…never mind," she muttered.
Rona looked around nervously. "But it was here,," she whispered. "In the house. Doesn't that bother you at all!"
Buffy folded her arms across her chest. "Of course it bothers me!" she snapped.
"Well it doesn't really seem like it! Where were you, off buying clothes? You're meant to be here protecting us!"
"I'm here to teach you to fight."
"We should run," whispered Chloe.
"Annabelle ran. Look where it got her: dead." Kennedy pointed out
"It's safer here," snapped Buffy.
"For how long?" replied Kennedy, her eyes flashing angrily. "How long until that Uber-vamp comes and tears us all to pieces?"
"I'm not going to let that happen," Buffy told them all, setting her mouth in determination.
"And yeah, you did such a good job last time." Kennedy looked between Liam and Buffy. "It almost killed you both; you're a Slayer, he's a vampire! How are we even supposed to stand a chance!" she screamed.
"Hey, hey," Buffy stepped forward "I know your scared. Guess what: so am I. But Giles, Cordy, and Anya will be back soon, and hopefully they will have the information we need to stop The First. In the meantime we need to stick together; there is no hope if we fall apart now."
Andrew stepped forward. "She's right!" he crossed his arms over his chest. "Where would the Justice League have been if they hadn't put their differences aside to stop the Imperium and his shape-shifting alien horde?"
Buffy turned to Andrew and rolled her eyes at him. "Don't help me!"
Xander looked Buffy in the eye.. "So what's the plan?" he asked.
Buffy winced. "Willow, I'm sorry…."
"I know," the witch whispered. "You need a barrier."
"The stronger the better," Buffy replied.
"I'll try," she whispered.
Rona looked confused. "Try?" she asked, looking around.
Kennedy glared at the dark Potential. "You heard her,"
"What if this doesn't work?" whispered Vi, looking around, scared. "I mean, what then?"
"Then we'll deal," Buffy said, raising her eyebrows.
"Deal? Fight you mean?" sneered Rona,
"If that's what it takes," Wesley said, stepping further into the room. He had been content with letting Buffy handle the girls up until now, curious as to see how she would deal with them. But he was sick of their whining.
Buffy looked towards Wes and smiled gratefully, "Thanks Wes, but hopefully it won't come to that."
Rona, as predicted, started to argue again. "How do you know? It could kill us all dead!"
Dawn frowned and crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. "Buffy's not gonna let that happen!"
"Didn't you see what that thing did to her? It almost ripped her apart!" yelled Molly frantically.
Buffy sighed and looked towards Willow helplessly. Willow, she thought silently. Can you hear me?
Willow looked over towards Buffy curiously and quirked an eyebrow. Yeah, she replied, her voice wary.
It's no good, we're loosing them!
Willow bit her lip, looked pointedly at Buffy, then slowly got to her feet and walked towards the kitchen, Buffy following. As they passed Xander his head jerked around, startled. Then he seemed to compose himself, blink and follow the girls into the kitchen.
Liam watched the entire exchange, his eyes narrowing in suspicion his head tilting to the side as he sensed that something was happening. His skin tingled at the magic in the air but he didn't realize what it was. He watched Buffy walk into the kitchen and felt a sudden surge of jealousy as the boy, Xander followed. He glared and folded his arms across his chest as he growled softly in annoyance.
(v)
Just a few hours later and it was dark, the entire household was on edge. The fact that Wesley had pulled a shotgun from the trunk of Angel's car like some Chicago gangster did absolutely nothing to quell the Potential's rising paranoia. Buffy had frowned at the rifle, worried somebody could get hurt.
"I hate guns!" she muttered to her former Watcher angrily.
Wesley merely shrugged. "I'm a good shot, Buffy," he told her. "Besides, I learnt years ago to play to one's strengths." He loaded the shotgun efficiently and fast, pumped the magazine, and grinned, raising his eyebrows.
Buffy had fallen silent, more surprised that Wes had made a gun joke than because she had nothing more to say. She suddenly realized Wesley had changed a lot over the past few years. She glanced at Liam and wondered who else had changed.
Willow was focused on her spell preparations to notice anything. Giles and the others weren't back yet and Willow was beginning to get nervous; there was nobody here even remotely strong enough to act as an anchor incase she started to lose control. If Liam had still been Angel, she would have considered asking him: the vampire was strong, and he had used magic before. All things considered, Liam would now be no help. She had seen the wary glances he had cast her way when he thought nobody was looking. She supposed it was only natural for him to fear a witch, considering the time period he was from.
It was annoying though. Lorne had mentioned that he had called her a "Devil's servant" and had crossed himself when he was told she was a witch.
Lorne had been a great help, offering encouragement, practicing the chanting and the meditation needed for such a powerful protection spell, he had even brewed her a pot of chamomile tea. He was such a darling, and Willow was quiet grateful for the kind empathic demon's presence.
Lorne offered her a comforting hug, and the look of pride and love in both Buffy and Xander's eyes when they glanced across the room at her were enough for her to put on a brave smile and continue. She was going to do this!
Meanwhile, there was a flurry of activity as Buffy started handing out weapons. Gunn hefted a large axe while Fred took a short-sword in her white-knuckled grip. Wesley, of course, had his rifle, as well as a few pistols stuffed in his belt and the spring-release stakes strapped to his forearms.
The Potentials all crowded around, Molly was scared, but she took the cutlass willingly, a determined expression on her face. Rona complained as usual and Buffy practically thrust a sword into the girl's hands. Kennedy grabbed a crossbow, loaded it efficiently with the ease of practice and announced with a smirk that she had been using it since she was eight. Buffy smiled, liking the girl's attitude.
Andrew walked up to the Slayer nervously, his arms folded across his chest. Buffy stared at him for a second before she realized that he wanted a weapon also, and picked up a bottle of holy water.
Andrew snatched at the bottle and clutched it to his chest. "I'll guard it with my life!" he whispered.
Buffy chuckled and glanced up just as Liam stepped into view, smirking. "What do I get?" he looked her up and down.
Buffy rolled her eyes but she was grinning like a fool as she reached into the chest and pulled out a broadsword, one similar to the one he had in L.A. and handed it to the souled vampire. "Think you can handle it?" she asked coyly with a raised eyebrow.
Liam took the proffered weapon and tested the weight, he looked down at her and grinned cheekily. "I think I can manage!" He chuckled at that and turned away. Buffy just shook her head at his antics. Then her eyes widened slightly and she glanced back at the chest. She had just made a sword joke! She groaned softly, wincing. Oh, this was bad!
Suddenly Liam tensed, raised his head, and sniffed the air. "They're here," he growled softly.
The Potentials all looked scared and huddled in the middle of the room. Gunn hefted his axe. "How many?" he asked, looking around.
Liam paused. "Fifteen, plus our Turok-Han friend," he said as he crouched and raised his sword.
"How can you be sure?" asked Rona, her voice skeptical.
Liam sneered at the young Potential. "I can hear their heartbeats, and I know the Turok-han's scent anywhere." The others looked slightly disconcerted at the information.
Willow and Lorne walked back into the room and crowded around. Willow faced the door, raised her hands, and started a soft chant. Liam eyed the witch nervously, his body shaking slightly as he felt the power starting to build.
"It's coming," he growled, hearing the ancient vampire on the porch. He crouched and felt his face shift as he snarled warningly. A few of the Potentials screamed as they saw his true face and backed away slightly, but the rest of them ignored him as the front door suddenly rattled violently as the Turok-Han threw itself against the wood. Xander had reinforced the door by bolting wooden beams across the frame, but it wouldn't hold the ancient vampire for long.
Liam glanced at Willow nervously. She was still chanting, but nothing seemed to be happening. He was growing nervous. Buffy, too, seemed to sense something was wrong. "Will?" she whispered.
"I'm trying," gritted out Willow, her face suddenly twisting in pain.
Suddenly the door was thown off its hinges, the wood splintering and pulling Xander's beams along with it. The Turok-han stepped casually into the houseI and paused in the doorway. Then slowly, very slowly, it turned its head and looked Buffy straight in the eye. It opened it mouth and snarled.
"Will…" whispered Buffy again.
The Turok-Han stepped forward menacingly and Liam crouched lower, ready to throw himself into a fight Willow suddenly seemed to find her power. There was a surge of energy from the red-headed witch, and suddenly a bright blue shield separated the group from the Turok-Han. Liam looked at it in astonishment, his mouth dropping open in surprise as the Turok-Han was forced to a stop. He glanced towards Willow and noticed that her eyes were pitch black and her face was twisted into a satisfied smirk. She laughed.
"Not so tough now are you?" she mocked, her voice hard and cold. Liam glanced at Buffy in alarm.
Suddenly Willow blinked. She wavered and her face dropped into an expression of alarm. "Buffy…I don't think I can hold it…" she whispered, the magic suddenly getting the better of her as she fought for control. The Turok-Han hissed, its mouth opening wide as it bared its fangs.
Buff made the decision. "Ok, everyone out now! The spell's not going to hold."
The AI team wasted no time. Wes quickly took point. He shouldered his gun, grabbed Dawn by the arm and pulled her out. "Come on!" he shouted. "Let's go!" The Potentials followed crowding around the former Watcher as Gunn and Fred flanked them. Xander grabbed Lorne, who was standing frozen, tugged at Kennedy's shirt and urged them out the door.
"Buffy…I can't…. I can't hold it!" whispered Willow, who was shaking now.
Liam and Buffy glanced at each other. Together, they each grabbed one of Willow's arms and pulled her away. "Just keep concentrating Wills!" Gritted Buffy as she and Liam dragged the witch out the back.
The Bringers were waiting. There was a loud blast of a shotgun and one of the Bringers fell, a hole in the middle of his forehead. The Potentials screamed. Kennedy set her sights and quickly shot at a Bringer, bringing him down. Fred was holding her own, helping Gunn as he plowed into the bringers. His axe carved a path before him, the silver blade glinting in the moonlight.
Liam snarled, and let go of Willow's arm and darted to the side, beheading one of the bringers with a powerful swing of his sword. Buffy kept her eyes peeled and her sword poised as she dragged Willow away from the house. The others crowded in close.
"What are we going to do now?" Rona yelled, panicked.
Molly gripped her sword close to her chest; she was shaking. "It will be here any second."
Buffy looked around and then quickly shoved Willow into Liam's arms; he grabbed at the witch as she started to fall and looked at Buffy in astonishment. Buffy ignored him and turned to Xander. "Get them out of here," she snapped before she turned around, gripped her sword and watched as the Turok-Han slowly appeared a hundred meters away.
Liam's eyes widened. "Buffy no! Let me help!"
Buffy ignored him. "Get out of here! I'll take care of it." She paused and looked behind her. "Andrew, I need that holy water"
"But…but…I need it!"
"Now!" shouted Buffy.
Andrew pouted, reached into the pocket of his coat and handed her the bottle of holy water. Buffy gripped it in her other hand and then turned back to face the Turok-han, which was slowly walking towards them. "Get out of here!" she shouted again.
Fred tugged at Liam's sleeve. "Come on!" she hissed, pulling him back. "She'll be ok!"
Liam looked stricken at not being able to help, but he gripped Willow's arm tight as he helped her hobble down the street.
(v)
The Potentials struggled as they climbed down the mass of steel beams. Liam steadied Willow as she eased her leg over and started to climb down, and then he glanced down at the ground and vaulted over the edge, landing with a small thump on his feet. He looked up at Xander's shocked face and smirked before he looked around. They were in a building site full of steel and wood and cement. It all looked very surreal and otherworldly with the spotlights.
Andrew stepped down from the last rung and came to stand next to Liam, rubbing his arms. "This place gives me the heeby jeebies," he muttered.
Liam just glared and turned around dismissively. "Are you sure Buffy will be ok?" he asked Wesley.
Wesley gave him a surprised stare as Willow smiled at him and nodded. "She'll be fine…" She looked around and spotted Buffy at the other end of the building sight, standing under a spotlight. "There she is!" she pointed her out.
Liam looked around, smiled, then his eyes flickered to the side and he saw the Turok-Han appear on the opposite side of the complex. He tensed and snarled softly. The others all looked over as well, a few of the Potential gasped in horror. Willow looked between Buffy at one end and the Turok-Han at the other and grinned. This was going to be good. She backed up against the wall and started climbing up the scaffolding to the platform just a few meters off the ground; the others followed. Liam eased himself between the steel beams and stood beside her, leaning against the post. He looked anxious, and Willow put her hand on his shoulder in comfort.
Buffy smiled grimly and walked forward, her steps sure and confident the sword hanging loosely at her side, she glanced over at the group, smiled and locked eyes with Liam. He shifted nervously and gripped the pole tight.
"We have to help her," whispered Kennedy, gripping her crossbow and raising it.
Willow grabbed it. "No, wait!" she commanded. "She can do this."
Liam wondered how the witch could be so cold. She was supposed to be Buffy's friend, yet she was seemingly letting her walk to her death. Even glancing back at Wesley he could see the other man was looking a bit concerned, as were Fred and the rest of the AI team. Only Xander and Willow, her friends, were looking calm. Beside him, Dawn was almost frantic as she gripped his arm tight.
"She's going to die! Again! Willow, do something!" Dawn yelled, tears running down her cheeks.
Willow shook her head. "No, Dawn! She'll be ok!"
At that moment, the Turok-Han threw itself at the Slayer, its mouth open wide and its claws outstretched. Buffy ducked and rolled but the Turok-Han was quick and waiting for her. Buffy swung her sword, the Turok-Han dodged, snarled and backhanded her with enough force to send the sword flying.
The fight was entirely one-way, with the Turok-Han landing blow after blow onto the Slayers body. She was weakening fast, Liam couldn't stand to watch any more.
He pried Dawn's fingers from his arm, gripped the bars and was just about to launch himself off the platform and into the fight below, when Willow grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He turned to her, a snarl on his face, his yellow eyes flashing. "I'm going to help her!" he yelled. "You might not care if she lives or dies, but I do!"
Everyone looked at him. startled. Willow looked surprised but her eyes narrowed and before he knew what was happening her voice was inside his mind.
Don't you dare say that I don't care about her! She has saved my life more times then I can count. There isn't anything I would not do for her!
Liam eyes widened and he took a stumbling step backwards "What…" he managed to gasp out, finding his voice was a struggle in the shock of hearing someone inside his head.
Be quiet, snapped Willow mentally as she glanced around. Do you want to give me away! I won't let anything happen to Buffy, not if I can help it.
Liam managed to close his mouth and he straightened. But then why don't you help? He accused.
Because they need to see her beat this thing! She glanced around at the scared Potentials who were watching the fight with growing trepidation. They need to see that she can win, that they stand a chance!
It was all an act, the barrier breaking? He glared at her, not liking the deception.
Willow shook her head. No, that was real. This was always going to be a last-ditch effort if the spell couldn't hold it. She bit her lip.
He took a deep breath and glanced towards the floor below. Buffy had managed to dodge the Turok-han's latest swing and hand managed to ram him into a concrete pillar before darting away to catch her breath.
But look at her, he whispered, his mental voice filled with fear. It's killing her.
Willow smirked. She's faced worse; she'll beat it.
Liam fell silent, his dark eyes focused on the Slayer intently as she seemed to find her second wind. She punched and kicked at the ancient vampire, wearing it down, making it growl in pain. She dodged and weaved, and started climbing up a tower of scaffolding on the other side of the pit. The Turok-Han snarled and started to follow but it wasn't nearly as quick as the little Slayer who practically flew up the structure.
The Turok-Han came up behind her, but Buffy dodged, sent a powerful kick into its side and sent it tumbling to the ground below. A few of the potentials gasped and Willow grinned.
"See?" the witch whispered, relieved.
Liam wasn't listening; he watched as Buffy jumped down beside the struggling vampire, grabbed a piece of barbed wire from a pile of scrap metal and jerked it around the vampires neck. She gritted her teeth, planted her boot in the middle of its back and jerked backwards with all of her superior strength. The sharp metal wire cut through skin and bone and completely severed the Turok-Han head from its body. It crumpled to dust, leaving Buffy standing bloody and bruised. She looked up, threw the wire to the floor and dusted her hands together.
"See?" she said loudly. "Just dust. Just like any other vampire."
Liam swallowed and breathed a sigh of relief. Before he knew it he had jumped over the railing and was on the ground, hurrying towards her. Buffy smiled at him as he reached her and let him wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace. He buried his face in the side of her neck and inhaled her scent deeply as he kissed her cheek softly ."You ok…?" he whispered. He could feel her shaking.
Buffy nodded. "I'm ok," she whispered, tilting her head up and he raised his head to look her in the eye. She grinned as she saw how anxious he looked and kissed him softly.
The sound of running footsteps alerted them to the others arrival and Buffy stepped back. The look of anger on Xander's face caused her to pause. Willow, too, was looking a bit worried as did Wes. Gunn and Fred both looked curious. Lorne was smirking and most of the Potentials just looked relieved to be alive.
Kennedy beamed. "That, was awesome." she smiled.
Buffy smiled gratefully at the Potential and grinned, unconsciously squeezing Liam's hand as she held it in her own. She saw Xander open his mouth, and knew that she wouldn't like what he was going to say.
She held up a bloody hand. "Xander, please," she whispered. "Not now…." She glanced around. "We need to get the Potentials back to the house, the door needs to be fixed and now that the Turok-Han is gone we need to get Spike."
Dawn shuffled on her feet. "Do you know where he is?" she asked.
Buffy remembered the Christmas-tree farm and the series of caves that were under it. "I have a pretty good idea." She glanced at Liam. "We'll go get him now," she whispered.
Then she turned and fixed Xander with an unblinking stare. "Then we can talk," she said.
Xander glanced down at Buffy and Liam's entwined hands and nodded reluctantly. "We better," he muttered, his eyes narrowing angrily.
A/N: Ok so I did originally want Buffy to rescue Spike at the end of this chapter, but I'm already over 20 pages, and well anything longer then that is just getting epic! So I'm including it in the next chapter!
I hope you all liked this one! Thanks to JessAngelus for the help with choosing a store for Buffy and Liam to go shopping in! I have no idea what type of stores the US have! Couldn't have done that sexy scene without ya babe! The only reason I wanted them to go shopping was for them to have sex in front of the mirror, lol…I'm bad! Oh yeah, that shiny red belt buckle? Two words, Seeley Booth. Tehe… I just couldn't resist!
For Buffy's fight scene with the Turok-han I decided to focus on Liam and Willow talking rather then the actual fight, it would have been so similar to the canon that I thought it might be boring, this way, we can actually see Willow and Liam starting to get along and we see Liam's feeling for Buffy are developing a bit further then just physical attraction.
Please, please review this chapter. Reviews fill my beast of a muse, she's howling at me! *Howl* hear that? That's the muse! ( yeah, I'm weird…deal with it!)
xoxo
Lia