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Rating Alert! This chapter is rated M for language and adult material (no, not that kind!).

Chapter 10

Elspeth lay in bed later that evening, staring down at her legs. Faith had dropped Rift off earlier, both of them happier for the run they'd been on. Elspeth didn't know how she'd gotten through that without screaming at the top of her lungs, but she'd done it. The familiar nighttime routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, putting on her pj's and getting into bed had gotten her through the next hour or so. But now she was here, everything done, and she had nothing left to distract herself with. Somebody's gonna jump out yelling something about Candid Camera, I just know it....wait for it...wait...

But nothing happened. She was still sitting here, alone but for Rift who was snoring on the floor. The world hadn't stopped spinning, nothing crashed through the window to tragically end her life like in a horror film and now she had to deal with this big, fat, really-fucking-scary issue. Elspeth had long ago given up on dreams and wishes, getting through reality was hard enough. But now here she was the main character in her own fantasy. Dr. Adyn had been very tentative in his diagnoses, not wanting to give her false hope, but even a slight change would please Elspeth.

"The blood test was the key," Adyn said. His eyes were lit up almost fanatically. "You haven't had a blood test since you caught pneumonia six years ago. So when I checked, I wasn't really looking for anything. I get the same base line for all the girls, in case they run into some kind of magickal virus or something. But yours...I mean, woah! There were stem cells everywhere, it's amazing!"

"Stem cells?" Elspeth cocked her head, "But that's impossible, I'm an adult."

"That's a myth." Adyn interrupted. "Stem cells are found in both adults and fetuses. The difference is that most adult stem cells are lineage-restricted; they're only present in certain tissue types. Nerve tissue, like the damaged part of your spinal cord, is pretty much impossible to reproduce. That would take something called a pluripotent type of stem cell and it's only present in embryos."

"Pluripotent?" Elspeth cocked her head. She honestly hadn't paid much attention to stem cell research. Granted, it sounded like some kind of miracle cure but Elspeth knew the realities of medical research. Even without all the politics and moral issues surrounding it, it would take years of research and testing to create a feasible cure for her type of injury. "What does that mean?"

"Pluriponent cells can differentiate into nearly all cells. In other words, they can develop into each of the more than two-hundred cell types of the adult body when given sufficient and necessary stimulation for a specific cell type. Think of them like blanks that are just waiting for someone to come along and give them instructions. They're normally only present when the fetus is developing." Adyn paused," But they're in you...and there's only one reason for them to be there."

Elspeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them and looked straight at Adyn. "Please, don't tell anyone."

"What...but...?" Adyn was flabbergasted. "That's all you have to say?"

"I...I really don't know what to say right now," Elspeth admitted. "Give me a while to...to process all this...this stuff."

Adyn stood there for a moment, the light in his eyes finally dimming a bit as he was confronted with reality. She's not some damn research project, Adyn; he forced himself to slow down. This is her life, give her time. "Okay," he nodded. "You're technically my patient and you're certainly not a minor. You can make your own decisions. But Elspeth, we're going to have to deal with this somehow. There are things that are going to need to be done."

"Tomorrow," Elspeth agreed.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Adyn. She'd seen the bruise. It'd been right there, right where she'd felt the pain coming from. Could still feel it if she were honest with herself. God, I wonder how many of those 'phantom pains' I dismissed were real pain. When she thought of it she could almost weep. So many lost opportunities.

Now don't get ahead of yourself, the cynical part of her spoke up. Just because you can feel doesn't mean you might be able to one day...

Shut up! The hopeful, long-thought-dead piece of her called hope emerged. Jesus, your surrounded by magick everyday here! You've heard the stories. Buffy came back from the dead! A little thing like walking should be a piece of cake!

The internal argument between her rational and hopeful sides continued on well into the morning. She finally quit fidgeting and quieted down. This eventually led to her eyes blinking and closing for good. Even a champion arguer could only keep it up for so long.

….

Elspeth sat in the elevator, chewing on a fingernail. The little lights on the floor panel were all dark save the basement level one. There's more underneath this damn school than there is above it. It's like the X-Men school on steroids. I wonder if they have a jet?. The elevator finally chimed and the doors swept open. Elspeth blinked at them for a second and then pushed herself forward into the clinic. She ignored the main area and followed the hallway to Dr. Adyn's office. Rift's nails made a click, click, clicking sound on the cold tile floors. She rapped swiftly on the door as she came to it.

"Come in!" A voice called.

Rift grabbed the handle in his teeth and pulled down, opening the door for her. Elspeth rolled on in, taking a deep breath. Adyn looked over his desk at her, setting down the file that he was holding in his hand.

"I want you to help me," she blurted. There, it's said and now I can't take it back.

"Okay," Adyn nodded. "How?"

"If...if this thing that's going on with my body is real, I want to know." The words tumbled out of her mouth. "I want to know for sure that I'm going to...going to heal all the way. Walking...running, the whole shebang, before I tell anyone."

"Can I ask why?" Adyn asked, his shirt rustling as he crossed his arms.

"It'll be too much pressure," Elspeth shifted her gaze to the wall behind him. "If we tell everyone and then nothing happens, I'll feel like an idiot. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up."

Including your own, Adyn Price regarded the woman sitting in the wheelchair across the length of his desk. You're a lot more fragile than you let on, Dr. Elspeth Harsgove.

"Deal," Adyn slapped his hand down. "Like I said last night, you're an adult and as long as it's not going to endanger the Council, I'm not obliged to report it. I'll let you decide when to tell people. But this isn't going to be easy, Elspeth. Slayer healing can do a lot, more than I thought it could if this works, but it can't do everything."

"What do I need to do?" Elspeth let out the breath that she'd been unconsciously holding. Good, she started calming down, a plan. I can do anything as long as I have a logical plan.

"Okay," Adyn started laying it out for her. "The slayer healing can only do so much. We've never had anyone completely recover from you're type of paraplegia before, so we're gonna have to make some stuff up as we go. I've been doing some research on recovery for spinal injuries and it looks like if the slayer healing can get your nerves going there's going be two things we'll have to focus on."

"What?" Elspeth cocked her head to the side, brain kicking into gear.

"One," Adyn ticked his points off with his fingers. "Even if you're nerves are repaired, it doesn't mean you're brain is used to listening to them. You, yourself just pushed that bruise off as phantom pain. We're going to have to retrain your body to respond correctly. Most of that will be instinctual, thank God, but it's still going to take some time. Second, aside from physical therapy to maintain your body, you have not used the legs in your muscles since you were four years old."

"Almost twenty years," Elspeth whispered, her hand clenched on her skirt, digging her fingers into her thigh. Yelping, she looked down at her leg. I felt that! "I…I...!"

"Felt that, did ya?" Adyn stood up and walked over. "That's good; it means your mind is catching up. People have an amazing ability to affect their bodies with their minds, you know?"

"The placebo affect?" Elspeth cocked a brow, smirking.

"Don't take it for granted," Adyn said and leaned on his desk. "People's belief in the medicine causing them to feel better. Look at Pavlov and his conditioning experiments."

"I believe I am crippled, therefore I am?" Elspeth snorted. "I think it had more to do with the Mack truck snapping my spine."

"But then you were healed," Adyn countered. "You've been walking around, so to speak, practically completely healed, and you didn't even realize it because you'd conditioned yourself to think of yourself as paraplegic."

"I didn't really have a choice!" Elspeth rasped, whipping her head up to glare at him.

"I'm not blaming you," Adyn shook his head. "Even in daily life we condition ourselves to respond a certain way to situations. Why do you think you don't hit your boss when he yells at you, even though you really want to? Or go out and rob a bank when you need money, for that matter? Because society has conditioned us all to behave it certain ways so that we might live peacefully together. You just had to adapt a little differently. But now we have to recondition you and that might be harder than you think."

"If it means I'll be able to walk again," Elspeth looked straight at him, her green eyes cold, "Then I will do anything!"

….

Faith stalked her prey with a patience that would have been impossible for her in her younger days. The rooftops of the buildings nearby provided a handy walkway for those who were willing to use them. The demon stalking the area was a particularly nasty one that liked ambushes. They weren't sure exactly what it was, but it had stripped a couple of people right down to the bone. So far it had gotten two homeless guys and a woman walking home from the grocery store.

Georgia, one of her slayers-in-training, was walking below and doing a very good imitation of a party girl on her way home from a late night bash. She was staggering down the alley, fluffing her hair and generally acting like first class bait. Faith leaped easily from one roof to another, absently checking to make sure the rest of her team was with her and in their correct positions. This teaching thing is becoming a habit, she snorted to herself. Can't help being a pack-mother.

Faith had been feeling really antsy lately and had needed a release. The squad's regular teacher had been delighted when Faith had offered to take the group out, something about a date. Mary Jeffries murder investigation was at a standstill right now. She and the rest of the active slayers had spent the first week and a half breaking down doors and intimidating the hell out of the local demons in hopes that something would shake loose, but no luck. If it was a demon that had taken Mary out, nobody was talking about it.

Faith dropped to her stomach and peered over the edge of the roof she was on, the brick roughing her palms and a cable digging uncomfortably into her hip. In the alley down below, Georgia had stopped, laughing inanely as a guy tried to chat her up. Damn, that girl is a damn good actress. If I didn't know she was one of the most straight-laced kids in the world I'd think she was a total skank. She raised a brow as Georgia flicked a finger up the man's chest and whispered in his ear.

"Should we intervene?" Andy whispered into her mike.

"Nah," Faith pressed the button on her throat mike. "Wait to see what happens. Girl's got him wrapped around her finger."

A few more minutes of gentle flirting and Georgia sent the obviously drunk man on his way. Faith eased back up to her feet and followed along, the rest of the squad flowing along like wolves in a pack, each instinctively knowing her place. Faith's mind turned back to the case, her senses on autopilot. We completely struck out on the demon end and Russell ain't doin' much better. The detective had hit a brick wall with his side of the case, too. All they had was a mysterious powder and a toxicology report that might bring them something. But it didn't really matter right now 'cause both were backlogged in the city lab! If those assholes don't get to it within the next couple of days I'm just gonna break in there and bring everything to the witches. They'll tell me in five minutes. This following the rules crap is annoying.The whole thing was making Faith's head ache...and then there was Elspeth.

The past few days Elspeth had been missing their normal meals together, supposedly for further testing by Dr. Price. What the hell takes this much time to test? Faith grumbled to herself. The slayer had found herself oddly at a loss without her normal talks with the touchy professor. Elspeth was the one person in the whole school, or practically anywhere for that matter, that Faith felt completely relaxed around. She'd found herself coming to depend on those talks, and now they'd practically disappeared.

Had to happen sooner or later, I guess. Faith sighed and shook her head, her hair flying violently around her. It's not like I can hide my past from her forever. Somebody's gonna slip and mention it and then where will I be? It's not like she's gonna understand. Girl's smarter than Einstein, what the hell would she wanna hang out with a murderer for? Just admit it; it's better for her to be hanging out with Dr. Price than with you. At least he's as smart as her. Faith was still arguing with herself when a shadow reached out and grabbed Georgia, pulling her in.

"Contact!" Faith yelled and stepped off the roof, dropping straight down. Her slayer-trainee was being quickly engulfed by mob of slimy, green, leach-like things. Faith reached out and grabbed the back of Georgia's belt. No time for finesse, Faith grunted and hauled back. Georgia came out screaming, dripping demon leeches. Clawing at her face, she flew backwards and hit the ground.

"Stella! Agnes!" Faith barked, backing quickly away as the leeches tried to come after her. "You two take care of Georgia. The rest of you, help me with these things."

The two assigned slayers immediately began ripping the leeches off of Georgia and squishing them. The others looked a little squeamish, but did as they were told. Faith slammed her own foot down on one leech that made it a little too close to her. There was a nasty squelching sound and she felt it pop beneath her boot. I just bought these boots, dammit! Still, there was something satisfying about squashing the little fuckers beneath her heel. She stomped her stress out as the rest of the girls whined and retched, a smirk on her face. This is for those stupid little lab weenies who won't hurry the fuck up! This is for the son-of-a-bitch that killed one of my slayers! And this...this is for Lucky, who suddenly finds 'Oh-I'm-so-special-and-smart' Dr. Price more interesting than me! Fuck 'em all!

Faith was breathing hard when she and the rest of the squad had finally taken care of all the leeches. She flipped her hair out of her face and spat on the pile of mush. Then her squad of trainees stood and watched in horror and fascination as their leader poured a flaskful of whiskey on the remains of the leeches and lit them on fire, a smile on her face the entire time.

…..

"Well, hello there," Elspeth smiled as the door to the clinic opened and she saw Wilson Barker, the pediatrician from her history class. Dr. Barker was a hit in their class, always cracking wry jokes and making the younger slayers giggle. A big man, broad-shouldered with a bit of a pot belly starting and what was left of his hair was stark white.

"Hello, Dr. Barker," Elspeth nodded. "How are you doing?"

"One of these days I'm gonna get you to call me Dr. B," he grinned at her. Both of them knew it would never happen, but they liked to tease each other about it.

"Sure, sure," Elspeth nodded, a grin on her face. Her whole body ached, including her head. The exercises that Adyn was putting her through hurt like hell. But I'm just so damn happy that I can actually hurt that I don't care! Apparently she was coming along even faster than Adyn thought she would. He'd said that they might be able to move on to Locomotor training soon.

"What are you doing down here?" Dr. Barker asked, looking her over.

"Physical therapy," Elspeth shrugged her eyes steady. It is physical therapy after all, she reasoned, just not the kind he assumes.

"Well that's wonderful that you keep up with it," Dr. Barker encouraged her. "I worked at Children's back in Utah. Got a lot of kids there that didn't want to continue their workouts after...well, after their accidents. It's good you've kept it up."

"My doctors were tyrants," Elspeth smirked.

"Yeah," he nodded, "we're good at that. Well, I'll let you go about your business. I'm supposed to start helping out down here today. Finally got everything moved into the new house in town."

"You don't live on campus?" Elspeth asked.

"The wife likes to have me all to herself," Dr. Barker wiggled his eyebrow at her.

"Okay," Elspeth laughed and shook her head. Way too much information. "If you'll excuse me then. Come on, Rift."

"See you in class," he waved goodbye.

"See ya'," Elspeth slipped past him and into the hallway. That guy's a trip.

She was still half laughing, half shuddering to herself at the thought of Dr. Barker and his wife together when the elevator arrived at her floor and she rolled out. Her laughter died when she saw who was waiting for her though.

"Mr. Edgewood," Elspeth quickly battened down the hatches on her expression. Cool, strong green eyes stared back at Kyle Edgewood as he leaned against her door. "How may I help you today?"

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for two days now," Kyle told her.

"I'm sorry," Elspeth cocked her head and lied through her teeth. "I didn't know you were looking for me. I've been a bit busy lately."

"Doing what?" Kyle asked.

"Excuse me?" The slayer's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe that's any of your business."

"I'm your Watcher, Elspeth," Kyle gave her a tight grin. "Everything you do is my business. Can't have you going off and getting hurt, now can we?"

Elspeth gripped the wheels of her chair and fought the rage that flooded through her. Well, we finally found what trips my slayer trigger. Lovely!

"I am an adult, Mr. Edgewood," she sent him and icy smile. "And while I appreciate that you are trying to do your job, I do not need constant monitoring. Perhaps I could e-mail you my schedule and we could communicate that way. Oh wait, your spelling never was that good..."

"Listen, you little...," Kyle straightened up quickly and stepped forward.

"Somethin' the matter here?" Faith's husky voice stopped them cold. Elspeth clamped her mouth shut and looked up at the ceiling, sighing. Kyle straightened his tie as it had been his plan all along and smiled at Faith.

"Just a little slayer Watcher tiff, Ms. Lehane," he explained kindly.

"That's cool," Faith eyed him lazily, leaning against the corner she had just rounded. Elspeth craned her head around and felt her heart pick up speed just from looking at the other slayer. It had been a long time since they'd been able to talk. Faith smiled tightly at her, "Hey, Lucky Girl, you got a minute?"

"No problem," Elspeth agreed, turning completely around. Rift wagged his tail a little, Faith was one of his favorite people. She would take him on really long runs and even let him hunt squirrels sometimes. "We can continue this discussion at a different time, Mr. Edgewood."

"Right," Kyle plastered a fake smile on his face and retreated for the time being.

"Asshole," Faith snorted when he finally got out of hearing distance. "We really need to get you a new Watcher, Lucky Girl. That one's out to get you. In fact, I'm not sure I'd even trust him with a regular slayer."

"So now I'm not normal," Elspeth's voice was dry, but she registered a little stab of pain in her chest at Faith's words.

"You've never been normal," Faith lightened her words with a smirk. "But that's what makes you so much fun."

"I'm glad I could provide you with so much amusement," Elspeth's rejoinder was more settled this time. Stop being so damn touchy, Elspeth. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired right not, not to mention a little pissed off. I was having such a good day and then..."

"Then Watcher-wannabe over there shows up," Faith nodded her understanding. She looks tired. Elspeth's green-eyes had developed dark-circles under them in the past week or so. The sleeveless gray tank she was wearing had sweat marks and she had pulled her hair up into a short ponytail. Faith lifted a brow as she noticed Elspeth's fingers clenching and unclenching on her wheel rims, the muscles in her well-toned arms rippling a little with unspent energy. It's her hands that give her away, Faith realized. She's trained her face and eyes to show nothing and she can't pace, but ten bucks says she really wants one of those yo-yo's she carries around right now.

"What did you need to talk to me about, Faith?" Elspeth got the question out.

Seeing Faith this close up after two weeks of nothing was pushing her control. You made a decision, Elspeth castigated herself, now stick to it. If you're going to have any chance with this woman...provided she swings that way at all...you have to be walking on your own two feet first! Elspeth wasn't too sure when the notion had entered her head, it had just always sort of been there. Hope for all sorts of things had been rushing back lately, dreams she'd thought had died a long time ago.

"It can wait," Faith paused, shifting a little under the intensity of Elspeth's gaze. It roused something in her she wasn't sure she liked. She knew she had no hope of meeting the expectation in those eyes, she'd long been knocked off her pedestal. Hell, I smashed the fucking thing to pieces myself. "We gotta take care of your Watcher problem first. I'm gonna go talk to Robin."

"No." Elspeth shook her head, "I appreciate your thought, Faith. But I'm adult. I can deal with Mr. Edgewood on my own."

"I'm sure you could," Faith agreed. "But why should you have to?"

"I don't want to take advantage of our...our friendship, Faith." Elspeth cut her gaze down.

"You're not," Faith assured her. "If I thought for a second that you would, we wouldn't be friends. But whether you like it or not, I'm technically your boss. That means I get to decide what's best for you, and Mr. Wannabe ain't it. Deal?"

Elspeth's eyes widened as Faith drew herself up and stared down at her. She's technically right, I guess. I don't think of her like that normally, but she is the Head Slayer of the whole Council.

"Alright," Elspeth finally nodded her agreement. "Do you want to go talk to Mr. Wood right now or would you prefer to go later?"

"Eh..," Faith slumped a little and looked at her oddly, her former assurance lost. "When I said I'd deal with it, I meant me..."

"Surely you don't think I'm going to let you deal with this alone," Elspeth eyed her, her own confidence returning a bit. Not that 'take-charge' Faith isn't sexy as hell, but she can really be so adorable when she's confused. "We can both present my case to Mr. Wood together."

"You are such a trip, Lucky Girl." Faith shook her head and gave up. She looked Elspeth up and down and sniffed, "If I weren't a hot chick with superpowers, I might start feeling inferior. In fact, I would actually start to feel sorry for Mr. Wannabe if he weren't such a dick. Let's go then, no time like the present and all that shit."

"We spend a lot of our time in elevators, don't we?" Elspeth asked a moment later as they waited in the aforementioned place. Robin's office was on the third floor while the normal slayers' quarters were located in the west wing of the school. Elspeth had been placed there instead of the trainee's dormitory in the east wing given her age, as was often done with Watcher-candidates.

"Eh," Faith shrugged, "Gives me an excuse to avoid the stairs. That's my only real complaint about this place. Xander got the place pretty cheap so I can't complain too much, but fuck the Stairmaster, all I gotta' due is go to my room. It's the same workout. But God forbid the Head Slayer be seen as a weakling, gotta' go up and down the things with a smile on my damn face."

"Jesus," Elspeth burst out laughing at the image of Faith smiling while running up and down the stairs like and idiot ran through her mind. "That's insane."

"Don't I know it," the dark-haired slayer grinned, glad to have put a smile on her friend's face. "Stupid kids have got so much energy. It's like running around with fifty or so Energizer Bunnies. And they're so...so bouncy and giggly. I feel like I'm in some hell dimension where 'Teen' Magazine has taken over sometimes. The time I get with you in the elevator is just about the only time I have complete quiet."

"Faith, I'm...," Elspeth broke off as the elevator dinged, opening its doors and ending the moment. I was about to tell her...tell her everything. Ah well, there but for the grace of God and all that.

"Lucky Girl," Faith looked back at her as she stepped out of the elevator and smiled sadly. "Don't you worry about me, I'm five by five."

"The signal has excellent strength and perfect clarity? I didn't know you were into analog radios, Faith." Elspeth was sidetracked by the offside remark.

"Huh?" Faith reached out and stopped the elevator from closing, allowing Elspeth to get off. "What the hell do ana..whatsis' radios have to do with it?"

"It's a term to distinguish the best of twenty-five possible subjective responses used to describe the quality of communications. NATO uses it," Elspeth explained. "How did you hear it?"

"When I was a kid, real young, my mom used to have this old record player." Faith led the way to Robin's office. "She had all these crappy ballads she used to play, sappy love stuff. I hated 'em. But one of her joh...er boyfriends, left behind this record one time. It was an EP, extended play, by the Rolling Stones. The title was 'Five by Five'. I used to play it when she was...asleep or gone, totally wore out side B. Anyway, I kept wondering why the hell it was called 'Five by Five' and ended up asking the guy down at this record store I used to hang out by. He told me it meant 'everything's all good'."

"Well, it does," Elspeth nodded, "It just originates from short-wave radios, that's all."

"Cool," Faith knocked on Robin's door as they arrived, frowning a little.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Her mother screamed the question into Faith's face.

Her eyes were wild, blood-shot from the stuff she'd injected into her veins last night. Her dark hair was flying everywhere, brittle from one too many perms and greasy because she hadn't had a shower in three days. She still had her make-up on, smeared from last night.

"It's just a record, mom." Faith cowered back, trying not to grimace at the smell. She thought she'd hidden the vinyl well enough, but her mother had ripped Faith's bedroom apart looking for the money she was sure that Faith was hiding from her.

"It's a fucking piece of garbage is what it is!" The record shattered into dozens of pieces as it was flung against the far wall. "Come here, you little brat. I'll teach you not to hide things from me!"

"It's always nice to learn new things," Faith's voice was calm as she shook off the past and walked into Robin's office, leaving the door open for Rift to close.

"Faith." Robin Wood stood up as they entered a pleasant smile on his face. "Elspeth, what can I do for you two today?"

"We need you to change Lucky Girl's Watcher, Wood." Faith told him flat out.

Robin scowled, his shoulders going back. "I'm afraid that's going to be pretty much impossible, Faith. We don't have anyone else to take over Elspeth's case. You know we're critically short on Watchers."

"They're not getting along, Robin," Faith angrily shook her head. Calm down, she reminded herself. It's not his fault you're in such a bad mood. You need to get along with him. She took a deep breath and tried to explain. "The guy's an ass, Robin. He keeps coming down on her."

"Faith," Robin tried to be reasonable, "Given your own past with Watchers, don't you think you might be projecting a little."

"My past has nothing to do with this, Robin." Faith felt her calm receding, it's edges raggedly slipping through her fingers. She shifted a little and took a quick look down at Elspeth. "I'm not projecting anything. I know you think you're doing the right thing but..."

"Faith," Robin's voice took on that placating tone she hated. I hated it when we were bouncing around on a mattress and I haven't learned to like it since. "Look, I understand that you two are friends and that you want her to protect her, but we all need to bend a little around here."

"Wood, I know more about bending than you'll ever dream of," Faith sneered, her temper beginning to take over, old arguments being drug up. "But this is just the same shit as before. You patting me on the head like a kid and sending me off while the big kids work everything out. But I'm not a little kid, Robin, and neither is she. She's an adult and a damn smart one at that. Smarter than me or you, as much as that may sting. You should be learning more about her before you go and make decisions."

"There's a reason you always got patted on the head, Faith." Robin slapped his hands on the desk and leaned forward, his own temper making itself known. "You can't seem to think of the big picture or control your emotions. Because what I see now makes me think of the old Faith. Maybe you haven't grown as much out of those homicidal ways as you keep saying. What are you going to do next, slayer? Kill me, like you used to do to anyone else who wouldn't agree with you?"

"What?!" Elspeth yelped without meaning to. She looked wide-eyed up at Faith. The other slayer had gone red and was shaking with rage. She was glaring holes in Robin Wood, her teeth bared.

"Shut the fuck up!" Faith roared. She looked down helplessly at Elspeth, who was looking at her like she never had before. Like I'm a monster! Well, hell with it, I am! "Look, just listen to her story and take care of her. If she isn't switched over, Robin, you can expect me to take care of it my way."

Then Faith stalked out of the office before she either killed Robin Wood or broke down in front of Elspeth Harsgrove, the door rattled as she slammed it behind her.

….

The car sat on the dirt path, just off the main highway. It was a station wagon, brown and white with a little rust on the wheels, but it still ran well. The engine was off right now, clicking idle as it cooled down in the night air. A cone from one of the surrounding pine trees fell on its hood, chipping the paint a little. The occupants inside its heavily fogged windows didn't really notice it though; they were busy with other things.

"I can't get this stupid...crap!," Gary Pelson cursed as he fumbled with his girlfriend's bra strap.

"Calm down, Gary," Saralyn Waters grinned up at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Right," Gary huffed and forced himself to slow down. "Sorry....I'm a little...It's just we never get to see each other."

"I know," Saralyn kissed him softly on the mouth and they both lost the thread of the conversation as the kiss grew more heated. "We can't...on campus...and your house..."

"Damn sisters...," Gary mumbled as he ran a hand down her curves, entranced.

"God bless big back seats," Saralyn chimed as she began unbuckling his pants. She wiggled down, sneaking a glance up at him. "Let's see what we can find down here, shall we?"

Gary pushed himself up onto his knees, leering a bit. "You're gonna find...Holy Shit!"

"I'm gonna find shit?" Saralyn arched a brow as she rested on her elbows, shirt undone and gaping open.

"There was something out there," Gary startled buckling his pants up quickly. "It was fucking big! Ran right by the window."

"Describe it," he looked down at his girlfriend's cold demand. She was buttoning her shirt now and completely ignoring him.

"It was big," Gary complied, a little bemused.

"People big or dog big?" Saralyn was on her knees now, reaching for her purse.

"People big," Gary answered, "But I only got a glimpse of it. Damn windows are all fogged up. Maybe if I..."

A clawed fist smashed through the side window that Gary was reaching for and grabbed his wrist. Before Saralyn could react, her boyfriend was ripped through the window screaming. She was up on all fours, diving out of the back seat before she could think. Instinct made her tuck and role, but she was still a little cut up by the glass as she landed on it. Thank God for vehicle standards and safety glass, was all she could think as she jumped to her feet brandishing the stake she had managed to snatch from her purse.

"Gary!" Saralyn yelled as she saw her boyfriend sprawled out on the ground a few feet away from the car. She ran over to him, scanning the trees for their attacker.

"Uhh...Sar..," Gary moaned as he lifted his head. He was bleeding freely from the claw marks on his cheek. The thing had slashed his stomach open and he was holding his insides in with both arms. Blood so red it seemed black was pouring out over his fingers, spilling onto the pine needles and grass "Hurts..."

"I know, baby," Saralyn almost sobbed, but stopped herself. Gotta be calm, gotta be cool. She allowed the slayer inside her a little more rein, using the anger to keep her head clear. "You just hold on. I'm gonna make it all better soon."

"Careful...careful...," the low-pitched voice echoed around her, whispering. "Shouldn't...shouldn't...make promises....promises..."

"You have no idea who you are messing with," Saralyn growled and crouched low, eying the tree line. She jumped at movement out of the corner of her eye, but it was just an owl. Its eyes flashed as it flicked it's wings at her.

"R...run!" Gary ordered, coughing a little. "Run, Saralyn!"

"No can do, baby," Saralyn shook her head. "When we get out of this, I've got some things I need to tell you though. I'm not exactly normal. See, I'm a...shit!"

She slapped her hand down on the stinging wound on her bare stomach, she hadn't had time to completely button up. She could feel something there, below the surface of her skin. It felt hard and round, like a bead. Just as she registered it, another round caught her in the arm. Her vision started to gray out and she staggered, fighting to remain on her feet. I lost my concentration, just like Ms. Karen is always yelling at me about. Guess she was right...she collapsed as another bead took her in the back, landing heavily. I didn't even get a chance...

"Saralyn...Sara..," Gary began dragging himself toward his girlfriend, gritting his teeth. That thing out there had broken a few of his ribs and he was bleeding heavily from his stomach. His left eye was closed, the cut over his brow draining blood into it.

"She's a slayer," the monster coalesced out of the darkness, grinning down at him. Gary stared up at the face of his nightmare and almost choked.

"A what?" he babbled.

"A vampire slayer," it told him. "She wasn't human. She was lying to you the whole time. What do you think of that, boy?"

"But she's just Saralyn," Gary got out. I'm gonna die like those idiots in the horror movies, he couldn't help but think. The ones you think are so stupid for walking out into the dark. But..but I didn't think it could happen to me!

"Not for long." It smiled at him nastily. Gary watched as the monster knelt down and put a needle into his girlfriend's elbow almost delicately.

"Stop that," he growled, trying to get up. "I'll kill you. You leave her alone!"

"Shut up," it backhanded him, breaking his jaw and causing him to collapse onto the ground.

He groaned in pain and frustrated helplessness, watching as his nightmare pulled a knife from somewhere and began making slices in his precious Saralyn's skin. The curves he had so lovingly touched and admired were ripped away with a wet tearing sound as his groans turned to sobs. Then, when the process was finished, it came to put him out of his misery.

............

Author's Note:

I'm glad to see that more people have picked up on this story and are sending in reviews and alerts. It always gives me a little lift when I get those;) Okay, we're now getting into the nitty-gritty of the story and I would like to once again remind people that I am neither a doctor nor a scientist. I research this stuff the best I can, but it's quite possible that I am making mistakes. If any of you out there are doctors or scientists and would like to offer me your opinion and/or services as a source, then I would be more than happy to pick your brains!