Thank you so much for the reviews guys. I really do appreciate them :) Wow there's only one more chapter after this one (The epilogue) but don't worry a sequel should be on the way soon. I hope you all enjoyed this story :) .
Chapter 14
The bright white lights cleared in the kitchen to reveal Buffy and Faith standing there clutching each other's hands tightly.
"She let go of my hand!" Buffy exclaimed loudly as she moved her gaze to Faith.
"Shit" Faith ran a hand haphazardly through her hair "What are we going to do?!"
"I don't know" Buffy replied dejectedly as she leaned heavily against the counter behind her wincing in pan as she did so.
"Right" Faith took a deep breath to calm herself and limped over to the cupboard grabbing a first aid kit. She moved painstakingly over to Buffy and held out a hand "C'mon B"
Buffy took Faith's hand and allowed herself to be lead into the living room where they sat on the couch.
"Where are you hurt?" Faith questioned quietly as she touched Buffy's arm lightly.
"I'm Fine" Buffy replied distractedly.
"B..." Faith said softly "Just tell me...Please?"
"You're hurt more than I am" Buffy stated quietly.
"I'm fine for now" Faith argued grasping Buffy's hand tightly "C'mon B I know you're in pain...I hate to see you hurting..."
Buffy sighed in resignation "My stomach's pretty cut up"
Faith lifted Buffy's blood soaked t-shirt gently and bit her lip in an attempt to hold in a shocked gasp at what she saw. There was a long deep cut which stretched from one side of her girlfriends' stomach to the other as well as a number of other cuts and bruises. She grabbed a cloth and soaked it in peroxide before moving her free hand back to Buffy's and squeezing it comfortingly.
"This is gonna hurt, Okay?" She said quietly. Buffy nodded and Faith pressed the cloth against the long cut on the other slayers stomach. At her girlfriends sharp intake of breath Faith looked up "Sorry B".
"It's Fine" Buffy responded quietly as she squeezed Faith's hand even tighter.
The dark haired slayer tossed the cloth to the side and grabbed a bandage, applying it gently to Buffy's wound. When it was firmly applied she moved back slightly "Anything else?"
"Nothing that slayer healing won't take care of" Buffy replied, offering Faith a weak smile. She moved forward slightly and ran a hand tenderly across the bruise on Faith's arm "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Faith shook her head "Not seriously...Just a few cuts and bruises"
"You were limping" Buffy observed quietly.
"I think I twisted my ankle when I went down" the dark haired girl answered "It'll be fine though"
"What should we do?" Buffy whispered as she pressed herself closer to Faith, careful not to put too much pressure on her.
Faith sighed and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend pulling her as close as possible "I really don't know"
"I hope Bianca doesn't do anything stupid" Buffy spoke up uneasily.
Faith's breath caught in her throat at Buffy's word "Oh My God"
"What?" Buffy questioned as she looked over at Faith "What's wrong?"
"Bianca..." Faith replied softly raising a hand to her forehead "she was acting weird...Like she didn't care what would happen to her...She heard us Buffy!"
"Heard us?" Buffy repeated blankly.
"She heard what Willow said!" Faith persisted in a horrified voice "About the willing sacrifice, She IS gonna do something stupid...That's why she kept apologising and Maggie said that Bianca had been kind of pushing her away!"
"Whoa!" Buffy held up a hand to her hysterical girlfriend "Are you saying that Bianca's going to...Die?"
Faith nodded "Yeah" she stood up and began to pace back and forth.
"DAMN IT!" She yelled as she thumped the wall hard with the side of her fist "I'm gonna kill her!" she covered her eyes with her hand and leaned back against the wall.
"Hey" Buffy said as she stood up and approached her girlfriend. She pulled Faith's hand gently away from her eyes to reveal tears slowly filling them and wrapped an arm around her waist leading her back to the couch "Sit. You have a sore ankle remember?"
Faith nodded tearfully at her and Buffy sank down on the couch next to her pulling her into a tight, loving embrace.
"I'm sure it'll be fine" The blonde whispered as she rubbed Faith's back soothingly "I mean Maggie won't let her do it, right?"
Faith shook her head "She won't be able to stop her" she said softly "You Know what Bianca's like when she sets her mind to something...What are we going to do? If we lose them?"
Buffy bit her lip against her own tears and shook her head adamantly "We're not going to let that happen!" she stated as she stood up and held out a hand to Faith "We have to go back to them"
"B?" Faith asked softly.
"Yeah?" The blonde responded.
"Just in case something goes wrong..." Faith pulled Buffy close to her and kissed her gently "I love you"
"I love you too" Buffy replied quietly.
-----
Maggie swallowed painfully as she watched Bianca take a step back, away from the blue barrier which separated them. Bianca didn't seem to notice as Buffy took her hand and began to recite the spell. Maggie attempted to push back her tears but to no prevail as they continued to track freely down her cheeks.
"I Love you" she mouthed silently to Bianca, her heart jolting painfully when Bianca released a quiet whimper. She kept her gaze fixed firmly to the younger girl and noticed a change in her expression a moment before the younger girl pulled her hand away from Buffy's. Maggie stepped forward as Buffy and Faith disappeared in bright lights but Bianca remained in the cave with her. She risked a glance over at the man to see him smirk and raise his hand causing the blue barrier in front of her to dissolve into nothing. Maggie rushed forward at the same time as Bianca and they caught each other in a tight embrace.
"Oh My God, Bianca! What are you doing?!" She kissed Bianca hard on the lips before she pulled away to tearfully look into her eyes "That was so STUPID Bianca. How could you DO that?!" she once again crashed her lips against the younger girls giving her no chance to answer. When she pulled away she glanced at the man who stood smirking at them as he leaned back against the wall and her hand slipped down Bianca's arm to grip her hand tightly.
"Come on" she said quietly as she tugged the other girl forward toward a tunnel which branched off from the main cave "RUN Binks!" with that the two girls rushed away from the man clutching each other's hand as tightly as they possibly could.
"Where are we going?!" Bianca panted after they had been running for a while.
"Away from Him!" Maggie answered breathlessly.
"You can't get away from me" The man grinned as he appeared in front of them.
Maggie veered to a stop so that she didn't run into him and began to turn around to run in the opposite direction when the man spoke up again "There's no point in running. I'll find you"
Maggie was about to yell at him when Bianca pulled away from her grip and spoke quietly refusing to meet her gaze "He's right...There's no point in running"
"Bianca..." Maggie began as she stepped forward.
Bianca ignored her and turned towards the man "I'm willing"
The man raised an eyebrow at her as Maggie moved closer to her and grasped her arm tightly "Willing?!" she questioned in panic "Willing to do what? What do you mean Bianca?!"
Bianca turned back to Maggie and smiled sadly at her "I'm sorry" she shifted her gaze back to the puzzled looking man in front of her "It'll work right?"
The man nodded slowly and Bianca took a deep breath before turning back to Maggie "Maggie..."
"Bianca, you can't do this!" Maggie exclaimed as tears formed in her eyes "You can't do this to me!"
"I have to" The younger girl responded softly as she placed a hand on Maggie's cheek "I HAVE to do this"
"There is no way in hell I am letting you do this!" Maggie argued, throwing a glare over Bianca's shoulder at the man. Her expression softened as she turned back to Bianca "I can't lose you Binks"
"It's Okay" Bianca said quietly as she attempted to push back her own tears "You'll be fine. I promise"
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Maggie yelled "I won't be okay Bianca! I can't lose you, I Love you!"
Bianca sighed and ran a hand through her hair "Okay" she said quietly "maybe you won't be okay but...I have to..."
"There has to be another way" Maggie protested as she looked between Bianca and the man behind her "Why...Why can't I do it?"
"Because I won't let you" Bianca answered instantly "And it's too late now"
"Bianca, please don't do this" Maggie whispered as tears tracked down her cheeks "How...How am I supposed to live without you?"
Bianca pulled Maggie into a tight embrace, shutting her eyes tightly at the stinging pain in her chest. She winced as she felt something pressing into her side where Maggie was pressed against her.
The Potion Bottle She remembered.
"Maggie" she pulled away from Maggie's embrace "It'll be okay"
"How?!" Maggie questioned tearfully "How will it be okay?!"
"It just will" Bianca leaned forward and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on Maggie's lips. Maggie responded after a moment and tightened her arms around her girlfriend. Bianca finally pulled away and looked at Maggie seriously.
"Trust me" she whispered as she tenderly wiped Maggie's falling tears away. She pressed her lips to the older girls' cheek before looking at her seriously "And close your eyes"
"No!" Maggie exclaimed as she tightened her grip on Bianca's arm. Bianca winced at the strength of her girlfriends' desperate grip on her.
"Maggie, you have to let go" she said softly as she placed her hand on Maggie's where it rested on her arm.
Maggie shook her head adamantly "No, I'm not letting you go Bianca...I NEED YOU!" her voice lowered to a soft whimper "I Love you..."
Bianca smiled weakly at her "I love you too" she glanced over at the man who stood behind them looking incredibly bored and her voice dropped to a whisper "I'll never leave you...Trust me Mags..."
Maggie made no move to let the other girl go and Bianca sighed softly before she pulled Maggie into a crushing embrace "You have to let me go Maggie"
Maggie released a quiet whimper against Bianca's shoulder "Don't leave me Binks"
"I won't" Bianca whispered as she pulled away from the embrace "I promise. Just...Let me go Maggie"
Maggie unwillingly relaxed her grip on her girlfriend and Bianca instantly pulled away and stepped back. Her gaze however remained fixed firmly on Maggie "Close your eyes" she said quietly "I don't want you to see this..."
Maggie shook her head and stepped forward "Bianca..."
"Don't" Bianca stated taking another step away from Maggie.
"Wait!" the dyed brunette stepped forward and reached out to Bianca who shook her head and stepped closer to the man. When she was a matter of millimetres away from him she leaned closer and whispered into his ear "This'll work right? And you'll let her go?". The man nodded silently not noticing Bianca reach into her pocket and clutch the potion tightly in her right hand. She pressed herself against him trying not to shudder in disgust as she did so and reached over his shoulder with her right arm.
Maggie gaped at the sight before her "Binks..."
Bianca attempted to ignore her girlfriend as she uncorked the small bottle and subtly swigged it back making sure that she didn't swallow the disgusting tasting blood red liquid. She quickly pulled back and forced herself to press her lips to the evil man's in front of her.
"BIANCA!" Maggie yelled in shock "What the hell are you doing?!" After a moment she watched Bianca pull away and gag as she stumbled away from the man.
"What the fuck was that?!" the man demanded "Whatever you did its no..." his voice died down as his hand shot to his chest and he released a pain filled yell "What did you do?" he questioned, glaring daggers at Bianca. He dropped to his knees but found the strength to throw his arm out towards Bianca sending her flying into the wall of the cave.
"You'll never be safe. They'll just keep on coming" he growled out a moment before he was engulfed in flames.
"Bianca!" Maggie exclaimed as she rushed forward towards where her girlfriend had landed "Are you okay? What the hell WAS that?!"
Bianca shook her head trying to rid herself of the fuzzy feeling as Maggie helped her up off the ground "A potion" she answered as she idly rubbed her head "He had to drink it willingly...or something"
"Are you okay?" Maggie asked as she moved Bianca's hand so she could observe the damage. She winced when she noticed that Bianca's head was bleeding "That looks like it hurts..." she tentatively reached forward and ran her fingertip over the cut causing Bianca to flinch "Sorry"
"Maggie?" Bianca whispered.
Maggie pulled back slightly to look into Bianca's eyes "Yeah, Bianca?"
"I'm sorry" Bianca said quietly as she reached forward and took both of Maggie's hands in her own "About before..." she was slightly surprised when she found herself pulled into a huge, tight hug.
"It's okay" Maggie whispered into her ear "Just don't do it again okay? I don't know what I would do if I lost you..." she pulled back slightly and gazed at Bianca sincerely "I Love you so much Bianca"
"I love you too" Bianca responded quietly as she held onto her girlfriend tightly. She blinked rapidly causing Maggie to frown in worry.
"Are you sure you're okay?" the older girl asked in concern
"Yeah" Bianca answered slowly "I mean...Whoa..."she closed her eyes tightly.
"Binks?" Maggie asked in panic "What's wrong?!"
"Everything's spinning" Bianca shook her head in an attempt to clear it before she opened her eyes and gazed at Maggie "I'll be okay in a minute..."
"Bianca, I think you should sit down or something" Maggie stated, biting her lip in unease "C'mon..."
"I'll be Fine..."Bianca protested even as the room once again began to spin "It'll...pass..."
Maggie tightened her embrace as she felt Bianca's knees begin to buckle underneath her "Bianca..."She received no answer and a moment later Bianca slumped unconscious into her arms. Maggie bit her lip and lowered her girlfriend gently to the ground.
"Bianca?" she slapped her cheek gently "Bianca, wake up"
She received no response and cursed silently as she looked around the cave trying to formulate a plan to get them out of there. She spotted a flash of white light in her peripheral vision and stood up in front of Bianca defensively. She relaxed slightly when the lights disappeared to reveal Buffy and Faith standing there hand in hand.
"God, you guys have impeccable timing" she observed.
Faith' gaze drifted behind Maggie to Bianca and she rushed forward "What did she do?!"
"She hit her head" Maggie answered tilting her head slightly in confusion "What do you mean what did SHE do?"
Faith knelt down at Bianca's side to reassure herself that she was okay while Buffy lingered next to Maggie defensively.
"Where is he?" The blonde questioned risking a glance at Maggie.
"Bianca got rid of him" Maggie stated proudly as she gazed down at her girlfriend.
"What?" Faith exclaimed as looked up and met Maggie's gaze "He's gone?!" she looked down at Bianca who had started to stir slowly "But...How? How did she..."
"She said something about a potion" Maggie answered as she dropped to her knees and took Bianca's hand in her own.
"But he had to drink that potion" Buffy said in confusion "How did she get him to do it?"
Maggie cringed slightly "You really don't want to know"
"Okay...Ew..." Buffy winced "I gotcha"
"Ow" Bianca mumbled lifting a hand to her aching head "Am I dead?"
"No" Maggie smiled softly at her "But you are gonna have a killer headache"
Bianca sat up with the help of Maggie and looked up at Buffy and Faith "Did Maggie tell you what happened?"
Faith nodded slowly "She told us you got rid of that guy"
Bianca grimaced "Did she tell you how?"
"No" Buffy answered "But I think we got the gist of it..."
"Oh" She pushed herself off the ground and stood up. Maggie wrapped an arm tightly around her waist to ensure that she didn't fall "So are you guys gonna yell at me?"
Faith shook her head slowly "Just don't do it again okay? You really scared us" her gaze shifted over to Maggie "So did you"
"So is that it?" Bianca questioned hesitantly "No yelling or whatever?"
Buffy shook her head "I think the rest can wait until tomorrow"
Bianca nodded slowly as she reached for Maggie's hand and clutched it tightly in her own. Maggie smiled softly at her and pulled her impossibly close to her side.
"Can we go home?" the dyed brunette asked quietly glancing over at Buffy and Faith.
Faith nodded and held out a hand to Maggie "Of course"
---
Bianca closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she leaned against the door to her and Maggie's room. She felt Maggie take her hand and pull her forward slightly causing her to open her eyes.
"You Okay?" Maggie asked quietly motioning towards the cut on Bianca's head.
"I'm fine" Bianca responded, pulling Maggie even closer to her.
"You're wearing my hoodie" Maggie smiled suddenly.
"Oh" Bianca looked down at the black hoodie she was wearing before returning her gaze to Maggie and smiling bashfully "Yeah, I uh...Kind of missed you. A lot. I guess I just needed to feel your presence or...something..."
"That's really sweet" Maggie whispered before she began to lean forward slowly. Her eyes fluttered shut and her lips were just about to touch Bianca's when the girl in question spoke up.
"Wait!"
"Huh?" Maggie pulled back slightly in confusion "Wait? Why?"
"You seriously want to kiss me after what I just did?" Bianca asked incredulously "I need to Brush my teeth or something!"
Maggie giggled and shook her head "It's fine Binks. I just...I really want to kiss you right now..." she moved forward slightly and leaned her forehead against Bianca's "I missed you, while I was... wherever I was"
Bianca nodded understandingly and Maggie hesitated for a moment before she placed a soft kiss on Bianca's lips.
"I love you" she whispered as she placed a hand on the back of Bianca's neck and pulled her closer.
"I love you too" Bianca replied sincerely before she pulled Maggie into a fervent kiss. She slid her hands down her girlfriend's shoulders, gently pushing her jacket off. The pulled away from the long kiss slightly breathless and gazed intently at each other. A moment later Maggie moved forward and captured Bianca's lips in another heated kiss and moved her hand underneath the black hoodie craving the reassurance of skin on skin contact. She pulled away only long enough to pull the hoodie up and over Bianca's head before she reclaimed the younger girls' lips with her own in a passionate yet impossibly soft kiss. Bianca stumbled backwards towards the bed pulling the other girl with her. Maggie pulled away and took a deep breath as she gazed hesitantly into Bianca's eyes "Are you sure you're up to this Binks? That fall looked pretty rough
Bianca nodded reassuringly "I'm sure. I need you Maggie. I really wanna make love to you"
Maggie smiled bashfully "I was hoping you would say that" with that she pressed her lips against Bianca's in a passionate kiss before they tumbled back onto the bed.
TBC