Disclaimer: See 1st Chapter.

Chapter Twenty One: Back On Track

"So you've never heard of him, either?"

Buffy stared at her former Watcher with an amused expression on her pretty face. It was uncommon for Giles not to know anything, and even when he didn't he usually whipped out a book and boom, knowiness. Yet in the thirty minutes she'd spent explaining the ins and outs of her run in with the the Immortal, he'd just nodded but offered no real explanation. It would be funny if it weren't kinda disconcerting. Obviously he was getting lax on the job of being the smartest man she knew.

The older man sighed, tossing the last remnants of his teacup into the trash. "Contrary to what you think about me Buffy, I do not possess all the knowledge in the universe. Though I am flattered that you would assume such about me."

She snorted. "Well take a few peeps at a few more books just in case. I mean we got away from him but he's not the type of guy—demon—thingie that just lets stuff go."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll look into it."

Smiling, she pulled at her soft cotton blouse. "So um, is it okay if we crash here? Wherever here is…"

He returned her smile. "Of course. And you are in Scotland. This is actually the training facility I have been trying to tell you about."

The blonde looked around at his Watcherly office with its old books and cushiony chairs. "No offense, but I think you're gonna need a tad more room than this unless you want a lot more broken teacups."

Giving her a look, he gestured to the door. "This is of course just my office. Apparently Quentin Travers created a trust of sorts for all of the Watchers on his payroll. Through my uh—reinstatement and subsequent survival of the final battle, all of his holdings went to me. Including this place. Though one can only guess as to what he was using it for."

She itched at her cheek. "I'd say poker parties and midnight orgies. Wait, that sounds like something Faith would say except with more swear words."

He chuckled softly. "Am I uh—to understand that you and Faith shall be resurrecting your duties as Slayers, now?"

"We never stopped being Slayers, Giles." She pointed out. "We just—we needed a vacation from all of the death and blood and more death."

"Hm." Was his reply. "And now?"

Good question. "What is it exactly that you want us to do again? Keep in mind that I don't play well with others. I—I break their toys and rip off their doll heads like nobody's business."

Giles sat down behind his large desk. "Buffy, these young girls will need someone to teach them what it means to be a Slayer. We have created a…global new world. A new race as it were. Without order and—and a chain of command they may fall into anarchy."

She pouted. "Why I do gotta be all commandy?"

"Because you are the Slayer. Quite frankly you have out lived any other Slayer in the history of the word. You are stronger, faster and braver than any on record. And you will do this because you know it is the right thing to do."

"Maybe I like doing the wrong thing now. I'm dating a bad girl—it changes you."

"Yes well… Perhaps Kennedy would be keen on the idea then."

"Eh. She'll just call them more insects."

"So? Are you saying yes?"

"I—I have to talk to Faith about it. See if she wants to hang here or move on."

"Alright. Let me know soon however so that we can start having girls shipped here to be trained."

"Okay. But if I do this, you have to train Andrew in Watcher stuff."

"What? Why? If you think punishing me is going to—"

"Hey, hey, hey now. He might surprise you—did I just say that? Anyway just keep him away from Italian fire demons and you'll be fine."

Giles was not amused. "Couldn't you have left him behind?"

Laughing, she headed to the door. "We tried but he's like a bloodhound. No matter where we go, he follows eventually."

Looking around with big brown eyes, Faith ran a hand through her hair, pulling at the back of her long sleeve dark blue shirt. She nibbled on her bottom lip and moved to the edge of the large castle roof, sitting on the thick stone wall and gazing out at the quiet night sky. Her mind whirled with different shit, but nothin' that wanted to be held down. Nothin' she really wanted to focus on. Though…she needed to. Shit needed to be dealt with.

She could still feel Willow's magic tingling on her skin, and her stomach was just beginning to get back to normal. It was like smoking a crack pipe and then zoning for a few hours—a real mind trip. Teleportation was now on her list of shit she wasn't too fond of. Still it served its purpose, got them away from the Immortal, which is all that mattered. She kinda wished she could see his face, see if he was freakin' out or whatever. Probably not though. Probably tryin' to find B with all the resources that assholes like him had on hand.

Would it always be like this?

Would thunder cunts always be tryin' to scope her chick?

She wouldn't even lie and say that she was secure enough to know that Buffy wouldn't go for someone else. She wanted to be but well, who knew? Some prince charming on a white horse that is just B's type could ride up and take her off to fairyland. Someone with more than a GED education. Someone who wasn't scared of commitment and letting their real emotions show.

Then again those weren't exactly the blonde's types. She liked her significant others a little damaged, maybe to even her out.

Digging into the pocket of her tight jeans, she pulled out a semi-squished carton of smokes and lit one up, inhaling deeply. When she was a kid, whenever there was a spot of happiness it never lasted. The stray dog she found and took in died a week later. Her mom's sobriety would be right out the window the moment the AA meeting was over. Her relationships—even with people she clicked with—they didn't last. She subconsciously didn't let them. It was better in the end; at least that was her way of thinking. No one ended up seriously hurt.

This is the part where I freak the fuck out, pack my shit and head for the highway.

And yet she knew what Angel would say. He'd say, "You can't run all of your life, Faith. Sometimes you have to make a stand."

The man was hardly ever wrong.

Snuffing out her ciggy, she strolled back into the gray structure and down the winding staircase, rubbing at the goosebumps that had broken out on her skin. This place was hella drafty, not to mention she was sure it was haunted. How were they supposed to sleep in this bitch? Did it even have beds? It reminded of her the next to last movie she'd seen in the joint, High Spirits with Peter O'Toole. Funny ass flick but dust was everywhere. Much like this crib.

Itching the end of her nose, she walked down the long hallway, listening to the sound of her boots on the cracked cement. She came to a dirty door and slowly pushed it open, peeping into the room. "B?"

Buffy popped out from behind a large shade in nothing but a towel, her hair wet and streaming past her shoulders. "Hey."

"Aren't you cold?" The brunette inquired, entering and shutting the door behind her. "It's like I got a permanent draft blowin' up my skirt."

The blonde chuckled, but nodded. "Yeah. But lookie, fireplace. Warm and romantic." She disappeared from view to change. "I talked to Giles and he said we can stay as long as we want. Willow went back to Brazil but she—she's gonna come back here after she talks to Kennedy. I—I think everyone should be together again, including Xander."

"Hm." Moving over to the bed, she sat down, pushing on the spongy mattress. "This mattress is gonna eat us in our sleep."

"Ha! I thought you were the only one who did that?"

"Fuck you!"

"You do. Regularly!"

"Look at you with the quippin'. I thought you'd be more pissy considerin' what happened earlier."

"Well…I am and I'm not. The Immortal is a total Mr. Summer's Eve but we got away from him. Willow has cloaked us so he won't be finding us anytime soon. Besides he's probably still seein' plural Buffys."

Dropping back onto her elbows, she frowned at the lanterns. "Hope Red can hook up some electricity when she pops back in. This medieval shit ain't workin' at all."

Buffy chuckled and reappeared in red yoga pants and a white t-shirt. She plucked up a sweater and shrugged into it. "I kinda feel like a princess though. Giles has his own castle, that is so neat."

Faith smiled, wetting her lips. "Yo, can I talk to you for a second?"

A nod. "Of course. What's up?"

The ex-con nibbled on the inside of her cheek. "I—what you said to the Immortal."

"Which part?" The blonde asked slowly. "Look if—if this is about the love thing I—he'd made me really mad an—"

"It's okay. I'm not—it's not like I haven't noticed how we are. We've been together for a while, longer if you count all the past shit." Faith looked into her pretty green eyes. "How we managed to hook up stuff stumps me but hey, peeps in our circle always goin' on about destiny and stuff. And I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't feel for you cause I do."

"Faith, you don't have to say anything if you're not ready." Buffy whispered, taking her hand. "There is no pressure."

The brunette itched at her cheek. "Yeah. But I do, ya know? Bein' with you, it's some of the happiest times of my life, so it kinda freaks me out cause I don't do happy. I do aight for the most part, but with you B, even when we're fightin' off demons? I'm havin' a helluva good time."

Smiling, Buffy leaned and captured the other girl's lips with her own, kissing her softly. "I'm having a helluva good time with you too."

Snorting playfully, Faith grabbed her around the waist and threw her onto the bed. She rolled on top of her and nibbled at her neck, sucking at the soft skin as the blonde squirmed and giggled. "You're such a little smart ass."

"I thought that was part of my charm?" Buffy questioned, smirking at the look she received. "Anyway, now that we are here, Giles wants us to do the big sister Slayer thing."

"Eh." The other girl grunted. "Can't I just be the crazy one and you do the big sis thing?"

"No. We are the beginning of this massive Slayer line, and there are a lot of girls out there with powers that they don't know what to do with. While I enjoy the idea of doing nothing but finding your ticklish spots with my tongue, we do gotta help out a little." The blonde explained lightly. "I owe it to them. I made them what they are now, and some probably can't handle it."

Good point. "Yeah. And I guess we can't bullshit for the rest of our lives."

Nodding, Buffy wrapped strands of brown around her slender fingers. "I wish we could, but Giles thinks we should be structury and stuff. Just because Sunnydale is gone doesn't mean the forces of evil are gone. We'll never get that lucky."

Sighing, Faith smoothed her hand up Buffy's shirt to rub at her bare side. "I think we'd go fucken crazy if that were the case, though. Regular lives? Regular jobs? Pfft."

"Yeah. I hated my job at that burger place. Cats would follow me home because I smelled like French fries." The blonde pouted. "So what? We're gonna get back into the saving the world game?"

"Were we ever really out? Granted we chilled for a bit, but we still slayed in Italy." The ex-con pointed out. "It's just who we are. It's in us, B. You can't fight what's inside ya."

Buffy nodded, her gaze on the ceiling. "I think I was a horrible leader—teacher—drill sergeant back in Sunnydale though. What if I'm the one who they give like the horrible nickname too? Ball Buster Buffy or Stick Up Her Ass Summers?"

"I prefer Little Miss. Tightly Wound but those work too."

"I hate your face."

"You love my face. You wish my face was your face."

"Your face was my face once and I didn't like it."

"Yeah but you would now. It's face-a-licious."

"You are so strange. But—well I—so you're okay with teaching? I told Giles I'd discuss it with you first before giving him an answer."

Faith lifted her head to look at her girlfriend. She was touched that the blonde was actually takin' her thoughts into consideration and shit. "Honestly? I don't care what we do, B, as long as we do it together."

Large emerald eyes sparkled, and the blonde tucked back her dark hair. Her arms wrapped around her back and pulled. "Kiss me."

Smirking, the brunette shifted on top of her fully and kissed her softly at first. And then she was deepening the kiss, sliding her tongue past her lips, swirling it in a tiny circle. Buffy moaned softly and began to pull at her shirt, managing to get it off of her without breaking much contact.

"Let's just cut out the middle man." Faith whispered, sitting up. She kicked out of her jeans quickly, discarding the rest of her clothes into a pile on the floor.

Buffy laughed but followed suit, the cold air hitting her soft skin and making it flush pink. She dived under the tattered blankets and grinned when the ex-con did the same, immediately reaching for her again. Their mouths met for an impassioned kiss that had both girls shivering even more. Their hands were everywhere, touching every part that they could, leaving soft imprints in their wake.

The blonde let her fascination with Faith's delectable breasts take over, and she rolled so that she was on top. So that she could kiss down her tan flesh and take a pebble hard nipple into her mouth. She suckled and nibbled until Faith was writhing under her, brown eyes closed in pleasure as her chin tilted up to the ceiling. She loved when Buffy touched her; it was like being surrounded by flames but not getting burned.

Buffy's teeth nipped hard enough at the breast to leave marks before she continued on her downward slope, disappearing under the covers. She dragged her tongue around Faith's navel, then kissed it gently. Her smooth lips tickled up, down and then up again each toned thigh, falling into a knowing smirk as her girlfriend gripped her hair tightly. But even in the dark she could see Faith clearly; her image was forever branded into her mind.

How beautiful she no doubt looked right now. How her tongue was probably slicking across her bottom lip in anticipation of what was to come.

Not making her wait, she slipped closer and licked her sex from top of bottom in one clean stroke. Faith let out a muffled moan and arched into the action, spreading her legs wider. If anyone had told her that one day Buffy Summers would be goin' down on her, she'd have laughed in their faces. Yet it was happening. Had happened quite a few times. Was even better cause she liked doin' it—said it turned her on—the taste and how she reacted to it.

As the blonde proceeded to French kiss her in the most indecent way, she whimpered and wrapped golden strands of hair around her fingers. "Fuck, B. God that feels good…"

A barely audible response sounded from underneath the sheets, before the tongue inside of her twirled faster. Slayer strength all over was a gift from the Gods, yo.

Her mind went blank, the Immortal long forgotten as Buffy worked her magic, knowing just when to back off and tease her a bit. Knowing just when to wrap her pretty lips around her clit and suck like she was a human lollipop…her favorite flavor. Faith didn't try to hold back her sounds of pleasure. In fact she got louder if it were possible, which it always was. She didn't care who heard her or how mortified they'd be; she just wanted B to know how she affected her.

"Bu—Buffy…" She gasped, bending her legs. "Ha—harder…"

"What's the magic word?" Buffy inquired.

"Revenge!" Faith squirmed, her chest heaving. "As in wh—when I ge—get mine…"

Laughter sounded but the blissful sensations continued tenfold, making her fall into a dizzying spiral of stimulation. She felt like one of the strings on a guitar that had been wound too tight, that was being cranked and cranked until finally, boom! She barely had time to finish her thought as her body exploded into her climax, making brightly colored stars dance behind her eyes. The world faded away and she became totally immersed in the moment, her back arching off the bed as her mouth failed to contain the high-pitched whimpers that escaped.

It was like being in the middle of a tornado that was inside of a volcano.

The cold was chased away, the flames of the candles becoming moving blurs as her vision paled around the edges. By the time she finally felt some sort of control returning to her lax limbs, she was glistening with sweat and itching for more.

Her muscles twitched as Buffy kissed a path up to her chin. "Hi."

She chuckled breathlessly. "Sup?"

"I think the others heard you." The blonde mused. "Giles is probably huddled in the fetal position on his carpet by now."

Faith snickered. "Nah he wouldn't be like that at hearin' me." Her brows wiggled. "You? Now that's a different story."

"But…" Buffy couldn't stop herself from smirking. "He's letting us stay here. It would be wrong."

"That ever stopped us?"

"Not yet…"

A few days passed and very slowly everyone began to let their guard down where the Immortal was concerned. Buffy figured that he'd either moved on from her or was quietly waiting for the right moment to pop up and cause trouble. Yet she wasn't too worried about him. He seemed more into games than doing actual damage. Though games could get dangerous as well.

Dwell? No she wasn't gonna do that. She didn't have time to do that because the first batch of brand spanking new Slayers were arriving soon and she needed to have her head in the game. It was bad enough she was going to have to spar with Faith to show them proper techniques, but she was going to have to have self control while doing it. Apparently it wouldn't be right for it to turn sexual right in the middle.

So said a stuttering Giles.

Giggling, she sipped her tea and stretched out on the plaid blanket, watching as deer bounded over the hills in the distance. Xander had shown up last night, and Andrew had nearly peed his pants in excitement. Willow and Kennedy were currently rooming in the spacious castle as well, though the status of their relationship remained in weirdness. Willow still didn't know what she wanted, but she had a feeling Ken wasn't gonna wait around forever while she figured it out.

It was interesting because Buffy usually found herself on the outs of the relationship clique. She was usually fifth wheel Buffy, not happily enjoying the fruits of someone's labor. Maybe it was the universe finally doing right by her however. Giving her lemonade instead of expecting her to take the time to make her own. Who did that?

New Slayers…good-bye quiet days. Hello communal living.

Giles was right though—he usually was—when he said that the girls needed to know how to use themselves. That strength alone was not enough to take out a vampire, let alone some funky demon thing. They needed to know how to move, how to telegraph punches and most importantly, when to run away. She knew she could teach them all of that, but the thought of failing wasn't far from her mind. While the battle with the First had been successful, people died regardless. Innocent girls with their whole lives ahead of them.

Girls she'd led into battle.

Sighing, she laid flat on her back and closed her eyes, listening to nature. With the scythe hanging on the wall in Giles' office and him giving the opening speeches which revealed just what a Slayer was, she almost felt like a teenager again. Any minute she expected her mom to show up and rag on her about breaking curfew. But that was just a pretty dream that would never come true again. She was a grown up now, and everyone kept saying she needed to act like one.

Well everyone except Faith—just another reason to like her.

"I still have a destiny…" She said aloud. "Can't vacation from that forever."

All the same, the question remained, what now?

Were they supposed to wait for evil to find them or search it out? Robin and a few of the more experienced Slayers were doing their thing in Cleveland, so there was no need to go there. Without a set Hellmouth to rumble, it was like they were lost.

There had to be some apocalypse they could get in on somewhere!

First things first; training the newbies.

"Buffy!" Dawn appeared at the edge of the meadow, the mild breeze blowing her hair around her face. "Xander's back!"

Ooh boy. Getting up, she packed up her small basket and hurried to join her sister. Then together they headed back towards the looming castle. "What do they look like?"

"Koalas. They look like girls, Buffy." Dawn teased flippantly. "Teenage girls."

She nodded, worrying her bottom lip. "Do they look freaked out? Did they get their parents permission?"

Baby Summers yawned. "Giles said that most are at least sixteen, give or take a few so I'm guessing, yeah. I mean this has been in the works since he got here. You just don't know about it cause you were dodging his calls."

She pouted. "But I—I was on vacation. Doing vacationy things."

Dawn smirked. "Like Faith?"

"Ha ha." Buffy rolled her eyes playfully. "Did Andrew go with Xander to pick up the girls?"

A nod. "Yup. So I think it's safe to say he's already told them all of your business."

"Ugh, great. And here I wanted to be cool and mysterious." Shaking her head, she exhaled as they entered the building, and the sound of chatter from what would be the throne room drifted to her ears. "Do I—do I look okay? I shouldn't be in red. It's a hostile color isn't it?"

Her little sister smiled. "You look great, Buffy. And red is a power color so I think you mean orange. Just…be yourself and show them how cool it can be to be a Slayer."

"I don't know if cool is the word I would use." Buffy mumbled. "Some of these kids will die. That's just…a horrible fact of our profession. No first kiss, prom…just ugly, stupid death."

"Maybe. But at least with you in their corner they have a fighting chance." Dawn replied, hugging her briefly. "C'mon. I bet they are dying to meet you."

That is what I am afraid of. Pushing down her nerves, she stepped through the threshold to be greeted by a group of ten girls from all walks of life, their bags at their feet. She swallowed hard and made her way to the front where Giles stood, stepping up onto the raised platform with him. A small rush of murmurs washed over the tiny crowd, and her Watcher smiled at her.

"Ladies. This is Buffy Summers." There was so much pride in his voice. "The Slayer."

She grinned a bit. "Hi. It—it's nice to be meeting all of you. I know this must be giving you the creepies but everything will be explained soon. You're probably a little scared and hey, I get it, I'd be scared too if I were in your position." Pause. "In fact I was you. I was terrified when I was called. When I was told what was expected of me. But you guys have a choice. You can learn to fight or you can go home like all of this is a bad dream. Either way you're not alone. What's happening to you, it's happening to others all over the world. You're special now…"

The girls glanced between one another quietly.

"Being a Slayer is—it's hellish at times. Especially if you forget what really matters, which to me is being there for the ones I love. I would die for my friends and family." She ducked her head, her cheeks red. "A third time. You've been giving amazing power and now you at least need to know how to control it. This—it's like a sorority really. There is only supposed to be one and yet look…I see ten remarkable young women before me. And I know you guys feel it—like we're connected in a way that can never be explained. Well this…" She turned to Andrew who handed her the red and silver scythe. "…is the reason why. This and the cute redhead in the corner…"

Willow gave a friendly little wave. "Hi. I—I'm a witch. Wicca. I do magic."

"And I guess you know Xander." Buffy smirked in his direction.

"We've all bonded. They are my new bestest buds." He joked, giving a salute. "Xander Harris. Official member of the Scooby team."

"I'm Dawn. Buffy's little sister." The young girl spoke up. "So I know all the dirt on her."

There were a few chuckles, and then Andrew was bowing like a southern gentleman. "Hello lovelies, I am Andrew. Total and full member of the team now, as I mentioned on the bus. I will tell you more about my redemption later."

"I'm sure they look forward to that." Buffy lifted a brow. "Giles has already introduced himself so the girl beside Willow is Kennedy."

"Hey." Ken nodded to the group.

"Guess that just leaves me, huh?" Faith strolled into the room and perched against the wall. "Names Faith. Everythin' the Jedi Knight probably told ya bout me is true. Welcome to the fun house."

Mental note; find out what Andrew said later. "Why don't you guys introduce yourself?"

Shyness overtook the group, but a few mustered up the courage to speak. The first being a petite redhead with baby blue eyes, and a thick southern accent. "Um well hey. My name is Annabelle Park and I'm from Bon Temps, Louisiana. I'd never even heard of a Slayer until this man with a horrible face attacked my friend and I one night in the park. I was sure he was gonna kill me dead until I threw him into a tree, and a branch went through his chest." She shivered at the memory. "So I did a little digging and the next thing I know, Mr. Giles is calling my house with answers to all my sudden questions."

Wonder how Giles knew where to look? Probably has records or something. "It's nice to meet you, Annabelle."

A slightly older black girl with honey colored ringlets that framed her face and a tiny butterfly tattoo on her neck held up her hand. "I'm Cassie Matheson and I'm from Queens, New York. I've never met a vampire, but I'm here cuz, well I need to learn to control my strength. I've got a bad temper…accidentally broke my little sister's wrist when I squeezed too hard." A beat. "I don't want her scared of me, ya know?"

"You'll totally learn to not Hulk out here." Faith replied. "You can use Andrew as practice dummy."

The girls giggled, and a third opted to open up. "I've never seen a vampire that wasn't on television, but after learning that I had this new power inside of me? I wanted to see where it led. I want to have a bigger destiny than going to school or having a boring job."

Buffy smiled at her. "Well things are hardly ever boring around here, that is for sure."

She grinned, tucking strands of jet-black hair behind her ear. "Good. I could use a little excitement in my life."

"You might be rethinking that statement in a few months." The blonde joked lightly. "What's your name by the way?"

Chuckling, she pulled out a tube of lip-gloss and smoothed it across her cupid bow shaped lips. "Satsu. My name is Satsu."

TBC

A/N: I was floored by all of the reviews for the previous chapter. I figured since it had taken so long to update that no one would care but you guys are beyond awesome. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and adding this to your alerts! I'm gonna try harder to update this story more frequently. Also, it won't be following Season Eight canon even with the addiction of *ahem* her. :) I suppose I'm picking certain things to further the plot along but I have no interest in the larger canonical storyline.