Night
2 1/2 Months Later
Bathroom
Slowly getting back to her feet from the kneeling position after nearly fifteen minutes of her head in the toilet, Buffy reached over and flushed the toilet.
Weakly dragging her feet over to the double sink, Buffy turned on the cold water faucet and splashed her face. She opened her eyes and let out a breath, trying to overcome the state of nausea.
She eyed herself in the mirror demanding to herself to focus her dizzy vision. Swallowing the lingering queasiness still in her stomach and chest, Buffy reached for her toothbrush.
Master Bedroom
Flicking off the light from the bathroom, Buffy stepped back into the bedroom.
She sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment, pushing her hair from her pale face. I don't know how much more I can take of this. She thought to herself before getting back into bed.
Buffy laid on her back staring up at the ceiling. The hoods of her eyes were heavy but she still felt a restlessness. Taking a deep and slow breath, careful not to trigger her nausea again, she watched the moonlight streaming into the bedroom from the window shift the shadows on the ceiling.
Turning her head to her left, she eyed Xander's back. She had to admit, that man could sleep through just about anything. Her mind went back to the First, since defeating the Turok-Han, it's been quiet, which did not settle well with Buffy. She knew the First was getting ready for something far worse than an ancient vampire.
Buffy turned onto her side, facing Xander's back. She scooted herself against him, spooning his much larger body. Her arm went around his chest finding his hand.
In Xander's sleep, he felt her arm wrap around him and subconsciously took her hand to hug it. His dreaming mind did not register Buffy's soft lips touch the back of his neck as she buried herself against his back.
Outside Sunnydale
10 miles outside the Hellmouth town, a young twenty-year-old sprinted out from the woods and into the empty one-lane highway in a panic.
She gasped for breath and continued to run when a black hooded Bringer jumped out from the woods behind the women. He gripped the handle of his knife tighter in his hand and chased after her.
Feeling the urge from her body to give up because of exhaustion and no way out, the girl desperately looked for an escape route.
As if the Powers That Be heard her plea, a battered 1975 Chevy pickup swerved down the highway and past the Bringer, catching up to the woman sprinting.
"Help!" The woman shouted, waving her arms frantically. "Stop, please! Please…"
The pickup slowed down to a stop when a young preacher man reached across the truck to open the passenger side door. "What's going on?"
"Please get me out of here." She begged and looked in the direction where the Bringer kept running towards.
"Is someone hurt?" The preacher asked.
Not responding to the question, the woman jumped into the pickup truck just as the Bringer caught up to them. "Drive!" The woman ordered.
With a nod, the preacher pressed his boot down over the gas pedal, taking off down the highway.
The two sat in the pickup in silence as the woman looked out the back window to see the Bringer standing in the middle of the highway before calming walking back into the woods.
"Well, that was…" the preacher looked at her, "Are you alright?"
"Thank you," she replied gratefully for the preacher's kindness. "Thank God you were there… I'm Shannon."
The preacher replied with a charming smile then continued the conversation, "Well, Shannon, let's not give Him credit for everything…"
Shannon's brows pinched together finding the preacher's response strange enough.
The preacher's smile widened, taking amusement in her expression. "No, I'm funnin' ya. I don't believe in coincidence." He looked at her for a moment, letting his eyes run over her, long enough to make her severely uncomfortable. "I also don't believe young girls should be out in the woods late at night. Should be tucked in bed."
Shannon looked straight ahead and said, "I wish I was."
"It looks like you've been travelling a while." He observed and cocked a brow, "And I didn't think… is there somewhere you want me to drop you? Are you headed somewhere?" The preacher asked.
"Sunnydale," Shannon replied.
The preacher turned his eyes ahead and smiled, "Goin' there myself. Never been, but I expect we could find a police station—"
"—I just need to get to Revello Drive." She interrupted him then looked at him, with a sense of causation, "But thanks, uh, Father…?"
"Call me Caleb." Caleb glanced at her with an easy smile. "I never was nobody's daddy."
A feeling of weariness sunk into her chest until it turned into dread the longer she listened to the preacher's ramblings about the whores of Babylon. She noted something was off about this seemingly nice and charming preacher man but there was a darkness about him, that shook her to her core.
Needing to get out of imminent danger, she felt was coming, Shannon's hand went to the handle on the door waiting for the perfect opportunity, while was still talking to escape.
"… You were born dirty. Born without a soul, born with the gaping maw that wants to open up and suck out a man's marrow. Makes me puke to think too hard about it." Caleb ranted on, although he knew very well what Shannon was trying to do.
Finding her moment, she pulled down the handle and realised quickly that she could not open the door. It was locked.
His grin widened as he looked at Shannon, now blatantly trying to push open the door. "Yeah, that door there's problematic. Don't know as I can recommend stepping out at this speed, either." He floored the gas pedal door, speeding up the truck. "Like as not to tumble some. Then there are my boys back there," in shock, Shannon looked at Caleb suddenly terrified, "they hate to miss a mark."
"Your… boys?"
Caleb laughed, "Well, they ain't exactly my blue-eyed boys, but they're hard workers. And they don't truck with Satan, that was me havin' fun." Caleb turned his eyes from the road to look straight into Shannon's dark eyes. "Satan is a little man."
Trying to make an effort for an escape, Shannon reached over for the wheel when Caleb backhands her across the face. "I don't like backseat drivers." He slammed the side of her head into the passenger's side window then reached out for a lighter from the front console. He took the lighter and pressed it against Shannon's neck basking in her cries of pain.
Laughing, Caleb revealed a bowie knife from the side of his seat and plunged it into Shannon's stomach. He grinned watching her eyes grow wide with soundless pain and shock. He leaned over to her ear and whispered into her ear.
He then ripped the knife from her belly. "Now, let's see if we can't do something about that door." Caleb swung his leg around, kicking the passenger's side door open then shoved the woman out from the pickup.
Afternoon
Lunch Time
Sunnydale High
Bleachers
The California sun glowed high in the bright cloudless blue sky.
Sitting alone at the top of the bleachers, Buffy and Xander took this brief time they have together kissing rather than eating their lunch, which had been set aside.
Buffy grinned into the kiss and her hand on his cheek before sliding her fingers to cup that back of his neck.
Slowly breaking the kiss, Xander pushed her hair from her shoulder. "I take it you're feeling better?"
Though dark sunglasses covered her eyes, Xander knew she was a bit taken back by his question.
"You think I don't notice you running to the bathroom in the middle of the night." He asked, looking at her with a knowing expression.
"Well, I have a good reason, you usually don't even budge when you're asleep." She slyly smiled.
Xander frowned, "Not true."
"Last week, the girls downstairs were having a mini dance party—at two in the morning, might I add, and you didn't even know it!—Not even a groan. No sane person could sleep through that night—except for you."
"Okay," Xander released a breath, "maybe… I can—sorta sleep through anything. But I do notice the times you get up. So that's something…"
Buffy smiled at him softly, "Well, to answer your question, yes, I'm fine. It must've been something I ate yesterday."
"And the day before that and the day—"
"—Please, I don't need a play by play." Her hand rested on his forearm. "I promise you, I'm fine. The house became a hotel, that many people living under one roof… we're bound to catch something."
Xander leaned in closer to her and smirked, "Fine—you never get sick but… if you say you're fine, then I believe you." He brushed his lips against hers for a moment then drew his head back taking her left hand.
"Thank you," she said, thankful he finally dropped the subject.
His eyes shifted from her beautiful face down her hand in his own. He ran the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. Xander raised her left hand to his mouth and kissed the diamond engagement ring sitting on her left ring finger.
Two and a half months since asking for her hand in marriage, Buffy and Xander had yet to totally announced their engagement. The only one who knew was Dawn. Buffy had felt guilty for keeping her relationship from the youngest Summers for so long that Buffy wanted to make her the first one to know.
As for the rest of the group, the timing was the issue. There were just too many distractions, between anticipating the First's next move, to finding out more about the First, to training the Potential's, and just everyday life, the timing was just not quite right.
The corners of Xander's lips tugged, "I can't wait to marry you." He said, looking at her in that longing, puppy dog way, which Buffy recognised.
"No," she said, pulling her hand away from his and picked up the water bottle beside her.
"Buf—"
"—I know what you're thinking and no. We're going to wait." She looked at him with a sigh and lifted her sunglasses onto her head. "Xander, we haven't even told anyone about our engagement. And we agreed that we weren't just gonna run to City Hall." Buffy wrapped her arm around his and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Don't you want to have your wedding without the threat of an apocalypse on the verge of exploding over our heads? I know I do."
Finding it hard to argue with her logic, Xander agreed. He didn't want to marry Buffy with the end of the world still in their eye line. He wanted to marry her without her worrying about the fate of the world. He wanted to give her the dream location she's always wanted. He wanted to argue with her about setting a date, then, of course, let her have her way. He wanted to try and convince her not to let his insane family come—Just his real family. He wanted to rearrange the entire seating chart when she wasn't looking. He wanted her to take Dawn, Willow, and Tara dress shopping. He wanted to watch her pick out the rings that would be worn on their left-hand ring finger for the rest of their lives. As much as he wanted to marry Buffy in the 'immediately' kind of way, he understood her wanting to wait.
"I'm just so excited to start my life with you."
Buffy softly smiled and held her hand against his cheek. "You already did start your life with me… We're just… continuing it."
"I am so in love with you," Xander said dreamily.
Buffy silently responded to his profession by closing the small space between them. Her eyes were on his mouth as she brushed her nose against his. She lifted her gaze to his and kissed his mouth.
Falling into the rabbit hole which was Buffy's perfect kiss, Xander opened his mouth wider to deepen it. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and explored every crevice, though he knew her mouth like the back of his hand. Buffy slid on the bleacher closer to him, wanting nothing more than pull him under the bleachers and have her way with him.
"Ahem," the sound of someone clearing their throat entered the couple's ears.
Right then, Buffy and Xander broke apart and looked to see who had disturbed their intimate moment.
Dawn stood on the bleacher with a smirk plastered across her face and a hand on her hip, while the other held a brown paper bag filled with her lunch. "Everybody is staring at you."
Buffy and Xander turned their eyes down below the bleachers to see Dawn's friends, Melinda and Lisa giggling at the pair and cat whistles coming the from the football field, where the team did a short practice.
"It's embarrassing—Not because you're my sister but as a teacher-like adult, you're sucking face like you're a teenager."
"Is there a reason you're here, Dawn?" Buffy asked with a strained voice of annoyance.
Xander nodded looking at Dawn and reached for his brown paper lunch bag, taking out a power bar. Dawn held pulled an apple and with an unspoken accord, they swapped the snacks.
"Okay, Bye! Don't be gross!" Dawn said, running down the bleachers to catch back up with her friends.
Rolling her eyes at her young her sister, Buffy pulled her sunglasses down from the top of her head and leaned back on her hands balancing on the bleachers. She looked at Xander, who smiled before biting into the apple he traded for.
Night
Cemetery
The thump of their hearts beating in their chests was all that they could hear as Rona and Vi slowly walked through the cemetery back to back, trying to keep an eye on their dark surroundings.
Gripping the stake tighter in their hands, neither of them heard even a crack of a leave to indicate a footstep.
Vi swallowed, afraid of what was going to pop out from the bushes. Slowly, she moved closer to the darkly shadowed bushes, though everything inside of her was telling her to run far, far away.
Rona watched Vi search the bush and felt a relief that there was nothing there. But then a feeling of dread washed over her. She turned to the dark figure standing directly behind her and yipped with a fright when the figures hand clenched around her neck and brought her down, flat on her back.
Vi whirled around hearing the fight and tried to find an escape route for herself and Rona away from the figure when the dark shadow came after her and pinned her back against the tree.
"These two are dead," Buffy said turning her eyes from her hand wrapped around Vi's neck to the group of Potentials and Xander standing off to the side. "Why?"
"'Cause the black chick always gets it first," Rona grumbled as she got to her feet.
Cocking a highbrow, Buffy looked at the girls, "What was that, Rona?"
Trying to avoid being the Slayer's bad side… again, Rona sighed heavily and said, "I'm dead because… you're a vampire. And I don't have Slayer strength, Slayer speed. It wasn't a fair fight."
Xander smirked and eyed the redhead still pinned against the tree, "Vi, do you think a vampire really cares if it's a fair fight?"
"No." Vi blushed then added quietly, "No, sir. A vampire doesn't play by the rules and I have learned a valuable lesson of…" Vi looked Buffy, pleadingly to let her go, "… some sort."
Realising her hand still wrapped around Vi's neck, Buffy apologetically smiled and backed away from the teen. "You don't have Slayer strength," Buffy began to address the entire group, folding her arms across her chest, "but that doesn't mean, you're not strong. You have inherent abilities that others do not have."
"Not like you do," Molly looked away with disappointment.
"No, not yet." Buffy continued, "But it's there—the potential. You have the strength, speed, instinct." The Slayer turned her gaze to Rona, now standing beside Kennedy. "Rona, what did your instinct tell you to do just now?"
Flickering her eyes to Kennedy for an answer, Rona said, "Block your attack… Keep you off balance… gain the advantage…" Rona saw Kennedy smirk then looked at Buffy's unconvinced expression. "They told me to run." Rona looked down at her shoes with embarrassment.
"Vi?" Buffy asked.
"They told me to run, too." Vi agreed then swallowed looking at Buffy. "They're still… sorta telling me to run…"
"Don't ignore that feeling," Xander said, moving across the group to take his place beside Buffy. "Don't fight on a demons terms. If your spidey-senses are telling you to run then… get a move on spidey. Don't wait to be killed because you think you have the advantage."
Buffy nodded in agreement then looked at the group, "A vampire needs to kill to live. And that tells you everything you need to know—" A dark-haired figure jumped onto Buffy's back, taking the Slayer off guard.
Xander immediately stood protectively in front of the girls.
Buffy recovered from her surprise easily and twisted around, knocking her assailant onto its back before pounding her fist down the figure's body. She pushed the figures long dark brown hair out of the way and glared down into a pair of laughing brown eyes.
"Hey, B, miss me?" Faith smirked then headed butted Buffy to break free.
Buffy shook off the dizziness and swept her leg to drop Faith onto her back. Faith grinned as Buffy straddled her waist throwing a powerful double fist which the dark Slayer had blocked.
Faith grasped Buffy's wrists and taunted, "Luckily, you still punch like you use to." She twisted Buffy onto her back and held her down with a hand around her throat.
With an expression of obvious annoyance, Buffy grabbed Faith by the back of her thighs and used her stomach muscle strength to gain the advantage by having Faith pinned onto her back. "That's ridiculous, my punches are flawless." Buffy snobbishly boosted then caught Faith's flying back fist then bopped her nose. "You give?"
Faith tried to break free and get another attack in Buffy, but she was easily blocked.
Buffy bopped her fist into Faith's nose again.
Accepting her defeat, Faith rested her head back on the grass and said, "Yeah, I give."
The girls watching in the background were confused in the strange interaction between the two Slayers. Xander on the other hand, stood somewhat uncomfortably trying to shake off the feeling of his arousal. The image of Buffy straddling another woman painted easily in his mind.
"That's hot," Kennedy spoke Xander's thoughts as she sat on the headstone, holding her chin in her hand finding the two Slayers undeniably sexy.
Faith smacked the sides of Buffy's thighs, "Get off me, B."
Buffy rolled her eyes and moved off of Faith. She held out her hand for the dark-haired Slayer to take. "What's with attacking innocent people, Faith?"
Smugly smiling, Faith rolled her eyes over the blonde and said, "You ain't as innocent as you look Blondie."
Taking Faith's words in amusement, Buffy tried hard to suppress her smile trying to determine what had brought Faith back into the picture. Instead of dwelling on her uncertainties, Buffy took the reappearance of the dark-haired Slayer in stride and said, "Nice to have you back."
"Yeah, it's home sweet home." Sarcasm dripped in Faith's words.
Sometime Later
1630 Revello Drive
Kitchen
Walking through the dining room, Faith felt a thousand curious and apprehensive eyes following her every move, especially from Dawn, Willow, and Giles.
She stood in the kitchen, which seemed to be the one place, Faith didn't feet hounded by curious stares and judgements. Standing at the sink, Faith looked out the window into the night second-guessing herself for coming here.
She didn't blame any of them for their looks and whispers. Faith knew she'd have that coming when she came back to Sunnydale. It was terrifying but for some reason, she knew without a doubt at least Buffy would give her another chance, even if it was the twentieth chance.
Hearing clanks from down below, Faith turned to the basement and noticed the door half opened.
Out of curiosity which came with perfect timing because some of the girls were headed into the kitchen from the dining room, Faith made a quick escape and walked own the stairs.
Basement
As she walked lower down the steps, she noticed Xander standing on a wooden chair reaching up to the light, trying to fix its wiring.
A creak from a stair startled Xander, but he never let it show as he turned his eyes to Faith, now standing at the bottom step with her arms folded across her chest.
"Whatcha doing?" Faith asked.
"Buffy figured you'd want a bit of privacy from the other girls, so she asked if I'd fixed this lightbulb that I have been pushing off for… well… a long time." He used a tool from his jeans pocket and pinched the thin wires together.
Faith slowly nodded her head then tilted her head slightly to the side running her eyes over Xander. She noticed how much he's filled out since the last time she saw him. He wore a simple light collared white-grey coloured flannel shirt with light blue-green plaid strips. He left the top two buttons undone, revealing the grey-blue t-shirt underneath.
Unable to stop herself from appreciating how handsome Buffy's nerdy friend became, she marvelled how the material of his shirt bunched up, revealing his strong tan arms.
She lifted her eyes to his face, he was looking up but she could easily see how attractive he is. After a few days of neglecting to shave, Xander had a dark five-o'clock shadow cover his cheeks and around his mouth. His short hair was getting long enough to cover a bit of his forehead, in a sexy sort of way that made Faith want to lick her lips.
Upstairs the sound of distant shrieking and feet stomping overhead seemed to awaken a conversation between the one time lovers.
"No more Starbucks for the wannabes, man." Faith said, crossing the basement to a cot sitting against the stone wall. "They're totally spastic." She sat down and watched Xander finally fix the lightbulb before climbing off the chair.
"Yeah, they can be a bit much," Xander said, facing her.
Faith smirked and took out a packet of cigarettes. "I bet they just swoon over you." She ran her eyes over his lean muscular body again.
"I never thought of myself as 'swoon' worthy."
"Well, it's either you, that Star Wars geek, or good 'ole Rupes. Nah, I can totally see it." She lifted her eyes from his crotch to his face.
Xander looked at her strangely and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wooden pillar. "See what?" He decided to take the bait.
"What they would see in you." She blew a puff of smoke then continued, "You got that whole… 'Mister Goofy-Goody Guy' thing going on… which is hot without trying."
Shaking his head, Xander picked up the wooden chair and placed it near the cot then sat down.
"Aren't you gonna ask me?"
"About what?" Xander asked, holding his arms across his chest and crossed his ankles.
Faith smirked, taking a long drag of the cigarette between her fingers. "About why I broke out of jail."
"'Cause Angel needed you, right?"
With a nod, Faith blew out the smoke through her nose. "Yeah, Angel needed me." She sat back, resting her head against the stone wall. "Three squares, nice weight room and a movie every third Sunday—Could'a been worse."
"Unless the movie was Glitter," Xander added.
Faith paused then frowned, "I guess it could've been worse."
"What made you stay? Why not just... superpower your way through? Did you really need Angel as an excuse to escape?"
"I stopped me. For so long, I was so… messed up. You remember… I took some of that out on you."
Xander nodded in understanding, remembering that unsatisfying and terrifying night well.
"You over it?" Xander asked. "The self-destructiveness?"
Faith shrugged, "More or less. I'm pulling for the good guys now." She stretched her arms over her head, giving Xander an ample view of her round breasts.
Keeping his eyes firmly on Faith's face, Xander then asked, "What the less?"
"The usual stuff…" she looked at him and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, "Every guy has some whack fantasy. Scratch the surface of even the most crunchy granola dude? Naughty nurses and horny cheerleaders. I figure—you can't beat 'em…"
"… Join 'em." Xander nodded his head with a lopsided smile.
Faith took him in for a moment then said, "You've changed—but you're kinda the same."
"You've changed, too—but also… kinda the same."
"It wouldn't've worked out between us, huh?"
"Apart from your homicidal tendencies… no, probably not," Xander shook his head with a small smile.
Faith slowly nodded her head, "'Cause of that Anya-chick?"
"You have been away for a while," Xander said smirking at the knowledge of Faith not knowing about his relationship with Buffy.
Before Faith could question the sly smile crossing Xander's mouth, they both turned to the clicks of heeled shoes stepping down the stairs.
Stepping down the bottom stair, Buffy folded her arms across her chest, not liking the cosy look between her fiancé and the estranged sister Slayer.
Buffy crossed the short distance and went to Xander's side.
"Hey, B," Faith blew a puff of smoke as she watched Buffy slide her fingers into Xander's hair. She kept her eyes on the dark-haired Slayer, silently marking her territory.
Cocking a highbrow, Faith got the hint that something happening between Buffy and Xander. She sat back and watched the mini display of predatory protection on Buffy's part.
"The girl at the hospital woke up," Buffy stated. "I'm going to gather some info from her." She turned her eyes to Xander, who had been looking at her already. "I need you upstairs, please," Buffy told him gently and bent down to his level to brush her mouth over his.
Standing straight and easily ignoring Faith's surprised expression, Buffy smirked, "Make yourself comfortable now, 'cause when I come back you and I are gonna hit the streets."
"Just like old times," Faith smiled.
Buffy returned a soft half-smile and pulled her fingers that were running in Xander's dark hair and turned away.
Xander watched her go up the stairs when he turned back to Faith, who was smirking at him. He shrugged and got up from the chair to follow Buffy up the stairs, leaving Faith alone in the basement.
Faith couldn't shake her own surprise to see Buffy kissing Xander and affectionately running her fingers through his hair.
Taking a drag from the cigarette from between her fingers, Faith shook her head again with a widening smirk, "Damn… everyone is just full of surprises."
